MS - A Chronic Mycotoxicosis?

Multiple Sclerosis: A Chronic Mycotoxicosis?

by David Holland, MD

(Dr. Dave Holland is the co-author, with Doug Kaufmann, of the new book, "The Fungus Link, Volume 2." Inside this follow-up to their book "The Fungus Link," you'll not only learn about the dangers of antibiotics. You'll also learn about the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases, hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss, and eye problems.

To order either of these books, call 972-772-0990, M-F 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central, or go to causesandcures.com.)

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, one of several non-profit organizations dealing with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research funding and patient assistance, raised almost $74 million dollars in the fiscal year 2001. It spent $64 million, of which $54.8 million went toward program expenses, and $6.6 million was directed at fundraising efforts. Two million goes toward administrative costs. The CEO alone makes over $300,000.

Still, in the 57 years of the society’s existence, no cause for MS has been assigned. I use the word "assigned" and not "found," because I believe a cause has already been found. In our book, "The Fungus Link, Volume 2," Doug Kaufmann and I discuss the role of fungal toxins, called mycotoxins, in the etiology of MS. The evidence brought forth by various scientists over the years and compiled in a small section of this book is quite compelling. It is so compelling that, at this point, I believe scientists will be forced into a position of proving that mycotoxins are NOT the cause of MS, a task at which, I believe, they shall not succeed.

MS is characterized by destruction of the protective sheath- called the myelin sheath- around nerves in the brain and the spinal cord. As a result, the transmission of nerve impulses to other nerves, muscles, and vital organs is interrupted. This impaired nerve function translates into symptoms such as difficulty in walking, abnormal, "pins and needles" sensations throughout the body; pain and loss of vision due to inflammation of the optic nerve, tremors, incoordination, paralysis, and impaired thinking and memory. In addition, muscle wasting, bladder dysfunction, fatigue, osteoporosis, and a host of other problems may develop either directly or indirectly due to this nerve damage.

Although there is a genetic predisposition toward MS, as proven in studies of twins, only a third of those that are genetically susceptible will get MS, indicating there is still an outside factor involved. MS is more common in those born and raised above the 37th parallel (a line extending from Newport News, VA to Santa Cruz, CA); however, if a person moves to an area of low risk (i.e. below the 40th parallel) prior to adolescence, they assume the lower risk of their new location. These last points support the idea of an environmental exposure link to the disease.
If outside causes are to blame, then Oppenheim, an early 1900’s researcher, was the closest in his assertion that MS is caused by an environmental toxin. Other researchers of his day thought that there was a defect in the blood vessels or in the glial tissues. Pierre Marie, in the late 1800’s, felt that MS was caused by an infectious agent. However, despite all of the "infection" theories that have been tested over the past 150 plus years, not one- whether bacteria, virus, Chlamydia or scrapie-like agent- has proven to be the culprit.

So, lets apply what we already know about MS and see if we truly know the cause of MS or not. Mycotoxins are chemicals made by fungi. They are found in grains that have been contaminated with fungi and mold. Some mycotoxins are used for medicinal purposes. Antibiotics, such as penicillin and the cephalosporin drugs, are fungal metabolites- they are mycotoxins. Alcohol is a mycotoxin. Aflatoxin, the most carcinogenic substance on earth, is a mycotoxin. The most commonly contaminated crops are peanuts, corn, and wheat.

Often, other foods such as barley, apples, sorghum and rye can be contaminated as well. Some mycotoxins are produced in our body by the yeast in our intestines or vaginal tract. In one study, 3 women severely symptomatic for vaginal candidiasis were found to have vaginal fluid samples with significant levels of a mycotoxin called gliotoxin. From our environment, we can be exposed to mycotoxins through countless routes: ingestion, inhalation, skin contact, etc. The question is, once inside the body, can these mycotoxins damage nerves? Let’s answer that question now.

We already know that, in MS, there is a loss of molecules called sphingolipids from the white matter in the central nervous system. What is not well known is the fact that mycotoxins can actually disrupt sphingolipid biosynthesis. Specifically, gliotoxin, as we mentioned above, on a slightly larger scale can induce nerve cell death (apoptosis).

