Rule#17 Rule of Water (RUWA)

The Rule

            There are two things to remember when it comes to water: (1) it's the most important substance to all life on this planet and (2) our bodies are made up of more than 70% water. Two thirds of the weight of the body is water and about 75% of the protoplasm- the material surrounding the nuclei of the cells, is composed of water. In the body, water transports food elements in the cells. As human beings we owe it to ourselves to drink the best, the cleanest, the most nourishing water of all for verily water is life.

Distilled, reverse osmosis, spring, bottled, tap, mineral, tea, coffee, carbonated drinks, fresh juice etc -- they are all water. But is all water the same or even similar?  Is one better than another? In this chapter, we will look at the nutritional and chemical properties of water and try to conclude the best water for our bodies.

            We will look at both the nutrition and chemical properties of water. We will simply categorize water based on the nutrition and chemical properties inside it. For example:

Type of water	Nutrition and chemical property	Health property
Carbonated drinks	A lot of sugar, acidic, some caffeine	Bad for health. Try to avoid or only take sparingly.
Coffee	Antioxidant, caffeine	Bad for health. Try to avoid or only take sparingly.
Distilled, reverse osmosis	no calorie, no minerals	Ok. Lack of minerals is not so good for our health.
Normal tea	Sugar, antioxidant, Alkaline	Ok
Green tea	No sugar, antioxidant, alkaline	Good
Spring, mineral water	Minerals	Excellent.
Fresh juice	Some sugar, vitamins and minerals, mostly alkaline	Excellent.
Alkaline ionized water, Zam Zam water	Minerals, Alkaline	Excellent.

            We can use the same rule established in the Rule of Food to determine whether a type of water is healthy or not. For example carbonated drinks are a clear example of unhealthy water. This is because carbonated drinks contain too much sugar. A can of carbonated drinks will have at least 7 teaspoon of sugar. As explained in RUFO, this caused an insulin spike and if carbonated drinks are taken regularly over the long run will burden the pancreas due to producing too much insulin. Furthermore, a can of carbonated drinks is acidic due to the sugar. By calculation, it will take around 32 glasses of alkaline water of pH 10 to neutralize 1 glass of carbonated drink of pH 2.5.      

            Even though fresh juice has some sugar, it is rich in vitamins and minerals. Most of the fresh juices are also alkaline. Therefore fresh juice is considered healthy water. Even when you eat fruits, what you consume is mainly the juice with the rich vitamins and minerals and some fibres. Please take note that only fresh juice is considered healthy water and not the processed juice. This is because when the juice is being processed it lost most of the nutritions and many processed juice has a lot of sugar contents. As a general rule, all processed food and drinks are considered unhealthy.

            Distilled water and Reverse Osmosis (RO) water is good because it does not have any harmful bacteria and chemical. The downside is that it also does not have the required minerals for our body. Since the natural water in this world is mineralized, logically our body also needs the natural mineralized water as the best water. Distilled water and RO water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances and minerals from the body and eliminate them. Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time). However drinking distilled and RO water will leach out the minerals in our body if consumed over the long run and therefore it is not good for our body.

            Spring and mineral water is considered better than distilled and RO water because it has the required minerals and it is also slightly alkaline. It also tastes better than distilled or RO water due to the minerals in it.

            Tea, green tea and coffee are considered good due to antioxidant inside it. However, coffee has caffeine inside it which is a form of drug as mentioned in the Rule of Food. Normal tea is also not so good because it has a lot of sugar inside it. The best form of tea is the green tea because it is antioxidant, has no sugar and is very alkaline. The Japanese who regularly consumed green tea has the highest life expectancy in this world.

            According to the book ‘Reverse Aging’ by Shang Wang, the best water is alkaline water. According to him, Alkaline ionic water is one of the most significant preventative health advances of our generation. It is a Powerful Antioxidant, which also provides our body with an abundance of oxygen which in turn gives us energy. It balances our body pH, which helps prevent disease because it is Alkaline. It is a Powerful Detoxifier, and a superior hydrator, up to 6 times more hydrating than conventional water.  

            When there are more H⁺ ions than OH^- ions in water, it is called acid water. Conversely, the water with more OH^- ions than H⁺ ions is called alkaline water. When their numbers are equal, the water is called neutral water. pH is the measurement of concentration of H⁺ ions. For example, a pH of 2.5 will have H⁺ concentration of 1x10^-2.5. At the same time, the concentration of OH^- will be 1x10^-11.5 because the sume of exponents for H⁺ ions than OH^- ions always add up to 14 in room temperature water (22^○ C). Therefore, a water of pH 7 will have equal number of H⁺ and OH^- ions and is considered neutral.  A water of pH>7 is considered alkaline.

