Can we have the incredible health of our ancestors in the 21st century?
I’ve had a fantastic couple of days listening to Sally Fallon and her husband, Geoffrey. Sally Fallon founded the Weston A price foundation and is a world expert on traditional food preparation. Yesterday, we had a great day at the Te Aranga Marae, the site of my nutritional intervention that featured on 60 minutes a couple of years back. Pictured below is Sally and Geoffrey with two good friends of mine, NZ local hero award winner, Henare O’Keefe and Des Ratima. And a picture of us talking after.
Characteristics of Traditional Diets according to the Weston A Price foundation (www.westonaprice.org)
- The diets of healthy, non-industrialized peoples contain no refined or denatured foods or ingredients, such as refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup; white flour; canned foods; pasteurized, homogenized, skim or low fat milk; refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils; protein powders; artificial vitamins; or toxic additives and colorings.
- All traditional cultures consume some sort of animal food, such as fish and shellfish; land and water fowl; land and sea mammals; eggs; milk and milk products; reptiles; and insects. The whole animal is consumed–muscle meat, organs, bones and fat, with the organ meats and fats preferred.
- The diets of healthy, non-industrialized peoples contain at least four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins, and TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins found in animal fats (vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin K2–Price’s “Activator X”) as the average American diet.
- All traditional cultures cooked some of their food but all consumed a portion of their animal foods raw.
- Primitive and traditional diets have a high content of food enzymes and beneficial bacteria from lacto-fermented vegetables, fruits, beverages, dairy products, meats and condiments.
- Seeds, grains and nuts are soaked, sprouted, fermented or naturally leavened to neutralize naturally occurring anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, tannins and phytic acid.
- Total fat content of traditional diets varies from 30 percent to 80 percent of calories but only about 4 percent of calories come from polyunsaturated oils naturally occurring in grains, legumes, nuts, fish, animal fats and vegetables. The balance of fat calories is in the form of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
- Traditional diets contain nearly equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids.
- All traditional diets contain some salt.
- All traditional cultures make use of animal bones, usually in the form of gelatin-rich bone broths.
- Traditional cultures make provisions for the health of future generations by providing special nutrient-rich animal foods for parents-to-be, pregnant women and growing children; by proper spacing of children; and by teaching the principles of right diet to the young.
The only supplement that Sally believes we need is cod liver oil. The product she recommends is Green Pastures Blue Ice Fermented Cod liver oil (this can be purchased through the BePure store). I completely agree that we need more Omega 3 in our diet, the modern diet is heavily skewed towards excess omega 6 and maintaining the balance between Omega 3′s and 6′s is essential for control of inflammation (as noted in characteristic #8). Cod liver oil is a great source of fat soluble vitamins A and D and therefore also fits perfectly with characteristic #3 of traditional diets.
We know that traditional cultures were in fact incredibly healthy, many cultures had no words for today’s modern diseases. For example, the Hawaiians had no native words for any chronic diseases. I know, some people say… Well maybe they didn’t know they were dying from a heart attack, sure they might not have a word for ‘heart attack‘ but I’m sure they would have developed a word for ‘sudden pain the chest and then you are dead’! The Maori in New Zealand had no cancer, the early European Doctors were studying them to find out why they were “immune” to cancer. The cure for cancer is known, a clean environment and great nutrition! There’s no doubt, traditional diets were and are the healthiest for sustaining life, it’s been proven through thousands of years.
Unfortunately, and fortunately we live in a very different world to our ancestors….
Modern lifestyle increases need for nutrition….
Traditional lifestyles were more relaxed than today, there’s no doubt they had there fair share of stress. But a good friend of mine who lived with different traditional tribes around the world for 2 years told me that in his experience they basically only work 4 hours a day, in the morning, and sit around under a shady tree all afternoon…sounds great to me! The harder you push your body, the more stress you are under, the more vitamins and minerals your body uses. In time of stress your body uses more B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium and zinc just to name a few. I believe most of us in the western world are living beyond our nutritional limits, the evidence of stimulant use like caffeine and refined carbohydrates are good examples of the crutches people are using to deal with the day to day load of stressors. The harder you push your mind and body the more nutrients you need! It makes me wonder where people are getting these nutrients from considering their diets and lack of supplementation.
Modern farming increases need for minerals….
Many of the healthy traditional diets had access to mineral dense foods, whether that was seafood (the ocean is the biggest source of ionic minerals), even healthy inland cultures like the Hunza – had access to minerals, they irrigated their fields with mineral rich glacier water and carried the river bed soils up to their fields. It is well established that modern agriculture is stripping the top soil of essential trace minerals, and nobody is paying the farmers enough to remineralise the soils. Hence, the foods we are eating are becoming more and more deficient in minerals. Minerals are key enzyme cofactors, I see mineral deficiencies as a common factor in many peoples health complaints, from fatigue to depression and sleep issues.