Gliotoxin is a heat stable chemical made by Aspergillus, Candida, and other species of fungi. Not coincidentally, scientists have recovered a heat stable toxin from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients. In this particular study, they took the CSF from MS patients, heat-treated it to destroy any infectious germs, and then exposed it to nerve cells in a laboratory culture. What happened? The nerve cells died! They called this heat-stable toxin "gliotoxin."
The source of gliotoxin appears to be, again, primarily from the yeast and fungi within the human body. As such, gliotoxin is less important as an agricultural scourge than are other mycotoxins such as fumonisins, made by Fusarium and Aspergillus fungi, and the penetrim D toxin made by Penicillium crustosum. Fumonisins are a group of mycotoxins that happen to be neurotoxic as well as carcinogenic. They are "universally present in corn and corn-based products.". Penitrem mycotoxins are found in things such as moldy apple products. Penetrem D can cause tremors, convulsions, limb weakness, and ataxis (unsteady gait), "not unlike the symptoms observed in MS."

As there are different classes of MS (chronic progressive, relapsing-remitting, etc.) it may very well be that the different classes are being caused by different classes of mycotoxins. In addition, the regional differences in the prevalence of MS might be explained by the particular agricultural products that dominate the most affected areas. For example, the part of America that lies above the 37th parallel also happens to encompass the cornbelt. Remember that corn is universally contaminated with mycotoxins. This area is also represented by much of the wheat belt. Is this just a coincidence, or good evidence of an environmental exposure risk factor?
Let’s talk about some of the latest treatments for MS. Dr. Mercola has already stated in a previous article that most MS drugs are a waste of money. The new buzz on the town, however, is that statin drugs (cholesterol-lowering drugs) have proven effective in slowing the progression of MS. Their effectiveness should not surprise us, in light of the fungal/mycotoxin theory, when we also learn that statin drugs are antifungal.

Dr. Mercola has also mentioned in previous articles that Vitamin D as well as plain old sunlight can reduce mortality from and positively influence the immune system in MS. Other researchers have explained that the reason why these work is, once again, Vitamin D, whether taken in the form of a cod liver oil supplement or made naturally by our body from sunlight exposure, is anti-mycotoxin.

Finally, let’s talk about diet again. Last year a German researcher claimed that eating smoked sausage in childhood was responsible for causing multiple sclerosis later in life. Dr. A.V. Costantini, retired head of the World Health Organization’s collaborating center for mycotoxins in food, helps us out here by explaining that smoked and aged meats are often contaminated with mycotoxins. Thus the cause of MS, according to these and other researchers, is right in our food.

In another of Dr. Mercola’s articles, he talked about how starving mice with an MS-like condition resulted in fewer symptoms and decreased progression of the illness. Why does starvation work? In our humbled opinion, it could be as simple as: the fewer foods taken in, the fewer mycotoxins that enter the body. You see, if we are following the standard, food pyramid, grain based American diet, we are consuming on average from 0.15 to 0.5mg of aflatoxin per day. Aflatoxin is the only regulated mycotoxin in America, so what level of exposure we have to the other, known mycotoxins in our diet that we’ve discussed is a guess, at best. So starvation diets not only deprive us of calories. They also "deprive" us of disease-causing, carcinogenic mycotoxins.
If indeed mycotoxins cause MS, then there are a number of steps one must take to minimize exposure to fungi and their mycotoxins. We just finished talking about diet. Since mycotoxins are commonly found in grain foods, then it would be wise to minimize grains in our diet. Doug Kaufmann outlines his Initial Phase diet in our book, The Fungus Link, Volume 2. As well, Dr. Mercola has published his book, The No-Grain Diet, which offers equally valuable information.

Secondly, we should minimize our exposure to antibiotics.
Antibiotics are, for the most part, derived from fungi and are therefore classified as mycotoxins. If we’ve taken lots of antibiotics in the past, we should attempt to correct the damage done by these by taking a good probiotic supplement. Lastly, if we have any obvious signs of fungal infection in our body, and to us, simply having MS might qualify as an obvious sign, it might behoove us to take natural or prescriptive antifungals for a period of time. Remember that gliotoxin can be made by fungi and yeast that are already in the body, not necessarily by fungi that reside in contaminated foods.

