Lack of proper nutrition and oxygen.
Accumulation of toxins, poisons, and waste.
Lowered vitality due to stress, shock, injury, emotional upsets, relationship or financial worries and concerns, etc.
Nutritional status inherited from your parents upon conception.

Your Health Depends Upon You!

Nature's laws ensure survival of the fittest. Your survival and how well you live depends upon you taking charge of your own health. No one else can do that for you, not doctors, not your mother, not your spouse, and certainly not the government!

Medical and drug businesses are "just that" businesses! Businesses have one major goal, and that is to make money! Therefore that doesn't mean their services, products, and advice will help you. In fact the medical field is rampant with false theories and information that have caused a great deal of harm to you, your family and your friends.

Drug companies are behind all of the deception and false information being fed to you, and they use doctors like puppets.

Drug companies make the highest profits of any other company on Earth, and they manipulate governments to pass laws that benefit them and protect their precious profits! However, you need to know that any and all drugs are toxic to the human body and they deteriorate and ruin health!

You will not get sick if you:

Give your body the nutrients it needs to heal and maintain health — food is medicine!
Increase your body's ability to utilize and transport oxygen.
Eliminate as many sources of toxins and poisons as possible.
Improve your digestion and your body's ability to eliminate toxins.

If you do these four things your body will better able to withstand negative influences such as stress, shock, injury, emotional upsets, relationship or financial worries and concerns, etc.

Lack of Nutrition & Oxygen

When your body lacks the nutrients and oxygen it needs to heal and maintain health it results in:

A depressed immune system.
Lowered capacity to digest, absorb, utilize and transport nutrients.
Lowered capacity to produce, utilize and transport hormones, enzymes and other vital substances within the body.
Lowered capacity to obtain, utilize and transport oxygen.
Lowered capacity to eliminate toxins, poisons and waste.

This results in many diseases that are prevalent today, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, fungal diseases (yeast/candida overgrowth), degenerative diseases, malfunctioning organs and systems throughout the body, etc.

Some foods, like sugars, processed foods, and man-made vegetable fats and oils, contribute tremendously to diseases and malfunctions because they directly cause all of the five points above. Take the case of cancer. Dr. Otto Warburg won a Nobel Prize for his discovery of the cause of cancer: "Cancer has only one prime cause.

It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body's cells by an anaerobic [oxygen-deficient] cell respiration." See Cancer, the Prime Cause and Prevention

Did you know that cancer's favorite food is sugar and all forms of it, including high carbohydrates? That is because it cuts off oxygen from the body's cells. Did you know there is a connection between fungal diseases, like candida, and cancer? See Cancer.

Sugar, as well as man-made vegetable fats and oils (except olive oil), contribute to a lack of oxygen in the body's cell. These unnatural fats and oils are not only toxic to the body but the body incorporates them into cell membranes, which makes the cells flabby [out of condition; not strong]. When cell membranes are not constructed the way nature intended:

They are not as able to utilize and transport oxygen and nutrients.
They readily allow toxins into them.
They are less capable of getting rid of waste.

Consuming sugar and all forms of it, including a high carbohydrate diet, and man-made vegetable fats and oils makes your cells weak and they will lack oxygen. This is the perfect prescription for cancer and candida/fungal overgrowth, as well as for weak malfunctioning organs, and other debilitating, autoimmune and degenerative diseases.

The Optimal Diet Cures Diseases

With proper nutrition it is possible to reverse cancer, diabetes, and heart disease (the three leading causes of death today), along with many other diseases and malfunctions. Proof of this is happening in Poland today, with The Optimal Diet.

Over 30 years ago Dr. Jan Kwasniewski first devised and implemented this diet, which is curing many people of diseases and malfunctions, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

The Optimal Diet greatly improves health by correcting nutritional mistakes and errors. See The Optimal Diet and The Optimal Diet 2.

Nutritional mistakes and errors are rampant in today's society, mainly because of:

The industrialization of our food supply in the early 1900s.
False information by governments, and big business, i.e. the medical, drug, food and agricultural industries, about foods, what constitutes healthy nutrition, and about effective natural health treatments.

Most foods in supermarkets today are not "real foods"; they are "fake chemical laden foods" that contain dangerous toxins and chemicals, and they are totally devoid of nutrients.

Even some "real foods" have been tampered with by the food and agricultural industries, in order to save them time and money, and their tampering is damaging your health! Eating such foods will deteriorate your health, if it hasn't already.

Three Food Groups

Just so we are all on the same page, in this article all foods are grouped into three (3) categories:

Proteins
Fats
Carbohydrates - all foods not classified as protein or fat, including fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nut, legumes, all forms of sugar, etc.

Within each of these categories there are many damaging, chemical-laden, and fake foods produced by the food and agricultural industries.

Most Processed Foods Are Not Real Foods!

To regain and maintain your health all processed food should be eliminated from your diet, particularly the following:

Sugars.
Improperly prepared grains, seeds and legumes.
Soy and soybean derived products.
Genetically Modified Foods

It wasn't until the 20^th century that food production and processing became industrialized. Prior to that time diseases that are prevalent today were largely unknown. Industrialization has ushered in many foods that aren't "real,"as Frank Forncich writes in his article, Is it Foods?:

"The single most important thing we need to know about nutrition in the modern world is how to recognize the difference between food and food products.

Food	Food Products
- grown - messy - variable quality - goes bad fast - requires preparation - vibrant colors, rich textures - authentically flavorful - strong connection to land and culture	- produced, manufactured - neat, convenient - always the same - keeps forever - instant results - dull, bland - artificially flavorful - no connection to land or culture

He makes these suggestions to help you distinguish between "real food" and food products:

If it didn't exist until after 1903 (when the hydrogenation process was invented), it's probably not food.
It it's wrapped in layers of plastic, cardboard and foil, it's probably not food.
If it requires heavy advertising to sell it, it's probably not food.

In other words, "real foods" are foods direct from nature, which were consumed by our ancestors for eons, long before the industrialization of our food supply.

Today's Standard Diet Does Not Support Health

Today's standard diet cannot support health mainly because is largely driven by the food processing and agribusiness industries whose only motive is profits!

It is loaded with sugars, high carbohydrates, damaging man-made oils and fats (margarine, shortening, and vegetable oils), white flour products, chemicals, food additives, preservatives, pesticides, and heavy metals, all of which are toxic and very damaging to health. In fact the accumulation of toxins from foods, water, and the environment in our blood is killing us!

Toxic Chemicals in Our Blood

Chemical compounds that are found everywhere in our food, air, and water are now found in every person. The accumulation of these compounds in some individuals can cause a variety of dysfunctions and in some cases outright disease.

Systems in the body most affected by these xenobiotic compounds (a chemical or substance that is foreign to an organism or biological system) include the immune, neurological, and endocrine systems.

Toxicity in these systems can lead to immune dysfunction, autoimmunity, asthma, cancer, learning difficulties, mood changes, neurological illnesses, changes in sexual desire and functioning, reproductive dysfunction, and upsets in blood glucose levels, etc.

None of us choose to have hazardous pesticides in our bodies yet, as reported by Colleen Huber in her article The Toxic Bucket: How Environmental Medicine Unloads the Burden of Synthetic Chemicals from the Body:

"A Mount Sinai School of Medicine study found that each of nine volunteers averaged 91 chemical compounds in the blood and urine. Of the 167 chemicals discovered among the volunteers tested, 94 are toxic to the brain or nervous system, 76 are carcinogenic and 79 are linked to birth defects.

The volunteers tested do not work with chemicals on the job, nor do they live close to an industrial facility. Rather, they represent the average body burden of an ordinary American citizen.

Furthermore, chemicals that are foreign to the body, or xenobiotics (xeno = foreign or not naturally occurring) tend to accumulate in the tissues over time. Worse yet, children playing on the floor and breathing more air than adults, acquire chemical body burdens faster than adults."

The Center for Disease Control found pesticides in 100% of the people tested. The average person in this group carried a toxic cocktail of 13 of the 23 pesticides that were analyzed. Many of the pesticides found in test subjects have been linked to serious short- and long-term health effects including infertility, birth defects and childhood and adult cancers.

The combined effects of multiple exposures are unknown, but a growing body of research suggests that even at very low levels the combination of these chemicals are very harmful to our health.

Your body doesn't need more poisons and toxins, which are more prevalent today than ever before in human history!

Toxic Sources & Issues That Adversely Affect Health

There are many environmental sources of toxins and poisons that adversely affect health, including molds, chemicals, smoke, pesticide spraying, smog, radiation and electromagnetic exposure, i.e. cell phones, computers, TVs, microwave ovens, electrical outlets and appliances, power lines, etc.

There are some toxic sources you can control, particularly molds in your home: See Eliminate Molds in Your Home.

Fluoride is another very poisonous substance which is added to foods and water. It has been highly promoted as a defense against tooth decay, however this is not true. In fact fluoride is a poison that causes many health problems, including:

It accumulates in our bones and makes them more brittle and prone to fracture. The weight of evidence from many studies on this is overwhelming. Lifetime exposure to fluoride will contribute to higher rates of hip fracture in the elderly.
It accumulates in our pineal gland, possibly lowering the production of melatonin a very important regulatory hormone (Luke, 1997, 2001).
It damages the enamel (dental fluorosis) of a high percentage of children. Between 30 and 50% of children have dental fluorosis on at least two teeth in optimally fluoridated communities (Heller et al, 1997 and McDonagh et al, 2000).
There are serious, but yet unproven, concerns about a connection between fluoridation and osteosarcoma in young men (Cohn, 1992), as well as fluoridation and the current epidemics of both arthritis and hypothyroidism.
In animal studies fluoride at 1 ppm in drinking water increases the uptake of aluminum into the brain (Varner et al, 1998).
Counties with 3 ppm or more of fluoride in their water have lower fertility rates (Freni, 1994).
In human studies the fluoridating agents most commonly used in the US not only increase the uptake of lead into children's blood (Masters and Coplan, 1999, 2000) but are also associated with an increase in violent behavior.

You can easily eliminate most sources of fluoride by:

Refusing dental fluoride treatments.
Using fluoride-free natural toothpaste or by using baking soda and ocean sea salt mixed 50/50 and made into a paste with hydrogen peroxide.
Not eating processed foods.
Filtering your water if it contains fluoride.

For more information see Fluoride - The Hidden Poison in the National Organic Standards

Human health is also deteriorated by many other sources of toxic substances, i.e. chlorine and heavy metals contained in water, toxic ingredients and heavy metals contained in household and personal care products (shampoo, lotion, makeup, deodorant, detergent, air deodorizers, antiseptic solutions and sprays, cleaning agents, etc.), synthetic materials, dry cleaning, plastic products, etc.

