A St Lucian Sunset...2007Where as I Consultant in Pain Medicine, I started thinking more about promoting health than treating disease.
The evidence linking diet to onset of chronic disease is now very clear. There are places in the world such as Okinawa where disease incidence is very low, about 75% less of any disease you care to mention Cancers, Alzheimer's, Cardiovascular disease and Strokes.
Particular scourges of the West such as breast and prostate cancer are about 90% lower. There are 4 times the rate of centenarians in Okinawa as in the developed West. We may have access to better medicine, but isn't it better to prevent onset of cancer than treat it?
From my reading of the literature if one took 100 women living in the UK who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and transported back 20 years and put them on Okinawa with their dietary habits and lifestyle, then approx. 90 of them would not have developed breast cancer.
As you might expect the answer eating some fish (the Okinawans eat alot of fish), also eating green vegetables, fresh fruit and getting some sunshine and exercise everyday are the keys.
Even more importantly, the literature suggest that even small changes in diet and lifestyle can, even done late in life, may still be very helpful.
Not all of us have the time, energy or opportunity to make radical changes to our lifestyle or diet so here are a few observations and recommendations.
1) I suggest 2000-4000mg per day of a high quality Omega 3 Fish oil.(This is equivalent to 5 portions of oily fish per week) Make sure the combined EPA and DHA content is at least 55%.
2) Low vitamin D levels are associated with increasing numbers of diseases , we dont get the sunshine we need and most of us work in doors so I suggest 400-1000iu of vitamin D2/D3 per day
3) Consider a vitamin B/C supplement everyday
(if you need further information please consider www.healingtheperson.com)
4) Drink some red/purple berry juice very day (e.g superberry 100) and /or a glass of red wine (preferably full bodied from the south of France- they have some of the highest levels of protective polyphenol in the world)
5) Certain green teas are very high in the protective phytonutrient ECGC e.g Long Jing/ Dragon Well. (see website mentioned above if you need help) drink regularly. I find it much more refreshing than ordinary tea or coffee when I have a long day.
6)Eat a small avocado every day
7) Use a mixture of one quarter each of olive oil/rape seed oil/grape seed oil and coconut oil for cooking. This covers the types of fatty acids which have been shown to be associated with good health. Mix together and use. DONT USE CORN OIL.
8) Eat some salad before every meal. I am too busy to make it up so I buy the ready prepared stuff (including that already chopped for stir fries -its cheaper than buying the individual ingredients I think).
9) If you are over weight, cut down on processed foods, potatoes, refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white pasta. Wholemeal basmiti rice is so much better. Try meals mainly based on vegetables (not potatoes!) and meat. Use white meat more than red meat
10) Turmeric is an amazing spice which may contribute to the low incidence of both Alzheimer's and some cancers in India, add some to your cooking , eg in soups,stews and rice. Or take supplements if you don't like the taste (see strong yellow supplement at www.healingtheperson.com).
11) It is amazing what even a small amount of exercise will do. I recommend a x-trainer or ski walker set up in front of a TV so as soon as you come in from work, just do the exercise for 20 minutes whilst you watch TV, ....and then settle down with your glass of wine, red of course..
12) Smoking is a complete disaster I'm afraid. Do whatever you can to stop.
13) If you have a medical condition, particularly diabetes or on warfarin, take medical advice first.
Particular scourges of the West such as breast and prostate cancer are about 90% lower. There are 4 times the rate of centenarians in Okinawa as in the developed West. We may have access to better medicine, but isn't it better to prevent onset of cancer than treat it?
From my reading of the literature if one took 100 women living in the UK who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and transported back 20 years and put them on Okinawa with their dietary habits and lifestyle, then approx. 90 of them would not have developed breast cancer.
As you might expect the answer eating some fish (the Okinawans eat alot of fish), also eating green vegetables, fresh fruit and getting some sunshine and exercise everyday are the keys.
Even more importantly, the literature suggest that even small changes in diet and lifestyle can, even done late in life, may still be very helpful.
Not all of us have the time, energy or opportunity to make radical changes to our lifestyle or diet so here are a few observations and recommendations.
1) I suggest 2000-4000mg per day of a high quality Omega 3 Fish oil.(This is equivalent to 5 portions of oily fish per week) Make sure the combined EPA and DHA content is at least 55%.
2) Low vitamin D levels are associated with increasing numbers of diseases , we dont get the sunshine we need and most of us work in doors so I suggest 400-1000iu of vitamin D2/D3 per day
3) Consider a vitamin B/C supplement everyday
(if you need further information please consider www.healingtheperson.com)
4) Drink some red/purple berry juice very day (e.g superberry 100) and /or a glass of red wine (preferably full bodied from the south of France- they have some of the highest levels of protective polyphenol in the world)
5) Certain green teas are very high in the protective phytonutrient ECGC e.g Long Jing/ Dragon Well. (see website mentioned above if you need help) drink regularly. I find it much more refreshing than ordinary tea or coffee when I have a long day.
6)Eat a small avocado every day
7) Use a mixture of one quarter each of olive oil/rape seed oil/grape seed oil and coconut oil for cooking. This covers the types of fatty acids which have been shown to be associated with good health. Mix together and use. DONT USE CORN OIL.
8) Eat some salad before every meal. I am too busy to make it up so I buy the ready prepared stuff (including that already chopped for stir fries -its cheaper than buying the individual ingredients I think).
9) If you are over weight, cut down on processed foods, potatoes, refined carbohydrates such as white bread and white pasta. Wholemeal basmiti rice is so much better. Try meals mainly based on vegetables (not potatoes!) and meat. Use white meat more than red meat
10) Turmeric is an amazing spice which may contribute to the low incidence of both Alzheimer's and some cancers in India, add some to your cooking , eg in soups,stews and rice. Or take supplements if you don't like the taste (see strong yellow supplement at www.healingtheperson.com).
11) It is amazing what even a small amount of exercise will do. I recommend a x-trainer or ski walker set up in front of a TV so as soon as you come in from work, just do the exercise for 20 minutes whilst you watch TV, ....and then settle down with your glass of wine, red of course..
12) Smoking is a complete disaster I'm afraid. Do whatever you can to stop.
13) If you have a medical condition, particularly diabetes or on warfarin, take medical advice first.
Posts
Good suggestions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing, has been bothering me as I've been to many pharmacies and could not find the answer. I would like to take ?Glucosamine for supplement but I read that contain shellfish or fish which I'm allergic to it. So is there any other product that similar that free from shellfish/fish? Thanks.
Vegetarian Glucosamine is available and in fact will be available on www.HealingThePerson.com. shortly. Just contact them to advise you. In fact some authorities say that even if you are allergic to shellfish, the glucosamine from seafood sources is so pure as to be non-allergenic. I have to say if I had a significant shellfish allergy I wouldn't risk standard glucosamine!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment
Raj