Doug and I hope that we’ve given you some insight to this "mysterious" disease of MS. It seems, according to the research we’ve pointed to, that the cause for this disease is right before our eyes. Now, we just need to apply this knowledge. Future research should be directed at treating the disease as if it were caused by fungi and their devastating mycotoxins.

more at: http://www.mercola.com/2003/jul/19/multiple_sclerosis.htm

Fungus Link - Leukemia & Fungus

THE FUNGUS LINK

(Leukemia and its Fungal Root)

By David Holland, MD

I recently spoke with a nurse who was diagnosed, as an adult, with leukemia. She endured the chemotherapy regimen her doctors prescribed, only to suffer from a secondary fungal infection during that time. The intensity and duration of the antifungal treatment rivaled that of the chemotherapy. At any rate, she recovered from both afflictions and went back to work.
Later, as a result of another workup -- which included a liver biopsy -- for some returning symptoms she had, bad news was again brought up. "Your leukemia has returned," her oncologist told her, and he proceeded to lay out the next line of chemotherapy drugs she would have to take.

Given that her chances of dying were much higher now that her cancer had returned, she opted to get a second opinion on her biopsy before proceeding with her next round of chemotherapy. She took her tissue sample to another hospital, and what she was told there was absolutely stunning: "You don't have leukemia," remarked the pathologist, "what you have is a fungal infection!"

The scenario that her doctors figured was that her previous fungal infection had returned -- a total possibility. But for this nurse, more questions were raised. She thought, for example, "If they diagnosed my fungal infection as leukemia this time, is it possible that they were wrong the FIRST time? Was my leukemia really a fungal infection to begin with, and was my so-called 'secondary' fungal infection I had earlier really a full-blown manifestation of what originally might have looked like leukemia?"

Of course, she would never get answers to these questions, for to fully investigate thoughts like these might imply that a diagnostic error was made on the part of either her initial oncologist or pathologist.

Nevertheless, an intense six months later -- some of it spent in the hospital -- of high-dose, powerful antifungals finally achieved a cure for her fungal infection. Today, she is again back at work, exuding more than ever with compassion for her patients. It really struck me when she told me where she works, because in her case, her occupation may very well relate to what she had suffered over the past two years. It turns out that she works at a bone-marrow transplant center, and is in daily contact with children with leukemia.

Now, the thought of her "acquiring" something as grave as leukemia would almost be preposterous to some. But the temptation to scratch our heads and wonder about this is unbearable. What if she really did have a fungal infection -- and NOT leukemia -- her first time around? And if so, did she "catch" this from her precious little patients?

Fungal infections not only can be extremely contagious, but they also go hand in hand with leukemia -- every oncologist knows this. And these infections are devastating: once a child who has become a bone marrow transplant recipient gets a "secondary" fungal infection, his chances of living, despite all the antifungals in the world, are only 20%, at best.

And then the unthinkable thought arises: what if all of these children didn't even have leukemia, but rather a fungal infection, just as this nurse did? If doctors, in the 21st century, could mistake a fungal infection for leukemia in this nurse, could the same fate have fallen upon these children?
Doctors in general are not very good at diagnosing fungal infections because their medical school training is based so heavily on the role of bacteria and viruses in the area of infectious diseases. Fungi have been a forgotten foe ever since the advent of antibiotics. Once we had a drug that could kill bacteria, the interest in and the study of fungi fell to the wayside.
Laboratories display the same difficulty in diagnosing fungal infections: current tests for detecting the presence of fungi are both terribly scant and sorely antiquated.
Despite these training and technical inadequacies, there have been at least a few good reports that implicate the role of fungi in causing leukemia.

For example, in 1999 Meinolf Karthaus, MD, watched three different children with leukemia suddenly go into remission upon receiving a triple antifungal drug cocktail for their "secondary" fungal infections.