            Our blood has a pH value ranging from 7.3 and 7.45. Due to abundance of OH^- ions in alkaline water, alkaline water will have excess oxygen compared to acidic water. Alkaline water has excess oxygen, not in the form of O₂, but in the form of OH^- which is very stable because it is mated with positively ionized alkaline minerals. Two of this hydroxyl ions can form a water molecule (H₂O) and give out one oxygen atom. The alkaline mineral is used to detoxify poisonous acid compounds and when that happens the hydroxyl ion is freed to supply excess oxygen to the cells.

            Typically water molecules group together in clusters of 10 to 13 molecules. Alkaline ionic water molecule clusters are split in half and grouped into 5 to 6 water molecules, thus it is reduced in size. The Alkaline ionic water molecule cluster has been changed from an irregular shape to a regular hexagonal shape that passes through our body tissue much more efficiently than conventional water. It is this smaller, regular shape that hydrates anything much more efficiently than conventional water.

            As discussed in the Rule of Food, regardless of the type of food we eat, our body will produce waste products which are acidic. The aim of dringkin alkaline water is so that our body could dispose more acidic waste products. Drinking alkaline water will allow our body to carry out waste product by the blood and disposed in liquid form. The best kind of water for this function is acid-free alkaline water, the water that neutralizes harmful acids and disposes of them safely while at the same time, it does not leach out valuable alkaline minerals such as Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium and Calcium.

            Alkaline water can be made through a water ionizer freely available in the market. The alkaline water made from this water ionizer is similar to true mountain spring water, for it is acid free alkaline water. According to Mr Shang Wang of ‘Reverse Aging’, drinking alkaline water will not only prevents degenerative diseases such as cancer,  heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, gout, kidney disease etc but it can also reverse the aging process in our body, making us younger.

What is this rule?

            This rule is to complement the Rule of Food. We need to drink water that is low in sugar and that is highly nutritious and alkaline. Drinking alkaline water is the best for your health. However, if you don’t have a water ionizer to make alkaline water, you can still drink alkaline water and eat alkaline food from the naturally alkaline forming food and mineral water.

             

How to implement this rule?

            Choose your drink carefully. Try to minimize drinks with too much sugar such as carbonated drinks, teh tarik, Nescafe tarik etc. Install a water filter at your house so that the water that you drink at your house is free from harmful substance. It is even better if you invest in alkaline water filter so that you are able to drink alkaline water everyday.

The benefit of this rule

             Similar to the Rule of Food, by choosing your drink carefully, you can make tremendous changes to your health. This is not surprising considering 70% of your body is made of water. Drinking quality water will indeed determine the quality of your health.

More about this rule

The best water in the world is Zam Zam water. Zam Zam is the water that heals. The only place on earth Zam Zam water comes from is a well in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Mecca is a holy place where all Muslims from around the world come to worship Allah by praying and performing Hajj and Umrah.  

According to Arab historians, the well has been in use for 4000 years. The well makes the site of a spring that miraculously has issued forth from a barren and desolate non perennial stream where the prophet Abraham (PBUH), under God’s command had left his wife Hajar and infant son Ismail (PBUH) on their own. When their water supply ran low, God in his grace gave them Zam Zam water from a well which has never been dried up until now even though the well is being used by millions of people every day.

Sodium and Potassium were manifold higher in Zam Zam water than in tap and solar pump water. Zam Zam water has an effect of removing toxins from the body thus making it helpful in speeding the process of curing cancer, food poisoning, burns, arthritis, eczema, thyroid dysfunction, mental confusion, high cholesterol, hypertension, SLE, haemorrhoids and generalised fatigue. Zam Zam water has a vitality that no other water has. It is a healer in every disease.

Four senior experts of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission have found the water of Zam Zam well to be scientifically superior to tap water or solar pump water. This was done through analysis and testing. It was found that Zam Zam water has a curative effect.

Alkaline in nature, the Zam Zam water can neutralise excess Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) found in the stomach and reduces heartburn. Iodide, Sulphate, Nitrate contents are much higher in Zam Zam water. It was revealed that contents of macro-nutrients like magnesium are also abundant in Zam Zam water.

Rule#16 Rule of Food (RUFO) - Part 4

As a guideline, the table below lists the common alkaline food and acidic food. The general rule to follow for the ratio of alkaline to acidic food is around 80%:20%.

