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Mim Biem The Commonsense Guide t o Eating Well for the Nutritionallv Bewildered -' Published by ABC Books for the AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION GPO Box 9994 Sydney NSW 2001 Copyright O Mim Beim 1998 First published October 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Beim. Mim, 1960- . T h e commonsense guide to eating well for the nutritionally bewildered. ISBN 0 7333 0649 7 1. Health. 2. Nutrition - Requirements. 3. Naturopathy. I. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11. Title 613.2 Designed by Midland Typesetters Set in 11/14pt Caslon540 by Midland Typesetters, Maryborough, Victoria Colour separations by Finsbury, Adelaide Printed and bound in Australia by G n B n Press, Addaide Contents Introduction Part I: T h e Geography of Nutrition 1 T h e digestive tract How the worm turns A brief overview T h e ins and outs A closer look Surprising saliva Speed eating Stomach acid: double, double, toil and trouble Bile: digestive detergent Villi: the coal face of digestion T h e end of the tunnel Part 11: Essentials 2 Carbohydrates: fuel and fibre Classification What happens to glucose in the bloodstream? Cows can, horses can, even mice can digest fibre Types of fibre Dietary recommendations What fibre can do for you The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well 3 Protein: strength and structure Look in the mirror - what you see is protein How much is enough? Who needs extra? Amino acids: the Lego blocks of life EAA: all or nothing at all Are you getting enough? Clever vegetarianism: protein combining 4 Fat: not a dirty word Fat the Rat Getting to know you Saturated and unsaturated fatty acics Better to be a peroxide blonde than a peroxide polyunsaturate Fat and fabulous Fat tastes fabulous T h e tragedy of processed oils E P D and UFOs: the story of essential fatty acids Prostaglandins Mysterous susbstance X Cholesterol: nightmare or blessing? Some slick answers to an oily problem 5 Water: the most important nutrient It's wet, what else? How do we know when we are thirty? Diets: the wet and the dry T a p water, filtered water, spring water - which water? Drink it anyway, you won't regret it Part 111: Bits and Pieces 6 Safe or fake: additives, organics and germs in the kitchen Sweet as sweet can be: artificial sweeteners 37 37 38 39 40 41 43 44 46 46 46 48 49 50 51 51 52 53 54 56 57 59 59 60 61 61 63 67 67 Contents Food additives: preserve or punish? Food safety: not in my kitchen you don't How bacteria breed and spread and what to do about it Organic shmorganic: chemical free 71 74 77 79 Part IV: Our Daily Food 7 T h e food we eat Nuts, seeds and oils Herbal tea Vegetables Grains Fruit Milk Beans Meat Eggs Fish and shellfish 8 T h e food we eat: but should we? Coffee Tea Alcohol Chocolate Part V: Vitamins and Minerals 9 T h e basics of micronutrients Vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble About minerals Are vitamins and minerals a waste of money? T o supplement or not to supplement? Who will benefit from nutritional supplementation? How long should you take a supplement? What is the RDI and what does it mean for you? 143 143 144 145 145 146 147 147 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Mr Average and Mrs Typical When is the best time to take a supplement? Synergists and antagonists Which vitamins should I take? Be nutritionally responsible 10 Getting to know you: vitamins and minerals Antioxidants T h e vitamins Bioflavonoids T h e minerals Part VI: Nuts and Bolts 11 Good Diet Cornerstones to good nutrition 12 Tailor-made Allergy Menopause Premenstrual syndrome Overweight Skin Stress Healthy heart Glossary Bibliography To Bill Acknowledgments This book is essentially a distillation of ten years of teaching nutrition to naturopathic students. I would like to acknowledge my good friend Linda van Niekerk, and my good husband, Bill Alldritt, for suggesting I create a book from these lectures. I am deeply appreciative for the help and advice I have received from the following people: Lorna Scott, Kerrie Murrell, Dannae Brown, Doris Alldritt, Craig Ashley-Russell, Lyn Crossley and Phil. Thankyou. Special thanks to my publisher, Stuart Neal, for making the book writing process as painless as possible. Introduction I have some very smart patients. Sick, but smart. It always surprises me how these intelligent, creative, successful people often do not have a clue about good nutrition. Oh, they might murmur knowingly about the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids; but when questioned will sheepishly admit to being flummoxed. They are not alone! In my 10 years of teaching in naturopathic colleges, I have found a mass of con-fusion. What is the difference between a legume and a grain? Is a legume the same as a bean? Should I care? Why do beans give me flatulence? Other questions include: Why aren 't six cups of coffee equivalent to six cups of water?; and Why do I feel tired after lunch? Let alone knowing the intricacies of fatty acids. In fact, it takes quite a lot of background information before one understands that an omega-3 fatty acid is scientist-speak for a chain of carbons with the first double-bond occurring on the third carbon from the methyl end. No wonder people get confused! Nearly every magazine and infotainment program has something to say about diet and nutrition. Unfortunately, the information is often contradictory. For example, take the maxim `Cholesterol is bad'. In fact, cholesterol is not bad. Cholesterol is vital. Did you know that from cholesterol the body makes oestrogen, phospholipids necessary for brain function, vitamin D and the stress hormone cortisol? It doesn 't help to see avocados proudly sporting `no cholesterol' labels when the poor green darlings don't possess a liver with xi xii The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well which to create cholesterol in the first place. And what's more, for most people, their blood cholesterol levels have nothing to do with how much cholesterol they eat. All this makes me angry and an angry naturopath is a terrible thing. T o ease my anger I have written this book. I hope it gives you easy-to-digest information and the inspiration to look after your diet and yourself. After all, you are what you eat. THE GEOGRAPHY OF NUTRITION f-cm DESCENDINGCOLON The Digestive Tract How the worm turns In a book about nutrition, why are we discussing the digestive tract? Basically, the best nutrition will come to nought if your digestive tract is not up to scratch. T h e digestive tract, also known as the alimentary canal or gastrointestinal tract (GIT), is simply a hollow tube. Much like an earthworm, the tube is open to the world at both ends - mouth and anus. It is the interface between the food we eat and our body; essentially, the geography of nutrition. Our body is fashioned around this tube. In order for the saying 'you are what you eat' to be true, what you eat needs to make the hazardous journey across the wall of the intestine, into the bloodstream. Until this time, food in the tube has not been absorbed. What is inside the digestive tract, is outside you - strange but true. 4 T&eCommonsense Gaide to Eating Well A brief overview T h e GIT begins at the mouth, transforming into the oesophagus, then the stomach, followed by the small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. T h e muscular tube is essentially the same structure throughout, however the terrain changes according to a 'need to digest' basis. For example, the stomach lining looks very different from the lining of the small intestine. T h e former is thickly coated with acidresistant mucus; and the latter looks like a 1970s shagpile carpet. On average, the digestive tract is 9 metres long, roughly as long as two decent-sized loungerooms. Quite a lot of tubing to fit into the short distance from face to fanny. digestive -4 4 h o j b *be, Q+ id4 mds is siqfly open fo fhe li/of/d - fiod.4 a d anus &( b d y is fhrhiW a m d +ha &be The Digestive Tract 5 In conjunction with the GIT, other structures including the pancreas, liver, gall bladder, teeth and salivary glands are needed for the digestive system to function. These ancillary organs of digestion are attached to, but do not form part of, the tubing. The ins and outs T h e digestive tract has several functions. T h e first is ingestion, being the act of taking food or liquid into the body, which occurs at the top of the tube, the mouth. T h e second function is to facilitate movement along the tube. T h e wavelike muscular motion, which pulses in a downward direction, is called peristalsis. If animals relied on gravity alone for food to pass along the digestive tract, many a cow or other grazing animal would be in big trouble, as their mouths are pointing downwards most of the time. Function number three gets to the guts of the matter, digestion. Digestion is the process whereby we break food down into smaller and smaller bits. T h e first stage of digestion is mechanical in nature, where we physically grind the food with our teeth and churn it with the thick muscly walls of the stomach. T h e next stage of digestion is chemical, taken care of by digestive enzymes. These enzymes convert the fragments of food into little itty-bitty bits, small enough to cross the intestinal wall. Function four is absorption, the passage of digested food across the digestive tract into the bloodstream, eventually for distribution to all parts of the body. If a food is not absorbed across the intestinal wall, it will continue on downwards and eventually out the other end of the tube. Of course, the food needs to be broken down into small enough bits in order to hurdle across. Protein is broken down into amino acids. Fat 6 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well is broken down into glycerol and fatty acids, and carbohydrate is broken down into simple sugars. Fibre, which is a form of carbohydrate, is unable to be broken down and therefore cannot be absorbed. T h e final function of the digestive tract is that of defecation. Allowing indigestible substances and waste products to leave the body is an important process of elimination. A closer look Taste sensations I spent a good half of my childhood glued to the television set watching the Flintstone family. My interest in the evolution of eating habits probably stems from these times with Fred, Barney, Wilma and Betty. Another favourite, the Jetsons, seemed, in the 1960s, a plausible if dysfunctional family of the near future. It made me believe that by 1969 (at the latest), we would all be eating food pills containing all the nutrients our bodies required - and we did, in trips to the moon. There are over 10 000 tastebuds dotted over the tongue. They clump together in groups of 40 to 60 cells into projections called papillae that we call tastebuds. Each bud is penetrated by nerve fibres, which are able to transmit information about chemicals in food to the brain, which in turn translate this into taste. Although the tastebuds are scattered over the tongue, there appear to be several areas of taste concentration, with the sweet buds located around the tip of the tongue, sour on either side, bitter at the back and salt somewhere in the middle. Tastes escape from our tongue into our language: 'how sweet life is'; 'she's a sour puss'; 'what a bitter pill to swallow'; 'Bill is the salt of the earth'. Why the Jetson's all-you-ever-needed-in-a-pill didn't take 1 The Digestive Tract 7 off is that it lacked taste and smell. Our sense of smell is linked with our emotional and memory centre, located in the hippocampus in the brain. Certain smells trigger emotions, like the smell of bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning (particularly if you are an Aussie male) or freshly cooked bread. Like Pavlov's dog, exactly the same reflex principle applies to human animals. Digestive juices begin to flow when the brain detects a wholesome foodsmell. If you feel well, you digest well. Taste provokes a stronger message than smell. Tastebuds that line the tongue are literally nerve endings, ultimately triggering other nerves to get the digestive show on the road. T h e major players are sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Other contenders include pungent, alkaline (soapy), metallic (the coppery taste of blood) and umame, which translates from the Japanese as yummy (a taste that monosodium glutamate accentuates and is found mainly in meat). Each taste has its own shade and nuance. Acid During my first term of studying Economics at Sydney University, I took a Wine Appreciation Course that was held each Tuesday lunchtime, just before the Statistics 1 lecture. I failed Statistics that year. (As an accountant I make a good naturopath!) Nevertheless, it is an ill wind that blows nobody good . . . T h e course tutor set up a series of glasses containing distilled water. T o each glass he added a drop of acid. A drop of tartaric acid in one, a drop of malic acid in another. We students took a sip from each glass, noticing which part of the tongue was affected by the sourness. T h e taste was strongest at the sides of the tongue, with malic acid below the tartaric. Malic acid is more predominant in cooler climate grapes, tartaric acid in warmer - we could now show off at dinner parties. There are hundreds of different types of acids and other 8 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well compounds in many types of foods, not only wine. It stands to reason that there would be an equal diversity in sweetness, bitterness and even saltiness. Sweet, sour, salty and bitter One can't ask one's tongue why there are different tastes, so any reason given is pure conjecture. Children, in particular, like sweet things. It could be because of an association with mother's breast milk that has a relatively high sugar (lactose) content. In addition, sweet fruit contains vitamin C. Humans cannot make their own vitamin C, yet require it daily. Perhaps we developed a liking for sweetness, which in nature supplied us with this valuable vitamin. Unfortunately, sweet foods today, like chocolate bars, rarely contain vitamin C. Another reason why it may be evolutionarily sound to be able to detect sweetness, is that many carbohydrate foods are sweet and carbohydrate is our major source of energy. T h e tastebuds that register sour and bitter have a powerful effect on nerves supplying the digestive system, particularly to the liver. T o help stimulate a sluggish digestive system, I often recommend a morning glass of hot water with either a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or the juice of half a lemon (both are sour), or a predinner drink of bitters in water. Bitter foods have taken a low profile of late, which is a shame as they can be powerfully medicinal - also stimulating liver function. Examples of bitter foods include radicchio (red lettuce), cress, rocket, olives, bitter melon, grapefruit and coffee. There are as many savoury tooths as there are sweet tooths. Salt is an important substance for the body, needed for many biological functions, including fluid balance. It is a shame that salt has become so easy to overdo. We can obtain all the salt our body needs by eating well. There is no need to add extra, although, if you like (and your diet is low in processed foods), you could supplement with a little sea salt or natural soy sauce. The Digestive Tract 9 Surprising saliva We produce about 1 to 1.5 litres of saliva daily. Quite a lot of spit, you'll agree. Water makes up 99.5 per cent of saliva, moistening the food sufficiently so that it doesn't scrape on the way down. T h e remaining 0.5 per cent is full of surprises. A couple of enzymes lurk in saliva: ptyalin (with a silent 'p') starts the breakdown of carbohydrate, whereas another enzyme, lysozyme, is responsible for killing bacteria. Mucin, also present in saliva, helps lubricate the chewed food, so it literally slips down the throat. Sodium, potassium and bicarbonates are also present to balance the pH, which needs to be slightly on the acid side of neutral (see pHocus on pH, page 10). Speed eating Chewing sends a message to the brain that dinner is about to be served. T h e brain then transmits this information to the organs of digestion. If we don't chew, the digestive juices don't flow and peristalsis slows down. If we don't chew properly, big pieces of food are going to travel down the digestive tract and end up in the lower bowel, where they become food for bacteria, producing gas. If you suffer bloating and flatulence the first thing you need to do is chew. There are entire families of speed-eaters. Speed eating is a lifelong habit and is usually passed down through the generations. Like any habit, speed eating is difficult to break. One tip is to put down your knife and fork between each mouthful to remind yourself to chew. If a patient walks into my consulting room chewing gum, I grab a tissue and ask them to spit their gum into the tissue. If you are not about to eat a meal, don't chew. Chewing gum I0 The Commo~rsenseG d e to Eating Well sends mixed messages to the digestive system and is responsible for many a bloated tummy and a few stomach ulcers. Stomach acid: double, double, toil and trouble Once food gets to the stomach it should be nicely chewed up and look soupy. T h e stomach is a muscle-bound organ, about the size of your fist. It is designed to churn the food around and mix it with the powerful digestive fluid, hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid (see pHocus on pH, below) is designed to kill bacteria and other germs, as well as begin the process of protein digestion. If the acid is strong enough, around pH 1.2 to 3.0, the enzyme, pepsin, will be activated to break down the bonds joining protein chains together, and the even finer work of separating amino acids from one another by snipping peptide bonds. A 3 millimetre thick lining of mucus protects the stomach wall from being damaged by the acid. A pHocus on pH There's more to pH than hair conditioners. pH stands for hydrogen potential and is a nifly way to measure acidity. The more hydrogen ions there are, the more acidic it is. The scale swings from very very acid at 0,to very very alkaline, the opposite of acid, at 14. Neutral is 7: neither acid nor alkaline. Levels closer to 0 on the scale are more acidlc: 6 is more acid than 7. However, 6 is not just one time more acidic, but 10 times more acidic than 7. A change of one whole number on the pH scale represents a 10-fold change. 0..1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10..11..12..13..14 acid neutral alkaline The Digestive Tract pH is all very well, but what has it got to do wfth me? Maintaining the correct pH is one of the most important jobs the body has to do. If the pH of our blood varies by as little as 0.5 to pH 7.0 or 8.0 we are in serious trouble, courting acidosis or alkalosis. Luckily, the body is v e q good at keeping pH levels within acceptable parameters. The body needs to maintain stable pH levels for blood, saliva, inside and outside cells, semen, stomach and pancreatic juice. Stomach add As this book is about nutrition, it seems reasonable to focus on the pH of our digestive juices. Stomach acid is wicked acid, as you can see from the table on the next page, it bubbles away at around a pH of 1.2 to 3.0. If you were to accidentally spill a couple of drops of stomach acid on your arm, it would bum the flesh away. Ouch. We need it to be so acidic to break some of the bonds holding protein strands together. Also, acid that powerful is an excellent death trap for bacteria and other germs. In fact, if stomach acid is not add enough (a condition called hypochlorhydria), protein is inadequately digested. This can cause digestive problems, such as bloating, as well as increasing the likelihood of food allergies, as partially digested protein fragments are absorbed thereby setting up an immune response in the body. Another down side of insufficient stomach acid is lack of zap power. Bacteria, &uses et a1 have a greater chance of surviving and setting up shop lower down the bowel. People with low stomach acid are more likely to suffer food poisoning and travellers' bowel. Other signs of low stomach acid include peeling and weak fhgernails, burping a lot, flatulence, abdominal bloating, I 1.2 T&eCommonsense Guide to Eating Well feeling very full after not-so-big meals and dry lips all the time. A teaspoon of herbal bitters in water before dinner, or a digestive tablet containing hydrochloric acid with each meal can help restore underactive stomach acid. Very rarely do people suffer from an excess of stomach acid. Symptoms such as refIux or heartburn may feel like there is too much acid, but it is more the case of acid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Similarly with stomach ulcers, the acid should not have been able to penetrate the protective mucus lining in the fust place. Stomach ulcers are more often the fault of bacteria (Heficobactorpylon? andlor damage from aspirin, cigarette smoke, alcohol, cortisone or stress. -1 ~uice,s b h acid vinegar, wine, carbonaCecl@ drink juia, juice, v ~ j M afluid l * urine, ~a/iVd h q t (disfilled) ~ hilk, blood, semen p4~reafrc)ice, eggs, bile hking wid milk cf maynesid household arnMoniq The Digestive Tract 13 After departing the stomach, the ex-meal is jettisoned into the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum. It is now called chyme, not as in doorbell but as in crime. Immediately, we need damage control. T h e chyme, which is highly acidic, has been dumped into a part of the body, the duodenum, which (unlike the stomach) is ill-equipped to deal with high acid. Alkaline, digestive secretions from the pancreas and gall bladder buffer the acid to acceptable levels. T h e pancreas is an ice-cream cone shaped organ that spends its life lurking behind the stomach. Around meal-time it becomes a hive of activity, on one side excreting pancreatic juice into the digestive tract and on the other secreting insulin into the bloodstream. T h e pancreas produces valuable digestive enzymes and alkaline fluid (bicarbonate) that are collectively delivered into the small intestine. There are pancreatic enzymes for every occasion: enzymes for the digestion of fat called lipase; enzymes for the digestion of carbohydrate called amylase; and enzymes for the digestion of protein called protease. These digestive enzymes are able to break down fat, carbohydrate and protein into small enough units to be able to be absorbed across the wall of the small intestine into the bloodstream. Bile: digestive detergent T h e gall bladder is a sac that carries bile, a greeny brown liquid made by the liver. Bile is an example of recycling in action as it is part waste product, part digestive secretion. Imagine you are at a barbecue. T h e scene: 1977. T h e day is Sunday. Early January. It is stinking hot. There are several late model Monaros parked on the wilting grass. T h e music: Boz Scaggs. Coleslaw in parquet bowls, garlic bread wrapped in foil, potato salad and chops and sausages on the barbie. 14 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Unfortunately you are washing up. You are not environmentally aware; you cannot throw the plates away - they are your mother's plastic picnic plates and she wants them back, clean. The three choices are: 1. wash the plates under the cold water tap; 2. wash them under the cold water tap with detergent; or 3. wash them in hot water with detergent. Left to its own devices, fat tends to blob. Mixing it with cold water only serves to make things worse, whereas hot water melts the fat. Detergent disperses fat into tiny droplets that are easier to deal with. This process is called emulsification. Choice 3 is the correct answer. If we return to the small intestine, we have a similar situation. It is very warm (body heat) and bile from the gall bladder acts as a digestive detergent, emulsifying the fat into smaller droplets. These droplets are small enough so that lipase, the fat-digesting enzymes from the pancreas, can break down the fat into fatty acids and glycerol. Then they can be absorbed across the intestinal wall. Villi: the coal face of digestion The small intestine is where virtually all digestive action happens. The small intestine is 6.4 metres long and is small in diameter, roughly 2.5 centimetres. It folds on itself like a slippery snake and takes up a fair amount of space in the abdomen. The first part of the small intestine, the duodenum, is where most absorption occurs, although there are opportunities down the entire length, including the jejunum and the ileum that joins the large bowel. The nutrients, fatty acids, glycerol, amino acids, glucose, vitamins and minerals cross over the thin layer of cells into the bloodstream. The majority of these nutrients follow the portal vein that takes The Digestive Tract 15 blood straight to the liver where they will be sorted out and sent on to wherever they are needed. The topography of the small intestine consists of fmgerlike projections called villi. Each villus is only a pis up wiH\ the pcrtal vein whih )q n k i e n k 6+he / i v ~ couple of cells thick and is where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. The villi are the coal face of digestion. These villi are custom made to increase the surface area of the small intestine. Some dedicated scientist (with a very small tape measure) measured up and down each villus for the entire 6.4 metres and calculated that the area for absorption is similar to the expanse of a football field. Amino acids, short-chain fatty acids, glycerol and glucose enter the vende (small vein) that joins up to the portal vein that goes to the liver. Because of the logistical problems of mixing fat in a watery environment, longchain fatty acids form into little packages called micelles and later chylomicrons that travel in the lacteal (central vessel in the villus), which is in fact an outpost of the 16 The Commonsense Guide to Eating WeZZ lymphatic system. The chylomicrons eventually enter the bloodstream, go to the liver and are then transformed into lipoproteins. The arteriole, a small artery, feeds the cells of the villus with nutrients and oxygen. The end of the tunnel T h e large bowel is much shorter than the small intestine, around 1.5 metres long, but it is much wider, 6.5 centimetres in diameter. At the end of our digestive journey, over 90 per cent of digestion has occurred by now. A few micronutrients and some water can be absorbed from here but the large bowel is not set up for absorption. T h e large bowel hangs in an upside down 'U', starting from the right-hand side where it joins the small intestine at the ileo-caecal valve, up the ascending colon, across the transverse colon and down the descending colon on the left-hand side. T h e rectum is where faeces are stored before they exit Abdominal massage can be very helpful for people who are constipated, suffer pain from the likes of diverticulitis, or just hold stress in their bowel. Lie down on your back, with your head on a pillow and a pillow under your bent knees - this will take any muscular tension away from the tummy. With the pads of the fingers of one hand, slowly and deeply, massage in small circles from the right-hand side above your hip, following the direction of the bowel. If there is any pain, ease up and then go back with a gentler motion. This massage can be done with warm oil or talcum powder. Tde Digestive Tract 17 via the anus. Throughout the entire digestive tract! there are literally billions of microorganisms, many of which are beneficial to our wellbeing (see probiotics box, page 34). Faeces are 75 per cent water and the rest is made up of bacteria (mostly from the bowel itself), fibre and sloughed off cells from the intestinal tract. Australians, among others, are a timid lot when it comes to talking about poo. Although there are enough scatological jokes to fill a library, few of us are willing to speak openly about something that is part of everyday life. This is unfortunate, as one can learn a lot from droppings; not least how well we are digesting our food. My first practical understanding of this came soon after I graduated. I had found work with a large vitamin company where one of my jobs was to answer letters from customers. Mrs P had written to complain about the quality of one of our vitamin pills. In case we felt inclined to doubt, she had kindly returned the tablet in question, fastidiously wrapped in toilet paper, after being retrieved from the loo. After recovering, I wrote to Mrs P tactfully pointing out that the problem was not with our vitamin pill, but with her digestive system. On a more serious note, bowel cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. A change in bowel habits or the sign of blood could be early warning signs of this deadly disease (more often than not red blood is the sign of a haemorrhoid or small fissure, but it is silly not to investigate). It is a tragedy that we find it difficult to talk about this natural process of life openly and free from embarrassment. A fart is predominantly hot air expelled from the anus, whereas a burp is air released from the other end. Flatus, a posh word for fart, is a mixture of carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane with various quantities of aromatic substances including hydrogen sulfide 18 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well (rotten egg gas), indole, skatole and arnrnonia (smells like tomcat wee). On average, we expel half a litre per day. Flatus arises from two causes. The first is the result of swallowing too much air. Fast eaters and fast talkers may find they need to expel excess air. The same may be true for mouth-breathers, those for whom the option of nostril breathing is blocked, including sinus sufferers and snorers. The other cause is home-grown. Of the b i o n s of bacteria that inhabit our digestive tract, by far the majority live in the large intestine. Many produce gas as a by-product. Poor digestion is oAen the cause of flatulence and bloating, as the bacteria feast on food that has not been digested in the small intestine and has travelled down to the large bowel. ESSENTIALS Carbohydrates: Fuel and Fibre T h e word carbohydrate to many people conjures up plates of pasta, mashed spuds and rice. While these are carbohydraterich foods, the world of carbohydrates extends to fruits, vegetables, honey, sugar and fibre. Classification Humans love to classify things. Horoscopically: Aries or Pisces; racially: Chinese or Greek; religiously: Jewish or Buddhist. Carbohydrates are classified according to the complexity of their chemical structure. T h e least complicated structures, one or two units, are called 'simple' carbohydrates and the more elaborate structures, up to thousands of units, are called 'complex' carbohydrates. 22 The Commonsense Gzcide to Bating Well From the humblest to the most grandiose carbohydrate there are only three elements involved: carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (0).F i e or six carbons jointo form rings, the oxygen and hydrogen just hang off these rings. The most common is the six-carbon structure, or hexose (hex-six, ose-sugar). And the three common hexoses in food are glucose, galactose and fructose, with glucose greatly outnumbering the other two. If you join two monosaccharides together, you have a disaccharide (di-two, saccharide-sugar). Joining glucose + glucose = maltose (the breakdown product of starches); glucose fructose = sucrose (table sugar); and glucose galactose = lactose (milk sugar). Glucose is our body's major fuel. Virtually every cell lives for and by glucose. Without glucose we die. However, in nature, glucose per se is rarely found. Rather, it is complexed with other simple sugars. As a consequence, our physiology has adapted to prefer complex carbohydrates. + + Complex carbohydrate no. 1: Starch Only plants contain starch, particularly grains, beans, seeds, nuts, some vegetables and fruits. A cubic inch of a starchy food like potato contains a million starch molecules. Carbohydrates should be about 65 to 70 per cent of our diet, with much of it in the form of starch. We may eat starch, but in order to utilise the fuel, glucose, we have to break the complex carbohydrate into single-unit sugar molecules, predominantly glucose. Carbohydrates: Fael and Fibre 23 Complex carbohydrate no. 2: Glycogen Glycogen is the second type of complex carbohydrate. It is how the human body stores glucose. Sometimes called 'animal starch', glycogen does not occur in plants. We store most of it in the liver (up to 400 grams) as well as in the muscles (up to 100 grams). Glycogen is stored as ready energy. Like going to the store for food, if insufficient glucose is available from the bloodstream, it can be obtained by breaking down stored glycogen. Complex carbohydrate no. 3: Ffbre The third type of complex carbohydrate is fibre (also see fibre, page 29). At first glance under the microscope, fibre looks very similar to starch - a large group of glucose molecules. Upon closer examination the dissimilarity becomes apparent: the bonds holding the glucoses together in starch are different from the bonds holding the glucoses together in fibre. Humans don't possess the specific enzymes to untie these bonds, so the fibre continues down the digestive tract undigested. Cows and other animals have these enzymes in their rumen which explains why a horse can enjoy a square meal of hay and we can't. Glycaemtc index The glycaernic index is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood sugar levels. The greater the index, the quicker and higher blood sugar levels rise. Glucose is the gold standard at 100. Blood sugar levels are important for many things, including brain function, energy levels, insulin production and mood. Not all sugars are created equal. Glucose readily crosses over the intestinal wall into the bloodstream. The other single sugars vary in the speed at which they 24 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well cross this barrier, with fructose taking more than double the time of glucose and galactose skipping over 10 per cent faster. This recently acquired information has thrown the nutritional world into a tizz. In the past, everyone thought that complex carbohydrates have a slower ' impact on blood sugar levels than simple carbohydrates. Not so. For instance, take fructose, a single sugar, which has a glycaemic index of 23 compared with bread, a starchy food, which has a glycaemc index of 75. A total reverse of what we formerly thought. This information I has had the greatest influence on diabetics, a disease whose nutritional world revolves around taking insulin according to levels of blood sugar. Who would have guessed that honey has a more moderate effect on blood sugar than parsnips or baked potato? There are several factors thought to affect glycaemic index, including fibre, anti-nutrients such as phytates and tannins, acidity, fat and protein. Although the glycaemic index presents us with some fascinating information, it is important to realise that the index is relevant to that food eaten in isolation. Something that rarely happens. We tend to eat foods like baked potato with other things like meat and peas, and these other foods bring down the glycaemic index to less panicky levels. What happens to glucose in the bloodstream? Once the sugar molecule (whether it came from a jellybean or a baked bean) crosses the intestinal wall, it is swept into a fast-flowing river of blood (portal circulation) taking all the Carbohydrates: FzleZ and Fibre 25 nutrients of digestion straight to the liver to be sorted and recirculated. If there are any toxins, the liver will hopefully be able to detoxify them before they are allowed to recirculate. After a meal, glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream and blood glucose levels will increase. A part of the brain, the hypothalamus, keeps a check on the amount of glucose. If it exceeds or falls below a particular range, orders are issued to set things right. T h e average amount of sugar circulating at one time is 20 grams, or four teaspoonsful. So you can see that there is not a lot of room to play around with. If something is wrong with the regulation, sugar in the blood can remain too high, as in the case of diabetes. Hypoglycaemia Hypoglycaemia cited in medical texts literally means 'low (hypo) blood (aemia) sugar (glyc)', where the circulating blood sugars stay below normal levels for a prolonged period. This can be life-threatening and is usually drug or alcohol induced. On the other hand, the hypoglycaemia that natural therapists frequently diagnose, is a condition of fluctuating or seesawing blood sugar levels. Symptoms of this include exhaustion, depression, anxiety, irritability, mood changes, headaches, dizziness, sweating, tremor, fast heart beat (tachycardia), muscle pain and weakness, conksion, forgetfulness, sweet craving, reduced libido, excessive hunger between meals, waking exhausted, nausea before meals, tired after lunch and craving sweets, coffee, cigarettes and alcohol. Most symptoms improve after eating, reflecting an increase in blood sugar. The following factors contribute to hypoglycaemia: Missing meals, especially breakfast. By the time you eat lunch it could be 16 or 17 hours since last night's 26 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well dinner. You have effectively entered a fasting state, with low blood sugar levels. • A sweet tooth. • • High glycaemic index foods eaten on their own. The glycaemic index (GI) ranks foods according to how quickly they raise blood sugar levels. Foods with a high GI, that is, between 70 and 100, will increase blood sugars faster and higher than foods with a low GI. Substances that cause a rapid and unsustained rise in blood sugar levels include caffeine (coffee, cola and guarana), nicotine and alcohol. • Stress causes an increase in adrenalin that raises blood sugar levels. • Deficiencies in the vitamins and minerals which are necessary for sugar metabolism are bound to cause problems with sugar metabolism. The nutrients in question include zinc, chromium, calcium, magnesium, manganese and vitamins B1 and B3. What to do The treatment of hypoglycaemia is easy and results can be felt within a few days. • Eat small meals, regularly: breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. • Each meal should contain a little protein and high fibre carbohydrate - for example, cheese and wholemeal bread, brown rice and dhal, beans on toast, egg and toast, tuna and rice, fish and salad. • • Eat plenty of fibre. Fibre slows down the rate at which sugar is absorbed. Avoid the triggers sugar, alcohol, coffee, cigarettes. • Foods which are particularly good for stabilising blood Carbohydrates: Fuel and Fibre 27 sugar levels include apples, blueberries, rye, oats, green beans, fenugreek and beans. Take a B-complex each morning or a tablespoon of brewer's yeast. Brewer's yeast has the advantage of containing chromium, an important mineral in sugar metabolism. Once the glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, it becomes known as blood sugar or blood glucose. Much of it enters cells where it will be converted into energy via a series of chemical reactions known collectively as the Krebs cycle (see box below). Every cell needs energy to do its job. Muscle cells use energy to move us around, lung cells use energy to accept oxygen. Every cell uses energy for its own health, as well as fulfilling its role in the body. T h e favoured fuel for cell energy is glucose. Glucose passes from the blood across the cell membrane and into the cell with a small push from the hormone insulin. Exactly how do I get energy from food? The Krebs cycle Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. After we go through all the palaver of digesting our food, further biochemical tinkering needs to happen in order to extract energy. The body's preferred source of energy is glucose, but energy can also be obtained from fat and protein. After glucose has been gently shoved into the cell by insulin, the next step - glycolysis - begins the energyreleasing process. With the help of various enzymes, glycolysis is a series of chemical conversions that changes the six-carbon glucose ring into 2 three-carbon units known as pyruvic acid. 28 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Little energy is released in this process and sometimes that is all that is needed, but usually the maximum amount of energy is required. The pyruvic acid enters the next stage, known as the Krebs cycle or citric acid cycle, a kind of biological ferris wheel. At each station of the wheel's revolution, the molecule will be set upon by certain enzymes, releasing energy along the way. After all the energy has been delivered, all that is Iefi is water (H20) and carbon dioxide (C02) which can be breathed out of the body. The ferris wheel is located on little organelles (structureswithin cells) called the mitochondria. Cells containing lots of mitochondria, like muscle cells, are able to produce lots of energy. Cells with relatively few rnitochondria, like fat cells, produce less energy. The Krebs cycle will only be activated if oxygen is available. If, for some reason, oxygen is scarce, the pyruvic acid will be converted to lactic acid. Movement of the body requires muscle power