⊙ Timeless Secrets of Health & ReJuvenation <14 > What’s Supposed To Be So Good For You

CHAPTER 14
What’s Supposed To Be So Good For You…
1. Vitamin Euphoria – A Shot in the Dark
itamins seem to be so good for everything. The newly born needs them to grow properly; women
take them to be happy; men use them to maintain or increase potency; athletes ingest them to
stay fit; and older people take them to become younger or to avoid the flu. Even foods are categorized into
good and bad, depending on how many or few many vitamins they contain. Ever since vitamins were
produced synthetically they were made available in every drugstore or health shop around the world. Now
you don’t have to eat all that vitamin-rich food anymore to stay healthy, all you need is to pop in a couple
of those essential vitamin pills a day, or so the advertisements tell you. But if you don’t pay heed to this
advice, you are told that you may become vitamin deficient and put your health at risk.
And so we act obediently, out of fear of risking our lives. If you feel tired or suffer from lack of
concentration (which could be due to lack of sleep or overeating), you may be prescribed vitamin B pills.
Then there is vitamin C if you catch a cold (which could result from stress, working too hard or eating too
much junk food). Vitamin E, you are told, helps you prevent a heart attack (so you may no longer need to
watch out for the true risk factors of heart disease). Accordingly, we spend billions of dollars on vitamin
pills each year to fight off every kind of ill from the common cold to cancer.
Nowadays, artificial vitamins are added to almost every processed food – not because they are so good
for you, but because foods that are “enriched” sell better. Cereals, bread, milk, yoghurt, boiled sweets,
even dog food with added vitamins leave the supermarket shelves much faster than do those without them.
Smokers, meat eaters, sugar addicts, or people who drink too much alcohol can now continue enjoying
their self-destructing habits without having to fear the dreaded vitamin deficiency, thanks to the blessed
food industry. The magic food supplements have become an insurance policy against poor diet, and
nobody has to feel guilty anymore over eating junk food. And on top of that, scientific research suggests
that taking large doses of supplements may protect you against disease, even though there is no real
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evidence to support that claim. As seen in the sales figures, the public believes that the more vitamins you
take, the healthier you get.
But are vitamins really so good for your health? Despite the massive amounts of vitamins consumed in
modern societies, general health is declining everywhere, except in those countries that still rely mostly on
fresh farmed foods. Could the mass consumption of vitamins be even co-responsible for this trend?
Sodium and water are essential to maintain sodium levels and hydrate the body, but too much of either
can seriously upset the body’s electrolyte balance. Overconsumption of vitamin A, for example, can cause
loss of hair, double vision, headaches, and vomiting in women, all indications of vitamin poisoning. If a
woman is pregnant, the supplement can even harm her unborn baby. As we will see, vitamins can even
endanger a person’s life.
Vitamin Deficiency – Or Perhaps Something Else?
In the beginning of the 17th century, Japan was afflicted with a disease, called beriberi, which killed
many people. By the year 1860, over one third of Japan’s marines had fallen ill with symptoms of weight
loss, frequent heart complaints, loss of appetite, irritability, burning sensations in the feet, lack of
concentration, and depression. The symptoms quickly disappeared whenever rice, Japan’s most important
staple food, was replaced with other foods.
Thirty years later the Dutch physician Christiaan Eijkman conducted an experiment feeding chicken
with white rice. The chicken developed symptoms such as loss of weight, weakness, and signs of nerve
infection, which Eijkman interpreted as being beriberi. The symptoms disappeared again when the
chicken were fed with brown rice. Soon later Eijkman discovered a few, previously unknown substances
within the bran of the whole rice; one of them was named B1. This initiated the era of vitamins.
But, as it turned out, beriberi wasn’t caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. People no longer suffered from
beriberi once they discontinued eating rice altogether. It should have been noticed from the beginning that,
with “no rice – no vitamin B1 – no beriberi,” the disease must have had other causes than vitamin
deficiency. Japanese marine soldiers died within three days after consuming white rice, yet it takes much
longer than that to get a B1 deficiency. The origin of this mysterious disease was revealed when in 1891 a
Japanese researcher discovered that beriberi is caused by the poison citreoviridine. Citreoviridine is
produced by mold in white rice that is stored in filthy and humid environments.
Yet until today, the vitamin B1-beriberi-hypothesis is still maintained in medical text books around the
world. Although it has never been proved that a B1 deficiency causes such symptoms as fatigue, loss of
appetite, exhaustion, depression, irritability, and nerve damage, many patients having these symptoms are
told that they have a vitamin-B deficiency. During vitamin B1 trial studies, all the participants complained
about the highly monotonous diet they were given; they suffered fatigue and loss of appetite, regardless of
whether they received B1 in their diet or not. As soon as they returned to their normal diet, even without
B1, the symptoms spontaneously disappeared.
Another B-vitamin is nicotinic acid or also known as niacin. It has become very popular and is now
routinely added to many foods. Niacin is supposed to safeguard us against diarrhea, dementia, and the skin
disease pellagra. Pellagra is more widespread among people who eat maize, though not everyone who eats
maize gets pellagra. Pellagra was found to be caused by food poisoning through spoiled maize. The poison
involved has been identified as T2-toxine and is known to disturb niacin metabolism, thus producing
pellagra. Besides the great importance given to taking extra niacin today this substance is not really a
vitamin at all since it can be produced by the body itself.
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Nobody Knows How Much You Need
Governments and international organizations such as the WHO frequently release figures that propose a
Daily Ratio of Allowance (DRA) for every vitamin that you supposedly need to stay healthy. The
nutritional experts in different countries however, have different opinions about how much of each vitamin
your body must have. An American, for example, is supposed to take at least 60mg of vitamin C, whereas
a British citizen is considered better off taking only 30mg. A Frenchman can only remain healthy if he
consumes 80mg of this vitamin whereas Italians are told they need 45mg. These figures are “adjusted”
every few years, although our bodies’ basic nutritional requirements have not changed over the past
several thousand years.
Nobody really knows how many vitamins are good for us because the requirements, constitutions, and
absorption rates for vitamins differ from person to person. Vitamins need to be digested before they can be
made available to the cells and tissues. once a person’s the digestive ability (AGNI) has diminished due to
congestion of liver bile ducts with intrahepatic stones (see my book The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder
Cleanse), for example, foods and even vitamins can no longer be digested properly.
When scientists calculate our vitamin requirements, they usually add a 50 percent “safety factor” to the
original figures to make certain that we eat enough of them. And because vitamin extraction from food
during the digestive process is so much less than 100 percent, these figures are increased one more time.
The official methods of analyzing the amount of vitamins we require are inadequate because we simply do
not know how much of each vitamin the human physiology needs. The thin, hyper-metabolic Vata body
type, for example, may have a far greater need for vitamin B-6 than the heavier-set, hypo-metabolic Kapha
type who can never really run out of it.
It is also not known how much of each vitamin is contained in a banana, an apple or a junk of
cauliflower. Vitamin contents fluctuate greatly with the size of the fruits, their maturity, the condition of
the soil, country of origin, time of harvesting, and the use of pesticides. How many of the vitamins
contained in these foods actually end up being utilized by the body depends on the digestive capacity and
body-type. In other words, the amount of any vitamin you take is not necessarily the amount that your
body ends up absorbing and ultimately putting to use. Complicating the absorption issue is the fact that
your body's ability to absorb nutrients is not necessarily the same from one day to the next. All this makes
official nutritional figures highly unreliable and speculative.
The vitamin theories originate in the assumption that the human physiology has stores for vitamins that
always must be full up in order to saturate the tissues of the body. This assumption, however, has never
been proven by scientific research. While calculating human vitamin requirements, nutritional science
assumes that the body’s metabolic processes take place at a top speed, which would require plenty of
vitamins. Our bodies, however, are not machines that run at top capacity day and night. Most of us are not
marathon runners, and even they don’t run for 24 hour's day after day, month after month, and year after
year.
It is very questionable whether the saturation of our body tissues with vitamins is even desirable. We
need a certain amount of fatty tissue in our body, but this does not mean we should all be excessively
filled with fat. Oxygen, too, is considered vital for all our body’s functioning, yet if its concentration in the
air is consistently too high it can cause serious bodily harm. Why should vitamins be an exception? And
anyway, vitamin deficiency is…
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…Rarely Caused by Lack of Vitamins
In the majority of cases, a vitamin deficiency does not occur because of insufficient vitamin intake in
the diet. A vitamin deficiency is rather caused by a congested capillary network that is unable to diffuse
sufficient amounts of the vitamins into the intercellular fluids. This can have a number of reasons,
overeating protein foods being one of the major ones.
A diet rich in protein foods, such as meat, fish, pork, cheese, milk, etc., will eventually block the basal
membrane (BM) of the small and large blood vessels in the body (see Chapter 9 on heart disease). Stress,
over-stimulation, and dehydration can have a similar effect. The subsequent thickening of the BM and
connective tissues makes it increasingly difficult for the basic nutrients, including vitamins, to reach the
cells. If trans-fatty acids are consumed, as contained in most processed and refined fats, oils and fast
foods, cell membranes become thick and congested, thereby preventing nutrients from reaching the cell
interior. All this greatly increases the amount of metabolic waste and toxins in the body, overtaxes the
liver, and causes the growth of gallstones. The gallstones inhibit the flow of bile, which subdues AGNI,
the digestive power and increasingly hinders the assimilation of nutrients, including fats. When fats are no
longer properly digested, the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K, which are normally stored in the liver,
become deficient. This problem becomes exacerbated by eating low fat foods (see section 6 on Light
Foods).
If vitamin A becomes deficient, for example, the epithelial cells, which form an essential part of all the
organs, blood vessels, lymph vessels, etc., in the body, become damaged. This can literally cause any kind
of disease. Vitamin A is also necessary to maintain the cornea of the eye, allow for eyesight in dim light,
and reduce the severity of microbial infection. Vitamin A is only absorbed from the small intestines
properly when fat absorption is normal. Fat absorption cannot be normal as long as gallstones obstruct the
bile flow in the liver and gallbladder. It is, therefore, very sensible to remove the gallstones and cleanse
the digestive system so that the vitamins contained in food you eat can actually reach the cells in your
body.
Taking extra vitamins can be harmful if the body is unable to make use of them and is given the
additional burden of having to break them down or try eliminating them from the system. Because
vitamins are strong acids, an overload can lead to vitamin poisoning (vitaminosis) and thus damage the
kidneys, and actually cause the same symptoms that accompany a vitamin deficiency. Instead of filling the
body up with large doses of vitamins it cannot even process properly, it would be more healthful and
efficient to cleanse the body from accumulated toxins, stored proteins in the blood vessel walls, and
impeding gallstones from the liver. Although taking mega doses of vitamins may temporarily increase the
pressure of diffusion of these nutrients for a short time and quickly relieve symptoms, the “benefits” are
often short-lived. If digestive functions are impaired, taking extra vitamins may actually endanger your
health.
Contrary to popular belief, vitamins do not have isolated functions, but are work as a “team” in the
body. If taken in supplemental form, versus from food, may be counter productive as excess of one
vitamin can have a suppressing effect on another. When isolated and extracted from foods, vitamins
arouse your nervous system should you take them. Feeling stimulated, and therefore energized, you
naturally assume these vitamins must be doing you good. But stimulants never give you extra energy, they
force the body to spend and give up energy.
The best source of healthy vitamins is fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc. Fruits
and vegetables also contain important health-essential nutrients known as phytochemicals – nature’s food
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coloring agents. They are what gives – which give them their color. To obtain vitamin D, the best and
cheapest source is sunlight. B12 is produced from microbes living in your mouth and gut.
Hidden Perils of Vitamin Pills
Vitamins D and A
Calciferol, known as vitamin D, is not a vitamin in the real sense since the body is capable of
producing it itself. With the help of UV light from the sun, the body synthesizes it from cholesterol (7-
dehydrocholesterol) in the human skin. Vitamin D, which acts rather like a hormone than a vitamin,
facilitates the absorption and utilization of calcium and phosphorus, necessary for maintaining strong
bones and teeth. Although vitamin D levels cannot be influenced through diet, the official nutritional
textbooks speak of 2.5 μg daily requirement for adults. Babies and breast milk are supposed to have the
biggest deficiencies in vitamin D, implying that nature made a crucial mistake when it invented breast
milk. Mothers are warned that, without taking extra amounts of this important vitamin, their babies could
risk rickets or bone deformation.
Yet mothers are rarely informed about the risks they take when they overuse vitamin D. Vitamin D
poisoning leads to something very similar to rickets. Professor Dr Ernst Lindner from the University of
Giessen in Germany has warned that if large amounts of vitamin D are given to a person, calcium is
removed from the bones; and this can cause bone deformation. He also states that it is very risky to add
vitamin D to food.
Bone deformation is more likely to occur in babies who are not breast-fed. Until the expensive vitamin
D pill came on the market, rickets was effectively treated with breast milk, and I might add, for thousands
of years.
Nature deemed it necessary to supply mother’s milk with only very little vitamin D. As studies have
shown the vitamin D content in mother’s milk does not increase when the mother takes vitamin D
supplements. This proves that a mother’s body filters out vitamin D to protect the baby from being
poisoned (by the vitamin). A baby’s body easily synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight once it is exposed to
it. It is, therefore, unnecessary to have this vitamin present in the mother's milk. The major cause of
vitamin D deficiency among babies is keeping them in dark rooms with little or no natural light. But even
with less than adequate sun exposure they are still capable of absorbing sufficient amounts of calcium
from the blood necessary for the building of healthy bones. While being breast-fed, an infant receives
plenty of milk sugar and phospho-caseins, both excellent transporting agents for calcium. If there is
anything that could cause rickets in babies, it is lack of mothers’ milk and exposure to sunlight.
Adults are not as well protected against this vitamin as breast-fed infants are. one report issued by the
University of Tromso in Norway showed that the long-term intake of vitamin D at the dosage of just
slightly above the 400 IU recommended amount (many people take as much as 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day!)
may trigger a heart attack and cause degenerative joint disease and arthritis. Another finding emerged from
the New York University Goldwater Memorial Hospital, which suggests that large doses of vitamin D can
cause magnesium deficiency in the heart tissue and cause heart attacks.
Pregnant women are particularly at risk. Dietary intake of vitamin D has led to kidney calcification and
severe mental retardation in their offspring. Children born to mothers, who take extra vitamin D in their
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diet, may develop a certain type of congenital heart disease called supravalvular aortic stenosis and show
extreme deformations of facial bones.
Taking vitamin D supplements can also contribute to arteriosclerosis and even be fatal. In 1991, several
Americans died from vitamin D in cow’s milk. The supplement was added during the production process,
but had not been churned properly. Milk enhances the potency of vitamin D by up to ten times, a fact that
is routinely ignored by milk producers. Milk that has been enriched by 90 units of vitamin D is poisonous
and can kill an adult person. But milk with added vitamin D just sells better. If you feel you need more
vitamin D, then it is best to sunbathe regularly or go for regular walks. But avoid using sunscreens.
It is also a well known fact that too much vitamin A causes deformity in unborn children. For this
reason, there is a law preventing the use of this vitamin in food. Yet this law does not apply to animal
feeds even though it is well known that vitamin A is accumulating in the liver of farm animals. Pregnant
women are warned not to consume liver to avoid damaging their babies. If taking extra vitamin A is
considered poisonous for pregnant women or unborn babies, it cannot be considered safe for the rest of the
population either.
B-vitamins
Pyridoxine or vitamin B6 is a combination of six substances. Since most parts of this vitamin occur in
bound form, analytic methods fail to determine how much of it is contained in food. It is also not possible
to make any reliable statements about how much of it we require. Still the nutritional textbooks suggest a
1-2 μg daily intake. What is known, though, are its side effects.
Vitamin B6 is often used as a drug. Its use is indicated for depression, pre-menstrual tension,
schizophrenia, and child asthma. It was considered safe until 1983 when scientists discovered a syndrome
accompanied by strong circulatory problems in the hands and feet of a number of patients who were given
large doses of vitamin B6. The patients developed symptoms similar to the ones caused by the drug
thalidomide (which recently has been reintroduced for specific disorders). Mothers who had taken large
amounts of B6 during their pregnancy also reported deformities in their children’s bodies. It took a long
time before the nerve damage was linked to vitamin poisoning. As it turned out, many patients, who had
been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, were poisoned by vitamin B6. There are many unsuspecting
people taking vitamin B6 today without the faintest idea that they are gradually injuring themselves.