Healthy Alkaline Foods - Eat lots of them! Vegetables Alfalfa Grass +29.3 Asparagus +1.3 Barley Grass +28.1 Brussels Sprouts +0.5 Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1 Cauliflower +3.1 Cayenne Pepper +18.8 Celery +13.3 Chives +8.3 Comfrey +1.5 Cucumber, Fresh +31.5 Dandelion +22.7 Dog Grass +22.6 Endive, Fresh +14.5 French Cut Green Beans +11.2 Garlic +13.2 Green Cabbage December Harvest +4.0 Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0 Kamut Grass +27.6 Lamb's Lettuce +4.8 Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2 Lettuce +2.2 Onion +3.0 Peas, Fresh +5.1 Peas, Ripe +0.5 Red Cabbage +6.3 Rhubarb Stalks +6.3 Savoy Cabbage +4.5 Shave Grass +21.7 Sorrel +11.5 Soy Sprouts +29.5 Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1 Spinach, March Harvest +8.0 Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5 Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4 Straw Grass +21.4 Watercress +7.7 Wheat Grass +33.8 White Cabbage +3.3 Zucchini +5.7 Root Vegetables Beet +11.3 Carrot +9.5 Horseradish +6.8 Kohlrabi +5.1 Potatoes +2.0 Red Radish +16.7 Rutabaga +3.1 Summer Black Radish +39.4 Turnip +8.0 White Radish (Spring) +3.1 Fruits Avocado (Protein) +15.6 Fresh Lemon +9.9 Limes +8.2 Tomato +13.6 Non-Stored Organic Grains And Legumes Buckwheat Groats +0.5 Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8 Lentils +0.6 Lima Beans +12.0 Soy Flour +2.5 Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0 Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans, Then Air Dried) +26.5 Soybeans, Fresh +12.0 Spelt +0.5 Tofu +3.2 White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1 Nuts Almonds +3.6 Brazil Nuts +0.5 Seeds Caraway Seeds +2.3 Cumin Seeds +1.1 Fennel Seeds +1.3 Flax Seeds +1.3 Pumpkin Seeds +5.6 Sesame Seeds +0.5 Sunflower Seeds +5.4 Wheat Kernel +11.4 Fats (Fresh, Cold-Pressed Oils) Borage Oil +3.2 Evening Primrose Oil +4.1 Flax Seed Oil +3.5 Marine Lipids +4.7 Olive Oil +1.0

Foods you should only consume moderately Fruits (In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation) Apricot -9.5 Bananna, Ripe -10.1 Bananna, Unripe +4.8 Black Currant -6.1 Blueberry -5.3 Cantaloupe -2.5 Cherry, Sour +3.5 Cherry, Sweet -3.6 Coconut, Fresh +0.5 Cranberry -7.0 Currant -8.2 Date -4.7 Fig Juice Powder -2.4 Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7 Grape, Ripe -7.6 Grapefruit -1.7 Italian Plum -4.9 Mandarin Orange -11.5 Mango -8.7 Orange -9.2 Papaya -9.4 Peach -9.7 Pear -9.9 Pineapple -12.6 Rasberry -5.1 Red Currant -2.4 Rose Hips -15.5 Strawberry -5.4 Tangerine -8.5 Watermelon -1.0 Yellow Plum -4.9 Non-Stored Grains Brown Rice -12.5 Wheat -10.1 Nuts Hazelnuts -2.0 Macadamia Nuts -3.2 Walnuts -8.0 Fish Fresh Water Fish -11.8 Fats Coconut Milk -1.5 Sunflower Oil -6.7

Unhealthy Acidic Foods - Try to avoid them! Meat, Poultry, And Fish Beef -34.5 Chicken (to -22) -18.0 Eggs (to -22) Liver -3.0 Ocean Fish -20.0 Organ Meats -3.0 Oysters -5.0 Pork -38.0 Veal -35.0 Milk And Milk Products Buttermilk +1.3 Cream -3.9 Hard Cheese -18.1 Homogenized Milk -1.0 Quark -17.3 Bread, Biscuits (Stored Grains/Risen Dough) Rye Bread -2.5 White Biscuit -6.5 White Bread -10.0 Whole-Grain Bread -4.5 Whole-Meal Bread -6.5 Nuts Cashews -9.3 Peanuts -12.8 Pistachios -16.6 Fats Butter -3.9 Corn Oil -6.5 Margarine -7.5 Sweets Artificial Sweetners -26.5 Barley Malt Syrup -9.3 Beet Sugar -15.1 Brown Rice Syrup -8.7 Chocolate -24.6 Dr. Bronner's Barley Dried Sugar Cane Juice -18.0 Fructose -9.5 Honey -7.6 Malt Sweetner -9.8 Milk Sugar -9.4 Molasses -14.6 Turbinado Sugar -9.5 White Sugar -17.6 Condiments Ketchup -12.4 Mayonaise -12.5 Mustard -19.2 Soy Sauce -36.2 Vinegar -39.4 Beverages Beer -26.8 Coffee -25.1 Coca-Cola -29 Fruit Juice Sweetened Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7 Liquor -38.7 Tea (Black) -27.1  Wine -16.4 Miscellaneous Canned Foods Microwaved Foods Processed Foods

Table: pH scale of alkaline and acid forming foods
(Source: "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young)

           

            Please take note that most fruits are considered alkaline even though in their natural state they are acidic. Examples of these fruits are orange, lemon and grape.  This is because the acid that comes in them is easily eliminated through the lungs and the end product, alkaline minerals they leave contributes needed minerals for your body to use. For example, lemon which is an acidic fruit, is one of the best alkaline producing food.  No wonder when you’re not feeling well it is recommended that you drink hot tea with squeezed lemon. Instead of acid fruits being a problem for your body, they contribute much needed alkalizing minerals that help keep your internal pH under control

All national health authorities recommend eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day to promote good health and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Research shows that people who eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day may decrease their risk of cancer by 50 percent and their risk of heart disease by 33 percent compared to people who eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Eating 5 a day may also reduce risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, and other chronic diseases.

