Access to all articles, new health classes, discounts in our store, and more!
The Get-Well Stay-Well Diet
Presented at a joint meeting of the Third and Fourth District Dental Societies, Chapel Hill, Tennessee, July 12-13, 1974. Published in Journal Tennessee Dental Association, Vol. 55, No. 1, January 1975.
* * *
Introduction
The old adage is true. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So be sure you are getting the right nutrients in the right amounts before mental or physical illness strikes! However, the value of an optimal diet does not stop with prevention. The nutritional rules for staying well and getting well are precisely the same, and they are just as important for the mouth as for the rest of the body.
An optimal diet is achieved through the development of a rational eating pattern rather than a rigid diet. In this nutritional framework it is essential to consider what foods should be eaten and what foods should not be eaten.
Before dealing with specific foods, there is a cardinal rule that should dominate one’s diet habits–where the choice exists, eat foods that have been refined or processed as little as possible and are as free as possible from food additives and chemical pollutants.
The yearly adult intake of food additives, in addition to 120 pounds of sugar and 1.5 pounds of salt, includes 8.4 pounds of corn syrup, 4.2 pounds of dextrose [glucose], and 10 pounds of about 2,000 other additives. By carefully reading food labels and reducing the home consumption of sugar and salt, one can achieve a significant reduction of these chemicals.1
There is little control of chemical pollutants in food, since many escape detection by the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies, unless one can buy foods produced where pesticides, herbicides and other poisons are not used.
Daily Food Selection
Foods To Eat Liberally:2-5 Foods containing nutrients that enhance the body’s defenses against disease should be encouraged. These resistance nutrients which include protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fats, are found in a variety of wholesome foods. In other words, these foods supply nutrient-rich calories.
The most nutritious protein foods, those containing all the essential amino acids in proper balance, are obtained largely from animal sources–meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cheese, and milk. Since these foods can effectively replace daily body protein losses, they are said to have a high “biologic value.” The fact that whole egg protein has a “biologic value” of 100 per cent means that it is able to replace, gram for gram, daily protein losses. The relative value of other proteins in comparison are: animal protein [meat, fish, fowl] 70-100 per cent, milk protein [milk, cheese] 70-75 per cent, and vegetable protein [fruit, vegetables, grains] 40-65 per cent.
Eggs: Eat at least one egg each day. Eggs furnish more nutrients per calorie than any other single food except milk. And, by the way, “there is absolutely no scientific evidence whatsoever that eating eggs in any way increases the risk of heart attack.”6
Cheese: Use cheese in your diet for snacks or as a meat or milk substitute. Eat both hard cheese and cottage cheese in its natural state. In other words, eat whole cheese in preference to “cheese foods” or “cheese spreads.” The latter two are mixtures of cheese and other less nourishing foods.
Milk: Milk can be consumed with meals or as a snack. Skimmed or low-fat milk is preferred over whole milk as a guard against overweight. Generally, one or two glasses per day is sufficient. Fermented or cultured milk, such as buttermilk and yogurt, has several advantages over sweet milk.
After infancy, many people exhibit a progressive decrease in the enzyme, lactase, which breaks down milk sugar [Iactose]. A deficiency of this intestinal enzyme causes indigestion with burping, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea when sweet [non-fermented] milk is consumed. Such a condition results in a loss of essential nutrients. When milk is cultured, the lactose is changed to lactic acid. Thus, lactase is not needed for the digestion of cultured milk and milk products, and no indigestion accompanies their use.
A second advantage is that the microorganisms that ferment milk to buttermilk and yogurt help keep the intestinal tract healthy by encouraging a proper microbial flora. This aids in the digestion and absorption of nutrients from food. These and other intestinal microorganisms also aid in the manufacture of some of the essential vitamins.
Meat, Seafood, Poultry: These foods should be eaten at least once each day; twice if eggs are restricted. Give preference to lean meat. Liver and other organ meats, such as heart, pancreas, kidney, and brain, are also excellent foods. Occasionally, nuts, peanuts, dry beans or dry peas may be used with a meal to replace meat. Restrict fried meats and do not cook meat beyond medium rare-medium.