The statement that Cobalamins or B12 vitamins can only be found in animal foods, such as meat, fish,
eggs, cheese, etc., is plain false. B12 has been detected in fermented plant foods and algae. A deficiency of
this vitamin is thought to cause pernicious anemia and degeneration of nerve fibers of the spinal cord. The
argument that people who don’t consume any animal foods must have a B12 deficiency and endanger their
health is unscientific, unfounded and misleading. Apart from producing vitamins K, B1 and B2, as well as
energy-providing short-chain fatty acids, the billions of beneficial bacteria residing in the large intestine
produce more than enough B12. B12 is also made in our mouth. In addition, the liver can store B12 for
many years and knows how to recycle this vitamin. This may explain why vegans (those who don’t eat
any type of animal product) eating a balanced diet almost never suffer from B12 deficiencies (contrary to
public opinion). I can personally attest to that. Before I started eating purely vegan 32 years ago, I suffered
from a severe chronic anemia. It vanished two months after I stopped eating meat, poultry, eggs, fish,
cheese and milk.
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If the body for any reason required more of this vitamin, it would instinctively desire foods that would
meet the increased demand. However, if the liver and large intestines are congested, a B12 deficiency may
eventually develop, regardless of whether a person is a meat-eater, a vegetarian, or vegan.
Niacin is one of the most popular B-vitamins. Now added to a large number of manufactured foods,
including breakfast cereals, niacin also is not without risks. After large doses of niacin (3g) had been given
to patients suffering from psychiatric diseases, they developed hepatitis and other liver problems. Among
other symptoms of niacin-poisoning are hot flushes, itching skin, arrhythmia, and nervousness. Illegal use
of niacin in minced meat and hamburgers has often led to similar symptoms. The main reason for adding
niacin to meat is to color it red and give it the appearance of being fresh. If you turn bright red, like a
tomato, and get an itch right after eating meat, then you are likely to have been poisoned with niacin.
The B-vitamin Folic acid is also a common food additive, and potentially one of the most harmful
ones. After researchers first discovered that people in malaria regions suffered from folic acid deficiency,
they gave them this B vitamin in the belief that it would make their immune systems more resistant to the
malaria bug. The children who were given this vitamin felt worse after the treatment and were found to
have much higher concentrations of malaria-causing agents in their blood than before.
The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the understanding that the malaria bugs themselves require
large amounts of folic acid to spread. People who have a deficiency in this vitamin are naturally protected
from malaria infection. A British doctor in Kenya discovered that children who took folic acid developed
malaria. He gave folic acid to one group of monkeys and compared them with another group monkeys
who were folic acid deficient. All the monkeys with “normal” levels of this vitamin were infected with
malaria whereas the ones with “abnormally low” levels stayed healthy.
Over 40 percent of the world’s population are is threatened by malaria today and it is no longer
restricted to developing countries. Malaria is rapidly becoming the leading cause of death in the world. It
is impossible to imagine the disastrous consequences that may have arisen from giving millions of healthy
people vitamins to help their assumed vitamin deficiency. What is considered to be a vitamin deficiency
for one person may be a life-saving response for another person. It is painful to know that many people
have to pay with their lives because we so crudely interfere in the self-regulating mechanisms of nature
and human physiology that protect us against disease.
Vitamin C
The most popular of all vitamins is Ascorbic acid or vitamin C, a deficiency of which is believed to
cause multiple hemorrhages, slow wound healing, anemia, and scurvy (damage of blood vessels). It is in
fact very easy to cure scurvy with red peppers, citrus fruits, or cranberries, all containing high
concentrations of this vitamin. Since the Hungarian scientist Szent Gyoerkyi identified vitamin C in
oranges to be an effective substance, it became common knowledge that vitamin C and orange juice must
have the same benefits. But as it turned out, scurvy cannot be cured by vitamin C alone. Regardless how
large a dosage of vitamin C you use the blood vessels will remain damaged. By contrast, eating a few
oranges or red peppers cures scurvy quickly, without a trace of damage left.
Vitamin C-rich fruits contain another ingredient which is known as vitamin C2. Scurvy can only be
cured if vitamin C and vitamin C2 are taken together. When Gyoerkyi studied vitamin C, he included both
compounds of vitamin C. But as the years passed, the scientific community began omitting C2, and today
nobody talks about it anymore.
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When vitamins became popular in the United States, there was a sudden jump in the number of newly
born babies developing scurvy. It was thought that scurvy was a disease eradicated a long time ago. As the
mysterious development was investigated, it was discovered that the mothers of the affected babies had
taken extra vitamin C preparations (without C2) in the belief that it was good for their babies. Dosed with
the vitamin, the mothers’ bodies started eliminating more of it than they ingested. When the babies were
born they also continued removing whatever vitamin C they had received from the mother, because this is
what they had learnt to do whilst in the womb. Since their baby food did not consist of large amounts of
vitamin C, they soon developed the dangerous baby scurvy.
The body of an adult, who consumes vitamin C regularly, may eventually produce a similar response.
He may even develop scurvy because the body becomes programmed to eliminate vitamin C faster and in
larger quantities than it is ingested or can be absorbed. Adults are known to develop further complications
when after using this vitamin regularly, but suddenly stop taking it. It is also known that large doses of
vitamin C can destroy another vitamin, that is, vitamin B12. There is too little research to tell what further
damage large amounts of vitamins can do to us but experimenting with these powerful substances on the
human body is similar to handling an explosive device.
A friend of mine developed a dangerous swelling of his kidneys after taking 2g of Vitamin C a day for
several weeks. By taking him off the vitamins and giving him tea made from the herb Pau d’ Arco helped
remove the excessive vitamin from the kidneys and restore them to their normal size and efficiency.
Added to the current uncertainty and confusion about taking vitamins, there is no conclusive proof until
this very day, that vitamin C protects you from infection, one of the main reasons why people use it.
Even if vitamin C were able to stop an infection, in many instances this could turn out the disastrous
for the body. To prevent a cold from reaching its climax upsets the body’s cleansing efforts of removing
accumulated toxins, and thus may become the first stage in a series of future illnesses. If the body is
“toxic” because of an unhealthy lifestyle, diet, and stress, its most important primary response is a toxicity
crisis that permits the body to cleanse itself. A cold is not a disease, and it should not be treated as one. It
is very ill advised to stop the body from eliminating toxins and purifying itself.
Handing out vitamin C as a preventive measure against colds is a practice that may also be
counterproductive. Although small doses of vitamin C may successfully initiate a cleansing response in
the body, large amounts of vitamin C can interfere with an ongoing, and possibly life-saving cleansing
process. The often-cited argument that all water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C and B, are harmless
because the body can easily eliminate excessive amounts without a problem is unscientific and misleading.
Cyanide is also water-soluble, but it can kill a person.
The 2004 November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that according to new
research older women with diabetes who take high doses of vitamin C for the sake of their hearts may be
doing more harm than good. The study, which followed nearly 2,000 postmenopausal women with
diabetes for 15 years, found that those who took heavy doses of vitamin C supplements – 300 milligrams
(mg) a day or more – were roughly twice as likely to die of heart disease or stroke compared with women
who took no supplemental C. Interestingly, high intakes of vitamin C from food were not related to a
greater risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
The researchers of the study suggest that taking supplements to correct the lower blood levels of
vitamin C commonly seen in diabetes is not necessarily the right choice. And although the research
focused on older women, the findings may apply to men as well, according to the study's senior author.
"Our results, if confirmed by other research, would suggest that diabetics should be more cautious than
others about taking supplements," Dr. David R. Jacobs Jr., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis,
told Reuters Health.
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The current recommended dietary intake for vitamin C is 90 mg a day for men and 75 mg per day for
women. While vitamin C is clearly necessary for good health, studies have garnered conflicting results on
whether supplements help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke. According to Jacobs, vitamin C has
been shown, in the test tube, to damage cell proteins in the same manner that high blood sugar harms
diabetics' body cells. Jacobs also pointed to the complexity of the "antioxidant defense system." When
antioxidants interact with free radicals, he explained, they become "pro-oxidants" that must be detoxified
by other antioxidants. “It's possible,” Jacobs speculated, “that this detox process happens more slowly in
diabetics -- both women and men -- and that under certain circumstances, the altered vitamin C molecules
are able to harm body cells.” Jacobs said he and his colleagues favor getting vitamin C, along with the full
complement of nutrients, from food rather than supplements.
Whereas the antioxidants in the food may be “balanced bio-chemically,” the researchers write, any
vitamin pill would lack such balance. Taking high doses of a single antioxidant, they speculate, may
"perturb" the body's balance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants. The findings follow study results reported
recently showing that high daily doses of another antioxidant, vitamin E, may not extend life, and instead
may slightly raise the risk of dying earlier.
It is not entirely clear, whether natural forms of vitamin E are harmful. I strongly suspect that the
harmful side – effects are due to taking synthetic vitamins. There are numerous people who have derived
great benefits from vitamin E. The problem is that the general population is not made aware of this
important distinction. In fact, most people use the synthetic form, which can risk their health.
Conclusion:
The vitamin euphoria has hit the world’s population at a time when there are no reliable methods to
determine if and when someone suffers from a vitamin deficiency. Reviewing the harmful effects caused
by vitamin intake, it is likely that a deficiency, if it really exists, is either caused by an overtaxed digestive
system and subsequent congestion of the capillary network or by overdosing the body with vitamins.
Blood vessel wall congestion and intestinal trouble prevents vitamins from reaching the cells, tissues,
organs and systems in the body. Taking extra vitamins in such a situation can actually trigger a defense
mechanism that empties the body’s vitamin reserves.
Furthermore, it is not known how much of each vitamin each particular body-type requires to be vital
and healthy, and it also not possible to find out how much of each vitamin the body is able to extract from
the foods consumed. What’s more, it is erroneous to assume that by taking extra vitamins the body will
automatically make use of them. We simply don’t know how much of the vitamins will leave the stomach
unharmed, in what amounts they are going to be digested and how much of these are likely to absorbed by
the blood and the body cells. There are no people on the planet with exactly the same vitamin
requirements and absorption rates. What may be normal for one person may not be normal for another,
which makes the “standardized vitamin requirements for all” questionable, if not potentially harmful.
The argument that our foods today are so depleted of vitamins that we need to take additional helpings
of synthetically derived vitamins is only partially correct. Most of the foods consumed by most people in
modern countries are highly acid-forming, which means that they damage blood vessels and deplete the
body’s vitamins and minerals. The foods that the most acidifying effects in the body include milk, dairy
products, meat and its products, tinned or frozen foods, white bread, pasta and pastry made from bleached
and refined flour, refined sugar, alcoholic beverages, diet beverages, soft drinks, packaged fruit juices,
preserved foods, processed breakfast cereals, chocolates, ready-made cakes, crisps, hydrogenated oils and
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fats, and most fast/junk foods. The exaggerated daily ratio of daily-required vitamins may apply only to
the severely undernourished person. Fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, and grain foods still contain more
than enough vitamins to supply the body many times over.
Taking vitamin pills, which don’t contain much Life Force Energy, also known as Chi or Prana), does
not substitute regular intake of healthy, fresh food. Vitamins that have been removed from their natural
environment, i.e., fruits, vegetables, etc. can in fact upset both AGNI and the delicate balance of minerals
and vitamins in the body. This especially applies to multivitamin preparations. Although there are
conditions when taking extra vitamins may be beneficial, for example, before and after removing amalgam
fillings from the teeth, they ought not to be taken in large doses and for more than 10-14 days at a time.
This is best done under supervision of a health practitioner who is aware of the side effects that vitamins
can have. In any case, synthetic vitamins should be avoided at all cost.
What about Taking Extra Minerals?
Mineral salts found in the earth’s soil and rocks are classified as inorganic, and must be incorporated
within the structure of plants in order to be useable by your body. Most mineral supplements are inorganic,
and their consumption causes serious problems, as they commonly end up deposited in your various
tissues. This can result in serious health problems including arthritis, Alzheimer¼s, and arteriosclerosis.
Calcium supplements are notorious for this. Your best source of all usable organic minerals is fresh raw
vegetables, with fruit providing your second best source. Some nuts and seeds are also abundant with
minerals, such as in the case of sesame seeds, which supply a whopping 1160 milligrams of calcium per
100 grams.
Unlike vitamins, minerals cannot be synthesized by plants. Plants take up mineral salts (inorganic
compounds) from the soil and convert them into colloidal minerals (organic compounds). The inorganic
minerals, also called metallic minerals, are very difficult to be absorbed by a healthy digestive system, and
even more so if the small intestine is impacted with toxic waste material. In the case of a very healthy
adult, the absorption rate for metallic minerals is 3-5%; the rest merely passes through the body system
without benefit, but often not without causing harm. Although these minerals now come in chelated form,
i.e., amino acids or protein are wrapped around them to improve assimilation, they are still inorganic and
of very little use to the cells of the body. Ionic minerals, on the other hand, have an absorption rate of
98%, which indicates that only minerals in its organic (angstrom size) form are meant to be used by the
human physiology.
If the soil is not replenished with minerals after harvesting, it becomes increasingly mineral deficient.
Modern methods of agriculture don’t include putting minerals back into the soil. Before the era of
continuous soil depletion, the topsoil consisted of as many as 90-100 different minerals. The great rivers
such as the Nile in Egypt and the Ganges in India caused extensive flooding every year, bringing new
minerals from the glaciers and mountains to the land, automatically fertilizing it. The people living in
these areas were generally in perfect health and lived on average 120-140 years. The situation changed
with the erosion of forests and building of dams. Today, there are merely 12-20 minerals found in plant
foods.
Whatever is contained in modern chemical fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) may be
sufficient to raise normal looking crops; yet the healthy-looking plant foods are short of minerals, which is
reflected in their poor taste. This may cause some mineral deficiencies in the body. We are consistently
missing out on the majority of minerals. And if the digestive system does not function efficiently, a health
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crisis may arise. Almost every disease today is linked or coincides with a deficiency of one or several
minerals or trace minerals.
Taking supplements consisting of metallic minerals is not only inefficient because of their relatively
low absorption rate but also because of their non-physiological value. Large quantities of metallic minerals
can even be toxic to the body, as seen in people who, for example, take iron tablets. The iron may make
them be sick, a natural response by the stomach against the toxic metal. Iron oxide is nothing other than
“rust.” New research has shown that taking extra iron can triple one’s risk for heart attacks.
Taking calcium tablets may weaken the bones by causing zinc deficiency. High dosed mineral
supplements consisting of metallic minerals can block the absorption of other bio-usable minerals, which
can upset the body’s entire biochemical balance. Most of the metallic minerals are derived from oyster
shell, limestone, soil, clay, calcium carbonate, and sea salts. In fact, taking metallic minerals can lead to
serious mineral deficiencies.
It may be beneficial, on the other hand, to take extra ionic liquid minerals. Plant derived minerals are
water-soluble, ionic and enzymatically active which makes it very easy for the body to digest and utilize
them. The iron, contained in Lapacho tea, for example, is of ionic form and has an immediate positive
effect.
Plant-derived minerals have no negative side effects, even if you overdose on them. If you feel that you
need extra minerals, check out Eniva or Kornax (see Product Information ) for their ionic liquid minerals.
But as is the case with vitamins, most serious mineral deficiencies occur because of inadequate nutrition,
too many acid-forming foods and beverages, over-stimulation, dehydration, stress, etc. There is not much
point in taking extra minerals when they are straight away removed or destroyed by one or more of these
factors. So before you spend a lot of money on mineral supplements, try to eliminate the causes of the
deficiency first.
2. Breakfast Cereals and Junk Foods –
Poison for our Children
“Super Food” of the Century
Breakfast cereals have never been more popular than they are today. Packed with vitamins and
minerals, they promise power, health, and vitality, especially to the young generation. There is hardly a
commercial breakfast cereal in the world that does not seem to contain everything a child needs to receive
the “perfectly balanced” dietary nutrition. However, despite this “valuable” contribution to family health, a
frightening number of children show signs of ill health and lacking immunity. The vitamins that are added
to the cereals are supposed to protect the child against the vitamin-destroying sugar but it seems that this
guarantee is no longer guaranteed.
Besides cornflakes, which still top the list of American and European breakfast cereals, the sales of new
“tasty and healthy” breakfast foods soar as never before. The main marketing targets for these “healthy”
breakfast foods are children. Research suggests that as many as 79% of all households use ready-made
breakfast cereals to start the day. Children are usually very keen to try the latest cereal model, which
contains essentially the same ingredients as all the other types but comes in a different shape and color.
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The well designed packaging depicting a healthy-looking family or natural scenery promises the parents
that the contents are of pure and natural origin, often organically grown, and good for the entire family.
The kids love the happy friendly figures on the cardboard. “If Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny,
or the strong Dinosaurs like the cereal then it must be good for me, too”, some children may argue.
