Water: For Health, For Healing, For Life (28 page)

Tyrosine is another most important and responsible amino acid in the human body. It is the base material for the manufacture of adrenaline and noradrenaline—the neurotransmitters that coordinate the action-oriented functions of the body. Tyrosine is also essential for the manufacture of the neurotransmitter dopamine, of the thyroid hormones, and of the skin pigment called melanin, the suntan pigment. This amino acid is also critical for the composition of certain essential proteins, including the insulin receptor.

In stress, the enzyme that breaks up tyrosine becomes excessively activated. If the enzyme is allowed to continue its run on the body's reserve of tyrosine beyond the rate of its manufacture, certain essential functions become severely affected. Tyrosine and tryptophan seem to be excessively destroyed when there is dehydration/stress in the body.

Sources of Good Proteins

Good-quality proteins can be found in eggs, milk, and legumes. Legumes such as lentils, mung beans, broad beans, and soy beans are 24 percent high-quality proteins. Vegetables also contain good-quality protein (spinach is about 13 percent protein), as do fresh turkey, chicken, veal, beef, pork, and fish. I use the word
fresh
because animal meat contains different enzymes that quickly destroy some of the essential amino acids within its proteins. Prolonged exposure to oxygen also destroys some of the essential amino acids in meat proteins. It makes the good fats in meat rancid and useless to the body.

Do not take individual amino acids as supplements instead of a balanced protein diet. At a certain concentration, some have adverse effects on the mineral and vitamin balance of the body. Amino acids in the body function more efficiently when they are proportionately represented.

Eggs are a wholesome food. An average egg weighs 50 grams and has an energy value of eighty calories. The white of an egg weighs about 33 grams and the yolk about 17 grams. Eggs contain about 6 grams of top-quality proteins, no carbohydrates, and no fiber. The protein content of eggs is composed of a balanced range of amino acids. Eggs are rich in vitamins such as biotin and minerals such as manganese, selenium, phosphorus, and copper. The yolk is a rich source of sulfur, a natural antioxidant that is now recognized as vital for health and well-being.

About 10 percent of an egg is its lipid or fat con-tent. The lipid composition of the egg yolk is unique. It is rich in both lecithin, which is the precursor of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is an essential fat for maintaining brain function. It is needed for the constant repair of brain-cell membranes and their cell-to-cell contact points—synaptosomes. The nerve structure of the eyes uses much DHA for interpreting colors and for quality and sharpness of vision. Apart from being found in eggs, DHA is also found in cold-water fish and algae.

It is being increasingly understood that the level of cholesterol in the circulation is not affected by a high-egg diet. It is a medically published fact that an elderly man has for many years eaten about twenty-four eggs a week without any clinically significant rise in his cholesterol level.

The next time you come across a person who talks about “bad cholesterol” being the cause of heart disease, ask: “Is it not true that we measure the cholesterol levels in the body in the blood that is drawn from a vein?” If it is true that the cholesterol level is the cause of plaques and obstruction of the blood vessels, when a slower rate of blood flow would encourage further cholesterol deposits, then we should also see more blockage of the veins of the body. Since there is not a single scientific report of cholesterol deposits causing blockage of the veins, the assumption that cholesterol is “bad” and is the cause of heart disease is erroneous and unscientific.

Let me again explain why we get cholesterol deposits in the arteries of the heart or the brain or even on the inner wall of the major arteries of the body. Remember, the term
dehydration
really refers to concentrated, acidic blood. Acidic blood that is also concentrated pulls water out of the cells lining the arterial wall. At the same time, the fast rush of blood against the delicate cells lining the inner wall of the arteries, weakened by loss of their water and damaged by constant toxicity of concentrated blood, produces microscopic abrasions.

Another of the many functions of cholesterol is its use as a sort of waterproof dressing to cover the dam-aged sites within the arterial membranes until they are repaired. Cholesterol acts as a sort of waterproof covering—a “grease gauze”—that protects the inner wall of the artery from rupturing and peeling off. When you look at cholesterol through this perspective, you will realize what a blessing it really is. This particular action of cholesterol is actually designed to save the lives of people whose bodies get seriously damaged as a result of persistent dehydration.

In my opinion, all the statistics about the level of cholesterol in the blood and the number of people who die of heart disease reflect the extent of the killer dehydration that has also caused the level of blood cholesterol to rise.

Another most important role of cholesterol in the body will be discussed later in this chapter. Based on this new understanding of cholesterol, I have no hesitation in recommending eggs as a very good source of the essential dietary needs of the human body.

Milk Products

For people who can digest milk products, natural, unsweetened yogurt is a good source of high-quality protein. It also contains lots of vitamins and good bacteria. The good bacteria in yogurt keep the intestinal tract healthy and help prevent the growth of toxic bacteria and toxic yeasts such as candida. Of course, people who are allergic to dairy products should not take yogurt.

Cheeses are also a good source of protein. Freshly prepared cheeses are easier to digest and, in my opinion, are more wholesome than aged cheeses. Some people cannot digest cow's milk easily. Soy milk is a very good substitute. If you do not like the taste of soy milk, mix it with carrot juice and enjoy the advantage of additional vitamins and nutrients. The combination is healthy and tasty.

ESSENTIAL FATS

Fat is an essential dietary requirement of the body. Some vital fatty acids that make up certain fats and oils are used as primary materials in the manufacture of cell membranes. They are also primary ingredients from which many of the hormones of the body are manufactured. The manufacture of sex hormones depends on the presence of some essential fats in the body, including the much-maligned cholesterol. Nerve cells need the “good” fats to remanufacture their constantly used-up nerve endings.

The essential fat components are omega-6—a polyunsaturated fatty acid known as linoleic acid— and omega-3, which is a superunsaturated fatty acid known as alphalinolenic acid. These fatty acids are in the form of oils. Our bodies cannot manufacture these essential fatty acids and have to import them in the form of oils in food.

