Step 2: Build Up Overall Health with Diet & Basic Supplements
You can only increase your overall health and strength by consuming all of the nutrients your body needs in order to heal and detoxify itself.
- Protein from meats and eggs.
- High natural fats & oils, including oil soluble vitamins A, D & E, and omega-3 essential fatty acid supplements.
- Low carbohydrate foods.
- Basic Supplements
The recommended daily protein, fat and carb ratios are calculated according to The Optimal Diet which is a dietary model of human nutrition devised and implemented by Dr. Jan Kwasniewski, Poland—here’s how to Calculate Protein, Fat & Carb Ratios.
All foods must be as fresh and natural as possible (unprocessed), i.e. direct from Nature. Ideal Healthy Foods Include:
- Meats such as beef, lamb, and bison that are free–range and grass–fed.
- Pork, ham and bacon from pigs that are free–range and fed their natural diet.
- Chickens that are free–range and allowed to eat their natural diet which includes insects, worms, small animals, grass, etc. like other birds.
- Natural fats and oils include unrefined coconut oil, butter, lard, chicken and goose fat, tallow (beef fat), fish fats and oils. Fats and oils should not include any unnatural man-made fats, including oils, shortening, and margarines from plant sources, except extra virgin olive oil.
- Unnatural man-made fats and oils include those made from canola (rape seed), safflower, sunflower, soybean, nuts, seeds, corn, etc. and all hydrogenated fats or oils (trans-fats), along with all improperly processed oils.
- Vegetables should be from reliable sources and not irradiated, i.e. zapped with radiation.
NOTE: Use of the word “organic” is not regulated, therefore it can be used by anyone even if a food is organic or not. “Certified organic” is highly regulated and has to meet certain standards in order to carry the designation. Organic and “Certified organic” standards are different in each country, with places like Chile, Mexico and China having lower standards than the United States and Canada.
Protein from Meats and Eggs
It is important that unhealthy people eat the amount of protein required by their bodies from a selection of quality protein foods such as animal meats and eggs. Proteins are found in all types of food, but only meats, and eggs from animal sources contain complete proteins, providing the eight essential amino acids that your body cannot produce on its own.
Vegetables, fruits and grains contain incomplete proteins, and also do not contain the fat-soluble vitamins required by the body for absorbing and utilizing protein, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients.
Amino acids (made by the body from protein) provide the structure of all living things and in the human body they are in the cells that make up muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair and body fluids (except bile and urine). Enzymes, hormones, and genes (DNA & RNA) are also made up of various amino acids.
Protein from animals have the unique quality of slowing the breakdown of carbohydrates, which decreases the need for insulin secretion by the pancreas. Animal protein also stimulates glucagon release by the pancreas. Glucagon is the hormone that unlocks our stored fuel. It also helps produce hydrochloric acid in the stomach and stimulates the gall bladder to let down bile into the small intestines.
Please note: Use of the word “free-range” is not regulated either, so it can be used by anyone at will, just like the words “natural” or “organic.” Companies can claim their eggs are free-range even if there is only a small window that lets in sunlight. Free-range really means that the chickens are outside in the sunlight and are able to forage for their natural foods that include bugs, worms, insects, beetles, small animals, and fresh green grass.
Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. They are a great source of high-quality protein and are rich in vitamins and nutrients essential to health, including B vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin E. In fact the only reliable and absorbable sources of vitamin B12 are from animal products, especially organ meats and eggs. Vitamin B12 is vital to a healthy nervous system and healthy blood and the one of the important nutrients lacking in vegetarians.
Whole organic or certified organic eggs are inexpensive, and are an incredible source of high-quality nutrients that many of us are deficient in, especially high-quality protein and fat. The easiest way to consume eggs is by making Bee’s Egg Drink — also see these articles about Eggs, The Most Complete Natural Food. Contrary to popular belief Eggs Not a Likely Source of Salmonella Contamination.
High “Natural” Fats and Oils
Good fats and oils are equally important to protein in the diet and they are essential to health. They not only increase the body’s ability to absorb and utilize nutrients from foods in the digestive system, but also provide the most efficient source of energy.
Carbohydrates require a lot of the body’s resources and energy in order digest and utilize them, whereas good saturated fats go directly into the bloodstream, providing a direct efficient source of energy and nutrients. They also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances.
Natural fats act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and for the conversion of beta carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other processes. The kinds of fats consumed greatly influences the absorption and utilization of vitamin D as well.
