Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and The... Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Sally Fallon
plays a role in growth and reproduction and helps control cholesterol levels in the blood. Deficiency has been linked to cardiovascular and kidney disease. Buckwheat, unrefined vegetable oils, grains and olives are the best sources. Vanadium is difficult to absorb.
Zinc: Called the intelligence mineral, zinc is required for mental development, for healthy reproductive organs (particularly the prostate gland), for protein synthesis and collagen formation. Zinc is also involved in the blood sugar control mechanism and thus protects against diabetes. Zinc is needed to maintain proper levels of vitamin E in the blood. Inability to taste or smell and loss of appetite are signs of zinc deficiency. High levels of phytic acid in cereal grains and legumes block zinc absorption. Zinc deficiency during pregnancy can cause birth defects. As oral contraceptives diminish zinc levels, it is important for women to wait at least six months after discontinuing the pill before becoming pregnant. Best sources include red meat, oysters, fish, nuts, seeds and ginger.
Not all minerals are beneficial. Lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminum and arsenic, while possibly needed in minute amounts, are poisons to the body in large quantities. These come from polluted air, water, soil and food; lead finds its way into the water supply through lead pipes. Sources of aluminum include processed soy products, aluminum cookware, refined table salt, deodorants and antacids. Baking powder can be another source of aluminum and should be avoided. Amalgam fillings are the principle source of toxic mercury in the system—linked to Alzheimer's and a number of other disease conditions. Minerals like calcium and magnesium, and the antioxidants—vitamin A, carotenes, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium—all protect against these toxins and help the body to eliminate them. Adequate silicon protects against aluminum.
ENZYMES
An important branch of twentieth-century nutritional research, running parallel to and equal in significance to the discovery of vitamins and minerals, has been the discovery of enzymes and their function. Enzymes are complex proteins that act as catalysts in almost every biochemical process that takes place in the body. Their activity depends on the presence of adequate vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium. Many enzymes incorporate a single molecule of a trace mineral—such as manganese, copper, iron or zinc—without which the enzyme cannot function. In the 1930s, when enzymes first came to the attention of biochemists, some 80 were identified; today, over 5,000 have been discovered.
Enzymes fall into one of three major classifications. The largest is the metabolic enzymes, which play a role in all bodily processes including breathing, talking, moving, thinking, behavior and maintenance of the immune system. A subset of these metabolic enzymes acts to neutralize poisons and carcinogens, such as pollutants, DDT and tobacco smoke, changing them into less toxic forms, which the body can then eliminate. The second category is the digestive enzymes, of which there are about 22 in number. Most of these are manufactured by the pancreas. They are secreted by glands in the duodenum (the upper part of the small intestine) and work to break down the bulk of partially-digested food leaving the stomach.
The enzymes we need to consider when planning our diets are the third category, the food enzymes. These are present in ample amounts in many raw foods, and they initiate the process of digestion in the mouth and stomach. Food enzymes include proteases for digesting protein, lipases for digesting fats and amylases for digesting carbohydrates. Amylases in saliva contribute to the digestion of carbohydrates while they are being chewed, and all enzymes found in food continue this process while it is mixed and churned by contractions in the stomach. The glands in the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen, which initiate the process of protein
Zinc: Called the intelligence mineral, zinc is required for mental development, for healthy reproductive organs (particularly the prostate gland), for protein synthesis and collagen formation. Zinc is also involved in the blood sugar control mechanism and thus protects against diabetes. Zinc is needed to maintain proper levels of vitamin E in the blood. Inability to taste or smell and loss of appetite are signs of zinc deficiency. High levels of phytic acid in cereal grains and legumes block zinc absorption. Zinc deficiency during pregnancy can cause birth defects. As oral contraceptives diminish zinc levels, it is important for women to wait at least six months after discontinuing the pill before becoming pregnant. Best sources include red meat, oysters, fish, nuts, seeds and ginger.
Not all minerals are beneficial. Lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminum and arsenic, while possibly needed in minute amounts, are poisons to the body in large quantities. These come from polluted air, water, soil and food; lead finds its way into the water supply through lead pipes. Sources of aluminum include processed soy products, aluminum cookware, refined table salt, deodorants and antacids. Baking powder can be another source of aluminum and should be avoided. Amalgam fillings are the principle source of toxic mercury in the system—linked to Alzheimer's and a number of other disease conditions. Minerals like calcium and magnesium, and the antioxidants—vitamin A, carotenes, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium—all protect against these toxins and help the body to eliminate them. Adequate silicon protects against aluminum.
ENZYMES
An important branch of twentieth-century nutritional research, running parallel to and equal in significance to the discovery of vitamins and minerals, has been the discovery of enzymes and their function. Enzymes are complex proteins that act as catalysts in almost every biochemical process that takes place in the body. Their activity depends on the presence of adequate vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium. Many enzymes incorporate a single molecule of a trace mineral—such as manganese, copper, iron or zinc—without which the enzyme cannot function. In the 1930s, when enzymes first came to the attention of biochemists, some 80 were identified; today, over 5,000 have been discovered.
Enzymes fall into one of three major classifications. The largest is the metabolic enzymes, which play a role in all bodily processes including breathing, talking, moving, thinking, behavior and maintenance of the immune system. A subset of these metabolic enzymes acts to neutralize poisons and carcinogens, such as pollutants, DDT and tobacco smoke, changing them into less toxic forms, which the body can then eliminate. The second category is the digestive enzymes, of which there are about 22 in number. Most of these are manufactured by the pancreas. They are secreted by glands in the duodenum (the upper part of the small intestine) and work to break down the bulk of partially-digested food leaving the stomach.
The enzymes we need to consider when planning our diets are the third category, the food enzymes. These are present in ample amounts in many raw foods, and they initiate the process of digestion in the mouth and stomach. Food enzymes include proteases for digesting protein, lipases for digesting fats and amylases for digesting carbohydrates. Amylases in saliva contribute to the digestion of carbohydrates while they are being chewed, and all enzymes found in food continue this process while it is mixed and churned by contractions in the stomach. The glands in the stomach secrete hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen, which initiate the process of protein
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