            Not to mention in this modern world, there are so many chemicals and toxins out there which could make its way in the foods that we consume. Therefore, it is equally important not to overeat, as this will introduce additional cholesterol, chemicals, germs, toxins etc into your body. Eat in moderation, just what you need to have the energy to perform activities in life, not eating to satisfy your appetite for food. 

What is this rule?

            In order to eat healthily, you need to understand what type of food is good for your health and what type of food is bad for your health. After that you need to choose your food carefully by eating more nutririous and alkaline foods. It does not mean that you should avoid totally acidic foods because some acidic foods have the required nutritional values such as protein, vitamins, minerals etc. The general rule is to eat in moderation of everything and to eat more foods that are nutritious, healthy and alkaline.

How to implement this rule?

            Choose your foods carefully. Bad foods will abuse our body by creating toxic acidic waste. We only have one body and we need to take really good care of our body so that we can avoid degenerative diseases.

The benefit of this rule

            If you eat nutritious, healthy and alkaline foods, you will feel rejuvenated, full of energy and over some period of time, it is not impossible for degenerative diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, gout and arthritis to be cured.

More about this rule

            There is also a famous hadith from our beloved prophet Muhammad SAW which is consistent with this rule. The hadith stated that ‘eat when you are hungry and stop eating before you are full’ is the simple rule for better health. By eating less, you will less the intake of cholesterol, fat, germs and chemicals etc. At the same time, you will reduce the burden on your stomach to digest the food.

Rule#16 Rule of Food (RUFO) - Part 3

We have looked at the nutrirional properties of foods. Next we need to take a look at the chemical properties of foods. All the foods that we eat will produce acid waste. This condition is called acidosis. A growing number of health care practitioners and scientists from around the world have been advocating the theory that aging and disease is the direct result of the accumulation of acid waste products in the body. There is a great deal of scientific documentation that supports such a theory. A poor diet may be partially to blame for the waste accumulation. Meats, sugar, white flour products, fried foods, soft drinks, processed foods, alcohol, dairy products and other junk foods cause the body to become more acidic. Stress, whether mental or physical can lead to acid deposits in the body.

            In order to understand how acid is being formed in our body from the food that we eat, we need to look at the chemical properties of food. In food there are many inorganic minerals such as sulfur, chlorine, sodium, calcium, iron etc. They are classified into two categories, namely acid forming elements and alkaline forming elements. A summary of acid forming elements and alkaline forming elements is summarized in the table below:

Acid forming elements	Alkaline forming elements
Sulfur (S), Phosphorus (P), Chlorine (Cl), Iodine (I)	Sodium (NA), Potassium (K) Calcium (Ca),  Magnesium (Mg),  Iron (Fe)

            This inorganic minerals in the food determine whether the food is alkaline or acidic. The acidic property here is not related to the taste of the food. For example, orange juice is acidic by taste (a pH of 3.5), but this acidity is generated by organic acid which can all be burnt away. The inorganic minerals inside the orange will determine the acidic or alkaline property of orange. Since the inorganic minerals in orange are potassium and magnesium, then orange is considered an alkaline forming food.

            Next we will examine the waste product of the food that we eat. There are two types of waste product that our body will produce. The first waste product is the organic waste. Chemical formulas of some organic waste products that our body produces as follows: Acetic acid (CH₃COOH), Ammonia (NH₃), Lactic acid (CH₃CHOHCOOH), Uric acid (C₅H₄N₄O₃), Cholestrol (C₂₇H₄₅OH), Fatty acid (C_nH_2nO₂), Carbonic acid (H₂CO₃). Ammonia comes out through the urine and carbonic acid can become water by breathing out CO₂ through the lungs.

            Our body also produce waste product called inorganic waste. These waste products are formed from the acid forming minerals in the food. They are poisonous to the body. Chemical formulas for the inorganic waste products produced from sulfur, phosphorus and chlorine are: Sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), Phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄), Hydrocloric acid (HCl).

            In order to neutralize the poisonous inorganic acid, our body produce products from alkaline minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. These products are Sodium carbonate (Na₃CO₃), Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), Potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃), Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), Magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃).

