Supersensible Bodies Combat the Processes of Decay inside Living Beings
In nature we can witness how all organic matter that has once belonged to
any living organism is subjected to the processes of decay: organic
substances are becoming rancid, fermenting, rotting, and going mouldy.
[1] If we
want to grasp why these processes are dominating in outer nature we need to
understand first what is preventing them from taking place inside the living
organisms which are basically made from the same substances – proteins,
fats, carbohydrates and minerals. We will leave aside minerals which are as
a general rule not subject to such processes of decay and look at three
basic types of organic substances: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
When we study proteins we can notice that "protein is produced by plants as well as by the animal and human body. All
albumen is semi-liquid. The
human etheric body can find its way into everything that is semi-liquid. It
can do nothing with solid matter, only with liquids. We have solid matter in
us, and this builds up the physical body. But the physical body is formed
entirely out of the fluid element and for this element there is the etheric
body, this fine body which one cannot see, though it permeates the whole
man. Protein must be transformed by the etheric body in the abdomen. Of
course, the other spiritual members of man's being are also active in it,
but protein must be dealt with in the etheric body. Proteins, when they are
not transformed by the body in the abdomen, are inclined to decay. When we
have inadequately transformed protein in us we really have something like
rotten eggs in our intestines. The etheric body is that part of man which
prevents the rotting of protein substances. We have in us continually the
battle against decomposition, and the fighter is the etheric body.
The fats are the second sort of nutritive substance. Fats, when eaten,
also pass of course into the abdomen. But the fats pass through the
intestines and work very strongly on the central part of man's body – the
chest. The reason why man needs fats for his chest region is because his
breathing is located there. What does this mean? It means that the carbon
that we carry within us combines with oxygen. For carbon to combine with
oxygen one needs heat. What the fats do while they combine with oxygen is to
generate heat. So the fats contribute a great deal to what man needs in his
chest organisation.
With regard to fats, it is a fact that they do not rot – fats become
rancid. Even butter goes rancid. [2] If you put it on the tongue and taste it,
then you immediately know that this butter is rancid. It has something to do
with the consciousness, with feeling. Rotting has something to do with
smell, with something external, you can smell it. It is not so when
something becomes rancid; it needs to be tasted, which is a more inward
process. This has more to do with our inward feeling. All that is feeling in
our consciousness is connected physically with our middle system – our chest
– but spiritually with the astral body. And within the chest the airy
element is active. We breathe in air. We transform the air. Air is at home
in the chest. In the other parts of the human body gasses and air should
only be produced very sparingly. The middle system is the appropriate place
for gas. And the higher supersensible member which takes hold there is the
human astral body. This astral body fights to prevent fats becoming rancid,
just as the etheric body combats the rotting of protein substances.
A third constituent of man's food is carbohydrate which is found mainly
in potatoes, in lentils and beans, and of course in all
cereals. We take in for instance what is in the potato and transform it. The
potato contains a great deal of starch and this starch is transformed first
into dextrin and then into sugar. The main task of the head is to oppose
what starch and sugar wish to do. What do they wish to do? You need only
look at wine. When autumn comes the grapes are gathered, they are pressed
and then the juice ferments. Starch and sugar are the substances which want
to ferment. In the human organism they also have a tendency to ferment. If
you introduce alcohol, the head loses the capacity to prevent this
fermentation of starch and sugar which are contained in the potatoes you
have eaten. The potatoes and beans and other things such as cereals, begin
to ferment inside you. Instead of the fermentation in man being prevented,
it takes place through an inability of the head due to the alcohol, so that
man is now full of the forces of fermentation.
Just as the etheric body is mainly situated in the abdomen, the astral
body in the chest, so the ego is mainly situated in the head. We also have
to see it like this: the physical body has to do with the solid, the etheric
body with the fluid, the astral body with the gaseous, likewise the ego with
warmth. Anything to do with man's ego brings warmth into motion. This can be
traced in detail in the human body. The real ego [3] is also connected with the
blood and that is why the blood produces warmth. It is the real ego
which, from the supersensible, prevents fermentation acting through the
forces of the head. Thus we can say that the etheric body combats the
putrefaction of protein, the astral body combats rancidity and the
ego
combats the fermentation of sugar and starch. Man must be aware of the fact
that he must be strong enough to overcome first the rotting of protein,
secondly the becoming rancid of fats and thirdly the fermentation of starch
and sugar. Man really fights what is outside in nature" [4]
active in the decay of organic matter.
