Nutrition, The Key to Energy (It's the Calories, Stupid!)

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Nutrition, The Key to Energy (It's the Calories, Stupid!) JoAnn Guest Sep

03, 2005 09:22 PDT

 

 

 

The value of proper nutrition cannot be emphasized enough. Your body's

health is directly related to what you put into it. Modern supermarket

food is devitalized due to contaminants and processing by food

manufacturers.

 

Organic, fresh, raw foods possess forms of energy not currently

understood by orthodox science. Some of these esoteric energies can be

measured and detected, however.

 

There is a instument available today that can measure the " vital force "

of food. A simpler method, but no less accurate, is to use a dowsing

pendulum to determine this vital force on a scale of 1-10 for instance.

 

Raw foods also contain digestive enzymes that cooked and processed foods

lack. The digestive enzymes that Nature provides with the raw fruit,

vegetable, or meat is the perfect match for that particular food.

 

If you don't get the digestive enzymes in the foods that you eat, your

body has to make them. That requires energy and nutrients that's

depleting of your energy resources. Many researchers who study those

elements that contribute to longevity feel that the human body has a

limited capacity and store of enzyme production over a lifetime. When

your enzyme producing capacity expires, you expire!

 

Vitamins and minerals are most bio-available if they are in the form

provided by Nature.

 

Once you process food and strip away the vitamins, for example; merely

adding denatured vitamins back into the food through fortification will

not give you the equivalent quality or bioactivity of vitamins as

originally provided by Nature.

 

This is the biggest error made by dietitians, the nutritional arm of

orthodox medicine. In considering the makeup of foods, they look only at

the raw elements themselves (calcium, phosphorus, etc.) and assume that

as long as the element can be measured in the food or added to the food,

you are getting the equivalent nutrition and bioactivity as provided by

Nature in the original, raw food state. Nothing could be farther from

the truth.

 

Despite the abundance of food in the United States, nutritional

deficiency is quite common. It is important to understand this because

Americans are often lulled into believing that foods are fortified with

needed nutrients.

 

It's like computers, " Garbage in, Garbage out " .

 

I've been talking to people for a long time about understanding the

nature of health and disease. Whenever I chat with someone with health

problems and we're trying to figure out why, the last thing he will

consider is his diet. It's stress. It's genes. It's the job. It's the

wife. It's the mother-in-law, etc. It's everything but the diet. Folks,

....it's usually the diet.

 

 

Since nutrition is a rather large topic, I'll start with a few important

subjects and add to the list as time permits. For more information on

nutrition, please see our suggested reading list at the bottom of this

page.

 

 

Anti Nutrients

 

Anti nutrients are substances to which we are all exposed through food

and water that antagonize nutrients needed for health.

 

Some anti nutrients bind to other nutrients, making them useless. Others

tie up enzymes needed in digestion and other body functions. Some cause

problems by creating a greater need for certain nutrients. Others cause

nutrients to be excreted more rapidly from the body.

 

In our world of high technology, the level of anti nutrients to which we

are exposed is surprisingly high. Many of the anti nutrients have either

a direct or indirect effect on immune function. Anything you can do to

reduce exposure to anti nutrients will be helpful in preventing

recurrent illness.

 

Sugar, food coloring, processed fats, additives like BHT, and most of

the 3,000 or so food additives allowed in the United States often act as

anti nutrients.

 

For example, in 1985 it was reported that American agriculture uses 1

billion pounds of pesticides each year. That is 4.5 pounds for every

man, woman and child in the country. These chemicals have many adverse

effects, and are more of a problem than most would imagine. Caffeine is

another serious problem that most people don't fully understand.

 

Pharmaceutical drugs constitute another important category of anti

nutrients. If drug therapy is short, the effects are usually not

especially severe.

 

However, if one takes a drug for months or years, the nutritional

effects of the drugs must be taken into account.

If you are on medication, it is important that you discuss this with

your doctor. If your doctor prescribes medication but fails to address

the nutrient effects of the medication, it may be wise to seek a doctor

who will take this into account. Below is just a sample of the nutrients

adversely affected by drugs.

 

 

Drug Clinical Condition Nutrient Affected

 

Antibiotics bacterial infection -Vit.. K, A, B12, Mg, folic acid, C, K+

Aspirin pain, fever- B1, Vit.. C, K+

Cortisone inflammation, allergy- Zn, K+, folate, B6, Vit.. C, D, Ca

Ritalin hyperactivity, ADD suppresses appetite

Phenobarbital seizure disorders- Vit.. C, D, Ca, Mg, folic acid

Tetracycline infection- Zn, Ca, Fe, Mg, Vit.. K, B2, B3, C, folate

 

 

Sugar

 

Simply stated, sugar lowers immunity. In 1951, Benjamin Sandler, M.D., a

physician from Northern Carolina, wrote a book entitled Diet Prevents

Polio.

