CHAPTER 8

Non Cellular Needs - The Toxins

1. Alcohol

When micro-organisms (yeasts) digest (ferment) the sugars in carbohydrate foods, they make two by-products; a liquid and a gas. The gas is carbon dioxide. The liquid is ethyl alcohol. This is the intoxicating ingredient in alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages can either be made through fermentation or distillation. The most commonly used carbohydrate foods to make alcohol are cereal grains, fruit, honey, molasses and potatoes.

On its own, alcohol provides energy but no nutrients, with the result that distilled spirits give you nothing but calories. Beer, wine, cider and other fermented beverages contain some of the foods from which they were made, so they contain small amounts of proteins and carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Unlike other foods, which need to be digested before being absorbed by your cells, alcohol flows directly into your bloodstream, carrying alcohol to nearly every organ in your body. On average, it takes the liver 3 to 5 hours to completely metabolise 30mls of alcohol. Although most people drink alcohol for its mood altering effects, recent studies suggest that alcohol, when taken in moderation, can have some positive health benefits, such as . . .

• Reducing the risk of a heart attack by raising HDL cholesterol and reducing the risk of blood clot formation
• Staving off dementia
• Increasing bone density, especially in the spine and hips
• Lowering stress levels

Health Risks

• Addiction – Alcoholism has been directly linked to more than 2.5 million deaths worldwide each year
• Cancer – The more alcohol you consume the greater your risk of getting cancer
• Heart Disease – After the second drink, the hearty benefits of alcohol reverse themselves. Every subsequent glass will raise your triglyceride levels without reducing LDL cholesterol
• Blood Sugar Elevation – Alcoholic beverages tend to be loaded with sugar, which can put your blood sugar levels into a tail-spin. Drinking on an empty stomach will make your levels go even higher
• Liver Damage – Heavy or binge drinking causes a build-up of fatty cells in the liver. Permanent liver damage and problems with glucose metabolism can result
• Fat Accumulation – Alcohol stimulates the production of oestrogen which leads to fat storage

A final unflattering consequence of alcohol consumption is that it will make your face look old and wrinkled because of all the sugar it contains.

2. COFFEE - Too Much Coffee Will Make You Fat

Excess caffeine stimulates your adrenal glands to pump out cortisol and cortisol is a fat storing hormone. Caffeine also disturbs your sleep, which also encourages your body to store fat. And don’t think you can simply skip over to decaf – it is loaded with chemicals, so it would pay to skip it also. If you simply must get a daily coffee fix, opt for a cup of black, organic coffee and have it before lunch.

5 Reasons to Beat the Coffee Addiction:

1. Coffee increases gastric acidity which triggers adrenaline release leading to tension, craving for sweets and depression
2. Coffee triggers the release of epinephrine which can counter the effects of medication
3. Coffee can lead to a deficiency in vitamin B1 (thiamine), leading to fatigue, nervousness and headache
4. Coffee contains pesticides that are harmful to the body
5. Coffee over-consumption can over-tax the liver

3. SUGAR - Sugar and Starch are Making You Fat

As mentioned in the section on carbohydrates, there are 2 broad carb categories; simple and complex. Simple carbs consist of a single sugar molecule or 2 sugar molecules together. Single sugar molecules (monosaccharides) include fructose, glucose and galactose. The 2 most common are fructose (found in fruit) and glucose (found naturally in non-fruit foods).

Simple carbs are generally digested quickly and cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. This, in turn, causes the pancreas to release a large amount of insulin. The insulin quickly clears the excess sugar from the bloodstream but this leaves you with a blood sugar shortage. This condition is referred to as hypoglycaemia. It is characterised by low energy levels, weakness, shakiness, mood swings and hunger. Hunger can lead a person to consume more sugar laden foods and the whole vicious cycle repeats itself.

Humans existed millions of years ago on a diet of fish, fruit and vegetation. With the coming of agriculture and horticulture 10,000 years ago, man began consuming large quantities of starch and sugar in the form of potatoes and grains. There is no doubt that the agricultural revolution has been beneficial to mankind. It has, after all, provided the foundation for the building of our modern societies. Yet, it has also brought with it diets that our bodies were not made for. [keep text in bold] Our bodies will always cry out for the diet of the gatherer, instead of that of today, which include rice, potatoes, cereals, bread, pasta and corn – all sugar and starch rich foods. Our bodies do not have the mechanism required to sustain the modern diet. As a result, the modern diet, with its preponderance of sugars and grain, provides a greater chance of acquiring nutritional deficiencies and infectious diseases, a higher infant mortality rate and diminishing lifespan, not to mention the various allergies and reactions our body can have to food (wheat and yeast intolerances and a number of digestive disorders). Dairy must also be added to the list, as a large percentage of the population is lactose intolerant. The immune system suffers due to a poor diet made up of these foods, which are also contributors to depression, diabetes, cancer and obesity.