A mother, who naturally wants to secure the best possible nutrition for her child, finds her mind put at
ease when she learns about the high nutritional value of the product in the food table. It convincingly
states that the cereal has the balanced amounts of carbohydrates, protein, and fats, and is most importantly
enriched with all the essential dietary supplements. If the right amount of milk (mostly pasteurized and
homogenized) is added to the super food, the child would have the best possible start of the day that nature
could provide, or so she may think.
Shocking Revelations
Yet the reality of the matter is quite the opposite. An American team of researchers decided to prove to
the world once and for all that breakfast cereals are truly man’s super-food. So they fed the common
breakfast cereals enriched with the most important vitamins and minerals to young, healthy laboratory rats.
They divided a total of 240 rats into two groups; one group received cereal and water and the other one
normal food and water. The experiment lasted for 45 days. The result was totally unexpected and
devastating. The rats that were fed with cereals, which according to common nutritional sense and
advertising should have turned them into strong and vital grown-up rats, were close to death. They
suffered from fatty livers, anemia, and high blood pressure. In a separate experiment rats were fed with
cornflakes which consist of useless corn starch and white sugar. In this group some of the animals died.
The researchers had expected that the animals would grow faster with cereals, yet they did not grow at
all, and some of them even lost weight. Especially the rats who received cereals with high sugar content
(sugar is thought to be fattening), had the least growth rates. This is a summary of the results:
? The products that contained the least amounts of fat significantly increased the cholesterol levels
of the rats. Some products were able to lower the rats’ cholesterol levels but instead caused fatty livers.
? Those rats that were fed with cereals containing only small amounts of salt increased their blood
pressure whereas the ones that received cereals with higher salt contents lowered their blood pressure.
? Some of the products were enriched with iron, which should have raised hemoglobin
concentrations in the blood of the animals. However, the results took the researchers by surprise: 1) There
was no connection between higher intake of iron and hemoglobin levels. The rats stayed anemic despite
ingesting large amounts of iron. 2) Those rats that had little iron in their blood deposited excessively large
amounts of iron in their liver, which led to worsening of anemia (for a similar reason it is very
questionable to give extra iron to people who suffer from anemia).
Poison that Tastes and Looks like Food
The main conclusion a person can draw from this experiment is that the purely theoretical approach to
diet and nutrition (using food tables and daily nutritional recommendations) has not only been insufficient
to raise the standard of health in the population but has in fact caused more harm and confusion than is
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currently assessable. Sanctified by theories of nutrition, which in actuality contradict the body’s natural
responses to food, the food industry has been given the green light to produce anything that fulfils the
official nutritional requirements, even if the “foods” have a poisoning effect and create havoc in the body.
There is no legislation to test man-made foods on animals before giving them to millions of human beings.
The average consumer takes it for granted that the food produced by a reputable company must be safe for
human consumption, even if it contains plastic.
But not all governments support this disconcerting trend. According to an August 2004 issue of the
Guardian, some few health-conscious governments in Europe that are less dominated by the food industry
and big pharmaceutical companies, are beginning to protect their people from obvious harmful practices.
Health officials in Denmark recently banned the addition of vitamins and minerals to 18 varieties of
breakfast foods and cereals produced by Kellogg Co. The reasons given include increasing evidence that
eating those products regularly can ruin the health of children and pregnant women. Cereal is one of the
first solid foods introduced to babies, and pediatricians typically encourage parents to start feeding cereal
to their babies from between 4 and 6 months. Their advice grossly contradicts findings from a study that
cereals introduced in the diets of babies before the age of 4 months or after the age of 7 months increased
the risk of insulin-dependent diabetes in the children.
Kellogg had hoped to add iron, calcium, folic acid and vitamin B6 to some cereals and cereal bars, as it
is so common in other countries. However, Danish health officials believe that these toxic additives in the
cereals can seriously harm the liver and kidneys of children as well as unborn fetuses in pregnant women.
A government laboratory delivered the ban after examining the ingredient lists provided by Kellogg.
Resolving the Whole Grain Mystery
Recently, the largest U.S. food producer General Mills announced they it will start using whole grain in
some of the popular cereal products for kids. Processed flour will be replaced by whole grain flour. Whole
grain is fashionable now, so the change seems timely and healthy.
The problem is that the whole grain actually does not qualify as genuine whole grain. It is made of
flour that is processed with a newly developed milling method that grinds the whole grain into particles of
uniform size. USA Today states that General Mills executives would not discuss the new technology
behind the development of their new type of whole grain. So what's the big secret? They're asking us to
accept their word that it's healthier, but they're not giving us specific details. The second biggest food
company, ConAgra, now uses Ultragrain, similar to General Mill’s “Whole Grain.” It has the look, texture
and flavor of processed grain.
The question concerning this new trend in food production is, how did they manage to make a
completely different whole grain that's just as healthy as whole grain? To have a long shelf life, which
whole grain products certainly don’t have, they must have done something to the grain to preserve it and
make it last as long as refined grains, an absolutely necessity in packaged cereals.
Even if real whole grains were added to these super foods feeding our nation at breakfast time, this
certainly wouldn’t turn them into health foods. Consider what’s in a cup of Trix, for example. The nearly
iridescent colors of the popular cereal show that it is saturated with artificial coloring agents. To keep it
fresh, it has to have preservatives which “preserve” (prevent) it from being digested properly. Trix also
contains plenty of trans fatty acids that clog up the cell membranes and damage blood vessels. Not to
mention the 13 grams of bleached, refined sugar per cup, leaching minerals from the muscles and bones,
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and leading to the beginning stages of insulin resistance. The entire concept of manufacturing a packaged
cereal that is healthy is an absolute impossibility.
The food industry is entitled to use a large variety of solvents and chemicals to improve the taste, color,
and texture of its products. Food producers have free reign over food production, and there is nobody out
there that is going to make sure our children don’t get fed with another sweet tasting poison. But the
common practice of producing food synthetically and making it “healthier” by adding synthetically
derived vitamins and minerals is at the root of many health problems afflicting both children and adults in
the developed world.
To determine whether a cereal is healthful or harmful for you and your family, try using the simple
muscle test described in chapter 1. Take your children to the grocery store and let them test out different
products. This will teach them to trust their body and its responses and reactions and make them aware
that not everything that looks healthy actually is healthy. Synthetically derived “nutrients” are foreign
matter to both animals and humans alike. Making laboratory foods palatable and attractive does not mean
they are harmless. The muscle test is a fairly reliable tool you can use to protect yourself and your family
from the harm caused by such non-foods.
Hot breakfast cereals, which were in common use before the era of cold, ready-made cereals, include
cream of wheat, steel cut oats, the old fashioned porridge oats, rye flakes, millet, corn meal, cream of rice,
etc. Although they take more time to prepare than the ready-made cereals, at least you know what’s in it.
Also check with your body-type food list.
Note: Most muesli mixtures or cereals with nuts and fruits in them contain the fruit preservative
sulphur dioxide (E220), which can spark asthmatic attacks and is blacklisted by the Hyperactive Children
Support Group in England. The cracked nuts react with oxygen and turn rancid, a common source of
allergies. The dried fruits in cereals develop moulds, which can interfere with vitamin and mineral
absorption and suppress immunity. Crunchy or roasted oats contain lots of refined sugar and inferior oils
loaded wit trans fatty acids.
Hyperactivity in Kids Caused by Food Additives
Food is wreaking havoc on kids. Artificial food colorings and benzoate preservatives increase
hyperactive behavior in preschool children, according to a new report in the June 2004 Archives of
Disease in Childhood.
Dr. John O. Warner from Southampton General Hospital, UK, and colleagues studied the impact of
artificial food colorings and benzoate preservative on the behavior of 277 preschool children. At the start,
36 children had hyperactivity and allergies, 75 were only hyperactive, 79 had only allergies, and 87 did not
have either condition.
The result of the study: Parents' ratings of their children's hyperactivity fell after withdrawal of food
additives from the children's diets. And there was an increase in hyperactivity when food additives were
re-introduced. Parental hyperactivity ratings increased significantly when children were exposed to food
additives regardless of their hyperactivity status or the presence of allergies at the start of the study.
“Additives do have an effect on overactive behavior independent of baseline allergic and behavioral
status,” Warner told Reuters Health.
If you or your children suffer from hyperkinetic disorder" or "attention deficit and hyperactivity
disorder" (ADHD), make certain to avoid junk foods. Choose to have healthier menus, using organic foods,
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and transition to organic ingredients (no pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, irradiation or genetically
engineered ingredients). Read the food labels and look out especially for the following chemicals:
? Sunset yellow (E110) is a dye used in, among other foods, orange jellies and squashes, apricot jam
and packet soups. It's also in Smarties, and at least one variety of Lucozade.
? Tartrazine (E102), one of the more controversial coloring additives, is another yellow dye used in
fizzy drinks, ice cream, sweets and jams.
? Carmoisine (E122), a red dye, is used in jellies, sweets, blancmanges, marzipan and cheesecake
mixes. You'll also find it in novelty cakes.
? Ponceau 4R (E124), also red, is used in tinned fruit, jellies and salamis. Smarties and Simpsons
cakes also contain it.
The High Fiber Trap
Official health reports advise us to pack large amounts of whole grain and bran-enriched cereals into
our diet. Studies have shown that those who follow this advice have a significantly lower fat intake
compared with those who don’t. They also want to eat fewer calories at lunchtime, which seems desirable.
A high fiber cereal for breakfast subdues AGNI, the digestive fire for many hours, which might tempt you
to even skip lunch (for lack of proper appetite). But by the evening, the body, sensing a “famine”, wants to
eat twice as much to make up for the lack of nutrient supplies during the day. By then AGNI is too low to
handle large quantities of food, which results in the accumulation of toxic fecal matter in the intestines.
Consequently you put on weight, despite your good “health habits.”
The commonly held belief that indigestible fiber cannot be digested and leaves our body unaltered
applies only to the small intestine. But once it reaches the large intestine the fiber is attacked and broken
down by large numbers of residential bacteria. This causes fermentation and the common flatulence,
headaches, heart pressure, irritability, tiredness, sleeping problems, etc. Fiber is a plant’s skeleton, and
can only be found within plants. It is vital to the health of your digestive system as it stimulates the waves
of muscular contraction that coerces food through your intestinal tract. If your diet is low in vegetable
fiber, your intestinal musculature becomes weak, resulting in the sluggish transit of foods. This can cause
many problems: including intestinal gas, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome. The vegetable fiber
helps you to feel full, and reduces the likelihood of you overeating. It also assists in the evacuation of any
excess cholesterol from your system. Your body is designed to process the soluble fiber found in fruits:
not the insoluble fiber found within grains (bran), which is sharp and can leave microscopic lacerations on
the wall of your intestines.
Doctors at the South Manchester University Hospital, England, studying Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS) have discovered that after eating bran – the one time cure-all food for IBS –more than half of their
patients felt much worse. Today over 20 percent of the British population suffers from IBS, and it is even
more so in the United States. High fiber cereals cause loose stools, a major reason why people with
constipation choose bran or bran-enriched foods as a method of producing regular bowel movements.
Added bran, however, leaches minerals from the colon cells, weakens peristalsis, and causes chronic colon
problems. If intake of bran is discontinued, constipation results.
Many health-conscious people follow a low fat diet – so highly recommended by nutritional experts.
Yet if cereals don’t contain enough fat, they miss out on the “fuel” required to properly digest and absorb
their carbohydrates. The result is that they pass through the small intestine far too quickly. The colon
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bacteria then act on the undigested food, producing many unpleasant side effects, including flatulence,
bad-smelling gases, constipation or diarrhea, and weight gain.
The high fiber theory definitely has its good sides, though. Another major factor of intestinal
obstruction is small feces. A diet rich in natural, soft vegetable fiber produces larger feces that retain a lot
more water than a diet consisting of refined and processed foods. The average British meal takes about 83
hours to pass through the intestinal tract with an average stool weight of only 104g. By contrast, British
vegetarians take about 41 hours and produce 208g of stools – whereas the average meal of a Ugandan
villager, consisting of low protein high-fiber diet, takes only 36 hours and generates 470g of stools a day.
Ugandans rarely suffer from constipation, and they don’t add bran to their foods.
It is much better for the body to obtain fiber from fresh fruit, salads, cooked grains, beans and
vegetables. Cooked vegetables in particular contain plenty of fiber which helps the digestive process but
does not overwhelm the colon in the same way as added bran does. Also the high water content of cooked
foods and fruits generally make the passage through the intestinal tract much easier. This brings us to the
next subject: Is eating raw and unprepared food better than eating cooked and prepared food?
The belief that regular bowel movement is important for health is very ancient. But the present theory is
based on Dr. Dennis Burkitt's discovery that relatively few rural black Africans suffer from cancer of the
colon. He attributed this to their relatively crude diet. The theory was that, as fiber made food travel
through the gut faster, it allowed less time for cancer-inducing agents to form. This, of course,
presupposed that food became carcinogenic in the gut.
3. Raw Whole Foods
There was no evidence that the above presumption is true. Neither was there any evidence that moving
food through the intestine at a faster rate decreases the risk of colon cancer. Moreover, the rural Africans'
lifestyle was far from that of the Western city dweller: their diet is different, but also they were not
exposed to so many pollutants, toxins or mental stresses. Indeed, there were many factors that could have
been responsible for a difference in disease patterns. Other communities - the Mormons of Utah, for
example - also enjoyed a low incidence of colon cancer yet they ate a low-fiber diet.
So Dr. Burkitts’s theory was unsubstantiated at the time and it was to be disproved in practice later as
the rural Africans moved into towns and adopted a Western style low fiber diet. Their incidence of colon
cancer has remained low and this has continued with the second generation. Nevertheless, these later
findings were never publicized. Burkitts’s theories caught the attention of the media. Always ready to
exploit a good story, they expanded what was at best a very weak hypothesis into a treatment dogma that
today teaches that fiber is a panacea for all manner of illnesses.
Commercial interests were quick to see the potential in the recommendation and jump on the bran
wagon. Burkitts’s recommendation was based on vegetable fiber. Bran (cereal fiber), on the other hand,
has a far higher fiber content. A practically worthless by-product of the milling process, until then, bran
had been thrown away. Almost overnight, it became a highly priced profit maker. Although totally
inedible, backed by Burkitts’s fiber hypothesis, bran could now be promoted as a valuable food. But Dr.
Hugh Trowell, Burkitts’s partner and another strong advocate of dietary fiber, stated in 1974 that:
“A serious confusion of thought is produced by referring to the dietary fiber hypothesis as the bran
hypothesis, for many Africans do not consume cereal or bran.”
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Fiber-caused Diseases on the Rise
There is no evidence to suggest adding extra fiber to your diet has the effect of curing or preventing
diseases. Although bran has been a popular way to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for about thirty
years, there is no placebo-controlled study of bran in IBS that has shown any convincing beneficial effect.
A study, published in 1994, found that while fruit fiber was helpful in IBS, bran only made the situation
worse. Far from being a cure for IBS, the researchers found that it was the bran that was causing actually
causing it! Bran also caused bowel disturbances, abdominal distension and pain. There is also a growing
skepticism in the USA that lack of fiber causes cancer; some studies even suggest that a fiber-enhanced
diet increases the risk of colon cancer.
Other Adverse Effects of Added Fiber
While fruit and vegetable fiber is quite harmless for the body, bran from grain foods should be avoided
as they pose a considerable health risk. Research conducted on the supposed benefits of dietary fiber
shows that eating fiber enriched foods can upset basic physiological processes. Food absorption through
the gut wall should neither be slowed nor be rushed. However, fiber abnormally speeds up food
transportation through the gut, which leads to decreased nutrient absorption. Eating fiber-enriched foods or
foods containing rough fiber can significantly inhibit the absorption of iron, calcium, phosphorus,
magnesium, sugars, proteins, fats and vitamins A, D, E and K. Phytates found in cereal fiber (bran), for
example, bind with calcium, iron and zinc making them indigestible, which in turn causes poor absorption.
In one study comparing the body’s ability to utilize nutrients from whole wheat bread and white bread
subjects actually absorbed more iron from white bread than from whole wheat bread. Remarkably,
although the whole wheat bread contained fifty percent more iron than the white bread, the body wasn’t
able to extract it. In addition, bran has also been shown to cause fecal loss of calcium, iron, zinc,
phosphorus, nitrogen, fats, fatty acids and sterols, thus depleting the body of these materials.
These findings are of particular concern to people suffering from conditions related to nutrientdeficiencies.
The get-your-daily-fiber-mania can put several sections of the population at considerable
health risk from eating too much fiber in their diet. The following are some of the risks:
? The incidence of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) is rapidly increasing and now affects one in
two post-menopausal women. Osteoporosis is now a leading cause of death, also among men.