            As an example, sulfuric acid can be neutralized by calcium carbonate as follows:

            CaCO₃ + H₂SO₄ = CaSO₄ + H₂O + CO₂

            Sulfuric acid is changed into neutral calcium sulfuric salt, water and carbon dioxide. In the equation above, Ca can be replaced by Mg, Na₂ or K₂. As long as there are sufficient amount of Alkaline minerals in the body, poisonous acid are neutralized. When there is not an adequate supply of calcium or other alkaline minerals in the blood, sometimes the body borrows calcium from bones to survive.

            While inorganic acid has to be neutralized immediately to prevent damage to our body, our body tends to accumulates acidic wastes in the form of organic acid and some byproducts of inorganic acid. Uric acid is an organic acid, a white odourless crystalline substance found in urine, being one of the products of nuclein metabolism. It is nearly insoluble in water, alcohol and ether but soluble in alkaline salts. These undissolved uric acid crystals can accumulate between joints and can cause arthritis and gout. If our body is alkaline which is true when we are young, the uric acid gets dissolved and safely discharged through kidneys.

            Fatty acid is an organic acid which is made by our body due to over-ingestion of carbohydrates and not enough exercise. I have explained earlier that the result of insulin spike is the creation of fatty acid in order to balance the glucose level in our body. These fatty acids generally form under the skin especially around the waist line for men and around hips, thighs and breasts for women. Acetic acid, lactic acid and cholesterol are the derivatives of fatty acid. When athlete over-exercise, there is not enough oxygen in the cells and this creates lactic acid and acetic acid, which are incompletely burnt carbohydrates.

            When blood contains too much of these fatty acids, lactic acid and acetic acid, many complicated actions take place to maintain the blood pH within the safe range. A buffer system in the blood, in the form of alkaline salts, work hard to neutralize the acids. Another solution is to solidify some of the liquid acids into solid acids, in a non dissolved acid form. Cholesterol is one of those examples. For this reason, even if we don’t eat any food containing cholesterol, our body makes cholesterol as long as we are eating and generating acidic byproducts.

            Some examples of waste due to byproduct of organic acid are kidney stone which  is a hard mineral deposit formed in the kidney from phosphates (a salt of phosphoric acid), urates (a salt of uric acid) etc. Kidney stone does not dissolve in urine but it dissolves in an alkaline solution. As we age, we build up these acid salts in our cells as well, causing our cells to stiffen. Our body makes and neutralizes hydrochloric acid in the stomach and in the small intestine respectively. In this process, the mineral sodium (Na) which our body gets from Sodium chloride (NaCl, salt) is used.

            To summarize, all foods, healthy or junk, expensive or not, good tasting or bad, produce acidic waste products that our body has to get rid of. The disposal of this acidic waste product is through having alkaline minerals in our body which can be consumed from alkaline food. There are other ways to consume alkaline minerals in our body by consuming alkaline water. This will be discussed further in the next chapter.

To be continued in Part 4

Rule#16 Rule of Food (RUFO) - Part 2

A healthy macronutrients should contain the most or all the 6 micronutrients. A table provided below classifies the healthy and unhealthy macronutrients.

In order to understand further the danger of eating unhealthy food, the impact of eating unhealthy foods is explained below:

1. Processed foods which contained refined white sugar: These include all foods made with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), corn syrup, refined sugar, sucrose, maltose, mollases, brown sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed honey, candy, jam, jellies, cookies, cakes, pies, cereals and ketchup.

Health impact: These refined carbohydrates will cause our blood glucose level to rise rapidly, triggering food cravings and insulin surges that lead to fat production, inflammation, depletion of vitamins and minerals, low energy and weakening our immune system. Over the long run, this can lead to disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. Although artificial sweeteners and sugar-free foods do not contain the refined sugar, their chemical make-up is acidic which is also not good for our health. This will be explained in the next chapter on chemical properties of food.

2. Processed food which contain refined white flour: These include all food made with refined flour such as white bread, enriched bread, white pasta, white rice, macaroni, cereals, crackers, donuts, pancakes, pastries, biscuits, spaghetti, cakes, pies and starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corns.

Health impact: These refined carbohydrates will be eventually broken down into its basic form (C₆H₁₂O₆) which will cause our blood glucose level to rise albeit at a slower rate than refined sugar. Excessive consuming this type of food over the long run will have almost the same impact as consuming refined sugar. Furthermore bleaching agents used for whitening the flour produced a chemical called alloxan which may damage pancreatic beta cell in some people. We can minimize the negative effects to our health by eating the organic whole grain, high fiber version of these foods.

A point to note is that white rice which is the basic food for Malaysian is highly glycemic. High glycemic food means food that converts readily to sugar (glucose). All food has a glycemic index and this is compared against glucose which has the highest index of 100. For example, white rice and white bread is 90 and brown rice is 50. Bananas and papaya is 60 whereas orange (42), pears (38) and grapefruits (25). If you are at high risk of developing diabetes, you should take food with index less than 50 and eat lots of fibers. Alternatively we should reduce our intake of white rice or substitute the white rice with the healthier form which is the brown rice.

