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April 30, 2009
Fruit - Devil or Angel?
Hi ,
One of my fondest memories of when I was growing up was going wild blackberry picking late in the summer in the big berry patches behind our house. We would take a long piece of lumber and drop it into the patch and then carefully walk out onto the lumber to reach the really good and sweet berries out in the middle of the patch. The strength of the old growth vines usually held us 3 or 4 feet up in the air so it took some tricky balancing to stay on the board and yet snake our arms through the thorny vines to reach those delicious berries. We were willing to risk life and limb (or at least lots of thorny puncture wounds) for that fruit.
When berries were not in season, the next best thing was fresh picked fruit from the local fruit stand (plus the occasional "fresh picked" apple from the neighbor's apple orchard). What would drive us to reach for that fruit? Sweet, many fruits are sweet and we love sweet. Not all fruits are sweet. The structural part of any plant that contains its seeds is considered to be its fruit... so cucumbers are fruits, pumpkins are fruits, many of the things we think of as vegetables are in fact fruits, but they are not sweet. What makes the sweet fruits sweet is a type of sugar called fructose. It is almost twice as sweet as the more common sugar our bodies burn as fuel - glucose. Plants are mostly made of glucoses bound together to form starches and woody fibers. We can digest the starches back to glucose to feed our bodies, but only certain bacteria can break down the woody fibers.
So when we are desperate for that sweet taste, what we are really chasing after most of the time is fructose. Table sugar (the white granulated stuff) is half fructose and half glucose. As our demand for more and more sweet taste has increased we have developed sugar with higher fructose percentages like high fructose corn syrup, or the current darling of the "health food industry" - Agave syrup. So is this good or not? We like it, but as I have discussed in previous newsletters we can not trust our taste buds any more.
Over the last 20 years, we have increased our sugar consumption in the U.S. from 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! 100 years ago the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year!
My first input on fructose came while I was in Chiropractic school. I was a "good vegetarian" at the time (meaning I balanced my foods to make sure I got enough of the right balance of essential proteins) and didn't eat crap carbohydrates. The concept of glycemic index had just been developed and fructose had been found to have a very low glycemic index. At the time it was thought this would make fructose the best sugar choice for diabetics. (This myth continues even today.) At the time, fructose had just become easily available in health food stores so I started using it to cook with. A few months later I took my first comprehensive muscle testing class. One of the findings mentioned in that class was that fructose tested up bad on everyone - they didn't know why, but avoid it. I started avoiding the store bought concentrated white crystalline stuff at that point.
About a dozen years later I started studying metabolic typing and looking much more deeply into how food affects metabolism. In those studies I came across and interesting study that had been done on prisoners over a long period of time that had been largely ignored. The large group of prisoners was split into two groups after being well studied for their health parameters. The only difference between the two groups was that one group got normal prison food made with normal table sugar (sucrose - which is half fructose) and the other had their food made with glucose (with no fructose). The food tasted the same and they ate the same. They followed the health of these prisoners for many years. The sucrose group had the usual number of problems with heart disease, diabetes, and the usual degenerative diseases. The glucose group did not.
.. interesting.
Fast forward to today, fifteen years later... hundreds of studies have been done on sugar and fructose metabolism and hundreds more on anti-oxidant and healthful nutrient properties of fruits and vegetables. The picture gets more and more complex, but some pieces are starting to shine out. There are now over 10,000 phytonutrients that have been found in our fruits and vegetables. The old One-a-day vitamin tablet with its 10 vitamins now looks ridiculously inadequate. Every day some new nutrient is found in plant sources that helps prevent some disease or enhance some metabolic process in our bodies. It is overwhelmingly clear that we are designed to eat plants - lots of plants. But what about sweet fruits?... what about fructose?
Fructose bypasses the normal sugar processing in the body and goes straight to the liver where it is almost immediately turned into triglycerides (active fats). Normally triglycerides are used by your muscles for energy. Excess (as in high fructose consumption) is stored as fat - first in your liver (causing fatty liver) then in your fat cells. Fructose also disturbs your normal glucose metabolism causing insulin resistance. This leads to hardening of the arteries, heart disease, and diabetes.
Fructose disrupts several hormone pathways that tell you when to stop eating so you actually end up hungrier when you use foods high in fructose (the only 2 things they have found that help this is increased magnesium levels and lots of vegetables). Fructose increases the dangerous kinds of cholesterol particles in your blood. Fructose increases oxidative damage (aging) in your body. Excess fructose is bad stuff. However, this process is a consequence of excess. In low levels fructose is actually beneficial.