Pre-dating that, Mark Bielski stated back in 1997 that leukemia, whether acute or chronic, is intimately associated with the yeast, Candida albicans.

Finally, almost 50 years ago, Dr. J. Walter Wilson, in his textbook of clinical mycology, said that "it has been established that histoplasmosis and such reticuloendothelioses as leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, and sarcoidosis are found to be coexistent much more frequently than is statistically justifiable on the basis of coincidence."

Histoplasmosis is what we call an "endemic" fungal infection. It is most commonly acquired in regions surrounding the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys in the United States. One becomes ill by merely inhaling the tiny fungal spores of this fungus. (For more information on histoplasmosis and other endemic fungi, you can visit: http://www.doctorfungus.org/). Three similar reports like this over the span of 40 years should convince us to at least study the role of fungi in cancers like leukemia a little more thoroughly. The late Milton White, MD., did exactly this. He fully believed that cancer is a "chronic, intracellular, infectious, biologically induced spore (fungus) transformation disease." Using the proper isolation techniques (involving saline instead of formaldehyde as a tissue transportation medium between the operating room and the pathology lab), he was able to find fungal spores in every sample of cancer tissue he studied. His lifetime work has been routinely dismissed as nothing more than an unproven postulate.
Regardless, wouldn't you expect all of this information to make front-page headlines in every newspaper across the country, if not the world? Instead, every one of these findings was merely a brief mention -- only curious thoughts that one might entertain but never take seriously.
The fact is, if leukemia and fungal infections "co-exist" so frequently, and if an antifungal drug cocktail effectively cured at least these three children of their leukemia, then I say we put the brakes on right there. Is there a need to go any farther, except to more deeply investigate the need for antifungals in treating leukemia and not just the secondary infections that arise in the course of chemotherapy?

In his book, The Germ that Causes Cancer (http://iknowthecause.com), author and television host Doug Kaufmann asserts that not only fungi, but also foods play a role in the etiology of cancer. He has seen children become free of their documented leukemia once the child's parents simply changed the child's diet. Kaufmann's diet is base on the widely-published problem of mycotoxin contamination of our grain foods.

Grains such as corn, wheat, barley, sorghum, and other foods such as peanuts, are commonly contaminated with cancer-causing fungal poisons, or "mycotoxins." One of them, called aflatoxin, just happens to be the most carcinogenic substance on earth. If this is indeed a problem, Kaufmann asserts, then cereal for breakfast and soda pop for dinner may not be conducive to a cancer-free lifestyle.

A case in point: in a grain-based diet, we consume, on average, from 0.15mg to 0.5mg of aflatoxin per day. Further, he states, it is not the sugar alone that is the problem in our western diet, but the fungal toxins that are found in the sugary grains. More than once has Kaufmann interviewed a caller (on his health talk show) who absolutely craved peanut butter and popcorn just prior to their diagnosis of cancer.

Fungi are such a nuisance in carbohydrate foods in particular because fungi need carbohydrates to thrive. Therefore, it is rarer to see fungal contamination problems in foods like vegetables and high-protein foods.

Kaufmann goes on further to explain how even antibiotics may play a role in the disease process. Antibiotics destroy the normal, protective gut bacteria, allowing intestinal yeast and fungi to grow unchecked. These internal, gut yeast make toxins, too. This can lead to immune suppression, symptoms of any autoimmune disease, or even cancer. "If the onset of any symptom or disease- cancer included- was preceded by a course of antibiotics," he maintains, "then look for a fungus to be at the root of your problem."

Doug and I will be talking more about the role of fungi in cancer and other diseases, such as diabetes, in our upcoming seminars. Check out our website (http://iknowthecause.com) to find the location nearest you.

David Holland, MDCo-author, The Fungus Link, Infectious Diabetes.20 May 2003MediaTrition, Inc.

