Nutrition - "Live to Eat or Eat to Live?"
It is a shocking fact that ~90% of the money spent on food in the U.S. is spent on processed foods [Schlosser, 2002]. Most of us eat and drink only for enjoyment and sustenance, with little attention to whether we obtain needed and balanced nutrients to maintain health. As the richest country in the world, America claims the “prize” for the highest obesity rate (30% of the population). With effort, however, we can make healthy food choices that also fulfill the obvious desire to enjoy our food.
Diet and lifestyle changes can prevent 70-90% of certain common degenerative diseases in U.S. adults:
- >90% of type 2 diabetes;
- 80% of coronary artery disease;
- 70% of stroke and colon cancer
All potentially preventable by a combination of not smoking, controlling weight and alcohol consumption, together with some moderate physical activity and a healthy diet. Willett et al, 2006; Jamison et al, 2006
Food types we eat: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When choosing foods from each food type - the details matter | ||||
 | Fruits / Veggies |  | Legumes | |
 | Fats / Oils |  | Nuts / Seeds | |
 | Meat |  | Grains | |
 | Fish |  | Beverages | |
 | Dairy |  | Sweeteners | |
 | Eggs |  | Herbs, spices, salt | |
Nutrients we need: |
||
|---|---|---|
 | Glucose | Provided by carbohydrates; needed to produce cellular energy |
 | Amino acids | Protein building blocks |
 | Fatty Acids | Fat building blocks |
 | Fiber | Stool softener and intestinal sweeping brush |
 | Antioxidants / Vitamins | Neutralize oxidants. Vitamins (A, B, C, D, E ), phytonutrients(carotenoids, polyphenols), others (CoQ10) |
 | Minerals | ~ 25 of the 92 naturally occurring major and trace mineral elements are essential for life. Magnesium, sulfur, selenium, zinc, manganese may not be sufficiently present in diet and may need to be supplemented. |
 | Enzymes | Make things happen! Composed of amino acid chains, enzymes act as catalysts to speed up biochemical reactions in our body. |
 | Probiotics – “For Life!” | More than 2/3 of your immune system is in your gut, dependent on a healthy presence of microflora. |
 | Food electrons | Needed for cellular energy production |
Harmful Foods / Practices |
||
 | Genetically modified (GM) foods (GMOs) | GM plant or animal foods having adverse health-effects. DNA molecules from bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, animals, humans are combined to form new genes to transfer to plants for herbal tolerance of weed-killer and / or insect-resistance, or animals / fish for selective breeding of desirable traits |
 | Monosodium glutamate (MSG) | |
 | Aspartame | This sugar-free sweetener is a neurotoxin |
 | Sucralose | 0 calorie sweetener is a harmful organochlorine |
 | Chlorination | Disease-causing disinfectant in your water |
 | Fluoridation | Mega health fraud |
Harmful when eaten to excess |
||
 | High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) | |
 | Too much fructose | |
| Too much sugar | ||
 | Too much caffeine | |
 | Antinutrients | Particularly lectins and phytate in IMPROPERLY prepared WHOLE grains, seeds, nuts and legumes. Lectins can cause a “leaky gut” inflammation leading to IBS, allergies, asthma, arthritis, anemia, obesity, +++ ; Phytate can cause malabsorption of magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, and zinc; |
 | Alcohol | Moderation is the key |
Good general food choices |
||
 | Grown in your native environment | i.e. locally grown and in season |
 | Organic – What does that mean? | Natural, unprocessed and organic (chemical/GMO-free). |
 | Glycemic Index | |
 | What foods does the bible say are good to eat or not? | |
 | Cooking to preserve nutrients | Aim for at least 1/3 raw. Raw food contains enzymes, which are destroyed by heat. Some nutrients are made more bioavailable by heating, some are destroyed. |
 | RECOMMENDED DAILY SUPPLEMENTS CHART | |
What do we actually eat?
The average American buys and is served almost 1 ton of food per year (not all eaten, since some is wasted); this includes 23# pizza, 24# ice cream, 53 gals. soda, 24# artificial sweeteners; also includes 415# vegetables, but many of those are french fries and starchy corn. [2011 USDA data]
Guidelines for making good nutritional choices
“Let food be your medicine”
– Hippocrates
Consume the 3 main food groups
fats
It is of utmost importance that we consume a sufficiency of omega-3 fats. Unfortunately, foods containing omega-3 fat are sadly lacking in the usual Western diet, and it is these fats that are converted to molecules having anti-inflammatory effects in the body. In contrast, we typically consume a lot of foods rich in omega-6 fats, which have a predominately inflammatory influence in the body. To make matters worse, omega-6-rich vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, cottonseed oils and products containing them, such as margarine and most processed foods, have been through a refining process that makes them toxic – even more so when used in high-heat cooking (especially deep frying).
Other good fats. Consume moderate amounts of saturated fat from such as grass-fed animal fat, and monounsaturated fats from such as avocadoes and olives. To help you understand which fats to eat and why:
Protein
A crucial body-building nutrient, we must consume 9 specific essential amino acids – components of protein the body cannot make. Complete protein is comprised of 20 amino acids, which all of which are in meat, fish dairy and eggs.
Carbohydrates
We need glucose to make cellular energy. The body can also obtain glucose from proteins and fats.
However, too much glucose can raise blood sugar to health-detrimental levels. Choose low glycemic foods as indicated by the Glycemic Load (More meaningful than glycemic index, since it accounts for serving size)
Nutritional supplements
Unfortunately today, numerous factors have caused a depletion of available nutrients in our food supply. Therefore, unless you have food sources from reliable nutrition-minded food producers, or are responsibly growing your own food or keeping animals and birds for meat and eggs, it has become necessary to include some daily supplements to ensure needed nutrients:
Consume little or no added sugar
Except such as a small amount of honey, maple syrup or molasses. Or use alternative natural low / no caloric sweeteners such as allulose or stevia; AVOID unhealthy artificial sweeteners, such as Nutrasweet™ (Aspartame) and Splenda™(Sucralose)
Does God require us to uphold O.T. health-related Mosaic laws?
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
– Matthew 22:36-40
References
- Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, 2002, Penguin Books
- Willett WC, Koplan JP, Nugent R, et al. Prevention of Chronic Disease by Means of Diet and Lifestyle Changes.
- Jamison DT, Breman JG, Measham AR, et al., editors. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition. Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /The World Bank; 2006. Chapter 44. Online Link Co-published by Oxford University Press, New York.
