If we want to penetrate into the secret life of fats [1] which
is evolving inside us in the cooperation of the physical, etheric and astral
bodies – under the control of our ego organization – we need to start with the
simple fact that "in order to maintain the life process in his organism man has
to consume proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals." [2] However,
the substances and forces which enter our body with food never work alone but
their activities are interwoven. This is something we need to keep always in our
mind whenever we try to comprehend the effects of any single substance. This is
even more important in the case of hard-to-define and elusive effects of the
fats – probably the most misunderstood constituents of our food and our
organism.
The Role of Fats in the Ongoing Renewal of the Body
Modern nutritional research confirms that fats have various essential
functions in all systems and organs of the human organism, including its
smallest living units, the cells. This is in accordance with the
spiritual-scientific understanding of fats which have very a important role
in the process of the continuous renewal of our physical body that is
evolving in the cooperation of the
EARTHLY NUTRITIONAL STREAM
and the COSMIC NUTRITIONAL STREAM. In
CREATION OF HUMAN PROTEINS there is
presented one example of the cooperation of these two streams which
culminates in the synthesis of our own proteins from the cosmic etheric
substances. "There is a similar situation with fat. We make our own protein,
using only (the etheric blueprint of) the carbon from the external protein.
And we also make our own fat. For the fats too, we use very little from our
food – only nitrogen. So we produce our own protein and fat."
[3]
We cannot grasp these activities without awareness that "the etheric body
is at work in the fats." [4] In
FOOD AS SOURCE OF ENERGY it
is explained that we need to destroy the foreign etheric body present in
food and only in this manner can we get the impetus for suitable inflow of
cosmic ethers into our organism. This rule applies also in the
case of fats, because "if someone has fats in him, that is his own
accomplishment, the accomplishment of his body. Fats are entirely his own
production. The human being destroys whatever fats he takes in, plant fats
or animal fats, and through their destruction he develops strength. If I
destroy something outside of myself, I become tired and exhausted. But my
destruction of the fat beefsteak or of the plant fat gives me strength
again, so that I can produce my own fat."
[5]
Where inside the human organism do these processes take place? The
destruction of fats is exercised in the duodenum where they are broken down
to glycerol and fatty acids. But this is only the physical reflection of the
fact that from the living molecules of fat the etheric body is removed and
all that is left are inorganic molecules. These are absorbed into the lymph
circulation together with some water-insoluble vitamins. In this way the
chyle comes into existence, which then moves upwards through the thoracic
duct and unites with the blood near the heart. Here we are already in the
rhythmical system where the air has an important role. We can see from the
content of nutritional principle TRANSUBSTANTIATION OF MINERALS
that in this region of the body the further transformation of fatty acids and glycerol
occurs; up to this moment they were in the fluid condition and from now
onwards they are the gaseous condition. And when these substances reach the
brain they change into the condition of warmth ether. And only after all
this can we produce our own fats from the etheric substances entering via
warmth ether as a part of cosmic nutritional stream. In this roundabout way
"the fats do not enter directly into the body but pass from the blood into
the head and are distributed to the body from there." [6]
With the aim to make these complex activities more comprehensible we will
shed light on them from another perspective. Oils and fats used in the production and preparation of food are a mixture of
saturated fatty acids and
unsaturated fatty acids.
"Most animal fats are saturated. The fats of plants and fish are generally
unsaturated. Saturated fats tend to have higher melting points than their
corresponding unsaturated fats, leading to the popular understanding that
saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats
tend to be liquid at room temperature."
[7] Although there are few tropical oils (e.g. palm and
coconut oil) with high saturated fat content, [8] it is
possible to say that in principle in plants the oil is liquid whilst animal fat is solid.
This division is reflecting the difference in the way fats are created in plants and animals.
