There are seven secrets of metabolism,
which, if known and followed, will lead to greater body wisdom
and health.
The first secret of metabolism is that the largest organ in
the body has yet to be "discovered" by the medical profession.
Its presence is known, but its importance is significantly
overlooked. It is called the "interstitial space" and exists
everywhere as microscopic areas inbetween every two cells.
This separation of cells is absolutely essential to provide a
common pathway for the movement of oxygen, nutrients, and
electrical impulses, none of which can feasibly traverse
through one cell to reach into another. Collectively, the
interstitial space weighs about one-sixth of the total body
mass. Waste materials egress through the interstitial space to
reach the lymphatic system, and the white-cell defenders move
freely within it. All diseases have their origins as an
imbalance in the interstitial space. In its function as a
final common pathway, the interstitial space is acting as a
tissue; but its principal function as an organ is to maintain
a reserve of water for balancing the body's needs.
The second secret of metabolism concerns the "myth" about
high-protein dieting. Because of a quirky biochemical
observation (that it is impossible on a molecular basis to
convert protein into fat), the medical profession advises that
a high-protein diet is good. However, this conclusion is false
and is not derived from biochemical understandings. More
truthful is the realization that the body requires only a
certain amount of protein to sustain the building and repair
of its tissues. There is no natural mechanism for storing
surplus dietary protein; and, therefore, all protein eaten in
excess of this basic amount must be burned up to produce heat
for the body. When body enzymes are burning protein to produce
heat, they are not burning carbohydrates to produce heat at
the same time. Thus, dietary carbohydrates are diverted into
fat storage, except for what is immediately required to meet
the demands of the brain and during exercise. Furthermore,
protein is not a clean-burning fuel; it produces a lot of
stress upon both the liver and the kidneys to eliminate
nitrogen and sulfur wastes. By comparison, carbohydrates
combust to produce carbon dioxide and water as waste; and both
of these are easily eliminated through the lungs.
The third secret is why digestion of a high-protein diet
creates a need for cellulite, obesity, and wrinkles. Proteins
and complex carbohydrates are both progressively broken down
by inserting molecules of water wherever a cleavage is
effectuated. After continuous digestion, the resulting amino
acids and sugar molecules must then be diluted so they will
not be too concentrated in the blood. The water needed for
digestion, combined with the water for dilution, is six times
more for a hundred calories of protein compared to a hundred
calories of carbohydrate. Thus, a body maintained on a
high-protein diet must store tremendous reserves of water in
order to be prepared to digest and dilute the next meal. This
amounts to approximately three pounds of surplus water or
bloat, which is sequestered within the interstitial space.
Movement of this volume of water back and forth, first into
the stomach, then into the intestines, next into the blood,
and finally back into the interstitial space again, creates a
lot of undue stress on the heart and endocrine system because
of the required changes in blood pressure and preservation of
surplus salts and water. Moreover, since fat is so easily
displaceable, all the tissues that have a small amount of fat
in their composition are preferred locations for the
sequestration of water reserves; and the body wants to
increase the thickness of the fat layers in these tissues.
When a lot of water is hidden within skin areas that do not
receive the benefits of exercise, cellulite results. Wrinkles
make it twice as easy to hide a little more water in skin that
has lower amounts of fat. General obesity is the overall
result.
The fourth secret of metabolism concerns the molecular nature
and pathophysiology of food allergies. In general, the
allergenicity of a food substance comes from the protein
molecules within it; and, therefore, concentrated animal
proteins pose a more significant and unacceptable risk of
allergy formation. Amongst fruits and vegetables, tomatoes are
statistically a high-risk food because they are eaten so
often. The antigen itself is composed of only three amino
acids, a precise sequence that is not made by the human body.
An antigen is neutralized by an antibody molecule that
consists of three thousand amino acids, but the antigen is
capable of producing a wide variety of adverse effects before
it reacts with an antibody. After the antibody reacts twice,
it is totally used up and becomes floating debris in the
blood, which debris must be promptly removed.
Antibody removal by the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes is a
continuous process; but, nevertheless, some used-up antibody
molecules are inadvertently trapped instead by small capillary
loops, and this gives rise to acne, arthritis, psoriasis,
ulcers, kidney failure, and the like.