See many other articles on toxic sources.

Lowered vitality and health are also contributed to by emotional stress, losses, accidents, injuries, and financial or relationship worries and concerns.

Our foods are one of the most serious sources of toxins, which are put there by the food industry and agribusiness.

Dirty Secrets of Agribusiness and the Food Processing Industry

Agribusiness and the food processing industry are powerful forces that have influenced high consumption of sugar, carbohydrates, unnatural toxic oils and fats, and other nutrient-devoid foods, toxins, and chemicals. That is because their main motivation is money!

They would have us convinced that we restrict our eating to only dead foods that have no nutritional value whatsoever, just so their pockets can be lined.

Manipulating Governments to Pass Laws

Every year the food industry and agribusiness spends millions of dollars lobbying for laws that will save them time and money! They have been successful in getting laws passed that allow poisons in our foods, i.e. preservatives, additives, coloring agents, foaming agents, binders, thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and many other chemicals.

And they have been able to get laws passed that allow genetically modified foods, synthetic vitamins and minerals added to foods, and other processes that further damage our foods, i.e. irradiation (radiation), pasteurization, hydrogenation, etc.

These laws only benefit them, and they damage your health! This means our foods are stripped of nutrients, and damaged and poisoned by chemicals, high heat, radiation, hydrogenation, pasteurization, etc. which ruins foods and they are toxic and damaging to the human body. See: Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry.

Irradiation & Microwaving Kills Foods!

Some of these laws allow the food industry to kill foods! This is done by a process called irradiation. Irradiation is where foods are exposed to high levels of radiation in order to extend shelf life or to kill bacteria.

Radiation disrupts the DNA (genes) of bacteria so they cannot reproduce. The current permissible radiation dosage is about 200 million times greater than a chest x-ray!

Microwaving also damages and kills foods exactly the same way irradiation does. Radiation breaks up the molecular structure of the food and creates a whole new set of chemicals known as "unique radiolytic products" (URPs).

These URPs include chemicals such benzene and formaldehyde, and a host of known mutagens (capable of causing mutation) and carcinogens (capable of inducing cancer).

Irradiation also kills nutrients, friendly bacteria and enzymes, and effectively renders the food "dead." This makes these foods totally useless to your body. In fact you would probably get more nutrients by eating cardboard.

Instead of governments requiring the food industry to clean up foods during production, radiation is allowed. This means that foods unfit for human consumption end up on your table and more importantly, in your body!

Such foods include spoiled fish, meats and eggs from sick animals, spices that contain animal droppings and insect part, and so on. Radiation also kills friendly bacteria and enzymes that naturally control the growth of harmful bacteria in foods.

Hundred's of tests prove that irradiated or microwaved foods are damaging to humans. Short term studies were done on children in India, and 6 weeks after they ate irradiated wheat their blood tests showed chromosomal (gene) damage.

The chromosome abnormality is called polyploidy, which has been associated with leukemia and direct exposure to radiation.

Research dating to the 1950s has revealed a wide range of problems in laboratory animals that ate irradiated foods, including premature death, cancer, stillbirths, genetic damage, organ malfunctions, stunted growth, and vitamin deficiencies.

Short term tests were done on dogs using irradiated beef; the dogs ended up with enlarged spleens and swollen lymph nodes. Other studies, including those done under U.S. Government contract, indicate the possibility of immunotoxicity (destroyed cells), kidney disease, cardiac thrombus (a fibrinous clot that forms in one of the chambers of the heart causing blockage), testicular damage and fibroplasias (the formation of fibrous tissues).

To top it all off, in some areas the food industry is not required to label such foods. Did you know that U.S. federal law does not require labeling of irradiated food served in schools, restaurants, hospitals and similar venues? See articles about Microwaving & Irradiation.

Agribusiness Produces Foods Unfit to Eat!

In addition to killing our foods our industrial system of agriculture puts cattle, dairy cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc. inside cramped quarters, on cement, and feeds them foods they are not designed to eat. This produces sick, maltreated animals and foods in our bodies that are unfit for human consumption. As stated in Raising Healthy Dairy Cows, Raw Milk Resources Guide (2003):

"Ruminant animals have four stomachs and are evolutionarily adapted to eat pasture, browse and [eat] other plants. Today's dairy cows are nutritionally depleted and stressed by producing huge quantities of milk.

To survive they need a lot to eat, so forage is supplemented with grains. When cows are fed grains, the rumen pH lowers, microbes change and the animal's health (also milk and meat) is adversely affected, and cows eating large amounts of grain can even die."

According to a study published in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, livestock that are fed on grain have more omega-6 fat, which may promote heart disease, and less omega-3 fat, which is beneficial for cardiac health, than both wild animals and grass-fed livestock.

Since the early 1970s hormones have been used extensively in the production of beef and milk in North America, with hormone development research starting as far back as the 1950s. Two-thirds of cattle raised in the U.S. are treated with these hormones.

The hormones are implanted or injected into cattle at various stages of maturity in order to promote faster growth.

Hormones used in beef cattle include the male hormone testosterone and its synthetic equivalent trenbolone acetate, and the female hormone progesterone including three synthetic derivatives.

These synthetic hormones share similar characteristics with a class of other molecules called endocrine disruptors that imitate other human hormones in the body and have been linked to diseases such as cancer.

Endocrine Disruptors

Endocrine disruptors are exogenous (originating from outside the body) substances that cause adverse biological effects by interfering with the endocrine system (see the next paragraph) which disrupts the production and function of hormones.

The foundations of the endocrine system are hormones and glands. Hormones are the body's chemical messengers which transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another.

Glands involved in the endocrine system mainly consist of the adrenal glands, thyroid, pituitary, and reproductive glands, which include the ovaries and testes. Hormones are also produced by the pancreas, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, thymus, skin, and placenta.

Antibiotics as Animal Feed Additives

In addition to hormones, about nine million pounds of antibiotic feed additives are used annually in the cattle-raising process. Many people don't realize that the largest use of antibiotics in the United States is for animals so that they will gain more weight, and also to prevent disease outbreaks that could easily occur because the animals are raised in such crowded conditions and fed foods they are not intended to eat.

Animals that are raised in natural environments and not on "factory farms" rarely get sick, so they do not require drugs, antibiotics and vaccines.

Vaccines & Other Drugs

Along with antibiotics, cattle are given various vaccines and other drugs. Water pollution is among the most severe problem caused by nearly 1 billion tons of organic waste produced by cattle each year, along with the enormous amounts of chemical fertilizers used to produce feed crops.

Mass-Produced Poultry & Eggs

Mass-produced chickens and turkeys are raised in similar circumstances to other factory farm animals. They are crammed into very small quarters and fed foods that are unnatural to them, such as all-vegetarian grains that include soy.

These unnatural foods make birds sick, requiring treatments with vaccines and antibiotics. Meat and eggs from these confined, sickly birds not only results in poor quality eggs and meats that lack nutrients, but they also have less taste and less good fats required for human health.

Good fats that are required for human health include essential fatty acids, including omega 3 and omega 6. However standard diets contain too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3.

The best source of omega 3 is meats and eggs, however as Sally Fallon writes in her cookbook Nourishing Traditions: "Most commercial vegetable oils contain very little omega-3 linolenic acid and large amounts of the omega-6 linoleic acid.

In addition, modern agricultural and industrial practices have reduced the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in commercially available vegetables, eggs, fish and meat.

For example, organic eggs from hens allowed to feed on insects and green plants can contain omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the beneficial ratio of approximately one-to-one; but commercial supermarket eggs can contain as much as nineteen times more omega-6 than omega-3!

But there is an important difference in the ratio of omega-6s to 3s according to how the animals are fed and raised. For example, grain-fed beef can have ratios that exceed 20:1, but grass-fed beef is down around 3:1. Similar ratios are found in all grain-fed versus grass-fed livestock products.

Grass-fed livestock are rich in all the fats that are health-enhancing and provide the body with goods fats for the production of cholesterol. Similarly free-range chickens produce eggs with an omega 6:3 ratio of 1.5 to one, whereas the "supermarket egg" has a ratio of 20 to one."

Like all birds, their natural food consists of seeds, fresh greens, insects, bugs, worms, and other meats. Alan Nation writes in his article How We Farmed: Traditional American Farming Techniques and What We Can Learn from Them [from 1916]: "The best size flock was said to be between 300 and 500 birds.

Flocks larger than this were thought to be too susceptible to disease. One hundred hens were said to consume as much pasture per year as a 1000 pound beef cow and were considered to be one animal unit.

Sprouted oats were fed during the winter to keep both the mature birds and particularly chicks healthy. Access to pasture was recommended for chicks as soon as they could be released from the heated brooder, in order to prevent disease.

. . . winter-confined birds cut off from their access to bugs and worms were supplied with meat scraps daily. Chickens were not seen as vegetarians in 1916!"

Soil Lacks Nutrients

Animal health [and human health] is largely dependent upon soil health even when they are allowed to eat their natural diet, mainly green plants. In Agriculture and Nutrition Gary Wilson writes:

A diet that forces the animal or human to eat more carbohydrates to obtain the required protein and minerals is a fattening diet. We may worry about what fattening foods we eat, but we never worry about the fact that the same food may be more or less fattening depending on the soil fertility and the fertilizers used in the crop's production."

Most of our food is grown on soil which is sadly depleted of it life-giving nutrients as observed by Dr. Weston A. Price in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: "THE data available on the subject of soil depletion and animal deterioration are so voluminous that it would require a volume to present them adequately.

When we realize the quantities of many of the minerals which must enter into the composition of the bodies of human beings and other animals, we appreciate the difficulty of providing in pasture and agricultural soils a concentration of these minerals sufficient to supply the needs for plant growth and food production.

In correspondence with government officials in practically every state of the United States I find that during the last fifty years there has been a reduction in capacity of the soil for productivity in many districts, amounting to from 25 to 50 per cent."

Note: Dr. Weston A. Price wrote his book in 1939, so just imagine how much more the soil has been depleted of nutrients since then.

Dr. Price also notes: "Not only is the soil itself depleted of nutrients but also many toxic chemicals are use to fight off predators, insects and disease, particularly by factory farms. These are done to save time and money, but they have absolutely no benefit to animal, plant or human health. In fact, the reverse is true. See Soil depletion and plant and animal deterioration.

Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD sum it up very well in Farm and Ranch: Splendor From the Grass: "During the time when the cultivation of our animal foods has been transferred from farms to factories, the incidence of chronic disease has risen precipitously.