 

Dr. Sandler's work with rabbits and monkeys convinced him that high

amounts of sugar in the diet made one more susceptible to polio.

 

During the polio epidemic of 1948-49, he appeared on an Asheville radio

station urging parents not to feed their children refined sugar or foods

containing sugar such as ice cream, candy, and soft drinks.

 

His admonitions also ran in local newspapers. In 1948, the incidence of

polio in Northern Carolina was 2,402 cases. In 1949, after adopting the

" Sandler diet, " the rate had fallen to 214 cases. During this time, the

national incidence of polio (39 states) had risen.

 

Was it a coincidence that the rate of polio dropped as the rate of sugar

consumption decreased in this state? Did removal of sugar from the diet

improve resistance to polio? You can come to your own conclusion, but

there is good reason to believe that sugar consumption lowers immunity.

 

In a report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 100

grams of sugar from glucose, fructose, sucrose, honey or orange juice

caused a significant decrease in the ability of white blood cells to

engulf and destroy bacteria. This decrease in immune function was still

present five hours after sugar was consumed.

 

There are numerous other studies that show decreases in immune function

following sugar consumption. It is probably not significant when one

only consumes sugar on occasion. However, on a daily basis it can wreak

havoc on your immune system.

 

The problem is sugar creeps into virtually every aspect of our diet,

often without our awareness. This is because sugar is added to almost

every packaged food sold today. The average adult American consumes more

than 150 pounds of sugar each year (teenagers can consume over 200

pounds) ! This is 14 times more than was ingested only 100 years ago.

It's far too much for our bodies to handle.

 

To help illustrate the harmful effects of sugar, let's use breakfast

cereals as an example. Many of the most popular children's cereals

contain almost 50 percent of their calories as sugar.

 

The presence of large amounts of sugar in the diet causes a gradual

depletion of zinc in the body. As zinc levels decline, the sense of

taste declines as well. As taste perception declines, there is a greater

need to flavor the food in order to make it " taste good. " Usually this

means adding more sugar. This leads to a further reduction in body zinc

levels, which further lowers the taste perception. As a result, a child

heaps more sugar on top of his cereal. The cycle goes on and on.

 

In his book Fighting the Food Giants, biochemist Paul A. Stitt says that

it is no accident that children's cereals are highly sugared.

 

Food manufacturers were the first to discover that sugar consumption

leads to a gradual loss of zinc, which in turn leads to a loss of taste

perception.

 

By marketing cereal high in sugar, they were able to create virtual

addicts to their products. What parent has not heard screams of a

toddler in the grocery store demanding his breakfast treat!

 

It you want to have sweets, it's better to get it from fresh fruit. Not

canned fruit, not dried fruit, but fresh fruit. A little raw honey is OK

here and there, but don't delude yourself into thinking that natural

forms of sugar like honey or maple syrup is good while refined sugar is

bad.

 

Sugar is sugar. Fruit provides a form of sugar called fructose. Because

it's a natural monosaccharide, it's handled differently by the body than

table sugar (sucrose) which is a disaccharide.

There is one form of partly refined sugar that I do recommend for non

diabetics to be consumed on a routine basis, but in a relatively modest

amount. I'm talking about organic Black strap Molasses. The nutritional

advantages of bio-available iron and sulfur ( & other minerals) offered

by black strap molasses far outweigh its downside as a source of sugar.

 

 

 

Dairy Products

 

Cow's milk is often touted on television as the " perfect food. " It is

supposedly needed by everyone. " If you don't drink milk, your bones will

become brittle from osteoporosis " hint many advertisers and even some

physicians.

 

Yet, cow's milk consumption has been shown to contribute to many of the

health problems commonly encountered in our society. Excessive

consumption of cow's milk is often one of the major factors contributing

to susceptibility to common infections.

 

According to Dr. Schmidt in his book Childhood Ear Infections, simply

eliminating dairy products is often all that's required to solve the

riddle of recurrent ear problems in children.

 

These sentiments are echoed by Dr. Fred Pullen, an ear, nose and throat

specialist in Miami, Florida. Patients are referred to Dr. Pullen for

the sole purpose of having tubes surgically implanted in their eardrums.

Before undergoing surgery, however, all patients are first placed on a

diet that eliminates dairy products. The result: " three fourths [of

these children] never need tubes. "

 

If one does even the smallest amount of research, it becomes evident

that there is a wealth of information on this topic.

