by Patricia Robinett

• How do you ground a hyperactive Gemini?
• How do you get a Capricorn out of the doldrums?
• How do you stop a Pisces from languishing long enough to do the laundry and vacuum the carpet?
• How do you help a Virgo find the courage to go to a party?
• How do you keep them all healthy?
• How do you please their taste buds?
• Where do vegetarians get their protein and calcium?

This article will answer these questions. But before we get into the astrological dietary specifics, let’s start by asking even more questions — questions we may have never, ever, even thought of asking before…

• Why do cows eat grass instead of giraffes?
• Why do lions eat giraffes instead of grass?

“Well, hmm,” we human beings explain brilliantly, “they’re doing what is natural for them.”

It’s true. Lions have the right digestive system for digesting meat. Cows have the right digestive system for digesting grass. Each animal’s food choices seem to be just right for them.

You may already know that carnivorous animals have distinctly different bodies from herbivores. Meat eaters have extremely sharp pointed teeth, not to chew but to break bones, puncture skin and rip flesh. Their stomach contains ten times the hydrochloric acid of herbivores. Their intestines measure only three times the length of their bodies so the meat can leave quickly before it decays and poisons them. To drink, all carnivores lap water with their tongues. They cool their bodies by panting, sweating through their tongues.

The teeth of herbivores have been designed for grinding and chewing. Their intestines measure from ten to twelve times the length of their body. To drink, all herbivores sip water. They cool their bodies by perspiring freely through pores in their skin.

How are human beings designed? Yes, we have two slightly pointy incisors that some people consider quite dangerous, but bare your teeth into a mirror and compare your itty bitty, insipid little incisors with a cat’s or dog’s sharp fangs. Enough said. We have weak stomach acid, and intestines twelve times the length of our bodies. We sip water and are seriously embarrassed when we perspire through the pores in our skin.

Animals in the wild are smart enough to eat the correct foods for their body types. But what happens to animals in captivity when humans are in charge of their diets? Unhappily, the animals do not fare very well.

Mad cow disease, for instance, is an example of what happens when people are put in charge of animals’ diets. It just doesn’t work when cows are fed ground cow meat. They get mad. They don’t like being forced to eat their own… would you?

I have long remembered a story about time when it was the custom to feed leftover processed foods to zoo animals. The animals developed human conditions such as cancer, heart disease and infertility. The zookeepers decided to try feeding the animals the raw foods they normally ate in the wild. You may have already guessed: the animals regained their health and the ability to reproduce.

What happens when humans are in charge of humans’ diets? Unhappily, the humans do not fare very well. Most people living in the United States still eat the same kinds of foods that made the animals in the zoos sick and they wonder why they are sick.We might assume that the U.S. is a very healthy country but it’s not. Despite a sophisticated and expensive health care system, in 1997, the U.S. ranks twentieth in the world in health (37th in 2000). We have epidemics of AIDS, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, impotence, infertility, diabetes, tooth decay, and many other serious maladies, just like the animals in the zoo once did.

And, happily, just as the animals were healed when they were fed simple, natural, raw foods, so can human beings heal their bodies by improving their diets.

I did. In my youth and early adulthood I was a miserable, sluggish, sickly, pimply faced little thing, often absent from school and work.

I remember a doctor telling me authoritatively that it didn’t matter what I ate, as long as I got enough calories. Of course, doctors used to star in cigarette ads too. And for many years the American Medical Association insisted that diet had absolutely no connection to heart disease, cancer or diabetes.

But one day I read a little book about the relationship of food to health. That book changed my mind and my life. I changed my diet and my health is now excellent.

Since that time I haven’t seen a medical doctor. That means that for 25 years I haven’t paid a medical bill. Haven’t visited a pharmacy except to buy dental floss. Haven’t seen the inside of a hospital except to visit others. Haven’t missed work due to illness. The good news is that we can all be healthier if we eat healthier, like people did before World War II.