Osteoporosis is a metabolic disorder caused by many factors, including poor calcium absorption
due to bile duct blockage in the liver and gallbladder; milk, cheese, meat, and other acid-forming
foods and beverages; and bran. Bran both inhibits the absorption of calcium from food and
depletes the body of the calcium it has. Bran also depletes zinc the body requires the restore bone
health.
? Sufferers from Alzheimer's Disease (senile dementia) are found to have abnormal amounts of
aluminum in their brains. Tests on the people of Guam and parts of New Guinea and Japan, who
get Alzheimer's disease at a much younger age, suggest that it is a lack of calcium, causing a
hormonal imbalance that permits the aluminum to penetrate the brain.
? Infants may suffer brain damage when fed with soy-based baby formula. Soy is rich Phytates
which inhibits the absorption of zinc. Zinc is essential for proper brain development.
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? Vitamin deficiency diseases such as rickets are on the rise again. This bone-deforming disease
nearly disappeared in Britain until huge advertising campaigns led to steep increases in the
consumption of dairy products and meat.
? The intake of “anti-nutrients” such as dietary fiber is greatly increasing the risk of iron deficiency
anemia.
? Depression, anorexia, low birth weight, slow growth, mental retardation, and amenorrhea are
associated with deficiencies of zinc and, with the exception of amenorrhea, iron.
? Excess fiber consumption affects the onset of menstruation, retards uterine growth and, is
associated with menstrual dysfunction.
Because of phytates, Dr. David Southgate, arguably the world's leading authority on the effects of fiber
concludes that infants, children, young adolescents and pregnant women whose mineral needs are greater
should avoid excessive consumption of fiber.
Writing of the colon cancer risk, Drs. H. S. Wasan and R. A. Goodlad of the Imperial Cancer Research
Fund stated in 1996:
“Until individual constituents of fiber have been shown to have, at the very least, a non-detrimental
effect in prospective human trials, we urge that restraint should be shown in adding fiber supplements to
foods, and that unsubstantiated health claims be restricted.”…“Specific dietary fiber supplements,
embraced as nutriceuticals or functional foods, are an unknown and potentially damaging way to influence
modern dietary habits of the general population.”
In January 1999 the results of the largest trial into the effects on fiber on colon cancer ever conducted
were released to the public. After studying 88,757 women for sixteen years, doctors at the Brigham and
Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School state: “No significant association between fiber intake and
the risk of colorectal adenoma was found.” … “Our data do not support the existence of an important
protective effect of dietary fiber against colorectal cancer or adenoma.” There are close to 30 published
studies that all confirm that fiber intake has not only no beneficial effects, but is indicated in multiple
complications of the gastrointestinal tract.
Chocolate – Facts and Fiction
The recent desperate attempt of the food industry to boost sluggish sales of their products after the
dampening effects through the low carb craze has caused it to heavily invest in serious “scientific”
research to proof that their unhealthy products are not just safe, but even good for you. Although hard to
imagine, chocolate is now being pushed as a health food. Add chocolate to your healthy diet, and your
heart health will improve. At least, this is what they are now trying to make you believe.
Apparently, there is a new study that suggests eating chocolate can improve your blood vessels
functions. This clearly shows how much the food industry, similar to the pharmaceutical industry, wants
you to buy more of their products, with utter disregard to your health.
According to the editors of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (JACN), flavonoid-rich
dark chocolate may improve artery flexibility while increasing an antioxidant that may help prevent blood
clots. The problem with the study is that it didn’t include a placebo group. So there was no one to compare
to. Besides, chocolate as you buy it in a store, doesn’t improve artery flexibility – it’s the flavonoids that
have that effect. The same flavonoids that are found in chocolate beans are also found in apples, grapes,
broccoli, onions, berries, grapes and dozens of other foods that the subjects most likely consumed besides
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the chocolate they were given . And they called this “scientific research!” Not surprising, the study was
sponsored by Mars candy company, which was so generous to also supply the chocolates for the “study.”
If the study has any real value, why didn’t the researchers announce that flavonoids, as found in most plant
foods, such as broccoli and fruits, grape juice and, yes, also chocolate, are beneficial for your arteries. But
no, they were obliged by their sponsors to announce that “chocolate is beneficial for your arteries.” All
this is in total disregard to all the other things that are contained in chocolate, that is, lots of sugar, milk,
preservatives, coloring agents, artificial flavorings, etc.
The American Dietetic Association (ADA) which is supported by a grant from Mars, Inc. has a section
on their website entitled, “Chocolate: Facts and Fiction.” Although dietary sugar intake is a big factor for
the millions of people who have type 2 diabetes or peripatetic conditions, the ADA advices, “If you have
diabetes, ask your health professional how to incorporate chocolate into your eating plan.” This sounds
like “sound” medical advice. I would stay away from any of the ADA’s dietary advice. You never know
what kind of sickness you may develop from it.
4. Raw Versus Cooked Foods
The Pros and Contras
The arguments in favor of a raw food diet sound very convincing: Food should be left whole and
unprepared, only then can we benefit from its natural goodness and vitality. With the plenty of vitamins,
minerals, and trace elements contained in raw food you will never suffer any deficiencies. We should live
like all the other animals in nature; they don’t prepare their food, cook their vegetables, or bake bread –
the reason why they are so healthy and strong. on the other hand, we destroy most of the essential and
health- promoting nutrients through methods of cooking, preparing, and baking, causing all the vitamin
and mineral deficiencies prevalent today.
The promoters of raw food diets propose that if the general population ate more of the untreated whole
foods, many diseases could be prevented. This could save billions of dollars in treatment costs. Many
chronically ill patients have found sudden relief and improvement, thanks to raw vegetables and soaked
grains.
The initial benefits of a raw whole food diet can be so promising that a person may decide to continue
eating this food, although he may not like the taste of it. But could it be possible that raw and whole foods,
except fruits, which are already “cooked” or ripened by the sun, are not so beneficial for us after all if
eaten on a continual basis? And why does 98 percent of the world’s population favor prepared and warm
foods to raw and cold foods? Have we all forsaken our natural instincts?
Karl Pirlet, Professor of Medicine at the University of Frankfurt, Germany, claims that he has a nearly
endless collection of cases whose health was restored after they stopped eating a raw whole food diet. He
found that most of these patients suffered a physical breakdown after several years (in some cases after 10-
20 years) of eating raw whole foods. The effects were varied but were all marked by the occurrence of
sudden aging as seen in a deterioration of joints and arteries. Most patients looked fragile, felt low in
energy, and had excessively bloated stomachs. Their bodies could no longer cope with breaking down
hard grains and raw vegetables; they were literally starving themselves to death.
So does this mean that raw foods are not good for us? This depends on each person’s constitution and
condition. Young Pitta types with a strong AGNI and plenty of exercise can cope with such a diet for
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many years without harmful side effects. But eventually even their digestive systems too may become
exhausted from trying to breakdown raw whole grains and raw vegetables.
Most people who start on a raw whole food diet have already suffered from health problems and a weak
AGNI. Unable to break down the high fiber foods, the intestinal bacteria start doing this job instead. This
results in fermentation and putrefaction of the foods. The poison produced by the bacteria leads to a
massive stimulation of the immune system, which attempts to neutralize and eliminate them. This
cleansing reaction helps clear the intestines from impacted fecal matter, stops constipation, and through
the intense immune activity releases plenty of energy. The relief from congestion and constipation and the
increase in energy are very noticeable to the person and strike him as very “positive” signs. This response
can even lead to a spontaneous remission of cancer or the relief of arthritic pains. But eventually the
intestines begin to bloat up like a balloon, unable to deal with the toxic gases and poisonous compounds.
Many nutritionists and dieticians may then give the advice to eat even more fiber because only fiber can
absorb such toxic substances as ammonia and protect the intestinal walls from damage. But it is highly
unlikely that that a fermenting and putrefying mass of undigested fiber, which produces ammonia,
reabsorbs it in the same “breath”. Nutritional science assumes that the nutritional ingredients of food alone
determine whether they have physiological value for us or not. Such an approach, however, is incomplete
and misleading unless we include the common-sense-understanding that we need a well functioning
digestive system to digest, absorb, and metabolize these nutrient components in order to benefit from
them. A weak digestive system can even make poison out of nectar. The saying “You are what you eat” is
therefore only partially correct. You rather are the food you are able to digest and metabolize. In other
words, a long-term raw food diet is only good for you as long as you are able to digest it properly.
What makes Plants so Poisonous?
Every microbe, insect, plant, animal, and human being on this planet wants to survive. But there are
potential dangers out there that can lead to their destruction. For this reason, all living things, including
plants, have developed a sophisticated defense apparatus to ward off anyone who wants to eat or harm
them.
It is only natural for the species of any life form to create difficulties for the invading or devouring
enemies; otherwise ecological balance could not be possible. Despite innumerable numbers of lice, pests,
beetles, and locusts, plants have managed to survive and keep the planet green and oxygenated. This is due
to their highly advanced “healthcare system.” Similar to our body, plants have an immune system to
ensure their own survival and health. They use prickly thorns, poison as in the case of the deadly
nightshades, or they envelop themselves in a wax-covering that is impenetrable for microbes. If microbes
do somehow manage to enter the plant’s interior, inborn defense mechanisms begin to destroy the
invaders, not dissimilar to our own defense responses.
Most microbes that are present in the air, food, and water never reach the inside of our body. They are
promptly neutralized by enzymes located in our nose, lungs, saliva, and stomach juices. The rest of them
are taken care of by our immune system with its sophisticated antigens and immune cells, including the
macrophages and T-cells.
Plants, however, have to do more to protect themselves since locusts and animals such as cows, mice,
or man can eat them altogether. For this reason, they produce antibodies of which 20,000 kinds are known
to date, still only a fraction of what they are capable of producing. These antibodies, when ingested by
animals or humans can make them sick, which stops them from eating the plants.
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Another potential sensitivity is due a reaction to toxic salicylates, natural preservatives stored in the
bark, leaves, roots, and seeds of plants and found in many foods. In vegetables, they're mostly
concentrated in the peels and rinds or the outer leaves. The salicylate content in fruit is highest when the
fruit is not fully ripened yet, and decreases during the ripening process. Properly sun-ripened fruits
(cooked by the sun), versus those ripened after they are harvested, have great beneficial effects on the
body. In general, raw foods, dried foods, and juices can contain higher levels of salicylates than cooked
food. To avoid the natural poisons contained in many raw foods all major ancient civilizations traditionally
prepared their foods.
Why Prepare Foods?
The populations of the High Andes were the first ones to introduce the potato to their cultures. But the
potatoes had to undergo vigorous cleansing procedures before they were considered eatable. First, they
were spread on the ground to freeze them overnight. This ensured that the cells burst open. Then the men
and women trampled on the potatoes to destroy their skins. Still frozen, the potatoes were then placed into
a well base for several weeks to surround them with water. This removed 97% of the alkaloids and turned
the green pulps into a snow-white color. After pressing the potatoes, they exposed them to the hot sun.
You may ask: “But what about the so-important vitamins and minerals?” The Andes populations with their
high standards of health and stamina obviously preferred taste to nutritional values. They knew that most
bitter substances are poisonous and they trusted their taste buds more than any theories of nutrition.
Ayurveda, the most ancient health science in the world, categorizes foods only according to their tastes
and after effects. It emphasizes that if the body receives all the six tastes, i.e., sweet, sour, salty, pungent,
astringent, and bitter, it will be stimulated to produce many of the important nutrients itself and thus
remain balanced. The sense of taste is our body’s supreme judge to know whether certain foods are right
for us or not. Situated in the taste buds of the tongue and in co-ordination with the constantly changing
requirements of the body, the sense of taste controls our natural instinct and desire for healthy food.
The taste buds for bitter taste are very developed and can detect even the slightest trace of bitter-tasting
substances. We have this facility because bitter foods may contain alkaloids and can be poisonous. If
toxins build up in the blood the body requires a bitter- tasting antidote or medicine that purifies it and
restores its balance. Blood-cleansing herbs or teas generally taste very bitter. The human body accepts
chocolate, coffee, tea, and beers which are of predominantly bitter taste, only after our persuasive mind or
added sugar manages to override the taste barrier. Such foods or beverages become desirable quite quickly
because they contain morphine-type compounds. This may lead to a substance addiction. There are many
types of foods that have a slightly bitter taste to them, including lettuce, broccoli, and leafy green
vegetables. Yet the bitterness of these foods is well balanced by their natural sweet taste, caused by the
sugar-composed carbohydrates. Hence these foods have a cleansing effect but do not poison you.
The natural Indian populations of South America eat potatoes only if there is as scarcity of food. But
when they eat them they mix them with clay from the Earth which is known to absorb any toxins that may
be left in the potatoes and remove them from the system. This practice also removes vitamins and
minerals, which seems to make no difference to their health. Clay is used by many forms of folk medicine
around the world to absorb the toxins generated by bacteria during diarrhea.
The Aboriginals who live in the wilderness prepare their food similar to our cooking procedures. Each
plant, seed, or root requires a separate process of preparation to make it edible. Certain roots, for instance,
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are peeled, soaked for half a day, and then baked for thirty minutes. The sometimes-elaborate preparation
of their food serves a very important purpose, that is, the removal of natural food poisons or antibodies.
Even animals “prepare” their food. Cows, for example, bring up their food and chew it again after it has
been “cooked” in the stomach. In fact they have 12 stomachs to make certain that the blood does not
absorb the ingredients of flowers, grains or grass before they are thoroughly detoxified. Birds are equipped
with goiters to soak (ferment) the grains before their muscle stomachs “chew” them up. Rabbits have their
own way of dealing with the potentially dangerous food; they eat part of their own feces, which is an
alternative to chewing the same food twice.
Low Nutrient Foods – A Key to Survival
The time-tested methods of food preparation may weaken the theory that we are supposed to eat our
food in the state nature has given it to us, with all the nutrients retained. But how could the original
inhabitants of our planet have survived for so many thousands of years without having sufficient vitamins
and minerals in their diet? They made certain that only very few toxins could enter their digestive systems.
With so little toxicity to deal with, the small amounts of nutrients contained in their foods were almost
sufficient to keep up the healthy functioning of their physiology. Their bodies produced the rest.
It is known, for example, that the human body has eight different ways to make calcium, using
bicarbonate of soda (a product of our digestive system), other minerals and certain enzymes. The body is
its own factory. It can make many minerals and even vitamins. Whatever it cannot produce itself, the
trillions of friendly bacteria residing in our guts produce for us. Whatever the body requires in terms of
nutrient complexes it is capable of producing them from even the simplest of foods. This may explain why
certain North Mexican tribes can live on eating only corn (mainly starch) and some beans and be more
healthy and fit than the healthiest and fittest individuals in the “well-fed” world. Out of necessity, their
digestive systems are so sophisticated and efficient that they can produce everything their body needs from
corn (and beans). In comparison, ours are so inefficient that they have even “forgotten” how to make
essential vitamins and amino acids.
Raw whole foods supply us with plenty of vitamins and if the soil is naturally fertile also with many
minerals. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that we need them all and that we can use them in such large
quantities. The initial boost in energy and vitality after going on a raw food diet is not due to the vitamins;
it is rather caused by the sudden mobilization of the immune system which tries to counteract the massive
influx of enzyme inhibitors and antibodies contained in the food. In time, the digestive system becomes
increasingly dependent on large supplies of vitamins and minerals. And when suddenly there are not
enough of them in the food we eat, the body begins to suffer from what is generally called a vitamin or
mineral deficiency, which is just another word for weak digestion. Our time is characterized by lazy
digestive systems. We have cultivated our own dependency on large quantities of external supplies of
these basic nutrients.
We can easily afford to eat a fresh salad with our meal today because we have “cultivated away” the
natural antibodies of the plants and vegetables. This makes them less “poisonous” for us but at the same
time also more vulnerable to all kinds of attacks by insects, lice, bugs, beetles, locusts, fungus, and harsh
climatic conditions. To make them resistant against the bewildering number of possible enemies we give
the plants synthetically derived poisons (insecticides, pesticides, and other fertilizers) to make up for the
missing antibodies. We have effectively impaired the plants’ immune systems, and without our chemical
assistance, most cultured plant foods would never reach the ripening stage.
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By contrast, the wild-growing herbs have retained their immunity and know very well how to survive.
They contain potent medicinal substances, which are nothing other than the plants’ antibodies. If they are
cultivated, too, removed from their natural environment and climatic conditions, their medicinal properties
become less potent; thus, they are less effective as a medicine. Many of them no longer have medicinal
values and they are now merely used in cooking to flavor the food.