So the big question - how much fructose is safe and even beneficial? Through most of human history we have consumed 6 - 25 grams of fructose per day. Current estimates say we could likely tolerate up to around 40 grams a day. In terms of sweet fruits that comes out to two to four servings of fruit per day. This varies a lot depending upon the fruit. A large apple or pear runs around 14 grams of fructose while an orange will only have 5. Averaging a number of fruits I come up with a safe level of around 5 to 6 cups of fresh fruit per day.
But what about fructose in the form of table sugar or high fructose corn syrup? At 135 pounds of straight sugar consumption (fruit not included) per year, that works out to 170 grams of sugar per day and half or more of that is fructose...way too much.
The sugar has to go...especially any sugar that contains fructose.
So where does that leave us? Fruit is a vital source of phytonutrients of all sorts. Phytonutrients fight the diseases of aging. Fruit also contains fructose so we have to limit our fruit consumption to around 5 to 6 cups per day. At the same time, this fruit should be part of our minimum of 8 to 12 cups of vegetables and fruits each day. Be attentive to pesticide levels in fruits. Some fruits and vegetables should be purchased from organic sources only - see health challenge.
So fruit is good for us, but like all things - in moderation. Fructose from other sources has nothing good to say for itself and should be avoided. If you want sweet then use stevia or my blend of stevia and erythritol in the office...no wasted calories and no fructose. If you need the bulk and properties of sugar for baking then use dextrose (I ordered mine through Elliott's Health Food). This is the commercial form of glucose used in baking and contains no fructose. In general though, the idea is to fill your body with healthful vegetables and fruit and then supplement that with small amounts of healthy and clean protein (meats, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and legumes) and a little healthy fat (avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, and nut oils).
Throw in abundant amounts of spices and you have a diet fit for a healthy king.
Health Challenge #7
Avoid the "Dirty Dozen" pesticide covered fruits and vegetables by buying organic versions only.
The Environmental Working Group - a non-profit consumer watchdog organization reviewed over 87,000 tests performed on 42 popular fruits and vegetables and found amazingly high levels of toxic pesticide residues even after washing and peeling. They listed the 12 worst offenders as peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears and imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, celery, kale, lettuce, and carrots.
Buy these organic only!
For a complete list go here.
Or for a slide show of the worst vegetables go here:
Good Journey,
David
If you missed any of the previous health challenges -
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Whale Watch:
Well another couple weeks and only a couple pounds lost. The liver cleanse made a little shift, but the gut reactivity still is a major issue. The weekend before last Ellen and I were out for a country drive and stopped at a cute little diner in Sutter Creek. I had a sandwich since my ALCAT Food Sensitivity Test said my reaction to gluten was mild enough to tolerate an occasional exposure. By the next morning I had retained 5 pounds of extra water and my belly was seriously swollen. So much for being somewhat ok with occasional grains.
I spent last weekend at a seminar integrating Eastern and Western diagnosis methods. I asked the instructor if he used ALCAT testing. He said he did and that it was good for finding current reactions, but simply avoiding the sensitive foods didn't really address why the patient was developing the sensitivities in the first place. Without taking care of the cause, they will just keep developing new sensitivities. The main cause he found was basically compromised digestion. As long as you don't completely and perfectly digest your foods, reactions will result. Incompletely digested protein fragments get into your blood stream and your immune system attacks them.
I have been avoiding dealing with my aging digestive tract. My decreased hydrochloric acid levels and lower digestive enzyme levels have left my system vulnerable to developing food sensitivities and produced system wide inflammation as a result. Time to deal with reality and start supporting my system at every meal.
David
New Practitioner in the Office!
Brenda Gustin, Ph.D., CMT, RYI, is an educator and healing artist.
She specializes in craniosacral therapy and myofascial release. Brenda is trained in these techniques as developed by John E. Upledger, D.O., O.M.M. and founded by John F. Barnes, PT ,respectively.
Swedish Massage and Reiki are a part of the healing work Brenda provides dependent upon the needs of each client.
Brenda is a Registered Yoga Instructor who is excited to share her knowledge of and focus in the human energy system of the chakras. Eastern and Western psycho-spiritual exploration links to the personality work in which Brenda is also trained. She is certified by The Ritberger Institute to coach clients in discovering how predictable behavioral characteristics are dictated by personality. Perspectives are offered to enable a better understanding of self, why illness occurs and where in the physical body illness and dis-ease are more likely to occur due to attitudes, emotions and behaviors.
Brenda is available at the Fair Oaks Healing & Arts Center each Monday. You may book your appointments or call with questions at 916.215.4590 or write to her at brendagustin@sbcglobal.com.
