Continue reading Cramps and sugar

There are many studies about the effectivity of magnesium for cramps, and the results are contradictory; some of them are positive and other are negative.
Besides the doubtful effectivity, the intake of therapeutic dosis of magnesium is associated with some side effects, mainly gastrointestinal such as diarrhoea and a mineral unbalance.
So instead of searching a remedy of cramps, it is better to research the reason why it is appearing in the first place.
It is admitted that sugar leads to a lack of magnesium. Specifically, in order to metabolise every molecule of sacarose of sugar, the body needs to spend 54 molecules of magnesium. ( “L’équilibre glycémique”, Jacques Fontaine).
This problem coming from sugars doesn’t happen with fresh fruit, because fruit contains all the needed minerals in order to metabolise sugar. But it is also appearing with the intake of dried fruit (dates, raisin, dried figs, etc.), because the concentration of sugar is much higher. Sometimes some highly sweet grape varieties are also problematic, as well as any kind of sugars, syrups and honey.
I encourage you to verify it yourself. Next time you have a cramp think if you had eaten any of this kind of products.
Sugars, in addition to cramps, are also associated with a long list of health issues: it feeds undesirable bacteria in the intestine, provoking cavities, intestinal worms, candidas, etc.; it weakens the immune system; it can induce diabetes; it is related to cardiovascular diseases; it is inflammatory, so it is involved in different aches, etc. In this article you will find more information about the ravages of sugars.

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Continue reading Cramps, magnesium and sugar

There are many studies about the effectivity of magnesium for cramps, and the results are contradictory; some of them are positive and other are negative.
Besides the doubtful effectivity, the intake of therapeutic dosis of magnesium is associated with some side effects, mainly gastrointestinal such as diarrhoea and a mineral unbalance.
So instead of searching a remedy of cramps, it is better to research the reason why it is appearing in the first place.
It is admitted that sugar leads to a lack of magnesium. Specifically, in order to metabolise every molecule of sacarose of sugar, the body needs to spend 54 molecules of magnesium. ( “L’équilibre glycémique”, Jacques Fontaine).
This problem coming from sugars doesn’t happen with fresh fruit, because fruit contains all the needed minerals in order to metabolise sugar. But it is also appearing with the intake of dried fruit (dates, raisin, dried figs, etc.), because the concentration of sugar is much higher. Sometimes some highly sweet grape varieties are also problematic, as well as any kind of sugars, syrups and honey.
I encourage you to verify it yourself. Next time you have a cramp think if you had eaten any of this kind of products.
Sugars, in addition to cramps, are also associated with a long list of health issues: it feeds undesirable bacteria in the intestine, provoking cavities, intestinal worms, candidas, etc.; it weakens the immune system; it can induce diabetes; it is related to cardiovascular diseases; it is inflammatory, so it is involved in different aches, etc. In this article you will find more information about the ravages of sugars.

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Continue reading The cholesterol

The problem of cholesterol are the plaques that build up in the inner lining of the arteries that prevent the proper blood flow and develop cardiovascular diseases.

But medicine doesn’t explain why this plaques are formed.

Cholesterol has different functions in the body. It is a required substance in the membrane of every cell, but the body uses it to repair the tissue damages, as Dr. Campbell-McBride explains in her book “Put your heart in your mouth”.

So when for some reason the blood vessels have been damaged, the cholesterol is one of the substances that the organism needs to repair them, creating the famous cholesterol plaques.

The liver produces the amount of cholesterol that the body needs in every moment, and a high production means that there is a considerable tissue damage in the different body tissues.

Lowering the cholesterol levels with medicines leads to slowing down or impairing the healing.

Evidently, we must avoid the risk of developing these cholesterol plaques.

So the solution is to find out the reason why the body is needing so much cholesterol, this is, there is so many tissue damage.

There are mainly two kind of substances that can be pointed out: a toxic agent, and the free radicals derived from an inmune reaction or a radiation, it means, any disease that activates the inmune system or any toxicity we have been exposed to.

But the reaction of the inmune system is not the same in every kind of disease. The mechanism depend on the agent the action is directed to: virus, bacteria, food, toxics, allergens, etc. Which one of these kind of substances are more probably the source of the tissue damage of an inmune response? If the responsible were virus and bacteria, then when we suffer a cold, a flu, etc., the cholesterol level would increase, and infarcts as well; but this is not the case. There is not an association between these two diseases. Neither between allergies and cardiovascular diseases. So food and toxics must be the cause. This is reasonable, as the exposition is chronic, as well as cardiovascular diseases are.