It wasn’t always like this. Americans used to nurse their babies and eat vegetables from their own gardens with a chicken in the pot on Sunday. Only 50 years ago did it become common to raise human babies on cow’s milk from a bottle and cooked baby foods containing sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate. Only 50 years ago did we begin to eat meat with every meal. Only 50 years ago did it become common to farm with chemical poisons.

Why and how have we come so far from natural? What factors other than health, physiology, wisdom and common sense have influenced our food choices? Some factors are habits, emotions, TV ads, convenience, family traditions, biased education, the AMA, addictions and allergies.

Some foods and/or drinks we associate with love, good times, pleasure, excitement, and/or security. Milk, sugar, chocolate, beer, pizza, ice cream, greasy fried foods, big fat juicy steaks, popcorn smothered with salt and butter. I’m feeling sick just writing this.

I have become aware of a humorous pattern in TV ads. Imitation processed cheese spread followed by an ad for a nasal spray. Beer or soft drinks followed by an ad for headache relief. Hamburgers and fried chicken followed by an ad for a stomach remedy or a sleeping tablet. Says it all.

For decades the meat and dairy industries provided schools with free nutrition information that told children to eat — guess what! — meat and dairy products! Two facts you will not read in their literature:

1) The incidence of heart disease is highest in countries where the consumption of beef is highest and lowest in countries where the consumption of beef is lowest.

2) The incidence of breast cancer is similarly high and low according to a country’s consumption of sugar and dairy products.

The foods we are allergic to, we crave. Milk, for instance. My mom was the daughter of an old fashioned English milkman so I was raised on milk and cheese. Loved it! My childhood was full of colic, colds, sore throats and suicidal depressions. Now, when I even get an atom of milk in my food my colon spasms, my nose runs, I feel cranky and irritable, want to sob like a baby and wish I was dead. Not good.

Milk is not a natural food for humans. Cow’s milk is designed for baby calves to triple their weight in the first few months of life. Think about it, dieters.

And although cow’s milk is a very common food allergy, most adult Americans are not yet weaned. Humans are the only animals that nurse after they get teeth. Humans are the only animals that nurse even after they have turned old and grey.

“But if I don’t drink milk, where will I get my calcium?” I hear you protesting.

“Where do cows get their calcium?” say I.

“But what about osteoporosis?” you return.

“Osteoporosis does not exist in countries where they do not eat milk and dairy products,” I patiently explain, “Osteoporosis exists only in countries where they eat dairy products.” You get the idea. Sorry, but milk is bad for people.

Think on this…milk and eggs are used to make casein and tempera paints which retain their original brilliance after hundreds of years. They do not biodegrade. Think twice about eating anything that sticks to plates, forks, pans and stove. It only requires cold water to rinse off a plate that has held fruit, hot water to clean a plate that has held a salad with olive oil dressing or rice and vegetables. It’s a lot easier on your body to eat water soluble foods.

Experiment with a healthy substitute like rice or almond milk. You can make it or get it at health food stores. You can wean yourself from dairy. Your body will thank you for it.

How do you know if you are allergic to something? Chances are you’ll reach for it when you need a pick up. You will “love” it, crave it. We’re hooked on foods that hurt us, come running back to foods that throw us against the wall.

Salt and sugar are two extremes on the taste bud scale and eating one makes you crave the other. Sugar is hidden in luncheon meats, breads, salad dressings, almost everything. Salt (sodium) is hidden in sodas, soda crackers, cheese, almost everything. I once knew a rather pretty young lady who would ladle spoonfuls of sugar on her cereal in the morning and pour mountains of salt onto her macaroni and cheese at night. That was about the extent of her diet. Her emotions ran rather to the extremes as well.

So do you have to give up good tasting food to be healthy? No. Can you really retrain your jaded taste buds to love foods that are good for you? Yes. How?

How I changed my habits…

When I felt a desire for a certain food, I’d go into Sherlock Holmes mode, interrogate myself, and then consciously choose the closest, non-harmful alternative.

