The Perfect Diet
In the world of nutrition there appear to be many who preach the “perfect” diet. In accordance with the quest for a perfect diet I decided to sit down and see if we could come up with a diet that would match all of the information out there on what we should and should not be eating.
The first place to start (as everyone appears to agree with this) would be to remove sugar. In addition to making you fat and causing diabetes. Nancy Appleton (author of Suicide by Sugar) lists 146 reasons why sugar is bad for you.
While we are at it we need to remove white flour. When flour is bleached it creates a toxin called alloxan which poisons your pancreas. We might as well get rid of white rice also since it is primarily empty calories-all starch and no nutrients. Next we need to get rid of all packaged foods that have chemicals. No fast food, hamburger helpers, frozen dinners, lunch meat, canned meat, bacon and sausage. Red meats are said to cause atherosclerosis and cancer so knock these out. Fish has mercury and chemical toxins (PCB’s, Chlorpyrites, DDE’s and DDT’s and Hexochlorobenzene). Shellfish has pyramidines and purines that can lead to gout and allergy reactions so no seafood.
Three of the six most common food borne parasites are associated with pork. It also contains excessive histamine, imidazole components (which can lead to itching) and growth hormone, so no pork. This leaves poultry in the meat department. Chickens have antibiotics in them that can act like hormones and cause antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria to develop. Poultry processing also causes bacteria buildup in the meat. Since all meats have cholesterol and saturated fats anyway lets just not eat any meats. We’ll be Vegetarians.
How about eggs and dairy? Eggs have cholesterol. Also a Harvard study showed that men who ate 7 eggs a week had more risk of death. Milk has IG F-1, insulin like growth factor suspected to cause cancer as well as BGH-bovine growth hormone, casein (used to make glue) and pesticide residues. OK so no eggs or dairy. Now we are Vegan.
This leaves whole grains and vegetables and fruits. Wheat, barley, rye and some oats all have gluten in them. Gluten tears up your intestinal lining and causes all kinds of problems including lack of absorption of vitamins and nutrients, osteoporosis, Crohn’s, rheumatoid arthritis and depression; so none of these.
Brown rice can go bad very quickly and can lead to brown spot disease. Night shade vegetables have alkaloids that cause bone deterioration and can be toxic and inflammatory to joints. This knocks out tomatoes, egg plant, peppers and potatoes. Cruciferous vegetables have glucosinolates (cause free radical damage) and isothiosianates (interferes with DNA and cell division , inhibits iodine uptake from the thyroid and stops thyroid hormone synthesis), indoles (decrease energy production and estrogen interference) and nitriles (cyanide-type symptoms). This means no broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, and collard greens. Spinach has oxalates which cause kidney stones and painful joints.
How about beans and nuts? Beans and nuts (and grains) have phytates and lectins. Phytates bind to magnesium, calcium, zinc and iron and take them out of the system. Lectins cause diarrhea, nausea, bloating and vomiting. Soy also has trypsin inhibitors that interfere with protein digestion, phytoestrogens (that interfere with endocrine function and cause infertility) aluminum, harmful B12 analogs, and nitrosamines. Peanuts have aflatoxins.
Let’s see. What is left? Carrots and onions. High doses of Beta Carotene caused cancer in two trials. Onions are supposed to be a huge magnet for bacteria.
Ok no vegetables. Let’s be Fruitarians and only eat fruit. Fruits are high in fructose which leads to Metabolic Syndrome, diabetes and heart attacks. Juices, when analyzed (especially apple juice) commonly have arsenic in it. A study in Br. J Nutr (2002 Apr; 87 (4): 343-55) showed that when participants stopped eating fruit and vegetables for 10 weeks damage to DNA and blood lipids decreased. Furthermore fruits and vegetables have high quantities of dihydrogen monoxide. Dihydrogen monoxide is a very common chemical component that is used in industrial cooling. Its also used as a coolant in radiators and is used by firefighters to extinguish difficult fires. Thousands are killed every year from breathing it in every year and people are in hospitals all over the world from tissue damage caused by direct contact with its frozen form.