Thus we can see that within all living organisms
the basic organic substances behave in the opposite way to what they do
outside when they decay. In the case of the human beings we have the
following picture:
- The ego organization continually fights
against the fermentation of carbohydrates in the warmth organization in the
human head.
- The astral body continually fights against
the rancidity of fats in the air organization in the chest.
- The etheric body continually fights
against the rotting of proteins in the fluids of the abdomen.
The Task of Storage: Preservation of Vitality and Nourishing Forces
In each stage of food production – growing, processing, and distribution
– there exists periods when there is a need to store food crops, or
partially processed raw materials, or finished food products, before they
are used for further processing or for sale. Here we deal with a challenge
of how to store them properly. This challenge is also present in those
households where people still cook with fresh ingredients. If we want to
make dishes of such quality that will serve the needs of people in the best
possible manner, we need to understand also the spiritual background of the
challenges we encounter in regard to suitable food storage.
In Fourfold Nature of Real Foods
it is described that the main sources of human food are plants and animals –
that is, the living organisms which contain beside physical bodies also
higher supersensible bodies: the etheric and astral body, and the ego
organization. For that very reason our food has the following attributes:
- Vitality, or living forces, as the consequence of the working of the etheric body;
- Taste, colour, smell, as the consequence of the working of the astral body;
- Nourishing forces, as the consequence of the working of the ego
organization of a specific plant or animal. [5]
As we have seen above these supersensible bodies also protect proteins, fats
and carbohydrates from the processes of decay to which all food coming from
plants and animals is subjected. In the case of plant food we need to be aware
that they have different ratios of etheric, astral and spiritual forces,
depending from which part of plant they belong. This also determinates how long
we can store them. For example, if stored in traditional ways without any help
of modern technology, we have different periods in which they are still good for
human nutrition. [6]
- Seeds of some grains can be kept for years.
- Seeds of legumes and nuts can be kept at least for one year.
- Root vegetables can be kept for a few months (stored in the ground or
in a root cellar).
- Some fruits, such as apples, can be kept for several months, whilst
others can keep only for a few weeks or days.
- Some vegetables can be kept for a week or more.
- Leafy vegetables can be kept only for a day or two (depending on the
outer temperature) before they wilt.
Of course, the aim of food storage is not just to preserve food for as
long as possible, we need to preserve also the nourishing substances in the
food, and its organoleptic attributes, such as taste, smell, etc. Thus we
can recognise the main challenge in the area of food storage: How to
minimise the inevitable loss of vitality and other attributes of fresh food
with the choice of a suitable method? Although in all foods coming from
living organisms there are present remnants of forces of etheric, astral and
ego organization, they are slowly dissipating and thus simultaneously
allowing the processes of decay to take over. Even when we deal with
processed foods this challenge still exists.
While the vital forces in the specific food are
dissipating this process attracts various types of microorganisms. These microbes perform the
necessary task of the recycling of all organic matter. We can prevent or
slow down their growth by controlling the environment in the place the food
is kept. For example, we need to control the amount of humidity because
"microorganisms need moisture to enable them to grow and reproduce. The
removal of moisture by drying helps to preserve food, and was one of the
first methods of preservation to be used." [7] However, all depends on what
type of food we are dealing with. In the time of storage we can have two
kinds of problems in regard to water content:
- Either the etheric forces dissipate
because of the evaporation of water as in the case of leafy vegetables which become wilted;
- Or too much humidity sets into motion the process of decaying, such as
when food gets mouldy, etc.
In storage we also need to control the amount of air around the food by
removal or minimising its presence as much as possible, because "some
microorganisms can only grow and reproduce aerobically, when oxygen is present."
[8] And we need to control the warmth conditions because "microorganisms tend to
be most active in warm temperature. As the temperature drops, their activity
slows down." [9] Last, but not the least, in the case of fats, we need to
protect them from too much warmth and light
because they both instigate processes that make fats rancid.
Everyone who has studied the living processes of nature knows that life
cannot exist without the processes of decay; in fact, the processes of decay
are the other side of life processes – in nature all organic matter is
endlessly recycled through decomposition back into new forms of life. For
that reason one should not be surprised to see how the same natural
influences necessary for growth of plants – light, warmth, air, water, and
microorganisms – are promoting also decomposition of food. [10] For real food is something which has been
separated from a living organism and has retained only a kind of imprint
of what was once alive. For that reason the main task of food storage is to
prevent these elementary forces of nature having access to the foods we
store, or to establish and maintain the right environment with the control
of these forces. Only in this manner will we be successful in preserving
those qualities in the food we enjoy and which are of benefit to our health.