Since meat requires five to six hours for digestion, its consumption at the night meal may cause indigestion and a variety of complaints throughout the body. Partially digested protein can be toxic and may be involved in many physical and mental illnesses. A prime example of this is the piece of meat that remains overnight between two teeth. The bad odor of the meat and the effects on the adjacent tissues [inflammation, edema, bleeding, pain] are evidences of this toxicity. Eating meat at breakfast or noon and not at the evening meal may greatly improve digestion and general health.
Fruit and Fruit Juice: When available, fresh fruit should be eaten twice each day with meals or as a snack. Ideally, one serving should be of the citrus variety. Raw fruit is preferable to cooked fruit. If canned fruit, frozen fruit, or refrigerated bottled fruit are used, select those that are unsweetened and packed in their natural juices or in water. Hypoglycemics and diabetics should restrict the use of prunes, dates, raisins, and other dried fruit.
Fruit juices may replace a serving of fresh fruit. If the juice is of the citrus variety, the serving of fruit should be noncitrus and vice versa. Juices serve as substitutes for various beverages–coffee, tea, soft drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Any kind of fruit juice including canned, frozen, or fresh is acceptable if no sugar has been added. Those with hypoglycemia or diabetes should use very little prune, grape, or orange juice.
Vegetables: The list of nutrient-rich vegetables is almost endless. Together with fruit, they represent the most neglected foods in the average diet. Eat four or more servings each day. One serving can be potatoes but select the others from the dark-green or deep-yellow vegetables. Tomatoes are also real good food. At least one of these vegetable servings should be raw. A tossed salad utilizing several varieties of raw vegetables or raw vegetables with a dip are good examples.
Vegetable juices may replace one of the cooked vegetables or can serve as a beverage at mealtime or snack time. Do not use those with added sugar.
Breads and Cereals: From this group select the whole grain foods and try to eat four servings daily. Make a selection from these foods–whole grain [precooked] breakfast cereals, wheat germ, 100 per cent whole wheat bread and flour, brown rice, and whole grain corn meal. Hypoglycemics and diabetics need to restrict many of these foods.
Selections should be made also from the whole grain cereals that require cooking, such as rolled oats [oatmeal] and wheat cereal.
Nuts and Seeds: These are valuable additions to the diet whether cooked or raw. Occasionally, they may serve as substitutes for meat. Use them with meals or as snack foods. Some good examples are peanuts, nonhydrogenated peanut butter, raw sunflower seeds, and any of the dry roasted nuts.
Foods to Eat Sparingly:2-5 The interpretation of sparingly depends upon a number of personal conditions such as overweight, physical activity, and the presence of hypoglycemia or diabetes. The overweight, sedentary or dysglycemic person may need to reduce the daily servings of fruit, fruit juice, bread, cereal, rice, potatoes, and corn.
Fat: Careful attention should be given to fat intake. Butter can be used at the table in limited amounts or on bread, potatoes and other foods as a seasoning agent. It is preferable to the “spreads” made from hydrogenated, refined vegetable oil.
The fat used in cooking, in mayonnaise, and in salad seasonings should be a liquid, vegetable oil such as corn oil, safflower oil, or sunflower seed oil. Also, select a peanut butter that has not been hydrogenated. These oils, which are high in the polyunsaturated fatty acids, increase the need for vitamin E; so, be sure to read the selection on Diet Supplements.
Everyone would benefit from a reduction in salt intake; however, it is mandatory for those with high blood pressure and for those who retain fluid in their bodies. One way to cut down on sodium intake is to add no salt at the table. In addition, salt with less sodium can be purchased.
The nutritional value of coffee and tea are negligible so consume them sparingly; do not sweeten them with sugar; and drink them only with meals. Remember, they contain a drug–caffeine. Since caffeine causes considerable fluctuation in blood sugar and fatty acids, it should not be consumed by those with diabetes and hypoglycemia.7-10 Caffeine is also found in the “cola” and “pepper” beverages, cocoa, and chocolate. Sugar substitutes or non-caloric sweetening agents may be used for these beverages but do not sweeten other foods with these products.
Foods To Avoid:2-5 Foods containing nutrients that enhance the likelihood of disease should be avoided. These susceptibility nutrients which include sugar, white flour, hydrogenated fat, food preservatives such as the nitrates and nitrites, and the many artificial flavoring and coloring agents, are found in a large assortment of foods.