and muscles need energy, especially so during exercise. Unless plenty of oxygen is available to activate the Krebs cycle there will be a build-up of Iactic acid, which causes an unpleasant sensation. If a particular group of muscles is worked powerfdly for more than a few seconds we often experience a burning sensation. Incidentally, this is what aerobic exercise is all about. With sufficient oxygen, muscles are able to use energy obtained via the Krebs cycle. Aerobic exercise includes running, swimming and cycling; as opposed to anaerobic exercise such as weight lifring, where you're more likely to feel the lactic acid burn. If the glucose isn't immediately snapped up and used for energy it can be packed up and stored for a while to be used Carbohydrates: Fuel and Fibre 29 as energy at another time. One way of doing this is creating glycogen, the complex carbohydrate mentioned earlier. T h e only hiccup here is that there is limited amount of storage space for glycogen: around half a kilo. So, if all the glycogen storage space is taken, any extra glucose will be converted to fat. Our body performs an act of alchemy changing carbohydrate into fat. Fat and carbohydrate are completely different entities, although they both contain the basic units of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Eat is the most economical way to store extra energy. We store energy as fat because it takes up less room than storing it as carbohydrate. Cows can, horses can, even mice can digest fibre Fibre is an important part of our diet, yet it is not a nutrient. It contains no calories, thus can give us no energy and virtually passes through the digestive system untouched. Nevertheless, you will be a very sick puppy if you don't eat enough fibre. Fibre is a type of carbohydrate found in plants. T h e human digestive system does not have the correct enzymes to break down and absorb fibre. However, cows, horses, even mice have the enzymes to utilise fibre for fuel. Types of fibre Until a few years ago fibre was fibre. I t was the husky bran surrounding wheat called cellulose, the bit that gets stuck in your teeth. When it first became apparent that fibre had some benefit, we all raced for the bran and began tipping it into 30 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well and onto everything. What was formerly sneered at as chaff for horses became the `in' food for the health conscious. Chaff suddenly trebled in price with the emergence of bran barons! Nowadays, our knowledge of fibre is a lot more extensive. For a start, we know that there are several different varieties apart from cellulose. Cellulose is the fibre that gives plants backbone. It is insoluble in water. Cellulose is found mainly in the bran of grains such as wheat. Pectin is abundant in fruits; for example, apples, oranges and also in some root vegetables. Pectin swells up in size when it is dissolved in water and for this reason is helpful in treating constipation and diverticulitis, as it helps form a bulkier, softer stool. It is a soluble fibre, capable of lowering cholesterol and removing toxins from the body. Mucilage is a type of fibre that is water soluble and forms soft and demulcent slippery stuff; for example, linseed, psyllium, slippery elm and marshmallow. These fibres are used to help soothe irritated linings of the digestive system as in ulcers, colitis and diverticulitis. It is also very good for constipation where the stool is hard and difficult to pass. Algin is a type of fibre found in seaweed. Although it is mostly used in the food-processing industry, the fibre in seaweed has the ability to chelate with heavy metals such as lead, so it makes a very good detoxifier. It also reduces the ill-effects of radiation, which made seaweed very popular post-Chernobyl. Resistant starch is starch which resists digestion and passes through to the large bowl. Beans contain some of this resistant starch, which is known as oligosaccharides. Chitin is an unusual fibre, one that is not carbohydrate, found in fungi, yeasts and the exoskeleton of invertebrates such as insects and crustaceans. It is basically insoluble and has been found to absorb fats. The diet industry has cottoned on to Carbohydrates: Fuel and Fibre 31 this and has produced tablets containing chiton that will stop fat from being absorbed. This is not a good way to lose weight as fat brings to us so many important compounds, including the fat soluble vitamins. Lignin is another non-carbohydrate fibre. It is found in the woody parts of plants like the stems and cores of apples and pears, as well as in linseeds, rye and buckwheat. Lignin can be metabolised by gut microflora into lignan, a phyto-oestrogen, offering protection against hormone-dependant cancers such as breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. Dietary recommendations Eat 30 to 40 grams of fibre daily. This looks like: three to five vegetable servings, plus two to four fruit servings, plus six to eleven wholegrain pasta or bread or legume servings. It is best to increase your fibre intake gradually over several weeks to allow the digestive system to adapt. Otherwise you (and your loved ones) will experience flatulence. Drink lots of water, fibre is very thirsty. If you don't drink enough water, you will find your stools become dry and hard. Select a variety of fibres from a variety of foods; for example, fruits (including skin, pits and cores), seeds, vegetables (root and leafy), grains and legumes. What fibre can do for you In the bowel Fibre generally accelerates transit time, meaning that it takes less time for food to travel the length of the digestive tract from mouth to anus. In general, this is seen as a good thing. In the Western world, transit time is far too slow, adding to 32 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well all sorts of problems including constipation and bowel cancer. T h e longer the stool is present in the bowel, the longer it has time to form toxic products of fermentation and putrefactions. Some of these will be absorbed into the bloodstream. Fibre is as good for constipation as it is for diarrhoea. This may sound contradictory but the soluble fibres, including pectin and psyllium, swell up so much that they can slow down a too-speedy transit time, allowing time for nutrients to be absorbed, one of the problems with diarrhoea. Heavy metal Fibre has the ability to hold on to and excrete heavy metals such as lead, aluminium and mercury. T h e less of these in the body, the better. T h e down side is that fibre can also hold on to good minerals such as calcium and iron. This is one reason not to add extra bran to the diet but rather to eat a diet that is intrinsically rich in fibre; foods that will provide extra minerals instead of just removing them. Phytates Phytates are not a kind of fibre, although they are oAen found in cereals and legumes. Phytates or phytic acid can reduce the absorption of certain minerals, including iron, zinc, calcium and others. Phytic acid is the calcium or magnesium salt of inositol and phosphoric acid. Phytates are destroyed by heat which means that baked or cooked grains and legumes do not contain significant amounts of phytates, although consuming large quantities of raw bran and uncooked rolled oats could be a problem. Ca~bohyd~ates: Fael and Fibre 33 Decrease choIestero1 Fibre, particularly soluble fibre, decreases cholesterol. One of the mechanisms is that it will hold on to excess cholesterol in the bowel and prevent it from being reabsorbed. Help with weight loss Fibre slows the rate at which food leaves the stomach. This has a twofold benefit. First, you will feel fuller longer after you have eaten, helping you to lose weight. Second, as nutrients take longer to be absorbed, blood sugar levels rise slower, which is very good if you suffer from diabetes or hypoglycaemia. Prebf 0 t h Because fibre is not absorbed in the small intestine, the bacteria in the lower bowel are able to use it for fuel. Fibre is the 'prebiotic' that feeds the good bugs, known as probiotics (see box on page 34). T h e bacteria nibble on the fibre and in return give us some valuable by-products, including antibiotic substances (for example, nisin), which help fight bowel infections. In addition, the bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), mainly acetate, propionate and butyrate in the ratio 60:24:16 (see box on page 47). These short-chain fatty acids have shown to be incredibly beneficial. They are used as fuel by the cells that line the bowel and are probably the reason behind the statistic that people whose diets are low in fibre are more likely to get bowel cancer. A couple of less popular by-products include the gases hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane - the main components of flatus. Increased fibre has proved to be helpful as part of a treatment and preventative regime for the following conditions: diverticulitis, constipation, colon cancer, heart disease, obesity, gall stones, varicose veins and irritable bowel syndrome. 34 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Probfotfcs It is ironic that while spending countless dollars and hours ridding ourselves and our homes of germs, there resides literally biions of the blighters within our bodies. There are more bugs in the bowel than there are cells in the body. Such bugs are,collectively known as bowel microflora and the beneficial ones are called probiotics. At last count there were 100 trillion bacteria in the digestive tract weighing in at 1.5 kilograms. Thirty per cent of faecal weight is bacteria. In each M t r e of saliva there are 10 000 bacteria. The stomach has 10 000 bacteria per millilitre, less than elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract due to the presence of hydrochloric acid and pepsin. The small intestine: the duodenum has 10 000 bacteria per M t r e ; and the ileum has 10 million per miIlilitre. The large intestine has 100 billion to 1000 billion bacteria per milIilitre. No doubt these internal interlopers are splitting their little sides with laughter as they watch us rub our hands raw with disinfectant soap. How they must chortle when we pay good money to buy encapsulated bacteria in bottles at health food stores and pharmacies. Mannerly duoflora Before you guzzle down that bottle of Dettol in an attempt to terminate their tiny lives, you must know that in return for accommodation, certain of these little folk go out of their way to provide us with substances beneficial to our welfare. These rather small bugs have rather large names. Carbohydrates: Fzcel and Fibre 35 ! Some of the more famous beneficial microbes include Lactobacillus acidophilus (acidophilus) found in the stomach and small intestine, Biiidobacterium biiidm (bifidus) found in the lower reaches of the bowel, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus brevis and Streptococcus thermophilus who are all transients, which mean they do good deeds then go. Certain strains of microflora are capable of producing the B vitamins biotin, niacin (B3),pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9), as well as vitamin K. Others act as watchdogs of the internal environment, secreting substances which promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms and substances toxic to pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Others produce lactase, an enzyme that helps digestion of milk sugar. Conditions including acne, constipation, psoriasis, bloating, flatulence, even tumours can respond positively to the substances created by these microorganisms. Tipping the balance Convinced yet these guys are paying their way? Microflora five in a finely balanced world where any change, however minor, is likely to tip the balance. This is a state of dysbiosis. Such changes can include constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhoea, abdominal X-rays, radiotherapy, a serious infection, a sudden change in diet, stress, the contraceptive pill, drinking tap water containing chlorine (chlorine is antimicrobial), steroids such as cortisone and taking antibiotics. Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria - killing the good along with the bad. After a course of antibiotics, or if any of the above situations apply, then it is wise to go on a short program of friendly bacteria, such as acidophilus and bifidus. This will help reinstate healthy microflora. 36 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well A diet which promotes healthy microflora includes whole grains, vegetables, legumes, fruit, miso and plain yoghurt made with acidophilus, bulgaricus or bifidus culture. I Protein: Strength and Structure Look in the mirror - what you see is protein Protein comes from the ancient Greek word protos, meaning first. Long thought to be the most important or primary nutrient, nowadays we acknowledge protein's significance but also recognise the equal importance of carbohydrates and fat. Protein provides our physical structure. Pretty much all that you see in the mirror - hair, skin, nails, as well as muscle and even bone - is predominantly protein. Just as protein creates most of our macrostructure, so too is it vital for microstructures; the miniature nuts and bolts that keep us ticking over. All enzymes, neurotransmitters, blood proteins such as haemoglobin, antibodies and many hormones are made out of protein. No other nutrient will do; if there is no protein these macroand microstructures cannot be built. People whose diets are low in protein often suffer symptoms ranging from brittle hair and nails, poor immune function and delayed healing to muscle weakness. More severe protein deficiency eventually leads to to blindness, oedema, muscle wasting and death. 38 TZie Commonsense Gaide to Eating Well Kwashiorkor Kwashiorkor is the name given to severe protein deficiency. African in origin, kwashiorkor literally means 'disease of the first born when the second baby is put on the breast': a terribly sad reality where the only protein available is through the mother's milk. An ironic symptom of kwashiorkor is a swollen belly. This is because the blood protein albumin retains water within blood vessels. Without enough protein there is insufficient albumin and s o water leaks from the blood vessels and swells the abdomen. Protein can also provide us with calories for energy - 4 calories a gram (the same as carbohydrate). However, as neither carbohydrate nor fat provide us with the structural building blocks that protein supplies, using protein for energy is a tad wasteful. How much is enough? Unlike fat, protein cannot be stored in the body and so it is imperative that we eat enough protein each day to rebuild and repair muscles, enzymes, fingernails and eyelashes. If the body does not receive adequate protein from the diet every day, it will procure it somehow, usually by breaking down muscle tissue. So it is of no use to go on a protein binge one day a week, hoping that on average your protein intake is sufficient. T h e generally accepted recommendation for daily protein to keep us out of trouble is 1 gram per body kilogram. For instance, a 60 kilogram person requires 60 grams of protein a day. Roughly the same weight as a good-sized egg Protein: Strength and Structure 39 (although a 60 gram egg contains only 8 grams of protein, the rest being carbohydrate, fat and water). Who needs extra? During pregnancy an extra 6 grams of protein is required daily to meet the structural needs of the growing baby. Breastfeeding a baby requires that you eat an extra 12 to 16 grams of protein daily. Children need proportionately double the protein an adult needs, due to the need to increase body structure. A growing child needs up to 2 grams per body kilogram. So a 30 kilogram child would need as much protein as a 60 kilogram adult; that is, 60 grams. Some body builders keen to be chiselled, cut and sculpted eat protein by the bucketload (12 egg whites for breakfast), although our body's capacity to build muscle is limited to our genetic potential. Excess protein will be used as calories or stored as fat and may eventually lead to problems with the liver and kidneys. The problem with excess protein Protein, unlike carbohydrate and fat, contains nitrogen. We lose about 30 grams of nitrogen in the general house-cleaning and maintenance that goes on in the body every day. The liver converts the nitrogen into ammonia and then urea, which the kidneys excrete via the urine. Normally, the body copes with this amount of waste nitrogen. The trouble starts when excess protein (more than double our requirements) is consumed (remember, w e cannot store excess protein). The ammonia and urea are toxic and can cause damage, especially to the kidneys. 40 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Wedl Amino acids: the Lego blocks of life Protein is made up of lots of little units called amino acids. There are about 100 amino acids in nature and over 20 in the human body (see box below). Just like Lego blocks, amino acids can join together into all sorts of shapes but most often form chains, joined together by peptide bonds. These chains can grow quite long, up to hundreds of amino acids in a row, and the chains can cross and link with one another to form complex structures. Although an eyelash looks quite different from a toenail (one hopes), nearly all body structures are made up of protein. They look different because they contain different variations of the 20 amino acids, making an infinite number of combinations. It is the type of amino acids and their combination in the polypeptide chain, that determine the function and look of a particular protein. E M : all o r nothing at all Our body needs all 20 amino acids to make the different proteins essential for life. When necessary, the body can create a new amino acid out of an old one. A bit of a cut and paste job: tack on a few carbons here, take away a few hydrogens there. Pretty clever stuff. However, there are a few amino acids that cannot be created from others. Known as the essential amino acids (EAAs), these amino acids must be eaten daily. As mentioned previously, we need 1 gram of protein per body kilogram, and that protein must be of good quality. Good quality doesn't necessarily mean it comes from David Jones, but food that delivers all the essential amino acids. Protein: Strength and Structure 41 Some people still believe that good quality protein must Amino adds in the body Alanine (Ala) Arginine (Arg) Asparagine (Asn) Aspartic acid (Asp) Cysteine (Cys) Glutamic acid (Glu) Glutamine (Gln) Glydne (Gly) Histidine (His)* Isoleuane (IIe)* Leucine (Leu)* Lysine (Lys)* Methionine (Met)* Phenylalanine (Phe)* Proline (Pro) Serine (Ser) Threonine (Thr)* Tryptophan (Try)* Tyrosine (Tyr) Valine (Val)* *means an essential amino acid come from meat. Meat does contain all the essential amino acids, however, if you cleverly combine foods such as beans and grains (see page 44) they will provide you with all the essential amino acids. T h e truth is that when tryptophan is needed for toenail manufacture it doesn't matter whether the tryptophan came from a peanut or a cow. For many years non meat-eaters were depicted as pasty 42 The Commonsense Gzcide to Eating Well and anaemic with a predilection towards communist philosophies. However, it soon became apparent that vegetarians were a defiantly healthy mob. Studies on Seventh Day Adventists show they suffer less obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and virtually every other modern-day illness. And they live longer to enjoy it. T h e vegetarian diet generally is higher in fibre and lower in fat. Formerly, it was believed that all the essential amino acids needed to be eaten at the same meal. Now we know there is some leeway. If you eat a food low in one of the amino acids for breakfast, as long as you eat a food that contains a reasonable amount of this amino acid sometime in the next 12 hours or so all will be well. Recipe for success and toenails: the art of protein synthesis How the body knows which protein to make, and when, is coded in genes on strands of DNA located in the nucleus of nearly all cells. There is information (recipes) on every aspect of us in these wispy threads of genetic material. When we need to grow a toenail, the recipe we need will be located at a particular point on the DNA strand - called a gene. If a toenail is required, only that recipe will be accessed, however tempting that vanilla soume recipe is on the next gene. First a copy of the recipe is made (messenger RNA) in the nucleus and is taken downstairs to the kitchen (cytoplasm). The recipe is very specific as to which amino acids go where, causing them to line up in a specific sequence to form our peptide chain (for example, Ser-Ser-Gly-LeuAsn-Met-Met-Gln-Pro-Trp and so on). As each consecutive amino acid is needed for the recipe, a call goes out on the public announcement system for that amino Protein: StrengfA and Stmctzcn 43 acid - for example, serine (a non-essential amino acid) to come forth. If there happens to be a serine in the near vicinity,it will step into line. If no serine is around, a suitable candidate wiII front up and sacrifice itself to a total makeover, becoming transformed into serine. In the event that an essential amino acid like tryptophan is needed, the call will go out on the PA system as before. If no tryptophan turns up, another more desperate call will be made. If still no tryptophan appears, we are in big trouble - the aforementioned toenail cannot be made. This may sound like good news (no more nail clippings on the carpet), however, if there is no tryptophan for toenails there will be no tryptophan for skin, muscle and enzymes. We need to have the essential amino acids on hand 24 hours a day or all protein making goes on strike. This is why it is crucial to our well-being to ensure that every day we eat enough protein containing all the essential amino acids. Are you getting enough? When I analyse people's diets, one of the most frequent deficiencies is protein. A good example is Michelle. Aged 28, Michelle has a busy life: a successful job in marketing, good friends and a membership to the gym which she visits daily because she thinks she has fat thighs. (She doesn't.) Michelle's main reason for seeing me was her lack of energy. When questioned, her energy levels had been low for a few years, and steadily getting worse. I always ask for people to measure their energy levels according to a scale of 0 to10 with 10 being 'jumping full of beans'. Michelle was a very weary 4 to 5 on the energy scale. Within two weeks of eating a diet that 44 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well contained more protein, Michelle's energy levels had lifted to 8 or 9. It is often this simple. Part of the problem was that Michelle simply did not know what foods contain protein. When I suggested that protein may be the answer, she agreed to try this novel approach but was worried about putting on weight. (Those thighs again.) So I gave her a list of protein foods that were relatively low in fat and asked Michelle to have one serve with each meal. T h e list of high proteinllow fat foods was tuna in brine, sardines in brine, egg, low-fat humus, low-fat ricotta, cottage cheese, lean red meat, chicken without the skin, 10 almonds, kidney beans, tofu, low fat yoghurt. Clever vegetarianism: protein combining Animal-made protein more closely reflects the human requirements of essential amino acids, with eggs carrying the prize for the most 'complete' protein. (Remember, the total amount of protein in the average egg is 8 grams, which would mean you would need to eat eight eggs a day if you were only getting protein from this source.) Generally if you are happy to eat some animal products for example, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, fish, chicken, beef, lamb and so on - you don't need to be too conscious of worrying about the essential amino acids. Nearly 30 years on, the landmark book Diet for a SmaN Planet by France Moore Lappe (first published in 1971) is still the best book on the subject of protein in vegetarian food. Lappe was a card-carrying member of the flower-power generation who were vegetarian for various political and ethical reasons. Fed up with people saying she would die of protein deficiency if she didn't eat meat, Lappe did her homework and found that by combining certain plant foods Protein: StrengtA and Stmctu~e 45 you would obtain all the necessary essential amino acids. Beans, grains, nuts and seeds have the most essential amino acids, while fruits and vegetables (except sprouts) tend to be a write-off when it comes to protein. Plant proteins, not surprisingly, don't reflect the human range of amino acids, although soybeans come surprisingly close. Beans lack the essential amino acids that grains have in spades and vice versa. Lappe drew parallels with the world's major cuisines, which happen to be predominantly vegetarian, noticing that for centuries people have been combining plant foods so as to take full advantage of complementary amino acids. For example, the South Indian dish of dhal and rice combines lentils, a legume, with rice, a grain. T h e Asian meal of tofu and rice combines tofu made from soybeans, a legume, with rice, a grain. (Soybeans have the highest protein of any legume.) Central Americans combine red or kidney beans, a legume, with tortillas made from corn, a grain. In Lebanon, the felafel roll combines felafel made from chickpeas, a bean, with flat bread made from wheat, a grain. You can add substantially to protein levels by throwing in a few toasted sunflower seeds, sprouts or sesame seeds, which will add a few more essential amino acids. Of course if you add a small amount of animal protein to your vegetarian meal, including some grated cheese, a dollop of natural yoghurt or even a small amount of meat, you will have no worries about getting sufficient protein. Fat: Not a Dirty Word Fat the Rat It is amazing how three little letters F, A and T can send people into paroxysms of fear and loathing. After all, it is just a nutrient and a rather valuable one at that. No other nutrient gives us the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K; or sterols such as cholesterol, oestrogen, testosterone, aldosterone and cortisol; let alone the phospholipids that line the outside of nerves and create part of each cell membrane; or the prostaglandins - chappies that have a profound impact on our health. One can expect only so much from carbohydrates and protein: only fat delivers these beauties. T h e official name for fat is 'lipid', which refers to the more solid fat as well as its liquid counterpart, oil. Getting to know you Ninety-nine per cent of fat in the body and in food is in the form of triglycerides, which are basically three (hence the 'tri') Fat: Not a Diw Word 17 chains of fatty acids joined together at one end. A fatty acid (the basic unit of fat) is a chain of carbons extending in length anywhere from 2 to 22 carbons long. There are short-, mediumand long-chain fatty acids, depending on how many carbons are present. bonds fhd hk tk ( d c e $he glucose moleculeS - humaq~do not- possess the enzymes .to b d Ynese bonds ~ h is ~ w l M kgeEt C i k ) - When scientists classify fatty acids, they don't just call them Bobby-joe or Charlie. They name them according to the number of carbons, how many double bonds and where the first double bond is positioned. For example, EPA is 20:5w3. This means it has 20 carbons, five double bonds with the first double bond occurring on the third carbon from the end, which also makes it an omega3 fatty acid. TAe Commonsense Gzkide to Eahag WeZZ 48 I I0leic. acid (18: 1 ~ 9 ) H H H H H H H H H 1 I I I I I I If- c-C-C-c-CI ll I I I I I I I I H r ; i H Y H H F I H H r 1 1 1 1 r I 1J 14 0 C-C- C-C = C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-c H H H H H H H ~ I I I 'On N U U H f l H H ~ ' E I C ACID(I$: I c 9 ) is I S arbo on^ long, drub4 +he ninth carbon . olei~atid (commonly found in olive oil) is q mno-u/rsohmd f a H y acid, as it ha only one (mmo) double bmd . ( F b l y v n s a h t e d Fatfy a d s ha@ hue w m e dwbk badr.) Saturated Fatty Acids Butyric Acid Caproic Acid Caprylic Acid Capric Acid Lauric Acid Myristic Acid Palmitic Acid Stearic Acid Arachidic Acid 4:O 6:O 6:O 10:O 12:0 14:O 16:O 18:O 20:O Unsaturated Fatty Adds Palmitoleic Acid 16: lw7 Oleic Acid 18: lw9 Linoleic Acid 18:2w6 Alpha-linolenic Acid 18:3w3 Gamma-linolenic Acid 18:3w6 Arachidonic Acid 20:4w6 Seearidonic Acid 18:4w3 Eicoapentaenoic Acid 20:5w3 Docosahexaenoic Acid 22:6w3 Table adapted from U. Erasrnzrs, 1993 Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids T h e fatty acid chain looks like a daisy chain. T h e daisy flower being the carbon, while the stalk represents the bond. Sometimes there are two bonds (double bond) joining the carbon Fat: Not a Dirty Word 49 atoms together. A double bond is not as stable as a single bond; there is a likelihood that one of the bonds will reach out and grab something else - for instance, oxygen. If there are no double bonds, the fatty acid is called a saturated fatty acid. Like a sponge fully saturated with water, there is no opportunity for those bonds to hold on to anything else. If there are any double bonds it is known as an unsaturated fatty acid. Two or more double bonds make it a polyunsaturated fatty acid ('poly' meaning many). Nattering on about the structure of carbon chains and double bonds is all very well if you happen to be looking down an electron microscope, however, there is an easier way to identify saturated from unsaturated fats just by looking at them. T h e more unsaturated a fat - that is, the greater the number of double bonds - the more liquid it appears. This means that the more solid fats such as butter and lard contain more saturated fatty acids; whereas the runnier oils like safflower and sunflower have three and four double bonds apiece. Then you have your 'in-between' oils such as olive oil, which is liquid until put in the fridge where it gets claggy. This is because olive oil (and canola oil) contains monounsaturated fatty acids, which means there is only one double bond (mono): not as liquid as polyunsaturated and not as hard as saturated fats. I am sure there is a more scientific way to explain this, but there you go. Fats and oils are made up of several types of fatty acids, not just one. T h e different fatty acids will determine how saturated or unsaturated a fat is. For instance, butter is predominantly saturated and contains a lot of the saturated fatty acid butyric acid. Nevertheless, butter will also contain a few unsaturated fatty acids as well. 50 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Better to be a peroxide blonde than a peroxide polyunsaturate Polyunsaturated fatty acids (those with two or more double bonds to their name) have a very fragile chemical structure. Anything that interferes with that double bond, including heat, light and other chemicals, can cause that fatty acid to become peroxidated - that is, an oxygen molecule is incorporated into the structure. This is bad, bad news. This lipid peroxide is capable of causing free radical damage to its immediate surroundings, be it a cell membrane or anything else. This process is considered to be a trigger in many diseases including cancer and atherosclerosis. T h e dodgy lipid, once incorporated into the body, then wreaks havoc unless there are suitable defenders available, namely the antioxidants. Vitamin E is a lipid-soluble antioxidant and should be liberally scattered through all our cell membranes. Fat and fabulous Fat is the nutritional equivalent of Louis Vuitton luggage: you can fit so much in! Each gram of fat supplies us with nine calories of energy, whereas carbohydrate and protein give us four calories a piece. This means, for weight and size, fat is a very economical form of storage. Mountain climbers and trekkers who want to travel light carry food high in fat, like chocolate and halvah, to provide them with more energy gram for gram. If our bodies were to store the equivalent amount of energy in the form of carbohydrate, instead of fat, we would be the size of a big tree. In fact, trees and other plants do happen to store their energy as carbohydrate. T h e average 60 kilogram person has about 15 kilograms of fat. There are 135 000 calories of stored energy in 15 Fat.. Not a Dim Word 51 Trans and d s fatty a d d s Wherever there is a double bond, the chain of carbons wilI tend to bend at this place. Nine times out of ten, the ends of the chain will fold in towards each other, like the letter 'C'. This transfiguration is called 'cis'. Occasionally another formation occurs, where the chain continues on the opposite side of the double bond - this is called a trans fatty acid. Although rare in nature, trans fatty acids occur frequently during the processing of fats for cooking oil and margarines. Recent information has revealed that these trans fatty acids are bad for our health. For a start, although they are initally accepted by the digestive system, when they are incorporated at a cellular level, they cause all sorts of trouble. Trouble like causing the blood to be stickier, a risk factor in heart disease; decreased testosterone levels; and lower immune response. kilograms of fat (15 000 grams x 9 calories). If the average person needs 2000 calories a day, this means there is over nine weeks of available energy from fat. This thriftiness has probably saved the human race from extinction time and time again. My darling father used to tell me it was a good thing to carry a little padding to fall back on if you got sick. Speaking of falling back on, fat makes a wonderful insulation layer between the outside world and you. Which is why women have an extra layer covering the womb (mind you, this does not explain the extra layer covering the thighs). In these days of paranoia about being thin as a stick, we forget the value of a little extra padding. Thanks Dad. 52 The Commonsense Gzside to Eating Web Fat tastes fabulous Truthfully now, what tastes better: a bowl of steamed vegies, or a bowl of steamed vegies with a pat of butter melted through? Exactly. Carrots taste carottier, potatoes more potatoey, because fat releases smell and taste chemicals in the food. A fact that fast food outlets cottoned on to decades ago. An interesting study on American nut-eaters showed that they were less overweight than their non nut-eating compatriots! This could be due to the fact that a few nuts make you feel pretty full, fuller than an ice cream for instance, which contains the same calories. The tragedy of processed oils Before the dawn of the potato chip, we lived in a world where any fat we ate was part of, not added to, food. Stone Age man did not go to the back of the cave and bring out a jar of mayonnaise for the cycad sprouts, or a slender bottle of olive oil to drizzle over the barbecued bronto-rib. Because fat is susceptible to light and heat, nature has evolved some ingenious solutions. For example, nuts are a highfat food and they always have a hard covering that protects the fat from light. T h e high-fat macadamia has the hardest shell of all. T h e avocado is one of the few fruits that store energy in the form of fat; it has a dark, leathery skin that protects the fatty acids from oxidation. Until relatively recently we did not have the technology to obtain fat from food. T h e earliest attempts would have been stone-pressed olive oil and, in cooler climates, butter from churning cream. Both these fats are at less risk of becoming oxidised because they are monounsaturated and saturated respectively (fewer double bonds to worry about). Historically, fat has been a luxury food, available only Fat: Not a Dirty Word 53 to the wealthy until modern-day improved food technology. Today, oil is cheap and readily available on supermarket shelves in clear plastic bottles, baring all their little unprotected double bonds to the ubiquitous fluorescent lights. EPO and UFOs: the story of essential fatty acids I was fine with the UK. Even the USA posed no threat. Then there was UNICEF, ANZUS and eventually KFC. I could cope. But it was only when the world of initials (or acronyms) struck oil that I realised that the New Age had finally gone Space Age. More than any other field of nutrition, research into lipids (fats or oils) has flourished in recent years. Many people are aware of the benefits of EPO and EPA. Some know the importance of a high percentage of GLA. Yet, how many of us understand what the heck these initials stand for? And what exactly is so good about them? Fatty acids are the building blocks of fats. There are many different fatty acids - for example, oleic acid (OA) found in olive oil and butyric acid (BA) found in butter. Linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (LNA) are known as the essential fatty acids (EFAs), because of the fact that we cannot do without them. They are essential to health. I guess that must make them VIP EFAs! It is these EFAs and their derivatives that have spectacular health benefits. Prostaglandins In the body, EFAs can be transformed into biologically active substances known as prostaglandins. T h e study of prostaglandins (PGs, wouldn't you know) is very new and very exciting. 54 The Commonsense Ggide to Eating Weld T h e prostaglandins derived from LA and LNA, our EFAs, keep blood platelets from sticking together, preventing heart attacks and strokes. They also prevent fluid retention and decrease the inflammation response, thereby helping with menstrual cramps, eczema and arthritis. In addition, they improve the functioning of our immune system's T-cells, so important in the fight against infection. Regulating hormones is another key area, helpful for PMS, menopause, hormonal headaches and acne. We are able to make these valuable prostaglandins from EFAs (LA and LNA) in food. However, the average diet is sadly lacking in good quality EFAs derived from seeds, whole grains, leafy green vegetables, cold-pressed oils and fish. In addition, although our bodies are capable of producing the prostaglandins from the EFAs, many people have trouble with the first step. As in most biochemical processes, each step requires an enzyme. Enzymes are sensitive little characters, often requiring the support of vitamins and minerals - in this case, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and vitamin C - some of which are deficient in the modern diet. Factors that inhibit this enzyme include processed fats such as margarine, alcohol, radiation, aspirin, stress and a high-sugar diet. Mysterious substance X T h e answer is simple. By eliminating the first step and taking the substance that would normally be produced if our enzyme was firing on all cylinders, we will conveniently by-pass the problem. Let's call this substance 'substance X'. Substance X has no difficulty in transforming into prostaglandins. Just who or what is substance X? None other than gammalinolenic acid (GLA), found in evening primrose oil and Fat: Not a D i q Word 55 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) commonly found in fish and linseeds: GLA and EPA are the substances produced after the first step. Many people find that supplementing their diet with evening primrose oil (containing GLA) and EPA provides the key to good health. They help to treat and prevent conditions such as eczema, acne, headaches, PMS, hormonal irregularities, cancer, heart disease and so on. A combination of the two is thought to be preferable to one in isolation. Of course we should increase our consumption of EFA-rich foods - including linseeds, sunflower and sesame seeds, soy, walnuts, dark green leafy vegies, fish and whole grains - in addition to helping that errant enzyme by taking foods or supplements with the appropriate co-enzyme. Good cholesterol and LPs: the tmth about what happened to those 12-inch vinyls Fat and water don't mix. Fat tends to glob together in a blob when it is immersed in water. Blood is 99 per cent water and the major transport system of the body, so a solution had to be found to this fatlwater incompatabiiity. LPs are the answer. Not the 12 inch vinyl variety, these LPs (lipoproteins) are fat transport vehicles. Lined with a coating of protein, which is water soluble, lipoproteins contain a variety of fatty substances including triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids, hormones and fat-soluble vitamins. It depends on the proportions of its cargo whether a lipoprotein is high or low density. As protein has more density than fat, the less fat a lipoprotein contains, the higher its density. 