by Elizabeth Springer-Bawuah

Foods serve many roles to aid in the whole role of our being. We need to look at the concept of  foods in its whole form rather than just something to eat, lust after and ease our hunger. I have broken these down into 3 categories, health, healing and hunger, and shall show this throughout these studies. Many foods have health and healing properties and are therefore a whole source food. There were no man-made medicines many years ago, everything that we needed was on the earth, to give us wholeness; health healing foods, medicinal herbs, water and medicinal and health healing drinks.

Obesity has been dominating the newspaper headlines during recent months and is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the industrialised world. In research commissioned by Key Note the number of people considered obese in the last 20 years has trebled and more than half the U.K. population are considered overweight[1][2]. The British Government has come under pressure from the ever-growing statistics of those falling into the obese category as established by using the BMI (Body Mass Index), and the increase in the amount of money spent on medical care as a result of health problems developing into diabetes, heart disease, and heart attacks.

Our modern lives of fast foods and fast lifestyles are largely contributing to these factors. People are generally leading busier lives with less free time for exercise and in addition to this more junk and convenience foods are being consumed. High sugary and starchy foods i.e. cakes, chocolates, crisps, and eating from fast food restaurant chains where most of the foods are potentially loaded with sugar, and hydrogenated (bad) fats. As the term goes ‘you are what you eat’. However, if we put in our bodies what we expect to get out this would start a whole new meaning to the thinking aspect of food and health, such as thinking of what we are putting in our bodies, demanding better quality from our large chains of supermarkets and take-away giants.

Good health begins at the cellular level because for our body to be working at its optimum level, our cells must be fed and cleansed with good nutritional foods to function efficiently. This is where it starts. Our body consists of tiny living cells; each one like a mini factory and each one of these must have its nutritional requirements met.

The foods that we take in our body are our fuels.  We process there fuels through digestion, absorption, circulation and elimination. Digestion breaks down food into its tiniest form ready for absorption.  Circulation is the blood carrying the nutrients to the cells and elimination is the release of wastes and toxins from the body through the kidneys, bowel and skin. If this cycle is working properly it promotes good physical health in our body and keeps most degenerative disease at bay.

Health can be defined as “wholeness” – which means living fully and rhythmically with every part of our being. Many years ago this concept was called holiness and is the real root meaning of the word. Anyone living in only part of his or her being becomes "un-whole" or "unholy" or in short "unhealthy".

Poor health

The cause and effect of most ill health is the rundown state of the body, which is both the cause and the effect of the disease. Five early warning signs are tiredness, failing energy, mental confusion, indigestion, and irritability.

People have created many processed, low quality, foods. These fail to give us the sufficient nutrition to run our bodies at optimum levels. They also put a burden on the elimination process which has to rid them from the body.   In addition to processed foods, our heath is affected by such things as medication (especially antibiotics), and alcohol / drug abuse.

Our cells help to make every living organism in our body function effectively however, if any of these cycles are not working efficiently problems will occur. Basically the process of digestion, if not working effectively, will result in malabsorption, therefore the vital nutrients required for the body are unable to get to the cells.  Poor circulation will mean the transportation of the blood carrying absorbed nutrients will not reach all of the cells.  Poor elimination will result in the cells being bathed in the wastes and toxins that the body was unable to release, resulting in a state of degenerative disease in the body.

Poor health can also come from genetic inheritance, from the mother or father to baby’s genes.  Symptoms may skip one or more generations. Stress can inhibit the effects of a healthy diet as this puts stress on the body forcing it to work harder in all areas to function properly.

Cooking of foods - Cooking Oil oxidises once heated over a certain temperature[3] and then it goes rancid.  When taken into our bodies these lipids become harmful, changing from being a good fat into a bad one, resulting in clogged arteries and an increase in body weight.

