The Importance of Correct Nutrition
by Claudio Voarino

 The following excerpts from my article THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT NUTRITION should give the reader an idea of what is my view on nutrition and good health. This view is based on my own personal experience, as well as a wealth of information on natural health, which I have been gleaning from worldwide sources since I started studying  nutrition and herbal medicine twelve years ago.

So far I have managed to stay out of hospital, and I sincerely hope my advice will help you (whoever you are and wherever you live) to do the same.

 About twenty-four centuries have gone by since the great Greek physician, Hippocrates, stated:  Let your food be your medicine, and let your medicine be your food. Unfortunately, especially in Western societies, this very wise and vital recommendation has been generally ignored until up to two or three decades ago, when some people began to realize its great significance.  That is, they have finally accepted that good health and longevity have nothing to do with the ‘luck of the draw’, one’s ‘time being up’, or ‘predestination’; but has very much to do with the foods we ingest, the air we breathe, and our general lifestyle.  As for genetic predisposition, it does exist, but its effects can be generally  neutralized by a healthy diet and lifestyle. More often than not, what it is referred to as ‘genetic make-up’  is nothing more than parents’ bad eating habits passed down to their children! There is enough evidence that degenerative illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, arthritis, obesity, osteoporosis, etc., are very much nutrition-related diseases. The truth is that the great majority of people, from all walks of life, will irrationally cling to their unhealthy, long-established eating habits and lifestyle even if it kills them, and often it does! Sure enough, most of them are willing to take pills and other supplements, but will not change their diets.  Of course, supplementation can be quite useful, but it isn’t a substitute for a well-balanced daily diet. That is, the practice of ingesting junk foods and soft drinks regularly, and then taking vitamins and minerals, is certainly not going to be conducive to good health and longevity!

Having said the above, what is generally meant by the expressions correct nutrition, good nutrition, healthy nutrition, or optimum nutrition? Of course, this question can be answered in quite a few different ways, depending on a person’s age, profession, level of physical and mental activity, body chemistry, genetics and environmental factors, etc. All things considered, the answer is a nutrition which supplies, on a regular basis, the correct amount of essential fats, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fibre, water, oxygen, and light. Naturally, when this kind of nutrition is complemented by an on-going moderate amount of appropriate physical exercise, the chances of a much longer, healthier and happier life will substantially increase.

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There are a few scientific theories which purport to explain the reason/s why, especially in Western  countries, there are so many degenerative illnesses. However, mainly because of our remarkable surgical advances, some people manage to live longer than they did in the past. But, the quality of their life is anything but satisfactory. In my opinion, the root of the health problem is modern Man’s alienation from Nature, and his delusion that he is above Nature. Through the evolutionary process, Mother Nature gave our ancestors everything they needed to stay in good health and (barring accidents) to die of natural causes at the end of a long, active life. As the German innovative naturopath, Sebastian Kneipp wrote:  “Nature  has provided us generously with everything we need to remain in good health.”  In fact, there is hardly a degenerative disease which cannot be prevented or, if treated on time, even cured by the combination of natural, healthy foods, medicinal herbs, clean  water and pure air. Every form of life fits perfectly in nature’s evolutionary scheme, except  the species Homo sapiens. For example, our physiological and anatomical characteristics clearly show that we were meant to eat things like nuts, beans, fruits and vegetables , not animal flesh -  let alone cooked animal flesh! Nor were we meant to drink any kind of milk after our weaning months, let alone milk from other mammals! The carbohydrates we were meant to eat were complex carbohydrates such as beans, not simple ones like any kind of sugar!  Also, we were meant to drink fresh, running water, not alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, and oxygen and mineral-depleted bottled water, or even worse,  chlorinated and fluoridated tap water! Furthermore, we were meant to get an adequate amount of sunlight, breathe fresh, unpolluted air, and to be physically active, not to seat in front of the TV and/or computer screen for hours! Finally, we were not meant to treat our stomachs like mixing bowls by gulping down different foods in one meal! Nor were we meant to take any type of drugs. As a rule, humankind has broken about all the laws in the natural health book. The exceptions to this rule being extremely rare  -  I am referring to the Vilcabambans, Hunzas, Peruvians, and Georgian centenarians, whose good health and longevity is the result of them following Mother Nature, not going against it! Frankly, in view of the unnatural and unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle that prevail especially in Western societies, it is very surprising that many westerners manage to reach their middle and even old age! 