For example, when I’d get a Big Mac attack, I’d ask, “What do I really want? Would I relish a plain hamburger patty?” No. “Would I eat a plain bun?” No. So it wasn’t the burger and it wasn’t the bun. Was it the burger on the bun? No. It was the tasty condiments that I really wanted. Easy to fix. Almost anything, even just two pieces of whole grain bread stuffed with onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, mustard and ketchup gave me the flavors I wanted without the killer meat. Fortunately these days there are lots of tasty vegetable burgers available on the market, even at some fast food restaurants.

Some people think meat gives them strength. But meat doesn’t actually make us strong, it puts us in emergency mode. When an animal is killed, it panics and adrenalin (the fight or flight hormone) floods the flesh. We eat the meat and wonder why we feel anxious and aggressive and have high blood pressure.

“But if I don’t eat meat, where will I get my protein?” I hear you silently screaming.

“Where do cows get their protein?” I quietly reply.

“Hmm,” you reflect.

Just know that meat products are optional, not required. I have eaten no meat, fish or eggs for 25 years now, no dairy products for ten. I have observed the astrological dietary system described below for about ten years also. Consequently, I have more energy now than I ever had and look better than I ever looked. I’m almost ready to turn 50 and many people kindly pretend to be astonished when I tell them. OK, maybe they are sincerely astonished.

So if, even after reading all of the above you still feel that you wish to eat meat, fish, eggs and dairy just make sure that 1) the animal products are clean (not full of antibiotics and growth hormones and other icky chemicals) and 2) you get plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables to support your astrological energy requirements and to provide fiber because animal products contain absolutely no dietary fiber.

OK, back to being a detective. What if I crave fried, oily, salty potato chips? Is it the crunch I’m after? Raw vegetables crunch. The oil? Extra virgin olive oil on my salad. The salt? A few grains of sea salt. The potato itself? Then I’ll bake, boil or roast one.

Corn chips? Fresh corn. Same logic. Need something to scoop up salsa or guacamole? Good news! These days you can actually buy baked potato chips and corn chips.

What if I want pastries? Read the labels. Notice all the nasty dry old powders such as flour (aka library paste), sugar, baking soda, salt (none of which you would even dream of putting straight into your mouth in the worst of nightmares), a fat like lard to moisten it, plus something added for flavor.

Nature already did it better. Essene bread, made from sprouted whole grain wheat or rye with nothing added or removed, can be found in the cooler at health food stores. In the sprouting process the starch is converted to sugar. Sweet, moist, gooey, it honestly tastes like the best bran muffin in the world.

Candy? If it’s something sweet and chewy I’m after, I’ll eat some dried fruit. Sweet and juicy? Fresh fruit. Apples are the ultimate convenience food. Indulge yourself in cherries, blueberries, mangoes, papayas, kiwi.

Ice cream? Freeze peeled ripe bananas. With some juicers you can make a “soft serve ice cream” out of frozen fruit. You can buy fruit sorbet and frozen rice dream treats that rival ice cream for flavor and creaminess. Milk shakes? Whiz apple juice, frozen bananas & other fruits in a blender. Develop a flair for creating delicious, fulfilling treats.

Get the idea? You can satisfy your taste buds without poisoning your body.

Where’s the astrology?

I know. I know – you are asking yourself, “Hey! Wait a minute! This is an astrological article, but where’s the astrology?” Believe it or not, we are about to answer that question. In just a moment. But first, a few more leading questions…

What if food is not only a matter of calories? What if food is not just a matter of something that you put in your stomach to keep it from growling? What if food is not just something to titillate your taste buds? What if food is not even just vitamins and minerals and carbohydrates and proteins?

What if foods are drugs? What did I say? “What if foods are drugs?” Wait. Don’t “just say no.” Thank about it.

Foods are drugs…

What if foods are not just generic calories that give us generic fuel? What if each food is a unique combination of chemicals that affects our bodies and minds just like drugs? Some foods are good for getting things done, others for relaxing; some foods aid in thinking, others in relating.

What follows is an explanation of the four basic astrological food groups. (Not to be confused with the old model of meat, dairy, starches, fruits and vegetables.) You are now going to learn how to use foods as drugs. Certain foods support your inherent astrological energies. Others provide the energy required to do those things that don’t come easy to you.

