Perfect Health: The Natural Way

By Mary-Ann Shearer

Summarized with permission of Benbella Books. All rights reserved.

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STEP 3: Start All Cooked Meals with Raw Vegetables

Start all cooked meals (especially lunch and supper) with a medium plate of raw, uncooked vegetables. For ideas, visit: www.mary-anns.com. British nutritionist and immunologist Jennifer Meek found that starting cooked meals with raw vegetables prevented destruction of white blood cells, which is important in maintaining a healthy immune system.

STEP 4: Food-Combining

Mary-Ann Shearer read books such as The Work of the Digestive System by Professor Ivan Pavlov and Charles Griffin (1910). She was fascinated by the experiments performed on Alexis St. Martin by Dr. William Beaumont from 1825 to 1832. He suspended different types of foods on silk threads into the stomach of St. Martin, who had a hole in his stomach caused by a gunshot wound that had not closed up.

Dr. Beaumont recorded the time it took for each meal to digest. From his observations over a few years, it was apparent that the more simple the meal, the easier it was to digest. In one experiment only rice was eaten. It was out of the stomach in one hour, whereas when potatoes and meat were eaten together, it could take anywhere from 3 to 6 1/2 hours to digest.

Digestion of Starches

• Starches need to be chewed well so that the enzyme ptyalin (also known as salivary amylase), which is secreted in the saliva, can start acting on the starch.
• It moves into the stomach, where it is churned up while the ptyalin continues to act on it.
• This mixture, called chyme, then passes into the small intestine where further digestion takes places with the aid of amylase or starch-splitting enzymes.
• The simple sugars that result from this breaking-down process are then absorbed into the bloodstream and used by the body.

Concentrated starches are foods with usually 20 percent or more carbohydrate content such as:

• Potatoes
• Rice
• Bread and pasta
• Corn on the cob
• All grains such as wheat, rye, oats, etc.

Digestion of Protein

• Concentrated proteins are not acted on by the ptyalin like that of the concentrated starches, but merely broken down mechanically by the teeth.
• The chewed protein then passes into the stomach, where hydrochloric acid is stimulated in direct proportion to the amount of protein present.
• Pepsin, the protein-digesting enzyme, is activated by this hydrochloric acid.
• The pepsin then proceeds with the action of breaking the protein down into amino acids.
• Further digestion takes place in the small intestine to complete the process for absorption.

Concentrated proteins are foods that contain 15 percent or more complete protein, such as:

• Meat
• Chicken
• Fish
• Eggs
• Some cheeses
• Most nuts and seeds

All animal products other than the fats such as butter and cream are protein.

Protein digests easier, faster, and more efficiently in a more acidic environment than starch. Protein prefers a pH level from three down, whereas starch prefers a pH level of four or higher. When the two are combined together, the hydrochloric acid has a neutralizing effect on the more alkaline ptyalin, and in turn, this suspends or stops the digestion of the starch before completion.

The partially digested starches then begin to ferment, thus causing the protein to putrefy. What results from this fermenting mix is alcohol, acetic acid (stronger than vinegar), and ammonia. These substances are all poisonous to the body and end up in the bloodstream with partially digested protein, contributing to a condition known as leaky gut syndrome.

STEP 5: Try to Eat Animal Protein No More Than Once a Day (Preferably No More Than Three Times a Week)

Vegetarians should try and include at least a quarter to half a cup of raw, unsalted nuts every day. Legumes are difficult to digest as they are generally cooked. Cooked protein is more difficult to digest. Soaking legumes overnight in filtered water before cooking makes them more digestible. For those who enjoy meat, fish, and poultry, try not to eat these more than once a day, keeping red meat down to a maximum of three times per week.

Using these steps people will find themselves eating the following:

• One meal a day that consists entirely of fresh fruit and nuts.
• A second meal that includes fresh raw and cooked vegetables with a natural unprocessed starch such as potatoes, brown rice, corn, sweet potatoes, or yams.
• A third meal of raw and cooked vegetables with one kind of protein if the body needs extra protein besides the nuts.
• For the very active athlete, include (if needed) a second meal with more carbohydrates or starches or a second fruit.
• For the inactive person who battles with excess weight, eat starches no more than once a day, with the third meal being just raw and/or cooked neutral vegetables.

For those who still feel uncertain about how to change to the "Perfect Health" lifestyle, there are various simple programs to start with. For a day-by-day guide with recipes, motivation, and tips, go to www.100daystohealth.com or www.mary-anns.com. These sites will allow access to a program that covers just over three months of day-by-day meal-by-meal recipes and support for following "Perfect Health."

 

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