Rudi acknowledges his German heritage and describes it as the Rudolf-Rudi Connection at Whole Foods for he discovered the spiritual connection between man, food, and Providence. Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Planet are connected by a material substance called Protoplasm, or Cytoplasm, a divine plan to provide nourishment to Life.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION:
Life comes into existence when energy-yielding molecules and energy-demanding molecules come together in a spiritual relationship. The Science of Nutrition has to state that Food serves the function of being a spiritual medium that fosters unity between man’s body, mind, soul and the external source of matter and energy.
WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE FOOD:
WHAT IS FOOD?
The man is constituted as a Physical Being that is made up of about 100 trillion individual living cells that are structurally and functionally differentiated as the tissues, organs, and organ systems of the human body. Each living, individual cell is thermodynamically unstable. It means that the living system that is represented by the cell will dissolve into its non-living molecules and elements if not supplied energy from an external source.
Food provides those energy-yielding molecules to energy-demanding molecules that constitute the Physical Being. Food is used as a general term to describe substances consumed by a man for nourishment. Food is defined as any substance which a living organism can convert into its own living substance from which it grows and develops new tissue, manipulates energy, etc., using a process called ‘metabolism’. The term ‘nutrient’ is explained as a substance that serves as food, or provides nourishment.
The term ‘nutrition’ refers to the process of feeding or being nourished. As mentioned earlier, all the tissues and organs of which the human body is composed, consists of building blocks called cells. Every cell contains a spherical body called nucleus and a ground material, living substance, or living matter called ‘protoplasm’. The most striking characteristic of protoplasm is its vital property called ‘Nutrition’. In Human Physiology, the term ‘Nutrition’ is used to describe the ‘power’ which protoplasm has of attracting to itself the materials that provide energy, and the substances for its growth and maintenance from surrounding matter or extracellular environment.
The man must feed himself and yet he depends upon the ability of cells to recognize the specific nutrient substances and take action to absorb them and process them for further use.
Nutritional Science describes three major functions of food; 1. food generates energy for growth, maintenance and activity, 2. food supplies agents like vitamins and others that are needed to make or to help enzymes which carry out a variety of cellular processes, and 3. food provides the building materials like proteins and amino acids that are used for building cells and tissues of the body. The essential human nutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. Human body cannot synthesize some of these nutrients and they must be supplied. To make this easy for understanding, human foods are divided into classes and the basic nutritional goal is to have a ‘Balanced Diet’ with items from all of the major Food Groups to perform all the living functions such as the uptake and conversion of nutrients, making, breaking, and repairing of organic molecules, production of energy, and regulation and coordination of various metabolic sequences.
WHAT IS WHOLE FOOD?
The term ‘WHOLE’ is often used to describe something that is entire or complete to signify that it has all the elements or parts constituting the entire amount and it is not broken, damaged, or defective. The term ‘WHOLE’ also means auspicious, healthy, or uninjured and not diseased.
We need to define human being as a ‘Whole Person’ to understand the complete entity that exists as man. There are five aspects of ‘Whole Person’:1. Man – the Physical being, 2. Man – the Mental being, 3. Man – the Social being, 4. Man – the Moral being, and 5. Man – the Spiritual being. These five components have to come together to establish the reality of man’s biological existence in the physical world.
In the context of ‘Whole Food’, we need to find qualities that fit this description of being ‘Whole’ and its ability to perform all the functions that are attributed to Food. There is a huge growing concern about the substances that are adding to food by food industry. The concern involves the use of synthetic or artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Food that may contain artificial colors, artificial flavors and chemical preservatives may not promote good health and are even suspected to cause injury or disease. Hence, the concept of ‘Whole Food’ demands the exclusion of such artificial colors and flavors and all synthetic preservatives from the food products used by man for his nutrition. Even when chemicals are not added to food, there is a concern about chemicals like synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and hormones that are used by the food and agriculture industry. It calls for understanding the term called ‘Natural Food’. To be called ‘natural’, food must not be exposed or tainted by chemicals that are not ‘naturally’ present in the substances that are consumed as Food. This concern is often reflected in the demand for ‘Organic Food’ that calls for the exclusion of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and growth hormones in the production of food.
