Fasting and Eating for Health (7 page)

In the massive China Health Study, fat intake in various provinces ranged from 6 to 24 percent of calories. Breast as well as other cancers were proportionally more prevalent as the fat intake increased. Less fat is consumed in the areas of China where cancer incidence is lowest, and this level of fat is much, much lower than what American authorities are recommending. (Our government and our health authorities, like the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association, recommend a diet proven to cause high levels of cancer and heart disease.)

High-Protein Diets Cause Osteoporosis

36

The human body is physiologically ill-equipped to handle a diet high in refined foods, animal products, fats, and proteins, without ill effects. Just as heart disease and cancers arc strongly related to a high consumption of animal foods, the same can be said of autoimmune illnesses and osteoporosis. Multiple studies have linked osteoporosis not to low calcium intakes, but to diets high in protein, salt, refined sugar, caffeine, and phosphorous contained in soft drinks, all of which cause an excessive loss of calcium in the urine.41,42,43,44 In fact, populations that consume the highest levels of calcium usually have the highest rates of osteoporosis-related hip fractures.45 Therefore, osteoporosis should be seen as just another one of the diseases that is linked to our rich, highly refined, high-protein, high-fat, modern diet.

The United States Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 44

grams for a young woman. This includes a twofold safety factor, which doubles the minimum requirements as determined by nitrogen balance studies. We do not need to eat any animal foods to meet these protein requirements. Strict vegetarians who eat no animal products get more than enough protein, and they do not need, selectively or scientifically, to mix and match foods to do so.

It is a mistaken notion that we need to cat protein-concentrated foods in order to obtain the eight essential amino acids. A thorough review of the literature on human protein requirements and population studies shows that children and adults grow healthy and strong on vegetable-and complex-carbohydrate-based diets.46,47 Vegetables that do not contain significant amounts of all eight essential amino acids tend to complement each other even if the amino acids are consumed in separate meals in the same day or as much as 16 hours apart.48

The average American woman consumes more than 100 grams of protein per day, which is more than twice the level of our already high RDA. The extra protein that we do not need merely adds stress to the system by increasing the acid tide in our bloodstream after a high-protein meal and forcing the body to deal with excess nitrogenous waste. The stress from excess protein results in premature aging of the kidney and loss of excessive calcium when urinating.

This inevitably weakens the bones as we age.

A
negative calcium balance
means more calcium is excreted in the urine than is absorbed via digestion. A positive balance means more calcium is absorbed than is excreted. Studies have shown that when subjects consume more than 75 grams of protein per day, even with a daily calcium intake as high as 1,400 mg, negative calcium balance can result.49 The continual depletion of our calcium reserves over time from excessive calcium excretion in the urine is the primary cause of osteoporosis. It is the inevitable consequence of consuming the American diet, which is much too high in protein.

Plant foods contain plenty of essential proteins, and you do not have to be a food scientist or dietician to get enough. Any mixture of wholesome plant-based foods consumed in a 24-hour period will supply the body with sufficient amounts. For example, whole wheat bread is 16 percent protein; peanuts, 18

percent; beans, 28 percent; broccoli, 17 percent; and even fresh fruit such as 37

an orange is 5 percent protein. Stop being brainwashed by the false notion that only animal foods contain adequate protein.

Sufficient amounts of protein are obtained when caloric requirements are met from wholesome natural vegetable foods. Plant products contain an abundance of protein, without being excessive. How else could the gorilla get to be 800

pounds of muscle, eating solely fruit and leaves? The main point is that we should be concerned about
too much
rather than too little protein. It is ironic that the chief argument used to promote the use of animal products—the idea that they are rich in protein—is a great reason to avoid them.

Increased urinary calcium loss from the conventional high-protein diet also leads to an increased risk of kidney stones and nephrocalcinosis (calcification of kidney tubules). Numerous studies have shown that the formation of kidney stones is directly proportional to the amount of animal protein in the diet.50 The calcium supplements and increased milk consumption recommended to today's women will further accelerate kidney stone formation and nephrocalcinosis, since more calcium will be filtered through the kidney.

Plant foods are a preferable source of protein also because they do not contain antibiotics, cholesterol, and man-made chemicals that concentrate in animal tissues. Unfortunately, animal foods such as milk, fish, and meat are contaminated with man-made poisons and can contain high levels of pesticides such as PCBs and DDTs. As animals eat the treated feeds and contaminated grains and grasses, they retain the added toxins in their tissues. Animal products contain much higher levels of pesticides than do plant foods.

Animals are fed antibiotics, other drugs, and growth agents. For example, some of the most common drugs used on the farm include
sulfamethazine
, which can cause cancer in laboratory animals and is believed to cause thyroid tumors in humans. As a result of the process of biologic concentration (animals retaining and accumulating poisonous chemicals for a lifetime in their tissues), these chemicals are transmitted to humans when animal products are eaten.

PCBs and DDTs have also been linked to cancer. Women who have breast cancer have a higher concentration of these chemicals in their breast tissues than women who do not have cancer.51,52 Fish and dairy products are the largest contributors of these toxic products in our diet. Though the highest levels of PCBs are found in fish, they also occur in chicken and red meat. The insecticides DDT and DDE are found mostly in dairy products.

Researchers at the National Cancer Research Center in Tokyo have confirmed other reports that at least ten cancer-causing compounds are known to be released when meat is grilled or fried. Many of the same compounds can be found in cigarette smoke. When these compounds enter breast tissue they can spur cancerous mutations.53 These compounds, mostly heterocyclic amines, cause cancer by damaging human DNA. The same effect is seen with fish and fowl.