Different sources of foods

Sugar, being a stimulant, sets off a chain reaction to the brain of wanting to consume more of these foods, which can bring on comfort eating, weight problems, stress, migraines, energy shortfalls and eventually onset diseases such as diabetes. Sugar plays a huge role in obesity and in excess it is a potential killer. Consuming stodgy and nutritionless foods will give an energy shortfall and the body will accumulate toxins, pesticides and other rubbish which it does not have enough energy to eliminate.  This can result in further disease states such as allergies, digestive problems and immune suppression.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) states that 2g per 100g is a little and 10g per 100g [4] is a lot and many foods exceed this. A constant bombarding of sugar to the body results in: raised blood sugar, unstabilises insulin production in the body and can cause a sharp increase in energy and then drops rapidly and this can cause hypos, (which is low and high blood sugar fluctuations). It also causes storage of fats, as the body will burn the sugar first before it burns fat and if happening over a period of time weight can increase. It is also like a drug as the taste can continually draw you back again and again to consume this sugary food. Some of these disorders and diseases turn into obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, digestive problems, allergies asthma and cancer and many more.

The healing element of foods

The healing element of foods is to prevent, control & alleviate disorders and onset diseases to our body and foods are a natural medicine for just that. An example of antioxidant foods has been put together in a table below to illustrate this.

Foods have a powerful impact on the body and the function of its system. Many foods that we eat can alter the biological function of our body. The reason why it is so important to eat the right type of foods is to keep our bodies at optimum health, derived from the nutrients in foods to enable energy production, growth repair, maintenance of organs and tissues, production of blood and resistance from disease. Certain foods can dramatically affect the body and upset the biological function and start the process of degenerative diseases.

Allergies

Allergies are associated with an imbalance in the immune system. The immune system defends the body from attack by harmful bacteria or viruses when it is working well it also protects us from developing either food or environmental allergies, and is responsible for all repair and healing that takes place within the body. When the immune system malfunctions we are prone to developing allergies and like catching the common cold, and finding it hard to shake off except it is much harder to stop such allergic reactions.

The Immune System has what we might call several departments that deliver a different kind of defence response. There are two separate ways of dealing with allergy related problems

a) Creates acute inflammation, diarrhoea or vomiting to flush the allergy intruder out of the body as soon as possible.

b) Creates intense and often chronic inflammation around the allergen in order to incinerate it.

In order to communicate and trigger this process into action the immune system uses a series of antibodies out of 5 of which 2 are used IgE antibody, which triggers inflammatory response which flushes out the body as soon as possible, IgG antibody which takes time to gather all the forces of the immune system and delivers a powerful inflammation response to toxins which have entered the bloodstream and is delayed. These are known as classic and delayed. This process is shown in Table 2 below:

Milk Intolerance[6]  Even though milk has virtually everything in it to sustain us throughout the early years of our life, it is one of the most common allergy foods. As the milk is such a concentrated food it requires strong digestion to break it down, and when poorly digested foods pass through the digestive tract it decays with some undesirable by-products. Milk putrefies in the gut and causes a number of toxic by-products which cause the illness associated with dairy allergy. This is a two-fold problem and affects 95% of milk sufferers due to the high fat content, and undigested dairy fat arriving in the gut interacts with unfriendly bacteria creating further toxins causing dairy allergy reactions. The other 5% is due to the lactose count, which is an IgE defence response – immediate reaction as explained earlier.
 

Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is caused by a deficiency of, or insensitivity to the hormone insulin, resulting in an inability to control the use and storage of glucose and blood glucose levels therefore rise[7] - is a condition in which the amount of glucose in the blood is too high because the body cannot break it down and use it properly. Glucose comes from the digestion of starchy foods such as bread, potatoes and sweet foods, and the liver that makes glucose and passes it into the blood stream. Insulin helps glucose enter the cells where it is used as fuel for the body. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas a gland, which is situated just behind the stomach.

There are two types of diabetes:

Type 1 occurs when the body is unable to produce any insulin. It is treated by insulin injections and diet.

Type 2 is more common and the body can still make some insulin, but not enough for its needs. Sometimes the body does not use the insulin it makes and diet and exercise alone or exercise and tablets, or some insulin injections and diet can treat this type of diabetes.