Apart from these considerations, the use of additives to change the taste, texture, and appearance of food have caused several health-related concerns. Some of them relate to the use of artificial sweeteners, and the use of partially hydrogenated oils. To qualify as ‘Whole Food’, it may require the exclusion of artificial sweeteners and the so-called ‘transfats’ from food. This concern is also extended to genetically modified organisms or GMOs that have become common. The genetically modified trait may impart some benefit to the substance and yet it may not qualify to be described as ‘Whole Food’.
WHOLE FOOD – WHOLE SATISFACTION
The man is constituted to exist as a Mental being. A man relates to himself, his physical body with the help of his thoughts and moods. It seems that man often tries to discover his ‘essence’ or true identity not in his physical, living substance, but by knowing his ideas, thoughts, and imagination which describe his physical identity. These mental concepts that relate to identity are always associated with emotional feelings and moods that give meaning to the living condition or living state. Food provides substances to constitute the body and it also affects man’s thoughts and moods. The problems related to man’s feeding behavior will not be eliminated by supplying him what could be defined as ‘Balanced Diet’. The health problems associated with food consumption and caloric intake seem to persist even when man consumes ‘Balanced Diet’.
It calls for further understanding of the functions of Food and we have to define the term ‘Whole Food’ by sharing the ‘Whole Story’ about Food and its role in human life.
There are two important aspects of Food that are not taken into consideration by Nutritional Science. The Law may require that food products that are sold by retail food stores or grocery stores must provide adequate ‘Nutritional Information’. The products are labeled to provide information about the ingredients, allergens, and nutritional facts to help the consumer of food to make an informed choice about the food that is consumed. Such nutritional choices are helpful and yet there is a problem about the Food. There are two roles performed by Food and the concept of ‘Whole Food’ may have to give recognition to the role of Food apart from its function as the supply of nutrients. Food has to provide Satiation or the experience of mental contentment or psychological satisfaction from its consumption.
WHOLE FOOD – WHOLE COMMUNITY
The man is constituted to exist as a Social being. The man’s growth and development demands social support. The man as a biological living entity could only be described as an association of trillions of individual cells. At the same time, there are about 10 times 100 trillion microbes that inhabit the human gastrointestinal tract. Man is a natural host and there is a mutually beneficial relationship between man the host, and the microbes that reside in his body. During the entire course of his life, man shares his food and drink with the guests who have taken residence in his body. These guests perform the function of an internal organ system and are important for man’s health and well-being. Man will always exist as a member of a Biotic or Biological community without any chance of true independence. This understanding is promoting the consumption of foods that are popularly termed as ‘PROBIOTIC’. Man to support his health and well-being has to consume some living organisms on a regular basis to replenish the microbes that are lost due to excretion.
Food plays a vital role in the development, and the maintenance of social interactions, and social relationships.Food-directed activities of man often need social situations and social bonding. Food has the intrinsic ability to nurture a relationship between the provider of the food and the food consumer. At the same time, there is a direct emotional relationship between man and the Food he consumes. Man derives emotional satisfaction called ‘Satiation’ when he consumes Food. It contributes to psychological satisfaction or a sense of mental contentment to shape his living experience.
Man lives to experience satisfaction or mental contentment by gratifying his desires or cravings. Food craving is very important part of man’s life and biological existence. Balanced Diet may or may not provide the psychological contentment that man wants to derive by consuming Food. Such satisfaction demands social bonding between man and the food and between man and his provider of food. Hence, we have to develop our understanding of Food as a medium or as a substance that has the potency to develop and form relationships, association, connection, and bonding between man and his social community and environment in which man exists, and by the consumption of ‘Whole Food’ man may find ‘Whole Satisfaction’ in his living experience.
FOOD = ENERGY = LIFE = WHOLE ECOLOGY
Man is constituted to exist as a Spiritual being. The term ‘SPIRITUAL’ refers to relationships that are based upon feelings of sympathy and understanding.
Man has to define the spiritual basis of his relationship with the rest of the biological community and the physical environment that is common to all of them.
Ecology is the Science that is concerned with the relation between organisms and their environment. ‘Food Chain’ in Ecology describes the sequence of transfers of matter and energy from organism to organism in the form of food. Food is the medium through which interrelatedness, interdependence, and the interconnectedness of organisms that are members of an Ecological System is expressed.
