MIND WHAT YOU EAT
how small changes in your diet can make big changes in your life.
by
Yana Shumilova & Ilya Fedorov
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Yana Shumilova and Ilya Fedorov on Smashwords
Mind what you eat
©2009-2010 Yana Shumilova and Ilya Fedorov
Photography by: Ilya Fedorov and Yana Shumilova
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Part 2. What Your Body Does Not Need
DEDICATION
To our little daughter Natasha for all the lessons and challenges she brought to us and all of those that she still has to bring to lead us to knowledge and wisdom.
DISCLAIMER
This information is intended to inform readers about nutritional requirements and their health correlation as well as how to assess nutritional value and potential side effects of foods and must not be considered as a medical advice. See your qualified healthcare professional for medical attention, advice, diagnosis and treatment. And keep in mind that anyone who is setting out on any lifestyle change – diet, supplements, drugs, exercise – intended to prevent or treat a specific disease or condition should first consult a qualified healthcare provider to get the green light and be monitored by them. The reader takes full legal responsibility for whatever decision they make regarding their own health care. The authors do not accept liability if readers choose to self-prescribe.
From Ilya
I have to say I had a happy childhood. I got heaps of love and attention from my parents. It was a wonderful time, except for one thing – a big heap of allergies. My mother struggled to understand why. She said I was completely red and had no hair at the age of two.
As often happens, doctors were prescribing creams which had no effect on me. With a difficult job of writing a diary and controlling every bit of food I ate, my mother managed to keep my skin condition on an acceptable level. I was not reddish anymore, I had hair, but I still suffered from wet and bleeding eczema on my elbows, knees and fingers.
I remember one day we went to our friends' home; they had a big black dog and I liked to play with it. Near the end of the party I started coughing; they gave me some water, but the cough didn't stop. Later on doctors told us it was asthma and I could not play with dogs and cats anymore. As a five-year-old child I found it really difficult to understand what was going on, and I felt, deep inside, that it was really unfair.
From time to time, without my parents' approval, I would try to bring kittens home – they are so cute! They would be removed from the house the very next morning as I would get severe asthma attacks.
Later many things would cause shortness of breath – wet weather, dust, feathers. Even some meals could trigger an asthma attack. The eczema did not stop either. I was kept away from sweets of any kind. The fact that my brother was absolutely fine with pets and sweets made it even harder for me. Often I went to sleep perfectly all right and woke up with bleeding skin – I had scratched it until it bled while sleeping. It was a nightmare for about 20 years.
During my school years I had swollen fingers from eczema and sometimes red and swollen skin on my face, accompanied by acne. University did not bring any changes except a higher level of stress which in turn made the allergy symptoms worse; I also developed varicose veins on my legs. And of course these symptoms lowered my self-confidence and ruined any desire to go out in public.
My wife Yana and I were greatly concerned when our two–year-old daughter Natasha showed signs of eczema. Although it was not as bad as the eczema I had as a child, it seemed uncontrollable and soon it spread from her neck to her elbows, face and knees.
We already knew that eczema can lead to the development of asthma. So we started to fight. We began to read books and scientific articles on the Internet. Our daughter gave us the impetus to change our life for the better. If only I had known that all those symptoms had the same root I could have had a completely different childhood.
Now my skin is clear and free from eczema. I do not have asthma attacks, and even the strongest trigger – cats – are not as strong anymore, so I can at least visit friends who keep cats. This contact does trigger some asthmatic reaction, but I know how to control it without medication. Natasha is free from her eczema; I am glad she can play with pets. Although we can't keep cats, we do have a big parrot at home. And yes, Natasha can eat sweets; moreover, she understands her body and can moderate her intake of sweets and other allergens by herself.
Our main finding is that no one can show you the right way to wellbeing. It is like riding a bike – you have to learn how to keep balance. You cannot read a book to 'Learn to ride a bicycle in three days' and then go out cycling. It is similar with your health; keep away from magic pills promising fast recovery – at best they will only hide your symptoms. What you need to do is work with your body and learn how to 'keep balance'. You will try and fail, but learn from your experiences. Sooner or later you will know how to maintain the balance within your body – that is, to be healthy.
From Yana
It all started in January 2008. Natasha fell down and scratched her palms. The scratches would not heal and looked quite odd. I did not accept my child had a food allergy till she got eczema on her neck – large sores, red and bleeding. We had to cut her hair so it did not irritate her neck even more.
