The recommendations of Dr. Erasmus are for the general population. Most recommendations are particularly relevant to the HDL Triad to fight HD. Health habits that decrease the risk of arthritis, diabetes and other degenerative diseases are of benefit to everyone. --Jerry 16-May-2001
From: Fats that Heal Fats that Kill by Udo Erasmus
Since first publication of this book in 1986 under the title Fats and Oils, Udo Erasmus has become an internationally recognized authority on the subject. His academic credentials include two years of post graduate studies in genetics and biochemistry and a PhD in Nutrition. He pioneered technology for pressing and packaging healthful oils and continues to provide consulting services to industry, health professionals and individuals from his base in Vancouver, Canada. visit: udoerasmus.com
My first piece of advice to the people I educate is not the usual, well-known, and overstated dictum to avoid hard fats, or even altered, toxic, killer fats. It is more important to identify and include those fats that affect health in a positive way - the fats that heal. It is more effective to find out what to do than what not to do.
By the time you have put the following positive recommendations into practice, you will have replaced many bad habits with good ones. You may not need to read the negative recommendations, but in case something has been missed, they are also given.
Positive Recommendations
1. Ensure adequate essential fatty acid (EFA) consumption.
Our intake of EFAs should be at least one-third of total fat intake, no matter what our total level of fat consumption is. The best-balanced plant source of both EFAs is hemp seed oil. Flax is the richest source of the w3 EFA. Soybeans and walnuts contain both EFAs, but are richer in the w6 EFA. Safflower, sunflower, and sesame are sources of only the w6 EFA.
Fish like salmon, mackerel, rainbow trout, sardines, and eel contain large quantities of w3 EFA derivatives. Seaweed and shellfish supply both EFAs in small quantities. Dark-green vegetables such as spinach, parsley, and broccoli also contain small quantities of both EFAs. All whole, fresh, unprocessed foods contain some EFAs.
EFAs are extremely important for health and vitality. EFA deficiencies are correlated with degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, skin afflictions, dry skin, premenstrual syndrome, behavioral problems, poor wound healing, arthritis, glandular atrophy, weakened immune functions, and sterility (especially in males).
Oils rich in both EFAs (hemp), mainly w3s (flax), and mainly w6s (safflower, sunflower, sesame) should be mechanically pressed (as opposed to chemically, solvent-extracted) from pesticide-free seeds at low temperature with light and oxygen excluded; should remain unrefined and unheated; and should be stored in opaque, inert metal, earthen, or glass containers, kept frozen in storage, and refrigerated or frozen in our home. For recommended quantities, see Chapter "4, Flax and Hemp Oil Recipes. When these conditions are not fulfilled, EFAs are unprotected and partially destroyed, losing much of their value to health through light-induced free radicals, oxygen-induced rancidity, or heat-induced Molecular twisting and other changes. It is not conducive to health to consume such oils.
W3 oils such as flax are extremely sensitive to destruction. Some distribution systems keep these oils in transit too long. I recommend that flax and hemp seed oils be shipped by manufacturer directly to retail store. People with health problems should obtain fresh flax oil directly from a reputable manufacturer, air shipped when appropriate to retain freshness.
Hemp seed oil, a balanced, natural EFA-rich oil, is somewhat more stable than flax, but should be treated with the same care demanded by flax oil. For highest quality sources of oils, see Services Provided, at the end of the book.
Fats and oils should make up about 15 to 20% of total calories consumed each day.
2. Ensure adequate intake of minerals, vitamins, protein, fiber, etc.
A total of about 20 minerals and 13 vitamins are required for human health. Several of these help metabolize cholesterol and fats. Their presence in our body lowers cholesterol levels. Deficiency of these vitamins and minerals raises cholesterol. Vitamin C, niacin (B3), chromium, and copper play key roles, but all minerals and vitamins are essential for health.
Minerals and vitamins protect EFAs from destruction by oxygen and free radicals. Vitamins A (or carotene), C, and E, the minerals zinc, manganese, copper, and selenium, and the element sulphur (contained in garlic and a few amino acids) are involved in this protection.