A balanced growth of organisms that are connected in an Ecosystem demands the concept of ‘Sustainable Development’. Natural resources have to be used wisely to sustain the qualities of environment that supports living systems. Man needs food for his nourishment and to find this nourishment, man may have to stop environmental pollution and degradation that may upset the delicate Ecological Balance that operates in Nature. The manner in which man acquires energy-yielding molecules from his environment will define man’s definition of Food.
WHOLE FOOD – WHOLE MORALITY
Man is constituted to exist as a Moral Being. Man is intrinsically endowed with a nature that displays the ability called discernment. Man has the ability to choose right conduct and right behavior as he has the ability to discern right from wrong, and distinguish good from bad.
This human nature called discernment is related to the nature of the living substance or living matter called protoplasm or cytoplasm. I have described its vital property called the Power of Nutrition. It uses this power with a sense of discernment. Protoplasm while attracting substances found in its external environment, it uses a very selective uptake process. Some substances are accepted and tolerated and some are rejected. It expresses intolerance to the presence of certain substances and its response may cause a severe and sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction.
Man has no ability to consume all substances as Food. Man has to know about good and bad food choices, and man has to know as to which food is right and as to which food is wrong. Human beings acting individually and collectively have developed ‘Food Culture’ and Food Traditions to express their moral and ethical principles in all of their food-directed activities and behavior.
In recent times, these concerns have developed into ideas such as ‘FAIR-TRADE’, ‘WHOLE-TRADE’ and ‘ECO-TRADE’. There is a growing genuine moral and ethical concern to support the living conditions of people and communities involved in growing Food. There is a growing interest to consume Food that is called ‘LOCAL’; food that is grown or manufactured in the local communities. Man must consume Food for his living and he may have to do it in a morally and ethically responsible manner. These concerns have generated the demand for ethical and compassionate treatment of all animals used as Food for human consumption. Food and Agriculture Industry are developing standards for Compassionate Treatment of Animals. The concept of ‘Whole Food’ would include the moral and ethical principles that man would apply to define his food-related behavior.
WHOLE FOOD – WHOLE SPIRITUALITY
Food is defined as any substance which a living organism can convert into its own living substance or living matter called protoplasm, the physical basis of Life.
In my analysis, the corporeal substance or living matter has a spiritual dimension as it has the potency to formulate functional harmony and mutually beneficial relationship among the cells, tissues, organs and organ systems that grow and develop using the energy and organic molecules synthesized by protoplasm.
The concept of ‘Whole Food’ will naturally include the concept of Food as a Spiritual Substance that must be treated with respect and devotion. Such an attitude of respect and devotion would help man to use Food as a Spiritual Medium to establish a Connection, a Relationship, an Association, a Partnership, and Bonding between the Food Consumer and the Divine Providence.
WHOLE FOOD – WHOLE LIFE
I define the term ‘WHOLE FOOD’ as follows taking into consideration the five aspects of the role of Food in supporting the biological existence of man in his community, and environment. No man is truly capable of independent existence that excludes the social community and the physical environment in which he exists:
1. Whole Food provides the nutritional substances for the Physical well-being of man and supports his living functions.
2. Whole Food provides the psychological satisfaction, the mental contentment that man needs in support of his Mental well-being.
3. Whole Food provides the stimulus for social relationships and social bonding that man needs in support of his Social well-being.
4. Whole Food provides the ability to man to express his moral and ethical principles in support of his Moral well-being.
5. Whole Food provides the Spiritual basis for man’s relationship with Divine Providence to support the Spiritual well-being of man.
Whole Food is the nutritional substance that supports man’s Physical, Mental, Social, Moral, and Spiritual well-being. These five components of well-being are important to have the experience of Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in human Life. There is no Joy in Life and there is no Happiness in Mind, and there will be no Love in Heart until man finds Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in the Living Experience.
I say Whole Food gives man the experience of Whole Life; a Life of Satisfaction, Contentment, Happiness, and Joy.
I say, I Love Whole Food and what do you want to say? Kindly share your thoughts and views about the concept of ‘Whole Food’.
The Rudolf and Rudi Connection at Whole Foods, Ann Arbor can be best described as the concept of Whole Spirituality, the three dimensional spiritual relationship between the multicellular human organism, food, and the Divine Providence.