Trying to find the cause of her allergy, we started to exclude one food after another – chocolate brownies, lollies, oranges, ice cream, sugar-coated cookies, grapes, white bread… At that time her diet was pretty simple – drumsticks, coloured and sweetened yoghurt, sweets, occasionally fruit and fast food. She would not try anything new, especially if it was green.
When we removed commercial sweets, Natasha's neck eczema healed and never came back. But by that time she had eczema on her elbows, knees, forearms and sometimes on her face, back, tummy and thighs. Eczema was travelling around her body while we were trying to figure out where each new spot was coming from.
Our kindy was not particularly attentive to the new diet requirements. So we needed to teach our three-year-old girl to reject any sweet food she was given. Not being allowed sweets and having to decline them when offered is very difficult, even for adults. It was a very painful experience for her, but she did really well. Her eczema started to vanish.
Within a year Natasha was no longer a fussy eater. She was eating most vegetables and fruits; her favourite foods were carrot and capsicum. She was willing to try whatever we cooked (but that didn't mean she liked everything she tried). She had 'clear' periods more and more and during those times was allowed to choose one food from the 'restricted list'. Usually that led to new eczema but, over time, symptoms were becoming less severe.
To support Natasha we have stuck to the same diet as her from the very beginning. However, we had to stop eating more and more foods which seemed to cause her eczema. So we had to make sure the food we ate provided us with the nutrition our bodies needed.
That's when we started to look at nutrition, alternative healing diets and the nutritional value of food. I spent many days just recording what each of us ate and analysing its nutritional value so we knew what diet corrections were required. It turned out that essentially all nutritional recommendations are the same. Some researchers advocate increasing the recommended doses of a couple of particular nutrients, but many people do not meet even the minimum recommendations! So we took the official recommendation as the basis for our diet assessment, along with a few 'extras' from other researchers.
When we brought our diet in line with the nutritional recommendations all of us felt the difference – Natasha's behaviour, sleep and attitude improved. I learnt what good digestion is all about. My headaches and dizziness – something I had got used to – went as well. Our immunity improved.
It took us two years to heal Natasha's eczema completely. Now four-year-old Natasha is allowed to eat whatever she wants as long as she manages her allergy. For the first month or two she was choosing junk food too often – after all, she had waited for two long years to try those foods! But often she decided afterwards that it isn't that tasty after all. Overall her body became way more tolerant, so even when she ate too much of her former allergens she got only a light reaction which healed in a couple of days. She learnt to understand the consequences of eating certain foods – eczema, indigestion or mood swings.
In this book we are presenting the knowledge and experience we have gathered in those two years, which was so valuable for us and changed our lives for the better. During our research we had to go through many sources written in different languages and originating from different cultures. We have brought everything together for you in simple language to save you having to search for it and interpret it all. The book contains references to other sources for those of you who need more information. We hope it will be of great help and a good starting point for anyone who wishes to improve their health.
While there are numerous views on human origin – whether man was created by God or is a result of evolution – we are sure everyone will agree that human beings have been 'designed' to be part of a larger ecosystem (at least within the sphere of the sun and the earth).
To function properly the human body needs various nutrients and energy, which it cannot produce itself. Instinctively we seek help from plants. They take water and solar energy and turn indigestible soil into vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and energy suitable for humans.
Over the centuries men learnt to gather food by foraging in forests and hunting animals. To do so they needed to have an appropriate level of fitness and strength. Generally, they were a part of nature and their bodies were working 'as designed'.
Nice picture. What happened next?
Later, people found that growing and selecting plants saved a lot of time and was far more effective, as cultivated plants produced more food. Then in the same way as they did with plants, people began to adopt and cultivate animals – for milk, meat and wool. At that stage men were becoming 'separated' from nature, although they were still eating the same natural food. The earth and sun were still providing plants and animals with the proper elements.
Separation from their natural habitat continued as the human population started to split itself into castes. Upper castes were demanding more and more sophisticated, refined food. To achieve this, the lower castes of people were spending a lot of time and effort making grains look white and making refined, white bread that is extremely soft.
'Well-off' people were quite often pale and sick. Scientists had not yet discovered that refined food had a higher concentration of bad elements and was lacking in the essential nutrients provided by the earth and the sun. Nowadays we know, for example, that refining wheat removes bran and wheat germ leaving only endosperm, which is starch and protein. With bran, essential minerals and fibre are removed. With wheat germ go vitamins B and E and essential omega fats.
