How To Use Dietary Supplements. Part 2

How to use Lecithin. Other research workers have also recently shown that soy bean Lecithin is able to prevent blood clotting in the arteries. Wherever possible add at least two teaspoonfuls of flavored fresh brewer's yeast to skim milk, cereal or whole wheat germ daily. The use of an added two tablespoonfuls or one ounce of a fresh liver powder extract to the daily diet is invaluable for good nutrition. Both of these can be purchased at most drug stores and at all special diet food stores. Many of my patients have prepared a "Molotov" cocktail by mixing both the yeast and liver powders in tomato juice or fruit juice. Drink this "cocktail" before meals. You will often find that it acts truly like "dynamite" in producing energy and vigor! In the course of our research we have also found that Lecithin apparently has the ability to increase the cholesterol esterases in the human blood stream. These esterases are enzymes, or activators, that aid in the metabolizing of fats. Years ago, we found that these cholesterol esterases are deficient in patients with active atherosclerosis. Lecithin has other remarkable therapeutic qualities as well. One that we are just beginning to explore is its ability to increase the gamma globulin content of the blood proteins. These gamma globulins are known to be associated with nature's protective force against the attacks of various infections in the body. In the blood stream of patients who used Lecithin as recommended, we found evidence of increased immunity against virus infections. This is of special interest, since scientists have reported finding this Lecithin-induced immunity against pneumonia. Other studies conducted by various American medical scientists have indicated that Lecithin is also beneficial in the treatment and prevention of a variety of disease, including rheumatic carditis, diseases of the liver, anemia, kidney disorders, and metabolic disturbances of the skin, such as psoriasis. Patients who successfully followed the oil-free, soybean Lecithin program continually volunteered the information that they felt a sense of well-being. They said they had more vitality, did not grow tired so quickly as they had formerly, and were in better general health than before.

These subjective responses are always to be viewed in the light of "suggestion" or the inspirational quality that patients receive from treatment itself. Nevertheless, after more than a decade of careful analysis and evaluation of results, this author is certain that Lecithin is of one of our most powerful weapons against disease. It is an especially valuable bulwark against development of "hardening of the arteries" and all the complications of heart, brain, and kidney that follow. In some instances, the cosmetic effect of Lecithin did as much for the patients' mental outlook as it did for their physical well-being. For example, Mrs. U., a housewife of 45, had always been ashamed of the flat plaques of yellowish hue that appeared on her skin owing to fatty deposits. Soon after she began adding Lecithin to her diet, as prescribed, the patches began to disappear. Eventually they vanished altogether. Mrs. U. was more delighted with what she saw happening in the mirror than with the idea that the same thing might be going on with the fatty deposits inside her arteries. Another patient of mine, a 45-year old baker, suffered so acutely from angina (pain in the chest caused by interference with the blood supply to the heart muscle) that he was unable to work. Like Mrs. U., he also had a number of yellowish brown plaques under his eyes, where fatty deposits had appeared. When I took his cholesterol level, it was found to be high in the abnormal range. Upon my recommendation, this baker followed the low-cholesterol, low-fat diet given in this book, and supplemented it with the prescribed amounts of Lecithin and high-potency vitamins. Within a few months he was able to return to work, free of anginal pain. His cholesterol level was lowered substantially, and the xanthalasma (fatty plaques) disappeared from his face. As is the case in all foods, vitamins, or nutritional supplements, there are occasional persons who find that Lecithin does not agree with them. But in such a case, a substitute can be used. In figuring calorie counts, allow 60 calories for each table-spoonful of Lecithin.

