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After the Feast
Published in Bernardo News, November 24, 1979. Author unknown.
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…As magnesium is found only in scant amounts (primarily in fruits and vegetables), the doctor recommends taking a daily supplement of 400 mg.
Egg yolks, nuts and dried beans are all good sources of calcium, iron and phosphorus. The pistachio, Brazil, filbert and almond are especially good contributors of calcium.
Calcium also is prevalent in sunflower and sesame seeds, dried figs and dates, most leafy green vegetables, dried peas, milk, cheese and molasses.
Molasses, (for which one must usually acquire a taste) is also an excellent source of iron as are dried fruit (especially raisins), spinach and brown rice.
Whole grains, cheese, and dried peas are other good foods which contain phosphorus.
Buying these foods at the local supermarket is simple enough, but not always the best source, suggests Dr. Knight. ”Preferably, (nutrients) should be obtained from good food raised on fertile soil and consumed as promptly as possible. Unfortunately, (primarily because of inconvenience and cost)…such foods are available to only a few.”
Take fruits and vegetables. Those grown on composted soil and without the use of modern insecticides, as the doctor recommends, are rarely, if ever, available at grocery stores.
The best alternative, when feasible, is the home garden, suggests Dr. Knight. Some vegetables, as the sprouts, may be grown easily in water.
The use of alfalfa or bean sprouts as a salad base rather than lettuce is endorsed by the doctor. He contends, ”the sprouting produces vitamins as well as enzymes which may prevent hardening of the arteries.” In addition, they are free of chemical sprays. Not so with lettuce, says the doctor, who estimates the vegetable is sprayed with pesticides as many as seven times before it reaches the market. When lettuce is used, the nutritionist recommends the greener varieties as they contain more vitamin A.
Dr. Knight is one who does not advocate eating all vegetables raw: “A daily cooking of fresh green and yellow vegetables provides a good source of carbohydrates.”
When cooking fresh vegetables, using only a little amount of water saves more nutrients. It is likely for this reason the vegetable steamer has enjoyed such recent popularity. In a 1978 brochure entitled ”How to Cook,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends using only ”one half to one cup of water for six servings of young, tender vegetables. Just cover root vegetables. For greens, use only the water that clings after washings.”
Before cooking or eating raw vegetables, it is common advice to wash them thoroughly in order to remove chemical residue. But Dr. Knight goes further and advises the skinning of fruits before consuming. “When the source is unknown, these fruits should be peeled,” he says, explaining that “while the peelings are rich in nutrients, chemical sprays penetrate the peel and cannot be washed off.”
Fruits should be eaten daily with the exception of citrus fruits, which should not be consumed more than three times weekly for New Englanders or those here from colder climates as in Northern Europe. Citrus, a warmer climate fruit, says the doctor, is not easily tolerated in the bio-chemical makeup of those from more frigid climates–apparently even after years of living in warmer climates. He points out that “for those persons, too much citrus eventually causes an alkaline reaction which may contribute to arthritis.”
Avoiding sugar and bleached flours is another of the doctor’s prescriptions for better nutrition. Whole wheat, corn, rye, millet or other breads made from freshly stone-ground cereal grain–breads without preservatives and preferably sprouted–are acceptable, according to Dr. Knight and many other nutrition specialists.
“Ideally, grains should be baked immediately after grinding in order to preserve vitamin E and other vitamins which are largely destroyed by refining and bleaching,” explains the doctor.
He does not advocate the use of white flour, ”whether or not ‘enriched’ by the addition of a few of the many nutrients removed in processing.”
He disagrees with findings of recent rat tests which conclude white bread is superior than whole grain breads. He notes a suspicion that the tests were done with a comparison of flat, hard breads rather than those made with yeast and allowed to rise.
He points to the advantage of yeast in diets and claims “serious B deficiencies cannot be cured without a source of yeast, wheat germ, liver or rice polishings.”
As with breads, cereals should be whole grain and preferably cooked, notes Dr. Knight. He recommends soaking the cereals overnight in an equal amount of water (in the top of a double boiler with no heat) helps enzymes release magnesium and calcium from the cereal into the water and back into the grain where, when consumed, they can then be utilized by the body.
In the morning, he suggests heating the cereal and adding milk, if desired. “This is more nourishing,” he claims, ”than just boiling for 15 minutes, as it gives the phosphatase enzymes a chance to work.”
As with his other food recommendations, Dr. Knight advocates a back-to-nature approach in the consumption of dairy products.
He endorses the use of certified raw milk, or high quality grade as well as unpasteurized butter and cheeses.
