Advances in Nutritional Science

"In over the past 10 years, no one has died from taking vitamin supplements.
According to the "2001 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System," the number of deaths resulted from taking vitamins is ZERO." orthomolecular.org

Introduction

Psychiatric drugs have been very controversial because of the horrendous side effects.

"A change may occur since the Supreme

Court of Canada ordered that drugs may

not be forced on patients against their will.

Patients can still be forced to remain in

hospital even though they can refuse medication." Dr. Abram Hoffer (2004)

This quote is from an editorial in issue 1 of the 2004 Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

The Cantaloupe

The cantaloupe is a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene. In general fruits and vegetables, including pumpkins and squash, tend to be good in beta-carotene if they are yellow (like butter) or orange (like the carrot). Unfortunately butter has too much bad fat.

Like summer squash, the cantaloupe has a high water content and a low calorie count. This tends to be true of fruits in general except for the avocado, which has more fat than most fruits.

The cantaloupe has very little protein and very little fat. Most of the calories are from carbohydrates. The little fat that it does have is mostly beneficial (polyunsaturated). It is low in sodium. It tastes good and is economical. Also it doesn't have to be cooked, so the vitamin C and flavonoids are retained.

Another good thing about this melon is that it contains fiber, like almost all plant products. Fruit juices often have little fiber, or pulp.

Blackberries

I am looking at the best foods. Fruits and berries will not put on weight for you because they are mostly water. The stuff that isn't water is valuable. They all have fiber and flavonoids. Both fiber and flavonoids are thought to fight cancer. My own theory is that flavonoids may fight mental illness. The reasoning behind this is explained in my Associated Content articles listed in the references.

The blackberry was prescribed by the ancient Greeks for gout. We now know that people with gout are allergic to certain foods containing purines. Meats contain purines, but they are not the only forbidden foods.

The little fat the blackberry has is mostly polyunsaturated. It is a source of omega-3 fatty acids. It is not the best source of these beneficial fats.

Blackberries are rich in antioxidants, including polyphenols, tannins, anthocyanin pigments, etc. They also have vitamin C, E, and ellagic acid. They have pectin, which is a soluble fiber. Antioxidants are thought to protect against cancer and other chronic diseases.

The blackberry has good potassium and very little sodium. It has no cholesterol, and is good for heart health. If everybody ate vegan, then the cardiovascular surgeons would have less work to do.

Conclusions

I have covered the fruits and berries pretty well. In the future I will probably move on to vegetables and other plant foods such as nuts and grains. The animal foods are not as good for your health. Eating cheeseburgers is a ticket to obesity and a possible heart attack. I eat veggie burgers. Even turkey burgers are better than hamburgers because the turkey has less cholesterol.

In general it is best to avoid fast foods. If you do eat fast foods, try to avoid the junk ones such as hamburgers. Unfortunately French fries have a lot of fat also, but it is vegetable fat. Vegetable fat can make you obese, but it does not contain cholesterol.

Dr. Andrew Weil recommends fish oil. My experience is that it does not work for depression, but it may be good for heart health. There is no good logical reason why it should work for depression. The omega-3 fatty acids are precursors for prostaglandins, which are found in the prostate gland. Why a prostaglandin deficiency would cause depression is not at all clear to me.

References

1. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1433567/a_theory_for_schizophrenia.html

2. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1438824/psychiatry_the_retarded_child_of_medicine.html

3. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1424647/advances_in_world_psychiatry.html

4. Wright ME, Lawson KA, Weinstein SJ, Pietinen P, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Higher baseline serum concentrations of vitamin E are associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Nov;84(5):1200-7.

5. Munger KL, Zhang SM, O'Reilly E, Hernan MA, Olek MJ, Willett WC, Ascherio A. Vitamin D intake and incidence of multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2004 Jan 13;62(1):60-5.

6. Munger KL, Levin LI, Hollis BW, Howard NS, Ascherio A. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of multiple sclerosis. JAMA. 2006 Dec 20;296(23):2832-8.

7. 'Sunshine vitamin' protects against MS: Huge study suggests vitamin D reduces risk of debilitating disease. The Associated Press, Dec 19, 2006.