56 The Commonsense Gzcide to Eating Well CHnOMICRON This is the lowest density lipoprotein of all. It is diet-derived LP that travels from the intestine to the liver aAer digestion. Chylornicrons ferry fat to the tissues before its arrival in the liver. VLDL Very Low Density Lipoprotein. This contains mostly triglycerides and will be converted to LDL. LDL Low Density Lipoprotein. LDLs contain the most cholesterol of all the low density group. They are responsible for distributing choIestero1 and other fats throughout the body. HDL High Density Lipoprotein. This contains the most protein and hence, has the highest density of all the LPs. It is capable of returning cholesterol from the blood vessels to the liver. The liver will then produce bile acids from any excess choIesteroI. The greater the ratio of HDLs to LDLs the better. When we get our cholesterol 'done', a reading of total cholesterol is given. This is the choIesteroI found in all the LPs. If this is high, then a further reading will be necessary to determine whether the cholesterol is 'good' or 'bad'. The cholestero1 itself doesn't change, it is whether the ratio of HDLs is high relative to the LDLs. Cholesterol: nightmare or blessing? Cholesterol is the Jack Nicholson of the nutrition world. Constantly being given the role of the bad, crazy guy. I can't Fat: Not a D i m Word 57 vouch for Jack, but cholesterol has some very positive traits. It is the precursor of bile (the fat-digesting secretion of the liver), oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol and vitamin D. Cholesterol is an integral component of every cell membrane and forms part of the myelin sheath around nerve fibres. T h e alarm was initially raised when cholesterol was found in artery blockages. However, cholesterol in the arteries is just a sign, not the cause. Blaming cholesterol for heart disease is like shooting the messenger. Cholesterol occurs in animal foods such as chicken, eggs, lamb, beef, milk, cheese and pork. It is a type of fat manufactured in the liver. We make our own cholesterol, as well as consuming cholesterol from the food we eat. You will not find cholesterol in plant foods, even those containing fat such as avocados and coconuts, as they do not have livers. T h e amount of blood cholesterol usually stays constant: the liver makes less if we consume more and vice versa. 'High' cholesterol means higher than normal levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream. High cholesterol is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, a common heart disease. More important than cholesterol levels is the ratio between the high density lipoproteins (HDLs) and low density lipoproteins (LDLs): the higher the ratio of HDLs to LDLs, the lower the risk of heart disease. As mentioned previously, LDL's job is to deposit fats, including cholesterol, throughout the body and on the insides of blood vessel walls. HDLs, on the other hand, are capable of mopping up excess cholesterol from blood vessel walls and taking it back to the liver to be made into bile or one of the other useful products that can be made from cholesterol. A healthy diet and lifestyle will help you maintain an enviable blood fat profile; that is, lowish levels of triglycerides, moderate cholesterol, with a good HDLILDL ratio (see the tailor-made diet for a healthy heart on page 219). 58 The Commonsense Gaide to Eating Well Some slick answers to an oily problem Fat is important to keep us healthy, our fur shiny and our noses dry, although too much fat is a problem, as is the wrong type of fat. Enter Nathan Pritikin. During the 1970s, Pritikin was the first to popularise the low-fat diet and lifestyle that proved to be so effective in reducing heart disease, one of the biggest killers in the Western world. Since then, however, it seems that there is more to the story than just the quantity of fat consumed. Take the Mediterranean diet, which is liberally laced with olive oil, yet friendly for the heart. T h e Innuit or Eskimos' traditional cuisine of whale blubber and fish is also protective against heart disease. Now we know that it is not just how much fat, but the type of fat that affects our health. And not only heart disease. T h e type of fat we consume influences the outcome of conditions as diverse as arthritis, eczema, PMS and cancer. T h e primary rule is don't add fat. If you have the choice to add mayonnaise, sauces, dressing, cream, butter or margarine - don't do it. Other principles to follow are: buy only cold-pressed oils; if you want to spread something on your bread, choose a thin scrape of avocado, tahini, ricotta or hommos; never buy or eat margarine if you can avoid it; read labels to identify how much fat and what kind it is; and steer clear of deep-fried anything, particularly cats. Fat should comprise no more than 30 per cent of our diet. For the average person, this works out to be about 65 grams. It is a worthwhile exercise to buy a small 'fat counter' book and tote up the number of grams of fat you eat each day. You might be surprised where fat hides. Don't become obsessed with the fat counter. Use it for information, not to beat yourself up with. Water: The Most Important Nutrient Water is the most important nutrient of all. We can live without food for weeks if need be, but if deprived of water for more than a day or so, we will surely die. Water is often the only remedy required for conditions as varied as constipation, headaches, dry skin and fatigue. We excrete about 2 to 3 litres of water daily: 1.5 litres via the urine, 1 litre via sweat and breath and around 100 millilitres in poo. Water comprises 60 to 70 per cent of our body weight. It is in the blood, in between and inside cells. Even bones are 25 per cent water, teeth 10 per cent. We need to restore what is lost. In addition to the water in food, try to drink an extra 1 to 2 litres of pure water each day. It's wet, what else? Apart from keeping us alive, water has several less obvious roles in the body: 60 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well In the same way as the ocean moderates coastal temperatures because it takes longer for water to cool and heat than does land, our body's water helps us to regulate body temperature. Nutrients and waste products, hormones and neurotransmitters all need to be transported around the body. T h e body's transport system - blood, lymph and the fluid between cells (interstitial fluid) - are primarily made up of water. We need tears not only to express our sorrow, but to allow our eyelids to open and close smoothly. Saliva moistens food so that it doesn't scrape down the throat. Synovial fluid between joints stops bones from grating together. Tears, saliva and synovial fluid are predominantly water. Water is a marvellous solvent - the medium in which most nutrients and body chemicals can dissolve. How do we know when we are thirsty? This may sound like a silly question. However, by the time we feel thirsty, our body is already slightly dehydrated. Thirst occurs when receptors in the hypothalamus in the brain are stimulated in response to certain changes in the body. These changes include the following: Reduction in volume of body fluids by 1 per cent - this is only about 500 millilitres of water. In a heavy exercise session it is easy to lose 1 litre (about a cup and a half) of water and you are too busy (waiting for the class to end) to notice. This is why it is important to drink water before, during and after exercise. An increase in the concentration of dissolved substances in the blood, such as sugar and salt, will alert the hypothalamus of a need for water. Have you ever woken up thirsty Water: The Most Impoflant Nzltrient 61 in the middle of the night after eating a salty meal? Canny bar owners also bank on this principle by providing salty snacks to increase thirst so we buy more drinks. If the mouth and throat are dry it's a dead giveaway we are thirsty. Some drugs can also cause this sensation. Diets: the wet and the dry All sorts of factors influence the amount of water we need. For instance, taking diuretics for a heart condition will mean that we wee out lots more fluid. Accordingly, this means we need extra water. Non-prescription diuretics include alcohol, tea and coffee. For every one of these consumed, drink an extra glass of water. Another factor that influences how much water we need is whether our diet is wet or dry. A wet diet is full of fruit and vegetables, juices and soups. Five pieces of fruit will yield an average of half a litre of water. A dry diet is one full of meat, bread, biscuits, alcohol, coffee and tea. T h e former will require us to drink less water than the latter. Tap water, filtered water, spring water which water? It would be superb to drink straight from a pure mountain stream as it cascades down from snowcapped mountain peaks, or sip the dew from rose petals. Most of us, however, drink water from the kitchen tap. In Sydney, the Water Board is cracking down on impurities in the water supply. Unfortunately there are still a few bugs that escape the net, including giardia and cryptosporidium, both of which cause tummy problems including nausea and 62 The Commonsense Gecide to Eating Well diarrhoea. Ralph Nader, a consumer advocate, from the Centre for Responsive Law in the United States, found that more than 2000 chemicals exist in water supplies. Only 30 are tested for. T h e same is probably true for Australian city water supplies. It is what is not tested that could be a problem. In order to sanitise the water which is supplied to millions of people, several chemicals are added, some of which may be detrimental to health, including chlorine and fluoride. Aluminium was formerly added to reduce cloudiness in the water and fortunately is no longer used. T h e problems with fluoride are discussed on page 178. Chlorine is added to the water as a disinfectant and antibacterial agent. It has been used since 1904, when Sir Alexander Houston demonstrated that chlorine destroyed typhoid bacillus and cholera. Unfortunately, chlorine causes oxidation of cells, hence free radical damage. It also depletes vitamins E, C, A, BIZ and selenium. When chlorine combines with humic acid (from decaying leaves and soil found in the bottom of water reservoirs), a group of chemicals known as (trihalomethanes) T H M are formed. T h e best known is chloroform, once used as an anaesthetic, now banned due to increased risk of liver and kidney cancer. T h e July 1992 issue of the Journal of American PubGic Healtd reported that people who drink chlorinated water have a 21 per cent increased risk of bladder cancer and a 38 per cent increased risk of rectal cancer. Chlorine will evaporate if you leave water in an opened container overnight. Hot showers increase inhaled chloroform, and don't even think about indoor council swimming pools. T h e truth of the matter is that it is better to drink tap water than no water at all. And as most of us are walking around partially dehydrated, the question of which water we drink takes a lower priority. However, some people are willing to take the extra steps in order to provide purer water Water: The Most Important Nutrient 63 for themselves and their families. There are many water filters available that cater to this need. Choose a water filter that removes chlorine, bacteria, pesticides and asbestos. T h e more expensive models, including reverse osmosis, will also remove fluoride and heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury. Spring water is also available and very popular, although you have to wonder about the environmental consequences of millions of discarded plastic bottles. Drink it anyway:you won't regret it Most people find that their general health improves by drinking 2 litres of water daily. One major complaint is the increased number of visits to the loo. Your bladder takes about two to three weeks to get over the shock of all the extra fluid and after this time will settle down, happy to expand to meet the new circumstances. If you prefer to drink mineral water, choose a flat variety rather than the bubbly varieties. Carbonated water, whether natural or not, interferes with bone calcium and phosphorus ratios and may cause flatulence with the added gas. BITS AND PIECES Safe or Fake: Additives, Organics and Germs in the Kitchen Sweet as sweet can be: artificial sweeteners Artificial sweeteners have been part of the modern diet for decades. Most were discovered in laboratories by accident. For instance, cyclamates were discovered in 1937 when a chemist's ciggie tasted sweet after he was messing around with an experiment. Saccharin was similarly discovered when a scientist in Johns Hopkins laboratory was munching on a sandwich. These men's mothers probably despaired of their son's poor hygiene, but would have been really angry when they realised that they missed out on mink coats and pearls because their boys didn't receive the squillions of dollars that the pharmaceutical companies made from the discovery of sweeteners. 68 The Commonsense Gzkide to Eating Well Saccharin, aspartame and sucralose Artificial sweeteners are classified as food additives and have insinuated themselves into soft drinks, cake mixes, icecreams, chewing gum and are added to many cappuccinos (skinnycinnos). Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sugar and contains zero calories. It has a bitter, metallic aftertaste. In 1977, saccharin was banned in the United States because various studies showed that it caused bladder cancer in mice. There was a public outcry (Americans don't like being compared with rodents) and saccharin was reinstated. Cyclamates share a common history with saccharin, however, they are currently banned from sale. Saccharine and cyclamates are absorbed from the intestines and enter the bloodstream. Once circulating in the bloodstream the body has no idea what to do with these foreign chemicals and with no biochemical pathways to travel, these sweeteners exit the body via the kidneys and into the urine. It is possibly while waiting in the bladder that the cancer-forming agents are activated. Aspartame (sold as Nutra Sweet) holds the largest share of the artificially sweet market. Discovered in 1975 (another accident, this time during the search for a stomach ulcer drug), aspartame is a concoction of two amino acids (units of protein) - aspartic acid (40 per cent) and phenylalanine (50 per cent) - together with a molecule of methanol (10 per cent). Being predominantly protein, aspartame has four calories a gram, but by a quirk of science tastes 200 times sweeter than sugar, so that very much less than 1 g a m ' is required for even the sweetest tooth. T h e two amino acids are broken down and treated accordingly in the body. Methanol (wood alcohol) forms the poisonous substance formaldehyde and formic acid. A significant number of people suffer from side effects from aspartame. Symptoms include blurred vision, tinnitus, headaches, Safe or Fake 69 dizziness, memory loss, drowsiness, depression and irritability. Whether it be from the methanol or the unusual influx of single amino acids has not been determined. In addition, people suffering from the genetic condition Phenylketonuria (PKU) are unable to metabolise the amino acid phenylalanine. There are warnings to this effect on the labels of food and drink containing aspartame. Sucralose tastes like sugar and is chemically similar to sugar but has a chlorine molecule attached to it. Unlike sugar, it is not recognised at the site of absorption, the small intestine. Incapable of being digested, sucralose continues down the digestive tract where it will be fodder for the bacteria there. Unaccustomed as they are to a sugar molecule.with chlorine, the presence of sucralose in the bowel will cause an imbalance to the bowel microflora. Bloating and flatulence are often the result. If large amounts are consumed there may well be diarrhoea, as water will rush into the bowel in order to dilute the concentration of sugar-like molecules. Goodness only knows the fate of the chlorine molecule, although we know that chlorine on its own is a potent free radical (see page 152). Another group of artificial sweeteners is known as sugar alcohols. These include mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol and maltitol. They are commonly found in sugar-free chewing gum. Sugar alcohols are not absorbed or are absorbed very slowly, again causing microflora imbalance and diarrhoea. The case against artificial sweeteners I do not believe artificial sweetners have any value in a good diet. First, the foods they are normally added to - ice-cream, biscuits and carbonated drinks - are best avoided anyway. Second, they cause bowel disturbances in a large number of people. Third, they do nothing to change our taste for sugar. Although it is a natural human instinct to like sweetness, 70 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well refined sugar and artificial sweeteners were never part of the original plan. If we keep eating sweet food, we will keep craving sweet food. Most people who swear off sugar are delighted to find that after a couple of weeks (a month at the most) they lose their desire for chocolates, cakes and lollies. An added bonus is that fruit tastes more intense as the fruit sugar, fructose, registers on jaded tastebuds. Substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar does nothing to change a habit of a lifetime. Fourth, the diabetic market is saturated with foods containing artificial sweeteners. Diabetics are best trying to avoid a sweet tooth. Encouraging it is cruel. Fifth, there is evidence linking saccharin to bladder cancer and aspartame with headaches and neurological problems, although the incidence and risk is low. Sixth, in my experience people do not lose weight by substituting artificial sweeteners for sugar. People lose weight by eating less fat and exercising. In fact, there are several studies, kept under wraps, which show that people eating artificial sweeteners tend to put on more weight than those eating sugar. One theory is that if the body is expecting a rise in blood sugar levels, as promised by the sweet taste, it won't stop till it gets a rise in blood sugar. We probably eat more to compensate. And finally, a comment on the economic politics of artificial sweeteners. In a world with millions starving for want of calories (calories are needed to provide energy), we have the irony of an industry spending huge amounts of money and resources creating substances that contain no calories or energy. Safe oor Fake 71 Food additives: preserve or punish? Fresh food has a tendency to go off. A fact people have noticed for thousands of years. And for thousands of years keen-minded individuals have set about experimenting with ways to preserve food. T h e ancient Greeks burnt sulphur over their wine. During the Middle Ages in Europe, people preserved their meat with saltpetre (nitrates), something we still do today. In the past, it was important to keep a few bits of fruit and vegetables pickled or candied for the winter. T h e great sea voyagers salted away carcasses of meat to last them months at sea. In cities of millions of people, everyone eating food as soon as it is picked is an impossibility. In addition, we think it is our right to eat food that is out of season. This is achieved either by expensive freighting or by using hot-house technology. T h e microscope identified microorganisms - moulds and yeasts (fungi) and bacteria - as the cause of fermentation and putrefaction and confirmed them as likely candidates for sending food off. Mould and yeast love sugar and head for carbohydrate foods such as fruit and bread, while bacteria are inclined towards protein, infesting meat, chicken and eggs. Microorganisms prefer a steady environment, one that sounds like a holiday brochure: plenty of food (protein and carbohydrate); not too hot nor too cold (around 37 degrees Celsius); plenty of fresh air (most microorganisms are aerobic, meaning they need oxygen); and go easy on the acid (preferring an alkaline environment). (Also see food safety on page 74). Additives to preserve, to enhance, to tart up Food additives are not only for preserving food but are used to facilitate many aspects of the production, handling and 72 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well processing of our tucker. T h e official definition of a food additive is 'any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of a food, whether or not it has nutritive value'. There are food safety requirements that call for the labelling of foods containing additives. They are often given a numeric code such as 210, which stands for benzoic acid. If you are concerned or allergic to food additives, pick up a food additive code breaker from your newsagent or bookshop. Preservatives(200 to 299) Preservatives aim to inhibit the growth of germs, using a variety of methods. Antioxidants are sometimes used to prevent free radicals from damaging food. Free radicals can cause, among other things, rancidity (butter becomes rancid) and oxidisation (fzuit that turns brown). Synthetically derived antioxidants such as B H T may be used or antioxidant nutrients including vitamins E and C. T h e yellow, smelly mineral sulphur or sulphur dioxide is often added to wine, beer, jams and dried fruit to prevent microbial growth and oxidation. Sulphur-dried apricots are always more brightly coloured than their shrivelled sun-dried cousins. T h e down side is that some people are allergic to sulphur and may suffer from asthma or other problems after consuming it. Sodium metabisulphate is used to clean bottles and is present in most wines. When you pull out the cork, sulphur dioxide is released. Nitrates have been used for centuries to preserve the likes of salamis and other deli meats. Not only do they protect against deadly bugs causing botulism, they also give dead meat a rosy hue. T h e problem here is that when nitrates come in contact with protein in the body they form nitrosamines, which are considered to be carcinogenic. Drop that salami sandwich immediately. Safe or- Fake 73 Other preservatives include benzoic acid, paraben, sorbic acid and nisin. CoIourfng (100 to 180) T h e use of colour additives has been banned in Norway since 1978, which must make their fairy bread and Smarties boring. Adding colour to food is purely cosmetic and can be quite deceptive. For instance, a completely synthetic dessert can be called strawberry flavour even though it has never clapped eyes on a piece of fruit. Tartrazine (102) is a yellow food colouring that can cause skin rashes and asthma in sensitive individuals. Ironically, some of the 'natural' colouring additives such as annatto may cause more allergic reactions than the synthetic additives. Flavouring Flavouring is added to give bland and indifferent food a bit of character or restore flavour lost in processing. Flavouring additives are not given code numbers because they are often, like Coca Cola 'secret recipes'. Artificial sweeteners are another type of flavour enhancer (see page 67). Processing agents In order for processed food to look the same, pour the same, mix the same every time, all sorts of chemicals need to be added. For example, anti-caking agents are used to control the free-flowing nature of powdered foods such as icing sugar, salt and milk powder. Sodium silico aluminate (containing aluminium) is sometimes added in free-running salt; bleaching agents including chlorine or peroxide are used to achieve a consistent white colour in flour; humectants such as glycerol are added to prevent food like bread from drying out; thickeners and vegetable gums are used to modify the consistency of food; and emulsifiers are used to overcome the perennial 74 The Comomense Gzcide to Eating Well problem of mixing oil with water. Lecithin is a commonly used emulsifier - no health threats here for a change. The bottom line T h e bottom line is that we, as consumers, expect our food to be consistent. For this to occur, food additives are used. We either cop it sweet, or are willing to pay more for organic produce that has not been tampered with, or we grow or make our own. Food safety: not in my kitchen you don't If you know about Mr Acidophilus and co. (see pages 34-3, then you are probably quite fond of bacteria, particularly bowel bacteria. So it's hard to accept that some bugs are out to kill us, or at least make us sick to the stomach. There are estimated to be two million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year. Most at our own hands! While most food poisoning is merely a day or two of diarrhoea and perhaps a course of antibiotics, sometimes these bugs are deadly, particularly for those more vulnerable, which includes the elderly, children and the immune suppressed. Food safety is seldom taught in schools. My only education about food safety and kitchen hygiene came from 1960s women's magazines. By the mid-1970s, these magazines were full of information on finding one's G-spot or making beef wellington and crepe suzettes. T h e days of aprons and food safety tips were gone. Not so for the generations of bacteria, viruses and fungi that lived on through the swinging '60s, sexy '70s, merchant banking '80s into the enviroconscious '90s and beyond. More education is needed. Safe or Fake 75 The usual suspects FOOD P ~ ~ s O N I N GTHE USUAL SUSPECTS bacteria I rnoufd virvser> yeasf There are four types of microorganisms in food that may cause us grief: bacteria, moulds or fungi, yeasts and viruses. The most common are bacteria. Bacteda Never great believers in birth control, bacteria breed at the drop of a hat, usually by dividing in half. Their favourite motto is 'divide and conquer'. Family gettogethers must be quite boring or harmonious, as bacteria in theory are identical brothers and sisters. Salmon& Not a female fish, but a bacteria that is responsible for the majority of food poisoning outbreaks in Australia. Safmonella causes gastro-type symptoms, including nausea and vomiting which in the weakened can result in death. Outbreaks have been recorded mainly from raw meats, poultry and dairy products, but also peanut butter, desiccated coconut, chocolate and eggs. Most outbreaks occur through cross-contarnination from raw food to cooked food. B a d u s cereas 'Cereus' refers not to a sober state ofmind, but being first detected in cereal foods. The major syrnptoms of infection are diarrhoea and vomiting occurring within 8 to 16 hours aRer eating the contaminated food. 76 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well This little critter is found mainly in pre-cooked foods, especially starchy vegetables, rice, sauces, puddings and meat and can even grow in the fridge. For this reason, precooked food should not be stored in the refrigerator for more than two to three days. Staphylococcus aureus OAen found halfkay up our nostril, this bug is a normal inhabitant. Infected cuts and sores also contain large numbers and together with sneezing on food, these are common ways in which infection spreads. Violent abdominal cramps, nausea. vomiting and diarrhoea are symptoms which may appear very quickly, from one to six hours after eating the infected food. Foods commonly implicated include ham, frankfurters, cream-fded bakery products and some cheeses. Campylobacter jejud A relatively common cause of food poisoning, so you'd think it would do us the courtesy of adopting an easy-to-pronounce nickname like 'carny' or 'CJ'. Outbreaks of CJ have been linked to the consumption of undercooked poultry, mince and sausages and cooked poultry which has been contaminated by raw poultry (cross-contamination). Diarrhoea and a fever may appear two to seven days after eating the offending food, and this time delay makes diagnosis a bit tricky. Some people contract a kind of arthritis that may last weeks to months. Other less common microorganisms that cause food poisoning include E. coE, Listeria monocyfogenesand CIostridum botrrlinum. Safe or Fake 77 How bacteria breed and spread and what to do about it Hot Is hot, cold is cold As a rule, bacteria are sensitive little fellows, particularly to temperature. If it is too cold or too hot they either die or keep a very low profile. If food is kept in the 'danger zone', that is, between 6 and 100 degrees Celsius, this is where the trouble begins. Bacteria flourish and multiply, doubling in number in as little as 20 minutes. Cold food should be kept really cold in the refrigerator 4 degrees Celsius and under. Take perishable foods such as meat, poultry, milk and seafood home immediately after purchase. Buy these foods last on your shopping trip. If you are likely to take more than one hour getting home, invest in an esky or cool container to store the food before you can put it in the fridge. Put leftovers in the fridge or freezer promptly after eating. Don't leave them on the counter top to cool down overnight. Cook foods to at least 100 degrees Celsius - boiling point - as this will kill most bacteria and viruses that can cause illness. One way to tell for sure is to invest in a meat thermometer. This applies to reheating food as well. Make sure the food is cooked or heated throughout. This is particularly important for mince, sausages and chicken. Steak is okay undercooked. Microwave ovens tend to cook food unevenly, even on a turntable. Make sure you mix the food once or twice during cooking. Soap and water Most of us feel that a quick rinse of the hands under the cold tap is all that is needed. Not so. Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before handling food. This is especially important when handling raw meat, poultry or seafood. 78 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Keeping hands, benchtops and washing cloths squeaky clean is of paramount importance. There are antibacterial solutions available. In addition, you might like to add a few drops of eucalyptus, lemon or lavender oil to rinsing water for washcloths and when wiping down benches. These essential oils not only smell clean, they are antibacterial. From me to you: cross-contamination Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria transfer from one food to another. For instance, placing a cooked steak on the same plate that held it before cooking, allows the bacteria in the juices from the raw steak to infect the cooked. Another cross-contamination scenario happens when we store raw food (particularly meat or poultry) in the fridge above cooked food, allowing the juices to drip down. Throw in the towel For those who hate drying the dishes, this is a great reason to throw in the towel. T h e dirty teatowel, that is. Either leave the dishes to dry naturally or buy a dishwasher! Don't throw a dirty teatowel over the rack of dishes. Change teatowels and dishwashing cloths regularly. Cutting boards are a common cause of cross-contamination, particularly when using the board after preparing raw meat, poultry or seafood. Give them a good scrub with detergent in hot water. If you have wooden chopping boards, one way of being sure you have killed any bugs is to pop the board into the microwave for three minutes. Unfortunately, this is not effective for plastic cutting boards. I think I thaw it in the fridge Don't take short cuts. Never thaw or marinate meat, seafood or poultry out of the fridge. Almost half of Australians defrost their food on the benchtop or under running water. Plan Safe or Fake 79 ahead and thaw your food in the fridge. It may take longer, but it is a safer method. If you choose to defrost using the microwave, make sure you cook the food straightaway. When in doubt, throw it out Those sneaky little microorganisms have many tricks up their tiny sleeves and other articles of apparel. One of them is their 'cloak of invisibility'. Not only can we not see them, but we cannot smell, hear or even taste them. When in doubt, throw it out. Or give it to the dog, whose stomach is usually hardier than our own. Lie and let a few live: freedom to the bugs Don't let all this disinfecting turn into an obsessive compulsive disorder. Take reasonable steps to thwart microorganisms. On the other hand, it is illogical to expect that our environment is microorganism free, when in and on ourselves are literally billions of bugs. If our internal bugs are content, we should be able to live in harmony with our environment (see probiotics, page 34). Eating probiotic foods such as yoghurt, in addition to taking reasonable food safety precautions, will improve our resistance against food poisoning. If you are using disinfectants, make sure that you rinse cutlery and crockery very well. T h e disinfectant may be aimed at bad bugs, but if you swallow the stuff, it will also kill good bugs in the gut. Organic shmorganic: chemical free T h e National Health and Medical Research Council found residues of DDE (a breakdown product of DDT, a pesticide) in all samples of human breast milk tested in 1986. D D T had already been banned for several years by 1986! 80 T&eCommonsense Gzlide to Eafiztg WeZL It took agent orange and the massive backdown of cigarette companies to verify that toxic chemicals are dangerous, whether we touch them, inhale them or eat them. Many conditions, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, cancer and various auto-immune conditions seem to be closely linked with an excess of chemicals and sufferers are especially sensitive to the chemicals used in farming. Although we are becoming more aware of the dangers of toxic chemicals, as individuals we can do little about the pollution and paint fumes we breathe. However, we can choose what we put in our mouth. For this reason, organic farming has spread from a wacky, hippie pursuit to mainstream agriculture. Today you can buy organic rice and flour at the supermarket, unheard of five years ago. Organic farming combines modern scientific principles with old knowledge and traditions. 'Organic' means farming without the addition of artificial chemicals used in (a) preparing the soil, (b) growing the crop or (c) storing and marketing the produce. Non-organic produce is frequently sprayed with pesticides, fungicides and so on. Organic animals are allowed to range as freely as possible, and are fed organic grains and produce. In Australia we have several regulatory organisations, including the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture (NASAA), Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) and the Bio-Dynamic Farmers of Australia (Demeter). These groups monitor the organic farms and their produce. Basically there are three main categories of organic-ness. T h e first or highest, come from farms that use no artificial fertilisers or synthetic chemicals and have not done so for more than two years. T h e second stage, sometimes called 'conversion', is similar but has been that way for less than two years. T h e third level, 'sustainable', means that a minimum of non-toxic sprays have been used under strict guidelines. Safe or Fake 81 Although organic produce costs more, it is environmentally friendly and studies have shown that the produce contains more micronutrients than those produced under mainstream farming practices. OUR DAILY FOOD The Food We Eat Nuts, seeds and oils A nut, and we've all known a few, refers to the shell-encased single seed of a tree. If you have ever been the recipient of the school joke about peanut trees, you will be aware that peanuts are not nuts, but legumes. Nevertheless, peanuts are d e facto nuts. Both seeds and nuts are high in fat and in their processed form as 'vegetable' oil, are the source of most of the oils we consume, with the exception of olive oil, which comes from the olive fruit. Fat is vital to our health, necessary for hormones, cell membranes and so much more. People who live fat free tend to look desiccated and vaguely unhappy. Much better to look healthy with the glowing skin and shiny hair that only good quality fats found in nuts and seeds can provide. Because nuts, seeds and oils are high in fat, they are susceptible to becoming rancid (see oil processing, page 51). We 86 The C o m m o n ~ s eGgide to Eating Well can minimise this by buying them in small quantities from shops that have a high turnover. Keep them covered in dark, cool containers, such as a fridge. Cold-processed oils retain more vitamins and have less chance of containing oxidised fatty acids (a big cause of free radicals in the body). Be aware that cold-processed oils taste stronger and look more cloudy than their processed-beyond-belief cousins. ALMOND T h e almond tree blossoms a treat, just like its relatives the cherry, peach and apricot trees. Almonds have plenty of essential fatty acids, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin E. Almond paste, made in the same way as peanut butter, put through a grinder, is a scrumptious spread on toast for breakfast. Marzipan, originating from the Middle East, is made from ground almonds, sugar and egg white. B ~ R Butter is included here because of its oil status. Butter is churned from cream, the fattier part of milk. In Australia, butter is made from cow's milk but it can also be made from other animals, including the buffalo and yak. Butter is mostly saturated fat but contains a tiny portion of milk protein and sugar. Salt is often added in the processing. Butter provides us with vitamins A and D, and can play a small part in a good diet. BRAZIL NUT Brazil nut trees (native to - you guessed it) grow up to 30 metres tall. Brazil nuts are slightly higher in fat than almonds but contain the amino acid methionine, which helps the liver metabolise fats. They are a reasonably good source of protein; good news for vegans. The Food We Eat 87 CASHEW Slightly lower in fat than other nuts, cashews are also a good source of potassium, iron and zinc. T h e cashew is a distant relative to poison ivy and cashew shells contain a nasty substance that burns your skin, which is why cashews are always sold naked. CHESTNUT Chestnuts have never really been a hit in Australia. Maybe because our climate doesn't get cold enough (sorry Tasmania) for it to be sold over fires on street corners. T h e chestnut was once used as a major food source before the potato hit the market in Europe in the sixteenth century. Chestnuts have about one-third the fat of other nuts and much more starch. COCONUT Maybe because of its size, we seldom think of the coconut as a nut. Coconuts give so much of themselves: milk, oil and flesh. Coconut oil is made up of mainly saturated fats, which make it a very stable cooking oil. HAZELNUT Hazelnuts are also known as filberts, which sound more like a friendly chipmunk or a computer nerd than a nut. Hazelnuts are used in the creation of the liqueur Frangelico but they have other uses as well. They provide similar nutrients to almonds and are another nut that is lovely ground as a paste on toast for breakfast. LINSEED Linseeds are also known as flax seeds. Linseeds have uses other than as a food source, including providing fibre for cloth and oil for polishing wood, particularly cricket bats. T h e seeds 88 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well contain lignans that have phyto-oestrogen effects useful for controlling the symptoms of menopause. Ground linseeds are also very good for constipation and, due to the softening action of the linseed fibre, help conditions such as diverticulitis and colitis. Often recommended to treat conditions such as eczema and PMS, cold-pressed linseed oil is prized for its content of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Just make sure you don't buy the furniture oil variety instead. Macadamia nuts are expensive because their shells need jackhammers to open them. Macadamias are actually native to Australia. It is just because those canny Hawaiians covered them in chocolate and put them in fancy tins everyone thinks they are from the fiftieth state. They have a high fat content, even for a nut, and don't offer much in the way of micronutrients. Macadamia oil makes a very nice massage oil and moisturiser. OLIVE Olives are one of a few fruits that store energy as oil. Raw olives are very bitter and need to be soaked in a salty solution to remove some of the bitterness. Olives and their oil have been around for some time. 'And the dove came in to him in the evening: and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off (Genesis, 8, xi). 'Extra virgin' olive oil is the prized oil that comes from the first pressing. Generally, the darker and dirtier-looking the olive oil, the purer it is. Other olive oils such as pure or virgin are from subsequent pressings. There is nothing 'light' about light olive oil except its colour, which means that it has undergone excessive processing. Avoid it. The Food We Eizt 89 PEANUT Peanuts snuck into the nut category (although they are botanically a legume) and much to the chagrin of proper nuts, are the most popular of the lot. Peanuts are a little lower in fat than nuts and are reasonably high in protein. Fresh-ground peanut butter is quite a delightful food. However, some people have been known to eat large containers at a sitting. Shame. Peanuts receive a lot of bad press and not merely because of the deception regarding their nut status. They are a common allergen, causing skin and breathing problems among the susceptible. In addition, they often grow a mould called AspqiZZus flavus, which produces a poison called aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is 20 times more toxic than DDT. T h e Department of Agriculture issue guidelines as to minimum quantities of aflatoxin, nevertheless, there is always a little present. PUMPKIN SEEDS Don't throw them out. Baked pumpkin seeds taste very good. Pumpkin seeds are high in zinc and are good in preventing and treating prostacic problems (see pumpkin on page 100). Put them on the male member of the family's plate, covered in gravy, so he eats them before realising. People without prostates can also indulge in pumpkin seeds because of their zinc and essential fatty acids. SESAME SEEDS Sesame seed oil is used extensively in Asian cooking. Try buying the cold-pressed variety as the taste enhances any stirfrying or cooking. Sesame seeds contain reasonable amounts of lignan, the plant hormone substance so good for menopause symptoms. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and is a frequent ingredient in many Middle Eastern 90 The Commonsense Guide to E a h g WeZi dishes. Tahini makes a very nice spread on bread: try substituting it for butter on salad sandwiches. SUNFLOWER SEEDS Sunflower seeds taste good on their own or thrown on top of salads. A delicious snack is to toss a handful of sunflower seeds onto a heated cast-iron pan, move them round a little with a wooden spoon so that they brown but do not burn. Just as they begin to brown pour in a tiny amount of low-salt soy sauce. Take off the heat immediately. Cold-pressed sunflower oil contains good quantities of essential fatty acids. WALNUT Walnuts are the most nutritious of nuts with plenty of vitamin E, calcium, iron and zinc. Walnuts have been found to lower cholesterol levels. Herbal tea As a herbalist I generally prescribe herbal tinctures or tablets. For some conditions, however, nothing beats a herbal tea, because of the release of therapeutic volatile oils, which are not available to the same extent from tinctures or tablets. I rely on teas such as buchu, cornsilk and uva ursi for urinary tract problems. Fenugreek and golden rod are good for mucus congestion such as sinusitis. Tea made from catmint, passionflower and hops is excellent for sleeping. Herbal concoctions of burdock, echinacea and red clover teas are terrific blood purifiers; good for skin problems like pimples and eczema. Herbs have been used as medicine for as long as plants and humans have been together on earth, and some herbs are pretty potent. Just as you wouldn't take Aunt Martha's heart pills a couple of times a day because you like the taste and The Food We Eat 91 Aunt Martha seems just fine, nor would you drink a herbal tea that may have a strong effect without professional advice. For instance, one little cup of senna pod tea could have you on the loo all night. Generally, herbal teas sold in supermarkets and health food shops are fine. But if in doubt, ask. Herbal tea tips Supermarkets usually carry a range of herbal teas in handy teabag form. If you are a herbal tea novice buy a small packet or a sampler packet until you have decided on your favourites. In general, herbal teas do not require milk. The exception could be dandelion root, cinnamon and ginger. Honey is another option that suits some people and some teas more than others. Use pure water to make your teas. Use one teaspoon of dried herb (two teaspoons of fresh herb) per cup of boiling water. Pour boiling water over herb in enclosed container; for example, a teapot or infuser. Chop the leaves and stems of fresh herbs to increase the surface area and release volatile oils. Keep any excess tea in the fridge and consume within 24 hours. The following herbal teas may be drunk freely, say up to five cups a day. However, try to develop a taste for herbal teas and drink a variety. CHAMOMILE Chamomile is gentle enough for babies and the very elderly. It is a particular favourite in Germany where it is accepted as 92 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well a standard variant for tea or coffee. It helps calm the nervous and digestive systems, which makes chamomile the obvious choice for those whose digestion is affected by stress. It is also good to drink if you suffer period cramps. Allointoin is a chemical derived from chamomile that is anti-inflammatory and healing. Chamomile tea is recommended as a final hair rinse for blondes (cool the tea first, this is not intended as a 'blonde' joke). Chamomile blends well with a slice of fresh ginger root. PEPPERMINT Peppermint tea is excellent to settle your tummy after a big meal. T h e menthol gives it an uplifting flavour and fragrance although it is not a stimulant in the sense of coffee or tea. Peppermint is good for any digestive problems, particularly nausea, bloating, flatulence and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. On hot days cool your paws in a bucket of water with a few drops of peppermint oil added (never drink essential oils). Chilled peppermint tea is also cooling. Women who suffer from hot flushes and sweating during menopause will benefit from sipping cool peppermint tea. ROSEHIP Rosehip tea, made from the fruit of the wild dog rose, has an interesting, tart flavour and is a dreamy berry colour. Rosehips are an excellent source of bioflavonoids and this is probably why it has earned its reputation as a winter tea to keep colds and flu away. Rosehip tea is slightly astringent and may be helpful in mild diarrhoea. Rosehip tea combines well with a strong-tasting honey such as leatherwood. The Food We Eat 93 DANDELION ROOT Dandelion root tea is often recommended as a substitute for coffee, which is rather cruel as the only things it has in common with coffee is that it is black and hot. However, dandelion root is very, very good for you, particularly your liver, and it is well worth acquiring a taste for this bitter herb. If you are using chunks of dandelion root you will need to boil them for a few minutes; they can also be reused a couple of times. Sometimes you can find finely ground dandelion root, which you can use in the same way as coffee powder: percolate or infuse. T h e instant version of dandelion root tea is usually sweetened with lactose and tastes a bit sickly. Some people add soy milk to their dandelion. It is up to you. Dandelion leaves are rich in minerals, including potassium, and they are extremely diuretic. Only drink dandelion leaf tea if that is the effect you are after. It is beneficial for women who retain fluid around period time. LEMON GRASS Lemon grass tastes very different depending on whether you use fresh or dried. T h e flavour is tangy and lemony due to the citrus-flavoured oil known as citral. Growing lemon grass in a pot or garden is easy. Similar to African violets, it takes a lot to kill a lemon grass plant. If you have one growing, snip off what you need for a cup of tea just as you put the kettle on. Fresh lemon grass is often available at fruit shops in the herb section. Buy one or two stalks and keep them in the freezer. Dried lemon grass can also be used. Personally, I prefer it fresh. Lemon grass combines well with ginger, lemon and honey. NETTLES Nettles are still cooked as a vegetable in some parts of the United Kingdom. T h e leaves need to be boiled so that the 94 The Commo;rzseme G d e to Eating Well nasty little spikes don't cause internal damage. Nettle tea has long been used as a tonic, possibly due to its high mineral content, rich in iron. If you suffer from eczema or dermatitis, drink the tea and make extra to use as a soak. Nettles are very good for any itching and inflamed skin condition. It is also widely recommended as a final hair rinse for brunettes. FENUGREEK These mustard-coloured seeds have an earthy, pungent odour. Fenugreek has diaphoretic properties, which means it makes you sweat: one of the natural mechanisms our bodies have for clearing out the junk. Fenugreek is an excellent lymphatic cleanser and can be a powerful adjunct to an internal spring-cleaning routine. Fenugreek is safe to drink during pregnancy and will improve milk flow during lactation. Fenugreek tea helps clear mucous from the sinuses, throat and nose. Fenugreek also helps to stabilise blood sugar levels. Great for people with a sugar craving. A dab of honey and squeeze of lemon may be added if desired. RASPBERRY LEAF Raspberry leaf tea doesn't taste as yummy as it sounds but it's not too bad. A tea often recommended during the latter third of pregnancy to 'tone' the uterus. It is also good for heavy periods. Drink two or three cups daily. Raspberry leaf tea can also help quell a nauseous tummy and is also useful for diarrhoea. THYME Thyme is quite a pleasant tea with very antiseptic qualities. Only use fresh (or freshly frozen) thyme as the volatile oils are in abundance in the fresh leaves. It is a good tea if you have a chesty cold or lung infection. Gargle when cool to relieve a sore throat or tonsitilitis. Not one to drink all the thyme! The Food We Eat 95 T h e classic 'cold' tea incorporates thyme. Chop two to three inches of fresh root ginger, a cinnamon stick, the juice of one lemon, rind of half a lemon, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and honey. Fill the pot or plunger with freshly boiled water and drink a few cups to help you through the day. Sage is a very astringent tea. Use the fresh leaves if you can, although dried will do at a pinch. A strong, cool sage gargle will help kill any bugs in the throat. Sage contains phytohormones and is often recommended as a cool drink for women suffering the hot flushes of menopause. Drink two to three cups daily for about a month. GINGER Ginger makes a very warming winter brew and it is excellent for a sluggish circulation. Anyone who feels the cold will benefit from ginger. Ginger is also an effective digestive remedy, particularly good for nausea. Fresh ginger root is best. Take a 2- or 3-centimetre bit of root. Peel or wash the outside then chop into little bits. You can throw this into a teapot or infuser, or simply place a couple of thin slices in the bottom of your cup. LEMON JUICE Hot water with a sqeeze of lemon is quite pleasant and very good for the liver. It is even nicer with a teaspoon of honey. A teaspoon of brandy or rum can add interest too, although not recommended for liver health. CAROB T h e finely ground carob bean pod makes quite a decent drink: a bit like a Clayton's hot chocolate. Carob is a rich 96 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Wen source of minerals, particularly calcium. I like it with a sprinkle of cinnamon, honey and a touch of milk. Vegetables How very boring when you find that your parents were right. It helps a little that they don't know how to surf the Net but it's darn annoying about those vegetables. It is a fact that people who eat more vegetables have less cancer, constipation, heart disease and diabetes. Not only are vegetables low in fat, they have plenty of fibre with vitamins and minerals to spare. Australians eat an average of 3 kilograms of vegies per week, with at least 1 kilogram in potatoes. Unfortunately, a number of these potatoes have been transmogrified into chips, which defeats the purpose slightly. T o save the vitamins, vegetables should be cooked with care (not boiled to death) or even eaten raw. ASPARAGUS Asparagus are slim and elegant vegetables; the supermodels of the vegetable kingdom. Not surprising, as they are part of the absolutely fabulous Lily family. Until I was in my twenties, I never realised you could buy asparagus except in a can, overcooked and oversalted. When I discovered the fresh version I became a convert. Asparagus contains an amino acid, asparagine, which is responsible for the almost immediate effect on the smell of urine. BEANS Green beans are actually a legume with a fleshy covering. They are good for the kidneys and bladder. The Food We Eat 97 BROCCOLI Part of the cabbage family, broccoli, like its smelly brothers, has anti-cancer nutrients (indoles) by the bucketload. Broccoli also has significant amounts of vitamin C, as long as it has not been cooked forever. Anything dark green like broccoli has loads of chlorophyll, that wonderful life-giving substance that helps plants produce energy from sunlight. BRUSSELS SPROUTS Similar to broccoli, and even more despised by youngsters, brussels sprouts contain similar nutrients and anti-cancer potential. CABBAGE Introduced to Europe by the Celts, cabbage is the most commonly used vegetable and the longest cultivated. Common it may be but cabbage is uncommonly good for us. It is full of antioxidant nutrients - indoles. Red cabbage has the added advantage of containing the pigment antioxidant similar to red grapes - anthocyanin. Cabbage juice is wonderful for the healing of stomach ulcers. Don't be a martyr and drink it straight, mix it half/ half with carrot juice. Cook cabbage with a few caraway seeds to dispel the wind in your belly. T h e longer cabbage is cooked, the more cabbagy it tastes. Cabbages are never grown near grapevines for fear of the taste contaminating the grapes. T h e outer leaves of a chilled cabbage worn inside the bra are very good for the swollen breasts of mastitis. And k a k e a very elegant fashion statement. 98 The Commonsense Gaide to Eating Well CARROT Carrots are the richest source of beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A). Did you know carrots were originally purple or black? T h e orange variety we have come to love is really a mutant! CAULIFLOWER Cauliflower is another of the ubiquitous cabbage family. Because it is white, cauliflower does not contain as many carotenes and chlorophyll as coloured vegetables. But it does contain boron, a mineral important for calcium being properly utilised in bone. CELERY Celery is rich in potassium and sodium. Towards the flowery ends, the celery is bitter. This is good: more bitter means it is good for the liver and digestive processes. Celery is used as a diuretic and celery seed extract can be helpful in the treatment of arthritis. CUCUMBER Cucumbers are very cooling for the hot person, or for the person eating hot, spicy food. Cucumber skin, usually thrown out, is a good source of silica, good for the quality of bones, hair, skin and nails. GARLIC Hippocrates, Aristotle, Pliny, in fact all the gang recommended garlic for all sorts of ailments. And it tastes great with pasta. As much a herb as vegetable, we would be much poorer without the health-giving gifts of garlic. Garlic helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol; enhances the immune system; is antibacterial, antifungal, anti-worm (anthelmintic); and it helps eliminate heavy metals such as lead from the body. Tde Food We Eat 99 L E ~ C E T h e darker the leaf, the more nutrients. Unfortunately, this leaves the common iceberg lettuce at the bottom of the nutrient barrel. All lettuces are a good source of chlorophyll. MUSHROOM Mushrooms are not strictly vegetables but a fungus. Mushrooms are a good source of vitamins and minerals. They are sometimes represented as containing vitamin BIZ. They do not. T h e only way BIZ could be present is from animal compost that has become lodged in the fan-like underflesh. ONION Onions are part of the same Li~~i;:y as garlic and share many of garlic's health-giving benefits. Eat an onion every day, cooked or raw. Onions will help lower cholesterol. They also have a regulating effect on blood sugar levels, which make them good for diabetes and hypoglycaemia. Onions are also good for coughs. Thinly slice a red, brown or white onion, cover with honey and leave overnight. Next day, drink the syrup. Pickled onions and other pickled vegetables are usually high in salt, sugar and other preservatives including nitrates, which are carcinogenic. POTATO Potatoes were brought from the New World to the Old in the 1500s and by 1800 became the most important food in Ireland. A member of the deadly nightshade family but generally not a troublemaker, potatoes are the favourite vegetable in Australia. Potatoes contain vitamin C as well as potassium. Potatoes are low in calories, it is only when they touch oil do the calories skyrocket. T h e skin contains most of their nutrients but don't eat the skin if it has turned green, ZOO The Commo~senseGgide to Eating Web as this is a sign that the poisonous alkaloid solanine is present. Cutting out the offending green bit is sufficient to remove the danger. SPINACH In Australia we tend to call silver beet, spinach. Silver beet has a much stronger flavour and bigger leaves than its refined English counterpart. Both are a good source of iron (the nonhaem variety) and other nutrients, including chlorophyll. PUMPKIN A member of the melon family and native to Central America, pumpkin is a lovely vegetable, particularly as part of a roast dinner. T h e orange flesh provides plenty of beta-carotene, as well as potassium and soluble fibre. Pumpkin seeds contain zinc and other factors, including a phyto-hormone that is useful in the treatment of the prostate gland. Grains Carbohydrates should make up the lion's share of our diet, anywhere up to 70 per cent. Carbohydrate foods are a mixed bag: grains, legumes (also a good source of protein), fruit, vegetables and sugar. Grains, including wheat, rye, barley, rice, oats, millet and corn are the principal food for the majority of the world's population. This was not always so. Anatomy of a grain The endosperm takes up the majority of the grain. It is mostly starch and contains soluble fibre, as well as a few vitamins and minerals. Inside the endosperm lies TAe Food We Eat 101 the germ, the embryonic plant which, if lefi to its own devices, would use the endosperm as food to fuel its growth into a little seedling. The germ contains protein, fatty acids and is a storehouse of minerals and vitamins, particularly vitamin E. Protecting the grain is a tough coat called the husk or bran. This is where we frnd most of the fibre, including celIulose. The husk also contains a fair amount of micronutrients, but not as many as the aleurone layer, the undercoating that lies snugly over the grain and under the husk. Grains contain a large percentage of carbohydrate, around 80 per cent. They also contain a little more than 10 per cent protein and are in general very low in fat, at about 2 per cent. Flour power Grains, also known as cereals, are the seeds of grasses. As hunters and gatherers thousands of years ago, we gathered these wild grass seeds, in addition to the roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, insects and odd rodent that crossed our wandering path. T h e wild grasses of yesteryear were very different from the lush ears of corn and wheat we cultivate today. It would have been slim pickings indeed. Not only would it have been time consuming to gather these seeds but they are virtually inedible in the raw state. So, we would have had to lug these seeds on our 40 kilometre walk (the estimated daily average distance covered by our fit ancestors) and at the end of a long day, grind the pesky seeds on a bit of rock, then add water, then cook it over the coals. Pass the insects please. So much less trouble. Nevertheless, someone was keen to eat their wheaties. Humankind became 'civilised' when it began to cultivate grain around 10 000 to 15 000 years ago. Sowing seeds in the The Commonsense Ggide to Eating Well 102 ground meant that we had to hang around until harvest time. Houses, villages and cities were a natural progression. For the first time we could store food, in 'granaries'. This gave us time for other pursuits like organised religion, literature, flower arranging and war. People who controlled the grain, controlled society. T h e symbolism of agriculture has deeply permeated human consciousness. T h e Greek goddess Demeter was in charge of the harvest; Egyptians revered Osiris, the god of agriculture. White is Aght? T h e first grainy foods would have been gruels or porridges or flat breads: the whole grain broken up with primitive mortar and pestle. Then came rotary stone mills, driven by water, slave or horsepower. Steel roller milling came with the industrial revolution and this is where the trouble began. Up until this time, it was very difficult to separate the chaff (bran and germ) from the rest of the flour. So breads were invariably wholemeal. When processing technology became widespread, a more refined, whiter, fluffier bread was achievable and, for the first time, affordable. T h e common man enthusiastically embraced white bread that was formerly reserved for the toffs on the hill, the upper crust! Unfortunately, we now know that removing the bran and the germ also removes a good proportion of fibre and micronutrients (see the table below). In addition, bleach is added to make white flour whiter. Check your labels: 'bread-making flour' means white wheat flour. Mfcronutdent losses when the germ and bran are removed: B1 B2 80% 65% Copper Iron 68% 76% T4e Food We Eat B3 B5 B6 B9 Calcium Chromium Cobalt 75% 50% 78% 67% 60% 40% 89% Magnesium Manganese Molybdenum Phosphorus Potassium Sodium Zinc 103 85% 86% 48% 71% 77% 78% 78% Gluten Gluten is found in several grains, including wheat, rye, barley and oats. Gluten gives flour strength, biding quality and elasticity: all desirable qudties in bread, pasta and pastry making. Coeliac (see-lee-ak) disease is a condition where gluten causes damage to the Iining of the intestines. In its most severe form, coeliac affects 1 in 2000 people and is a condition that is oilen inherited. Although only a tiny proportion of people have coeliac disease proper, many more people may be sensitive or slightly intolerant to gluten. Symptoms often include bloating, flatulence and constipation or diarrhoea. WHEAT Wheat is the most commonly consumed grain in Australia. On average Australians eat 1.5 kilograms of wheat flour each week, mostly in the form of bread, breakfast cereals, biscuits and pasta. There are two main types of wheat: Triticzcm vaCgare (soft) used for bakery items and breads; and 2". dumm (hard) used for pastas and crusty Italian-style breads. Nutritionally, they are very similar but hard wheat contains slightly more protein. Wheat contains the most gluten of all the 104 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well grains, which helps it rise in baking. Some people are allergic to the gluten in wheat, others to other parts of the wheat grain itself. Wheat does not have to be made into flour, other products that are wheat based include: bulgur - here the wheat grain has been debranned, parboiled, dried and cracked: the crunchy bits found in tabouleh and kebbeh are bulgur; semolina - the hard part of durum wheat; cous cous - processed from semolina; and matzo meal - flour used to make unleavened bread during Passover. RICE Rice is the staple food for half the world's population. While people in Bangladesh eat 65 kilograms of rice yearly, Australians average a measly 5.6 kilograms a person. Rice is a balancing grain. This doesn't mean you can hold a bowl of rice on your head and not let it topple, but that rice helps balance an under- and over-stimulated system. Brown rice is the whole grain, high in fibre, vitamins and minerals. White rice has been rumbled by sugar granules to remove the outer husk, in addition to the aleurone (vitamin and mineral-rich) layer, while a portion of the germ remains. Converted rice (Sungold) is steamed and dried before milling, allowing the aleurone layer to remain and is therefore higher in micronutrients. There are hundreds of varieties of rice, including basmati and jasmine. Nutritionally, they are similar. There is no gluten in rice. Rice cakes, which look and taste much like drink coasters, are brown rice that has been heated to 200 degrees Celsius for six seconds. The Food We Eat 105 WILD RICE Wild rice is not actually a type of rice but a grain in its own right, with the exotic botanical name of Zizania apuatica. Traditionally gathered by hand in waterways by the North American Indians, wild rice is high in protein, and can be cooked together with brown rice or other grains. Wild rice does not contain gluten and is a low-allergy food. BARLEY Pliny wrote that Roman gladiators were called 'Hordearii' or barley eaters, believing that the barley they ate made them strong. You don't see barley much nowadays except in homemade soup. T h e soluble fibre in barley helps lower blood cholesterol. It is used medicinally because of its anti-inflammatory and cooling properties. A valuable remedy for the treatment of the symptoms of cystitis (a bladder inflammation) is to simmer 50 grams of barley in 1 litre of water for 40 minutes. Strain, add lemon and honey. (Barley water will help to relieve the discomfort of cystitis but will not get rid of an infection.) Pot barley is the whole grain, which is very hairy. Pearl barley is more commonly used, and has the husk removed. Roasted barley is used as a coffee substitute, often with chicory added. Barley contains gluten, although not in significant quantities. RyE Rye is a cold-climate grain, which explains its popularity in northern Europe. Its high water-binding capacity keeps rye bread moist for longer and increases satiety (sense of fullness). Rye contains gluten, though not quite as much as wheat. Most light 'rye' breads contain as little as 30 per cent rye flour, the rest being white wheat flour. One hundred per 106 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating WeZ.2 cent rye bread is very dark, very heavy and has a distinctive, earthy flavour. Pumpernickel is a type of bread made with whole grains of rye. In the days before pesticides and fungicides, rye crops were susceptible to a type of fungus known as black sclerotia or ergot. Eating grain infected by this fungus caused a condition called St Anthony's Fire. Symptoms included burning pains in the arms and legs, gangrene, itching and hallucinations. There have been no reported incidences of St Anthony's Fire since the 1950s. However, research has shown that one of the derivatives of ergot is lysergic acid (LSD), which explains the hallucinations! OATS Oats are fed to horses to give them pep and they will do the same for humans who are down on their pep. Oats are one of the fattier grains, although by no means high in fat at 8 per cent. T h e fats are the good, essential fatty acids (see page 52) and are especially good for the skin when taken internally and externally. Dry skin and eczema will respond well to oats. T o make an oat sock for use in the bath or shower, take one sockette, fill with two handfuls of oats, then tie off the open end. T h e slimy, sticky stuff that exudes from the stocking material is very soothing for the skin and can be used instead of soap. Rolled oats are the most common form of eating oats. T h e whole grain is simply steamed and flattened. It is worth the expense to get really good organically grown fresh oats. Compare them with your supermarket version, which can then be relegated to filling the oat sock. CO R N Corn is the major grain of Central America and Africa, where it is called mealie. In Australia, we normally use the fresh The Food We Eat 107 corn as a vegetable, reserving the dried ground flour for Mexican dishes like tortillas or in the making of polenta. Other grains include the following: Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye that was developed in 1964. As a plant it thrives on sandy, low-fertility soils and is resistant to disease. It is high in protein, but seldom seen. Triticale contains gluten. Amaranth was the staple grain of the Aztec people. Cultivation was banned in 1519 by the invading Spaniards in a devastating example of economic imperialism. Millet is still the major grain of northern China. We call it birdseed. It is quick to cook but fairly bland. Buckwheat is not, botanically, a grain but for all intents and purposes is treated as one. A member of the rhubarb and sorrel family, buckwheat has a distinctive nutty flavour. Although it does not contain gluten, buckwheat flour is often used to thicken soups and sauces. In Russia, the whole grain is cooked, called kasha and eaten as a side dish to the main meal. A northern European Jewish delicacy are blintz (or blinis), little pancakes made from buckwheat flour, wrapped around fruit and cream. T h e Japanese created soba noodles from buckwheat flour. Breakfast cereals Apart from bread and pastry, the most common form in which we consume grain is in breakfast cereals. The first breakfast cereal would have been a humble gruel or porridge. However, since early this century breakfast cereals have become crisp, coloured, sugared and heavily advertised. W 1 t h the exception of one or two, breakfast cereals are a waste of time, money and nutritional space. The majority contain sugar, some as high as 44 per cent. 108 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Wet!. They are mostly made from processed flour that has been stripped of its rnicronutrients, manufacturers kindly returning one or two of the many they have removed. You are much better off having baked beans on wholemeal toast, egg, sardines or even last night's Ieftovers. However, things started well in the 1800s, when nutritional advocate and Seventh Day Adventist,Sylvester Graham, started to promote the health-giving qualities of wholemeal flour. (In fact, wholemeal flour was dubbed Graham flour in his honour.) The first breakfast cereal, Post Grape Nuts, was created in 1863 and was baked Graham flour, cracked and served with milk. In 1877, another Seventh Day Adventist, Dr Harvey Kellogg, produced Granola and in 1902 the fvst corn Bake was born. Things went downhill from there. Fruit contains fructose, a simple sugar that is one-and-a-half times as sweet as glucose. Surprisingly, fructose causes blood sugar levels to rise more slowly than glucose. For this reason, fruit can be included in the diets of people with blood sugar problems, including diabetes and hypoglycaemia and makes a good, between-meal snack. I t is preferable to eat the whole fruit rather than just the juice of the fruit. For starters, there is more fibre in the whole fruit, allowing you to feel fuller than just drinking the juice. Let your hair down and try to eat the seeds, core and skin if possible. Eat plenty of fruit, two to three servings a day. Don't, however, overindulge, and end up like poor Fortunatus, at a those banquet in the first century AD: 'First I was The Food We Eat 109 sweet fruits the common people called peaches; they never tired of serving them to me, and I never tired of eating them; soon my stomach was distended like that of a woman about to give birth; I wondered how it was that I could stretch so far. Thunder growled and rolled within me, wandering in my entrails. There was great wind.' Fortunatus was the chaplain to Queen Radegonde of Germany. Stewing fruit is a forgotten art of winter. Not only does it make your home smell loved, stewed fruit is calming and an excellent food for stress. Pears, apples, peaches, apricots and quinces do very nicely stewed. Half fill a large pot with water, add a few spoonfuls of honey, some cardamon pods, a cinnamon stick and a few cloves. Wait for the water to reach the boil, take the pot away from the stove then place your fruit, cheek by cheek, nearly submerged. Put the lid back on the pot and let the fruit sit there steaming quietly at excessively low heat for two or so hours. Dried fruits are energy packed and make a good snack food when combined with a few raw nuts and seeds. Unfortunately, fruits are ofien dried with sulphur dioxide. Some people are allergic to sulphur and their symptoms may include asthma, eczema and in extreme cases, a nasty closing of the throat. Buy sun-dried fnrits if you are sulphur sensitive. Another packaging trick is to add mineral oil to sultanas and raisins to make them look moist. Don't be fooled. Buy naturally dried sultanas from the health food store. They taste better anyway. APPLE Snow White and William Tell knew about them, even Eve couldn't resist munching on one. Apples are strewn through , 110 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well human history, rich with symbolism. When an apple is cut in half horizontally you can see a five-pointed star, the pentagram, the geometric shape that sends witches and warlocks into an esoteric frenzy. Apples contain pectin, particularly around the core. Pectin is a soluble fibre that helps restore healthy microflora in the bowel, as well as removing excess cholesterol from the body. Apple cider vinegar in hot water is an old Vermont remedy for arthritis. Dab a bit of neat apple cider vinegar on bites and stings to reduce itching and inflammation. An oldfashioned cure for diarrhoea is to grate an apple (green or red) and eat it after it turns brown. APRICOT Apricots are a sunny cousin of the almond, cherry, peach and plum. Apricots are a good source of potassium, magnesium, iron and beta-carotene. AVOCADO T h e avocado is actually a fruit but most people think of it as a vegetable. A native to Central America, the creamy flesh of the avocado has seduced palates worldwide. Avocados are one of the few plant foods that contain fat, around 20 per cent. This is because avocado chooses to store energy as fat, rather than in the usual form, starch. Don't be put off, the fat in avocados gives us an opportunity to benefit from the lovely essential fatty acids, as well as providing us with vitamin E. Avocados are terrific for dry skin problems. BANANA Bananas are the favourite of babies and grannies and make a mean daiquiri too. Did I say daiquiri? I meant smoothie. Full of potassium, 440 milligrams a pop, bananas are. filling without being fattening. The Food We Eat 111 Bananas, particularly those on the green side, are very good for healing ulcers of the digestive tract, including stomach ulcers and ulcerative colitis. BERRIES Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. T h e vibrant colours of berries are due to a group of pigments called flavonoids, which are potent antioxidants. CHERRY Cherries, with their beautiful red colouring, are another fruit with plenty of the antioxidant-rich flavonoids, including anthocyanin. In fact, that's where they get their blue-red colour from. DATE Dates, palms, deserts and desserts go together. Most often eaten dried, dates are a delicious fruit packed full of fruit sugar and fibre. Dates satisfy even the hardened sweet tooth. FIG Figs are native to the Middle East (the first tree mentioned in the Bible) but are equally popular in Greece, Portugal and Spain. Figs are available fresh or dried, tasting not a bit alike. Figs are rich in a range of micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and manganese. All those little seedy things in the middle are good fibre. GRAPEFRUIT Grapefruits are high in pectin, a soluble fibre, found in the pithy white bits most of us pick off. Pectin lowers cholesterol levels and helps remove heavy metals from the body. Grapefruit is also bitter, making it an excellent tonic for the liver and gall bladder. 112 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well GRAPE Grapes are one of the oldest cultivated fruits. Grape seeds have been found to have high levels of the flavonoid proanthocyanidin, which is an antioxidant and is particularly good for the blood vessels. So stop spitting them out. LEMON Lemons contain vitamin C. Their sourness complements liver function and a substance in lemons called limonene has been found to be useful in treating gallstones. T h e juice of half a lemon in hot water makes a good first-thing-in-the-morning drink, with or without honey. MANGO Mangoes are a good source of fibre, vitamin C, potassium and beta-carotene. No-one has yet found the substance that makes mangoes addictive, but each summer, hundreds of thousands of Australians diligently apply their research skills to this question. ORANGE Oranges are a good source of vitamin C, soluble fibre, potassium and folic acid. Watch the allergy factor. If you have oranges every single day and have a health problem such as eczema, cut out the oranges (yes that includes OJ) for a week or two and see if your symptoms improve. If they don't, then you're welcome to go back to your oranges. Sometimes the allergy can be due to preservatives in the orange juice. In Europe in the nineteenth century, poor children dreamed all year of receiving an orange for Christmas. It is easy toforget how lucky we are in Australia, with our fantastic range of produce. The Food We Eat 113 PEACH Native to China, basically yummy when ripe and reminds one of summer; also a good source of potassium and flavonoids. In Edwardian England, the peach was a symbol of virginity, hence the term 'she's a peach'. PEKR Having been hired to talk to 54 radio stations about pears, I feel I am in a unique position to tell you pears contain the most fibre of any fruit. They are also a low allergy fruit. Thank you. PLUM AND PRUNE Any dark-coloured fruit (unless they are dark because they are bruised) is bound to be a good source of the flavonoids. Plums are no exception. Prunes are dried plums and are the darlings of hospitals and convalescence homes due to their laxative effect. Both are a very good source of potassium and iron. TOMATO Tomatoes are actually a fruit but are happy to join the vegetable camp. Another member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes can be an allergy food. Containing the antioxidant lycopene, four servings of tomatoes (including sauce) a week is helpful in reducing the incidence and severity of prostate cancer. Pasta would be unthinkable without a tomato-based sauce. But it was not until after the discovery of America that tomatoes found their way into the kitchens of Europe and Italy in particular. And stayed there. The Food We Eat 113 PEACH Native to China, basically yummy when ripe and reminds one of summer; also a good source of potassium and flavonoids. In Edwardian England, the peach was a symbol of virginity, hence the term 'she's a peach'. PEKR Having been hired to talk to 54 radio stations about pears, I feel I am in a unique position to tell you pears contain the most fibre of any fruit. They are also a low allergy fruit. Thank you. PLUM AND PRUNE Any dark-coloured fruit (unless they are dark because they are bruised) is bound to be a good source of the flavonoids. Plums are no exception. Prunes are dried plums and are the darlings of hospitals and convalescence homes due to their laxative effect. Both are a very good source of potassium and iron. TOMATO Tomatoes are actually a fruit but are happy to join the vegetable camp. Another member of the deadly nightshade family, tomatoes can be an allergy food. Containing the antioxidant lycopene, four servings of tomatoes (including sauce) a week is helpful in reducing the incidence and severity of prostate cancer. Pasta would be unthinkable without a tomato-based sauce. But it was not until after the discovery of America that tomatoes found their way into the kitchens of Europe and Italy in particular. And stayed there. 