FASTING AND CLEANSING DIETS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© August 2014, The Center For Development 

 

CLEANSING DIETS

 

Many people wonder why nutritional balancing science does not include the use of cleansing diets or cleansing fasts.  These are widely used by holistic doctors and nutritionists to rest and rebuild the intestines for a few days, weeks or even months.  They usually consist of a limited diet of fruits, vegetables, soups, and not much animal protein.  They usually also exclude starches and grains.  Some of them add a meal replacement drink, juices, or a protein powder with the limited diet.

These cleansing diet or regimens used only for a few weeks can help some people because:

1. They eliminate heavy foods that are difficult to digest such as steak and potatoes.

2. They eliminate some junk foods and chemicals that damage the intestines.

3. They often eliminate allergic foods in the diet such as wheat and soy.

4. They can be used as a transition to a better diet and better lifestyle.

 

Why I do not recommend cleansing diets.  I find cleansing diets are very rarely needed, and can be harmful.  I believe their importance is very overrated.  Problems with them include:


            1. They are seriously deficient in many nutrients.  Often they are deficient in protein, essential fatty acids, and even calories.  They are usually deficient in sulfur because they don’t include meats and eggs.  Sulfur, as explained in other articles on this website, is absolutely needed for liver detoxification.  

For this reason, cleansing diets, juice fasts and others usually make people more nutritionally deficient, even if one feels better.  This, of course, is counterproductive in the long run, and dangerous because most people are very malnourished to begin with.

 

2. They are usually very yin in Chinese terminology.  This means they are sugary, cold, watery, and broken up (such as the use of powders).  YIN is a subtle, but often critical type of food imbalance explained in much more depth in several articles on this website such as Yin And Yang Healing, Yin Disease and Macrobiotics.  Essentially, the yin nature of most cleansing diets reduces their effectiveness and causes them to unbalance the body in subtle ways.

 

3. They are often poor food combinations, with powders, water and sugars to sweeten them combined.  This means they are not good for one’s digestion, even though may improve food allergies somewhat by eliminating some allergic components of the diet.  Improper food combinations are just complex combinations often irritate the intestines, slowing deeper healing of this important body organ.

 

4. Many contain herbs, spirulina, chlorella, cilantro and other substances that are somewhat toxic, even if they are “nutritious”.  Some cleansing programs contain ‘green superfood powders’, where the above are usually found.  Chlorella and cilantro are chelators that are best avoided.  They, and all chelators, tend to remove some good minerals along with the toxic metals and this is not helpful at all.  They also remove the minerals in ways that are hard to replace, although others will claim differently.  

 

5. Many contain what I consider harmful foods, such as a lot of fruit, salads, nuts, seeds, spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae, dulse, a lot of nut butters and perhaps others.  These foods tend to be very yin, too sugary in the case of fruits, somewhat toxic, and raw fruits and vegetables can be unclean as well.

 

6. They usually unbalance or worsen the mineral balance in the body, because they are not based on doing a hair mineral analysis and assessing the exact needs of an individual. 

 

7. They do not address the majority of a person’s nutritional imbalances, as does a nutritional balancing program. In other words, they are helpful in a limited way, but that is all.

 

8. For many of the above reasons, putting people on these diets wastes weeks or even months of time.  In other words, instead of a cleansing program, the person could be on a complete nutritional balancing program during the same time, making much more progress in most cases.  At one time, I believed that a short “cleanse” might help jumpstart a nutritional balancing program.  However, I don’t believe this is the case with most people, at all.

 

9. They are not needed in almost cases, though one may feel better on them.  The only time I would even consider a cleansing diet or a short fast is perhaps if a person’s digestive tract is extremely diseased and I felt that a limited, soft diet would rest and heal the intestinal tract for a week or so before the person begins a complete nutritional balancing program.  

In fact, I suggest to practitioners that they have people start a basic high-quality diet while waiting for the results of their hair mineral analysis.  This is somewhat like a cleanse, except that it is milder and healthful and will not unbalance the body chemistry.  It consists of mainly cooked vegetables, with some animal protein and perhaps some whole grains, but not wheat, and without any fruits, other sugars or chemical additives.  

 

For all these reasons, use extreme care with cleansing diets and preferably just avoid them.

 

FASTS AND FASTING

 

In biblical times, fasting was a recognized method of healing that worked quite well.  Today the situation is different.  In fact, it has changed just in the past 20-30 years.  Today almost all fasting, except perhaps skipping a meal now and then if you are not comfortable, is decidedly harmful for the following reasons:

 

1. The bodies are too toxic and depleted today.  My experience is that today the bodies are so toxic and so depleted of nutrients that fasting, which is a completely natural and self-directed process, simply does not work very well and makes people worse.  I have seen this repeatedly in my practice.

I worked as medical director of a fasting spa for several years and placed over 600 people on fasts.  Results were disappointing, though of course, most people will lose weight and a high blood sugar will drop down almost immediately.  I also fasted myself, and found that it harmed my health, not helped it.

 

2. The organs of elimination, such as the liver, kidneys and bowel, do not function well enough in many people.  This may be one reason why the cleansing benefits of fasting do not seem to occur as well today.  Some people add enemas or colonic irrigation to their fast.  This is a little better, but fasting is still not recommended, as it is too deficient in nutrients.

 

3. Fasting is too easy for some people, and not the best way to deal with an improper relationship with food.  A benefit of fasting is to prove to yourself that you do not need to eat every 4 hours or so.  This is helpful.  However, for those with a weight or blood sugar problem, fasting does not deal with most people’s deranged metabolism, food cravings and emotional reasons why most people overeat or eat the wrong foods. 

The problem is that once the fast is over, one must go back to eating. Most often , the problems of relating properly to food remain, or actually get worse because one is even more malnourished, so food cravings can be even more intense.  Periodically starving the body may strain it even more, in my view.  It can be best to deal with your food issues on a daily basis, although a one-day fast periodically is fine.

 

4. Confusing books. Most of the classic books about fasting, which I embraced for several years, were written 50 or even 100 years ago.  Things have changed, and the main differences are that people are:

1. Much more toxic today.

2. Much more nutritionally depleted.

3. Much more ill.

4. Their eliminative organs and vitality are far worse than before. 

 So be careful when you read exciting books about the benefits of fasting.  When I worked at a fasting spa for several years, I did not see all the benefits that are claimed, and I saw plenty of problems.

 

5. Fasting only balances the bodies today in a limited way, unlike in the past.  The reason for this is the terrible deficiencies of zinc, selenium, chromium and many other nutrients that exist in most people, even children.  In the past, when the bodies were in better condition, a fast could balance the body far better than it can today.

 

6. For the above reasons, fasting is not a wise idea today at all.  I do not care what is written in books or what a doctor may say.  People are so nutritionally depleted that stopping your food intake for more than a meal or perhaps two if you are very sick to the stomach, is not wise in almost all cases, and will make one’s nutritional status worse. 

 

7. For the reasons above, fasting, like cleansing diets, tends to waste time and money.  I know that most people would do far better by spending their time and money starting a complete nutritional balancing program, which is a much more modern, scientific and safe way to heal almost all problems in the body.

 

8. Fasting is not necessary or helpful.

 

What about just skipping breakfast, as some doctors recommend? Dr. Julian Whitaker, MD, and Dr. Mercola, both of whom I often respect, recommend skipping breakfast or intermittent fasting as a way to lose weight.  It think this is a terrible idea because most food is low in nutrients, even the best organic food.  Skipping any meal means you will receive even fewer nutrients in your diet.  Do not skip meals, and be sure to eat at least three meals daily.

It is true that skipping breakfast rests the intestines for a full 12 hours or so, which is beneficial.  However, the nutritional problem with skipping meals is far worse than any benefit that may occur due to resting the intestines a little longer each day.

A far better way to lose weight is to follow a nutritional balancing program, which consists of a diet of mainly cooked vegetables several times daily, with animal protein daily and a small amount of cooked whole grains and a few other foods.  In addition, one must take about 8 targeted supplements to assist the thyroid, the adrenals, the eliminative organs and other aspects of body chemistry.  When this is done, many people lose 100 pounds or more quickly, easily, without a need for exercise or drugs, and most importantly, they do it safely.

 

What about fasting one day a week, or one day a month, as some recommend, to clean out your body?  An occasional fast for a day on water alone, or perhaps on vegetable juices, is probably okay, but not recommended.  I would not advise it more than once every few months.  Also, it is not needed if one eats well and lives well.  Too many people think they can eat junk food or just the wrongs foods and then fast for a few days or weeks and they will be “back to normal”.  This is never the case.

 

What about juice fasts or fruit fasts?  The answer is no.  Problems with juice and fruit fasts are:

 

1. They are still very deficient in nutrients such as fatty acids, meats, proteins, eggs, etc.

2. They are extremely yin in Chinese terminology.  This means they are too cold, raw, expanded and sugary.  This seriously unbalances most people’s bodies.

3. They are too high in sugar, especially fruit juice fasts or fruit fasts.   This has many detrimental effects, from damaging the dentin layer of the teeth in some cases, to upsetting the blood sugar, causing inflammation and more.  Even fasting on carrot juice is too high in sugar.  A fast of just green juice would be best, but still is very deficient in many nutrients. 

4. Juice or one-food fasts are not the same as a water fast, in that one is supplying usually just one kind of food.  This does not allow the body and the digestive system to rest.  For this reason, some authorities rightly say that a juice or one-food fast is not really a fast.  It is a diet – and a very limited and unbalanced diet that is usually hard on the body and makes people worse.

5. Once again, I find that juice fasts are not needed, and basically just waste time and money, and upset body chemistry even more than it was previously in many cases.

 

THE FAST DIET BOOK

 

Dr. Michael Mosley, a British physician, wrote The Fast Diet: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Live Longer with the Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting.  Dr. Mercola is pushing this method for losing weight.

However, I consider it just another dangerous method for losing weight.  The main reason is that today almost everyone is mineral deficient to begin with.  One of the main reasons for overeating is that the person is attempting to supply the body with more of the alkaline reserve minerals.

The answer is not fasting!  THAT WILL MAKE YOUR MINERAL DEFICIENCIES WORSE!  This will just tend to shorten your life and cause disease, eventually.

 

NUTRITIONAL BALANCING FOR WEIGHT LOSS

  

The answer is to supply the body with the minerals it requires.  On nutritional balancing programs, one does this using:

1. A diet of 75-80% cooked vegetables.  This is essential to provide many more minerals for the body.  No other diet does the same thing, that I have found, so far.  Raw vegetables, or fruits or more grains. Or more meat, or vegetarian diets will not work.

2. Kelp – 6 600 mg capsules daily of Nature’s Way or certain other brands of kelp.

3. Unrefined sea salt.  This is a very healthful product, unlike regular table salt that is refined and has many fewer trace minerals in it.  It is a modern junk food.

4. GB-3 with each meal.  This is a digestive aid that enables one to extract more minerals from all foods by enhancing digestion.

5. Endo-veggies.  This is an optional product that is a vegetable capsule.

6. 10-12 ounces of carrot juice with a little green in it.  This is also excellent to add minerals to the diet.  I do not recommend more juice than this, however, because juices are extremely yin in macrobiotic terms, and this is not helpful.

7. Bone broth is also excellent daily, or several times per week.

8. Targeted nutritional supplements.  These depend on the results of a hair mineral analysis.

9. Spring water to drink, or second best is carbon-only filtered tap water, in many cases.  Strictly avoid demineralized water, such as reverse osmosis water or distilled water.  Adding minerals to your water does not work well.  Never add salt to your water, either.

 

WHAT ABOUT HIGH INTENSITY EXERCISE?

 

It is dangerous and not needed.  A nutritional balancing program easily causes tremendous weight loss, without requiring exercise.  This is important because most people are already exhausted, and doing vigorous exercise is difficult to keep up and not that safe.  Gentle walking or gentle bicycling or gentle weight-lifting is adequate with a nutritional balancing program.

For more information, please read Fasting and Introduction To Nutritional Balancing on this website.

 

OTHER CONCERNS WITH FASTING

 

Fasting slows the oxidation rate.  This is almost always the case.  If one is a fast oxidizer, this might be helpful, at least at first.  One’s blood pressure might decline and the blood sugar will usually decline quickly.  However, most people are slow oxidizers and further slowing of the oxidation rate makes them even more ill.  This is especially true if one is a very slow oxidizer or is ill.

In the common case of a fast oxidizer due to the presence of toxic metals, fasting might not slow the oxidation rate, as it does not, of itself, cause the removal of most toxic metals.  In this case, fasting would just cause a very low blood sugar problem until the body stabilizes itself as best it can.

 

Fasting often stresses the liver and the kidneys.  Fasting authorities have written that during a fast, one’s urine often turns dark in color.  This is because the body will remove some toxins during the fast.  Essentially, the energy that was spent digesting food is now freed up to be used for other purposes, including the elimination of wastes.

This is a good thing, provided the kidneys can handle the extra load.  One must be sure to drink plenty of high-quality water on any fast, even for one day, for this reason.

Fasting can also stress the liver.  Once again, when no food is taken in, more energy may be used for detoxification.  This is fine, but it can put more strain on the liver. 

 

MARATHON RUNNING KILLS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© April 2012, The Center For Development, Inc.

 

This short article is a stern warning to anyone who even dreams about training for or running marathons.  They are one of the fastest ways to kill yourself, or harm your health permanently.  Please strictly avoid long-distance running at all costs, and please listen.

I know that marathon running is popular.  However, the bodies today are not strong enough for this type of exercise, and it depletes nutrients far too fast to replace them adequately with food and even vitamin supplements.  The longer you train and run, the worse off you will be.  If you are smart, stop at once.  There is no need for intense exercise of any kind, and while it gives one a high, it is a false feeling of well-being and it is addictive.  For more on the addictive nature of vigorous exercise, please read Exercising Healthfully on this site.

 

MARATHONS AND VEGETARIAN, SEMI-VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN DIETS

 

The worst possible combination for your health is to combine your running with a vegetarian, semi-vegetarian or semi-vegan diet.  This is horrendous.  The running depletes nutrients, and the diet does not provide anywhere near enough nutrients to replace those lost due to all the exercise.  For much more information about the problems with vegetarian diets read Vegetarian Diets and The China Study-Book Review on this site. 

 

MARATHONS AND RAW FOOD DIETS

 

This is also horrible, and can be worse than vegetarian and semi-vegetarian diets.  Please do not eat raw food diets ever, and never combine them a lot of exercise.  For more on raw foods, and why avoid them, read Raw Foods on this website.

 

I will probably expand this article in the future, but am placing it on the website in its present form due to emergencies that are occurring with those who run marathons and do long-distance running.
MYTHS ABOUT EXERCISE

 

            Exercise is often promoted as a cure-all answer for many problems.  The following section takes a hard look at some of the myths about exercise, and presents the views of physicians who have watched the body chemistry of thousands of individuals for years. 

 

MYTH #1.  Strong muscles and a beautiful body indicate you are in good health. 

            These may make you feel like you have health, and everyone may tell you how wonderful you look.  However, I work with people who look great, but have cancer or some other disease.  It is certainly wise to care for your body, but health goes far beyond muscles and body shape.

            Judging yourself or another based upon how much or how many exercises one does is insane.  Human beings need to have the strength to achieve a healthful lifestyle and that is about all.  Physical strength is only one parameter of health and not an important one.  


 MYTH #2.  A healthy heart and healthy arteries indicate you are healthy. 

            This is a recent fetish.  Experience with many people shows that if your body chemistry is truly in balance, your arteries and heart will be excellent.  This is not to say that exercise is not needed.  Some gentle walking is excellent for circulation and the cardiovascular system.  However, it is easy to overdo in trying to tone up your muscles and one system that can be negatively affected is the cardiovascular system.

            Gentle exercise is beneficial for everyone, but a narrow-minded focus on cardiovascular fitness is insane.  Recently a 25-year old woman consulted me complaining of fatigue and depression.  She was doing aerobic exercise 3-5 evenings a week.  Her heart and arteries were probably fine, but her glandular system was so exhausted she could hardly get out of bed in the morning.  Her hair analysis indicated a depleted, exhausted body.  Exercise was just aggravating the problem.  This case is typical of the 'exhausted exerciser'. 


 MYTH #3.  Exercise rebuilds your body. 

            Exercise assists circulation of the blood and oxygenation of tissues, and can help rebuilding in this sense.  Mild exercise is excellent for these purposes.  Excessive exercise, however, stresses the heart, arteries, joints, and glands.  They are forced to respond to stress, and to use up energy in that response.  Muscles enlarge as a response or accommodation to stress.  Large muscles are not a sign of health in themselves. 

            Healing and rebuilding is largely a biochemical phenomenon, requiring proper nutrients, and requiring plenty of rest so that energy can be directed to the area in need of healing.

            To exercise a little when you feel well is great.  To exercise "in order to feel well" is skating on thin ice.  Today, most people are subtly malnourished due to consumption of food that is low in trace elements, and for other reasons.  No amount of exercise will make up for these deficiencies.  It is a mistake to think you can compensate for a biochemical problem by exercising.  

            The result may be that you will feel well for a while.  Later, you will find yourself addicted to exercise.  If you skip it for two days, you will feel depressed, constipated, irritable or exhausted.  This occurs because exercise stimulates the adrenal glands and can keep exhausted glands functioning - like whipping a tired horse.  If you stop whipping, naturally the horse will not feel like getting up or performing well. 


 MYTH #4.  Exercise cannot be harmful. 

            Most marathon runners are good for several years.  Then some of them must retire because they are 'burned out'.  Many professional athletes die young.  Indeed, they have one of the shortest life spans of any group of adults.

            Here is something interesting.  The slow heartbeat of professional runners is due in part to their healthy heart, but also due to a mechanism to slow their metabolism, because they put such strain on their heart.  Cysteine is released from muscle tissue and slows the thyroid.  The idea that since a little is good, more must be better, can be lethal when applied to exercise. 

            Here are some guidelines for exercise: 

 

            1. Don't use your pulse as your only guide.  Many people are not that healthy, in spite of a normal pulse rate. 

            2. Follow common sense.  Don't push past exhaustion.  Listen to yourself before you listen to any coaches, experts or friends.  Go at your own pace.  Do as much exercise as you need to keep yourself fit for your lifestyle and that is all.  Opt for less exercise of a vigorous nature if in doubt. 

            3. Don't use exercise as a crutch or drug.  If you are running to get away from your problems, you are misusing exercise.  If you are addicted to exercise, work toward getting unhooked, as you would with any other addiction.  Addiction is not health, even if it makes you look and feel fantastic while you do it. 

            4. If you skip exercise for a few days, you should still feel very well.  If you skip your exercise and begin to feel depressed, exhausted, constipated or irritable you are probably using exercise as a whip.  Cut down slowly and look into other reasons why you are feeling this way. 

            5. A tissue mineral analysis performed by a lab that does not wash the hair, and interpreted by someone who understands it well, can often tell you if you are overdoing exercise.  There is a list on this website of practitioners whom I personally train and whom I trust.  The others, I do not trust with hair analysis.  Click here to reach that page.

            The properly performed and interpreted hair mineral test will often indicate adrenal exhaustion.  Only very gentle exercise is acceptable and helpful for these people.  Vigorous exercise of any kind in this condition only slows regeneration and is quite dangerous for your health and healing. 

            6. Involve your whole body.  Exercise outside in the fresh air whenever possible.  Flexibility is as important as strength and endurance.  Stretching and deep breathing are vital for health. 

            Walking, swimming, bicycling and gardening are excellent.  Long-lived people in the world often work outside, but usually not strenuously.  Meditative exercises such as yoga or tai chi are also okay but be careful because many are injured in these classes.  The teacher must walk around the entire class at all times to make sure the students are doing the poses correctly at all times.  This is very important to avoid injuries.  This is why walking is often better, as it is safer. 

 
 

ORGAN MEATS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© January 2014, The Center For Development  

 

            Some health authorities suggest eating organ meats because they are rich in some nutrients.  This may include some of the Weston Price advocates, and others such as the Paleo Diet advocates.  Organ meats may include kidney, liver, stomach, pancreas and others.

The problems with organ meats are:

 

1. Metal and chemical toxicity.  The earth is far more toxic today than when Weston Price lived 100 years ago.  Therefore, advice from an older time period can be very dangerous today.  Organ meats tend to concentrate toxins, which include Toxic Metals and Toxic Chemicals.  Today when you eat organ meats, you are taking in excessive toxins, no matter what anyone claims to the contrary.

 

2. Toxic forms of etheric energy.  This website discusses a nutritional concept called the Etheric Energy content of foods.  In general, one wants to eat foods high in this subtle form of energy.  This includes some meat, eggs, and cooked vegetables, mainly.

Organ meats are high in etheric energy, but it is in a toxic form that is best avoided.  While eating organ meat can have a stimulating effect for this reason, and due to its high toxic metal content, especially cadmium, it is not good for overall health.

 

3. Not as much nerve tissue as muscle meats.  Muscle meats contain many more nerves than most organ meats because muscles are very rich in nerve endings.  Today, this is a great benefit and this is another reason I suggest muscle meat, not organ meats.

 

4. Parasite problems tend to be worse in organ meats.  Parasites such as liver flukes and others are quite common.  Some are killed by cooking, but others are harder to kill.

 

For all these reasons, please do not eat organ meats.


THE WESTON PRICE DIETARY PROGRAM

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© September 2014, The Center For Development 

 

Weston Price, DDS, was a brilliant dentist who lived about 100 years ago.  He toured the world searching for the healthiest human populations, in part to test some theories about nutrition, and also just out of sheer curiosity.  He was a careful researcher, and was soon fascinated by the varied diets and lifestyles of the tribes he heard about and sought out around the world. He studied their dental health, their diets, their child-rearing practices, and even their beliefs to try to find out what made them so healthy.  He also studied less healthy tribes, and modernized tribes, and was able to compare their diets and lifestyles.

For example, he was amazed that he found no vegetarian groups that were extremely healthy.  All the healthiest tribes used animal products.  He only found two of the healthiest groups that used dairy products (Switzerland and North Africa), always eaten raw.  Dr. Price’s main book, Nutrition And Physical Degeneration, as well as his other writings, stand today as classic nutritional research that should be read by everyone.  

Today, Dr. Price’s work is being promoted by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF), which makes sure his book is always in print.  A second organization, the Weston Price Foundation, publishes a journal and has over 500 local chapters to promote Dr. Price’s work.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, this group now promotes nutritional ideas that Dr. Price never advocated, and which are harmful.  Among these are:

1) Eating a lot of fermented foods.  Dr. Price never recommended this.  He observed that groups ate fermented foods, but of course they had no refrigeration, so they had little choice in the matter.  There is nothing wrong with some sauerkraut or yogurt, but the Weston Price Foundation goes far beyond this.  It is discussed in more detail later in this article.

2) Eating a high-fat diet.  This is also discussed later in this article.

 

CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND IN DIETARY SCIENCE REQUIRES CHANGES IN DR. PRICE’S RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Dr. Price’s excellent research was completed over 100 years ago.  The purpose of this article is to examine the teachings of Weston Price in light of much newer research using hair mineral analysis.  I find that a number of Dr. Price’s excellent recommendations just do not work well today, and need to be modified due to shifts in agriculture and in society that have taken place over the past 100 years.  These important alterations include:

 

1. Development of the atomic bomb and atomic energy. This has increased the exposure of all people on earth to much higher dosages of ionizing radiation.  Sources include A-bomb tests, low level emissions from nuclear power plants, and much greater use of medical and dental x-rays.  The main effect is to make the bodies much weaker and more yin in Chinese medical terminology.  Cooking more of your food helps offset this more yin condition, although not completely.  

