Healthy eating

Out of concern to ensure that my family stay healthy and that I feed them correctly, over the past year I have read a number of books on the subject of healthy eating. I have been shocked to discover that the government and food standards agency are misleading us. It seems that we should be eating the complete opposite of what we are being told is healthy for us. Our levels of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses are all rising steadily - because we eat the wrong food.

The story behind how we got to this situation is a fascinating one. You can read it for yourselves in the books which I will list below.

I have learned that we need to eat a high fat and low carbohydrate diet. Saturated fat is very good for us and much healthier than polyunsaturated fat which is harmful. Dietary fat is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease. Animal foods contain all of the essential amino acids and all of the thirteen essential vitamins in the ratios that maximise their utility to humans. Full fat dairy products from grass fed organic animals are very healthy for us. Eggs are very good for us and so is meat. The pasture that the beef graze on is very good for our environment because it safely locks carbon into the soil and cuts carbon emissions. We should eat real, fresh unprocessed food mainly from animal sources and preferably organic - anything that has moved. The ratio our diet should be made up of is 10-15% carbohydrates (but not refined or easily digested ones), 15-25% protein and 60-70% fat. Avoid artificial and damaged foods, processed foods, additives, artificial sweeteners and GM foods.

There is little evidence of the benefit of eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Fruit contains fructose which is a harmful sugar. The advice to reduce sodium intake should be taken with a pinch of salt. Cereals and bran fibre increase the risk of many of the conditions they are promoted to prevent and cure. Cereal grains have significant nutritional shortcomings and pose significant health risks to humans. Soy is not the perfect food we are led to believe it is. It contains toxins that not only reduce the absorption of vitamins and minerals, but also reduce thyroid activity, which affects our whole metabolism. Fermentation of soy destroys or neutralises many toxins and makes it safe to eat.

We should avoid easily digestible and refined carbohydrates as they affect our insulin secretion and have a great effect on our health, weight and well-being. Sugars are particularly harmful because they elevate insulin levels. Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars are the dietary cause of heart disease and diabetes. They are also the most likely dietary cause of cancer. All carbohydrates are digested quickly. Within about a half an hour the level of glucose in your bloodstream will rise rapidly. As levels of glucose rise rapidly in the bloodstream, your pancreas produces a large amount of insulin to take that glucose out, because high levels are dangerous. When your blood glucose level is back down to normal, your pancreas is still making insulin. As a result, the levels of glucose in your blood fall below normal, and you feel hungrier quicker. (Low blood sugar also causes tiredness.)

Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long term weight loss, it leads to hunger. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated we accumulate fat and when they fall we release fat and use it for fuel. By stimulating insulin secretion carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume the leaner we will be. Carbohydrates increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend.

Gut opiates control our hunger and appetite. They know exactly what combination of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and other nutrients we need to eat. As each nutrient is supplied, the appetite for it diminishes until eventually the appetite is satisfied and switches off, and we no longer feel hungry. The opiates work extremely efficiently with fats and proteins, but they hardly work at all with carbohydrates. You will find that you cannot eat too much fat without feeling ill. This is your body telling you that you have had enough. However, it is all too easy to eat too many sweets and other refined carbohydrates such as bread and pasta. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy products including cheese and yogurt are far healthier, more satisfying and less fattening.

Cancers are sugar junkies. Unlike normal healthy cells, cancer cells don’t like oxygen. Cancer cells cannot use fats for energy as these need oxygen, they can only use glucose (blood sugar) for growth. Cancer cells consume 4 or 5 times more glucose than normal cells and have difficulty surviving without it. Some cancer cells self-destruct when deprived of glucose. If cancers cannot survive without glucose, then it follows that a low carbohydrate diet is likely to prevent a cancer starting in the first place.

Fat is the best fuel for energy, carbohydrates and sugar are the worst.

Sugars and starches cause dental decay, milk and cheese prevent it.

I hope you will find this information useful as I am sure that all parents want to do the best for their children, feed them well and keep them healthy. My family are finding this way of eating easy, satiating and quite delicious. For those with allergies and intolerances please note that these can be safely and effectively eliminated using NAET.

References: The Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes, Trick and Treat how healthy eating is making us ill by Barry Groves, The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, We Want Real Food by Graham Harvey, In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan, Natural Health and Weight Loss by Barry Groves.