Are Any Condiments Acceptable In The Hygienic Diet

Article #1: Are Any Condiments Acceptable In the Hygienic Diet? By T.C. Fry

Very frankly this is an area in which I have not done much research and do not propose any. Why? Because condiments are stimulants (irritants) that cause the taste buds to go into a frenzy—they become “super charged.”

The taste buds become so sensitive to the substances being eaten—including the flavors of the condiment or condiments—that we become more intensely aware of the flavors. The simple truth is that we should not be eating food that requires condiments to camouflage, modify or heighten its taste.

Salt is America’s favorite condiment. It has no food value. It is not digested. It is eaten merely for its taste—its ability to give the illusion of flavor where the food’s innate flavors and mineral complement are largely or wholly missing. Salt is poisonous, though it usually kills its victims slowly.

The catalog of condiments is long. Vinegar, herbs, catsup, aromatic seeds, seasoning, salts, dried peppers, pickles, mustard, sauces, relishes, onions, dressings, garlic, shallots, spices, etc. all fall under the heading of condiments. Some have food value and some don’t. But one thing they all have in common is that they all contain poisonous compounds. These compounds irritate not only the taste buds but other body cells and tissues as well.

Dressings are usually loaded with condiments. Basically they have an acid (vinegar as a rule), a fat (oil, mayonnaise, egg or other), sugar or honey, salt and other spices. They are a dietary abomination and render food with which they are combined mostly indigestible despite the “terrific” taste.

As a fruitarian, most of my intake is of fruits and they need absolutely nothing extra. Nothing can make my pears, apples or grapes taste any better—they taste wonderful just as nature delivers them.

When I eat vegetables I usually eat no more than three or four kinds at a time. In the raw condition they have a plentitude of flavors which I enjoy immensely. No condiments are needed! For example, you can’t improve upon a really good head of broccoli! It has it all.

Condiments do, indeed, add “zest” to the taste of cooked and processed foods and make palatable those foods we should not be eating at all (meat, cheese, bread, eggs, etc.) But irritants which goad the taste buds also destroy the taste buds. This calls for a bigger dose of condiments the next time around. It eventually comes to this: We eat food merely as a medium for our condiment addiction! As well as leading to jaded taste buds, condiments are pathogenic. They are really drugs no matter what form they come in— plants (herbs), salt, vinegar or whatever.

Condiments are, according to Webster’s, “something added to enhance the flavor of food; especially a pungent seasoning.” Note the definition of condiments includes anything that’s added to enhance food flavor—pungent seasonings and other things. These other things may include some foods that are perfectly good, such as lemons, limes, tomatoes, sweet peppers, avocados, parsley, celery, Chinese cabbage family members (bok choy, nappi cabbage, etc.) and some other wholesome foods. Even though these foods offer no objection in themselves most of them are not foods you’d try to make a meal out of.

Bananas, grapes, apples and other fruits can be eaten to repletion without any “additives” (i.e., condiments) and they are thoroughly wholesome for us humans. On the other hand, nuts, seeds or avocados, if eaten, should be eaten with a salad. And a salad can always be jazzed up (made tastier) by adding dressings made with some of the foods listed in the paragraph above.

For example, you can eat nuts with a salad containing tomatoes, sweet peppers, celery, bok choy and lettuce. It will be very tasty and super rich in a long list of nutrients, notably vitamins A, C, B, E, and K, and minerals including iron, calcium and trace minerals.

As s rule, reject condiments. Whole raw foods taste fine in themselves, one food at a time. If they don’t give you any “kick,” then you must give your sensing mechanisms a rest and the opportunity to rejuvenate. Fasting will accomplish this and a raw food diet will do it too. But the taste buds regenerate more slowly while on the raw food diet than when fasting.