Excessively hot soup irritates the tender lining of the mouth and esophagus thus impairing salivation and peristalsis (which help in the transport of food in your digestive tract). NEVER drink ice water or other freezing cold fluids with meals. It prevents the gastric ducts from secreting gastric juices in the stomach. This halts digestion and permits putrefaction (decomposition) and fermentation occurs instead. So, by the time the temperature of the stomach returns to normal, it's too late for proper digestion to start. If you're going to drink anything WITH your meal, it should be wine or beer since they are both fermented (pre-digested) and actually aid in digestion (in moderate amounts of course). Even the Bible tells you not to drink water, but wine with your meal (1 Timothy 5:23).
This especially applies to carbohydrates which require initial digestion by ptyalin (an alkaline enzyme) in the saliva of the mouth. Gandhi's advice on this subject rings with the wisdom of Tao: "Drink your food and chew your beverages." What he meant is that solid foods should be chewed to liquid before swallowing and liquids should be swallowed as slowly as solid food.
Eating sparingly will help you live a long and healthy life. The basic Taoist rule is to eat until you are 70-80 percent full. Your body will punish gluttonous eating with all sorts of misery (believe me...I've been there). The human body simply can't utilize the enormous quantities and complex combinations of food which civilized, sedentary man tends to gorge himself with each day.
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Dietary Guidelines
Just as we strive to become balanced in our lives through behavior, thoughts, feelings, so it goes with nutrition. A balanced view of what we put into our mouths will keep us healthy and happy for a long time. ArchivesCategories
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