Vitamins and minerals are required to metabolize sugars and starches for the production of energy and help prevent them from turning into saturated fatty acids and hard fats. They include B complex vitamins and chromium. Potassium, magnesium, manganese, and iron are also necessary for energy production.
Adequate proteins containing all essential amino acids are required for health, but protein deficiency is rare in the diets of affluent people. Over-consumption of protein is more common than under-consumption.
All proteins are possible sources of allergy. Each person needs to find out which proteins are allergy-safe for them, because individuals differ in this regard.
The commonest food allergies are to dairy protein and wheat. Corn, egg, and pork allergies are also common. Vegetables and rice rarely produce allergic reactions, but some individuals are allergic to these. Therefore, allergies must be individually determined.
Among meats, fish is preferable to chicken and turkey, which are preferable to lamb, beef, and pork. Eggs contain excellent protein. Yolk is nutritious and its cholesterol poses no problems if our diet contains enough w3 and w6 EFAs, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Among plant sources, seeds and nuts are rich in protein. Almonds and soybeans (tofu) contain especially good plant protein.
Increase the use of fresh vegetables and fruit, grains and beans, fish and seafoods.
Certain kinds of fiber: pectins, mucilages, and gums found in apples, potatoes, beets, carrots, okra, flax, beans, and oats tie up bile acids, cholesterol, and toxins, and carry them out of our body. They lower cholesterol levels and reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease. Other kinds of fiber help prevent constipation, weight gain, colon cancer, and gallstones. Some even increase glucose tolerance, which helps prevent hypoglycemia and diabetes (hyperglycemia).
Since much of the vitamins, minerals, EFAs, and fiber present in whole foods have been altered or removed during the processing of fats, oils, sugars, and starches we consume, we should nutrient-enrich our food supply with whole foods, fresh juices, super-foods, food concentrates, or supplements of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and EFAs. It is easy to get them back, by eating fiber-rich foods, taking a high-potency multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplement, and using one of the fresh, balanced oils rich in both EFAs. Additional vitamins C, E, and carotene may be advisable, since even high-potency supplements contain less of these than most people find optimal for health.
Fiber supplements are also available. Fiber should be taken with lots of fluid, as some types of fiber absorb 20 to 60 times their volume of water. Lack of fluid can lead to abdominal pain, and may even be dangerous. If you are looking for sources, see Services Provided at the back of the book.
Friendly bacteria (acidophilus) help keep our colon healthy. They are easily destroyed by antibiotics and can be replaced by taking an acidophilus supplement, in dry or liquid, refrigerated form. Hydrochloric acid, bile, and enzymes may help us digest our foods more completely. These take on increasing importance as we age.
Herbs contain natural factors that can help our liver (e.g., silybum), digestive (e.g., bitters), respiratory (e.g., mullein, angelica), circulatory (e.g., hawthorn), and immune (e.g., echinacea) and other systems function more efficiently.
3. Fresh water, fresh air, sunshine.
Living in an ideal natural setting, we would eat natural, fresh, whole, sun-ripened, unprocessed, seasonal, locally grown, raw, toxin-free foods. We would drink clean, flowing water, and breathe clean, oxygen rich air. We would be natural beings living a natural life-style in harmony with nature and our own nature. For every step we take away from this ideal natural setting, we pay a price in health. Each step we take back in the direction of the ideal natural setting has positive effects on health.
Our water should be clean and free of toxins. If it is chlorinated and contains other impurities, these impurities should be removed. Several technologies are available, but no one technology works well alone; they should therefore be combined to best protect health.
The air we breathe should be clean. Although outdoor industrial pollution gets much attention, our indoor air is often more contaminated than that outside. That's why we still go outside for a breath of fresh air. Indoor filters that remove particles, dust, bacteria, molds, gases, synthetic vapors, and odors can be installed. If you need help with technologies, see Services Provided, at the back of the book.
