Fifth Principle: Nutritional Change
I wrote this in my book ‘Journeys Back to Health’ in 2006. Read it through first and then my final current day comments at the bottom:
Look at the changes all of our participants made. Surely if nutrition can contribute so much to wellness, society as a whole needs to become aware of it. How much can a person change? John changed everything and became well. The extreme nature of his changes, and his interest in nutritional supplements have kept him in remarkable health, and he is a testament to what nutrition can achieve. Sophie still eats totally raw foods and remains in excellent health. Karen eats according to blood type and minimizes saturated fat, changes that have improved her health enormously. Glenn has made so many changes and continues to conquer different aspects of health as his voyage continues. Jennifer overcame blood sugar problems by adopting the X factor diet for several months and has maintained her health along with most of the dietary changes.
Over the years I have seen a steady pattern of nutritional change leading to improved health in many people. It is such a simple correlation that you wonder why people suffer so much. Are we scared of change, or can we not imagine eating in a different way? Whatever the reason, we are experiencing poor health at the expense of dietary change. Yet those subjects have confirmed they are very happy with their dietary changes and prefer their new food. Clearly the effort has been worth it!!!
Potentially there are many dietary changes we can make and what is right for one may not be right for another. Simple measures like cutting back on sugar, wheat and dairy, eating whole foods and eating a little raw food are things anyone can do if they choose to. It is interesting to note that eating raw foods has helped everyone and I believe this to be most significant for anyone planning to get healthy. I have talked at length on the value of raw foods and encourage more people to experiment for themselves.
It always amazes me how much sugar people have in their diet. Even some students of naturopathy seem to add sugar to tea and coffee, as well as regularly taking in biscuits and cakes. When they respond to a questionnaire in class around hypoglycaemia most students score well over 20 indicating that they have obvious signs of hypoglycaemia. For those students who subsequently give up sugar and repeat the test the score is usually well under 20. Hypoglycaemia is very common in society and can be indicated by energy swings, cravings, rapid mood swings, sleep problems, nervousness and a number of other signs and symptoms. The common factor is that most can be relieved greatly within days by giving up sugar. The trouble with sugar is that it enters the bloodstream quickly producing a rapid response from the hormone insulin and this can create hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) in the short term and insulin resistance (problems in utilising insulin by the cells) in the long term.
There is also evidence that minerals (for example calcium) may be depleted by sugar consumption creating further problems. Finally (and most apparently) excess sugar increases weight if overall calories are increased, which in itself can contribute to causing such diseases as type 2 diabetes. You will notice that sugar was no part of the diet of any of our subjects!
Wheat and dairy may be a problem for some people as the proteins they contain may upset some people. I am not against the consumption of either of these two foods, but suggest that if you feel that they may be affecting your health you organise an allergy test through a naturopath. In our stories you will note that several subjects gave up wheat in particular and dairy consumption was minimal.
That was written in 2006. In 2016 the sugar story is big news worldwide. Everyone hears about sugar and how it affects health today. With greater heed many years ago some current day problems such as type 2 diabetes could have been minimized.