SPIRITUALISM – THE CELL THEORY OF SPIRITUALITY:
In Biology, cell is the basic or fundamental unit of structure, function, and organization in all living things or it is the building block of life. Let me begin with my respectful tribute to some of the people who contributed to ‘The Cell Theory’, one of the foundations of Biological Sciences. Cells were first observed in the 17th century shortly after the discovery of the microscope. Robert Hooke, british curator of instruments at The Royal Society of London, during 1665 coined the word cell. Dutch microscopist Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) made over 247 microscopes and examined microorganisms and tissue samples. He gave the first complete descriptions of bacteria, protozoa (which he called animalcules), spermatozoa, and striped muscle. He also studied capillary circulation and observed Red Blood Cells.
Improvements in microscopy during early 19th century permitted closer observation and the significance of cells had received better understanding. Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1838), german botanist, Theodor Schwann (1839), german physiologist, and Rudolf Virchow (1855), german pathologist, and others made important contributions to the Cell Theory that describes cell as the building block of all Life.
The Cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of carrying on the essential life processes of sustaining metabolism for producing energy and reproducing. Many simple, small, single-celled organisms like Protozoa perform all life functions. In higher, complex, bigger, multicellular organisms, groups of cells are structurally and functionally differentiated into specialized tissues and organ systems. Thus, the Cell Theory includes the following foundational principles of the Biological Sciences:
1. All living things are made up of cells. Cell is the most elementary or basic unit of Life.
2. Cell is a fundamental unit of structure, function, and organization in all living things including plants and animals.
3. Cells only rise from division of previously existing cells.
4. All cells are similar in composition, form, and function. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition (in spite of variations) in organisms of similar species. For example, all the solid tissues in the human body can be shown to consist largely of similar cells; differing it is true, but that are essentially similar to an Ovum.
5. The cells exhibit functional autonomy. The activity of an organism depends on the total activity of ‘INDEPENDENT’ cells.
6. Energy flow (metabolism and biochemistry) occurs within cells.
7. Cells contain hereditary, biological information (DNA) which is passed from cell to cell during cell division.
THE CELL THEORY OF SPIRITUALITY:
The basic or fundamental unit of life in the human organism is derived from the fertilized egg cell that eventually develops into a complete organism. The most significant feature of similarity between the cells of the human body is the presence of a soft, gelatinous, semi-fluid, granular material inside the cell. This substance known as Protoplasm or Cytoplasm, or Cytosol is similar to the ground substance found in the Ovum or the Egg Cell.
This viscous, translucent, colloidal substance is enclosed in a membrane called Cell Membrane, Plasma Membrane or Biological Membrane. A small spherical body called nucleus is embedded in the Protoplasm of the cell. The three essential features of any living cell in the human body are that of the presence of protoplasm, the nucleus, and the cell membrane.
PROTOPLASM – THE GROUND SUBSTANCE OF SPIRITUALISM AND SPIRITUALITY:
I seek the existence of Soul or Spirit in a substance that is basic to life activities, and in a material that is responsible for all living processes. I, therefore, propose that the understanding of the true or real nature of this ground substance of all living matter will help man to discover peace, harmony, and tranquility in all of his internal and external relationships while man exists in a physical environment as a member of a social group, social community, and Society. In this blog post, I would like to pay my respectful tribute to Jan Evangelista Purkinje and Hugo Von Mohl for their great contribution to the scientific understanding of the living substance, living material, and living matter.
Purkinje conducted his research on human vision at the University of Prague and later on, he served there as a Professor of Physiology (1850-69). He went to Germany and was appointed the Chair of Physiology and Pathology (1823-50) at the University of Breslau, Prussia. There Purkinje created the world’s first independent Department of Physiology (1839) and the first Physiological Laboratory (Physiological Institute, 1842). He is best known for his discovery of large nerve cells with many branching extensions found in the cortex of Cerebellum of the brain (Purkinje Cells, 1837). He discovered the fibrous tissue that conducts electrical impulses from the ‘pacemaker’ called Atrioventricular node or A-V node along the inside walls of the ventricles to all parts of the heart to help in Cardiac contractile function (Purkinje Fibers, 1839). In 1835, he invented and introduced the scientific term ‘Protoplasm’ to describe the ground substance found inside young animal embryo cells. He discovered the sweat glands of the skin (1833); he discovered the nine configuration groups of Fingerprints used in biometric identification of man (1823); he described the germinal vesicle or nucleus of the unripe ovum that now bears his name (1825), and he noted the protein digesting power of pancreatic extracts (1836).
