Some of the least nutritious food on planet earth can be found in restaurants all around the world, and its expensive. What many regard as gourmet, some health enthusiasts would consider edibility next to canned dog food. In fact, they may be equivalent, in terms of nutrient content. In fact, some of it is not food, rather, it fulfills the definition of a poison: a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
It is being predicted that North Americans are in for a rude awakening this year, 2009, and many will have to return to the lifestyle of the 1960's when people ate at home more, grew fruits and vegetables in their backyard, penny pinched on clothing and durable goods, etc. as the financial system has crashed worldwide leading to long term economic woes, riots in the inner cities, and rationing of essentials.
You may or may not want to face some facts, but this Seminar (Friday February 13, 02009) by Dmitry Orlov - Social Collapse Best Practice, Collapse of the U S A -
http://fora.tv/media/rss/Long_Now_Podcasts/podcast-2009-02-13-orlov.mp3 spells out the possibility in no uncertain terms. Download this, it may shock you! He predicted the collapse of the USSR, now he sees the same happening for the US - an economic meltdown of crisis proportions, and, what to do about it NOW.
As a naturalist, one may see this more as a cure, rather than a cause. There is little question that the 20th century dietary lead a strong movement toward chronic degenerative disease, particularly cardiovascular and neoplastic. Lifestyles and dietary shifted from fresh to frozen, active to sedentary, dried to canned, salted to chemically preserved, home cooked to factory concocted, buttered to oiled, butchered to slaughtered, and spiced to irradiated. Clearly, today's so called robust food supply, when carefully studied, leads to disgust.
In the preface to his book, Cancer: Nature, Cause and Cure, Dr. Alexander Berglas of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, wrote in 1957 - "Over the years, cancer research has become the domain of specialists in various fields. Despite the outstanding contributions of these scientists, we have been getting farther and farther away from our goal, the curing of cancer."
More than 30 years in the field of cancer research convinced Berglas that the methods of research 'had the peculiar result of becoming an obstacle to the study of the whole', and that to continue as establishment norms, 'is not to our advantage'. He stated 'I have come to the conclusion that cancer may perhaps be just another intelligible natural process whose cause is to be found in our environment and mode of life.' Berglas was writing particularly of the foods we eat and the way in which they are grown, packaged, and prepared.
As to the contrast between 'civilised' and 'uncivilised' countries since 1900, Dr. Berglas wrote: 'Accounts of regions free from cancer reveal the influence of civilization on the processes of cancer. . . . We are faced with the grim prospect that the advance of cancer and of civilization parallel each other.'
Are primitive peoples permanently cancer free?
Yes, when left alone, but the answer to this question from eye witnesses at the time is unanimous - No. Primitive peoples have no more immunity to cancers than so-called civilized societies. Once introduced to 'civilised' foods they succumb rapidly to the disease, within a generation. While there were no known cases of cancer when Albert Schweitzer first went to in Gabon Africa, he noted sadly that: 'In the course of the years we have seen cases of cancer in growing numbers in our region. My observations incline me to attribute this to the fact that the natives were living more and more after the manner of the whites . . .' Yes, 'white' - white flour, white rice, sugar, salt, and milk; our well known five white evils.
But what aspect of our diet causes cancer?
When it comes to possible dietary causes of cancer, frontier doctors have written apparently contrary views based on their own experiences: when they could find no cancer among vegetarian cultures they were prone to warn against meat; and where no cancers were discovered among meat eaters they tended to caution against mixed or vegetarian diets.
Major General Sir Robert McCarrison, a British army doctor who worked predominantly in the Indian sub-continent, warned against meat as being the cancer-causing agent. McCarrison was particularly impressed with the health of the Hunzas, a people who live in a secluded valley in the Karakorum Mountains, spanning the borders between Pakistan, China , and India.