3.  Trans fats: These include all processed foods made with hydrogenated oil, such as stick margarines, French fries, potato chips, pretzels, cookies, fried foods, donuts, store-bought baked goods, and packaged foods. The process of creating hydrogenated oil destroys the essential fatty acids in the oil and replaces them with deformed trans fatty acids.

Health impact: Trans fats are shaped differently from their original form, creating deficiencies and imbalances throughout the metabolism, including fatty deposits in the arteries. Trans-fats in processed foods lead to fat production, inflammation, clogging of the arteries, and damaged cells (DNA structure). These foods also prevent our body from burning fat and effectively utilizing insulin as this synthesis fat clogs our insulin receptors. We should be wary of foods that are cooked beyond 250 degrees Fahreinheit because they contain acrylamide, a proven carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). Examples of such foods are French fries which also contain trans fats and behaved like refined sugar.

4. Saturated fats: they are solid at room temperature and are found in animal meat, organ meats, processed meats, fried foods and some dairy products (cow’s milk, cheese, butter, ice cream). These fats contain arachidonic acid, which is found in the fat and muscle tissues of animals. Arachinodic acid is essential for our health, but it can be destructive at high levels, leading to inflammation and heart disease.

Health impact: Excess consumption of saturated fats can lead to inflammation, excess fat production, increased leptin production (loss of appetite control), clogging of arteries, cancerous tissues, and reduced insulin utilization. We should be wary of animals that are given growth hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals which are passed to us when we consume these meats on a regular basis.

5. Drugs: they include alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, etc

Health impact: Alcohol and tobacco devastate the liver, lungs and cardiovascular system causing cancer, heart disease and other disease. Caffeine is a stimulant that may trigger insulin surges. Caffeine has diuretic property and may cause slight dehydration. It will also generally increase your heartbeat. Excess caffeine may cause the body to produce an oxidative chemical called alloxan that may damage the pancreatic beta cells in some people, reducing their production of insulin.

Eating healthy and nutritious foods on the other hand help to initiate a cleansing and detoxification of the body at the cellular level to help repair trillions of defective cells that were damaged in our body due to eating bad food and accumulated toxin in your body. Raw vegetable juice can accelerate the cleansing of the body’s terrain to increase absorption and strengthen the immune system; reduce the inflammation and acidity in your body; and, rebalance the body biochemically and hormonally.

The consistent consumption of nutritious foods with proper nutritional supplementation allows the entire body to begin a rejuvenation process to repair and rebuild itself. These nutritious foods enable the body to function in a harmonious manner; and the body, in turn operates in harmony with the mind.

To be continued in Part 3

Rule#16 Rule of Food (RUFO) - Part 1

The Rule

            You are what you eat. Every food that gets into your body will be processed and the same food will be used to build your muscle, your bone, your blood, e.g. your entire body. This shows that it is very important to choose your food carefully. We live in the modern world where people always want to do things at lightning speed, for example we communicate via e-mail which sends the message to the other person almost instantly. We use handphones which can connect to our friends at the touch of a button. We also prefer fast food to nutritious food for the reason that fast food can be prepared almost instantly with disregard to the low nutritious value of the fastfood.

            This is the most important factor to be healthy, by eating it right. In this chapter, I will explain the nutritional value of food and the chemical properties of food in order to generate a rule on what food we should eat and avoid so that we can stay healthy.

Macronuttrients

            We learn in science subject during pimary and secondary school the basic nutrients that our body needs in order to function properly. Most of us have probably forgotten the basic nutrients. I list down the 3 basic nutrients below classified as macronutrients to refresh our memory:

Carbohydrates: These come primarily from plants for example vegetables, fruits, grain, rice, bread and pasta (from flour) etc.

Proteins: These come primarily from animal and plants for example chicken, fish, beef, egg, nuts, beans etc.

Fats: These come primarily from animal and plants for example olive oil, sunflower oil, fish, meat etc.

Let us look the function of each of the macronutirents above.

Carbohydrates: The primary purpose of carbohydrates is to provide energy, enhance immune function and support cellular communications. Carbohydrates are converted into energy to allow our cells to function.

There are two major types of carbohydrates as follows:

Simple Carbohydrates: These are carbohydrates in the simplest form (C₆H₁₂O₆) also commonly known as sugar. There are 4 types of simple sugar, meaning that to our tongues it tastes sweet. The common one is Glucose. Fructose is the main sugar in fruits. Fructose has the same chemical formula as glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆), but the atoms are arranged slightly differently. The liver converts fructose to glucose. Sucrose, also known as "white sugar" or "table sugar," is made of one glucose and one fructose molecule bonded together. Lactose (the sugar found in milk) is made of one glucose and one galactose molecule bonded together. Galactose, like fructose, has the same chemical components as glucose but the atoms are arranged differently. The liver also converts galactose to glucose. Maltose, the sugar found in malt, is made from two glucose atoms bonded together.

