The Press has recently reported that red meat and processed meats only slightly increase your risk of getting bowel cancer. The research seems fairly comprehensive but is not without its critics – for example, the subjects were generally young adults who would be less prone to developing bowel cancer than older members of society.
So what should we make of this latest evidence?
My own view is that we should not only be looking at the increased possibility of bowel cancer, but also the negative effect of bad fats on our general health, in particular from processed meats. For example, red and processed meats purge calcium from the body and are acidic by nature – both of which are negative factors for the heart and also for joints and bones
30 Years of Advice:
Dr Giota Mitrou, director of research at the WCRF, said the new interpretation of the research ‘could be putting people at risk by suggesting they can eat as much red and processed meat as they like without increasing their risk of cancer. ‘However, this is not the case. The message people need to hear is that we should be eating no more than three portions of red meat a week and avoiding processed meat altogether. ‘We stand by our rigorous research of the last 30 years and urge the public to follow the current recommendations on red and processed meat.’ In a further statement, the WCRF, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), the American Society for Preventive Oncology, Bowel Cancer UK and the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) urged people to stick to the recommendations to limit red meat intake to three portions a week and eat little, if any, processed meat.
Caution: This report is not an excuse to gorge on red or processed meat.
So How Do We Improve Our Health Through Better Eating Habits?
You may be fed up with being overweight or feeling lethargic, but ultimately the objectives in pursuing an improved diet are:
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To exclude harmful substances from the diet that lead to disease
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To include beneficial substances that directly strengthen our health
Acid or Alkaline?
If you want to stop or at least slow down a disease process, then the first step is to alkalise your diet. Disease, especially nasties like cancer, need an acidic environment in which to proliferate. Take away that environment and the body can heal itself. However, here’s the dilemma: Unhealthy acidic foods containing sugar and bad fats tend to taste great! Food manufacturers are very good at tempting us with clever advertising to eat unhealthy foods, and make no mistake, sugar and saturated fat-based foods are very addictive!
The solution? A new mantra: “Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels”
Eat More Raw Food: We recommend as a general rule to try to eat 20% of your food in raw form
What Is The Healthiest Way to Cook Food?
It’s inevitable that however you cook your food nutrients will be stripped away, however steamed and boiled is better than fried and roasted. BBQ food may taste great but it is a dangerous way to cook due to the creation of HAA’s, which are carcinogenic substances created when cooking meet on a BBQ. Evidence shows that marinating meat before barbequing reduces the creation of HAA’s
Are Vegetarians Healthier?
In a word yes, however that doesn’t mean that meat can’t be a part of a well-balanced diet. Unfortunately we are inclined to eat meat on a daily basis rather than considering it a once or twice a week treat.
10 healthy habits:
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Consume as much raw and ripe foods as comfortable on a daily basis.
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Eggs are healthy if genuinely free range, organic and from poultry that are fed on proper food rather than chemical pellets
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Consume cold pressed organic or extra virgin oils in dark glass containers, and store them somewhere dark. Light and air destroy healthy fats
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Consume daily freshly prepared ripe fruit and vegetable juices. Add our Organic Pea Protein powder (recipes on my site) and some ground nuts and seeds
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Add Shiitake, Maitake and Reishi mushrooms to the diet once or twice a month, and more often if possible, they are wonderfully good for the immune system
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All green leafy vegetables boost the immune system particularly broccoli, cabbage (green), watercress and Brussels sprouts
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Organic Green tea is good as tea Polyphenols combat disease and strengthen our immune system
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Fresh fruits such as apples, cherries, apricots, pineapple (eat the core), ripe bananas, grapes, figs, raspberries and cranberries preferably in organic form.
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Beetroot is an excellent addition to the diet, ideally eaten raw and grated. It provides energy and supports healthy kidney function
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Consume at least one and a half to two litres of plain water each day
10 Unhealthy Habits
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Avoid eating too much animal protein, plant proteins contain the same 23 amino acids as animal proteins and are far easier to digest and assimilate
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Eliminate from the diet all margarines and other so-called “health spreads”. Ordinary cow’s milk butter is healthier although best eaten sparingly
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Plastic containers contain chemical residues that are not helpful with regard our immune system. Never put plastic in the oven or microwave
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Eliminate refined sugar from the diet, it damages the heart, affects the liver, saps brain power, is linked to cancer and makes us fat! Sweeteners in diet foods are even worse
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Eliminate processed foods, they have no place in the human diet and will only lead to poor health
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Although nothing to do with food, try to avoid negative emotional states, they are acid-forming and adversely affect the immune system. Consider yoga or meditation
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Avoid foods packed in plastic and never put plastic in the oven or microwave
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All food that has either been irradiated or micro-waved should be avoided. Pre-cooked food may be convenient but is normally cooked at extreme temperature, destroying nutrients
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Foods and drinks that contain preservatives and other additives should be avoided
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Don’t eat too late at night, especially heavy meat-based meals, it is bad for the digestion and the metabolism
Supplements: Are they necessary if you eat a healthy diet?
Sadly, the reality is our farm soils are desperately deplete of the minerals that form the bedrock of our immune systems. We need 60 minerals for optimum health but get only 8 in any kind of quantity in most of the food we eat today. Taking a few food-based supplements daily provides us with a broad spectrum of the nutrients we are missing in our diets. Ordinary supplements are a poor alternative because we cannot absorb use and retain them in the same way as food nutrients, so stick to our Foodstate supplements. As a rule, take a course of Probiotic at least once a year to improve the function of the gut, especially if you tend to eat a lot of meat and not a lot of fibre