114 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating WeCl WATERMELON Watermelons, as the name implies, are mostly water. They make a very good tonic for the kidneys and bladder. . Milk Paradise lost Milk is the perfect food, containing protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals - all the nutrients mammals (animals with breasts) need to sustain them through babyhood and early growing years. Unfortunately, for many people milk causes health problems. Use it or lose It Humans are the only mammals who continue to drink milk after being weaned. Your pussy cat may enjoy (or demand) a saucer of milk but in the wild, puss wouldn't touch the stuff. Lactase, the enzyme responsible for digesting milk sugar (lactose), diminishes at around the time we lose our 'milk teeth' at five to seven years old. Another enzyme, rennin, which digests the milk protein casein in the stomach, also diminishes at this time. Although this is true for the majority of people, milk-digesting enzymes remain more active in some races, especially people of Scandinavian origin. Classically, the case of 'use it or lose it', Nordic folk have a long history of farming moocows and eating dairy products. Over trhe generations, their physiology has adapted to a diet that contains lots of cheese and milk. Among my patients, I find that if someone has Danish, Dutch or Swedish blood in their veins, they usually thrive on milk products, whereas someone of Asian descent should invariably avoid milk. The Food We Eat I15 Horses for courses What are humans drinking cow's milk for in the first place? Although we have established that milk is a perfect food, we need to be clear about whose milk is good for whom. Goat's milk is perfect for kids; cow's milk is perfect for calves; and human milk is perfect for human babies. So far, supermarkets have not seen the marketing potential of selling bottled human milk. In terms of infant survival, obviously any milk is better than no milk. My neighbours rescued a kitten who was dumped and left to die. Their 14-year-old female Dachshund, Koo, who had her last litter 10 years ago, started to secrete milk to feed the kitten. T h e kitten, Smudge, is flourishing on Koo's doggy milk! Here are a few interesting points of comparison between cow and human milk. First, cow's milk has more than four times more calcium and protein per millilitre than human milk. However, more is not necessarily better. A calf doubles its birth weight in 50 days, whereas babies double their birth weight in 100 days. Our early development is more skewed towards nourishing the nervous system rather than bulk. Second, there are two main types of protein in milk, casein and whey, which translate into little Miss Muffet's curds and whey. Cow's milk contains more casein than whey and human milk contains more whey than casein. People with milk allergy tend to be more allergic to casein than whey. It turns out the balance of essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in human breast milk is terribly important for the neurological development of infants. Pre-term babies fed on formula can become blind and neurologically deficient, and can have measurable IQ differences. lf 6 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well What's the problem? With milk there are two possible problems. T h e first is a milk sugar (lactose) intolerance; the second a milk protein allergy. In order to be absorbed, lactose (a disaccharide) needs to be snipped into two separate units: glucose and galactose. T h e enzyme lactase is just the man for the job. If lactase is not available, lactose cannot be broken down and absorbed and will continue down the bowel. Water will enter the bowel to dilute the sugar, causing diarrhoea. In addition, bacteria will eat the sugar, producing bloating and flatulence. T h e symptoms of lactose intolerance are diarrhoea and flatulence. Ninety-five per cent of Asian people are lactose intolerant, whereas northern European and Scandinavian races are better able to tolerate it. Lactose intolerance is an 'intolerance' to lactose simply because there are insufficient quantities of the enzyme lactase to deal with it. Milk allergy is a different story. As previously mentioned, it is the casein in milk that seems to be the troublemaker. It appears that the immune system of the sensitive individual will react when a fragment of casein is absorbed. When the immune system gets involved it is truly an allergy. T h e reactions to a milk allergy are not as immediate as ,that of lactose intolerance. Symptoms fall into three main groups: skin, mucus and emotional. Skin-related symptoms are usually eczema or skin rashes. Mucus-related symptoms can manifest as chronic sinusitis, post-nasal drip (mucus dripping down the back of the throat) and a constant stuffed-up nose. Milk allergy also contributes to ongoing colds, asthma, tonsillitis and glue ear in children. Emotional symptoms are a lot more difficult to detect. Addictive allergies About 10 years ago, a psychologist and nutritionist called Alexander Schauss researched a group of troubled teenage The Food We Eat 117 boys who were held in detention centres in the United States. H e noticed that all the boys ate a diet very high in milk products: milk, ice-cream, cheese and chocolate. Schauss took a number of boys off milk products entirely and found that within a few weeks their negative and violent behaviour had changed significantly. On the whole, the boys were calmer and less angry. This was confirmed by the carers and the boys themselves. Interestingly, they still craved milk products. Fascinated by the change, Schauss recorded these results and developed a theory about addictive allergies. There are receptor sites in the brain that act like tiny baseball mitts, which grab a fragment of protein (called endorphins), like grabbing a baseball. With an addiction, the mitts get desperate to hold the ball. If there is a shortage of balls - craving will result. Craving is a sign of physical addiction. T h e milk protein fragments, Schauss believes, act in a similar way to the body's own endorphins, setting up a constant craving for milk products and mood problems when milk is unavailable. If milk protein is a problem, avoid yellow cheese, cottage cheese, ice-cream, whole milk and skim milk (skim milk has less fat, not less protein). The olden days: what's changed Old naturopathic texts recommend raw milk for all sorts of diseases, including catarrhal or mucus related conditions. Most modern naturopaths shudder at the thought of milk. Something must have changed. Pasteurisation has been the law for several decades (unpasteurised goat's milk is sometimes available). Pasteurisation, named for Louis Pasteur who confirmed the presence of disease-causing germs, involves heating milk at 62 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. This will kill most bugs. Formerly, milk was frequently infected with diseases including tuberculosis, which could be transmitted throughout the community. Although there have been no modern studies to my 118 T4e Commonsense Guide to Eating Well knowledge comparing the difference between pasteurised and non-pasteurised milk on our health, the intense heating of milk may change its protein structure, possibly increasing the likelihood of milk allergy in the sensitive individual. Another, more recent process is homogenisation, the breaking up of fat so that fat droplets are evenly distributed throughout the milk. Cream no longer floats to the surface of the milk bottle to be a treat for your cat; even the bottle has gone! Homogenisation increases the rate at which milk goes off due to the increased surface area of the fat droplets. There are raised levels of the enzyme xanthine oxidase, which has been implicated in atherosclerosis. Antibiotics, pesticides and hormones can all be detected in milk, due to today's intensive farming techniques, adding to our chemical burden. What to d o When it comes to food allergies there appears to be a threshold. If you are travelling well health-wise, you might be able to deal with one or more servings of milk products but when the immune system is under challenge, whether it be from stress or infection, you will not be able to tolerate the same amount of milk products and they are best avoided at this time. Get to know the signs from your body. Stay away from known food allergens, including milk, when you know your body is under extra stress (see tailor-made for food allergies, page 205). Yoghurt Even if you are sensitive to milk, you may be able to tolerate small amounts of yoghurt. T h e bacteria that make yoghurt feed on the lactose, so already we have reduced one problem. In addition, the bacteria excrete lactic acid, which changes the protein structure slightly, so that it presents less of an The Food We Eat 119 allergic challenge. T h e best yoghurt to choose is plain, not flavoured, made with acidophilus, bifidus or bulgaricus bacteria. Sheep and goat's milk Still the milk of choice in several European rural communities, sheep and goat's milk tend not to cause as many allergy problems as cow's milk (although the lactose levels are the same). Goat's milk is an acquired taste but the cheese is quite delicious. Sheep's milk takes less getting used to but is harder to come by in delis and healthfood shops. However, the yoghurt is more readily available and is yummy. Soy milk, dce milk, almond milk Soy milk has many benefits, not least by providing the phytooestrogens (see soy, page 124). However, soybeans d o not have breasts. Soy milk, or any other 'milk' derived from a seed, nut or grain, is not the same as milk from a mammal. They do provide certain nutrients but should not be considered as a total food in the same way as animal or human milk. This is particularly important for babies and young children. In addition, many people are now becoming allergic to soy milk if they drink lots of it. Mtfk and osteoporos~s Calcium is important for bones and in the prevention of osteoporosis, a common problem among women and, increasingly, men in Australia. Calcium is a mineral available from a variety of foods, not just milk products. Interestingly, in countries like China, which traditionally do not have d k in their diet, osteoporosis is not a significant health problem. The Beijing Osteoporosis P r o w 1996 concluded that 'hip fracture rates (usually caused The Commomense Guide to Eating Well 120 by osteoporosis) in Beijiig are among the lowest in the world'. Over- 60 per cent of Australian women consume less thah the recommended daily amount of calcium. Although milk is a reliable source there are many other foods that provide calcium. The following is a list of non-dairy, calcium-fich foods: Nlflllgrams of calcfam per cup Sesame seeds 2100 Sardines with bones 1000 Almonds 750 Chestnuts 600 Salmon with bones 490 Molasses 410 Tofu 400 Cooked spinach 250 Oysters (6) 240 Figs (5) 126 Beans Legumes, also known as beans or pulses, have been around gastronomically much longer than grains. Currently, however, beans are not in favour, which is a great shame as they have much to offer nutritionally, being low in fat and high in fibre, protein and micronutrients. Beans have the same calories as grains but four times the protein. Beans are high in soluble fibre, which means they help lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart dhease, prevent constipation and stabilise blood sugar levels. Quite possibly, the bean's relatively recent fall from grace The Food We Eat 121 is due to a combination of factors. One is the reduction of available time for pottering around the kitchen. Beans take some time to cook. T h e second reason may be cultural; the fading of traditional recipes over the generations. Many cuisines have great bean dishes such as the Greek dip sava, the Italian lentil soup lenticce and, of course, the Mexican refried beans. Beans can be stored for a long time in your cupboard and retain most of their nutrients during storage and cooking. In fact, beans have to be cooked. Trypsin inhibitors are on the outside of legumes. Thought to be the legume's protection against digestion by birds and other animals, trypsin inhibitors stop the action of trypsin, a protein-digesting enzyme. Without trypsin, the bean cannot be properly digested. Trypsin inhibitors can be broken down by soaking, then cooking the legume. Canned beans are a time-saving alternative to soaking and cooking beans yourself. For example, adding a can of kidney beans to a little bolognaise sauce increases the fibre, or adding a can of beans to a vegetable soup lifts the protein content considerably. Beans means farts Beans are accused of causing flatulence. Humans pass wind 14 times daily, on average 600 milIiIitres of gas, most of which is swallowed air. The rest comprises 40 per cent carbon dioxide produced by gut bacteria, 10 per cent hydrogen, methane, sulphur and by-products of bacteria, including skatoles, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg gas). So where do beans fit in? Beans contain oligosaccharide - a type of starch that is resistant to digestion. As the oligosaccharides pass through the small intestine to the colon, resident bacteria 122 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well will break them down and cause gas. People who are used to legumes in their diet will, over time, produce microflora that are less likely to cause the problem of excess flatulence. So the more beans you eat, the less flatulence you will have. ADZUKIBEANS Also known as red beans, adzuki beans are a favourite in Japan. This small, round, reddish-brown bean has a light, nutty, sweet flavour. It is often made into candied bean cakes. Although it tastes sweet, this bean helps regulate blood sugar levels. Since the Han Dynasty in China (206 BC to AD 220), the red bean has meant good luck and so is always included in any festive meal. Dried beans are put out to ward off evil spirits at Chinese New Year. BLACK BEANS Black beans are used in South American and Caribbean cooking. They form the basis for the salty, fermented and yummy Chinese black bean sauce. BORLOTTI BEANS Borlotti beans are brown or speckled pink and also travel under the name Romano. They are native to tropical America and were introduced to Europe via the Spaniards. In 1528, some of these beans were sent to Pope Clement VII in Italy, possibly the first beans in Italy. Borlotti beans are popular in Italian soups and stews to this day. BROAD BEANS Broad beans are also known as fava, and were first cultivated during the Iron and Bronze ages. They were the staple food The Food We Eat 123 for the poor in ancient Egypt. In ancient Rome, dry broad beans were used as counters for voting in Roman elections. Broad beans can be eaten green and uncooked, however, they may cause a form of anaemia known as favism in some Mediterranean people with a special sensitivity to a toxin found in the beans. CHICKPEAS Chickpeas or garbanzos are a round, light brown-coloured bean with a chicken-beak point at one end. They are a favourite throughout the Middle East, India, Spain, Italy and Greece. Hommos, felafel and besan flour are all chickpea products. Dry roasted chickpeas flavoured with salt, spices and chilli are a popular snackfood in India. HARICOT BEANS These are the common garden variety baked bean or navy bean. Canned baked beans are a staple food for many single young men. Haricot beans make a quick, high protein, low fat breakfast or snack. KIDNEY BEANS Kidney beans are best known for their leading role in chilli con carne and as a support act in three-bean mix. LENTILS Lentils are called lentils because their shape resembles the lens of the eye. Lentils, whether they are red, green or brown, are big news in India where they form the basis of dhal. Lentils need no soaking and cook in around 20 minutes. 124 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well PEAS Peas are legumes. We normally eat them fresh or thawed, reserving the split dried peas for pea and ham soup. T h e olde English 'pease pudding' featured split peas. SOYBEANS T h e soybean is native to China, where it has been cultivated for 13 000 years. It is the most widely grown and utilised legume and is the biggest cash crop in United States, used mostly as feed for livestock. Soybeans contain more oil than most beans; around 17 per cent of the dried bean. But the fat is good fat, high in the essential fatty acids. One of the main reasons for soy's popularity (it can't be the taste), is that soybeans have the highest protein content of any plant food, exceeding many animal foods. Soybeans have received a lot of attention because they contain the isoflavone genistin, a plant substance that is structurally similar to but much weaker than oestrogen, and is actually able to bind onto oestrogen receptor sites in the body. This is a boon for menopausal women who are running low in their own oestrogen (see tailor-made menopause diet, page 209). T h e beauty of phyto-oestrogens is that if you are making sufficient oestrogen, they won't be adding any more. Our own oestrogen is stronger by far. Phyto-oestrogens only make up any shortfall. Value-added soy A 'second generation' soy product is tofu or beancurd. This white, f m (or floppy), custard-like preparation is as boring as batshit unless dolled up with spice or hidden in a stew or stir-fn( but is very high in protein. Tofu is made by soaking the soybeans, then draining them. The beans are then pureed and strained to yield The Food We Eat I25 a soybean milk. This is boiled, a coagulant added, then strained. Tempeh is fermented tofu and is a reliable source of protein and B12 (good for vegans whose main source of protein is soy). Those ghastly sausage-looking things called TVP (textured vegetable protein) that come in cans are made from soybeans. Miso is fermented soy paste made by inoculating trays of rice with the mould Aspergillus oryzae. A ground preparation of cooked soybeans and salt is then mixed in and the mass is allowed to ferment for several days before being ground into a paste that has the consistency of peanut butter. The entire rniso process takes 10 to 40 days. Miso is used as a fIavouring for soups and on vegetables. Miso is also nice spread thinly on wholemeal bread with a layer of tahini and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top. Miso is a source of B12 as well as bowel-friendly bacteria. Sprouts Sprouts are excellent food. Germination of the seed into a sprout increases the available nutrients and improves digestibility. The sight of a few shrivelled alfalfa sprouts on the side of the plate is enough to put anyone OR.But eat them anyway. Sprouting deactivates any trypsin inhibitors that may be present in the raw bean. If you are clever you can sprout your own. Mime invariably turn mouldy so I buy them from the supermarket or greengrocer. If you are game to sprout your own buy only organic seeds; assume all others have been sprayed. 126 T&eCommonsense Ggide to Eating Well Types of sprouts include alfalfa, mung bean, fenugreek and red clover. Sprouts can be eaten raw or added to soups and stews. Meat There is plenty of evidence humans were born to eat meat. Look at our canines (teeth, not dogs), meat-stripping stomach acid, guns and quite a mean streak. Yet we are omnivores, taking a bet both ways, equipped to handle plant food as well as meat. Vegetadans, B12, protein and Iron By combining legumes and grains, vegetarians are less likely to be protein deficient. The vegetarians most at risk of deficiencies, especially of B12 and iron, are vegans. Vegans, oAen inspired by ethical reasons, eat nothing made from an animal, including miIk products and even honey. As B12 is made by animals, it is relatively common for vegans to be low in this vitamin. Eating fermented foods such as miso and tempeh (fermented tofu) is a way of obtaining B12.Taking some vitamin C, or eating vitamin C-rich food will enhance absorption of iron from the likes of spinach, parsley and kelp. BEEF 7 In 1938, the first year of food-consumption statistics, Australians ate an average of 64 kilograms of beef (including veal) each. By 1997, we were eating about 39 kilograms a piece still quite a lot of cow. T h e difference in consumption between the prewar years and now is not that we have turned into a country of vegetarians but consumption of other meat has increased, especially chicken and pork. Beef, like most animal products, is a reliable source of protein, containing the full spectrum of essential amino acids. Importantly, beef contains haem iron, the type of iron that is well absorbed, as opposed to non-haem iron found in vegetables. Beef contains B vitamins and zinc, a mineral we need and that is often in short supply. T h e nutritional down side to beef is that it contains quite a lot of fat: older cattle more than yearlings; grain-fed more than those that roam the range. Beef feedlots are a growing trend in Australia, particularly in export beef. This practice crowds the cows together in restrictive feedlots and has been deemed to be cruel by the RSPCA. LANIB Lamb contains more fat than beef but is still a terrific source of protein and iron. Australians eat 11 kilograms of lamb each per year (1997). Lambs are often born in the bush and for most of their short lives (less than one year) receive little intervention from man, until they are killed. Unlike chickens and pigs, they are free to chew on bits of scrub and are not routinely given antibiotics or hormones. Lamb is a reasonably 'clean' meat as far as chemicals go, the down side is that there is more fat by weight than protein. PORK Porkers have a tough life, often being confined to small pens. Pork used to have a bad name because it was likely to be infected by the parasite trichinosis, but this is no longer a problem. Pork has quite a following in Australia with average consumption around 18 kilograms each per year. Pork has traditionally been a high-fat meat, until the use of hormones that produce leaner pigs - 'low-fat porkers'. We are seeing a lot more of these technologically enhanced foods. T h e pigs were 128 Tie Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well not given gym memberships to lose weight, they are given hormones. Being a 'white' meat, pork does not contain as much iron as beef or lamb, although it is a good source of protein. DEU MEAT Bacon, cabanossi, chorizo, frankfurts, kransky, pepperoni, mortadella, pastrami, devon, salami and ham: all these yummy deli meats (mostly pig products) are bad news. Sorry. For starters they are high in fat, an excessive one-and-a-half times more fat than protein. In addition to lots of salt, nitrites are added to keep them a pink colour (after all, they are the product of animals who have been dead for some time). Nitrites are preservatives that are carcinogenic. Eat deli meats infrequently. They are not part of a health fest. GAME:EMU, KANGAROO. VENISON, BUFFALO Meat from wild(ish) animals is highly nutritious - very low in fat but a good source of the essential fatty acids, no chemicals and high in protein. A good choice. FOWL Chicken used to be rarer than hen's teeth on the dinner tables of Australians in the 1950s and 1960s, reserved for festivities like Christmas and birthdays. Nowadays, we eat an average of 28 kilograms each per year. Most of the fat in chickens is located under their skin; once removed, chicken is a relatively low-fat meat, high in protein but relatively low in iron. Unfortunately, chickens have been taken under Big Brother's wing, so to speak. They are housed in unspeakable conditions, often de-clawed and de-beaked. They are routinely fed antibiotics and hormones. Although more expensive, free-range birds are available and have fewer chemicals. Ducks, in comparison with chickens, lead charmed lives. It could be that their nature is less submissive or demand for The Food We Eat 129 duckmeat is not as high. Duck is slightly higher in fat, particularly the skin, and high in protein, with fewer chemicals. Those ducks you see hanging upside down in Chinese restaurants are quite high in fat and are sweetened. Eggs are a near-perfect food, containing all nutrients required for the embryonic bird. Chicken eggs are the most commonly consumed in Australia but duck and quail eggs are also available. Eggs, unlike meat, contain lots of vitamins and minerals including zinc, sulphur, vitamin A, choline and so on, in fact, nearly all of them except vitamin C. They are also relatively low in fat. Now that the cholesterol issue has been debunked (see page 56), and as long as your diet is not too high in fat, you can eat your googie eggs and enjoy them anyway you want, except fried. Battery hens are possibly the most badly treated farm animals. They are de-beaked, de-clawed, fed hormones and antibiotics and even orange dye is put in their food to make the yolks look yellower. Make sure you buy your eggs from chickens that have been well treated. Alternatively, buy them from shops that sell their eggs. T h e best are from organically farmed birds, as 'free range' does not necessarily mean they are free to range outside, just slightly freer than a tiny cage, and may well be given the same chemical cocktail as their penned-in cousins. Call me old fashioned, but in my book (and by chance, this is my book!) chickens don't normally eat fish. No doubt the omega3 eggs are developed in the interest of good health, but let's leave the omega-3s in fish where they belong. 128 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well not given gym memberships to lose weight, they are given hormones. Being a 'white' meat, pork does not contain as much iron as beef or lamb, although it is a good source of protein. DELI MEAT Bacon, cabanossi, chorizo, frankfurts, kransky, pepperoni, mortadella, pastrami, devon, salami and ham: all these yummy deli meats (mostly pig products) are bad news. Sorry. For starters they are high in fat, an excessive one-and-a-half times more fat than protein. In addition to lots of salt, nitrites are added to keep them a pink colour (after all, they are the product of animals who have been dead for some time). Nitrites are preservatives that are carcinogenic. Eat deli meats infrequently. They are not part of a health fest. GAME: EMU, KANGAROO, VENISON, BUFFALO Meat from wild(ish) animals is highly nutritious - very low in fat but a good source of the essential fatty acids, no chemicals and high in protein. A good choice. FOWL Chicken used to be rarer than hen's teeth on the dinner tables of Australians in the 1950s and 1960s, reserved for festivities like Christmas and birthdays. Nowadays, we eat an average of 28 kilograms each per year. Most of the fat in chickens is located under their skin; once removed, chicken is a relatively low-fat meat, high in protein but relatively low in iron. Unfortunately, chickens have been taken under Big Brother's wing, so to speak. They are housed in unspeakable conditions, often de-clawed and de-beaked. They are routinely fed antibiotics and hormones. Although more expensive, free-range birds are available and have fewer chemicals. Ducks, in comparison with chickens, lead charmed lives. It could be that their nature is less submissive or demand for The Food We Eat 129 duckmeat is not as high. Duck is slightly higher in fat, particularly the skin, and high in protein, with fewer chemicals. Those ducks you see hanging upside down in Chinese restaurants are quite high in fat and are sweetened. Eggs are a near-perfect food, containing all nutrients required for the embryonic bird. Chicken eggs are the most commonly consumed in Australia but duck and quail eggs are also available. Eggs, unlike meat, contain lots of vitamins and minerals including zinc, sulphur, vitamin A, choline and so on, in fact, nearly all of them except vitamin C. They are also relatively low in fat. Now that the cholesterol issue has been debunked (see page 56), and as long as your diet is not too high in fat, you can eat your googie eggs and enjoy them anyway you want, except fried. Battery hens are possibly the most badly treated farm animals. They are de-beaked, de-clawed, fed hormones and antibiotics and even orange dye is put in their food to make the yolks look yellower. Make sure you buy your eggs from chickens that have been well treated. Alternatively, buy them from shops that sell their eggs. T h e best are from organically farmed birds, as 'free range' does not necessarily mean they are free to range outside, just slightly freer than a tiny cage, and may well be given the same chemical cocktail as their penned-in cousins. Call me old fashioned, but in my book (and by chance, this is my book!) chickens don't normally eat fish. No doubt the omega-3 eggs are developed in the interest of good health, but let's leave the omega-3s in fish where they belong. 130 The Conzmonsen~eGuide to Eating Well Fish and shellfish Fish are a good source of protein and generally low in fat. What fat there is, is the highly prized omega3 variety (see page 47). T h e amount of omega3 fatty acids in a few servings of fish is enough to treat health problems like PMS and eczema. T h e fish with the highest amount of omega3 fatty acids include mullet, trout and salmon. Some fish, including whitebait and sardines, have edible bones, which are an excellent source of calcium. All in all, fish is a fantastic addition to the diet. Eat it three to four times a week. Three servings of fish a week reduce by half the risk of sudden death by heart attack in those with cardiovascular disease. One problem is that heavy metals like mercury have been found in the flesh of bigger fish, especially shark (flake). CRAB,LOBSTER, OYSTERS, MUSSELS, PRAWNS, SCALLOPS People go bananas over the exotic, subtle flavours of shellfish. Unfortunately, they are a common allergy food. We now know that the cholesterol in shellfish is the 'good' type, meaning that you can eat them with abandon, if you can afford to do so. T h e only problem with shellfish is where they come from. As they naturally live and feed around estuaries, they are more likely to be contaminated with pollutants being washed offshore and heavy metals, including aluminium and mercury. The Food We Eat: But Should We? Coffee Directly below my clinic is an Italian coffee shop. I often see patients furtively gulping a cappuccino minutes before their appointment time with me, thinking that coffee and naturopaths don't mix. Coffee can be compatible with good health. However, some people are definitely better off without it. Coffee is a frequently used negotiating tool by me when designing diets. I'll let you have one cup of coffee a day if you sacrifice the camembert and chocolate. Mostly, it's a win-win situation. Coffee is the world's favourite drug and the second most important export after oil. It has a long history of use in Arabia and Ethiopia and was sipped in China back in 2000 BC. Coffee spread to Europe in the fifteenth century and was used as a medicine and to help keep monks awake during hours of meditation. Voltaire, the French poet and revolutionary, was said to drink 50 cups of coffee a day. T h e highest consumption I have come across was a merchant banker who drank 25 cups a day. 132 The Commonsense Guide to Eating We!/ Caffeine There are over 200 chemical constituents in the roasted coffee bean. Some responsible for its heavenly aroma, others for flavour. Caffeine (a plant alkaloid known as methyl xanthine) is probably the most widely studied constituent of coffee, although there is evidence that many of the actions of coffee on the body come from chemicals other than caffeine. Caffeine is present in several other plants, including tea, mate, kola nut and guarana. One gram (1000 milligrams) of caffeine can have toxic effects; 10 grams of pure caffeine is lethal. T h e average cup of coffee delivers around 100 milligrams of caffeine and most people stay within safe limits. However, I have seen sensitive people have side effects such as insomnia and high blood pressure from as little as one cup of coffee a day. Bodily effects Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant. A couple of cups can improve attention, concentration and coordination. More than this can lead to, or exacerbate, all sorts of problems ranging from insomnia, panic attacks, headaches, irritability and depression. Watch for caffeine in cola and other soA drinks. Children especially, can get hyped up with caffeine in their systems. Caffeine can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, although this doesn't appear to be a problem for long-term coffee drinkers. Some people experience erratic heartbeat or arrythmia. For people with heart disease, more than a couple of cups a day is not recommended as caffeine has proven to increase blood fats - a risk factor in heart disease. Coffee tastes bitter and like all true herbal bitters, T&eFood We Eat: But SAozsB We? 133 coffee increases production of gastric and other digestive juices. This is probably why a cup of coffee is commonly had after dinner, to aid digestion. As it powerfully stirs up gastric juices, coffee is to be avoided by anyone with a stomach ulcer, gastritis, reflux, or tender tummy. For these people particularly avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Caffeine relaxes the oesophageal sphincter, increasing the likelihood of reflux. Caffeine is a smooth muscle relaxant. Smooth muscle lines the bowel and blood vessels. For this reason, a strong cup of coffee may help some headaches or migraines that are caused by constricted blood vessels (take care that the headache is not merely a symptom of caffeine withdrawal). The other effect is to relax the bowel. For some people this means a strong coffee will cause diarrhoea, for others a cup of coffee is necessary for regular bowel movements. If coffee helps you to move your bowels, the cause of your constipation is most likely stress, as you hold tension in your bowel. You don't have to have sugar in your coffee to increase your blood sugar levels. Caffeine stimulates the release of adrenalin, the buzzy stress hormone. Adrenalin causes a sudden rush in blood sugar. Unfortunately, this increase in blood sugar levels quickly slides into a fall. Those with a tendency towards hypoglycaemia (see page 25) will do best by avoiding caffeine altogether. Caffeine is a diuretic, increasing the flow of urine. As a result, minerals including iron and calcium are passed out in the urine. Clients often look crestfallen when I counter their proud claim of fwe cups of water (in coffee) with the fact that they are excreting more 134 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well' water than they are drinking. Cruel but fair. Drink a glass of water to every one cup of coffee. Pregnant women oAen tend to turn off coffee. Which is well and good as the unborn baby has a terrible time of metabolising caffeine. It takes the foetus up to 140 hours to process what it takes the adult one hour to do. It is wise to omit coffee when you are trying to fall pregnant as some studies show that caffeine reduces fertility (in women) by half. Caffeine is not only able to cross the placenta but also passes into breast milk. Cut down the coffee if you have a fractious breast-fed bubby. There is a proven link between caffeine and breast lumps (non-cancerous) and frbroids. It also adds to premenstrual breast tenderness. Athletes have been using caffeine to enhance performance for many years. Robert de Castella used to drink a cup of coffee before every marathon. Caffeine has been found to increase (for a short time) muscle stamina and strength. Due to its effect of increasing blood fats it makes available a source of fuel for muscles and saves precious stored glycogen in endurance events such as a marathon. T h e following are some conditions that may well respond positively to a caffeine-free lifestyle: panic attacks, high blood pressure, painful periods, fibrocystic breast and uterine disease, PMS, restless leg syndrome, heart disease, high cholesterol, diarrhoea, depression, insomnia, hyperactivity, stomach ulcers, gastritis and gastro-oesophageal reflux. Most people are able to handle one or two cups of coffee a day. However, if you have one of the conditions above or The Food We Eat: Bllt S&ouldWe2 135 are particularly sensitive to caffeine, then even this small amount will have negative results. Caffefne withdrawal - cold turkey If you think caffeine may have a negative effect on your health, the best way to test your theory is to eliminate caffeine (including tea, cola and chocolate) for one week. The chemical caffeine does not accumulate in the body and has a half life (the time taken to reduce the level in the body to half its initial value) of around four hours. Peak concentration of caffeine occurs within one hour of consumption. At around 18 hours aAer your last cup of coffee, the levels of caffeine are very low and this is the time to be wary of caffeine withdrawal. Lock yourself away for the next 24 to 48 hours. You will probably experience throbbing headaches, irritab'iltty and extreme fatigue, which wiIl help you develop the convincing argument that in order to feel better, all you need Is a cup of coffee. Don't do it. Tea From the tea ceremony in Japan to the Australian tradition of a cup of tea with a lamington, tea has had symbolic and cultural significance for over 2000 years. Green tea has risen in popularity since the discovery of its cancer-protective qualities, mainly due to a tannin called E$igallocatechin gallate, which helps in liver detoxification and strengthening the immune system. Black tea also contains some of these antioxidants, although the fermenting process which turns green tea into black diminishes the quantity a little. 136 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Tea contains a certain amount of caffeine but because of the tannins less caffeine is absorbed into the body. Some sensitive individuals will notice a caffeine effect but generally tea gives you a gentle lift rather than a caffeine kick. Puffy eyes from a late night respond to a 10 minute, cool teabag compress. A solution made from weak black tea sprayed finely over mattresses and pillows deactivates omnipresent dust mites. T e a seems to slow down peristalsis, the snaky muscular movement of the bowel, increasing a tendency towards constipation. There is some evidence that tea may decrease bile secretion, thereby hindering fat digestion. Both tea and coffee reduce our absorption of iron and calcium from food. Theophylline, the alkaloid in tea, is a stronger diuretic than coffee, so make sure you drink a glass of water for every cup of tea. Alcohol One for the road Most of us like a drink or two. A glass of wine or beer marks the end of a busy day, the celebration of a happy event, part of a romantic dinner, or a fun night out with friends. Ages ago humans cottoned on to the fact that any fermenting vegetable or fruit will give us a fine old time. Fermented grapes turn into wine and brandy; potatoes and grains into vodka; and rye into rye whisky. Not surprisingly, the human animal has evolved mechanisms to cope with alcohol. Alcohol is the scientific name of a group of substances that The Food We Eat: But Shozcrld' We? 237 includes ethanol. Ethanol is the alcohol in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol is toxic in the smallest amount. Methanol, even more deadly, is the alcohol in methylated spirits. Alcohol is soluble in fat and water. This may not sound like something to write home about, but it is the key to why alcohol is so deadly. T h e membranes that line our cells are made up of a combination of fat (phospholipid) and protein. Alcohol, because of its fat solubility, is able to enter cells uninvited causing immediate damage. While most nutrients wait until they reach the small intestine before being absorbed, alcohol is impatient, 20 per cent being absorbed straight from the stomach. This is why we can feel the effect seconds after the first sip and the reason why we get drunk faster on an empty stomach. When alcohol crosses the stomach wall, some hydrochloric acid will seep across, disturbing the thick mucus lining that normally protects the stomach wall from damage. Over time, stomach inflammation (gastritis) and stomach ulcers may occur. These effects are made worse by drinking alcohol on an empty stomach - food acts as a buffer. VIP needs to be shown the door ASAP After absorption, alcohol is treated as a VIP not because it is worthy of respect but because it is one toxic individual and needs to be dealt with ASAP. Alcohol increases the risk of cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, bowel and pancreas. As well as increasing blood fats and cholesterol levels, it is also a risk factor in diabetes, impotence and heart disease. T h e first by-product of alcohol is acetaldehyde and it is this creature that is responsible for many of the more unpleasant sensations of alcohol: facial flushing, headache and nausea. Behind the scenes, acetaldehyde causes nerve and brain damage, as well as slowing down liver function. Acetaldehyde is also the chemical of addiction. We have certain 138 The Commonsense Guide to Eating We!'