In the Grand Scheme of Things

Photo credit: Marten Newhall

Some time ago I was told about the discovery of mummies in the mountains of Japan. The Shingon monks who practiced this as far back as the fourteenth century, were seeking to attain sokushinbutsu or a path to Tusita Heaven.

It was a painful, slow process that lasted years where they worked diligently to mummify their bodies while alive  ending with three years and three months in a pine wood coffin, buried in meditation.

This sounds incredulous, but is real.
It was outlawed in the 1800s.

Anyway, what they did was over the course of 1,000 days forage the woods for tree bark, tree roots, berries, pine needles, and nuts.

Weird, unusual, and intriguing information, right?
You should be wondering why I am sharing this with you.
There is, undoubtedly, a reason.

This practice reminds me of what we do today.

While in our culture we are not seeking to mummify ourselves (if we were we do a terrible job of it) we are slowly killing ourselves.
Again:

The foods consumed by the average American are foods that rot the body.
So many things get chalked up to what happens when you "get old" that are instead symptoms of decay due to anti-nutrients that are so prominent in our diet.

Think about it:
* rise in tooth decay/dentures
* diabetes is prominent
* cancer is the #2 leading cause of death
* alzheimer's is a major cause of disease

All of the above conditions are directly influenced by nutrition, or lack thereof.
What the low-carb/keto movement has exposed is how much carbs factor in to the manifestation and expression of disease.

What are carbs & why?

Basically carbs are the result of photosynthesis. If you are getting some recollections of high school biology, you are correct- photosynthesis means that carbs are plants. 
All parts of a plant are carbs, they use it for fuel.
Our bodies begin digesting carbs in the mouth with the enzyme amylase that gets released mostly in the mouth turning the carbs into sugar. While there are different categories of amylase, some being better than others, carbs take a lot of energy to digest (thus beginning asap within the mouth).

So why do carbs get such a bad rap?
How are they rotting, or contributing to your bodily decay?

Well, carbs the MOST processed food around.
All those boxes and bags of "food" on grocery shelves are carbs.
And yes, food is in parenthesis because if you grab a box/bag and read the ingredients you will find a laundry list of scientific jargon  whose translation is: "we created this in a lab, this product does not occur in nature."

When a carb is processed, protein and fat are removed leading to over-consumption and a conversion- almost immediately- into sugar. This equals fat storage. ALSO, digestion is regulated by hormones and there is no hormone triggered when you consume carbs. Excess fat means you have a big supply of glucose ready for "fight or flight" mode- except that situation never arises. Fat cells interrupt the immune system by eliciting macrophages (the part of your immune defense system that eats up the troublemakers) to their site where they get morphed into fat cells and the domino effect continues keeping the macrophages distracted from attacking and consuming invaders leaving you susceptible to illness.


Back to the monks. They ate only plants, bark, and nuts aka carbs.

"This extreme diet served two purposes. First, it began the body’s biological preparation for mummification, as it eliminated any fat and muscle from the frame. It also prevented future decomposition by depriving the body’s naturally-occurring bacteria of vital nutrients and moisture"

Should you never touch a carb again?
In the grand scheme of things, it depends on your situation.
Each person needs to assess their health as an individual.
I do encourage you, especially women, to eat more steak.
Yes, steak.
Specifically steaks from your local, trusted farmer.
Why?
Because red meat provides crucial B vitamins that help repair the body, assist with sleep, mental health, energy, stamina, and also gives you the amount of iron and creatine your body thrives on- way easier than figuring out how much of a supplement and which one you should take (tastier too).

I plan to go into more detail regarding this and more in the next Healthier You Weightloss Challenge coming up May 9th (right after Mother's Day). Learn more here. Until then, pick up your forks and your knives and dig in!

Resources on monks:

1. https://allthatsinteresting.com/sokushinbutsu
   
2. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g02008/