This condition can lead to kidney failure, limb amputation, blindness, heart disease and stroke, and also threatens the successful outcome of pregnancy, if not brought under control.

The World Health Organisation predicts a doubling of the number of people with diabetes worldwide between 1995 and 2010, and on average the estimated cost of inpatient care for a person with diabetes is more than 6 times that than of someone who does not have diabetes.[8]

Type 2 diabetes is known to run in families, but can also be adult onset.

For diabetes, the nutritional content of foods are extremely important; its nutritional value, nutrients, healing effects, (GI) Glycaemic index and carbohydrate effect are very important factors in attempting to control diabetes. Some foods have a faster releasing effect than others and impact the system in different ways. The (GI) categories these foods (by low, medium and high scores), relating to the speed on impact of sugar-releasing foods in the body.

In Conclusion

As established by the European NIDDM Policy Group, a suggested target for metabolic control for people with diabetes was put in place as a guideline. This established that a good fasting glucose would be between 4.4-6.1, borderline 6.2-7.8, and poor greater than 7.8, with a 0% urine glucose.[9] Daniel’s blood sugars consistently were between 4 and 7, and with a GP urine test, which showed no sugar in his urine sample.

So in effect food has been seen to combat a multitude of degenerative problems within the human body, for health and healing in particular and consuming foods that can combat hunger and correct weight problems, which needs to also incorporate lifestyle changes to promote enhanced benefits to the whole individual – promoting harmony within the body to bring about wholeness.

When the Government decides to slap tighter controls and bans on certain food corporations which promote unhealthy eating and hugely exceed the Food Standard Agency’s guidelines and other established organisations, a real change may come about, to the ever-growing statistics concerning health issues and to the direct individual who suffers at the other end upon consuming these processed foods.

It has been established throughout that food is in effect for:

Health – to allow us to have a healthy body and live in wholeness
Healing - to prevent, control & alleviate disorders and onset diseases
Hunger – to satisfy our appetite and ease our hunger – food source.

Case Studies

Case Study Summary (1)

A patient that had been suffering from high blood pressure, anaemia, weight problems and a complicated labour was put on a 6 week building programme of foods, distilled water, and supplements to promote energy building to the body to incorporate dietary and lifestyle changes. After 2 weeks she reported disappearance of head pains and better physical well being, after 4 weeks she reported weight loss with loose fitting trousers that were previously tight, a decrease in blood pressure and an increase in energy. Antioxidant foods and filtered and boiled/cooled water were incorporated on this dietary plan to accommodate her condition, along with advice on supplements. As her weight was also part of the problem, she was also shown how to eat whole foods to combat her hunger. Her only un-wellness was temporary at the beginning of the dietary programme, which soon moved into feeling better for the better.

Case Study Summary (2)

Patient F had enjoyed good health and took part in exercise for most of his life. But after suffering from a common cold which turned into flu and recurrently came back within 2-3 weeks proving harder to shrug off each time, and then went onto suffer from a suppressed immune system for 5 years, with at multitude of reactions to many foods. During that time he suffered from energy shortfalls, sudden loss of energy, inability to take part in exercise he was used to, memory loss and poor concentration, frequent nosebleeds, migraines and pains and swelling to his neck and body, and had also become very depressed. It was difficult for his GP to diagnose and so had many tests and a hospital allergy test, which came back negative. The main offending food was nuts, and after going on a plan which included supplements and foods to boost the immune system with distilled water, along with the removal of nuts, food colourings, additives, monosodium glutamate, and E616, saw the disappearing of symptoms particularly neck swelling, attacks to his body, energy loss, no further offending colds and within a period of 3-4 months was able to actively take part in the gym and is now living a restored healthy life, and is able to eat small amounts of cashew nuts over fortnightly periods, but has to stay away from peanuts. Patient ‘s response was an IgG response – delayed.