Cancer and heart disease were rare 100 years ago and today allergies and autoimmune problems make life miserable for millions of people. Can the trend towards confinement feeding be cited as a cause for the upsurge in these diseases?"

Genetically Modified Foods

Even though agribusinesses like Monsanto's spend a great deal of money trying to convince us that genetically modified (GM) foods are perfectly safe for human consumption, more and more evidence is coming to light that GM foods damage human health.

The article The Damage GM Foods Can do to Your Body reports: "A project to develop genetically modified, pest-resistant peas has been abandoned after tests showed the peas cause lung damage in mice.

Field peas are susceptible to pea weevils, which lay their eggs on pea pods. The gene for a protein capable of killing pea weevil pests was transferred from the common bean to the peas. This protein does not normally cause allergic reactions in mice or people.

But when the protein is expressed in the pea, its structure becomes subtly different from the original. Researchers say that this indicates a potential for unpredicted and unintended effects due to such structural changes. In this case, it was probably caused by differences in the ways that the two plants produce proteins.

Trials showed that the GM peas were almost completely resistant to pea weevils. But mice injected with the protein showed a hypersensitive skin response, and those exposed to it in airborne form developed airway inflammation and lung damage. The effect was the same whether the protein was taken from raw peas or cooked peas.

In the early 1990s, a similar situation happened when researchers engineered a new strain of soy bean by adding a gene taken from brazil nuts. But that project ended when it was discovered that the hybrid was likely to trigger a major attack in people with brazil nut allergies."

Another article published by the Food Policy Institute reports: "For nearly a decade, most Americans have been unknowingly consuming unlabeled genetically modified (GM) foods, according to a survey involving 1,200 Americans.

It seems that genetic modification of foods has begun to take precedence, as roughly 75 percent of U.S. processed foods contain some GM ingredients, including foods such as: cooking oils, boxed cereals, grain products and frozen dinners.

A grocery manufacturer's group, Grocery Manufacturers of America, explained that nearly every product with a corn or soy ingredient, as well as some containing canola or cottonseed oil, has a GM component. The numbers speak for themselves: More than 80 percent of soy and 40 percent of corn raised in the United States is a GM variety.

Genetically modifying crops involves transferring genes from a plant or animal into a plant. Often, the "goal" is to eliminate the use of pesticides and make farming more productive and affordable.

And while many experts believe GM foods may someday help prevent illnesses such as cancer and osteoporosis, critics claim GM foods could cause health problems (allergic or toxic reactions), as well as damage the environment. Moreover, issues regarding GM foods have already hit the forefront:

One Swiss biotech company mistakenly sold U.S. farmers an unapproved GM corn seed; tons of the experimental corn was sold between 2001 and 2004. A GM corn, approved only for animal use, got into taco shells and chips and resulted in recalls, lawsuits and public uproar

Another pitfall: There's no system for tracking or reporting associated health problems caused by GM foods."

To avoid eating genetically modified foods, look at produce stickers. Those little stickers on fruits and vegetables contain different PLUs (Price Look-Up Codes) depending on whether it was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically engineered.

The PLU code for conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers, organically grown fruit five numbers prefaced by the number 9, and GM fruit five numbers prefaced by the number 8. For example:

Conventionally grown         PLU: 1022
Organically grown            PLU: 91022
Genetically modified         PLU: 81022

Also see Genetic Engineering, Playing God in the Garden.

Traditional Mixed Farms Produce Healthy Foods

Agriculture that produces foods as close to nature as possible are the foods humans are intended to consume! Healthy animals raised on traditional mixed farms are not sick and their meats and eggs are also healthy, as written by Charles Eisenstein in The Ethics of Eating Meat: A Radical View:

"For in fact, there are other ways of raising animals for food, ways that make livestock an environmental asset rather than a liability, and in which animals do not lead lives of suffering.

Consider, for example, a traditional mixed farm combining a variety of crops, pasture land and orchards. Here, manure is not a pollutant or a waste product; it is a valuable resource contributing to soil fertility.

In a farm that is not just a production facility but an ecology, livestock has a beneficial role to play. The cycles, connections and relationships among crops, trees, insects, manure, birds, soil, water and people on a living farm form an intricate web, "organic" in its original sense, a thing of beauty not easily lumped into the same category as a 5000-animal concrete hog factory.

Any natural environment is home to animals and plants, and it seems reasonable that an agriculture that seeks to be as close as possible to nature would incorporate both."

Foods That Damage

Sugar Is Poison!

The average person living in the Western world consumes about 125 pounds of refined table sugar every year! Did you know that sugar is poisonous to the body and that it leads to, or directly causes, 146 health problems and diseases? Here are just a few examples:

Sugar can suppress the immune system and it contributes to the reduction in the body's defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases). Scientists have proven that too much sugar is the death of the immune system.
Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body. It also interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
Sugar produces a low oxygen environment = cancer and candida (fungal) growth environment.
Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
Sugar can cause and/or lead to appendicitis, atherosclerosis, arthritis,asthma, cancer, candida (fungal overgrowth), eczema, emphysema, gallstones,heart disease, hemorrhoids, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, periodontal disease, varicose veins, etc.
Sugar weakens eyesight and it can cause cataracts.
Sugar contributes to diabetes and obesity.
Sugar can impair the structure of DNA (genes).
Sugar is the #1 enemy of the bowel movement.
Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.
Sugar can cause depression.
Sugar causes indigestion and constipation.
Sugar feeds cancer and other fungal diseases, i.e. candida (fungal overgrowth).
Sugar is an addictive substance, and it can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.

For the complete list see Sugar, 146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health.

The fact that sugar greatly depresses the immune system has been known for many years, mainly because of Linus Pauling. He is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes — for Chemistry (1954) and for Peace (1962). He concluded that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C, and so he developed his theory that high doses of vitamin C were needed to combat the common cold, the flu, and even cancer.

Did you know that vitamin C and sugar have similar chemical structures so that means they compete with one another for entry into the cells? New research confirms Dr. John Ely's 30-year theory that sugar (glucose) competes with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) for insulin-mediated uptake into cells.

Consuming sugar can effectively crowd out the ascorbate (vitamin C). The effect of the Pauling Therapy [high doses of vitamin C] is reportedly much more pronounced and immediate when sugar is eliminated.

If there is more sugar around less vitamin C is allowed into the cell, and vice versa. It is interesting that taking vitamin C also helps curb cravings for sugar, alcohol and carbohydrates. Since our bodies cannot make vitamin C on its own, it must be obtained from foods or supplements on a daily basis.

In his book Sugar Blues, Bill Dufty points out numerous examples of physical diseases and psychological disorders that can be traced back to diets that are deficient in whole unprocessed foods, and dominated by highly processed fats and sugars.

One example he notes is that "by 1662, sugar consumption in England had zoomed from zero to some 16 million pounds a year, this in little over two centuries. Then, in 1665, London was swept by a plague." However, the bubonic plague was blamed on rats?

The problem with sugar consumption is not just limited to refined table sugar. Other types of sugars are just as damaging, i.e. corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, glucose, fructose (fruits), lactose (dairy products), etc. plus all artificial sugar substitutes and sweeteners, i.e. NutraSweet, aspartame, saccharin, etc. — see the partial list below.

Names for Sugars and Sweeteners (partial list)

Aspartame
Acesulfame-K
alitame
cane
sugar
carmel
carob powder
corn starch
corn syrup
crystalline powder
carbohydrate
cyclamate
date sugar
disaccharides
dextrin
dextrose

erythritol
fructose
galactose
glucose
invert
sugar
lactitol
lactose
levulose
malts of any kind
maltitol
maltodextrin
maltose
manitol
mannitol
monosaccharides

Naturlose
NutraSweet
polydextrose
polysaccharides
ribose
saccharin
sorbitol
sorghum
suamiel
sucanat
sucrose
tagatose
talose
trehalose
Xylitol

Artificial sugars are particularly damaging to the body because they are neurotoxic, meaning they cause damage to the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. In Sugar-Free Blues Jim Earles writes this about aspartame:

"Researchers at Utah State University found that even at low levels aspartame induces adverse changes in the pituitary glands of mice. The pituitary gland is the master gland upon which the proper function of all biochemical processes depend.

When aspartame is digested it breaks down into the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, plus methanol. Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a known poison.

Methanol is also found in fruit juices, and our regulatory agencies have seized upon this fact to assure us that the methanol by-product of aspartame is not harmful. They fail to point out that the methanol content of a diet soft drink is 15 to 100 times higher than that of fruit juices."

Fruit Is Not As Healthy As You Think

Did you know that fruit is not the healthy food it is claimed to be? Fruit is mostly fructose sugar with some vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Those vitamins and nutrients are easily obtained from meats, eggs, and vegetables.

Did you know there is more vitamin C in broccoli and peppers than in any fruits sold at the grocery store today, and that meats and eggs also contain vitamin C?

Even healthy people should limit fruit consumption to two per day and they should always be accompanied by plenty of saturated fats to slow the release of fructose into the bloodstream.

That is why strawberries and cream tastes so good together! Like all other sugars, fructose causes insulin resistance (see the section below), as proven in scientific tests. Fruits that are lowest in sugar are grapefruit, lemon and lime.

Also a high carbohydrate diet is just as damaging to your body as sugar — see the section below Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Cause Disease. Did you know you can obtain all of your body's blood sugar requirements by eating meats, eggs and saturated fats, and no carbohydrates!

That is because "58% of the protein and about 10% of the fat you eat are converted to glucose," as stated by Prevention Magazine.

Insulin Resistant Cells

Sugar and a diet high in carbohydrates creates insulin resistant cell. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas. It helps the body utilize blood glucose (blood sugar) by binding with receptors on cells like a key would fit into a lock.

Once the key, which is insulin, has unlocked the door, the glucose can pass from the blood into the cell. Inside the cell, glucose is either used for energy or stored for future use in the form of glycogen in the liver or muscle cells.

The body's cells become insulin resistant because they are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin, which is required to regulate blood sugar levels when the diet is high in sugars and carbohydrates.

This causes the cells to down-regulate their receptor activity and the numbers of their receptors so they don't have to receive �that noxious stimuli' all the time.

It is like having this loud disgusting music being played and you have to turn down the volume. Insulin resistance by the cells leads to blood sugar problems like hypoglycemia and diabetes, and also to high blood pressure.

In Insulin and Its Metabolic Affects Ron Rosedale, M.D. states: "A less known fact is that insulin also stores magnesium. But if your cells become resistant to insulin, you can't store magnesium so you lose it through urination.