A Degenerative disease is a disease in which the function or structure of the affected tissues or organs will progressively deteriorate. (“Degenerative diseases were never a part of Nature’s evolutionary plan   -   Man caused them! “  -  CLAUDIO VOARINO.) These diseases are mainly the result  of many years, even decades, of bad eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle. Fortunately, a combination of correct nutrition and herbal medicine will either prevent or cure them. However, this won’t happen overnight because the causes of these diseases must be eradicated  - just  treating the effects won’t  prevent them from reoccurring and getting worse. Some degenerative diseases are:  cardio-vascular and Alzheimer’s diseases, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, impotence, and  macular degeneration. Let’s consider impotence (erectile dysfunction), for example. Impotence has to be one of the worse health nightmares for many middle-aged and older men. To be sure, these days there are sex clinics, Viagra and other pills, various pharmaceutical medications, exercises, and even vacuum pumps. And if all the above measures fails, surgery may be performed to insert a penile prosthesis, which is an artificial penile support.  Yes, I know sometimes there are psychological reason for this ailment, but more often than not the reasons are very much physical. By far, the most likely cause for this male sexual dysfunction is a problem with the blood vessels that carry blood into the penis, which,  because of the accumulation of animal fat in these vessels, receives only a fraction of the blood it needs to achieve and sustain a normal erection.
      As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure  -  and impotence can be primarily  cured the same way that it can be prevented; that is,  by adopting a healthy daily diet. (Of course, the same can be said about all other degenerative illnesses.) As I have already mentioned at the beginning of this article, many people with health problems will willingly take pills, tablets, and other forms of pharmaceutical or natural medications, but refuse to change their diet and lifestyle.  In fact, in many cases even herbal medicine won’t work by itself, unless it is complemented by drastic nutritional changes. For example,  in the case of impotence, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recommends the following diet:  black sesame seeds,  string beans, wheat, caraway seeds, chives, tangerines, walnuts, plums, chicken, eggs yolk, shrimps, dates, lamb, and pork. (I have underlined the words chicken, lamb, and pork because I certainly wouldn’t  prescribe any of these animal foods to any one suffering from impotence, no more than I would instruct him to drink cows’ milk!) 
     According to traditional Chinese medicine, the common causes of impotence are kidney deficiency, liver deficiency, and liver Qi stagnation. And the herbs used to treat this causes include  the inner bark of Saigon cinnamon, Chinese foxglove cooked in wine, Asiatic cornelian cherry fruit, Chinese yam, poria, water plantation rhizome, cortex of tree peony root, wolfberry, eucommia bark, morinda root, ginseng, Chinese senega root, hare’s hear root, white peony root, atractylodes rhizome, field mint, licorice, and nut grass rhizome. TCM also uses acupuncture and acupressure to treat impotence. Although I have been using some basic acupressure and reflexology for some time, I have never tried acupuncture, nor am I familiar with most of the above listed Chinese herbs; therefore, I cannot comment on their medicinal value and efficacy in curing impotence.   Speaking from my own experience, about twelve years ago I too started having impotence problems, and what I did to get rid of them permanently is described in my article  The Importance Of Correct Nutrition. For the time being, let me say that TCM played a very little part in my victory over that dreaded ailment, which I  cured myself by putting into practice the recommendation of the great Greek  Natural Physician, Hippocrates, who about 2400 years ago stated:  “Let your food be your medicine, and let  your medicine be your food”. Of course, I also used some herbs to treat my impotence problem; but then, most herbs are rich of nutrients, and this qualify them as foods. The herb Dandelion, for example, contains  the following nutrients:  calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, zinc, vitamins B1, B2, B3, and C.

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There is no doubt some supplementation has become necessary, as modern methods of food production and storing can negatively affect the nutritional value of food. Many chemicals (some of which are toxic) are added to the food we eat during the growing and processing stages. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are often picked before they are ripe and have developed their full content of vitamins and minerals. Storage also reduces their nutritional value. Also, modern farming practices have depleted our soils of minerals, and the long shipping and storage time between harvest and selling reduces nutrient content further. As a result, most  fruits and vegetables sold in commercial establishments are nutritionally depleted. For example, we need 10 servings of vegetables to obtain the nutritional equivalent of 1 serving from 50 years ago!

Having said all that, what type of supplementation is really beneficial to us? Should we take the usual commercial forms of vitamins and minerals supplementation widely available in tablet and capsule forms? Well, in a recent  U.S. study, which involved 162,000 middle-aged women, there were no visible results between the women who took this kind of supplementation on a daily basis, and those who took no supplementation at all! This is why most multivitamins  and minerals are synthetic combinations of isolated USP vitamins and minerals. In contrast, vitamins and minerals contained in foods are bound to natural food complexes with proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids (essential natural components of living cells).  When such a bond exists, the human body recognizes the entire food complex as food. Synthetic  vitamins and minerals are not bound to anything, and more often than not, have different chemical structures from those found in raw  foods.

This is all very well, but how can we eat about 4 kilos of fresh. raw, organic, vegetables per day to get all the vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants we need to stay healthy and live longer? Obviously, we cannot! But  fortunately there is a great solution to this problem - in two words:  green powders.  Green Barley, Spirulina, and Chlorophyl l, for example,  are just three of the super-foods which can be obtained in powder form,  and which contain all the nutrients we need in our diet. All we have to do is to mix in 2 teaspoons of blended green barley, spirulina, and chlorophyll  powders in a glass of juice or water and drink it everyday. This mixture contains the equivalent of about 4 kilos of assorted green vegetables, such as spinach, collards, kale, green beans, peppers, and other green vegetables

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THREE GROUPS OF FOODS THAT CANCER CELLS LOVE AND THRIVE ON

Most people love these foods, but these foods do not love them!

MEAT - and meat-derived products

Were we, really? In fact, were we meant to eat any kind of animal flesh at all? Well, let’s see whether there is any scientific truth in the above statement.

A serious problem with the great majority of people is that they have lost contact with Nature; we may say that gravity keeps their feet on Earth but their heads are in the clouds! If they did observe Nature closely they would notice that every species of animal (including ourselves) have developed the anatomical and physiological equipment necessary to acquire food so as best to survive. For example, all true carnivores such as lions, tigers, cats, dogs, etc., have acquired (through the process of evolution) long sharp teeth and strong claws for killing and tearing apart their prey. Furthermore, unlike humans, whose jaws can also move from side to side for grinding, their jaws move up and down only.

A carnivore’s saliva is acid, so that it can best digest animal protein, while human saliva is alkaline and contains the enzyme ptyalin, so we can best digest carbohydrates. Also, a carnivore’s stomach secretes ten times more hydrochloric acid than a human’s stomach, in order to best digest animal proteins. Furthermore, the liver of a carnivore is able to eliminate ten to fifteen times more uric acid than the human liver; and it is because of the accumulation of this waste product that meat-eaters are the most likely candidates for arthritis, chronic fatigue and many other health problems.