/ receptor sites in the brain, willing and able to receive molecules of acetaldehyde. T h e more of these receptor sites, the more alcohol we desire. There have been some controversial studies that suggest that alcoholics are born with more receptor sites than non-alcoholics. Acetaldehyde is the chemical of addiction. Some people crave the feeling of euphoria it brings. Alcohol is a nervous system depressant. A few drinks will depress normal inhibitions and is the reason behind many embarrassing office party incidents. It also compounds many cases of domestic violence, child ause and road accident deaths. Various enzymes are responsible for the conversion of alcohol into acetaldehyde and indeed, the remaining metabolic conversions. These enzymes require the assistance of certain micronutrients including zinc, B1 and B3 in order to do their duty. If the body is low in any of these nutrients, alcohol will take longer to be broken down, allowing a longer time to wreak its damage. Acetaldehyde is finally broken down into acetyl groups that can be used for energy but is more often converted into fat. A gram of alcohol yields seven calories a gram, which is more than carbohydrate and protein and less than fat. Even at seven calories a gram, alcohol is not a preferred source of energy as it causes so much damage and uses up lots of micronutrients in the bargain. Cheers: the case for the defence In defence of the odd grog, there are plenty of healthy octogenarians who swear by a daily tipple. A glass of wine with dinner helps us to unwind. A relaxed digestive system is more likely to do a good job of digesting dinner. If we are well nourished, particularly in the micronutrient department, our body can deal with alcohol - just not to excess. T h e liver TAe Food We Eat: But Should We.p 139 takes one hour to metabolise 10 grams of alcohol, the equivalent of a standard drink. Information arising from the 'French Paradox' research gives cause for celebration for red wine aficionados. Several years ago, scrawny, fat-deprived nutritionists became inflamed with indignation when they realised their French cousins were enjoying escargots literally swimming (do snails swim?) in olive oil, salads dripping in fragrant dressing and to top it all off were seen to guzzle litres of Beaujoulais - and that was just for lunch. After much intensive research into the wee small hours in quaint Parisian cafes, it was determined that the bioflavonoids, proanthocyanidins, found in red grapes are a powerful antioxidant. These bioflavonoids possibly prevent the onset of heart disease (see bioflavonoids, page 172). Chocolate T h e Aztecs prized their beloved but unpronounceable cacahuaquchtl tree, even calling it 'food of the gods'. T h e invading Spaniards sent some of the dried cocoa berries home. T h e original 'hot chocolate' was born, by brewing up a few beans together with vanilla and a dash of chilli. Throughout the 1700s chocolate was used medicinally as a heart tonic, probably due to cocoa's diuretic properties. (Diuretics are often prescribed for people with high blood pressure to reduce blood volume therefore reducing overall pressure in the blood vessels.) In addition, chocolate is a warming food. For people with poor circulation who hate wintertime, hot chocolate made with good quality cocoa, hot water and honey can be quite therapeutic. Chocolate holds a special place in the hearts, minds and stomachs of many of us. There is some evidence that 140 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well phenylethylamine (PEA), a chemical found naturally in cocoa beans, is the reason for chocolate's allure. PEA is an neurotransmitter that appears to act as an antidepressant and has been dubbed 'the chemical of love' - which explains the contradictory behaviour of eating chocolate bars when we feel fat and unhappy. Chocolate contains goodish amounts of magnesium, iron, copper and some B vitamins but don't think of it as a multivitamin substitute. T h e down side of chocolate is that it contains oxalic acid which can be a problem for people with a tendency to kidney stones, as oxalic acid readily combines with calcium and most kidney stones are calcium oxalate. There is a small amount of caffeine in chocolate, and this should be taken into account if you have any problems with caffeine (see page 131). Chocolate can also be an allergy food for some unfortunate people, particularly those who are plagued by migraines but also mouth ulcers, heartburn, constipation and facial swelling. Chocolates are made with added fat, milk and sugar, which makes it a high calorie food. VITAMINS AND MINERALS The basics of micronutrients Nowadays, it seems you can't walk past a supermarket or newsagent without being bombarded with information about vitamins and minerals. Although most of us know that vitamins and minerals are important, exactly what they do in the body and why we may need extra is rarely explained. There are six types of nutrients necessary for good nutrition: carbohydrates, fat, protein, water and last but not least, vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals, also known as micro (small) nutrients, occupy a tiny 5 per cent of our diet, yet they play a key role in maintaining health. If we are deficient in any of these micronutrients our well-being will surely suffer. Vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble Vitamins are found in plants and animals; they are necessary for growth and maintenance of health. With few exceptions, 144 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well the body must obtain micronutrients from food or dietary supplements. Vitamins B2, B9, B12 and K are capable of being made in the body by our own bowel bacteria, although often not in sufficient quantities for the body's needs. There are two categories of vitamins: (1) water soluble, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and the bioflavonoids; and (2) fat soluble, including vitamins A, D, E and K. T h e solubility of a vitamin relates to the way it is absorbed and transported throughout the body. Water-soluble vitamins must be consumed daily as they cannot be stored for long before they are excreted from the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed from the small intestine in the same way as fat in food, with the help of bile and fat-metabolising enzymes. Fat-soluble vitamins may be stored for some time in fat and liver cells. People who have problems digesting fat or are on extremely low-fat diets may be at risk of becoming deficient in these fat-soluble vitamins. About minerals Minerals are naturally occurring elements found in the earth's surface. Minerals coexist with vitamins in the body and their work is interrelated. There are two main groups of minerals: (1) those we require in larger amounts, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus; and (2) those we require in smaller amounts, and these are called the 'trace' minerals, including zinc, iron, copper, manganese, chromium, selenium and iodine. ' The basics of micronutrients 145 Are vitamins and minerals a waste of money? One common misconception is that if vitamins and minerals are excreted in the urine, this must mean they have not been used by the body at all and are, in effect, a waste of money. Vitamin BZ - riboflavin - is a prime offender here, causing the urine to glow fluorescent yellow. Micronutrients are not used up, in fact they are recycled, making them very good value for money. A vitamin or mineral can be used many, many times as a 'coenzyme', partnering with various enzymes within the body. Without its micronutrient 'partner' the enzyme is rendered useless. A micronutrient can partner several enzymes, before being filtered by the kidneys and excreted into urine. To supplement o r not to supplement? If I eat reasonably well, do I need to take a supplement? In an ideal world, where there is no illness, stress, pollution or processed foods, then the answer to this question would be 'no'. However, for most of us a daily supplement is necessary to replace nutrients lost in cooking and processing, as well as those nutrients used up in our battle against stress, cigarettes, alcohol, pollution and other elements common to modern-day life. Nutritional supplements are one way to redress this imbalance. Where have all our minerals gone? The soil in which our food is grown is either deficient or has become deficient in minerals over the years, particularly potassium, calcium, sulphur, selenium, manganese, copper, zinc, boron, molybdenum and cobalt. 146 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well Some medications deplete or interact with vitamins in the body; for example, antibiotics deplete vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, A, D, K, folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Similarly, the oral contraceptive pill, cholesterol-lowering drugs and laxatives all contribute to a depletion of vitamins. Each cigarette uses up 50 milligrams of vitamin C. Twenty cigarettes a day uses up 1000 milligrams of vitamin C, an amount you are unlikely to obtain from your diet. Cigarettes contain hundreds of different chemicals, many toxic. The body deals with these chemicals in various ways with detoxifl'mg enzymes in the liver and antioxidants. Both need the help of vitamins and minerals in their detoxiwng roles. Heat destroys many vitamins, particularly the B group and C. Any cooking, particularly overcooked or reheated foods will have fewer vitamins. Who will benefit from nutritional supplementation? Two groups of people benefit from nutritional supplementation. T h e first group use a dietary supplement as 'nutritional insurance' to prevent illness. These folk are usually healthy but hectic. They need to ensure 100 per cent efficiency in their busy lifestyle. A multivitamin with an emphasis on the B group would be perfect for these people. Perhaps with extra garlic and vitamin C to help the immune system ward off colds and flus. T h e second group of people are those with a particular condition that will respond favourably to nutritional therapy. At these times it is best to consult your practitioner. The basics of micronutlr'ents 147 How long should you take a supplement? Like most things worthwhile, natural medicine takes its own good time. Vitamins, minerals and herbs are not 'quick fixes'. It takes time, commitment and patience to appreciate the health benefits natural supplements have to offer. One rule of thumb is to expect one month of treatment for every year of an ailment. For instance, if you have had eczema for 15 years then expect the treatment to take as long as 15 months, although you will probably see results well before then. As far as 'nutritional insurance' goes, good news is no news! Nutritional supplementation can help all sorts of conditions. However, it is most unwise to withdraw or reduce any medication for an illness without first seeking advice from a competent practitioner. Another word of caution: it is easy to confuse signs and symptoms of one illness with another, so it is advisable to seek an informed diagnosis before commencing any treatment. What is the RDI and what does it mean for you? T h e initials RDI stand for the Recommended Dietary Intake, which is based on the American equivalent RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) adapted by the Food and Drug Administration Board, judged to be sufficient to maintain health in the average person. As anyone who has studied statistics (bless them) knows, population curves peak at the 'average' or 'mean' point and then taper down either side, from very very below average, to very very above average. Each one of us is unique. Just as our nose, eyes and hair colour differ, so too does our internal biochemistry. Any one of us may have exceedingly high 148 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well biochemical demands for a particular nutrient, say zinc, while having normal needs for others. In this case, if your diet contained 'normal' RDI quantities of zinc, your body wouldn't think it sufficient and you may show zinc deficiency signs such as poor immune function, delayed skin healing and menstrual problems or cystic acne - even though your zinc intake is 'normal'. In addition, certain illnesses or habits like alcohol or cigarettes may cause a deficiency or a need for more than 'average' amount of micronutrients. M r Average and Mrs Typical T h e RDI may be appropriate for Mr and Mrs Average, but supplements are more appropriate for Mr and Mrs Typical. A typical person who may benefit from nutritional supplementation includes anyone who suffers stress, encounters pollution, is elderly, pregnant or breastfeeding, is an athlete, has a less than perfect digestive tract, misses meals, eats fast food; all of which are indications that there is a higher than 'average' need for micronutrients. When is the best time to take a supplement? T h e best time to take supplements is generally with a meal or at the end of a meal. When we eat, all our digestive organs are revved up, giving the best chance for all nutrients to be absorbed. T h e exception to this rule is vitamin C, which can be taken between meals as well. If possible, it is preferable to take your vitamins in divided doses; that is, little and often. This will assist in better absorption. In reality, many people find this inconvenient and will forget to take the lunchtime supplement. If this sounds like The basics of micronzctl$ents 149 you, then it is usually better to take the supplement at one regular time, say after breakfast. If you are under the care of a naturopath, he or she may have good reason why you need to take your herbs or supplements more frequently. Synergists and antagonists Most nutrients work best in combination with others. This is the way they are found in nature. For instance, the bioflavonoids enhance the action of vitamin C and by no coincidence, bioflavonoids exist together with vitamin C in fruit and vegetables. Vitamins and minerals are just like people, they have friends and foes. Micronutrients that assist with the absorption and utilisation of others are called 'synergists'. In the example above, Vitamin C and the bioflavonoids are synergists. Micronutrients or other substances that prevent or hinder absorption and utilisation are called 'antagonists', or nutrient thieves. Vitamin E and iron are antagonists and if possible should be taken at either end of the day. Don't worry if your multivitamin contains both nutrients, you will find it difficult to remove the E from the tablet! This rule only applies if you are taking separate tablets of iron and E. Another rule is when taking a single B vitamin, say B12, is that you take a B complex as well, as they tend to work as a team. B12 needs B1, B5, B6, B9 and biotin to be utilised. Which vitamins should I take? T h e Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA) is a mixed blessing for the health food industry. On the one hand, companies have had to clean up their act or be tapped on the shoulder by the 150 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well long finger of the law, There were instances when what was claimed on the label bore no resemblance to what was in the bottle. In addition, anyone was allowed to claim that their product cured anything, from cancer to ingrown toenails. T h e guidelines in the TGA make it very difficult to make any claims. T h e most a manufacturer can do is to claim temporary relief of minor symptoms. This causes a great deal of uncertainty as people mill around the vitamin shelves unsure about what to take. There is little reliable information around. I may be accused of beating my own drum but it will be cost effective and more useful to seek the advice of a good naturopath who specialises in supplements, to recommend which supplements you should take and in what quantities. As far as quality goes, it is best to stick to medium- to top-of-the-range products. Usually, if manufacturers are concerned with their reputation, they will include quality ingredients and good formulations. Rather than buying five or six different vitamins, often there is a formulation which will suit your needs. For example, women's multivitamins help with menstrual problems, in addition to being a good all-round multi. Be nutritionally responsible Many people find that supplements fill a nutrient gap and they start to feel a whole lot better. Unfortunately, some people abuse vitamins and minerals, substituting a pill for a good diet and lifestyle. Even when we take a nutritional supplement, we still need to take responsibility for our health. Good food, rest and regular hours cannot be provided in a capsule. Supplements are not a bandaid solution; vitamins and minerals work for us when we use them wisely. The basis of micronutrients 151 Here are a few commonsense rules to follow to help ensure a diet rich in nutrients: Reduce coffee, tea, cigarettes and alcohol Eat fresh food instead of canned, frozen or presewed where possible Choose wholemeal over refined (white) flour and rice products Eat plenty of aII vegetables and fruit Avoid food and drinks with chemicals, preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colourings Exercise regularly Manage your stress Drink plenty of water Getting to Know You: Vitamins and Minerals Antioxidants Just what are antioxidants? And how can they improve your health now and into the future? Increased interest in the field of antioxidants has resulted in fascinating new information. In fact, a revolution has occurred in the way we view the onset of certain diseases and even ageing has come under scrutiny. Antioxidants appear to help prevent or delay these processes. Free radicals: a necessary evil T o understand why antioxidants are so good, we must first become acquainted with their nemesis - free radicals. A free radical is defined as any molecule that has an unpaired electron in its outer orbit. Molecules prefer their electrons paired, so this situation is disturbing. T h e free radical molecule with the unpaired electron is unbalanced and therefore highly reactive. In non-technical language, a troublemaker! Free radicals are formed in the body and have an important Getting to Know You 153 role to play in energy production, the immune system and detoxification. We have internal safety mechanisms to deal with them. An excess of free radicals in the system is a problem, as they tend to form a destructive chain reaction. T h e number of free radicals grows as we age. Pollution, pesticides, radiation, excessive exercise, joint and tissue injuries, surgery and emotional stress are all capable of increasing free radicals in the body. Although they are tiny, free radicals can wreak havoc to our cells. Free radicals cause harm in two distinct ways. First, they cause damage to the cell membrane. This means that nutrients and oxygen cannot enter the cell from the bloodstream and, conversely, waste products are unable to leave the cell. This effectively means cell death. Second, free radicals may also enter the cell and disturb the RNA and DNA, our cell's genetic material. Mutations will occur when the cell next divides if free radicals have changed the genetic code. Free radical damage has been found to be the cause, or promoter of, diseases such as cancer; heart disease; asthma; autoimmune conditions like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis; the effects of ageing such as memory loss and wrinkles; diabetes; and heart disease. Antioxidants: fighting the good fight T h e connection between free radicals and antioxidants is that antioxidants have the ability to stop free radicals in their tracks. In fact, antioxidants are often termed 'free radical scavengers' or 'free radical sinks'. No wonder antioxidants are popular. They reportedly help delay the rate of ageing and form protection against various chronic illnesses, as well as ward off the harmful effects of stress. T h e antioxidants are either nutrients or enzymes that require nutrients. Many of these nutrients are vitamins and minerals we are already familiar with, including vitamins C, E, beta-carotene and selenium. 154 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Just as the body is capable of making free radicals, so is it capable of creating antioxidants. ,There are several enzymes, including catalase and superoxide dismutase, which are antioxidant. These enzymes require nutrients like copper, selenium, manganese and zinc in order to function. In addition to the homemade arsenal, the body imports antioxidants from food (and supplements) that may be positioned into cell walls, such as vitamin E, or wander through the body doing good antioxidant deeds along the way, such as vitamin C and the bioflavonoids. As research continues into antioxidants more nutrients are showing their colours, including the catechins from green tea, anthocyanidins from red wine, lycopene from tomatoes and substances from bilberry, ginkgo biloba, St Mary's thistle and rosemary. Conditions that might benefit from extra antioxidants Everyone is at risk of free radical damage. A daily vitamin tablet that focuses on the antioxidant nutrients is highly recommended. If you have a family history of heart disease or cancer, take a precautionary antioxidant supplement regularly. Food sources of antioxidants Green, red and orange fruits and vegetables; green tea; red wine; garlic; and various herbs such as ginko, St Mary's thistle and bilberry. The vitamins Vitamin A Vitamin A is very important for the eyes. T h e specialised eye cells of the retina, rods and cones need vitamin A to function. Without sufficient vitamin A, the condition known as night Getting to Know You 155 blindness is likely to occur. T h e scientific name for vitamin A is retinol, and our body can store quite a lot of the stuff, particularly in the liver. Vitamin A is available only from animal foods, especially cheese, liver and eggs. This is because animals, including the human variety, are able to convert beta-carotene, a plant pigment, into vitamin A. In fact, it is possible to obtain all our vitamin A requirements from beta-carotene. That is assuming your digestive system is in spiffing order, as well as having sufficient quantities of iron and thyroid hormone, which are both necessary for the conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A. In addition to its role in eye health, vitamin A is essential for the maintenance of epithelia1 cells. Epithelial cells line the outside and the inside of the body. T h e skin is a type of epithelial cell, i s too is the lining of the nose, sinuses, throat, bowel, lungs and vagina. When there is anything that affects the epithelial cells like an ulcer, irritation from an infection, or a nasty cough, vitamin A is needed to soothe and heal. Insufficient vitamin A leads to hardening of the skin, known as keratinisation, as well as unsightly small bumps (fondly known as toad skin), especially on the backs of the arms. Conditions that might benefit fm extra vitamin A Night blindness, conjunctivitis, sinus, dry skin, dandruff, asthma, colds, coughs, acne, wrinkles and psoriasis. Food sources of vitamin A Cod liver oil, liver (lamb, calf, chicken), butter, fish, cream, cheese, eggs and chicken. B-complex vitamins A family that plays together stays together There are eight vitamins that are collectively known as the B complex. T h e name is not a reference to their personalities, 156 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well but refers to the fact that they work harmoniously together, as well as being found in similar foods, particularly whole grains (with the exception of B12). T h e other thing in common is that they are vital for the release of energy from the food we eat, and necessary for nerve and muscle function. T h e water-soluble nature of the B complex means that they are excreted, not stored. In essence this means a daily requirement of all of these vitamins. There is an intricate balance to the Bs. If you take one to excess, this will lead to relative deficiencies of the others. Generally, if you need to take a single B, take a B complex along with it. T h e members of this happy family are: B1 Thiamin B2 Riboflavin B3 Niacin B5 Pantothenic acid B6 Pyridoxine B9 Folic acid B12 Cobdarnin Biotin Note: There is no B4, 7, 8, 10 or 11. Substances sometimes referred to as B vitamins but are not include PABA, B15, B17 (laetrile), inositol and choline. Vltamln B1 - thtamln Vitamin B1, was scientifically recognised in 1926, nearly half a century before a serious disease called beri-beri was affecting 60 per cent of the Japanese navy. Something lacking in the Japanese sailors' diet, which consisted almost entirely of white rice, seemed to be the key. That something turned out to be thiamin. Thiamin, as many other vitamins, is found in the husks of grain, which are disposed of in the processing of white rice and flour. As soon as some ricebran was added Getting to Know You 157 to their diet, the symptoms of beri-beri, which include paralysis and nerve dysfunction, disappeared. B1 is an integral part of the B team, whose job it is to release energy from the food we eat, including the all-important glucose, as well as fat and protein. Apart from its teamwork, B1 is very good for nervy problems. It helps to relieve anxiety, depression and trembling, particularly the feeling of 'shaking inside'. A rather unusual sign that one might need extra B1 is a tenderness in the calf muscle, particularly when pressed. Alcohol tends to deplete our B1 stores and it is very common for heavy alcohol drinkers to suffer B1 deficiency, in extreme cases causing Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome, which sounds rather more romantic than it is. Symptoms include mental confusion, paralysis of the eye muscles and unsteady gait. Tea and coffee are also offenders by reducing thiamin activity. Conditions that might benefit from extra B1 Heavy drinking; anxiety attacks; sore calves (particularly when prodded); tingling or shaking sensations. Food sources of BI Brewer's and torula yeast, wheatgerm, sunflower seeds, ricebran, pinenuts, legumes, whole grains. Vitamin B2 - riboflavin Vitamin B2 is the reason why your wee turns bright yellow seemingly minutes after you take a vitamin pill. T h e flavin in riboflavin comes from the Latin word for yellow - flavus. B2 is another important vitamin in the creation of energy from the major nutrients glucose, fat and protein. It is also essential in the maintenance and growth of the epithelial 158 The Commonsense Gtlide to Eating Well cells, those that cover the body (skin) and line the hollow structures of the body like the bowel and lungs. Some of the signs that B2 is low include redness and soreness at the corner of the mouth, or a red and swollen tongue. Other signs affecting the skin include eczema, particularly of the eyelids and along the line from the edges of the nose to the mouth. An itchiness of the conjunctiva of the eyes may also be telling. Conditions that might benefit from extra BZ Eye irritations, dermatitis, ulcers of the digestive tract, including mouth ulcers and stomach ulcers. As the oral contraceptive pill interferes with B2 absorption, it would be a good policy to take a B complex if you are on the pill. Food sources of BZ Milk, yoghurt, ricotta, brewer's and torula yeast, chicken, almonds, wheatgerm, mushrooms and millet. Vitamin B3 - niacin Pellagra is the disease indicating the diet is severely lacking B3. Symptoms of pellagra are well known by medical students as there is a cute way of remembering them called the four Ds; that is, dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia and death. While most people do not progress to the extremes of the latter two Ds, B3 can be of benefit to several health problems. Another piece of evidence that our body's biochemistry is remarkable is that the amino acid tryptophan can be converted into B3, with the help of B2 and B6. It takes 60 milligrams of tryptophan to make l milligram of niacin, so it is not an economical way of procuring B3. Vitamin B3 is a member of the distinguished team of vitamins that allow us to obtain energy from glucose, fat and Getting to Kptow You 159 protein. B3 comes in two forms - nicotinic acid and nicotinamide; both are used by the body. Nicotinic acid has an effect on the circulation by widening the blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the fingers and toes. If you take a reasonably large dose of nicotinic acid, you will most likely experience a sudden flush of heat and look like a tomato for a few minutes. In small amounts, say under 30 milligrams, this dramatic reaction does not occur and when it does, it is only transitory. Nicotinic acid has proven to be very useful in the treatment of heart disease. It is capable of lowering blood fats (triglycerides), as well as cholesterol. T h e blood vessel widening (vasodilating) properties means that it improves the circulation of blood through the body, helping to lower blood pressure. It would be wise to seek a competent practitioner who will help determine the correct dosage when treating heart disease. Other circulatory difficulties that also benefit from nicotinic acid include chilblains, cold feet and hands, Raynaud's syndrome, tinnitus (if the tinnitus is due to poor circulation) and the type of migraine which has constricted blood vessels in the head. People suffering from dermatitis, an itchy red skin condition, will do well to supplement with B3. Nicotinic acid, along with the mineral chromium, is an important component of Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF). GTF encourages insulin to pass glucose from the bloodstream into cells. A controversial use of B3 has been in the treatment of schizophrenia. There has been some success in treating the debilitating mental disturbances, including paranoia, of this disease. Conditions that might benefit from extra B3 Dermatitis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chilblains, tinnitus, poor circulation, Raynaud's syndrome, migraine, arthritis, diarrhoea, schizophrenia, sugar cravings, diabetes and hypoglycaemia. 160 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Food sources of B3 Torula and brewer's yeast, lamb, liver, tuna, turkey, chicken, rice bran, wheat bran, trout, salmon, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. V%tamln B5 - pantothenlc add Vitamin B5 has the distinction of being part of the structure of the opening ambit of the Krebs cycle, a creature called coenzyme A or CoA to its friends. This may not sound like a big deal, but not having CoA is like losing the keys to your car when you are stuck in the middle of nowheresville with no water, food or mobile phone. That one little silver key (with the plastic bit on the end) could save your life. CoA begins the Krebs cycle, the most important energy-producing cycle we have. Without sufficient B5 we will start to feel very fatigued and depressed and all sorts of other things begin to go wrong. For instance, CoA is also needed to make fatty acids in the body. More than just fat, fatty acids are the precursors to all sorts of compounds including the sex hormones, bile and the stress hormone cortisol. Being deficient in B5 means not being able to cope with stress. Many people find that by supplementing with B5, their feelings of stress diminish and they feel increased energy. T h e beauty boffins caught on to B5 long ago when it was . revealed that it had an anti-greying and even an anti-ageing role. It is often included in shampoos and other cosmetics. Conditions that might benefit from extra B5 Stress, tiredness or depression. B5 is also recommended for people who are reducing their dosage of cortisone. Cortisone replaces the body's output of its own stress hormone, cortisol. By increasing B5 levels, more cortisol can be made. Food sources of B5 Elderberries, royal jelly, brewer's and torula yeast, liver, egg yolk and peanuts. Pantothenic acid is derived from the ancient Greek word pantos, meaning everywhere, which reflects B5's wide distribution in all foods, and all parts of the body. Vitamin B6 - pyridoxine Like most of her siblings, this little B vitamin is needed for many enzyme reactions. One group of reactions that B6 is particularly called for is in the amino acid department. When certain amino acids need to be transformed into other amino acids, B6-containing enzymes are called for. Also, when certain amino acids are authorised to become nerve messengers (neurotransmitters) such as tryptophan to serotonin, tyrosine to dopamine, B6 is again on duty. Vitamin B6 aids in keeping body fluids balanced. When there is water retention (oedema), B6 can help. Premenstrual women who have sore, swollen breasts and for one week every month feel like a beached dugong with a bad attitude will find B6 a godsend. Take 250 milligrams of B6, in combination with a B complex, twice daily about 10 days prior to the first day of the period. Another enzyme B6 helps along is delta-6-desaturase, known to the 'in crowd' as D6D. This little fella is in part responsible for the conversion of a group of substances called the prostaglandins. T h e reason why omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are so popular in treatments is that they are able to convert to prostaglandins with the help of D6D. So, if D6D needs vitamin B6 to work, then B6 it should be given, in bucket loads! Conditions that might benefitfrom extra B6 Fluid retention, PMS, carpal tunnel syndrome (especially in pregnancy), pins and needles, nervous tension and irritability. 162 The Commonsense Gzcide to Eating Well Food sources of B6 Torula and brewer's yeast, sunflower seeds, linseeds, walnuts, whole wheat, tuna, soybeans and beef. B9 - folk acid Vitamin B9 is more commonly known as folic acid, which is the same as folate, its official name. T h e word folate originates from the Latin word folkm or leaf, because researchers first isolated folic acid from spinach and other leafy greens. Folic acid is well known for its role in preventing babies being born with spina bifida and other neural tube disorders. Folic acid is necessary for the synthesis of nucleic acids, the genetic material of cells. If the genetic material is not 100 per cent then all sorts of problems ensue when cells replicate. In fact, any cell division and creation of protein (the structural bits of the body) is doomed if there is insufficient folate. This is particularly so for rapidly dividing cells as found in the unborn baby, the cells of the gastrointestinal tract and the skin. Cancer cells also tend to replicate quickly. Many of the chemotherapy drugs (used in cancer treatment) are aimed at blocking B9, to slow the growth of cancer cells. Common side-effects of chemotherapy include hair loss and digestive problems, due to the effect on hair follicles and gastrointestinal cells, which also replicate quickly. Along with B12, folic acid is required for the production of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying bit of red blood cells. Conditions that might benefit from extra folic acid Pregnancy and pre-conception, breastfeeding, diarrhoea, ulcers, cervical cell dysplasia, poor healing and gout. Do not take large doses of folic acid if you are undergoing chemotherapy. Getting to K n o w You 163 F o o d sources of folk acid Brewer's yeast, black eye peas, brown rice, soy, whole wheat, lentils, kidney beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, cabbage, green beans, walnuts and beef. Vitamin B12 - cobalarnin Vitamin B12 is physically the biggest vitamin, that is because it is the only vitamin to contain a mineral in its structure. T h e mineral is cobalt, and that is how B12 arrived at its official name of cobalamin. Pernicious anaemia is due to B12 deficiency. B12 is needed in the creation of haemoglobin, the oxygen carrier of red blood cells. When there is not enough B12, the red blood cells become enlarged. A deficiency of B12 will leave you feeling tired and run down. This is in part due to the lack of oxygen, as well as the fact that B12 is needed for DNA synthesis. DNA is the genetic material needed for the normal growth of cells. Vitamin B12 is one tricky customer when it comes to absorption. No matter how much B12 we swallow, in pills or in our food, it will not be absorbed unless there is something called Intrinsic Factor (IF) present in the stomach. Certain glands in the stomach lining (parietal cells) are responsible for making IF. Vitamin B12 can only be made by animals, including tiny animals such as bacteria and perhaps algae. Mushrooms and other vegetables do not contain B12. If any B12 is present it can only come from bacterial contamination from an animal source such as manure. An interesting study on a group of Indian vegans showed that although their diet was very strict, that is, included no animal products at all, they obtained some B12 from vegetables that had not been thoroughly washed of dirt. T h e dirt contained bacteria that was a source of B12. 164 The Commonsense Gtside to Eating Well Conditions that might benefit from extra BIZ Pernicious anaemia (BIZ, folic acid and iron should be given together in the treatment of anaemia); exhaustion; anything that effects the digestive system, such as surgery to digestive system or digestive disorders - for example, ulcer, digestive tract parasites. Vegans - people who eat no animal products are at particular risk of B12 deficiency. Food sources of BIZ Liver, shellfish, fish, lamb, beef, eggs and cheese. Beta-carotene Bugs Bunny was on to a good thing. Beta-carotene, a yellowyorange pigment, named because of its carroty origins, is also known as provitamin A. Even green vegetables contain betacarotene, but darker pigments, including the bioflavonoids, can overshadow the orange. There are several carotenes in addition to the beta variety, although it is predominantly beta-carotene that is able to be converted to vitamin A. This happens in the intestines of animals, so you won't find vitamin A in plants. Vitamin A can be stored in the body. For this reason there is a chance of overdoing this very fine vitamin. Unlike A, beta-carotene cannot be stored for any length of time. Taking large doses of beta-carotene will not cause any health problems. T h e only symptom of excessive use is to turn the skin a little yellow (carotenodermia) and this will fade over time. Other carotenes include the likes of lycopene found in tomatoes, which has proven to be of use in preventing prostate cancer, and lutein and capsanthin found in red capsicum and paprika. Beta-carotene, in its own right, has been shown to be a potent antioxidant. Getting to Know You 165 Conditions that might benefit from extra beta-carotene Cancer, prostate cancer and asthma; any condition which could be benefited by vitamin A. Food sources of beta-carotene Red chillies, carrots, fresh and dried apricots, sweet potatoes, parsley, spinach, pumpkin, mangoes, rockmelon and broccoli. Biotin Biotin is often included in the B-complex group. It is a sulphur-containing vitamin that can be made in sufficient quantities by the bacteria in our bowel, the microflora. Biotin is involved in the synthesis of a few amino acids, particularly those required for skin, hair and nails, which is why biotin is recognised as a beauty vitamin. Conditions that might benefit from extra biotin Baldness, skin problems (including cradle cap in babies) and dermatitis. Food sources of biotin Brewer's yeast, liver, soy, brown rice, egg yolk, peanuts, walnuts, oats, sardines and almonds. Vitamin C - ascorbic acid Have you ever wondered what you have in common with a guineapig - besides feeling like one of life's little experiments? We are unable to make our own vitamin C, a skill that dogs, cats and even chipmunks have. Vitamin C, chemically known as ascorbic acid, can be made from a glucose molecule, given the correct enzymes. It seems when enzymes were distributed, guineapigs and humans, as well as other primates, bats, insects and fish, missed out. As vitamin C is a vitamin of importance, we have to depend on dietary 166 The Commonsense Gaide to Eating We![ sources of vitamin C to fulfil our requirements. Unfortunately, this is often inadequate for our needs. Vitamin C is one of the most researched vitamins - and for good reason, as it has so many roles fundamental to our well-being. Vitamin C is one of the things you would choose to take with you on a desert island along with a good book and a movie star/model/dog of your dreams. Scurvy is the famous vitamin C deficiency disease and the most pronounced symptom of scurvy is, literally, falling apart at the seams. This is because vitamin C is needed for collagen, the material integral to muscle, blood vessels and bone. Without sufficient vitamin C, blood vessels become very fragile, leaking blood into the surrounding tissues causing massive bruising. You don't have to get to the total breakdown level of scurvy to be a victim to vitamin C deficiency. Those who bruise easily, find that wounds take a long time to heal or need to recuperate after surgery will all benefit from extra vitamin C. Vitamin C is one of the most important antioxidants in the body. It prevents free radical damage in the watery components of the body, within and outside cells. T h e fatsoluble antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin E, are responsible for protection in the non-aqueous places. Vitamin C protects the body against cigarette smoke and pollution. Smokers need an extra 50 milligrams of vitamin C for each cigarette. Vitamin C is also important for the detoxification mechanisms in the liver, so it would be helpful to take extra C if you have been exposed to any toxins, including pesticides or alcohol. Vitamin C is quite a strong antihistamine and anti-inflammatory. I can remember having a very nasty hayfever attack on a bushwalk around Jagungal (near Mount Kosciuszko) - a few grams of vitamin C completely restored my nose to sanity. Iron is better absorbed when there is vitamin C present. Getting to Know You 167 Another feature role vitamin C plays is that of stimulating and supporting the immune system. Vitamin C has been shown to increase white blood cell activity and increase resistance to bacterial, fungal and viral agents. T h e only sign of overdoing Vitamin C is diarrhoea. Conditions that might benefit from extra vitamin C Recovering from surgery and wounds, easy bruising, lots of infectious diseases (including colds and flus), stress, exposure to toxins, hayfever, asthma and allergies, cancer, high cholesterol, smoking. Food sources of vitamin C Acerola cherries, chilli, guavas, parsley, capsicum, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kiwifruit, strawberries, spinach, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, mangoes and tomatoes. T h e Australian Kakadu plum is the world's richest source of vitamin C. Chollne Choline is another vitamin that we can produce in the bowel, although only about 15 per cent of our requirements are made in this way and we need to obtain the rest from the diet or supplements. Choline is needed to form one of the major neurotransmitters (nerve messenger), acetylcholine. We would fall down in a heap if there was no acetylcholine. Choline is closely associated with another nutrient, inositol, in the formation of lecithin. Lecithin is a structural part of every cell membrane. It is also a component of the fat-transport vehicles in the bloodstream, the lipoproteins. Lecithin, because it is both water soluble and fat soluble, makes an excellent medium to help in the digestion and excretion of fats. In fact, this technique is what bile relies upon when emulsifying fats in the gastrointestinal tract. T h e 168 TAe Commonsense Guide to Eating WeZZ liver makes bile, and lecithin (or choline) is often given if there is a diminishment in bile activity. Conditions that might benefit from extra choline Gallstones, liver problems, problems digesting fat, high cholesterol and multiple sclerosis. Food sources of choline Lecithin, eggs, soybeans, liver, peanuts, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, legumes and whole grains. Vitamin D - cholecalcirferol T h e study of vitamins is comparatively new and the classification of vitamins has been slapdash at best. Vitamin D is actually a hormone masquerading as a vitamin. By the time it was found out that vitamin D has more in common with hormones than vitamins, the damage was done. Too expensive to change the stationery. T h e main function of vitamin D is to help calcium be incorporated into bone, giving bone the rock-hardness it needs. Given enough sunshine, we can make vitamin D very easily. Sunlight acts on cholesterol on the skin's surface and is transformed into cholecalciferol, aka vitamin D. Vitamin D has been dubbed the 'sunshine vitamin' for this reason. It takes only a few minutes every few days for enough vitamin D to be formed. In Australia, with its obscenely sunny climate, vitamin D deficiency is rare. T h e classic deficiency disease is rickets, epitomised by poor British kids sent down the mines not seeing sunshine for days and weeks at a time and ending up somewhat