In the Cayce readings, however, chocolate receives only moderate praise. Ovaltine, a fortified cereal drink containing cocoa, is proposed as an alternative to coffee or tea in several cases. Several more readings suggest cocoa itself as a beverage in small amounts. The ten or so references to chocolate itself are more ambiguous due to difficulties with overindulgence, cane sugar content, sugar and starch combinations, and digestibility. In other words, the ideal form would be free of starch and sugar and not overly sweet, so the Aztecs apparently got it right!
Coffee, or Coffea spp, is a rich, dark beverage made from a Middle Eastern bean that has been highly prized for centuries. The caffeine it contains (unless removed) seems to stimulate the dopamine pathway in the brain, leading to improved mood and alertness. Consumption is known to improve mental concentration, vigilance, and an overall sense that all is right with the world. According to studies by Vinson and others, coffee is also a top source of antioxidant polyphenols that can reduce oxidation of fats in the blood (a contributor to heart disease) by 30 percent.
The readings are perhaps unique in regarding coffee (or tea) as a nourishing food when taken black and a noxious digestive irritant when combined with milk or cream. In his twenty-five or more comments on this beverage, Cayce often observes that drinking coffee in moderation is beneficial, “. . . but for the food value and the proper strengthening the coffee should be taken without either cream or sugar.” (829-1) Further explanation is occasionally offered: “. . . While the food values in the milk or cream may be considered of an equal value alone, when used together they form a condition in the lactic juices of the stomach itself that does not make for the proper eliminations carried on through the whole of the alimentary canal.” (983-1)
There are those who feel that combining their coffee with some sort of dairy product (this goes for ice cream, too) is worth the intestinal toll, but we purists are not among them. We have learned to prefer ours black—but it isn’t too bad with almond milk!
Eating Our Way to Blood Sugar Balance
Dietary fads are nothing new. In fact, there is more similarity than variety in mono-diets that limit food group choices for more than a few days. Compared to current fads like the Atkins diet, the Cayce approach with its emphasis on plenty of fresh produce, lighter protein sources, whole grain carbohydrates, and a minimum of sweets is a model of moderation. It is heartening to know that confirmation has actually been around for several years now in the form of the New York Times bestseller The New Sugar Busters!
In focusing on the “glycemic” or insulin-stimulating content of various foods, The New Sugar Busters! reveals an intimate relationship between dietary choices, blood sugar balance, weight maintenance, cholesterol, energy, and optimal wellness. Echoing statements found throughout the Cayce readings, this book may scare hordes of readers into eliminating refined carbohydrates, in particular, from their menu. And that would be a good thing.
Although it is targeted primarily at frustrated dieters and diabetics, The New Sugar Busters! speaks to a premise that is far more universal: Avoiding high-glycemic foods will prevent and even reverse the onset of a wide variety of chronic conditions, thereby adding precious years to our lives. In examining the soaring increase of sugar consumption in particular over the past 1,500 years, the authors comment:
For hundreds of millennia, our ancestors ate only a low-glycemic diet. Back then, the pancreas was probably not called upon to secrete as much insulin in one day of an entire lifetime as it is called upon to secrete nearly every day of our modern post-infant lifetime! . . .
We have had refined sugar only for a mere blink of time in humans’ digestive evolution. Think about it—refined sugar and refined flour are “new foods”. Is it any wonder that the incidence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance continues to get higher and higher? Maybe we eat too much sugar and simply wear out or exhaust our pancreas glands, which surely did not evolve to produce the quantities of insulin a typical modern diet demands.11
A careful search of the Cayce material shows that the link between sweets and pancreas stimulation is perceived quite clearly, although the terminology sometimes varies. A reading for a fifty-one-year-old woman who was overweight advised:
. . . Little sugar, for this—as indicated, of course—makes for an activity upon the pancreas that, unless there is a great deal of physical exertion, creates the tendency for the increase of avoirdupois {weight} throughout the whole body itself.
1073-1
In the case of a twenty-six-year-old man with diabetic tendencies, Cayce commented: “. . . for when there is too much alcohol produced in the system, either by the addition of alcoholic stimulants or of the diet that produces the improper equilibrium of alcoholic condition, the pancreas and the liver suffer from same . . .” (4145-1)
The low-glycemic diet presented in The New Sugar Busters! has reportedly helped many people achieve permanent weight loss as well as the reversal of Type II diabetes. The authors emphasize:
The only things you cannot eat on this diet are the carbohydrates that cause an intense insulin secretion. You must virtually eliminate white potatoes, white rice, bread from highly refined flour, corn products, beets, and of course all refined sugars, such as sucrose (table sugar), corn syrup, molasses, and honey. Also, sugared soft drinks and beer are not allowed.12
For purposes of comparison, here are some typical Cayce comments:
Hence sweets or sugars from the sugar cane should be tabu. Use rather those that are of a vegetable or fruit nature, or the sweets that are contained in such.
795-4
In the diet, beware of too much starches of any kind; that is, do not include . . . white bread or anything of this nature.
632-6
. . . Eat a good deal of potato peeling—that is, like the baked Irish potato—but not any quantity of the pulp.
703-1
As to those warnings concerning the pancreas condition—be mindful that in the diet there are not sugars taken, nor any of those properties that carry carbonated waters or any product of the hops, or of such natures.
2577-1
But when cereals or starches are taken, do not have the citrus fruit at the same meal . . . for such a combination in the system at the same time becomes acid-producing!
1484-1
Possibly the most important practical information found in The New Sugar Busters! comes in the form of a chart that provides the “glycemic index” for a wide variety of foods. Armed with this handy guide, dieters are empowered to choose their carbs with care rather than eliminate them entirely from the diet. The sample menus and recipes are helpful too.
In this time of increasing pressure to rely on “convenience” foods and questionable forms of dieting, finding the balance that truly meets our needs is more of a challenge than ever. However, the results are well worthwhile in quantity and quality of life.
A Blueberry a Day