The fifth secret contains proof that the heart can live for
two hundred years. Every time one eats an allergic food,
steroids and other hormones are released that stimulate the
pulse, elevate the blood pressure, and result in a feeling of
euphoria. Secondarily, the body gets addicted to the euphoria;
and, consequently, one craves exactly those foods that cause
allergic effects, adversely influencing the body's inherent
sense of balance. Wheat in any form, is a most insidious cause
of this vicious cycle of allergy, steroid release, and
addiction. Furthermore, most wheat products are horribly
deficient in water content, and this adds to the stress on the
heart by forcing it to push an extra gallon of water into the
interstitial spaces everywhere.
Multiply the pulse times the blood pressure to determine the
work of the heart. Using the actuarial statistic that a
thirty-five-year-old person will live to age seventy-five,
multiply the heart's work times forty years to formulate a new
term called "heart beat potential." This is equivalent to
three and a half trillion horsepower! Dividing this heart beat
potential by a slower pulse and a lower blood pressure, the
natural result of a low-protein, low-allergy diet, we
determine mathematically that it will take nearly forty
additional years for the heart to live out its heart-beat
potential.
Next, we consider empirically the axiom of kinesiology that
periodic rest improves performance; we include the fact that a
slower pulse gives the heart more rest between every two
beats; and we factor in the actuarial determination that a
lower blood pressure increases longevity. All this together is
mathematically translated into the conclusion that the heart
has the potential to last for two hundred years.
The sixth secret of metabolism is about the promotion of
optimal health and longevity without morbidity. A good basic
diet should eliminate wheat and allergic foods. Once a year,
at the time of a special occasion, try to eliminate another
offending food. Fruits, vegetables, rice, and potatoes are the
best staples. Rice and potatoes are better than the other
traditional grains because they contain more inherent water.
The alkaline grains: amaranth, chinois, millet, and teff are
also very good; and a totally alkaline diet is one of the best
so long as individual food allergies are also eliminated.
Twenty grams a day is a sufficient amount of protein, about
half of the "minimum daily requirement." This can easily be
obtained exclusively from fruits and vegetables. Ideally
animal proteins are permissible if the same animal is not
eaten more than once a month.
A five-day interval is fine for fruits, vegetables, and
grains. Shorter intervals are quite tolerable for all foods
provided that the same meat or grain is not eaten more than
once a day. This latter advice is ancient, given by
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine; and more modern advice
shows us how to determine individual food allergies by using a
pulse-counting method, muscle testing, or observation of a
pendulum. These techniques are easily learned and require
further elaboration. The elimination of food allergies will
preserve the integrity of all of the body's organ systems, and
its introduction is never too late to reduce symptoms and
improve one's overall level of wellness.
The seventh and final secret describes the compassion of
cancer. If a person continues the bad habits of eating a
high-protein diet and, at the same time, there are a lot of
animal-protein allergies, then large antibody molecules get
produced and used up at a tremendously fast rate. Since 25% of
the blood flow goes through the kidneys, many used-up antibody
molecules are trapped by the kidney filters, which get
progressively plugged up, leading to higher and higher blood
pressures and eventual kidney failure or heart failure.
However, the body has a wisdom that senses the condition of
impending kidney failure and initiates a physiological process
that diverts sedimentary protein towards a functional purpose.
This process is the formation of a tumor growth.
All tumors represent a mechanism for the sequestration and
storage of waste protein. After ten years of tumor growth, the
basically asymptomatic years, the kidneys are still
functioning well. In the absence of the tumor, the kidneys
would have failed; and the body would have surrendered itself
much earlier to the effects of seriously elevated blood
pressures required to cleanse the blood by constantly forcing
it through partially occluded kidney filters. An early
morbidity from stroke and heart attack is prevented by the
formation of a cancer! Thus, the conclusion is obvious; to
prevent cancer, one should eat a low-protein, low-allergy
diet.
Dr. Narayan deVera is a medical doctor,
age 61, who has been an accomplished artist for almost 30
years. He has specialized in the prevention of disease since
1976. Extensive cardio-pulmonary stress testing at age 50
showed that his body did not age appreciably after 18 years on
a low-allergy diet. His most recent health book is "You
Be The Judge." He has also written "Discovered
Defense," a book about the game of chess and one about
particle physics and religion, called "Einstein's
Dream." Currently, he is very active in the Civil
Society Movement and has made two trips to Africa to help
solve the problems of chronic hunger there and other
conditions due to Vitamin-A deficiency. His website address is
www.heartofhumanity.org.