In which circumstances the body reacts against food? In many different reasons, mainly: food intolerances, genetically modified organisms and other synthetic and artificial food.

Concerning food intolerances, the most usual ones are dairy products, gluten and modern grains, nuts, eggs and soy. But any food can be concerned by an intolerance.

Food intolerances can be detected by functional tests in alternative medicine, as well as other different techniques, such as the elimination and reintroduction diet.

So the necessary actions in order to decrease the cholesterol are the same in order to enjoy a good health: decrease our exposition to toxics and follow a good nutrition.

So doctors are correct when they recommend to improve the nutrition and exercise. The problem is that a “balanced diet” is not enough. Food intolerance must be investigated, as well as toxicity of any kind (chemicals, negative emotions, stress, radiation, etc.)

Food intolerances lead not only to cardiovascular diseases; they are involved in most diseases: respiratory, gastrointestinal, muscular, inflammatory, neurological, etc.

I would like to add an observation about how to consider diseases in general. The same way that high cholesterol is a reaction of our body against a harmful agent, and we must avoid this agent, and we mustn’t impede the body action, because it is the way that it is defending and repairing itself; the same can applied in every disease.

Our mis-conception is that the body is wrong when cholesterol rises, or with coughing, fever, mucus, etc., and we alleviate the symptoms lowering these reactions with drugs. But we are preventing a good body recovering.

Our body doesn’t make mistakes; all the contrary, it is very wise. So in general, the way we must behave is always to search the source of these reactions our body is taking, and respecting them.

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Continue reading The link between food and diseases

Due to this tolerance that the body develops to certain food that are harmful, in order to experience if a certain food is really good or bad for us, it could be a good idea to avoid eating it during a certain time. The length of time is the necessary amount until the body looses its apparent “tolerance” to it. Then it must be reintroduced it again.
When removing a harmful food it is possible that the person feels better or worse, depending on several factors. But in the reintroduction, it is the moment when the person will feel a worsening, which could happen in some hours or even in some days after the reintroduction started.
Taking into account the following list of possible links, we can be aware and make the relationship between disease and food easily.
I have got this information from my experience as nutritionist. Some links are known by most nutritionists, but most of them are the fruit of my observations, and they are new contributions.
 

Diseases	Food
Breast cancer	soy (when it is removed from the diet after it has been taken during several years)
Osteoporosis	dairy, meat, fish, grains
Cardiovascular diseases	fats and oils
Nervousness, insomnia, tachycardia	coffee, tea, chocolate
Constipation	gluten, carrot, rice, fish. In lesser degree: meat, green leafs
Laxative	avocado, citric fruits, fats
Circulatory problems, cold sensitive, Raynaud syndrome	fast carbs (sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit) and slow carbs (starch)
Brittle nails	fast carbs (sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit) and slow carbs (starch)
Nightmares	nuts, grains, seeds, dairy
Premenstrual syndrome	heggs, nuts, grains, dairy, meat, fish
Lack of memory, mental sluggishness	meat, fish
Fatigue and/or muscular pain	tomato, bell peeper, citric fruits, kiwi, pineapple
Diuretics	vegetables
Somnolence, fatigue, bags under the eyes	alcohol, dairy, meat, fish. In lesser degree: green leafs, salt
Headaches	dairy, smoked products, alcohol. In lesser degree: salt
Leg pain	eggs
Dermatological diseases	oils, avocado, coconut, olives, nuts
Liver inflammation	dairy, chocolate, fats, banana
Muscular cramps	sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, excess of fruit
Ophthalmological diseases, conjunctivitis	sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit
Enfermedades de las articulaciones	fats and oils
Hemorrhoids	fats and oils
Intestinal worms	sugar and syrups
Gastrointestinal diseases	gluten, dairy, legumes
Kidney diseases	herbs and infusions

After reading this list you may ask yourself: then, what can we eat? I think that our best food are  fruit and vegetables, knowing that they can have some undesirable effects too, although the repercussion is much lower compared with the other food. For example, citrus may be excessively laxative and result in some muscular pain and fatigue, as well as tomate and bell peeper; and vegetables are quite diuretic.
