Complex Carbohydrates: They are made up of chains of glucose molecules commonly known as starches. Starches are the way plants store energy -- plants produce glucose and chain the glucose molecules together to form starch. Most grains (wheat, corn, oats, rice) and things like potatoes and plantains are high in starch. Your digestive system breaks a complex carbohydrate (starch) back down into its component glucose molecules so that the glucose can enter your bloodstream.

One important point to note is that it takes a lot longer to break down complex carbohydrates. This will provide a steady release of glucose into the bloodstream and a sustained level energy. On the other hand, simple carbohydrates are metabolized quickly, entering the bloodstream and raising the blood glucose thereby providing a quick source of energy. For example, if you drink a can of soda full of sugar, glucose will enter the bloodstream at a rate of something like 30 calories per minute. A complex carbohydrate is digested more slowly, so glucose enters the bloodstream at a rate of only 2 calories per minute.

When a person consumes a sweet food, such as a candy bar or a can of soda, the glucose level of the blood rises rapidly. In response, the pancreas secretes a large amount of insulin to keep blood glucose levels from rising too high. Insulin is the feedback system in our body to ensure that the glucose level in our blood is not too high. The functions of insulin are:

·         To enable glucose to be transported across cell membranes

·         To convert glucose into glycogen for storage in the liver and muscles

·         To help excess glucose be converted into fat

·         To prevent protein breakdown for energy

This large swing in the blood glucose and insulin level will create visceral fats, which are fats surrounding our organs near the abdomen such as the pancreas, liver, kidney and heart. Visceral fats in our abdomen or girth are dangerous (compared to fats in our legs and hands) as they are close to our organs and could eventually prevent these organs from functioning optimally, which is when we could start developing diseases of the pancreas, liver, kidney and heart such as diabetes, high blood pressure etc. One way to prevent this large swing in the blood glucose and insulin level is by eating smaller and more frequent meals rather than eating a few large meals.

Diabetes which is a disease with too much glucose in the blood is due to the inability of the body to utilize insulin to lower the blood sugar level. This could be due to deficiency of the pancreas to make insulin coupled with the cell not able to utilize the insulin made by the pancreas. The point to note is that complex carbohydrates are much better than simple carbohydrates since the glucose is release at slower rate to the blood which keeps the pancreas working at a steady rate and not being overburdened. This will also prevent large swing in the blood glucose and insulin level.

Proteins: The primary purpose of protein is to provide building blocks to produce new tissues, and to repair damaged skin, bones and muscles. It also creates the antibodies that help fight off disease and the hormones that regulates various functions in the body. Protein is made of building blocks called amino acid. An amino acid is a small molecule that acts as the building block of any cell. Carbohydrates provide cells with energy, while amino acids provide cells with the building material they need to grow and maintain their structure. Your body is about 20-percent protein by weight. It is about 60-percent water. Most of the rest of your body is composed of minerals (for example, calcium in your bones). Amino acids are called "amino acids" because they all contain an amino group (NH₂) and a carboxyl group (COOH), which is acidic.

There are 25 amino acids in the body, 8 essential and 17 non-essential. The 8 essential amino acid must be obtained from food: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine. Milk, poultry, fish, milk, eggs and cheese are considered complete source of protein because they contain these 8 essential amino acids. The other 17 are called non-essential because the body can make them: Alanine (synthesized from pyruvic acid), Arginine (synthesized from glutamic acid), Asparagine (synthesized from aspartic acid), Aspartic Acid (synthesized from oxaloacetic acid) , Cysteine, Glutamic Acid (synthesized from oxoglutaric acid), Glutamine (synthesized from glutamic acid), Glycine (synthesized from serine and threonine), Proline (synthesized from glutamic acid), Serine (synthesized from glucose), Tryosine (synthesized from phenylalanine).

The human body builds over 50,000 known protein and 15,000 enzymes from the amino acid, sometimes with vitamins acting as coenzymes and sometimes with mineral activators. Amino acid plays a key role in normalizing moods, attentions, concentrations, aggression, sex drive and sleep. Even the digestive enzymes to break protein, carbohydrates etc are made from amino acids so a lack of protein could lead to a cycle of poor nutrition because the body needs amino acids to break and extract the necessary nutritions from food.

There are 4 major source of protein:

Plant/ Non-animal: nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, soy products (tofu, tempeh, miso, soy milk, soy protein), blue-green algae (spirulina, chlorella), grains.

Sea animals: fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout) and seafood (shrimp, lobster, crab)

Land animals: beef, chicken, lamb

Land animals (dairy): yogurt, milk, cheese, eggs

Note: The egg is considered perfect protein because it contains all the amino acid and is very easy to digest.

