| A major stumbling block to happiness is the presence of chronic diseases. The choices you make in the foods you eat can virtually remove this stumbling block in just a few months.
The foods being recommended for heart healthy diets have been found to have an inherent flaw that is causing many of the non-infectious chronic diseases. These diseases extend well beyond coronary heart disease, and include the one hundred or so forms of arthritis, obesity, diabetes, and disorders of the digestive system. Others include diseases of the arteries and circulatory system, the pulmonary system, bone diseases, blood diseases and many forms of cancer, etc. More than one thousand non-infectious chronic diseases have now been identified!
Two comprehensive and critical reviews of the cholesterol and animal fat theories have confirmed such claims are false and have little to do with coronary heart disease. One by Uffe Ravnskov, M.D., Ph.D. in his book, “The Cholesterol Myths” and one by Mary Enig, Ph.D. and Sally Fallon, in “The Oiling of America” are recommended reading. Those responsible for continuing to perpetuate these debunked theories, along with their many other recommendations for heart healthy diets, have put the American population in harms way.
Their recommendations include eating to the food pyramid, the food guidelines, and the avoidance of, or severe limits on the consumption of whole eggs, milk and dairy products, pork, and beef. In most instances they have discouraged the use of good vitamin-mineral supplements based upon the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA’s). These recommendations have made it impossible to achieve a complete and balanced diet!
The major danger with their recommendations is that they have ignored the basic fact that protein sources differ widely in their nutritional values. The amino acid balance of a protein relates directly to its’ nutritional value. Eggs are the highest of all proteins, being 94% digestible. Milk and dairy products, beef, pork, and fish score in the 86-91% range of digestibility. Vegetable proteins score much lower, with soy protein being 74% digestible and other vegetable proteins score even lower. Eggs are known to contain an abundance of vitamins, trace minerals, essential fatty acids, etc. and this is why it is considered the most complete food.
The danger of greatest concern to me as a food scientist and nutritionist is that for years we have been advised to avoid these good foods while recommending foods of much less nutritional value, such as fruits, vegetables, soy protein, chicken, turkey and fish. This was accomplished with ill conceived recommendations, using fear tactics and junk science to justify an agenda that ensures a higher incidence of chronic diseases. The nutrients needed to maintain the support structure of the body are most abundant in these foods, and their absence from the diet, are believed to be causal in more than seventy-five percent of the chronic diseases.
The connective tissues collagen and elastin provide the support structure that gives protection to every cell in the body! Not only each cell, every organ is protected by a protective layer of connective tissues. Typical of this protective function is the covering of the heart and an inner lining that permits it to expand and contract without bursting.
The body is believed to gradually replace tissues, so that every seven years most cells have been replaced. This support structure contains twenty-five percent of the total protein found in the body and consists largely of the amino acids proline and lysine.
As would be expected, the larger the animal, the more abundant and stronger the connective tissues must be for proper support. The collagen from pigs is the source of choice for medical uses in humans. This is used for stents to replace defective arteries, as patches for aneurisms, for burn victims, and cosmetic applications. This is why I recommend beef or pork over the other meat sources.
My recommendation is that each individual take control of their health through better nutrition. Achieving a complete and balanced diet is the key to good health and happiness.
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