We’ll divide foods into four categories from the ground up:

• Earth – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
• Water – Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
• Fire – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
• Air – Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

Don’t worry; this is easy.

Earth Foods…

Earth foods are those foods that grow under the ground, surrounded by dirt. Root vegetables include potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, daikon, peanuts, radishes, jicama, burdock, onions, garlic, ginger; the roots of herbs such as comfrey and ginseng.

Earth foods support practical physical activities relating to food, clothing and shelter, such as gardening, laundry, carpentry, cleaning, massage, healing, sewing, sculpture, resting. Earth foods support Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn energy.

Warning: An overly earthy diet can turn you into a lethargic “couch potato,” a party pooper, a prophet of doom and gloom, a workaholic and/or a drab, apathetic bore.

Water Foods…

Water foods grow directly on top of the ground and in water. Water fruits include strawberries, watermelon and pineapple. Water vegetables include cabbage, lettuce, celery, chard, winter squash, kale, watercress, sea vegetables, and freshwater algae; the leaves of herbs such as comfrey, mint, thyme, oregano, basil and alfalfa.

Note that dark green leafy vegetables contain chlorophyll, the chemical formula of which is only one ion different from blood. More good news! Even vampires can be vegetarians.

Water foods support emotions and feelings: nurturance, sensuousness, deep meditation, music, sexuality, poetry, romance, intuition, dreaming. Water foods soothe emotions. Lettuce contains lots of calcium and magnesium, nature’s tranquilizers. A small amount of spirulina in pineapple juice is a great cocktail for water signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.

Warning: An overly watery diet could make you excessively emotional, alcoholic, codependent, wimpy and/or a cry baby.

Fire Foods…

Fire foods grow between the earth and sky. They grow on bushes, vines, and stalks. Fire fruits include tomatoes, grapes (raisins), currants, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Fire vegetables include peas, cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, beans, hot peppers, bell peppers, and sugarcane, broccoli and brussels sprouts. Grains such as corn, rice, wheat, barley and seeds such as sesame, sunflower, and buckwheat are all complex carbohydrates, a source of enduring, slow burning energy for athletes. Wheat germ is rich in Vitamin E for muscles, especially the Leo heart.

Fire foods support social people-to-people activities that involve competition, sports, fighting, selling, working with the public, being with the family and other groups, teaching.

Almost everyone in the United States eats a lot of extremely concentrated fire foods: white sugar, white flour, beer and hard liquor made from grains, and wine from grapes. Is it any wonder the world considers our country to be so aggressive? Yet there are gentler, health-giving alternatives to these explosive fire foods.

Sugar cane is sweet and fun to chew on, but your kids won’t get a sugar rush from it. Fresh grapes and raisins are delicious, refreshing and full of energy, but not intoxicating. Whole grains such as barley can be made into a hearty soup instead of beer, and rye can be made into a very tasty, nourishing bread instead of whiskey.

Fire foods support Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius energies.

Warning: Too many fire foods can make you rude, arrogant, pushy, obnoxious and perhaps even criminally aggressive, abusive.

Air Foods…

Air foods grow in trees, up in the sky. Air foods are primarily fruits such as apples, peaches, apricots, pears, plums (prunes), cherries, bananas, avocados, olives, dates, papayas, mangoes; and nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, coconut.

Eat the fruit but don’t throw away the seeds! The seeds of all fruits and nuts contain a small amount of the bitter tasting substance Vitamin B17 or laetrile which is used in foreign countries to treat cancer. Vitamin B17 is a substance that controls cell division in both plants and animals. Without it, cells divide wildly, unchecked. We need a little of it.

I think of cancer as a vitamin deficiency disease. Think about it, how many foods routinely eaten in the U.S. have a bitter flavor? One of my students knew someone who was diagnosed with cancer. The patient made one change: he ate the seeds in his apples and his cancer disappeared.

Air foods support mental activities, such as working with computers and other hi-tech equipment, artistic endeavors, communications, typing, writing, and talking; things that are interesting to people with Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius energies.