Modern food convenience means we get less nutrients…..
Traditional diets were based on eating fresh or fermented fruits and vegetables (since no refrigeration was available to them). Fresh and fermented foods retain the highest amount of water soluble vitamins. Water soluble vitamins in fruit and vegetables are very unstable. In fact, as soon as you’ve picked them or unplugged them from the ground they start deteriorating. To the extent that after 4 days after being harvested up to 80% of the water soluble vitamins (B’s and C are lost). With the average age of fruits and vegetables in the supermarket being 2 weeks old, it’s easy to see why people feel better when they take a B vitamin supplement – seeing that they are most likely deficient even when eating lots of fruit and vegetables.
Modern eating eliminates the most nutrient dense foods….
Traditional cultures went out of their way to get nutrient dense foods. Eating organs, glands and special parts of animals, such as the eyes, to maximise nutritional intake. One healthy isolated culture Dr. Price visited in Scotland ate fish heads stuffed with cod liver and oats for breakfast, a far cry from today’s breakfast choices. Organs, particularly the liver, is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, unfortunately many people in the modern world simply cannot stomach eating such foods and are therefore missing out on the incredible nutritional benefits from doing so. For example, eyes are known to be a great source of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants vital to our own eye health due to the fact they protect the eye from UVB radiation. As most modern people are not eating these foods, they need to make sure they are getting these nutrients from other sources.
Environmental toxins increase need for micronutrients….
Traditional peoples lived in a relatively pristine environment. lets face it organic food didn’t exist, because that’s all there was! We know that environmental toxins block enzyme function and increase the need for antioxidants, minerals and vitamins needed by the liver for detoxification of these toxins. The modern world is full of environmental toxin exposure, from PCB’s and Dioxins from plastics to heavy metals mobilised in the soil by acidic fertilisers – they are simply everywhere, you cannot escape them! All you can do is support your body’s system’s for dealing with them, which means more minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.
Polymorphism of genes means we need more nutrients for enzymes to function optimally….
As our gene expression is diluted by poor nutrition by our parents, physical characteristics change (narrower jaw, nasal passages etc) and internal gene expression become less efficient. For example, I have what is believed to be a genetic (or epigenetic) polymorphism in my liver enzymes meaning they don’t work as efficiently as they should. Therefore, I need to take 40,000% the RDA of B12 to up regulate my enzymes to work at the optimal level to protect me from inflammation and heart disease. This is potentially quite common, but most people simply do not know….
There’s no doubt that an ancestral diet to your own individual macronutrient needs should be the basis of your nutrition. But on top of this, we need to the lay a foundation of broad spectrum supplementation to ensure our micronutrient needs are met. Hence, I recommend nutritional supplementation of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants something like what’s found in found in BePure ONE is perfect. Even research published in the ultra conservative Journal of the American Medical Association recommend that adults should take a multi-vitamin, mineral supplement daily. It’s very difficult to even get the recommended daily allowances from diet alone, let alone the optimal amounts.
The Weston A Price foundation diet is a fantastic basis for nutrition – and they are firmly entrenched in the BePure principles – but to truly have incredible health in the 21st century – there’s so much more to it….
God bless Dr. Price and the Western A Price Foundation for their passion in helping people have healthy lives. And thanks.
In health and happiness
Ben Warren
P.S Please comment through Facebook…Click here to go to BePure on Facebook.
Latest research shows eating these vegetables everyday helps fight cancer…
Are you eating Cruciferous vegetables everyday?
Cruciferous vegetables are from the Brassica family – vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens and bok choy to name a few. If you are not eating these everyday you might want to after reading this…
Latest research published in the Molecular Nutrition and Food Research reports that sulforaphane – one of the primary phytochemicals in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables – is able to selectively target and kill cancer cells, leaving normal cells healthy and unaffected.
In fact, cruciferous vegetables remarkable anti-cancer benefits are well documented. The combination of phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens) may be the key to their powerful effects. They contain glucosinolates from which the body can make sulforaphane and indole-3-carbonol (I3C). This is converted into Di-indolyl-methane (DIM). All these compounds improve liver detoxification both of carcinogens, but also of excess oestrogens that are strongly linked to breast cancer.
So ladies you need to be eating your cruciferous vegetables…
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in many countries world wide, including New Zealand. With three in every four breast cancers being oestrogen positive, meaning the cancer growth is stimulated by oestrogen. Eating cruciferous vegetables and reducing oestrogen is therefore a major factor in protecting against breast cancer.
