Nutritional Hotline: Questions and Answers

Q: Which is a Safe guide to go by, Appetite or Hunger?

A: If your answer was Hunger, you were correct! Hunger is the true guide for the man who is hungry for every meal he eats. He will never suffer from indigestion, and his system will never become clogged with waste materials. Hunger demands just the amount of food required for the nourishment of the body at the time it manifests itself. Appetite, on the other hand is an abnormal craving or desire for food or drink. It is an acquired sensation, and therefore, not the natural prompting of the body for nourishment but the expression of abnormal sensations. It causes a person to eat when not hungry the foods the body does not require, thus leading towards the creation of disease.

The average adult today finds it very difficult to differentiate between the sensations of hunger and appetite. Most persons are aware of having an appetite, but very few ever experience the sensation of real hunger. What must I do? you must be asking yourself. Well, we need to heed the sense of hunger, control the craving of appetite and learn to distinguish the one from the other. In other words, we should be able to distinguish the sense of hunger, but suppress the craving of appetite. Chef Kara

Q: Many people talk about drinking with meals. What is wrong with drinking while you eat! I don't see the harm. Explain also cold drinks as well? Linda, TN

A: Taken with meals, water diminishes the flow of thye salivary glands. The colder the water, the greater the injury to the stomach. Ice water or iced lemonade, drunk wityh meals, will arrest dirgestion until the system has imparted sufficient warmth to the stomach to enable it to take up it's work again.

Food should not, I repeat, should not be "washed down." No drinkk is neede with meals. Eat slow and allow your saliva to mingle with your food for easy digestion. The more liquids there is taken into the stomach with meals, the more difficult it is for the food to digest; for liquid must be first absorbed.

When to drink: You can drink up to 20min. before meals and one hour after meals is best. This is waht nature requires. Water is the best liquid possible to cleanse the tissues. Very hot drinks work the same way as cold drinks on your system. Chef Kara

Q: Is there a such thing as Essential Foods or Food?

A: If you answer was No, then you were correct! There is no such thing as essential foods or food! Surprised are you? Listen, there is no such thing as an essential food or foods, but essential nutrients! One can reject a certain food, but can get the same nutrients from other foods. A person who is a flesh(meat, animal) eat it for a source of protein. A person who is a vegan can get that same nutrient from other foods such as soy, nuts, grains, etc. Also, I was taught in school that milk was necessary for calcium. Not so! You can get a sufficient about of calcium from green leafy vegetables and whole grain as well.

There is a tremendous range of protein content in vegetarian foods, ranging from 8-12% in cereals and grains, to the incredible soybean, which is 40%. That's twice the amount found in meat!

One lean beef steak has only 20% usable protein. How many of us like nuts and seeds? They have 30% usable protein.

Yes, meat does have all the eight essential amino acids, but so does the soybean! Hey, it is nice to set down at the table and not have to worry about what my food died of!! Think about that the next time you set down to a steak dinner, fish dinner, chicken dinner, or eating that hamburger. Chef Kara

Please send in your questions on diet and nutrition, diet and diseases and I will be glad to answer them. Questions on food, nutritional and health benefits are welcome. Your questions on food in relationship to dietary considerations, weight loss, high blood pressure, weight gain, etc., are welcome. karasdelight@gmail.com We will try to answer them as quickly as possible in the order we receive them.