 

2. Widespread use of superphosphate fertilizers, hybrid seeds and modern pesticides and insecticides to grow and raise most of our food.  Superphosphate fertilizers definitely have a stimulating effect on plants, which is not all bad.  Superphosphates, plus the use of hybrid seeds and pesticides, have allowed much higher crop yields that feed many more people.  However, the food is far lower in minerals, vitamins, protein and other nutrients in most cases.  This is well-documented in the records from 50 and even 100 years ago of the US Department of Agriculture.

             

3. Much greater use of processed foods.  This has also contributed to far worse nutrition in almost everyone.

 

4. The widespread use of corn and perhaps other grains instead of hay and pasturing to feed chickens, cows, sheep and other livestock.  This has been helpful in some ways, but it has contributed to much lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the meat, eggs, and dairy products, even if they are unpasteurized and unhomogenized.

 

5. Far higher levels of toxic metals and toxic chemicals in the food, air, water and on products we touch or have other direct contact with.  This has caused much worse toxic metal and toxic chemical poisoning in the entire population, compared to 100 years ago.  It also makes the bodies much more yin.

 

6. A much faster-paced lifestyle in most people thanks to electrification, modern communications.  

 

7. Much more electromagnetic stress on the bodies due to the use of flat-screen televisions, computers, cell phones and other devices that emit microwaves and other electromagnetic fields.  These also make the bodies more yin in Chinese terminology.

 

8. New ways to preserve food that are fabulous, but can allow pathogens to grow. This, plus the transportation of food long distances, makes eating raw meats, eggs and even vegetables and fruits much less healthful today.

 

These total effect of the changes above are:

 

1. A much slower oxidation rate in most people

2. Much worse digestion in most people, even children.

3. A reduced ability to resist many types of diseases, allowing epidemics of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, ADD and other serious conditions that were either non-existent or were practically unknown 100 years ago.

In light of this, let us now discuss several of the Weston Price Foundation recommendations, with some changes I suggest.

 

THE WESTON PRICE DIETARY SUGGESTIONS

 

I am very grateful to Dr. Price for his work.  However, below are the changes to the Weston Price diet that I have found necessary today in order for people to feel their best.  This is based on about 30 years of hair mineral testing and clinical experience:

 

1. No fermented cod liver oil and no high vitamin butter oil.  These are not needed and not helpful, especially any fermented product like this.  I know all the hype about them and I do not agree with it at all.

 

1A. Avoid wheat.  In my clinical experience, wheat has been so hybridized and genetically altered that it is sadly no longer a healthful food.  It is much higher in glutamine today, and lower in protein, for example, among other changes.  Today wheat is an irritating and allergenic food for most people.  This is equally true of organically grown whole wheat and even most spelt, a grain that is very similar to wheat.  

Until we can return to heirloom seeds from at least 50 years ago, it is best to avoid wheat in all foods and in all forms.  This includes avoiding sprouted wheat breads, for example, and avoiding all spelt products as well, which can be a little better than wheat, but are often similar.

While some people can still tolerate wheat, overall I find it best to avoid.

 

2. Do not eat much beef.  Lamb is often better.  Beef cattle are a very hybridized species today, even the grass-fed, organically raised beef cattle.  While efforts are underway to bring back heirloom varieties of cattle, one is rarely sure what cows are being raised.  Even if you can get heirloom beef, eat some lamb as well. 

Other excellent animal proteins include chicken, turkey and good quality eggs and some raw dairy products.

 

3. At least 70% of your diet each day should be cooked vegetables.  Dr. Price recommended that most vegetables be cooked.  The need for so many cooked vegetables is an empirical finding.  Vegetables offer literally hundreds of phytonutrients that offset the pollution and provide protection from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many other ailments, and have the ability to rebuild the body better than any other food.  They also provide healthful fiber and a wide range of vitamins and minerals that are hard to obtain in any other way, including pills and drinks.

As for cooking most or all vegetables, I know this is upsetting to some people.  However, Weston Price advocated cooking vegetables, as this is what he observed.  Some have altered his teaching in this area.  Advantages of cooking vegetables include:

a. Cooking breaks down the tough fiber in vegetables, allowing us to absorb many more nutrients from the vegetables.  It is true that it damages some vitamins such as vitamin C, but it does not destroy it all if vegetables are just steamed at low termperature for 10-15  minutes.  I find that everyone who eats a lot of salad, for example, tends to demineralize the body after a few years.

b. Cooking vegetables concentrates the food, allowing one to consume far more of green vegetables such as spinach and other greens.  

c. Cooked vegetables are far more yang in Chinese medical terminology, and this is extremely important for overall health today, even if cooking destroys a few nutrients.  Yin and yang qualities of foods is a somewhat esoteric concept that dates back to traditional Chinese medicine and macrobiotics, an even older science related to Taoism and Tibetan medicine.  For more information about it, read Yin And Yang Healing and Yin Disease. 

d. Many raw vegetables are simply unclean today, as they are grown in many nations.  This can cause parasitic and other problem, especially when eating in restaurants.  

 

Vegetables to avoid.  I find that it is best to avoid the nightshade family, which are irritating and somewhat toxic.  These include eggplant, all tomatoes, red and white potatoes, and all peppers.  Others to limit or avoid are okra, cucumbers, lettuce, summer squashes, and all salad vegetables, unless they are cooked.  

Eating 70-80% cooked vegetables indeed requires some practice and work, at first.  One must include vegetables with most every meal.  However, it pays wonderful dividends for your health.

 

4. Avoid most fermented or cultured foods.  Dr. Price never advocated eating fermented foods in the strong way that the Weston Price Foundation recommends them.  These foods include miso, natto, yogurt, kefir, kvass, sauerkraut, and some others.

Those who advocate fermented foods say they help acidify the stomach and intestines, help maintain the normal flora of the intestines, preserve some foods like dairy products, and produce some vitamins and minerals that improve nutrition.

I find that some fermented food such as cheese, yogurt, kefir and miso are good, and can be eaten several times a week.  However, the others are not as good in my clinical experience.  Possible reasons for this are:

 

a. Most people today have a very slow oxidation rate, which was not the case 100 years ago.  For this reason, everyone is prone to yeast infections in the intestines.  Ferments of all kinds are yeasts, and they do not seem to work as well with many of our clients today.  The exception, once again, are fermented milk products such as yogurt.

b. Also, fermented foods are very yin in Chinese medical terms.  As explained above, this is a serious drawback today, but it was not a problem when Weston Price lived and wrote his books.

c. Some ferments including sauerkraut produce some aldehydes that can build up in the liver.  Beer and wine are not the only foods that can produce aldehydres.  For more on this topic, read Fermented Foods on this website.  

 

5. Cook all foods, except for raw dairy products, which should be eaten in their natural raw state, if possible.  Meat and eggs should only be lightly cooked, however, as longer cooking will denature the proteins too much and damage the delicate fats.

Dr Price advised cooking most meats and vegetables.  He also suggested eating some raw animal products.  I find that today raw fruits and vegetables are much too yin, the human digestive tract cannot extract enough minerals from raw vegetables, and there are other problems with raw foods except for raw dairy.  Dairy, however, is still very yin, so limit milk intake, for example, to 8 ounces or so daily, and limit the intake of all raw dairy products to 6 ounces or so of cheese or yogurt daily.  More is just too yin.  For more about this important topic, read Raw Foods on this website.

Today, meats that are raw are often unclean and harbor parasite eggs, most of which are killed by cooking.

I also find that eggs should be lightly cooked with the yolk remaining runny, unless you know that the egg is without infections of any kind.

 

6. Avoid most or all fruit and all fruit juices. I know this is difficult for some people, but it is very important.  Dr. Price observed that many tribes ate some fruit, although they did not live on it.  My clinical experience is that fruit is causing many health problems today and is not a necessary or helpful food today.  The problems seem to be due to: 

 

1. Fruit is a very yin food, and the bodies are already too yin today,

2. Most fruits are hybrids and are less nutritious than in the past.

3. The sugars in fruit seem to upset the blood sugar and feed yeast in the intestines of almost everyone who eats it.  This was not a problem as much 100 years ago at all.

4. Many so-called organic fruits are still sprayed with somewhat toxic chemicals because otherwise they will not grow well in Northern climates

5. The mineral balance of the fruit seems to be improper for today’s bodies.  In particular, a potassium compound in fruits is toxic.  I know this because when people begin a nutritional balancing program, especially babies and children, they soon expel a form of potassium that seem to be associated with having eaten a lot of fruit, or their mothers ate fruit while pregnant.  This is a shame, but it is my experience.

6. Many people seem unable to neutralize the acids found naturally in fruits.  As a result, the fruit actually has an acidic reaction in the body.  Its high sugar content contributes to this as well.

For more on this important and sad situation, read Fruit-Eating on this website.

 

7. Avoid all shellfish and most fish, except very small ones such as sardines, are not healthful foods today.  One hundred year ago fish and some shellfish were very healthful foods.  Today, they are almost all contaminated with mercury and other toxic metals.  This is very unfortunate, but we see high levels of toxic metals in anyone who eats any fish or worse, shellfish except for very small fish like sardines.  This includes wild caught salmon and other wild-caught fish.  

The mercury content of the oceans, lakes and streams has increased drastically due to burning coal and other industries such as paper-making, that were much less when Dr. Price lived.

Also, the toxic metal content of the coastal waters has increased drastically over the past 100 years due to dumping of sewage and industrial waste in almost all nations on earth.  This is also a shame, but it is very important to know about.

I strongly recommend eating 3 to 4 cans of sardines each week.  These seem to be healthful – any brand of sardines – because they are so small they do not accumulate much mercury, and they are generally wild caught rather than farm-raised.  I have observed no problems eating the sardines from a can, although fresh would be nice if they were available.  

Other very small fish such as anchovies, smelt and herring are also generally fine, but are often larger than sardines, and have a lower omega-3 and vitamin D content, so they are not quite as good.  I suggest avoiding all other fish and especially shellfish or seafood.

 

8. All pig products today may contain parasite eggs.  This is another shame, but we find that all pork, ham, bacon, lard, sausage made with pig intestines and other products from the pig often contains parasite larva or eggs, such as tapeworm, trichina worms or others.  This has to do with general pollution of the waters, and how animals and other foods are raised today.  It does not matter if the pig products are well-cooked, it seems.  They still contain live eggs and can infect the brain and other organs easily.  Also be careful to avoid egg rolls and other places that pig products are hidden.

The only safe pig product I have encountered is porcine pancreas that is used in supplementary digestive aids such as GB-3.  This is probably because the high pancreatic enzyme content of this particular organ kills the trichina worms and their ova safely.

Dr. Price found that many traditional cultures ate pork, particularly in the South Seas.  It was considered a sacred food, and was always consumed cooked.  Sadly, today I cannot recommend it. 

 

9. Cod liver oil, while a very good product, does not provide enough vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acids today. Dr. Price recommended high vitamin cod liver oil to obtain vitamins A and D, and omega-3 fatty acids.  However, I find that today the bodies are so deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D that a lot of cod liver oil is needed to provide enough of these essential nutrients. 

Eating 3 or 4 cans of sardines each week, however, is a way to obtain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, a digestible form of calcium, RNA and DNA and many other vital nutrients.  Put some mustard, relish, hot sauce or mayonnaise with your sardines if your don’t like them.

If you won’t eat sardines, then be sure to take a supplement with about 800-900 mg of omega-e fatty acids (a combination of EPA and DHA) and about 3000-5000 iu of vitamin D daily.  This seems to be roughly what the bodies require today.

 

10. Soaking grains to destroy enzyme inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors and other anti-nutrients is not needed.  Dr. Price never discussed soaking grains.  However, the Weston Price Foundation strongly recommends soaking grains, seeds and nuts.  Soaking grains and nuts makes them more digestible, allowing more people to eat them.

The problem is that soaking makes a food much more yin.  It can also allow mold to begin growing on the food.  While soaking seeds overnight is okay, I suggest using a digestive aid to overcome the anti-nutrients in most grains.  Some groups that have eaten grains for thousands of years such as the Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern people and others do not soak their grains and do just fine.

Also, I do not suggest eating many nuts or seeds, as both these foods are extremely yin in any condition, so they are less healthful today, although they are quite nutritious.  An exception is toasted or even a little raw almond butter.  A small amount of other nut and seed butters are okay as well, but not much of them.  This is also unfortunate, but that is our experience.

Most people do not chew nuts and seeds well enough, and have very weak digestion.  Therefore, if you want some nuts, for example, have some toasted almond butter or a little sunflower butter, which are excellent foods for most people when eaten in very small amounts.  

All peanut butter may contain some aflatoxin, a deadly poison, even if it is fresh and natural.  It is also quite a sweet food and somewhat yin, as are all beans, seeds and nuts.

 

11. Do not eat much coconut or palm oils, or not other coconut products.  Some Weston Price followers embrace coconut products because they are rich in lauric acid and other nutrients, and are stable for cooking purposes, especially.

The problem is that coconut and palm are tropical or sub-tropical fruits that are extremely yin.  They seem to be toxic today for that reason, no matter what other positive nutritional value they have.  Preferably avoid them all and use olive oil, butter, and beef or chicken fat for cooking and other uses.

 

12. Stay away from all sugars and sweets, even natural sweets such as raw, uncooked honey, natural maple syrup, natural agave nectar, rice bran syrup, almond milk, soy milks, rice milks and other sweets.  These are all extremely yin and will unbalance body chemistry badly.  The less one eats of any of them, the better.

 

13. Limit raw milk consumption to about 4 ounces daily for an adult, and about the same amount or less for children.  This is also an important recommendation today.  While raw milk is a wonderful food, it is quite sweet and yin.  Too much is not healthful today for this sole reason.

 

14. Do not eat many nuts or seeds.  While these are healthful foods, they are extremely yin and somewhat hard to digest.  Soaking them makes them even more yin.  Some toasted almond butter is an excellent addition to any diet, and a little of other nut or seed butters such as sunflower seed butter or tahini or sesame butter are okay, but not that important and not needed for this reason.

 

15. Most people can eat some whole grains daily, as long as they are well-cooked and not in excess.  Foods such as brown rice, especially Basmati rice, quinoa, millet, rye, oats, barley, and especially blue corn are good foods if you can digest them.

 

16. Avoid or eat a minimum of raw salads.  I find that people cannot extract enough minerals from raw vegetables today, even if you take a digestive aid, which I always suggest.  The digestive tracts are in very poor shape in all cases, even children.  Also, raw vegetables are very yin, and in restaurants usually they are not that clean.  You will get enough fiber from cooked vegetables, even when they are not crunchy, which is best.  

Eating salads just fills up your stomach and takes up room that is needed for cooked vegetables, some whole grains, some animal protein daily, and some raw dairy.  Cook all vegetables.

               

17. Everyone needs at least a few food supplements.  Dr. Price did not recommend many food supplements other than cod liver oil.  However, please recall that at the time Dr. Price lived, the nutrient content of our food was much better, the average person’s digestion was hundreds of times more powerful, and the bodies were far healthier in terms of energy, mineral content and more.  Also, and very importantly, chelated minerals had not been developed, and many other food supplements were simply not available.

I wish supplements were not needed, but I find that they are always needed, by everyone today.  At least, I have not run into a single one of our clients or anyone else who I find is so well nourished that they would not benefit from a animal-derived digestive aid, kelp for iodine and minerals, and supplemental calcium, magnesium, zinc, often selenium, and fish oil and vitamin D in most cases.  

Most people need even more than this, for at least a few years to build up their digestion, to eliminate toxic metals and chemicals from the body, and for other reasons such as to balance the mineral ratios in the body.

 

18. Exercise caution with the recommendations found in any older books – even the great ones such as those of Dr. Price.  The situation in our food supply has changed so drastically in the past 50 years or so, and even more so in the past 25 years, that some older recommendations in books about acupuncture, macrobiotics, raw foods and other texts just don’t work as well.  It is true our genetics and basic nutritional requirements have not changed, so many of the lessons of Dr. Price still apply.

 

THE WESTON PRICE SYNDROME

 

This is a curious phenomenon that I am still researching.  It consists of a person going into four lows pattern and staying there when one follows a Weston Price type of diet.  For more, please read The Weston Price Syndrome.

 

 

This article is not intended to diminish in any way the amazing contribution of Dr. Weston Price or other researchers.  Nor is it intended to oppose the excellent work that is being done by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation and the Weston Price Foundation to educate the public, bring back raw dairy products, and popularize the work of Dr. Weston Price.

We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dr. Price.  I believe he would appreciate the updating of his work based on the drastic changes in our bodies and our food supply that have occurred in the past 100 years since he lived.

 


 

THE SUN AND YOUR HEALTH

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© November 2014, The Center For Development, Inc.

 

This is a very important article that will touch upon many subjects.  They include vitamin D, sunbathing, suntan lotions, sunburn, sunglasses, tanning beds, and the sun as a nutrient.  Of these, the most important is vitamin D.  

 

VITAMIN D

 

The most important point of this article is that the sun today cannot be counted upon to provide enough vitamin D for anyone, no matter where you live and no matter how much time you spend in the sun.  As a result, everyone over age 5 or so needs EITHER:

1. A vitamin D supplement (about 5000 iu daily for adults and less for children) OR 

2. Eat 3-4 cans of sardines weekly for adults, and somewhat less for children.  I do not suggest eating more than four 4-ounce cans of sardines weekly.

 

Other notes on vitamin D.  

1. Do not take both the vitamin D supplement and the sardines.  It is too much vitamin D.  Do one or the other.

2. Children under age 5 or so usually do not need extra vitamin D from either a supplement or from sardines.  However, some sardines are fine for a young child.

3. One could eat salmon or tunafish to provide vitamin D.  However, I do not recommend these fish because they contain too much mercury.  Sardines are much better.  

4. Any brand of sardines is fine.  Boneless sardines have the least mercury, and I think they are the best for this reason.

5. Raw dairy products contain some vitamin D, but the amount is variable, so I would not trust this source of vitamin D. 

6. Vitamin D supplements are either made from fish oil, or another good one is made from lanolin.  This is an oily substance in the skin of sheep and some other animals.  Removing some lanolin does not harm the animal at all.  Rarely, if a person cannot take these, there is a prescription form of vitamin D, called vitamin D2.  It is not nearly as good as standard, natural vitamin D, also called vitamin D3.  However, it will help prevent cancer, diabetes and a host of other health problems.

7. Recently, I have found that some brands of vitamin D supplements are not working well enough, even if the vitamin D blood test indicates it does.  I would avoid the emulsified vitamin D supplements.  I suggest the Endomet brand (from lanolin).

 

SUN TANNING

 

I do not recommend spending more than about half an hour in the sun per day.  The dangers of tanning, especially using tanning beds, include skin cancers, burning of the skin or keratoses, aging of the skin, dehydration, cataracts if you look at the sun, and more.

If you wish to be outside on the beach, for example, bring an umbrella or at least a very large hat and keep the body covered up so that the sun does not just strike the skin for more than about half an hour.  The time you spend in the water, and walking to and from the water, is plenty of sun for most people.  This is all the more true if you are fair-skinned.  Dark-skinned people can spend a little more time in the sun safely, but not more than one hour.

Also, try to avoid going to the beach at the height of the day.  The sun is much stronger at that time.  Try to go earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon.  For example, if you go at 9 AM, you can probably safely spend an hour in the sun, but no more.

Using a near infrared light sauna, by the way, is nothing like tanning.  It does not cause a tan because the lamps do not produce much ultraviolet rays, and those it produces are supposed to be filtered out by the reddish coloring of the glass or coating on the bulb.  This is just one reason I only recommend the reddish heat lamps at this time.  After a lamp sauna session, the skin may become reddened for about an hour or so.  However, this is not a sun tan and it goes away quickly.  It is possible to burn the skin, but difficult to do, with a lamp sauna.

 

Appropriate clothing for outdoors.  Ladies, particularly, and men who like muscle shirts, cover up your shoulders at all times if you live in a warm climate and will be outdoors for any reason for more than about half an hour.  Not only is it more modest to cover up the shoulders, but it will protect them from the sun, which often strikes the shoulders if you are playing sports outside, walking the dog, or just out and about in the sun for any length of time.

Long pants are less important, though they are much more modest for women, and highly recommended at all times.  Long-sleeved shirts and blouses are also recommended in the summer, but are not as critical as covering the shoulders and avoiding all sleeveless dresses and tops.

 

SUN TAN LOTIONS AND CREAMS

 

Most of these should be avoided.  Most of these lotions and creams are horrible concoctions of artificial chemical odors, chemical UV blockers, and plenty of additives and preservatives.  They are almost as dangerous as getting a sun burn, and maybe worse if you use them often.

The latest horror in sun tanning lotions and creams is to use nano-particles of zinc or titanium in sun tan lotions.  These are ALL TOXIC.  Please stay away from all sun tan lotions, as they all are going to this “latest, greatest technology”.  The problem is the nano-particles, which just means very small, are much more easily absorbed into the body through the skin, and go to the liver and elsewhere causing toxicity to one degree or another.

Sun tanning lotions can be worse than sun exposure without the lotion.  They can contribute to cancer, wreck havoc with your hormones, and disrupt your thyroid gland, according to medical studies.  

If you need a sun tanning lotion or cream, the simplest is a little plain old zinc oxide ointment from the drugstore.  It is greasy, so it stays on the skin well, even if you go swimming.  It might be good for a child who is playing sports out of doors, for example, on the nose and face, or if you will be out on a boat, for example, where there is very little protection from the sun.  Be sure to wear long sleeves and long pants in these situations, however, as the sun exposure can be intense.

 

IF YOU MUST BE OUT IN THE SUN FOR A LONG TIME

 

Studies indicate that vitamin A, also called pre-formed vitamin A, and not beta carotene, can help reduce the damage from sun exposure.  One must take a lot, however, about 50,000 iu daily for a few days before your sun exposure.  This might be a wise idea if, for example, you are going on a vacation to a warm place and you know you will be outdoors and perhaps not totally in control of your schedule.

Fifty thousand units daily is a lot of vitamin A, and one can overdo on this vitamin!  Particularly if you are pregnant, not only should you avoid the sun for more than half an hour daily, but you should also limit vitamin A intake from any source to about 20,000 iu daily.  Too much can cause birth defects.

Vitamin A is also found naturally in foods.  These include fish oils, raw dairy products, meats, and eggs.  Dark green and other colored vegetables also contain carotenes.  These are pigments that the body may be able to convert into vitamin A, although many people cannot convert them well enough, so do not count on vegetables and fruits to obtain vitamin A.

In all cases, however, an excellent diet with mostly cooked vegetables, not raw ones, will help protect you a little from sun damage, and enable the body to recover better.

 

IF YOU GET A SUNBURN

 

If you are out too long in the sun, vitamin A is helpful to heal the skin, as is aloe vera gel, which is applied directly to the area and some can be taken internally as well.  Before drinking or eating some, however, take a little taste.  Some brands will be okay.  Others will be very bitter and cannot be taken by mouth.  The bitter type is better on the skin, by the way, than the non-bitter ones.  The bitter taste comes from a substance in the outer part of the pulp of the plant that is designed to keep insects and other pests from eating the plant.  It works, if you have ever tried eating the outer part of the pulp!

To reverse some sun damage, daily sessions in a near infrared lamp sauna – not other types of saunas such as FIR or far infrared – may also help.  A nutritional balancing program includes this procedures, along with others that may help as well.  To read more about this, read Introduction To Nutritional Balancing Science.

 

SUNGLASSES – SHOULD YOU WEAR THEM?

 

The answer is generally, NO.  First, you should not need them if you are staying out of the direct sun.  Secondly, they block important light rays from reaching the eyes, so they are not advisable – none of them!  Third, if you eat correctly and get plenty of vitamin A, D, E, zinc, selenium and anti-oxidants in your diet, your eyes will become less sensitive to the sun.  In other words, if your eyes are very sensitive to the sun, or too dry, or form tears too easily, you are probably malnourished and out of balance, and perhaps have a very toxic liver – and need a nutritional balancing program.