IBD - Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Fungus

The Fungal Etiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

(from Dr. Mercola's website: www.mercola.com)

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Dr. Dave Holland is the co-author, with Doug Kaufmann, of the best-selling book "The Fungus Link," and the new book, "The Fungus Link Vol. 2." The following is an excerpt from chapter three of "The Fungus Link." The book has recently been revised and updated with new information, and it continues to help educate both the general public and medical professionals alike on the roles of fungi and fungal toxins in causing a wide variety of human diseases.
In "The Fungus Link Vol. 2," you’ll also learn about the dangers of antibiotics and the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases, hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss and eye problems.
If you have a friend or loved one who is suffering from Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative colitis, please take the time to forward this excerpt to them.

By David A. Holland, M.D.

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, although distinguished by well-known characteristics, are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD is characterized by a host of symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, rectal bleeding, weight loss, fever, and a host of extra-intestinal symptoms, including disorders of the eyes, liver, gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin. The treatments usually focus on relief of symptoms with anti-inflammatory drugs or surgery (i.e. removal of the affected part of the intestines).

The cause of IBD remains "unknown."
Some have implicated a viral etiology to IBD. In the medical journal The Lancet, Dr. Wakefield and colleagues found that three of four offspring in mothers that had measles during pregnancy developed severe Crohn’s later in life. Of note is that recurrent antibiotic-resistant pneumonia preceded the Crohn’s in every case.

This is important because antibiotics are known to increase the risk of fungal infection. Another study highlights this fact: an eight-year-old girl who was treated with antibiotics for recurrent upper respiratory tract infections developed intestinal candidiasis, an overgrowth of the yeast Candida albicans, in the gut.

Other scientists have found carbohydrates to be a possible culprit. Two of three worldwide studies found the average intake of carbohydrates (including bread, potatoes, and refined sugars) to be much greater in those who developed IBD than in those who did not. Why would carbohydrates be implicated as a cause? Could it be that they are commonly contaminated with fungal toxins, according to a 2002 JAMA article and numerous agricultural publications, including the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology?

In her book, "Breaking the Vicious Cycle," Elaine Gottschall describes the cycle of intestinal mucosal injury, impaired digestion, malabsorption, bacterial overgrowth, and increase in bacterial by-products and mucous production, which lead back to intestinal mucosal injury. We all know that antibiotics can alter the normal intestinal flora or bacteria. These bacteria usually keep in check the relatively small amount of existing yeast in the intestines.
However, when antibiotics are taken for various purposes--and you can bet those kids in Dr. Wakefield’s study were given plenty of antibiotics--the normal, protective bacteria are eliminated, and yeast growth goes unchecked. The resulting effects range from "mild diarrhea to severe colitis, or systemic fungal or bacterial dissemination." In Chapter 2 of our book, "The Fungus Link," you read about the link between arthritis and fungus.

When fungi become systemic from gut inflammation and the overuse of antibiotics, you can see how the whole body--again, the eyes, liver, gallbladder, muscles and joints, kidneys, and skin--becomes involved in inflammatory bowel disease.

Still other scientists have directly implicated yeast and fungal toxins, called mycotoxins, in the cause of Crohn’s disease. Former World Health Organization expert Dr. A.V. Costantini has found that people with Crohn’s often have aflatoxin, a mycotoxin made by Aspergillus molds, in their blood. Barclay found that disease activity in patients with Crohn’s was lower while they followed a yeast-free diet, specifically avoiding baker’s and brewer’s yeasts.

Some feel that the yeast, Candida albicans, may be the cause of Celiac disease, also known as Sprue, or gluten-sensitive enteropathy. Celiac disease, doctors presume, is caused by a reaction to a protein particle called gluten that exists in certain grains.

This allergic-type reaction leads to inflammation and often severe symptoms in not only the intestines but also the entire body. Conventional treatment therefore involves suppressing the inflammation and symptoms with anti-inflammatory medications. It also requires the avoidance of these particular grains. Ironically, corn is a grain that does not contain gluten. It therefore falls in the "okay to eat" list offered by conventional practitioners and dieticians. Little do most practitioners know that corn is universally contaminated with mycotoxins.

