The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human
Needs concluded in the 1978 report Diet and Killer Diseases:
"The average American diet is responsible for the development of
chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, atherosclerosis,
cancer, diabetes, stroke, etc."
As long ago as the '30s, Dr. Francis M. Pottenger's nutritional studies
showed that a regular diet of cooked or canned foods caused the
development of chronic degenerative diseases, reproductive problems,
less healthy offspring and premature mortality in our pets.
Not too much has changed!
The World
Health Organization warned in 2004 of the connection
between processed foods and degenerative health problems. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2814253.stm
The Journal of the American medical Association published
an article acknowledging the connection in 2002. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/410677?src=search
I am hearing bits and pieces
of talk questioning the value of a low-fat diet in the prevention of
atherosclerosis. Once again there are those who point out that many
individuals on a low-fat diet gain weight (and become obese) by eating
more carbohydrates.
Some scientists point out that atherosclerosis is less common in
countries where people do not decrease their dietary fat -- but eat
more vegetables -- than it is in countries where people have decreased
the amount of fat in their diet but eat more carbohydrates and fewer
vegetables.
Thus far, the question that has been raised is, How valuable is a
low-fat diet for the reduction of atherosclerosis? But perhaps the
question should be posed another way: How harmful is it not to eat a
large quantity of vegetables and fruit daily? (Lynn: my emphasis)
Change can happen,
however - and some "change" is thousands of years old.
Over 40 years ago a researcher named Ancel Keys, who died at
the age of 100, did his famous Seven Countries Study (see RESOURCES
at right) He found that villagers on the Greek island of Crete had 90 %
less heart disease than Americans. In addition, obesity was rare. Their diet,
unchanged for hundreds of years, consisted of whole
grain breads , olive oil, beans, nuts, vegetables,
fruits, and small servings of cheese. They ate fish once a week, and small
amounts of meat about twice a month. But their diet was not particularly low in
fat: 40% of their calories came from olive oil.
From this study come the following diet recommendations
Generous amounts of good oils (olive, coconut, macadamia)
are allowed on my diet, while saturated fats from animal sources and trans
fats are eliminated .
This change needs to be accompanied by consistent healthful
exercise, such as brisk walking.
Protein should be supplied liberally from plant sources,
such as beans, nuts and soy, with poultry, eggs, fish and meat a few times a
week, and red meat a few times a month. Remember, high meat consumption is
linked to cancer.
Remember: many of the herbs and spices have health benefits
- consider cayenne, turmeric and parsley as examples. Season your food with
the good ones.
Cheese and yogurt
may be consumed on a daily basis, but in small amounts.
Fruits and vegetables should be consumed in variety on a
daily basis.
Make sure a goodly proportion of your food is raw, for the
enzymes provided
Walnuts and almonds are encouraged as snacks. I like
almond butter in celery sticks, and walnuts in my yoghurt.
A glass of wine per day (moderation rules - see RESOURCES for alcohol and Dementia) is an acceptable addition,
but your main drink should be pure water.
Green tea is encouraged. One cup of coffee a day is
accepted.
Consider increasing raw foods in your diet to offset the
damaging effect of a diet that consists mostly of cooked
foods - http://ahha.org/articles/appleton2.htm. Enzymes are the difference between raw and cooked foods. Enzymes are
powerful biochemical catalysts. They speed burning or building reactions in the
body according to need, but enzymes are destroyed by temperatures as low as 105
degrees, the equivalent of light steaming. While our body can manufacture
enzymes, according to Dr. Edward Howell in his book Enzyme Nutrition:
"the more you use your enzyme potential, the faster it is going to run
out." Only raw food has functional "live" enzymes, so plan to add
more raw foods to your diet, particularly in the warmer months of the year.
Keep reading for suggestions on how to do this!
I have eliminated Canola oil from my kitchen.
This is because the rapeseed oil it is made from is actually a genetically
engineered crop, and there are some questions about the health effects of Canola
( or rather, the erucic acid it contains). For an extensive report on what
I am talking about, see RESOURCES.
