Nutritional Atherosclerosis Control: Diet Therapy

Nutritional Atherosclerosis Control: Diet Therapy

AVOID:

Sugar (in ALL forms) - limiting sugar is CRITICAL!!!

Aspartame * (NutraSweet or Equal)

Sucralose ** (Splenda)

Trans fatty acids (all fried foods and margarine)

MSG - artificial chemical (may not be listed in ingredients)

All artificial preservatives and chemicals, if possible

* Aspartame - the technical name for the brand names, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure - is the common food additive found in thousands of products such as diet soda, yogurt, and over-the-counter medicines. However, this sugar substitute – in fact, a chemical poison (neurotoxin) - should never been approved for consumption as it poses a public health threat. Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US FDA. A few of the 90 (!) different documented symptoms caused by the components of aspartame include: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain (it actually increases appetite!), rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

** Sucralose - a relatively new artificial sweetener (high-intensity sugar substitute; 50% sweeter than aspartame - but less toxic than aspartame), sold under the name Splenda™. It is non-caloric and about 600 times sweeter than sucrose (white table sugar), alredy used in a variety of products (in the United States, approved for the use in 15 food and beferage categories). However, sucralose is NOT proven safe; it does NOT provide any benefit to the public (only for the corporations making and using sucralose); it does NOT help with weight loss (on the contrary: it my stimulate appetite); it has NOT been shown to be safe for the environment, and, finaly, there are NO long-term (12-24 months) human studies on sucralose (similar to several years ago for aspartame). Its regular use may contribute to serious chronic immunological or neurological disorders.

Eat Less Fruit:

Sweet fruit (fresh and dried), such as grape (red and green), raisin, plum, fig, date, pineapple, apricot - high in sugar

Melons, such as cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon - high in sugar

Banana, orange, grapefruit (red and white) to be avoided (high in sugar, contaminated with mold!)

Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, lemon, lime - OK, in moderation

AVOID:

ALL fruit juices - fresh and bottled

Eat More Vegetables:

Kale, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, spinach

Dandelion greens, mustard greens, collard greens, green and red cabbage, broccoli

Red and green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, endive

Chinese cabbage, bok choy, fennel, celery, cucumbers

Cauliflower, escarole, zucchini, brussel sprouts

Onions, tomatoes, peppers, parsley

Summary: The greener, the better

AVOID:

Iceberg and head lettuce: low nutritional value

Carrots and underground vegetables, especially beet roots - high in sugar

White or red potatoes, beets - high in sugar

Corn: popcorn, chips (it is a grain, not a vegetable; any food that has corn in top five ingredients)

Most grains - especially wheat (including durham flour and semolina), rye, barley

Lower other grains intake: rice (brown, short grain, and white), millet, spelt, kamut, oats, quinoa, teff, amaranth

Chewing gum (wastes digestive enzymes; source of sugar or artificial sweetener)

Healthy Fats:

Have More Omega-3 Fatty Acids, DHA and EPA:

Cod liver oil - especially during the winter, early spring and late fall months

High quality fish oil - preferably in capsules (standard size is 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA)

Organic flax seeds (not flax oil) - preferably freshly ground up, mixed with salads or vegetables

AVOID:

ALL vegetable seed oils - have LESS omega-6 fatty acids, with the exception of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil for salads only (for cooking or stir-frying use grape seed oil)

Beverages:

Drink Water Only:

Spring water or filtered

Well water is generally OK

Drink water at room temperature, not chilled or iced (shuts down the digestive system!)

Lemon and lime juice can be added intermittently for flavor change

Amount needed: ideally, one quart for every 50 pounds of body weight

Drink Vegetable Juices

Freshly processed vegetable juice (ALL fruit juices should be avoided!)

Green tea (very limited amounts as high fluoride content may cause problems)

AVOID:

Tap water

Softened or distilled water

Coffee, tea, colas, diet drinks, store bought fruit juices

Milk, especially skim (get vitamin D from supplements or sun exposure; get calcium from green vegetables or supplements)

Eat Protein

Meats, grass fed (not grain fed) REAL beef, poultry (chicken, turkey, ostrich, game meats (venison, buffalo, lamb)

Fish - with caution due to possible mercury contamination, preferably summer flounder, wild Pacific salmon, croaker, sardines, haddock, tilapia

Eggs - organic only, not scrambled (2-3 times per week)

Seeds - raw only: sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax

Nuts - raw only: cashews, Brazil nuts, almonds, pecans (but in limited quantities)

AVOID:

Pork: ham, most bacon, pork roast and chops

Shellfish: shrimp, lobster, crabs, clams

Peanuts - any food that has peanuts

Bananas and oranges: highly allergenic and high in sugars

Eat Beans and Legumes

In limited quantities - not complete protein source, high in carbohydrates; preferably red kidney beans and pinto beans

Soak beans (not lentils) for 48-72 hours

Rinsing every 12 hours

Cook them for 8-12 hours in a crock-pot

If canned - on occasion only (less nutritional value), from a health food store

AVOID:

All soy, unless fermented or sprouted

Tofu, isolated soy protein (ISP) - soy milk, soy protein powder, soy flour

Only miso and tempeh (fermented soy), and soy sprouts are acceptable - available in a health food store.

If You Don't Want or Need to Lose Weight...

The above diet outline will generally cause you to lose weight. However, if you do not want or need to lose weight you can increase your intake of the following foods:

Add More:

squash

low sweet fruits

seeds

long grain brown rice (if fried, with NO oil - as the rice structure changes, the rice sugar is released more slowly)

quinoa

millet

yams, and

shredded unsweetened coconut (added to some of your meals to increase calories).

If You Are Smoking - Do NOT Stop Now!

It is far more important to stop your sugar BEFORE you stop smoking. If you try to do both at once you will most likely fail to do either. Eventually, everyone should stop smoking, but it should be done in an optimal sequence.

All you need to do is to start implementing gradually the recommended dietary changes - and you will begin seeing miracles occur. Simply, do your best!

And remember, only YOU can change the food you put in your body to release the wonderful healing power within you.

Beware of Contaminated Fish!

Fish, especially fatty fish, are the main predominant source of omega-3 oils - the essential fatty acids, so named because without them we die.

More recent research has established that the most beneficial and active of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are:

EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

Unfortunately, it is estimated that over 85 per cent of people in the Western world are... deficient in beneficial omega-3 oils.