Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (3 page)

The nutrients that influence these health factors include vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids (EFAs), fiber, water, plant nutrients (phytonutrients), and amino acids. Imbalances in any of these factors and insufficient nourishment will affect how you look and feel. They can contribute to weight gain, skin issues, low energy, mood swings, sexual performance, headaches, irritability, and a myriad of aches and pains, not to mention greater susceptibility to degenerative illnesses and diseases.

I lived on pot noodles and cheese on toast, I prided myself on not touching anything green, and the only exercise I got was dancing the weekends away. Then a work colleague recommended your book, I did the questionnaire and it suddenly dawned on me that while I thought I was a healthy 20-plus-year-old, I was actually neglecting and abusing my body. If I didn’t do anything about it soon it would only be a matter of time before my body would start letting me down. Small signs were already there—lack of energy, chronic fatigue, bloating, mood swings, irregular bowel movements, etc., and I am convinced that if I hadn’t made the necessary changes that these symptoms would have gotten worse and I probably would have eventually been plagued by potentially more serious illnesses. For me, it was about making small changes and understanding more about food and what the body needs to function at its best. With time I have been able to introduce most types of vegetables to my diet, I’m more conscious of drinking more water, I try to exercise three times a week, and more recently I have started juicing, which I’m loving…I’ll know I’ve made it when I start sprouting my own seeds…

Your Key Health Factors

Digestion

Yes, I am always going on about good digestion. I’m not going to apologize for it! Because I see more health problems linked to the way the body digests and absorbs food than anything else. If you’ve never given your digestion a second thought then it’s time to do your body a favor.

Put simply, digestion involves the breakdown of food molecules for absorption into your body, thanks to acid produced in the stomach and digestive enzymes released in your saliva and by the pancreas. Get the process off to the best start by always chewing your food until it becomes liquid. Don’t inhale your meals!

Raw foods contain their own enzymes, so eat more of them to give your digestive system a helping hand. My simple rule is every time you eat something cooked, eat some noncooked food with it. (Never tried raw broccoli? You’re missing out.)

A good gut diet is fiber-rich with plenty of water. Too much processed white sugar, refined foods, red meat, dairy products, and processed foods overload and weaken digestion and invite excess yeast and unfriendly bacteria to make themselves at home in your gut. See the A to Z section for detailed entries on Bloating, Indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Crohn’s Disease.

Blood Sugar/Energy

If you do not balance your blood-sugar levels, then every day you are putting your body and mind on a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. And you will probably be a bit of a moody so and so to boot. There are many health problems, big and small, that can be traced to a blood-sugar imbalance caused by food choices.

A quick Gillian McKeith masterclass:

Through the day, your body requires a steady supply of glucose in the bloodstream for mental and physical energy. When we eat complex carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables, beans, pulses, and whole grains, they release glucose into the bloodstream at a nice steady rate. But refined and sugary foods (such as chocolate, cookies, cakes, fizzy drinks, sweets, or white pasta/rice/bread) break down very quickly and cause an unwanted, rapid rise in blood sugar. This prompts a surge of insulin to remove the sugar, followed by a dramatic drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia). That’s when you can get the afternoon energy slumps, feel shaky, tired, confused, and, surprise surprise, crave more sugar. This yo-yoing causes a host of everyday symptoms and can lead to significant health problems including heart disease and type-2 diabetes.

It sounds complicated, but fortunately the solution is super simple. Just eat regular meals and snacks, never skip breakfast, and avoid refined or sugary foods, caffeine, and alcohol. No one who has made this change has ever said to me, “You know what, Gillian, I think I prefer how I felt before!”

Food Sensitivity

Food sensitivity is a twenty-first-century epidemic. It has been reported that up to one in three people suffers from unknown food allergies or intolerances. Why unknown? Because symptoms don’t always kick in immediately after eating an offending food—they often creep up over a day or two. So you could live for years without realizing a particular food doesn’t suit you. Plus, if you’ve always felt a certain way, you won’t know there’s anything wrong. When people discover a food intolerance and eliminate it, they feel truly healthy for the first time in their life. It’s a joy to see.

Allergies or intolerances of certain foods and chemicals don’t just affect your digestive system (although that can take a real bruising). Any number of health factors can be affected, causing all-around illness. Often, it is weakened immunity that is the root cause of a food sensitivity.

The most common food culprits are wheat, dairy, and oranges. Others include soy, shellfish, peanuts, and yeast. Improving digestive function, enhancing immunity, and generally supporting health overall will definitely reduce your chance of suffering a food sensitivity. And rotate foods regularly—in other words don’t eat the same thing day in, day out. See the A to Z section for detailed entries on Food Allergies.

Heart and Circulation

Made up of your heart and the system of arteries, veins, and blood, the cardiovascular system circulates blood around your body, delivering nutrients and oxygen and carrying away carbon dioxide and waste products.

A few people may have a family history of cardiovascular problems but for the vast majority (including those with genetic factors), risk can be controlled by lifestyle. Many use family history as an excuse to not even attempt a healthy lifestyle. My father had heart problems and would have been the first to admit that he brought these on himself through 50-odd years of chain smoking. His last message to me was: please tell everyone you possibly can to never, ever pick up a cigarette. He would also be first in line to tell you that so many fantastic foods and herbs can make an almighty difference to your quality of life when you have heart issues.