From both an anatomical and physiological point of view, humans are best suited to a plant-based diet. The colon in both herbivore and frugivore animals and humans is long and complex, while the colon of the carnivores is short and simple, just like the omnivores’ colon. The same can be said about the length and shape of the small intestine. The average length of the carnivores’ intestines is three to six times the length of their bodies, which is very similar to the length of the intestines of the omnivores. On the other hand, the intestines of both herbivores and humans are about ten to twelve times the length of their bodies. Because of the long, convoluting intestines, dead animal flesh decays at body temperature for at least twenty-four hours, causing considerable putrefaction in the large intestine; toxins are then absorbed into the blood stream and circulated throughout the body. Sooner or later this will lead to chronic fatigue, immune system problems, obesity, premature ageing, cancer and other degenerative illnesses. Statistically, there is a positive correlation between the consumption of meat and the incidence of cancer, especially breast, uterine, cervix, ovarian, colon, prostate, stomach, rectum, bladder, and other cancers!

What has already been said above should be more than enough to leave all kinds of animal flesh off of the correct nutrition list. But there is more. Meat is rotting animal flesh, and as such it would stink to high heaven, but for the addition to it of thirty-eight preservative chemicals. Also, drugs such as arsenic, stilbesterol and penicillin, which are often fed to animals, deposit in their muscles. (Stilbesterol has been shown to cause cancer, heart failure and reduced sex-drive in males.) Commercial meat contains a high level of pesticides, which is caused by intensive chemical spraying. Furthermore, animals are affected by many diseases, which naturally are passed to meat eaters. For example, there are as many as at least twenty-six diseases, which we could contract from poultry alone!

In sharp contrast to what people have been led to believe by the meat industry, meat (red or otherwise) rates quite low in the scale of optimum nutrition. This is because meat is a nutritionally unbalanced food. That is, it contains too much protein, and a substantial amount of saturated fats; but practically no fibre, complex carbohydrates, and calcium. It also lacks many vitamins. Meat is rich in iron, but not the right type of iron. The intake of large amounts of animal proteins has also been linked with osteoporosis, kidney disease, and urinary tract calcium stones. Osteoporosis, for example, is another degenerative disease, which affects primarily meat and dairy products eaters.

The truth is that protein needs can be met by eating a wide variety of plant food, such as beans, nuts, seeds, and grains. (However, the latter should be eaten in moderation.) Top of the class plant protein is quinoa - a very high protein grain from South America. Nutritionists warn us that proteins coming from vegetable sources are not complete. Personally, I haven’t been taking these warnings too seriously - I will tell you below why I feel this way. However, for the moment we will assume that the ‘incomplete proteins’ theory is sound, and that in order to get a complete protein nutrition, two or more incomplete vegetable proteins must be eaten together. Examples , beans and brown rice, corn and beans, or wheat and peas. Misinformed meat-eaters labour under the delusion that animal products are the highest in protein content. This is not the case, as, for example, 100 grams of dried lentils contains 24.7 grams of protein, compared to the 17.4 grams contained in the same amount of beef (rump). No to mention the fact that the former contains only 1.1 grams of fat, while the fat content in the latter is a staggering 25.3 grams. Also, while the fibre content in 100 grams of dried lentils is 3.9 grams, the same amount of beef contains zero amount of fibre! One thing to consider here, is that the process of cooking has a negative effect on almost all types of nutrients, including vegetable proteins. For example, if we wanted to get the full range of nutrients from brown rice, including the important amino acid Tryptophan, we would have to eat it raw. Therefore, it is a good idea to grind an equal quantity of brown rice, mung beans and quinoa; then mix the powders together, and add two tablespoonful of this mixture to a bowl of warm (not too warm or hot) soup. As I always try a new food combination myself, before recommending it to other people, I have been eating this blend of first class proteins for sometime now, and found it very nourishing and filling!

One of the hard-to-die myths about eating animal flesh is that it gives energy and strength. The truth is that the strongest, more powerful animals on Earth, such as horses, elephants, rhinoceros, water buffalos, oxen, and gorillas are strictly vegetarian. These animals have also the greatest endurance, and live the longest. As for energy, it comes from fats and carbohydrates found in plant-derived foods, not from animal protein. It stands to reason that cooked dead food like meat cannot be an energy-given food! Nutrition-literate athletes don’t gorge themselves with meat, eggs and cows’ milk before and during an important sport event - but they are likely to boost their intake of bee pollen, freshly-squeezed fruit juices, and other foods and beverage rich in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

Another asinine claim is that people who feed on dead animal flesh are physically and intellectually superior to vegans and ovo-lacto vegetarians. It isn’t clear whether Leonardo Da Vinci was a strict vegetarian or ate eggs and milk products. One thing is certain, however, he was both a very strong man, and one of the greatest geniuses of all times! Some other famous vegetarians and vegans of the past are: Pythagoras, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, John Milton, Percy B. Shelley, Mahatma Gandhi, John Wesley, Albert Schweitzer, Bernard Shaw, Albert Einstein, and Leon Tolstoy. For those who seem to think that only meat-eaters can be athletes, here is a list (incomplete, to be sure) of great sport personalities: Mr America Jim Morris, Mr Europe and Mr Universe Andreas Cahling, Olympic gold medallist Edwin Moses, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, long-distance runner with 20 world records Paavo Nurmi, four-time Mr Universe Bill Pearl, six-time Ironman Triathalon David Scott, Olympic medallist in wrestling Bill Campbell, Olympic runner Carl Lewis, professional football player Roger Brown, power lifting champion Bill Manetti, Olympic gold medallist in track Edwin Moses, and tennis champion Billie Jean King. And this list isn’t by any means complete. The complete list of past and present vegetarian and vegans writers, singers, dancers, actors, and general entertainers is too long to be shown in this essay. However, these few names should suffice: Elton John, Dustin Hoffman, Boy George, Peter Falk, Madonna, Olivia Newton-John, Paul and Linda McCartney, Tina Turner, Dennis Weaver, Lesley Ann Warren, and Mick Jagger.