It is impossible to completely eliminate these substances from your diet. Even if you could, the effort would probably make one ill! However, where there is a choice, avoid these foods; this will cut their intake by 75 per cent.
Sugar: Drastically reduce the amount of table sugar [sucrose] eaten by avoiding its use at the table or in the home preparation of food. Also, look at the labels on foods you buy and, if possible, select unsweetened varieties. The sugar content of many foods, however, is not stated. It has been referred to as “hidden sugar” by the American Dental Associa tion.11 Here’s the “hidden sugar” in popular foods expressed in teaspoons:
Notable omissions from this table are the sweetened, precooked breakfast cereals, sweetened fruit juices, and sweetened breakfast drinks. Avoid them!
The United States is a candy land. The per capita consumption of confections in 1972 was 18.8 pounds, according to a recent report of the United States Department of Commerce. Total sales for the confectionery makers reached a record $1,977,000,000.
In addition to its direct role in causing diabetes, hypoglycemia, gout, kidney stones, urinary infection, cardiovascular disease, dental caries, periodontal disease, overweight, intestinal cancer, diverticulosis, indigestion, hormone disorders, and mental illness, sugar-caused malnutrition is also related to these problems.2-3,12-15 Sugar robs the body of vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and protein in three ways.3,13
First, sugar-rich foodstuffs are “empty calories.” In other words, their energy giving calories contribute very little to the body’s need for vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and protein.
Second, sugar-rich foods require considerable quantities of vitamins and minerals for the metabolism of sugar–thiamin [B1], riboflavin [B2], niacin [B3], pyridoxine [B6], pantothenic acid, phosphorus, and magnesium. The potential body loss that can occur due to the depleting action of sugar and sugar-rich foodstuffs is surprising. Based on the average yearly adult consumption of 120 pounds of sugar, the thiamin and riboflavin deficit in a single year could be 90 mg. of each vitamin.
Third, sugar and sugar-laden foods frequently replace protein, vitamin and mineral-rich foodstuffs in the diet.
White Flour: Avoid the use of white flour whenever possible. By restricting the intake of baked goods made from white flour such as white bread, saltine and other crackers, rolls, buns, noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, and the sweetened baked goods previously mentioned, you can cut your intake by at least 75 per cent.
Don’t let the label “enriched flour” fool you. Following the removal of 7 to 88 per cent of 29 different vitamins, minerals, and amino acids during the transformation of wheat into white flour, it is “enriched” by adding back only 4 of the 29 nutrients removed. Arithmetic shows that a -29 and a +4 still add up to – 25.16-18
Hydrogenated Fat: Be on the lookout for hydrogenated vegetable oils. This process, a saturation with hydrogen, hardens the fat. Eliminate as much as possible from your diet by restricting the use of oleomargarine, peanut butter containing hydrogenated oil, solid cooking fat made from vegetable oil, and coffee whiteners. If you must have margarine, then at least use the soft, partially hydrogenated types.
Most of the baked goods, both sweetened and unsweetened, contain hydrogenated fat. However, the restriction of those made with sugar and white flour will eliminate much of this hidden undesirable fat.
Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite: These additives are used in cured meat and meat products for coloring, flavoring, and preservation. They are present in ham, bacon, sausage, canned and sliced luncheon meats, corned beef, salami, bologna, most weiners [hot dogs, frankfurters], liverwurst, and smoked fish.19
Nitrates and nitrites can combine with amines–in these meats, in the body, or in tertiary amine medications such as aminopyrine–to form nitrosamines, which, in very small amounts, can contribute to cancer. They are also, in part, the cause of much indigestion which progressively leads to malnutrition.
Artificial Flavors and Colors: Hyperactivity-learning disorders in children may be caused by an allergy to artificial flavoring and coloring agents.20 Their insult to health probably extends to a variety of menial and physical illnesses. A major portion of the artificial flavors and colors would be eliminated by restricting these items–ice cream, other frozen desserts, dessert mixes [cake, pancake, cookie], bakery goods [except plain bread], oleomargarine, many breakfast cereals, Jello, candies, chewing gum, jam or jelly, luncheon meats, frankfurters, Kool-Aid and similar beverages, fruit juice punches and drinks, cider, cider vinegar, wine, wine vinegar, gin and all distilled drinks [except vodka], tea, beer, and many types of pill coatings.