Warning: An overly airy diet could make you think and/or talk a bit much and people might consider you to be “fruity” or “nutty”.

Hint: Air signs might also practice deep breathing clean, clear air to center themselves. A negative ion generator helps to clean the air in less than pristine environments.

How To…

Applying this information is very simple. Use a computer chart based on the time of your birth to accurately assess your energy usage. We are all a mix of all the signs so do not eliminate any food group. But do feed yourself primarily the foods corresponding to the signs of your sun, moon and ascendant, the three most important personal points in your chart.

Sorry, there are no animal products that support your astrological energy requirements. Why? Because the water in the fruits and vegetables contain the astrological energies. (For this reason also you do not want to drink reconstituted fruit juices “from concentrate” or eat too many dried fruits.)

Foods are drugs guidelines…

Air foods and other fruits are good-morning, wake-up foods. Fire foods are go-go foods. Earth foods are grounding, slow-down, get-things-done foods. Water foods are relaxing, night-night foods.

A gentle guide to transition…

Using this information is very simple. Use a computer chart based on the time of your birth to accurately assess your energy usage. We are all a mix of all the signs so do not eliminate any food group. But do feed yourself primarily the foods corresponding to the signs of your sun, moon and ascendant, the three most important personal points in your chart.

Sorry, there are no animal products that support your astrological energy requirements. Why? Because the water in the fruits and vegetables contain the astrological energies. (For this reason also you do not want to drink reconstituted fruit juices “from concentrate” or eat too many dried fruits.)

Foods are drugs guidelines…

Air foods and other fruits are good-morning, wake-up foods. Fire foods are go-go foods. Earth foods are grounding, slow- down, get-things-done foods. Water foods are relaxing, nighty-night foods.

A gentle guide to transition…

First week, eat only fruit for breakfast, as much fruit as you want but only one kind. Examples: six apples, half a watermelon, a huge bowl of cherries. Then eat your regular lunch and dinner.

Second week, add a big crunchy, juicy salad for lunch. Example: lots of dark green lettuce, shredded raw beets and carrots, sweet red onion and/or minced garlic, peas, whatever raw vegetables you really like. With maybe some rice, pasta or whole grain bread. Then eat your regular dinner.

Third week, add ethnic foods for dinner, such as Chinese, Italian, Mediterranean. These cultures have developed very healthy eating systems. They have practiced for years. Rice, pasta, vegetables, salads. Good food. Good health.

If you’re used to eating processed foods, stopping is not easy at first. The third day you refuse to drink coffee, for instance, your body may scream that if you don’t have a mocha, you will surely die. Don’t listen, it isn’t true. After you get past the first week, it becomes easier and easier.

You might want to visit a health food store (the kind that sells organic produce) and get an idea of alternatives to supermarket fare. You will be heartened. There are lots of wonderful foods and cookbooks available. You need not feel deprived.

After a while, processed foods don’t even look good. If they do, then try this: think of them as roses, nice to smell but not to put in the mouth. I love to go to chocolate stores and enjoy the perfume.

Try this system. Analyze your own chart. Eat a variety of simple whole foods from your astrological food groups. Play detective. It is fun to outsmart your taste buds and the results are well worth it.

You’ll be healthier and more attractive than ever. Try your new information out on willing others. Let me know what you discover. I sincerely wish you health and happiness.

P.S. Since I first wrote this article, I have begun eating some goat cheese and eggs from the chickens who wake me up at 4 a.m. I focus heavily on raw foods and eat some cooked foods as well. Since I no longer have food addictions to sugar, flour, caffeine, etc, I simply listen to my body and give it what it says it wants and needs. I am older now, but still very healthy.

—

Copyright 1997 by Patricia Robinett. All rights reserved. This article was first published in the April 1997 Dell Horoscope Magazine and has since been published in several magazines, in the U.S., on the net, and abroad.

If you would like personal attention to improve your diet, I will be happy to be your coach. If you’re not sure how to implement the ideas in this article into your lifestyle, I will be happy to coach you in person or at a distance by telephone. To make an appointment for a private consultation, please email me.