Random Food Notes:

A low fat, no cholesterol diet is a healthy alternative to high fat and high cholesterol foods.

Concentrate on broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnips, and leafy greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, barley and lentils.

Remember all meats are high  in cholesterol and fat which are non essential and should be avoided. All animal foods are rich sources of fat. Beef derives between 60 and 80 percent of its calories from fat; pork, between 80 and 95 percent; chicken, between 30 and 50 percent; and fish, between five and 60 percent. Avoid eating processed meats, such as ham and bacon, altogether.

The problem with fat and cholesterol is that we need so little of both. The body produces all the cholesterol it needs. As for fat, all plant foods contain adequate amounts of fats and only plants make the essential fatty acids that promote good health.Plants do not contain cholesterol.

To understand why this diet is the most powerful form of medicine, you must start with the recognition that plant foods are the most abundant sources of nutrition on earth.

Nutrients are, essentially, the raw materials your body needs to function properly and to grow. In general, there are two types of nutrients – the ones your body can make, and the ones it can derive only from your food. The latter are called “essential” nutrients, for the simple fact that your diet must provide them for you to sustain your health.

There are 13 essential vitamins. Eleven are made in abundance by plants. The two that are not produced by plants are vitamins D and B12.B12 and D supplements are a good idea.

Remember animal foods have little nutritional value.

Only plants contain powerful substances called phytochemicals, which scientists are now discovering protect us from cancer, heart disease, and an array of other serious illnesses.

Plants are also the primary source of all minerals in the diet. In fact, all minerals are derived originally from the earth and make their way into the food supply via plants. The only reason animal foods contain any minerals at all is because the animals eat plants, or they eat animals that eat plants.

Plants are also the only sources of fiber, which binds in your intestines with fat, cholesterol, environmental pollutants, and disease-causing hormones and eliminates these dangers from the body. Fiber also decreases intestinal transit time and promotes healthy bowel elimination. As I will show below, fiber is one of the key substances that protect us from cancer, especially from cancers of the large intestine and breast.

Second, all plant foods contain “complete proteins,” meaning that they contain all the “essential” amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. This means that you will get all the protein – as well as all the amino acids – you need on a diet composed exclusively of plant foods.

The truth is, Americans consume six-to-10 times as much protein as they need. That excess protein overworks the liver and kidneys, causing both these organs to become enlarged and injured. Excess protein consumption causes the kidneys to pull large quantities of calcium from the body, causing bones to weaken and kidney stones to form.

What the world needs now is carbohydrates – and lots of them

Carbohydrates are our primary source of energy. They alone provide energy for red blood cells, and certain cells of the kidneys, and the preferred fuel for the central nervous system, including the brain.

Humans were designed by nature to crave carbohydrates – or, to put the matter in more practical terms, to crave sweet-tasting foods. Because of the sweet-tasting taste buds are on the tip of our tongues we are designed to seek starches, vegetables and fruits – which supply us with both energy and maximum nutrition. In fact, carbohydrates, with their unique combination of sweet-flavor, energy, and nutrition, regulate our hunger drive. Unless you eat enough carbohydrate foods, you will remain hungry and looking for food.

There are no carbohydrates in red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, or eggs. Most dairy products are deficient in carbohydrates. Cheese, for example, contains only two percent carbohydrate. This is one important reason people who eat a diet rich in animal foods are never satisfied and become compulsive overeaters.

Unprocessed plant foods, such as brown rice, potatoes, squash, broccoli, and apples – just to name a few – are loaded with carbohydrates. In fact, they provide an abundance of complex carbohydrates, which are long chains of sugars that are harmoniously mixed with other plant materials. These long chains must be broken down inside your intestine before they can be used as fuel. The process of digesting these complex sugars is slow and methodical, providing a steady stream of fuel pumped into your bloodstream as long-lasting energy.