By Steven Hefferon, CMT, CTP, CPRS
Anyone looking to achieve optimal health has to consider
nutrition as the single most important ingredient for success.
In a perfect world, all of our nutrition should come from the
food we eat. Supplementation should not even be an issue.
In the real world, however, most of the foods we eat are
riddled with fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and hormones -
not to mention that they are often hydrated with polluted water.
In addition, an ever-growing percentage of our food comes
from other countries, which don't always have the best
inspection track record.
And if all that weren't bad enough, the natural nutrient
value of the soil that produces these foods has also
been diminishing over the years, a trend that will only
continue. This is why it's necessary for us to take a hard
look at our diets and make a decision about whether we
may need supplements.
As you can see, proper nutrition nowadays is not that
easy; it does take some time to educate yourself. By
proper nutrition, I mean eating clean and safe foods
that have the nutrients your body requires to get and
stay healthy.
Recipe for relief
Your two main purposes for eating a healthy diet and
taking supplements are to give your body what it needs
to heal itself and to minimize the level of inflammation
that is in your body. The inflammation is what is causing
your pain.
Drugs that fight pain do little, if anything, to help the body
heal itself. In fact, some of these drugs can have severe
negative side effects, so please consider eating right as
an alternative.
If you are suffering from any form of back pain or sciatica,
I have a recipe for relief. This is a vary basic look at how
foods and supplements can help heal the body.
Water: Some people believe that we get enough water
from our foods and don't need to drink much of it.
Others believe that we need to drink 50 to 100 ounces
per day - every day. Truth is, your body will tell you what
it needs; you just need to know how to listen. Here are
some signs that you may need to be drinking more water:
constipation, muscle spasm or cramping, and darker urine.
If you're taking any medication, or if your blood pressure
is not stable - certainly if it's too high - you may not want
to drink lots of water.
Protein: Proteins are the building blocks of our bodies.
Without an adequate supply of quality protein, your body
will actually steal protein from itself to meet its basic
needs. This is a sure way to slow down the healing
process. There are probably 10,000 theories on which
are the best proteins and how much a person should get
each day.
In my opinion, a safe and healthy amount to shoot for is
3 to 7 grams per pound of body weight. For example,
a 100-pound person should get 30 to 70 grams of protein
per day.
A personal note: I do not eat soy anymore because it
has phytoestrogens, which are very bad for the man tool.
Phytoestrogens can also cause hormonal imbalances,
among a number of other bad things, in some women.
Instead, I eat proteins that come from the top of the
food chain. Most chickens peck the ground and eat grains,
dirt, and their own excrement. I only eat free-range beef,
lamb, and wild salmon.
My favorite protein source is fish - but never farm-raised.
Farm-raised fish swim around in their own excrement
and are fed man-made pellets fashioned out of who
knows what. In fact, farm-raised fish have a higher
Inflammation Factor (IF) than chocolate ice cream.
Fat: Fat is a critical component to a healthy diet.
The question, of course, is: Which fats should you be
eating? As a rule, anything that is hydrogenated or made
from corn, cottonseed, or soy is not going to help you at
all. This is also true of fats cooked at high temperatures.
I eat fats from fish, beef or lamb. I cook with butter and
coconut fat, which I highly recommend. It adds a
distinctive sweet flavor and tolerates higher temperatures
much better than most oils.
Carbohydrates: Yes, carbs are important. And, no, they
don't have to make you fat. You just need to know the
difference between simple and complex carbohydrates.
Simple carbs break down very quickly and are found in
soda, juice, and candy. They usually go under the names
"high fructose corn syrup" or "dextrose." Simple carbs
can cause an increase in inflammation. Complex carbs
break down much slower and are mainly found in whole
grains, legumes, and vegetables. Simple rule of thumb:
Anything white - rice, bread, etc. - is not likely to do
anything but fill your belly.
Fiber: If you are not getting at least 35 grams of fiber a
day, which very few people can do on a regular basis,
you will need to supplement.
If you don't eat it, supplement it!
That's my rule, and that's why I take all kinds of
supplements. If you don't get enough of the nutrients I
listed above from the foods you eat, then your only
choice is to use supplements to make up the difference.
Otherwise, your internal systems will try to steal these
nutrients from another part of your body - much the way
it does with protein, water, or calcium.
The supplement industry has grown tremendously over
the last decade as scientists have learned more about
what our bodies require to get healthy and stay healthy.
As a result of this research, new compounds have been
formulated and more are being found every year.
I encourage you to do your own research on each of
these products. Meanwhile, here's my quick-start guide:
Mutli-Vitamin/Mineral: I recommend that you take a
complete multi-vitamin. Because vitamins and minerals
work together, there needs to be synergy between them.
For example, calcium needs magnesium, vitamin A needs
vitamin B, vitamin B needs C, and so on. They all work
together, each doing the job the other cannot; and each
supplying the body what the other does not.
Having said that, I believe it is best to take a multi in
liquid form because of something called "bioavailability".
This simply means that the amount of a substance the
body can utilize is higher via a liquid than it is by way of
a capsule or tablet.
Colon Cleanser: Since it's so hard to get 35 grams of
fiber a day from food, one tablespoon of supplemental
fiber daily in juice is the answer. It has been said that if
you only poop one time a day, you have up to eight meals
left over in your colon. This is not healthy for a number of
reasons, not the least of which is the pressure on your
spine.
Digestive Enzymes: Do you ever feel as if you're in a
coma after lunch - like your body is working overtime on
your meal? A full-spectrum digestive enzyme will help
break down your lunch and improve your digestion,
making the nutrients in your meal more readily available
to your body.
Systemic Enzymes: Systemic enzymes are different
than digestive enzymes. Systemic enzymes work outside
the gut and are proteolytic, meaning they break down
proteins. They also work on excess fibrin and scar tissue
throughout the body, improving blood flow and removing
any metabolic wastes, which will minimize inflammation
and pain.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin: These two sulfates
are found naturally in the body. Glucosamine comes
from amino sugar, and it helps in the formation of
cartilage at the joint. Chondroitin is what gives cartilage
its elasticity. Both of these have been studied extensively,
and they show a great deal of promise. What is important
is the dosage, which should be based on your body weight.
Time to do your homework
I have only scratched the surface of how nutrition and
supplements can help you. It's now up to you to educate
yourself further on this topic. I've given you some basic
information, so you will at least have a good idea of what
to look for.
Remember that in order to perform at its peak or to
overcome an injury, your body has to work much harder.
It will also have higher nutritional requirements as it tries
to heal itself and overcome the symptoms of chronic
inflammation. Those requirements will depend on your
specific condition.
To learn more about how you can get lasting relief from
your Back Pain, we suggest you read the latest copy of
our "The 7 Day Back Pain Cure"- book. You can get it
for free here http://www.losethebackpain.com/
Hope this will help,
Jorma Persson
No comments:
Post a Comment