What chiefly makes a particular food a problem is the presence of one or several components that may cause metabolic or digestive problems if used indiscriminately. Because we use and have used problem foods in excess, our metabolism has been weakened to such an extent that it cannot safely process even small amounts of certain foods without becoming distressed. This can be demonstrated with food muscle-testing.

However, for individuals with a suitable metabolism, most problem foods may be acceptable and sometimes even beneficial in moderation; this does not apply to heavily chemicalized food. It is advisable, nevertheless, for nearly everyone to minimize the intake of problem foods in general. It is also best to avoid more strictly the problem foods that you can identify from those described in this chapter and from personal experience as being a cause of your health problems.

Some problem foods frequently cause food allergies and may be the primary allergens or causative agents that sensitize us to a range of other allergens. This applies especially to the gluten in wheat and to proteins in cows’ milk. When the body is still young or overacid and sensitive it tends to respond strongly to these foods. However, problem foods cause even more serious problems when the body is older, alkaline and insensitive, but then there are no ‘alarm reactions’ to warn us. This leads to the development of chronic degenerative diseases such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

In addition to specific health problems being caused by specific foods, the overall impact on the adrenal glands of habitually consuming problem foods may raise the basic stress level to such a high degree that a relatively small additional stress from emotional or social problems may trigger severe reactions. These may include asthma, epilepsy, migraine, depression, irritability, hyperactivity, phobias, nervous breakdown and mental disease.

The main problem foods in our society are:

· Lactose and cow’s milk products

· Gluten and wheat products

· Sugar and sweet foods

· Red meat and fats

· Chemicalized food, stimulants and yeast or molds

In addition, the fact that we cook too many of our foods and hence have insufficient enzymes in our diet, greatly contributes to the development of chronic degenerative diseases and premature aging.

Have a closer look at cow’s milk products and lactose. In some form they can be beneficial but as commonly used they tend to create a lot of problems for our health

COW’S MILK PRODUCTS & LACTOSE

The three problematic ingredients in dairy products are lactose (milk sugar), butterfat, casein and other proteins. While lactose is a problem in all animal milk, including goat’s milk, difficulties with casein and butterfat are specific to cow’s milk.

Bottle-feeding with cow’s milk has far-reaching effects. The earlier it is substituted for breast milk, the more damage is caused. The baby’s digestive system is still immature and relies on enzymes provided in mother’s milk. It cannot properly digest cow’s milk, especially if it has been pasteurized and is without enzymes.

In addition, in the first few weeks or months the wall of the small intestine is not yet fully developed and allows only partly digested proteins to pass through and this causes allergies. In a recent investigation all infants and most older children had antibodies against cow’s milk in their blood. This means they were allergic to it, even in the absence of obvious symptoms. However, usually unspecific symptoms are present, such as restlessness and crying at night, dermatitis, tender abdomen, tantrums, weak eyes, low energy, hyper-activity, indigestion and a high incidence of colds, ear and respiratory infections. A contributing factor that makes these babies prone to infections is the absence of immuno-protective agents in bottle milk that are present in breast milk, especially in the colostrum.

In one Scandinavian study it was shown that no purely breastfed baby developed early middle ear infection, and also was protected against it in later life. In contrast, early introduction of cow’s milk predisposed children to this and was exclusively found in children who received cow’s milk before the age of 6 months.

Furthermore, bottle-fed babies suffer from zinc deficiency. Zinc is essential for activating the immune system. The zinc content in cow’s milk is actually higher than that in mother’s milk. However, in cow’s milk zinc is bound to a protein from which the baby’s immature digestive system cannot release it.

Other trace minerals are also difficult for the baby to absorb from cow’s milk; iron is especially problematic. A resulting iron deficiency in babies contributes to the development of anemia, a weakening of the immune system and retarded mental and cognitive development.

An allergy to cow’s milk and subsequent mucus congestion of the lungs, combined with zinc and iron deficiencies of the immune system, cause frequent colds and respiratory infections in babies. This, in turn, depletes the baby more and more of vitamin C. The effect of all this is a high incidence of crib deaths in bottle-fed babies. Crib deaths sometimes occur shortly after immunizations, which further drain the already dangerously low levels of vitamin C. Toxic gases from synthetic mattresses cause further distress.

Archie Kalokerinos, in his book Every Second Child (Keats), relates that in some Aboriginal communities every second child given a vaccination died of crib death, but when fed high doses of vitamin C before and after vaccinations, not a single child died.

Is it a coincidence that New Zealand has the highest rates of asthma and crib deaths in the world but also the highest consumption of cow’s milk? Until some years ago all New Zealand school children received free milk at school. This would leave many mothers with a milk allergy that can easily be passed on to the fetus and later, with breast milk, to the baby.

Crib deaths are uncommon in breast-fed babies. However, even breast-fed babies can develop allergies if the mother has a high intake of cow’s milk products or is allergic to it herself. Full-term babies in the first two weeks and premature babies in the first one or two months may become allergic to almost any substitute for mother’s milk. If breast-feeding by the mother is not possible during this time and a wet nurse is not available, then fresh raw goats’ or sheep’s milk is the least harmful alternative.

LACTOSE

Approximately 90 per cent of the world’s adult population – that is, all but the majority of the Caucasian race – cannot split lactose into its two components – glucose and galactose. After the age of 3 a deficiency of the lactose-splitting enzyme lactase develops, and this can cause more or less severe indigestion and diarrhea if the diet contains appreciable amounts of lactose. This condition is known as lactose intolerance.

