Superfoods and Supplements

"Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal your patient with food." Hippocrates 400 B.C.

"Likewise it has long been known that individuals can differ in their requirements for a given nutrient." Margaret Alic Ph. D. (2008)

Introduction

The above quote from Alic was from an excellent nutrition encyclopedia by Gale. It was the Gale Encyclopedia of Diets. Superfoods are foods that are supposed to have special health properties. For example, oat meal, particularly oat bran, can lower your cholesterol. Some foods are considered to fight cancer. There are also certain supplements that are thought to fight cancer, including fiber.

Fiber

Fiber can be taken as a supplement, as I do, or you can eat a high fiber diet, as I also do. Plant foods are the only foods with fiber. Fiber is considered to fight cholesterol. It also fights obesity because it has no calories. The vegan diet is an excellent diet because it has no animal products and therefore is high in fiber. Eating fiber is considered to fight colon cancer. Red meat, on the other hand, is a risk factor for colon cancer according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This journal is published at the Countway Library of Harvard Medical School.

Tea

There is a theory that tea is a superfood. However, this is controversial. Tea is thought to prevent cancer and fight heart disease because of the polyphenols. Laboratory studies and epidemiological studies have shown this. However, tea contains caffeine, which is considered a risk factor for benign prostate hyperplasia and for pruritis ani (anal itching). Orthomolecular doctors frown on caffeine.

Mental Health

There is a controversy as to whether mental health is affected by diet and supplements. Linus Pauling felt that it is. Dr. Abram Hoffer feels that it is. My view is that these brilliant scientists are correct. However, my views on mental health are not exactly the same as theirs. I feel that mental diseases are food allergies. In mental diseases the brain is allergic to certain amino acids. This is the case because mental diseases are errors is amino acid metabolism.

I arrived at this view after years of studying neuropathology data on various forms of mental disease including schizophrenia. I even researched back to the time when schizophrenia was called "dementia praecox". This was in the 19th century and the early 20th century.

I have included references on mental health. Harrison, Ref. 7, has discussed neuropathology caused by psychiatric drugs. These drugs have been given to rats and have caused neuropathology in the rats. Harrison is an Oxford professor and an expert on neuropathology.

Bad Foods

In addition to their being good foods, there are also many bad foods, meaning that they are bad for your health. Linus Pauling and other orthomolecular scientists have repeatedly blaster sugar. However, salt can also be a problem since it is a risk factor for hgih blood pressure (hypertension). An upper reading of 140 or more is considered high blood pressure. An upper reading of around 130 is considered borderline. Age is also a risk facor for high blood pressure.

Dental Caries

There is a theory that vitamin D helps prevent dental caries. See references 8 through 14.

Sodium

Sodium is high in the following foods:

Anchovies, bacon, beef, bologna, bran, butter, Canadian bacon, clams, corned beef, dulse, green beans, green olives, ham, Irish moss, kelp, margarine, meat, milk, poultry, rose hips, salt, sardines, seafood, tomatoes. Supplements: Baking soda, monosodium glutamate, sodium ascorbate, sodium chloride.

Note that most of these foods are animal products. Dulse, or seaweed, is an exception. Since dulse comes from the ocean, it is not surprising that it contains sodium. Although sodium is a risk factor for high blood pressure, potassium is considered heart healthy.

Potassium

Potassium is considered antihypertensive and helpful in preventing strokes. Potassium is high in the following foods:

Almonds, apricots, avocados, bananas, beef, bran, Brazil nuts, brewer's yeast, broccoli, brown rice, cabbage herb, cashews, celery herb, chard, citrus fruit, dairy foods, dates, figs, fish, fruit, garlic, grapefruit juice, green leafy vegetables, guava, legumes, lentils, meat, milk, molasses, nectarine, nuts, oranges, parsley, parsnips, peanuts, peaches, pork, potatoes, poultry, raisins, rice bran, sardines, seaweed, seeds, soybeans, spinach (fresh), squash, sunflower seeds, tomato juice, veal, walnuts, wheat bran, whole grains, yams. Supplements: potassium ascorbate, potassium aspartate, potassium benzoate, potassium carbonate, potassium chloride, potassium gluconate, potassium hydroxide.

Note that fruits and vegetables are good. Although meat is high in potassium, it is also high in salt, so it is not that healthy. This is also true of sardines and seaweed. When it comes to nutrition, you need to be fussy to survive.

Tryptophan

Tryptophan is an amino acid. For most people, it is healthy. However, my theory claims that tryptophan is high in the brain in mental illness. Tryptophan is in the following foods:

Bananas, beans, brewer's yeast, brown rice bran, caseinate, cottage cheese, dairy products, dates, eggs, fish, lactalbumin, legumes, meat, milk, nuts, peanuts, protein (hydrolysis), seafood, seeds, soy, turkey, whey, whole grains.

Other amino acids are also important. I will discuss them in future articles. Also vitamins, including flavonoids, are also important. Polyphenols are considered valuable. These substances will be discussed in future articles.

Some vegetables and fruits are considered to have phytonutrients that prevent cancer. This will be discussed to a greater extent in future articles.

Conclusions

A great deal of research has already been done, but much more needs to be done, particularly in the areas of mental health and cancer. Also people need to be told about those findings that have already been reported. For more information, consult the references.

References

1. www.supplementwatch.com

2. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1452386/amino_acids_why_all_the_fuss.html

3. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1457526/advances_in_orthomolecular_research.html

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

5. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1433567/a_theory_for_schizophrenia.html

6. David GB. The pathological anatomy of the schizophrenias. In: Richter D, editor. Schizophrenia: somatic aspects. London: Pergamon Press; 1957. p. 93-130.

7.

The neuropathological effects of antipsychotic drugs.

Harrison PJ.

Schizophr Res. 1999 Nov 30;40(2):87-99. Review.

8. Pauling, L. "How to Live Longer and Feel Better." W.H. Freeman and Company, 1986. Revised 2006, Oregon State University Press.

9. McBeath, E.C. Nutrition and diet in relation to preventive dentistry. NY J. Dentistry (1938) 8; 17-21.

10. McBeath, E.C.; Zucker, T.F. Role of vitamin D in the control of dental caries in children. Journal of Nutrition (1938) 15; 547-64.

11. Mellanby, M. The role of nutrition as a factor in resistance to dental caries. British Dental Journal (1937), 62; 241-52.

12. Hoffer A, Saul AW. Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone. Laguna Beach, California, Basic Health Pub, 2008.

13. http://www.orthomolecular.org

14. Anderson, P. G.; Williams, C. H. M.; Halderson, H.; Summerfeldt, C.; Agnew, R. Influence of vitamin D in the prevention of dental caries. Journal of the American Dental Association (1934) 21; 1349-66.