Friday 8 May 2009

Are you what you eat?


Thousands of people die because of their medicine’s side effects each year. Since 1996 the casualties through medicine has doubled. Doctors prescribe more and stronger drugs, which can lead to more side effects. The pharmaceutical industry sells £600 billion of drugs a year, says Patrick Holford, nutritionist and author of 35 books. In America one in nine women take anti-depressants. But is this all necessary?

“All of today’s major health issues can be solved by simple, radical changes in the way we live and eat – not by more and more drugs,” says Patrick Holford. In case of depression, he recommends getting omega 3 fats, zinc and magnesium into one’s system. A lack of these nutrients can contribute to feeling low.
A headache could be caused by dehydration, blood sugar problems, allergies to food and a lack of Vitamin B. Just a change of diet could cure a chronic, annoying headache.
Hazel Courteney, an award-winning health writer, who has worked as a columnist for the Daily Mail and Sunday Times, says that cutting down on alcohol, coffee, high fat and sugary processed foods and drinks can often help cure acne in most young people. She explained that these foods overload the liver, which is the organ responsible for breaking down and eliminating toxins and excess hormones, which are usually the trigger for acne in the young. If the liver becomes overloaded, then toxins remain in the body, triggering a host of conditions including acne, as toxins end up being “dumped” in the skin.

However, people should not rely on food as medicine at all times. Most nutritionists point out that a health food shop should not replace a doctor’s office. Melanie Flower, a nutritional therapist, says that nutritional medicine “is best used as a lifestyle choice to prevent future chronic health conditions. Orthodox medicine is fantastic at dealing with medical emergencies.”

But to cure chronic degenerative diseases, there is often no need to swallow hundreds of pills. All you need to do is change your diet. Doctors keep prescribing drugs, because they hardly know anything about the healing effect of the right diet. Patrick Holford says: “A young GP’s training is hopelessly inadequate and covers virtually nothing on nutritional medicine. If your doctor is over the age of 35, then the chances are, in seven years training they will have had six to 12 hours education in nutrition, most of which is very basic.”
Suyogi Gessner, who practises ayurveda, an alternative medicine native to India, gives another explanation. According to her, a patient expects a doctor to perform a miracle and cure as fast as possible. Food is a medicine that takes time to cure, whereas drugs work very fast. For patients, it is easy to take a pill, because they do not have to change their diet and can continue living their lives the way they did before, without changing their diets. What they do not realize, is that their illness might have been the result of a wrong diet.

“Prevention is far better than cure,” says Hazel Courteney. “Your body is made of food molecules, your body is literally made of what you eat, plus light, air and water.” Apparently, as much as 75 per cent of all chronic degenerative diseases are triggered by a poor diet, lacking in sufficient nutrients. Most cancer cells feed on sugar. But even if you inherit a specific cancer gene, you can help load the generic “dice” in your favour by eating anti cancerous foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Patrick Holford recommends an intake of around 30mcg of Vitamin D a day to achieve the lowest cancer risk. A human being can take in 15mcg of Vitamin D by eating plenty of oily fish and eggs as well as 30 minutes of sun exposure. The other 15mcg have to be supplemented.

A lot of people think that supplements are just a rip-off. The number of supplements and suppliers is inestimable. Nutritionist therapist Melanie Flower says: “Some supplements are a rip off and some are extremely valuable. There is a lot of variation in what is available today. It is always best to see the advice of a qualified nutrition practitioner before taking supplements.” Hazel Courteney emphasizes the importance to eat enough vitamins, minerals and essential fats. “Supplements should never be used as a substitute for a healthy, balance diet,” she says. But supplements are better than nothing and maybe necessary, since nowadays
many fruits and vegetables contain lower levels of nutrients than they did 50 years ago.

Especially in the spring it is very important to eat a lot of fresh vegetables in order to achieve an optimum vitamin intake. The spring is the time of rebirth. The nature reawakens. Not only our houses, but also our bodies need a spring clean. Suyogi Gessner says, the body needs to get all substances out of its system that has been accumulated during the winter. We should eat easily digested food, such as rice and fresh prepared soups. She also recommends going on a fast for 10 days eating vegetables and mung bean soup.

We should not underestimate the curing effect of nutrition. “If medicine was meant to be used on a daily basis, nature would have let it grow on trees,” says Michael Gehler, a non-medical practitioner. A good place to start changing the diet is reading “The Optimum Nutrition Bible” by Patrick Holford. He said: “This stuff should be taught in school.”

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