Lactose intolerant people can tolerate lactose better if fermented milk is used, as in the form of yogurt or kefir, where the lactose is partially split by lactic-acid bacteria. Alternatively, lactose-splitting enzymes are now commercially available and may be added to milk. However, lactose intolerance is only a minor problem compared to the much more serious health problems caused by galactose. Lactose intolerance actually appears to be a wise precaution of nature rather than a regrettable accident, because it protects us from the great danger of galactose overload.

Most European adults and older children who can digest lactose are unable to use galactose efficiently. Babies need galactose as an important building component of the brain, the central nervous system and of many proteins. Thus mother’s milk is even higher in lactose than animal milk to ensure the baby does obtain sufficient galactose.

In later life, very little galactose is needed and this can easily be synthesized from other sugars. Therefore, most of the ingested galactose is converted in the liver to glucose and used as body fuel, but the amount that can be converted is rather limited, even in a healthy liver.

This conversion is a slow and complex process requiring four different enzymes. One of these is sometimes missing from birth, giving rise to a condition known as galactosaemia. Continued milk-feeding leads to a build-up of galactose in the baby and causes cataracts, cirrhosis of the liver and spleen and mental retardation.

If the liver is not healthy, it becomes less able to convert galactose. This fact is sometimes used as a criterion for a clinical liver-function test. If galactose is injected into someone with a defective liver, most of the galactose will later appear in the urine.

MUCIC ACID

Unfortunately, under normal conditions only part of the galactose is expelled with the urine. If there is a deficiency of protective antioxidants, then the rest is mainly oxidized to galactaric acid, commonly known as mucic acid. The great health danger of mucic acid is that it is insoluble. The body cannot let it pile up in vital areas and block organ functions or blood circulation. Therefore, it forms the mucic acid into a sticky suspension in water, called mucus. Thus mucic acid is a main component of pathogenic (disease-producing) mucus.

It is the function of the lymphatic system to remove dangerous substances, such as mucus, from areas of vital importance and transport it to the organs of elimination. Mucus is too dangerous to dispose of through the kidneys or with bile through the liver, but it has a special affinity to the mucous membranes that line the insides of our body openings. Such areas, and of prime importance, are the lungs, the respiratory tract and the hollow head spaces, the sinuses and the Eustachian tube (a passage between the mouth and the inner ear).

The mucus accumulates in these hollow spaces until external factors help to sensitize the mucous membranes sufficiently to allow the mucus to pass through. This is relatively easy in young individuals and those with a poor sugar metabolism as they have high levels of histamine and inflammatory adrenal hormones. Even minor irritations of the mucous membranes, be it from cold air, dust, air pollution, pollen or germs, will sensitize these to let some of the mucus flow out.

Such mucus cleansing may be experienced periodically as a cold, hay fever, wet cough or running nose. In others, the accumulation of mucus, which provides a favorable breeding ground for germs, causes chronic infections in specific areas such as the sinuses, the middle ear, the respiratory tract and the lungs. This may allow a permanent trickle of mucus through the affected mucous membrane. In addition, a dead front tooth may be responsible for chronic sinus problems.

With a high lactose intake, the lymph channels and lymph glands are usually congested with mucus as well. This allows influenza and other infections to spread from the sensitized mucous membranes through the mucus-filled hollow spaces into the lymphatic system, causing lymph gland swellings and inflammations. I have found that in many people the number of colds, influenza and other respiratory infections can be varied at will from none to several per year just by varying the lactose intake. Mucus congestion is also the main cause of ear infections and hearing problems, especially in children.

In most cases it is not a lactose allergy but a galactose overload that is responsible for this excessive mucus. While in the case of those suffering from cow’s milk allergy somewhat more lactose may be tolerated when it comes from goat’s milk, in most individuals the lactose in goat’s milk or in tablets will be equally as mucus-forming as that from cow’s milk.

ASTHMA

When more mucus accumulates in the lungs than can be expelled, asthma is likely to develop. Often lung congestion is combined with a strong subconscious fear element that may, for instance, result from insecurity or lack of love in early childhood. Another contributing factor is hypoglycemia coupled with weak adrenal glands.

Many cases seem to be predominantly mucus-induced. I remember a patient who was fond of yogurt and, for health reasons, prepared it from skim-milk powder. This produces yogurt with a much higher lactose content than yogurt from full-fat milk (see Table 4-1). When I persuaded her to use somewhat less yogurt and prepare it only from whole milk without additional skim-milk powder, her asthma disappeared for good. The asthma-causing skim-milk yogurt provided approximately 50 g of lactose per day, while she was asthma-free on whole-milk yogurt with about 5 g of lactose daily.

The lung irritation caused by accumulated mucus also means that the lungs are more prone to be affected by food allergies and chemicals. This could result in inflammatory swellings of the bronchial tubes. Mucus accumulating in the lungs allows bacteria to infiltrate. Some strains of these bacteria convert sugars into alginic acid, another sticky mucus. Often there is Candida or fungus infestation as well, which sensitizes the mucous membranes to airborne molds. Mucus-releasing colds in this setting can be a blessing in disguise, provided they are not treated with antibiotics. Also dead teeth may induce copious mucus.

