The body needs certain nutrients on an ongoing basis to live and grow. They build, strengthen and repair tissues, regulate all bodily processes, support proper temperature mechanisms, give energy, and in short, sustain life. Every day of your life cells are dying. All cells have a programmed timed death. The body must make new cells – at a rate of about 24 billion per day. If more cells are dying than are being remade, it is called degeneration. To make new cells, our diets must contain the raw materials by which to make them.
For instance, if you are building a home, you need certain materials: wood, cement, nails, piping, electrical wiring, sheetrock, plumbing, flooring, roofing materials etc. If any are missing, such as nails or wood, you could still erect a building, but it wouldn’t have the structural integrity, could not withstand the normal stresses, and would not function as it was intended. It is the same with the body. If there are inadequate nutrients in the diet, the body cannot make fully functional, strong, healthy new cells. The result is disease – or weight gain!
When the body is starving for nutrients, several things occur in the body in response. When nutrients, especially minerals, drop low, the body perceives it as a state of famine. We have suffered famines for thousands of years, so our brain is geared toward offsetting it as much as possible. In this perceived state of famine, the body will slow the metabolism, and start to store (right around the waist), in order to take you through a long period of time without food. If only it realized we have a grocery store right down the street! When you skip a meal, you reinforce this perceived state of famine.
Secondly, the weight control mechanisms, such as the thyroid, adrenals, pancreas and liver are hampered in their ability to function properly. Without their necessary minerals, such as iodine for the thyroid, chromium for the liver and copper for the adrenals, they cannot effectively control blood sugar, metabolism and other hormones responsible for fat deposition.
Minerals also control the satiation center. When this area of the brain perceives full nutrient complement, it shuts down – you are satisfied. If not, you are always looking for something to satisfy a gnawing in you. Standing at the open refrigerator, looking, but not sure what it is that you want. Finally you grab something easy, not generally healthy or nutrient-dense. When your diet contains nutrient-dense foods, not empty calorie foods, you find you eat much less. You are satisfied more easily and cravings abate. YOU are in control!
Many people suffering nutritional deficiencies flock to vitamin supplements. The purpose of taking a supplement is to replace the missing nutrients you are not getting from the foods you are eating. As such, supplements should be made from food – it only makes sense! When you read things on a label such as “d-alpha tocopherol, beta carotene, ascorbic acid, croscarmelose sodium, etc., these don’t sound like foods. They aren’t. They are imitations, chemicals masquerading as the missing nutrients. They simply don’t work to make new cells, to build a body. Nutrients are always found in combination with other nutrients. If they are missing their synergistic counterparts, they will simply steal them from your body in order to have an effect. This is like stealing the wood from the outer frame of the house and using it to build the bathroom instead. Not only that, but you are wasting precious energy and resources to do that action. This means you are more depleted than if you did nothing at all. Well, that kind of defeats the purpose of taking supplements, doesn’t it?
So, your supplements need to sound like foods: “Vitamin A from carrot powder or liver powder”, “Vitamin C from grapefruit or acerola cherries or green peppers”, “Vitamin B from brewer’s yeast”. Not all supplements are the same. Most are garbage. However, the marketing is what most people learn from, and marketers will not tell you what is wrong with their supplements, otherwise, you would never buy them. And, by the way, the word “natural” means nothing!
“But I eat well, and still I gain weight!” you say. Here is why. Our soils are depleted. They have been so overgrown in, flood irrigated, over-chemicalized and not restored, that the quality is very poor today. The topsoil which was in past 12.5” thick is now on average, 5” thick. According to the National Academy of Sciences cropland is being eroded at least 10 times faster than it can be replaced. Good topsoil contains many beneficial microbes, nutrients and earthworms that provide the substance for healthy plants and therefore healthy bodies. Topsoil grows back at a rate of 1-2 inches every hundred years! Today, commercial farming has also rendered cropland infertile, necessitating herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc. The bottom line, is when our soils are depleted, the nutritional quality of our foods are also depleted.
This means we have no choice but to take whole food supplements. Foods which were grown on soil that has been composted, organically enriched, then juiced and dried on low temperatures to maintain heat-liable nutrients such as amino acids and enzymes. Not chemical substitutes. This is key in a weight loss program.
Our favorites include CatalynÒ from Standard Process – a whole food multiple vitamin formulated clear back in the 1930’s before vitamins were even fully defined. Every time a new vitamin was discovered, a nutritional assay was done on CatalynÒ and found the vitamin was already in it. It is an amazing healthy food supplement. To improve weight management, we also include extra minerals to supply the thyroid and other organs and glands all the minerals needed for proper function. MinTranÒ we use when the person runs in high gear, is stressed, tends towards anxiety or depression or suffers sleep issues. Trace Minerals B12 is used to supply minerals to the body with a focus on endocrine support (adrenals, thyroid, pancreas, liver, pituitary, etc.). Organically Bound Minerals is also used to support sympathetic nervous system over-drive – heightened fight or flight response typical of chronic stress. These minerals are used for many other applications and all cross over in uses, and all are effective in combating excess weight.
The body needs more than just minerals and vitamins. It also needs fats, proteins, enzymes, water and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are needed for energy fuel to the cell, however, in excess amounts it has the opposite effect. Just as washing a few clothes in a washing machine gets the clothes quite clean, overstuffing the machine results in a more sluggish activity and no longer does a good job. With carbohydrate overload, the body becomes sluggish and fatigued and both energy and motivation are lost.
