Everyone has heard the saying “you are what you eat,.” The theory of food energetics takes that idea to the next level. Food Energetics approaches nutrition from the perspective of our cave-dwelling, mammoth-clobbering ancestors, who were more intuitively connected to their food sources and better able to pick up the physical and spiritual qualities of their dinners.
When they ate venison, they took on the swiftness of deer; when they ate carrots, they felt connected with the earth. That’s the theory anyway. Early cultures believed that if you ate food that resembled or was symbolically connected to part of the body, it would affect that part. Food Energetics extends that idea even further. Let’s use walnuts for an example. If you pry open a walnut and look at its meat, it looks a lot like a brain. Coincidentally, walnuts have the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, like Omega 6’s, and they are the only nut containing Omega 3 – two of the most important nutrients for supporting brain function. But, as Almond Joy says, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t. Let’s talk leaves.
The roll of leafy green plants in nature is to breathe. They are the respiratory system of the plant world, and the flawless complement to our bodies functionality. Like some dairy products, leafy greens contain calcium and magnesium, but greens like collards, kale, and lettuces contain the perfect amounts of calcium and magnesium for your body to absorb. Scientists have proven that eating these vegetables supports respiratory and circulatory health, and when you think of how these vegetables are literally a system of veins and arteries, much like our own lungs, it makes intuitive sense.
One easy way to combine these superfoods is to use walnut oil on your next salad. Or, mix a small handful of almond or coconut flour with crushed walnuts and coat a piece of chicken or fish for a supercharged dinner.