The mucous membranes of asthmatics, which are highly sensitized by mucic acid, react strongly to air pollutants such as smoke, pollen and sulfur dioxide. The adrenal glands are weak and histamine levels are high because of a sweet diet and allergies. To overcome asthma, we need to reverse these negative conditions by using a low-allergy diet with a minimum of sweet or mucus-forming food, while the respiratory tract should periodically be cleared of mucus. Also breathing exercises help.

CHRONIC DEGENERATIVE DISEASES

A serious consequence of a lymphatic system badly congested with mucus is the development of leukemia. This happens when the immune system has been sufficiently damaged by frequent mucus-related infections combined with other factors such as toxic chemicals, a sweet diet, allergies and vitamin-mineral deficiencies.

It may not be a coincidence that Nathan Pritikin, famous for his much-publicized diet to cure cardiovascular diseases, developed leukemia. The original Pritikin diet is high in skim-milk products and, therefore, imposes a severe galactose overload on the body. Either leukemia or another galactose-related degenerative disease is more likely to develop as a long-term effect of a high intake of skim-milk products. Cardiovascular diseases can be prevented or cured nutritionally without causing other health problems.

Leukemia stands in between the acute mucus-related infections of childhood and the usual chronic degenerative diseases that develop with advancing age. When our metabolism slows down as we become older or are on an unsuitably heavy meat diet, the body gradually becomes too alkaline and the mucous membranes become more insensitive. In this condition mucus released through colds and other respiratory infections becomes rare and most of the mucic acid is stored in the body.

Lactose intolerance, and thus enforced avoidance of foods containing lactose, can also reduce the incidence of another disease – cataracts of the eyes. Even infants may develop cataracts when they cannot convert galactose to glucose. Therefore, galactose overload is also an important cause of cataracts in adults. In addition, high blood glucose and fructose levels may contribute. These simple sugars are reduced to sugar alcohols that cause cloudiness in the lens. Another form of cataract is mainly caused by a chronic deficiency of the vitamins A, B2, C and E, and the minerals chromium and selenium. Radiation exposure or drugs can also cause cataracts.

Besides cataracts, there are other diseases that are usually considered to be typical for the aging body but that occur already in infants with galactosaemia. These include liver degeneration, edema and reduced memory or senility (the latter being equivalent to mental retardation in infants with galactosaemia).

Cancer (carcinoma) reportedly can result from galactosaemia. A recent report shows that women who consumed yogurt had a higher rate of ovarian cancer than controls that consumed the same amount of lactose from other milk products. Because of the activity of the lactic-acid bacteria, yogurt contains more readily available galactose than other milk products. Another cancer-related problem is the high estrogen content of milk. This is likely to stimulate the growth of breast and ovarian tumors. However, as estrogen is fat-soluble it can be expected to remain with milk fat and skim milk products should be alright in this regard.

A frequent complaint is increasing deafness because of mucus congestion of the Eustachian tube and the middle ear with subsequent infection and inflammation. In children this condition has been called ‘glue ear’. This is especially a problem with children of non-European background because they can still absorb lactose but cannot very well convert galactose into energy, especially from cow’s milk.

With lactose-induced mucus congestion, degenerative lung diseases may also develop, such as emphysema. While smoking is generally considered to be the greatest hazard for lung cancer, it may actually rank equal with galactose overload, and most at risk are heavy smokers with mucus-congested lungs. Sometimes the lungs simply fill up with mucus. Actually, a patient died in my presence because his lungs and breathing passage were filled with sticky mucus. He literally drowned in it. With each breath I could hear the air bubbling up through the mucus.

A combination of mucus accumulation in the lungs and the digestive system is seen in cystic fibrosis, which is mainly due to an overproduction of an abnormal mucopolysaccharide – a long-chain carbohydrate that normally supplies the physiological mucus required by the body. Cystic fibrosis sufferers also may be unable to convert galactose and, as they are usually deficient in protective antioxidants, they may also produce large amounts of mucic acid. Like galactose overload, cystic fibrosis is a disease of the Caucasian race.

In part, excessive mucus formation stems from an infestation of the lungs with bacteria that produce an abnormal amount of sticky alginic acid. The important point is that alginic acid is synthesized from a simple sugar – mannose – which these bacteria can convert from an excess of any other sugar, such as galactose, fructose or glucose. Therefore, mucus-forming as well as sweet foods must be avoided.

LACTOSE IN FOOD

Preventing excessive mucus accumulation in the body is much easier than trying to remove it afterwards. If you are concerned about your future wellbeing, it is a wise precaution to reduce your intake of lactose to a minimum. See the following table for the lactose content of some common dairy products.

LACTOSE CONTENT OF DAIRY PRODUCTS

With a lactose content of 52 per cent in skim-milk powder, you may now realize how dangerous the current fad is for using low-fat ice-cream, yogurt, cottage cheese and so forth, instead of full-fat products. Such low-fat foods are made from skim-milk powder and contain three to five times as much lactose as the equivalent full-fat foods. Sometimes skim-milk powder is even added to butter. Therefore read the label and avoid butter that lists ‘non-fat milk solids’ as one of the ingredients.

Skim-milk powder is also a favorite additive to many other commercial foods, such as bread and other baking products, sausages and margarine. The health-food industry is equally fond of adding lactose to many products such as soy milk and dandelion coffee. Lactose is often used as filler in white tablets. Cell salts are almost pure lactose. Try to avoid white tablets if the label does not state that they are free of lactose or are low-allergy tablets.