The bottom line is to reduce your intake of grains and replace it with more fruits and vegetables. Make the change – your body will love you for it!

As a result of all the grains and sugars we take into our bodies, most people are eating way too many carbohydrates. The body, though, does not have the storage capacity for all of the carbohydrates we ingest. The surplus is converted into fat by way of insulin and is stored as adipose/fat tissue.

Starchy and sugary foods also generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. The pancreas then secretes insulin into the bloodstream to adjust for this rise, which, in turn, lowers the glucose level. The insulin, however, actually promotes fat. Back in Palaeolithic times, a key function of insulin was to accumulate additional calories from carbohydrates in the form of fat in order to sustain us in times of famine. Insulin is essentially a storage hormone and can actually affect the secretion of 2 important hormones - growth hormone and glucagons. Growth hormones support muscle development whilst glucagons are responsible for the burning of sugar and fat.

Symptoms of an excess of carbohydrates in the body include:

• Low blood sugar levels
• Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
• High blood pressure
• Excess weight
• Depression
• Bloating
• High triglyceride levels
• Brain fogginess

You can counter the ill effects of excess carbohydrates by reducing the intake of grain and corn based foods, sweets and potatoes and increasing the intake of green, leafy vegetables.

4. DEAD PACKAGED FOODS WITH NO VITALITY - Processed Foods Are Making You Fat

When foods are processed, the natural ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, fibre, minerals and water are altered. Typically, water, fibre and nutrients are removed. These changes drastically impact upon the way that the food is processed by the body. Here are a half dozen ways that processed foods are making you fat, unhealthy and energy deprived:

1. A high preponderance of processed foods in your diet can lead to the stimulation of dopamine, which has been called the pleasure transmitter. Dopamine has a key part to play in addiction because its release causes you to associate a pleasurable feeling with the eating of the processed food. This can lead to craving and addiction for that food.
2. Processed foods contain such ingredients as high fructose corn syrup, sugar and MSG, all of which have a strong link to fat gain.
3. Processed foods often combine ingredients that should not be eaten together, causing digestive problems. Fast food pizzas often mix such things as grains (crust), dairy (cheese) and animal (meat), which do not mix well at all.
4. Processed foods will lead to cravings quite simply because they do not have enough quality, dense, nutritious macro and micro nutrients.
5. Processed foods slow down your metabolism and interfere with your fat burning hormones due to the quantity of preservatives that they contain.
6. Processed foods often have an abundance of trans-fatty acids, which have been linked to infertility, certain cancers and heart disease.

WHITE SUGAR - Refined Sugars Are Making You Fat

Refined sugar has a unique ability to pack fat onto your body. A key way that it does so is by causing insulin resistance. This means that you will have more insulin coursing through your body than is desired, which is not a good thing for your waistline. One of the jobs of insulin is to instruct fat cells to pick up fat from the bloodstream and store it. Insulin also prevents us from using fat for energy.

Refined sugars can also lead to leptin resistance. Leptin, as we’ve seen, plays a key role in regulating our appetite. Resistance to it means that the brain will fail to get the message to stop eating when we are full. The brain will, in fact, think that we are in a state of starvation and will us on to eat more.

Refined sugars also have the ability to get you hooked because opiate and dopamine activity are stimulated. In fact, refined sugars travel down the same neural pathways as addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. An overwhelming craving for sugar is the result.

Refined sugars do other problematic things inside your body. They increase the size of the liver, drag nutrients out of the body and drain us of energy and vitality. The depletion of B vitamin and trace minerals can lead to skin conditions, anaemia, ADD, digestive disorders, mood swings, tooth decay and candida.

Start reducing your refined sugar intake today by avoiding fruit juices, soft drinks, all white refined products, alcohol, cakes, sweets and ice cream. You should also avoid products that are packaged as “low fat foods” as they compensate by pumping in loads of sugar. You should also try to avoid any ingredient that ends with the letters “ose.”

Many alternatives to sugar have been offered for baking purposes. A couple of excellent options are stevia granules or liquid. Rice syrup is a great substitute for honey or glucose syrup-dextrose. Other sugar alternatives for cooking are vanilla powder, cinnamon, liquorice root and coconut sugar and maple syrup.