sun day fire heat dryness light male Heaven expansive Earth contractive moon night water cold dampness darkness female Earth contractive Heaven expansive
* These lists are based on information from the works of George Ohsawa, Herman Aihara, and Michio Kushi, as well as on my own experience. † Unfortunately, pasteurization diminishes the available calcium in milk 4, thereby also lowering its alkalizing qualities. Pasteurized milk and milk products can therefore be viewed as more acid-forming 5, a fact that may contribute to the widespread incidence of tooth decay in American children. The acidifying effects of cookies( flour and sugar) are probably not adequately buffered by the pasteurized milk that accompanies them( raw milk would probably be better). It is interesting to note that even though processed milk products are less effective as buffers, they are still used as such in the standard American diet. ‡ Alice Chase, M. D., states that alkalizing buffer foods“ could prevent demineralization of the bones, muscles, and nerves … and protect the body from dangerous acid saturation.” 9 § This list agrees in some parts with the Ayurvedic listing given by Ballentine, and in some other parts with the work of naturopath and acupuncturist John Garvy. Above all, however, it reflects my own sense of which foods are, in the final instance, warming or cooling. ‖ Walter Cannon, M. D., Nobel Laureate, writes this of the human body:“ The structure itself is not permanent, but is being continuously broken down by the wear and tear of action, and is continuously built up by the processes of repair.” 14 a Sugar consumption prompts the pancreas to release large amounts of insulin, which remains in circulation long after the sugar is metabolized. According to Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, insulin suppresses the release of growth hormone and thereby may impair the immune system.