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Foods served by the Marshak
Clinic chefs help our clients achieve a “stimulatory”
satisfaction from food that does not incorporate sugars,
white flours, and other high glycemic products. Eating according
to this method effectively reduces excessive appetite and
overeating. A low-glycemic diet will help reduce mood swings
and promotes a physiologically healthy body.
The Marshak Clinic diet is
based on the finest traditions of French Cuisine which has
always been famous for its elegance and fine combinations
of elements of taste. If the titles of the recipes included
here sound “fancy” and “gourmet”
it is because they are – but they are also delicious
and very easy to prepare.
I am frequently asked why
the Marshak Clinic's approach to treatment and rehabilitation
incorporates a specific diet, shares Dr. Marshak.
Every individual habitually eats foods for which he or she
has developed a “liking.” The choice is largely
determined by the culture in which one lives, as well as
family traditions. Food satisfies the physiological needs
of our body, and at the same time provides feelings of relief
and satisfaction by taking away the unpleasant state of
hunger while promoting a pleasant feeling of contentment
and relaxation.
In today's world people very
often are faced with a conflict between the two means of
obtaining a sense of reward from the food they eat: some
foods are healthier than others from the physiological perspective,
but not very satisfying; others, the so-called “comfort
foods” satisfy intrinsically, but are often not very
healthy. By nature, the desire for intrinsic satisfaction
usually prevails over the needs to eat foods that maintain
the physiological health of the body. Our desire to get
satisfaction and a “rewarding” feeling from
the consumption of sugary and high-glycemic foods has contributed
to an increase in diabetes, obesity, atherosclerosis, stroke,
and heart attack, as well as a number of gastrointestinal
diseases such as gastritis, pancreatitis, gallbladder disease,
hepatitis, and duodenal and peptic ulcers. At the same time,
sugary foods promote the development of ulcerative colitis
in large intestine, and create constipation which leads
to the accumulation of toxins in the body. In addition,
high-glycemic, sugary foods actively promote pathology of
the male and female sexual organs.
Along with contributing to
the spread of disease in our bodies, unlimited intake of
“tranquilizing,” soothing high-glycemic, sugary
foods also create problems in the psychological sphere by
destabilizing the internal homeostasis. This destabilization
manifests itself as the “sugar blues,” bipolar
depression, various psychoses, and addictions to alcohol,
opiates, etc.
Many dietitians recommend
diets which are physiologically sound, but have an inherent
weak point because the foods included in these diets do
not provide much feeling of “reward,” or satisfaction
after eating. Consequently, it is for this reason most people
can only follow such diets for a few weeks, and soon afterwards
revert to their previous methods of obtaining satisfaction
from their favorite foods and their habitual lifestyle.
There are two kinds of “reward”
or “satisfaction” feelings that human beings
can experience. The first is “relaxation,” or
the feeling of being soothed and relaxed; and the second
is the rewarding sense of feeling active – energetic
and enthusiastic. People use various recreational psychoactive
substances, i.e., “downers” and “uppers”
because these substances affect the mood state. The food
we eat can, in the same manner, affect our mood, and cause
us to have either the first or the second kind of feeling.
When we satisfy ourselves
with sweet, soothing foods we are not able to rapidly disconnect
from the desire to eat more, and consequently tend to overeat.
By contrast, foods that are “stimulatory” effectively
eliminate the excessive desire to eat in a way that is similar
in action to amphetamines.
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