It is true we can get muscles and physical strength from eating animal flesh, but the same can be obtained from plant-derived protein, without any of the negative effects linked to eating meat. Is it true that we cannot build muscles without eating a lot of meat and gulping down cows’ milk? The answer is a resounding NO! The famous Swedish heavyweight, body builder, Andreas Kahling (already mentioned above), winner of more than twenty important titles - including Mr Europe and Mr Universe ones - is a strict vegetarian, and so is ‘super-vegan’ Jim Morris. At age 75, Mr Morris is still training every day, and looks at least 15 years younger than his chronological age! In a recent television interview, he said: ‘I feel fabulous, honestly. I don’t take any medications, I don’t have any pain, and all my joints are wonderful.’ When questioned about his daily diet, he said: ‘My diet consists of nuts, beans, fruits, and vegetables.’ And this is exactly what human beings were meant to eat! Unfortunately for their own health, meat-eaters have learned nothing from Homo sapiens’ evolutionary process, otherwise, they would know that (as already said above) the strongest animals such as, for example, horses, elephants, water buffalos, and gorillas are strict vegetarians!

The advocates of meat-eating ignore the fact that what almost all world’s centenarians have in common is that they eat very little or no animal flesh at all! Eating a lot of meat and gulping down cows’ milk - like most westerners do - may give them muscles when they are young, but it won’t certainly prolong their life-span! In his book, Nature’s Cancer Fighting Foods, American health educator and nutritionist, Verne Varona, tells a true story of a well-known Italian-American body builder who kept telling him that if he wanted to get large, strong muscles he had to eat lots and lots of meat. But this body builder succumbed to colon cancer when he was still in his thirties!

There are certain “nutritionists” who maintain against all evidence that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy and can actually shorten human life. Although clearly unique, the following true life story shows how wrong these pseudo-nutritionists really are.
Li Ching-Yung, resident of the Kaihslen region in the province of Szechwan, was a Chinese herbalist, martial artist and former university professor who had the longest confirmed life-span in history. He lived to be 256 years old (1677-1933). He outlived 23 wives, and was living with his 24th wife at the time he was over 200 hundred years old! A New York Times article published at the time of his death in 1933 reported: ‘Many who have seen him recently declared that his facial appearance is no different from that of a person two centuries his junior.’ (S. F. Strong, New York Times, May 6, 1933, page 13). It was agreed that “Li’s extraordinary longevity was due to his life-long very strict vegetarian diet and his calm and serene attitude toward life.” Of course, Li Ching-Yung was an extraordinary human being, and he didn’t have to live in our modern highly stressful and heavily polluted world! All the same, a vegetarian (not necessarily vegan) diet will certainly give people good health and, barring accidents, will make them live much longer than they live now on their unnatural diets!

It is true that proteins are essential for blood vessels, skin, bones, muscles, cartilages, hair, lymph, digestion, enzymes, antibodies, and some hormones. However, this doesn’t mean that they have to be animal-derived proteins; as we have already seen above, protein needs can be easily met by eating a wide variety of plant foods. Some mainstream nutritionists tell us that if we don’t eat meat, fish, and other animal products we will run short of certain vital nutrients such as, for example, Vitamin B12. Deficiency of this vitamin is supposed to be the cause of dozens of health problems ranging, for example, from AIDS, anaemia and dementia, to heart pain, spinal lesions and paranoia. Surely, if vegans suffered from any of these serious illnesses would start eating some animal products! Also, where do cows, horses, elephants, gorillas, and all other vegan animals get vitamin B12?

In conclusion, if we were meant to eat animal flesh, by now Evolution would have given us the appropriate anatomical and physiological characteristics to enable us to catch and kill animals, and eat them raw. People’s widespread habit of eating second hand animal-derived proteins may show no negative health effects when young, but later in life they will most likely become the victims of one or more of the degenerative (and very often fatal) diseases, which are so widespread in today’s western societies. Various studies have conclusively shown that the consumption of any kind of animal flesh, not only reduces our health and fitness levels, but it also accelerates the ageing process. Eating animal flesh is just one of people’s many unnatural habits - a habit for which they have been paying dearly since they acquired it!

Enlightened people have known for many centuries about the danger of eating animal flesh.

•  Over 2500 years ago Plato and Socrates condemned the eating of animal flesh; 2000 years ago, so did Seneca, tutor and advisor to the Roman Emperor Nero.

• In 1747, John Wesley wrote tho the Bishop of London: “Thanks be to God, since the time I gave up the use of flesh meat and wine, I have been delivered from all physical ills.”

• Percy B. Shelley wrote in 1813: “There is no disease, bodily or mental, which adoption of vegetable diet and pure water has not infallibly mitigated, wherever the experiment has been fairly tried.”

• More recently, DR. W. C. R. Roberts, Editor in Chief, American Journal of Cardiology, stated: “Although we think we are one and we act as if we were one, human beings are not natural carnivores. When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural herbivores.”

• And, in 1990, W. Willett, Ph. D., Harvard University School Of Public Health, wrote: “If you step back and look at the data, the optimum amount of red meat you should eat is zero.”

 At this point I would like to make it clear that drastically reducing - or stopping altogether - the daily consumption of animal flesh isn’t enough to prevent the illnesses mentioned above. Some ovo-lacto vegetarians may think that by not eating any kind of animal flesh they won’t develop any degenerative diseases. Unfortunately, as long as they keep drinking cows’ milk, and eating cheese and other dairy products on a regular basis, their health will still be under threat!

