The main source of energy for the working of our body is from carbohydrates which are delivering simple sugars that are spreading throughout the whole body by means of blood circulation. However, we are not dealing here only with chemical, but with alchemical transformation of carbohydrates, in which occurs the transfer of energy from the activity of breakdown in the digestive tract to the processes of inner ‘combustion’. These processes are alive because they are permeated with the forces of our etheric body; they are ensouled because they are permeated with the forces of our astral body; and they are permeated with the spirit because they are the expression of an action of our own individual Will.
Introductory Reading:
We find carbohydrates in nature mainly in plants, while in animals they are present only in their digestive tract, in their blood in the form of glucose and in their milk in the form of lactose. This is no surprise, for the plants are the main producer of carbohydrates which came into existence by means of photosynthesis in plant leaves. "Carbohydrates develop in the plant by virtue of Sun forces. Without the light and warmth radiations of the sun, no sugar formation would be possible on the earth as it is now. Ultimately, this is also true for fats and proteins. Interacting with earthly forces and substances, the plant condenses its bodily substance out of the cosmic ether of the Sun. This consists primarily of building up carbohydrates out of the carbon skeleton." [1] Here we are confronted with one of the most mysterious activities in the natural world, where the carbohydrates are produced out of carbon dioxide, water, and light. Here we are dealing with the factual metamorphosis of inorganic substances into the living ones, permeated with the etheric body. [2]
According to science, food provides energy for our cells, which enable exercise of the functions of all our organs and consequently the existence and the activities of the physical body. The main source of this energy is from carbohydrates. Among them is the most important starch because it is composed exclusively from glucose, and "glucose is the human body's key source of energy" [3], because it "is the primary source of energy for the body's cells." [4]
The metabolism of carbohydrates in our body can be divided into three phases:
"The important fact about carbohydrates is that when we eat them they are slowly turned into starch by the saliva in our mouth and the secretions in our stomach. Starch is something we need without fail, but we don't eat starch; we eat foods that contain carbohydrates, and the carbohydrates are turned into starch inside us. Then they are converted once again, in the further process of digestion, into sugar. We get the sugar we need from the carbohydrates." [6]
Starch is by far the most consumed type of carbohydrate in the human diet because it is the main constituent of the grain kernel. In the process of digestion starch is gradually broken down into separate glucose molecules. This glucose then enters the blood circulation together with other simple sugars. But we are usually not aware of how complex is the molecule of starch. It belongs to those polysaccharides which contain many thousands of glucose units. In starch they are bound together in two ways, either in a highly branched, tree-like manner, or in a helical structure. That part of starch which has the form of helix is called amylose, and the branched one amylopectin.
Therefore we can imagine that our organism needs to do some work in the digestive tract to break down gradually this complex structure into ever smaller units. This activity starts already in the mouth and it finishes in the duodenum where we get free molecules of glucose which, in the further part of the small intestine, enter into the blood circulation. In all this the most important fact is that we are not dealing here only with physiological and chemical processes of breakdown, but – as is evident from INDIVIDUALIZATION OF HUMAN SUBSTANCES – with alchemical processes in which participate the higher members of our being – the etheric body, the astral body, and the ego.
