Inflammation is Bad

Spend 21 days on a juice fast and food quickly becomes an obsessive thought.  When I can eat again, what will I eat? Will it contribute to gaining the weight back? Is there any way I can eat that WON’T cause me to gain back all the weight I lost?

I did the Martha’s Vineyard Cleanse about two years ago.  No chewing allowed.  Only juices (mostly veggie) and soups, blended to macerate any content. No protein.  No carbohydrates.  I lost about 18 lbs on the program. During the program, I started to obsess about what I would eat when I could eat solid food again.  Since I was not eating, I did a lot of reading.  The Martha’s Vineyard program was very restrictive, but the education found in the book was eye opening.  One passage in particular mentioned that certain foods caused inflammation in some people and should be avoided.  Another, that you should not eat certain foods together lest you create an inflammatory response.  Inflammation sounded bad but I was not really clear how this could affect weight control or longevity. 

One of the first books I found was on the Hays Diet.  In 1933, Dr. William Howard Hay published a book called New Health Era that explained that all disease in the body is caused by ‘auto-toxication’  or self-poisoning due to acid accumulation in the body.  The Hays Diet is a diet based on basic food combining principles.  Eating certain foods, like proteins, combined with carbohydrates, like potatoes, causes an acid reaction in the body.  On the Hays Diet you make food combinations of either protein and veggies OR carbohydrates and veggies.  When I finished my 21 day juice fast, I tried the Hays Diet which largely drove me to become a vegetarian.  I almost always chose the carbs over the protein, despite the fact that I knew that protein is the building block of muscle, and without it, thin is possible. Looking healthy and fit with muscle and definition, is not.

Reading more, I realized that individual foods themselves had alkaline and acid properties inherent to each and every food.  Why not choose foods primarily low on the acid production profile and try to reduce acid through diet?  If you Google ‘PH balance of foods’, you will see many resources on food choices that are primarily alkaline in your system.  Foods you would expect to be acid, like lemon juice and vinegar, are extremely alkaline in nature.  Foods like waffles, sweet rolls, and muffins will spike your acid levels hand in hand with a spike in your insulin levels. I don’t think I need to tell you that both are very, very, very bad for long term heath and longevity.

Some measure of inflammation is necessary in all humans.  Our immune systems launch immunity reactions to an injury, internal or external.  It is how we heal ourselves.  Chronic and excessive inflammation, however, has been linked with everything from anxiety to cancer.  Inflammation can be endogenic, resulting from internal factors such as a hard work out (lactic acid).  Exogenic factors are those that are introduced from outside the body.  Everything you do and eat is exogenic and has a reaction, some good and some bad, in your system.  These exogenic stimuli can result from stress, diet, and food reactions to name just a few. 

Our bodies are always trying to maintain a delicate balance between acid and alkaline.  Too far in either direction and we could die.  Our body will maintain a pH balance of 7.4 , sometimes at a very high price.  Move .5 off that mark up or down and you will die, no joke. The body will strive to maintain the balance at any costs, including cannibalizing our own bones for alkaline calcium salts if necessary.  A healthy PH balance allows the immune system to function properly, fighting off disease with ease and assists in maintaining a healthy bone structure.

Contributing to the acid load in your body is sometimes unavoidable, but there are several things we do every day that could be changed or avoided to promote a healthy pH.  Carbonated sodas are a source of carbonic acid.  Coca Cola contains phosphoric acid.  Drinking carbonated beverages will effectively leach calcium from your bones and accelerate the osteoporotic effects of aging at an alarming level.  My sister used to do bone density testing as part of her job with an occupational health company.  She could easily identify those people who drank too much soda by their readings.  Removal of soda from their diet at her recommendation produced a dramatic improvement in the readings.  People with the bone density readings of an 80 year old woman saw marked improvement in a single year, just by reducing diet or regular soda from their diets.

Personally, I noticed that focusing on alkaline foods promoted wonderful side effects in my body.  In particular, my brand of homemade lemonade brought peace to my mental outlook.  I mix 4 oz pure lemon juice, two teaspoons of stevia, and 20 ounces of water over ice to make my lemonade concoction. I drink about two of these a day.  I used to have issues with anxiety and had the prescription to prove it.  I no longer have any symptoms, unless of course I don’t drink my lemonade.  When I feel that tight feeling in my chest and between my shoulder blades, I don’t reach for any anti-anxiety medication.  I reach for my lemonade and the symptoms go away.  Just knowing this helps alleviate what would have turned into a full blown anxiety attack in the not so distant past.

Recently, (and you will hear me mention this frequently) I read a book called ‘Wheat Belly’ by Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist in Wisconsin.  He eloquently points out how wheat, primarily the protein element gluten, will affect pH balance as well as a host of other very nasty issues I will touch on in future blogs.  Looping back to the Hays diet, I had avoided animal proteins (except fish) in part because of the acid load created by eating meat (I figured I needed all the help I could get!).  Davis points out that recent studies suggest that protein rich meats have other effect that partially negate the acid load.  Consumption of animal proteins create a bone strengthening effect through the hormone growth factor (IGF-1).  Combine that with the alkaline effects of fruits and vegetables and the basic hunter/gatherer diet of meats and veggies proves healthy for bone and alkalinity. In other words…Meat is Good! (avoid cured meats however…!)

We have been hearing for years about the ‘low carb’ diets, but current research shows that this is not just a fad.  Reducing wheat carbohydrates is consistent with a healthy pH balance.  Increasing fruits, and even more importantly, veggies will assist you in creating the pH balance you need to be lean and healthy. Think about it.  No one ever got fat eating veggies and chicken or steak.  It doesn’t mean you have to eschew dairy or fats.  Cutting back on carbohydrates, which induce insulin spikes (deadly!) and create an acid load that your system can not readily ameliorate is a perfect first step towards health and vigorous longevity.

Take aways:

Drink more lemon and use more vinegar

Eat plenty of lean meats

Eat NO Gluten!

Get familiar with alkaline foods, even if you don't eat exclusively from this list.

Eat your veggies at EVERY meal... even breakfast.

Resources:

“Lose 21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox“ - Roni DeLuz
“Wheat Belly” – Dr. William Davis
“New Health Era” – Dr. William Howard Hays