COWS’ MILK - AND DAIRY PRODUCTS

While the Meat Industry tries its very best to portray dead animal flesh as a healthy food, which we were meant to eat, the Dairy Industry advertises the misconception that a high intake of cows’ milk and other dairy products are a great protection against osteoporosis and, therefore, are essential foods which must be consumed daily. Brainwashed by this ongoing propaganda, the great majority of people ignore the fact that raw cows’ milk is meant only for calves, and raw goat milk is perfect for kids, not for humans! When these people are presented with the facts, their answer is: ‘If we don’t eat dairy products on a regular basis, where will we get a sufficient amount of calcium to prevent osteoporosis?’ Obviously, these people have never asked themselves the question ‘where do cows get their calcium and the other nutrients for their big strong bones!’ Do they walk daily to the nearest deli? No! They get them from the grass they eat! It is an undisputable fact that the great majority of people, especially in the West, haven’t got the faintest idea of what is the right diet for them, and, metaphorically speaking, they keep digging their graves with their forks, knives, and spoons! Again, unlike animals, they act unnaturally; for example, humans are the only creatures on earth foolish enough to consume milk after weaning, let alone the milk from another species!

Osteoporosis is a serious and widespread disease, which affect both women and men over fifty. This disease is not really a calcium deficiency disorder, but an imbalance between the intake and the excretion of bone-building materials, including calcium. However, calcium intake in adulthood doesn’t affect bone density; but it is true that inadequate calcium intake in childhood may lead to osteoporosis in later life. The following factors are said to influence negatively the absorption of calcium: ageing (which causes a reduction in stomach acid secretion); stomach acid inhibitor drugs; alcohol; the oxalic acid found in tea, coffee, chocolate, and some other foods. The cooking process is known to make the absorption of calcium and other minerals more difficult.

Calcium is excreted primarily in our urine and faeces. If we absorb more calcium (from food and supplementation) than we excrete, we will be in a positive calcium balance. On the other hand, if we excrete more calcium than we absorb, we are said to be in a negative calcium balance. The main factors that increase calcium excretion are: lack of exercise; high protein intake (especially animal proteins); excessive salt consumption; alcohol; drugs; cigarette smoking; sugar consumption; caffeine consumption; and phosphate and phosphoric acid found in soft drinks, red meats, cheese, instant soup, and baked goods.\

What people must do, in order to avoid osteoporosis in later life, is to make sure we maintain the right balance of the following minerals, vitamins, and other substances: Magnesium, Boron, Zinc, Potassium, Molybdenum, Calcium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Parathyroid hormone, and Progesterone. As we can see, calcium is just one of the substances needed to maintain correct bone density.

People who live in rural areas and milk their own cows (or better still, their own goats) as well as making their own butter, cheese, etc., may not suffer all the ill effects to which their city urban counterparts are often subjected. Being of animal origin, both milk and all milk products are acid forming, and therefore not the best foods even in their unprocessed form. Pasteurisation and homogenisation (a compulsory process in the so-called developed countries) destroy all enzymes and change the nature of the calcium, and other minerals found in raw milk, from organic to inorganic, thus making their absorption quite difficult. When this happens, this denatured form of calcium cannot be used to build bones, so it gets deposited along the inside of the blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits can lead to arteriosclerosis, or, when it gets deposited in the joints, it can lead to arthritis. Another problem with adults drinking raw or heated milk is that it contains no lactase - the enzyme that break down milk sugar. This results in incomplete lactose digestion, with sometimes serious gastrointestinal problems. Also, one of the most common food intolerances is to milk and other dairy products. Furthermore, dairy products can create mucous, which leads to colds, flu and asthma, which can lead to steroids, which in turn leads to bone demineralization.

Comparing the fibre, cholesterol, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content of milk to meat reveals similar percentages of each; this is why milk is sometimes defined as liquid meat. Excessive consumption of dairy products in general has been associated with: osteoporosis, diabetes, leukaemia virus, iron deficiency, infant colic, constipation, cardio-vascular diseases, lactose intolerance, arthritis, colitis, obesity, enlarged tonsils, cataracts, MS, weakening of the immune system, and vitamin D deficiency. Worse still, extensive studies on this matter have linked ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer to daily consumption of cows’ milk and other dairy products.

Having said all the above, I think that people who care about their present and future health would do well to get their proteins, calcium and other mineral supply, not from dairy products in general, but from the following vegetarian sources: almonds, broccoli, buckwheat, sesame seeds, dried figs, dark green leafy vegetables, turnips, molasses, legumes, and sea vegetables. Those who are still in doubt, about the best sources of calcium should consider the fact that in most Asian countries people never drink milk once weaned, and have little or no osteoporosis, while in western countries a great number of middle-aged and older milk drinkers and cheese eaters suffer from this disease!

Ah, I nearly forgot! This is my phone number: 08 8628 2678 - please contact me as soon as you hear of any cow that has been diagnosed with osteoporosis!