Does this list sound familiar? It should because these are the foods that should be avoided because of their content of sugar, white flour, hydrogenated fat, and the nitrate-nitrite additives.
Choose Your Calories by the Company They Keep:23 Caloric yield in terms of resistance agents [protein, vitamins, and minerals] can be greatly increased through wise food selection. You can get up to 50 times more nourishment from your meals by planning your menu from the “foods to eat liberally” group.
Here is an adequate day’s menu composed primarily of “foods to eat liberally” compared to inadequate meals selected from “foods to avoid.” The number of calories provided by each is the same but, otherwise, the two menus are miles apart!
One doesn’t have to be a genius to see that the “adequate” calories provide up to 50 times more nutritional value than the “inadequate” calories. Nutritional ignorance is so prevalent among lay people and health professionals that the “adequate” eater is frequently referred to as a “health nut” or a “food-faddist.” The real “food-faddist” is the “inadequate” eater who is living off empty-calorie junk foods.
Breakfast is Important2,3
This first meal of the day is critically important. It breaks the long overnight fast and is consumed near the beginning of the period requiring the greatest degree of physical and mental exertion. For the person with hypoglycemia, breakfast is super-essential.
Those who skip or skimp on breakfast feel a midmorning letdown. Work output, both physically and mentally, is lowered.21,22 For good nutrition and energy a person should get from ¼ to ⅓ of daily calories and protein needs at breakfast. You can’t do this on junk foods. Don’t let the ads fool you; instant breakfast foods are high in sugar–avoid them.
Snacking2,3
Between-meal eating is not necessarily an undesirable habit. In fact, scientific evidence suggests that spreading the daily food intake over five or six feedings [three meals and two or three snacks] without increasing the total amount is desirable. It has been reported to stabilize and improve glucose tolerance, decrease hunger and fatigue, induce weight loss in the overweight, and reduce elevated blood lipid levels.23
Food selection at these between-meals is important. Choose snack foods from the “foods to eat liberally” group. Nourishing snack foods include–nuts, seeds [like sunflower], milk, cheese, fresh fruit, unsweetened fruit or vegetable juices, and raw vegetables.
Dietary Supplements2,3,15-18,24
Daily supplementation with vitamins and minerals is essential for a number of reasons:
Significant nutritional value of food is lost between the “garden and the gullet.”
It is desirable to consume an excess of each essential nutrient as a hedge against malnutrition from primary [dietary] or secondary deficiencies. The latter may result from an increased requirement for one or more nutrients. Biochemical individuality, psychologic stress, surgery, all kinds of diseases, physical inactivity, pollution of air-water-food, aging, and hundreds of medications are just a few of the many causes of secondary malnutrition. Food will not assure this important nutrient excess.
No one can or will eat optimally 100 per cent of the time. So even if food had lost no value from the “garden to the gullet,” supplements would be essential to provide a nutrient excess.
Vitamins and Minerals: Dietary supplements should provide all of the essential vitamins and minerals, and the so-called non-essential vitamins. Such a supplement should always be taken with meals [breakfast, lunch, and dinner] since vitamins, minerals, protein, essential fats, and other nutrients function best for growth, maintenance and repair of the body when they are all present in the digestive tract at the same time.
A good vitamin-mineral supplement [taken with each meal] would supply these quantities of nutrients per day–
The two nutrients most likely to be on the low side in many supplements are vitamins C and E [d-alpha tocopherol]. A separate supplement of each may be needed in order to get at least 1,000 mg. of C and 600 I. U. of E daily.
Selections from the “foods to eat liberally” group and a complete vitamin-mineraI supplement are basic to the treatment of all illness as well as for its prevention.