Case Study Summary (3)

Some years ago as a 6 month old baby patient C (now 14) suffered from many ear infections and was diagnosed with milk intolerance by her GP after being weaned off breast milk to cow’s milk and so was moved over to soya milk and continued to have glue ears. At the age of around 9 years old her GP attempted to reintroduce dairy products and her symptoms were thrush, vomiting, instant contagious rush after vomiting and so milk and other dairy produce were avoided. However, on an occasion of spending the day with a friend, had consumed many sweets and her skin pumped out in a rash all over her face. She had developed sensitivity to sugar and so the removal of processed foods high in sugar and the change over to another form of soya milk was induced and her conditions distinctly improved. Although she has to stay away from direct milk, she can now consume mild cheddar, non-milk fat ice cream, butter and biscuits. Patient C’s response was an IgE response.

Case Study Summary (4)
A 9 month old baby boy had reflux, and was a little underweight, and was also showing the beginning signs of eczema, and asthma after identifying allergies, the baby was put on an Special Plan to incorporate the symptoms and his mum has reported eczema patches have gone away, reflux has stopped and is off medication and continuous coughing and wheezing has stopped after running round and laughing.

Case Study Summary (5)

Baby A had severe cradle cap which then turned into very serious eczema symptoms and her skin had gone encrusted with large scaly dry skin and her hair was falling out heavily, the recommended medicated shampoo was simply not working, after giving her a plan for eczema within 4 months her skin was completely revitalised, and only one small patch of eczema remained on the tip of her elbow, which then cleared up.

Case Study Summary (6)


A young girl aged 13 came to me with extreme irritability, uncooperative behaviour, mood swings, an aggressive attitude  and facial rashes (which could be linked to hormonal teenage changes). However, removal of high sugary foods, canned drinks and limited sweets and chocolates and the move over to more organic whole foods, saw a complete clear up of skin, improvement in behaviour and better concentration.

Case Study (7)

Daniel diagnosed at the age of 25 as a Type 1 diabetic by his GP had diabetes for 4 years and had been seen by 2 nutritionists, a Chinese medicine herbalist, after being frustrated with his GP and dietician due to no improvement in controlling his blood sugars. Being only 29 years of age,  married with a young baby daughter wanted to improve his health status and his blood sugars. Daniel’s blood sugars were between 10 and 13 when I first met him. Daniel had hypos, was unable to get a proper night’s sleep, was sluggish and had a lack of energy and felt tired a lot of the time, and was stressed. After going on a carefully monitored specialised eating plan, the offending high (GI) Glycaemic Index foods were removed which were causing some of his high blood sugars and hypos, he was put on distilled water and supplements with exercise and incorporated lifestyle changes.

After 2 weeks Daniel completed an evaluation table and the following was recorded in (Table 3) below:

He also reported that he did not feel as tired as he used to, had fewer headaches, feels refreshed after a sleep and has free bowels.  Daniel’s blood sugars were now showing a significant decrease, along with minimal hypos, compared to what he usually had, were now ranging between 4.5 and 7.5 and was able to adjust his insulin accordingly. On commencement his insulin was 26 units x 3 per day and is and 3-4 months later is now only on 10 units x 2 per day with bloods sugars consistently between 3.8 (fasting) and 7, 7.5 being the highest with a 99% non-existence of hypos, and is now consulting with his GP to move over to insulin tablets. He feels he can really get on with his life and can exercise and self-administer and monitor his blood sugars and insulin; his feelings of anxiety have been greatly reduced.

[1] www.KeyNote.co.uk , Executive Summary on weight and health issues.
[2] TO BE ADVISED
[3] Patrick Holford, Optimum Nutrition Bible
[4] Food Standards Agengy 2002
[5] Martin Healy, Cure Your Allergies And Live Your Life, 2001
[6] Martin Healy, Cure Your Allergies And Live Your Life, 2001
[7] Diabetes Uk, Recommendations for the management of diabetes in primary care, Second Edition .
[8] Amos, A et al The rising global burden of diabetes and its complications; estimates and projections to the year 2010 Diabetic Medicine Supplement 5; Vol 14. 1997
[9] Alberti KG, Gries FA, Jervell J, Kraqns HM. A desktop guide for the management of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NiDDM) European NIDDM Policy Group Diabetic medicine 1994; 11: 899-909