I suspect that the average daily amount of lactose that healthy adults can handle without the danger of long-term galactose overload appears is less than 10 g or the equivalent of a glass of milk. However, those who do have occasional mucus problems or are afflicted with a galactose-related disease do well to have a much lower lactose intake. With lactose allergy it is often necessary to avoid lactose completely for several months or years.

PROTEIN AND FAT

Casein is the main protein in cow’s milk and constitutes about 3 per cent of it. Human milk, on the other hand, has only 0.5 per cent casein content. The high casein content of cow’s milk causes it to form a very tough, rubbery curd in the stomach; the casein binds the calcium as an insoluble salt. Thus it is extremely difficult to digest and is a frequent source of indigestion. Mother’s milk and goat’s milk, on the other hand, form finely dispersed soft curds that are easy to digest.

Thus the protein in cow’s milk frequently is only partly digested and becomes a major source of intestinal putrefaction and toxemia. Incompletely digested protein may pass the wall of the small intestine and cause allergy. Worms in children are often due to intestinal putrefaction from undigested cow’s milk. Breast milk also contains high levels of fat-digesting lipase and other enzymes. Therefore breast milk is nearly self-digesting in the baby’s gut while pasteurized cow’s milk is very difficult to digest.

In a recent double-blind study 24 out of 27 babies with colic became free of symptoms when put on a diet free of cow’s milk protein. The babies, when given cow’s milk protein, cried on average 3.2 hours daily and when taken off cow’s milk cried for only 1 hour. However, I believe that breast-fed babies that have all their needs met hardly cry at all.

Allergy-prone mothers are able to pass allergens to their babies with their breast milk. This is often caused by beta-lactoglobulin, which is in the cow’s milk. When such mothers avoided cow’s milk (and thus its proteins), the babies’ colic disappeared.

Colic is due to an inflammation of the intestinal wall, which in turn is triggered by an allergic reaction against the protein in cow’s milk. This chronic inflammation erodes the micro-villi through which the food is absorbed, thus resulting in malabsorption. Incompletely digested proteins may also pass through the damaged intestinal wall into the bloodstream and produce various allergic reactions, such as dermatitis or brain irritation.

A general consequence of such cow’s milk allergy is a weakening of the immune system, which in babies is further aggravated by a lack of protective immune factors that are normally transmitted with breast milk. This is why infants on cow’s milk have frequent colds and respiratory infections; and it may also lead to sudden infant death or immune deficiency diseases in later life.

Cow’s milk appears to disturb the calcium metabolism. Calcium becomes trapped in undigested casein, while the long-chain saturated fatty acids form insoluble soaps with calcium. In addition, cow’s milk has a more unfavorable ratio of phosphorus to calcium as compared to breast milk.

Several studies have also shown that cancer patients consume more cows’ milk than do matched controls. Taurine is a sulfur amino acid that is high in breast milk and low in cow’s milk. It is required for brain, heart and liver functions; it regulates the sensitivity of cell membranes and protects against epilepsy.

Professor (of Geochemistry) Jane Plant (Your Life in Your Hands) may have discovered the connection between cow’s milk and cancer. Her breast cancer had re-grown a fifth time and she had been given up to die. At this stage she found out that the rate of death from breast cancer in China is one in 10,000 compared to about one in ten in most Western countries, and also that Chinese do not use animal milk or related products. Putting the two together she avoided all milk products, her tumor disappeared and for 13 years she is now free of cancer.

As Chinese have normal rates of some other cancers, there must be a special factor that causes these low breast cancer rates. Also the largely milk-free Japanese have low breast cancer rates, but when Chinese or Japanese women adopt a western lifestyle, their breast cancer rates start approaching the level in western countries. Increasingly, there are now studies appearing that link milk consumption to breast and prostate cancer.

The problem appears to be a special protein, called insulin-related growth factor, IGF-1, which stimulates hormone-related division of cells and affects especially breast tissue to grow during puberty and pregnancy. It also affects the prostate gland. Clinical studies showed that higher levels of circulating IGF-1 in the blood were not only a strong risk factor for women to develop breast cancer, but also for men to develop prostate cancer. However, IGF-1 levels were not elevated with benign conditions. The crucial factor is that cow’s milk is very high in IGF-1, and it is also present in the meat of dairy cows. High-yield milk production as commonly induced with synthetic hormones increases the IGF-1 levels in the milk.

A study of several hundred newly diagnosed diabetic children revealed an immune response to a fragment of cows’ milk protein in all of them. What is more, this protein fragment has the same composition as one called P69 on the beta-cells. Juvenile diabetes is much higher in those who have been bottle-fed rather than breast-fed and it is lower in communities, which consume less cows’ milk products. It appears that this is only a problem with milk from Frisian cows (called A1 milk) but not with milk from other, lower-yielding, breeds that produce A2 milk. Most of presently consumed milk is A1 milk.

P69 is usually protected inside the beta-cells and comes only to the surface during microbial and especially viral infections. At that time the immune system can mistake it for cows’ milk protein and attack it and destroy the beta-cell in the process. The problem is that bottle-fed infants are very susceptible to colds, respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. It is regarded as normal for them to have six and more infections a year while these are rare with breast-fed infants.