A member of the Los Angeles Milk Commission for 12 years, where he supervised dairies carrying certified raw milk, and currently an honorary member of the National Milk Commission, Dr. Knight argues that unpasteurized milk has superior nutritional qualities. He claims heating the milk destroys the enzymes that help the body absorb calcium and phosphorus and heating also reduces the milk’s vitamin B and C content.
The certification of raw milk guarantees the elimination of most dirt and bacteria, notes the doctor, who explains cows producing this milk are watched carefully. He adds strict sanitation rules govern their care and control the quality of the milk.
Unfortunately, certified raw milk is available at only a few stores (the Mercado’s Swiss Health Chalet and Escondido’s Frazier Farms carry certified, unpasteurized dairy products), its shelf life is limited to about a week and the cost is higher than pasteurized milk. But Dr. Knight feels the nutritious values far outweigh its disadvantages.
Unpasteurized butter should replace margarine in the diet, insists the doctor, who notes the latter is hydrogenated.
Dr. Knight contends ”hydrogenated margarine is poorly metabolized and may lead to hardening of the arteries.”
The doctor’s diet would not be complete without the intake of protein. But here too, he stipulates the source and preparation are crucial to the assurance of high quality nutrients.
“If available, fresh, fertilized eggs and meat, as well as fowl, from sources not fed antibiotics, antithyroid drugs, stilbestrol or other chemicals, are desirable.” (These are available at Frazier Farms.)
In preparing these foods, Dr. Knight says fat should be taken off meat, and skin off chicken.
Other sources of “excellent protein are deep-sea fish which are relatively free from significant chemical residues,” says Dr. Knight. He points out the additional benefits of trace elements and polyunsaturated fatty acids in ocean fish.
The doctor recommends eating ocean fish at least once a week.
When one thinks of protein, there is a tendency to associate it with meat, eggs, fish and fowl. But for vegetarians or those wishing to cut back on meat, there are other foods or combinations of foods which contain “high-quality” or “complete” protein (i.e. all the essential amino acids in the food are in the proper proportion).
Although containing some of the essential amino acids, wheat bread by itself is not complete protein. But when combined with baked beans, for example, all the essential amino acids are in proper proportion and the result is complete protein.
For years, says Dr. Knight, the Mexican culture has combined beans with corn or beans with rice to make up complete protein.
Other combinations supplying complete protein include grains combined with legumes (lentils, peas or beans), or grains combined with cheese or other milk products and legumes combined with seeds such as sesame or sunflower.
Soy flour is believed to be the only grain which is complete protein. Other sources of complete protein are raw milk and its byproducts including yogurt, keifer and cheese.
Even with a Nutritious Diet, Most Need Supplements
In an overview of eating right, Dr. Knight says consumers should “concentrate on a diet of milk (for those who cannot tolerate milk, the doctor advises substitutions of cheese, keifer or yogurt), meat, fowl, fish, animal organs such as liver, brain, tripe, sweetbreads and kidneys, whole grain bread, green and yellow vegetables, potatoes (baked or boiled), salads, and fresh nuts and fruits.”
As nutritious as it may be, the doctor’s prescribed diet is general, as it must be, and does not account for each individual’s specific biochemical makeup and nutritional needs. “The necessity for essential nutritive substances such as vitamins, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and trace elements may vary as much as tenfold,” explains the doctor, who adds ”most people need supplements.”
He is one who advocates much vitamin C, recommending 500 mg. for every one year of age up to four years old, and 4,000 to 10,000 mg. for older children through adults.
He adds that stress as well as smoking depletes the body of vitamin C. Conversely, “A heavy dosage of the vitamin tends to have a detoxifying effect on drug users, as well as serving as a deterrent to colds and other viral infections such as pneumonia, encephalitis and polio.”
Unbalanced or inadequate nutrition results in a tendency toward the development of allergic states, stresses Dr Knight.
Among the diagnostic tests he uses on his patients is a hair analysis test. ”Hair is an expression of what is happening in the body over a period of time,” he points out.
The patient’s hair is used to analyze the body’s nutritional mineral content as well as the presence of toxic metals.
The doctor cites an example of excessive copper in the system (more prevalent today, he notes, with the use of copper piping) which is toxic and may lead to over-stimulation or nervousness.
Iron deficiency is marked by fatigue and low hemoglobin. Interestingly, we would have all the iron needed if we did like “grandma” and used only cast iron skillets for preparing culinary delights.
“A good diet plus vitamin and mineral supplements usually helps patients who have signs of allergies,” says the doctor. He maintains that “concomitantly with improved nutrition there should be a marked reduction in the number of human beings born with or developing the allergic diathesis (a congenital susceptibility or liability to certain diseases), as well as susceptibility to other degenerative diseases.”