The average body needs, absolutely, between 6 and 9 grams of linoleic acid a day. It also needs around 2 to 9 grams of alphalinolenic acid (omega-3), the most essential of the fatty acids. These fatty acids are needed particularly by the brain cells and their long nerves to manufacture insulated membranes that need to be impermeable and prevent interference to the rate and flow of neurotransmission. The nerve endings in the retina that are involved in object recognition and clarity of sight have a high turnover of these essential fatty acids, particularly DHA. DHA is made from omega-3 fatty acid and is vital for brain-cell composition. People with neurological disorders have been shown to be short of DHA.

As mentioned, eggs, cold-water fish, and algae are good sources of DHA. Another excellent source of the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, in an ideal ratio of 3:l, is flaxseed oil (also known as linseed oil) that is cold-pressed and bottled in dark containers that keep out light. A similar oil is grapeseed oil. Light destroys these essential oils, which is why they are also packed in dark capsules. Sesame oil has the desirable property of being highly unsaturated. It is the eating oil of choice in many ancient cultures. Canola oil is also a good source of some essential fatty acids. The reason oils are better than solid fats is because at normal body temperature they remain as oils and do not turn into sticky lard.

For detailed information on the essential fatty acids and their best sources, refer to the book
Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill,
by Dr. Udo Erasmus. Another good and readable book on this topic is
Smart Fats,
by Dr. Michael A. Schmidt. I also recommend a book on vitamins and minerals that I found easy reading with lots of useful information. It is
The Complete Illustrated Guide to Vitamins and Minerals
by Denise Mortimer.

Butter is a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin E, lecithin, folic acid, and more. Butter is also a rich source of calcium and phosphorous. The body needs some fat in its daily diet. You cannot go fat-free and survive for long. The body is not able to manufacture certain fat components that are needed to make its insulating membranes. If you don't give the body what it needs, it will try to make the required element from the carbohydrate content in its daily diet. However, since the body is unable to complete the process of making essential fats, it proceeds to store the unfinished product. This is how some people grow disproportionately fat. If you want to lose weight, your diet must contain some fat. Each gram of fat provides the body with nine calories of energy. Recent studies have con-firmed the importance of adequate fat in diets designed for weight loss.

FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND SUNLIGHT

The body also needs fruits and green vegetables daily. They are ideal sources of the natural vitamins and essential minerals we need. Green vegetables also contain a great deal of beta-carotenes and even some DHA fatty acid needed by the brain. Fruits and vegetables are important for maintaining the pH balance of the body. Chlorophyll contains a very high quantity of magnesium. Magnesium is to chlorophyll what iron is to hemoglobin in the blood—an oxygen carrier.

To asthmatics, people with osteoporosis, and also cancers, sunlight is medicine. Light from the sun acts on the cholesterol deposits on the skin and converts them to vitamin D. Vitamin D encourages bone making and the entrapment of calcium by the bones, which in children helps them grow. Vitamin D also stimulates calcium absorption in the intestinal tract. Calcium has a direct acid-neutralizing effect in the body and is effective in balancing the cell pH—an outcome that helps alleviate asthma complications.

If you drink adequate amounts of water every day, take the required amount of salt, and get plenty of exercise—preferably in the open air and under good light—your body will begin to adjust its own intake of proteins and carbohydrates, as well as its fat requirements to use for energy. Your need for proteins will increase. Your need for carbohydrates will decrease, and your fat-burning enzymes will consume more fat than is in the average diet. Contrary to the belief that cholesterol cannot be metabolized once it is deposited, it, too, will be cleared. The cholesterol deposits in the arteries may take longer to disappear than you might wish, but the body has all the chemical know-how to clear cholesterol plaques.

Cholesterol and Osteoporosis

Remember, cholesterol is vital to body physiology. We have to find out why the body manufactures more of it than usual. The following explanation is one of many I have found for this.

When there is a shortage of water in the body, less hydroelectric energy is manufactured to energize all the dependent functions—much like low water flow in the river that feeds an electricity-generating dam. After a while, the dam will not hold enough water to operate all the generators. In real-life situations, when cheap energy from hydroelectric dams is insufficient, power generators begin to burn oil or coal—dirty fuel—to generate electricity.

In the body, the alternative source of energy is calcium deposits in the bone or inside the cells. The energy trapped in the union of two calcium molecules that are fused together is used instead. When two calcium atoms bond together, one unit of ATP energy is also trapped. The cells in the body have many trapped bonded calcium atoms in different storage sites that become broken up and their energy is used. There comes a time when this process results in an availability of too many loose calcium molecules— similar to the ash of spent fuel. Fortunately, calcium ash (so to speak) is easily recycled and, if energy is available, calcium molecules bond together once again and store energy for use—like charging a battery that is low.

Sunlight—energy—converts cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D. Vitamin D is responsible for facilitating the reentrapment of calcium and its reentry into the cells and the bones to be rebounded and restored. Vitamin D sticks to its receptors on the cell membrane; simultaneously, one unit of calcium attaches itself to the exposed tail of the vitamin D that is in the process of entering the cell through the cell membrane. The union of calcium with vitamin D and its membrane receptor acts as a sort of magnetic rod, and whole chains of other essential elements and amino acids stick to the exposed calcium and are drawn into the cell.

In this way, the energy of sunlight, and its conversion of cholesterol to vitamin D, has a direct physiological impact on the feeding mechanism of the cells of the body. When calcium reenters the cell, it takes other essential elements with it. In this way, the cell receives raw materials for repair and energy metabolism. At the same time, the surplus energy that enters the cell is used to fuse together calcium molecules and once again store energy in the calcium bonds for future use.