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COLUMBIA & CLARKSVILLE
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Nutrition for Life
Benefits of Fruits, Vegetables & Whole Grains
It may well be true that the daily consumption of 5-10 servings (serving = ½ to 1 cup, depending on food density) of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables will help or completely heal almost any dis-order, dis-ease, or dis-function of the human body. In Canada, the recommend daily amount is 10-15 servings per day!
Just some of the benefits that seem most obvious, are listed below. This is a daily requirement for bountiful health. Whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts provide some of these benefits as well, especially in minerals and fiber. Processed or overly cooked versions of these really do not count, as they are so depleted of the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals they had before being processed.
* Faster and healthier cell regeneration and healing;
* More alert, need less sleep;
* More sustained energy and energy recovery;
* Prevent illnesses, diseases and other disorders;
* Overcome infections/viruses easier;
* Handle emotional and physical stress more easily;
* Lower blood pressure and cholesterol;
* Reduce arthritis and muscle pain;
* Reduce headaches;
* Improve/normalize immune system;
* Improve/normalize digestive system, including better elimination/cleansing of blood and Gastro-intestinal tract;
* Improve blood sugar stability;
* Improve hormonal balances;
* Reduce P.M.S. symptoms;
* Nails and hair grow better, faster, and stronger;
* Reduce wrinkling of skin and graying of hair;
* Reduce allergies and asthma symptoms;
* Normalizes food cravings, increasing cravings for more fruits and vegetables, less salt/sugar;
* Balances body weight;
* Feel better and look better.
Eating at least 5-10 servings of raw, densely nutritious fruits and vegetables is truly a requirement for good health.
Fiber...Still Necessary!
The human body requires at least 25-35 grams of soluble and insoluble fiber every day. Without that fiber, the digestive tract will become diseased.
Why?
* Fiber + Water prevents constipation - an absolute requirement for health is daily or 2x daily fecal elimination.
* Soluble Fiber binds to the body's toxins, and removes them, reducing their damaging effects.
* Fiber triggers peristalsis in the intestinal tract, escorting the toxins through and out.
* Fiber slows down the metabolism of sugar into blood stream and cleans out the intestinal tract, a critical factor for blood sugar balance and prevention of diabetes and digestivedisorders of every kind.
* Along with enzymes from raw foods, it facilitates the healing of hundreds of different problems, like Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, allergies, chronic infections, headaches, and many more.
* Sufficient daily fiber can prevent many forms of cancer and coronary artery disease. It is the secret to eliminating constipation, diverticulitus, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, colitis, arteriosclerosis, and his highly correlated with the incidence of others, like appendicitis, chronic infections, gas, bloating. Fiber is a tool for detoxification of the body. Some fiber forms, like alginates found in seaweed and the dark green sea vegetables are powerful tools in detoxifying chemical and metal toxins while providing chlorophyll and other healthy nutrients.
* Fiber dramatically supports weight loss.
How do you get it...daily?
The best way is to eat the 7-10 servings of fiber-filled vegetables and fruit recommended by virtually every health organization in the U.S. Whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes are also very good sources. Fiber decelerates the metabolism of sugar into blood stream and cleans out the
intestinal tract.
Chose foods with fiber in them. Literally, when shopping, buy the bread or soymilk or cereal, or snack, or food in the restaurant that provides the most fiber. Choose the brand with the best fiber to sugar ratio. Make a serious attempt to eat sugar only when fiber is part of the food. A really good example of that would be to eat the whole apple, not the juice.
Raw organic oatmeal, self sweetened, is much preferred to the packaged varieties. Infants and toddlers drink juice with their parent's falsely held belief in the nutritional qualities of the fruit juice. Unless the child is eating the apple, not just drinking the juice, it is now widely accepted that water is the better choice.
The hazards of the sugar, far outweigh the benefits of the vitamins supposedly in the juice. This point is sometimes controversial with the parents of juice loving children, but juice drinks are doing a great deal of damage to our kids. Research the point in current nutritional literature. Many ear tubes and hyperactivity could be avoided with this important guideline.
The rampant increase in digestive disease cancers and disorders as well as arteriosclerosis and strokes seen in our culture could be attributed to the kind of foods we eat. It is best to choose to eat roughly 1/4 -1/3 of the daily 25-35 grams needed daily, at each of the 3 meals in a day, with fibrous snacks making up the difference.
High fiber whole grains, raw seeds and nuts like oats, kamut, barley, wheat and wheat bran, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.. combined with fruits, nuts and soy milk for breakfast, can start the day off with 10-15 grams of fiber daily. Smoothies made with high quality, organic soy isolate and complex carbohydrates (like, fruit, and soy/almond milk) can be a tasty meal too, providing another 10-15 grams of fiber for a meal. Meat provides no fiber, so from that standpoint, vegetable proteins are preferred.