We will look first how the plant oil comes into existence. [9] "Oil is formed in ripening seed –
at a time when the visible plant has passed its zenith and is pouring its
substance out in scent and pollen, and when the seeds are then bathed in
summer warmth. When the plant expands into the cosmos, its physical
manifestation shrinks into the compass of the seed. The oil that forms in
seeds under the influence of summer's heat is an inverse reflection of the
plant's outstreaming. Cosmic fire in the sun's warm rays is condensed into
oil, as if it were concentrating forces of physical expansion in readiness
for next spring's germination." [10] We encounter here a "wonderful process
that occurs in every blossom growing between earth and sky – plant's
etherealisation, its streaming out into the cosmos. Flower scents, known as
etheric or ethereal oils, all contain a great deal of
pyrogen (hydrogen).
They are therefore obviously similar in nature to this substance. This is
shown in their great volatility; they fly away, as it were on wings of
pyrogen." [11]
If we want to understand how fats are created by animals, we can look at
the creation of the bee comb. That which is usually hidden inside an animal
– the creation of fats from cosmic ethers – is in this case happening in
front of our eyes. When bees want to built a new comb they gather in the
swarm cluster, where the temperature rises to about 36°C. Then a number of
bees start to exude wax scales from their wax glands. These wax scales are
then taken by other bees and masticated before they are inbuilt into comb
structure. Here we can observe how wax is, as it were, 'sweated' out of
warmth ether by the means of bees' glands. [12] Here
we have an image of the process of 'condensation' of the fats inside the
organism of an animal or human being via the endocrine glands as a part of
the cosmic nutritional stream.
For that reason we can compare the processes involved in the formation of
plant oils with the processes of dissolution, evaporation and
etherealisation of mineral substances which are part of the earthly
nutritional stream; and we can compare the processes involved in the
formation of animal fats with the materialisation, saturation, and
condensation of etheric substances – that is, with the processes which are
part of the cosmic nutritional stream. We can see here the continuous
circular movement of fatty substances on the level of the etheric body. And
although "everything grows complex when one begins to penetrate the actual
secrets of life," [13] we
can grasp the two complementary essential roles of fats in the ongoing
renewal and maintenance of our physical body with the help of two images
from nature:
- image of the process of evaporation of etheric oils
in the plants, presenting the earthly nutritional stream;
- image of the process of hardening of bees wax, presenting the cosmic
nutritional stream.
Soul-Spiritual Aspects of Metabolism of Fats
In THE TRUE NATURE OF NUTRITIVE SUBSTANCES the complementary roles of
carbohydrates and fats are described. "The carbohydrates help to give our
human form its proper shape, but if left to themselves their tendency would
be to make us into a mere form and leave it at that. They do not fill out
the form – that is done by the fats. That is their function – to provide us
with material substance." [14]
However– as explained above – this process of accumulation of substances
performed by the etheric body is only one function of fats. "The point is
really that one must know how the various substances work. One must know
that minerals work particularly on the head; carbohydrates work more on the
lung system and throat system – lungs, throat, palate and so on. Fats work
particularly on heart and blood vessels, arteries and veins; and protein
particularly on the abdominal organs." [15]
Therefore "man absolutely needs fats for the nourishment of his heart,
chest, etc. 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." [16]
The organs which are placed inside our chest belong to the rhythmic
system, the seat of our feeling life. "All that is feeling in our
consciousness is connected physically with our middle system – our chest –
but spiritually with the astral body. And it is well known that within the
chest the airy element is active. We breathe in air. We transform the air.
The middle system is the appropriate place for air. And the higher
supersensible member which takes hold there is the human
astral body."
[17]
In this manner we have arrived to the link between fats and the astral body.
The relationship between the astral body and fats doesn't stop with this. "When a man
is awake, the astral body is within him; when he is asleep the astral body
is outside. When he is awake and the astral body is working in the etheric
body, fat is assimilated and absorbed all the time. Fat acts as a
'lubricant' for the whole body. [18] When a man is asleep and the astral
body is outside him, fat is not assimilated but deposited.