So, over-consuming corn, as so many Celiac patients do since they have few other choices of grains in their diet, is likely to propagate the illness. Many people have successfully treated (dare we say cured?) their Celiac disease by not only avoiding grains altogether--especially corn--but also including antifungal medications in their treatment regimen. Such antifungals may include the natural, coconut-derived fatty acid known as Caprylic acid (available over the counter), or stronger, prescriptive antifungals. These stronger medicines might consist of a combination of nystatin (a broad spectrum gut antifungal) and either itraconazole (Sporanox®) or fluconazole (Diflucan®).

Chapter 13 of "Principles and Practice of Clinical Mycology" deals entirely with fungal infections in the gut. They describe how Blastomyces dermatitidis, a fungus, can produce "granulomatous" lesions in the intestines.

Not surprisingly, this same type of lesion has also been seen in patients with Crohn’s disease. Another fungus called Histoplasma produces intestinal disease with symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, fever, and abdominal pain--sound familiar? The common lesions seen in the gut with this infection were "masses or ulcers mimicking inflammatory bowel disease or carcinoma." The authors concluded that histoplasmosis should be a "serious consideration" in an immunocompromised patient with signs and symptoms of IBD.

Back to the big word "immuno-compromised," which means the immune system has been compromised, or weakened. We strongly disagree that you must have cancer or AIDS or be on chemotherapy to have a weakened immune system. Just smell the air on your way to work or look at our standard American diet (SAD), or even look at the number of antibiotics we consume from childhood on. Could these be impeding our immune systems? Most antibiotics are mycotoxins--fungal derivatives.

Mycotoxins are commonly found in our grain food supply. Mycotoxins can suppress our normal immune function. Therefore, anyone who has taken an antibiotic or consumes grains or sugar qualifies as a potentially immunocompromised person.

We’ve seen thus far that, in just about every case of inflammatory bowel disease, conventional treatment involves the use of anti-inflammatories. Well, researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis took a bold step and did a study where they offered patients with Crohn’s disease an immune stimulant instead. They used a medicine called Leukine--a naturally-occuring molecule called Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF).
And though they faced harsh criticism from scientists at other universities for doing this, they obtained amazing results: of the initial 15 patients in the study, 12 did "significantly" better overall, while eight went into complete remission! Every one of the half a million patients with Crohn’s disease in America should know about this study.

But they shouldn’t feel they need to rush in to their doctor’s office to get this expensive shot (it costs around $300 per milliliter--that’s $1,500 per teaspoon).

Rather, they should learn from this study: by giving an immune booster, these doctors were able to put 53 percent of the cases into total remission. That almost implies that an infection is at the root of the disease, and that by assisting the body’s immune system the medication helped the body overcome the "infection," or the disease.

Typically, an anti-inflammatory medicine merely controls the symptoms of the disease--it doesn’t cure it. That’s because it rarely addresses the true cause of the disease. In other words, if the wrong diet is constantly consumed, or if damage (i.e. yeast overgrowth) is never reversed from previous antibiotic use, a cure can almost never be achieved. In this case, we feel that the "infection" in the intestines of Crohn’s patients is caused by fungi and their mycotoxins.

Incidentally, you can boost your immune system much less expensively and without a prescription by taking beta-glucans (see seagateproducts.com or nsc24.com). Using probiotics--Lactobacillus acidophilus, etc. (see natren.com)--is also extremely vital in reversing antibiotic damage, since these good bacteria can keep yeast and fungi from re-establishing themselves in the intestines.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease knows the misery these diseases can cause. Given the alternatives for treatment--more immune-suppressing drugs and surgery--we think it would be worth a trial on a program that includes a low-carb diet and antifungal medications or supplements. A 1944 Johns Hopkins Clinical Mycology book stressed the importance of following a low-carb diet while treating yeasts. If a fungus or mycotoxin is truly involved, all of these approaches will do more than just suppress the symptoms of or "manage" the disease--they can actually cure it.

more at: www.mercola.com

Food Combining Rules & Information

FOOD COMBINING"Putting Logic Back into Eating"

PRINT THE "FOOD COMBINING CHART" AND KEEP IT HANDY IN THE KITCHEN (for quick reference when preparing meals)

If I were asked, "What is the first major cause of most illness?", I would have to say incomplete digestion. If your food does not break down through the enzymes provided by fresh and raw food in your body, then putrefaction (rotting and decay) will take place. The result? Your body absorbs its own toxic waste before it can be eliminated.