But it does not end there. Bottle-fed infants also frequently receive antibiotics that then encourage overgrowth of the intestines with undesirable microbes and a tendency to chronic pancreatitis. One type of E. coli bacteria is harmless in the large intestines but it has the potential for causing great damage in the small intestine. That is because it produces a molecule that is very similar to insulin. When the immune system becomes activated against this molecule, it may then also direct its attack against related features at the beta-cells.

Therefore, several other mechanisms besides cows’ milk allergy can trigger an attack on the beta-cells. Also gluten allergy may be implicated and in one instance even potato allergy was described as causing very high blood sugar levels, except if high-level vitamin-mineral supplements were given at the same time.

Tannin in tea or coffee has a harmful effect on the casein of added milk. It produces a denatured protein, similar to the manufacture of leather that cannot be digested and may cause digestive distress.

While milk and lactose may cause mucus congestion visible in the iris as whitish discoloration, cheese and butterfat cause the iris to turn yellow or brown in susceptible individuals. Yellow is the first stage of a white area becoming brown. When patients have avoided fats and cheese, I have noticed the brown color becoming lighter. From muscle testing I gained the impression that processed hard cheese is the main offender in those with irises that have turned brown. This may be due to liver damage caused by the high casein content of cheese combined with its saturated fat.

According to my observations, individuals with irises that have changed to brown generally have weak, under-active liver and gall bladder functions, especially as related to the fat metabolism. Those with irises changed to white, on the other hand, are more prone to acute and sometimes painful liver and gall bladder problems. In these individuals acne, psoriasis, blackheads and an unclean skin may also result from the over-consumption of fats and especially cheese.

Fermented cow’s milk products in the form of natural yogurt, kefir and natural cheeses produce a fine curd and cause less health problems than unfermented milk. However, even these should be used with care and only if they do not cause allergies or mucus problems. Generally, the corresponding goats’ or sheep milk products are much more preferable. The least harmful milk product is cottage cheese made from fermented goats’ or sheep milk.

The most damaging aspect of commercial milk products, apart from oversupplying the body with lactose and casein, is the destruction of natural enzymes by pasteurizing the milk. Raw butter, for instance, has formerly been used to cure psoriasis but pasteurized butter causes or aggravates it. The healing effect of raw butter is due to its high content of the fat-digesting enzyme lipase. The same is true for heart and liver problems, which are caused or aggravated by processed cheese and butter fat.

Such health problems did not occur in the inhabitants of the Caucasus and Bulgaria with their high intake of raw milk products. Cholesterol did not harm anyone in former times when mainly unheated milk products were used; cardiovascular diseases were almost unknown. Raw butter and cream would be a far healthier food than refined polyunsaturated oils or margarine.

Raw milk was formerly used to cure tuberculosis but pasteurized milk is more likely to cause it. Carnivorous wild animals have diets high in fat and cholesterol but no signs of atherosclerosis and heart disease. In contrast, dogs on canned food and cooked meat develop the same diseases as we humans.

Various foods have general healing qualities, or help to overcome specific health problems. Foods high in enzymes and growth hormones improve our overall health. Sprouted seeds, bee pollen, grass juice and unheated lactic-acid fermented food fall in this category, as do fresh edible flowers, such as nasturtium, impatiens and (male) pumpkin flowers. While the stamen of pumpkin flowers that bears the pollen is somewhat bitter, flower petals are especially high in bioflavonoids, which help fight and prevent allergies and inflammations.

Pollen is one of the best foods or supplements available, a raw food rich in enzymes and hormones in addition to vitamins and minerals. You may take one to three teaspoonfuls several times daily or use the lot to flavor your freshly pressed vegetable or grass juice. To make it easier to digest, soak the pollen in liquid for some time before ingestion. Alternatively, you may use a coffee grinder to make it into a powder. It is also a good addition to yogurt or other food to be fermented.

Foods high in sulfur may be increased to improve detoxification. Such foods include raw egg yolk, onion, horseradish, watercress, turnip or other raw food of the cabbage family. Most of these are also helpful in treating digestive ulcers; horseradish can be used to help treat mucus complaints. A supplement high in organic sulfur is MSM.

Bananas are good energy providers for those with a weak digestion. However, overripe Cavendish bananas (this is the most common variety) often cause digestive discomfort or allergies in sensitive individuals. This problem is commonly caused by over-gassing the bananas shortly before sale with ethylene gas to make them ripen very quickly. Ladyfinger bananas or other small varieties do not normally cause problems. Sensitive individuals generally should avoid overripe fruit. Acid citrus fruits are excellent for improving liver functions, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, cholesterol and fat levels in insensitive individuals.

Jerusalem artichokes in frequent small quantities are beneficial for kidney functions and for those with diabetes. Eat about one the size of an egg every other day. Store Jerusalem artichokes in soil, not in the refrigerator. Also eating (organic) liver often helps those with diabetes and so does eating avocados and green beans. Fruit and vegetables grown in your own area are generally more health-giving than those grown far away.

Sprouted Seeds

Sprouted seeds and young shoots such as wheat grass provide a higher degree of vitality and rejuvenation than other foods. I recommend sprouted seeds as a mainstay of a good diet. Most commonly used for sprouting are legumes such as lentils, peas, mung beans, fenugreek and chickpeas but also almonds, peanuts and sunflower kernels may be spouted. Sunflower and buckwheat seeds make a tasty salad when grown in seed boxes and cut close to the soil when 5-10 cm/2-4 inches high.