SUGAR - and sugar-ridden foods and drinks

As mentioned above, biologically and physiologically we are fructivores and herbivores, not omnivores or carnivores. Humans started eating animal flesh after discovering it tasted good and was easy to eat when cooked. But the foods we were (and are) meant to eat are mainly complex carbohydrates. Sugar canes and sugar beets, for example, are complex carbohydrates; however, refined sugar is a simple carbohydrate, which is chemically extracted from them. The sugar refining process (which takes away about 90% of vitamins and minerals) changes what was once a whole, balanced food into an additive drug that contains nothing but sweet taste and calories. Complex carbohydrates, such as beans, whole grains, sugar canes, etc., release nutrients slowly, when they are needed, while simple carbohydrates, such as white sugar, brown sugar, glucose, honey, and syrups are fast releasing substances, which cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels. Since most of this sugar is not needed by the body, it is stored in the liver as a form of glucose called glycogen. When the liver is filled to its maximum capacity, the glycogen is returned to the blood in the form of fatty acids, and then transported to the belly, buttocks, thighs, breasts, and stomach. Excess fat is then distributed amongst the active organs, such as the heart and kidneys, thus sooner or later compromising their functions. Eventually, the entire body is affected by the inability of these vital organs to function properly. The lymphatic and circulatory systems are invaded, and an excess of white cells occurs; and this is quite dangerous. The truth is that a sugar-rich diet undermines the immune system, thus leaving the body defenceless against every possible illness! Obesity for example, is as much the result of eating fatty foods, as it is of consuming sugar and sugar-ridden foods and drinks. But the fact that an excess of sugar easily turns to fat in the body is conveniently forgotten by doughnuts and soft drinks lovers!

White sugar doesn’t contain a single nutrient that can be metabolized; this causes a mineral imbalance in the body, which can lead to arthritis, gastro-intestinal disorders , skin and nerve problems, and vitamin B deficiency. Extensive studies have also found a positive correlation between ongoing sugar consumption and dental cavities, rheumatic fever, migraine headaches, sinus, heart problems, diabetes, obesity, eating disorders, fatigue, PMS, and cancer. Having said all that, it is very doubtful that a sugar-rich diet is conducive to longevity! If what has been said isn’t more than enough to show how bad sugar and sugar-ridden foods and drinks are, recent US research has conclusively shown that a diet rich in sugar and other refined carbohydrates reduces intelligence; that is, tests have shown that the higher the intake of refined carbohydrates, the lower the I.Q. From a mental and emotional point of view, it has been found that ongoing sugar consumption is one of the major causes of aggressive behaviour, irritability, fuzzy thinking, clinical and manic depression, anxiety, stress, and learning difficulties.

A sugar-rich diet is particularly harmful to children, as generally they have a sweet tooth and cannot resist cakes, lollies, chocolate, biscuits, and ice cream, as well as to drink sugar-ridden soft drinks, such as lemonade and Coca Cola. The average soft drink can or small bottle contain about ten teaspoonsful of sugar. Also, cola drinks and others contain phosphoric acid! Sugar leaches calcium from the bones, and so does phosphoric acid. Unfortunately, for their children’s present as well as future health, too many parents know little or nothing about correct nutrition, and continue to give their children sugary foods and drinks! Worse still, they buy them creamy cakes and/or ice cream as a reward for their achievements; thus helping to create in their young minds the harmful misconception that these sugar-ridden “foods” are actually good for them!

Because of inadequate governmental health regulations, labels on foods and drinks are often deceitful. For example, many products on the market boast No sugar on their labels. This means they contain no white sugar . However, they may very well be full of honey, maple syrup, malted barley, molasses syrup, or fruit juice concentrates - all of which are aliases for the word sugar. This is why certain cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks and fruit juices, for example, taste quite sweet despite their No added sugar, or No sugar labels.

Any good Nutritionist and Natural Doctor will fully agree that the three groups of foods described above are not exactly conducive to good health and longevity! To put it another way, they certainly don’t belong on the correct nutrition list. Apart from other reasons, meat, milk, sugar, and their derivative products are either high aglycemic (that is, they cause a rise in blood sugar and insulin) or high in saturated fats, which can promote inflammation. Therefore, they should be eliminated from our diet, or at least their consumption should be greatly reduced in both frequency and quantity. I have prepared a list of nutritional recommendations, which, if put into full practice will not only act as a preventive measure against any possible future health problem, but will also cure most degenerative diseases.

NOTE: Because of the difference in people’s age, sex, physical constitution, genetic background, race, occupation, as well as the geographical place they live in, the following recommendations cannot suit everybody equally well. However, I think they can be beneficial to most people, as long as they are willing to put them into practice on a regular basis.

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My Own Nutritional Recommendations

• Whenever possible, eat organically grown, sun-ripened fruits and vegetables. However, cut down the consumption of sugar-rich fruits, such as mangoes, bananas, and grapes; eat more kiwi fruits, apples, berries, and grapefruits instead.

• Make sure you eat at least sixty per cent of your food raw, as conventional cooking methods destroy all the enzymes and certain vitamins and minerals.

•  Eat sprouted beans regularly, and you will be eating true live food.

• Make complex, low-glycemic carbohydrates the mainstay of your meals. Low-glycemic foods (like lentils, kidney beans, navy beans, quinol, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, cauliflowers, apples, oranges, kiwi fruits, and berries) won’t increase your sugar levels, so you won’t overproduce insulin and turn everything you eat into fat.

•  Make sure you regularly eat fresh salads with plenty of tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, capsicums, lettuces, parsley, basil, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Sprinkle generously with extra-virgin, cold pressed olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

•  Steam your vegetables (including potatoes, pumpkins and sweet potatoes); don’t boil or fry them.

•  Don’t microwave your food. According to various studies, microwaved food can cause structural, functional, and immunological changes in the body. Also, microwave cooking diminishes a food’s energy pattern by energetically disrupting its biomolecular structure. Another study suggested that fats in particular are denaturated by microwave radiation, resulting in a free radical formation.

•  Make low-fat sources of proteins the second most important component of your daily meals. And make sure you get most (if not all) of these proteins from vegetable sources like dried beans, quinoa, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, nuts, grains, corn, and mushrooms.

