freedom in the forest

We walked into the jungle from near Bonampak, myself, my friend and guide Emma from Transtulum and our local guide, whose name I do not know how to write!  So beautiful and as easy to walk through as an oak forest in England.  I had been missing fruit as, ironically, there was none available at the cabins where we were staying.  The eggs, corn tortillas and vegetables are wonderful, I just missed having a big plate of tropical fruit.

Getting into the jungle though I felt life force returning and contentment too where you feel you have everything and all the connection you need.  Walking quietly and independently, though together, through the forest, you naturally,and effortlessly  bond with other humans in a way that still leaves you free and free to be yourself. Hmm...

cascada ya toch kusam, home of the swallow

Mayan ruin in jungle

what is the oxidative fuel for our brains?

So..., these days many people are finding that they feel much better on low sugar high fat diets.  I myself eat a diet that is rich in raw dairy and fats and, while I eat fruit, it is not my main calories source.   If the brain uses glucose as its oxidative fuel, which has been my understanding, how can this be?  Well, personally, having experimented with eliminating fruit sugars altogether, I have found I feel best if I include some fruit albeit mainly low glycemic fruit which does not elevate the blood sugar too fast for me. 

Speaking to Tony Wright about this in view of his proposition that we evolved our large brains through eating tropical fruit he explained to me that although our origins are symbiotic i.e. with fruit trees (see http://www.beyond-belief.org.uk/node/7 and http://www.beyond-belief.org.uk/node/8) we are not that symbiotic organism any more.  Our system is not frugivorous any more...we are not the same species we were..we are now running on an ancient mammalian system that precedes our frugivorous phase.  So, in short, dues to changes in our brains and digestive systems we can no longer assimilate and run healthily on a predominantly frugivourous diet.

Tony gave me this link where there is a bit of a summary regarding brain glucose and other means of fuel http://evolvinghealthscience.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/why-you-can-all-stop-saying-meat-eating.html while remarking that "no consideration is given in the article of increasingly specialised fruit eating in non seasonal tropics regarding energy requirement and gut/brain theory given our obviously delicate tropical physiology....  Also of interest is  the structure of neural tissue, which is much less protein rich than muscle i.e .protein cannot have been a limiting factor" as we see here http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/facts.html.

Interestingly something I have noticed in my own life is that in situations of exalted expanded states of consciousness my metabolism has changed in a marked way and suddenly I have craved lots of tropical fruit and can metabolise it, it as if my brain is just burning it up.  On return to a more mundane or 'normal' state of awareness this effect drifts away.

This is an interesting topic and connects us deeply to the ongoing story of our species.

tropical fruits and a surreal day

We had a delivery from www.thaifoodshop.co.uk , young coconuts, mangosteen and longans.  Yummy and very fresh!  They also do durian and a host of other fruits and vegetables.  We are using the mangosteen rinds to make a new potion - so we had to eat the middles today :).  Eating this fruit is so evocative, feel wafted back to my soul's home.  A funny, slightly random, happy and upbeat day with surreal happenings and interesting chats.

Toucan Fruit also do a range of delicious and unusual exotic fruits, you can visit them here: www.toucanfruit.com/