Gents you do too….
Researchers at the University of California, Berkley have discovered that Di-indolyl-methane (DIM) is a strong androgen receptor antagonist in human prostate cancer cells, helping protect against prostate cancer.
Cruciferous vegetables also induce enzymes in your body called cytochrome P450 enzymes, these enzymes are responsible for detoxification within your liver and help manufacture many of your hormones in the adrenal glands. This means that eating cruciferous can also help you stay slim with lots of energy!
So, if you are not eating cruciferous vegetables everyday you are increasing your risks of becoming oestrogen dominant and the health complications that come with that, plus you are limiting your energy production and fat loss.
I know that it can be difficult to eat cruciferous vegetables everyday, that’s why I put raw organic broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and collard greens in BePure ONE, that way with BePure ONE you still are getting cruciferous vegetables everyday!
In health and happiness,
Ben Warren
Increase your raw energy with Ancestral diets
There’s no doubt that ancestral diets would have been much higher in raw foods than the modern diets we are used to. Having said that our body’s are well adapted to eating cooked foods, but eating raw foods decreases the load on our body and minimises damage done to food through heat exposure.
Let me ask you a question…
Do you get tired right after eating?
If yes, then it can mean the digestive load of that meal is draining your energy – In fact, your energy is being reallocated to your digestive organs, like your pancreas, to up enzyme production to breakdown the food. Tiredness after eating can also be caused by eating too much protein for your macronutrient profile, food intolerances or adrenal fatigue and lower cortisol levels.
Many people just assume that if they eat, then they are going to be able to break down the foods and get the nutrients from it. This is far from the truth. Your body has to work really hard to break down food and it’s an incredibly complex process… If you can’t breakdown your food into it’s smallest constituents then you will not be absorbing it (or it’s nutrients), plus, the undigested proteins and sugars can cause immune reactions that can lead to heightened immune reactions like asthma and autoimmune states like psoriasis or arthritis.
As we get older our own enzyme pathways become less efficient, we also become more deficient in minerals and vitamins as we age. This results in our body’s ability to make enzymes decreasing, which means we have more digestive problems and continue to get less and less minerals and vitamins from our food, decreasing our health and vitality.
One of the best ways to decrease the load on your digestive system is by eating the food raw. Take raw milk for example it still has the enzymes intact and when you eat/drink it your body uses these enzymes to break down the food. The lactase (enzyme in raw milk) breaks down the lactose (milk sugar) enabling your body to digest the milk sugar and lessening the chance of an immune reaction (allergy, intolerance) to the milk sugar.
The trouble is when you cook foods, like milk, at about 50 degrees centigrade you start damaging the enzymes (which are protein structures), these enzymes can no longer function to break down the foods. This is just one of the major problems with pasturised milk.
Other problems that occur when we eat excessive amounts of cooked foods is the fats can get damaged within the food. Fats are extremely heat sensitive and depending on the type of fat, can get easily damaged when cooked. These damaged fats act as free radicals (electron scavengers) and steal electrons from healthy cells, causing cellular damage and aging. Knowing what fats are stable, when, is obviously vitally important, but so is the fact that minimising total damaged fats is vitally important.
Cooking does have some benefits though. Cooking helps break apart the proteins so they are easier to digest, cooking can actually increase the nutrition of foods as it makes nutrients that were locked up in the cellulose of the plant available. For example cooking tomatoes increases lycopene (an important antioxidant that’s been found to protect against prostate cancer) by 20 times. And cooked carrots contain 30 times more beta carotene (a basic form of vitamin A) than it’s raw counterpart. Of course, cooking helps to protect us from bacteria, viruses and parasites that might be present with the food, hence you might want to cook chicken or pork all the way through…
So, like most things in life, eating raw is about finding the right balance. For this reason I advocate people try and eat at least 50% of their calories in their raw form in winter and up to 85% raw in summer.
Bacon and eggs the BePure way… A great way to start the day!
To learn more about Ancestral Eating join the BePure website for free and get the Ancestral Eating Solution programme for free (worth $47).
In Health and Happiness,
Ben Warren
Ancestral eating…bring back the offal!
Ancestral eating involves eating the foods that your ancestors ate according to your/their genetics…at one end of the scale you have Inuit and Native American Indians who got most of their calories from fat and protein from animals, while at the other end some African Tribesman lived predominately on plant based carbohydrates.
But these traditional cultures had one thing in common, other than being very healthy. When they did kill an animal, the whole animal was eaten! With the internal organs being the most highly prized. Traditional cultures knew the ancient wisdoms of nutrition, passed down from healthy generation to healthy generation, and a cornerstone to these cultures health was the consumption of organ meats.