• Do get your supply of fibre from organically grown fruits and vegetables. Get your fibre from the real things, not from cereal packets!

•  If you must eat animal flesh, obtain organically certified meat or poultry; also, eat it only occasionally, and never barbecued or fried.

•  Never eat cured meats, such as ham, salame, pancetta, sausages, bacon, and pies; as they are very likely to have been treated with nitrates and nitrites.

•  As for fish and other seafood, eat them in moderation, and never barbecued or fried. Amongst other things, large fish, such as tuna and salmon are likely to be highly contaminated with mercury.

•  Get your Essential Fatty Acids (E.F.A.s) from plant sources, not from fish or other sea foods. For example, you can obtain an ample supply of Omega-3 E.F.A.s from Flax Seed Oil. Excellent sources of Omega-6 E.F.A.s are safflower, sunflower, corn, and sesame oils.

•  Stay well away from saturated fats (the kind found in dairy and animal products.) Switch to unsaturated fats like olive oil.

•  Avoid potato chips and other deep-fried junk foods

•  Avoid all foods cooked at high temperatures, as they produce yet another cancer-promoting substance called acrylamide.

•  If you eat eggs, make sure they are fresh and come from free-range hen sources. Also, don’t eat more than about five per week, and don’t fry them. Eat them steamed or soft-boiled.

•  Eat a moderate amount only of organically certified grains, as these are acid-forming foods.

•  Avoid all kinds of sugar and sugar-ridden products, such as lollies, cakes, biscuits, soft drinks, doughnuts, cookies, commercial fruit juices, ice cream, gelati, jam, chocolate, syrups, sweetened yoghurt, and jellies. As for honey, eat it sparingly, and only if it hasn’t been refined. If you wish you may sweeten your foods and cold drinks with Stevia; as for teas and other hot drinks, you may use Licorice or Carob powder.

•  Stay away from high-glycemic foods, such as white bread, refined sugar, jam, dry cereals, white rice, white flour, white pasta, cookies, etc.

•  Don’t eat highly refined, processed foods, as all their valuable minerals and vitamins have been stripped away, and they are likely to contain many chemical additives.

•  Don’t flavour your food with chemically processed sauces or salad dressings such as mayonnaise, as these are often very high in sugar as well as chemical additives.

•  Stay away from artificial sweeteners, as they affect negatively your metabolism and your health in general.

•  Give a miss to all kinds of fast and junk foods.

•  Reduce your consumption of bread, as it is the wrong type of carbohydrate, which is normally full of chemical additives; unless, of course, you have the necessary equipment to make your own bread, using organically certified wholemeal flour. If you cannot make your own bread, eat Ryvita biscuits instead.

•  Use salt sparingly, and only the unrefined mineral-rich Celtic salt type.

•  Don’t eat foods containing chemical additives; especially if these additives are Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Hydrolysed Vegetable Proteins (HVP), and Aspartame, as they have been shown to contribute to or aggravate more than forty illnesses.

•  Because of the many reasons given above, give a miss to cows’ milk, and drastically reduce the intake of processed cheeses, sweetened yoghurt and other dairy products. Use rice or almond milk instead. I don’t recommend soy milk because some nutritionists maintain that soy products have been shown to cause health problems.

•  Use organically certified butter instead of margarine, as this contains dangerous trans-fats.

•  Don’t forget to drink at least four to six glasses of purified water per day. However, don’t drink it with your meals, but in between them.

•  Drink a glass of water with a squeeze of lemon as soon as you get up each morning. This is a great detoxifying practice.

•  Always thoroughly wash the fruits and vegetables you buy. Better still, soak them for about half an hour in a solution of fifty millilitres of common white vinegar and nine hundred and fifty millilitres of water. By doing so you may be able to minimize the unhealthy effects of the large number of more or less toxic chemicals sprayed on commercially grown fruits and vegetables.

•  Don’t drink commercial fruit juices, as they have been pasteurized, and contain too much sugar and chemical additives.

•  Don’t eat carbohydrates with proteins, as the former require an alkaline juice for proper digestion, while the latter require an acid juice; and the two neutralize each other. This neutralization has a negative effect on the digestion of these two foods.

• Don’t eat fruits and vegetables at the same time, as generally the former have an acid effect, whereas the latter tend to be alkaline. Therefore, it isn’t a good idea to mix fruit juice with vegetable juice.

•  Eat your fruit by itself and on an empty stomach; don’t eat it immediately before, during, or soon after a meal.

• Give up alcohol and caffeine, as they raise your blood-sugar and insulin levels, contribute to the storage of glucose as fat, trigger fatigue and provoke mood swings. Also, reduce your intake of tea, and drink only the green variety.

•  If you are a strict vegetarian make sure you get enough zinc from plant sources, as for example: beans, chickpeas, lentils, peanuts, cashews, brazil nuts, kelp, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, and yeast. Also, you can obtain plenty of iron from apricots, prunes, kelp, beans, dulse, grains, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, steamed coked spinach, stinging nettles, pumpkin seeds, and wheat germ.

•  Make sure you chew your food thoroughly, as digestion (especially of carbohydrates) starts in the mouth.

•  Eat like a king at breakfast, like a prince at lunch, and like a pauper at dinner.

•  Don’t eat too much at any meal, and make sure you don’t eat too late at night.

•  Eat only very light meals when you feel unwell, depressed, worried, angry, stressed, or over-preoccupied.

•  Whatever you do, don’t smoke; and keep away from smokers and smoke-polluted places.

•  Make sure you get your daily supply of oxygen by avoiding as much as possible over-polluted places, and/or by doing regular physical exercise, as well as breathing exercises.

•  Last, but certainly not least, remember to detoxify your liver once a year.