In a few cases, such as when driving on a very sunny day for hours, your eyes may become tired from sun exposure.  In this case, a pair of sunglasses can be used, but only when needed.  Other situations would be if you are outside in the snow, such as skiing or ice-skating.  These are both dangerous sports and not recommended at all.  However, the glare of the sun on the snow and ice may require sunglasses in such situations.  Another possible situation is if you are out on a boat on a lake, for example, for hours, the glare of the sun can also be intense.  Definitely wear a hat and long sleeves, and some people may need sun glasses in this situation as well.  If possible, avoid these situations.

 

SKIN CANCERS

 

There is rarely a need for any surgery or even biopsies if you think you may have skin cancers.  Instead, at the first indication, such as an ulcerated lesion on the skin that is not healing, or a dark mole, or a mole that is turning darker or developing a ridge around the edge, immediately take action.

Two remedies that I am aware of that both work well are:

1. The eggplant cure.  This is a product called Curaderm BEC5.  This is not a prescription drug at this time, and should not be!  It is not toxic at all, but is able to get rid of many skin cancers.  If you skin lesion is not cancer, it may still work to remove it.  It is an eggplant extract that, I am told, has been used successfully in over 80,000 cases. 

 2. Black salve.  This is an ancient Native American remedy that contains bloodroot and a few other herbs.  It is quite an amazing remedy for skin cancers of all types, and some pre-cancerous and fungal skin problems as well.  It can even be taken internally for cancer with a lot of effectiveness, in some cases.  Only take a pea-sized piece by mouth once a week, at the most, as it is irritating to the stomach.  

Every household should have some black salve, and you should check each other’s skin once a year, or so, removing any and all suspicious moles or other lesions.  Not only will you become more beautiful, but you will completely avoid the unnecessary and sometimes disfiguring surgery that often occurs with skin cancer if you go to a medical doctor for it.  

 

TANNING BEDS

 

Please do not use these.  There is much more skin cancer today due to the use of tanning beds.  I know they make one look sexy, but they expose a person to even more concentrated ultraviolet rays than sitting in the sun, at times.  

 

THE SUN AS A NUTRIENT

 

In fact, vitamin D is not the only reason people spend time in the sun.  The sun has a relaxing, warming effect on the body that many people enjoy.  It also soothes many skin ailments, and can kill some of them.  In former years, for example, the accepted treatment for tuberculosis was to spend time in a sanitarium, which was a hotel-like place where the guests were required to spend time in the sun with just a little bathing suit on, each and every day.  Over time, the lungs would heal, when the sunbathing was combined with a healthful diet and healthful drinking water, and a low-stress life.  No doubt, the extra vitamin D helped.  However, other frequencies from the sun such as infrared and many others, may have helped as well.  This is a topic of research and beyond the scope of this short article.

To use the sun as a nutrient, spend up to 30 minutes, and not more, in the sun on sunny days.  This is all you need to do today.  Do not ever spend hours in the sun, as the damage far outweighs the benefits.

Sunning the eyes.  In fact, a little sun in the eyes is also very good.  This is one reason not to wear sunglasses, which are not recommended.  A standard eye exercise which is part of the Bates Method of vision care is to sun the eyes.  The way to do this is to sit or stand comfortably, close your eyes, and then look at the sun.  This is usually perfectly safe.  Then slowly move your head back and forth so that the sun reaches into all parts of the eyes.  You can usually feel this on the eyes, and it feels soothing and healing.  Do this for no more than 15 minutes or so, a few times a week.  It may help strengthen and heal the eyes.  It is not, however, a substitute for proper diet, proper drinking water and the other methods of healing the body discussed on this website.  However, it can help.

So do not be afraid of the sun, but just use caution.  

For more information about skin diseases, read Skin Conditions on this website.

 


SARDINES - ONE OF THE BEST FOODS TODAY

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© March 2015, The Center For Development 

                  

The humble sardine is emerging as one of the best foods for everyone.  Sardines are very small fish that live in the oceans of the world, particularly the Atlantic Ocean.  They are healthful for the following reasons:

 

1. Very high in omega-3 fatty acids.  Everyone needs more omega-3 fatty acids in their diets due to the use of processed vegetable oils in foods, and feeding livestock on corn, rather than pasture land.  Sardines are a wonderful source of high-quality omega-3 fatty acids.  To read more about this topic, please read Omega-3 Fatty Acids on this site.

 

2. High in vitamin D3.  I find that everyone needs more vitamin D, as a general rule.  The sun is not providing enough, even in those who like to sunbathe, and even in those who live in sunny, Southern climates.  Sardines are a rich source of this very essential vitamin.  To read more, please read Vitamin D on this site.

 

3. Low in mercury.  The small size of the sardine means that it has less opportunity to pick up and accumulate mercury.  The skinless and boneless sardines are even lower in mercury, with up to 50% less mercury than regular sardines because apparently the mercury concentrates in the sardine’s spinal cord that is removed in the boneless ones.  Many people say they also taste better. 

All of the larger fish, even salmon, can concentrate mercury up to a million times more than the lowly sardine.  I do not agree with some health authorities who recommend some of the larger fish.  They are nutritious, but they are very high in mercury and I find the mercury shows up quickly on hair mineral tests if one eat even one serving of salmon per week, for example.  To read more, please read Mercury on this website.

 

4. High in protein.  Sardines provide a complete and balanced protein that is easily utilized by human beings.  

 

5. Very high in RNA and DNA.  Sardines are rich in purines.  These are nucleic acids that are proteins needed to rebuild body tissues.  For fast oxidizers, in particular, they can balance the oxidation rate.  However, they are fine for everyone.  

 

6. A decent source of bioavailable minerals.  Sardines contain many minerals, among them calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, some zinc, and others.  There are few others, such as raw dairy products, some cooked vegetables and some nut and seed butters.

 

                  7. Very high in coenzyme Q-10.  Co Q-10 is a very essential nutrient that most people do not get enough of.  It is required for energy production in the cells, and is especially important for the health of the heart and the brain.  Sardines are among the richest food source of coenzyme Q-10.

 

8. Healthful organ meat and nerve tissue.  When sardines are processed, the heads are removed, but the organs remain, and are healthful, in moderation.  If one eats larger fish and other animal foods, these are removed.  Animals such as bears that eat salmon, for example, know that a little organ meat is superb for one’s health.  Unfortunately, most organ meats today, such as liver and kidney, are too contaminated with toxic metals to be eaten on a regular basis.  However, the small size of the sardine makes its organs acceptable as a daily food.

 

9. Wild caught. Most all sardines are still caught with nets in the ocean.  This means they eat what they like, swim where they wish, and are a lot healthier and cleaner than most fish sold today.  Most fish today are farm-raised.  A few fish farms are quite health-conscious.  Many are not healthful places at all – fish lie almost motionless surrounded by their own urine and feces until they are harvested.

 

10. A developmental food.  Development, as the word is used on this website, is a particular process that some human beings go through that enhances brainpower and the immune response.  Sardines are one of the few foods on planet earth that contribute to this process.  To read more about this amazing topic, please read Mental Or Spiritual Development on this website.

Other developmental foods are quality eggs and meats, organic blue and yellow corn, mustard, and kelp, a sea vegetable.  Others include most well-cooked vegetables, except for the night shade family of vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, all peppers and eggplant).

 

11. Low in cost, and high in convenience.  Sardines are relatively low in cost, much less than other fish.  They are also convenient because they come cooked and easily eaten.  We find no problems with the aluminum or steel cans in which they are packed.  The canned sardines are actually better preserved and therefore fresher than most “fresh” fish that are transported sometimes thousands of miles before they are cooked. 

 

                  These are the main reasons for eating sardines.  Most adults need 3 to 4 cans weekly of the 3.75 ounce cans.  If your cans are smaller, you will need more of them to get enough omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D for your body’s needs.  If you eat this many, do not take additional supplements of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D.  Both sardines and the supplements are not needed.

 

HOW TO EAT SARDINES AND ENJOY THEM VERY MUCH

 

Sardines make an excellent, high-protein, low-calorie snack or small meal.  For those who want to watch their weight, sardines are also superb.  Sardines have a slightly fishy taste.  So make sure they are as fresh as possible by looking at the expiration date on the can.  Here are ways to make them that taste better if you don’t like their flavor.  

 

1. I eat them plain from the can.  I spice them up with sea salt, garlic powder, or a little cayenne powder or other spice.

2. Put some of your favorite mustard on them if you don’t like the taste.

3. Mash them with a fork, add mayonnaise and some chopped celery and/or onions to make sardine salad, very much like tuna salad.  Most people cannot taste the difference between them.

4. You could add the mashed sardines to your favorite dip such as a bean dip.  Mix the sardines into the dip and just eat.  Put some cayenne pepper with it if you still don’t like the taste.

5. Make sardine tacos by mashing them or putting them whole inside a corn tortilla or preferably a blue corn tortilla or blue corn taco shell.  Add a few cooked vegetables or perhaps some cilantro and salsa to taste.

6. Mix the mashed sardines with some cooked rice noodles, and perhaps add soy sauce to add flavor.

 

ARE SARDINES BAD BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT FRESH, AND THEY COME IN AN ALUMINUM CAN?

 

The answer is that most sardines in the can are quite fresh, though not totally so, of course.  Fresh sardines are hard to find.  Some Oriental markets sell dried sardines, and these are fine, too.

The nutrients are still present in the canned ones.  Be sure the sardines you buy have not passed their expiration date.

Sardine cans are all coated on the inside so the sardines do not come into contact with the aluminum or steel can.

 

WHY DO MANY PEOPLE DISLIKE THE TASTE OF SARDINES?

 

Some sardines taste a little fishy.  I find the skinless and boneless ones taste better, but it is an individual matter.  It is wise to learn to ignore the taste because this is one food that is extremely healthful for everyone.

 

WHAT BRANDS AND HOW MANY CANS OF SARDINES SHOULD A PERSON EAT?

 

1. The brand of sardines does not seem to matter much.  However, the ones from the Atlantic Ocean may have a little less mercury than the ones from the Pacific Ocean.  As stated above, the skinless and boneless sardines have a lot less mercury in them, and that is good.  You don’t need the skin and bones, although they are nutritious.  I suppose you can remove the spinal cord yourself if you like the skins.

The smoked sardines, or ones packed in water, olive oil or mustard, are all good.  Those packed in tomato sauce are okay, but tomato sauce is not ideal because it is a fruit and a member of the nightshade family of plants that are somewhat irritating for the body.

 

2. Have three to four cans each week of the 3.75 ounce size.  This will provide enough omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D for most people, so you won’t need a supplement.  I have seen no appreciable mercury or other toxicity at this level of sardine consumption.  By contrast, most all other fish and all shellfish, even wild-caught salmon, contain too much mercury.  I would avoid them all.

 

3. Children.  Children under the age of about five or six usually do not need extra omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D.  Over the age of six, most children need about 300 mg of omega-3 fatty acids as well as about 600 iu of vitamin D3.  Instead of taking these in pill form, a can of sardines a week, for example, mixed up with some cream or other foods to make them tasty, is excellent for children.

Children over the age of about 11 usually need two cans of sardines per week, OR about 600 mg of EPA and DHA (omega-3 fatty acids) and about 1500 units of a vitamin D3 supplement daily.

 

 


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BUTTER VERSUS MARGARINE 
by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© March 2015, The Center For Development

 

            In the rush to lower cholesterol, many health authorities recommend eating margarine instead of butter.  However, there is more to consider about margarine than just cholesterol.  

In fact, ALL margarine, all peanut butter except natural peanut butter, Crisco and other shortening, many commercial bakery products, most French fries, many whipped toppings and icings, instant mashed potatoes and microwave popcorn are all nutritionally horrible.  Here is why.


WHAT IS MARGARINE? 

 

            Margarine, along with all products containing hydrogenated oils, begins as chemically-extracted, refined vegetable oil.  This is a poor quality product because:

            1. The oil is extracted at high temperature.  This damages the oil by destroying its vitamin E and other nutrients.

            2. Solvents are often added to the oil, and residues of these chemicals remain in the oil.

 

            As if this is not bad enough, the oil is then “hardened” to change its consistency from an oil to a spreadable semi-solid.  This is done by bubbling hydrogen through the vegetable oil at high temperature, using nickel as a catalyst.  Nickel is an extremely toxic chemical that in excess causes lung cancer, kidney disease, depression and more.

            Bubbling hydrogen through the oil saturates some of the carbon-carbon bonds of the oil, so that it becomes a saturated fat.  The product then becomes hard or solid at room temperature.  This means that the ads for margarine that say it is a “polyunsaturated” fat are not true.  It always contains some saturated fat or it would be runny and liquid at room temperature.

            The final product also usually contains some trans-fatty acids, no matter what the label says.  These are man-made fatty acids.  Research shows that trans-fatty acids increase inflammation in the body.  This can worsen illnesses such as colitis and arthritis.  Very recent research indicates that trans-fatty acids in margarine raise LDL levels.  LDL is the "bad" cholesterol.

            Margarine and some other hardened oil products also contain coloring agents, or they would look like bicycle grease, which many people do not like.  The coloring agents are often toxic chemicals, as well.  In summary, margarine is a disaster, even so-called health-food margarine.    

              
WHAT IS BUTTER? 

 

            Butter is made from cream that is part of the milk of a cow, usually.  The cream rises to the top of the bottle if milk is allowed to sit for a few minutes.  Butter is made by churning or stirring the cream.  This causes a chemical reaction that causes the cream to harden slightly, giving it the buttery consistency.  

            Raw butter is a fabulous fat that often contains some omega-3 fatty acids, a critical nutrient needed today by everyone.  Butter is also an excellent source of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K.  None of these nutrients are found to any degree in margarine.  The vitamin content of butter varies seasonally, depending on the diet of the animals from which it is derived.

            Also, butter does not contain trans-fatty acids or toxic metals such as nickel.  Butter contains some milk solids, giving it a whitish color.  Ghee or clarified butter does not contain the milk solids. 

            Dr. Weston Price identified a factor in butter that is essential for proper growth and development of the bone structure.  He called it 'activator X' or ‘factor X’ and wrote about it in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.  Dr. Price was able to reverse severe tooth decay in children by feeding them one meal a day of highly nutritious food - including butter.

            Although many people are sensitive to cow’s milk dairy products, butter is often well-tolerated by these peoople.  This is because butter is almost a pure fat, and does not contain many of the allergens found in other milk products.  For example, it does not contain milk protein (casein) or milk sugar (lactose).  These are the two components of other dairy products that often cause milk allergies.

            Butter made from raw (unpasteurized) cream is available in some areas.  It is the best quality butter.  Organic pasteurized butter is often the next best quality butter.  Some brands of regular butter in the supermarkets are also quite good, such as Challenge brand in America.

 

WHAT IS GHEE?

 

            Ghee, also called clarified butter, is a product used extensively in India and some other nations.  It is butter with the milk solids removed.  As a result, it is almost clear in color and has less of a buttery taste.

            To make ghee, one gently heats butter until the white-colored milk solids separate from the oil.  One skims off the milk solids, leaving just the oil.  Ideally, this should be refrigerated as it is an oil. Ghee has certain advantages over butter, as follows:

 

            1. For cooking, ghee will not burn as easily because it does not have milk solids.  As a result, it can be heated to a higher temperature.  However, I do not recommend high temperature cooking, so this is not very important.

            2. Ghee is also a little more yang than butter.

            3. Some people who cannot tolerate dairy products can tolerate ghee, although I find that  most people can tolerate butter, even those allergic to most dairy products.

            4. Ghee remains a liquid at room temperature.  This may help with certain recipes.

 

            Advantages of butter over ghee are:

            1. It is not cooked as much. This preserves some important nutrients.  Uncooked and even pasteurized dairy products contain many essential fatty acids, vitamins A and D, and many other critical nutrients.

            2. The milk solids in butter contain some added nutrients, which are lost when one makes it into ghee.

 

            Overall, if one has a choice, please use butter and not ghee due to butter’s greater nutritional content and less processing.


IS AVOIDING BUTTER THE WAY TO CONTROL CHOLESTEROL? 

 

            No!  The observations of many natural health practitioners indicate that a balanced body chemistry is the key to normalizing cholesterol.  Dr. William Koch, MD, an eminent physician, wrote: 

 

       "Cholesterol ... is no problem when the oxidations are efficient and the diet is sensible.  In all our observations, high levels (of cholesterol) drop ... it steadies to a good normal when the oxidations are re-established to normal." (Normal oxidations refers to the efficient burning of food and the generation of adequate energy from food.) 

 

            Most cholesterol is manufactured within the body.  A very small proportion of one’s cholesterol comes directly from the diet.  Cholesterol is the raw material for the adrenal stress hormones and the sex hormones.   The body often reacts to stress by producing more cholesterol.  This allows the body to make more stress-fighting hormones.  

            As one reduces biochemical stress through a nutritional balancing program, cholesterol levels tend to decrease without the need for restrictive diets.  In fact, eating some animal products that contain cholesterol often helps balance body chemistry.

 

FAST OXIDATION, FATS AND OILS      

 

            In general, fast oxidizers can and should eat more butter and other high-quality fatty foods.  Their faster metabolism handles the fats and oils very well.  These foods have a calming and slowing effect on their metabolism that is necessary if they are to balance their oxidation rate.  These people’s body chemistry acts like cars with 8 or 10-cylinder engines.  They burn more calories and thrive on higher-calorie foods, particularly fats and oils.  It they do not eat them, they will crave carbohydrates, which the other major type of food that provides calories or ‘fuel’ for the body.  This applies particularly to babies and children, but a few adults are also fast oxidizers and require more fats or oils in their diets.

            Even those with slow oxidation rates, however, can eat some butter – up to one to two tablespoons daily - unless they are sensitive to it.  Butter is an excellent overall food for everyone at all ages.

 

SUMMARY 

 

            The only argument in favor of eating margarine and other products containing hydrogenated oils such as most French fries, many commercial bakery products, most peanut butter and others is their lack of cholesterol.  Margarine is also less expensive than butter.

            However, margarine is a disgusting and filthy over-processed item, even when it is sold in health food stores.  It usually contains poor-quality, refined, artificially saturated vegetable oil.  It also contains harmful trans-fatty acids, and often residues of nickel, a highly toxic metal.  It is also devoid of most of the important nutrients found in natural fats such as butter.

            Butter, by contrast, is a natural food and one of the best sources of important fat-soluble vitamins and perhaps omega-3 fatty acids.  You will pay a little more for butter, but nutritionally and for its purity, it is well worth it. 
 

EGGS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© September 2013, The Center For Development  

 

            In nutritional balancing science, high quality eggs, preferably from free-ranging chickens, are a superb food item.  They are inexpensive, nutritious, and generally very safe to eat in restaurants or other places where one does not know how safe the food is.

            The egg is a highly nutritious food with excellent fat in the yolk, which also contains many other vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and other nutrients that are essential for our health and well-being.  For example, eggs are a wonderful source of vitamin A, and free range eggs contain some vitamin C, vitamin D, B-complex, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids (but not enough), and much more.

Egg white contains an excellent protein (egg albumin), and also many other nutrients as well.  This article mentions some important ideas about eating eggs.

  

Free-ranging means that the chickens do not live their entire lives in small cages, often shoved together with hundreds of others.  Instead, they are allowed to roam around outside and forage for food such as worms and herbs, which is natural for chickens to do.

 

The safety of eggs.  Eggs are naturally sealed against bacterial and viral invasion.  This is a major advantage of eggs.  They will also last for at least a week without refrigeration, which is another advantage.  Therefore, providing one’s eggs are fresh enough, they are usually quite safe to eat.

 

At a restaurant, always order soft-boiled, poached or lightly fried eggs only.  Do not order omelets, quiche or scrambled eggs.  The reason is that the latter can be made with processed egg products such as Egg Beaters and others, which are not nearly as good or as safe as real eggs.  Hard-boiled eggs are very difficult to digest and should be avoided.  See the paragraph below. 

 

Eat only soft-cooked eggs with the yolks runny or at least soft.  For example, boiled eggs are best cooked for only 3 minutes or less.  The reason is that the yolk is damaged a lot by cooking and the entire egg becomes much less digestible.

 

Avoid eating raw eggs.  The reasons for this are:

a) One does not know if the egg contains some bacteria that is destroyed by light cooking.  

b) Light cooking makes the egg more yang, which is generally better.

c) Light cooking does not damage the yolk, which is important, and does not do much damage to the egg white.

 

Eggs are very yang and can be overdone.  Therefore, do not eat more than about 6 to 8 eggs per week.

 


NIGHTSHADE VEGETABLES AND YOUR HEALTH

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© January 2014, The Center For Development 

            

 The nightshades are a botanical family or group of plants the include some of the most familiar of our vegetables.  They include:

 

·           All tomatoes, including red and green tomatoes, and the larger and smaller varieties.

·           All peppers, including red and green sweet peppers, dried table pepper and hot spicy peppers, also called chile peppers.  It also includes cayenne and most hot sauces or Tabasco sauces.

·           Red and white varieties of potatoes.  However, the sweet potato is in a slightly different family of plants.

·           Eggplant. 

·           A few others.  These include tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, and paprika.  Tobacco is also a nightshade plant.


PROBLEMS WITH NIGHTSHADE VEGETABLES

 

            Please stay away completely from the nightshade vegetables when you begin a nutritional balancing programs for three reasons:

 

1. They are very yin in Chinese medical terminology.  In fact, all of the nightshades except potatoes are actually fruits.  Fruits, as a class of foods, are all very yin.  A fruit is defined as the expanded ovary of a plant, and most fruits contain seeds.  Of course, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers contain seeds.  Vegetables, by contrast, are the stems, roots and leaves of plants.  Potatoes are actually tubers, which are growths on the roots of the plant.

(Other vegetables that are really fruits include cucumbers, okra, peas, and squashes.  However, okra, peas and winter squashes are much less yin than the others.)

 

2. Nightshades contain various alkaloids that have definite toxic effects on the body.  Nightshades may contain up to four types of alkaloids, although only two are of major importance.  These are called steroid alkaloids, and are toxic to the nervous system and affect calcium metabolism.  The two that have been studied the most are solanine and chaonine. 

The nervous system effect of these chemicals is to act as a cholinesterase inhibitor.  Some pesticides kill insects by this means.  A cholinesterase inhibitor can cause agitation, twitching, tremors and other harmful effects upon the nervous system.  This is damaging for most people, whose nervous systems are already overactive and stressed.

The effect upon calcium metabolism appears to be to contribute to excessive loss of calcium from bone and excessive depositing of calcium in soft tissue.  Once again, this is a very harmful effect.  Solanine is also a very pro-inflammatory substance.  In particular, it irritates the joints, causing arthritic symptoms.

Not everyone is affected equally by the nightshades.  However, even if you do not notice any effects, please avoid them on a nutritional balancing program because the toxic effects can be subtle.  For a not-so-subtle story, read the following case history: http://rxlx18.wix.com/lasttomatoinhalifax.

 

3. Nicotine in the nightshade vegetables.  Tomatoes and eggplant also contain small amounts of nicotine, another alkaloid that has drug-like effects.  While the amount is very small, it is another toxin that is not needed or helpful for the body.

 

Arguments for the nightshades.  Most readers are familiar with the fact that tomatoes are high in vitamins C, lycopene and perhaps other chemicals that are beneficial for our health.  Potatoes are rich in some minerals, particularly their skins and just under the skin.  Cayenne and other peppers are also nutritious foods, containing a lot of vitamin C and carotenes.

Those who enjoy these foods also argue that cooking the nightshade vegetables removes about half of the alkaloid content.

While this is true, it is also true that many alkaloids remain in these foods, and the yin quality of the nightshades cannot be changed much by cooking.  I suggest avoiding all of them.