short in stature with bandy legs. Other people at risk are those who live in year-Iong dull climates, people who wear lots of clothing (some traditional women in the Middle East) and rarely go outside (some elderly people). Sunscreen inhibits vitamin D synthesis. Getting to Know You 169 Make sure you leave a bit of skin sunscreen free. Vitamin D can also be obtained in the diet. Basically, if someone else has made vitamin D, we can vicariously consume it. Vitamin D is found in fish, eggs and milk. Conditions that might benefit from extra vitamin D Osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget's disease, pregnancy, lactation and rickets. Food sources of vitamin D Cod liver oil, canned sardines, salmon, tuna, butter, liver, eggs and cheese. Vitamin E - tocopherol Vitamin E has been added to beauty creams since the 1950s, and still is. It is an important antioxidant, and can be found squeezed into cell membranes to prevent them from being damaged through oxidation. Vitamin E used to be referred to as the 'fertility' vitamin and indeed it is essential for animal reproduction and fertility. In addition, vitamin E appears to play a role as hormonal modulator, helping in all sorts of conditions where errant hormones are involved. Menopausal problems such as hot flushes, endometriosis and PMS, in particular, can be helped by vitamin E supplementation. During menopause, an uncomfortable symptom can be a dry vagina: squeeze the contents of a 500 iu vitamin E capsule into the vagina each night. Vitamin E improves oxygenation of tissues including muscles. For this reason it is part of many athlete's nutritional programs as it has shown to enhance athletic performance. Many people simply feel more energetic when taking vitamin E. It is also very good for circulatory problems, improving blood flow all over the body. Especially if the blood is a little 170 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well sluggish, vitamin E has been proven to decrease platelet aggregation, a cause of clots and a risk factor for heart disease. Many people feel the benefits of improved circulation, from cold hands and feet, to chilblains and even gangrene. Vitamin E applied topically will help the skin to heal, particularly when scars are present. You can buy creams with vitamin E added, or pierce a vitamin E capsule and apply the oil directly. First make sure the wound has healed and is dry before adding vitamin E. Aloe Vera, calendula and tea-tree oil may be helpful in this first stage when the wound is not dry- Conditions that might benefit from extra vitamin E Diabetes (sufferers often have poor circulation), wrinkles, PMS, menopause, endometriosis, scars, dry skin, cataracts, low energy, cancer and heart disease. Food sowces of vitamin E Wheatgerm oil, sunflower seeds, cold-pressed safflower oil, almonds, sesame seeds, sesame oil, olive oil and raw peanuts. Inositol Inositol can be produced in the liver as well as being available in food. Inositol acts together with choline as part of the structure of cell membranes. Interestingly, inositol is also important in stimulating peristalsis, the muscular wave-like movement that occurs down the length of the bowel. Conditions that might benefit from extra inositol Constipation, skin disorders including eczema, high cholesterol, fatty liver and multiple sclerosis. Food sources of inositol Lecithin, whole grains, legumes, brewer's yeast and molasses. Gening to Know Yozl 171 Vitamin K - phylloquinone Had vitamin K been born a girl, her name would have been Gertrude Henrietta or something requiring a deed poll. As it is, vitamin Ks proper name is phylloquinone. T h e 'K' bit originated from the Nobel prize-winning Danish scientist, Henrik Dam, who started the whole thing by calling it koagulationvitamin. Let's stick to simple vitamin K. Vitamin K is needed to make prothrombin, a substance that helps the blood to clot. If the blood is unable to clot, we would bleed to death. Although the disease haemophilia is not due to a vitamin K deficiency, the deadly results are the same. Newborns are routinely given an injection of vitamin K to ensure this clotting factor is present. Although it is important that our blood can form clots, the down side is excess clotting, the cause of some strokes, heart attacks and other serious conditions. As our very own gut bacteria can produce vitamin K and it is available in food, particularly vegetables, vitamin K is rarely recommended in supplement form because of the risk of clotting. Conditions that might benefit from extra vitamin K (not necessariZy in supplementf o m ) Prolonged menstruation, post-partum haemorrhage, newborn haemorrhagic disease, bruising and recurrent nosebleeds. Food sources of vitamin K Broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, spinach and asparagus. PABA Para-aminobenzoic acid, PABA for short, is not actually a vitamin in its own right, but is a component of folic acid. By itself, PABA can be used as food for bowel bacteria. A few years ago PABA had a brief stint as a sunscreen 172 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well agent. However, it proved to be protective against UV-A not UV-B sunlight, which is the more damaging of the two. Conditions that might benefit from ext9.a PABA PABA is rarely needed if sufficient folic acid is being consumed. Food sozcrces of PABA Liver, yeast, whole wheat, molasses, cabbage, sunflower seeds, spinach and eggs. Bioflavonoids Until recently, bioflavonoids were bundled together and collectively known as vitamin P, put on the back shelf and ignored. However, amazing new information about the therapeutic value of these formerly neglected substances have come to light. Ain't science grand? Four thousand different types of bioflavonoids have been isolated, although only 10 or 12 have been extensively examined. Bioflavonoids (also known as simply flavonoids) are red, blue and yellow coloured pigments of plants. T h e reddish rust colouring in our rivers comes from the tannins released from fallen gum leaves. Tannins are bioflavonoids. T h e intense blue of blueberries and cornflowers comes from anthocyanidin, another bioflavonoid. Bioflavonoids not only provide us with colour, they also have a potent effect on our physiology. T h e following are the names of a few bioflavonoids and where they can be found in nature: Gtfus fmNfs Buckwheat G e ~ i n gto Know Yo@ Catechin Cournarin Quercetin Anthocyanidins Tannins Genestein 173 Green tea, grapeseeds Soybeans, sprouts Citrus peel, onions Blueberries, cherries, red grapes Wme,tea Soybeans Although each bioflavonoid has it own speciality, they all have some things in common. For instance, they are excellent antioxidants. Some outdo the already inspiring vitamins E and C, exceeding their antioxidant potency by up to 50 times. Antioxidants are useful in the fight against cancer, heart disease and in supporting the immune system. Bioflavonoids are believed to explain the reason behind the 'French Paradox', the discrepancy in France where they have a high-fat, high-alcohol diet and very low incidence of heart disease; hence the 'paradox'. It is thought to be the bioflavonoids found in red wine - proanthocyanidins - which provide protection against heart disease. Other bioflavonoids, such as quercetin and catechin found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, probably play a supporting role in this paradox. As mentioned previously, in the early days, bioflavonoids were called vitamin P. T h e P referred to blood vessel permeability. T h e bioflavonoids (rutin and quercetin in particular) are very good at reducing the permeability of blood vessel walls and strengthening them. Conditions where this is useful include varicose veins, easy bruising, haemorrhoids and after injury or surgery. T h e bioflavonoids are also anti-inflammatory, which makes them useful for after-injury support, arthritis, as well as any illness of an allergic nature, including asthma, hayfever and sinusitis. 174 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Conditions that might benefit from extra bioflavonoids Arthritis, cancer, injury, post-surgery, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, bruising, cataracts, asthma, hayfever, sinusitis, eczema and heart disease. Food sources of bioflavonoids Onions, apples, red wine, tea, green tea, blackberries, red grapes, cherries, blueberries, capsicum, asparagus, pears, buckwheat and citrus fruits. The minerals Boron Boron must be a borin' mineral (sorry), because not much research has been done on its role in the body. Only a speck of boron is needed to increase calcium uptake into bone. For this reason, it has been included in some supplements for women at risk of osteoporosis. There is some evidence that boron can help with arthritis. Conditions that might benefit from extra boron Arthritis and osteoporosis. Foodsowces of boron Wine, prunes, almonds, raisins, linseeds, parsley, dates, rosehips, green leafy vegetables, soy and milk. CaIcfum Calcium is the pop-star of the mineral world, grabbing all the attention in the print and film media. However, there is no smoke without fire and calcium has claims to importance. Calcium is the most abundant mineral of the body, weighing in at about 2 per cent of body weight. Most of it is found Getting to Know You 175 in bones and teeth but it is also necessary for other things, including the smooth workings of muscles and nerves. It helps to release muscle spasms and frazzled nerves. One of the most easily absorbed forms of calcium is osteoapatite, derived from bone (mostly other animals'). Unfortunately, lead is also stored in bone and you don't want to be eating any extra lead if you can avoid it. If you can obtain the bones of some happy animal raised far away from roads and pollution, you may eat their bones (makes you want to be a vegetarian doesn't it?). Apart from munching on a femur, a good way to release the calcium from bones is to make a stew or soup using meat and bones, such as lamb shank casserole or old-fashioned chicken soup. Times of greatest needs for calcium are times of greatest growth: during pregnancy, lactation, childhood and teenagerhood around the time they sprout. A word about milk. Milk and milk products are a reliable source of calcium, there is no doubt about that. However, for a variety of reasons, some people's digestive systems do not tolerate milk well (see page 114) and these people need to take special notice of non-dairy, calcium-rich foods (see list on page 120) or take a supplement. If you are slightly intolerant to milk, you may find small amounts of yoghurt will be suitable, or perhaps goat's or sheep's milk products. Fcactors decreasing calcium absorpion Too much phosphorus decreases the amount of calcium we are able to absorb. Phosphorus is found in red meat and carbonated soft drinks (including fizzy mineral water). Alcohol, coffee and tea also decrease calcium in the body. Cortisone drugs deplete the body's stores of calcium also. Most people on long-term cortisone (for arthritis, pain and so on) will be on calcium supplements. 176 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Conditions that migk benefit from extra calcium Osteoporosis, pregnancy, muscle spasms, high blood pressure, anxiety (especially together with insomnia), people on cortisone drugs and painful periods. Peri- and post-menopause is a time when extra calcium may be required. Oestrogen helps keep calcium in the bones. Menopause means a depletion of oestrogen production, so this is a time you need to keep your eye on bone density, as osteoporosis is much more likely at this time. It may be worthwhile to have a bone density check. Food sources of calcium Cheese, milk, bone meal, carob, kelp, oats, parsley, broccoli, whole grains, linseeds (ground), sesame seeds, almonds, soy, sardines and salmon with bone and figs. Chromium Chromium is another one of the minerals that we need in tiny amounts but if we don't have enough it makes life awkward, in fact, a non-event. Chromium stars in the area of glucose processing - the most valuable energy molecule we know. In order for glucose to enter cells where it can be converted into energy, the hormone insulin is needed. Perched on the cell membrane is a little molecule called Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF), which helps insulin push glucose into the cell. G T F is a molecule made up of some B vitamins, amino acids and chromium. Conditions that might benefit from extra chromizcm Diabetes (but if you rely on insulin, check with your doctor first as the chromium may decrease your insulin requirements), sugar cravings and atherosclerosis. Getting to Know You 177 Food sources of chromium Chromium is good stuff, but don't start munching on your chrome bumper bar yet. There are different forms of chromium and the type in metal plating, cement, rubber, pollution and photographics is not the type to ingest. Food that contains the 'good' chromium includes brewer's yeast, torula yeast, liver, whole grains and pepper. Copper When talking mineral supplements, copper doesn't usually spring to mind. However, as time passes research keeps coming up with interesting information about its role. For instance, copper is required in the formation of haemoglobin, the iron-containing, oxygen-carrying molecule. In fact, copper assists iron absorption. Copper also helps in the assimilation of calcium into bone, so it is quite a helpful adjunct to the treatment of osteoporosis. Remember when copper bracelets were a hip fashion statement? As a remedy for arthritis, absorbing the copper from jewellery via the skin might have some basis - copper is required for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase, to help stop free radical damage and is also necessary for collagen synthesis. It is also a component of the pigment melanin, necessary for skin and hair colour. Apparently copper also dictates hair curliness, which conflicts with the historic notion of sandwich crusts causing curls. Conditions that might benefit from extra copper T h e Michael Jackson disease, vitiligo; rheumatoid and osteoarthritis; and anaemia. Food sources of copper Oysters, brazil nuts, soy, lecithin, almonds, dry split peas, mushrooms, chocolate and cocoa. 178 Tde Commonsense Guide to Eating WeiZ Fluorine Fluorine is one hot potato of a mineral. Over the years there have been many tears and fisticuffs about the question of fluoridating community water supplies. (A note on definitions: fluorine is the codger featured in the periodic table as a yellow gas travelling under the moniker 'F', fluoride is the biologically active form of fluorine.) Fluoride plays a role in helping keep calcium in place in bones and teeth. In bones, it is found in the form of calcium fluoride, not in the form sodium fluoride, which is added to our water. Fluoride appears to prevent dental cavities in growing teeth. It has most effect topically; that is, in direct contact with teeth or in young children when the teeth have not yet erupted. A mottling or discolouration of teeth, called dental fluorosis, is common among young peopIe growing up with fluoridated water. There is little evidence that drinking fluoridated water assists adult teeth. Of more concern is the theory that is steadily gaining strength that an excess of fluoride (particularly sodium fluoride) over a period of time can lead to arthritis-like symptoms and even osteoporosis. Adding sodium fluoride to the drinking water continues in Australia, New Zealand and parts of America although it has been banned in Japan, Scandinavia and most of Europe. Conditions that migAt benefit from extra fluoride As fluoride is added to our water supply and as a consequence is also in processed foods that use water, generally no-one needs extra fluoride. However, the supplement calcium fluoride, which is given in tiny doses (Calc fluor) may help in conditions showing a weakness of connective tissues such as varicose veins and haemorrhoids. Getting to Know You 179 Foods containing fluoride Water, tea, toothpaste, fish and processed drinks and foods that contain water. Iron Everyone knows about iron, but no-one seems to get enough of the stuff. Over 40 per cent of Australian women simply do not eat enough iron for their needs. Signs you are deficient in iron include looking pale, feeling weak and dizzy, cold hands and feet, a lack of energy, irritability and cravings for weird things like dirt and ice (called pica). Of course, not everyone who is tired is iron deficient, known as anaemic. Before you hoe into an iron supplement ask your doctor if she thinks you need an iron test, which is a simple blood test. One of the reasons iron is so important is that it is part of a compound called haemoglobin, which is found in all red blood cells; in fact, it is responsible for the red colour of red blood cells. Haemoglobin is partly protein, partly iron and it is this molecule that is capable of holding onto oxygen, the very oxygen necessary for our survival. With less iron there is less haemoglobin; with less haemoglobin there is less oxygen available to all the cells of the body, including the brain. No wonder you feel tired! T h e brain cannot function properly, nor can muscles. You feel physically and mentally drained. Although iron is so vital, we don't want too much of the stuff on board, as it can oxidise - literally rust - and cause free radical damage to cells. Our body accommodates this by being very thrifty with iron. As the iron-containing red blood cells die (every 120 days) the iron is recycled. We also have a vat of iron stored for an anaemic day, this is called haemosiderin. Although red blood cells need iron for haemoglobin, there are other nutrients necessary for the formation of haemoglobin and the red blood cell itself, These include B9, B12, B5, B6 and B13 (orotic acid). If there is a deficiency of one 180 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well of these nutrients, this will also cause anaemia. As there is such a thing as too much iron, it is doubly important that you get tested for iron deficiency first, as your symptoms could well be due to a deficiency of these vitamins, particularly B9 and B12. Iron is one of the most difficult minerals to absorb. We absorb as little as 10 per cent of the iron we eat depending on our needs, the type of iron and the state of our digestive system. T h e most easily absorbed iron is known as 'haem iron', which comes from animals. Not surprisingly, we are better able to absorb a molecule that is similar to our homemade haem. Haem iron is higher in red meat such as beef and lamb and lower in fish and poultry. There is very little iron in milk, cheese and eggs. Vegetables such as spinach, parsley and kelp contain heaps of iron, but unfortunately the iron is in the less absorbable non-haem form. For peak iron absorption our digestive tract needs to be in tip-top form. Iron in the non-haem form (vegetables, grains and so on) is better absorbed if there is some acid around. Stomach acid will do nicely, however, many people have low stomach acid levels. Other kinds of acid, particularly ascorbic acid, aka vitamin C, will boost iron absorption. So adding a few drops of lemon juice to your salad dressing, or drinking a glass of orange juice with your morning cereal has some merit. A few things in the diet interfere with iron absorption, especially tea and coffee - don't drink them while you are eating iron-rich foods. Another item which inhibits the optimum absorption or iron are phytates. Phytates are substances found in high-fibre foods, including grains and legumes (see page 32). Phytates are only a problem if you are a raw-fibre freak, adding cups of bran to your diet. Phytates are destroyed by heat, so cooked grains (like bread and porridge) and beans are fine. Getting to Know You 181 Iron szcpplements From time to time some people need to take an iron supplement. As iron is such a tricky customer due to its poor absorption, it is important to take a supplement that is well absorbed but causes no problems. T h e most commonly prescribed iron supplement is iron sulphate. This is absorbed very well indeed, but unfortunately side-effects such as constipation, nausea and stomach cramps are very common. A happy compromise is iron attached to protein, called iron aminoate. This is fairly similar in structure to haem iron, the one favoured by the body. Conditions that might benefit from extra iron Heavy periods, pregnancy, endurance athletics (particularly joggers where the constant jarring destroys red blood cells), bowel disorders (malabsorption or ulceration where the iron is either not absorbed at all or lost in the stool), excessive bleeding. Food sources of iron Kelp, red meat, molasses, liver, wheatgerm, wheat bran, parsley, oysters, sunflower seeds, dried prunes and spinach. Iodine Iodine is part of the thyroid hormone thyroxine. T h e thyroid is the gland located at the base of the neck; it regulates our metabolic rate. If it is over- or under-functioning, the thyroid gland can swell up into a goitre. T h e thyroid hormones regulate how much energy the body makes, or doesn't make; and maintains female and male fertility and libido among other things. Signs of being low in iodine include sluggishness, weight gain, constipation, loss of libido, irregular menstruation, goitre, loss of hair and brittle nails. 182 The Comonsense Guide to Eating Well There are certain geographical areas where the soil is deficient in iodine, including the Himalayas and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, glamorously called 'goitre belts' as more people develop goitres who live in these areas. You don't see too much of this nowadays, as most salt has iodine added, that is, 'iodised salt'. Iodine protects against radiation toxicity. After Chernobyl, the shops were bought out of seaweed, a rich source of iodine. Conditions that might benefit from extra iodine Overweight, low metabolism, radiotherapy treatment. People with the symptoms of low thyroid function, as outlined above, may benefit from eating foods rich in iodine, particularly a seaweed supplement. Do not take iodine as an extra supplement unless prescribed by your physician as you could cause an imbalance in thyroid function. Food sources of iodine . Iodised salt, kelp, seaweed, clams, oysters and fish. Potassium Potassium is necessary for regulation of our pH or acid balance and for the proper functioning of nerves and muscles. Potassium and sodium have an intense relationship: mostly they act opposite one another in the body. Too much sodium causes too little potassium, rarely is it the other way around. Potassium is particularly helpful for the heart, where there are palpitations, and even high blood pressure. Conditions that might benefit from extra potmsium Weak heart, weak muscles, nervous disposition and palpitations. People taking certain drugs, including diuretics, often need to be on extra potassium. Gemkg to Know You 183 Food sources of potassium Avocados, bananas, asparagus, tomatoes, kelp, molasses, cocoa powder, soybeans, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, prunes, lentils, almonds and parsley. Magnesium Magnesium has a hectic work and social schedule. Responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions in the body, magnesium also finds the time to assist other vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins C and E, the 3 complex as well as calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium. In practice, magnesium is invaluable in helping to relieve stiff muscles and muscle cramps. Magnesium helps relax all muscles including skeletal muscles, the heart muscle and the bowel wall and blood vessels, which are both smooth muscle. Excellent for problems ranging from painful period cramps, stiff neck and back, to high blood pressure and even constipation. Magnesium is vital in the production of energy. It is the central molecule in chlorophyll, the compound in plants that traps the energy from sunlight. Conditions t/tat mig4t benefit from extra magnesium High blood pressure, menstrual cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, muscle weakness, leg cramps, kidney stones, tremors. Food sources of magnesium Whole grains, green vegetables, soybeans, seafood, figs, corn, apples, peaches and apricots. Manganese There is only about 20 milligrams (the size of a small pill) worth of manganese in the average 70 kilogram person. Nevertheless, manganese is a vital trace mineral. It forms part of 184 The Commonsense G d e to Eating Well an antioxidant complex, as well as playing a very important role in the formation of cartilage. For both these reasons, manganese is particularly useful as an adjunct in the treatment of arthritis. Tinnitus is a ringing sound in the ears that sufferers find maddening. Even more maddening is that no-one seems to know the cause, or a cure. Manganese is necessary for the formation of tiny little calcium rocks called otiliths, which help us with our hearing and sense of balance. Some people have found that taking a supplement containing manganese has helped improve their tinnitus. Just an idea. Manganese also plays a part in helping to stabilise glucose levels in the bloodstream, hence its use in diabetes, hypoglycaemia and sugar cravings. Conditions that might benefit from extra manganese Diabetes, sugar craving, hypoglycaemia, arthritis and tinnitus. Food sources of manganese Tea, rice bran, wheat bran, pecans, brazil nuts, almonds, oats, rye, barley, alfalfa, cloves and ginger. Molybdenum Not much is known or spoken about molybdenum, probably due to its unpronounceability. It appears as a coenzyme for several antioxidant enzymes. It is likely that more information on the importance of molybdenum will come to light in the near future. Rather interestingly, it seems to decrease a sensitivity to sulphates. Some people are intolerant of sulphur compounds, which are often found as food additives in wine, beer and dried fruit. Conditions that might benefit from extra molybdenum Cancer and ageing. Getting to Know You 185 Food sources of molybdenum Lentils, liver, cauliflower, brewer's yeast, spinach, garlic, oats and fish. Sodlum Sodium has been branded as the bad guy of the mineral world - which is kind of strange considering if we don't have sodium we die. We normally associate sodium with table salt, which is actually a combination of sodium and chloride. For the purists, a salt is a compound that can form a crystal made out of an acid and a base, sodium chloride being one example. Salt was once expensive, whereas now it as cheap as chips. T h e word 'salary' is derived from salt and was the payment made by the ancient Romans to their soldiers. T h e proverbs 'salt of the earth' and 'not worth your salt' reveal salt's abiding value. T h e primal slimists believe we originated in the sea and our body chemistry reflects these beginnings. This could explain why the number of people with a salty tooth equals those with a sweet tooth. T h e kidney preferentially holds on to sodium, allowing other minerals to be excreted in sodium's stead. Sodium keeps fluid in the body, between the cells and swimming in blood vessels. Along with potassium, it maintains our pH or acid base balance as well as giving permission for certain substances to enter and leave cells. T h e primary digestive fluid of the stomach - hydrochloric acid - requires sodium. T h e main reason sodium has been vilified has been the association between high blood pressure and sodium. High blood pressure is one of the risk factors for a heart attack. As sodium is preferentially retained by the kidneys, more water is retained in the body, thereby increasing blood volume and hence blood pressure. However, a sizeable study of 10 000 186 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well people by the British Medical Journal revealed that not everybody responds in this way. There is even some talk of the chloride content of salt being to blame. It is pretty rare to need extra salt, and we should avoid processed, salted foods. Conditions that might benefit from extra sodium Diarrhoea and vomiting, which can leave the body depleted of many minerals, especially sodium; lots and lots of sweating, although it is better to replace with several salts, not just sodium; severe and prolonged stress can cause the adrenal glands, which live on top of the kidneys, to cause the kidneys to lose excess salt. Listen to your body if you have salt cravings during periods of stress. Food sources of sodium Salt, soy sauce, processed meats, yellow cheese, breakfast cereals, vegemite, marmite, olives and celery. Few people need to add table salt to their food. There are some 'natural health salts' available that contain a variety of other minerals, including some of the more unusual trace elements. If your diet is mainly free of processed foods, adding some of this sea salt is okay. Nickel In general we are better advised to avoid nickel than to seek it out. Nickel, however, tends to seek us out as it is a common by-product of many industrial processes, car exhaust, heating fuel and cigarettes. Some people are overly sensitive to nickel, which is present in jewellery. T h e most common reaction is an eczema-like rash. Enough said about the nasty side of nickel, we do in fact need nickel in small amounts. It appears to be important for our nuclear material, DNA and RNA, as well as featuring in several enzymes. Getting to Know You 187 Conditions that might bendit from extra nickel It is highly unlikely that people would require nickel supplements; we tend to get more than we require due to the nickel in our polluted environment. High levels of nickel may be associated with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease, headache, nausea and vomiting. One way of detecting excess nickel is by means of hair analysis, which is a specialised method of detecting mineral toxicity. Food sources of nickel Soybeans, beans, grains, walnuts and hazelnuts. Other sources include stainless steel cookware, auto exhaust, coal and oil burners, margarine and detergent. Sulphur Sulphur (also spelt sulfur) who signs off as 'S' is responsible for the pungent smell of eggs, burnt hair (if you have ever singed your eyebrows while barbecueing a snag you'll recognise the. smell), the stench you'd expect around hellfire and brimstone (the archaic name for sulphur) and the air around the hot volcanic mudsprings of Rotorua. Maybe 'S' stands for 'smelly'. Smell aside, sulphur is reputed to be the beauty mineral, giving shine to hair and strength to nails. Horses that are fed sulphur-rich molasses have magnificent glossy coats. Sulphur sneaks into our diet bound to other items. It is an important element in three amino acids: methionine, cysteine and taurine. Protein foods high in these sulphur-containing amino acids include eggs, nuts and beans. All three amino acids are used in the detoxifying systems of the body, helping to remove and inactivate free radicals and other toxins. Garlic is well known as a detoxifier, in part due to its high sulphur content. T h e detoxifying compounds need sulphur to work. Sulphur itself is antibacterial and antifungal, which led to 188 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well its use in revolutionising medicine as part of the early sulphonamide antibiotics in the 1930s. These antibiotics have now been superseded as the generations of bacteria have become more and more resistant to medication. Sulphur helps form a type of tissue called glyco-proteins. These include cartilage, tendons and ligaments - the strong, stringy, spongy tissue that protects and holds together joints. It is often this tissue that becomes damaged in arthritis. T h e down side of sulphur is that some people can be sensitive to it, particularly when it is in the form of sulphite or sulphur dioxide. Asthma-like reactions are most common in those who are sensitive, as there are sulphite sensitive receptors in the mouth that can cause spasm of the bronchial tubes. Skin rashes are another common side-effect. If you fall in this group, foods to beware of include dried apricots (and all sulphur-dried fruits), beer, champagne, wine, pickled onions and cordials. T h e additive code numbers to watch for are 220, 221, 222, 223 and 224. T h e sulphur-containing antibiotics (mentioned previously) may also cause a reaction in the sensitive individual. Conditions that might benefit from extra su&hur Liver problems, including hepatitis; an overload of chemicals or toxins (the liver needing help to detoxify); limp, lacklustre hair; and arthritis sufferers. Food sources of su&hur Meat, eggs, onions, garlic, cabbage, brussels sprouts, beans, sesame seeds, brazil nuts and molasses. Selenium Selenium is intimately involved with an antioxidant called glutathione peroxidase. Without selenium, this antioxidant is rendered powerless. Some researchers believe selenium is a Getting to Know You 189 key nutrient in preventing cancer, atherosclerosis and poor immune function. Selenium is also effective as an adjunct to the treatment of dandruff and psoriasis: it is available to use topically in some shampoo formulations. Similar to iodine, selenium is protective against the damage of radiation. Although selenium is freely available as a supplement in other countries, at this point in time you will need a prescription to obtain selenium in Australia. Conditions that might benefit from extra selenium Poor immune response; cancer; dandruff; psoriasis; heart disease; and radiotherapy treatment. Food sources of selenium Arabian dates, herring, whitebait, brazil nuts, eggs and brewer's yeast. Unfortunately, Australian soils are very low in selenium so even though foods such as garlic and grains should be rich in selenium, if the soil can't provide it, selenium won't be present in the food. Vanadturn Vanadium has a Space Age ring to it. You can imagine Judy Jetson asking her hubby for a vanadium ring for her birthday. It may be that the full personality of vanadium will be revealed on space station Mir in the year 1299, because at the present time we don't know squat (not a sausage) about the therapeutic possibilities of this mineral. There are, however, a few bits and pieces that are known about vanadium. It seems to have a role in revving up the insulin receptors on cell membranes. This would have good implications for diabetes. Vanadium has a role in bone and tooth development as well. I90 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Conditions that might benefit from extra vanadizcm Diabetes, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis. Food sources of vanadium Buckwheat, parsley, soybeans, safflower oil and sunflower seeds. Zinc Zinc is another tricky mineral to absorb. As it is also in short supply in Australian soils, it comes as no surprise that around 55 per cent of men and 80 per cent of women are zinc deficient. Zinc, the middle-man mineral Unlike calcium, which forms part of our skeletal structure and iron, which is a necessary component of red blood cells, zinc is a middle-man mineral. Zinc is necessary for the smooth functioning of over 200 enzymes. Enzymes are things that speed up reactions without being used up themselves in the reaction. Sometimes they need coenzymes such as zinc in order to operate. Without zinc, no enzyme. Without enzyme, no reaction. For instance, the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase needs zinc in order to start the conversion of alcohol so that it can be eliminated from the body. Without enough zinc, this enzyme will not function effectively, thereby allowing alcohol to keep circulating and continue damaging the body. Although we require only tiny amounts of zinc, there is no underestimating the importance of this nutrient. Zinc is required for tastebuds and olfactory (smell) receptors. In fact, one of the deficiency signs of zinc is a decreased sense of smell, taste and, consequently, appetite. Another deficiency sign is white spots on the fingernails. Zinc is needed by the immune system, especially in the manufacture of T-cells. Getting to Know You 191 Without zinc, vitamin A is poorly utilised, having repercussions for our eyesight and skin. Zinc is important for a healthy pregnancy. Zinc is also needed by the hormonal system, especially the male hormones. Men have a special need for zinc as 2 to 5 milligrams of zinc is lost in each ejaculation. Zinc is needed for healthy sperm. As zinc depends on the support of vitamin B6 and magnesium, you will often find supplements featuring this nutrient triumvirate. Conditions that might benefit from extra zinc Skin problems such as acne, eczema or psoriasis (in combination with vitamin A); low libido, infertility and impotence; loss of smell, taste and appetite; poor immune response, lots of colds, shingles, sore throat and mouth ulcers (taken in combination with vitamin C). Food sources of zinc Fresh oysters, crab, ginger root, meat, egg yolk, pecan and brazil nuts. NUTS AND BOLTS Good Diet On the whole, my patients have pretty good diets. Most of what I do is a bit of tidying up and reminding them of what they already know. Removing a little fat here, adding a little fibre and protein there. Suggesting a piece of fruit may improve things and perhaps a glass or two less of alcohol. All gentle prods in the right direction. But just what is the right direction? This chapter gives some broad guidelines that will help you formulate an eating plan to improve your health. A healthy eating plan is one you enjoy, is sensible, and has enough treats to keep you happy. Happiness cannot be overrated when it comes to health. If you have trouble formulating your own diet, ask for help from a naturopath or dietician, and tell them what you want. Negotiate - there is no point walking out of an appointment with a useless piece of paper telling you to do things you know you don't want to do. And paying good money for the privilege. People choose food for a variety of conscious and subconscious reasons: cultural identity, family preferences, 196 Tde Commonsense Gzride to Eating Well advertising, eating disorders, poverty and politics. Information is power - the more you know about food, the better chance you'have of choosing a diet that suits you and is healthy too. The following guidelines are cornerstones on which to base your eating plan. Before looking at features that make up a good diet, let's look at some of the problems of the typical Aussie diet. The Australian diet is one of the fattiest in the world, although we are heading in the right downward direction. Too much dietary fat is related to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, gallstones and certain cancers. Obvious culprits are sausages, deli meat and fried food but also watch those goodies misnamed as 'health foods', such as muffins, toasted muesli, carob and tofu ice-cream. The average Australian consumes 230 teaspoons of sugar weekly. Very little is added by the teaspoonful; sugar is found in ice-cream, biscuits, sauce, even pizzas. Health problems associated with excess sugar include atherosclerosis, diabetes mellttus, child behavioural problems, gallstones, colo-rectal cancer, hypertension, CHD, obesity, Crohn's disease, kidney stones and holes in the teeth. Too much salt. Australians on average tend to consume 10 to 20 times the recommended amount of 920 to 2300 milligrams per day. Processed food is the major culprit here. The average Aussie adult consumes a yearly average of 500 middies of beer, 185 glasses of wine and 115 nips of spirits. Considering many folk don't drink, some people are drinking over the recommended one to two drinks dally. Excess alcohol contributes to heart Good Diet 197 disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, pancreatitis, h e r damage and brain damage. We eat about 15 grams of fibre daily, half the recommended intake of 30 grams. Diseases associated with insufficient fibre include heart disease, obesity, diabetes, constipation and cancer. I Cornerstones to good nutrition Nutrient density Time is precious, don't waste it. T h e same can be said for food. Make each mouthful count; as full of nutrition as possible. I don't mean calorie-rich food but food that crams in as many micronutrients as possible. For example, take a sandwich. Sandwich (1) a Vegemite sandwich with margarine on white bread. Sandwich (2) a tuna sandwich with sprouts, beetroot and a scrape of avocado on wholemeal. Both are sandwiches, but one is a nutritional waste of time. Farnilirdty breeds contempt Our nomadic hunter-gatherer forebears ate a greater variety of foods than we do today. Mainly because they moved from region to region. Nowadays, we get very stuck in our ways: if it's Tuesday it's chops, potatoes and peas; if it's Saturday it must be Thai take-away. Eating new foods is scary. Learn from a friend whose family comes from a different ethnic background, or when you go out for dinner, choose a cuisine you are not familiar with. Be adventurous. A few dishes might be duds, but the chances are you will enhance your repetoire of food: dhal (lentil curry) from India, hommos from Lebanon, tofu from China. Another way of ensuring variety in your diet is to choose foods of different colours, particularly the fruits and 198 The C~ommonsenseGuide to Eating WeiZ vegetables. Eat vegetables and fruits that are yellow, green, white and red. Grains are another culinary rut in which we tend to fall. Wheat, in particular, is difficult to avoid. Look to other grains, including rye, millet, corn, barley and oats. Try different milk products, including cow, sheep, goat, soy, almond and rice. Along the same lines, try to include foods that have a variety of tastes: salty, sweet, bitter and sour. Reguldty is worthy of regard Breakfast literally means to break your overnight fast. Unless you raid the fridge at 2 am, the likelihood is that your body goes without nourishment from after dinner, say 7.30 pm until breakfast the following morning, say 7.30 am. This is a 12-hour gap when the body is not receiving nutrients. T h e body can cope with this overnight fast, but any longer and trouble starts. Many people feel too rushed in the morning to think about preparing breakfast, let alone eating it. Maybe they grab a bite to eat when they arrive at work, or after dropping the kids off at school. Some people miss breakfast altogether, not eating until 11 or 12 noon or sometimes 3 pm. A 19-hour fast! Not only are your blood sugar levels going to be down to blazes, your metabolic rate will resemble that of a slug's. Treat your body like a good friend - give it nourishment regularly. Don't abuse the friendship by missing meals. Eat a good meal at least three times a day. Even more if you have a tendency for your sugar levels to drop, making you feel tired and tetchy between meals. Fresh is best Fresh food is the go, rather than processed, frozen or preprepared. Of course, it depends a lot on your lifestyle. A good meal made at the weekend when you have the time and Good Diet 199 frozen for those busy weeknights, is a lot better than a takeaway meal, or a bag of chips. When practical, eat your food in season. In the middle of winter, choose oranges and crisp apples rather than canned mangoes or imported tropical fruit. Eating food grown from the same environment, or as close as possible, is desirable, not only to be sure of freshness but also from the more philosophical stance of being connected to our environment, cementing a sense of belonging. Whole foods Choose the whole food rather than a processed version. For instance, eat the whole fruit rather than drinking the juice; go for wholegrain flour products rather than white. You will be assured of an assortment of nutrients, including fibre, vitamins and minerals normally thrown away in the processing of foods. Digestion If your digestion is poor, the best nutrition will come to nought. Some points to remember: chew each mouthful well; avoid overeating, particularly at night before going to bed; and don't drink more than 500 millilitres of fluid with your meal, because you will dilute digestive juices. It is fine to drink more than 30 minutes before a meal or a couple of hours after, when your meal has departed the stomach. Minimlse '111th' foods '111th foods' is a phrase coined by Australian doctor Ian Brighthope, which is a perfect description of the foods that can be detrimental to our health. These include coffee (including decaf), alcohol, cigarettes, artificial sweeteners, chewing gum, deli meats, carbonated soft drinks, cooking oils, 200 The Commonsense Ggide to Eating Well fried foods, salt and sugar. Minimise does not mean avoid, but take it easy with these illth foods. The following is a chart detailing the ins and outs of a nutritionally complete eating plan for an average adult, with total calories averaging 2300 per day. ESSENTIALS AMOUNT FAT CARBOHYDRATE PROTEIN FIBRE 30% OF DAILY INTAKE 65-70% OF DAILY INTAKE 20% OF DAILY INTAKE 30 g PER DAY FOODS DAILY REQUIREMENTS FAT 4 SERVINGS 1 serving = 1 tsp butter, oil (cold pressed preferred), eg. olive oil = 10 g nuts, 2 tspn nut butter (not peanut) = 114 medium avocado MEAT & MEAT ALTERNATIVES 2-3 SERVINGS 1 serving = 100 g lean meat, chicken (no skin), fish (including canned fish in brine or water) = 1 cup cooked legumes (peas, beans) = 1 egg Note: Fish 4 x week. Vegetarian meal 2 x week. Good Diet FOODS DAILY REQUIREMENTS MILK & ALTERNATIVES 1 serving 201 2-3 SERVINGS 250 mls cow, goat, soy milk (low fat) 200 g plain yoghurt (low fat) = 200 g cottage cheese, tofu = 25 g, 2 slices hard cheese = 1 scoop ice-cream (not recommended daily) Note: If cow's milk (casein) intolerant, alternatives include goat, sheep, soy. Often a little yoghurt is tolerated and ricotta cheese (made on whey protein not casein). If lactose intolerant, choose lactose-free milks, lactase tablets. = = BREADS & CEREALS 4-5 SERVINGS 1 serving = 309 = 1 slice bread (wholemeal) = 1 bread roll (wholemeal) = 3 crispbreads = 4 rice cakes = % cup cooked rice (brown) = % CUP cooked pasta (wholemeal) = 3/4 CUP cooked wholegrain, eg oats Note: Grains should be varied, eg. oats, barley, millet, buckwheat, rye. Less emphasis on wheat. If vegetarian combine grains and legumes for complete protein combination. 