Celiac disease is a malabsorption syndrome and chronic digestive disorder. The intestine is not able to absorb vital dietary nutrients from foods containing gliadin, an alcohol-soluble portion of gluten. This condition which is often hereditary means the sufferer has a serious intolerance to wheat (including durum, semolina and spelt), rye, oats, barley, and related grain hybrids such as tritaclae and kamut.
Arthritis refers to inflammation of the joint. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis which is characterised by joint degeneration and loss of cartilage. Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of inflammatory arthritis which is also an autoimmune disorder. In this case the body's immune system attacks its own cartilage and tissue surrounding the joints.
Some detoxification experts advocate fasting, while others do not. It is known that the components of any well-designed detox program will stimulate the body to cleanse itself, but people who are underweight, are undernourished, have weak hearts, have blood sugar issues or are ill should avoid fasting. Some studies have shown that restricting food intake can actually lead to bingeing.
Hemorrhoids are extremely common in industrialised countries and it is estimated that fifty percent of persons over fifty years of age have symptoms of hemorrhoidal disease. Although most people may begin to develop hemorrhoids in the twenties, the symptoms do not become evident normally until in ones thirties!
FOUR PLANT FOOD CATEGORIES
Reprinted with permission by the author Maria Middlestead from the “The Shape Diet” Publisher: Penguin Books. Natures Clinicals highly recommend this book
The 4 Plant food categories
These are our sources of carbohydrate, fibre, plant protein and thousands of their micro-team-mates. To obtain the maximum benefit from all these known and yet to be discovered agents of good health, eat from a wide variety of natural sources.
Vegetables and fruits
- Use colour as a code for nutritional emphasis and insurance. The deeper the colour, the greater the antioxidant content.
- Each day eat RED (tomato, beetroot, cabbage, onion, potato, pepper, radish, chilli, radicchio, apple, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, cranberries. Watermelon, rhubarb, pink grapefruit).
- Each day eat YELLOW-ORANGE (pumpkin, kumara, carrot, corn, potato, swede, parsnip, onion, squash, yam, pepper, grapefruit, melon, apricot, peach, nectarine, persimmon, pineapple, lemon, banana, orange, mango, pawpaw- and yellow spices).
- Each day eat GREEN (spinach, cress, kale, Asian greens, cucumber, lettuce, avocado, peas, beans, courgette, marrow, scallopini, okra, leek, celery, snow peas, puha, broccoli, artichoke, asparagus, bean sprouts, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, lime, melon, pear, kiwifruit, faijoa, fresh herbs).
- Each day eat BLUE-BLACK-PURPLE (eggplant, pepper, chilli, blueberries, blackcurrants, boysenberries, blackberries, plums, guava, grapes, passionfruit, raisins, prunes, currants figs, lavender).
- Each day eat WHITE-TAN-BROWN (cauliflower, potato, mushroom, onion, parsnip, turnip, garlic, ginger, pear, white melon, nectarine and peach).
Grains
- In the form of wholegrains, flaked, ground, kibbled, flour, breakfast cereal, pasta, bread, etc.
- Includes (gluten-containing) wheat, rye, oats, barley; also (non-gluten) rice, millet, cornmeal, buckwheat. Amaranth and quinoa are technically seeds but prepare and use like high protein ‘grains’ in cooked cereal, rice-style dishes.
Legumes
- Pod-bearing plants such as dried peas and beans, lentils, bean sprouts, peanuts, carob, fibre-containing soy products such as tempeh.
- Uses: ¼ soy flour to other flour in baking; pea or chickpea flour as savoury binding agent; Mexican bean mix inside tacos or tortillas; layer peanut sauce, peanuts and kumara in casserole; bean sprouts in salads, sandwiches; season mashed beans as patties, loaf, pie shell, dip; whole legumes into stew, soup, pasta sauce; cubed tempeh in stir-fry, salad, stew, soup.
Nuts and seeds
- Include sunflower, sesame, pine nuts, poppy, coconut, pecan, pumpkin, walnut, cashew, brazil, almond, hazelnut, macadamia, pistachio, tahini and other pastes and butters.
- Use whole, ground, raw or toasted; mix with rice as stuffing for tomato, courgette, peppers, eggplant; mix with grated vegetables and egg as fritters; add to dressing, dip, sauce, steamed vegetable topping; rice and noodle dishes; patties and loves; stir fry salads; baking and breakfast dishes.
- High in fat but the types of fat crucial to good health.