 

One well written book is Principles of Nutrition by Whitman H. Jordan,

published by the Macmillan Company of New York in 1912. On page 266

Jordan describes a German study detailing the tie outcome of 49,362

children born in Berlin during 1890. Before the end of one year, 12,623

of those children died. Of those who died, 8,008 were fed on cow's milk.

Only 1,588 had been breast fed. Let me quote from this 86 year old book:

 

 

" Further statistics show of those fed on mother's milk one in thirteen

died, while of those brought up by hand (bottle fed), one out of every

two died. "

 

These figures require no comment. Do not think that cow's milk is only

harmful to children, though. The problems with cow's milk are so

numerous that noted professor of pediatrics at John Hopkins School of

Medicine, Dr. Frank Oski, wrote a book entitled Please, Don't Drink Your

Milk. The following are health conditions either directly caused by or

associated with cow's milk consumption, taken from MILK IS GOOD FOR

__________ by Robert M. Kradjian, M.D.:

 

" Among children the problems were allergy, ear and tonsil infections,

bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, nephritis, colic, and childhood

diabetes. "

" In adults the problems seemed centered more around heart disease,

arthritis, allergy, sinusitis, and the more serious questions of

leukemia, lymphoma, cancer (colon, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian, and

rectal.) "

" Even multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and cataracts have been

associated with cow's milk consumption. "

Back to the top

 

 

 

 

 

Vegetarianism

 

" Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival

of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. " -

Albert Einstein

 

A vegetarian menu is a powerful and pleasurable way to achieve good

health. The vegetarian eating pattern is based on a wide variety of

foods that are satisfying, delicious, and healthful. Vegetarians avoid

meat, fish, and poultry (although most of us here at Educate-Yourself do

eat fish for protein).

Those who include dairy products and eggs in their diets are called

lacto-ovo vegetarians. Vegens (pure vegetarians) eat no meat, fish,

poultry, eggs, or dairy products. While there is a considerable

advantage to a lacto-ovo vegetarian pattern, vegen diets are the

healthiest of all, reducing risk of a broad range of health concerns.

 

Vegetarians have much lower cholesterol levels than meat eaters, and

heart disease is uncommon in vegetarians. The reasons are not hard to

find. Vegetarian meals are typically low in saturated fat and usually

contain little or no cholesterol. Since cholesterol is found only in

animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs, vegens consume a

cholesterol free diet.

 

The type of protein in a vegetarian diet may be another important

advantage. Many studies show that replacing animal protein with plant

protein lowers blood cholesterol levels-even if the amount and type of

fat in the diet stays the same. Those studies show that a low fat,

vegetarian diet has a clear advantage over other diets.

 

An impressive number of studies, dating back to the early 1920s, show

that vegetarians have lower blood pressure than non vegetarians. In

fact, some studies have shown that adding meat to a vegetarian diet

raises blood pressure levels rapidly and significantly.

 

The effects of a vegetarian diet occur in addition to the benefits of

reducing the sodium content of the diet. When patients with high blood

pressure begin a vegetarian diet, many are able to eliminate their need

for medication.

 

This is just a small excerpt from the " Vegetarian Starter Kit. "

 

You might like to know...

 

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by grains: 1

 

 

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by fruits: 4

 

 

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by dairy

products: 23

 

Percentage of pesticide residues in the U. S. diet supplied by meat: 55

 

Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs. non

meat eating: 35 times higher.

 

What the U.S.D.A. tells us: meat is inspected.

 

Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic

chemicals including dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004 %

 

 

Water

 

" Medical professionals of today do not understand the vital roles of

water in the human body. Medications are palliatives. They are not

designed to cure the degenerative diseases of the human body. " - Dr. F.

Batmanghelidj

 

Pure and simple, water is an essential part of a healthy diet. And to a

much greater extent than most would imagine. While unknown to the

orthodox medical community, dehydration is an extraordinarily common

cause of an astounding number of diseases.

 

One of the leading researchers in this field, F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.,

has explained this subject in great detail in his book, Your Body's Many

Cries for Water. The following are a few short excerpts from Dr.

Batmanghelidj's book, which should help convey the significance of water

in one's diet:

 

" The simple truth is that dehydration can cause disease. Everyone knows

that water is " good " for the body. They seem not to know how essential

it is to one's well-being. They do not know what happens to the body if

it does not receive its daily need of water. "

 

" In advanced societies, thinking that tea, coffee, alcohol, and

manufactured beverages are desirable substitutes for the purely natural

water needs of the daily 'stressed' body is an elementary but

catastrophic mistake.