There are some supplements of soluble and insoluble fiber that can help. Most choices though, are limited only to soluble fiber. Some qualities to look for in a supplement would include a good tasting, slow releasing complex carbohydrate (i.e. fiber filled) with trivalent chromium. Unfortunately the "healthy" snack bars on the market are more often than not, really not healthy at all. Most of them are made with the toxic hydrogenated fats discussed below.
If these are your choice, choose carefully; find healthy fats only and complex carbohydrates with a significant amount of fiber. Most people from developed countries are not deficient in protein, so using these protein bars on a regular basis may be more hype than truth. When soy is part of the snack, always confirm that it is an organic or identity preserved soy source.
The lack of enough fiber and chromium would seem a likely correlated deficiency. Identifying a healthy snack for pre-meal and/or throughout the day and at low energy times, will enhance the overall health and weight of many people. Another feature that seems to work for people who are either watching their weight or trying to lose weight, is something called garcenia cambogia. It is the Hydrocitric acid (HCA) from the Asian malabar tamarind fruit. The benefits to the weight watcher are found in the fact that it slows the conversion of carbohydrates into fat, allowing more carbohydrates to be eaten before being converted to fat. It stored more glycogen, benefiting athletes. It very naturally suppresses appetite before a meal or in times when only a snack is available.
Good Fats ... Bad Fats ... A Major Health Issue!
There are numerous solidly researched references for reading which cite the benefits of taking organic flaxseed oil as the best, because of the risk of rancidity with the fish oils..
Omega-3 E.F.A.'s regulate many crucial body functions and are powerfully anti-inflammatory. Please note that Flax seed oil has a 3:1 ratio of LNA (Omega-3) to LA (Omega-6). Both Omega 3's and 6's are needed, but much more Omega-3's are needed in supplement form, because of the prevalence of Omega-6's in our daily foods.
Some key areas affected are:
* Control pressure in the blood vessels, joints, eyes;
* Regulation of pain response, inflammation, and swelling (powerfully anti-inflammatory);
* Mediation of hormone and steroid production and subsequent direction of hormones to their target cells;
* Mediation of immune response (and autoimmunity);
* Regulation of nerve transmission affecting mood, emotional and attention disorders (ADD/ADHD, depression, mental illnesses, compulsive disorders, etc.);
* Regulation of body secretions (can affect fertility and sexual pleasure as well as several digestive functions);
* Dilation and constriction of blood vessels;
* Regulation of collateral circulation;
* Regulation of smooth muscle and autonomic reflexes (heart beating, lungs expanding and contracting for example);
* Are primary constituents of cellular membranes, all multi-trillion of them;
* Maintain the fluidity / rigidity of cellular membranes;
* Regulates the in flow and out flux of substances into and out of the cells; Skin and hair texture for people and their animals;
* Regulation of rate at which cells divide (mitosis);
* Essential for transport of oxygen from the red blood cell to the body's tissues;
* Regulation of kidney functions and fluid balance;
* Important in keeping saturated fats mobile in the blood stream and preventing blood cells from clumping together...creating atherosclerotic plaque and blood clots;
* Serve as the primary energy source for muscles.
Eaten in healthy amounts, soy can be a tremendous addition to a man or woman's diet. According to numerous sources, the health benefits of whole food soy results largely from the isoflavones, a powerful group of phytochemicals. " They include: decreased cholesterol levels; decreased risk of heart disease; bio-available calcium and better calcium retention, thereby preventing Osteoporosis; protective against many forms of cancer, including breast and prostate, and diminished Menopausal Symptoms. This is good stuff!
Eat organic whole food forms like tofu, edamame, soy nuts, soymilk, and high quality organic soy protein powders. Some of the smoothie mixes are a well balanced meal, just be sure that other forms of soy are consumed too. Care should be taken in the selection of the soy protein one buys. Overprocessed, non-organic forms are often genetically modified and may be unhealthy.
Daily recommended amounts vary, but 30-50 mg of the isoflavones is a good range to consider. The closer to whole soybeans or fermented whole soybeans, the more intact the many benefits of this marvelous legume. It is good for very ill patients with impaired eating and digestive problems as well as for people with diabetes and hypoglycemia. And it is a delicious pre-workout or meal replacement idea. For the menopausal crowd, it works well in reducing hot flashes and night sweats. Taken with flax oil, it is just great!
Water ... Life's Most Essential Nutrient!
Water is the most important nutrient for life! Without water, you will die in less than a week. With water, greater benefits of the nutrients you eat, better filtering of the toxins in your body, which must find their way out, fewer aches and pains, better sleeping patterns, fewer infections, and the list goes on.