We are creatures of light. Human health requires full-spectrum sunlight including UV rays in moderation. It benefits our health to spend at least some time (one hour or more) each day outside in direct or indirect, unfiltered sunlight Sunglasses that block UV should not be worn during this light-for-health time.
4. Exercise.
Our body is made for activity. If there were nothing to do, we wouldn't need a body - we could just be disembodied spirits floating about. If our exercise consists only of the grinding movement of our jaws, the movement of our arms from plate to mouth, and the push away from the table, that's not enough Lack of exercise results in poorer digestion, absorption, and metabolism of fats carbohydrates, and proteins. Regular activity is extremely important for maintaining health. If our nutrition is optimal, being active is natural and comes easily. If we remain inactive, even good nutrition will not keep us healthy.
Exercise comes in three forms: squeak (stretching), which includes yoga, pre-workout limbering, and post-workout cool-down, where muscles are gently moved and stretched out; sweat (aerobics), which consists of workouts for lungs and cardiovascular system through sustained (20 minutes or more) rapid movement training; and grunt (strength), which includes muscle and body building by moving increasingly heavy loads increasingly often (reps). All three forms of exercise are part of all-round physical fitness.
5. Relax, rest, pray, enjoy, and party with the gang.
To balance a life of activity and busy-ness, we need to also make time for relaxation and rest. To unwind. To discover ourselves as nature made us rather than as society expects us to be. To come to terms with our smallness in relation to a vast universe. To find that which loves us unconditionally from within the core of our being. To enjoy being alive for no reason other than that life is inherently enjoyable. These too are important to health.
Harmonious social relations and the company of people with whom we have mutual acceptance, nurture, love, and trust is important for human health. Serving and contributing to others is also important.
Good old days? Some people long for the good old days, imagining that in less 'modern', less hectic times, people enjoyed more time with members of their family, tribe, or community; could trust most strangers; enjoyed more time with themselves; balanced solitary and social time better; were closer to themselves, to others, and to nature; had more faith in what they didn't know; expressed more gratitude and counted their blessings; and in the silence of the longing of their souls, were closer to what sustains us all.
Today, this seems a tall order. But in reality it is no taller an order today than it was in the past or will be in the future. In fact, every generation of the past, present, and future has had, has, and will have their share of problems to deal with, and their escapist images of better pasts and futures. And in every era, there have been, are, and will be individuals who manage to live full and content lives in spite of the circumstances of the time. They do it (and we can do it) by living consciously.
Living consciously means being aware of our feelings, emotions, and thoughts; being aware of the actions that flow from emotions and thoughts; being aware of the consequences of our actions, and learning from these consequences. Living consciously is necessary for realizing today, in our life, what we imagine were the 'good old days' or what we hope will be the 'better future'. Living consciously has always required the effort of being aware, present, alert, and deliberate. While the circumstances in which we face the challenge of living consciously change, conscious living is simply a question of values, priorities, and commitments. Conscious living has always been, is, and always will be possible for any person, under any set of circumstances - a matter of deciding and choosing how we live.
Negative Recommendations
6. Lower fat (and cholesterol) consumption.
A large body of research indicates that if we want to remain healthier longer, we need to reduce our total fat consumption from over 40% down to between 13 and 20% of total calories. At this level, our chances of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or other diseases of fatty degeneration become smaller, especially if our fats contain both EFAs in proper balance.
The easiest way to reduce fat consumption is to decrease our consumption of fatty foods (if a food is 20% fats by weight, it means that 45% or more of its calories come from fats), and increase our consumption of low-fat, high-fiber foods. Avoid obvious sources of poor-quality fat such as margarines and shortenings. Reduce butter (80% fat) to 1 tablespoon per day (14 grams; 101 calories). (Butter and margarines contain about 20% water). Limit refined vegetable oils (100% fat) to 1 tablespoon per day (126 calories). Discard visible fats on beef, lamb, and pork, and the skin on chicken and turkey.
Avoid processed foods containing hidden fats, such as sausage. Reduce reliance on greasy burgers, cheese (except low-fat cheese containing less than 10% butter fat) and oily salad dressings. Avoid potato chips and fried foods.