(I am sorry, pizza lovers.  Pizza also contains cooked cheese and often white flour, both of which I find are best avoided.)

 


PROTEIN 

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© December 2015, The Center For Development

 

SUMMARY

 

Protein is a critical food group for everyone.  Most adults need about 10 to 11 ounces of a protein food each day.  The best way to eat this is to have two portions daily of 4 to 5 ounces each of a protein food.

Also, women can have up to 6 eggs per week.  Men can have up to 8 eggs per week, and no more.

Proteins need to be cooked, but not overcooked.

Avoid all pig products, although they are nutritious.  Most can contain parasite cysts or eggs, even when well-cooked.

Too much protein causes toxicity of the liver and kidneys, and excess production of proteinaceous toxins in the colon, evidenced by foul-smelling stools.  Too little protein in the diet can cause weight gain or loss, and severe malnutrition.

 

*************

              

Definition. Proteins are one of the most amazing group of molecules in the human body.  They are complex combinations of smaller chemical compounds called amino acids.  These are like the bricks or building blocks of a building.

There are about 22 amino acids.  Some can be made in the body from other amino acids, or in other ways.  However, at least 8 or 10 of them must be obtained from our diet.  All of the amino acids contain oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen.  Many also contain sulfur.  

Like building blocks, millions of these amino acids are chained together, stuck together, and folded over each other to form complicated shapes and structures to create millions of critical body components.

 

              Metaphorical definition.  Proteins are associated with motion, the basic quality of animal life.  While plant life is more concerned with sugars and carbohydrates, animal life is more concerned with proteins.  (However, all life contains both proteins and carbohydrates.)  

 

WHAT ARE PROTEINS USED FOR IN OUR BODIES?

 

The quick answer is they are used to make most everything in our bodies.  Here are a few of their main uses.

 

Hormones.  Many of the hormones such as insulin and progesterone are proteins.

 

Oxygen transport.  Hemoglobin, a blood protein, carries oxygen to the cells.  

 

Cellular repair.  Heat shock proteins help rebuild our cells after stress.  

 

Binding and transport of nutrients.  Transferrin, metallothionine, ceruloplasmin and other transport proteins bind to minerals and other things, and carry them throughout the body.  

 

Movement.  Muscle protein (such as myoglobin) is responsible for our ability to move.

 

Holding genetic information.  Proteins such as RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in the nuclei of our cells are responsible for the genetic code.

 

Structural proteins. Proteins are also essential for the body structure.  Bone consists of a protein matrix that fills with calcium and other minerals.  Other structural proteins include collagen, cartilage, elastin and keratin that form the skin and other structures. 

 

Enzymes.  All enzymes are proteins.  Thousands of enzymes facilitate every chemical reaction in the body.

 

Conversion to fuel. Proteins may also be converted to sugar or fat to be used as fuel for the body.  This is not ideal, but it does occur in some people.

 

PROTEINS IN OUR FOOD

 

            The main source of protein is our diet.  We eat proteins from animals and plants.  Our bodies can synthesize some of the amino acids, but many of them must be obtained from the diet.  

When we eat protein from plant or animal foods, we must break it down into its simpler amino acid components.  This is called protein digestion.  This is like taking apart a building and sorting out all the bricks to be used to build a new building.

Then our bodies reassemble the amino acids into our body proteins.  This is called protein synthesis or biosynthesis.  It is like taking the bricks and building a new building.

We also have some capacity to change one amino acid into another, to give us more types of “building blocks” with which to make our body proteins.

 

FOOD PROTEINS

 

Protein-containing foods can be roughly divided into three groups depending on how much protein they contain:

 

1. High protein foods include red meats, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, cheese, yogurt and beans.  Others are wheat germ, brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast and some algae such as spirulina.  These foods contain about 20% protein or more.  I do not recommend spirulina or algae as they are difficult on the liver due to some of their contents.  They are often found in some “green superfood” powders, food bars and drinks.

I find that everyone needs to eat some high-protein foods today.  However, eating too much of them, especially too much eggs, (more than about 10 eggs per week) is not ideal and causes intestinal auto-intoxication.  This just means that the body cannot digest all that protein and so some of the protein putrefies or rots in the intestinal tract, giving rise to poisonous substances, and often some gas and bloating or smelly stools.

 

2. Medium-protein foods include grains such as rice, wheat, oats, millet and barley.  These contain 6 to 14% protein and are considered incomplete proteins.  This means they should be combined with other protein foods to provide complete protein.  Unfortunately, modern hybrid grains often contain much less protein than the grains that were grown 100 years ago or earlier.  Wheat, for example, used to have 12-14% protein and now contains six percent in many instances.  Even organically grown grains today are hybrids.

 

3. Low-protein foods include fruits, vegetables and juices.  These contain less than 5% protein.  Living on a low protein diet of mainly fruit, for example, does not work well for human beings, in my experience.

 

PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS

 

            In addition to the sources above, some people like to use protein supplements.  These include 1) protein powders, 2) protein bars, 3) meal replacements, 4) hydrolyzed or pre-digested protein and 5) amino acid supplements.  Let us discuss these products in more detail.  

 

            Powders versus whole foods.   Protein powders and supplements are made from a variety of sources.  Some are better than others.  The best is probably egg protein powder.  However, I never recommend protein powders and meal replacements for the following reasons:

1. Too yin.  Smoothies and shakes usually contain powders, which are all yin, combined with a sweetener, which is yin, and water, which is yin.  All of this is bad for health and difficult to digest properly for most people.  

2. Much less nourishing.  You will get far more nutrition from an egg than from egg protein powder, or from peas rather than pea protein powders, etc.  The powders are all refined and many nutrients have been stripped away.

3. Bad food combinations.  Combining powders with water with fruit, often and other things is usually a terrible food combination.

4. Must drink too much liquid with the drink.  It is best not have much liquid with meals.  this is not possible with a drink or smoothie.  The liquid dilutes the stomach acid and impairs proper digestion of the food.

 

Whey protein.  This product is extremely popular, especially among body builders and it is highly recommended by many holistic doctors.  It contains a decent balance of the amino acids and other minerals and substances.  

However, recent research I have done indicates it contains toxic forms of nickel and copper.  In addition, it is very yin when taken in a smoothie or a shake, and forms bad food combinations in these drinks with too much liquid with the food.  Therefore, I cannot recommend it at all.  Its toxic components cause it to be stimulating, so a lot of people love it.

Whey protein is reputed to help people quit smoking, and I would agree that using some whey protein is better than smoking cigarettes, but that is its only advantage.  Once you have quit cigarettes, then move on and stop the whey protein powder in favor of whole food proteins such as eggs, meats and raw cheeses.

 

Soy protein.  The most popular protein drinks and bars are often made from soy.  The label may say made from soy protein isolate or just soy or soybean protein.  However, often it just says textured vegetable protein and this also means soy in most all cases.  Thousands of products are made of this, such as Hamburger Helper, vegetarian burgers and many other products.

Soy problems.  Soy protein powders and foods made with it are probably the worst ones and are best avoided altogether.  Soy is not a particularly high quality source of protein, although it is technically a complete protein. 

However, the soy is always processed and must be.  This renders it less desirable as processing damages the protein structure a lot.  In fact, it is usually a leftover byproduct of the manufacture of soybean oil.  Chemicals such as acetone may be used to extract the oil, leaving a residue of chemicals in the soy protein.

Soy has other drawbacks such as containing too much copper, low zinc, enzyme inhibitors, thyroid inhibitors and other toxic residues.  Its main benefit is its low cost, which is very important to food manufacturers.

 

Egg.  Egg protein powder is also often labeled as albumin.  This is generally a much better form of protein powder, drink or bar than soy or most others.  However, I still suggest eating whole foods, not protein powders of any kind.

 

Milk Sources.  The two powders made of milk protein are whey powder and casein.  Whey is a little better, but I don’t suggest either of them.

 

Others.  Protein powders may also be made from rice, peas, yeast or fish.  I do not recommend any of them, in general.

 

            Hydrolyzed protein. Some protein supplements such as Bragg’s Liquid Aminos contain pre-digested protein.  This means the protein has been broken down into its amino acids by a chemical process so it requires much less digestion. 

The source is often soy, however.  This is a definite disadvantage.  Also, unfortunately, hydrolyzed protein always contains some monosodium glutamate or MSG, a harmful food chemical.  It occurs naturally as part of the processing of hydrolysis.

 

Pure grown amino acids.  A more expensive type of protein supplement is pure amino acids that are made by fungal organism in a laboratory.  These usually come in capsules and are called free-form amino acids.

These can be useful for some cancer patients or others who cannot digest protein well at all.  I do not recommend them for most people, however, because they are 1) very yin, a type of toxicity, and 2) made from fungus, which can cause allergic reactions in some individuals.

 

              Meal replacements. Meal replacements are usually protein powders mixed in with extra vitamins and minerals, and usually a sweetener.  They are usually terrible food combinations, contain too much sugar, too much water, and are hard on the digestion.  Most are also nutritionally incomplete, and much too yin.  They may be needed for parenteral nutrition, or tube feeding, if a person cannot eat regular food.  Otherwise, I do not recommend them at all.  

Even if a person must be fed through a tube, I think it is better to make fresh purees from cooked vegetables and some meats, rather than use most meal replacement powders and liquids.

            

Sugary protein drinks, powders and bars.  Beware of protein bars, powders and meal replacements that are high in sugars.  This is often the case because otherwise the product would not taste good.  

The label may say sugar, corn syrup, fructose, glucose, lactose, liquid sugar, honey, agave nectar, rice syrup, barley malt or fruit juices.

I also suggest avoiding ALL PRODUCTS containing Nutrasweet or Equal that are often used instead and in “low calorie” bars and powdered drink mixes.  To sweeten a protein drink, Stevia, xylitol, mnanitol or sorbitol are more healthful sweeteners.  Even better, stay with protein foods since all sweet-tasting foods and drinks tend to keep the sweet taste alive and the artificial sweeteners and the others can deceive your body to some degree and are thus less healthful.

 

            Other Additives.  Also beware that most protein powders, bars and drinks contain natural or artificial colors and flavors, preservatives and perhaps a dozen other chemicals.  This is yet another reason to eat whole foods rather than chemical concoctions of protein powders, liquids, pills or bars.  

Also remember that while protein supplements may be helpful at times, they are never a substitute for food. Whole, natural, minimally cooked and processed proteins are essential for our life and our health and there is no substitute for them. 

 

PROTEIN QUALITY

 

            Complete protein foods.  Meats, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt, soy and peanuts are considered ‘complete proteins’.  This is a useful but not absolutely true concept that means that these proteins contain a good balance of all of the essential amino acids that our bodies need.  

Our bodies require at least 22 amino acids for health and well-being.  Of these, 10 or so are called ‘essential’.  This means we need to ingest them in our diet.  We don’t need to eat the other 12 or so, because we can convert the essential ones into them inside our bodies.

 

Incomplete protein foods. These include grains, beans, nuts, seeds and even some forms of meats such as rabbit.  They are commonly eaten as stapes in poorer nations and by strict vegetarians, also called vegans.

If a person does not eat complete protein foods, one must eat a variety of less complete protein foods in order to obtain all the required amino acids.  Otherwise deficiency symptoms, some irreversible, will begin to appear.

In our experience, eating a lot of incomplete proteins or lower quality protein foods is never advisable unless one is very ill with cancer or some other extreme situation.  They just do not nourish the body as well. 

 

Biological quality. Some protein foods contain a much better balance of the essential amino acids than others.  A food with a good balance has a higher rating of biological quality.  Egg protein (albumin) rates highest in biological quality.  Meat protein has the second best biological quality.

 

Other quality factors.  These include freshness, how the food was grown or raised and how it is prepared.  Other quality factors include the breed of chicken or other animal, the soil the food is grown on and many other subtle qualities.  Even the altitude at which a food is grown or raised can influence its nutritional qualities, for example.

 

Raw protein foods.  Some people prefer all raw diets and I am aware of this.  However, we have not found this a beneficial system for most people, especially those with low vitality.  Read about the concept of Vitality on this website.  Raw foods can contain parasites, bacteria, viruses fungi and other harmful microorganisms that are mainly killed by cooking.

 

Cooking protein.  Too much cooking denatures or damages protein, which is why an egg becomes harder with cooking.  For this reason, protein foods should be cooked lightly for the best nutrition.  

I don’t recommend overcooking meat, eggs (as in hard boiling or deep frying) because this ruins the protein structure and makes them much harder to digest.  Read more about this subject in the article on this site entitled Raw Foods.

            

PROTEIN DIGESTION

 

            Proteins must be broken down into their amino acids to be used in our bodies.  If they are not properly broken down, they rot or putrefy.  This is a very toxic process that literally poisons the body and causes foul-smelling bowel movements and gas.  This is how you know some putrefaction is going on.  

Pepsin and hydrochloric acid in the stomach and trypsin and chymotrypsin from the pancreas are among the important protein-digesting enzymes.  One must have enough of these enzymes to digest the amount of protein one eats or putrefaction will occur to some degree.  Most people do not have enough of these, which is why we supplement everyone with a protein digesting enzyme such as GB-3 or betaine hydrochloride and pepsin.

            

Digestion depends on general nutrition.  Our bodies convert sodium chloride to hydrochloric acid in the stomach to help break down protein.  Enzyme production also requires zinc, which is deficient in most people due to our depleted soils and refined food diets.  For example, vegetarian diets, for example, are lower in zinc.  Today, many children are born low in zinc due to their mother's zinc deficiency. 

Other minerals and many vitamins are also needed to make digestive enzymes.  Thus one’s entire nutritional state is important for proper utilization of protein and its digestion into simple amino acids.  Then these must be recombined to make our proteins.  This is discussed later.

 

            Food habits and protein digestion.  For good protein digestion, eat slowly and chew thoroughly.  Relaxed, enjoyable, sit down meals help maximize digestive enzyme production.  Avoid overeating and relax after meals for at least 10 minutes to facilitate digestion.   

Take digestive enzymes if you are unsure whether you are digesting protein properly.  My favorite digestive enzymes are pancreatin and ox bile.  Hydrochloric acid and pepsin is another common protein-digesting product.

 

FACTORS THAT CAUSE PROTEIN DIGESTION PROBLEMS    

 

1. High levels of toxic metals.  These interfere with zinc and other vital minerals.

2. Stress keeps the sympathetic nervous system active and interferes a lot with digestion, a parasympathetic activity.

3. Fatigue does the same as stress and it weakens the digestion tremendously.  Always rest before meals if tired, even if it is just for a few minutes.

4. Nutritionally depletion, as explained above, impairs digestion a lot.

5. Infections in the intestines, which are quite common.  These include parasites, yeasts, bacteria and more.

6. Illnesses affecting the intestines such as colitis, ulcers, cancer and others.

7. Some pharmaceutical drugs and over-the-counter product interfere a lot with digestion.  Among the worst are anti-inflammatory drugs like Aspirin, Tylenol, Aleve, Excedrin and other anti-inflammatory drugs that irritate the stomach and can even cause ulcers.

Beta blockers, proton pump inhibitors and calcium supplements are others that interfere with digestion.  Some of the common names are propanolol, Inderal, Protonix, Prevacid, Prilosec, Tums, Choos, OsCal and many others in the same classes of drugs.

In fact, any toxic substance, even food additives will interfere with digestion, which is quite a delicate process.  This is just another reason to eat well and rest after meals as Mexicans and Europeans often do with a siesta after the large meal of the day.  This is a wise idea for everyone, even if it is a 10-minute rest.

8. An alkaline stomach due to drugs or nutritional or other imbalances interferes a lot with protein digestion.  The wrong acid in the stomach is another issue related to this one.  This is why the pH of the stomach is not enough.  It must be the correct acid as well, and why supplements are so helpful in many cases.

9. Improper bowel flora is another common cause of digestive problems.  Although this is most common in the large intestine, it can occur in the small intestine as well.  It is responsible for bloating, often, in the stomach due to gas formation.

10. Constipation and/or low fiber in the diet may also interfere with proper digestion.

11. Complex food combinations.  The simpler a meal, the easier it tends to be to digest.  This is why I suggest meals be constructed with cooked vegetables and either one protein or one starch only.  Also, monomeals (one type of food per meal) are also excellent.

 

MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PROTEIN NUTRITION

 

              Digestive problems.  Hair mineral analysis reveals digestive problems in most everyone today.  This is due to the volume of toxic chemicals we ingest with our food and drinks, added to the stress of modern living and the use of pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs that interfere with digestion.  Low vitality also plays a part.

            Indicators for impaired digestion on a hair test may include:

1. A sodium/potassium ratio less than about 2.5:1.  The lower the ratio, often the worse the digestive strength or vitality.  For this reason, the ratio is called the vitality ratio.

 

2. A hair potassium level of 4 mg% or less.  This is called Sympathetic Dominance and implies that the sympathetic nervous system is overused.  This, in turn, usually impairs digestion a lot, even if there are no recognizable symptoms.

 

3. A hair zinc level less than about 12 mg%.  Zinc is needed to make most of the digestive enzymes.  A low hair zinc level is often associated with inadequate digestive enzyme production.

 

4. An elevated level of any of the toxic metals or poor eliminator patterns.  The presence of excessive toxic metals often interferes with proper digestion.  Many compete with zinc, for example, which is a critical element in the production of digestive enzymes.

 

Other possible indicators of impaired protein digestion and utilization are:

 

1. A phosphorus level of 12.  This is not the case, however, if a pubic hair sample is used as this may cause elevated phosphorus readings.

2. A copper level above 2.5 or a hidden copper toxicity pattern.  Read Copper Toxicity Syndrome for more information about hidden copper toxicity. 

 

            I would say most if not all the clients who come for nutritional guidance have one or more of these digestive indicators.  This is why I suggest that all adults take a powerful digestive enzyme containing ox bile and pancreatin to assist with protein digestion.

 

THE VICIOUS CYCLE OF POOR PROTEIN DIGESTION

 

Vicious cycles are what destroy our bodies.  Impaired protein digestion causes nutrient deficiencies and often bowel toxicity.  This further impairs protein digestion, which in turn worsens nutritional status and the cycle continues until death occurs.  

For this reason, I make a point of recommending only high quality protein in adequate quantity.  Also, it is why I suggest avoiding all drugs and food additives, if possible, and to have excellent eating habits.  It is also why I suggest plenty of rest, with some rest before and after meals as well.

All of this is often necessary to break the vicious cycle of poor protein digestion, a very essential body function. 

 

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN THE LIVER AND ELSEWHERE

 

            Digesting proteins, which is breaking them down into their respective amino acids, is only half the battle in the proper utilization of proteins.  The other half is rebuilding the amino acids into the thousands of hormones, enzymes, tissues and organs of our bodies.

            Here another vicious cycle needs to be stopped.  This is that poor nutrition in general impairs synthesis of proteins that are needed to digest and synthesize more proteins.  If this cycle persists for any length of time, chronic disease and death will ensue.

            Thus, improving the overall state of nutrition is paramount to assist proper protein synthesis.  This includes virtually all the minerals and vitamins.  Equally important is to rid the body of toxic substances such as cadmium, arsenic, lead and hundreds of toxic chemicals that interfere with proper protein synthesis.

The mineral zinc must be singled out as particularly important for protein synthesis.  It is required for the enzyme RNA transferase, a key step in protein synthesis.  However, in fact, many minerals and vitamins and other nutrients are required for this complex process of DNA synthesis.

Once again, most people are deficient in zinc, selenium, chromium, bioavailable manganese and other nutrients, so their synthesis of protein is quite impaired.  This slows all healing and all rebuilding of body tissue.

 

Protein and wound healing.  I am often amazed how quickly and easily people with wounds or surgical scars that won’t heal complete their healing when they follow a complete nutritional balancing program to improve their overall health.  This has a lot to do with protein digestion and protein synthesis.  Anyone with wounds, scars or other areas of the body that will not heal properly probably has problems with adequate protein synthesis.

 

SPECIFIC PROTEIN CONSIDERATIONS

 

            Meats.  In my clinical experience of more than 30 years, I find that quality meats are excellent foods for human beings.  Vegetarian diets are all deficient, and I have not found a way around it.  They will sustain a person for a while, and one may feel better on a vegetarian regimen that eliminates junk foods and allergic foods.  However, serious deficiencies will soon occur that always shorten life.

Meats can be an important source of zinc, B-vitamins, amino acids, taurine, carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid and many other nutrients provided the meat is eaten in moderation, and in the correct food combinations.  Naturally raised meats are best.  Grass-fed and free range animals are often an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Meats from animals raised without hormones and antibiotics are higher quality and to be preferred.  Lamb is one of the best and can be eaten several times a week.  Most lamb is naturally raised, by the way.  I do not think it is necessary to buy “organically raised” lamb.  Chicken, turkey and wild game are also excellent protein foods, along with up to 10 eggs per week.

Beef is okay if raised naturally, but less recommended simply because most of it is quite hybridized.  This means it is not the same animal as it was 50 years ago.  This is somewhat a problem with all our livestock, but beef most of all.  Beef has become quite a bit more irritating to the body, as a result, and some people are quite sensitive or intolerant of it.  This does not seem to occur with lamb or wild game, however.

Pork, ham, bacon and all pig products should be totally avoided in any form, as they may contain trichina cysts and other parasites, even when supposedly properly cooked.

Also avoid all processed meats, in general, as they contain many additives such as nitrites and nitrates that are quite toxic for some people.  A little should be okay if it is all natural, such as natural hot dogs, for example, although these are made from beef, which is not the best.

Fresh meats are best.  Frozen chicken and turkey is okay.  Canned meats are usually loaded with additives to preserve them.  Dried “jerky” is not bad unless it is full of additives, as it usually is.  Smoked meats and fish are not quite as healthful, but may be eaten at times.

 

            Eggs.   The most maligned protein food is the egg.  Eggs contain excellent quality protein as well as lecithin, vitamin A and many other nutrients.  

The famous Framingham, Massachusetts heart disease study examined the question of egg consumption.  The study found those who regularly consumed eggs lived longer than those who ate eggs only occasionally.  Especially for those who prefer to eat less meat, eggs are an essential source of high-quality protein.  

How many eggs?  Women can have up to six eggs per week, and no more.  Men can have up to eight eggs per week, but not more.  Eating more than this causes some liver toxicity.

Preferably rotate them (and all foods) by having them no more than every other day.  Fresh is always best with eggs.  Right from the chicken is wonderful, and not too difficult in some places if you ask people who has chickens.

Eggs and meats should not be overcooked.  Eggs must be cooked, but the yolks should be runny.  They can be soft boiled, poached, lightly fried or mushy scrambled.  Do not eat hard-cooked eggs, as they are much harder to digest.

            Avoid processed eggs like Egg Beaters and others.  These may contain oxidized cholesterol, which is toxic.  To learn more about eggs and cholesterol, read Cholesterolphobia.

 

            Milk and Cheese.  Milk is a high-quality protein food.  However, most people are allergic to the milk from hybrid cows.  Organic milk is better in most cases, although hybridized milking cows are still used.  

Goat and sheep milks are excellent, and often better than cows milk.  Many goats and sheep are healthier than some cows, and are less hybridized than cows.  Organically raised is best.  Limit milk and all dairy intake to about 4 ounces daily for adults and a little less for children.  This is important, in part because milk is very yin in macrobiotic terms.  It is also not a particularly mineral-rich food.  It is best taken alone, and not as part of a meal, because of its watery nature.  

Natural, organic and preferably raw cheese can be a quality product unless one is sensitive to it.

Plain or vanilla yogurt or kefir is also excellent unless one is sensitive to it.  However, only have about 4 ounces daily, please.  Avoid sugary yogurt or kefir products.

If a person follows a complete nutritional balancing program, sensitivities to dairy and other quality foods tend to disappear as the gut rebuilds, although this will often take several years.

