The World Peace Diet: Eating For Spiritual Health And Social Harmony

136 / the world peace diet
biomechanism for this is the sex hormone testosterone. Consciousness
theorist Ken Wilber writes,
Studies on testosterone—in the laboratory, cross-culturally, embryonically,
and even what happens when women are given testosterone
injections for medical reasons—all point to a simple conclusion. I
don’t mean to be crude, but it appears that testosterone basically has
two, and only two, major drives: fuck it or kill it.
And males are saddled with this biological nightmare almost
from day one, a nightmare women can barely imagine (except when
they are given testosterone injections for medical purposes, which
drives them nuts. As one woman put it, “I can’t stop thinking about
sex. Please, can’t you make this stop?”) 1
Studies have repeatedly shown that high levels of testosterone are
associated with aggressive-destructive behavior, impatience, and irritability.
2 In addition, it’s now understood that diets high in animal fat
and low in plant fiber lead to a retention and concentration of sex hormones
like testosterone in the body. The fiber of vegetables, grains, and
other plant foods binds these circulating hormones and “keeps them in
check” 3 through SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), which increases
with plant food intake. Neil Barnard writes,
In the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, a large, ongoing study of
middle-aged and older men in the Boston area, researchers have
found that those men with more SHBG in their blood are less domineering
and aggressive. It may well be that a better diet can make
you an easier-to-get-along-with partner. 4
Research has also shown that children with the nutritional deficiencies
often found in diets low in vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes
are more disposed to violent and antisocial behavior as they grow older. 5
Beyond this physical level of biomechanisms such as hormone levels,
toxins, and nutrients, there are metaphysical forces at work that though
ignored are nevertheless operating. Metaphysical toxins—i.e., the concen-