During waking
life, fat acts as a constant 'lubricant'; during sleep, fat is deposited.
And both are necessary: deposited fat and 'lubricating' fat."
[19]
Here we have the exchange between sleeping and the waking state, between
resting and the active life in the outer world. When we are awake we move,
work, study and so on. If we want to do all this we need our body to be in
proper shape and for this our body needs warmth. Warmth is provided by fats
and this is the 'lubricant' that our body needs during the day. Thus we have
ongoing interplay between use of fats and storage of fats, guided by the
rhythmic exchange of day and night.
If we want to penetrate further into the mysterious working of fats we
need to look in COSMIC ORIGIN OF LIVING SUBSTANCES
at the dynamic formula for fats with the dominant element hydrogen
(pyrogen) – as a carrier
of cosmic warmth. For that reason "fat proves least of a foreign substance
when taken into the organism. Fat will most easily change from the nature it
has when taken in as food, to the nature of the human organism. Fat is able
to behave like this because it takes as little as possible of the specific
nature of a foreign organism into the human organism. The human organism can
easily incorporate it into its own activity. The reason is that
fat plays a
special role in producing inner warmth. This warmth is the element of the
physical organism in which the ego organization predominantly lives."
[20]
Thereby we can understand that "in reality, warmth can never be grasped from
a physical, chemical or physiological standpoint alone. It is always also of
a soul and spiritual nature. Every one-sided consideration of the fat
problem must flounder on this point. Something further, in this regard, is
of great significance. This warmth is found in all the members of a person's
organization: his physical organism, his vital activity, and his
soul-being. But ultimately, this warmth is always an expression of the
person's individuality, which extends its feelers into the warming-through
of his corporeal nature. The ego-organization lives in
the physical organism primarily in that inner warmth which is the product of
the activity of fat. Natural warmth –
whether from a living or a lifeless source – never proceeds directly into
the human being. Rather, it stimulates the person – and especially the
highest member of his being – to produce his own warmth.
Human warmth is
thus always individual. It necessarily engenders illness when it cannot be
individualized. The fat-formation process presents a final step –
impregnated by the ego-organization – in the formation of substances. Only that
fat which carries this individual impression can be called healthy.
There is
a constant interplay between the fat and warmth-formation processes. Warmth
is transformed into fat, and fat, into warmth. But these processes occur in
a healthy manner only when they occur under the direction of the
ego-organization."
[21] Thus we can see that we cannot properly
understand any processes that involve fat substances in the human organism
without knowledge of the connection of the human ego organization with
warmth.
It should be clear that we could only touch upon the secret life of fats
inside the human organism. Nevertheless, with the help of this short
characterisation of the multiple roles of fats it is evident why opinions
about fats are so contradictory. This is due to mercurial nature of fats
which enable them to perform opposite tasks of dissolving and condensing
substances inside the human body, and contrary roles of supporting daily
activities by means of their warmth and creating deposits which insulate the
body and provide reserves for the time of scarcity.
If we look at the key roles of fats in relation to four members of human
organization we can arrive at the following summary:
- fats provide our physical body with physical
warmth and insulation;
- fats stimulate the etherealisation and materialisation of substances
on the etheric level;
- fats provide nourishment for the rhythmic system, the seat of the
astral body;
- their warmth creates a foundation for intervention of the
ego-organization into the activities on the astral, etheric and physical
level.
All these activities and processes are closely connected to one another.
In reality, they form a unity in their multiplicity. Therefore, if we want
to attain the true knowledge of the secret life of fats we need to approach
the processes of fat metabolism from a physical-etheric perspective and a
soul-spiritual perspective as well.
For a complementary perspective see:
♦ NUTRITION vs MOVEMENT
DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS
The mainstream approach to the issue of fat quality is very one-sided.