Contradistinctively, as many researchers have pointed out that, before the Eskimos started to get cancer in the twentieth century, the traditional diet of the Inuit (Eskimos) came entirely from animal sources and contained no plant material at all. The Inuit traditional diet offers natural protection against two of the planet's biggest killers -- heart disease and cancer -- according to a major study that gives an unprecedented glimpse of the health of northern Canadians. Dr. Eric Dewailly of Laval University stated - "The study shows that they still have huge benefit and protection," says Dewailly. He and his colleagues presented the results of the on-going study and says the traditional Inuit diet is high in selenium, common to whale skin, and likely explains why prostate cancer is almost unheard as are most other cancers. Cardiovascular disease is also rare, likely because the Inuit diet remains rich in wild game. "The traditional Inuit diet is fats and proteins, no sugar at all," says Dewailly. "It is probably one of the healthiest diets you can have. The human body is built for that." While the study indicates Inuit are still protected by their traditional foods, he says the evidence shows the benefits are "growing weaker and weaker" as consumption of processed southern food increases.
Inuit teenagers drink on average one litre of pop a day, Dewailly says. And unhealthy trans fats, common to chips, cookies and refined foods, are being seen in the blood of young Inuit in levels up to three times those seen among Europeans.
The author having a meeting with Dr. Barry Sears, the nation's fish oil expert, told of a first hand observation with an isolated tribe in Mexico. These indians had no cancer and heart disease until introduction of 'guess what' he asked of me? I replied 'sugar,' he said no, it was cooking oil, and the production of trans fatty acids under heat cooking their tortillas.
So what is the answer? The difference in health patterns between primitive and civilized peoples seems to lie in two directions: Firstly, infants are reared in primitive societies as Nature intended them to be reared - at the breast; and secondly, the people live on the unsophisticated - and unprocessed - foods of Nature.
McCarrison discusses these at length:
'I don't suppose that one in every thousand of them has ever seen a tinned salmon, a chocolate, or a patent infant food, nor that as much sugar is imported into their country in a year as is used in a moderately sized hotel of this city in a single day . . . enforced restriction to unsophisticated foodstuffs of Nature is compatible with fertility, long life, continued vigour, perfect physique, and a remarkable freedom from digestive and gastrointestinal disorders, and from cancer.'
But the food of civilized societies has become very different. We are no longer content with such unsophisticated, plain tasting, natural foods. Society has been mortified by Wall street advertisers, food flavoring scientists; idiotic dieticians pampering school children, invalids and cookie cutting mothers; a for-profit food industry; mom and pop restaurants peddling their ethnic or perverted tastes; a society that has lost all sense of taste; leading to runaway food chain of commercial restaurants that has all but decimated the dietetics of an entire generation of obese and unhealthy people.
McCarrison declared that we 'prefer preserved, purified, polished, pickled and canned' food. He goes on about 'civilised' food:
'One way or another, by desiccation, by chemicals, by heating, by freezing and thawing, by oxidation and decomposition, by milling and polishing, he applies the principles of his civilization - the elimination of the natural and substitution of the artificial - to the foods he eats and the fluids he drinks. With such skill does he do so that he often converts his food into a "dead" fuel mass . . . in consequence of food habits they have fostered, normal bodily function cannot be sustained . . .'
That was written over three-quarters of a century ago. Not only is the situation now drastically worse, relatively few people today eat food that hasn't been massively processed, pickled, preserved, pasteurized and denatured. Apart from what hygienists and vegans had been preaching for more than a century, we just recently hear from popular media to eat '5 portions of fruit and vegetables' daily, yet all the foods regarded as 'healthy' by conventional nutritionists are processed: the cereals, bread, pasta, polyunsaturated vegetable margarines and oils, low-fat dairy products, and even soya. Of the tens of thousands of different food products sold in supermarkets, only a very small proportion are really fit for human consumption.
An more recently is a very convincing thesis: THE CHINA STUDY. Drawing on the project findings in rural China, but going far beyond those findings, The China Study [http://www.thechinastudy.com ]details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The report also examines the source of nutritional confusion produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, and opportunistic scientists. The New York Times has recognized the study (China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project) as the "Grand Prix of epidemiology" and the "most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease."
"After a long career in research and policy-making, I have decided to step 'out of the system.' I have decided to disclose why Americans are so confused," said author Dr. Campbell. "As a taxpayer who foots the bill for research and health policy in America, you deserve to know that many of the common notions you have been told about food, health and disease are wrong."
"I propose to do nothing less than redefine what we think of as good nutrition. You need to know the truth about food, and why eating the right way can save your life."
