The following notes are from an excellent seminar on skin care and nutrition by Charlene Habermeyer of 302 Skin Care—a revolutionary product line that takes a natural care approach to skin and esthetics. I was most impressed that much of Charlene's talk was not directly aimed at skin care. She genuinely is concerned about good nutrition and wants to help everyone within hearing to eat well and to understand the issues imposed upon us by chemically adulterated, un-natural 'foods'.
Health and Nutrition
Emphasize mind/body/spirit balance. Eastern versus western thought: the we versus the I.
Researcher has found ‘emotional cells” (nerve cells same or similar to limbic node in brain) in heart and other organs/structures.
Our control of the environment is low, control over our intake of substances is high.
To evaluate 'information' follow the money trail of published studies. Who paid for them? What does the organization stand to gain or lose from the results? Who are their clients?
Westin A. Price Foundation: educates the public on good and bad claims and research
Obesity: 64% of Americans are obese. Costs 240 billion annually in health care, 33 billion on weight loss schemes. Half of children are overweight. 1%of obesity is related to genes—
High-protein diets have a negative efffect on skin. They convert the normally alkaline environment in body to acid, can cause cancer, tax the pancreas. 25 grams of protein daily are all that is needed; just under one ounce.
Low-fat, low carb diets are also dangerous. We need complex carbohydrates, found in whole grains, beans and root vegetables. Fad diets are apt to cause toxicity around cells, reduce blood flow to the skin, effects which show up as poor skin appearance.
Normal, balance diet of natural, unadulterated food is best. Fresh vegetables, complete carbohydrates (see wheat, corn and rice below), hormone free meat or combined rice & beans for protein.
Trans-fats: Definition
Hydrogenation is a process that turns polyunsaturates into fats that are solid at room temperature. e.g.: margarin or shortening. Don’t use them! Use butter instead.
Commercial hydrogenation uses the cheapest of oils (such as canola, cottonseed, cornseed), which become rancid during extraction. Additives and deodorizing follow, and the resulting products are sold as “health foods”.
Canola oil has small amount of Omega-3 fatty acids, but processing converts it into a more dangerous oil than the fats it is supposed to beneficially replace.
By 2006 products will require labels to list trans-fats because of known dangerous effects.
Good oils: olive, flax-seed, cocoanut.
Sugar: glucose is a key material in the metabolism off all plants and animals, found in fruits and vegetables. Others are sucrose, table sugar, refined from sugar cane and beets. Sucrose enters bloodstream differently than other sugars, goes to different places. Affects the body negatively.
Glucose enters the blood slowly; sucrose goes in quickly and causes insulin level to spike.
Sucrose is used to mask taste of phosophoric acid in soda—an ingredient which drains bones of calcium and magnesium.
Average annual per-captia consumption of ‘soft drinks’: 56 gallons! Teen-age boys average 7 cans a day. 1/5 of two-year-olds drink this stuff—coke and others are increasing production. Contains aspartame: an excitotoxin capable of crossing the blood/brain barrier and causing disease. Lodges in neural tissues of the brain.
Caffeine: linked to cancer, bone loss, mental disorders, birth defects, chronic fatigue, depression, dizziness, allergies, behavioral disorders, seizures, stress on neurons. Starbucks cofffee comes with an additional 65 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine blocks natural sleep hormones, interfering with sleep pattern/adequate amount of sleep.
The rise in osteoporosis is linked to widespread use of caffein.
Teas include tannins which can rob blood of iron, leading to anemia.
Natural and artificial flavorings: ten thousand new processed foods come out each year. After processing flavor is reduced or lost so flavorings are added. We all take in an average of 5 to10 pounds of flavorings a year. Bad for us….
Ice cream additives are not legally required to be listed on the package—because they aren’t nice things. People who like high-risk games in Las Vegas should love the gamble involved with eating commercially-prepared ice cream.
Meat and meat contamination: rapid production and poorly-trained employees contribute to contamination of meat by feces: e. coli bacteria. Also salmonella, staphylococcus and others. 78% of USDA inspected beef tested contained microbes related to feces in meat.
Mad cow disease: turning herbivores into carnivors by putting cattle parts into cattle feed creates omega 3 and 6 acid imbalances that can lead to cancer and causes mad cow disease.
Cold pasteurization: irradiating meat with cesium 137 to kill bacteria remaining in meat after butchering. Want a ‘glow-in-the-dark’ hamburger? (No thanks.)
Excitotoxins: substances added to foods and beverages that literally stimulate nurons to death, causing varying degrees of brain damage. Their sole use is for flavoring; they have zero nutritional value.
Average consumption equals 10 to 20 different toxins each day. Toxins discriminately destroy neurons in the brain. (Think about the rising incidences of brain neural diseases are alzheimers and Lou Gehrig’s.) Restaurants claiming “no MSG” often use ingredients that already contain MSG. The common label “No MSG (or preservatives) added means “nothing bad added at this source … ingredient manufacturers usually do use MSG.
Excitotoxins: MSG, Aspartame (Nutrasweet), Cysteine, HVP, Aspartic Acid.
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Excitotoxicity Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed by glutamate and similar substances. This occurs when receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate such as the NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor are overactivated. Excitotoxins like NMDA and kainic acid which bind to these receptors, as well as pathologically high levels of glutamate, can cause excitotoxicity by allowing high levels of calcium ions[1] (Ca2+) to enter the cell. Ca2+ influx into cells activates a number of enzymes, including phospholipases, endonucleases, and proteases such as calpain. These enzymes go on to damage cell structures such as components of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and DNA. Excitotoxicity may be involved in stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease.[2] Other common conditions that cause excessive glutamate concentrations around neurons are hypoglycemia[3] and status epilepticus.[4] |
Boxed cereals all contain toxics and rancid oils from processing.