Nourish your heart with foods low in saturated fats, sugar, and refined carbohydrates and high in complex carbohydrates, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Drink plenty of fresh water but minimize or eliminate alcohol, tea, and coffee. See the A to Z section for detailed entries on Heart Disease, Atherosclerosis, High Blood Pressure, and High Cholesterol and High Homocysteine.

Hormones

We’re all at the mercy of our hormones—and not just women at certain times of the month. So men, this bit’s for you, too! Hormones are chemical messengers that travel in the blood to give instructions to certain cells. Their balance affects how you feel, how you age, your sexual performance, and how you deal with stress.

Good balance means getting enough essential fatty acids, fiber-rich foods, and being well hydrated. Hormone balance can be disturbed by unstable blood sugar, an inability to metabolize fatty acids, and malabsorption. Exposure to estrogenic compounds present in dairy products and red meats, and soft plastics (often used to package food) and pesticides that leach into foods, are also harmful—another good reason to eat organic foods. Alcohol and caffeine play havoc with hormones, as does deep-fried or burnt food, hydrogenated fat (in margarine and many processed foods), and most saturated fats (in meat, cheese, and processed foods). See page
99
for information on male hormones, page
104
for information on female hormones.

Thyroid/Metabolism

The thyroid is one powerful organ. It controls how quickly your body burns calories and uses energy. If you don’t have enough thyroid hormones, your body slows down—I’m talking blood pressure, circulation, energy, metabolism, and temperature. If you make too many, it speeds up and every system goes into overdrive.

For a healthy thyroid, you need iodine and the amino acid tyrosine. Seaweed is a good source. And choose foods that include selenium, calcium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and B-complex. Good old essential fatty acids are also vital, along with making sure you get adequate supplies of complete protein.
Now here’s something you never thought you’d hear me say: much as it pains me to utter these words, it is possible for raw cruciferous vegetables to affect an already wobbly thyroid. So, while broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale are fabulous foods, if you have had thyroid problems diagnosed by your GP, eat less of them for a little while until it’s all sorted out. And always make sure you cook them, as this will reduce any effects on your thyroid. Invest in a water filter—fluoride and chlorine, both present in tap water, aren’t thyroid friends (use a nonfluoride toothpaste, too). And get moving—exercise is brilliant for your thyroid and overall metabolism.

Mind and Mood

Your brain is like a complex chemistry kit, and if the balance isn’t quite right, mind and mood problems can result. You may have heard of neurotransmitters, chemicals that the brain uses to communicate with the rest of the body. The main ones are called dopamine, adrenalin, noradrenalin, and serotonin, and they’re made entirely from molecules derived from food, air, and water. Poor nutrition and lifestyle can easily upset your brain-chemical balance.

The brain requires a steady supply of glucose to function properly, so my section on blood-sugar balance is key here, too. In particular, steer clear of caffeine and alcohol. You can argue as much as you like that they perk you up, but in the long term they will mess up your mood—believe me! Swap your cuppa for a thirst-quenching glass of water instead, as good hydration is the best brain booster. See page
156
for brain foods.

Detoxification

Some people might say they don’t need to detox, because our bodies do it naturally. But in today’s modern world of pollution, radiation, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and food additives and preservatives (just to get me started!), our bodies are literally under attack. So let me help you detox.

The main detoxification organs are the liver, kidneys, lungs, bowels, and skin. Everyone is different, but twice a day for bowel movements is ideal. A congested bowel will exhaust your energy, and if your system is clogged up, it will soon show in how you look and feel. The bottom line, if you’ll excuse the pun, is you need to make sure you’re getting all the toxins out, and the best way to do that is through plenty of fiber like brown rice, fruit (yes, prunes are fantastic), and beans (no surprise). Red meat and processed meats contain no fiber; and foods high in sugar or yeast can feed the bad bacteria in your colon, leading to irregular bowel movements. Eggs can also be constipating for some people.

When our toxin load becomes too great, it’s our poor liver that takes the brunt. Look after your liver by limiting your exposure to toxins (buy organic, avoid smoking, chemical products, pollution, and alcohol) and help your body eliminate those that do get in. To neutralize toxins, especially free radicals, get your antioxidants—vitamins A, C, E, beta-carotene, zinc, and selenium. Detox your gut by adding beneficial bacteria to overpower the bad. Miso soups, sauerkraut, and foods high in B vitamins can help to encourage good bacteria gut growth.

Get into the habit of skin brushing. Use a natural-bristle brush, on dry skin, and sweep it all over your body, toward your heart. This gets your lymph moving and speeds drainage—great if you’re prone to water retention or cellulite, too.

Stress

Humans are incredibly adaptable—we’re designed to be able to handle stress. But if a stressful situation gets to be too much, or we lose the natural resources needed to cope, it can harm our health. Most people, when they make better food choices and modify their lifestyles, find they can handle stress more easily.

It is important if we are stressed or failing to deal well with stress that we eat nutrient-dense foods. If it doesn’t do you good, don’t waste time eating it! Think fresh fruit and veggies (raw juices, too), raw nuts and seeds, and whole grains. Celery, cabbage, and cucumber are all real stress busters. So next time you’re feeling stressed, don’t chew your nails, chew a stick of celery. A pot of lettuce soup can de-stress in minutes. A stressed body needs vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, potassium, and manganese.

Doing regular, gentle exercise is essential, as is finding time to relax each day. “I haven’t got time” is no excuse. Learn some deep-breathing exercises to restore calm and control. And make a decent night’s sleep—every night—your priority. See page
373
for more detailed nutritional information on combating and preventing stress.