Column #40 

Quite often letters submitted to medical columns start off with the questioners stating their age and comments about how healthy they are. Then they describe the symptoms of a chronic disease and ask for guidance. Unbeknownst to them, they are sicker then they realize.

Most chronic diseases are body failures associated with deficiencies in the diet. Fetuses are impacted by their mothers’ diet, newborns by mother’s milk which is determined by what she eats. When a child starts eating solid foods, the foods selected greatly impact the child’s development. And so it goes for one’s entire life. All foods are packages of chemicals that significantly influence all aspects of body development and function.

If food chemistry does not provide the appropriate diversity and density of nutrients with a proper balance of essential nutrients in a low glycemic package, chronic diseases will occur.

Chronic diseases are like leaks in a dike. There can be a few small ones, hundreds of them, or major breaches plus many small leaks. Heredity plays a role in how bodies fail. But genetic fault lines are rarely exhibited when the diet is appropriate. Abuse (improper building materials) causes cracks in the dike.

Many people believe they’re healthy because they aren’t seriously ill. Yet nearly everyone has some small leaks in their dike. That’s because the typical American diet is nutrient lite, deficient in vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids, loaded with inflammatory Omega-6 fatty acids, and usually highly glycemic. All of these compromise the immune system, central nervous system, and brain function, leading to failures.

Chronic diseases or their symptoms include joint pain, upset stomach, obesity, headaches, rashes, acne, allergic reactions such as hay fever, hemorrhoids, elevated blood pressure, mood swings, ADHD, melanoma, catching a cold or the flu every year or two and other seemingly innocuous issues. They are all leaks.

What’s really scary is that small leaks can quickly burst into major breaches which include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, strokes, and you know the rest.

The best defense for protecting our dikes is to consistently keep the green leaf at the bottom of our food chain. Just as animal life has always depended on the green leaf being at the bottom of its food chain, our health depends on that too.

Guidelines from The Real Diet of Man are: 1) Eat plenty of protein and fat from grass-fed animals, Omega-3 chicken, Omega-3 pork, and wild-caught seafood. 2) Eat lots of green leafy vegetables. 3) Exclude high-glycemic foods such as sugar, pastries, pasta, grain, cereals, seeds, potatoes, dried fruits, and starchy vegetables. 4) Avoid foods high in Omega-6 and low in Omega-3 such as vegetable oils, soy, nuts, and grain-fed meats.

For many people this means new habits and taste preferences but sealing up our dikes through nutrition is better than risking a major breach.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

The Importance of the Ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids