1. Trans Fats: Dangerous Plastics That Destroy Health

Many years ago food manufacturers recognized that they were losing significant profits because their products were spoiling. In response, they did two things: They added chemicals to foods to keep them from spoiling, and they began to cook fats for long periods of time to stabilize them. The chemicals, we now know, are problematic for the health of the person consuming them. The fats are, too, because the very long cooking process changes them from a healthy substance into something that is only one carbon atom away from plastic, and that has a profound influence on the structure of cell membranes.

It works like this. When a cell wears out, your body makes a new one. First it looks around to see what building materials are available to make the new cell. If all you have given your body is “plastic” fat (partially hydrogenated or trans fats), the new cell membrane will be made from plastic. The result is sort of like wrapping individual cells in cellophane. A healthy cell membrane is designed to allow certain things to go into and out of the cell. It can’t function properly when the membrane is made of cellophane.

Imagine that one of your cells sends a message to your brain telling it that it is hungry. Your body will respond by sending the cell some glucose and insulin. What happens when the glucose can’t get through the cellophane? The cell keeps on complaining that it’s hungry, and your body keeps on sending it more insulin and glucose. Much of the insulin and glucose will be put into fat cells. But the original cell will continue to complain that it is hungry, and your brain will continue to make you want to eat so that you can try to resolve the hunger issues (see “Beware of MSG” on page 8 for additional information on hunger). Even so, very little glucose will get through the cellophane into your cells. In time you will become obese and your pancreas will wear out from making so much insulin. With all that glucose in your bloodstream, you will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Drugs can be prescribed to lower the levels of sugar in your bloodstream, but your cells will still be coping with the effects of being made out of plastic. Eventually they will begin to wear out and you will get symptoms of worn out cells: heart attacks, strokes, liver failure, kidney failure, blindness, chronic fatigue, etc.

Obviously, if you want to get well you must stop consuming plastic fats. In today’s world this is easier said than done. Even if you change the fats you use at home, most restaurants use plastic fats for frying foods. If you eat out, you must stop eating fried foods or choose a restaurant that you know doesn’t use plastic fats. Most cheese is also made from plastic fats, which means that avoiding cheeseburgers and French fries is a must. Overall, it’s safe to say that fast food isn’t dangerous for your health because it is fast—it’s dangerous because it is plastic. If you continue to feed your body plastic fats, you will never get well. But if you give your body good fats along with the other things it needs, your body will thank you by becoming vibrant and healthy. Examples of good fats include avocados, raw nuts, safflower oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, borage oil, corn oil, coconut oil, etc. In general, good fats are those that will spoil. Coconut oil is better for cooking than olive oil because it withstands heat better.

The Magic of Raw Milk

One excellent source of healthy fat is raw milk. In fact, it has all the fats you need in exactly the right proportions. Raw milk and cream are total foods. The offspring of mammals thrive on mother’s milk, and millions upon millions of children have thrived on raw cow’s milk down through the ages. Pasteurizing milk—far from making it safe— actually damages the proteins in it. Homogenization fractures the long fat chains and turns them into toxic little pieces of the original chains. Raw milk is a nearly perfect food, but pasteurized/homogenized milk is toxic.

Lactose intolerance has become a very common condition in our culture. In reality, people who think they are lactose intolerant are actually allergic to the toxic brew called pasteurized/homogenized milk. What about infections lurking in raw milk? They are extremely rare. In fact, data from the Centers for Disease Control indicates that 90% of the infections that come from milk are found in pasteurized milk, not raw milk. A simple experiment can help explain why. If you put a glass of raw milk next to a glass of pasteurized milk and then introduce an equal amount of bacteria into each one, the bacteria in the raw milk will die quickly while the bacteria in the pasteurized milk will multiply just as quickly. This happens because raw milk contains bacteria-destroying paroxidases and enzymes, but pasteurized milk does not.

The Truly Incredible Egg

Eggs are another total food. The trick is to get free-range eggs that are also hormone free. Most eggs come from chickens that are fed hormones or hormone promoting, processed foods so that they will lay more eggs. The chicken’s necks are held in clamps so they cannot move and lights are kept on day and night to further increase production. Free range chickens lay eggs that provide more voltage and have fewer toxins. If you can find ways to eat them raw, such as in a healthy shake, so much the better. Cooking eggs destroys some of their food value.

Saturated Fats and Omegas

Many people are confused about the best types of fat to eat. As a result, there has been an increase in the numbers of people who are becoming toxic as a result of consuming too many Omega-3 fats (from fish oil, etc.). It might help to think of your cell membranes as if they were your home. They need to be strong enough to be substantial, but they also need doorways and windows to let things in and out. If you build your house out of concrete blocks with no windows or doors, it will be strong, but there won’t be any way to get in or out. If you build it mostly with doors and windows, the next storm will blow it down. In cells, saturated fats are strong and unsaturated fats are porous, which means they have openings. You need saturated fats (i.e., animal fats) to make your cells strong, and unsaturated fats (i.e., fish oil) for doors and windows. To make perfect cell membranes, you should eat four times as many saturated fats as Omega-6s and -9s, and four times as many Omega-6s and-9s as Omega-3s.

Suggested saturated fats (concrete blocks): coconut oil, palm oil, beef, mutton, butter, cocoa, lard, eggs, etc. (Note: Do not eat or cook with margarine.)
Suggested Omega-6s and -9s (doors): safflower oil, olive oil, sesame oil, rice, butter, corn, sunflower oil, oats, peanuts, etc.
Suggested Omega-3s (windows): flax and fish oil (fish oil has much more energy than flax oil).

2. The Role of Hypothyroidism in Metabolic Syndrome

The total number of mitochondria in cells, and thus the total number of rechargeable ATP/ADP batteries, is dictated by the amount of functional thyroid hormone present in cells. If normal levels of thyroid hormone are reduced, the body develops hypothyroidism and the number of mitochondria in individual’s cells is restricted. Hypothyroidism is a very common condition that is implicated in what is called metabolic syndrome (formerly known as syndrome X).

Many doctors believe this is the basic problem behind most of the illness in the United States today. Symptoms of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, central obesity (overweight with fat deposits mainly around the waist), decreased HDL or “good” cholesterol, elevated triglycerides (blood fats), and an increased risk for clotting. Metabolic syndrome may lead to stress, migraine headaches and even to ADHD. It causes both childhood and adult obesity. Left uncorrected,
it can cause heart attacks, strokes, and fibromyalgia. Eventually it will lead to cancer.

Traditional Western medicine has not found a solution for metabolic syndrome other than diet and exercise. Unfortunately, diet and exercise alone may not reduce blood pressure, correct diabetes (which starts as insulin resistance), correct blood lipids, or even ensure weight loss. This is why yo-yo dieting is so prevalent, and so discouraging.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
Fatigue—Hypothyroid-ism makes people tired, so they turn to sugar and caffeine to help them get through the day. Beware of MSG In addition to hypothyroidism, MSG has been shown to be a major contributor to obesity. MSG is a flavor enhancer that is added to countless foods found in grocery stores, restaurants, school cafeterias, and more. It is found in processed foods, fast foods, and even in baby formulas.

An excitotoxin, MSG does what its name implies: It overexcites cells to the point of damage. Because it is dangerous, food manufacturers try to hide its presence by listing it under a variety of names including (but not limited to) “other spices,” gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), yeast extract, malted barley, rice syrup or brown rice syrup.

MSG damages the brain so it can’t recognize leptin, a hormone that tells you when you are full. With MSG in play, you always feel hungry. In fact, that’s why manufacturers add it to their products. MSG is addicting and it makes you want to eat more, which means more profits for the food manufacturers. Weight gain—The vicious cycle of feeling tired and looking to sugar and caffeine for extra energy leads to increased consumption of soda and other unhealthy snacks. Soda and most processed foods contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which has been shown to increase insulin levels and the amount of fat in tissues. HFCS turns into triglycerides and fat within 60 minutes of ingestion. A recent study found that nearly half of all samples of HFSC tested were contaminated by mercury (due to the methods used to produce it).
The 2005 actuarial curve used by insurance companies shows the rise in cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypoglycemia, and diabetes all parallel the increased consumption of HFCS in our society. The other culprit in soda, caffeine, depletes the body of neuro- chemicals. This leads to brain fog, insomnia, poor memory, anger, confusion, etc. Caffeine also acts as a diuretic and lowers voltage in the body. High cholesterol—Lack of thyroid hormone reduces the production of all hormones in the body. When hormones are low, the liver increases its production of cholesterol in an effort to normalize hormone levels Symptoms of metabolic syndrome include:

• Impaired glucose tolerance/insulin resistance
• High blood pressure Central obesity (also known as visceral male-pattern or apple-shaped adiposity)
• Decreased HDL cholesterol and elevated triglycerides (blood fats)

Causes of Hypothyroidism: Iodine Deficiency

So what are some causes of hypothyroidism? One of the most important is iodine deficiency. Without iodine, the thyroid gland is unable to produce sufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. This leaves cells unable to function normally. In response, the body develops hypothyroidism. Although adults need 12-15 mg of iodine per day, Americans tend to be iodine deficient because it is not readily available in our foods. The iodine that once existed in our soils has long since been washed away, and fruits and vegetables grown in this soil are lacking in this essential nutrient. Today, while minute amounts are added to some table salts, the total isn’t enough to provide adequately for our dietary needs. Moreover, some of the companies producing table salt substitute bromine for iodine because it is cheaper. But bromine, in addition to not being a nutrient our cells need, is toxic.

Every organ in the body that secretes a substance requires large amounts of iodine to carry out this function. These organs include: the thyroid gland (with the highest concentration of iodine), the salivary glands, cerebrospinal fluid and the brain, the substantia nigra of the brain, the choroid plexus, intestinal mucosa or lining, breasts, ovaries, prostate, the ciliary body of the eye, the nose, sinuses, and the mouth. Interestingly, these are the most common sites in the body for cancer among Americans. Half a world away, the Japanese have different eating patterns than we do in the U.S. Japanese people consume large amounts of iodine in their foods. Coincidentally, they have the lowest incidence of cancer in the world (except for stomach cancer, which may be related to other aspects of their diet).