Have you ever tried doing two things at once? I know I have, and still do, and if you are anything like me these tasks are usually rushed and incomplete. The same applies to your digestive process. If you combine the wrong foods together in a single meal, your body is required to process incompatible food substances at the same time. This results in "incomplete digestion", discomfort, and putrefaction. Eating your meals as if they were a smorgasbord can only lead to disaster.

Food breaks down in the body with the aid of enzymes or bacteria. Enzyme breakdown is the natural course, while bacterial breakdown is quite destructive. Bacterial breakdown creates toxic gases which manifest in the body as bloating, burping, flatulence, candida, fatigue, headaches, constipation, diarrhea, low back pain, and so on. Your digestive tract will either be your highway to health, or to pain and suffering. You choose the road you want to take.

We have been educated via media advertising to compromise our health for the heavenly tastes in the mouth with no concern for the following thirty feet of discomfort and/or pain that follows in our intestinal tract. Let's take a look at the concept of logical eating known as Food Combining.


THE REASON FOR PROPER FOOD COMBINING?to make digestion easier and more efficient!

If you are going to eat more than one food at a meal,
you can greatly improve digestion (and avoid indigestion)
by eating foods that require
the same gastric juices for digestion and are compatible.

Proper combining leads to good digestion and to better health

"THE SIMPLER THE MEAL THE BETTER YOU FEEL."



PROTEINS
Protein foods are those that contain a high percentage of protein in their makeup. Protein foods require an ACID DIGESTIVE ENVIRONMENT. Chief among these are the following:

Nuts, Seeds
All flesh foods* (except fat)
Dry Beans
Dry Peas (combined as starches)
Eggs*
Cheese* and other dairy products*
Soy Beans
Peanuts
Margarine*
Chicken/Fish/Red Meat - AVOID PORK
Olives
Avocados

* These substances are not recommended, but included for clarity.


CARBOHYDRATES
The carbohydrates are the starches and sugars. These we break up into three distinct classifications: Starches, Sugars, and Sweet Fruits . . . all require an ALKALINE DIGESTIVE ENVIRONMENT.


STARCHES:

All Cereals
Dry Beans (except soy beans)
Dry Peas
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Yams
Chestnuts
Squash
Corn
Coconut**


SWEET FRUITS:
Prunes
Persimmons
Dried Fruits
Bananas
Dates
Figs
Raisins


SUGARS:

Pure Honey*
Pure Maple Syrup*


MILDLY STARCHY:

Carrots
Artichokes
Rutabaga
Parsnips
Beets

* These foods are not recommended.** Coconuts are a starch/protein combination and also a saturated fat.


GENERAL FOOD COMBINING GUIDELINES

Avoid eating carbohydrates with acid fruits - This combination may neutralize your enzymes causing your food to putrefy.

Avoid eating concentrated proteins with concentrated carbohydrates - Remember the pizza? How it made you feel? Especially when you were tired?

Do not consume two concentrated proteins at the same meal - Two concentrated proteins of different character and composition (such as nuts and cheese) should not be combined. Gastric acidity, type, strength, and timing of secretions for various proteins is not uniform. Since concentrated protein is more difficult to digest than other food elements, incompatible combinations of two different concentrated proteins should be avoided.

Do not consume fats with proteins - Our need for concentrated fat is small and most protein foods already contain a good deal of fat. Fat has an inhibiting effect on digestive secretions and lessens the amount and activity of pepsin and hydrochloric acid necessary for the digestion of protein. Fat may lower the entire digestive tone more than 50%.

Use fats sparingly - Fats inhibit the secretion of gastric juice. Except with avocado, fats used with starch delay the passage of the starch from the stomach into the intestine. When fats such as avocados or nuts are eaten with raw green vegetables, their inhibiting effect on gastric secretion is counteracted and digestion proceeds normally.