Cholesterol is a molecule which is also called a lipid or fat. It is a soft, waxy substance found in all cells in your body. Contrary to propaganda by the drug and medical industry, cholesterol is produced by the liver from dietary carbohydrates (sugar/glucose), and not from fats or oils. It is an important part of a healthy body because it is used to form cell membranes and hormones, and for many other important functions.
The word “cholesterol” is confusing because foods also contain cholesterol, which are fats or oils found in animal meats, egg yolks, dairy products, seeds, nuts, avocados, olives, coconuts, etc. However dietary fats and oils are not the same as the cholesterol made within the body by the liver.
Cholesterol has been unjustly demonized by the food, drug and medical industries, when in fact it is your best friend. Cholesterol’s job is to repair and protect, and it is essential for nourishing the brain, heart and nervous system.
The brain is 70% cholesterol and it could not function properly without it. Hormones, like estrogen and testosterone, are made from cholesterol, and bile salts (for digestion) are made from cholesterol. Cholesterol is also a powerful cleanser (antioxidant).
Cholesterol is a substance vital to the cells of all mammals. There is no such thing as good or bad cholesterol. In fact your body produces three to four times more cholesterol than you eat, and your body would make cholesterol even if you consumed absolutely no fats and oils.
The eminent American physician and scientist George Mann called the diet-heart idea “the greatest scientific deception of this century, perhaps of any century.”
Healthy fats are natural animal fats and oils from meats and eggs, and high saturated fats in unrefined coconut oil, in spite of what we’ve been led to believe. These fats play many important roles in body chemistry.
Unfortunately saturated fats have been given a bad name by the oil and food manufacturing industries, with the sole purpose of selling their products. This is also true for drug companies who perpetuate the cholesterol myth and low-fat diets in order to sell drugs.
The truth is, natural fats and oils have components found only in them, which are health-promoting, and all newfangled man-made fats are now known to be disease-causing. Health-giving saturated fats are stable and do not become rancid easily, nor do they initiate cancer or irritate the artery walls like unnatural man-made fats and oils do.
Healthy saturated fats are an important part of any healthy meal. It draws nutrients out of foods and slows digestion so that natural enzymes and the assimilation process can take place. Healthy fats include butter, tallow, lard, poultry fats, fish fats and oils, and tropical fats from palms and coconuts.
Butter from raw milk produced by certified organic grass-fed cows is a tasty, important saturated fat in the diet. Butter added to vegetables and meats, ensures proper assimilation of minerals and water-soluble vitamins in foods.
Some people believe they are intolerate of the proteins in dairy products because of their reactions, so they have ghee instead. Ghee is a process that removes milk proteins, including casein, from butterfat. However, proteins in butterfat are not the reason for such reactions, since all Healing Foods, Herbs & Spices Create Healing Reactions. Note: Ghee is not as healthy as butter because it does not contain important proteins.
Many trace minerals are in butterfat, including manganese, zinc, chromium, and iodine, as well as Vitamin D and many other nutrients. In areas far from the sea, iodine in butter protects against goiter (enlarged or underactive thyroid). Butter is also extremely rich in selenium, an important trace mineral.
Butter is a unique dairy product because pasteurization does not destroy its fat soluble vitamins. These include true vitamin A (retinol), vitamin D, vitamin K and vitamin E, as well as all of their naturally occurring cofactors needed to obtain maximum effect. Butter is the best source of these important nutrients.
In fact, vitamin A is more easily absorbed and utilized from butter than from other sources and it is the best source of true vitamin A. Beta Carotene is not true vitamin A, found in some vegetables like carrots. Beta carotene must be converted by the body into retinol (true vitamin A), which cannot be done by most unhealthy people.
Coconut Oil is another healthy saturated fat that contains many beneficial nutrients. The fat in coconut oil is easily digested and absorbed, unlike the unnatural man-made fats or oils that act just like plastic in the body. It puts little strain on the digestive system and provides a quick source of energy necessary to promote healing.
Coconut oil, butter, and other saturated fats are absorbed into bloodstream directly from the intestines through the lymph system, whereas other fats require pancreatic enzymes and bile to break them into smaller units which are sent to the liver, where they are processed before entering the bloodstream. That is why saturated fats put very little strain on the digestive system, even for people who have had difficulty digesting fats, have gall bladder problems or if they do not have a gall bladder.
When buying coconut oil look for one that is cold- or expeller-pressed, unrefined, unbleached, undeodorized and non-hydrogenated. Extra virgin is the highest quality. Coconut oil is highly resistant to spoilage and has a long shelf life (2 years at room temperature), so it is not kept in the refrigerator. It is kept in the cupboard or on the kitchen counter. Like other saturated fats coconut oil is solid when cooled below room temperature.