The authors recommend that people eat a whole food, plant-based diet and avoid consuming beef, poultry and milk as a means to minimize and/or reverse the development of chronic disease. The authors also recommend that people take in adequate amounts of sunshine in order to maintain sufficient levels of Vitamin D and consider taking dietary supplements of vitamin B12. The authors criticize "low carb" diets (such as the Atkins diet), which include restrictions on the percentage of calories derived from complex carbohydrates.
Again, of the tens of thousands of different food products sold in supermarkets, only a very small proportion are really fit for human consumption. But really, these are all you need, cheap and easy.
So let's discuss these...
Looking back at fifty years of dietary, foods, fads and frauds, who faired the best? Really, as I look back, most of us that adopted a relatively macrobiotic diet, are my healthiest colleagues as we near old age and retirement. I reflect back on the fruitarians, they switched to survive, died, or are today living in the hot zones as they can't take the cold. I reflect back on the raw food advocates, they fair but do not look healthy, rather anemic at best. But the hard grain and bean eaters with a mix of vege, fruit and cheat, most have survived the hardiest. This is not a formal survey, but a reflection of one in the business that started the study of food and fads since day one leaving high school.
Food in its utter simplicity is by far the healthiest, and eaten raw or cooked with least condiments maintains gastroenteric health, bowel ecology, and emotional stability. So here are the rules:
1. Protein rules. It either builds tissue or tears down the human frame. Really, we don't need protein, only the amino acids to be specific. If we don't digest protein, it will digest us by the horrific toxins generated by putrefactive gut bacteria who will digest it for us. As a rule, people eat way too much protein. The old naturopaths called this the protein-salt overload syndrome - toxic, puffy, and obese.
Here's the golden rule: once daily eat a portion of whole grain mixed with an equal amount of beans. More than likely you will get the full complement of amino acids that you need, right at the same meal. Now this is where macrobiotic shines, as this is a staple. And of course we always soak our beans first, overnight, and pour off the liquor, that will prevent intestinally fermented gas, and further, we always cook beans with seaweed - dulse, nori, wakame, etc. And as a further protein supplement, we garnish our rice and beans with soy sauce, liquid aminos, tamari, or other fermented soya.
There is a vast array of beans and grains available most anywhere. Once one decides to embark on dietary reform and taste bud rehabilitation, you will find an abundance of flavorful foods that are good for you.
Whole grains: rice (many varieties, go to an oriental grocery), quinoa, buckwheat, oats, barley, cracked wheat, bulghur, couscous, etc.
Don't like to cook? What's to cook? Rinse off the product to remove the mycotoxins, bring water to a boil, 3 parts water to one part grain, toss in the grain and boil until soft.
Whole Beans: black, red, white, kidney, naval, green, split peas, lentils, to name a few.
Now, to adopt this kind of diet, you need to have two tools:
1. Crock pot. A crock pot is an absolute god send. This handy tool you can load in the morning to return home with a cooked meal in the evening.
2. Pressure cooker. With this hand tool, you can cook beans down so they are soft and easy to digest.
2. Green rules. You must eat greens or you will face metabolic syndrome X with concomitant trace mineral deficiencies. They are still cheap enough at the market, but that will not remain. Suggestion, get an automated sprouter. They are less than $100 and will make you thousands of dollars of fresh vegetable sprouts all year round - alfalfa, mung bean, radish, lentils, garbanzos to name a few.
Green fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigment called "chlorophyll." Some members of the green group, including spinach and other dark leafy greens, green peppers, peas, cucumber and celery, contain lutein. Lutein works with another chemical, zeaxanthin, found in corn, red peppers, oranges, grapes and egg yolks to help keep eyes healthy. Together, these chemicals may help reduce risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness if untreated.
The "indoles" in broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables may help protect against some types of cancer. Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli are excellent sources of folate, a B vitamin that helps reduce risk of birth defects and brain fag.
3. Color your diet. Develop a taste a rainbow of fruits and vegetables for better health.
Red fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called "lycopene" or "anthocyanins." Lycopene in tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit, for example, may help reduce risk of several types of cancer, especially prostate cancer. Lycopene in foods containing cooked tomatoes, such as spaghetti sauce, and a small amount of fat are absorbed better than lycopene from raw tomatoes, believe it not.
