Human
brain size, based on head circumference, has diminished approximately
11% since the advent of agricultural societies. Click
Here for Reference
Adipose
Tissue: (also
see Body Fat)
Aging: (see Sugar
or Carbohydrates)
Agriculture
Allergies: (also see
Enzymes)
Alpha-amylase: (see
Enzymes)
Amino Acids: (also
see Protein)
Anachidonic Acid: (see Essential
Fatty Acids)
Antioxidants
Aspartame: (see Food
Additives)
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD):
Adipose Tissue: (also see Body
Fat)
Click here for the 3 Components of
Food and How They're Used by the Body
Adipose
(fat) cells need glucose (sugar) for the synthesis of triglycerols (excess
body-fat). Adipose tissue [fat] is stored ONLY when eating carbohydrates.
Reference: Biochemistry, Donald Voet & Judith
Voet, New York, 1999, pg. 772.
Aging: (also see
Sugar, Carbohydrates)
Scroll down for info in Antioxidants
Low
Insulin Not Calorie Restriction Lengthens Your Life (A Study)
A lean body devoid of (excess) fat may be more significant in determining
life span than a calorie-restricted diet, according to a new study of
genetically altered mice. The mice in the study were able to eat whatever
they wanted and still stay slim because their fat tissue had been altered
so it could not respond to the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to move
sugar from the blood into the body’s cells and also helps fat
cells to store fat. Researchers altered the insulin receptor gene in
the fat cells of lab mice, and since insulin is needed to help cells
store fat the mice had less fat and were protected against obesity.
The altered mice ate 55 percent more food per gram of body weight than
normal mice, yet had 70 percent less body fat by the time they reached
3 months of age. Moreover, the altered mice lived 18 percent longer
than normal mice, and after three years all of the normal mice had died,
but one-quarter of the altered mice were still alive. Reference:
Science, Bluher M, Kahn BB, Kahn CR., January 24, 2003;299:572-574
Agriculture:
Human brain
size, based on head circumference, has diminished approximately 11%
since the advent of agricultural societies. Modern European hunter-gatherer
men and women stood five to six inches taller than farmers of a few
generations later. Reference: Dangerous Grains, James
Braly, M.D., and Ron Hoggan, M.A., Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2002, ISBN:
1-58333-129-8.
Allergies:
Allergies are the result of a hyper-alert immune system. As babies our
immune system is developing. The more we are exposed to during this
developmental stage, the more our body learns how to protect us later.
If we don’t get exposed to certain allergens, our bodies don’t
recognize them later and our immune system reacts incorrectly, which
causes an allergic reaction.
The Allergy Process:
1. The body starts to produce a specific type of antibody called IgE
to fight the allergen.
2. The antibodies attach to a form of blood cell called a mast cell.
Mast cells are plentiful in the airways, and in the GI tract where allergens
tend to enter the body.
3. The mast cells explode releasing a variety of chemicals including
histamine, which causes most of the symptoms of an allergy including
itchiness or a runny nose.
Reference: Body Story, Allergies, Body Invaders,
Discovery Channel. http://health.discovery.com/stories/bodyinvaders/allergies.html
Essential Fatty Acids and the cleansing process of some herbs like Sheep
Sorrel, Burdock Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Cat's Claw and Turkish Rhubarb
Root have been known to significantly reduce the symptoms of allergies.
"A
wide range of lung problems, including chronic bronchitis and asthma,
characterized by chronic wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, or
difficulty in breathing, are commonly caused or made worse by gluten
[grain protein]. Reference: Dangerous Grains, pg
55, James Braly, M.D., and Ron Hoggan, M.A., Penguin Putnam, Inc., 2002,
ISBN: 1-58333-129-8.
(Personal
advice: Myself and my family and friends with allergies
have all experienced a huge decrease in symptoms - runny, itchy nose,
sneezing, itchy eyes and impaired breathing - by eliminating grains
from our diets. We avoid breads, cereals and anything with gluten and
feel so much better. Allergy season breezes by and we hardly even feel
it.)
Alpha-amylase:
(see Enzymes)
Alpha-amylase
initiates starch digestion by breaking down starch (complex carbohydrates)
into sugars. This release of sugar alters the taste of food. Reference:
Brock, T.D. and Madigan, M.T. (1988) Biology of Microorganisms (Prentice
Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey) pp 383, 396-399.
Reference: Human Physiology: Foundations and Frontiers, Schauf, C.,
Moffett, D. and Moffett, S., ed. Allen, D., Times Mirror/Mosby College
Publishing, St. Louis, 1990, Chapters 21 and 22.
Amino Acids:
There are 20 amino acids. The human body can produce only 11 of them.
Nine are essential, which means we must get them in our food. Amino
acids are the building blocks of protein, and along with EFAs, are the
basis of life. Amino acids are best obtained from first class Protein
[animal NOT vegetable-based!]:
The essential amino acids:
Hittidine Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine Methionine Phenylalinine
Theronine Tryptophan Valine
Anachidonic Acid: (see Essential
Fatty Acids) The third fatty acid once thought to be (but not) essential.
Antioxidants:
Antioxidants are reputed to reduce the number of free-radicals, but
there is little research showing how effectively antioxidant supplements
actually work in the body. Many times the intended “solution”
creates unexpected problems. We constantly burn fuel in our
bodies by oxidation. “All cells regardless of their specified
function oxidize fuels.” (Reference:
The Essentials of Biochemistry (Essentials), Jay M. Templin, Research
& Education Assn, 1998, ISBN: 0878910735) Oxidation
produces free-radical by-products these are formed by a completely natural
process. Free-radicals are critical to life itself.
They are among the most important components in our immune system
– they keep us from getting sick. They are also
required for important hormone production.
Antioxidant supplements are also ineffective because the process
of digestion nullifies them before they can get into the cells they
are meant to protect. Reference: Ageless
Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra, MD, pg. 122., November, 1993,
ISBN: 0712656731
Cells
and oxidation:
All cells, regardless of specialized function, oxidize fuels. Reference:
The Essentials of Biochemistry, pg. 7., Jay M. Templin, Research &
Education Assn, 1998, ISBN: 0878910735
Aspartame:
(see Food Additives)
Aspartame
is essentially Methanol, or wood alcohol, and is
very harmful to the body. (See further information under the
Sweeteners section.)
After drinking
a typical can of soft drink containing aspartame, you could be consuming
almost twice the Environmental Protection Agency's daily limit
for methanol. Reference: Your Body Knows
Best, Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S., Pocket Books, New York, 1996, page
41.
Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD):
EFAs
help ADD:
Purdue University conducted a study which was published
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. About 40% of
children with ADD had deficiencies of EFAs as measured in their blood.
Reference: "Attention Please," Rafael Avila,
Energy Times, Dec. 1996, pages 52-58.
There
are more than two million children taking the drug
Ritalin, to manage their ADD. Reference: Energy Times,
Jan. 1997, page 53.
Ritalin
a narcotic (cocaine):
Ritalin is the most prescribed drug for children. In a pharmacy it is
classified as a "Schedule II" narcotic. Ritalin
reacts with the same brain receptors as cocaine! Reference:
"Imaging Cocaine in Action," Dr. Ricki Lewis, Photonics Spectra,
May 1996. & Brain Research, 520(1-2): 303-9, 1990. & Archives
of General Psychiatry, 52(6): 456-63, 1995.