Intracellular magnesium relaxes muscles. What happens when you can't store magnesium because the cell is resistant? You lose magnesium and your blood vessels constrict. This causes an increase in blood pressure and a reduction in energy since intracellular magnesium is required for all energy producing reactions that take place in the cell.

But most importantly, magnesium is also necessary for the action of insulin and the manufacture of insulin. When you raise your insulin, you lose magnesium, and the cells become even more insulin resistant.

Blood vessels constrict and glucose and insulin can't get to the tissues, which makes them more insulin resistant, so the insulin levels go up and you lose more magnesium. This is the vicious cycle that begins even before you were born."

Unnatural Oils & Fats Damage the Entire Body

You cannot afford to jeopardize your health by consuming unnatural oils and fats, such as man-made hydrogenated fats (trans-fats) and polyunsaturated fats and oils from vegetables oils (except extra virgin olive oil). These fats and oils are damaging to your entire body because they affect the structure of every single cell.

Not only are these fats toxic, increasing the body's need for vitamin E and other antioxidants (substances that guard the body against harmful effects), but they also severely depress the immune system.

The fact is these unnatural fats are only one molecule away from being plastic, and they act just like plastic in your body. You wouldn't melt down Tupperware and eat it, so you do not want to consume any unnatural plastic fats and oils.

The hydrogenation process used by the oils and fats industry produces trans-fats, which are more damaging than any other oils and fats because it employs: 1) high heat, 2) a metal catalyst such as nickel, zinc, copper, or other reactive metals, and 3) hydrogen gas.

This is a volatile combination designed to extract and process oils, but it results in an extremely toxic product that the body reacts to it like it does to other toxins and poisons.

Also these fats and oils go rancid (become decomposed) very easily, even when refrigerated, and often they are rancid when purchased at the store.

Vegetable fats and oils to eliminate from your diet are derived from plants such as canola (from rape seed), soy, safflower, sunflower, soybean, and corn. This includes products that contain these fats, such as margarine, salad dressing, mayonnaise, cooking and baking oils and fats, and a myriad of foods that contain these fats and oils. This includes everything from soup to nuts! Literally!

Other products that contain these plastic oils and fats are: breads, pastries, cake, cookies, muffins, buns, French fries, potato chips, snack foods, soups, canned meats, processed meats, cream substitutes and flavorings, ice cream, nuts, and so on and so on.

The only way to eliminate them is to make homemade condiments, soups, broths, etc. (see our Recipes Section) and by purchasing unprocessed "real" foods. To learn more about the kind of damage these fats and oils cause see Know Your Fats.

Plants from which vegetable fats and oils are produced have evolved a variety of toxins designed by nature to protect them from "predators" such as grazing animals, and their seeds contain a variety of toxins. The seed oils themselves block digestive enzymes that break down protein in the stomach.

These digestive enzymes are necessary for proper digestion, production of thyroid hormones, clot removal, immunity and general adaptability of cells. Therefore using such plants to produce oils and fats is unnatural, and they are very damaging to the body.

In The Skinny on Fats Sally Fallon notes: "One reason the polyunsaturates [fats and oils] cause so many health problems is that they tend to become oxidized or rancid when subjected to heat, oxygen and moisture as in cooking and processing.

She goes on to say "They have been characterized as "marauders" in the body for they attack cell membranes and red blood cells and cause damage in DNA/RNA strands, [the material inside the nucleus of cells that carries genetic information] thus triggering mutations in tissue, blood vessels and skin.

Free radical [unstable molecular fragments that can damage cells] damage to the skin causes wrinkles and premature aging; free radical damage to the tissues and organs sets the stage for tumors; free radical damage in the blood vessels initiates the buildup of plaque.

Is it any wonder that tests and studies have repeatedly shown a high correlation between cancer and heart disease with the consumption of polyunsaturates?

New evidence links exposure to free radicals with premature aging, with autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and with Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's and cataracts.

Cells Not Constructed As Nature Intended

Unfortunately the body will incorporate these unnatural man-made fats and oils into every cell, which changes the structure of cell membranes. When these plastic fats and oils are incorporated into the cells it makes them flabby, meaning they are "out of condition" and "not strong".

Weak flabby cell membranes allow toxins to enter them, which further damages health, as in the case of lung cancer from cigarette smoke.

Most of the body's cells need to be constructed with 50% saturated fats, except the lungs, which require 100% saturated fat and in Saturated Fats and the Lungs Mary G. Enig, PhD points out "When people consume a lot of partially hydrogenated fats and oils, the trans fatty acids are put into the phospholipids [fats] where the body normally wants to have saturated fatty acids and the lungs may not work effectively."

When our body's cells are constructed as nature intended they do not allow harmful toxins to enter and they are better able to utilize nutrients and oxygen, and to get rid of waste. For this reason all unnatural fats and oils should not be consumed by anyone!

Soy & Soy-Based Foods Are Extremely Damaging To Health!

Soy and all soybean based products, milks, oils, etc. are toxic and extremely damaging to the body! The reason is because soybeans contain large quantities of many harmful substances which are natural toxins or "anti-nutrients."

These anti-nutrients include potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of enzymes needed for protein digestion, which are "not" deactivated during ordinary cooking and can produce serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid (proteins) uptake.

In test animals, diets high in enzyme inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, thyroid malfunction and other diseases, including cancer.

Soy contains other harmful substances as noted by Sally Fallon writes in The Ploy of Soy: "The soybean also contains hemaglutinin, a clot promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together. Trypsin inhibitors and hemaglutinin have been rightly labelled "growth depressant substances."

Sally goes on to say that fabricated soy foods are the worst: "A final indignity to the original soy bean is high-temperature, high-pressure extrusion processing of soy protein isolate to produce textured vegetable protein [TVP].

Numerous artificial flavorings, particularly MSG, are added to TVP products to mask their strong "beany" taste, and impart the flavor of meat.

Soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein are used extensively in school lunch programs, commercial baked goods, diet beverages and fast food products. They are heavily promoted in third world countries and form the basis of many food give-away programs.

These soy products greatly inhibit zinc and iron absorption; in test animals they cause enlarged organs, particularly the pancreas and thyroid gland, and increased deposition of fatty acids in the liver."

Soybeans also contain one of the highest percentages of pesticides of any of our foods, as well as being 99% genetically modified.

In Myths & Truths About Soy Sally Fallon states: "Soy isoflavones are endocrine disrupters [described above in the section on Agribusiness]. At dietary levels, they can prevent ovulation and stimulate the growth of cancer cells.

Eating as little as 30 grams (about 4 tablespoons) of soy per day can result in hypothyroidism [underactive thyroid function] with symptoms of lethargy, constipation, weight gain and fatigue. Soybeans are also high in phytic acid, present in the bran or hulls of all seeds, which blocks the absorption of essential minerals - calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc - in the intestinal tract."

What about soy isoflavones that are touted as healthy for you? Sally Fallon writes in The Ploy of Soy: Cancer Preventing or Cancer Causing?: "The food industry also touts soy products for their cancer preventing properties. Isoflavone aglycones are anti-carcinogenic substances found in traditionally fermented soybean products.

However, in non-fermented soy products such as tofu and soy milk, these isoflavones are present in an altered form . . ., which have no anti-carcinogenic effect. Some researchers believe the rapid increase in liver and pancreatic cancer in Africa is due to the introduction of soy products there.

Soy is an extremely unhealthy food for anyone to consume. This includes soybeans and all soy-based foods, i.e. soybean oil, tofu, concentrated soy products, soymilk and beverages, soy-based baby formulas, non-dairy frozen desserts, soy cheese, soy fiber, soy flour, soy grits, soy sauce, soy nut butter, soy nuts, soy sprouts, soy bars, soy shakes, soy pasta, soy whipped toppings, cream and sour cream, as well as additives or derivatives, i.e. lecithin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), etc."

Many other products also contain soy, including body care products, candles, cleaners, crayons, hair products, supplements, etc.

Supplements most likely to contain soy are oil soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D and E, but other supplements have also fallen prey to the soy industry.

Most chelated mineral supplements contain amino acids derived from soy. Chelated means "firmly attached" usually to an amino acid or other organic component, so the two do not disassociate in the digestive system. Chelation is intended to increase absorption of the mineral supplement.

Soy Allergies Are Common

Soy, also referred to as soya, soy bean, or glycine max, is among the top foods that produce [allergic] reactions worldwide -- mostly, but not exclusively, in infants.

Dr. Mercola, in his article Soy Can Cause Severe Allergic Reactions, writes: "A Swedish study shows that soy, like its botanically-related cousin the peanut, could be responsible for severe, potentially fatal, cases of food allergy, particularly in children with asthma who are also very sensitive to peanuts.

Soy has probably been underestimated as a cause of food anaphylaxis and that labeling of foods containing soy protein should be improved.

Between 1993 and 1996, 61 cases of severe reactions to food were reported, including 5 that were fatal. Peanut, soy and tree nuts caused 45 of the 61 reactions. Including two cases that occurred shortly before the study began, four deaths could be attributed to soy, say the researchers.

All four of the youngsters who died from soy anaphylaxis were allergic to peanuts but had no known allergy to soy. In most cases, after consuming the food containing soy, there were no symptoms for 30 to 90 minutes. However, that period of no or mild symptoms was followed by severe and rapidly deteriorating asthma."

For more information about the damaging effects of soy and soybean-based products, see Myths & Truths About Soy and The Ploy of Soy.

Table Salt Is Poison!

There is a big difference between table salt found in processed foods and in grocery stores today, and healthy natural salt. It is believed that the no-salt and low-salt dogmas came about because of the damaging effects table salt has had on health. But this is not true for natural salt.

Salt contains two very important macrominerals that are critical for health, which are sodium and chloride. Sally Fallon writes in Nourishing Traditions about the importance of sodium and chloride: "As all body fluids contain sodium, it can be said that sodium is essential to life.

It is needed for many biochemical processes including water balance regulation, fluid distribution on either side of the cell walls, muscle contraction and expansion, nerve stimulation and acid-alkaline balance. Sodium is very important to the proper function of the adrenal glands.

Chloride: It is needed for the production of hydrochloric acid and hence for protein digestion. It also activates the production of amylase enzymes [produced by the pancreas] needed for carbohydrate digestion. Chloride is also essential to proper growth and functioning of the brain.

The most important source of chloride is salt, as only traces are found in most other foods. Lacto-fermented beverages and bone broths both provide easily assimilated chloride. Other sources include celery and coconut."