Anthocyanins in strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and other fruits and vegetables act as powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage. Antioxidants are linked with keeping our hearts healthy, too.
Orange/yellow fruits and vegetables are usually colored by natural plant pigments called "carotenoids." Beta-carotene in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Carotenoid-rich foods can help reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and can improve immune system function. Most industrial diet eaters are deficient in vitamin A.
Blue/purple fruits and vegetables are colored by natural plant pigments called "anthocyanins." Anthocyanins in blueberries, grapes and raisins act as powerful antioxidants that protect cells from free radical damage. They may help reduce risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease. Studies have shown that eating more blueberries is linked with improved memory function and healthy aging.
White fruits and vegetables are colored by pigments called "anthoxanthins." They may contain health-promoting chemicals such as allicin, which help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and reduce the risk of stomach cancer and heart disease. Some members of the white group, such as bananas and potatoes, are also good sources of the mineral potassium, which most industrial dietetic practitioners are deficient in too.
4. Tongue scraping. Yes, I always save the best for last. You will be hard pressed to perform taste bud rehabilitation until you develop the daily, yogic habit of tongue scraping. The idea behind tongue scraping is simple: old mucus from meat, sugar, dairy and processed foods form a layer of coating on the tongue. This not only masks the taste of food by coating the taste buds, but also keeps us tasting and craving those "old" foods.
Therefore, when starting to eat and enjoy natural foods such as vegetables and whole grains, the odds are against you if old mucus residues are on the tongue, as well as oral bacteria and debris. Tongue scraping helps to eliminate the layer of mucus by physically scraping it off on a daily basis, as opposed to brushing one's tongue, which usually does little more than mash the mucus and bacterial debris down into the tongue crypts and crevices, locking in those old and perverted tastes.
Tongue scraping also reduces breath odors and bacteria by 75%, making breath fresh. And, it's safe and natural!
5. Cheat and be simple. Yes, we all have to live and enjoy sensation. So once or twice a month splurge on a pizza, your favorite hamburger, milk shake, or gourmet on some organic rib eye or pork chops. Its a question of immunity. By a twice monthly intestinal vaccination you will fortify your gut's vast lymphoid immune system, shocking your system to avert that next exposure to vermin lurking on public door knobs, hand rails, or airborne inoculum.
Now by following these simple ways and means, you will start saving lots of money while saving your health. Now matter how much you smother, smoke, croak, or choke down dietary tablets, it will never offset a belly full of restaurant food. At some point pabulum will meet detritus.
As this crisis worsens, I will be revealing some ways and means to procure your vitamins and minerals, cheap and easy. The days of multilevel scams and schemes are soon to be gone! Many patients will not be able to buy designer supplements or over priced junk in a jar. The same will be true for prescriptive drugs.
Sausage Links
This Is Hormel
Perhaps one of the most disturbing films in the Prelinger collection. Do you really want to see your meat being prepared? I think anyone who eats food, especially meat, should watch this film. It shows what people have become extremely removed from... where the food they eat comes from, as well as how it's (or rather used to be) prepared. Considering that most folks don't know where on the hog bacon and come from, this can be amazingly educational.
http://www.archive.org/details/this_is_hormel
Incredible Edible Egg in Food service
Explores the various ways to prepare eggs in quantity for foodservice workers.
http://www.archive.org/details/incredible_edible_egg_in_foodservice
Meats With Approval
Explains the purposes of the federal meat inspection program and how it helps to assure wholesome, clean meat for the consumer.
Another one of these films that sort of creep up on you with innocent images at first (family eating dinner) then gets REALLY graphic. Fellow readers may have noticed the slaughterhouse scenes. This film, which focuses on meat inspectors, takes us from the just killed cow, examining the head, the viscera and other charming parts of the cow's anatomy. Although doing a great service, I have NO idea who this movie was made for. Not for the Saturday afternoon matinee, that's for sure. Strictly for those people who like their meat dishes as big as the family seem to have on their table later on in the film.
http://www.archive.org/details/MeatsWit1946
Cheerios/V-8 (1960)
http://www.archive.org/details/Cheerios1960
Learning from Crime: The Case of Overpriced Vitamins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1kkKISloRs