 

            Fish.  Fish can be an excellent source of protein and many other nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids and iodine.  However, all fish today are somewhat contaminated with mercury and other toxic metals.

For this reason, I only recommend eating very small fish such as sardines, perhaps herring or anchovies.  These are so small they do not have time to accumulate as much mercury.

Sardines are one of the finest protein foods.  Eating them from the can is fine.  They are high in RNA and DNA, and in many minerals, as well.  Even with sardines, I suggest limiting intake to 3-4 cans per week.  The best are skinless, boneless sardines because the mercury seems to concentrate in the nervous system and spinal cord of the sardine.

Strictly avoid all larger fish such as tuna, swordfish, shark, king mackerel and others.  These contain levels of mercury that make them toxic.  Also avoid ALL shellfish.  These are also contaminated with mercury, and often with lead, cadmium and other toxic metals.  They are caught in coastal water, and for other reasons seem to accumulate toxic metals.  I do not agree with some authors who suggest that by taking selenium, for example, one can offset the toxicity of fish.  This is not what I observe on our thousands of clients.

 

Nuts and Seeds.  Nuts and seeds contain some protein, and other nutrients.  However, nuts and seeds are all yin in macrobiotic terminology, and all are somewhat toxic.

An exception is toasted almond butter.  The nut butters are much easier to digest, and this one is a good food source of protein and other minerals and vitamins.  Do not soak almonds overnight.  It is not necessary or helpful. 

Seeds are also yin and may contain enzyme inhibitors.  I do not suggest eating many sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, and others even though they are nutrient-rich foods.  They are too yin to be eaten on any regular basis.  If you want a little, eat the seed butters, which are much easier to digest.

 

            Grains.  Grain is only a fair source of protein today.  Formerly, it was an excellent source.  However, modern hybrid grains, which includes organically-grown wheat, rice and others, contain much less protein than the non-hybrids of 100 years ago.

Non-hybridized wheat contains about 14% protein.  Today's wheat, including organic wheat, contains about 6% protein.  Books that suggest one can obtain one's protein from grains are no longer correct.  

Grain-like seeds.  These include foods such as quinoa and amaranth, both of which originated in South America.  Both are excellent, higher-protein grain-like foods that human groups have used as stapes for thousands of years.  Quinoa contains about 15% protein, and is said to be a complete protein.

 

            Dried beans. It is fine to eat some dried beans up to twice weekly.  One of the best is lentils, for example.

Dried beans are good sources of minerals, vitamins, and fiber.  However, most are not considered complete protein sources.  This means the balance of amino acids is not adequate.  Peanuts and soy are considered complete proteins, but their quality is not as good as eggs and meat.

 

Soy foods.  Sadly, all soy foods including roasted soy beans, isolated soy protein, soy powders, soy milks and textured vegetable protein or TVP contain anti-nutrients such as phytates, thyroid inhibitors and enzyme inhibitors.  Besides, soy powders and soy isolate are often leftover products from the manufacture of soy oil and contain chemical residues used in the oil extraction process.

I suggest eating only traditionally fermented soy products such as tempeh and tofu – and not much of these.  These are less toxic products.  However, they are still lower quality proteins and I would limit intake to no more than two times per week at the most.  Ideally, skip them altogether.

 

Other.  Please avoid spirulina.  I find it is somewhat toxic for the liver.  As stated earlier, I would also avoid all protein powders, smoothies, shakes, meal replacements and hi-protein food bars.

 

HIGH OR LOW PROTEIN DIETS

 

              Eating too much protein.  Some people eat too much protein.  Some eat two or three eggs daily, plus meat during the day.  This easily causes bloating, gas, bad-smelling stools, and a more toxic body.  It can also cause kidney and liver toxicity, calcium depletion and high serum cholesterol.

              

Eating too little protein.  Some vegan and other health advocates suggest that no concentrated protein foods need be eaten at all.  They note that animals such as horses and apes become strong living on grass alone.  They don’t mention that these animals digest foods that we cannot, have little stress, some have four stomachs and chew their cud, and they eat all day.  Please don’t follow this advice!

Skipping protein at meals often leads to weight gain, low thyroid and adrenal gland activity, and will shorten the lifespan.

 

              How much protein?  My observation as a clinician is that adults need 10-11 ounces daily of a protein food.  This is two servings daily of 4 to 5 ounces each.

Those with active cancer usually need less.  While 60-70 grams of protein daily is adequate, some people eat less than 40 grams/day.  This is too little for most people.  Some mistakenly believe that less protein will cause weight loss, though the opposite is often true.  

 

ANIMAL VERSUS VEGETABLE

 

            In my experience, most people eventually do not feel well on a limited, vegetarian regimen.  Animal protein is higher quality.  It also contains many other essential nutrients including vitamin B12, zinc, niacin, carnitine, taurine, cysteine, methionine, alpha-lipoic acid and others.  These are not present or less biologically available in vegetable proteins.  Deficiencies can take years to develop and can be difficult to correct.

I encourage vegetarians to at least eat eggs for their high-quality protein, particularly the sulfur-containing substances such as taurine, cysteine and methionine.  These are essential for eliminating toxic metals and synthetic chemicals to which we are all exposed.  I cannot emphasize enough the need for the sulfur-containing amino acids and taurine (technically not an amino acid) found in greatest abundance in animal proteins.  

            The argument to avoid animal protein due to its cholesterol content has been largely disproven.  Excess homocysteine, mineral deficiencies, toxic metals, infections and inflammation correlate much better with heart disease than does one’s cholesterol level.  

In fact, cholesterol is the raw material from which we make stress hormones.  Several strict vegetarian clients had high cholesterol levels because their bodies were out of balance in spite of not eating any cholesterol-containing foods.  

 

PROTEIN AND WEIGHT LOSS

 

            Some people avoid protein thinking it will cause weight gain.  However, research by Robert Atkins, MD and many others indicates the exact opposite is true.  Protein stabilizes blood sugar and supports the activity of the adrenal and thyroid glands.  Thus it often assists weight loss.

 

SPECIAL PROTEIN NEEDS

 

            Children.  Adequate protein intake is very important for children, who are growing fast.  Vegetarian diets low in protein, or diets high in soy products instead of meat and eggs, lead to many problems for children such as growth problems, ADD, ADHD, infections and others.  Protein is the major scourge among poor children around the world.  Don’t copy the deficient diets of third world nations.

 

            Pregnant and Nursing Women.  During pregnancy and more so during lactation, adequate protein intake is critical.  Otherwise, the baby’s nutrition and growth will be impaired.

ALL nursing mothers need adequate protein.  Please stay away from all vegetarian diet, and ideally follow a complete nutritional balancing program.  At the very least, always supplement the diet with a fish oil supplement and vitamin D (about 5000 iu daily) for the best brain development of your baby.  For much more on this subject, please read Breastfeeding on this website.

 

            The Elderly.  Older people often suffer from protein deficiency because:

1. Problems chewing.

2. Digestive enzyme secretion diminishes with age.

3. Poor appetite.  

As a result, older people often do not like eating as much protein as they cannot digest it.  As a result, digestive enzymes are critical for most older people.  I much prefer ox bile and pancreatin to all the others.

 

            Those with chronic illnesses such as cancer.  Protein digestion is severely impaired in cancer and to some degree in most chronic illness.  Proteolytic digestive enzymes are an important supplement for anyone with chronic illness.  In some cases, amino acid capsules are good for a while until protein digestion improves.

 

            Body builders.  This is the one group that often overdoes on protein.  Their excessive protein intake may be hard on the kidneys and can unbalance body chemistry.  

I am appalled at some of the diets recommended by trainers and others in the body building industry.  They are often too high in protein, deficient in essential fatty acids and very deficient in cooked vegetables that supply the essential alkaline reserve minerals better than any other foods.  Please avoid these type of diets.

  

MAD COW DISEASE 

 

            A few people avoid all animal protein, or at least beef, due to fears about Mad Cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalitis.  However, this disease is very rare, in fact.  If it were common, we would hear a lot more about it from the mainstream media, I believe, as it is a horrible disease.

Manganese problems.  Some cases of this disease are also due to manganese poisoning. This is how it works.  Phosmet, an organophosphate pesticide sprayed along the spinal columns of cows to kill fleas or for other reasons, bonds with manganese and this damages prions.  If the cows are then fed diets high in manganese, the symptoms appear.  The symptoms are identical to a condition called ‘manganese madness’.  This theory best explains British and French outbreaks of Mad Cow disease.  However, the pesticide’s manufacturer blocked efforts to publicize the real cause of the disease. 

            Hoof and mouth disease, another fear of some people, is not a human disease and poses no danger to humans.  It is caused by nutritional deficiencies.  This was proven in the 1920's by Sir Albert Howard, a famous British soil scientist. 


VEGETABLES VERSUS FRUITS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© May 2014, The Center For Development  

            

One often hears on television: “Eat your fruits and vegetables”.  This implies that vegetables and fruits are similar in many ways.  In my clinical experience, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, cooked vegetables, in large quantities, are vital for deep healing today.  In contrast, eating fruit – any fruit at all, often – is damaging for one’s health today.  I know this is a controversial idea, so let us explore it in more depth.

 

WHAT IS A VEGETABLE, AND WHY EAT THEM?

 

Vegetables are the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of edible plants.  All human beings and most animals have eaten them for thousands of years.  They contain so many vital minerals, vitamins, amino acids, prebiotics, fibers, and other things we need for our health that nothing can substitute for them.  I find that people who will not eat a lot of vegetables are never healthy for long, no matter how good they may look or feel today. 

In fact, all of us need to eat more of them.  I suggest that 70-75% of the diet should be cooked vegetables.  This works out to about 3 cups of cooked vegetables three times daily.  You can steam them, roast them, stir fry them, bake them or make them in a crock pot.

The Vita-Mix.  An unusual cooking method, if you are a busy person, is to buy a Vita-Mix.  This is a very high-powered blender.  You place raw vegetables in it, and use a minimum of water.  First, it chops up the vegetables.  Then it cooks them in 5 minutes or so, by spinning them at very high speed.  It produces a hot puree that is very nutritious.  In my view, this is much easier to digest than raw green drinks, shakes or smoothies.  The latter are usually awful food combinations that are hard on digestion. 

 

FURTHER CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETABLES

 

Vegetables are further classified as:

 

1. Roots.  I suggest eating at least TWO COOKED ROOTS EVERY DAY.  The reasons for cooking them are described below.  Roots are the most yang of the vegetables because they grow underground.  This may not seem important, but it is vital today and explained in a paragraph below.  Roots such as carrots are also very rich in an unusual form of calcium, and contain dozens of phytonutrients that are needed today for our nutrition, for detoxification of heavy metals and toxic chemicals, and for many other purposes.

Among the common root vegetables are carrots, which are one of the best.  Others are onions, turnips, parsnips, black radish, red radish, daikon radish, rutabaga and celery root.  

 

2. Cruciferous vegetables.  I suggest eating at least TWO COOKED CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES EVERY DAY.  This family of delicious vegetables have been shown to have extraordinary properties to help prevent cancer and other common diseases.  They includes cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and a few others.

 

3. Green leafy vegetables.  I suggest TWO LARGE SERVINGS OF COOKED GREENS EACH DAY.  They are very rich in magnesium, folic acid, and many vitamins and minerals that cannot be obtained elsewhere, no matter how many vitamin pills or green drinks you swallow.  They include spinach, kale, arugula, mustard greens, collard greens, bok choy, Chinese cabbage and others.

 

4. Other vegetables.  There are other vegetables to explore, such as squashes (butternut, spaghetti, and acorn squashes, in particular), celery, asparagus, rhubarb, mushrooms and others.  I don’t recommend these as highly, but a little provides variety and an array of tastes and smells.  They are either too yin or slightly toxic.

 

WHY COOK YOUR VEGETABLES?

 

Cooking has many advantages:

 

1. Cooking makes food more yang.  This is an aspect of nutrition and diet that most doctors and nutritionists overlook.  However, I find it quite important.  The bodies are all too yin today, and correcting this imbalance is wonderful for healing.  This is explained in books by Michio Kushi on macrobiotics.  The Chinese understanding of yin and yang I find less useful, clinically.

If one wishes to make the body more yang, which is helpful today, one must cook most food.  Raw food is much more yin.  Adding heat and often salt to food by cooking makes all food much more yang.

 

2. Cooking make the minerals and other phytonutrients in many foods much more bioavailable.

This is a matter of observation.  Those who live on a lot of raw salads, for example, demineralize their bodies.  Humans simply cannot digest raw vegetable fibers very well.  We are not like cows and horses, who are built to digest grasses.

Most people are mineral-deficient, so any way to increase mineral absorption and utilization is important.  This is why eating sea salt and kelp capsules are helpful as well.  All food today is lower in vital minerals than 100 years ago because the food is hybridized, mainly.  The hybrids are designed to produce larger crops and resist pests, but not to produce more mineral-rich crops.

 

3. Cooked food tends to be much cleaner, no matter what anyone claims to the contrary.  It is rather easy to pick up parasitic infections and others from raw salads and other raw food, especially in restaurants, for example.  cooking destroys most parasite eggs and other pathogens.

 

Isn’t cooked food “dead”?  Cooking does not kill the food.  It destroys a few vitamins, especially if food is overcooked.  However, it balances the food, as is taught in macrobiotics.  Vegetables should be cooked until they are soft, and not crunchy.

 

 What about salads?  I do not recommend salads.  They are too yin because they are raw.  Also, we cannot absorb enough of the many minerals they contain.  And in restaurants, they are often not clean and can cause parasitic and other nasty infections.

 

What about vegetable juices?  Ten to twelve ounces of vegetable juice daily in an adult, and less in a child, is excellent and will improve anyone’s nutrition.  More than this, however, causes the body to become too yin because ALL juices tend to be very yin.  This is because they are raw, liquidy and broken apart. 

I suggest having about 10 ounces of carrot juice daily, provided you tolerate the sweetness.  You can add a few spinach leaves or a Swiss chard leaf if you wish.  If it is too sweet, drink half of it and put the rest in the refrigerator to drink later in the day.

 

What about shakes and smoothies.  I prefer a cooked vegetable puree made in a Vita-Mix blender, as described earlier in this article.

Ideally, do not add protein powders and other ingredients to the cooked vegetable puree.  One could add some ground turkey, ground beef or ground lamb near the end to make it a complete meal.  The protein powders, no matter how nutritious, are all quite yin, so they are not quite as good as whole foods such as chicken or lamb.

 

WHAT ARE FRUITS?

 

Fruits are the expanded ovaries of plants.  This may sound strange, but plants have ovaries, just as animals and people do.  The ovaries are the site of seed production.  Instead of producing eggs, as human ovaries do, plants produce seeds, which are somewhat similar in structure to animal eggs.  Plants, however, have no way to spread their species, as animals and humans can do, because plants are fixed to one location.  

To spread their species throughout the earth, plants place their seeds or eggs inside of tasty, sugary treats called fruits.  Birds and animals eat these.  Most seeds are hard and indigestible.  Therefore, they are not damaged when animals eat them, and they pass through the animal body unharmed.  In this way, birds and animals do the job of spreading the seeds of plants.

 

Some vegetables are really fruits.  A way to identify fruits is they usually have seeds inside, while true vegetables do not contain seeds.  For example, the following “vegetables” are really fruits: tomatoes, eggplant, all peppers, okra, squashes, string beans, white and red potatoes, cucumbers, peas, string beans and perhaps a few others.

With the exception of peas, string beans, and winter squashes, I suggest avoiding or eating less of these foods because they are much more yin than true vegetables. 

 

SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH EATING FRUIT

 

This section incorporates our own research findings and that of many others who have worked with those who currently or in the past have eaten a lot of fruit.  Common symptoms associated with fruit-eating include:

 

1. Attention deficit disorders, autism, cancers and other problems in children. Eating fruit is particularly harmful for fast oxidizers, which includes most young children. 

2. Irritable bowel syndrome, parasites, diarrhea and colitis.  The digestive system is harmed greatly by eating a lot of fruit. Fruit-eating definitely feeds yeasts and other harmful pathogens in the intestines.  The digestive tract becomes more yin, fragile and “leaky”.  Fruit acids, toxic metals and pesticide residues in fruit all irritate the digestive system.  Fruit requires pesticides in many areas to grow it at all.  Organically grown fruit is a little better, but may be sprayed with “natural pesticides” that are toxic, as well.

3. Cardiovascular problems.  Fruit can weaken this system and can cause a shortened lifespan, among other disorders and problems.  Fructose affects copper metabolism, which may be the reason for its negative effects on the cardiovascular system.

4. Pain syndromes. Stopping all fruit and returning to a diet with plenty of cooked, and not raw vegetables often stops joint pain and other types of pain within a few weeks.  Causes for the pain may be a zinc deficiency, deficiency of sulfur-containing amino acids, the effects of sugar, the effects of the fruit acids, or some combination of all of these.

5. Diabetic symptoms. Fruit is very low in zinc, manganese and B-complex vitamins.  These are needed to process sugars, which are high in most fruits.  The result are symptoms such as pain syndromes and peripheral neuropathy, which may cause tingling, burning or numbness in the feet.  Other symptoms may include frequent urination, fatigue, depression and others.

6. Weight gain. Many people believe that eating fruit will cause weight loss, and they are seriously disappointed.  Fruit is not a low-calorie food.  Also, eating sugar in any form causes weight gain by many mechanisms, such as increasing insulin production, impairing the activity of the thyroid and adrenal glands, causing some water retention, and perhaps others, as well.

7. Parasitic infections.  This occurs because eating fruit makes the digestive tract much more yin, which makes it much more habitable by parasites, which are “cold” infective organisms.  Other reasons may be that fruit may carry some parasitic organisms if it is not washed properly and is eaten raw.  Also, a damaged and somewhat delicate digestive tract does not kill some parasites that are found in all foods and water supplies.

8. Pesticide poisoning.  This occurs because most fruit is sprayed heavily, even if it is advertised as being organically grown.  Even natural pesticides that must be used on fruit can build up in the body in a toxic fashion, affecting the liver and kidneys, in particular.

9. Toxic metal poisoning.  Those who eat a lot of fruit seem to be particularly prone to the accumulation of mercury and copper, perhaps because fruit lacks the balancing element of zinc.  High-fruit diets also lack sulfur-containing amino acids that are needed for liver detoxification of the metals and of many toxic chemicals as well.  Fruit also contains a toxic form of potassium and perhaps phosphorus that is found in all N-P-K or superphosphate fertilizers.

10. Thyroid disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.  Fruit seems to make this worse, in my experience.  It might have to do with a copper imbalance, mercury toxicity or something else.

11. Mental and emotional symptoms.  These are very common and include anxiety, depression, irritability, and even panic attacks.  We know this because when a person who is eating a lot of fruit and having any of these symptoms stops eating fruit, often these symptoms vanish within a few days to a few weeks.

12. Anger and belligerence.  Another interesting symptom that occurs is the development of a stubborn, and often belligerent and angry nature.  This could be due to a zinc deficiency or perhaps a B-vitamin deficiency of some type.  It may be due to a more yin condition, which makes a person more fearful and anxious.

13. Loss of mental acuity. This symptom, also called brain fog, is very common in those who eat a lot of fruit.  It is often due to yeast overgrowth in the brain.  Low iodine may also play a role, or perhaps low levels of some of the B-complex vitamins.  Taking supplements of these nutrients may help.  Often, however, a person needs a complete nutritional balancing program to reverse the brain fog.  For much more about this, read Brain Fog at www.drlwilson.com.

14. Yin disease.  Another symptom that is really a composite of many of those above, I refer to as yin disease.  This is a general feeling of malaise or weakness, often coupled with some of the symptoms mentioned above.

 


THE WESTON PRICE DIETARY PROGRAM

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© September 2014, The Center For Development 

 

Weston Price, DDS, was a brilliant dentist who lived about 100 years ago.  He toured the world searching for the healthiest human populations, in part to test some theories about nutrition, and also just out of sheer curiosity.  He was a careful researcher, and was soon fascinated by the varied diets and lifestyles of the tribes he heard about and sought out around the world. He studied their dental health, their diets, their child-rearing practices, and even their beliefs to try to find out what made them so healthy.  He also studied less healthy tribes, and modernized tribes, and was able to compare their diets and lifestyles.

For example, he was amazed that he found no vegetarian groups that were extremely healthy.  All the healthiest tribes used animal products.  He only found two of the healthiest groups that used dairy products (Switzerland and North Africa), always eaten raw.  Dr. Price’s main book, Nutrition And Physical Degeneration, as well as his other writings, stand today as classic nutritional research that should be read by everyone.  

Today, Dr. Price’s work is being promoted by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation (PPNF), which makes sure his book is always in print.  A second organization, the Weston Price Foundation, publishes a journal and has over 500 local chapters to promote Dr. Price’s work.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, this group now promotes nutritional ideas that Dr. Price never advocated, and which are harmful.  Among these are:

1) Eating a lot of fermented foods.  Dr. Price never recommended this.  He observed that groups ate fermented foods, but of course they had no refrigeration, so they had little choice in the matter.  There is nothing wrong with some sauerkraut or yogurt, but the Weston Price Foundation goes far beyond this.  It is discussed in more detail later in this article.

2) Eating a high-fat diet.  This is also discussed later in this article.

 

CHANGES IN AGRICULTURE, THE ENVIRONMENT AND IN DIETARY SCIENCE REQUIRES CHANGES IN DR. PRICE’S RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Dr. Price’s excellent research was completed over 100 years ago.  The purpose of this article is to examine the teachings of Weston Price in light of much newer research using hair mineral analysis.  I find that a number of Dr. Price’s excellent recommendations just do not work well today, and need to be modified due to shifts in agriculture and in society that have taken place over the past 100 years.  These important alterations include:

 

1. Development of the atomic bomb and atomic energy. This has increased the exposure of all people on earth to much higher dosages of ionizing radiation.  Sources include A-bomb tests, low level emissions from nuclear power plants, and much greater use of medical and dental x-rays.  The main effect is to make the bodies much weaker and more yin in Chinese medical terminology.  Cooking more of your food helps offset this more yin condition, although not completely.  

 

2. Widespread use of superphosphate fertilizers, hybrid seeds and modern pesticides and insecticides to grow and raise most of our food.  Superphosphate fertilizers definitely have a stimulating effect on plants, which is not all bad.  Superphosphates, plus the use of hybrid seeds and pesticides, have allowed much higher crop yields that feed many more people.  However, the food is far lower in minerals, vitamins, protein and other nutrients in most cases.  This is well-documented in the records from 50 and even 100 years ago of the US Department of Agriculture.

             

3. Much greater use of processed foods.  This has also contributed to far worse nutrition in almost everyone.

 

4. The widespread use of corn and perhaps other grains instead of hay and pasturing to feed chickens, cows, sheep and other livestock.  This has been helpful in some ways, but it has contributed to much lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the meat, eggs, and dairy products, even if they are unpasteurized and unhomogenized.

 

5. Far higher levels of toxic metals and toxic chemicals in the food, air, water and on products we touch or have other direct contact with.  This has caused much worse toxic metal and toxic chemical poisoning in the entire population, compared to 100 years ago.  It also makes the bodies much more yin.

 

6. A much faster-paced lifestyle in most people thanks to electrification, modern communications.  

 

7. Much more electromagnetic stress on the bodies due to the use of flat-screen televisions, computers, cell phones and other devices that emit microwaves and other electromagnetic fields.  These also make the bodies more yin in Chinese terminology.

 

8. New ways to preserve food that are fabulous, but can allow pathogens to grow. This, plus the transportation of food long distances, makes eating raw meats, eggs and even vegetables and fruits much less healthful today.

 

These total effect of the changes above are:

 

1. A much slower oxidation rate in most people

2. Much worse digestion in most people, even children.

3. A reduced ability to resist many types of diseases, allowing epidemics of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, ADD and other serious conditions that were either non-existent or were practically unknown 100 years ago.