Ok this leaves water. We’ll just drink water. In addition to chlorine and chemicals in water, distilled water act as a mineral vacuum and sucks all of the minerals out of your body and into your intestine. Besides it’s 100% dihydrogen monoxide.
Have we passed the point of ridiculous yet? It appears that everything is bad. What’s the point of even trying to eat right? Why did I even write this crazy article?
My first point is that the reason that we change our diet in the first place is so that we can become more causative over our health. When we become so “health conscious” that this changes to the point where we live life being afraid of every food that we eat it defeats the purpose of why we changed our diet to begin with. Instead of being causative over our health by proper food selection we become the effect of our food and our environment. We lose that causative viewpoint and that is not ok.
The second point I would like to make is that there apparently is no absolutely perfect food. Our bodies were not placed in a perfect world. This world is one of severe competition and interactive balance in both the plant and animal kingdom. Most plants, for instance, are created with certain amount of toxins so that if animals consume high quantities of that plant and nothing else it creates negative effects on the animals. It’s natures way of keeping the plant from becoming extinct from constant over-grazing. It’s the only defense a lot of plants have. Isoflavones for instance in alfalfa, clover, chick pea, soy, peanuts and other plants has been promoted as wonderful phytoestrogens. Isoflavones are actually the plants defense against insects. When the insects eat too much they go sterile. In humans, a small to moderate amount is ok, actually good for you. Too much is bad.
Which brings me to my next point. Too much of anything is bad for you. A couple of the studies quoted, for instance the b carotene study used amounts that would be very difficult to ingest in your average diet. Even too much water can kill you.
And the final point is that you have to take many of the things you read and hear with a grain of salt. It’s not that difficult to sensationalize things to forward your point. I borrowed dihydrogen monoxide from a science fair project winner where the project was titled “How Gullible Are We.” Dihydrogen monoxide is, of course, plain old H2O or water. Statistics can be played with and interpreted different ways, Stephen Wright claims that 47.23% of statistics are made up on the spot. All “science” is not scientific especially when we are talking nutrition. How do you take out every variable in a person’s life and diet without locking people up. It’s impossible. You have to do the best that you can in the area of nutrition. Become as informed as you can, rely more on weight of the literature rather than one specific study. Put some things on the back burner for more supportive information at a later time. Definitely do not be afraid to rely on common sense. In the nutrition world it’s sometimes your best asset.
I try to rely on these basic tenants:
Nature always does a better job than man. The farther that you stray from the way that things are found in nature the more trouble you end up in. Refined, bleached products, foods with preservatives, food colorings, artificial flavorings, hormones, trans fats, genetically modified foods all cause more problems. Artificial fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, sprays, synthetic wax coatings compound the problem. Use natural organic foods whenever possible.
Buy foods that perish but use them fresh. If you can place them somewhere for weeks with no change there is little left of natural enzymes and true nutrition in them. Eating old foods that do perish can cause problems so eat fresh foods.
Eat a wide variety of foods and eat them in moderation. An abnormally high amount of any one food without proper balance can cause problems. It is easy to get in the pattern of always eating the same things but if you can change things around a bit not only does food become more interesting but you also feel better.
Make sure that your body is working well so that if non ideal foods in non- ideal quantities are ingested, the body can handle it without problems. Our bodies have been eating meats, fruits, and vegetables for thousands of years. If all of our organs are working properly it can deal with most imperfect foods. The better your digestive and excreting organs are working, the more imperfect your foods can be without causing problems. Call (260) 459-6160 for an appointment to see if your body has been affected by adulterated imperfect foods and to make sure that your digestive and excreting organs are doing their job as nature intended.
Dr. David Murdock
3214 Mallard Cove Ln.
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