However, refined foods became an attribute of non achievable high society lifestyle in the minds of others. This, in turn, inevitably boosted the popularity of refined food in later years when technology made it affordable for everyone. The scale of food making changed from a household business into an industry. Food producers liked the idea of refining food, simply because it was easier to handle and it had longer shelf life, hence less spoilage. That's when people moved away from eating 'as designed by nature' and began to suffer the consequences which manifested themselves as minor and major health issues.
About 50 years ago a number of discoveries in the chemical industry boosted the development of the pharmaceutical and food industries. Since then, these industries have been working hand in hand, resulting in many tonnes of additives being added to our food annually.
Over the years producing food 'to eat' became producing food 'to sell for profit'. We all know that any business can only survive by following a 'spend less and get more' ideology. This is quite different from – and in fact has nothing to do with – the original concept that our food should supply us with all the necessary elements and energy.
People are getting more and more distant from the idea of growing plants and cooking for themselves. Just think for a moment– when was the last time you ate tomatoes from your own garden? Life is always busy – fast food, takeaways, restaurants – let's face it, we really don't know what we eat, how vegetables are grown, what animals are being fed or how food is cooked in restaurants.
We are still designed to have food from natural sources but it is not so easy to find it nowadays. Faced with the variety of refined, chemically altered and unnatural food available, we have to be rather smart and make informed decisions to keep ourselves healthy.
Our bodies are getting less and less tolerant of what we eat. It is manifested in different forms of food intolerances and allergies which in the long run turn into diseases. Illness is just a result of the body being out of balance (long-term lack of nutrients, an overload of toxins, stress and so on). Provide the body with what is necessary and remove what is harmful so the body can balance (heal) itself.
The purpose of this book is to provide you with the opportunity to make informed choices– it gives you information on sources of useful nutrients and what to avoid.
Part 1, 'What Your Body Needs', takes us back to the beginning and briefly describes the role of nutrients in our bodies. You may find it a bit boring but hey, it's essential to know! Nutritional Reference Data book contains all the nutritional recommendation tables so that you can easily find nutritional requirements for your age and country of residence.
Part 2, 'What Your Body Does Not Need' sheds some light on how the food industry operates and describes what is added to mass-produced food. It also talks about other sources of harmful foods and how to avoid them.
Part 3, 'What To Do' discusses practical ways on how to select proper food for you and your family and how to make a smooth transition to a better diet.
So, it is time to start!
When a baby is conceived the body consists of just a few cells. An adult body consists of 50,000,000,000,000 cells of different kinds. In fact each human body is a universe, a huge colony of microorganisms joined by a common communication system (the nervous system) which coordinates their actions.
Single-cell organisms are believed to be able to function perpetually without ageing; the most ancient life forms in the world are single-cell organisms. When the time comes they just split into two perfectly new young cells. Our bodies are made up of similar cells, so we should be able to live a long time; so what causes premature ageing?
If all skin is renewed every seven days then why aren't the skin cells of a 70-year-old created the same way as those of a seven-month-old? Why does ageing exist at all when almost all cells, including those of bones, are renewed each year, if not each week?
There is no simple answer. For cells to be created and live they require chemicals, water and energy which are delivered by blood. Cells are created by using their DNA instructions.
If the body lacks essential nutrients, water or energy, then the body cells will suffer. Their life processes will be inhibited and their DNA will probably be damaged, which will cause the next generation of cells to have 'inherent sicknesses'. But body cells depend on each other – a malfunctioning organ will affect how all the other organs work. This can happen in different ways – by drawing essential nutrients, which are needed elsewhere, into a sick organ, to name just two. An example is the way a malfunctioning thyroid gland affects the whole body. In other words, our health is the health of our cells.
We need to face it – we no longer live as part of nature. Our food is altered to satisfy our tastes and not our bodies. We have stress and pollution. Often harmful elements can be balanced or removed by good ones, like antioxidants, but nothing can replace or balance a lack of essential nutrients.
Although we can't be perfect in an imperfect world, there are still things we can improve. The first step is to understand what our cells need in order to cope with the side-effects of modern life. Let's have a closer look at how to feed our cells properly.
Water and Sea Salt – The Origin of Life
We were seeking the cause of Natasha's eczema, removing more and more foods from her diet. At some point it did not seem to have any effect on her skin anymore. After a while we came across the official New Zealand and Australia diet recommendations. They recommended our child should drink around 6 cups of water daily.