202 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well FOODS DAILY REQUIREMENTS FRUIT 2-3 SERVINGS 1 serving = 1 medium piece of fruit = 2 half-dried apricots, 4 dates = 1 tablespoon dried fruit = ?4CUP cooked fruit = ?4CUP fruit juice Note: Fruit to be mostly raw. 1 piece to be citrus. Choose a variety of coloured fruits: yellow, orange, red. VEGETABLES 5 SERVINGS MINIMUM 1 serving = 1 potato = ?4 CUP vegetables. Note: Include flowering tops, leaves, as well as root vegetables. ADDITIONS AND OPTIONS 2 litres filtered water daily Options: 1 to 2 glasses wine (bottle wine) maximum 5 serves/week (1 or more alcohol-free days per week) 1 to 2 coffee or tea daily Herbal teas, dandelion coffee, etc. T h e following is an example of how to put this diet together. On rising Juice of half lemon in hot water (honey optional) or Teaspoon apple cider vinegar and honey in hot water (in winter add a slice of fresh ginger to the drink as this is warming and aids circulation) or Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice or Miso soup Good Diet 203 Breakfast Fresh seasonal fruit plus Non-sweetened yoghurt with acidophilus and bifidus and Non-sweetened, preferably homemade raw muesli with oats, seeds, nuts, fresh fruit or Cooked cereal (for example, porridge, brown rice, polenta); served with banana or stewed fruit, grated apple, yoghurt or Smoothie with soy, yoghurt, fruit, nuts or Poached or boiled egg and toast or Sardines, baked beans, ricotta, almond paste and toast (variety of grains) or Miso soup and brown rice LuncRIDinner Large salad with eggs, lentils, beans, tofu, fish, chicken, lean meat, cheese, hommos or Sandwich or pasta with some protein (for example, nut butter, tuna and salad) Rice cakes, ryvita, bread etc. Vegetable and bean soup plus rice or Stir-fry vegies and tofu, chicken, beef, fish Snacks Raw vegetable sticks and hommos, tahini, soft cheese or Dried fruit and raw nuts or Fruit and yoghurt or cheese (ricotta or cottage) or Rice biscuit, wholemeal bread or Vitaweat with hommos, ricotta, tuna, egg or Half a sandwich Btwerages Herb teas Dandelion coffee 204 The Commonsense Guide to Eating We// Green tea Tea or coffee in moderation Fresh fruit or vegetable juice Water Miso soup Tailor-made Allergy It seems more and more people are coming down with food allergies. Either this condition is over-diagnosed or it is very common. It is probably a little of each. There are two main types of food allergy. One is known as a 'fixed' allergy, which is the drama queen of allergies. Shortly after ingestion of the culprit food, a violent immunemediated reaction occurs, such as an outbreak of hives, an asthma attack, swelling of the airways or anaphylaxis, which is a shutdown of the heart and lungs. Fixed allergies are not to be played around with - they can kill. Foods commonly associated with fixed allergies include strawberries, shellfish and the yellow food dye tartrazine (102). If you have a fixed allergy, you are usually stuck with it for life. Avoid that strawberry. T h e other kind of food allergy, known as 'systemic', is more subtle in its approach. Foods commonly associated with systemic food allergy include eggs, milk, peanuts, wheat, soy, 206 The Commonsense Gzckde to Eatilag Well tomatoes and yeast. T h e substance that causes the allergic reaction is called the 'allergen'. A food allergy may appear in a variety of guises, taking between one minute to several days before symptoms appear. Symptoms include mouth ulcers, chronic diarrhoea, flatulence, bladder infections such as cystitis, infections such as colds, ear infections, anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, insomnia, irritability, joint pain, asthma, bronchitis, wheezing, itchy nose or throat, sinusitis, acne, eczema, hives, itching, skin rashes, rapid heartbeat, water retention, bloating, fatigue, headaches, migraines and hypoglycaemia. Systemic allergies have appeared only recently on the scene, or they were not previously recognised as such. The following are a few theories as to why food allergies are more prevalent today. 1 F d a r i t y breeds contempt The most common foods that cause food allergy are the most popular foods; that is, cow's milk, wheat, oranges and tomatoes. There are too many similarities for this state of affairs to be coincidence, but no-one is able to offer a solid explanation. 2 Poor digestive function If food is improperly digested there is a greater chance of larger molecules crossing the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, thereby causing an allergic reaction. 3 Allergy babies In industrialised countries such as our own, babies are usually weaned at six months if not earlier, when their digestive tract is still allowing the passage of large molecules. The first foods we start them on include cow's milk, soy, orange juice and wheat, all major players in the food allergy stakes. 4 Blame it on the genes A susceptib'ity to allergy can be inherited. This is especially so for fured allergies. 5 The last straw In the normal course of events, our immune system is able to deal with a certain sensitivity to food allergens. However, when the immune system is under challenge, during times of stress, infections or not eating or sleeping well, the food sensitivity becomes the 'straw that breaks the camel's back' and a 'new' food allergy appears. This explains why people can suddenly become 'allergic' to a food to which they have never previously reacted. How do you recognlse a food allergy and what can you do about It? T h e 'gold standard' for diagnosing a food allergy is the method of food avoidance and challenge: by strictly removing the suspect food from your diet for two weeks there should be a noticeable reduction in symptoms. T h e suspect food should stand out like a sore thumb. Mostly, it will be a food that you eat every day, like wheat, oranges (orange juice) or milk (cheese and so on). (The challenge should never be taken by people with fixed allergies where the symptoms of an allergy may be life threatening.) Step 1: Avoid and challenge For two weeks, avoid the suspect food. Be strict. For 208 The Commonsense Gaide to Eating WeGG example, wheat would include the obvious bread, pasta and pastries, but also many processed foods which use flour such as soups, crumbed foods and so on. Look for allergy-based recipe books to help with planning meals. Keep a diary of your symptoms starting a week before you begin the allergy program, so that you can accurately compare before and after. Mention all physical and psychological symptoms, even if they don't appear to relate to the allergy. It is advisable to record other influences such as weather changes, emotional upsets, menstrual period. This diary will be invaluable in assessing the degree of allergy. When the two weeks are up it is time to take the 'challenge'. Eat a portion of the suspected allergy food three times in the one day. For example, if wheat is the suspected allergen, have toast and Weetbix for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. Refrain from the food for two days after the challenge, as symptoms such as eczema may take that long to appear. Step 2: Abstinence Once you have ascertained that a particular food is a problem, continue fairly rigorous avoidance for a further three months. Try a few of the following suggestions to allow both the digestive and immune systems to recover. To improve digestive fgnction Take one teaspoon of herbal bitters in a wineglass of water, sipped before dinner; and take a digestive enzyme tablet with each meal. Step 3: Easy does it After three months' strict avoidance, you may start to include the food back into your diet. But not all at once! Allow one serving of the allergy food every four days. This will reduce Tailor-made 209 any chance of an allergic reaction. After some experimentation, you may find that you can eat the 'allergic' food more frequently than once every four days. However, if symptoms return, back off. Each person has their own threshold, beyond which the old symptoms will appear. Note that if your immune system is compromised by an infection or stress it will be less able to cope, and so it is wise to reduce consumption of the allergy food as a precaution. Testing I No testing method, laboratory or other, is 100 per cent accurate in diagnosing a food allergy. These include the skin prick test (although helpful for atmospheric allergens such as dust mite and pollens), RAST (Radio Allergo Sorbent Test), cytotoxic (blood test), vega machine and listen machine (use acupuncture points) and kinesiology (muscle testing). However, they may be useful in confirming a reasonable suspicion. Menopause Menopause is the time when a woman's menstrual cycle ceases and quantities of the two female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, dwindle. Rarely does it happen overnight, often taking from two to five years. When ovaries cease producing their hormones, the adrenal glands and fat cells may take over the role of hormone manufacture to a certain extent. Theoretically, this means a smooth transition from high to lower hormone levels, but unfortunately this does not always occur. T h e mixed bag of menopausal symptoms may 210 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well include hot flushes, depression, dry skin, less vaginal lubrication, osteoporosis, heavy bleeding, insomnia, depression and irritability. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) involves taking synthetic hormones to prevent symptoms. Some women find H R T an answer to their prayers, some experience side effects, others prefer to enter this phase of their lives without chemical interference. Many women pass through menopause symptom-free regardless. Diet Avoid sugar and caffeine. Limit your alcohol consumption to one or two glasses daily. Avoid hot spicy food and alcohol if you have hot flushes. Hot flushes may coincide with times when blood sugar levels are low; for example, half an hour before dinner. If this is the case, eat small meals frequently so that your sugar levels remain steady. Cool peppermint tea may help relieve hot flushes. Vitamin E at 1000 iu daily may also help. Eat four servings of fish a week for the omega3 fatty acids. Eat several foods containing phyto-oestrogens each day (see below). Phyto-oestrogens exert a very weak hormonal influence, much weaker than that of the real hormone produced by the ovaries. Throughout the body there are hormone receptors that work much like doorlocks, and hormones are the 'keys' that fit these locks. Phyto-oestrogens also fit these locks. Once the receptor sites are full with either phyto-oestrogens or oestrogens, any excess hormone is excreted. In this way, phytooestrogens help to normalise hormone levels. This is useful for menopause when there is too little hormone and some cancers where there is too much. Foods high in phyto-oestrogens include soy sprouts, alfalfa, green beans, split peas, olives, soybeans, tofu, soy drink, parsley, chickpeas, cherries, corn, oats, Tailor-made 211 barley, rye, wheat, rice, pomegranate, hops, sesame seeds, linseed, buckwheat, millet, sage, fennel, celery, carrots, cabbage, rhubarb and garlic. Other thfngs If you suffer from vaginal dryness, insert a 500 iu vitamin E capsule into the vagina each night. Stop smoking. Smoking lowers oestrogen levels and women who smoke experience menopause on average five years earlier than women who don't. Stress can cause menopause to occur earlier and worsen existing symptoms. Look to ways of minimising stress. Buy a cat, lie in a bath, walk the dog, don't accept family invitations. Premenstrual syndrome One-third of all women suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). PMS is a collection of about 150 symptoms. T h e most common are anger, anxiety, backache, bloating (particularly abdomen), breast tenderness, clumsiness, confusion, crying, fatigue, fluid retention, forgetfulness, headache, insomnia, leg cramps, moodiness, irritability, nausea, craving chocolate and carbohydrates, pimples, weight gain. PMS responds very well to natural remedies. Keep up the regimen for at least four menstrual cycles. Diet Vegetarian women suffer less from PMS than meat-eating women do, because more fibre is consumed in the diet. Soluble fibre is able to stop cholesterol and excess oestrogen from recirculating. Reduce red meat and dairy foods. 212 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well Eat fish four times a week to provide the omega-3 fatty acids, which will help ease the inflammatory symptoms of PMS. Cut out all sugar, salt and white flour products. A study revealed that women with PMS consumed 275 per cent more refined sugar and 62 per cent more white flour products than did women without PMS. It also found that women with PMS consume 79 per cent more sodium. Caffeine will make all symptoms worse, especially anxiety and depression. You may drink a cup or two a day in the first two weeks of your cycle, but after day 15 don't even think about it. T h e same goes for chocolate and cola drinks. Caffeine affects hormones adversely, as well as being a major contributor to fluctuations in blood sugar levels. T h e xanthines in coffee and chocolate have an effect on oestrogen receptors in the breasts, contributing to breast tenderness and enlargement. Drink dandelion root coffee instead. Dandelion root is good for the liver, which metabolises excess hormones. If your PMS symptoms include cravings for sweet food, mood changes or forgetfulness, adopt the eating pattern suggested for hypoglycaemia on page 25, which basically entails eating small meals regularly. Eat only organically grown chooks and eggs as they are not pumped up with extra synthetic oestrogen. Other things There are several good 'women's formulation' multivitamin and mineral supplement tablets available specifically for PMS; they have higher amounts of B6, magnesium and zinc. Take extra magnesium and vitamin B6 a week before your period is due, particularly if you suffer from breast Tailor-made @ 213 tenderness, weight gain, fatigue, anxiety, cramping and nervous tension. Take vitamin E 300 to 600 iu daily throughout the month. Vitamin E will relieve breast tenderness. Evening primrose oil (EPO) is very successful in relieving many of the symptoms of PMS. It contains gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is converted in the body into hormone-regulating prostaglandins. In order to be effective, GLA needs to be incorporated into every cell, which is why you need to take EPO for several months. Take 3 grams of EPO daily. Overweight With all the pressure society places on not being overweight, you would have to be a masochist to want to be fat. It is, therefore, unfair to blame people for eating too much, when it is obvious that eating too much is the cause of their overweightness. Hormonal problems do have a role in obesity, but only a very few people have entirely hormonal weight problems. Overeating is an addiction to food which should be given the same consideration as any other addiction. When we were babies and terribly vulnerable, a source of comfort and nourishment was mother's milk (or formula). When we were afraid or tired or angry and cried, we were given the breast or bottle. When we are upset or stressed, many of us still need to feel comforted, just as we did when a baby. Some people choose alcohol, some people choose cigarettes, others seek solace in chocolate. Is your mother overweight? Is your father overweight? Are your sisters and brothers overweight? Whether it is nature or nurture, a higher proportion of overweight: people have overweight families. Another reason for overweight is one diet too 214 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well many. T h e truth will out! People who have been on many diets, particularly low calorie ones, tend to be more overweight than those who have never dieted. We now know that dieting interferes with metabolism, which slows down as we reduce the amount we eat, creating a vicious cycle. T h e metabolic rate is the rate at which energy is used and released by the cells. A higher metabolic rate means that more energy is used and more body fat is burned for energy. A low or sluggish metabolism means that cells are more thrifty in their use of energy and calories. Diet Before you do a thing, write a complete diet diary for one week. Don't change a thing and don't judge. Take this diary to a dietician, to sort out any problem areas; for instance, missing breakfast, a cafe latte too many, too much hidden fat. Along with all food and drink, keep a written record of your emotions. Sometimes we don't realise we are eating because of something emotional, such as boredom, fear, or rage. Fat, protein, carbohydrate and alcohol contain calories. If we consume more than our bodies need, we can store the rest as fat (except for protein, which is not stored, but should not be eaten in excess of needs; that is, 1 gram per body kilogram daily). Recent research has shown that excess fat is more likely to be stored as fat than excess carbohydrate is. In practice, choose a baked spud over a chip. T o become more savvy with what's fat and what's not, buy a nutritional counter showing the fat content of food. Alcohol is also stored as fat, avoid it. Eat small meals often, according to the hypoglycaemia diet on page 25. That is, a little protein with carbohydrate every two to three hours, so that you don't have a chance to get hungry. Eating frequently will increase your metabolic rate. No more than 25 per cent of your total calories should Tailor-made 215 come from fat. If your dietary requirements were 1200 to 1500 calories a day (a reasonable amount for most people), your fat intake should not exceed 33 to 42 grams of fat a day. Eat smaller portions of food but don't starve yourself, even missing breakfast causes a drop in your metabolic rate. Your diet should resemble the suggested format on page 203. Focus on low fat, high fibre and protein-rich foods. Other things Exercise is an absolute must in any weight loss program. Make it a priority to exercise for 40 minutes, five times a week. T h e best kind of exercise will have you puffing, such as hill walking, cycling, jogging or gym work. Don't be alarmed if you put on some weight. But you should lose centimetres. Muscle tissue weighs more than fat but uses more energy. Skin Beauty may be more than skin-deep but having beautiful skin never hurt anyone. Skin is our largest organ and reflects our state of health and mind. Skin is often the first indicator that things are going awry. Many people find that their skin reacts when they are under stress, whether it is an outbreak of eczema, acne or just looking tired and lacklustre. T h e following recommendations are not specific to any particular skin problem but will invariably go a long way to helping any skin disease including excema, acne and psoriasis. These recommendations will help to transform your skin to peak condition. Drink water like there is no tomorrow; pure water, 216 TAe Commonsetsse Guide to Eating Well anywhere between 2 to 3 litres. Yes, your bladder will complain but will eventually calm down after realising you are serious. Unless your skin is fully hydrated, there is no chance of looking good. In addition to the water, drink one carrot juice daily (for the beta-carotene), as well as two to three herbal teas. Choose from red clover, burdock, nettle or a combination. These are traditional herbal 'blood purifiers' that work at cleaning the body from the inside out. Avoid tea, coffee, chocolate, cheese and sugar. Avoid deep-fried foods, although some kinds of fat are good and will bring sleekness to your skin. Eat fish (contains the omega3 fatty acids. Have you ever seen a seal with bad skin?). Other foods with 'good' fats include avocados, seeds, tahini and nuts. Evening primrose is beautiful for skin, particularly if your skin is affected by hormones or eczema. Take 3 grams daily. Vitamin A and zinc are excellent for all skin problems. Take a tablet of each daily. B-complex is a must, particularly if stress is a trigger. Exercise regularly, washing off sweat as soon as possible. Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise to avoid your skin dehydrating. In addition, you might like to combine a few drops of rosewater in pure water and spray over the face and neck after exercise. Creative visualisation, a type of meditation, may improve your skin. Each day, for a few minutes, visualise your skin as clear and blemish-free; think of swimming in a cool lake under moonlight. Use an oat sock (see page 106) or sorbolene instead of soap. Massage olive or jojoba oil all over the body before you shower or bath. T h e warm water will help your skin to absorb the oil. Tailor-made 21 7 Stress Stress is a major cause of illness - a fact that most of us intuitively know. T h e science that has gone about proving our hunch is called psychoneuroimmunology and it acknowledges the connection between the mind (psych), nervous and hormonal systems (neuro) and the immune system (immunology). Described succinctly by Deepak Chopra, modern guru of the mindlbody connection: 'The mind and body are like parallel universes. Anything that happens in the mental universe must leave tracks in the physical one.' Lifestyle changes take precedence in dealing with stress, although dietary changes and supplements can mitigate its ill effects. Most people who are stressed feel pressed for time, unable to fit another thing into their hectic schedule. This is the most telling sign that time-out is precisely what is needed. Time-out to exercise and meditate - about 20 minutes of each and every day. If you change your day to ensure these two things take priority over business or social demands, you will be healthier and happier. I can't vouch for wealthier! Diet If you are stressed, now is not the time for radical dietary changes. Ease into it slowly. Maybe exit the coffee first and in a couple of weeks try another change. Never miss a meal. When blood sugar levels are low, the symptoms of stress increase. Eat small meals regularly, every three to four hours. Each meal should contain a small portion of protein; for example, egg, cheese, nuts, beans, fish. Give sugar a miss. This includes the 3 pm chocolate hit. You will no doubt love that hit of sugar that stops you feeling so tired, but your body doesn't. T h e extreme highs 218 The Commonsense Guide to Eating WeZZ and lows of blood sugar levels leave you more depleted. Eating sweet foods when stressed is like cruelty to a dumb animal. You. Brown rice, oats, root vegetables (such as carrots and parsnips) and legumes (such as kidney beans and lentils) are grounding and very nurturing for the stressed nervous system. There is room for 'comfort' food in the anti-stress diet, particularly in times of high stress. These may be foods of your childhood, such as a roast dinner, porridge, rice pudding, moussaka. Caffeine is O.U.T. If you find a cup of coffee relaxing, it is probably because you are addicted to the stuff. Kick the habit. Caffeine increases the release of adrenalin the stress hormone, something that is working overtime anyway. Avoid coffee and caffeine-containing things, such as cola drinks and guarana. Be prepared for whopping caffeine withdrawal headaches 18 hours after your last cup of coffee. Swear at me if you wish, it will take up to 48 hours. Once released from caffeine's grip, take your comfort from a range of herbal teas (see page 90) or one or two cups of tea. While tea contains caffeine, it is not absorbed to the same extent. Although it is tempting to drown your troubles, alcohol is counterproductive. It is a nervous system depressant. After the initial euphoria, alcohol can leave you feeling more stressed. A B-complex vitamin is important at this time. Take one each morning. Take at least 1 gram of vitamin C daily; the adrenal glands chew up vitamin C during stress. Potassium is good for nerves and magnesium is good for tense muscles - you probably need both by the truckload. Stress-relieving herbs support the adrenal glands, the nervous and immune systems. These include passionflower, scullcap, valerian, licorice, St John's wort, panax and Siberian ginseng, lemon balm, kava and chamomile. Healthy heart Heart disease commonly manifests as atherosclerosis, with the main symptoms being high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Heart disease is a big killer in Australia and other industrialised countries. Of course there are hereditary considerations, but there is no denying that diet and lifestyle play a huge part in heart disease. Don't just think about it, you mast start managing your stress. Do something for it every day - walking, tapestry, singing, meditation, rock climbing, yoga, dancing, counselling. Regular aerobic exercise decreases LDL levels and most atherosclerosis risk factors. Being overweight is a risk factor. Lose it. And stop smoking if you possibly can. Diet Be firm in restricting fats. A low-fat diet is recommended, where less than 25 per cent of total calories come from fat. Avoid fried and processed foods that often contain hidden oils. Although cholesterol in food is a factor, it is more important to limit the fats, particularly the saturated fats in the diet; for example butter, cream, ice-cream, full cream milk, lard, beef, lamb, bacon, organ meats, eggs, pork, delimeats and yellow cheese. Taking a leaf from the French who seem to have beaten the heart-disease odds (see French Paradox, page 173), you may indulge in olive oil, cold-pressed vegetable oils and fish. Eat fish particularly, as it is full of the protective 220 The Commonsense Guide to Eating Well omega3 fatty acids. Eat four servings of the critters each week: canned or fresh but definitely not fried. For many years, salt was classified as a baddy because it was thought to increase blood pressure. Now, the jury is out. It seems that some of us are 'salt sensitive', while others may soak in brine and not be affected. Nevertheless, don't be heavy handed with the saltcellar. T h e following foods do not contain cholesterol but are able to increase our blood levels of this risk factor: coffee, alcohol (over two glasses daily), sugar and hydrogenated fats such as margarine. Soluble fibre (see page 29) reduces cholesterol by preventing it from being absorbed or reabsorbed. T h e soluble fibre 'chelates', or holds on to, the cholesterol and eliminates it via the bowel. Good choices include oat bran, rice bran, barley bran, vegetables, fruit, legumes, pectin and psyllium. Foods with cholesterol-lowering effects on the body include artichokes, ginger, cucumber, seaweed, banana, quince, onion, garlic, ginger, pineapple, oatmeal, legumes, grapefruit, oranges, apples, yoghurt, carrots, barley, eggplant and shiitake mushrooms. T h e liver is able to make bile from cholesterol. Be kind to your liver: drink the juice of half a lemon in hot water each morning before breakfast and/or sip a teaspoon of herbal bitters in a glass of water before dinner each night. T h e antioxidants are big news in the treatment of heart disease, particularly in preventing and reversing the damage to arteries from atherosclerosis. Take one vitamin and herbal antioxidant (containing grapeseed) tablet daily. In addition to eating fish, take evening primrose oil, 3 grams daily. Lecithin regulates cholesterol levels. Take one teaspoon or four capsules daily. Glossary Amylase An enzyme present in saliva and pancreatic juice, which is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates into smaller units. Antioxidants A substance that protects against damage from free radicals. T h e body makes its own antioxidants, such as catalase and superoxide dismutase. Various nutrients also act as antioxidants including vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, selenium, zinc and bioflavonoids. Carcinogen A general term for an agent that can cause cancer. Examples include cigarette tar; ultraviolet radiation (sunlight); fats that have become oxidised (rancid); the nitrates used for colouring and preserving meats such as salami; and the pesticides and fungicides used on our agricultural produce. Chelate T h e word chelate is derived from the Greek word for claw. A chelating agent grabs on to another substance. This can be used to either take substances out of the body or to enhance their absorption, depending on the particular chelating agent. Cytoplasm T h e jelly-like substance that surrounds the nucleus in the cell. Diuretic A substance that increases the volume of urine, by increasing the amount of salts and water exreted via the kidneys. 222 The Commonsense Guide to Eatilag Well Dysbiosis A state of bowel microflora disharmony. Alcohol dehydrogenase T h e enzyme necessary for converting alcohol, mainly found in the liver. Alcohol dehydrogenase requires the mineral zinc to function. Emulsify T o make an emulsion. An emulsion is a liquid mixture where an oily substance is combined with water substance and the two don't separate. Lecithin is an exmple of an emulsifier as it is both fat- and water-soluble. Enzyme An enzyme is a protein that, in small amounts, speeds up the rate of a biological reaction without being used up in that reaction. Enzymes are used extensively in the body for all manner of things. Enzymes often require coenzymes, such as magnesium and zinc, in order to work efficiently. Heat and pH may also slow or speed enzyme activity. Enzyme names often end in 'ase'; for example, lactase and alcohol dehydrogenase. T h e digestive enzymes are predominantly used to break down bigger food fragments into smaller fragments. For instance, carbohydrate-splitting enzymes (amylase) are able to split a complex carbohydrate into one and two sugar units. Free radical A free radical is defined as any molecule that has an unpaired electron in its outer orbit. Molecules like their electrons paired, so this situation is disturbing. T h e free radical molecule with the unpaired electron is unbalanced and therefore highly reactionary. In non-technical language, they are troublemakers! Although they are tiny, free radicals can wreak havoc to our cells. Free radicals cause harm in two distinct ways. First, to the cell membrane. T h e damage means that nutrients and oxygen cannot enter the cell from the bloodstream and, conversely, waste products are unable to leave the cell. This effectively means a cell's death. Second, free radicals may also enter the cell and disturb the FWA and DNA, our cell's Glossary 223 genetic material. Mutations will occur when the cell next divides if free radicals have changed the genetic code. There is some evidence to suspect this could explain the mechanism by which some cancers are caused. Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF) A molecule made up of 2-nicotinic acid, cysteine, glycine, glutamine and chromium. Is a cofactor for insulin, facilitating entry of glucose across cell membrane. Glycolysis A ten-step conversion of glucose to pyruvic acid to lactic acid. Glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm of cells and involves the production of a small amount of energy that is used for the workings of the cell. Goitre Swelling of the neck due to an enlargement of the thyroid gland. T h e goitre could be due to under- or overfunctioning or simply an overgrowth or tumour of the thyroid gland. Haemoglobin An iron-containing substance within red blood cells, capable of carrying oxygen. Haemosiderin A storage form of iron found particularly in the liver. Half life T h e time it takes to reduce the level in the body (of a particular substance - for example, caffeine) to half its initial value. Hypothalamus T h e part of the brain that controls various bodily functions including thirst, temperature, water balance, hunger and so on. Insulin A hormone secreted by the pancreas that is important for regulating the amount of glucose in the blood. Interstitial fluid T h e fluid between cells. Intrinsic Factor (IF) A protein substance secreted in the stomach. It is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12. A failure of secretion of Intrinsic Factor leads to pernicious anaemia. Isoflavones Plant substances found in legumes - for 224 The Commonsense Gzlide to Eating Well example, genistin in soy - which are structurally similar to oestrogen, and are able to bind on to oestrogen receptors. Lipoprotein A protein-coated vehicle that transports fatty substances including cholesterol, triglycerides, phospholipids, hormones and fat-soluble vitamins around in the bloodstream. Sometimes called LPs (I've always wondered what happened to vinyl records). Miso A fermented soy paste made by inoculating trays of rice with the mould AspeqZas oqzae. A ground preparation of cooked soybeans and salt is then mixed in and the mass is allowed to ferment for several days before being ground into a paste that has the consistency of peanut butter. T h e entire miso process takes 10 to 40 days. Miso is used as a flavouring for soups and on vegetables. It is a source of B12 as well as bowel friendly bacteria. Oligosaccharide Undigestible starch found in seeds and beans. Peristalsis A wavelike movement that progresses along some of the hollow tubes of the body, particularly the bowel. Phytates Not a fire, although often in cereals and legumes. Phytates or phytic acid can reduce the absorption of certain minerals including iron, zinc and calcium. Phytic acid is the calcium or magnesium salt of inositol and phosphoric acid. Phytates are destroyed by heat and phytase. Phytase is an enzyme present in grains and also in kidneys. Pica Eating non-nutritious substances such as stones, chalk, dirt or ice. May be due to a deficiency of minerals, particularly iron. Portal circulation Venous blood flow from the intestines (spleen, stomach) to the liver. Probiotics Beneficial microflora in the bowel; for example, LactobacilIzls acidophilas. Smooth muscle (or involuntary muscle) Occurs in Glossary 225 hollow organs such as the bowel, blood vesels, gall bladder and uterus. Solvent A liquid that can hold dissolved substances. Superoxide dismutase An antioxidant enzyme in the body. Can contain copper, manganese or zinc. Triglyceride A fat consisting of three fatty acid molecules combined with one glycerol molecule. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat found in the body and in food. Unsaturated fatty acid A fatty acid (chain or carbons) where there is one or more double bonds. Bibliography Annison, G. Dietav Fibre and Beyond Nutrition Society of Australia, 1993 Australian Bureau of Statistics. Apparent Consumption of Foodstuffs and Nutriena 1993-94 AGPS, Canberra, 1997 Bombardelli, E. & Morazzoni, P. Review in Azcstralian Journal of Medical Herbalism, vol. 9, no. 4, 1997, p. 114 Brand-Miller, J. & Foster-Powell, K. The G.I. Factor Hodder & Stoughton, Australia, 1996 Buist, R. Food ChemicalSensitivityHarper & Row (Australasia), 1986 English, R. & Lewis, J. (Dept Comm. Serv. & Health) Nutritional Values of Australian Foods AGPS, Canberra, 1991 Erasmus, U. Fats dat Heal: Fats that Kill Alive Books, 1995 Hanssen, M. Additive Code Breaker Lothian, Australia, 1984 Lappe, F.M. Diet for a Small Planet Ballantine, NY, 1991 Ling, X., Lu, A.M., Zhao, X.H., Chen, X.S. & Cummings, S.R. 'Very Low Rates of Hip Fracture in Beijing, People's Republic of China: T h e Beijing Osteoporosis Project' American Journal of Epidemiology, 144 (9), November 1, 1996, pp. 901-07 McGee, H. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Allen & Unwin, UK, 1986 Murray, Michael 'I'.N.D. The HeaCing Power of Foods Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA, 1993 Bibliography 227 Pengelly, A. The Constituents of Medicnal Plants-An Introduction to the Chemistry d Therapeutics of Herbal Medicnes NSW Sunflower Herbals, Muswellbrook, 1996 Peyton, N. Davies. 'Various effects of caffeine upon the body' International Clinical Nutrition Review, vol. 10, no. 2, April 1990, p. 334 Rogers, J. What Food is That? Landsdowne, Sydney, 1990 Selinger, B. Chemistly in the Markeglace: A Consumer Guide (4th edn) Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Marrickville, NSW, 1989 Stanton, R. Complete Book of Food and Nutrition Simon & Schuster, Roseville, NSW, 1995 T h e Australian Food Safety Web Consumer Education http:// www.safefood.net.au Tortura, G.J. & Grabowski, S.R. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (7th edn) Biological Sciences Textbooks, NY, 1993 Toussaint-Samat, M. (trans. Anthea Bell) History of Food Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, MA, 1992 Yao Chew, M. 'Dynamics of Free-Radicals and Natural Antioxidants' Journal of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society, vol. 3, no. 2, June 1997, pp. 47-51