Alfalfa sprouts are high in a detergent-like saponin that may damage the intestinal wall in sensitive individuals. They have been shown to aggravate autoimmune diseases and possibly cancer. For others they may be a good food after allergy testing. Alfalfa sprouts should be exposed to light after leaves have emerged while other sprouts usually taste better before leaves develop. Alfalfa seeds easily rot in wet conditions. They are best sprouted in an upturned jar covered with muslin held in place with a strong rubber.

It is important to use seeds with a high germination power. Buy a small quantity for testing and if they sprout well buy a larger quantity from the same source and keep them in an airtight container. Lentils and mung beans are easy to start with. Just soak the seeds overnight and then rinse several times a day, drain well, spread out lightly and keep covered. Wash well again just before eating to remove any bacteria and fungi. If seeds are of poor quality and start rotting easily, use them when the germs just start to appear, otherwise wait until they are up to one inch long, which is usually within three days. Different compatible seeds may be germinated together.

Mung beans may retain hard pieces after soaking that can damage the teeth. This can be avoided by pouring some boiling water over the seeds initially and letting them soak in the cooling water. Peas and lentils, on the other hand, like it cool and sprouts easily deteriorate in hot conditions. Sprouted seeds may be refrigerated in a closed container after they have reached the desired length. Individuals who are rather sensitive to fungi and microbes may wash sprouted seeds in diluted hydrogen peroxide shortly before use. If you have difficulty chewing or if sprouted seeds cause much wind, try using them as part of your fresh juice.

If seeds do not sprout well, the cause may be as follows:

· Seeds may not be not viable – too old or poor storage

· Temperature during sprouting is too high or too low

· Seeds are kept too dry or too wet during sprouting

Experiment and adjust conditions.

Fermented Food

The use of fermented food was widespread in former centuries. Well-known are yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, beer, cider and cider vinegar, pickles, miso, sauerkraut and sourdough bread.

The advantages of fermenting are several:

· Minerals can be more easily absorbed

· Enzyme inhibitors and other anti-nutrients are eliminated

· The amount of vitamins and enzyme is greatly increased

· It preserves the food and can introduce delicious flavors

· The food becomes much more easily digestible, being essentially a predigested food, suitable for anyone with a weak digestive system

However, there can be one drawback: some individuals are very sensitive to fermented products and should avoid fermented foods.

Today most traditionally fermented foods are commercially made by purely chemical means, for example, vinegar, pickles, cheese and cottage cheese, baking products, and some beer and wine substitutes. This disuse of the fermentation process in preparing our staple foods is a contributing factor in the cause of chronic diseases.

In all fermentation it is important that a desirable strain of bacteria develops. This depends on the bacteria already present or introduced, as well as on the temperature during fermentation. Basically we want lactic-acid bacteria that convert glucose into lactic acid. In order to ensure the development of pure bacterial cultures, the food is often heat-treated and then inoculated with the desired strain. However, I believe the product is nutritionally superior if it has not been heat-treated.

Grains such as rye, oats, millet, wheat, brown rice, and vegetables such as cabbage are best fermented at a warm room temperature, while cultures containing yogurt or acidophilus bacteria do better between 30⁰C and 40⁰C (85⁰ and 105⁰ F).

There is a distinction between the fermentation of yeast and that of lactic acid bacteria. Yeast fermentation is used in traditionally made beer, wine and bread. Due to the overuse of antibiotics in recent decades, many individuals are now allergic or sensitive to yeast. Therefore it is advisable for sensitive individuals to restrict yeast products and for others to abstain periodically or after antibiotic treatment and test for incompatibility.

When fermentation is uncontrolled, as it is for instance when making sauerkraut or rejuvelac (water in which grains have been soaked for several days), a mixture of lactic-acid bacteria and yeast usually develops. These products are not a problem for many, but sensitive individuals need to watch out and may have to avoid them.

In making yogurt, sour milk, sour cream and cheeses the natural way, lactic-acid fermentation is the preferred method and still widely used. However, due to the mucus-forming potential of lactose, these products should be used with caution, especially if made from cow’s milk. The curd causes less of a problem than the whey and goat’s milk less than cow’s milk. The whey contains most of the lactose. Most commercial, fermented milk products are heat-treated and often very high in lactose, best avoided them.

On the other hand, as a health food seed cheese or seed yogurt may be used. This is commonly made from oily seeds such as nuts, almonds or sunflower kernels by adding acidophilus culture to the soaked and blended seeds. Washing the seeds in diluted hydrogen peroxide before blending can minimize contamination of the seed cheese with yeast, also adding a large amount of starter helps and letting it ferment for only a short period. The same applies to sourdough baking, which is also recommended.

Do not use strongly fermenting products that have become very sour. You may discard the whey and wash the curd to make it acceptable. Nevertheless, do not use any fermented food that has a foul smell or taste. The water used for fermentation should be free of chlorine and fluoride, as these will poison the enzymes.

Fermenting or fermented products should not be kept in metal containers nor should a metal spoon be left immersed in the food as this increases our exposure to toxic metals. Plastic containers are not recommended for fermenting either. Fermented foods may be refrigerated for a week or two. Part of the former batch may be used as a starter for a new lot but beware of contamination with yeast. It is especially important to eat fermented foods during and after a course of antibiotics but also when one has cancer or another degenerative disease.