AVOCADOS: Though not a high protein food, avocados contain more protein than milk. They are high in fat and the small percentage of protein they contain is of high biological value. They are best used with a salad meal. Eating avocados with salad enhances their digestability. The next best combination for avocado is to take it with subacid or acid fruit. It is even better when lettuce leaves and celery are eaten with the fruit and the avocado. Since the avocado is low in protein, it may also be used with potatoes or other starch foods, provided a green salad is included in the meal. Avocados should never be used with nuts, which are also high in fat. Fats other than nuts and avocados are not recommended for regular use.

Do not eat acid fruits with proteins - Citrus, tomatoes, pineapple, strawberries, and other acid fruits should not be eaten with nuts, cheese, eggs or meat. If you are ill, avoid acid fruits especially in juice form - but lemons and limes are always a great addition due to their enzyme content.

Do not combine sweet fruits with proteins, starches, or acid fruits - The sugars in sweet fruit should be free to leave the stomach within twenty minutes, and are apt to ferment if digestion is delayed by mixing with other foods. Sugar-starch combinations cause additional problems. When sugar is taken the mouth quickly fills with saliva, but no ptyalin is present. Ptyalin is essential for starch digestion. If starch is disguised by sugar, honey, molasses, or sweet fruit, digestion is impaired. Fermentation is inevitable if sugars of any kind are delayed in the stomach by the digestion of starch, protein, or acid fruit. Sugar also has a marked inhibiting effect on the flow of gastric juices.

Eat only one concentrated starch at a meal - This rule is more important as a means of avoiding overeating starches than avoiding a bad combination. Slightly starchy vegetables may be combined with more starchy vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, but not with combination foods such as grains and legumes.

Acid fruits may be used with subacid fruits - This combination is best made with less sweet subacid fruits. Never use acid fruits with sweet fruits. Tomatoes should not be combined with subacid fruit nor with any other kind of fruit. They are best combined with a salad meal at which no starches are served.

Subacid fruits may be used with sweet fruits - It is best to use the sweeter varieties of subacid fruits when making this combination. For people with poor digestion, bananas are best eaten alone. For others, bananas combine fairly well with dates, raisins, grapes, and other sweet fruit, and with green leafy vegetables such as lettuce and celery. Dried sweet fruits should be used sparingly, because the sugar concentration is naturally greater. It is best to have these fruits at a fruit meal combined with a salad of lettuce and celery.

Combine fruit only with lettuce and celery - These uncooked vegetables with a fruit meal may even enhance digestion of the fruit.

Salads combine very well with proteins or starches - Non starchy vegetables may be combined with proteins or starch. The green leafy vegetables combine very well with most other foods, and should form the major part of one's daily diet. Through the week, use as wide a variety of vegetables as possible. Lettuce and other green and non-starchy vegetables leave the stomach with little change. They pass through the stomach rapidly unless delayed by oily dressing or foods that require a more thorough gastric digestion.

Do not consume melons with any other foods - Many people who have complained that melons did not agree with them have no trouble when eating only melons at a meal. Melons are more than 90% liquid and leave the stomach quickly if not delayed and fermented by combining with other foods.Avoid over ripe fruit, this may cause digestive disturbances.

Sprouts - The best way to eat grains are as sprouts. When grains are sprouted, they come alive with enzymes and oxygen. They become a pre-digested food. Other seeds and legumes may be sprouted as well.

Water - You should drink alkaline water throughout the day. Do not allow your thirst to build up. Do not allow dehydration to occur. Do not drink a large amount at one time. It is better to have a smaller but continual flow of water for proper assimilation and detoxification. Don't dilute the natural enzymes in your body by drinking with meals. Water is a food, make it the best quality you can. Avoid distilled and chlorinated for health sake.



References:For more information we recommend the following books: "Food Combining Made Easy" and "Superior Nutrition" by Herbert Shelton D.P., N.D., D.N.T, D.N.Sc.

Excerpts from the above have been taken from a document published by The Canadian Natural Health Association Founded on Natural Hygiene, Toronto Chapter

More can be found at The Wolfe Clinic Website at: http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/newsletter/newsletter0002.html