 

It is true that these beverages contain water, but what else they

contain are dehydrating agents. They get rid of the water they are

dissolved in plus some more water from the reserves of the body! "

 

Currently, practitioners of conventional medicine are unaware of the

many chemical roles of water in the body.

 

Because dehydration eventually causes loss of some functions, the

various sophisticated signals given by operators of the body's water

rationing program during severe and lasting dehydration have been

translated as indicators of unknown disease conditions of the body.

 

This is the most basic mistake that has deviated clinical medicine. It

has prevented medical practitioners from being able to advise preventive

measures or offer simple physiologic cures for some major diseases in

humans. "

 

" With the appearance of these signals, the body should be provided with

water for these rationing systems to distribute. However, medical

practitioners have been taught to silence these signals with chemical

products.

 

Of course they have zero understanding of the significance of this most

gross error. The various signals produced by these water distributors

are indicators of regional thirst and drought of the body. At the onset,

they can be relieved by an increase of water itself, yet they are

improperly dealt with by the use of commercial chemical products until

pathology is established and diseases are born. "

 

We urge you to read Dr. Batmanghelidj's book, Your Body's Many Cries for

Water, for further information. Dr. Batmanghelidj recommends drinking 8

- 10 glasses of water daily, and more if you are suffering from an

illness.

 

 

Fiber

 

Fiber, or roughage, has been a popular topic in the media of late. While

advertisers try to sell us many things we don't need, they're right when

they say high fiber cereals are important for good health.

 

Lack of fiber has been implicated in the development of colon disease,

heart disease and numerous other conditions. Dr. Denis Burkitt was the

first to advance the idea of fiber as an important contributor to

health. He based his beliefs on his research of African tribes.

 

Dr. Burkitt found that African tribal residents suffered from almost

none of the modern diseases of the West such as colon cancer and heart

disease. However, when the Africans moved to the West and adopted our

eating habits, they quickly succumbed to our most common illnesses.

 

Dietary fiber is as important to children as it is to adults. Foods high

in fiber are high in vitamins, trace minerals and essential fatty acids.

Take wheat for example. Almost all of the essential nutrients are bound

in the germ portion of the grain.

 

During milling, the germ is separated from the endosperm. The germ is

sold separately as wheat germ (long known as a high nutrient food) while

the endosperm is further milled to make flour.

 

Milling of whole grain to make refined flour results in loss of 85

percent of the magnesium, 86 percent of the manganese, 40 percent of the

chromium, 78 percent of the zinc, 89 percent of the cobalt, 48 percent

of the molybdenum and 68 percent of the copper, in addition to

comparable losses of selenium, vitamin E and essential fatty acids.

 

Moreover, heavy metals such as cadmium (which are concentrated in the

endosperm) remain in the flour. (Unfortunately, the body's antagonist to

cadmium--zinc--has been removed.) Since nutrients are required to

properly utilize all calories we consume, the intake of refined food

leads to a gradual deficiency of nutrients. This is a strong argument

for the use of whole-grain products.

 

The real test of the value of refined (fortified) foods would be to put

a group of lab animals on a diet of white bread and compare them to a

group fed a diet of whole-grain bread. In one such experiment, two

thirds of rats kept on a diet of enriched white bread died before the

experiment was finished.

 

Fiber is also important because it helps keep the intestinal contents

moving through to their ultimate fate--elimination as stool. If the

intestinal contents move too slowly, toxic by-products of digestion and

bacterial fermentation remain in the bowel too long and are reabsorbed

back into the body. Over time, this can contribute to illness.

 

When one consumes a diet low in fiber, attachment of parasites such as

Giardia lamblia is easier. When fiber is present in the diet, the

intestinal contents move through more quickly and prevent the attachment

of such parasites. Recall that G. lambilia is one of the most common

parasites found in the United States. It contributes to immune

suppression, poor digestion, food allergies and numerous other problems.

The ability to decrease the likelihood of infection by this parasite by

simply increasing the intake of fiber is significant.

 

While fiber is necessary for children and adults, too much fiber can be

a problem as well, since excessive fiber can cause nutrients to be

leached out of the digestive tract. The problems for most of us,

however, is not too much fiber, but too little. (Never put a child on a

high fiber diet without consulting a health care professional.) Good

sources of fiber include fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains (oats,

wheat, rice, barley, etc.)

 

 

Juicing

 

Juicing, and the benefits of a juicing program have long been recognized

around the world. Since the early part of this century, researchers such

as Norman Walker, D.Sc., and Dr. Bernard Jensen have investigated the

effects of juice as part of the daily diet. Their studies show that

juice can provide all the basics of human nutrition, including

carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

 

Juicing adds to the benefits of vegetables and fruits. By juicing,

rather than eating the produce whole, the important nutrients and

phytochemicals found in plants are absorbed more easily by our

bodies--sometimes within minutes--without too much effort on the part of

the digestive system.