Purple Food

The color pigment in purple foods belongs to the large group of bio-active natural chemicals called bioflavonoids. We find them as red, blue and purple pigments in a wide range of flowers, fruits and vegetables but also in the pulp of citrus fruit. Two well-known bioflavonoids are rutin and quercetin.

Another important nutrient group is the carotenoids that form the yellow, orange and red colors in flowers and fruits. Best known is beta-carotene. Even more important for healthy eyes and especially to protect the retina to prevent blindness from macular degeneration are lutein and zeaxanthin. They are especially found in spinach, lettuce, broccoli, peas and corn. Lycopene appears to protect the health of the prostate gland. Studies also found it protective against exercise-induced asthma. You can find it in red-hued fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, guavas, papaya and watermelon.

If you have the opportunity, frequently snack some flower petals or put them through the juicer. Suitable are especially the petals of big (male) pumpkin flowers or the whole flowers of impatiens or nasturtium, basically all flowers of edible vegetables may be used.

The pigments of purple foods are especially highly unsaturated and therefore are strong antioxidants. One important group of purple pigments is the anthocyanins and proanthocyanins or PAC’s. When many individual anthocyanin molecules are linked together they are also called oligo-proanthocyanins or OPC’s. One such compound that is commercially extracted from pine bark is sold as pygnogenol. A cheaper product with similar qualities is sold as grape seed extract.

The OPC’s have lost their purple color but this may be restored when they are broken down into their individual components in the body. In nature these anthocyanins are bound to different sugars and they are then called anthocyanidins. During digestion the sugars are split off to release the anthocyanins for absorption. The term ‘purple foods’ as used here includes all foods that yield purple juice when cooked or pressed with skin but that does not include eggplant.

The color of black/purple/red grapes, blackberries, blueberries, red wine and red cabbage consists of anthocyanins, the individual molecules and active form of PACs. The pigment of red beet belongs to a subgroup of anthocyanins, the betacyanins. Both groups have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and improve the elasticity of blood vessels and skin. PACs, anthocyanins and betacyanins also help to restore normal oxidative metabolism or cell respiration.

With this, they are important not only for normalizing cancer cells but also with chronic fatigue and general lack of energy by taking the role of oxygen as electron acceptors. Furthermore, purple foods in sufficient amounts can improve the elasticity of skin and blood vessels. With this and in combination with other bioflavonoids they are beneficial with various diseases such as allergies, inflammation, infections, parasites, cancer, liver disease, vascular diseases, thrombosis (blood clotting), chemical toxicity and coronary artery disease.

Purple foods should generally be eaten with the skin as this is usually most strongly colored. However, with purple onions the outer skins are not directly edible and you may utilize these as a tea. Grapes should be well rinsed before eating to remove fungi or molds. Sensitive individuals and especially those with Candida may find it preferable in addition to soak the grapes for a while with some added hydrogen peroxide. When grapes are not in season, the juice of black grapes has reportedly been used with good success in the treatment of cancer. For this a 750 ml/24 oz. bottle of dark grape juice should be sipped spaced out during the morning with no other food before lunch, for the original report see www.quantumbalancing/grape.htm.

Red Beet or beetroot is the best purple vegetable. The purple pigment has been shown to increase and normalize cell respiration – the oxygen-based energy production within cells. Thus beetroot is one of the key foods in preventing as well as curing cancer. It is equally important in the treatment of other degenerative diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome that are all characterized by reduced cell respiration.

The active ingredient in red beet is called betacyanin with two carbonyl groups (C=0-). When cellular energy is produced through the oxidation of nutrients, electrons and hydrogen ions are transferred onto the inhaled oxygen to produce water and energy. In cancer cells and with chronic fatigue the respiratory enzymes that accomplish this transfer have been diminished or destroyed. The color pigment in beetroot (and other purple food) strongly binds electrons and hydrogen and with this can reactivate the production of cellular oxidative energy. Seeger and others have shown that the respiration of cancer cells can be completely normalized by a combination of red beet, raw fermented food and vitamin C. The multiplication of cancer cells will thus stop, and tumors become non-virulent. Clinical tests using red beet with cancer patients revealed that often tumors regressed and disappeared.

In the original cancer therapy with red beet 1 Kg have been used daily. However, if used together with other purple food less may be needed, as for instance when combining red beet with dark grapes or dark grape juice.

Use plenty of red beets grated in salads, as juice and cooked; also the residue from juicing may be cooked. Occasionally a small beet may leave an acrid aftertaste. Taste suspect beets before making salads or juice; cooking them is fine, and beet tops may be cooked also. Tinned beet has lost most of its pigments and is of little value.

Red beet may be available only seasonally. You may store a larger quantity in moist sand. Keep the tops exposed in a cool, shaded place with just enough moisture to prevent drying out. After a good root system has developed you may also let them continue to grow in a sandy and well-drained soil, neither too wet nor too dry to avoid rotting or mold development; check frequently. Alternatively, you may stock up on beetroot juice by freezing it.

Raw Egg

Fresh raw eggs, genuinely free-range from hens fed on greens and grains, have health-giving and healing properties. However, egg allergy is widespread and with habitual consumption eggs should be tested. Raw egg yolk does not raise the cholesterol level; it is high in sulfur compounds that strengthen connective tissue and detoxify the liver.

Fresh raw egg yolk has long been known to enhance or rejuvenate sexual energies that are required not only for having sex, but more importantly for creative activity in general and for physical fitness. Very fresh, raw, beaten egg white, on the other hand, has germicidal properties.