For a complementary perspective see:
♦ FOOD AS SOURCE OF ENERGY
DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
The main aim of this principle is to raise awareness of the huge
importance of suitable storage of various foods. The most common fault in
this regard in the kitchen is unnecessary loss of the value of the food due
to the lack of the attention to the fact that our food is something
'living' which is subjected to the processes of decay. The consequence of
such 'forgetfulness' in the last stage before cooking is dishes of a worse
quality. Therefore if we want to prepare good dishes we need to put more
attention to food storage. We need to be
aware that the final amount of living forces, nourishing substances, and
substances that give food specific sensory properties, is dependent on each
stage of food production and preparation, including storage. It is very
easy to lose vital forces and nourishing substances, but it is almost
impossible to gain back later with the methods of food preparation what has
been lost by lack of care. Therefore the best method is to prevent any
unnecessary losses with suitable storage conditions.
Practical instructions for the storage of processed foods are found on
their packages. In regard to fresh fruit, vegetables, and grains one can
be guided by common sense in accordance with the type of the food. Here are
few practical tips: [11]
- Use plastic bags with clips for keeping leafy
vegetables inside the fridge. It is not enough if you keep them in the
vegetable box where the air has an easy access. It slows down wilting if you
remove the air with the help of a bag as much as possible and maintain the
right amount of moisture; not too wet otherwise they will decay. It is best
if you moisten the content of the bag with small amount of water (with
shaking and turning the bag); after this pour out the surplus of water. This
method is useful also for other vegetables which are usually kept in the
fridge, especially when you store the cut pieces of vegetable.
- All vegetables and fruit start to lose nutrients and
vitality in the measure corresponding to the degree of cutting – the smaller
the pieces the greater is the loss. For that reason cut them just before
use. If you have some pieces left, put them in the fridge inside an airtight
container or wrap them tightly in cling film or bag, then use them as soon
as possible.
- Whole grains keep well in tightly closed glass jars. They can be
exposed to light if their grains are intact. Millet or oat flakes are best
kept in the dark to prevent their fats from going rancid. This is valid also
for the keeping of nuts which contain a lot of fats. Especially sensitive
are walnuts and Brazil nuts which quickly become rancid after we expose them
to sunlight and warmth.
- In regard to spices one needs to be aware that their taste and smell
diminishes quicker if they are ground or if they are not kept in air-tight
jars. This is due to the evaporation of essential oils which produces their
smell and contributes to their taste.
What about freezing? Even the mainstream
science recognises that "ice crystals which form inside the cells of fruits,
vegetables and meat may cause the cells to rupture. Once the food thaws, the
water will be released, the cells will collapse, and the food may lose its
original texture. Smaller ice crystals are formed and therefore cause less
damage to food if it is frozen quickly." [12] The consequence of such damages
of food is diminished vitality; that makes sense when we know that the life
of the cells is the expression of the activity of the etheric body in the
organism. Of course, the consequences of regular consumption of frozen foods
containing ruptured cells will not show immediately. However, such practice
has a similar effect to the regular consumption of overcooked foods – that
is, progressive weakening of our digestive forces due to diminishing vital
forces in the food. For that reason freezing is not recommended as the
generally used method of food storage, but only for occasional storage of
those items that are more suitable for freezing, such as meat, fish, bread,
ice-cream, and similar. The criterion that helps us to decide which food is
suitable for freezing and which not, is the degree to which a specific food
retains its original shape after it has been defrosted. [13]
With the help of this principle one can also see why the materialistic
approach to health and safety is excessively focused on the risk of food
contamination by microorganisms and its reduction by a set of hygiene rules.
It goes without saying that good hygiene practices are an important part of
the holistic approach to production, distribution, preparation and
consumption of food, for they reflect the level of our attention to the
details and our general attitude to the food and nutrition.
[14] However,
because of the absence of the knowledge of the spiritual background
explained here, there is too little attention dedicated to the real culprit
behind any food spoilage: the lack of vitality and other supersensible
forces which should be present in the food. This lack is creating favourable
conditions for the development of the processes of decay. Even so-called
'pathogenic bacteria' are part of natural processes of decay; they are
harmful to us only when we consume food which is, due to the lack of life
forces, already in the first phase of decomposition. The solution is to put
more attention and efforts in the production of good quality food which will
create better conditions for its storage.
♣ See
HOLISTIC FOOD 'PYRAMID' for
the list of foods which have the most suitable properties for the storage.
WARNING: You always have to put the above
practical dietary instructions inside the framework of
GENERAL NUTRITIONAL
GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution
of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with
THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES
with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.