The Grain Food Mystery
If you give pigs too much grain feeds, their growth rate is retarded. By contrast, the same grains fed to
cattle, ferment in their stomachs without a problem. Grains contain several substances that can reduce our
ability and that of other animals to absorb minerals, trace elements, and even vitamin B1. They also can
block our digestive enzymes and render proteins indigestible. Wheat in particular contains material
components that interfere with the digestion of fats by blocking such enzymes as the lipase of the
pancreas. Our ancestors have traditionally used plenty of lard or oil when preparing dishes made from
grain, often at the ratio of 1:1. This may explain why people who eat too little fat with their bread and
other wheat products often develop excessive weight; they suffer from a disturbed fat metabolism.
Each type of grain has specific antibodies and enzyme inhibitors that can inhibit growth and disrupt
digestion. They are naturally found in the most “precious” parts of the grain, the wheat germ, and in the
layer directly under the husk. The husk itself is wooden, enhanced by stored silicate, and contains tannins
which bond with proteins. The putrefaction of these proteins produces bad-smelling gases, ammonia, and
toxins. If eaten as raw grain muesli it can virtually “burst” one’s intestines.
But even wholemeal bread has become difficult to digest for most people since the old baking
procedures have been “modernized”, saving time and money. For thousands of years, man has imitated the
fermentation process that grains undergo in the cow’s stomach system. The dough used to be left alone for
as long as twenty hours. This helped to pre-digest the grains and break down some of the most notorious
antibodies or alkaloids, freeing the otherwise useless nutrients. The initial stages of baking also increased
the process of fermentation, which got rid of the rest of the poisons.
Today’s time-saving baking methods use a mixture of chemicals that reduce the need for long
fermentation but fail to break down the toxic contents of the grain. The use of yeast completely inhibits
their destruction. The result is that the bread, though tasting delicious is difficult to digest and causes
bloating. However, it may work very well as a laxative. Most people who either eat uncooked whole
grains, commercial whole wheat bread or even just added wheat bran find that their bowel movements
begins to be “normalized”. To be relieved from constipation is certainly a great advantage over being all
blocked up. Still, the main reason for the sudden “improvement” is the body’s desperate attempt to remove
the toxic antibodies in the wheat products as quickly as it can. This should not be confused with a
voluntary healthy bowel movement; it simply is a normal immune response. But if the situation continues,
the constant irritation can lead to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, diarrhea, Crohn’s disease, or cancer of the
colon.
Another immediate advantage of properly fermenting bread dough is the production of various types of
natural antibiotics, which help to ward off mold-producing microbes. This protects the intestinal lining
against possible irritation. Commercial wholemeal bread and wheat flakes in breakfast cereals have
therefore no natural defenses against mold attack, which makes them “risky” foods. Allergies are a
common result.
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That in most cultures of the world white bread has been the dominating wheat product for thousands of
years shows that the older generations knew more about the potential dangers of whole wheat than we do.
The Ancient Egyptians sifted the flower again after milling. Even Hippocrates declared 2,500 years ago
that white bread was more nourishing and the ancient Romans favored white flour too. Too much of it,
however, is constipating. French baking is known to have avoided wheat bran for hundreds of years. Rye,
on the other hand, has never been refined which gives rye bread its darker color. Barley is usually eaten in
roasted form. Oats are normally heat-treated; otherwise they would taste bitter. Cooked as porridge, they
are good for an irritated stomach. Rice obviously is edible only in cooked form.
Making your Own Cultures
If you enjoy cultured breads, you can simply make and use your own culture. Just take some organic
wheat flour, add some distilled water, put cheese cloths over the jar with the water and the flour, and let sit
in or on screened patio above room temperature. After a few days up to a week check if it smells like
bread or beer. If it does, it is ready for use to make your own bread.
Alternatively, you may use organic raisins. Soak them in water, covered with 2-3 sheets of cheese cloth
surrounded by in clean air and wait a few days to a week. Use the water as a natural culture once it turns.
Conclusion:
Nutrients are not the only components of our food. Natural food also contains toxic antibodies, a fact
that should be considered by all those who live on unaltered whole foods. Ayurveda knew of these dangers
even 6,000 years ago and recommends that we prepare and cook a considerable portion of our foods.
Mankind has used fire for food preparation for over one million years to make food digestible and to
remove any toxic components. A mixed diet, consisting of raw and possibly organically grown salad
foods, fruit, cooked vegetables, cooked staple foods such as rice, wheat, and other grain foods, as well as
legumes offer a large selection of natural foods that can accommodate every body-type.
Balanced Pittas, with their naturally strong AGNI or digestive fire, can eat relatively more raw foods
than the other two major body-types, particularly in the summer season. Vata and Kapha types benefit
more from eating mostly warm and cooked foods, as their bodies tend to be cool by nature. A Kapha’s
AGNI may easily get “subdued” by a lot of raw food, and a Vata, whose AGNI is “changeable” can
become constipated, nervous, and depressed if he eats too much of it. But whatever body-type you are start
trusting your intuition and listening to the signals from your body each and every moment of the day. one
day you may have eaten a particular food such as a bar of chocolate and the next day you suffer a
headache. If you ate a salad or fruit for supper, you may feel sluggish and irritable the next morning,
because it has fermented in your intestines during the night. Nobody knows your body better than you do.
If you feel inclined to only eating raw, unprepared foods, it means that your body may require
cleansing. Still, keep listening to your body’s signals of comfort and discomfort. If one day you get an
aversion to these foods, return to a mixed diet immediately because your body is telling you that it has had
enough and can no longer cope with so many toxic and irritating antibodies. A cleanse consisting of raw
vegetables or their juices has saved many people’s lives by triggering a strong immune response. This
helped remove toxic waste that may have lingered in the intestinal tract for many years. The body usually
sends a clear message of discomfort when the antibodies begin to damage the intestines, which is the time
to stop the cleansing.
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Your physical needs, emotional state, behavior, digestive ability, environmental factors, geographic
conditions, and many other influences determine what kind of food, of what quality and how much of it
your body requires each new day. You are not a machine that runs with one specific fuel oil; you are a
living organism that is changing every moment according to uncountable influences. By increasingly
relying on the body’s wisdom and natural instinct regarding the choice of food we can break out of the
man-made, restrictive rules of nutrition and discover what we really need to nourish ourselves.
5. The Milk Controversy
Is Cow’s Milk Suitable for Human Consumption?
Dairy milk has become a major target of criticism over the past few years due to its long lists of
negative side effects. More and more health practitioners report that patients are allergic to dairy products
or suffer from food intolerance to milk-containing foods. Eczema, asthma, migraine, constipation, hay
fever, arthritis, stomach trouble, heart disease, and testicular cancer are all linked with high consumption
of dairy products.
One such case was Tim who just turned 11 years old when his parents brought him to see me. He had
developed asthma when he was 5 months old. The former treatment consisted of three different types of
drugs, including cortisone and an inhaler. The boy’s condition worsened steadily and he developed herpes
and other symptoms of toxicity. Six months before his visit to me, Tim had caught a cold, which was
treated with antibiotics. Since then his lungs showed strong signs of congestion. He complained about
being tired all the time and unable to run or play with his friends. Muscle testing revealed that Tim was
highly allergic to milk or milk products. His parents confirmed that by the age of 5 months he was no
longer breast-fed but was instead given milk formulae.
Tim’s asthma was caused by his body’s inability to break down the protein of cow’s milk. The
fragments of undigested protein caused a strong immune response aggravating the entire mucus lining
from the anus to the lungs. His condition was chronic because he consumed large quantities of animal
protein, including milk and dairy products throughout his young life. After two weeks of abstinence from
these foods, his asthma and herpes subsided and have never recurred since then.
Could it be that cow’s milk is meant only for calves just as cats milk is meant only for kittens? Would
we consider feeding our babies with, for example, dog’s milk instead of human breast milk? The ratio of
nutrients contained in dog’s milk does not suit human requirements. Yet the same applies to cow’s milk.
Cow’s milk contains three times as much protein and almost four times as much calcium as human
mother’s milk. These amounts are unsuitable for the human physiology at any age.
Cow’s milk is designed to contain the exact amount of calcium and protein necessary to feed a calf that
will end up being at least 3-4 times larger than the human body is. If we gave human breast milk to a calf,
it would not grow strong enough even to survive. By contrast, human babies require more carbohydrates in
the beginning stages of their lives than calves do. For this reason, cow’s milk contains only 50 percent
carbohydrates compared to human milk. Calves on the other hand require more salt than human babies do,
so salt content in cow’s milk is three times higher as in human milk. It is therefore not surprising that most
of the original populations living in Asia, Africa, and Australia, and South America don’t regard cow’s
milk as a food fit for human consumption.
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Once weaned, mammals no longer look for milk to satisfy their hunger or thirst. If human babies, who
have been breast-fed for 11-12 months, were given the option of choosing from various types of natural
and suitable foods, two out of three would no longer want breast milk as a food. Babies who are fed with
cow’s milk tend to look puffy, bloated, and fat. It is not uncommon for 1-year olds to have gallstones in
the liver as a result of drinking, and not digesting, cow’s milk. Many of them suffer from colic and gas
which makes them cry and develop sleeping problems.
Michael Klaper, M.D. and Author of Vegan Nutrition: Pure & Simple, summarized the milk
controversy as follows: “The human body has no more need for cows’ milk than it does for dogs’ milk,
horses’ milk, or giraffes’ milk.”
Milk-caused Osteoporosis
Since milk intolerance is becoming increasingly common among all age groups in the Western world,
nutritionists and doctors are starting to suspect that cow’s milk may not be such a natural food for humans
after all.
Milk is a highly mucus-forming food that can cause irritation and congestion throughout the gastrointestinal
tract. If regularly consumed, milk can leave an increasingly hardening and almost impermeable
coating on the inside of the intestinal membranes. This restricts absorption of nutrients, including the
calcium, magnesium and zinc needed to form bones. It is virtually impossible to treat people with natural
medicines as long as they continue to clog up their digestive systems with milk or dairy foods; the
medicines are not able to penetrate the hardened layer of mucus in the intestines.
Most people wouldn’t drink milk if they weren’t so influenced by the myth that milk is essential for the
bones. If you are prone to Osteoporosis, or Osteoarthritis, then consider the following facts:
• Cow’s milk may be very rich in calcium but its high calcium to magnesium ratio can make it
difficult to absorb. In certain people or body-types, the calcium may be deposited in places where it is not
required, hence the development of calcification of bones and other parts of the body.
• Most of the calcium contained in cow’s milk is bound by the milk chemical casein, which makes it
far too crude for proper absorption by the human intestinal membranes. Cow’s milk contains 300 times
more casein than human milk. You can get more absorbable calcium out of 6-8 almonds or a teaspoon of
molasses than you can get from one liter of cow’s milk.
• There is quantitatively more phosphorus in cow’s milk than there is calcium. To metabolize that
much phosphorus, the body requires extra amounts of calcium, which it extracts from the bones, teeth, and
muscles. This leads to a calcium deficiency in these parts of the body. To compensate the sudden loss of
calcium, the body tries to mobilize more of it. As mentioned before, it has several methods to manufacture
the much-needed mineral. If the body depended totally on external supplies of calcium, 80% of today’s
population would have lost at least one third of their bone mass by the age of 30. Because of this selfregulating
mechanism, we are able to survive even extremely one-sided diets with very little calcium
intake. We can even fast on distilled water for long periods of time without developing a calcium
deficiency. Yet if the consumption of dairy foods continues for a long time, the calcium reserves get
depleted faster than they can be replenished, leading to damage of the bone tissue.
• Milk proteins contain about three times as many sulphur containing amino acids as proteins from
vegetable origin do. Through regular consumption of milk and dairy products the blood would become too
acid if the body didn’t mobilize large amounts of minerals to save the body from acid death. Yet, in the
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long term, this emergency measure leads to demineralization of the tissues and organs and subsequent
acidosis.
• Storage of excessive amounts of milk protein in the connective tissues and basement membranes of
the capillaries reduces the diffusion of essential minerals and vitamins to the tissues of the body. This
causes a depletion of nutrients in the tissues, especially of those that form the bones and joints.
Cows maintain strong and hardy bones and teeth throughout their lives and get most of their calcium
from the greens they eat. Gorillas, elephants, and other strong animals too do not suffer from osteoporosis.
Occasionally they lick on limestone but this is certainly not enough to supply the large quantities of
calcium they require to build and rebuild their heavy skeletons. If milk were the most useful and important
source of calcium for grown animals then nature would certainly have designed ways of supplying them
with milk throughout their lives. But as it turns out, they have access to milk only at the beginning stages
of their lives.
To digest whole milk the human body requires large amounts of bile. Drinking whole milk regularly
can eventually exhaust the liver’s bile-producing capacity. Drinking low fat milk makes matters even
worse. Low fat milk requires less bile to digest the fat contained in the milk, yet milk protein cannot be
digested without the natural amounts of milk fat. Added to that, without sufficient bile, calcium cannot be
properly digested or absorbed either. The large amounts of undigested milk protein increase acidity in the
body and the unused crude milk calcium can cause calcification of joints, arteries, or kidneys. This can
make protein foods with lowered fat-content hazardous to health.
Leafy green vegetables contain four times more calcium than whole milk. There is also plenty of
calcium in almonds, black molasses, sesame seeds, broccoli, Brazil nuts, millet, oats, and citrus fruits. The
difference with this type of calcium is that it is readily absorbed by the human digestive system, provided
the digestive system functions efficiently. Osteoporosis or and Osteoarthritis are basically metabolic
disorders that are caused by severe congestion and an unbalanced diet/lifestyle, and almost never by
insufficient calcium intake. Osteoporosis is virtually unknown in places such as Africa where people eat
far fewer proteins than those living in developed countries.
Milk Consumption Linked to Diabetes and Allergies
Initial studies on diabetes revealed that the frequency of insulin dependent diabetes is linked to breastfeeding.
The longer children were breast-fed by their mothers, the less was their risk of developing
diabetes later in life. The interpretation of this finding was revised, however, after it was found that
children who are fed with cows milk formulae rather than with breast milk were the most likely candidates
for diabetes. More precise studies revealed that diabetics have a striking number of antibodies against a
particular protein in their blood. Diabetes is an “autoimmune disease” which means that the body directs
its defenses against itself. The particular protein that the body tries to combat here comes from the whey of
cow’s milk.
Ever since cows milk has been used to make cheese, whey, which is a waste product of cheese
production, has been fed to pigs. This practice continued even after scientists attributed great nutritional
value to whey. Since nobody really liked drinking this “precious” ingredient of milk it was mixed in with
foods. This “coincided” with a dramatic increase in allergies in the developed world. Scientists have
discovered that the beta-casein (a particular protein) in cow’s milk can trigger an immune response that
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may, in turn, cross-react with an antigen to cause an allergic reaction. An allergy is the body’s response to
fight a substance that it considers dangerous to its health and survival.
Today, millions of people in the Western Hemisphere are suffering from allergies caused by milk or
products that contain milk powder or whey. Maybe it is for this reason that most populations in the world
avoid drinking cow’s milk. The current “allergy epidemic” in developed countries may have well been
caused by the “miracle food” whey which is added to so many food products, including children’s foods,
fresh cheese, ready-made soups, diet foods, etc. We are literally bombarded with this milk protein unless
we live off purely natural foods.
Watch out for the Milk Hormone
Bovine somatotrophin (BST) is a hormone which when fed to cows can increase their milk yield by 20-
30 percent. In the United States BST has been licensed by the American Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) in 1994. This effectively gave farmers the legal permission to treat their herds with the
controversial hormone. The license was accompanied with a new labeling policy, previously unheard of in
the United States. Traditional dairy farmers are prohibited from labeling their milk as “hormone free” --
while those using the hormone are not required to say that they use BST. Because uncontrolled hormone
intake is linked to a number of serious health problems there has been great concern among milk hormone
using farmers that people would prefer the natural milk to the hormone treated one. Their pressure ensured
the above legislation.
The granting of a license to increase milk production through hormones comes at a time when milk
production is already much higher than is milk consumption. Most industrialized nations destroy
enormous quantities of milk and butter to manipulate the prices with no regard to the cows’ health. Cows
are naturally made to produce a certain amount of milk according to the demand from their offspring. The
hormone-induced artificial increase of milk yield causes a number of cow’s diseases that are met by
administering large quantities of antibiotics. The drug’s poisons seep into the milk and its products. How
much a cow must be suffering when its udder is being extended to beyond it natural capacity is not
considered an issue?
Is Milk Bad for Everyone?
Cows milk is the milk used to raise cows. Drinking the milk from another species is less than idea.
Under normal circumstances, nowhere in nature does this happen Any adverse reactions to partaking of
the milk of another species are to be expected. However, if milk causes allergies or other diseases why
does not everyone who consumes cows milk regularly suffer from the same problems? one reason may be
that they don’t remove the fat from the milk. Left unaltered, cows milk is completely balanced regarding
its natural ingredients. By removing one essential part of the milk, i.e., fat, the milk protein can no longer
be digested completely, hence there will be a “leftover” of undigested, and irritating proteins against
which the body’s immune system begins to take up a fight.