Supplementation

Generally, conventional doctors don’t bother to tell their patients to supplement their food with vitamins and/or minerals; on the other hand, some nutritionists recommend them in quite large daily quantities. There is no doubt some supplementation has become necessary, as modern methods of food production and storing can negatively affect the nutritional value of food. Many chemicals (some of which are toxic) are added to the food we eat during the growing and processing stages. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are often picked before they are ripe and have developed their full content of vitamins and minerals. Storage also reduces their nutritional value.

There is no doubt that certain groups of people are at particular risk of nutrient deficiency, and will benefit from supplements because of age, occupation, illness, and environmental factors. Naturally, supplements are no substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle. Personally, I am in favour of supplements; however, generally I prefer to take them in powder, granule, or liquid form, not capsules or tablets. Some of these supplements actually look more like food than natural medicines, but their preventive and curative properties are very much medicinal, and generally contain a large number of natural vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and/or amino acids. These health promoters and preservers are:  Green Barley  -  Bee Pollen  -  Kelp  - Spirulina  -  Apple Cider Vinegar  -  Brewer’s Yeast  -  Garlic  -  Chlorella  -  Aloe Vera  -  Lactobacillus  -  Rice Bran  -  Flaxseed  -  Sunflower seeds,  -  Alfa Alfa, and  - Stinging Nettles.

Furthermore, I recommend some super-healthy combinations of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and herbs. They are available here in Australia, and their names are:  -  Citramin  -  Aloe Vera Juice  -  B-Calm  -  Bioactive Fibre Formula  - Celtone  -  Echinacea Extract  -  Femhelp  -  Goji Juice Concentrate  - Green Barley Plus  -  Herbal Iron Extract  -  Imperial Ginkgo  -  Living Food Enzymes  - Maca Powder  -  Mentone  -  Microfood Lactobacillus  - Natural Vitamin E  - Olive Leaf Extract  -  Omega Complex  -  Phytoplex  -  Proanthogen  -  Shape Up  -  Shark Cartilage Powder  -  Siberian and Korean Ginseng  -  Slimtone  -  Stevia  -  Supa C Antioxidant  -  Vitamin C Plus Powder  -  Tribulus 250  -  VG Blended Vegetable Powder  - Wheatgrass Powder, and  -  Zincel.

I don’t think the above list of supplements would be complete without the following powerful herbs, which (apart from Garlic) I recommend should be taken as teas. They are: Angelica/Dong Quai, Ashwaganda, Licorice, Echinacea, Feverfiew, Garlic, Ginkgo Biloba, Asian Ginseng, Siberian Ginseng, Goldenseal, Gotu Kola, Rosemary, Sage, Turmeric, Gymnema Sylvestre, Thyme, Oregano, and Ginger.

A few final words

Unfortunately, even the healthiest diets and supplementations in the world won’t be completely successful unless they are complemented by an adequate amount of suitable physical exercise. Research has shown that a regular exercise programme helps the body avoid stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, muscle weakness, memory loss, depression, stress, anxiety, nervous tension, immune system problems, prostate problems, sexual problems, high cholesterol levels, weight gain, and other ailments. Walking, jogging, dancing, bowling, sparring, playing tennis, football, and golf, as well as gymnastics, swimming, and weight training, are all forms of exercise which will complement a healthy diet and supplementation. Apart from the said physical exercises, there are the internal exercises, which are very important because they protect, heal, and energize the vital internal organs. A few examples of these exercises are: Reflexology, Yoga, The Tibetan Rites, and Tai Chi. Naturally, some time should be put aside for rest and relaxation; also a good night’s sleep is of paramount importance to every one.

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A  FEW  WORDS  OF  CAUTION

People should be aware about the difference between an Acute disease and a Chronic one. The former comes on abruptly and run a short, severe course, while the latter lasts for a prolonged time and may come and go. An acute disease requires immediate medical attention due to its life threatening possibilities. Some acute diseases include kidney, liver, and lung failure, myocardial infarction, and rapid-spreading infections. When this happens, natural treatment and remedies are not generally acting fast enough to save the patient's life. Of course, there are natural, herbal antibiotics, which can be used to treat a bacterial or viral infection, but in severe cases, conventional, doctor-prescribed antibiotics are urgently needed! In other words, chronic illnesses can be prevented, or treated using a combination of the right food and medicinal herbs, but acute illnesses are generally the domain of orthodox medicine. In regards to herbal medicine, when taken in the prescribed dosage, almost all herbs are quite safe, and don’t have any side effects. However, in certain cases some herbs are not recommended, especially to women who are pregnant or nursing. Also, young children and the elderly should use low-dose formulas. Of course, in certain cases, even the healthiest foods should be eaten in moderation.

IMPORTANT  NOTICE

All the advice and recommendations found in this website were taken from well-documented nutritional and herbal medicine facts and my own practical experience, research, and studies. However, I am not responsible for the way my advice and recommendations are going to be put into practice by my clients. Also, I recommend certain foods, but I have no way of knowing how these foods were grown, treated, and stored. Therefore, I cannot guarantee their practical nutritional and medicinal value. Furthermore, as I have already explained above, all ACUTE diseases must be treated by a Medical Doctor! Likewise, an M.D. is also needed when, for any reason, a prescribed natural remedy fails to cure an illness!

"...I don’t think many people seriously believe in the ‘Fountain of Youth’ , as the grim reality is that we all have to die sooner or later  -  no matter how healthy is our daily diet and lifestyle.  However,  if  we follow nature, and put into practice  the saying   ‘we must eat to live, not live to eat’, we will increase our chances, not only to reach a ripe old age, but to retain most of our faculties up to the end!"
(Claudio Voarino) 

 
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