Question
I'm in search of the perfect diet. I feel very tired and lethargic much
of the time, and I've decided that I'm ready to change my eating habits
in order to cure my energy problem. Please tell me what kind of diet I need
to go on?
Answer
The first thing to keep in mind when searching for a new diet is that there
is no "perfect" or "universal" diet! "Right
diet" is an extremely individual matter and depends upon many personal
factors. I know many people with good intentions - including myself - who,
at one time or another, took on a new "perfect diet" without full
understanding of what they were doing, and became very ill and devitalized
as a result. To understand what the right diet is for you we need
examine the general principles of diet and health.
In the human mechanism, as with all living creatures, there are two primary activities that we must always enact in order to stay healthy. These two activities or processes occur at every level of our existence, from the emotional and mental all the way down to the cellular level. I will call these two activities "yin" and "yang", although they have many other names, including; reception and release, assimilation and elimination, inhalation and exhalation, anabolism and catabolism, introversion and extroversion. When these two activities become out of balance we begin to get "sick" in one of two different ways. If we are obstructed in the "yang" process of elimination or release then we inevitably become toxic due to excess accumulation, and if we are obstructed in the "yin" process of assimilation or reception then we inevitably become enervated due to nutritional deficiencies.
Thus, in order to cure your energy problem, the first thing we need to do is to identify where your imbalance is. Are you toxifying your system and having problems letting go of things , or are you enervating your system and having problems receiving and assimilating what you need? Both cases can cause weakness, lethargy and fatigue, but they require very different approaches to remedy the situation.
If you are like most people these days, you are probably over-doing the yang, extroverted, or eliminative side of the equation, that is, you are over-doing! The vast majority of patients that I treat for fatigue and weakness are quite yang, and extroverted in their disposition. Such workaholics tend to be overweight and toxic. Their systems are overloaded, their blood is impure, their organs are clogged up, their cholesterol level tends to run high, as does their blood pressure. In other words, they are suffering from toxicity and the failure to release.
For these "yanged-out" and toxic people it is useful to practice being more in touch with the receptive or the yin side of the equation and to practice the art of receiving and circulating energy in their bodies. They need to cultivate the yin, or assimilative aspects of their lives rather than going for a quick fix so that they can "get more done". As a beginning they must cut out as much of the "junk foods" and fast foods as possible. These simple changes of diet can have dramatic effects on the energy level and the overall quality of life of such yanged-out types.
But none of this may speak to your dilemma. You may be nothing like an "overweight workaholic". Indeed, you may be the total opposite; quiet, thin, introspective, frail and somewhat weak and "deficient", as we say in Chinese Medicine lingo. If this is the case, then you are likely suffering low energy and weakness not because of toxicity, but due to enervation.
Enervated people, in contrast to toxic people, are weak in the receptive or assimilative side of the life process. Their psychological and biological disposition is very different from that of the toxic types. They tend not to be so much "go getters" or enthusiastic consumers, but are more inclined to withdraw from life, and to reject or feel distrustful of the life process. Whereas the toxic types tend to be overly idealistic, optimistic, and positive about the purposes and possibilities of life, the enervated types tend to err on the side of being overly "realistic", pessimistic and negative about life. Often these people have food and environmental allergies and sensitivities; they tend to be much more "sensitive" in general. People with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are an extreme example of this tendency which expresses the belief that life is a difficult proposition "to swallow".
The challenge for such enervated types is not to practice letting go of life, so to speak, but to learn to embrace, accept and receive life. They may need to start taking in more minerals, enzymes, vitamins and other supplements. They also need to eat a more building diet, and they need to discover what foods they can and cannot tolerate.
This is really a very bare bones summary of the basic principles involved in evaluating one's diet. To design an individual diet and lifestyle plan that addresses your specific health concerns we would need to take several other critical factors into account, including; your specific constitution, age, level of activity, climate and season. I do not recommend that anyone with serious health concerns begin a new dietary regime without first consulting a qualified holistic medical practitioner. In general, if you are the yang or toxic type you would do well to start lightening up your diet and finding a form of exercise that you enjoy, and if you are the yin or enervated type you would do well to start building up your diet and perhaps doing some weight training. For a more specific evaluation and treatment, I highly recommend that you call me or come in for a visit. Happy eating!
Dr. David R. Simon A.P. is a new member of the Clearwater Natural Medical Center, Clearwater, Florida. He combines acupuncture, nutritional and lifestyle counseling, and chi gong in a holistic approach to cultivating wellness. David is also a yoga instructor, and a committed spiritual practitioner. For a free consultation or information on yoga classes call (813) 726-7333.
Send your questions to:
Dr. David Simon A.P.
c/o Tampa Bay New Times,
P.O. Box 6143, Clearwater, FL 34618