In my practice I have found that persons who are of Vata constitution seem to digest and metabolize
milk much better than Kapha types, provided it is fresh, whole fat, and boiled before consumption. Vata
types suffer from dryness, lightness, and coldness. The mucus- producing effect of milk may help actually
lubricate their intestinal lining, which has the tendency to be dry. The milk’s heavy and warming qualities
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may pacify Vata and thereby outweigh any possible negative effects that milk may have for other bodytypes.
Vata types and to some extent also Pitta types seem to produce enough of the specific digestive
enzymes which are used to break down milk proteins.
In Kapha types, however, milk protein remains undigested and can trigger allergic reactions with
intense mucus irritation and sinus congestion. The Kapha’s blood vessel walls tend to clog up quickly with
excessive proteins as a result of overeating dairy foods or meat. This may explain why this particular
body-type is more prone to obesity and congestive heart failure than the Vata type is.
Once milk is pasteurized, i.e., ultra heat-treated, its natural enzyme population is destroyed. Yet the
enzymes are needed to make the milk nutrients available to the body cells. Newly born calves die within
six months when fed with pasteurized cow’s milk. one can only imagine the turmoil that must be going on
in the tiny intestinal tract of a baby who is fed with pasteurized milk or sterilized milk formulae. Babies
usually develop colic, become bloated and chubby, discharge mucus, catch colds frequently, are restless,
and cry a lot. The best advise is to breast feed as long as is possible, avoid dairy-based formulas altogether,
use alternatives such as almond milk, rice milk, and give freshly mashed fruits, vegetables and rice when
the baby is ready to eat solids.
Boiling fresh, non-pasteurized milk before consumption seems to have a beneficial effect. Milk protein
begins to break down into amino acids during boiling, which makes it easier to digest and absorb. Many of
the milk’s enzymes survive. This may be one of the reasons why Indians always boil their milk before use.
They also know that milk has adverse effects when its fat is removed. To preserve milk and to kill any
existing germs they simply put a silver coin or a silver spoon in the milk. Silver is strongly anti-bacterial.
And to avoid mucus congestion, they put 2-3 pinches of either turmeric or dry ginger into the milk before
boiling it. Pasteurized milk seems to upset all the three dosha, but boiling the milk helps to reduce its
irritating effect in Vata and Pitta types. Kapha types don’t do well with milk at all; they develop mucus
congestion almost right away.
Cold milk is very difficult to digest. As the cold milk touches the warm stomach lining, the nerve
endings of the stomach become “numb” or insensitive, and its cells tighten or shrink. This inhibits the
secretion of gastric juices, which is required to digest milk protein. The cold condition of the milk may
even be responsible for leaving those proteins undigested that are known to cause allergic reactions.
Enzymes require a certain temperature to act upon the food; if the temperature is too low the proteins
won’t be broken down properly, hence an intense irritation of the mucus lining may develop. Vata types
who are very sensitive to cold are rarely attracted to taking milk in cold from (from the refrigerator). Pittas
often have an excessively high temperature in their stomach, which gets lowered only slightly by cold
milk. Consequently Pittas are still able to secret a good amount of gastric juices to digest the milk proteins.
But if they take milk cold on a regular basis, their AGNI or digestive power also begins to be affected.
If you have access to fresh, full-fat, and non-pasteurized milk and if you are a Vata or Pitta type with
no Kapha imbalance (signs of excessive mucus in chest, nose, or sinuses), you may use milk in
moderation by applying the above procedures of preparation. If milk still causes you mucus, then it is
simply a “no-food” for you. I personally have not yet met a person who hasn’t shown signs of congestion
and irritation as a result of milk consumption, especially in the United States. In all States with the
exception of California and Georgia, it is illegal to sell whole, raw milk, despite the fact that raw milk
contains far less potentially harmful bacteria than pasteurized, homogenized milk. Pasteurized,
homogenized milk does not qualify as food per se. The homogenization process breaks up an enzyme
(xanthine oxidase), which in its altered (smaller) state can enter the bloodstream and react against arterial
walls, causing the body to protect the area with a layer of cholesterol.
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There are now various brands of non-pasteurized milk available in many countries such as the
“Vorzugsmilch” in Germany, which literally means the “milk of preference.” Again, if you are not sure
about its milk’s health benefits for you, apply the muscle test and your body will may be able to give you
the correct answer. As with everything, generalized clear cut answers rarely exist. Your individual
response makes all the difference when it comes to creating health or treating ill health.
As In every respect, vegans appear to enjoy equal or better health
in comparison to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
~T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. Professor of Nutrition, Cornell University
6. Aspartame and Other Sweet Killer Drugs
Aspartame is the sweetener in Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi and thousands of “diet” foods. Donald Rumsfeld,
who once was the CEO of a major drug company, managed to bring this poisonous food drug to market
during the Reagan administration. He used his political influence to quash an FDA toxicologist's report
naming aspartame as a cause of not only cancer, but brain tumors as well. In 1996 the Food and Drug
Administration published a list of 92 adverse aspartame reactions that included seizures, blindness,
obesity, testicular, mammary and brain tumors, sex dysfunction and death, from 10,000 consumer
complaints.
Through clever advertising campaigns the world population was made to believe that Aspartame and all
the other artificial sweeteners are just simple, harmless, food additives that give you the sweet taste, but
help you keep slim, or even shed some extra pounds, although the sweeteners are actually patented for
“appetite enhancement.” And these drugs really do what they promise. They make you crave
carbohydrates, and thereby make you fat.
And now, the aspartame drug has even been patented to treat sickle cell anemia, one of the many
diseases it responsible for causing. Researcher Carl Manion found that a single dose of aspartame lowered
the sickle cell count in the blood. Aspartame metabolizes into formic acid, a blister poison that transfers
from cell to cell killing all and leaving a blister of dead tissue.
Aspartame is a synergistic methanol poison. Methanol is known to cause serious birth defects and
major developmental disorders such as autism and attention deficient in the offspring of aspartame
users. Ever since Aspartame, MSG, and fluoride were being pushed into our youth, along with the
harmful immunization programs, the IQ of the average high school graduate has fallen 10% since the
l950's.
Sweetness at a Price
Aspartame, Sucralose (in Splenda) and saccharin are the most commonly used artificial sweeteners that
have gained huge popularity among people who are concerned about their weight. In the belief that they
are doing something good for themselves, they are thrilled to have found the “ideal” sweetener that
satisfies their sweet tooth yet doesn’t make them fat. However, there is mounting evidence that artificial
sweeteners are a major health risk and can cause brain damage and other problems of the nervous system.
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The use of artificial sweeteners in Britain alone has rocketed from a total of 615,000 tons in 1988 to
1,801,000 tons in 1993, an increase of 370 percent for aspartame and 250 percent for saccharin in five
years. The situation is even worse in the United States. The sharp increase in the use of artificial
sweeteners is very significant in relation to their sweetening potency. Saccharin is more than 400 times as
sweet as regular sugar and aspartame 200 times as much, Splenda is in between the two. The recently
approved sweetener, neotame, appears to a have super strength, hence it is also named “super aspartame.”
Considered non-toxic and safe by the British government, both saccharin and aspartame have found
their way into the food chain. Both sweeteners are not only found in beverages but also in children’s
jellies, lollies, puddings, crops, beans, and even tinned pasta. Aspartame, which is sold under the names
NutraSweet, Hermesetas, Gold Choice, and Canderel, has been included in some 14,000 foods in America
and hundreds of products in Great Britain and other European countries. The products include fruit juices,
diet soda, frozen lollies, as a sugar substitute for tea or coffee, instant breakfasts, chewing gum, cocoa and
other instant beverages, medical drugs, food supplements, and even yoghurt.
The British government has issued a call for clear warning labels (why warn people if it is so safe?), but
only few manufacturers have complied, claiming that it would “clutter up” their labels and confuse
consumers. Yet it is more confusing to the consumer not to know whether a food product contains
aspartame or saccharin than to know it.
A survey conducted by BBC2’s Money Program revealed that up to 40 percent of the public do not
expect to find artificial sweeteners in their fruit juices, drinks, not to mention in their foods. But there is
hardly any drink on the market that does not contain an artificial sweetener, even if the drink is labeled
“sugar free.” The most popular brands are sold to the public, giving the impression that these products are
totally natural whereas in truth they contain synthetically derived sweeteners. The European Union has
urged producers to label these beverages drinks “With sweetener,” but surveys have shown that up to 50
percent of consumers would no longer buy these products.
The same applies to Sucralose, the sweetener behind Splenda. Disguised by its lovely sweet taste, it is
yet another Frankenstein food additive of the industry. It is produced by chlorinating sugar molecules.
Chlorinated molecules actually accumulate in body fat and can come back to haunt a body many, many
years later. Splenda is synthetic and having a chlorinated base like DDT, it can cause autoimmune disease
(which is just the body trying to attack and neutralize such poisons). Sucralose or Splenda is not safe. In
original research Splenda was shown to cause many health problems.
Sucralose as used in Splenda is not yet approved for use in most European countries, where it is still
under review. Few human studies of safety have been published on sucralose. one small study of diabetic
patients using the sweetener showed a statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin
(HgbA1c), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels. According to the FDA, increases in
glycosylation in hemoglobin reduces control of diabetes.
Research in animals has shown that sucralose can cause many problems in rats, mice, and rabbits, such
as:
• Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40% shrinkage)
• Enlarged liver and kidneys.
• Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus
• Increased cecal weight
• Reduced growth rate
• Decreased red blood cell count
• Hyperplasia of the pelvis
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• Extension of the pregnancy period
• Aborted pregnancy
• Decreased fetal body weight and placental weight
• Diarrhea
European countries discontinued the use of sweeteners for a good reason. Tests on animals have
revealed that saccharin can cause cancer of the bladder. The European Food Commission is particularly
concerned about the overconsumption of sweeteners by children. In the mid 1990s, the British government
announced that 2.5 mg/kg was the acceptable (safe) daily intake (ADI) of saccharin. It is important to
know, however, that this figure is not based on control studies, but on mere estimates. Through repeated
intake of the sweeteners, many children and adults “expect” that a variety of foods and drinks taste very
sweet, a characteristic most of them never have in their natural form. The masking of the natural taste of
these products has consequences and there is a price to be paid for falling into the “sweet” trap.
Check out what they nowadays pack into the “harmless” sweeteners. The following list of ingredients is
self-explanatory. Even if you don’t know any of the toxic chemicals these sweet cocktails as Neotame,
Aspartame or Splenda contain, you may realize that having them in your body is not such a good idea.
Notice that Neotame has formaldehyde in it, a powerful cancer-causing agent.
Patent Number 01 90138
Patent: The NutraSweet Company
CAS REG/EC #(S) 50-00-0 - Formaldehyde
CAS REG/EC #(S) 63-91-2 - L-Phenylalanine
CAS REG/EC #(S) 75-87-6 - Acetaldehyde-trichloro-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 100-52-7 - Benzaldhyde
CAS REG/EC #(S) 109-87-5 - Methane - Dimethoxy-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 115-17-3 - Acetaldehyde - tribromo-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 116-16-5 - 2-Propanone 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexachloro-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 462-95-3 - Ethane - 1,1'Ymethylenebis (oxy) "bis-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 599-97-3 - Ethane-1,1,1 - trichloro-2,2-diethoxy-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 684-16-2 - 2-Propanone - 1,1,1,3,3,3,-hexafluoro-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 754-50-7 - Propane - 1,1,1,3,3,3,-hexafluoro-2,2,-dimethoxy
CAS REG/EC #(S) 774-48-1 - Benezene - (diethoxymethyl)-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 1125-88-8- Benezene - (dimethoxymethyl)
CAS REG/EC #(S) 2577-90-4 - L-Phenylalanine
CAS REG/EC #(S) 7524-50-7 - L-Phenylalanine
CAS REG/EC #(S) 18272-02 - Ethane - 1,1,1-trichloro 2,2 - dimethoxy-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 30525-89-4 - Paraformaldehyde
CAS REG/EC #(S) 157055-30-6 - Propane - 2,2 -diethoxy 1,1,1,3,3,3, - hexafluoro
CAS REG/EC #(S) 165450-17-9 - L-Phenylalanine - N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl) - L-alpha.-
aspartyl-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 275799-00-3 - L-Aspartic acid - N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl) -
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-92-6 --PP - 4-Oxazolidinecarboxylic acid -3-(3,3-
Dimethylbutyl)5-oxo-2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-93-7 --PP - 4-Oxazolidinecarboxylic acid -3-(3,3-
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Dimethylbutyl)5-oxo-2-bis(trichloromethyl)-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-94-8 --PP
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-95-9 --PP - Ethane - 1,1,1-tribromo 2,2-dimethoxy-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-96-0 --PP - Propane - 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexachloro-2,2-
dimethoxy-
CAS REG/EC #(S) 374077-97-1 --PP - Propane - 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexachloro-2,2-
Diethoxy-
Politics versus Ethics
Fortunately, there in an increasing resistance movement trying to prevent further damage from these
harmful products. on April 6th, 2004 lawsuits were filed in three separate California courts against twelve
companies that either produce or use the artificial sweetener aspartame as a sugar substitute in their
products. The suits were filed in Shasta, Sonoma and Butte County, California. The suits allege that the
food companies committed fraud and breach of warranty by marketing products to the public such as diet
Coke, diet Pepsi, sugar free gum, Flintstone's vitamins, yogurt and children's aspirin with the full
knowledge that aspartame, the sweetener in them, is neurotoxic.
Aspartame is a drug masquerading as an additive. It interacts with other drugs, has a synergistic and
additive effect with MSG, and is a chemical hyper-sensitization agent. As far back as 1970, studies on
aspartic acid, which makes up 40% of aspartame, showed it caused lesions in the brains of mice. It was
also shown to lead to behavioral and psychiatric problems triggered by aspartame-caused depletion of
serotonin.
Aspartame consumption can cause headache, memory loss, obesity, testicular, mammary and brain
tumors, seizures, vision loss, coma and cancer. It worsens or mimics the symptoms of such diseases and
conditions as Fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue and depression.
The effects of aspartame are documented by the FDA's own data. In 1995 the agency was forced, under
the Freedom of Information Act, to release a list of ninety-two aspartame symptoms reported by thousands
of victims. In 1996 the FDA stopped taking complaints and now denies existence of the report. on Sept
30, 1980 the Board of Inquiry of the FDA concurred and denied the petition for approval. In 1981, the
newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, ignored the negative ruling and approved
aspartame for dry goods. As recorded in the Congressional Record of 1985, then CEO of Searle
Laboratories Donald Rumsfeld said that he would call in his markers to get aspartame approved. Rumsfeld
was on President Reagan's transition team and a day after taking office appointed Hayes. No FDA
Commissioner in the previous sixteen years had allowed Aspartame on the market.
In 1983, aspartame was approved for use in carbonated beverages. Today it is found in over 5000 foods,
drinks and medicines.
Why Sweeteners Make You Fat
A major American controlled study on 80,000 women showed that those who regularly use artificial
sweeteners put on more weight per year than those who do not use them. What is even more surprising is
the finding that with the widespread use of sweeteners the consumption of ordinary sugar and sugary foods
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has increased, too. In other words, the more artificial sweeteners you consume, the more food urges you
have, just as the sweeteners’ patents were granted for.
There is overwhelming proof that these food poisons are making us fat. Research conducted at Purdue
University shows that a group of test subjects fed artificial sweeteners subsequently consumed three times
the calories of those given regular sugar. According to the study (although eating this much regular sugar
isn’t good for anyone), it is still far less fattening to eat sugar than artificial sweeteners.
Most mainstream doctors recommend to their overweight patients diet soda, Sweet-N-low, etc. for
weight loss, but in actual fact their advice causes them to crave calories and binge on unhealthy
carbohydrates. The obesity epidemic is spreading like wildfire ever since diet foods/beverages gained
popularity. The following explanation resolves this mystery.
The body has a self-regulating mechanism, a kind of thermostat that measures the amount of energy (or
calories) it can obtain from a particular meal. When your body has received enough energy from the food
you have eaten, then your mouth, stomach, intestines, and liver send messages to the brain that all energy
requirements have been met. Subsequently, your nervous system secretes hormones that stop your desire
for more food. This point of saturation is essential for your well being, without it you would continuously
want to eat and never feel satisfied. If, for instance, during one particular meal you eat foods that contain
only very little energy or at least not enough to fulfill your energy requirements, then your body will tempt
you to eat more during the next meal. This way, the body makes up for the loss of energy during the
previous meal. The same happens when your AGNI or digestive power is low and you are not deriving
sufficient energy from the food you eat.