How to use soya oil. Oil extracted from the soybean" provides another valuable nutritional supplement. It contains a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, and is the most healthful of all food oils. Hundreds of millions of people living in Asia have used it for centuries. Perhaps this is the protective factor in their food that has prevented heart disease and atherosclerosis, which are comparatively rare in Asia. Recent research has shown that unsaturated fats or fatty acids, such as those found in soybean oil, may act as "blocking" agents to keep harmful fats out of the blood. The term "unsaturated" is used by scientists to mean that the fat molecule still has room to add onto its structure additional molecules. Consequently, it is lighter in weight, and is more easily handled by the blood. When a fat is "saturated" it has achieved its maximum weight. Taken into the bloodstream, it probably tends to "settle out" or to form a "bulge," depositing part of the fat in the artery lining or wall. These fatty deposits tend to block passage of blood through the vessel and may eventually plug it up altogether, resulting in a heart attack or stroke. As a rule, you can regard "soft" fats - those that are liquid at room temperature - as unsaturated. They include most vegetable oils, such as olive, cottonseed, corn, and mineral oils. Coconut oil is an exception, being saturated even though it is a liquid. The harmful or "solid" fats are those that are hard at room temperature: butter, lard, oleomargarine, suet, vegetable shortenings that have been hydrogenated, yolks of eggs, butterfat in milk, cream and cheeses (other than cottage cheese). Soybean oil is now being stocked by many food markets and all special diet food stores. If it is not available at your grocer's, he or your druggist can order it for you. It should be used in place of rich, fatty prepared oil dressings for your salads. For those who must watch their calorie count, allow 135 calories for each tablespoonful of soya oil.

How to use vitamins. Evidence that many diseases could be caused by faulty diet has been available for centuries. As far back as 1753, a British naval surgeon named Capt. James Lind discovered that scurvy, which plagued seamen on long voyages and sometimes decimated entire crews, could be cured by eating fresh lemons. A century later, another naval doctor, who was an admiral of the Japanese fleet, learned that beri-beri, the wasting disease so prevalent among Japanese sailors, could be eliminated by change of diet. Other medical researchers reported similar noteworthy results in curing other deficiency diseases, including rickets. But their discoveries were largely ignored. As late as the turn of the century, physicians of good educational background and wide experience were still blaming rickets on various causes - including infection, lack of proper thyroid function, and insufficient exercise. The first widespread attention that the medical profession focused on the subject was in 1906 when an English physician, Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, published the results of experiments that pointed clearly to the existence of vitamins. Sir Frederick fed laboratory rats on a diet of protein fats and carbohydrates, allowing each of them plenty of this food to grow satisfactorily. Yet instead of flourishing, they fell ill. When he added small amounts of whole milk to their diet, however, all of them quickly recovered and began to grow at a normal rate. This convinced the scientist that a healthful diet requires not only adequate amounts of proteins and carbohydrates, but some unknown but important ingredients. It remained for a Polish biochemist named Casimir Funk, who carried on similar research at the Lister Institute in London, to give the unknown ingredient a name. He coined the word "vitamin," still in use today. But exactly what are vitamins? At first medical scientists thought they were bio-catalysts, substances that promote chemical reactions in the body without taking a direct part in these reactions. But today it is evident that vitamins often do more than merely aid in chemical reactions. Some of them may actually be substances used structurally by the body. Of the 13 vitamins usually considered essential for a healthy body, we are most concerned here with the group known as B Complex, and with Vitamins A and C. In B Complex, we have a number of substances fundamentally necessary for normal health. They are vital for normal metabolism, and are very valuable as "lipotropic" or fat-combatting agents. In addition to helping our bodies handle fats, they also "spark" our hormones and aid in preventing diseases of the nervous system.

Vitamin A, a yellow compound related to substances found in carrots and leafy vegetables, is essential for growth, many bodily functions in the skin and blood vessels, and for resistance against colds and infections. Vitamin C, which should supplement the diet given in these pages in substantial quantity, is a crystalline substance easily destroyed by cooking. For that reason cooked foods do not provide a very good source of it. It is needed for formation of connective tissue and red blood cells. A deficiency of this vitamin may be partly responsible for dental caries and infections of the gums, loss of appetite, anemia, and undernutrition. In addition to these important vitamins, a number of minerals are also essential in our diet, especially a diet aimed at preventing and reducing atherosclerosis. For that reason, a rigid adherence to the menus and instructions given in this book is important.