Hugo Von Mohl named the granular, colloidal material that made up the main substance of the plant cell as “Protoplasm” in 1846. Purkinje invented the word, but Hugo gave more clarity, understanding, and knowing the nature of this ground substance. He viewed cell as an “elementary organ” and in Physiology he explained Protoplasm as an organ of Motion or Movement, Nutrition, and Reproduction. It is the preliminary material in cellular generation. He was the first to propose that new cells are formed by division of preexisting cells and he had observed this process of Cell Division in the algal cells of Conferva glomerata. His observations are very important to understand the Cell Theory that explains cells as the basic building blocks of Life. He was the first to investigate the phenomenon of the stomatal openings in leaves.
Protoplasm is a complex, viscous, translucent solution of such materials as salts and simple sugars with other molecules, mostly proteins and fats, in a colloidal state, that is dispersed but not dissolved in one another. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen constitute more than 90 percent of Protoplasm. It exhibits properties such as Protoplasmic Streaming or Cytoplasmic Streaming or Motion that is called “Amoeboid Movement.” It has the intrinsic power to change its shape and position. It has the power of Nutrition by which it can attract and obtain the materials necessary for its growth and maintenance from surrounding matter/environment. These functions involve acquiring, processing, retaining, and using information to perform tasks in a sequential manner for a predetermined purpose and hence describe Consciousness, Memory, and Intelligence. The terms Soul and Spirit belong to the materialistic realm where the Physical Reality of man’s biological existence is established. I have not yet discovered any good reason to use the terms Soul and Spirit as a metaphysical or transcendental Reality.
The Ground Substance of Spiritualism and Spirituality. The vital characteristics, the animating principles of Protoplasm could be known by observing Amoeba proteus. The Living Substance works as an organ of Motion or Movement, as an organ of Nutrition, and as an organ of Reproduction to generate new cells which have a life span of their own. In these physiological functions, I describe the characteristics such as Cognition, Consciousness, Memory, and Intelligence as spiritual attributes of Life as they bring functional unity and harmony in the interactions between different parts of the same individual organism while it exists in an environment as a member of a biological community.
THE SPIRITUALITY OF SUBSTANCE, FUNCTION, ORGANIZATION, ACTION, AND INTERACTIONS:
To establish the biological existence of the human organism, I add the concept of Spiritualism and Spirituality to the Cell Theory. The Single Fertilized Egg Cell has ground substance that is of Spiritual nature and the Spiritualism and Spirituality consists of the following functional, and organizational characteristics:
1. The Cell is Conscious of its own existence and knows its internal condition and knows it external environment.
2. The Cell is intelligent and it has the cognitive abilities like perception and memory to acquire information, to retain information, to recall information, and to use information in the performance of its complex tasks in a sequential manner.
3. The Cell has the ability to show characteristics such as mutual cooperation, mutual tolerance, and display functional subordination and subservience while being independent.
4. The Cell grows, divides, and develops into a complete organism while it acquires substances and energy from an external environment. The power of Protoplasm/Cytoplasm to attract matter found in its external environment is called Nutrition. The Cell continuously transforms matter to build matter of its own kind for its own benefit to sustain its existence with its own identity and individuality. The Organism represents a social group or a biological community of Cells. The Spiritual nature of Protoplasm/Cytoplasm brings this functional harmony and unity in the Social Group or Biotic Community of Cells by bringing together its Essence and Existence.
5. The Cell Theory is incomplete for it does not describe the conditioned nature of the Cell’s existence. The Cell represents a Living System that is thermodynamically unstable. It requires a constant supply of matter and energy from its external environment to sustain its living functions. The concept of Whole Spirituality formulates the connection between the Cell and its external source of matter and energy.
The theoretical claims about Spirit and Soul, the religious and philosophical doctrines of Spiritualism and Spirituality must be verified using the Cell Theory that defines the human organism. To describe Soul or Spirit as nonmaterial or immaterial Self will not help man to know the real or true man.
Simon Cyrene
Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Planet come together in a Wholesome Relationship as God is the Energy Provider, the Original Source of Matter and Energy for Life.
The Rudolf-Rudi doctrine of Spiritualism 