 

In addition to this, more of the nutrients are absorbed.

 

Fresh vegetable juices are also rich in enzymes. Enzymes spark the

hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the

body; enzymes are essential for digestion and absorption of food, for

conversion of food into body tissue, and for the production of energy at

the cellular level. In fact, enzymes are essential for most of the

building and rebuilding that goes on in the body every day.

 

When foods are cooked, enzymes can be destroyed; that is why raw foods

and juices are so important. They provide an excellent source of

all-important enzymes.

 

Carrot's beta carotene and the ellagic acid found in fresh apple juice

are clinically proven anti-cancer agents.

 

Limonene from lemon's white pith is recognized as a potent anti-cancer

nutrient and is also effective in dissolving gallstones.

 

Apple's soluble fiber, ellagic acid and vitamin C, combined with

celery's healthy dose of minerals and electrolytes can cleanse and

rebalance your system.

 

Digestive enzymes found in honeydew, papaya, and pineapple reduce

inflammation and energize the body.

 

An advantage of juicing over buying commercial juice is that when you

make your own juice you know exactly what it contains. You can be sure

to avoid adding sugar, sweeteners, and other additives. Also many

commercial juices are heat treated to extend shelf life, which can

destroy nutrients.

 

Recommended Diet

 

For those of you looking for a suggested diet, we recommend the

following:

 

Consume a diet that focuses on whole, unprocessed foods (whole grains,

legumes, vegetables, fruits, seeds, etc.)

 

Reduce (or eliminate, if possible) your intake of refined sugar.

 

Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water daily.

 

Avoid animal products, with the possible exception of cold water fish

(alaskan salmon, mackerel, herring, halibut, etc.).

 

Eliminate dairy products, caffeine, and alcohol.

 

Eliminate coffee (besides caffeine, there are a host of other chemicals

poisoning your body). Try the many varieties of herbal tea available.

 

Avoid soft drinks completely.

 

Avoid white bread and refined flour products. They are devoid of

essential nutrients, including omega-3 essential fatty acids and others.

 

 

Avoid margarine and all commercial cooking oils. Use organic Butter and

Organic extra virgin cold pressed Olive oil instead.

 

Consume organic Flax Seed Oil and cold fish oil (MAX EPA) daily.

 

Consume Miso soup, kelp, and shitake mushrooms regularly.

 

Brown Rice is better than white rice.

 

Buy organic foods (especially produce) whenever possible.

 

Get regular exercise.

 

Perform a relaxation exercise (deep/focused breathing, meditation, tai

chi, visualization, prayer, etc.) 10 to 15 minutes each day.

 

 

Suggested Reading

 

For more information on nutrition, we recommend the following books:

 

Diet for a Poisoned Planet, David Steinman

Diet for a New America, John Robbins

Your Body's Many Cries for Water, F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

The McDougall Program, John A. McDougall

 

=====================================================================

Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2005 8:20 am

Post subject: It's the Calories, Stupid

 

 

It's the Calories, Stupid

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/carbs_v_fat.htm

Sometimes we hear that fat intake has declined over recent years, yet

the population gets more obese, and people conclude that carbs are to

blame, and fat isn't a bad guy. There are a few silly diets based on

this false claim.

 

LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2003 -- The Journal of the American Dietetic

Association published another in what is becoming a long line of studies

debunking the central premise of lo-carb diet myth. Proponents of plans

like Atkins, Sugar Busters and the Zone have long used the following

logic as the lynchpin of their sales strategy:

 

a) in the 80's and 90's the government told us to eat less fat to lose

weight;

b) we ate less fat;

c) we got fatter; so

d) it's not the fat, it's something else -- the carbs -- that make you

fat.

 

It's a very persuasive pitch -- except that it's false.

 

Much of the published research on the amount of fat the average American

has consumed during the 80's and 90's looked at fat as a percentage of

total calories. When studies showed the fat percentage going down from,

say, 38% of calories to 34% of calories, researchers reasoned we were

" eating less fat. " In truth, research now shows that we were eating

more.

 

How is it possible? Because food manufacturers simply added more

carbohydrates -- like sugar -- to their food. This means that while the

same amount or more fat could be present in a given food, the percentage

of fat that comprised total calories went down. So during the past 20

years the average American has actually been eating more grams of fat in

their diet, even if the percentage of fat as total calories has gone

down.

________________

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html