 

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Continue reading The secret of the Mediterranean Diet

Fruit vs. sugar and dairy

Fruit: 1) Turkey, 2) Belgium, 3) Portugal, 4) Italy, 5) Greece, 6) Spain


Sugar: 1) Belgium, 2) Switzerland, 3) Nederland, 4) Germany, 5) France, 6) United Kingdom (source)

Dairy: 1) Finland, 2) Nederland, 3) Switzerland, 4) United Kingdom, 5) Italy, 6) France


In Spain the dessert is usually fruit. Although having fruit after other food that have a slow digestion, such as meat, fish or grains, is not ideal, it is better than having a dairy product as dessert. For example, the common French dessert is a yogurt or cheese. Fruit is better than a sweet dessert as well, as Swiss or German people do.
Mediterranean countries are found in the list of the top countries of fruit consumption in Europe and at the bottom in sugar consumption, while the northern and central countries are champions in sugar and dairy intake and the last ones in fruit.


Meat vs. fish

In this case the comparison is not so straightforward. Some southern Europe, such as Spain, have a hight intake of fish and a low intake of meat. Germany is a clear case or northern Europe that are high in meat and low in fish.
But other countries fall in the opposite category. Italy, for example, is a southern country with a considerably high meat intake compared with the fish one. And a northern country such as Norway, are champions in fish and low in meat.
The high amount of fish is pointed as one of main keys in two of the healthiest diets: Mediterranean and Okinawa (Japan). But there are other countries where the fish consumption is even higher than Mediterranean and Japan.
In this FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) animated graph you will see that the higher consumers of fish per capita from 1962 to 2018 have been Island, Maldives, Kiribati, Hong Kong, Macao and Portugal, exchanging positions depending on the year. Japan has occupied the third and fourth position for many years, but since 2006 it has been losing positions, and last decade it has situated below the top ten. Spain has never been between the top ten consumers of fish, neither any Mediterranean country.
So I don’t think the consumption of fish to be one of the most important reasons of the success of the Mediterranean diet.




Vegetables

1) Turkey, 2) Greece, 3) Spain, 4) Italy, 5) Portugal, 6) France

The amount of vegetables eaten in the Mediterranean area is clearly superior to the amount eaten in the central and northern Europe.


Olive oil vs. butter

In the Mediterranean Europe olive oil is the main fat in cooking, while in northern and central Europe butter and animal fat is the preferred fat.
Contrary to most olive oil advertising, proclaiming to be the main responsible of the reputation of the Mediterranean diet to be so healthy, I don’t think that having a high intake of olive oil benefits the health of Mediterranean people. I think that it is because the olive oil replaces butter, margarine and animal fats, which are much unhealthier than oil.




Rice

1) Turkey, 2) Portugal, 3) Spain, 4) Belgium, 5) Italy, 6) France

The consumption of rice in the Mediterranean Europe is generally higher than in the central and northern Europe.
Rice usually replaces wheat as grain source of carbohydrates. In Spain several different main course of rice based dishes, such as paella, instead of wheat based dishes, such as pasta or pizza.


Whole grains and legumes

I couldn’t find free stats about whole grain consumption in Europe, but as Spanish person that has been in different Mediterranean countries and other European countries, I can affirm that the whole grain consumption is marginal; grains are refined.
Neither I couldn’t find specific data about the consumption of legumes, but it is true that in Mediterranean Europe legumes are more consumed than in the central or northern Europe. It is possible that the replacement of wheat or meat by legumes based dishes to be an advantage in the Mediterranean diet.


Nuts

Although I couldn’t find free stats about the consumption of dried nuts in Europe, I have found the consumption of almonds in Europe:

1) Spain, 2) Nederland, 3) Greece, 4) Tunisia, 5) Italy, 6) Germany (source)

Concerning almonds, it is true that their consumption is higher in the Mediterranean Europe. It is possible that the same applies to hazelnuts, pinenuts and pistacchios.
Nuts are used in Spain to make sweet desserts (such as turrón, polvorones, cocas, mazapán, panellets, tarta de Santiago), in snacks, or even as aperitif. They are also included in some dishes (such as Catalan spinach, stuffed chicken, sauces, pesto). So it is usually a replacement of wheat flour in bakery, desserts and snacks, although it can replace fruit in some desserts or snacks.
For example, in Spain the main ingredient of Christmas sweets is almonds, instead of wheat flour found in Italian panettone, German Stollen, or English ginger cookies.
Again, I don’t think that the properties of nuts by themselves are the advantage of the Mediterranean diet, but because they replace other worse ingredients such as wheat flour.


Conclusion

I think that the keys of the Mediterranean diet are the high consumption of fruit and vegetables, of olive oil instead of butter, of fruit instead of sugar and dairy, of rice and nuts instead of wheat, and occasionally, legumes replacing meat or grains.
I would not give so much relevance to the consumption of fish and whole grains in the Mediterranean diet.

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