Glucose enters the bloodstream via the porous walls of the small intestine. Glucose is the primary source of energy for the brain, heart, and muscles. The excess of glucose is stored in the liver and in the muscles as glycogen, and is changed back to glucose when the amount of blood sugar decreases below the level which body needs for its proper functioning. The hypothalamus gathers the information about the condition of the entire body and instructs the pituitary gland to secrete hormones which initiate the suitable responses of the adrenal glands and pancreas. When too much sugar is in the blood, the pancreas secretes insulin which lowers blood sugar by stimulating the conversion of glucose into glycogen and the uptake of glucose by body cells. When too little sugar is in the blood the pancreas secretes glucagon which stimulates the conversion of glycogen back to glucose, while the adrenal glands secrete adrenaline which promotes specific enzymatic activity in the cells of the body, which blocks glucose intake by the cells. Many vitamins – vitamin C, vitamin E, and B-complex vitamins – and trace elements – magnesium, calcium, potassium, chromium, manganese, phosphorus – are essential for the maintenance of proper glucose level in the blood. [7] These substances are helping in the complex activities of organs which are involved in the regulation of blood sugar. [8]
If we look at the picture from the spiritual scientific perspective, we can recognise in it the cooperation of the EARTHLY NUTRITIONAL STREAM (red horizontal line) and the COSMIC NUTRITIONAL STREAM (blue vertical line). The earthly stream is providing sugar in the form of glucose. "If man did not eat carbohydrates, if he did not eat bread or something similar which gives him carbohydrates he would not be able to make sugar and if he were not able to make sugar, he would forever be a weakling. You have strength because you are full of sweetness through and through. The moment you were no longer thoroughly impregnated with sweetness, you would have no more strength, you would collapse." [9]
Consequently the sugar we receive from food and which permeates our whole organism via blood circulation is of crucial importance for our existence, but it is absolutely essential to keep blood sugar inside healthy limits. There must be neither too little nor too much sugar in our blood if we want to be well and strong. If there is too little sugar we feel weak; if it falls under the minimum level we simply lose our consciousness and thus we cannot be active in this world any more. If there is occasionally too much sugar this doesn't have immediate negative consequences as long as our organism with the help of two nutritional streams is capable of re-establishing normal level of sugar in the blood. However, in the case when our eating habits always cause excess sugar in our blood, then we are on the path towards developing the diabetes – that is, one of those diseases which to a great extent contributes to the modern health crisis.
Science has revealed to us that in the moment that glucose arrives in the cells of the body it triggers a series of metabolic pathways, through which glucose breaks down. This releases chemical energy which is stored through conversion from ADP molecules, already present in the body, to ATP molecules. When cells need new energy for their activities they trigger ATP molecules by the medium of a special enzyme to release their stored chemical energy, simultaneously reverting back to ADP molecules.
ATP molecules are also "known as the energy currency of the body, which implies that the body has to 'earn' (synthesise) them before it can 'spend' them." How does the body 'earn' these energy molecules? The energy for the synthesis of ATP molecules does not come only from the glucose breakdown in the cell, but "many of the body's huge number of reactions release energy. The body captures the energy released by these reactions, using it to make ATP molecules from ADP molecules". [10]
This is an obvious manifestation of one of the three basic laws of nutrition presented in FOOD AS SOURCE OF ENERGY which states: We do not get energy from outside, but we get energy from exercising our own activities! The food only serves as a stimulus for us to be inwardly active and this is what is providing energy for our existence and outer work. And in this case the stimulus is provided by carbohydrates.
Thus we can see that both spiritual science and natural science recognise the importance of carbohydrates for providing our bodies with energy. Modern science has even arrived at the same conclusion as spiritual science has done before, namely that we need to earn first the energy with the work of breaking down carbohydrates and other ingredients of our food. But this very important fact is buried in the immense heap of scientific details about the working of the human organism – written in 'small letters' – while spiritual science incessantly stresses that the human organism needs by the means of own efforts to breakdown "carbohydrates into starch and starch into sugar." [11] Only by the means of own activities inside the organism can we obtain energy which enables us to be active in the world.
However, in general people still think "that the most important factor in nutrition is what we put into our mouths and eat. Certainly, what we eat is important. But most of what we consume on a daily basis is not there to be absorbed into the body and deposited as substance. It is there in order to convey its forces to the body, to rouse the body to activity. Most of what we consume is actually excreted again, so that with regard to metabolism, the important thing is not so much the correct weights and proportions, but whether or not the vitality of the forces in the food can be taken up in the right way. We need this vitality, for instance, whenever we walk or work, or simply move our arms. What we take in through our stomach is important because it has inner energy like a fuel, because it brings in the forces that enable the Will [12] to be active in the body." [13] In this manner "the transmuted foodstuffs, the foodstuffs we have eaten, circulate in our limbs. There in our limbs, they undergo a process. It is really a living process of combustion. For if we take only a single step, there arises in us a living process of combustion, a burning-up of that which is, or was, outside us. We ourselves, as man, are connected with this combustion process" [14] because it is the expression of our own Will.