Ouestions - if you have questions of a health or growth nature we could discuss in this newsletter, or if you have comments or ideas about a future newsletter focus please email me at:
david@fairoakshealth.com
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On the Wire
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Swine Flu Perspective
Before you get swept up in the swine flu frenzy, consider some alternative viewpoints on what is going on and what to do about it from Dr. Mercola. Personally I am using a sublingual spray we have in the office called FluMax which will temporarily increase my antibodies against flu bugs of all sorts. Feel free to stop by the office for a sprtiz under the tongue for yourself.
Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.
- Rabindranath Tagore
Breastfeeding 'protects mother'
Mother nature once again shows she knows more than we do. Studies are showing that breast feeding your children is as beneficial for you as it is for your kids. Breastfeeding reduces the mother's chances of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, ovarian and breast cancer, and osteoporosis. What is more, these benefits last for decades!
The list of benefits of breastfeeding for the children is long and includes protecting against obesity, diabetes, asthma and infections of the ear, stomach and chest.
The flower is the poetry of reproduction. It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.
- Jean Giraudoux
Disinfect your salad
How often do we hear about food born illnesses these days? Is it safe to eat anything any more? First it is lettuce, then spinach, then peanuts, and always various meats. E. coli anyone? Well the folks at the University of Nebraska have come up with a simple, cheap, safe, super sanitizer for your kitchen use - both on foods directly and on counters and cutting boards...vinegar and hydrogen peroxide separately one after the other. It doesn't really matter in which order, but the combo works better than anything else tested and both are perfectly safe for food use. Just fill 2 spray bottles, one with vinegar and one with ordinary hydrogen peroxide (like you get at the pharmacy) and you are ready for sanitizing super science. (Keep the hydrogen peroxide in a dark bottle as it reacts with light and looses strength.) Learn more here:
As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.
- Charles Morgan
North American Fruits
Since this issue is devoted to fruits, I thought a nice link to a review of unusual fruits you can pick in the wild or grow in your own backyard might be fun:
I also thought a simple review of of just how many fruits are available to us might blow you away...
It was through the feeling of wonder that men now and at first began to philosophize.
- Aristotle
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Feel Good Video
A lovely job was done with this video of the song "Stand by me" sung by people all over the world wonderfully mixed into a single harmonious rendition.
Stand By Me
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About Dr. DeLapp
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Dr. DeLapp has been a philosopher, non-force Chiropractor, medical intuitive, and health innovator for over 30 years. He began experimenting with medical intuition in 1972 while studying physics at UC Davis. In addition to physics he designed and completed an individual major in the philosophy and psychology of education. Shortly after he choose to pursue a career in the only truly health oriented profession available at that time, Chiropractic. He graduated with honors in 1981 with his doctorate and opened a private practice.
Since that time he has continued his research into the effects of consciousness and learning on health.
He developed the Biomagnetic Retraining system for correcting movement abnormalities.
Since 1991 he has focused on developing a powerful system for uncovering and assisting the mind-body connection in health and personal growth. The in-depth coaching, guided by the subconscious direction from the body, is called Heartflow and the simpler mind-body retraining for health and unfoldment he has named Gracework. Both are available at Fair Oaks Health.
Fair Oaks Healing
& Arts Center
Staff
Dr David DeLapp DC
Chiropractor
Ellen Flowers FGM
Spiritual Life Coach
Susan Richardson
Front Desk
Gypsy Andrews
Metabolic Nutritionist
Front Desk
One of the best red meats you can eat is buffalo. It is naturally prairie grass fed so it has high levels of omega-3 oils. It is low in saturated fats. And, it tastes good. Even better, you can even find it now in your grocery store in 1 lb packages of ground buffalo.
The best way to eat your meat is raw. Cooking destroys the protein structure and decreases its nutritional value. But since most Americans don't eat raw meat, the next best thing is to low temperature "cook" the meat by making it into jerky.
You can use almost any combination of herbs and spices you choose in your jerky. Some really prefer hot and spicy jerky while others like the Teriyaki flavor. Personally I like a sweet and sour jerky. To "cook" the jerky a food dehydrator is the best, although a smoker or even an oven on warm will work. You will need some sort of screens or drying trays that will hold the soft jerky mix while it drys.
1 lb. Ground Buffalo
3-4 Tbs Erythritol/Stevia
blend (David's 2X sugar)
2 Tbs Molasses
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
2 Tbs Fish Sauce
Black Pepper to taste
Mix the ingredients well. Form into small thin patties on your screens or use a cookie press to squirt out ribbons of jerky mix into "sticks" of jerky on the screens. Dry on low temperature for 6 to 12 hours. Jerky should be leathery when done. This jerky has no preservatives in it so keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Feel free to experiment with any spices you like. If you come up with a really good recipe, let me know.
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