Fats: We need to eat fats for several reasons as follows:

• Certain vitamins are fat soluble. The only way to get these vitamins is to eat fat.
• In the same way that there are essential amino acids, there are Essential Fatty Acids (EFA, for example, linoleic acid is used to build cell membranes). We must obtain these fatty acids from food we eat because our body has no way to make them.
• Fat turns out to be a good source of energy. Fat contains twice as many calories per gram as do carbohydrates or proteins. Your body can burn fat as fuel when necessary.

There are four major types of fats as follows:

Mono-unsaturated fats: they are mainly found in foods that come from plants and are liquid at room temperature. They include olive oil, hazelnut, almonds, Brazil nuts, avocado, cashews, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and walnuts.

Poly-unsaturated fats: come mainly from plants and fish and are liquid at room temperature and contains Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essentials Fatty Acid (EFA). Poly-unsaturated fats that are rich in Omega-3 EFAs include flax oil, hemp oil, pumpkin seeds, walnuts and oily fish such as wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout and herring. Polyunsaturated fats that are rich in Omega-6 EFA include evening primrose oil, borage oil and black current seed oil.

Saturated fats: they are essential for body tissues as they are a major component of cell membranes, the preferred fuel for the heart and muscles. Saturated fats from animal that are wild and are not given growth hormone and antibiotics are much healthier. Saturated fats are found in meat and dairy (milk and cheese) and tropical oils such as coconut and palm oil.

Trans-fat: they are man-made and reside in various processed foods including margarine, french fries, potato chips, pretzels, fried food, cookies, pies and cakes.

Micronutrients

Apart from the 3 macronutrients, there are 6 micronutrients that promote optimum health and help to determine whether a specific macronutrient will be beneficial to our health. The 6 micronutrients are vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, enzyme and oils.

Vitamins:

Vitamins are various organic substances that are essential in minute quantities to the nutrition of human, most animals and some plants which act as coenzymes and precursors of coenzymes in the regulation of metabolic processes. They do not provide energy or serve as building units and are present in natural foodstuffs or sometimes produced within the body.

The body can produce its own Vitamin D, but generally vitamins must be provided in food. The human body needs 13 different vitamins:

• Vitamin A (fat soluble, retinol) comes from beta-carotene in plants; when you eat beta-carotene, an enzyme in the stomach turns it into Vitamin A.
• Vitamin B (water soluble, several specific vitamins in the complex)
• Vitamin B1: Thiamine
• Vitamin B2: Riboflavin
• Vitamin B3: Niacin
• Vitamin B6: Pyridoxine
• Vitamin B12: Cyanocobalamin
• Folic Acid
• Vitamin C (water soluble, ascorbic acid)
• Vitamin D (fat soluble, calciferol)
• Vitamin E (fat soluble, tocopherol)
• Vitamin K (fat soluble, menaquinone)
• Pantothenic acid (water soluble)
• Biotin (water soluble)

In most cases, the lack of a vitamin causes severe problems. The following list shows diseases associated with the lack of different vitamins:

• Lack of Vitamin A: Night blindness, xerophthalmia
• Lack of Vitamin B1: Beriberi
• Lack of Vitamin B2: Problems with lips, tongue, skin,
• Lack of Vitamin B3: Pellagra
• Lack of Vitamin B12: Pernicious anemia
• Lack of Vitamin C: Scurvy
• Lack of Vitamin D: Rickets
• Lack of Vitamin E: Malabsorption of fats, anemia
• Lack of Vitamin K: Poor blood clotting, internal bleeding

A good source of vitamins is fresh vegetables and fruits. Processing tends to destroy vitamins, so we should take care not to overcook our vegetables in order to preserve the vitamins in them. In order to preserve the vitamins, vegetables are best served raw.

Minerals: they support various biological functions including the growth of bones and teeth, muscle contraction, blood pressure, nerve transmission, blood formation, energy production, fluid regulation, macronutrient metabolism, acid-alkaline balance (pH) and various other enzyme reactions. Examples of minerals as follows:

• Calcium - used by teeth, bones
• Chlorine
• Chromium
• Copper
• Fluoride - strengthens teeth
• Iodine - combines with tryosine to create the hormone thyroxine
• Iron - transports oxygen in red blood cells
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
• Phosphorus
• Potassium - important ion in nerve cells
• Selenium
• Sodium
• Zinc

Antioxidants: provide protection from cancer cells, free radicals and oxidation. Examples: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium, beta-carotene, CoQ10, indole-3-carbinol.

Enzymes: help to digest, assimilate and metabolize foods to provide fuel and energy. Enzymes are mostly made by the body such as metabolic enzymes for chemical reaction and digestive enzyme for digestion. There are some enzyme within raw food that help the digestion.

Fiber: help to cleanse and detoxify the body by removing waste, cholesterol and toxins. Example: bran, vegetables, fruits.

Oils: help to lubricate the tissues, arteries, joints, skin and other organs.Examples: olive oil, fish oil etc.

To be continued in Part 2