In the introductory text THREE STATES OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS it is explained that our soul life is divided even in the waking state into "the waking soul that forms mental images; the dreaming soul that feels; and the willing soul that sleeps. Hence man can never know, out of his ordinary consciousness, what goes on in those regions where the Will is weaving and living. If, however, we illuminate by the methods of spiritual-scientific research the regions where the Will is pulsating, we discover the following: The intention of carrying out a will-impulse is primarily a thought, a mental image. At the moment when this intention streams down into the organism, something is produced which might be called a process of inner combustion. Invariably, this combustion is kindled in the organism along the entire path followed by the will-impulse. The combustion of metabolic products existing within the body brings forth the movement used by the arm in order to carry out a will-impulse. Hence someone who wills an action undergoes, in a physical sense, a burning-up and consuming of his metabolic products. The metabolic products must be renewed for the reason that they are being constantly burned up, consumed by the will-impulses." [15] This renewal is happening with the help of food.
Thus we can see that "all bodily activity arises supersensibly from the Will, is indeed an out-streaming of will-impulses into the organism of movement. Everything that is transformed into action by the human Will sets up a certain organic process of combustion. When I think, I burn up something in my organism, only this inner process of burning up must not be compared with the purely chemical combustion of the science of physics. In the human organization the processes of outer Nature are taken hold of by forces of the soul and spirit, so that within the human body, and even within the plant, the outer substances of nature are quite differently active. Similarly the burning process within the human being is altogether different from the process of combustion we see, for example, in the lighted candle. Yet a certain kind of combustion is always induced in the body when we Will, even though the impulse does not pass into action." [16] And when impulse does pass into action we can feel how our body temperature rises – which reflects the higher degree of inner combustion.Therefore we can conclude that "everything which takes place externally in nature is different as soon as it enters the human being. No process takes place within the human being in the same way as it does in outer nature. That which we have externally in the burning flame is dead fire; but that which corresponds to this within the human being is the vital flame, the living ensouled flame" [17] of our enthusiasm for what we do. This flame is alive because it is permeated with forces of our etheric body; it is ensouled because it is permeated with forces of our astral body; and it is permeated with the spirit because it is an expression of the Will of our own 'I'.
For a complementary perspective see:
This nutritional principle sheds light on the reason why refined sugar is one of the worst sources of energy for the human body. This is because it belongs to the disaccharides. All the body needs to do is to separate glucose and fructose and then these simple sugars can be absorbed into the blood. One can feel energised after consumption of a cake containing white flour and white sugar, but this is due to the stimulating effect of sugar. [18] However, it is fact that the body, with the breakdown of such highly processed food, doesn't earn a lot of 'ATP currency' to be capable of satisfying its own energy needs in full. This is manifested in a drop of strength, in a feeling of weakness, and consequently in an urge for another sugary snack.
All refined types of sugar – which you can recognise by their crystalline structure and whitish or yellowish colours – are therefore bad sources of energy. With regard to energy, it does not make any difference if refined sugar is produced in the organic way or not. In fact, from this perspective it is better to eat non-organic whole sugar, which usually contains at least 5 % of molasses, than any organic or biodynamic refined sugar. In the case that we cannot get organic whole sugar, then we can use organic refined sugar to which we add between 5 to 10% molasses. This is not an ideal solution, but is still much better than the use of refined sugar.
In regard to natural sweeteners, we need to be aware that even they are comprised of simple forms of sugars (disaccharides and monosaccharides), so we need to be cautious even with these more healthy options. Their main advantage is that they contain minerals and vitamins, which are otherwise lost with refining. As was mentioned in this principle, their presence is crucial for effective maintenance of proper blood sugar levels. [19]
♣ For the list of good sweeteners see NATURAL SWEETENERS.
And which food is the best to provide the 'fuel' for the inner 'combustion'? "Foods that lean towards the green of the plant and contain carbohydrates provide the body with strength it needs for work, for movements. All the grains – wheat, rye, and so on – are good foodstuffs. The grains contain carbohydrates of such a nature that the human being forms starch and sugar in the healthiest possible way. [20] Actually, the carbohydrates of the grains can make him stronger than he can make himself by any other means." [21] For that reason the real energy superfoods are whole, unrefined carbohydrate foods: whole grains and wholemeal bread, pasta, biscuits, cakes, etc. [22]
♣ See HOLISTIC FOOD 'PYRAMID' for the list of foods regarded as whole.
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.
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