Originally published May 2 2011
Do not panic - Just know your nutrition
by Angelika (Angie) Stehle
(NaturalNews) Rumours are circulating regarding a potential European ban on natural herbal health products (The European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products, THMPD). People, who prefer natural over pharmaceutical medicine, are rightfully concerned. There is no reason to panic however. Food is essential and cannot be banned. Ancient Hippocrates' idea of letting food be thy medicine and letting medicine be thy food comes into its own in this situation. It's a matter of understanding what will benefit and heal the body (and what won't), and then being consistent in applying what you know. That way you may well have an edge over others, who take many expensive supplements (ignorant of the superiority of nutrients within their naturally occurring packages) and who are uninformed about important lifestyle facts.
When confronted with discomfort or illness, most people tend to look for a pill or tablet, pharmaceutical or natural, to fix what's bothering them. Aware of the side effects of pharmaceutical medication, many wisely veer towards natural remedies. In health food stores shelves with supplements promise better health. Barely obvious however, supplements come in categories: 1) chemical/synthetic (= dangerous), 2) natural/isolated (= nearly useless), and 3) natural with cofactors (= beneficial). The 4th category consists of the original fruits / vegetables / herbs etc., containing living nutrients with health-giving properties (=superior). This is the real-life counterpart compared to products consisting of dry powder surrounded by gelatin capsules.
95% of supplements today are made from synthetic, chemical compounds manufactured in laboratories, copying molecular structures of natural vitamins etc. Humans however are designed to absorb nutrients directly from living whole food sources.
To illustrate the differences: 1) If you take synthetic Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), you believe you benefit your immune system. But during production of synthetic vitamins, artificial and/or toxic ingredients such as coal tar, dyes, and preservatives are often added. 2) Taking natural isolated nutrients without the co-factors that metabolise the vitamin, the body must locate the necessary co-factors elsewhere, namely in the body tissues / organs / bones / muscles, which depletes the body. So they are not nearly as useful to the body as 3) L-ascorbic acid with bio-flavonoids = a complete vitamin C. At the same time, 4) the real thing, such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, kiwis, guavas, strawberries, red or green sweet bell peppers, raw brussels sprouts, or kale, are nutritionally more valuable, and their Vitamin C can be better absorbed. So "less (in milligrams) is more", because it's more effective.
Few individuals look at lifestyle changes as being potentially instrumental towards better health. While "superfoods" (such as blueberries, green tea, turmeric, pomegranates, walnuts, almonds, sea vegetables, etc.) have a high content of phytonutrients, antioxidants, anthocyanins, vitamins, manganese, and dietary fibre and are rightfully praised for their health-giving properties, knowing what to include in daily meals - and especially what to leave out - is vital.
If you make sure that you eat a variety of only plant-based food (no meat, fish, eggs, milk products), organic where possible, and 80% of it raw - including sprouts - for enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients and if you drink at least one mainly green chlorophyll-rich fresh juice per day, you're on the right track. Take in lots of really clean water. Eliminate sugars, and avoid chemicals in food (and in household and personal care products). Incorporate lots of fresh raw garlic in your diet, and drink wheatgrass juice regularly. That way you keep detoxing the body and continually give it vital valuable nutrition.
Plus choose optimism for your mind and soul. Then your immune system can do its job: it will keep you well.
Sources:
http://www.hippocrateshealthlifestyle.com/25...
http://www.wheatgrassforlife.com/
http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01...
http://www.aliveraw.com/Articles/Optimism-A-...
http://www.aliveraw.com/Articles/What-is-in-...
http://www.aliveraw.com/Articles/Synthetic-S...
About the author
Angelika (Angie) Stehle is a Natural Health author, a Naturopathic Researcher and Practitioner, and a happy cancer survivor, as well as an artist. See also www.naturmedi.de and www.healthyoption.page.TL as well as www.beautifulart.page.TL Her e-book called My Research and her 12-steps Longevity Programme that she uses to treat cancer and other serious diseases can be found on www.healthyoption.page.TL in the Natural Health section.
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