Being English I am most familiar with the British organ meat culture, which are abundant, sweet breads (thymus gland) a British delicacy, faggots, black pudding, head cheese and of course you would not be without the steak and kidney pie. The Scots had haggis containing heart, liver and lungs amongst other things. And on the continent the French with their fine Pate’s.
More traditional cultures like the American native Indians also valued organ meats. Especially the glands, like the adrenal glands of buffalo that were such a highly valued prize that Native American Indians would cut it up into equal parts and every person in the tribe would have their equal share. It is now known that adrenal extracts contain high levels of vitamin C and specialised proteins that build energy and vitality.
Where ancestral diets and science meet…
Modern day science is NOW supporting what people have done for centuries in traditional cultures around the world (like cooking in saturated fat). Science now backs eating organ meats, which are some of the most nutrient dense foods on the face of the planet. In fact, liver, gram for gram would have to be the number one nutrient dense food on the planet. Not only a fantastic source of protein and minerals like iron, but as the storehouse for the animals fat soluble vitamins A and D, plus B vitamins. Many people will notice an immediate increase in energy from eating liver, as the B vitamins, hit the mitochondria in your cells. If you don’t eat liver then you most probably would benefit from taking a quality supplement containing broad spectrum B vitamins, like BePure ONE.
As with all food, quality is especially important when eating liver. As the liver’s role is to process toxins, liver should ideally be from organic sources. However, some liver is better than no liver, as the fat soluble vitamins A and D are believed to protect the cells from toxins.
Pictured above is liver with nitrate free bacon, eggs, hollandaise on steamed swiss chard. Another one of my favourite ways to eat liver is sliced liver cooked in balsamic vinegar and a little honey, served on top of a rocket salad, simple, yet delicious and nutritious (pictured below). So why not give organ meat a second chance… Click here to see my other favourite ways of eating organ meats…
In health and happiness
Ben,
P.S Don’t forget to thank the animal for it’s organs before you eat it!
Are you bloated, alternate diarrhea and constipation, get abdominal cramps, fatigue, weight loss/gain. Have a diagnosis of chrohns, colonitis, irritable bowel syndrome or the like?
Then you need to learn about dysbiosis, as it will apply to you..
Dysbiosis occurs when an overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria and fungi occurs in the digestive tract. The unfriendly bacteria and funguses, like candida, are usually kept in balance with the friendly flora in the digestive tract. When out of balance these unfriendly bacteria/fungi start consuming foods, particularly carbohydrates, in a process of fermentation. Persons with low hydrochloric acid or regularly taking ant-acids are also at greater risk.
The primary cause of dysbiosis is this imbalance in bacterial flora in the digestive tract, however a number of factors pre-dispose someone to this imbalance. These include, the standard western diet of high simple carbohydrate consumption, damaged far consumption and low fiber. Alcohol and simple sugar consumption also contribute to the imbalance together with a diet lacking in beneficial bacteria. Long term pain killer or anti inflammatory use, oral contraceptives and many prescription medications and antibiotics are also to blame. One round of antibiotics can be enough to set up the environment of these unfriendly bacteria/funguses to take over your intestines. Persons with low stomach acid (on ant acids, or Food intolerance’s can also lead to dysbiosis, with gluten and pasteurized dairy being the biggest trouble makers.
As these unfriendly bacteria/fungi multiply they produce toxins which are damaging to the sensitive villi in the small intestine. The junctures between the cells in the intestine can become larger, allowing larger food particles and other toxins into the blood stream. This is often referred to as ‘leaky gut.’ As leaky gut continues over time the immune system is up regulated to deal with the toxins and half digested foods, particularly proteins. This up regulation of the immune system can result in autoimmune diseases (arthritis) and increased sensitivity to external stimuli (asthma, excema).
The bacteria/funguses and their toxins cause a lot of inflammation within the intestines. The body’s own immune system will also contribute to the inflammation and as the immune system fights the bacteria and try’s to repair the damage caused by them. As the intestinal wall continues to get damaged absorption of essential nutrients decreases and this decreases the ability to heal the damage and results in fatigue for the person. Over time this inflammation becomes chronic and might be dealt with steroidal anti inflammatories like cortisone and predisone. Unfortunately, these are actually food for the unfriendly bacteria which in the long run worsens the condition. Especially since the anti-inflammatories reduce your body’s ability ot repair and this chronic intestinal inflammatory condition escalates to ultimately cancer.
While the unfriendly bacteria are thriving the friendly bacteria are diminishing, leaving the host short on B vitamins and short chain fatty acids required for the cells in the colon to be healthy.