When we measured the amount of water Natasha actually drank we were unpleasantly surprised – she hardly drank 1 cup a day. We increased her water intake to at least 3 cups and her skin started to recover! Later we read that a dehydrated body will distribute valuable water using strict prioritisation rules. The skin has one of the lowest priorities in the body.
We estimated our water intake and it was, at most, just half the recommended. Gradually we started to increase the intake and found that water improves performance, and lack of water can cause dizziness, headaches, tiredness, cold symptoms and constant hunger.
Yes, we all know we consist mainly of water, but what does that really mean for our health? Water defines the volume of blood and enables its access to cells to deliver nutrients and remove waste. It aids normal digestive functions by providing a medium for the absorption of nutrients and food movement. It assists in temperature regulation, both heating and cooling. Water is also a perfect diuretic, pain killer and detoxifying aid. Water provides cells with the hydro electricity required for the nervous system to function and speeds up chemical processes allowing for a more effective metabolism.
The human body consists mainly of water. Around 60% of total body weight is water. Water content in tissues varies from 22% in bones to 75% in muscles and 85% in the brain. Our body simply cannot afford to dehydrate, otherwise the body metabolism becomes inhibited – chemical reactions slow down, blood becomes too saturated thus damaging blood vessels and our tissues are not restored, as each new cell needs water. Even mild dehydration can lead to an increased risk of some types of cancer and kidney stones.
The body loses water constantly – through skin, breath, carrying waste products out with urine, and so forth. What you eat or drink can make your body excrete more water. Physical activity, heat or dry air causes the body to lose more water through the skin and by perspiration. It is estimated that the body needs around four per cent of its weight daily to replace the losses. Water mainly comes as drinking water (4-8 cups or 1–2 litres), with food (2-6 cups or 0.5–1.5 litres) and through metabolism (1 cup or 0.25 litre).
Many people do not drink enough just because they do not understand their body's thirst signals. The older people are, the more likely they are to ignore even a dry throat signal. Dry throat, however, is not the only signal – but it is the last one. Other common signs of dehydration include, but are not limited to, low physical and mental performance, headaches, dizziness, indigestion.
Thirst and hunger signals are similar, and people often mistake one for the other. To tell them apart, try drinking 1 cup of water before having a meal. Take note of your body's thirst signals (apart from dry throat). You can have anything from dryness of skin, through to a headache, to a small pain in the kidneys. Drink when you get those signals.
When people realise they are thirsty they rarely drink pure water; they are more likely to drink tea, coffee, juices, carbonated drinks or even alcohol. Although these drinks contain water they also contain substances that draw water out of the body (diuretics). Actually, they draw more water out from the body than they put in. Some drinks like green tea may have a lot of goodness and can contribute to good metabolism and health but they do not add water to the body. If you drink one cup of beverages - make sure you drink another cup of water afterwards.
Chronic dehydration may lead to many dysfunctions and illnesses such as asthma and allergies; gastric and duodenal ulcers; arthritis; hypertension; abdominal, head, spinal and joint aches; undiagnosed pains; the list goes on.
It is quite a popular opinion that life originated from the ocean; human lymph is almost identical to salty seawater.
Salt, like water, plays an important role in our metabolism. It is a great source of minerals. There are numerous records of salt as the first medicine in ancient cultures and the Bible. Even animals instinctively seek salt in soils to complement their diet. Salt helps to make bones stronger; dilutes mucus associated with sinusitis, bronchitis and asthma; helps to manage inflammation including gum inflammation and sore throat; regulates histamine production; nourishes the adrenals; and improves sleep and digestion. Sodium, the main compound of salt, plays a vital role in the regulation of water in the body.
However, not all salt is the same. Table salt, widely available in stores, is the most useless product you could ever buy! It is regarded as something that should be avoided in diet and is associated with diseases like high blood pressure. It is not the salt itself but the minerals it contains which are important. Look for unrefined salt. To make an informed choice you need to know the differences.
The picture shows from left to right: Himalayan pink salt, iodised table salt, black pepper (for scale), and unrefined Celtic sea salt (fine and coarse).
Table Salt, Iodised Salt or Sea Salt
This is refined white salt. The refining process makes its origin irrelevant. This salt contains 97–98% sodium chloride and 2–3% chemical additives.
Raw salt is refined by heating it to about 570º F (300º C), putting it under high pressure and filtering it to remove valuable trace minerals which, by the way, are sold at high prices to the pharmaceutical industry. It is then chemically bleached and put through magnetic screens, resulting in almost pure sodium chloride. Finally, free-flowing agents, like aluminium or corn sugar, and disinfectants, like iodine (in unnaturally high amounts) are all added.