An alternative I like, and am using increasingly, is the Macadamia Nut Oil:
it is expensive at the moment, but Oh! so good. See RESOURCES for more info and to order. Olive oil is the other choice, and as more
and more research is done on it, including it in your diet becomes more and more
of a no-brainer. Studies have found for example, that Extra Virgin olive
oil (the good stuff) contains an ibuprofen-like molecule called oleocanthal,
which may have many of the benefits of that compound without the risk.
It is finally being generally accepted
that high cholesterol levels may be related to a fatty acid deficiency or
imbalance, and that taking moderate amounts of "good fats" helps lower
cholesterol. The oils usually mentioned are flax, olive and fish oil, but
it looks as though we need to add macadamia nut oil to the list:
Macadamia
Nuts Lower Cholesterol in Men...Macadamia
nut consumption may help reduce cholesterol levels in men, according to a
study published in a recent Journal of Nutrition (2003,
vol.133:1060-1063). In the study, 17 men with high cholesterol incorporated
macadamia nuts into their diets for four weeks. The amount of nuts eaten was
between 1.5 and three ounces per day, which equaled roughly 15 percent of the
men's total daily calories. Total cholesterol levels decreased by three
percent and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol was 5.3 percent lower by
the end of the trial than at the beginning. Researchers also observed that
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol rose eight percent.
Coconut oil has gone from being perceived as
unhealthy to having its virtues recognized. Here
is more information about its benefits at http://www.gardenoflife.com/detail_coconut_oil.shtml, which include a positive effect
on cholesterol levels.
This is my list of
super-foods, some of which should be on your menu every day:
yoghurt or kefir
broccoli
blueberries
beans and lentils
tomatoes
parsley
oats
spinach
carrots
salmon
turkey
onions
pears or apples
walnuts
green tea
eggs (free range)
garlic
olive/macadamia/coconut oil
I do not recommend replacing olive oil entirely with Macadamia
nut Oil: I use it when a milder oil is needed. I say this because there
are substances in the olive oil which may protect our health in ways previously
unimagined. For example, Dr. Menendez, doing research at Northwestern
University Scholl of medicine (Chisago) has discovered that Oleic Acid,
one of the main ingredients in olive oil, actually seems to suppress HER-2/neu,
the most active oncogene in breast cancer (it is found in more than one fifth of
breast cancer patients, and associated with the most aggressive tumors.)
During the summer
months, when vegetables stun us with their profusion and color,
I make use of my blender for a very delicious and European purpose: cold
soups.
The principle is simple:
start with good stock, whether vegetable or chicken, well
chilled. Water at a pinch!
add your chopped ingredients, having chosen the main
flavor. Favorites are cucumber, avocado or tomato.
decide whether your soup needs thickening. Choose
tahini, almond butter, peanut butter, chickpeas or other cold cooked pulses,
yoghurt, cream
choose your fresh herbs - parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, a
little cayenne
add chopped garlic
add seasonings
add lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
add a tablespoon of "friendly fat" - olive or
macadamia oil
add some ice
blend and serve
You will find a selection of more precise recipes for many
more cold soups at http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/all/articles/61P1.asp
And voila! You have
delighted your palate with a tasty dish that includes raw foods with
their accompanying enzymes, nutrients galore, phytochemicals beyond
number - and you haven't even heated up your kitchen.
Obviously, a few caveats need to be attached to this for
people with specific health problems - but for the many of you who ask me what I
eat and whether I am a vegetarian - this is your answer, in detail. It is a
healthy diet, a high fiber, energy-producing, weight maintaining diet, and
it tastes good. Where possible, buy organic foods, add a good selection of
supplements, both a daily choice of necessities like a multi and calcium,( who
has time to eat perfectly every day!) and, where indicated, specific
nutrients selected with your particular situation in mind, and living like this
should positively support all the systems of your body for many years of healthy
living.
I would add that I find certain of Dr. d'Adamo's theories spot on: people with blood
type O do need to increase the balance of protein,
they are the ones who benefit most spectacularly from the limiting of
carbohydrates. There can be no doubt that everyone is metabolically
unique: perfectly healthy foods for one individual can provoke reactions
in another. There is a new book on this subject that I recommend highly,
by Wolcott and Fahey, which enables you to identify your type, and modify the
balance of your diet to a template that suits you. Go
to http://www.mercola.com/forms/mtt_table.htm for an example of the lists they use.
