This article takes a look at the book From Soil to Supplement, a course in diet, food and nutrition from one of the most prescient nutritionists of the century, Dr. Royal Lee. You can find more important information in our tag, Notes from the Archives.
There are three tolerances, Dr. Royal Lee tells us, and they affect our health, outlook on life, and our future. Essentially, how well our bodies are adapted in each category governs how we live our lives.
So, what are the categories?
They are physical, biochemical, and psychic.
Physical refers to how athletic we are, or how flexible. It is the manifestation of our ability to be active and our stamina. The two ends of the spectrum of physical tolerances are like Hussein Bolt and Tiny Tim—one, the fastest man alive, and the other, an adorable if not malnourished little boy.
Biochemical tolerance is how good your nutrition is, and therefore how balanced you are in all the essential building blocks of life. The two ends of this are Japan, which is famous for its very healthful diet, and, well…Alabama, which is the most obese state in the nation.
You can read more about malnutrition in American in Empty Harvest.
Psychic tolerance pertains to your mental health and how easily you are stressed and anxious.
What Dr. Lee says is that we can do very little about our physical tolerance and our psychic tolerance, which are both dependent on genes and therefore unalterable, but we can control our biochemical tolerances, and doing so actually helps us improve our physical and psychic tolerances.
Think about it. Muscle builders eat specific diets to help their muscles grow, as do swimmers and baseball players. Even if you’re not an athlete, there is no reason you should be any different! Being healthy is a goal for everyone, and you’ll be surprised how much your life will improve in all areas once you are healthful.
We also know that deficiencies in nutrients can lead to poor mental health. After all, if you’re hungry, are you more on edge or less? And what is hunger if not your body telling you that it’s getting low on nutrients?
Don’t believe us? Well, a common treatment for depression is methlyfolate, which is what your body metabolizes from dietary folate. This can be found in spinach, lettuce, and peas, among other foods. Eating this can boost your serotonin, but it has to be organic or these foods risk not having enough nutrients to help.
Biochemical tolerance then becomes your most important tool to living a healthy life and improving physical and mental being. If all it takes is to change your diet a little in order to become a physically and mentally more capable person, why not do it?
You can learn more in From Soil to Supplement, available in print and in EPUB or Kindle editions.