93% of refined salt is not used as a food additive. It is used instead to make substances like explosives, chlorine gas, soda, fertilizers and plastics.
You do not need this type of salt.
Himalayan Salt
Himalayan salt is unrefined rock salt from the Himalayan Mountains. It is light rose to dark grey in colour.
It contains 98.35% sodium chloride and other elements, some of which are good, like calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, iron, and some of which are bad, like aluminium, arsenic, mercury, gypsum.
It is not advisable to use this type of salt in food.
Unrefined Sea Salt
Unrefined sea salt, especially Celtic sea salt, is sun-dried and harvested manually. It is free from artificial additives. It is white to light grey in colour and is often moist. This is the best type of salt to use.
It contains 84% sodium chloride and 16% other minerals but this varies depending on brand and origin. It not only reduces sodium intake but also contains some essential minerals. The salt we use provides us with the following:
Water is the only liquid critical to all processes in the human body.
The thirst signals of your body need to be understood.
Short-term dehydration may result in low mental and physical performance and bad symptoms like headache or dizziness.
Chronic dehydration can contribute to serious illnesses and must be avoided at all costs.
Tap water should be filtered to remove chemicals added for disinfection or those dissolved from the pipes, like chlorine, fluoride, lead or copper.
Salt is required, but in moderate amounts. Apart from other side effects too high a sodium intake removes calcium and promotes osteoporosis.
Not all salt is good. Look for unrefined salt.
For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty! Dr F Batmanghelidj, June 1, 2003, Warner Books.
The Message from Water III: Love Thyself, Masaru Emoto, 2006, Hay House – quite a controversial but interesting study.
Drink 4-8 cups (1–2 litres) of pure water daily. How much water you actually need depends on your diet and lifestyle. Hot weather and hard exercise will increase your water requirements.
Never increase your water intake in just one day. If the body is dehydrated it is trying to save as much water as it can. It needs time to adapt and stop accumulating water in tissue.
Eat fresh produce if possible. Fresh veggies, greens and fruits contain a high amount of good water.
Drink at least one additional cup of water for each cup of tea, coffee, alcohol, juice or similar drink. When consuming processed food, your water intake should be increased as well.
Drink 1–2 cups of water first thing in the morning, about 30 minutes before meals and about 2 hours after. This provides water for digestion but does not interfere with it. Drinking with a meal should not be necessary unless the meal is over-processed or dry.
The more water you drink the more minerals are washed out of the body. Make sure your diet provides minerals within the recommended ranges.
Choose the best salt you can afford. The list of ingredients should simply state 'unrefined salt' or similar. If there are any other ingredients then do not buy it. Evaluate how much salt you consume:
all store-bought processed foods list sodium quantity
measure how long a bag of salt lasts to estimate salt intake through cooking and meals. Note that 1 tsp or 6 g of table salt contains 2,325 mg sodium.
Energy that Creates, Energy that Destroys
We noticed our little one became aggressively happy when she was given sugary foods like lollies, cakes and juices. 'Aggressively' means her actions became fast, butterfingered, lacking intelligence and attention. Soon she would become quite irritable, and she would start craving more food and attention. During the night, after she had eaten this kind of food, she would have tantrums and nightmares so Yana would have to spend the whole night with her.
When we restricted added sugars in Natasha's diet (that is, we removed juices and lollies) she became much more gentle, caring, negotiable and attentive. She had fewer tantrums, she had a good night's sleep, and we did not need to get up to her at night unless she was sick. We also noticed that she was tolerating hunger better – if necessary she could miss morning tea and have a very late lunch without losing patience, and she was able to play games requiring attention, such as puzzles or chess.
There are different types of energy sources. Our main source of energy is glucose from our food – carbs, fats, proteins and alcohol. Although the human body can get energy from any of these sources we are 'designed' to run mainly on carbs.
Energy is measured in kJ or Cal, 1 Cal = 4.18 kJ. Note the difference between calorie (cal) and kilocalorie (Cal): 1 Cal = 1,000 cal = 1 kcal. On nutritional labels, Cal or kilocalories are commonly used, referred to as 'food calories'.
Children may need more fat and less protein as a percentage of their energy intake.
Nutritionists use the Body Mass Index (BMI) – ratio of body weight to height squared – to calculate an approximate requirement for energy intake. What is considered to be a normal BMI depends on culture and nationality. For example, a BMI of 18–25 is regarded as normal for Europeans.