In light of this, let us now discuss several of the Weston Price Foundation recommendations, with some changes I suggest.

 

THE WESTON PRICE DIETARY SUGGESTIONS

 

I am very grateful to Dr. Price for his work.  However, below are the changes to the Weston Price diet that I have found necessary today in order for people to feel their best.  This is based on about 30 years of hair mineral testing and clinical experience:

 

1. No fermented cod liver oil and no high vitamin butter oil.  These are not needed and not helpful, especially any fermented product like this.  I know all the hype about them and I do not agree with it at all.

 

1A. Avoid wheat.  In my clinical experience, wheat has been so hybridized and genetically altered that it is sadly no longer a healthful food.  It is much higher in glutamine today, and lower in protein, for example, among other changes.  Today wheat is an irritating and allergenic food for most people.  This is equally true of organically grown whole wheat and even most spelt, a grain that is very similar to wheat.  

Until we can return to heirloom seeds from at least 50 years ago, it is best to avoid wheat in all foods and in all forms.  This includes avoiding sprouted wheat breads, for example, and avoiding all spelt products as well, which can be a little better than wheat, but are often similar.

While some people can still tolerate wheat, overall I find it best to avoid.

 

2. Do not eat much beef.  Lamb is often better.  Beef cattle are a very hybridized species today, even the grass-fed, organically raised beef cattle.  While efforts are underway to bring back heirloom varieties of cattle, one is rarely sure what cows are being raised.  Even if you can get heirloom beef, eat some lamb as well. 

Other excellent animal proteins include chicken, turkey and good quality eggs and some raw dairy products.

 

3. At least 70% of your diet each day should be cooked vegetables.  Dr. Price recommended that most vegetables be cooked.  The need for so many cooked vegetables is an empirical finding.  Vegetables offer literally hundreds of phytonutrients that offset the pollution and provide protection from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many other ailments, and have the ability to rebuild the body better than any other food.  They also provide healthful fiber and a wide range of vitamins and minerals that are hard to obtain in any other way, including pills and drinks.

As for cooking most or all vegetables, I know this is upsetting to some people.  However, Weston Price advocated cooking vegetables, as this is what he observed.  Some have altered his teaching in this area.  Advantages of cooking vegetables include:

a. Cooking breaks down the tough fiber in vegetables, allowing us to absorb many more nutrients from the vegetables.  It is true that it damages some vitamins such as vitamin C, but it does not destroy it all if vegetables are just steamed at low termperature for 10-15  minutes.  I find that everyone who eats a lot of salad, for example, tends to demineralize the body after a few years.

b. Cooking vegetables concentrates the food, allowing one to consume far more of green vegetables such as spinach and other greens.  

c. Cooked vegetables are far more yang in Chinese medical terminology, and this is extremely important for overall health today, even if cooking destroys a few nutrients.  Yin and yang qualities of foods is a somewhat esoteric concept that dates back to traditional Chinese medicine and macrobiotics, an even older science related to Taoism and Tibetan medicine.  For more information about it, read Yin And Yang Healing and Yin Disease. 

d. Many raw vegetables are simply unclean today, as they are grown in many nations.  This can cause parasitic and other problem, especially when eating in restaurants.  

 

Vegetables to avoid.  I find that it is best to avoid the nightshade family, which are irritating and somewhat toxic.  These include eggplant, all tomatoes, red and white potatoes, and all peppers.  Others to limit or avoid are okra, cucumbers, lettuce, summer squashes, and all salad vegetables, unless they are cooked.  

Eating 70-80% cooked vegetables indeed requires some practice and work, at first.  One must include vegetables with most every meal.  However, it pays wonderful dividends for your health.

 

4. Avoid most fermented or cultured foods.  Dr. Price never advocated eating fermented foods in the strong way that the Weston Price Foundation recommends them.  These foods include miso, natto, yogurt, kefir, kvass, sauerkraut, and some others.

Those who advocate fermented foods say they help acidify the stomach and intestines, help maintain the normal flora of the intestines, preserve some foods like dairy products, and produce some vitamins and minerals that improve nutrition.

I find that some fermented food such as cheese, yogurt, kefir and miso are good, and can be eaten several times a week.  However, the others are not as good in my clinical experience.  Possible reasons for this are:

 

a. Most people today have a very slow oxidation rate, which was not the case 100 years ago.  For this reason, everyone is prone to yeast infections in the intestines.  Ferments of all kinds are yeasts, and they do not seem to work as well with many of our clients today.  The exception, once again, are fermented milk products such as yogurt.

b. Also, fermented foods are very yin in Chinese medical terms.  As explained above, this is a serious drawback today, but it was not a problem when Weston Price lived and wrote his books.

c. Some ferments including sauerkraut produce some aldehydes that can build up in the liver.  Beer and wine are not the only foods that can produce aldehydres.  For more on this topic, read Fermented Foods on this website.  

 

5. Cook all foods, except for raw dairy products, which should be eaten in their natural raw state, if possible.  Meat and eggs should only be lightly cooked, however, as longer cooking will denature the proteins too much and damage the delicate fats.

Dr Price advised cooking most meats and vegetables.  He also suggested eating some raw animal products.  I find that today raw fruits and vegetables are much too yin, the human digestive tract cannot extract enough minerals from raw vegetables, and there are other problems with raw foods except for raw dairy.  Dairy, however, is still very yin, so limit milk intake, for example, to 8 ounces or so daily, and limit the intake of all raw dairy products to 6 ounces or so of cheese or yogurt daily.  More is just too yin.  For more about this important topic, read Raw Foods on this website.

Today, meats that are raw are often unclean and harbor parasite eggs, most of which are killed by cooking.

I also find that eggs should be lightly cooked with the yolk remaining runny, unless you know that the egg is without infections of any kind.

 

6. Avoid most or all fruit and all fruit juices. I know this is difficult for some people, but it is very important.  Dr. Price observed that many tribes ate some fruit, although they did not live on it.  My clinical experience is that fruit is causing many health problems today and is not a necessary or helpful food today.  The problems seem to be due to: 

 

1. Fruit is a very yin food, and the bodies are already too yin today,

2. Most fruits are hybrids and are less nutritious than in the past.

3. The sugars in fruit seem to upset the blood sugar and feed yeast in the intestines of almost everyone who eats it.  This was not a problem as much 100 years ago at all.

4. Many so-called organic fruits are still sprayed with somewhat toxic chemicals because otherwise they will not grow well in Northern climates

5. The mineral balance of the fruit seems to be improper for today’s bodies.  In particular, a potassium compound in fruits is toxic.  I know this because when people begin a nutritional balancing program, especially babies and children, they soon expel a form of potassium that seem to be associated with having eaten a lot of fruit, or their mothers ate fruit while pregnant.  This is a shame, but it is my experience.

6. Many people seem unable to neutralize the acids found naturally in fruits.  As a result, the fruit actually has an acidic reaction in the body.  Its high sugar content contributes to this as well.

For more on this important and sad situation, read Fruit-Eating on this website.

 

7. Avoid all shellfish and most fish, except very small ones such as sardines, are not healthful foods today.  One hundred year ago fish and some shellfish were very healthful foods.  Today, they are almost all contaminated with mercury and other toxic metals.  This is very unfortunate, but we see high levels of toxic metals in anyone who eats any fish or worse, shellfish except for very small fish like sardines.  This includes wild caught salmon and other wild-caught fish.  

The mercury content of the oceans, lakes and streams has increased drastically due to burning coal and other industries such as paper-making, that were much less when Dr. Price lived.

Also, the toxic metal content of the coastal waters has increased drastically over the past 100 years due to dumping of sewage and industrial waste in almost all nations on earth.  This is also a shame, but it is very important to know about.

I strongly recommend eating 3 to 4 cans of sardines each week.  These seem to be healthful – any brand of sardines – because they are so small they do not accumulate much mercury, and they are generally wild caught rather than farm-raised.  I have observed no problems eating the sardines from a can, although fresh would be nice if they were available.  

Other very small fish such as anchovies, smelt and herring are also generally fine, but are often larger than sardines, and have a lower omega-3 and vitamin D content, so they are not quite as good.  I suggest avoiding all other fish and especially shellfish or seafood.

 

8. All pig products today may contain parasite eggs.  This is another shame, but we find that all pork, ham, bacon, lard, sausage made with pig intestines and other products from the pig often contains parasite larva or eggs, such as tapeworm, trichina worms or others.  This has to do with general pollution of the waters, and how animals and other foods are raised today.  It does not matter if the pig products are well-cooked, it seems.  They still contain live eggs and can infect the brain and other organs easily.  Also be careful to avoid egg rolls and other places that pig products are hidden.

The only safe pig product I have encountered is porcine pancreas that is used in supplementary digestive aids such as GB-3.  This is probably because the high pancreatic enzyme content of this particular organ kills the trichina worms and their ova safely.

Dr. Price found that many traditional cultures ate pork, particularly in the South Seas.  It was considered a sacred food, and was always consumed cooked.  Sadly, today I cannot recommend it. 

 

9. Cod liver oil, while a very good product, does not provide enough vitamin D or omega-3 fatty acids today. Dr. Price recommended high vitamin cod liver oil to obtain vitamins A and D, and omega-3 fatty acids.  However, I find that today the bodies are so deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D that a lot of cod liver oil is needed to provide enough of these essential nutrients. 

Eating 3 or 4 cans of sardines each week, however, is a way to obtain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, a digestible form of calcium, RNA and DNA and many other vital nutrients.  Put some mustard, relish, hot sauce or mayonnaise with your sardines if your don’t like them.

If you won’t eat sardines, then be sure to take a supplement with about 800-900 mg of omega-e fatty acids (a combination of EPA and DHA) and about 3000-5000 iu of vitamin D daily.  This seems to be roughly what the bodies require today.

 

10. Soaking grains to destroy enzyme inhibitors, trypsin inhibitors and other anti-nutrients is not needed.  Dr. Price never discussed soaking grains.  However, the Weston Price Foundation strongly recommends soaking grains, seeds and nuts.  Soaking grains and nuts makes them more digestible, allowing more people to eat them.

The problem is that soaking makes a food much more yin.  It can also allow mold to begin growing on the food.  While soaking seeds overnight is okay, I suggest using a digestive aid to overcome the anti-nutrients in most grains.  Some groups that have eaten grains for thousands of years such as the Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern people and others do not soak their grains and do just fine.

Also, I do not suggest eating many nuts or seeds, as both these foods are extremely yin in any condition, so they are less healthful today, although they are quite nutritious.  An exception is toasted or even a little raw almond butter.  A small amount of other nut and seed butters are okay as well, but not much of them.  This is also unfortunate, but that is our experience.

Most people do not chew nuts and seeds well enough, and have very weak digestion.  Therefore, if you want some nuts, for example, have some toasted almond butter or a little sunflower butter, which are excellent foods for most people when eaten in very small amounts.  

All peanut butter may contain some aflatoxin, a deadly poison, even if it is fresh and natural.  It is also quite a sweet food and somewhat yin, as are all beans, seeds and nuts.

 

11. Do not eat much coconut or palm oils, or not other coconut products.  Some Weston Price followers embrace coconut products because they are rich in lauric acid and other nutrients, and are stable for cooking purposes, especially.

The problem is that coconut and palm are tropical or sub-tropical fruits that are extremely yin.  They seem to be toxic today for that reason, no matter what other positive nutritional value they have.  Preferably avoid them all and use olive oil, butter, and beef or chicken fat for cooking and other uses.

 

12. Stay away from all sugars and sweets, even natural sweets such as raw, uncooked honey, natural maple syrup, natural agave nectar, rice bran syrup, almond milk, soy milks, rice milks and other sweets.  These are all extremely yin and will unbalance body chemistry badly.  The less one eats of any of them, the better.

 

13. Limit raw milk consumption to about 4 ounces daily for an adult, and about the same amount or less for children.  This is also an important recommendation today.  While raw milk is a wonderful food, it is quite sweet and yin.  Too much is not healthful today for this sole reason.

 

14. Do not eat many nuts or seeds.  While these are healthful foods, they are extremely yin and somewhat hard to digest.  Soaking them makes them even more yin.  Some toasted almond butter is an excellent addition to any diet, and a little of other nut or seed butters such as sunflower seed butter or tahini or sesame butter are okay, but not that important and not needed for this reason.

 

15. Most people can eat some whole grains daily, as long as they are well-cooked and not in excess.  Foods such as brown rice, especially Basmati rice, quinoa, millet, rye, oats, barley, and especially blue corn are good foods if you can digest them.

 

16. Avoid or eat a minimum of raw salads.  I find that people cannot extract enough minerals from raw vegetables today, even if you take a digestive aid, which I always suggest.  The digestive tracts are in very poor shape in all cases, even children.  Also, raw vegetables are very yin, and in restaurants usually they are not that clean.  You will get enough fiber from cooked vegetables, even when they are not crunchy, which is best.  

Eating salads just fills up your stomach and takes up room that is needed for cooked vegetables, some whole grains, some animal protein daily, and some raw dairy.  Cook all vegetables.

               

17. Everyone needs at least a few food supplements.  Dr. Price did not recommend many food supplements other than cod liver oil.  However, please recall that at the time Dr. Price lived, the nutrient content of our food was much better, the average person’s digestion was hundreds of times more powerful, and the bodies were far healthier in terms of energy, mineral content and more.  Also, and very importantly, chelated minerals had not been developed, and many other food supplements were simply not available.

I wish supplements were not needed, but I find that they are always needed, by everyone today.  At least, I have not run into a single one of our clients or anyone else who I find is so well nourished that they would not benefit from a animal-derived digestive aid, kelp for iodine and minerals, and supplemental calcium, magnesium, zinc, often selenium, and fish oil and vitamin D in most cases.  

Most people need even more than this, for at least a few years to build up their digestion, to eliminate toxic metals and chemicals from the body, and for other reasons such as to balance the mineral ratios in the body.

 

18. Exercise caution with the recommendations found in any older books – even the great ones such as those of Dr. Price.  The situation in our food supply has changed so drastically in the past 50 years or so, and even more so in the past 25 years, that some older recommendations in books about acupuncture, macrobiotics, raw foods and other texts just don’t work as well.  It is true our genetics and basic nutritional requirements have not changed, so many of the lessons of Dr. Price still apply.

 

THE WESTON PRICE SYNDROME

 

This is a curious phenomenon that I am still researching.  It consists of a person going into four lows pattern and staying there when one follows a Weston Price type of diet.  For more, please read The Weston Price Syndrome.

 

 

This article is not intended to diminish in any way the amazing contribution of Dr. Weston Price or other researchers.  Nor is it intended to oppose the excellent work that is being done by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation and the Weston Price Foundation to educate the public, bring back raw dairy products, and popularize the work of Dr. Weston Price.

We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Dr. Price.  I believe he would appreciate the updating of his work based on the drastic changes in our bodies and our food supply that have occurred in the past 100 years since he lived.
 

THE WESTON PRICE SYNDROME

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© June 2014, The Center For Development  

 

            An unusual set of symptoms seems to occur in those who are following a Weston Price type of diet, as suggested by the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF).  The main feature is that a person goes into a four lows pattern and stays there, even though the diet seems to be “good” and the lifestyle excellent.  This article discusses what might be the cause of this unfortunate situation.

 

PROBLEMS WITH FERMENTED FOODS

 

            One problem with the Weston Price diet, as recommended by the WAPF, is the heavy emphasis on fermented foods, fermented cod liver oil, and perhaps other types of fermented products such as kombucha tea.  (Dr. Price did not recommend this.  It is an “innovation” of the WAPF, to the best of my knowledge).

            Kombucha tea and many other fermented products today contain aldehydes, which are definitely poisons.  People enjoy the tea, and perhaps other fermented foods, because they can have a slightly stimulating effect.  However, this does not mean they are healthful, and they are not, in my experience.  Any food, diet or other product that tends to move the body into a four lows pattern is anything but healthful.  

 

HIGH FAT AND POSSIBLY TOO MUCH MEAT

 

Another problem with the Weston Price diet recommended by the WAPF is a high level of fat and meat several times daily.  It is possible that these might also contribute to moving a person into a four lows pattern.

 

NOT ENOUGH COOKED VEGETABLES

 

This is another problem with the Weston Price diet.  There are not enough vegetables in it, in my view, and some or all of the vegetables in the diet are eaten raw, which is another problem.  When this is done, a person does not extract enough minerals from the vegetables, in my experience.

 

For much more about the Weston Price diet, please read The Weston Price Diet on this site.


UPDATING THE WESTON PRICE AND GAPS (gut and psychology syndrome) DIETS

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© July 2012, The Center For Development, Inc.

 

            This short article is a summary of the longer article on this website concerning updating the Weston Price diet.  My suggestions are:

 

1. NO SALADS.  Raw vegetables are quite yin and people cannot extract enough minerals from the tough raw vegetable fibers.  In restaurants, salads are often unclean.

Cook all vegetables until soft, and avoid the nightshade vegetables such as all tomatoes, white and red potatoes, eggplant and all peppers.  Also avoid cucumbers, okra, summer squashes, and lettuce.

 

2. NO FRUIT OR FRUIT JUICES AT ALL.  All fruits are too yin today and have other problems, as well.  Also avoid dried fruit, cooked fruit and soaked fruits.

 

3. NO MORE THAN 4 OUNCES OF RAW MILK PER DAY FOR ADULTS, AND THE SAME OR PERHAPS LESS FOR CHILDREN.  Milk is also too yin and sweet to drink more of it.

 

4. NO RAW MEAT OR RAW EGGS.  Cook all meats lightly, and soft boil eggs for 2-3 minutes, or eat them poached or lightly fried.  Be sure the yolk is runny.  Do not overcook meats and do not hard boil eggs.

 

5. NO PIG PRODUCTS. Most have some trichina eggs or cysts, no matter how well cooked they are.

 

6. NO HONEY, MAPLE SYRUP, AGAVE NECTAR, COCONUT PRODUCTS AND OTHER SWEETS, EVEN IF THEY ARE COMPLETELY NATURAL.  All sweets are extremely yin, and all of them upset blood sugar.  None are worth eating at all.

 

7. NO OR VERY FEW FERMENTED FOODS SUCH AS SAUERKRAUT, PICKLES, FERMENTED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.  AN EXCEPTION IS YOGURT AND KEFIR, WHICH ARE LESS YIN.  THESE ARE OKAY ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK.  Fermented foods are all quite yin, and seem to cause aldehyde poisoning.  Also, most upset the correct bowel flora in some way. 

 

8. INCLUDE SOME WHOLE GRAINS IN THE DIET IF THEY ARE TOLERATED, AND COOK THEM.  DO NOT JUST SOAK THEM OR EAT THEM RAW, SUCH AS IN GRANOLAS OR TRAIL MIX.  THERE IS NO NEED TO SOAK GRAINS. AVOID GRANOLA AND ALL RAW OR JUST SOAKED OR FERMENTED GRAINS.  Whole grains are an excellent food, especially blue corn products.

 

9. AVOID ALL WHEAT.  At this time, most wheat is very hybridized, and a very irritating food.  This includes organic whole wheat products.  Pasta is a little better, but it is better to have pasta made from rice, corn or quinoa.

 

10. NO TUNA, SALMON, OR OTHER FISH EXCEPT VERY SMALL ONES, SUCH AS SARDINES, AND THEN ONLY A FEW TIMES WEEKLY.  Fish are basically all contaminated with mercury today, sadly.  The only exception is very small fish. 

 

11. NO SHELLFISH OR SEAFOOD SUCH AS SCALLOPS, OYSTERS, CRABS, EEL, OCTOPUS, SHRIMP, LOBSTER, OR OTHERS. These foods often come from coastal waters and even from deep waters they seem to accumulate a lot of toxic metals.

 

12. SARDINES ARE AN EXCELLENT FOOD.  THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND FRESH, AND THE CANNED ONES ARE EXCELLENT, IN FACT.

Sardines are very small, so they are lower in mercury, and they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, among other nutrients.  Eat only 3 or 4 cans weekly for an adult, and less for children.

 

13. AVOID TOO MUCH MINT TEAS SUCH AS PEPPERMINT, SPEARMINT AND WINTERGREEN.  All mints are high in aluminum.  They can be used once a day, perhaps, but not more.

 

14. DO NOT EAT NUTS AND SEEDS, EXCEPT FOR SOME TOASTED ALMOND BUTTER.  Nuts and seeds are very yin and somewhat difficult to digest.  Some toasted almond butter is not bad, however, and a little of other nut and seed butters are okay on occasion.


STEPS TO LIVER DETOXIFICATION

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© October 2013, The Center For Development, Inc.

 

If you can detoxify your liver, in most cases you will improve your health drastically, and you can save your life if you are very ill.  This is a wonderful principle to recall at all times.  Nutritional balancing is one of the finest ways to do this, bar none.  This article focuses on how this is done using nutritional balancing science.

 

1. BALANCE THE MAJOR MINERAL LEVELS AND RATIOS ON A PROPERLY PERFORMED HAIR TISSUE MINERAL ANALYSIS. This critical step is needed to drastically improve the cellular energy production throughout the body.  This, in turn, assists with liver detoxification along with most other body functions.

 

2. INGEST MORE SULFUR.  The mineral sulfur is needed for the cytochrome P450 detoxification pathways in the liver, and to bind toxic metals, and for other purposes in the liver as well.  Most people do not get enough organically bound sulfur in their diets.  Therefore, method number one is to increase you intake of sulfur of the correct type.

Two types of sulfur are needed.  Non protein-bound sulfur is found in most cooked vegetables.  The cabbage family (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cauliflower) is particularly good.  The radish family is also excellent (red radishes, black radishes, white radishes or daikon root, turnip, rutabaga and perhaps a few others).  Also, some greens are high in sulfur including watercress, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, kale, mustard greens, collard greens and perhaps a few others, though not spinach.  Onions and garlic are also excellent.

Protein-bound sulfur is found in meats and egg yolks, providing one does not cook the egg yolk very much.  This is why we recommend soft cooked eggs only so the yolks are runny.  Raw eggs may be consumed, but they contain avidin, a minor toxin, and sometimes the eggs contain bacteria that are harmful.  Therefore, we suggest soft-boiled eggs cooked for up to about 3 minutes in most areas of the world, or poached eggs or even very lightly fried eggs or very soft scrambled eggs only.  Avoid hard-boiled eggs and hard scrambled eggs, as these are much more difficult to digest and the cooking damages the fat and sulfur compounds in the delicate yolk.

 

3. INGEST MORE OF THE RIGHT TYPE OF SELENIUM. This is also critical for glutathione synthesis in the liver and breakdown of certain toxic compounds in the liver.  The correct form of selenium is important.  It is found in blue corn, organic yellow corn, but not other corn products.  It is also found in sardines and in some meats and other fish.  Most fish, however, are too high in mercury to be recommended, so sardines and other very small fish like smelt, anchovies and herring only are best.  Of these, the sardine seems to be best.

Other good sources of selenium include chicken meat, breast especially but all of it, turkey meat, mustard of all types, and a few herbs such as curry powder, milk thistle and turmeric.  This contains curcumin, a powerful anti-oxidant for the liver.  Do not waste money or fill up on selenium supplements or Brazil nuts, as the type of selenium is not as good as the foods above.  Save your stomach capacity for the cooked vegetables described above and the foods that contain the proper selenium.  Read more about this in the article Selenium on this website.

 

4. OBTAIN MORE METHYL DONORS. Some people, but not all, need more methyl groups or more methyl attachment agents. Without them, they could die.  This is a particularly important topic for all cancer patients, almost all of whom need more methyl groups.  This is such an important topic that it is discussed in a separate article entitled Methylation on this website.  

