Book Review: Nutrition and Your Child's Soul

Nutrition for the Child’s Soul comes from the soulful intellect of Reuben Gilmore, after years of Nutritional counseling in the unique setting of “The Moshav” -- in the countryside just beyond Jerusalem in Israel.  It is not quite a “Kibbutz,” but is certainly a unique community of Orthodox Jews, living close to the land, with a celebratory interpretation of Life and Judaism. 

There are no societies where children are more treasured than in Israel’s religious Jewish communities.  The most dramatic differences are not in their smiles, their petulance, their curiosity or their unpredictability.  Rather it is in their joyous participation in the religious celebration of the enormous liturgy that is a constant presence in the life of the adults in their homes, schools and synagogues.  Every meal is a celebration of G-ds presence and generosity.  Washing the hands before meals is accompanied by a specific blessing, as is the meal, the drink, the safe awakening in the morning, and the genius of “HaShem” for providing us with excretory orifices to keep our bodies clean.  For almost everything else requiring any intention or volition throughout the day there is a B’rucha – a “blessing” but better translated a “Thank you” for the blessings that we all constantly receive just by being alive.  The result is a bilingual [English/Hebrew] upbringing that maintains a constant consciousness of the Creator’s role in everyday life, from the Infinite Universe out there to the Infinite Zero of the Universe within.  This G-d consciousness [Emuna] supports the Soul as well as the Physical body, and is the receiver/transformer for the Healing Energy that is part of the Birthright of every Human.  The Children quickly learn that bad things happen to good people.  A  B’rucha is appropriate for the true believer who understands that HaShem provides us with challenges.  They can be viewed as obstacles or stepping-stones. 
 
One of the most notable examples of the obligation to follow the rules [mitzvot] is in the keeping the laws of Kashrut – eating Kosher – the very specific instructions as to what has been put on this planet to eat for healthful living, for both Body and Soul.  For millennia, the scientific community has attempted to understand some of the laws that “don’t make sense,” while the spiritual community denies that these rules are only for the body.  Our challenge lies in combining the eating of Healthful foods in a way that also conforms to following the laws of Kashrut.  There are far too many artificial, imitation foods today, that may be eaten or imbibed under Kosher laws, simply because when the laws were written, they were not available!  I speak of:

  • Coke, Pepsi and other “soda” drinks that damage bones and teeth, and play an important causative role in the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes.
  • The entire litany of artificially sweetened and artificially flavored foods that have government approval despite the enormous accumulation of literature defining their destructive properties.
  • Furthermore, they are now packaged in toxic plastic bottles, that have been proven to elute solvents into the liquids contained therein [not just sodas, but also “pure water” that costs consumers more per gallon than gasoline], and anything else that is now packaged in soft plastic. 
    • These chemicals cause abnormalities in the hormones – they are “endocrine  disruptors”1 –  which have contributed to increasing incidence of abnormal pregnancies, premature births, C-sections and damaged fetuses at a time when the western world is spending  more of its GNP on Medical Care than ever.
    • There is startling evidence of premature sexual development, infertility from both testicular and ovarian dysfunction and, for the first time in over a century, a projected lifespan of newborns that is shorter than that of the parents.

Other examples of the mistaken motto of “Better Living Through Chemistry” include:

  • Imitation eggs to avoid the cholesterol – though we now know that it is healthful and essential to Life, but Egg Beaters remain on the menus of fine restaurants despite experiments in the 1970’s showing that it is toxic to laboratory rats that were fed complete food as Rat Chow, when it was supplemented by the product.2 
  • Foods grown with artificial fertilizers, and sprayed with pesticides and fungicides, labeled with “inert ingredients” that are cumulative toxins.
    • Technologized soybean products that contain the precious amino acids, but in damaged form.  Mass produced soy products, from Tofu to Hamburger helper, and most serious of all as DAIRY foods, lure the consumer into believing that soy-base margarine may be mixed with meat because it is imitation dairy!  I will never forget my first Hasidic wedding, when we were served ice cream for dessert after a meat meal!  It was, of course the new soy-based imitation product, also approved by the Rabbis who mostly remain ignorant of the dangers of man-made foods.
    • This is now compounded by starting out with another major error in Food Technology – Genetically Modified  Foods [GMO’s] that have been foisted upon the unsuspecting public in yet another totally uncontrolled experiment by some of the most despicable “scientists” that have allowed greed to overcome their integrity.3  In the USA the government has not only allowed these foods to be grown and harvested and sold without labeling but has also refused to allow farmers that produce non-GMO products to say so on their labels!  Most of Europe has banned this technology, making US products contraband.  [Do not eat any corn or soy product that is not labeled organic or, if the government belatedly realizes the mistake, labels may someday say “Non-GMO.”]

Reuben Gilmore’s brilliant exposition covers the obvious importance of nutrition for the body, and relates the health of the body to the health of the soul – which may be obvious and erroneous – unprovable but not unarguable.  For is not the soul the perfection of God’s creation?  If so, can it be damaged by human ignorance or indifference?  If not, its outward expression certainly appears to be modified by the environment it manifests in.  In that sense it is much like our genes, which are now viewed as unchangeable in structure [barring violence such as radiation or toxic chemicals], yet malleable in their expression by varying the environment in which they operate.  I believe that Gilmore has opened a whole new and uncharted vista for exploration, both scientific and philosophical.  Will there ever be resolution?  Who knows, but the voyage of exploration will be glorious.
 
Warren M. Levin, MD
FAAFP [ret], FAAEM, FACN
 
1.      Our Stolen Future – Theo Coburn et al
2.      Navidi and Kummerow: Nutritional Value of Egg Beaters(TM) Compared with “farm fresh eggs.”  Pediatrics 53:565-566, 1974
3.      Genetic Roulette – The documented health risks of genetically engineered foods – Jeffrey M. Smith   www.GeneticRoulette.com