Good natural salt is not the cause of high blood pressure like we've been led to believe. Dr. Batmanghelidj writes in his book Water: Rx for a Healthier Pain-Free Life:

"Salt is most effective in stabilizing irregular heartbeats and, contrary to the misconception that it causes high blood pressure, it is actually essential for the regulation of blood pressure - in conjunction with water. Naturally the proportions are critical."

However, table salt is not "real" salt. As Dr. Mercola discusses in his article The Hidden Poison Lurking in Your Kitchen: "You cannot live without salt.

However, most people simply don't realize that there are enormous differences between the standard, refined table and cooking salt most of you are accustomed to using, and healthy natural salt.

These differences can have a major impact on your staying healthy, or increasing your risk of diseases you want to avoid. If you want your body to function properly, you need holistic salt complete with all-natural elements. Today's common table salt is poison that has nothing in common with natural salt.

Most common table salt is made up of chemicals that pollute your body and wreak havoc on your health. Healthy natural salts contain no toxins and they have over 84 minerals necessary for your optimal health.

What remains after typical salt is "chemically cleaned" is sodium chloride - an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body recognizes as something completely foreign.

He goes on to say: "In order for your body to try to metabolize table salt crystals, it must sacrifice tremendous amounts of energy. Inorganic sodium chloride upsets your fluid balance and constantly overburdens your elimination systems, which can impair your health.

When your body tries to isolate the overdose of salt you typically expose it to, water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break them up into sodium and chloride ions in order to help your body neutralize them.

To accomplish this, water is taken from your cells and you have to sacrifice the perfectly structured water already stored in your cells in order to neutralize the unnatural sodium chloride. This results in dehydrated cells that can prematurely kill them." - see Table Salt is Poison.

For more information on the many important functions of salt in the body see Vital Functions of Salt in the Body.

In 1924 governments made it mandatory that salt manufacturers add inorganic iodine to table salt because of the incidence of goiters (enlarged thyroid caused by a lack of iodine). The body only requires minute amounts of iodine and the thyroid is not the only part of the body that requires it.

For example, the female breast tissue needs protein-bound iodine to protect it from estrogen over stimulation.

However, too much iodine is just as damaging to the thyroid and the rest of the body as too little, as Sally Fallon points out in Nourishing Traditions: "In excess, iodine can be toxic.

Consumption of high amounts of inorganic iodine (as in iodized salt or iodine-fortified bread) as well as of organic iodine (as in kelp) can cause thyroid problems similar to those of iodine deficiency, including goiter." The best natural sources of iodine are eggs, butter, seafoods and a good natural ocean sea salt.

These are all very good reasons why no one should consume table salt or foods that contain them, and why it is very important to consume a high quality ocean sea salt like Celtic (known as Nature's Cargo in Canada), which contains over 84 minerals, including natural sodium, chloride, and many trace minerals.

Grains, Nuts, Seeds & Legumes Unfit For Human Consumption

*Note: Legumes (French) are plants with seed pods, i.e. beans and peas, but they do not include green, string, yellow or wax beans.

Some of the worst nutrient-devoid and damaging foods on the market today are made from grains, nuts, seeds and legumes which are not properly prepared, making them totally unfit for human consumption.

Of course the food industry is not going to take the time required to prepare them like our ancestors and food artisans would.

It would cost them too much money! Such foods include pastries, cake, cookies, crackers, bread, pasta, cereal, noodles, potato chips, pretzels, tacos, waffles, pancakes, muffins, nuts, nut butters, etc.

Diets high in such foods leads to serious mineral deficiencies, bone loss and other related diseases, including Parkinson's, and erratic unstable heart beats. Also these improperly prepared grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, and fractionated products like bran and wheat germ, cause irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, colitis, colon cancer, and many other adverse health condition.

In Be Kind To Your Grains ...And Your Grains Will Be Kind To You Sally Fallon writes:

"Dr. Weston Price who noted in his studies of isolated, so-called "primitive" peoples that when white flour and other devitalized foods were introduced into these communities, rampant tooth decay and disease of every sort soon followed. . . .now whole grain and bran products are being promoted as health foods without adequate appreciation of their dangers.

These show up not only as digestive problems, Crohn's disease and colitis, but also as the mental disorders associated with celiac disease.

Problems occur when we are cruel to our grains—when we fractionate them into bran, germ and naked starch; when we mill them at high temperatures; when we extrude [to force or press out] them to make crunchy breakfast cereals; and when we consume them without careful preparation.

Grains require careful preparation because they contain a number of antinutrients that can cause serious health problems. Phytic acid, for example, is an organic acid in which phosphorus is bound. It is mostly found in the bran or outer hull of seeds.

Untreated phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in improperly prepared whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss [and other related diseases such as Parkinson's and erratic unstable heart beats.]

Other antinutrients in whole grains include enzyme inhibitors which can inhibit digestion and put stress on the pancreas; irritating tannins; complex sugars which the body cannot break down; and gluten and related hard-to-digest proteins which may cause allergies, digestive disorders and even mental illness."

Did you know that the anti-nutrients contained in grains, seeds, nuts and legumes are nature's way of protecting seeds until conditions are right for them to sprout, and grow. Preparing grains, seeds, nuts and legumes imitates nature's conditions. Sally Fallon writes that:

"It involves soaking for a period in warm, acidulated water in the preparation of porridge, or long, slow sour dough fermentation in the making of bread. Such processes neutralize phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors.

Vitamin content increases, particularly B vitamins. Tannins, complex sugars, gluten and other difficult-to-digest substances are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.

When grains are properly prepared through soaking, sprouting or sour leavening, the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world do some of our digesting for us in a container, just as these same lactobacilli do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores."

In fact the human digestive system is totally incapable of breaking down fibers in plant foods. Fiber foods like vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes are very hard on the intestines, which have to work extra hard to get rid of all of those fibers. This makes the bowels move too quickly, resulting in fewer nutrients being absorbed from foods.

The fact is that fibers are never a solution for constipation, in fact fibers cause constipation. The solution to constipation is to eat plenty of nature-made fats along with proteins and low carbohydrates.

Gluten Grains

Some grains contain gluten, which is an elastic gluey protein found in wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, triticale, and it is hidden in an endless variety of processed foods.

Triticale is a new hybrid grain with the properties of wheat and rye, while spelt and kamut are gluten-containing wheat variants (despite claims to the contrary) and are likely to cause problems similar to other wheat varieties.

Gluten is a protein that is very difficult to digest, and causes a great deal of intestinal damage. This damage makes the intestines incapable of absorbing nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and even water, in some cases. Celiac disease is prevalent in today's society, which means the person is gluten intolerant.

Mycotoxic Grains

Our grain food supply also contains mycotoxins (toxins produced by fungus), particularly found in corn and wheat and also found in barley, sorghum, peanuts, rye, and cottonseed. These mycotoxins are inherent in the grain during growth and it cannot be removed.

Mycotoxins greatly suppress immune function and they are neurotoxic, meaning they are poisonous to the brain and nervous system, which damages them, and it can cause many neurological dysfunctions and diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease and many others.

Grains that are safer to consume are more seed-like than grain-like, and they do not contain gluten. These grains include amaranth, buckwheat, millet and quinoa.

Brown rice is also a safe grain to eat. Even when it is safe for you to consume grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes, they must all be properly prepared in order to make them fit to eat.

Grains, seeds, nuts and beans must be eaten in moderation and they should only by consumed by healthy people. People who are sick or unhealthy cannot afford to further damage their health with these types of foods.

All grains must be soaked, spouted or leavened with sour dough to make them fit for anyone to eat, and all nuts, seeds, and legumes must be soaked in an acidic medium or salt - see How to Properly Prepare Grains, Nuts, Seeds and Legumes.

Grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes, like all carbohydrates, turn into glucose in the body. If a person consumes too much in relation to proteins and good nature-made fats they can create insulin resistance within the cells just like sugar and other sugary foods.

Fibers Are Damaging To Health

Fiber is that part of a vegetable, fruit, grain, nut seed or legume that passes undigested through the human gastrointestinal tract. The major natural source of fiber is the cellulose that forms plant cell walls but there are a number of other kinds of fiber as well.

While some fiber in the diet does not cause health problems, too much fiber and certain kinds of fiber are very damaging to health.

However, today fiber is promoted as an essential part of a healthy diet that are claimed to provide many health benefits. The truth is that the risk of many diseases actually increases when large amounts of fibers (carbs) are consumed, i.e. digestive diseases, bowel cancer, diabetes, and many others.

The problem with fiber consumption is well stated by Dr. Jan Kwasniewski, a doctor in Poland, whose Optimal Nutrition diet has been curing many people of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many other diseases and malfunctions: "For more than three decades Dr. Kwasniewski has been warning of the above [fiber in the diet].

Eating twice as much of vegetables means consuming copious amounts of fiber. This, as biochemistry textbooks are advising, means [an] increased load on our digestive system - we do not have enzymes required for digestion of fiber.

The body is then required to simply push volumes of undigested food irritating the internal walls of the intestines. It has been known for some time that fiber really does not protect from the bowel cancer. In fact, fiber consumed in larger quantities has proved to contribute to the development of the bowel cancer. So, should we now eat even more of it ??

It has been known for decades that the Optimal Nutrition provides a relief from various health problems related to the digestive system including Lesniewski-Crohn's disease, stomach and duodenal ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, etc." [Lesniewski-Crohn's disease is type of bowel disease.]

Bran is by far the worst kind of fiber to consume and increasing dietary intake of fibre has shown many harmful side-effects as Barry Groves writes in his article Climb Down from the Bran Wagon:

". . . bran has a far higher fibre content than vegetables and bran was a practically worthless by-product of the milling process which, until then, had been thrown away.

Now, virtually overnight, it became a highly priced profit maker. Bran is quite inedible - there is no known enzyme in the human body that can digest it.

Tests into the supposed benefits of increasing dietary intake of fibre soon showed that there could be other harmful side-effects:

Because it is indigestible, bran ferments in the gut and can induce or exacerbate flatulence, distension and abdominal pain. (19)
Although it is supposed to travel through the gut at a faster rate, it does not always do so and it has been shown to cause blockages. (20)
All the nutrients in food are absorbed through the gut wall and this takes time. It should be obvious, therefore, that if the food travels through faster, less will be absorbed. And, indeed, this is the case. Fibre is found to inhibit the absorption of zinc, (21) iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, energy, proteins, fats and vitamins A, D, E and K. (22)
Phytate associated with cereal fibre (bran) [as well as grains, seeds, nuts and legumes] also binds with calcium, iron, (23) and zinc, (24) causing malabsorption.

