Eat Fat, Lose Fat (23 page)

Asthma

The lungs secrete a fluid called a surfactant that enables them to function properly. This fluid is made of two fatty acids,
both
of which are saturated. In fact, the lungs cannot function without saturated fats!

A study published in the journal
Thorax
in 2003 indicates that children brought up on butter and whole milk have much less asthma than those fed vegetable oils and reduced-fat milks. What’s more, European researchers have found evidence that trans fatty acids in the diet actually
promote
asthma.

Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that EPA and DHA, the very long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in cod-liver oil, help relieve asthma. Once again, these fatty acids are used more efficiently when you eat ample saturated fats.

Based on this evidence, our diet effectively treats asthma in three ways:

• by including plenty of saturated fats
  
• by providing synergy between coconut oil, other saturated fats, and omega-3 fatty acids
  
• by eliminating trans fats
  

Attention-Deficit Disorder

How can children sit still in school and concentrate when their diet does not provide the nutrients that their brains need to function properly? The typical American breakfast of cold cereals, bread, jam, pastries, and sweet juice is a recipe for ADD—not only for children but also for adults. Such foods provide few nutrients and rapidly flood the bloodstream with sugar, resulting in a letdown an hour or two later. More than any other organ, the brain needs sugar, in the form of glucose, so when our blood sugar drops after the morning rush brought on by low-fat, high-sugar foods, distraction and fuzzy thinking inevitably result.

Instead, assure a steady supply of glucose, by eating not sugar but fats, which slow down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. A good high-fat breakfast, like eggs (a brain food) or soaked grains consumed with butter or cream, ensures even energy throughout the morning—whereas a high-sugar breakfast puts you on a roller coaster of sugar surges and lows.

Many studies have found that the omega-3 fatty acids in cod-liver oil can improve brain function, memory, learning, and behavioral disorders. Scientists have also learned that vitamin D and calcium—or both taken together—combined with a good diet that includes trace minerals can improve disorders such as ADD. In our diet, cod-liver oil provides vitamins A and D to ensure that the minerals in your food, especially calcium, are absorbed.

That’s why we so strongly emphasize the importance of eating a healthy breakfast.

Finally, anyone with ADD must avoid all trans fats. University research has demonstrated that trans fats promote ADD/ADHD (attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder) in children.

Colds and Flu

Sally personally attributes her own escape from the flu the last few years to the addition of coconut oil to her diet. Flu is caused by a virus that has a lipid coating, and coconut oil makes this type of pathogenic virus disintegrate. (Good bacteria have a coating made of sugar molecules and are impervious to the effects of coconut oil; in fact, coconut oil encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria.)

Many studies have shown that adequate vitamin A is critical for fighting infection, so the coconut oil/cod-liver oil combination is ideal for preventing bacterial infections. Bone broths also help protect against infection, while lacto-fermented foods provide good bacteria that, along with plentiful vitamin C, fight the pathogenic ones.

Constipation

It’s well known that dietary fiber is important for colon health. In our diet, desiccated coconut, vegetables, and whole grains provide fiber.

However, consuming fiber is not a panacea. While fiber does speed elimination time, high-fiber foods that have not been prepared correctly can irritate and even damage the villi (tiny structures that absorb nutrients) in the small intestine, leading to poor absorption. (This is why adding Metamucil, a source of insoluble fiber, to the normal American diet will not heal constipation in the long term.)

A better strategy is to encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria in the bowel by consuming coconut oil and lacto-fermented foods and beverages. In fact, although they eat no fiber at all, the Eskimos maintain bowel health by eating fermented foods.

Denis Burkett, a British physician who lived and worked in Africa during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, noted that Africans eating their traditional diet high in grains and tubers had between one and three substantial bowel movements every day, and that the time between ingestion and excretion was 24 hours or less. He saw a connection between this ease of elimination and the Africans’ very low incidence of bowel diseases such as hemorrhoids, appendicitis, colitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, gallbladder disease, and colon cancer. Dr. Burkett attributed this robust bowel health to the large amount of fiber in the native African diet.

While fiber consumption is helpful, there are many other traditional foods in the African diet that support intestinal health. Africans eat ample fermented foods, use bitter vegetables and herbs (which stimulate the bile and therefore help digest fats), and consume many foods rich in vitamin D, such as insects and dried shrimp (vitamin D is also important for colon health).

Burkett did not realize that Africans traditionally prepared grains and other high-fiber foods like cassava by soaking and fermenting them. Proper elimination depends not only on high-fiber food, but on your diet as a whole, and how you prepare your foods.

Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

A high-fat diet that includes coconut oil helps regulate blood sugar levels. Before the discovery of insulin, the
only
treatment for diabetes was a diet consisting largely of fat. Since trans fats interfere with insulin receptors in the cells, replacing trans fats with coconut oil and other healthy fats is the number one measure for preventing and reversing the insulin resistance so characteristic of type II diabetes. As for type I diabetes (the autoimmune type), eating the traditional foods recommended in Health Recovery will not necessarily heal a defective pancreas, but it will go a long way toward preventing the side effects of diabetes, such as kidney and retinal problems and impaired tissue repair.

Beyond that, our three-pronged approach to healthy fat nutrition will also help those with Syndrome X (also known as pre-diabetes), a combination of health problems associated with type II diabetes, including obesity and hypertension, insulin resistance, and stroke. Here’s why:

• Replacing trans fats with good traditional fats will prevent trans fats from interfering with insulin receptors.
  
• Without vitamin D, your body cannot adequately use insulin, and thus may release excess amounts of it, leading to glucose intolerance, the inability to properly metabolize glucose. Research has found that low levels of vitamin D in the blood are associated with high levels of insulin. This means that the more vitamin D you have circulating in your blood, the less insulin your body releases and the better your blood sugar balance will be. And since in some people vitamin D deficiency inhibits insulin production, vitamin D may protect against type I as well as type II diabetes.
  

A number of studies have tested vitamin D–rich cod-liver oil with both insulin-dependent (type I) and non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes. For both conditions, cod-liver oil helped balance blood sugar and improved markers of the disease. Vitamin A in cod-liver oil also promotes wound healing and protects the retina, both problem areas for diabetics.

The traditional foods in our diet are especially important since those suffering from diabetes cannot make any vitamin A from carotenes (vitamin A precursors found in vegetables) and therefore need more animal-source vitamin A from cod-liver oil and the other animal foods.

Emotional Problems: Anxiety, Depression, Mood Swings

You may be surprised to learn how profoundly your diet can influence your moods—both for better and for worse. That’s why it’s important to know not only which foods can help, but also which ones to avoid.

Anxiety

Anxiety is also related to adrenal imbalance. On this diet, the coconut oil/ cod-liver oil synergy protects you from the energy dives caused by low blood sugar and also helps your body make the adrenal hormones needed to deal with stress.

Here’s how it works: As you know, to produce key adrenal hormones, your body needs cholesterol (found in animal foods) and vitamin A (found in cod-liver oil). This combination builds stress hormones while soothing your nerves (since cod-liver oil’s EPA and DHA support nerve function). And as we’ve said, the saturated fats you’ll enjoy on this diet (including those in dairy products and meats as well as in coconut oil) promote optimal utilization of these omega-3 fatty acids.

Many people have noticed that a sense of calmness ensues from adopting a diet that includes plenty of good-quality saturated fat at every meal. That’s because these fats help stabilize the blood sugar; when you eat too many carbohydrates and not enough fat, your blood sugar may drop too low between meals, contributing to a feeling of anxiety.

Again, preparation methods are important. The various B vitamins protect us from mental disorders, depression, and anxiety. By soaking whole grains, we greatly increase the amount of B vitamins they contain. In addition, taking nutritional yeast, rich in B vitamins, can help with all conditions of anxiety, depression, and mood swings.

What to Avoid
Avoiding harmful substances in your diet is just as critical as eating the right foods.

• Trans fats:
  Trans fats
  inhibit
  the production of stress hormones from cholesterol, so removing these from the diet is another big step toward calmness.
  
• Additives:
  Once you eliminate processed foods from your diet, you’ll no longer be consuming the many additives they contain. Additives like
  

MSG, aspartame, and artificial flavors actually are nerve toxins that can contribute to nervous disorders and stress.

Depression

The nutrients in cod-liver oil have a proven record against depression. In fact, some studies indicate that cod-liver oil works better than drugs like Prozac in warding off the blues! This effect is enhanced by its synergy with coconut oil.

When your blood sugar drops too low, you’re more vulnerable to depression. Eating plenty of fat, including coconut oil, with each meal helps prevent this perilous dip from occurring between meals. So coconut oil’s ability to boost your metabolism and prevent hunger between meals also helps relieve depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder
Vitamin D–rich cod-liver oil, together with coconut oil, can also help this condition. In one study, subjects treated with vitamin D recovered completely from depression, while a second group treated only with exposure to light for two hours a day did not.

Mood Swings

Plentiful fat in this diet minimizes mood swings by helping stabilize blood sugar ups and downs. And many studies have found that the omega-3 fatty acids in cod-liver oil can relieve symptoms of bipolar disorder (manic depression) by providing the brain with the nutrients it needs to function properly.