 

5. IMPROVE CIRCULATION, HYDRATION AND OXYGENATION OF THE BODY.  These functions are related, and all absolutely needed for liver detoxification.  Be sure you breathe deeply at all times, drink 3 quarts and no less daily of spring water or carbon-only filtered water, and to improve circulation some exercise is excellent, and even better is the use of a near infrared sauna on a daily basis.  Any sauna will help circulation, however.  An ozonator/ionizer air purifier placed in the bedroom will increase the oxygen in your home as well.  For more on this topic, read Ozonator/Ionizer Air Purifiers.

A secondary method is the use of castor oil packs.  These are not as powerful as some of the other procedures in this article, but they might help.  This use of castor oil is an old folk remedy that was promoted by the American psychic, Edgar Cayce.  They are simple to do and they will improve circulation and lymph drainage through the liver.  Read Detoxification Protocols for instructions how to do them.

 

6. DO MORE COFFEE ENEMAS.  Coffee is a somewhat toxic beverage.  However, when introduced through the rectum, the colon seems to filter out many of the toxins, and just allows the nutrients in the coffee to be absorbed.  This we know because coffee drinkers become toxic, but those who do coffee enemas, even daily for years, do not become toxic to any appreciable extent.

The colon is actually a remarkable organ that can prevent horrendous toxins that are produced in the intestines from entering the bloodstream, while absorbing water and nutrients from food.  So we can use the colon for this purpose.  When done this way, the coffee retention enema is one of the most powerful liver detoxification methods of them all.  One or even up to three of them daily will move out even the most stubborn of toxins from the liver in a rather painless and inexpensive way.  See the article entitled Coffee Enemas for instructions.

 

7. SIT OR LIE UNDER A RED HEAT LAMP DAILY FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR.  I am not sure why this works, but the frequencies emitted by a standard 250-watt reddish heat lamp are excellent for the liver.  They tend to improve circulation, decongest the liver, assist with lymph drainage, and more.

Near infrared lamp sauna therapy.  The best way to do this is by using a near infrared lamp sauna daily.  This way you will also get the benefits of the heat, sweating, etc.  However, if you cannot afford to build a near infrared lamp sauna, then use a single heat lamp aimed at your belly and your back for an hour daily.  The heat lamp bulb is sold at most hardware outlets for about $10-15.00 dollars.  It must be reddish, not clear.

Combining a coffee retention enema with a red heat lamp on the abdomen is particularly powerful.

 

8. RUB THE FEET MORE.  Foot reflexology is quite amazing, and can be quite beneficial for liver activity.  There are three main reflex areas on the feet and hands for the liver.  One is on the bottom of the feet, behind the third and fourth toes in the soft part of the bottom of the feet, near the ball of the foot.  Another is on the top of the foot, in the web between the big toe and the second toe.  This area is often extremely painful to rub.  A third area is behind the little toe alone the side of the foot.  It is related more to the shoulder, but this is often an area where liver meridian energy is stuck. 

 

9. EXERCISE CARE WITH ALL OF YOUR RELATIONSHIPS AND EMOTIONS. The liver is associated with the emotions, especially anger and fear.  If you are spending time in anger or fear, you will damage your liver.  If you let these emotions go, through forgiveness, in particular, your liver will heal much faster.  This is a secret for detoxifying the liver that most doctor forget.  Never hold anger or grudges or resentments against anyone for any reason.  Do not let people or situations “get to your liver”.  The word livid, and the phrases: I gave him a piece of my liver and He has a lot of gall are common linguistic references to the close connection between the liver and the emotions, particularly anger and rage.

 

10. DRINK CARROT JUICE DAILY.  Carrot juice has an affinity for the liver, for some reason that I do not know.  Dr. Max Gerson, MD. used it extensively to rebuild the liver.  He wrote about it in his book, A Cancer Therapy – Results of 50 Cases.  It may be the calcium in it, or perhaps something else.

Caution:  Do not to overdo on carrot juice, and do not do a lot of juices of any kind.  I know that juices are highly recommended by some health authorities.  The problem is they are too yin in Chinese medical terminology.  Ten-twelve ounces daily of carrot juice with a few greens added if you wish, is plenty for most people.  Cancer patients may need a little more, up to 16 or even 20 ounces daily, but no more.  Dr. Gerson used much more, but his therapy is not working as well today.  Perhaps it is too yin due to all the carrot juice and other juices.  See below to understand yin.

 

11. MAKE YOUR BODY MORE YANG.  This is very critical.  The liver is what is called a solid or yin organ in Chinese medicine.  When it becomes too yang, in Chinese medicine, it causes problems.  Today, however, all the organs tend to be too yin, including the liver.  This basically means it is very congested and toxic with metals and toxic chemicals.  This is far worse than it ever was when Chinese medicine was set up thousands of years ago.  In those times, humans were not plagued with radiation poisoning, toxic chemicals and poor quality food.  These are all modern yin problems.

Making the body more yang, along with coffee enemas, supplements, red heat lamp therapy and sauna therapy, all help rid the liver of infections, which often plague it.  Most people, for example, have some liver flukes and other parasites that make their home in the liver.  However, do not take herbs or drugs to get rid of them, as most of these are toxic and harm the liver.  Instead, making the body more yang and a complete nutritional balancing program will slowly rid the liver of all of its infections and this includes parasitic infections.  For much more on this topic read Yin Disease and Yin And Yang Healing.

 

12. OTHER FOODS, HERBS AND SUPPLEMENTS FOR THE LIVER.  Food include eating some liver, but not too much as it is toxic today.  In fact, some raw liver is not bad for the liver, but try to buy organic chicken or beef liver, and make sure the animals were healthy.  Do this about once a week, perhaps, but not more.  A few bites is all you need.

Burdock root, dandelion root, and milk thistle are old-fashioned herbs that can help the liver.  However, do not use them continuously, as they are all somewhat toxic.  Rotate them and take time off from them.

Supplements the liver needs include a little vitamins A, B, C, D and E, in particular, though all are good in small quantity.  Large quantities are toxic, however.  See below for more this.  Minerals have been discussed above, but also include some zinc, chromium, manganese and others.

 

13. IMPROVE THE DIGESTION.  The reason for this is that if you do not, then you will generate extremely toxic compounds in the intestines during fermentation and putrefaction of your food.  These pass easily into the liver where they poison the liver.  This is the case with everyone today, to some degree.

Ways to improve digestion include eating a far better quality diet-without wheat, fruit, fruit juices or any sugars or chemicalized foods.  Also, always take a powerful digestive enzyme with each meal, develop good eating habits such as chewing thoroughly and eating quiet, sit-down meals, not in your car while driving, or sitting at your desk on the telephone.  Also, simple food combinations are best, and the very best is to eat only one or two types of food at a single meal.  Eat five or six smaller meals if you need to, in order to get all that you need to eat.

 

14. AVOID THAT WHICH HARMS THE LIVER.  This may be one of the most important of all the steps you can take.  It means avoiding:

 

 - All medical drugs, all over-the-counter drugs and remedies, all recreational drugs, and especially alcohol in all forms and all types.

 - All toxin exposure from the food, water, air and skin contact.  This includes all food additives and preservatives, dental amalgams, handling solvents, breathing fumes of all kinds, pesticides, and dozens of other chemicals.  It also means reducing your exposure to toxic metals of all kinds in food, water and through contact such as amalgam dental fillings, jewelry and occupational exposure.  See the article Toxic Metals for more on how to avoid these powerful poisons.

 - Overdosing on herbs, vitamins and minerals.  The worst are niacin and iron, both of which are added to all white flour products today.  Many so-called health products also contain toxic metals, such as zeolite, azomite, montmorrilinite, fulvic acid, humic acid and most colloidal mineral products from the earth.

 - Avoid other toxins. These are found in all large fish, all seaweeds except some kelp, pork and all pig products, all nightshade vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and all peppers), and certain other foods.  Unclean food, unwashed raw food and other often contains eggs and larva of parasites, which go to the liver in most cases.  Avoid fermented foods that produce aldehydes.  These include kombucha tea and most other fermented foods except for yogurt and kefir.

 - Copper builds up in the liver and is found in copper intra-uterine devices, foods too high in copper (chocolate, avocado, shellfish, nuts and seeds, and even some organ meats).

 - Iron builds up in the liver and is found in most refined white flour products, eating too much red meat (twice a week is fine for most people unless you have cancer, and then do less), iron pills and potions, eating a lot of black or red cherries, molasses and even eating more than about one dozen eggs weekly.

 - Avoid all yin foods, supplements, herbs, and other products.  This is quite difficult because all fruit is very yin, all sugars are yin, drugs and alcohol are very yin, raw foods are more yin, and most supplements and herbs are quite yin.  This is one of the main reasons I limit or eliminate all of these in nutritional balancing science programs. 
METHYLATION

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© April 2015, The Center For Development  

 

Methylation is one of the body’s most important and most common chemical processes.  It is the addition of a methyl group, or CH3, to many chemical compounds to change their solubility, or for other reasons that are explained below.

A supplement of TMG or trimethylglycine is now part of every nutritional balancing program.  This was not part of Dr. Paul Eck’s original research.  TMG supplements were added to the program in early 2013.

 

A SAMPLING OF METHYLATION PROCESSES  

 

Methylation processes occur in hundreds of essential chemical reactions in our bodies.  To give you an idea of their importance, here is a small sampling of them:

 

1. Detoxification.  Methylation is a primary method of removing toxins in the phase 2 liver detoxification system of the body.  More precisely, methylation converts toxins of all kinds from insoluble, less soluble or fat-soluble compounds into water-soluble compounds.  This, in turn, allows the body to eliminate them more easily.

Methylation, in this sense, is somewhat like first tagging toxic substances and then altering them in a way that allows the body to identify them as toxins, and then to eliminate them rapidly and simply.  Larger molecules are then able to be eliminated through the bile, while smaller ones pass into the bloodstream and are removed by the kidneys in the urine.

 

2. Neurotransmitter synthesis and utilization.  Methylation is part of the synthesis of dopamine and serotonin.  This is one reason why taking trimethylglycine or TMG can help a person relax.  However, relaxation may also occur because TMG assists with liver detoxification.

 

3. Protein synthesis from our genes.  Methylation is a key step in the formation of our enzymes and proteins.  This process is called genetic transcription.  It involves first making a copy of a section of DNA, which is a strand of RNA.  This is the blueprint, as it were, for our proteins.  Then the body uses this blueprint to put together the exact proteins that are needed.

 

4. Protects the body’s telomeres.  Methylation is involved in the preservation of the body’s “tails” on its DNA and chromosomes that are called telomeres.  For much more on this interesting subject, and its relation to nutritional balancing science, please read Telomeres on this website.

 

5. Folate metabolism and cardiovascular health.  Methylation is involved in converting homocysteine, which is a dangerous amino acid when in excess, back into methionine, an essential amino acid.  This, in turn, is converted to other amino acids in various biochemical pathways.

About 50% of the earth population appear to have genetic variants of the MTHFR enzyme causing them to have some difficulty resynthesizing methionine from homocysteine.  This can be a factor in cardiovascular disease, mental illness such as depression, and perhaps other health conditions such as fatigue and exhaustion.

While doctors may tell you the problem is “genetic” and therefore incurable, our evidence is that it is not incurable.  The problem with the RNA can be due to toxic metals such as copper and mercury, that somehow interfere with genetic transcription, or the “writing” of the RNA from the DNA.  For much more on this subject, please read MTHFR Defects on this website.  In other words, the problem is not due to defective DNA, which would be hard to change.  It is due to zinc deficiency and other problems involved in the copying of the DNA.  For more on genetics, read Genetic Defects And Nutritional Balancing on this site.

 

6. Hormonal regulation. By assisting the liver and for other reasons, methylation is involved in balancing hormones, such as restoring the proper balance of estrogens, for example.  This helps reduce the tendency for cancer and for many other health conditions related to a hormone imbalance.

 

7. Reduces inflammation. This occurs for many reasons.  Among them are toxin removal, hormone balancing, neurotransmitter synthesis, and others.

 

8. Helps protect the mitochondria.  By protecting the mitochondria, methylation helps adaptive energy production greatly.  Without adequate methylation, one becomes very tired.

 

9. Restores the level of SAMe in the spinal fluid and elsewhere.  SAMe or S-adensylmethionine is a common chemical found in the body.  It functions as a methyl donor once it has been restored to functioning by the action of methyl groups.  It can be given as a supplement to prevent depression, and it has other mental and physical effects on the body.  It is quite costly, so we do not use it and instead we use other methyl donors such as trimethylglycine or TMG, folate, methionine, cysteine, taurine and others.

 

10. Required to make coenzyme Q10.  This vital substance is needed for heart health and for energy production within the mitochondria.  

 

11. Tends to increase muscle mass.  This can be important in wasting diseases such as cancer, and for general health.  This aspect of protein synthesis aided by extra methylation is widely known in the livestock industry.  Methylating agents are added to some animal feeds. 

 

12. Other.  Methylation reactions are very common in the body and involved in most body functions, to some degree.  This is why compromised methylation can cause or contribute to almost all health conditions.  Most people today have inadequate methylation, so this becomes a very important subject. 

 

METHYLATION BIOCHEMISTRY

 

To facilitate the attachment of a methyl group to a toxin or other molecule, methyl groups or CH3 can take the form of an anion with 7 or 8 free electrons, or a cation with 6 free electrons.  The words anion and cation have to do with the electrical charge of the molecule and nothing more.  The correct electrical charge is required for the methyl group to attach to a variety of toxins and other molecules in the body.

 

EVERYONE NEEDS MORE METHYL GROUPS

 

Most everyone, in our experience, does not have enough methyl groups.  This is the case even if a person is healthy, and even if a person eats a very healthful diet.  This may be due to some type of pollution that interferes with the body’s production of methyl groups.  It might also be due to some type of toxin or stress that everyone is exposed to today that increases the body’s need for methyl groups.  This is a current subject of research in nutritional balancing science.

 

OVERMETHYLATION?

 

Dr. Eck and other researchers believe that some people are overmethylated – that is, they have too many methyl groups.  This does not seem to be the case, however, in my experience, or it is extremely rare.  I have only seen this, so far, if a person takes too much trimethylglycine as a supplement.

 

Confusion of terminology.  Carl Pfeiffer, MD, PhD used the term undermethylated to describe some psychotic patients who are also described as histadelic or having high histamine levels and with low serum copper.  Among their primary symptoms are delusions, phobias, an obsessive-compulsive tendency and an adverse reaction to taking B-complex vitamins.

Overmethylated in Dr. Pfeiffer’s understanding is associated with histapenia, or low histamine and copper overload.  Among their symptoms are depression, low libido, panic disorder, onset after giving birth, dry eyes and mouth.  As mentioned above, however, I do not find that people with elevated copper or low histamine levels (slow oxidizers) are overmethylated.

 

SOURCES OF METHYL GROUPS

 

1. Endogenous production.  A healthy body makes many methyl groups.

 

2. Natural foods.  Methyl groups are also found in natural foods, especially quinoa, spinach, lamb, chicken, and beets.  Cooking may damage them a little, but the diet is a good source if one eats plenty of dark green cooked vegetables, for example.  Fewer are absorbed from raw foods, so salads are not a good source.

Processed foods and vegetarian foods are very poor sources of methyl groups.  Please strictly avoid vegetarian diets if you want to obtain enough methyl groups.

 

3. Supplements.  To supplement methyl groups, a useful chemical is TMG or trimethylglycine, also called betaine.  This will enhance methyl groups easily in the body.

Dosing this supplement is not always easy, however. Some people can only take a little, while others seem to do very well with amounts up to 3 grams (or 3000 mg) more even more daily.  If you feel dizzy, nauseous, or get a headache, just reduce the amount.  I am not sure if these symptoms are due to a toxicity, or, more likely, due to rapid detoxification caused by the TMG.

 

FACTORS THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH METHYLATION

 

            The following may affect methyl group formation:

 

1. A diet low in cooked vegetables.  Cooked vegetables provide most of the dietary methyl groups.

 

2. Sugars in the diet.  Especially today, sugars in any form at all appear to be harmful for proper methylation.  I am not sure of the reasons for this, but this is one reason I advise against eating any simple carbohydrates or sugars, including fruits and fruit juices, and all products made with these. 

 

3. Some fermented foods.  Fermented foods are a problem today for several reasons:

A. Some of them contain toxins called aldehydes.  These form during the production of the food item.  Aldehydes are quite toxic for the liver.  Examples of food items that contain aldehydes are kombucha tea, kimchi, and most fermented grains.  Please avoid all these products for best health, no matter what other benefits they may offer.

B. All fermented foods are also yin in macrobiotic terminology for at least two reasons: 1) they are basically raw foods, and 2) they contain ferments, which are bacteria or yeasts that tend to be more yin food components.

For both of the reasons above, eating a lot of fermented foods may increase the need for methyl groups in our bodies.

Fermented foods that are safe to eat in moderation include yogurt, kefir, miso and most good quality cheeses.  These do not contain as many aldehydes, so they are safe to eat.

 

Do not fill up on fermented foods.  Some health authorities strongly recommend eating loads of fermented foods due to some health benefits.  I do not agree with this due to the problems listed above.  Fermented foods, especially kombucha tea, can provide an energy boost, or “high”, so people think they are healthful when they are not.  Kombucha tea appears to contain an amphetamine-like substance that can be addictive.  For more on this topic, please read Kombucha Tea, Aldehydes and Fermented Foods.

 

4. Too much animal protein in the diet.  Too much methionine in some diets may negatively affect methylation.

 

5. Inflammation and infections in the body.  Fighting off these threats to life uses up more methyl groups.

 

6. Heavy metal toxicity, especially copper and mercury.  These may interfere with methyl group formation.

 

7. Use of high-dose niacin or niacinamide.  This reduces methyl groups because the body uses up methyl groups in order to detoxify and excrete niacin through the liver.  A dose below about 50 mg per day, however, should not be a problem.

 

8. Liver toxins.  Anything that is ingested, inhaled or comes into contact with the body that is toxic for the liver will be harmful for the formation of methyl donors.  Also, liver detoxification pathways require methyl groups, so exposure to liver toxins may use up more methyl groups.

 

9. Advancing age.  Production seems to decrease with age.

10. Male gender.  According to Paul Frankel, PhD and Fred Madsen, PhD, authors of Stop Homocysteine Through The Methylation Process (1998), women of child-bearing age have the best methylation, better than that of men. 

 

METHYLATION AND CANCER

 

            Cancer toxins appear to increase the need for methylating agents such as TMG.  A common reason people die with cancer is they cannot eliminate their toxic metals and toxic chemicals due to impaired methylation in the liver.  As a result, toxins accumulate until death occurs.  I originally learned about the use of supplementary TMG from a cancer specialist.

            

HAIR ANALYSIS INDICATORS FOR A NEED FOR METHYL DONORS

 

            This is a research area at this time.  Most everyone seems to need extra methyl groups.  Even more may be needed if a hair mineral test reveals:

 

1. Poor eliminators on an initial hair mineral analysis.  This indicates difficulty eliminating toxic metals.  Note that poor eliminator patterns that appear only on a retest do not indicate a need for methyl groups, and this phenomenon has a completely different meaning.  For more on this interesting topic, please read Poor Eliminator Patterns on this website.

 

2. A zinc level greater than about 20 mg% on an initial hair mineral test.  This is an indicator for the presence of hidden copper and perhaps other hidden toxic metals.

 

            3. A four lows pattern, especially on an initial mineral analysis.  This is a definite indicator of impaired methylation and a greater need for methyl groups.

 

4. A very slow oxidation rate.  This is always associated with copper toxicity, and often toxicity with other heavy metals.

 

5. Elevated mercury, which is almost universal today.

              

6. Elevated copper, and perhaps high levels of the other toxic metals.

 

All of these indicate hidden or deeply stored toxic metals.

 

ADVANCED HELP, MAGNESIUM AND METHYLATION

 

Rarely, during a nutritional balancing program, the hair magnesium level increases 50% or more on a retest analysis.  This pattern is called receiving help.  For more about it, please read the article entitled Interventions on this website.

When it occurs, the production of methyl groups increases.  This is wonderful, in all cases.  In part, at least, it is due to the replacement of an inferior magnesium compound in the body with a more biologically active form of magnesium.  The increase in the hair tissue magnesium is evidence of the elimination of the more toxic form of magnesium.  This is an interesting observation that seems to be born out consistently in practice.

 

Potassium and methylation.  Potassium can also increase rapidly on a retest hair analysis.  This is often caused by the elimination of a lower quality potassium compound (potassium chelate or potassium chloride in many cases) as the body heals.  Poor quality potassium finds it ways into our bodies from:

1) Toxic N-P-K or superphosphate fertilizers.  These are used on ALL of our foods today, even organic foods.  Fruits, in particular, take up the toxic potassium from the soil.  This is one of the main reasons I do not recommend eating fruit or fruit juices of any kind, no matter how nutritious they may seem.  Please read Superphosphate Fertilizers for more on this topic.

2) Toxic potassium also concentrates in male seminal fluid or semen, female sexual fluids, and amniotic fluid (the fluid that babies lay in within their mothers’ wombs).  Babies are thus born with more of this toxic potassium in their bodies, which they may be able to eliminate within the first two years of life if they follow a nutritional balancing program.  Otherwise, it often remains inside the body for years.  Homosexuals often have more of it, as well, that shows up on hair mineral tests.  For more on this topic, please read Toxic Potassium on this site.

 

The elimination of lower-quality magnesium and lower-quality potassium both seem to cause an increase in methyl group production in the body, although more research about this is needed.

 

A COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL BALANCING PROGRAM BEST TO RESTORE METHYLATION

 

I say this because only such a program includes improvements in the lifestyle such as more rest and toxin avoidance, a diet loaded with cooked vegetables, and not too high in protein, and very low in sugars.  The program also includes supplemental zinc, magnesium, copper, calcium, and other minerals needed to produce methyl groups.

Only a complete program, based on a properly performed hair mineral analysis, will lead to a more balanced body chemistry, the removal very deeply of two dozen toxic metals and hundreds of toxic chemicals, and the use of other methods such as the coffee enema and near infrared lamp sauna to restore full functioning of the body.  For more on nutritional balancing programs, read Introduction To Nutritional Balancing Science and other articles on this website.

To begin a nutritional balancing program, click here to find an Approved Practitioner. 


ZINC, THE GENTLE STRENGTH and BALANCING MINERAL

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© June 2015, The Center For Development

 

            Zinc is one of the most interesting and fascinating minerals needed in our bodies.  It is required for hundreds of enzymes that control functions as diverse as one’s eyesight, hearing, health of the skin, hair, nails, connective tissue, sexual function, digestion, immune response, vision and more.

            Zinc is also involved in protein synthesis, a vital function, where it is required for several key enzymes in RNA and DNA synthesis such as RNA transferase.  Let us examine the functions of zinc in more detail.

 

FUNCTIONS OF ZINC AND DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS

 

            Zinc plays so many important roles in the body they are hard to count.  Instead of just listing them, I will list some of the major symptoms associated with zinc imbalance.  I use the word imbalance rather than deficiency because the metabolism of zinc is tied closely to the metabolism of copper, selenium, chromium and other minerals.  

            

            Symptoms of Zinc Deficiency. These include:

 

            Skin. These include stretch marks on the skin, varicose veins, and, in fact, most cases of acne, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, boils, vitiligo, skin infections and many others.  They also often include white spots on the fingernails, although there are a few other causes of this symptom.

            Girls experience even more acne at times of the month because their period regulates zinc and copper levels.  When copper is higher than zinc, acne develops in many cases and is a symptom of a need for zinc and other minerals as well.

 

Yeast conditions.  Zinc is critical for the immune response, and zinc opposes or antagonizes too much copper in the body.  For these reasons, or perhaps others, a low tissue zinc level is highly associated with development of fungus and yeast conditions anywhere in the body.

