Re: [pf] American Illness: too much sugar. DavidM's diet.

· You may not agree with my editing of this piece; the original is at:
http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pfvs/2001III/msg01168.html

At 12:20 31/8/2001 -0400, Tom Wheeler sent to PF:
>Native American Times; 12833 E. 41st Street Tulsa, Ok 74146
>August 29, 2001 Press Release
>
>Diabetes Conference looks to Indian Traditions to find Cure
>
>... at an unusual conference titled "Return to Your Roots" taking place in
Tulsa, OK., Indians and non-Indians alike are gathering together to look
back in time to an era when diabetes didn't exist with the hope in finding
today's answer for a cure.
>
>"Prior to 1936 there were no known cases of diabetes among Indian people,"
> ...
>"We Americans get nearly 20% of our calories from simple carbohydrates,
mostly white sugar," said Dr. Patrick Quillin. "Our ancestors got almost no
calories from simple carbohydrates, except for the brief harvest time for
fruits in the summer and fall."
> ...
>"Diabetes is one of the more prevalent, ... and easily reversed conditions
in America. The vast majority of diabetes is caused by ignoring the basic
laws of Nature," said Quillin.
>
>Dr. Diana Schwarzbein ... will discuss ... diet guidelines which lead to a
phenomenal success rate for her patients. "As they followed the new dietary
program their blood sugars normalized, so they were able to get off insulin
and/or oral hypoglycemic agents. Their cholesterol levels improved, so I
stopped their cholesterol-lowering-medication. Their blood pressures came
down, so I stopped their blood pressure medication," said Schwarzbein. "I
was able to eliminate most of their drugs. They lost body fat and gained
muscle mass. Their energy improved. They were not going hungry anymore.
They felt great."
>
>Many health care professionals from all areas of the US ... from the CDC
(Center for Disease Control), Indian Health Care providers from numerous
tribal clinics from across the U.S. and scientists from the World Health
Organization are all planning to come ... diet guidelines which are
parallel to historic diets of most Indian and non-Indian peoples and having
success stories of a return to health for their patients.
>
> Continuing Education Units are available at 
www.nativetimes.com 
>

· I emphatically do not agree with the common usage, of shortening "complex
carbohydrates" to: "carbohydrates". I believe the _distinction_ between
starch (one of several types of complex carbohydrates; I believe both
soluble and insoluble food fibre are others - the latter may be cellulose),
and simple sugars (single, like glucose and I believe: fructose, plus
double sugars like sucrose - ordinary sugar), is what this article is
talking about.

· _I_ know that it's quite unnecessary to use _any_ added sugars, single or
double; I have used none for about 9 years, and am far healthier now than I
used to be (though this is only one factor).

· I _do_ use a lot of starch - complex carbohydrate - which I recommend to
anyone (though some may find the gluten in bread allergenic). On my: 
http://davd.tripod.ca/dsmenu.html#Birkbeck , nutritionist Dr Birkbeck
analysed my starch-based diet and found no problem with what most would see
as an over-emphasis on grain as a food source. This is the "in grams" version:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 . . Total, per day:

Bread plus Weetbix (same ingredients); 
-Fall&Winter amount (as above): . - - 370 g

Cabbage . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - 230 g

Carrots . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - 115 g

Peanuts; incl. peanutButter equiv - -  80 g

Margarine . . . . . . . . . . . . - -  35 g

Milk (note: 4.3% fat) . . . . . . - - 400 ml

Marmite . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -  20 g

Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - -  15 g

Plum jam (homemade) . . . . . . . - -  20 g

Rolled Oats . . . . . . . . . . . - -  15 g

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

· In my first year, I tried that out in several dietary computer
programmes, and _every_one_ assumed I had put in too much bread (10 "toast"
slices) per day. Naturally, those programmes weren't likely to be made to
suit Native Americans.

· The article Tom sent used these phrases: "Because the modern diet is very
high in carbohydrates and refined foods"; "medical professionals are
focusing specifically on regulating carbohydrates".

· Those are the phrases I object to; they seem to say that my starch-based
diet is the problem, while reading it more carefully reveals it's not a
reduction in carbohydrates that is the action taken when regulating
carbohydrates, it's a drastic reduction in the energy input from _simple_
_sugar_, and where necessary (most Americans are too fat so it may not be
really necessary) the /increasing/ of complex carbohydrate (starch) intake
to provide any lack in energy supply.

· If I'm wrong about my labels for the various types of carbohydrate,
please enlighten me.


· This reminds me. Occasionally I find the statement: "proteins supply X%
of our energy needs".
  (What I say next, I'm less sure of than the above.)

  I see no reason to waste protein on supplying energy. It may be a fact
that the current excessive-meat diet means that one way the body processes
the over-supply of protein is to break it up and get some energy from it,
but that's so unnecessary! Protein is valuable. IMO proteins are not needed
to supply _any_ /energy/ needs.

· The various amino-acids making up protein are absolutely necessary (in at
least half a dozen cases), if normal growth-and-repair are to continue.
Frances Moore Lappé's "Diet for a Small Planet" goes into it at
considerable length, how the right balance between this and that named
amino-acid can be obtained from plant foods (including legumes) and dairy
foods. In the original edition it was in the main text but those tables and
descriptions were shifted to an appendix in the 10th Anniversary edition,
because most readers just wanted some rules, some simple guide to how to be
a vegetarian, not full knowledge of what they were doing.
  For my own purpose (eating a bare minimum of the cheapest food that'll
keep me strong and healthy), I summarise the protein part of diet advice: 
- combine legumes (peanuts for me) with wheat flour at most meals;
- drink at least 4 cups of milk per day, one cup at each meal;
- eat quite large amounts of green and orange vegetables, at least once a
day, preferably with most meals. (My choice: cabbage and carrots.)
- if you're doubtful about getting enough of one or two specific amino-
acids, just eat a larger amount of your normal food, every day. With the
above three, the lack will be small, so eating (say) 10% more of everything
will likely make it up.
  Anyway, no-one reading this will be on a truly minimal diet, so if what
you eat fits the first three above (and particularly if you eat eggs and/or
meat as well, once a week or more often), I see no reason to doubt that
you're getting the full range of amino-acids.

· I know little about going vegan; I rely on milk in my diet.
  I get milk from cows on an organic farm; on Friday I was told that
organic "town-milk" suppliers run two herds, both bred only once a year,
one herd in the spring, the other in the fall. Provided the latter and
their calves are sufficiently protected from winter weather, and the cows
are fed well - including a diverse pasture and/or hay, containing herbs -
this should be a good life for a cow. I am quite happy to use such milk.


· This note is mainly about the detrimental affects of sugar, and the value
of starch, in energy supply. I'm sure of that, less so about protein.

David.
David MacClement <mailto:davd@ihug.co.nz>
http://davd.tripod.com/GrRR-010824_titles.html#top
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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