For 30% of the population, dietary cholesterol intake increases blood cholesterol levels. For the other 70%, increased dietary cholesterol leads to decreased cholesterol production by their liver, keeping their blood cholesterol levels constant regardless of dietary intake.
7. Avoid oxidized fats, oils, and cholesterol, and sticky hard fats.
When our foods are processed and aged while exposed to air, and also lack antioxidant minerals and vitamins, we consume more oxidized cholesterol, oils, and fats than our body can handle.
Oxidized fats and cholesterol occur in cured, processed, and aged foods. Include meats, sausages, cheese, scrambled (as opposed to boiled) eggs, fried convenience foods, and stored foods on the list of oxidized foods that mediate arterial damage leading to the plethora of cardiovascular problems that have been wrongly blamed on cholesterol. Avoid them, and stick to fresh, whole foods that have not had air pushed into them, and that still contain their natural minerals and vitamins
Over several years or decades, the consumption of oxidized cholesterol, oils fats, and fatty acids together with deficiencies of essential nutrients result in arterial damage. Thickened arteries brought about by repair proteins narrow these blood vessels, impair circulation, and increase our risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, blindness, high blood pressure, kidney and heart failure. Hard fats and saturated fatty acids make platelets more sticky. In arteries damaged by oxidized fats and thickened and narrowed by plaque (atherosclerosis) formed largely due to lack of vitamin C and other essential nutrients, sticky fats increase the probability of a clot blocking an artery completely and resulting in heart attack, stroke, or embolism. Magnesium deficiency may help trigger a spasm in a coronary artery that begins the blocking event.
A strict vegetarian diet (no meat, eggs, or dairy products, but plenty of fresh vegetables and grains, as well as smaller amounts of seeds, nuts, and fruit) can lower a cholesterol level of 260 mg/dl to 160 mg/dl within a month, and also supplies an abundance of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. The death rate from cardiovascular disease of strict vegetarians is only one-quarter that of meat eaters. The average blood cholesterol level of a heart attack patient is 244 mg/dl. A level of 160 mg/dl or less is associated with virtually complete absence of cardiovascular disease.
8. Avoid altered fats.
Altered fats do not fit into the precise molecular architecture of our bodies. This architecture is the framework on which life energy flows, keeping us alive and healthy. Altered fats are linked to mutations, cancers, atherosclerosis, and degeneration of cells, tissues, and organs. Some take part in uncontrolled free radical chain reactions within our body, resulting in toxic metabolic byproducts.
The main sources of altered fats are hydrogenated oil products. Avoid them. Shortenings, margarines (both hard and soft), shortening oils and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (used in convenience, processed, and junk foods) make up the bulk of altered fats in our food supply. We also find them in bakery products, candies, french fries, fried and deep-fried foods, and processed convenience foods and snacks such as potato and corn chips and other bagged snacks. Avoid them all. Refined oils also contain some altered fats. Humans consume nearly 10 pounds of altered fats per person per year (10 to 12 grams per day), more than twice their consumption of all other food additives combined.
Fresh raw seeds and nuts - the raw materials from which come the oils that we ruin in order to make shortenings, margarines, and other altered fat products contain no altered fats. Choose them for health-giving fats and oils.
Fresh oils containing EFAs and other natural factors are available. High on the list are flax and hemp oils. EFAs in these oils are destroyed if they are exposed to light and air during processing, storage, and display, by heat during processing; and by frying and deep-frying in home and restaurant. If you want them fresh and in their natural state, see Services Provided, at the end of the book.
9. Avoid refined sugars; reduce refined starches and calorie-rich foods.
Our body transforms refined sugars into, hard, sticky fats and cholesterol. These interfere with the functions of EFAs and make our platelets more sticky. Sugars increase our blood fat (triglyceride) levels, which increase atherosclerosis, make platelets sticky, and increase risk of heart attack, stroke, embolism, high blood pressure, kidney failure, and heart failure. Sugars inhibit immune function, feed cancer, feed Candida, yeast, and bacteria, prevent vitamin C transport (glucose and vitamin C use the same transport mechanism), rob our body of minerals, cause hypoglycernia and diabetes, burn out our adrenal glands and pancreas, increase internal stress which increases cholesterol production, can also cause tooth decay and unruly behavior. All refined an^ concentrated sources of sugars do this and should be avoided as much as possible. Even sweet fruit eaten in excess can have this effect in some people. Fruit should be eaten in moderation.