Reversing dysbiosis requires a three pronged approach. Firstly, a change in dietary habits, not only in the foods consumed but also in the way they are eaten. People should follow the BePure principles as taught in my Life Changing programme. Dietarily moving away from simple carbohydrates, avoiding sugars and alcohol and choosing wholefoods with plenty of fiber (nuts, seeds, vegetables) and the consumption of plenty of water (away from meal times). From a lifestyle perspective, taking the time to eat the meal in a relaxed manner, chewing to liquid and small frequent meals to ease digestion.
The second approach would be the introduction of foods that contain beneficial bacteria and support beneficial bacteria. These include; live yoghurt, kefir, saurkraut (click here and log in for free to learn how to make Saurkraut), fermented vegetables and fermented soy products like tempeh. Artichokes can be eaten as a prebiotic to provide fructooligosaccharides, the preferred fuel of beneficial bacteria.
The third approach required would be nutritional supplementation; supplemental probiotics – I use Biokult as they are 14 strain, acid resistant and don’t need refridgeration, together with a good quality multi mineral and vitamin supplement (BePure ONE is perfect), omega 3’s in the form of high EPA/DHA Hoki oil and glutamine would provide the supplemental support to help reverse dysbiosis.
Click on image for link….
In health and beneficial bacteria,
Ben Warren
Why I’m not a fan of breakfast cereals…
Please click play and wait a few minutes for video player to load… Thanks
The end of raw milk as we know it… Act now to secure it’s availibility..
For those of you who have been following my movements on facebook you will know that last week I went down to Wellington with a couple of New Zealand’s top dairy producers to meet with Federated Farmers, MAF and the Policy maker for the government, regarding the upcoming law changes around raw milk.
Although, the outcome from the meeting was essentially positive, the ball was put firmly back in our court…
If the consumers do not speak up and tell MAF what they want, they will assume that consumers do not want to be able to buy raw milk and essentially it will be unavailable to most.
So, here’s what you need to do…write a letter (submission), at the top have 3 or 4 bullet points of what you want and why, with some explanation in the main body…really simple.
15 minutes of your time now, could seal a legacy for your children and grandchildren to access raw milk.
Yes, it’s a great time to be involved with raw milk as this is our best opportunity to increase the availability of this superfood.
By talking to the head of MAF who will be reading the submissions and making the recommendation to the Minister I was able to get insights into what you should be talking about in your letter…here are some keys questions to be answering…
How would you like to be able to purchase raw milk in the future?
How long have you been drinking raw milk?
Have you ever got sick from drinking raw milk?
What health benefits have you noticed since drinking raw milk (include personal testimony and photos if available). How do you feel about your rights as a consumer to make educated choices around food.
Simply mail your letter (submission) to:
Food Policy Team
Biosecurity & Food Directorate
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6104
New Zealand
You can also email your submissions to: MAFfoodpolicy@maf.govt.nz
Submissions need to be made before the 5th December and so we haven’t got long… I’m still preparing my submission which will be much more extensive than most as I wish to dissolve MAF’s main concern which is the associated risk of drinking raw milk. I’ll post my submission to this blog when it’s complete so you can see the fully referenced benefits of drinking raw milk. If you wish to know more about the benefits of drinking raw milk click here…
Please take the 15 minutes to secure this legacy… God speed.
In health and happiness
Ben
Top 10 tips for improving liver function…
Your liver is an incredible organ..stabilising blood sugar levels, storing nutrients, regulating and even making cholesterol (if you are on a low cholesterol diet) and processing toxins to name a few of it’s roles.
Therefore great liver function is critical for anyone who wants to lose body fat and have incredible health. Many people don’t think about liver function for fat loss, but it’s critical. Considering many toxins are stored in fat in the body – if you can’t get the toxins out of your body your going to store them in fat and no matter how much exercise or calorie restriction you place yourself under you will not be able to lose the fat without improving your liver function.
O.K so here we go…my top 10 not in any particular order, as always with nutrition they are all important and for different people the priority will change…
1) Eat fat, yep you heard me! If you don’t have enough fat in your diet you’re not going to be able move much bile out of your liver and without bile you won’t have decent bowel movements – plus our liver dumps many of our toxins into the bile. Therefore if the bile is not leaving your liver it gets backed up and usually ends up in emergency gall bladder removal. If you’ve already lost your gall bladder you’ll want to take Ox Bile with high fat meals to help you absorb the fat soluble vitamins and to help with clearing out the bowels. Obviously, the quality of the fat is a major issue – this is too long a subject for a blog post but I get into it fully in my online programme. However, if it’s a natural, undamaged fat then get into it! You’ll also want to consume fat to your macronutrient profile (register here for free to take the online test).
2)Fibre – Fibre indirectly helps liver function as it absorbs the old bile and carries it out of your body. Insufficient fibre and the bile and toxins can re-absorbed and taken back to the liver!! Major problem…So eat plenty of fibrous vegetables and correctly prepared grains like soaked quinoa.
3)Protein – Protein is comprised of amino acids. The liver uses many amino acids in the enzyme pathways used in detoxification. Not enough amino acids…not enough detoxification…simple. Make sure you are eating right for you macronutrient profile to make sure you are eating the right amount of protein your body needs. The best sources of protein are from animals – think meat! That’s why it’s very common for some vegetarians to be fatigued, as their livers run short on key amino acids to function optimally (that’s not to say that you can’t get enough amino acids from non-animal sources, it’s just that a lot of vegetarians don’t).
4) Cruciferous vegetables. These are vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens, radish, bok choy, brussel sprouts and water cress. These support the liver and are especially rich in di-indolylmethane (DIM). DIM helps speed up the second phase of liver function, which is often too slow in many people. Try and eat some of these foods at least once a day and to get maximum impact eat organic broccoli sprouts (they must be organic as many commercial seeds are treated with insecticide, and then you eat a whole bunch of 3 day old seeds and you get a massive insecticide hit).
5) Zinc and selenium. There are over 300 enzymes that are dependent on zinc. Many of the enzymes in the liver are zinc dependent to work. High zinc foods are oysters, beef, New Zealand Lamb (as many NZ farmers give zinc to their stock), sesame seeds. Your daily supplement should have chelated zinc (that’s what I got put in BePure ONE) for increased absorption and so not to compete with other minerals in your diet. Selenium is used to de-activate many active chemical substances in your body, therefore directly and indirectly making things easier on your liver. Eating brazils, the nuts – not the people, is one of the best sources of selenium.
6) B vitamins, B2, B3, B5 and B9 are all directly and heavily used in the liver as part of the detox process. While B6 and B12 are used indirectly. The problem with B vitamins is that in there most common forms (fruit and vegetables) they are unstable and degrade due to their exposure to light and heat. It has been shown that fruit and vegetables that is 4 days old has lost up to 80% of their B vitamins. The average age of fruit and vegetables in the supermarket is 2 weeks old and so even if you are eating lots of fruits and vegetables you will still want to supplement a B vitamin supplement like BePure ONE.
7) Minimise Heavy metal exposure – Heavy metals like lead and mercury block other minerals like zinc and selenium and therefore reduce enzyme reactions in the liver. The biggest sources of lead in our diet is from plastics – one of the worst cases of lead poisening I have heard of was from someone drinking cask/boxed wine – the acidic wine was eating away the plastic bladder in the box releasing lead into the wine. Mercury is coming primarily from dental work and I have grave concerns about cheap fish oils that are laden with heavy metals (please make sure your fish oil is molecularly distilled for purity). The best foods to help chelate heavy metals is coriander (cilantro in U.S). Another great natural substance that I’ve used clinically for heavy metal detoxification is chlorella, and that’s why I put 35mg of Chlorella in BePure ONE.
Avoid simple carbohydrates – Simple carbohydrates load your liver as it has to work overtime to process and store the excess energy. This is a major contributor to fatty liver and liver dysfunction.
9) Bolster stomach function with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. If your stomach is not working very well (not producing enough hydrochloric acid) you won’t be able to break apart the proteins you are eating into their component amino acids – which means your liver will run out of these amino acids. By having half a lemon squeezed in water in the morning and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water in the afternoon. The two acids help support hydrochloric acid production and break down of proteins. (Bye the way – many people who are on ant-acid medication, simply don’t have enough hydrochloric acid as the pylori valve does not open until the PH in the stomach gets low enough)
10a) Take extra antioxidants – The phase one detoxification pathway in the liver generates a large number of free radicals. We need to minimise damage by maximising antioxidants for protection. Look to include carotenes, vitamin C and E and anthocyanins and polyphenols. Colours in food are going to provide the best source of these, particularly deep orange colours as found in pumpkin, and carrot. Again broad spectrum antioxidant supplementation can also be beneficial such as found in BePure ONE or bio quench.
10b) Reduce alcohol consumption – Alcohol is very hard on your liver. Your liver converts it to citrate, which then makes you store fat very quickly – this is why heavy drinkers suffer from fatty liver and liver dysfunction.