Xenohormones: pesticides and herbacides, ingredients also from many manufactured articles, especially exotic materials. May stimulte excess estrogen in system (estrogenicity).
Soy: an “anti-nutrient”. Very strong estrogenic effect. Has phytic acid, which, by binding all minerals in the body, prevents them from being absorbed. Trypsin inhibitors, too, which hurt digestion by blocking this vital digestive enzyme. Also isoflavin and three other substances that have anti-thyroid properties. Only soy sauce and other fermented forms of soy avoid most of these drawbacks.
Also avoid: protein powders, soy powders, whey powders….
Whey is good, but processing (“indenturing”) makes oils rancid and destroys its value, actually turning it toxic with phytic acid.
Protein powders: cause depletion of vitamins A & D.
Thyroid: 45% of American public are hypothyroid (Thyroxin 3 and 4 deficient). Doctors may view test results as normal because sometimes they don’t check the right elements. Hypothyroidism is caused by thyroid inhibitors: resourcinol from highly flexible plastic water bottles (Use rigid plastic to hold water at gym or seminars), fluoride (levels in water are far too high), soy products.
Other thyroid inhibitors are sulfa drugs, anti-diabetic agents, prednisone, sythetic estrogen, cough medicines, lithium, salicylates, cigarettes, additives in processed foods.
Test: BASAL thermometer: record your temperature each morning. It should be a consistent 98.6. Lower than that indicates a possibility that you are hypothyroid.
Dry skin can signal hypothyroidism because when it is present skin doesn’t get enough blood supply, and there is difficulty in elimination. Correct medication shows a large difference in skin.
Candida: pro-biotics should follow anti-biotic treatments. Pro-biotics are beneficial bacteria found in the intestines, such as Lactobacillus Acidophilus. Acne may be result of over-growth of candida. Cravings for sugar can signal candida. The beginning of a pro-biotic regimen can trigger increased craving before candida is brought under control.
Pro-biotic suggested to accompany acne care. Candida overgrowth has threatened life on occasion.
Vitamns: B, A, C
Do not use synthetic vitamins. All B-vitamins work together. They are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, liver. Raw milk has the full gamut of vitamin B.
Vitamin C required to produce collagen. Non-organic strawberries and bell peppers are extensively sprayed with pesticides, compromising their nutritional value.
Vitamin A in its natural form catalyzes the actions of other vitamins.
Carotenes: beta caroteins convert to fat-soluable vitamin A, but six units are required to convert to one unit of A. Natural forms of vitamin A have no toxic effects. The thyroid requires more A to function than the other vitamins.
Grains: there are over 200 hundred varieties of whole wheat; about 3 are used. It’s phytic acid content requires lacto-fermentation. (breakdown of phytic acid by lacto-bacilli, such as the pro-biotic l. acidophilus)
Sprouted grains go not contain phytic acid. Raw honey on bread can start breaking down its phytic acid with the enzymes it contains. Bread made with yeast can cause digestive and skin problems.
Wheat grass: oxygenates blood, changes an acid system to alkaline. Gets rid of toxins in blood, around cells and in the liver. Chlorophyl performs these actions. Will do wonders for acne skin. Loaded with A, B and C (full gamut). Contains anti-aging enzyme sod.
1.25 oz. of wheat grass contains as much enzymes and vitamins as over 2 lbs. of vegetables. Ultimately it nourishes every cell of the body.
Cancer needs an anaerobic environment: wheat grass introduces oxygen to cancer cells.
Also contains living enzymes (“hundreds and hundreds”), chlorophyl (via photosynthesis),
Making wheat grass juice requires a special juicer from Fern’s Nutrition. Use short wheat grass and put it in a window. Cut grass close to the roots; discard the flat after a week and get a new one.
Cookook: Saving the Dinner
Oat Groats: what oatmeal is made from. Rich in B, calcium, magnesium.
“Breakfast cerials”: manufactured and adulterated. Breakfast not!
Millet, can be anti-thyroid, be a bit careful. Rye helps clean the liver, it is not as good as wheatgrass juice.
Brown rice: loaded with vitamins, very low in phytic acid, which breaks down in cooking. Helps repair cellular damage, preserves youthfulness, has the highest amount of vitammi B of all grains. Lowers blood sugar and has a unique form of vitamin E that lowers blood cholesterol. A good component of diet when weight loss is desired.
Corn: break down its phytic acid by soaking in limewater over night. Corn nourishes the heart and stomach, regulates disgestion, promotes healthy teeth and gums.
Buckwheat: excellent for skin. Don’t get it with the black coating on it. Kashi is buckwheat.
Beans: soak in water with lemon juice overnight before cooking. 2 – 3 tablespoons. Contains omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Too much omega 6 (not balanced with an equal amount of omega 3) can contribute to cancer. Cattle fed with grain produce more balanced ratios of O-3 and O-6.
Great source of Omega 3: Shamrock canned Tuna – 24 cans for 70.00, sealed and cooked in own juices. Can has up to 3,000 units of Omega 3 fatty acids.
Grass-fed beef: find a private ranch that sells it. Not as tasty, it needs to be cooked less because it contains less fat. Go to www.eatwild.com for resources.
Raw Milk: 1% and 2% pastuerized milk has dried milk added to improve its color.
Raw milk delivers 100% of its calcium to bones. Importantly, it has phosphotase enzyme. When pastuerized milk is checked, absence of the enzyme signifies complete treatment.
Organic pastures – cows graze for all of their feed. Whole foods sells it for 4.00/qt. If you buy it direct from the farm it is 8.00/gal.