On the other hand, when during one particular meal you eat food that has a higher content of calories
than your body really requires at this moment, it will signal for less energy during the next meal. If there is
only very little energy in the food you are eating during a meal, the more you need to eat from it in order
to reach your individual “set point” or body weight that can keep your energy distribution as balanced and
normal as possible. Whenever you deprive yourself of eating enough and are unable to meet the energy
needs of your body, you will look for more food the next day, the day after, and so on. This leads to
chronic overeating which packs plenty of low-energy food into your intestinal tract. Incapable of digesting
and absorbing low-energy food properly, your body turns it into fat and waste and clogs up your
lymphatic, digestive, and circulatory systems.
This is the time when your body signals “famine.” You start craving foods, particularly refined
carbohydrates such as ordinary sugar, chocolate, sweet beverages, coffee, etc., which all give you an
instant boost of energy. But they also contain only “empty” energy and just raise your sugar level in the
blood for a short time. After a little while the sugar levels drops below normal, which may cause
depression, moodiness, and exhaustion.
If you are overweight and believe that you can reduce weight by restricting your daily intake of
calories, you will be very disappointed. Within a few days, your body will run out of energy and wants to
eat, hence the increased appetite or craving. If you still don’t eat enough, you will fall into a depression,
which may cause you bingeing food ravenously. Your body thinks there are regular famines going on and
tries to convert some of the food into fat to deposit it for the next one. After each “voluntary famine” or
“weight reducing” diet, your body will put on weight much faster than it did before. This is known as the
yo-yo effect.
Under normal circumstances, the body converts calories into heat, which then simply evaporates. Wellcirculated
brown fat tissue, which is located near the large arteries and in the underarms, is the main
source of this energy. There is new research that suggests that in some obese people this mechanism may
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be disturbed and that the best dietary rules would be of no avail. Abusing the body’s digestive system
through frequent strict dieting may be the main cause of this problem.
Because artificial sweeteners are low-energy foods and non-physiological, the body deals with them in
the same way as described above. It recognizes their complete absence of potential energy and signals
“lack of energy supply”. As a result, it increases its appetite to stimulate the desire for more food. This
principle is a well-known and commonly applied practice, both in the food industry and in animal feeding.
Animal feeds contain highly concentrated saccharin to stimulate the animal’s appetite so that they eat
more frequently and grow fat faster. The same mechanism applies to the human body.
Deceiving the Body
For both humans and animals, aspartame, sucralose, saccharin and other sweeteners belong to the
category of “sweet” food. The sweetness of natural foods is caused by sugar. Because sugar can move
straight through the stomach walls, it will appear in the blood stream within 3-5 minutes. However, the
body has to keep the blood sugar level in check since too little or too much of it can be dangerous. The
body regulates sugar levels automatically through simple reflex mechanisms. When sugar touches the taste
buds for sweet taste on the tongue, the pancreas is given the instruction to secrete insulin, which is
required to make it (the sugar) available to the cells.
If you eat artificial sweeteners, the body naturally responds to their sweet taste by secreting insulin.
Expecting the sugar to enter the blood, it, however, receives only a combination of protein compounds.
Doing its normal job, the pancreas has already prepared a portion of insulin that now floats about in the
blood stream searching for the expected sugar. Since it can’t find it there, the insulin removes some of the
blood sugar instead. This effectively lowers your sugar levels. However, since this situation can be life
endangering, your body quickly signals “hunger” which becomes a sudden, strong “craving.” Since foods
with artificial sweeteners are not able to meet the demand for an increase in blood sugar, you begin to look
for sugary foods
Instead of saving the calories that are contained in ordinary sugar, you have artificially increased your
need and appetite for more sweet food. If you try to satisfy this desire by eating more foods that have been
sweetened with artificial sweeteners (without calories), the urge to eat will become even stronger than
before and you will start overeating. Researchers have found that the urge to eat more food after ingesting
artificial sweeteners in a drink can last up to 90 minutes, even when all blood tests show normal values.
A more serious situation arises when the body is given artificial sweeteners on an ongoing basis. Since
the sweeteners repeatedly stimulate the taste buds responsible for detecting sugar, the brain maintains an
almost continuous urge to eat. At the same time, the liver is instructed by the brain to store sugar supplies
rather than to release them, which causes chronic fatigue. The pancreas, which had wrongly assumed that
real sugar was entering the blood stream, eventually realizes that it has been cheated. Hence it reduces its
secretion of insulin. one might think that this solves the problem but the body reacts with depression.
Sweeteners Cause Obesity, Depression, Brain Damage
Sugar is known to “improve” moods for relatively short periods of time. With the help of insulin, sugar
increases the secretion of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter of happiness. If insulin
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secretion fails to occur, happiness remains low. The only way to get out of this situation, it seems, is to eat
sugar so that the body can secrete insulin again.
You may believe that the fewer calories you eat the more weight you will lose. But food manufactures
know that the more artificially sweetened foods and beverages you consume the more you will want their
normal sugar containing foods and beverages as well. Diet foods and diet beverages have not only
contributed to a massive increase of sugar consumption and obesity but also led to an epidemic of
depression. I have seen numerous depressed people over the years, a large percentage of whom regularly
use artificial sweeteners. By cutting out diet foods and light products, they have returned to their normal
self, and they have lost the excessive weight, too.
Apart from causing obesity and depression, sweeteners have been linked to insomnia, headaches,
giddiness, loss of memory, nausea, pre-menstrual syndrome, panic attacks, epileptic fits, and even overstimulation
of breast glands leading to breast cancer. Aspartame in particular may cause extensive damage
to the central nervous system. once it has entered the intestinal tract, aspartame is converted into two
highly excitatory neurotransmitter amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalinine, as well as into methyl
alcohol (wood-grain alcohol) and formaldehyde (embalming fluid).
Wood alcohol is one of the most dangerous substances that result from eating artificial sweeteners. It
may directly enter the blood stream and move through the brain barrier into the central nervous system
where it can influence the neurotransmitters, alter brain function, and cause brain damage. Wood alcohol
can cause blindness and formaldehyde can cause cancer. In some cases aspartame may suppress appetite
and “kill” AGNI, the digestive fire, altogether. Both can lead to quick, excessive weigh gain. According to
Consumer Reports, aspartame has only a shelf life of between two and three months. After that it begins to
break down and pose an increasing danger to the consumer. The same occurs when aspartame or an
aspartame-containing food is heated.
Aspartame accounts for more than 75 percent of the total of adverse reactions to food reported to the
US Federal Drug Administration. Hundreds of pilots have reported symptoms of memory loss and
confusion, headaches, seizures, visual disturbances and gastrointestinal reactions as a result of consuming
sweeteners. If pregnant women consume large quantities of diet sodas to avoid weight gain, their placenta
may accumulate methyl alcohol, causing mental retardation in the fetus. They also risk maternal
malnutrition because of the gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea associated with sweeteners.
Other sweeteners than aspartame have similar effects. Added to soft drinks, they are now even linked
with damage of the testicles and other key areas of the body. Stimulating the brain of a child with these
“pleasure-enhancing” chemicals in beverages will, in some cases, program their senses to look for and use
stronger addictive substances such as hard drugs or large amounts of alcohol later in life. The latest
sweetener, acesulfame K, may be even carcinogenic, i.e., cause cancer, according a report published in the
British Medical Journal in 1996. To avoid serious health problems, it is best to stick to foods and
beverages that come from purely natural sources.
A sugar called tagatose is one of the next things that will be appearing on the horizon for products
labeled under the pseudo hygienic appellations of “Light”, “Lite”, “Low Calorie”, “Sugar Free”,
“Sugarless", “Low Fat”, or “Low Sodium,” “etc.” Hyperuricemia is an unhealthy and unacceptable result
from ingesting tagatose. It is an especially hazardous effect with regards to diabetes because
hyperuricemia is damaging to the pancreas as well as implicated in causing major damage to the organs
and systems in the body. If you wish to protect yourself and your family from the dreadful consequences
of universal deceit and actually benefit from the foods you eat, start with fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts,
seeds, and legumes. And be sure to prepare your foods from scratch.
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7. Light-Food – A Weight Booster
“Foolproof” Slimming Diets
Most dietary approaches in the past were based on the simple mathematical concept that, because 1 kg
of body fat contains 7,000 calories, by taking in 1,000 calories less each day a person would lose 1 kg of
body fat a week. Since this equation sounded so logical and convincing many people tried to shed the
undesirable weight by controlling their daily intake of calories. However, this theory collapsed like a card
house. The more these people reduced their calorie intake the faster they put on weight.
When you analyze the results of all the prominent slimming techniques and dietary plans, you face the
following facts. Most people, who go on a diet, give up before completing it, and of those who continue
only few lose weight, and of those who lose weight most put it back on again. The biggest craze on the
slimming market concerns the consumption of “light” food. As the name suggests, the new products
promise to make you lighter. You can eat as much as you like and will not put on weight because the
products contain only little fat or no fattening substances at all. Now you don’t have to restrict yourself or
curb your appetite any longer and at the same time you become slim.
For these or similar reasons light-food has become extremely popular in industrialized nations. At last,
food manufacturers have complied with the demands made by nutritional scientists and dieticians to
produce foods with fewer calories. Consumers feel relieved that the new food is fat-free and without sugar
and instead contains fat substitutes, water and artificial sweeteners. This saves massive amounts of
calories. And by adding artificial flavors to the food and using other forms of chemical manipulation, the
taste buds believe that it is the real thing. Man seems to have finally succeeded in creating the ideal food
for man; at least this is what the majority of consumers have started to believe.
“Light Fats” and their “Amazing” Effects
Take for instance “light-butter” or half-fat butter, which has been heralded as one of the greatest
“achievements” of food technology so far. In this high-tech product, at least half of the fat content of
butter is replaced with water. It tastes like butter, it spreads like butter and it melts like butter in the mouth,
but in reality it is mostly water. To turn water into butter you have to mix it with a thickening agent like
gelatin, an emulsifier that permits mixing fat with water, and artificial coloring, aromas, and preservatives.
It is difficult, though, for a layperson to detect from the labels whether a product has been manipulated in
this way. Still there is one way to find out. Place the light butter or light margarine in your frying pan and
see what happens. The artificial fats quickly disintegrate and turn into what they really are, that is, mostly
water.
However, not all food imitations can be enriched with water. Fat-free salad dressings contain modified
starch as a fat substitute. Principally being very dry by nature, starch (mostly cornstarch) is treated with
hydrochloric acid and enzymes derived from mold. The end product leaves you with the feeling of cream
in the mouth. The same can be achieved by using cheap protein and other carbohydrates. The products
have such fancy names as “Trailblazer,” and Nutrifat PC and have already been on the US-market for
several years.
“Olestra” is the name for pseudo-fat that has recently been approved for sale on the US market to fill
the gap for zero-cholesterol fat. Fat-free chips, diet-friendly crisps, and cholesterol lowering tortillas can
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now be staples of the otherwise fatty American diet. Is seems wonderful to be able to have all these
“naughty” foods and not become fat or risk heart disease. The only problem with this non-physiological
food is its side effects.
The pseudo-fat can actually cause substantial anal leakage and diarrhea. It is as indigestible as plastic,
which means it comes out completely unaltered. To prevent the product from becoming unpopular, the
manufacturers have now added an “anti-anal leakage agent,” a mixture that slows the elimination of the oil
from the large intestine. The pseudo-fat mimics the properties of ordinary fats, with a similar “mouth-feel”
and taste.
One of the more serious side effects of such products is that they are capable of removing the fatsolvable
vitamins A, D, E, and K from the body as they pass through the intestinal tract. For this reason,
US food manufacturers are required to fortify their olestra-containing products with all these vitamins; this
gives the false impression that these foods are now safe for human consumption. But uncontrolled intake
of vitamin K can endanger the lives of hemophiliacs; and a pregnant mother may risk her baby’s life by
taking too much vitamin A. Apart from removing vitamins from the body (and thoroughly confusing the
body), olestra also reduces the absorption of carotenoids that help us to prevent cancer, heart disease, and
strokes.
Pseudo-fats cannot fool even animals. When the fat replacement olestra was fed to dogs for 20 months,
their weight had not decreased but increased.
Olestra is the first food additive with negative nutritional value. It is hard to conceive how much
damage the plastic food will do if it remains in our food chain for several decades and, what makes things
worse; it will be extremely difficult to trace the damage to the use of olestra. It is very unlikely that there
will be any further research done on the side effects of olestra or similar foods. Hence it is up to each one
of us to take more responsibility for our health and that of our families. If we desist from buying such
synthetic foods they will disappear from the market as fast as they appeared.
High Protein Foods Make You Fat Low Energy Foods Deplete Energy
Not such good news for the Atkins friends. The results of a four-nation study involving more than
4,000 men and women ages 40 to 59 have produced a stunning conclusion in our Atkins diet-fueled
society: The thinnest people on Earth eat the most carbohydrates. What is even more alarming, the people
who ate the most protein in their diet were actually the heaviest.
“Without exception, a high-complex-carbohydrate, high-vegetable-protein diet is associated with low
body mass,” study leader Linda Van Horn of Northwestern University said in a news conference reported
by Reuters. “High-protein diets were associated with higher body weight.”
Of course, this does not mean that your favorite doughnut, French fries, pasta and white bread are going
to make you slim. These refined carbohydrates don’t offer you the complex sugars that your body needs as
a primary source of energy. only complex carbohydrates found in grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds
and beans are suitable to fill the body’s energy requirements. Most notable is this finding: The more
animal protein a person consumed, the higher his weight was.
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Why Light Foods make You feel so Heavy
Many people wonder why they have put on so much weight since consuming light-foods. Or, they may
ask, why don’t light-foods seem to contribute to slimming? The answers to this question are quite simple.
Low-energy foods deplete your energy and, thereby, slow down your metabolism, making it more and
more difficult to metabolize even the light foods and lose any extra weight. In addition, after eating light
foods a few of times, your body begins to realize that it is deprived of energy. Consequently, it sends you
urgent messages of wanting energy-containing foods. Since carbohydrates are the foods that keep your
serotonin and beta-endorphin levels normal, not eating them makes your cranky, restless and moody. To
overcome the discomfort, your will start eating more of these same low-energy foods than you normally
would. Much of it, though, gets converted into fat and waste matter.
Many people wonder why they have put on so much weight since consuming light-foods. Or, they may
ask, why don’t light-foods seem to contribute to slimming? The answer to this question is quite simple.
After eating light-foods a couple of times, your body begins to realize that it is deprived of energy.
Consequently, it sends you urgent messages of wanting energy-containing foods but you will eat more of
them than you normally would. This natural response occurs in everyone, even in children.
Children are generally more in touch with their natural instincts and have not yet been influenced by
theories about diets, calories, and light-foods. When researchers tested the eating habits of children, they
wanted to find out whether children extract fewer calories from their food and lose weight if they consume
light-products. The scientists were surprised to discover that those children whose diet included lightfoods
(low calorie) had actually increased their appetites and started eating more to balance the loss of
energy caused by the light-foods.
The body is constantly aware of how much energy is required to conduct all its activities and
subsequently sends the appropriate signals of how much we should eat in order to satisfy its needs. The
requirements of course change as the day goes on. A theoretical system of how much you should eat at
each meal and how many calories you can use up without becoming fat is therefore useless, if not harmful.
It strongly interferes with the body’s natural and uniquely programmed weight control mechanisms. The
accompanied anxiety of eating too much or eating the wrong type of food may even shut down the
digestive functions, which means you are converting much of the ingested food into undigested toxic
waste. This clogs up the system even more and adds extra weight to the body.
The body always knows when it has reached a point of satiety. This was shown in another experiment
during which a group of children were given the permission to eat as much as they wanted and whatever
they wanted for six consecutive days. They were even allowed sweets, cakes, and other kinds of
“unhealthy” foods. Parents were not permitted to influence their children in any way.
The researchers carefully recorded what and how much of each food a child ate during each meal,
throughout the six 24-hour periods. Some children ate only minute amounts during some meals but then
greatly increased the amounts at other meal(s). The children’s calorie intake fluctuated substantially from
meal to meal; yet, when calculated for an entire day, calorie consumption remained the same.
Gaining “Waste-weight”
There are many studies that show that light-foods encourage appetite and overeating and do not reduce
weight. The more of enzymatic energy is contained in food, the faster we feel satisfied. But not only light-
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foods are energy depleted and dissatisfying. Refined, processed, chemically treated foods contain no
Prana or life energy, which is the type of energy the body needs to help digest food.
There may be plenty of calories in the highly refined white flour products but the body is not able use
this form of “dead” energy. Our digestive system is naturally programmed to extract energy from life
foods or complex staple foods, which contain plenty of Prana. The body regards such lifeless foods as
meat, cornflakes or light-foods to be indigestible and tries to “dump” them as quickly as possible. All they
do is to congest the intestines where they ferment and putrefy. This is the first location in the body where
waste, meaning extra weight, starts to accumulate and when the intestinal “vessel” is full up it begins
distributing the waste to other areas of the body as well.
This increase of waste-weight may tempt you to go on a restrictive diet for a while. But the more often
you go on a diet, the less successful it becomes. Each new diet requires a different way of metabolism. The
continual abuse of your natural weight regulation reduces AGNI, the digestive fire, to a point when almost
no foods, even fresh and healthy foods, can be tolerated and be utilized by the body. At such a stage, obese
people complain that they are putting on weight although they are hardly eating anything.
The producers of light-foods know all that. Since light-foods have become available in the
supermarkets, the sales of normal foods have increased too. If light-food had the effect of curbing
appetites and reducing the consumption of ordinary foods, you can take it for granted that light-products
would have never made it into the food market. These man-made foods have certainly not been made
available to create a healthier population.
The Calorie-plan Fiasco
What is most discouraging in the confusion around food today is that our generation is perhaps the first
one in the entire history of mankind that has lost its natural instinct to know which foods are good for us
and which ones are not. We have left it to experts or nutritional scientists to make certain that we are being
nourished in the best possible way. Food is no longer considered to be God’s gift to man but a mere
collection of chemical components, including calories, Joule, vitamins, fats, proteins and their various
amino acid components, carbohydrates, trace elements, etc. If the figures of nutritional daily requirements
were correct, no one in the world could ever be healthy because everyone would miss out on one vitamin,
mineral, trace element, or the other. For example, we would have to eat massive amounts of liver and
herring, to avoid vitamin D deficiency. Yet those who never ate fish or liver in their entire lives have no
less vitamin D in their body than those who do.
The official figures for nutritional requirements are unreliable and misleading. In a major study at the
University Hospital in Vienna, researchers first calculated the nutritional values of the patients’ diet
according to the official nutritional figures and then analyzed the same food items in the laboratory for
their true nutritional contents. The experiment lasted for 38 days and the results were astounding. The
calculated figures for calories were 1/3 higher than were actually found through chemical analysis. The
difference with regard to carbohydrates was 44 percent, with regard to protein 50 percent, and with regard
to fats 60 percent! The conclusion of the study was that there is no reliable way to figure out what really is
contained in the food. Besides, foods such as tomatoes, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables change their
nutritional contents according to seasons, preparation, and storage and are different in different countries
due to varied climatic, soil, and geographical conditions.
In addition, the information that indigestible fiber contained in whole foods doesn’t release calories is
incorrect. It is true that our body has no enzymes to digest fiber but we have plenty of bacteria in our
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intestinal tract that can do this job even better than enzymes do. All fiber reaches the colon in undigested
form. Just as easily as the bacteria in nature break down food fiber, so do the bacteria of the intestinal flora
digest the fiber that passes through the intestines. This may result in undesirable gases caused by
fermentation and release various fatty acids that are absorbed by the large intestines and serve as a source
of energy, which means they provide calories. Pectin, for example, is a fiber found in apples and can
provide 283 calories per 100g, as much as in a 100g ice cream!
The dilemma that arises from eating according to a calorie plan is that nobody can tell you for sure how
many calories are locked in a particular food, nor is it known how many calories are being utilized by each
individual. A Kapha type, for instance, has a slow metabolic rate and uses up less energy than a Vata type
who has a very fast metabolic rate. Vatas may eat three times as many calories and still put on no extra
weight whereas Kaphas may just “look” at food and put on weight. If a healthy Pitta type eats excess
amounts of calories, let’s assume 2,000 instead of the recommended 1,000, he simply converts the unused
calories into heat and becomes slightly more “energetic” than before. His body weight will remain
unchanged, unless he overeats regularly. Research has documented that the average overweight person
does not consume more calories than a slim person does.
If excessive consumption of calories always led to weight gain, then most people in the world would be
obese by now. According to the calorie theory, a person who eats two pieces of chocolate a day (50
calories) too much should put on 25kg of body fat within a period of ten years. Imagine how this person
would look if he ate that much chocolate for sixty years, according to the theory.
Fortunately, the body is not a machine that counts calories. A strong digestive fire (AGNI) can make
use of more calories than a weak one. If AGNI is weak, then most of them are not used which means that
there is be plenty of unused and undigested food leftover. Consequently, the energy requirements of the
body are no longer met. This lowers the metabolic rate and general circulation, and the resulting
accumulation of toxic waste congests vital areas of tissues and organs in the body. The lymphatic system
becomes severely blocked and retains large amounts of lymph, hence the swelling that accompanies
weight gain.
Weight Regulation is Natural
Weight loss occurs spontaneously when the natural weight regulation mechanisms are restored.
Excessive body weight is a symptom of disturbed digestion and metabolism and a sign of chronic toxicity
in the body and should not be treated on its own level. Trying to remove the symptom (excessive weight)
can turn out to be very harmful and disappointing when the toxins are not removed first.
The body has a natural resistance to losing excessive weight quickly because sudden weight loss could
release a flood of trapped toxins into the circulation and even have fatal side effects (collapse of liver
functions, kidney failure, and heart attack). The body never behaves in an irrational way. Weight
regulation has to begin by removing the root causes of the metabolic problems that accompany weight
gain.
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People who put on extra weight may have been weakened by the following factors:
? Overworking
? Overstimulation of senses
? Exhaustion
? Lack of the two hours of sleep before midnight
? Irregular eating habits
? Heavy meals at night time
? Overeating due to intake of non-nutritious and low energy foods
? Stimulants such as coffee, tea, and cigarettes
? Soft drinks
? Not drinking enough water
? Negative responses to stress
? Alcohol consumption
? Unresolved conflicts (impairing digestion)
? Fear and other emotional upsets
? Any other weakening influence
Sleep Well – Loose Weight
By some estimates, Americans average about six hours of sleep per night. That may be enough for
some, but not for the majority of people, especially for those concerned about their weight. According to a
study from Columbia University, presented at the annual scientific meeting of the North American
Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO), you will need to get more sleep than six hours if you want
to stay healthy and fit. Researchers used almost 10 years of data collected on nearly 18,000 subjects who
took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The study gathered
information on general dietary and health habits. After accounting for other factors that are known to
contribute to obesity, the Columbia team reported these estimates:
? Less than four hours of sleep per night increases obesity risk by 73 percent, compared to subjects
who slept seven to nine hours each night
? An average of five hours of sleep per night increases obesity risk by 50 percent
? An average of six hours of sleep per night increases obesity risk by 23 percent
The researchers believe the link between sleep deprivation and obesity is altered body chemistry.
According to the research, a lack of sleep increases grehlin, a hormone that sends a hunger signal to the
brain. The usual foods of choice are ready-to-eat carbohydrate snacks. At the same time, the level of a
protein called leptin drops. Leptin helps suppress appetite, so when the level is low, appetite increases.
This causes you to look for something to eat. Combine too much grehlin and too little leptin, and you've
set the stage for the ingestion of extra food that your body neither needs nor can digest properly. The
inevitable result is intestinal congestion and weight gain.
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Body Cleansing
The body needs to be cleansed of toxins before natural weight regulation can be restored. Cleaning it
also ensures that weight takes place smoothly and without causing adverse effects. The most powerful and
influential of all cleansing procedures described in this book is the Liver Cleanse. Its most important effect
is to restore AGNI. When AGNI is stronger, food is digested more efficiently and less waste is deposited
in the intestines. This, however, can happen only if you also clean out your colon through colonic
irrigation. A kidney cleanse makes sure that the toxins released by the body don’t get stuck in the kidneys.
The main principle here is that for weight loss to take place naturally the eliminative organs must be
cleared of any waste deposits first.
All this will effectively restore the body’s health and natural weight. one liver cleanse, however, will
not be sufficient to restore AGNI on a permanent basis. You need as many such cleanses as it takes to
remove all the gallstones. After each cleanse, there will be a sudden increase in energy, the abdomen will
feel tighter, and you may lose several pounds. Yet within less than a week, some of the old sluggishness
may return and food cravings re-emerge. This shows that gallstones from the far “corners” of the liver
have moved forward and clogged up major bile ducts, thereby affecting AGNI once again. By the time
your liver is completely clean your body weight will be ideal and your energy boundless.
A Healthy Body – Normal Weight
Only a healthy body can be of normal weight. Theories of how much each person should weigh
(calculated according to gender, height, etc.) ignore each person’s unique constitutional requirements.
Healthy body weight varies according to individual body-types. A healthy Vata type will always be very
slim, and a healthy Kapha type will always be corpulent and muscular. The bones of Vatas are light, thin
built, whereas Kaphas have very heavy, dense, and compact bones. Both body-types have very different if
not completely opposite requirements regarding, food, exercise, and living conditions. Pitta types, which
have more heat in their body, have entirely different energy requirements than the other body-types.
Weight loss for the right reasons, i.e., to improve your health, is easy. Trying to shed weight without
removing the accumulated toxins first goes against the body’s principles of survival and is therefore
difficult to achieve. All you need to do is to restore your health. once you have learnt the lessons of
creating health from the current shape of your body, you are ready to change it into a better one. Your
newly created body will serve you as an apt vehicle to fulfill your desires and lead a life filled with
happiness, vitality, abundance, and wisdom.
8. MSG -- The Obesity Factor
As a nation we are becoming increasingly dependent on processed foods, and with each year, the FDA
approves more and more chemicals allowed to be used as additives in food production. While some of
these chemicals increase shelf life, others kill bacteria, improve taste, and replace fats and carbohydrates,
enhance flavor and color of foods, and much more. Although adding chemicals to natural foods is not
really necessary, it certainly increases profits manifold. The unsuspecting consumer has no clue that some
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of the chemicals they ingest with their delicious meals are neurotoxic and/or carcinogenic. one of these is
MSG (processed free glutamic acid).
In 1968 study at Washington University Medical School, laboratory mice that were fed MSG
subsequently developed retinal damage and became grotesquely obese. The mice had lesions in the
hypothalamus of the brain, the part that is prominently involved in the functions of the autonomic nervous
system and endocrine system. Hormonal imbalances often lead to obesity.
As of May 13, 2004 there are 151 studies listed that confirm this earlier piece of research. There are
now more studies on the effects of MSG on the hypothalamus leading to obesity than on the effects of
aspartic acid. Neuroscientists have found in animal studies that glutamic acid and aspartic acid (40% of
Aspartame) load on the same receptors in the brain, and cause identical brain lesions and neuro-endocrine
disorders. The victims usually develop compulsive eating habits.
MSG can easily pass through the blood-brain barrier in newborns and young children. A fetus is
almost completely unprotected. There may be many diseases, aging, and overuse of medical drugs, regular
ingestion of food additives, such as Aspartame and MSG, that all can damage the blood-brain-barrier.
Since most of the processed foods contain MSG, as do many personal care items, supplements, and
pharmaceuticals, it is almost impossible for an expectant mother to protect her baby from being affected.
Following birth, an infant is exposed to MSG and, possibly, free aspartic acid through childhood
vaccinations. All infant formulas contain some free glutamic acid and free aspartic acid. An infant on a
hypoallergenic soy-based formula will ingest more excitotoxic amino acids (glutamic acid, aspartic acid,
and L-cysteine) per day than is contained in any serving of food that can be found on grocery store
shelves.
MSG is most often added to common foods under names that give consumers no clue to its
presence. Both MSG and aspartame cause lesions in the hypothalamus, the portion of the brain that is
recognized to affect weight. If you are concerned about your weight and that of your children, I suggest
you start identifying the sources of MSG in your grocery shopping cart, before taking them home.
Dietary supplements, processed food used by vegetarians, and products labeled “organic” are some of
industry's favorite places for hiding MSG. California proposes to allow more crops to be sprayed with
MSG. Like so many other live virus vaccines, the Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine called FluMist contains MSG
in the form of monosodium glutamate-(Monosodium glutamate is described as a Mutagen and
Reproductive Effector by the Center for Disease Control in their Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical
Substances).
More and more personal care products that are labeled “organic” actually contain free glutamic acid
(MSG). Soon soaps, shampoos, and other body care products will soon have glutamate surfactants in them,
as well as products that contain hydrolyzed proteins. Much of that MSG will enter your body through the
skin.
The following is a list of some common names MSG hides behind:
? Monosodium Glutamate
? Monopotassium Glutamate
? Hydrolyzed Protein
? Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (vegetable
and animal)
? Plant Protein Extract
? Textured Protein
? Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten
? Yeast Extract
? Autolyzed Yeast
? Yeast Nutrient
? Yeast Extract
? Yeast Food
? High Flavored Yeast
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? Calcium Caseinate
? Sodium Caseinate
? Textured Soy Protein
? Malt Extract
? Malt Flavoring
? Bouillon
? Broth
? Stock
? Flavoring
? Natural Flavoring
? Seasoning
? Accent
? Textured Soy Protein
? Soybean Extract
? Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
? Glutamic Acid
? Gelatin (which includes Jell-O)
9. Microwave Oven – Death in the Heat
Did you know that microwave-treated water won't sprout seeds? Makes you wonder what else
microwaves can do to water, food and your body? Russian researchers have found decreased nutritional
value, cancer-making compounds and brain damaging radiolytics in virtually all microwave-prepared
foods. Eating microwave-prepared meals can also cause loss of memory, concentration, emotional
instability, and a decline in intelligence, according to the research. The Russian scientists also found
decreased nutritional value – or significant dimming of their “vital energy field” – in up to 90% of all
microwave-prepared foods.
In addition, the B complex, C and E vitamins linked with stress-reduction and the prevention of cancer
and heart disease – as well as the essential trace minerals needed for optimum brain and body functioning
– were rendered useless by microwaves, even at short cooking durations. Microwave-cooked food is
basically reduced to the nutritional equivalent of cardboard. If you don’t want to develop nutrient -
deficiencies you may be better off throwing this appliance out of your kitchen. The radiation has been
found to accumulate in the kitchen furniture, becoming a source of radiation in itself.
Microwave usage in the preparation of food has been found to lead to lymphatic disorders and an
inability to protect the body against certain cancers. The research found increased rates of cancer cell
formation in the blood of people eating microwave-cooked meals. The Russians also reported increased
rates of stomach and intestinal cancers, as well as digestive and excretive disorders – plus a higher
percentage of cell tumors, including sarcoma.
Microwaves rip apart the molecular bonds that make food to be “food.” Microwave ovens hurl highfrequency
microwaves that boil the moisture within food and its packaging by whipsawing water
molecules dizzyingly back-and-forth at more than a billion reversals per second. This frantic friction
fractures food molecules, rearranging their chemical composition into weird new configurations
unrecognizable as food by human bodies. By destroying the molecular structures of food, the body can’t
help but turn the food into waste, but not harmless waste; rather, “nuclear waste.”
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Other side-effects of microwaves than just making food useless and “wasteful” include:
? High blood pressure
? Migraine
? Dizziness
? Stomach pain
? Anxiety
? Hair loss
? Appendicitis
? Cataracts
? Reproductive
disorders
? Adrenal
exhaustion
? Heart disease
? Memory loss
? Attention disorders
? Increased crankiness
? Depression,
? Disconnected thoughts
? Sleep disturbance
? Brain damage
Eating microwave-damaged foods can lead to a considerable stress response in the body, and thereby, alter
the blood chemistry. While eating organic vegetables, for example, zapped by microwaves you will send
your cholesterol soaring. According to Swiss scientist Hertel: “Blood cholesterol levels are less influenced
by cholesterol content of the food than by stress factors.” While the Russian government has banned
microwave ovens, for a very good reason, they have taking over cooking chores in nine out of ten
American homes.
Reporting for the Forensic Research Document of AREC Research, William P. Kopp now states: “The
effects of microwaved food byproducts are long-term, permanent within the human body. Minerals,
vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food is reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or
no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.”
In a classical experiment 2,000 cats were given only foods and water that were previously placed in the
microwave oven, even if it was just for one minute. The foods selected were the most nutritious and
natural ones available. Within 6 weeks, all cats mysteriously died. While investigating the surprising result
of the test, it was discovered that although the cats looked well-fed, the cells in their bodies virtually
contained no trace of nutrient-components. The cats literally starved to death, despite all the nutritious
foods. Microwaves turned their food into deadly poison. Seeing the unprecedented sickness epidemic in
the U.S. and other countries that largely rely on microwaves to cook their foods, it may be wise if we
followed the example of the Russian Federation, at least in this respect, and stop using microwave ovens.