Carbohydrates should never exceed 25% of the diet in any form. Best forms are complex carbohydrates, meaning they have not been refined to remove any of the fiber, protein or fat from them. Fiber, protein and fat all slow the rate at which carbohydrate sugar enters the blood stream. This prevents a surging of both insulin and cortisol, 2 hormones responsible for regulating the blood sugar and which also tell the body it needs to store more fat. Having the body store more fat is definitely not what we are after. When you eat simple carbohydrates, they take the place of the nutrient-dense foods, resulting in a meal with less nutrients. The purpose of eating is to supply the raw materials for function, repair and growth. So, if you’re going to eat, the goal should be for the body, not just the palate.
Fats are another of the essential nutrients. We have become so fat-phobic that the mere mention of fat, and especially eating more of it makes some people shudder. Clear back 150 years ago when pioneers were coming across the continent, they understood the need for fat. History records the voices of many crying for the loss of fat because their cattle became too lean in their trek. They understood better then, than we do today, the necessity of fat for survival and for human health.
There are good fats and bad fats. Good fats are called “Essential Fatty Acids” and are just that – essential. They are necessary for about 200 functions in the body. When missing, the body will store fat. It is one of the greatest reasons why obesity is skyrocketing simultaneously with omitting fat from our diet. The old supposition that eating fat makes you fat was debunked long ago. Studies showed that between the mid 1950’s and early 1980’s fat consumption dropped 33%, while obesity increased 40%. The stats are even worse today. Turns out we were barking up the wrong tree all along, yet some still cling to this erroneous theory.
The right fats is the critical message. No more saturated versus unsaturated, versus polyunsaturated. Turns out that theory was wrong too. Some of the healthiest fats are very saturated, such as coconut oil. And the other oils if heated are worse for health than anyone previously suspected. When you heat an oil, you change the molecular structure of the oil and it becomes unusable for function in the body. If you are deficient in essential fatty acids (EFA’s), you will store unusable fat. If you eat a usable fat, the body will use it. So if you eat an avocado, you won’t put on weight, you will put on more brain cells or hormones (which are made out of fats). When your body has sufficient fats in the diet, it no longer feels the need to store fat, and so your “reserve” fats are released. If you eat roasted nuts (heated, thereby changing the fats to an unusable form) you will gain weight. If you eat raw nuts, the body can use the fats, and you will not gain weight on them. Simple, isn’t it?
Other nutrients needed include fiber and enzymes. Both of these come from fresh fruits and vegetables. Although you can buy both in a bottle, it is always best to get it from the diet. If your digestion is at all compromised, this must be handled. If you are not digesting well, you will not be able to extract the nutrients out of your foods. This is critical. Without good digestion, it will be next to impossible to lose weight. Many enzyme supplements do not contain the most critical of all the enzymes – betaine hydrochloride. This is the precursor to hydrochloric acid, the primary enzyme that is responsible for the release of other enzymes. It is not shelf stable, so is frequently omitted. Standard Process sells Betaine Hydrochloride both by that name and by the name of ZypanÒ. ZypanÒ also contained other essential nutrients to improve digestion, not just replace the missing enzymes. If you are stressed, you probably have digestive incompetence. That means you will be missing nutrients because of your poor digestion. This is easily remedied with the proper digestive supplements.
The biggest mistake people make when trying to lose weight is by counting calories. More important is making your calories count. Eating good, fresh nutrient-dense foods is more important than how many calories you consume. When you eat good nutrient-dense foods such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc., you naturally consume less. The satiation center kicks in and says “okay, my nutrient demands for the day have been satisfied. You can stop eating now” – in so many “words”. It is amazing how little food will satisfy you, when the foods you eat are chock full of nutrients!
Protein helps to fill the satiation gaps, and is another essential building block for the body. But not all protein is the same. Out of the 22 most functional amino acids, 13 are destroyed by heat. These heat-labile proteins are missing today from the diet of most people. The only real source of raw protein today is raw nuts and sushi/sashimi. Raw proteins were common when meats were smoked, eggs were eaten raw or dairy was eaten raw. Today, most diets don’t contain these things and so are deficient in some critical amino acids. Protein sustains you for longer and stabilizes blood sugar, making you less likely to crave sweets and carbohydrates. This is another essential component in supplying vital quality nutrients into the diet.
Another benefit when you supply quality nutrients to your diet, and you supply ample water, you lose your cravings, especially for sweets. Most sweet cravings are cravings for moisture and minerals. By eating quality foods, cravings for sweets disappear in as little as 3 days, although the strongest point is after 6 weeks of sugar abstinence.
If you are concerned about getting enough nutrients you can do 2 things: First, you can grow your own vegetables, thereby ensuring your foods are not full of pesticides and other chemicals, and have rich, composted soil supplying quality nutrients. Second, you can contact us and have us run an analysis on which nutrients are missing from your diet, and we will be happy to make suggestions on which foods to include more of in your diet. The bottom line, is that supplying the body with essential, quality nutrients goes a long way in helping you to achieve your desired weight. Supplying some of these nutrients from supplements gives you the extra edge in not only helping to achieve a good weight, but also remedying many health challenges. But they must be made from food, or you are wasting your money. Don’t forget to make sure you are utilizing them – make sure your digestion is functioning well. We can help with this as well.
©2009 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