 

            Menstrual and Female Reproductive Difficulties.  Zinc and copper are maintained in a delicate balance.  Many menstrual irregularities such as PMS are related to imbalances in this area.  We recommend zinc therapy, for example, for many cases of premenstrual syndrome and even for certain menopausal symptoms associated with so-called estrogen dominance.  Zinc has a moderating effect on these health conditions that is sometimes remarkable.

            Other conditions include cessation of the period in younger women who should have menstrual cycles, infertility, irritability and acne related to the period, and even some cramping associated with menstruation.

            Too much zinc given during pregnancy can rarely induce a miscarriage, so be careful with zinc during pregnancy.  The amount would need to exceed 50 mg daily or more to cause a problem, in most cases.  The miscarriage may occur because too much zinc lowers copper excessively, which affects the estrogen level.

 

            Growth And Development Of The Fetus.  Zinc is critical is for growth and development, both in the womb and after birth.  Thus, symptoms from birth defects to developmental delays of all kinds often have zinc imbalance, either as part or the entire cause.  Short stature, delayed testicular development, undescended testicles, and other growth problems often have zinc as a part or the entirety of the cause.

            

            Male Reproductive System. The prostate gland accumulates zinc more than any other tissue of the body.  Seminal fluid or sperm contains significant quantities of zinc.  Most male reproductive and prostate problems have zinc deficiency as part or as all of the cause.  

            These conditions may include prostatitis, enlarged prostate, prostate cancer and other metabolic conditions related to male infertility.  They also include erectile dysfunction and some male hormone imbalances such as low testosterone and perhaps other hormone-related conditions in men.

 

            Vision.  Zinc deficiency is involved in most vision problems.  Macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and night blindness, iritis and other infections are among them.  Eye doctors are about the only medical specialty that regularly supplements patients with zinc.

            The retina of the eye is one of the riches tissues in zinc in the human body and one of the tissues most dependent on zinc, along with the male prostate gland and the intestines.

            

            The Brain.  Zinc is thought to be a calming neurotransmitter in its own right.  Symptoms of zinc problems include hyperactivity, ADD and ADHD, anxiety, irritability, nervousness, emotional instability, mood swings, bipolar disorder and many other mental and emotional symptoms.  Conditions such as epilepsy, seizures, schizophrenia and other severe emotional disturbances often have zinc deficiency as a part of their cause.  Zinc is considered a “sedative mineral” due to its effect on the central nervous system.

            Zinc is also required for higher mental functioning and for mental development of the neocortex or new brain.  Zinc is therefore an essential mineral in nutritional balancing science for mental and spiritual development.

 

            The Immune Response.  I prefer the words ‘immune response’ instead of ‘immune system’ because all body systems are involved with immunity.  Zinc is critical for this area of functioning, both in humans and in animals.  It is helpful to prevent all infections and to treat skin infections and others.  Those with AIDS, in particular, often benefit from zinc supplementation.  Vegetarians often develop more infections because their zinc levels tend to be much lower.

            Zinc is often given for colds, flu and many acute infections as it is generally helpful for these problems.  It works closely with copper in the immune response.  

 

            Digestive system.  Zinc is extremely important here.  It is required for all digestive enzyme production.  It is also required to rebuild the fast-growing intestinal tissue, and for the production of bile, and liver and pancreatic secretions.  Ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, colitis, and many other digestive problems often have to do with low zinc.

 

            Cardiovascular system.  Zinc is required to give flexibility to the arteries and veins.  Common deficiency symptoms include hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, aneurysms, strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. 

            

            Surgery and wound healing.  Taking zinc before surgery can be most helpful to prevent complications such as infections, and perhaps even adhesions.  Zinc is also required for wound healing, so it may help speed healing and prevent scarring, as well.            

 

            Mental development.  Zinc is required for what is called on this website mental development.  This is a specific process in which brain capacity increases, the immune response improves, the thymus gland either rebuilds or does not atrophy with age, and other changes.

 

Other. Zinc is essential for all connective tissue.  Symptoms of imbalance or deficiency include problems with tendons and ligaments such as tendonitis, bursitis and, in particular, inflammatory symptoms.  Zinc is a highly anti-inflammatory mineral needed to balance copper and other more pro-inflammatory substances in the body. 

 

SOURCES OF ZINC AND A WORLDWIDE ZINC DEFICIENCY

 

            Few good sources of bioavailable zinc exist today for very important reasons:

 

1.  Most of the world’s soils are zinc deficient.  This is a serious problem around the world.  Zinc is not replaced enough on today’s soils in most cases, as it is a more costly mineral to fertilize with.

2. Hybrid crops produce more food per acre, but this means that each stalk of wheat or corn or vegetables has much less zinc than in earlier times when hybrids were not used.

3. Zinc and other trace elements are removed when wheat, rice, corn, sugar and even salt are refined.  Sadly, most people are living on these refined and empty foods.  For example, natural sea salt would provide some zinc, but most is thoroughly refined, which means the zinc is removed and sold separately.  This is one reason table salt is a very poor quality food.  

Some foods, especially frozen vegetables and perhaps meats, are sprayed with EDTA to retain their color.  This chemical removes some of the zinc from the food, and this essentially prevents the zinc from “tarnishing”, which would discolor the food.  However, this practice results in less zinc and other trace minerals such as chromium in the food.

4. Most babies are born low in zinc.  This is because their mothers tends to be low in zinc, so the babies do not obtain enough in utero.

5. Vegetarian or near vegetarian diets are much lower in zinc.  This is explained below, but the main reason is that the only good food sources of zinc are meats, especially red meats.

6. Stress depletes zinc very quickly, at times in minutes.  This is part of the body’s response to stress.  This fact is well known, for example, in burn units at hospitals, where zinc deficiency occurs quickly.

7. Special times in life require more zinc.  This includes, childhood, puberty, pregnancy, breast feeding, and old age.  Any stressful situation, during infections, and the presence of chronic illness will also require more zinc in the diet.

For example, diabetics need much more zinc.  Also, low zinc in boys around the age of puberty is one reason they do not grow tall as fast as the girls at that age.  Later, the boys catch up, but the boys are using their inadequate zinc to develop the prostate gland and testicles, and there is insufficient zinc to enable them to grow taller at that age, in many cases.  This is so common it is considered normal today.

 

For all the reasons above, zinc deficiency is a major problem for everyone, throughout the world.

 

            Food sources.  Zinc is found mainly in red meats.  It is found in chicken, turkey and even fish and eggs to some degree, as it is involved with all animal enzyme systems to some extent.  It is not found much in the vegetable kingdom, and for good reason.  It is not required there as much.  

Among the vegetarian sources are pumpkin seeds and a few other vegetables such as kelp, dulse and other sea vegetables.  However, in general, vegetarians are even more deficient in zinc, most dangerously, so because it is harder to obtain and utilize from vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and other vegetarian foods. 

            

            Other sources of zinc include skin ointments such as zinc oxide, Caladril and many others.  Zinc is used often in these products because it has a soothing and healing effect on the skin.            Head And Shoulders shampoo is also quite high in zinc.  It is not the best form of zinc, but some is absorbed from the product.  Zinc here is used to help overcome problems with dandruff, which is a fungal infection of the scalp.  Zinc is excellent for this purpose, and less toxic than using Selsun Blue Shampoo.

 

IDENTIFYING ZINC DEFICIENCY

 

            There are several ways to assess zinc status in the body.  Serum blood tests are useless, in general, as zinc does not accumulate in the blood serum.  

            A few holistic doctors use white blood cell zinc levels to assess total body zinc.  This provides some  information.  However, it is not too reliable.  

            Urine and feces.   These methods of assessing zinc are not considered reliable because they depend too much on the last day’s meals, for example, and other factors such as absorption of dietary zinc. 

              In fact, most people are quite low in zinc, if not everyone today.  Therefore, the question usually becomes how much supplemental zinc is needed, rather than whether the person is deficient or not.

 

ZINC ASSESSMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION IN NUTRITIONAL BALANCING SCIENCE

 

            According to the research by Dr. Paul Eck, Dr. Carl Pfeiffer and a few other zinc researchers, everyone requires more zinc.  This should be obvious based upon all the symptoms discussed above.  For this reason, Dr. Eck gave everyone a zinc supplement and recommended that everyone eat some animal protein, basically on a daily basis. 

            However, Dr. Eck found that zinc interacts with other minerals, so one must be careful about exactly how much zinc each person receives.  He also found that the hair zinc level, like the serum and white blood cell zinc levels, are not reliable enough ways to decide how much zinc to supplement.

            Instead, through much trial and error, as well as theorizing, he found that the sodium/potassium ratio on a properly performed hair mineral analysis is the best way to assess the need for zinc.

 

The hair zinc level.  Hair tests often indicate an adequate level of zinc and this is deceptive, in my experience.  An ideal hair zinc level is between about 14 mg% and 16 mg%.  Fast oxidizers may have a slightly lower ideal hair zinc level around 13 or 14 mg%, in my experience.

Low hair zinc. A hair zinc level below about 13 mg% often indicates a more severe zinc deficiency.  However, at times, a low hair zinc is caused by the body attempting to defend or compensate for a low sodium level or a low sodium/potassium ratio.  The concept of defenders is more advanced, and discussed in the article The Theory Of Nutritional Balancing.

Elevated hair zinc. A hair zinc level greater than about 15 mg% is due, in our experience, to the presence of toxic metals, usually copper.  The body may use zinc in some way to protect the body from the ravages of the other toxic metal.

An elevated hair zinc is almost never due to excess zinc in the body.  Zinc poisoning is rare, and could happen  due to occupational or some other exposure.  This only occurs in zinc miners and others who are exposed to large amounts of zinc ore and zinc dust.  There is simply not excessive zinc in the soil, the food, the air, water and other common places that overload would occur easily.

In a few cases, an elevated hair zinc level is found in those clients who are using Head and Shoulders Shampoo.  While the hair level is high, this does not mean the body is too high in zinc.  The zinc is basically on the scalp and skin, not all throughout the body.

Elevated zinc above about 25 mg% on a properly performed hair mineral analysis in which the hair is not washed at the laboratory may also be indicative of a tendency for violence.  This is interesting and is still being researched at this time (2011).

 

            Using the hair sodium/potassium ratio to assess the need for zinc.  Dr. Eck brilliantly decided to use the Na/K ratio to quantify the need for extra zinc.  As a rule, the higher the Na/K ratio above about 2.5:1, the more zinc that is given  The amount varies from about 44 mg daily to over 130 mg daily when the Na/K ratio is above about 16.

            The lower the Na/K ratio, the more zinc is also given.  However, and this is critical, it must be given in conjunction with copper and manganese, and some vitamin C.  Otherwise, giving zinc alone when the sodium/potassium ratio is low will tend to make the ratio lower, worsening the mineral balance.  The amount of zinc given to those with a low Na/K ratio varies between about 16 to 50 mg, or even more if the Na/K ratio is less than about 1:1. 

            

            Zinc overdose symptoms.  If one takes too much zinc in supplement form only, symptoms that appear similar to zinc deficiency will often occur.  They may include prostatitis, vision problems, skin difficulties and more.  Emotional symptoms may also occur, but are less likely.

            The cause for these appears to be copper depletion due to excessive zinc intake.  Interestingly, the symptoms appear very similar to zinc deficiency.  I do not think symptoms are due to zinc biounavailablity, but this is possible if copper becomes depleted enough because zinc and copper are synergists, as well as antagonists.  The remedy for the problem is to stop taking zinc and increase copper intake for a few days to a few weeks.  This usually causes symptoms to clear rapidly. 

 

RELATIONSHIPS TO OTHER MINERALS

 

            Calcium, magnesium and zinc - the sedative minerals.  Zinc, along with calcium and magnesium, are called sedatives because all three help inhibit excessive sympathetic nervous system activity.  They all inhibit excessive brain activity.  Zinc, in fact, is considered by some authorities to be a calming neurotransmitter in its own right. 

 

            Zinc tends to lower hair sodium levels.  This is part of the complex mineral system of the body in which every mineral affects the level of other minerals in unique ways.  This does not tend to affect serum levels, as these are regulated differently than the tissue levels of most minerals.

 

            Zinc may raise or lower the hair calcium depending on the situation.  In slow oxidizers, it powerfully helps lower calcium by helping to restore adrenal activity.  Excessive zinc, however, may raise hair calcium by lowering sodium excessively.

            In fast oxidizers, zinc has a parasympathetic effect that can help raise a low tissue calcium and balance elevated tissue sodium and potassium levels.  Thus, overall, zinc tends to balance hair tissue calcium levels, just as it often balances potassium levels as well.  

 

            Zinc raises potassium in a slow oxidizer and tends to lower it in fast oxidizers.  When the hair potassium level is low, taking zinc is far more effective in helping to raise it than taking potassium.

            In fast oxidizers, zinc helps to slow the oxidation rate.  Therefore, it tends to reduce the hair potassium level in a fast oxidizer.  In this regard, zinc functions as an adaptogen element, which means that it tends to balance both a high or a low calcium level.

 

            Zinc and the other trace minerals.  This becomes complex.  Basically, zinc can inhibit the absorption of the other trace minerals such as manganese, chromium and others.  This is due to “competitive inhibition” at the level of the intestines.  

            This means that the same transporters that adsorb zinc through the intestines are used by the body to adsorb the other trace minerals.  Therefore, taking extra zinc may inhibit the adsorption of the others.

            However, zinc is synergistic or synergetic with many other trace minerals such as selenium, chromium and others at other levels of metabolism.  In other words, having enough zinc present helps these other minerals to be used properly, including even copper.  They work well together at certain functions in the body such as energy production in the Krebs cycle and specifically the electron transport system.

 

ZINC AND SPIRITUALITY

 

            In the nutritional balancing approach to health, zinc is considered one of the major spiritual minerals.  the reason for this is that zinc activates certain brain centers that are needed for mental development.  This is a very precise and specific process that our clients go through if they follow a nutritional balancing program correctly.  To learn more about it, read the section of articles on this website entitled Development.  Click here to go to this section of articles.

 

A HIGH ZINC PERSONALITY

 

             This is not too common.  Those with high zinc tend to be less emotional, a bit cold or harsh, perhaps, very analytical, and kind underneath.

 

ZINC AS A “MALE” MINERAL

 

            Zinc is considered a “male” mineral in nutritional balancing science for several reasons.  It is required by both men and women.  However, it is considered more essential for men, especially in the prostate gland.  

            Zinc also confers certain qualities on the personality that are considered more “male” qualities.  These are subdued emotions, a more analytical tendency rather than an emotional one, and a very balanced mental outlook.  This is also why zinc is called the “gentle strength” mineral.

            Zinc also has qualities that are sometimes described as an adaptogen.  This means that it tends to balance things out in several directions.  While needed by both men and women in all cases, this is also considered a more “male” quality of this mineral. 

 


VITAMIN K

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© October 2014, The Center For Development 

            

I am often asked why we do not recommend supplemental vitamin K.  The quick answer is that your body can convert K1 to K2 if you eat enough cooked vegetables, as we recommend.

 

VITAMIN K SHOTS FOR BABIES  

 

I do not recommend vitamin K shots for babies.  If the mother is eating a lot of cooked vegetables, the baby should have plenty of vitamin K.  If not, then an oral dose of vitamin K is best.  Here is an article on the subject:

 

The High Risks of Vitamin K Shot for Your Newborn Baby - Mercola

articles.mercola.com/.../high-risks-to-your-baby-from-vitamin-k-shot-they- dont-warn-you-about.aspx?

Mar 27, 2010 ... Learn the dark side of the routine newborn Vitamin K shot that may lead to serious injury or death.

 

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT VITAMIN K

 

Here is some basic information about vitamin K, an extremely important vitamin.  It has two BASIC forms and many sub-forms:

 

1. K1 is also called phylloquinone.  It is found in many green vegetables, and it is not damaged much by cooking, so cooked vegetables are an excellent source.  It is primarily involved in blood clotting, but also assists with cardiovascular health and other functions in the body.

2. Vitamin K2 is called menaquinone or MK.  It is manufactured in the intestines and in the peripheral tissues as well, provided that you eat enough of vitamin K1.  Therefore, you should not have to take a supplement if this is the case.  It is also found in some green vegetables, and in cheese and natto, a Japanese food.

Here are some papers that support this idea, taken from the Vitamin D Council website (www.vitamindcouncil.org):

 

“As early as 1994, researchers had discovered that K1 converted into K2 in the body.

Thijssen HH, Drittij-Reijnders MJ.  Vitamin K distribution in rat tissues: dietary phylloquinone is a source of tissue menaquinone-4. Br J Nutr. 1994 Sep;72(3):415-25.

In 1998, researchers confirmed that K1 is metabolized into K2 and that metabolism had nothing to do with intestinal bacteria. Sterile mice metabolized ingested K1 into K2.

Ronden JE, Drittij-Reijnders MJ, Vermeer C, Thijssen HH. Intestinal flora is not an intermediate in the phylloquinone-menaquinone-4 conversion in the rat.  Biochim Biophys Acta. 1998 Jan 8;1379(1):69-75.

In 2006, researchers confirmed this conversion takes place in humans.

Thijssen HH, Vervoort LM, Schurgers LJ, Shearer MJ.  Menadione is a metabolite of oral vitamin K. Br J Nutr. 2006 Feb;95(2):260-6.

There appears to be two sites of conversion of K1 to K2, one in the intestine and another in peripheral tissues.

Okano T, Shimomura Y, Yamane M, Suhara Y, Kamao M, Sugiura M, Nakagawa K Conversion of phylloquinone (Vitamin K1) into menaquinone-4 (Vitamin K2) in mice: two possible routes for menaquinone-4 accumulation in cerebra of mice. J Biol Chem. 2008 Apr 25;283(17):11270-9. Epub 2007 Dec 14.

Recently, the mechanism by which the body turns vitamin K1 into vitamin K2 was clarified. It occurs through an intermediary molecule, vitamin K3, which is made in the intestine from vitamin K1.

Hirota Y, et al.  Menadione (vitamin K3) is a catabolic product of oral phylloquinone (vitamin K1) in the intestine and a circulating precursor of tissue menaquinone-4 (vitamin K2) in rats. J Biol Chem. 2013 Sep 30.

I cannot put my hands on it now, but I read a paper that actually showed K2 content in peripheral organs is higher after vitamin K1 ingestion than K2 ingestion.

It seems that it could be the case that modern humans are deficient in K2 because they do not eat large quantities of vitamin K1 containing foods. If we look at Paleolithic humans, they probably got high amount of vitamin K2 from eating large quantities of kale and spinach-like foods, very high in K1, which then supplied their tissues with all the vitamin K2 they needed.”

WHAT DOES VITAMIN K DO?

 

Vitamin K helps prevent calcification of the arteries and heart disease, helps prevent osteoporosis, and perhaps other diseases such as cancer and diabetes.  It can help prevent varicose veins as well, and more.  It is synergistic with vitamins A and D, among others.  It is another fat-soluble vitamin, as are vitamins A and D.

 

Why I do not recommend vitamin K supplements.  We do not usually give supplementary vitamin K because it is not needed if one follows a diet that contains plenty of cooked vegetables, meats that are not overcooked, and perhaps a little raw dairy products or at least some good quality pasteurized or raw butter.  When using butter, preferably do not cook it, but just put it on or over your food to preserve the vitamin K.

We also do not recommend vitamin K supplements because they are more yin, in Chinese medical terms, and this is harmful.

 

Below is a recent article about vitamin K that I am taking the liberty to reprint, as I felt it is a summary of some recent research on vitamin K.

 

VITAMIN K by Stephan Guyenet

 

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Vitamin K2, menatetrenone (MK-4) 

 

Weston Price established the importance of the MK-4 isoform of vitamin K2 (hereafter, K2) with a series of interesting experiments. He showed in chickens that blood levels of calcium and phosphorus depended both on vitamin A and K2, and that the two had synergistic effects on mineral absorption. He also showed that chickens preferred eating butter that was rich in K2 over butter low in K2, even when the investigators couldn't distinguish between them. Young turkeys fed K2-containing butter oil along with cod liver oil (A and D) also grew at a much faster rate than turkeys fed cod liver oil alone. 

 He hypothesized that vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin K2 were synergistic and essential for proper growth and subsequent health. He particularly felt that the combination was important for proper mineral absorption and metabolism. He used a combination of high-vitamin cod liver oil and high-vitamin butter oil to heal cavities, reduce oral bacteria counts, and cure numerous other afflictions in his patients. He also showed that the healthy non-industrial groups he studied had a much higher intake of these fat-soluble, animal-derived vitamins than more modern cultures. 

 Price found an inverse correlation between the levels of K2 in butter and mortality from cardiovascular disease and pneumonia in a number of different regions. A recent study examined the relationship between K2 (MK-4 through 10) consumption and heart attack risk in 4,600 Dutch men. They found a strong inverse association between K2 consumption and heart attack mortality risk. Men with the highest K2 consumption had a whopping 51% lower risk of heart attack mortality and a 26% lower risk of death from all causes compared to men eating the least K2! Their sources of K2 MK-4 were eggs, meats and dairy. They obtained MK-5 through MK-10 from fermented foods and fish. The investigators found no association with K1, the form found in plants. 

Perigord, France is the world's capital of foie gras, or fatty goose liver. Good news for the bon vivants: foie gras turns out to be the richest known source of K2. Perigord also has the lowest rate of cardiovascular mortality in France, a country already noted for its low CVD mortality.

 Rats fed warfarin, a drug that inhibits K2 recycling, develop arterial calcification. Feeding the rats K2 completely inhibits this effect. Mice lacking matrix Gla protein (MGP), a vitamin K-dependent protein that guards against arterial calcification, develop heavily calcified aortas and die prematurely. So the link between K2 and cardiovascular disease is a very strong one. 

 Mammals can synthesize K2 MK-4 from K1, but humans seem to be bad at it since most of us are K2 deficient despite eating ample K1. This suggests that through evolution, we lost the ability to synthesize K2 in sufficient amounts because we always obtained it abundantly in our diets from nutrient-dense animal tissues.

 The synergism Weston Price observed between vitamins A, D and K2 now has a solid mechanism. In a nutshell, vitamins A and D signal the production of some very important proteins, and K2 is required to activate them once they are made. Many of these proteins are involved in mineral metabolism, thus the effects Price saw in his experiments and observations in non-industrialized cultures. For example, osteocalcin is a protein that organizes calcium and phosphorus deposition in the bones and teeth. It's produced by cells in response to vitamins A and D, but requires K2 to perform its function. This suggests that the effects of vitamin D on bone health could be amplified greatly if it were administered along with K2. By itself, K2 is already highly protective against fractures in the elderly. It works out perfectly, since K2 also protects against vitamin D toxicity. 

 I'm not going to go through all the other data on K2 in detail, but suffice it to say it's important. I believe that K2 is a 'missing link' that explains many of our modern ills, just as Weston Price wrote. Here are a few more tidbits to whet your appetite: K2 may affect glucose control and insulin release (1, 2). It's concentrated in the brain, serving an as yet unknown function. 

 Hunter-gatherers didn't have multivitamins, they had nutrient-dense food. As long as you eat a natural diet containing some vegetables and some animal products, and lay off the processed grains, sugar and vegetable oil, the micronutrients will take care of themselves.

 Vitamin K2, MK-4 is only found in animal products. The best sources known are grass-fed butter from cows eating rapidly growing grass, and foie gras. K2 tends to associate with beta-carotene in butter, so the darker the color, the more K2 it contains (also, the better it tastes). Fish eggs, other grass-fed dairy, shellfish, insects and other organ meats are also good sources. Chris Masterjohn compiled a list of food sources in his excellent article on the Weston Price foundation website. I highly recommend reading it if you want more detail. K2 MK-7 is found abundantly in natto, a type of fermented soybean, and seems to have some of the same effects as MK-4 on bone health in clinical trials. However, it is not the from of K2 that mammals synthesize for themselves so I'm not convinced it's the real thing.