Have a Healthy and Happy Holiday, by Jackie Graff

[Guest guest]

Have a Happy Healthy Holiday

 

by Jackie Graff R.N. B.S.N

Jackie Graff

 

During this time of year many are getting sick with colds and flu and there is an increase in hospital admissions. There are several reasons why this occurs. We tend to think that we " caught " a cold, an infection or a virus, but what actually happened is that we created a condition in our body that made it possible for the bacteria and viruses to proliferate, and illness or disease to occur. A depressed immune system and inflammation in the body are the basis of colds, flu and many chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases. The cold or flu that you caught could be a sign that your immune system is being compromised and only you can change this situation. The holidays begin in the fall and continue through Valentine's Day. During this time people eat more sugar and fat and drink more alcohol. By improving our diet, reducing stress, getting adequate sleep, and exercising, we will have the defenses to stay healthy.

 

Normally inflammation works as the body's primary response to infection and injury. Inflammation is a process that involves enlisting the body's macrophages (white blood cells that fight infection) and chemicals the body produces in response, in an attempt to defend itself against pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. This inflammatory process produces free radicals.

 

The immune response can turn against us when it is misdirected and goes after healthy tissue that it recognizes as abnormal. Sometimes the inflammatory process does not shut down as it should, something keeps the process going and inflammation becomes chronic as the body turns on itself. There are conditions that can keep this inflammatory process going such as smoking, chronic infections like severe periodontal disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diets high in sugar, trans fatty acids and cooked protein, and diets low in fruits and vegetables. The inflammation can become chronic.

 

The biggest cause of inflammation in the diet is sugar or high fructose corn syrup found in most processed food. Also included are the foods that quickly convert to sugar in the bloodstream such as white potatoes, rice cakes, white breads, pastries, pasteurized fruit juice, colas, cereal, chips and other snack foods with white flour. When the blood sugar rapidly rises it results in a profusion of inflammatory chemicals that go throughout the whole body. Sugar attaches to the collagen in our body, which produces inflammation resulting in an enzyme that breaks down collagen. Free radicals attack cell membranes, collagen and proteins. This glucose molecule attaches itself to our veins, arteries, ligaments, bones, and brains. Sugar contributes to the degeneration of every organ and body function and depresses the immune system. Fructose in fruit does not cause this, because the fruit sugar comes with fiber and does not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar.

 

Stress is another factor. When stressed, neuropeptides are produced that exert a negative effect on our brain by triggering the production of cortisol. High levels of cortisol for a long time can be toxic to all of our organs and damage to the immune system, making us susceptible to infection and other chronic diseases, acidifying the body causing us to loose calcium from our bones, thin our skin, and contribute to weight gain. One of the benefits of eating a raw plant based diet is the overall sense of calmness, thus reducing the cortisol level. Animal protein and dairy containing adrenalin and other hormones contributes to extended high levels of cortisol.

 

Lack of sleep increases our cortisol level and depresses the immune system. During the holidays people have a tendency to get less sleep. Keeping our body well hydrated with clean water will help move toxins out of the body through our lymph system, which is an important part of the immune system. The lymphatic system uses our large muscles to transport the lymphatic fluid around the body. Exercise is important to keep the immune system strong. Studies have found moderate exercise decreases the risk of upper respiratory tract infections and shortens the duration and severity of symptoms should one become ill with a cold or flu. There are also studies that have documented that heavy athletic training can increase the risk of catching colds or flu, so don't over do.

 

Proper nutrition is very important for all body functions. There are enzymes in fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds that help digest the food and these enzymes are destroyed with heat (above 105 degrees). Cooked food is more difficult to digest. This is why one feels " full " with cooked food, it stays in our digestive system longer. When there are not enough digestive enzymes to adequately digest food, one can become deficient in caloric nutrients. All fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are made up of varying amounts of these caloric nutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). Calories are not changed by heat but fats are transformed to trans fatty acids, carbohydrates are caramelized (burned sugars), and proteins, which are made up of individual amino acids, are denatured with heat making them difficult to break down, digest and assimilate. Large chunks of undigested proteins are absorbed instead of the individual amino acids. The immune system then treats them as foreign invaders. This can exhaust the immune system. When a diet high in cooked food is eaten it causes an increase in the white blood cells, called leucocytosis, which is the body's response to a foreign body and can be a cause of chronic inflammation. When these caloric nutrients are altered by heat, the body processes them differently. Eating a diet of uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds promotes weight loss.

 

The body can heal itself. The health benefits of eating uncooked fruits vegetables, nuts, and seeds are to give the body nutrition keeping it from being deficient or malnourished and more importantly, not ingesting food that is difficult to digest and assimilate and which will cause inflammation and toxicity. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are full of antioxidants that disable free radicals. Omega 3 fatty acids from fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds can fight inflammation. It is no wonder that we have so many chronic diseases with the component of inflammation when the standard diet lacks the free radical fighting antioxidants and is loaded with inflammation inducing foods. Physicians agree that most chronic diseases can be prevented, overcome or improved by a change in the diet.

 

The more raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds added to the diet the healthier the person would become. Most diets do not work, because the nutrient to calorie ratio is low. We should be eating for calories, nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. The calorie to nutrient ratio in cooked food is low in nutrients in comparison to the calories. Raw food is high in nutrients, antioxidants, and enzymes compared to the calories. The body does not function well if it is deficient in nutrients, the energy level is decreased, digestive problems such as indigestion, gastric reflux, diarrhea or constipation can occur, inflammatory disorders rise, and many other conditions are contributed to enzyme deficiencies. The antioxidant power of phytonutrients in these uncooked plant foods reduces inflammation and keeps us healthy. Anti-oxidants in these plant foods are present to protect the plants from the environment and when we eat them, we will be protected.

 

Some in the medical community are beginning to catch up with the research that is already available and are convinced that what we eat does affect our body by either causing or eliminating a disease. The greater the quantity and assortment of raw fruits and vegetables consumed, the lower the incidence of heart attacks, strokes, and cancers including those of the breast, colon, rectum, lung, stomach, prostate, and pancreas. We cannot buy our health in a pill or treatment; we must earn it through healthy living. Dr. Joel Furman, author of " Eat To Live " , a practicing physician for ten years who sees five thousand patients a year, has been treating patients with aggressive nutrition with a plant based mostly raw diet and has seen a reversal of almost all major illnesses that other physicians have considered irreversible. Health care providers can only address symptoms with treatments and medications, which only suppress the symptoms and do not cure the disease. Most individuals are unconscious of the fact that most illness is self-induced and can be reversed with aggressive nutrition designed to undo the damage caused by years of eating a diet causing disease and inflammation. Many individuals are digging their graves with their fork.

 

This year let's have a happy, healthy holiday and begin the new year with a healthy immune system by eating many more raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds loaded with those free radical grabbing antioxidants, and by exercising, getting enough sleep, and reducing stress.

 

 

Jackie Graff R.N. B.S.N has been a practicing nurse for 39 years in a major metropolitan hospital. Realizing that traditional medicine does little to cure people from disease, Jackie turned to nutrition for cure and prevention. In addition to her continued nursing practice, she is a nutrition consultant, health minister, and author of 16 theme raw food recipe books and one of America's leading raw chefs. Together with her husband Gideon, they teach culinary classes at the Hallelujah Acres Culinary Academy in Shelby NC and in Atlanta. You can contact Jackie at 770 992-9218 or email her jackie