10c) Reduce caffeine consumption – Caffeine reduces phase one of liver function. The antioxidant and specific amino acid profile of green tea outweighs the caffeine. But coffee, is a NO, NO, when it comes to improving liver function (unless you are inserting it in your backside for an enema), sorry you coffee fans out there…
O.K, O.K that’s 12 – Just couldn’t get it done in 10! As you can see good liver function is multifactorial, like many things in the body…there’s no magic bullet. It’s more about consistently doing things well…so pick three items to improve this week…make a deal with yourself to try and do at least 3 of these consistently better this week…
Look after your liver and your gonna have a much healthier life, which your kids (hopefully) will be thankful for…
In health and happiness
Ben Warren
How to lose fat from your hips…
Posted by Ben in Food, Nutrition, Uncategorized on October 20, 2011
Increased body fat around the hips, the classic ‘pear shape’ for women is generally a sign of estrogen imbalance. Although where we tend to store fat is a strong genetic predisposition… Here’s my five top tips for helping balancing estrogenic hormones, and guys, it applies to you too…
Essentially these two problems come from estrogen mimicking chemicals in the environment and our body’s decreased ability to deal with estrogen metabolites. So my five tips are centered around minimising exposure and maximising pathways to clear them from the body….
1. Avoid all plastic bottles and containers with food and water. Plastics contain petrochemical molecules such as PCB’s and dioxins. These molecules are similar in structure to estrogen and are called xeno-estrogens. Xeno-estrogens mimic estrogen and can cause all sorts of issues from not enough true estrogen, to too much estrogen and imbalances between estrogen and progesterone. So minimising plastics in your life is a big one, but a tough one as it’s an integral part of our modern lives, so minimising exposure is very important… water bottles are the easiest to eliminate (I’m real keen on ecotankers – plus they are much better for the environment.) Here’s a few sources of plastic you might not have thought about…Tinned food – most tins these days are lined with plastic. Non- stick flying pans – teflon is a plastic. Box wine – has a plastic bladder which breaks down from the acidity of wine. Plastic kettles… gets you thinking? Right? One of the biggest weight losses I’ve seen in a group of women came from them simply changing from a plastic water bottle to either glass or stainless steel.
2. Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables. These are vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens, radish, bok choy, brussel sprouts and water cress. These support the liver and are especially rich in di-indolylmethane (DIM), which help mop up excess oestrogens. Try and eat some of these foods at least once a day.
3. Eat spray free produce – many pesticides and herbicides are estrogenic. Again meaning they mimic estrogen in the body. This is why they are so highly associated with increases in breast cancer – as the breast tissue is highly sensitive to hormone levels. At a minimum grow your own greens and purchase organic vegetables to minimise your exposure to these xenoestrogens.
4. Take additional supplements to support liver function. Your liver has the ability to get rid of excess estrogen through a complex web of enzyme reactions. However, these enzyme reactions are dependent on minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. We are simply not able to get everything we need from our diet as the environmental burden of toxins has dramatically increased our nutritional requirements for minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Simply the best base supplement for supporting liver function is BePure ONE as it has high levels of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants needed for optimal liver function.
5. Reduce stress. Increased stressors in your life, be that past, present or future results in your body stealing the precursors for progesterone to make stress hormones. Progesterone opposes estrogen and so the less you have the more likely you are to experience estrogen/progesterone imbalance and resulting body fat gain.
Simply by following my top five tips to balancing hormones can make a huge difference to body fat levels and risk of hormone sensitive cancers, like breast, uterine and prostate cancers.
In health and happiness
Ben
What supplementation should endurance athletes take?
Posted by Ben in Health, Nutrition, Uncategorized on September 21, 2011
I often get asked this question and so I thought I’d write a blog about it to clarify some key points….
We know that as your load increases from any aspect of your life, whether that is from stress, poor nutrition, body burdens, extreme levels of exercise….Then there is an increased need for micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) to enable the body to deal with the load.
My main concern with endurance athletes is the long term load of increased levels of the oxygen free radical from sustained periods of aerobic exercise. The body burns oxygen and one of the most damaging free radicals is the oxygen free radical from this process. Our body has many mechanisms to deal with this, so we want to support them as much as possible. (Please see the research in the foot note)
We know that increased free radical damage is a contributing factor to cell dysfunction and therefore cancer. Through the years I have been amased by the amount of endurance athletes who suffer from skin cancers in their late 30′s and forties. It would appear from clinical observation that as a group they are more vulnerable than the population from skin cancers. I believe it is due to the increased exposure to UVB while training and a lack of antioxidants to deal with the free radical production of heavy aerobic exercise.
