Simple Food ~ Sane Life

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down … hmmm, but what if the sugar is the medicine?

Working in the medical field, the phrases practicing medicine and dispensing medicine have always intrigued me. Early on it started with the question of how is it that one person can practice medicine while another can dispense it? What is medicine? The root is med-, which means to heal.

Most definitions will state that medicine is treatment. Consider this idea: medicine is ‘teachment.’ I’m going to step up to the plate here and state that a medicine of any type or practice teaches the whole of a being, including the physical body. Throughout life we learn lessons, and it’s not just our brains that learn, our bodies and spirits do also.

Once a food enters the body, there is a beautifully orchestrated cascade of effects. The food is teaching and reminding the body how to utilize itself. What we consume becomes who we are in the amazing eco-system of each body. Honor that, and observe not only in your own body, but also in the body of society what medicine we are learning from the foods that we consume.

Many health reports over the past few years have been about the rise of Type II diabetes, particularly in youth. The nemesis for diabetes is, of course, sugar. Sugar, however, is not their problem, it is their medicine.

Sugar? Medicine? How can that be?

Sugar is teaching them about their bodies in so many ways. The sweet sugar flavor enhances the pleasure principle. Where is the sweetness in their life? Why is it being replaced by consumption of sugar? It is natural for humans to crave pleasure and avoid pain. Sugar tastes good; we feel comfort, and expanded relaxation. Hence, immediate gratification and no immediate pain.

By removing processed food, which is loaded with sugar, from the diet, an absence of sugar is created. On a simple level, this teaches the body to utilize what it needs from other sources. The body finds its own sweetness elsewhere if we allow it to happen. The emotional body within us also craves sweetness, and the sugar is now teaching that part of our being to stop and seek out healthier choices.

Sugar is considered a Yin food in the modern world of the Eastern tradition. It is very flowing, relaxing, and expansive. Think about when you are craving sugar. Is your body telling you it needs a flow of fuel to continue moving, as is the case with athletes? Relaxation after a long day? Stress relief?

Stop, look closely from all angles, how are you using the sugar? What teachment is that for you? How are you assimilating the sugar, and what is the teaching role there also?

Medicine in its healing and teaching forms offers a world of possibilities and growth for each of us. As you come to understand the concept and practice of sugar, and other medicine, be aware of your body, mind and spirit. As you consume food, stop, and see how it feels for you, and listen to what your body is telling you. Some lessons are immediate, and others show up over time as patterns.

So, what is YOUR medicine? Are you listening? How are you teaching the world?

Eat in Peace,

Karyn