Facts and truths are changing all of the time

I have a good general knowledge of nutrition. I have come to the realization that I really know bugga all. Knowledge is simply a matter of gathering information from what we hope is a reliable source. So many experts, so much proof and so much science! It will probably take a thousand scientists a thousand years to isolate, name and explain what’s in an apple. Sure we can talk about vitamins and minerals, fibre and water content, acid and alkaline, sugar, enzymes and anti oxidants, but what the hell does it all mean. How exactly is it digested? How does it interact with other foods in the body? What about pesticides or fertilizers or the quality of the soil or water? Have we really discovered every vitamin, microbe, enzyme, mineral, fungus, bacteria or any of the squillions of X factors within an apple?

How arrogant or stupid are we to say that vitamin supplements are equal to food? A vitamin supplement is a wonderful thing if real food can’t be consumed, but it is never a better or superior choice.

I make mention of this because it is so easy for people to become obsessed with health products and scientific research when looking at ways to improve health. Science and nutrition are interesting subjects and certainly worth considering, but let’s not make them our Gods. Facts and truths are changing all of the time. Sometimes I think that facts are simply intellectual entertainment. Many vitamin supplements can be dangerous if used in the wrong combination or in large doses. In some cases too much of one vitamin will actually rob another. Let’s just be open to the idea that we do not know all there is to know or at least consider that a man made copy is supremely inferior to a food in its natural state.

We rely on the Food and Drug Administration to test our drugs and food and assume that if it is on the market it has been proven beyond doubt that it is safe. We only need to look at the litigation and recalls to know that that is not so. Common sense might ask how one small body of scientists could possibly test every single food product or pharmaceutical product to begin with. Even if each and every product was thoroughly tested, can we honestly assume that any one of these products will interact with another in a completely safe way? If drug A is safe and drug B is safe, can we assume that A and B together becomes drug C and has drug C ever been tested at all?

Most of the research and trials are funded by the drug companies. They finance the studies and they write up the initial reports. Who else has the money or inclination to prove them right or wrong? Many people are convinced that artificial sweeteners genetically modified foods, growth hormones and antibiotic are all dangerous health issues. No-one is ever going to prove it though, as the financial outlay required to do the testing is out of reach for anyone without a vested interest. The companies who stand to make a fortune out of selling these products can certainly afford to finance trials and of course it is in their interest to do so.

Is a 1 year or 5 year trial enough - is it irrelevant if a problem takes 10 years to manifest? Why do different countries have different FDA guidelines? Why do recommended daily allowances or safe levels of many chemicals differ from country to country?

Let’s just look at the clever marketing of junk food. ‘No added sugar’ will be written on the front of a label, but in very small print on the back of the product we see Aspartame (usually noted as a number or ‘flavour’). 95% fat free means the product is 5%fat – that’s a lot! And, is that trans fat or lard? 100% fruit juice does not mean that only fruit juice is in the bottle. If fruit juice is pure it would only have a shelf life of a few days. Even milk lasts for a few weeks now, remember when milk used to go sour within a few days? How is it that all of these natural foods have suddenly achieved this miraculous ability to last two or three times longer than they used to? Some junk breakfast foods are promoted as high in calcium – read the fine print and you will find it states 1 cup of cereal WITH MILK supplies X amount of calcium. Look at all the products now jumping on the bandwagon of good health – added protein, now with vit B and iron or high in Anti oxidants. Often these (Synthetic) supplements are added to junk food. I was astounded last year when a chocolate spread was promoted as, “Rich in anti oxidants and omega 3,” because it had a minute amount of hazelnuts and cocoa, BUT it was about 99% sugar and fat! “Flavouring, preservatives and additives,” often means artificial sugar or chemicals to hide the smell or make it a nice colour!

I knew a guy once who was a walking encyclopaedia of nutrition and health. He knew everything and lived his life like a neurotic scientist. His kitchen was like a laboratory; everything was precisely measured and analysed, spotlessly clean, with dozens of tonics, exotic teas and herbs. He did yoga and meditated, wore natural fibres, had filters and ionisers, used natural soaps and cleaning products and did everything he possibly could to be healthy and environmentally responsible. Well, he was pale, puny, nervous, boring and the most joyless person I ever met! I couldn’t help but think, “If this is what it takes to live a long and healthy life, then please let me die young!” Good health is pretty simple and you don’t need to be tortured or neurotic about it. Most of it is common sense and paying attention to what the body responds to. Keep things simple, natural and enjoyable.

I have spent the past few months researching all I could find on cancer related causes and cures. I am more confused than ever. For every factual yes comes an equally compelling factual no. I have decided that I will override science and do my shopping down at God’s Shop. I don’t need to know everything known or unknown about food. I just want to know what my body requires and how it responds. I will simply increase God made food and decrease man made (interfered with or modified) food.

I have also realized that all of this research is stressful and fearful. In effect, I am continuing to focus on disease, cancer and fear. Just this alone is very unhealthy, and I remind myself again, that what we focus on is what we create or attract. Fear, anger, sadness, frustration and resentment are all emotional poisons which stress the body and create harmful chemicals within the body. Being obsessive about food or feeling deprived and rebellious will also do more harm than good.

Eating well is easy for me. I have never been big on processed foods, sugar, alcohol, flour or fats. Many years ago, I suffered terrible pain and fatigue due to Rheumatoid Arthritis. I discovered then, that certain foods aggravated the problem. Although I did read up on a lot of this, I really modified my diet by listening to my body. Pure observation proved that some foods left me exhausted and some caused inflammation, resulting in swollen, burning, painful joints. I was stunned to find I had a tumour as I knew I ate better than most of the people I know. I ate a lot of raw foods, as I knew cooking destroyed a lot of nutrients. I ate plenty of salad, fruit, nuts, vegetables and seafood.

I couldn’t get past the fact that Asian women had a very low rate of breast cancer when they ate their traditional diet. Although some researchers explained that as a genetic thing, they could not explain why Asian women do get breast cancer if they changed to a western diet. I realized that many of these people do not consume dairy products or much, if any, red meat. They eat a lot of seafood and sea vegetables (seaweed – kelp). They don’t chlorinate their water. They prefer tea to coffee. They eat lots of fibre and many of them work outside in the fresh air and natural light.

All or any of these things might be the key to the breast cancer differences or it might be none of the above. But at the very least, any of these changes will do no harm. 3 things in particular stood out and led me to further research:

Animal protein and fats
Water Chlorination
Seaweed

There is so much information on the internet about these three things and their connection and influence to cancer that I’m amazed that the information is not better known. I am unable to go into details here, but I suggest it is worth looking up if you are interested.

I have added water filters to my taps. I will not eat any dairy products and I will greatly reduce meat in my diet. I will only use olive oil (not cooked). I use some seaweed in soups and sushi but find things like kelp tablets, spiralina and chlorella a little easier to use. I’m not suggesting that this is the whole story, but I can say that since making these changes (about 2 months now) I definitely feel and look better. An added bonus is that I have also noticed a further reduction in inflammation and much more energy.

It could take years to find out if these changes made any difference to the cancer issue. I can’t say that I have cancer at the moment (I don’t believe I do). I guess if I am alive and cancer free in 20 years I might be able to say it was due to the dietary and lifestyle changes, but I won’t be able to prove it. I suppose that if I do get cancer again, it might prove that the changes didn’t work. At the very least, I can say that these changes are easy and safe. I do believe that I will improve my overall heath and strengthen my immune system.

Copyright Sonya Green 2008 www.reinventingmyself.com
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