Also called lipids, they serve as the source of extra energy in the body, as well as being the vehicle for transporting and utilizing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats serve as the raw material for many endocrine hormones, including male and female hormones, cholesterol for healthy nails, skin and hair.
There are two classifications of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats mainly come from animal products, such as butter, shortening, palm oil and coconut oil. They are solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats, including mono-unsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, usually come from plants, such as olives, corn, sunflower, soybean, peanut or cottonseed and are liquid at room temperature.
An over-consumption of fats leads to elevated cholesterol levels, obesity, diabetes, kidney and liver damage, and cancer. Too little dietary fat leads to a deficiency in the fat-soluble vitamins just listed, and a deficiency of vital endocrine hormones.
Protein is derived from either animal sources, such as red meat, fish, eggs, milk and cheese, or from vegetable sources, rice and beans, soy protein or a blend of pea, rice, or potato protein, rice bran, corn bran, apple and oat fiber, mushroom extract and other ingredients. Proteins serve as building blocks for the body.
Fortunately for the body, where good nutrition is present and through chemical processes, carbohydrates, fats and proteins may be transformed from one to the other when needed. Enzymes, made up mostly of protein, are catalysts, substances which help chemical reactions to be created, or speeded up, by providing a substance which itself is not changed in the process. In order to digest proteins, the enzymes pepsin, trypsin, proteolytic and certain liver enzymes must be present. We must eat fresh sources of exogenous enzymes, found mostly in raw vegetables and fresh fruit, on a daily meal-to-meal basis, to enable the body to manufacture its endogenous enzymes to do its job of living-- pumping blood, breathing, thinking, muscle-moving, digesting, excreting, and so on.
When moderate amounts of protein are eaten, the stomach enzymes begin the process of digestion, the pancreatic enzymes continue the process along, and liver enzymes finish the process. The proteolytic enzymes, manufactured in the pancreas to break down proteins into amino acids, serve another function which will be discussed in detail in ISSUE 5.
I don’t believe in the “low carb” fad, the Atkins Diet, currently going around, nor do I believe in the High Fat diet either. Overweight people must shed their excess pounds. How? By eating sufficient calories to live on, following the formula of 2/3 carbohydrates, 1/6 fats and 1/6 proteins, plus daily exercise to lose the weight. No regular or diet soda. There is no easy, pill-taking, way to lose weight. See the ISSUE 13 on Obesity.
What liquids may we drink, and how much? Water: purified, spring or reverse osmosis filtered, but usually not tap water or distilled; freshly-squeezed fruit juices or freshly-squeezed vegetable juices, but not from cans, bottles or cardboard containers, nor fruit and vegetable juices mixed together. Exception: freshly-squeezed carrot and freshly-squeezed apple juice may be mixed and enjoyed together. Never drink soft drinks or diet cola.
For many years, we were advised to drink a minimum of eight glasses of water a day. Recently it was discovered that no scientist had ever done any research to justify such a large consumption. Indeed, more damage has been done in the ensuing years by consuming such a large quantity. As with caffeine and other drugs, excessive amounts of water act as a diuretic, washing out vitamins and minerals in the urine and the feces before the nutrients can serve to feed the body at the individual cellular level. Probably about three to four glasses would be suitable to maintain proper kidney function, blood plasma and transportation of nutrients.
The “B” section of THE ABC DIET
“B” stands for “Be Sure to Eat” raw, uncooked fruit or raw, uncooked vegetables with each meal. It is probably better that we eat fruit with breakfast and lunch, and salad with supper. In addition to the raw, uncooked variety, we may also eat cooked vegetables or fruit, if desired. Some examples of raw fruit are bananas, apples, avocados, pears, melons, strawberries and other berries. Uncooked vegetables may be lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, arugula, red or green peppers, celery, and carrots. Some of these may be eaten as cooked vegetables, in addition to other dark green, leafy varieties, squash, white and red potatoes, and so on. It is also necessary to eat a substantial amount of grains in the daily diet, such as oats, rice, corn, wheat, barley, and couscous, millet, spelt and kaput.
Beans, such as legumes, lentils,
navy,
In summary, according to what the Macrobiotic Foundation has advised, the diet should be made up of approximately 50% grains, 25% vegetables, 5% fruits, 5% beans, 5% seeds and nuts, and 10% all other foods, including soups made from fresh ingredients, not canned or bottled.
For optimal health, about 1/6 (17%) of the total daily calories may be derived from protein, 1/6 from fat, and a little more than half should be from carbohydrate sources. Bear in mind that all protein foods contain some fat as well. When some nutritionists allow the diet to contain as much as 30% protein, they, by far, misjudge the amount of protein that the endogenous enzymes can safely break down.
Why do I emphasize raw fruit and raw vegetables? They are our only usual source of fresh enzymes. Exogenous enzymes, those from outside the body, must be eaten so that the body can produce endogenous enzymes, those manufactured in the digestive tract and so vital for a healthy life.
These endogenous (within the body) enzymes, like pepsin, amylase and trypsin, now known as carbohydrases, proteases and lipases, help in the process of digestion. Carbohydrases transform starches to sugars, lipases split up fats to fatty acids and glycerol, while proteases are found in both the stomach and the pancreas. Pepsin is the protease secreted in the stomach; trypsin and other proteolytic enzymes are manufactured in the pancreas.
Not all fruits and vegetables are for everyone. In a later ISSUE, we will discover that some produce contains salicylate compounds which may lead to symptoms of A.D.H.D. In general, however, each meal should contain some kind of raw fruit or vegetable.
The “C” portion of THE ABC DIET
“C” stands for “complementing” (or, more commonly, supplementing) our diet with the proper supplements, to prevent or postpone disease, or to modify a disease for which we already show symptoms. Four good examples of how complementary items help reverse a disease are:
ARTHRITIS, Royal Jelly in Honey, one teaspoonful daily one hour before breakfast or at bedtime; and Vitamin C Complex in larger dosage;
SICKLE CELL DISEASE, a handful of apricot seeds and a multiple vitamin and mineral preparation, but no soft drinks, fluorides, chocolate, sugar, artificial substances or caffeine;
DIABETES, B-Complex, C, zinc, chromium and copper; or DOC which contains these, and no caffeine or fluorides.
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, Lecithin and DOC. No caffeine, sugar or fluorides.
The greater the disease symptoms, the greater is the need to take vitamins, minerals and other supplements to help reverse the symptoms. The one exception to this rule is cancer. We will discuss this in ISSUE 8.
In the next Issue, the other very
important ingredient-- Exercise-- to modify Disease, will be
discussed.