For example, subjects absorbed more iron from white bread than from whole meal bread even though their intakes of iron were fifty percent higher with the whole meal bread. (25) Also, while white bread must have added calcium, the law does not require it of whole meal bread.
Bran fibre has also been shown to cause faecal losses, (26) and negative balances of calcium, (27) iron, zinc, phosphorus, (28) nitrogen, fats, fatty acids and sterols [cholesterol, certain vitamins, adrenal hormones, etc.] thus depleting the body of these materials. (29) (A negative balance is where more is lost from the body than is absorbed, i.e. the body's stores are depleted.)

Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD, in their article Out of Africa: What Dr. Price [and] Dr. Burkitt Discovered in Their Studies of Sub-Saharan Tribes:

"Insoluble fiber can cause pathogenic changes in the intestinal tract unless properly soaked in an acid medium.⁹ Oat bran, which is high in phytic acid, as well as related bran products can cause numerous problems with digestion and assimilation, leading to mineral deficiencies, irritable bowel syndrome and autoimmune difficulties such as Crohn's disease.

Case control studies indicate that consumption of cereal fiber can be linked with detrimental effects on colon cancer formation." Even healthy people should not consume bran and other high fiber foods, like psyllium, and they should limit their intake of other fiber foods, only consuming those that are properly prepared.

Unhealthy people should consume very limited amounts of fiber foods (carbohydrates), except for lacto-fermented foods — see below for Lacto-Fermented Foods & Drinks Promote Health.

Did you know that proteins and fats are the easiest foods for humans to digest compared to carbohydrates of any kind? A diet that contains damaging fibers and which is high in carbohydrates produces many diseases and malfunctions.

Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Cause Disease

Carbohydrates are any foods not classified as proteins or fats, which includes fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts and legumes (plants with seed pods, i.e. beans and peas, also called pulses).

The average person today consumes a diet that is very high in carbohydrates which is making people gain weight, and which also causes many of the diseases that are prevalent today, as reported by Kent Rieske in his article Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Cause Disease:

"Carbohydrates cause nearly all age-related diseases. Age-related diseases are thought of as unavoidable. Many people consider it normal to get one or more of these diseases as they age. They rationalize that they are simply unlucky or that others have "better genes," neither of which is true.

[Note: However it is true that others can have "better genes" because every person inherits their parents' nutritional status upon conception which determines the make-up of their genes.]

Their health problems are most likely caused by their belief in the many popular myths and distortions about nutrition. Most likely they got hooked by the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet craze and are now suffering as a result.

The scientific evidence is clear. Carbohydrates are a sinister, sly food category that has been getting away with murder. Carbohydrates have powerful allies. They grow, manufacture and market thousands of different carbohydrate products made from fruit, grains and starchy-vegetables.

The supermarket floor space allotted to these manufactured carbohydrate foods is about 80 percent of the store, and yet the scientific minimum requirement for carbohydrates in the diet is ZERO.

Carbohydrates are not an essential element for health. In fact, optimal health lies is keeping the amount of carbohydrates in the diet to a minimum. The supermarket departments that contain the healthy essential proteins and fats are fresh meats, fresh fish and seafood, dairy and non-starchy vegetables.

Everything else in the store is very high in carbohydrates, which turns to glucose, hype up the metabolism and trigger the release of disease-causing hormones like insulin, cortisol and adrenaline.

Carbohydrates displace essential protein and essential fats in the diet to cause a double health reversal. The carbohydrates themselves cause disease, and the deficiency of protein and fats contribute or cause other diseases."

A high-complex-carbohydrate diet is nothing more than a high-glucose diet or a high-sugar diet. 100% of carbohydrates turn into glucose (blood sugar) in the body, but 58% of protein and 10% of fats are also converted by the body into glucose.

Therefore our bodies can obtain all of its blood sugar requirements on a diet that consists solely of proteins and good nature-made fats. That is proven by the fact that Eskimos are very healthy on their natural diet of only meats and fats. See Protein & Fats Are Critical To Your Health below.

The Cholesterol Theory Is a Total Scam!

In the last few decades "The Cholesterol Theory" has contributed significantly to deteriorating health throughout the world. The cholesterol theory - also called the Lipid (fat) Hypothesis - is the belief that high blood cholesterol promotes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease. However this proved to be totally untrue, making it one of the biggest scams in history.

Cholesterol is a molecule, often called a lipid or fat, which is a soft, waxy substance found in every cell in your body. Contrary to propaganda by the medical, drug and food industries, cholesterol is not a deadly poison, but a substance that is vital to the cells of all mammals.

Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D. writes in his book The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy That Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease: "Your cholesterol tells very little about your future health."

In other words your cholesterol levels are a non-issue when it comes to predicting your future health as pointed out by Dr. Ravnskov: "A high blood cholesterol is said to promote atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and thus also coronary heart disease. But many studies have shown that people whose blood cholesterol is low become just as atherosclerotic as people whose cholesterol is high.

Even if you ate absolutely no fats or oils of any kind your body would still produce cholesterol. Your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat. The production of cholesterol increases when you eat little cholesterol and decreases when you eat much."

Cholesterol is your friend and not some dangerous monster. It is a vital repair and protective substance that is extremely important for proper functioning of the immune system and many other body functions as follows:

Nourishing the brain, which is 80% cholesterol.
Forms the structure of all cell membranes.
Nourishes and maintains a healthy nervous system; it is directly responsible for the formation of nerve fiber sheaths.
Formation of hormones, including estrogen, testosterone, aldosterone (produced by the adrenal glands), etc.
Formation of vitamin D.
Formation of bile acids required for digestion.
Protects repairs and strengthens the heart, as well as the walls of arteries and blood vessels.
Heals, strengthens and repairs the lining of the intestines.
Builds healthy bones and muscles.
Protects against infectious diseases.
Regulates blood sugar.
Repairs damaged tissues.
Protects the body from the damaging effects of toxins; it is a powerful antioxidant.
Maintains energy, vitality, libido [sexual desire] and fertility.
Many other important functions.

Malcolm Kendrick, Medical Director; Adelphi Lifelong Learning, United Kingdom, states in his article Okay, Do You Know What A "Fat" Is? "You don't make cholesterol from saturated fats, or any other sort of fat, or vice-versa. Metabolically* speaking, there is no connection between these two substances at all."

*Metabolically comes from the word "metabolism" which is all of the biochemical activities carried out by an organism to maintain life.

Unfortunately saturated fats have been given a bad name by the oil and food manufacturing industries, with the sole purpose of selling their products. This is also true for the medical industry and drug companies who have based their recommendations on studies that were falsified.

Of course the drug companies do want you to know the truth, because the cholesterol myth and low-fat diets scam help them sell drugs. In fact the medical community was pressured by the drug companies to lower healthy cholesterol readings in order to get more people taking statin drugs!

Statin drugs are extremely damaging to the body. Here's an example of one statin drug called Crestor with the side effects listed on their leaflet: "CRESTOR is prescribed along with diet for lowering high cholesterol and has not been determined to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes.

CRESTOR is not right for everyone, including women who are nursing, pregnant, or who may become pregnant, or anyone with liver problems. Unexplained muscle pain and weakness could be a sign of a rare but serious side effect and should be reported to your doctor right away. Side effects occur infrequently and include muscle aches, constipation, weakness, abdominal pain, and nausea. They are usually mild and tend to go away."

The heart actually prefers saturated fats as stated by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD in What Causes Heart Disease? "If you are avoiding foods containing saturated fat and cholesterol, you will not only deprive your body of vital nutrients, but the foods that you consume as substitutes will contain many components—polyunsaturated oils, trans fatty acids, refined sugar—that have been associated with increased rates of heart disease."

What's Wrong with Published Food Guides?

The food pyramid published by the U.S. government was changed in 2005 and it contains these main guidelines:

Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts.
Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

The Canadian Food Guide is very similar. It places foods into four groups:

Grain Products
Vegetables and Fruit
Milk Products
Meat and Alternatives

The Canadian guides urge Canadians to:

Enjoy a variety of foods.
Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruit.
Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and food prepared with little or no fat.
Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating.
Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine.

The main reason these food guides are invalid is because they are made by "so-called" experts with conflicts of interests! The main conflict of interest is the food processing industry because they want to ensure high sales of their nutrient-devoid foods and chemicals. Their main motivation is money!

There are many things wrong with these guidelines, as you probably realize by now:

Emphasis on carbohydrates, which is too easily translated into a high-carb diet.
Low-fat; man-made vegetable fats need to be eliminated however good nature-made fats are critical for health.
Low-salt; table salt must be eliminated, however good ocean sea salt is critical for health.
Lean meats; meats must be accompanied by enough nature-made fats or it can make a person sick.
Low fat dairy products; high nature-made fats is very critical for health. Also the higher the fat content the lower the lactose which most people are not able to digest.

For a detailed analysis of what is wrong with the U.S. 2005 Dietary Guidelines and Food Guidance System, which is very similar to the Canadian guidelines, see The 2005 Dietary Guidelines And Food Guidance System.

Foods That Damage Summary

Processed foods, fake foods and food products, particularly white flour and man-made vegetable fats and oils (except extra virgin olive oil).
Irradiated and microwaved foods.
Pasteurized foods and foods that are processed using high heat.
Meats, eggs and seafoods from "factory farms".
Genetically modified foods.
Sugar and all forms of it, including high consumption of fruits, honey, molasses, substitute and fake sugars, etc.
Man-made vegetable oils and fats, except extra virgin olive oil.
Soy and soybean-based foods.
Table salt.
Grains, nuts, seeds and legumes which are not properly prepared, including all products containing them.
High carbohydrate diets.
Diets that do not contain adequate amounts of protein from meats, eggs and seafoods.
Low nature-made fat diets.

Foods That Heal

Saturated Fats Are Vital To Your Health

In order for all of the body's cells to be healthy, their membranes must be constructed out of 50% saturated fat, and some cells, like those in the lungs, require 100% saturated fats.

Mary G. Enig, PhD, states in her article Saturated Fats and the Lungs: "When people consume a lot of partially hydrogenated fats and oils, the trans fatty acids are put into the phospholipids [fats] where the body normally wants to have saturated fatty acids and the lungs may not work effectively."

The right kinds of fats are nature-made saturated fat, in spite of what we've been led to believe. They play many important roles in body chemistry. The truth is, natural nature-made fats and oils have components found only in them, which are health-promoting, and all man-made fats are now known to be disease-causing.

Health-giving saturated fats are stable and do not become rancid easily, and they do not draw upon the body's reserves of antioxidants, nor do they initiate cancer or irritate the artery walls like man-made fats and oils."