Specific vitamin or mineral requirements in excess of that provided by the diet or a complete vitamin-mineral supplement may be necessary for the prevention or treatment of certain diseases [oraI and extraoral] or for the preservation of health [oral and extraoral]. Both host and environmental factors are responsible for these supranormal needs and megadoses of one or more vitamins and/or mineral elements may be needed to satisfy the metabolic demand. In many instances, the nutrient megadose may exert a beneficial pharmacological effect in addition to its role as a nutrient. Thus, the preventive or healing result is gained by using the nutrient as a medicine. This important subject is discussed in detail in the authors’ books.2,3,12,13
Brewer’s yeast, desiccated liver, and bone meal are good sources of some B vitamins and important trace elements not in the multiple formula and for as yet unidentified nutrients. Yeast and liver are also excellent protein supplements.
Digestive Aids: Those suffering from indigestion may need one or more of these digestants–hydrochloric acid, bile salts,or digestive enzymes–in addition to a vitamin-mineral supplement. In a study of 3,484 patients with gastrointestinal distress, Doctor C. S. Sharp found that almost one-third did not secrete enough hydrochloric acid in their stomachs to begin the process of digestion.25 A little vinegar with each meal will tell in one day or two if stomach acid is needed. If it relieves indigestion, hydrochloric acid can be supplied.
The malnutrition resulting from a deficiency of stomach acid causes a variety of physical complaints. Many complain of a sore mouth [soreness, rawness, burning, and dryness] or tongue, and cracks or sores at the corners of the lips. The stomach burns and feels full for long periods after eating, especially when meat is eaten. There may also be a considerable amount of gas in the stomach and intestinal tract.
Mental health also is impaired by a deficiency of stomach acid and the malnutrition it causes, and any existing mental illness is aggravated.
When there is trouble digesting fat, bile salts and pancreatic enzymes will relieve the indigestion. The pancreas enzymes also aid the digestion of protein and carbohydrates. One or two days is sufficient, in most cases, for relief of fat indigestion with bile salts and/or pancreatic enzymes.
Antibiotics kill the useful microorganisms in the intestines that not only help regulate the bowels but manufacture some of the D vitamins. A generalized malnutrition occurs and an annoying diarrhea.
When digestive disturbances from this cause or any other have existed for some time, it is necessary to replenish the digestive tract with the friendly microbes. A supplement of the microorganism, Lactobacillus acidophilus [liquid, tablet or capsule] taken with each meal will help to reestablish a normal microbial population in the gut and aid significantly in relieving indigestion and diarrhea. Cultured buttermilk and yogurt are also Lactobacillus sources. Use these between meals.
In many instances either constipation or diarrhea can result from an insufficient amount of dietary vegetable fiber. Refining foods, especially the grains, removes most of the undigestible fiber. Unprocessed wheat bran is an excellent bowel regulator. Everyone who has had constipation or diarrhea for an extended period of time knows that either condition adversely affects their physical and mental health. From one to six teaspoonsful with each meal will regulate you. Two soft but solid bowel movements each day is a good index of normal bowel activity. You can’t get well and/or stay well without proper elimination.
How to Grade Your Dietary Progress
If you are following these optimal diet rules, then your intake of essential nutrients has significantly increased.
Those who want to score their eating habits in a quantitative fashion should read Doctor Michael Jacobson’s booklet, Nutrition Scoreboard: Your Guide to Better Eating [$2.50]. It can be obtained from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1779 Church Street N.W., Washington, D. C. 20036.
Through a unique scoring system Doctor Jacobson grades the most commonly consumed food by assigning scores that range from +200 to -100.19 His plus rated foods, in general, are those that we recommend as “foods to eat liberally.” The foods to which he assigns a negative value are those that we have instructed you “to avoid.”
Here are several examples from each category:
The – rated foods and the +6 hot dog are only a fraction of the large group of commonly eaten foods which Doctor Jacobson calls “junkyard foods.” The road to illness, both oral and extraoral, is paved with these foods.
Based on the Nutrition Scoreboard food ratings, the average diet of “a nutrition-conscious woman” and “a young food faddist” would score like this:
Summary
Diet and nutrition play a major role in the body’s resistance and/or susceptibility to disease. In other words, they enable you to get-well and stay-well!
Most symptoms, complaints, and disorders affecting the mouth or any other part of the body can be cured or controlled when diet and nutrition are optimal.