If you do only one thing for your health, drink 8-10 eight ounce glasses of FILTERED water daily. The benefits of water could fill a book and the health costs of not drinking enough water another. But what is the healthiest choice? Is tap water good enough?
Filtering your own water is one way to go, though distilled and reverse osmosis are other choices. Whatever you choose, drink lots of water, and if you don't drink filtered water, study the subject to make the tap water safer for you.
In 1998 USA Today covered how our safe drinking water laws are failing and powerful pollutants are ending up in many of our water supplies. In the same year, the L.A. Times reported that tap water is linked to miscarriages. Tap was out!
Some people have changed to bottled water, which is at least as scary, since the water has been de-chlorinated and left for weeks, months or longer for the bacteria and other pathogens to grow again. The bottled water industry is a mostly self-regulated, highly profitable industry, taking most of its water from municipal water systems and carbon filtering it.
Carbon filtering is a perfectly good alternative and is much less expensive than bottled. Since it is filtered at the time, or near the time of consumption, it is probably one of the best ways to go.
Suggested reading: Your Body's Many Cries for Water
F. Batmanghelidj, MD
Anti-Nutrients: Sugar & Hydrogenated Fats!
Anti-nutrients are foods that harm or debilitate our bodies. Sugars that quickly enter the blood stream, like processed sugars, suppress the functioning of the immune system. According to Fred Pescatore, M.D.,in "Feed Your Kids Well": Even as little as a tablespoon (1 tsp. for small children!) of sugar can impair a child's ability to fight off infections and oxidation. For adults it takes a bit more, but much less than most people realize. Much can be written about this, but the big picture is that sugar feeds the bacteria/ yeast, etc. and encourages disease/oxidation by acidifying the body.
Biochemically, simple sugars are acids. Healthy tissue has a pH level above 6.0 or 6.5, while blood plasma must stay in the very narrow range of 7.35-7.45, or death occurs. Sugar and phosphorus increase the acidity of the body, while more alkalizing minerals like magnesium and calcium increase the alkalinity of the body.
So meats, sugars, and soft drinks are acidifying while, fruits, vegetables, seaweed and algae are alkalizing. Sugar can be a huge problem without our even realizing how much we take in. So, a diet high in sugar can contribute to many illnesses that might otherwise be thought to occur for different reasons.
Hydrogenated, Partially, Fully or "Trans" Fats
Hydrogenated, partially, fully or "Trans" fats are highly toxic to adults and even more toxic to children. These are oils/fats that have had hydrogen forced into them, chemically altering the fat so that the body can not really use it and reacts negatively to it. The purpose for hydrogenation is to preserve the oil and make it more solid at room temperature.
Heated and reheated oils from fast food restaurants affect the body in a very similar way. These affected fats are very highly correlated with many cancers and every autoimmune and inflammatory disorder we know. Just some of them are: Lupus, Fybromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Crohn's disease, Diabetes, Colitis, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Osteoarthritis.
Other problems which can be triggered are hormonal imbalances and other hormonal disorders of all kinds; mental acuity/disorders including ADD and ADHD, depression, mental confusion and memory functioning. Heart and arterial disease, including atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are also triggered by these fats.
It is estimated that most American children by the age of 3 have fatty acids in their arteries. It is further estimated that 70% of today's American children, by the age of 12, already have beginning stages of hardening of the arteries. Hydrogenated fats are almost certainly a big part of the reason for that. Other causes include heated (rancid) fats from fried foods, excess sugar intake and a lack of antioxidants in their bodies to reduce the rancidity of the fats.
Eating the right fats is critical for our health. Avoid hydrogenated fats, every single time you can!
Enzymes
Enzymes are required for every function in the body from digesting food to making the heart contract to push blood through the body. Here we are focused on digestive enzymes. Without a daily supply from food sources, [from the 5-10 servings of RAW fruits, vegetables, grains and the 20-30 grams of vegetable proteins recommended by the Nutrition Made Simple Plan], most people's enzymes stores are insufficient to digest their food, depriving the body of the very nutrients we are in need of for life. Humbart (Smoky) Santillo, M.H., N.D. writes in Food Enzymes, The Missing Link to Radiant Health:
"Enzyme levels, particularly in our immune system, are severely depleted due to the over consumption of processed and cooked foods, and the toll that stress, environmental pollutants, and other life-negative factors have on our lives." Cooked, irradiated, and micro-waved foods are lacking in those enzymes, leaving the digestive organs coated and/or filled with undigested food which is putrefying inside of the body, causing toxins, gas, heartburn and degenerative diseases. Both short and long term problems result, including chronic infections, asthma, allergies, chronic headaches, chronic inflammation, digestive diseases (all), cancer, and many other specific and non-specific problems.