Healthy saturated fats are an important part of any healthy meal. They draw nutrients out of foods and slow digestion so that natural enzymes and the assimilation process can take place. As Sally Fallon writes in Confused About Fats: "The following nutrient-rich traditional fats have nourished healthy population groups for thousands of years:

Butter
Beef and lamb tallow
Lard
Chicken, goose and duck fat
Coconut, palm and sesame oils
Cold pressed olive oil
Cold pressed flax oil
Marine oils

The following new-fangled fats can cause cancer, heart disease, immune system dysfunction, sterility, learning disabilities, growth problems and osteoporosis:

All hydrogenated oils
Soy, corn and safflower oils
Cottonseed oil
Canola oil
All fats heated to very high temperatures in processing and frying"

Good Fats Do Not Make You Fat!

Contrary to popular belief good nature-made fats do not create body fat! Carbohydrates and man-made vegetable oils and fats, except olive oil, create body fat! The body also creates fat as a protective mechanism in order to store toxins away from vital inner organs. In Fat, taking the fear out of eating it Lori Lipinski writes:

"Despite the fact that tasteless, fat-free foods are being shoved down the throats of the American public, our country keeps getting fatter and fatter. Yet the TV keeps trying to convince us that fat-free foods make us thin and healthy.

So in the futile attempt to do the "right" thing, most people are cutting all the fat out of their diet and wondering why they aren't losing weight." There are a few reasons for this:

Low Fat Diets Make You Hungry.
Low-Fat = High-Carb (if you do not consume enough good fats and oils you will be hungry, filling the void with high-carbs)
Low-Fat = Low-Protein

See Fat, Taking the Fear Out of Eating It.

Protein & Fats Are Critical To Your Health

Proteins and nature-made fats are the two most important foods required by humans, and they are the easiest foods to digest, assimilate and use for energy compared to carbohydrates. In fact humans can maintain perfect health without eating carbohydrates of any kind.

This fact was most evident when Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an American anthropologist, and his colleague, Karsten Anderson, submitted to a year long experiment in a hospital under medical supervision, during which they ate only meats and fats (25% meat and 75% nature-made fat) and no carbohydrates of any kind.

Here are some excerpts from Stefansson's report Eskimos Prove An All Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health: Adventures in Diet:

"In 1906 I went to the Arctic with the food tastes and beliefs of the average American. By 1918, after eleven years as an Eskimo among Eskimos, I had learned things which caused me to shed most of those beliefs. Ten years later I began to realize that what I had learned was going to influence materially the sciences of medicine and dietetics.

However, what finally impressed the scientists and converted many during the last two or three years, was a series of confirmatory experiments upon myself and a colleague [Karsten Anderson} performed at Bellevue Hospital, New York City, under the supervision of a committee representing several universities and other organizations.

The experiment started smoothly with Andersen, who was permitted to eat in such quantity as he liked such things as he liked, provided only that they came under our definition of meat - steaks, chops, brains fried in bacon fat, boiled short-ribs, chicken, fish, liver and bacon. In my case there was a hitch, in a way foreseen.

For I had published in 1913, on pages 140-142 of My Life with the Eskimo, an account of how some natives and I became ill when we had to go two or three weeks on lean meat, caribou so skinny that there was no appreciable fat behind the eyes or in the marrow.

So when Dr. DuBois [who supervised the experiments] suggest that I start the meat period by eating as large quantities as I possibly could of chopped fatless muscle, I predicted trouble. But he countered by citing my own experience where illness had not come until after two or three weeks, and he now proposed lean for only two or three days. So I gave in.

The chief purpose of placing me abruptly on exclusively lean was that there would be a sharp contrast with Andersen who was going to be on a normal meat diet, consisting of such proportions of lean and fat as his own taste determined.

As said, in the Arctic we had become ill during the second or third fatless week. I now became ill on the second fatless day. The time difference between Bellevue and the Arctic was due no doubt mainly to the existence of a little fat, here and there in our northern caribou - we had eaten the tissue from behind the eyes, we had broken the bones for marrow, and in doing everything we could to get fat we had evidently secured more than we realized.

At Bellevue the meat, carefully scrutinized, had been as lean as such muscle tissue can be. Then, in the Arctic we had eaten tendons and other indigestible matter, we had chewed the soft ends of bones, getting a deal of bulk that way when we were trying to secure fat. What we ate at Bellevue contained no bulk material, so that my stomach could be compelled to hold a much larger amount of lean.

The symptoms brought on at Bellevue by an incomplete meat diet (lean without fat) were exactly the same as in the Arctic, except that they came on faster - diarrhea and a feeling of general baffling discomfort. Up north the Eskimos and I had been cured immediately when we got some fat.

Dr. DuBois now cured me the same way, by giving me fat sirloin steaks, brains fried in bacon fat, and things of that sort. In two or three days I was all right, but I had lost considerable weight.

Conclusions of the Experiment:

I was "about ten pounds overweight" at the beginning of the meat diet and lost all of it.
We used every few weeks to run around the reservoir in Central Park and thence to his house [Dr. Bubois], going up the stairs two or three at a time . . . Scientific attendants registered our breathing, pulse rate, and other crude reactions. These tests appear to show that our stamina increased with the lengthening of the meat period.
That meat, as some have contended is a particularly stimulating food I verified during our New York experiment to the extent that it seems to me I was more optimistic and energetic than ordinarily. This may have a bearing on the common report that the uncivilized Eskimos are the happiest people in the world.

There have been many explanations - that a hunter's life is pleasant, and that the poor wretches just don't know how badly off they are. We now add the suggestion that the optimism may be directly caused by what they eat.
We felt better and looked healthier than our average for the years immediately previous.

These and other conclusions derived from the year-long experiment were reported by Dr. Lieb in the Journal of the American Medical Association July 3, 1926, "The Effects of an Exclusive Long-Continued Meat Diet." The committee had failed to discover any trace of even one of the supposed harmful effects."

Please note that no supplements were taken during this experiment yet there was no evidence the subjects were lacking critical nutrients like vitamin C or calcium.

Minerals, the Building Blocks of Health

Minerals are vital for every single function carried out by the body, and even though some are only required in minute amounts, called trace minerals, they are very important, as noted by Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions: "These [minerals] are needed only in minute amounts, but their absence results in many disease conditions.

The number of trace minerals known to be essential to life now exceeds thirty, and some researchers believe that for optimum health we need to take in every substance found in the earth's crust. Along with familiar trace minerals, such as iron and iodine, the body also needs others less well known, like cobalt, germanium and boron."

There are seven (7) macrominerals required by the body in amounts of 200mg or more per day:

calcium
magnesium
chloride - contained in ocean sea salt
sodium - contained in ocean sea salt
phosphorus - found in all meats and eggs
potassium - found in meats, eggs and vegetables
sulphur - found in eggs, meats, lemons,garlic and many other foods

In Potassium in the Body Ann Hertzler writes: "Potassium should come from food sources. The body protects itself from losing too much potassium during heavy sweating.

When you sweat too much as with exercise, the body gradually adjusts so that less potassium is lost in the sweat. Also, when body potassium is low, less potassium is lost in the urine."

The best ways to obtain all of the minerals required for health:

Eat the correct ratios of protein to fat to carbs from nutrient-dense foods — see Calculate Protein, Fat & Carbs Ratios.
Have at least 1 cup of a mineral-rich bone broth per day. It should be a "true" bone broth where the bones have been soaked and cooked in an acidic medium and cooked long enough to pull the minerals out of the bones — See Mineral-Rich Bone Broth recipe.
Drink good filtered water that contains plenty of minerals. Water filters should specifically remove chlorine and fluoride (if it added to water in your area). Please note that distilled water and reverse osmosis water are totally devoid of minerals so they should must not be consumed unless minerals are added to them - add 20 drops of ConcenTrace brand minerals per gallon. You should never drink softened water.
Get at least 1 teaspoon of a good ocean sea salt per day; some people will require more, particularly those who have underactive adrenals. The best brand is Celtic Ocean Sea Salt (called Nature's Cargo in Canada).
Take calcium and magnesium supplements if not enough is obtained from foods, particularly by those people who cannot tolerate dairy products — see Essential Supplements.

Lacto-Fermented Foods & Drinks Are So Good For You!

Foods and drinks that are lacto-fermented according to ancient methods are some of the healthiest food choices you can make. Lacto-fermentation means that the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world does some digesting, but in a container. Because lacto-fermented vegetables are pre-digested they are much easier for humans to digest than raw or cooked vegetables.

Lacto-fermented vegetables also stabilize stomach acid - if stomach acid is too high they lower it, and if stomach acid is too low they raise it. In fact sauerkraut has been known to cure stomach ulcers and acid reflex by stabilizing stomach acid.

Lacto-fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir have been consumed by many peoples all over the world and like all lacto-fermented foods they contain many beneficial bacteria that are important for the digestive system.

In The Incredible Health Benefits to You of Traditionally Fermented Foods Nancy Lee Bentley explains what fermentation is and the benefits they provide:

"Though the term "fermented" sounds vaguely distasteful, the results of this ancient preparation and preservation technique -- produced through the breakdown of carbohydrates and proteins by microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts and molds -- are actually delicious.

Even more so, they are so beneficial to overall health that some of these "functional foods" are now considered to be "probiotics," increasing your overall nutrition, promoting the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria, and aiding digestion and supporting immune function, including an increase in B vitamins (even Vitamin B12), omega-3 fatty acids, digestive enzymes, lactase and lactic acid, and other immune chemicals that fight off harmful bacteria and even cancer cells."

Lacto-fermented foods aid digestion and provide healthy probiotic microorganisms for the digestive system as reported by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD in Out of Africa: What Dr. Price [and] Dr. Burkitt Discovered in Their Studies of Sub-Saharan Tribes:

"In his lectures, Burkitt was fond of pointing out that the typical African stool specimen was large and soft, and that stool transit times were rapid, compared to the puny hard fecal deposits and slow transit times of hapless Europeans.

The large amount of fermented food, easy to digest and contributing to the health of intestinal flora, is the most likely explanation for this phenomena—fermented dairy products in European groups and fermented fish among the Eskimos accomplish the same results."

As the fermented foods expert Sally Fallon asks in Nourishing Traditions:

"With the proliferation of all these new mysterious viruses, intestinal parasites and chronic health problems, despite ubiquitous (found everywhere) sanitation, "Could it be that by abandoning the ancient practice of lacto-fermentation, and insisting on a diet in which everything has been pasteurized, we have compromised the health of our intestinal flora and made ourselves vulnerable to legions of pathogenic microorganisms?"