In 1815, sugar consumption was 15 pounds per person per year. In 1865, human beings consumed about 40 pounds of sugar per year. By 1900, sugar consumption had risen to 85 pounds per person per year. In 1970, sugar consumption was about 120 pounds per person per year, and today it stands at 135 pounds per person per year. Sugars are added to most processed foods including ketchup (which contains more sugar than ice cream), processed meats (which are extended with starch or sweetened with sugar), canned vegetables, and 'non-sweet' bakery products (which contain added sugar). Avoid these less obvious sources of sugar.
White flour, refined cornstarch, macaroni, noodles, and pasta also lack vitmins, minerals, and essential fatty acids necessary for health. They, and other concentrated, fiber-poor foods help produce chronic constipation suffered by 30% of the population. In the 1800s, white bread was used as a folk remedy to stop diarrhea, because it was known to constipate. Reduce or avoid refined starches.
Calorie-rich foods include eggs, meats, and cheese. Fiberless, they contain more calories than our body is made to handle, and also constipate. Reduce your consumption of these, and balance them with fiber-rich vegetables.
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity result from increased use of refined sugars, refined starches, and calorie-rich foods. In the 1800s, cardiovascular deaths were extremely rare. They rose to I in 7 deaths by 1900, and today account for more than I death in every 3. Diabetes rose at a similar rate and, if one includes its cardiovascular complications, now accounts for I death in 20. About 30% of adults in Western society are obese, risking cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies, and a host of other degenerative ailments.
Human societies consuming traditional diets consisting of vegetables (including raw sugarcane) and whole grains rarely suffer from these afflictions. Returning to the use of natural foods fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and unprocessed seeds, nuts, and fish eliminates many of the problems that refined sugars, starches, and calorie rich foods bring on.
10. Avoid toxins including drugs, pesticides, and food additives.
Some healers claim that all drugs, pesticides, and additives are liver-toxic and therefore increase our chances of cancer. This is because our liver is the main organ that must detoxify the toxic materials in our body.
The use of pharmaceutical drugs is so widespread that it has become a major problem. Most have not been adequately tested for safety. Being unnatural substances, we should assume that they are unsafe. The toxicity of many drugs produces side effects that are full-blown diseases themselves. Many drugs and synthetic molecules were sold for profit and used by human guinea pigs for years before their side effects became sufficiently well documented to force them off the market. Arsenic, mercury, thalidomide, and the cancer-causing food dyes (butter yellow and sudan red) are examples. Antibiotics and cortisone inhibit immune function. About 18% of all illnesses today are caused by medical treatments these are called iatrogenic illnesses.
To reduce our need for synthetic drugs and poisons, we must strengthen our body's ability to resist disease by increasing the quality of our food intake, and by ensuring that we get all essential nutrients in sufficient quantities. In this way, we can meet our needs for growth and activity, for maintaining physical health, healing illnesses, and resisting stress, pollution, and toxic influences from the environment,
Pesticides are poisons developed to kill organisms that are part of the same natural system that is also our mother. They poison us too. To decrease our reliance on pesticides, we must strengthen soils, diversify our crop base, develop hardy plants, encourage natural predators of pests and, if all else fails, harvest insects as food.
To reduce our intake of pesticides and other food additives, we must avoid sprayed, highly processed, artificially colored and flavored foods, and return to pesticide free foods organically grown, fresh vegetables and fruit, organically grown whole grains, nuts and seeds, and wild meats (especially fish). These foods kept our ancestors free of fat related degenerative diseases. They keep the so called 'primitive' people and citizens of less developed nations healthy. They keep wild animals healthy. They will also keep us healthy.
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