Digestive enzymes are another important aspect of vibrant health. An enzyme deficiency can eventually result in many significant are full of highly effective digestive enzymes. They are very helpful in improving health by insuring better digestion of food and allowing the nutrients to be usable to the body's cells. They facilitate the break down and elimination process, keeping the digestive tract, blood stream and detoxifying organs (e.g. the liver, kidneys, spleen) clean and functioning. Enzymes are one of the best secrets the fruits and vegetables. They are one of the reasons it works so well in improving the immune system's functioning. It is just another aspect of why raw fruits and vegetables are so far reaching in their ability to prevent disease, restore energy, and improve health.
"Enzyme levels, particularly in our immune system, are severely depleted due to the over consumption of processed and cooked foods, and the toll that stress, environmental pollutants, and other life-negative factors have on our lives." Cooked, irradiated, and micro-waved foods are lacking in those enzymes, leaving the digestive organs coated and/or filled with undigested food which is putrefying inside of the body, causing toxins, gas, heartburn and degenerative diseases. Both short and long term problems result, including chronic infections, chronic headaches, chronic inflammation, digestive diseases (all), cancer and many other specific and non-specific problems.
Minerals
Minerals are crucial to good health. Minerals need to come from whole food as much as possible, and some foods should be avoided entirely. Soft drinks are an example of a "food" that causes severe problems, whether they are sugar or artificially sweetened. The pH balance, from the phosphorous can cause a cascade of disease inducing events to occur. Soft drinks should ideally be avoided by adults and absolutely, by children.
Enriched grain based foods, like rice and bread are deficient in correctly balanced minerals. Organic fruits and vegetables are the best balanced source for minerals. Books and books are written about Calcium and the absorption of this crucial and easily deficient mineral. Seek to get your calcium from organic deep green leafy vegetables and legumes, rather than from meat and dairy products for best results. Make certain that abundant sources of zinc and chromium are part of the food you eat also, as those are crucial and often deficient minerals for Americans.
Chromium is a key mineral, a co-factor to insulin, which is crucial for the metabolism of sugar. It is estimated that about 80% of us are deficient in chromium. Deficiencies are highly correlated with arteriosclerosis and diabetes There have been significant increases in the rates of the diagnoses of Type II diabetes and hypoglycemia in our adult AND child population.
Antioxidants, Vitamins & Food Actives
Every degenerative disease is believed to have at least some component of its cause in oxidized body cells. (See the explanation free radicals, the cause of oxidation below). Fruits, vegetables, Omega-3 oils, whole grains, and vegetable proteins all contain antioxidants, other vitamins, and many thousands of other food actives. These phytochemicals are essential for life and included names like, carotenoids, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, B-Vitamin, tocopherols (Vitamin E), anthocyanidins, glucosinolates, terpenes, phenols, indoles, isoflavones, glucosinolates, sulphorophanes, flavenoids, flavenals, thiols, lignans, allylic sulfides, isoprenoids, and many more. Whole foods are the absolute only way to get these in the diet. Some very good speakers and writers on the subject of antioxidants and anti-aging are these Doctors: Mitra Ray, Ph.D., Barbara Fischer, M.D., Richard Dubois, M.D., Timothy J. Smith, M.D., Andrew Weil, M.D. (latest books best on all subjects), and J. Robert Hathererill, Ph.D.
Antioxidants & Free Radicals ... The Antioxidant Cascade.
From pg. 155 in a book entitled "Eat to Beat Cancer" by J. Robert Hatherill, Ph.D., a succinct explanation is given. "Free radicals are molecules that have an imbalance in their electrons that compels them to be reactionary, [damaging], so they race wildly around in your cells searching for more electrons. By tearing electrons away from otherwise stable molecules they incite a cellular riot, starting a cascade of toxic insults that in time can cripple the cell. These highly toxic free radicals degrade fats (lipid peroxidation) and proteins, disable critical enzymes, mangle DNA, and disrupt the cell to the point where it can burst like a balloon."
What happens when you consume a plethora of antioxidants, like those found in whole food, those free radicals are "rescued" by an antioxidant (a cell which will freely give over one of it's electrons to the more damaging free radical cell.) But what happens then, is it leaves the antioxidant cell without the much needed electron it needs for stability, so another antioxidant "rescues" that disabled antioxidant cell, restoring it to stability, and another antioxidant cell is left in need of an electron. The key to this process and ongoing or recovering health is to continually replenish your antioxidant stores, in number and variety, to save the newly disabled antioxidant. This is a daily requirement!
Wishing You the Best of Health
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