Coconut oil has a high burning point and is the perfect oil for cooking. It can be used alone, or mixed with butter, lard or other good fats for cooking and frying.
Coconut oil can be taken by the spoonfuls with meals to aid digestion or melted on cooked foods. The recommended therapeutic dose is 5.5 tablespoons per day, taken in divided doses 3 times a day with meals that contain meats or eggs.
Coconut oil is a healing food that can cause healing and detoxifying reactions, just like any healthy foods do, because it provides the body with nutrients it needs so it can heal and detoxify itself. To minimize healing and detoxifying reactions start taking coconut oil at a low dose (1/2 to 1 teaspoon three times a day) and gradually increase the amount every 4-5 days, or more depending upon your healing and detoxifying symptoms, until you reach the maximum therapeutic dose of 5.5 tablespoons per day. It is also important to take coconut oil in divided doses during the day and not all at once.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)
The human body can produce all but two of the fatty acids it needs, which are omega–3 and omega–6 fatty acids. These two fatty acids are called essential because we have to get them from food since our bodies cannot make them from other fats like it does other kinds of fatty acids.
Most diets today contain an excessive amount of omega–6, therefore it is important to ensure the diet contains more omega–3 rich foods to offset this imbalance. Good sources of omega–3s are meats and eggs. However, the best source of omega–3 is found in fish. That is because omega–3 in fish is high in two fatty acids crucial to human health, which are called eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Flaxseed oil is not recommended for omega–3 because it contains a form of omega-3, called alpha–linolenic acid (ALA), that must be converted by the body into the kinds of Omega-3 it can use, which are EPA and DHA (found in fish oils, and cod liver oil). Most unhealthy people are incapable of making the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA, therefore they need to get omega-3 from fish and not flaxseed oil. In addition, flax oil is made from a seed, that contains nutrients that block protein digestion, just like other seed oils.
Evening primrose oil and borage oil are recommended by many health practitioners however they contain omega–6 and no omega–3, and this diet contains plenty of omega–6 in meats and eggs.
Fat–Soluble Vitamins
Fat–soluble vitamins include true vitamin A, called retinol, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K, as well as all of their naturally occurring cofactors. All of these fat–soluble vitamins are essential to health.
Vitamin A is all–important in our diets since it enables the body to absorb and utilize proteins and minerals, ensures proper vision, healthy skin, healthy cells, and is necessary for the production of hormones, including sex hormones needed for reproduction, etc. It is also important for the formation of bones and teeth. Protein cannot be utilized by the body without Vitamin A.
Beta carotene, found in plants, is not a true Vitamin A since it requires conversion from carotene to “true” vitamin A, called retinol, in the intestines in order to be utilized by the body. Most unhealthy people are unable to make this conversion, so it is best to get “true” oil soluble vitamin A from meats and eggs, and to also take a cod liver oil supplement, that contains Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Omega-3 fatty acid.
Vitamin D is required for calcium and phosphorus absorption and utilization; phosphorus is a mineral found in protein foods. It is necessary for growth, for healthy bones and teeth, for proper development of the brain and nervous systems and for normal sexual development. Also Vitamin D normalizes blood sugar when there is adequate calcium in the diet. Vitamin D is actually more of a hormone than it is a vitamin and it works with saturated fats and other oil soluble vitamins A and E.
Ordinarily in Summer months the sun produces vitamin D on the oils of the skin. However, I believe it is difficult, to almost impossible, for most people today to get vitamin D from the sun since there are so many factors involved, including having enough oils built up on the skin, not showering or bathing too often using chlorinated water and soap which removes natural oils, etc. — see Vitamin D – Amount of Sun Exposure Required for more details.
That is why I recommend taking cod liver oil all year. See Cod Liver Oil Brand with Nutrient Levels which compares some brands, and gives doses, and extra supplements that are required in order to obtain the recommended daily amounts of omega-3, and vitamins A and D.
If the cod liver oil product/brand available does not contain enough vitamins A or D, buy them separately from cod, halibut or shark “liver” oil capsules, which contain vitamins A and D, or vitamin A only, as required.
Note: Fish oil only contains omega-3 (EPA & DHA) because it is from the fish body. However, fish “liver” oil contains all three nutrients, i.e. omega-3, and vitamins A and D. So if you take fish oil you will also need to get Vitamins A and D from a separate fish “liver” oil source, i.e. cod, halibut or shark.
Vitamin E is a very effective antioxidant that can be depleted by a low–fat diet or by a diet that contains unnatural fats and oils like canola, soybean, corn, safflower, etc. Vitamin E improves circulation, promotes normal blood clotting and healing, repairs tissue and reduces blood pressure.