The right molecular environment for every body cell cannot be provided by diet alone. Nutrient supplements are necessary and, in many instances, megadoses of specific nutrients are required to get-well and stay-well.
References Cited:
- Hall, R. L. “Food Additives.” Nutrition Today, 8: #4, 20-28, July-August 1973.
- Cheraskin, E., Ringsdorf, W. M., Jr., and Clark, J. W. Diet and Disease. 1968. Emmaus, Pennsylvania, Rodale Press.
- Clark, J. W., Cheraskin, E., and Ringsdorf, W. M., Jr. Diet and the Periodontal Patient. 1970. Springfield, Illinois, Charles C. Thomas Publisher.
- National Dairy Council. A Guide to Good Eating.
- United States Department of Agriculture. Food for Fitness: A Daily Food Guide. Leaflet #424.
- National Commission on Egg Nutrition. Eggs, Your Diet and Your Health. 205 Touhy Avenue, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.
- Cheraskin, E., Ringsdorf, W. M., Jr., Setyamadja, A. T. S. H., and Barett, R. A. “Effect of Caffeine Versus Placebo Supplementation on Blood Glucose Concentration.” The Lancet 1: #7503, 1299-1300, June 17, 1967.
- Feinberg, L. J., Sandberg, H., DeCastro, O., and Bellet, S. “Effects of Coffee Ingestion on Oral Glucose Tolerance Curves in Normal Human Subjects.” Metabolism 17: #10, 916-922, October 1968.
- Bellet, S., Kershbaum, A., and Roman, L. “Effect of Cola Drinks on Serum Free Fatty Acids.” Arch. Environ. Health 17: #11, 803-806. November 1968.
- Goldman, J. A. and Ovadia, J. “The Effect of Coffee on Glucose Tolerance in Normal and Prediabetic Pregnant Women.” Obstet. Gynecol. 33, #2, 214-218, February, 1969.
- American Dental Association. Diet and Dental Health. 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
- Cheraskin, E. and Ringsdorf, W. M., Jr. New Hope for Incurable Diseases. 1972. Jericho, New York, Exposition Press.
- Cheraskin, E., Ringsdorf, W. M., Jr., and Brecher, A. Psychodietetics. 1974. New York, New York, Stein and Day [In Press].
- Yudkin, J. Sweet and Dangerous. 1972. New York, Peter H. Wyden, Inc.
- Williams, R. J. Nutrition Against Disease. 1971. New York, Pitman Publishing Corporation.
- Harris, R. S. and Loesecke, H. V. Nutritional Evaluation of Food Processing. 1960. New York, John Wiley and Sons.
- Schroeder, H. A. “Losses of Vitamins and Trace Minerals Resulting From Processing and Preservation of Foods.” Amer. J. Clin. Nutrit. 24: #5, 562-573, May 1971.
- Toepfer, E. W., Polansky, M. M., Eheart, J. F., Slover, H. T., Morris, E. R., Hepburn, F. N., and Quackenbush, F. W. “Nutrient Composition of Selected Wheats and Wheat Products. XI. Summary.” Cereal Chemistry 49: #2, 173-186, March-April 1972.
- Jacobson, M. Nutrition Scoreboard: Your Guide to Better Eating. 1973. Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1779 Church Street N. W., Washington, D. C. 20036.
- Feingold, B. F. “Food Additives and Child Development.” Hospital Practice 8: #9, 11-12, 17-18, 21, October 1973.
- Clayton, M. M. and Randall, S. W. “Blood Changes Following Breakfasts of Different Types.” J. Amer. Dietet. Assn. 31: #9, 876-892. September 1953.
- Orent-Keiles, E. and Hallman, L. F. The Breakfast Meal in Relation to Blood Sugar Values. Washington, D. C. U. S, Department of Agriculture, Circular No. 827, 1949.
- Young, C. M. “Effects of Frequency of Eating.” Food and Nutrition News 42: #7, April 1971.
- Marks, J. The Vitamins in Health and Disease; A Modern Reappraisal. 1968. London, J. and A. Churchill, Ltd.
- Sharp, G. S. and Fister, H. W. “The Diagnosis and Treatment of Achlorhydria: A Ten Year Study.” J. of the Amer. Geriatrics Society 15: #8, 786-791, August 1967.