The cell walls of lymphocytes (white blood cells) become more rigid with aging, AIDS and viral infections, mainly due to increased cholesterol levels in cell walls. Lipids extracted from raw egg yolk have been reported to normalize rigid cell walls and fully restore immune functions. This has led to great improvements in AIDS patients treated with egg-yolk lipids.

Linseed and Sulfur-rich Food

Together with fish oils, linseed or flaxseed oil is our best source of the essential omega-3 fatty acids. These polyunsaturated fatty acids are important for brain and nerve functions, for the fluidity of cell membranes and for the oxidative cellular energy production. Of great importance for this energy production are lipoproteins formed from essential fatty acids and sulfur-proteins (taurine, cysteine, methionine). These are concentrated in active tissue such as glands, liver, brain, muscles and skin and are needed for oxidative energy production or cellular respiration.

Key enzymes formed from cysteine and essential fatty acids are deficient in individuals with degenerative diseases such as cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes and many skin diseases as well as heart, liver and kidney degeneration. These and other diseases have reportedly been cured with high intakes of high-quality linseed oil and sulfur-rich foods.

Linseed oil is very sensitive to oxidation and special precautions are needed to obtain and retain a non-rancid product. The linseed or flaxseed oil must be fresh when purchased, not more than a few months old and produced at low temperatures without light and oxygen, stored in a cool and dark place, and refrigerated before and after opening. It should never be heated.

High quality linseed oil is rather expensive and normally it will be sufficient and much cheaper to use freshly ground whole linseed instead of or in addition to the oil. Linseed contains 35% linseed oil. You may use several tablespoonfuls a day. This also has a mildly laxative effect. Best grind it fresh in a coffee grinder. Alternatively use a blender, screen it through a strainer and add the coarse residue to the blender again with the next lot.

Ground linseed may be refrigerated for a few days but is better stored in the freezer. For individuals with malabsorption problems and for those wanting to improve their skin, linseed oil may also be rubbed into parts of the skin that are protected from the sun. In addition, I recommend unheated extra virgin olive oil internally as well as on the skin. This is a good source of squalene, a strong antioxidant that is also important for our energy production and a key ingredient for the healing properties of shark liver oil.

The main sulfur amino acids are L-cysteine and L-methionine; eggs are a good source of these but they can easily be produced from other sulfur-rich food such as onions. The best supplement form of organic sulfur is MSM. In addition to linseed oil, in her famous cancer therapy Dr Budwig recommends quark made from raw fermented skim milk as the main source of these sulfur amino acids. However, according to the blood group diet this may only be suitable for individuals with the blood groups B or AB.

As supplements do not use the D,L(or d,l)-forms of cysteine or methionine, only the natural L-forms. While cysteine is very important for detoxification and energy production, new research shows that it may also act as a neurotransmitter in the brain and high doses can create an imbalance in the brain of susceptible individuals. Therefore, it is generally best to obtain it or synthesize it from sulfur-rich food. High doses of methionine, on the other hand, can cause a problem in individuals who are deficient in vitamin B6. Problems can be avoided by supplementing it together with vitamin B6.

LAXATIVE FOODS

For the improvement or maintenance of good health it is desirable to have two or three bowel movements daily. A better lifestyle and raw food will do much to achieve this goal, but initially it may be necessary to include some laxative foods as well.

BRAN A mild laxative; however, it accentuates mineral deficiencies. Wheat bran is not suitable for anyone who is sensitive to wheat. I do not recommend wheat bran but you may experiment with rice bran, provided that you take trace mineral supplements with bran-free meals.

FRESHLY FERMENTED FOODS – These often have a strong laxative action.

ISOTONIC FLUSH – Add 9 g of salt (approximately 1 heaped teaspoonful) to 1 liter of water or use 1 cup of seawater diluted with 3 cups of fresh water. Drink this within a few minutes on an empty stomach, and take no food or other drink for the following 30 minutes. This is excellent for cleaning the whole of the gastro-intestinal tract, but it should not be used if a severely restricted intake of sodium is indicated for other conditions.

LINSEED – Mildly laxative and soothing for irritated bowels. Preferably use ground linseed, otherwise one tablespoon of dry seeds with water some time before meals and at bedtime; swallow whole. If the intestines are irritated (white inner irises), use fenugreek or pure slippery-elm powder with linseed.

MAGNESIUM SALTS – Take 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts with water. Milk of magnesia may be neutralized with ascorbic acid, alternatively try increasing amounts of magnesium chloride.

MOLASSES- Use on its own or with yeast in warm water.

MUSTARD SEEDS – Take ½ teaspoon of whole dry seeds with water twice daily, some time before a meal; do not chew. This helps to strengthen bowel functions and overcome gas formation. Continue for two months or as required. Do not use mustard seeds if the intestines are irritated.

PRUNES – May be taken raw, soaked or cooked.

PSYLLIUM HULLS – are preferable to bran. Stir a teaspoonful in a large glass of water and drink immediately about 30 minutes before meals as often as required for either laxative action or weight reduction.

SENNA – Pods, powder or leaves may be added to herb teas.

URINE – Drinking a cupful of your diluted morning urine has a good laxative effect.

WATER – Drinking a large quantity of water within a short period will cause part of it to rinse the bowels. Take 2 large glassfuls or more of (warm) water before breakfast.

Source:health-science-spirit