The chemical structures of fats are investigated in great detail and then
divided into saturated,
mono-unsaturated,
poly-unsaturated,
omega-3,
omega-6, and so on.
But as a rule there is no mention of how oils and fats are produced and
there is no recognition of the importance of phytochemicals present in
unrefined plant oils which give them their specific colour, smell and
taste. These sensual experiences are vital for the proper inflow of cosmic
nourishment entering via our sense organs. When phytochemicals are
impoverished due to conventional farming, or lost due to refining, we are
not nourished as we should be anymore. These substances are present in
minute quantities, but they are pointing to the existence of the
supersensible forces which needs to be taken into account for any true
evaluation of food quality. Besides it is fact that these conventionally
produced, refined oils contain residues of agrochemicals and hormones used
in conventional farming and animal husbandry, and residues of chemicals
used in modern methods of oil production. [22] Therefore we can on the
basis of all these facts presuppose that the majority of the problems
related to fat consumption in affluent societies is consequence of their
low quality.
Another issue in regard to fats is the continual scientific suggestions
or even conclusions about links between a particular type of oil or fat with
specific health problems, such as obesity and heart disease, for example.
Their 'findings' are followed with recommendations to avoid this or that
type of oil or fat. Sometimes they go to extremes, like in the case of the
assertion that the only healthy source of fat is coconut oil. However, this
approach is pretty unscientific, for the researchers of this type do not
take into account the sheer amount of factors which influence the health of
human beings. [23] They
might be sometimes right – as it is the case with recent recognition that
consumption of artificially created
trans fats
is harmful – but on the whole these recommendations are based on one-sided
truths which are highly deceiving. The emergence of any illness is dependent
on numerous factors and for that reason we cannot focus only on those we
wish to see, but we need to recognise the cumulative effect of all factors
which contribute to human health or disease.
One example of such a deceiving approach is the opinion – which until
recently has been dominant among nutritional experts and advisers –
that saturated fats are harmful to human health. On the basis of new
scientific discoveries about their important functions in the organism this
opinion has been rejected. This is not surprising when we get to know their
role in the cosmic nutritional stream where they assist in 'saturation' of
our body with cosmic substances. Within this wider context it is probably
true that a specific type of person would benefit from consuming more
unsaturated oils, while another type would benefit from consuming more
saturated fats. This depends on the basic bodily constitution of human
beings and for that reason we need first to distinguish which people are
earthly type and which are cosmic type. [24] And only then can we recommend
which type of fats will help them in achieving a more healthy balance.
Dietary recommendations for improvement of health cannot be generalised on
the basis of an assumption that all people are the same.
For the reasons mentioned above low-fat food products are excluded from
the HOLISTIC FOOD
'PYRAMID'. These foods came into existence as the consequence of
the wrong conclusion about fats being harmful for human health; their aim
was to contribute to the decrease of the growing number of overweight and
obese people in USA. After a few decades of their use the numbers have still
been increasing, thus demonstrating the failure of this approach. [25] This
is not the only 'solution' for the problem of obesity – probably the
greatest nutritional problem in the affluent societies – which failed to
make any positive difference. From the content of this nutritional principle
one can understand the underlying reasons for such failures, for the problem
of obesity cannot be solved by a materialistic approach, because the
physical state of our being is intimately linked to our soul-spiritual life.
One could even say that obesity is the outcome of a modern materialistic
culture which proclaims: "Eat more calories than your body uses and you will
gain weight. Eat fewer calories and you will lose weight. The body, which is
after all nothing more than a biochemical machine, knows no other
arithmetic." [26]
But we are not biochemical machines, for we have soul and spirit which have
the power to influence metabolic processes directly and also indirectly by
our food choices. If we want to solve the problem of obesity and other
nutritional problems we have to adopt a holistic worldview of man and
nutrition which alone is capable of making positive changes.
♣ See
HOLISTIC FOOD 'PYRAMID' for
the list of good quality oils and fats recommended for daily consumption.
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.