The best way to obtain lacto-fermented foods and drinks is to make them yourself. This is because almost all commercially prepared products are processed the fastest and cheapest ways possible, and the end result is not beneficial.

Some exceptions include unpasteurized organic sauerkraut and unpasteurized unfiltered apple cider vinegar, available at the health food store.

See recipes for lacto-fermented foods and drinks in our Recipes Section.

To aid digestion and maintain a healthy digestive tract it is recommended that you eat at least one tablespoon of unheated lacto-fermented vegetables with every meal, and more if you wish.

Healing Naturally Diet

Moderate protein intake from animal meats, cheese, eggs, and seafoods.
High intake of natural fats and oils.
Low carbohydrates.

Recommended Ratios of Proteins to Fats to Carbs

The recommended ratios of proteins to fats to carbs to consume daily are calculated according to The Optimal Diet — see Calculate Protein, Fat and Carb Ratios.

How to Choose Healthy Foods

All foods must be as fresh, as close to nature as possible (unprocessed).
Foods must not be genetically modified.
Foods must not contain mycotoxins, i.e. alcoholic beverages, corn, wheat, barley, sugar cane and sugar beets, sorghum, peanuts, rye, cottonseed, etc. See Mycotoxic Foods — Top 10.
Foods should not be pasteurized nor processed using high heat. Most juices and many other products are now being pasteurized. You can only be sure a product is not pasteurized if it is stated on the label.
Foods must not be produced by hydrogenation processes.
Foods must be free of additives, pesticides, heavy metals, irradiation, neurotoxins (MSG, carrageenan, etc.), nitrates, sulphites, etc.
Foods must not be irradiated. All commercial spices in North America are irradiated. Be aware that irradiated spices can be used in processed products but they do not have to be identified.
Do not be misled by foods that are labelled as "natural" or "all natural". These terms are not regulated so they can be used by any company in order to sell their products.
Foods should be "certified organic" or organic. "Certified organic" is highly regulated, which means foods that carry the designation must meet certain specific standards. "Certified organic" standards are different in each country, with places like Chili and Mexico having lower standards than the United States and Canada.
"Organic" is not a regulated designation so any company can use it in order to sell their products. Some companies that use the designation "organic" do follow good standards.
Meats, cheese, and eggs should be from "free-range" (or free roaming) animals and poultry. "Free-range" implies that a meat or poultry product comes from an animal that was raised in the open air or was free to roam.

Its use on beef is unregulated and there is no standard definition of this term. The term "free-range" is only regulated by the USDA for use on meat poultry products. USDA requires that birds have been given "access to the outdoors but for an undetermined period each day."

However that means they only need to "have access to the outdoors," but they could still be confined in pens that are crowded, and they wouldn't necessarily have access to insects, bugs, worms, etc., that are part of their natural diet. "Free-range" claims on eggs are not regulated.
In order to find out what standards are being followed contact the farmer or company directly. They should be willing to put their standards in writing. If not, do not buy their products.
No animals are adapted to consume a diet that consists mainly of grains and soy. These foods are just as damaging to animals as they are to humans.

Moderate Protein Intake

It is important for your health to eat the amount of protein required by your body from a selection of quality protein foods such as animal meats, eggs, and seafoods on a daily basis.

Proteins are found in all types of food, but only meats, eggs, cheese, and seafoods contain complete proteins, providing the eight essential amino acids that your body cannot produce on its own.

Vegetables, fruits and grains contain incomplete proteins and they also do not contain vital fat-soluble vitamins required by the body for utilizing protein and other nutrients.

Amino acids (made by the body from protein) provide the structure of all living things and in the human body they make up the muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair and body fluids (except bile and urine). Enzymes, hormones and genes are also comprised of various amino acids.

Protein in the diet has the unique quality of slowing the breakdown of carbohydrates, which decreases the need for insulin secretion by the pancreas and it also stimulates glucagon release, the hormone that unlocks our stored fuel.

Protein also increases hydrochloric acid in the stomach and it stimulates the gall bladder to dump bile into the duodenum (first part of the small intestines) for proper digestion and gall bladder health.

The best sources of protein:

Meats, eggs and cheese from animals that are not mass-produced on factory farms, such as lamb, bison, buffalo, ostrich, venison, wild game, etc.
Meats from animals that are naturally raised, such as beef, lamb, mutton, poultry, and pork.
Fish and seafoods which are not farm-raised.

Beef, lamb, and bison

Beef, lamb, and bison should be from "certified organic" grass-fed free-range animals. These animals are herbivores, meaning they are adapted to consume plant foods, which does not include a diet high in grains and soy.

Too many grains and soy are just as damaging to them as they are to humans. Beef that is truly grass-fed is a natural source of omega-3 fats (essential fatty acid) and vitamins A, D and E.

True vitamin A, or retinol, is only found in animal fats and organs meats like liver. On the other hand plants contain beta-carotene, a substance that the body can convert into vitamin A (retinol) if certain conditions are present.

But some people have difficulty converting beta-carotene, especially those with thyroid problems, fungal or candida overgrowth or other serious health problems. Beta-carotene is not "true" vitamin A.

Grass-fed beef is also an ideal source of taurine and carnitine, needed for healthy eyes and a healthy heart and it contains coenzyme Q10, another key nutrient for the cardiovascular system. Beef is also an excellent source of minerals like magnesium and zinc.

All cattle are grass-fed to some small extent, but during the few months prior to being processed most are fed grains in order to fatten them up. Feeding them grains seriously depletes nutrients in the meat and also makes the animals sick, which requires high doses of antibiotics.

The best sources of grass-fed meats are local farmers that practice true "organic" or "certified organic" farming, and who provide their animals with lots of room to free-range and forage on grass. Beef should be butchered in the fall after a summer of feeding on fresh green grass.

Pork, ham, and bacon

Pork, ham, and bacon should be from pigs that are free-range and fed their natural diet. Pigs are omnivores, meaning they are adapted to eat a varied diet like humans, i.e. proteins, fats and carbs.

Pigs also thrive on eating soil and they are ideal ploughs, as reported in Pigs for small farms: Why Pigs Have Snouts and Raising Pigs on soil in Japan:

"Pigs had cleared the trees and grass, eaten it all, and quickly turned poor red mountain soil into fertile black soil rich in microorganisms, and the microorganisms then became good food for pigs. Black soil is soft and warm, it easily absorbs the warmth of the sun."

"Pigs are ideal ploughs, rooting up weeds and turning over the ground, while they manure it at the same time."

See Pigs for small farms: Why Pigs Have Snouts and Raising Pigs on soil in Japan.

Poultry & Eggs

Poultry & Eggs should be from free-range birds that eat their natural diet which includes green grass and other green plants, insects, worms and meats. Do not buy poultry or eggs that are vegetarian-fed.

Poultry that are pastured naturally will come from farms that are lush with pastures, which will produce deep yellow to orange colored egg yolks and yellow fat. Local farms are a good source of free-range "certified organic" poultry and eggs that are free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and herbicides.

These poultry are not "stressed," while mass-produced chickens are raised in severely cramped quarters and fed foods that are unnatural to them. This results in not only reduced health value, but less taste and less good fat.

Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat - They are a great source of high-quality protein and are rich in vitamins and nutrients essential to health, including B vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin E.

In fact the only reliable and absorbable sources of vitamin B12 are from animal products, especially organ meats and eggs. Vitamin B12 is vital to a healthy nervous system and healthy blood and the one of the important nutrients lacking in vegetarians.

Raw, whole, organic eggs are phenomenally inexpensive, and are an incredible source of high-quality nutrients that many of us are deficient in, especially high-quality protein and fat. While it may take getting used to them, eating raw eggs is a simple way to improve your mind and your overall health.

Eating cooked eggs will not have the same effect, although the less you cook the egg yolk (such as soft-boiled), the better it will be nutritionally.

The easiest way to consume raw eggs is with Bee's Raw Egg Drink. Also see articles about eggs.

Contrary to popular belief eggs are not a likely source of salmonella contamination - see Eggs Not a Likely Source of Salmonella Contamination.

Cheese

The ideal cheese is raw and unpasteurized from cows that are free-range "certified organic" and who are fed their natural diet, particularly green grass.

Fish & Seafood

Fish & Seafood should be from non-farmed sources, and as free of mercury and other pollutants as possible. Unfortunately some fish and seafoods contain high mercury levels and other toxins, particularly those that are farm-raised, i.e. salmon, shrimp, and trout.

The safest sources are fresh and wild-caught from the ocean and not from inland lakes, rivers or streams. Fresh fish is not labeled thoroughly so it is wise to ask about the source of the fish, i.e. from farm, lake or ocean, in order to find out whether it is fresh, wild-caught ocean-going fish, or shellfish, fish roe (fish eggs), etc. in season from clean waters.

Good fish to buy include Wild Alaskan or Pacific salmon, Summer Flounder, Croaker, Haddock, Arctic Char, fresh sardines, shrimp, herring, and anchovies. Fresh cold-water fish are also good, i.e. tuna, cod, haddock, herring, perch, and snapper, since they spend their lifetimes in the open seas far from contaminated coastal waters.

Canned skipjack or albacore tuna are safer than canned bluefin or yellowfin tuna. Small seafoods, such as oysters, sardines, anchovies and shrimp, are okay to eat since they are small enough to have minimal contamination. Buy all canned fish packed only in olive oil or spring water.

Avoid fish species that stay in coastal waters, or from inland lakes, rivers or streams, and those that consume near the top of the food chain, i.e. bluefish, carp, catfish, striped bass, trout, etc.

High Intake of Natural Fats & Oils

High Intake of Natural Fats & Oils (including oil soluble vitamins A, D & E, and omega-3 essential fatty acids)

Nature-made fats and oils are equally important to protein in the diet and they are vital to your health, including butter, coconut oil, fish oil, lard, palm oil, poultry fat, tallow, and other natural fats as well as extra virgin olive oil. These fats and oils not only increase the body's ability to absorb nutrients from foods but also provide the most efficient source of energy for the body compared to carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates require a tremendous amount of body resources and energy in order to be digested and assimilated, whereas nature-made saturated fats go directly into the bloodstream, providing an efficient source of energy and nutrients. They are found in every cell in the body, providing the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances.

Nature-made fats and oils, along with other nutrients, chelates out (get rid of) heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury from dental fillings, nicke

Foods that Damage, Foods that Heal

Table of Contents

Primary Causes of Failing Health

Four Primary Causes of Failing Health