Some of my clients have found that, while limiting
carbohydrates to the point where they lose weight proved very difficult, separating
protein from carbohydrates ( in other words, not eating them at the same meal)
proved not only easier to do, but extremely effective at promoting weight loss.
These were, of course, complex carbs, not just sugar and white flour!!
For many suffering from many years of faulty diet, consider
digestive
enzymes and a detoxification/cleansing
program.
I append a recent very interesting report :
WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Nov 22 - Diets low in saturated
fat and high in (complex) carbohydrates and fiber increase sensitivity to
insulin and lower the risk of coronary heart disease, thus offering the best
health benefits, according to a multicenter group of researchers. High-fat diets
promote short-term weight loss, they add, but increase the risk of
atherosclerosis progression.
Dr. James W. Anderson, of the VA Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, and
colleagues compared several popular weight-loss diets and examined their
potential long-term effects. Eight diets, including Atkins, Protein Power, Sugar
Busters, Zone, ADA Exchange, High-Fiber Fitness, Pritikin, and Ornish, were
"non-clinically analyzed by means of a computer to predict their relative
benefits/potential harm."
The researchers developed a summary description, menu plan, and recommended
snacks for each diet, according to their report in the October issue of the
Journal of the American College of Nutrition. The diets were then compared using
computer software to determine the nutrient composition and calculate Food
Pyramid Scores. Coronary heart disease risk factors were estimated by applying
several formulas.
"The Atkins and Protein Power diets are very high in total and saturated
fat
compared to current dietary guidelines," the authors write. They add that
significant increases in serum cholesterol and risk of coronary heart disease
may result from the long-term use of these diets.
The team found that diets that restrict sugar intake, such as the Sugar Busters
and Zone diets, would lower serum cholesterol levels and would probably reduce
the risk for coronary heart disease.
"The healthiest diets for weight loss, weight maintenance, and general
health
maintenance are ones that are rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole
grain cereals and breads," Dr. Anderson commented to Reuters Health.
"Healthy eating at the bottom of the food guide pyramid plus exercise are
the healthiest ways to lose weight."
J Am Coll Nutr 2000;19:578-590.
As you can see, I am
not an advocate of this diet versus that diet, but of commonsense and
self-control.
A study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association (2005, vol. 293, pp.43--53) came to the conclusion
that it doesn't matter which diet you follow, if you become health conscious and
improve your food choices, you WILL loose weight.
The study followed participants assigned to 1 of the 4
currently popular diets, Ornish, Atkins, Zone and Weight Watchers.
Dr. Robert Griffith MD, commenting on the study said
" This study shows that there is little difference between four
different types of diet - low-carb, balanced carb-protein-fat,
low-calorie, and low-fat. All four had a high (over 50%) drop-out
rate, and produced only moderate weight loss and cardiac risk
reduction.
It's obvious that sticking with a diet will achieve a better result in
both weight reduction and lessened cardiac risk factors. No single
diet was better than another in these respects, or more effective than
another. So, forget the latest fad diet. Instead of spending time and
money trying to determine which diet is the right one, you should
start one that you believe you can stick to - and then stick to it!
I realize that there are
individuals for whom this is not enough, and they require specialized treatment.
What I offer here is a guide to healthy eating which should, if followed, ensure
a healthy weight, a healthy heart and a healthy lifestyle.
Veggie
Venture - a charming blog with daily recipes that are easy, quick and
tasty -
http://aveggieventuresrecipebox.blogspot.com/2005/03/alphabet-of-vegetables_6295.html
Raw
Food recipes - http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/recipes.html
Recipes
for cold soups - http://allrecipes.com/advice/coll/all/articles/61P1.asp
Best
and Worst
Fish to eat - http://www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm?subnav=bestandworst
For more information about another fermented food
excellent for health KEFIR, http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html Bring
your sense of humor - this gentleman is an original!
What
did you eat today? Handy Nutrition Calculator - http://www.naturesplus.com/nutritionCalculator/
A new and FREE
Government resource that analyzes the content of your food
- http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl
Find out calorie, fat, fiber etc. content
of the food you eat.
Ancel
Keys' Seven Countries Study. http://www.epi.umn.edu/about/7countries/index.shtm
The
Sustainable Table's EAT
WELL guide - http://www.eatwellguide.org/
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