A Natural Plant-Based Diet Is a More Sensible Approach
38

For ideal nutrition, I recommend a low-fat, lowered-protein, low-sodium diet; one that is high in raw, unrefined carbohydrates. Meals can consist entirely of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and raw nuts and seeds used judiciously. This will cut the protein content to less than 75 grams per day. A large salad of green lettuce should be consumed daily.

This ideal diet consists of at least 40 percent of calories from vegetables, including raw vegetables, steamed green vegetables, and cooked starches such as squash and potato. Fruit comprises another 25 percent of the diet, and grains, beans, nuts, and seeds another 25 percent. This diet would derive not more than 15 percent of calories from fat, 10 to 15 percent of calories from protein, and 70 to 75 percent of calories from complex carbohydrate. The fat would come from the natural foods themselves, not from extracted oils.

Refined food products, all sweeteners, added-salt and salted products, as well as soft drinks, coffee, and caffeine drinks would be excluded from an optimal diet. Dairy products would be eliminated or consumed infrequently.

If we look at a sample plant-food menu of approximately 2,000 calories (the caloric intake appropriate for an average adult female), we see that it contains a desirable level of protein, including generous amounts of all the essential amino acids. Even without any nuts or beans, the menu contains much more protein than the RDA.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

(3 cups cooked)

Oranges

(2 medium)

Apple

(1 medium)

Lunch

Vegetable salad,

(8 ounces)

made from

lettuce, sprouts,

cucumber,

carrots, jicama, and

lemon

Kale

(3 cups, steamed)

Potato

(1 whole, baked)

Snack

Banana

(1 raw)

Dinner
Vegetable

salad, made from (16 ounces)

lettuce, celery, red

pepper, carrots,

tomato, and lemon

Sunflower seeds

(1 ounce)

(16 ounces,

Broccoli

steamed)

39

(2 1/2 cups

Brown rice

cooked)

Snack

Grapes

(2 cups)

This sample diet provides 2,095 kilocalories, of which 13 percent come from protein, 74 percent from carbohydrates, and 13 percent from fat. It can be seen from the following analysis that there is plenty of protein in this diet, along with the other essential nutrients. The percent of sodium, rather than being too low, is actually appropriate. The ridiculously high RDA for sodium is reflective of the American norm and is much too high for optimal health.

Nutrient Values and Percent RDA

for Selected

Nutrients of Preceding Menu

PERCENT

OF RDA

73.12

Protein

149

grams

Tryptophan

851.9 mg

340

Threonine

2,493 mg

554

Isoleucine

3,011 mg

465

Leucine

4,565 mg

480

Lysine

3,185 mg

398

Methionine

1,166 mg

274

Cystine

1,048 mg

246

Phenylalanine

3,124 mg

657

Tyrosine

2,051 mg

437

Valine

3,647 mg

561

Histidine

1,633 mg

296

Calcium

989 mg

123

Magnesium

829.4 mg

296

Phosphorus

1,898 mg

237

Selenium

0.289 mg

525

Vitamin A

8,981 IU

1,122

Thiamine (B )

1

3.429 mg

311

Riboflavin (B )

2

1.960 mg

150

Niacin (B )

3

22.08 mg

147

Pyridoxine (B )

6

4.479 mg

279

40

Cobalamin (B )

12

0 µg

0

41

Folate

844.5 µg

469

Pantothenic acid 8.692 mg

158

Vitamin C

791.2 mg

1,318

(No

Vitamin E

46.28 mg

RDA)

A-Tocopherol

66.67 mg

833

Vitamin K

1,376 µg

2,117

14.64

Linoleic fat

299

grams

Iron

25.8 mg

171

Manganese

15.35 mg

438

Potassium

6,728 mg

336

Zinc

12.57 mg

104

Sodium

488 mg

20

On a strict vegetarian diet such as this, the only nutrient that might need to be supplemented is vitamin B . One B

tablet weekly is sufficient, as the body 12

12

stores vitamin B

effectively and our needs are very small. Most strict 12

vegetarians do not need to take vitamin B

supplements as their blood level of

12

this nutrient is adequate, probably because of production from bacteria residing within the intestines. I advise people avoiding animal foods to either take a supplement or get a blood test yearly. In a more primitive environment humans on a plant food diet received the small amount of B

needed from bacteria on

12

the foods they ate. Improved hygiene, careful washing, and modern processing destroy this bacteria so, today, it is wise to play it safe by assuring adequate intake.

A compromise diet plan for those desiring to move closer to good nutrition from their present eating habits, but unable to give up animal products, would contain animal foods in very limited quantity. These concentrated foods are such a significant health risk that if they must be consumed, they should be limited to not more than 3.5 to 4 ounces every other day. Even then the animal-based food should be utilized in small quantities, perhaps as a condiment to flavor a vegetable dish or soup. This 3.5 ounces should include all types of animal-based foods.

Another suggestion for those who do not want to restrict themselves to vegetarian foods and who are otherwise in good health would be to eat animal foods such as fish and chicken a few times a month, as in foods for special occasions. Thus one wouldn't have to worry about quantity.

If dramatic improvement in your health is what you have in mind, then dramatic changes must be made in your diet. These changes must be permanent. A miraculous recovery from disease, as I see with so many of my patients who adopt these changes, requires dramatic changes in eating habits.