So what should you be supplementing as an endurance athlete? Well that depends on what level you wish to supplement…I’ll give you 3 levels so you can choose what suits your needs…
Level 1 – A mineral. vitamin and antioxidant supplement like BePure ONE. This will provide the B vitamins and some extra magnesium for mitochondria (energy) production. Plus a solid base level of protection antioxidants including manganese which is one of the biggest oxygen free radical scavengers in the body (very important for runners or for people performing a lot of aerobic exercise). You’ll also want to be taking a high EPA/DHA fish oil like this one, this will help keep the inflammatory pathways lower, plus of course the other many benefits of a high quality omega 3. (Be very careful of cheap omega 3 supplements as they are often loaded with heavy metals). I would also recommend that you have 500ml of bone broth a day as it provides a full spectrum of glycoaminoglycans of which glucosamine and chondroitin are two. This will help avoid joint and ligament injuries from the training (click here and log in for free to my website to learn how to make a bone broth). If you can’t be bothered to make the bone broth then joint flex is the next best option.
For me this Level 1 is the minimum supplementation an endurance athlete should be taking….in fact this is pretty much the minimum for anyone living in the western world.
Level 2 – On top of level. Take extra magnesium - this is the one I like – this will help your muscles to relax at night and provide extra magnesium to be used by the mitochondria. Also take at least 100mg of Coenzyme Q 10 – ubiquinol form is the best absorbed, but is really expensive, so this one is a good one to start with, still good absorption… but cheaper (email us if you want the ubiquinol form – info@bepure.co.nz). I’m keen on getting as much CoQ10 from your food as possible – it’s extremely heat sensitive, so you will need to eat your red meat as close to raw as you can handle (and not be on statins – prescription drug for cholesterol). Click here to see my favourite ways to eat beef. At level 2 I would also supplement a specialist antioxidant, something like Bioquench. As the level of exercise increases so will your oxidative stress and therefore your antioxidant protection needs to be increased also.
Level 3 (serious) – On top of level 1 and 2. Take adrenal rebuilder and herbal adrenal support for maintained hormone production through heavy training (stops you feeling tired in the mornings). Double the BePure ONE dosage and split through the day to get B vitamin availability in the blood stream, and increased antioxidant protection from both phytonutrients and minerals. Start taking 3 – 6 grams of this vitamin C a day to help with collagen reformation after training.
A couple of other nutritional factors…
Eat the right macronutrients for you! You’ll need to be eating the right fat, protein and carbohydrate levels to support your body through it’s training. Your genetic needs for protein, fat and carbohydrate will begin to change as your body slows down it’s oxidisation rate of carbohydrate at a cellular level, as your body become more efficient at being an endurance athlete. Join the BePure site for free to take the online test for what you should be eating.
Maximise your nutrition from high quality fats, proteins and carbohydrates. During increased training and events you may need to increase your intake of processed foods like protein powders and glucose gels. With protein powders be sure to use one that utilises pea protein as the amino acid source NOT whey or soy (unfermented soy contains xeno estrogens that mimic estrogen, decrease testosterone in men in drive estrogen/progesterone imbalances in women). I get in one of the best Pea proteins in the world from the States, it’s not on the website, so email info@bepure.co.nz if you would like it.
As your need for energy from food (particularly carbohydrates), increases, from training. Be sure that the grains you are eating are properly prepared. Continue to minimise gluten in your diet if you are intolerant (70% of tested white skinned people in America are!) If you are intolerant and continue to eat gluten you will shut down your pelvic stabilisers and get ankle, knee, hip and low back injuries from your running. Learn how to prepare healthy grains here…
Hard core exercise like performing marathons and Iron man contests can be a lot of fun (so I hear!), but increased nutrition needs to be a part of the training.
Happy training,
In health and happiness
Ben Warren
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Footnote:
Topic: Flavonoids, Antioxidants, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Reduce Post-Exercise Oxidative Stress
Reference: “Effect of Mixed Flavonoids, n-3 Fatty Acids, and Vitamin C on Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Capacity Before and After Intense Cycling,” McAnulty SR, Nieman DC, et al, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2011 Aug; 21(4): 328-37. (Address: Dept. of Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA).
Summary: In a randomized study involving 39 athletes, supplementation with flavonoids, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids taken for 2 weeks prior to and 3 days during cycling at 57% Wmax for 3 hours, was found to be associated with reductions in the immediate post-exercise increase in F2-isoprostane. Subjects received supplementation with one of the following interventions: 1,000 mg quercetin + 1,000 mg vitamin C; 1,000 mg quercetin + 1,000 mg vitamin C + 400 mg isoquercetin, 30 mg epigallocatechin gallate, and 400 mg omega-3 fatty acids; or, placebo, daily for 2 weeks before and during 3 days of cycling. Subjects in both treatment groups were found to be protected against the significant increase in F2-isoprostanes post-exercise, as found in the placebo group. This effect was found to be independent of changes in plasma antioxidant capacity. These results suggest that supplementation with flavonoids, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids may benefit athletes.
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