I know many doctors in developed countries are quite shy on prescribing antibiotics these days. This article is fantastic, but it is of great concern and could be pointing to an underlying health issue for society as a whole. I was simply researching antibiotics with respect to liver function when I came across this. Some of it is quite technical, but well worth the read!
Most people know to some degree how important hydration is, but how many of us actually manage our hydration properly? Popular diets usually instruct followers to consume at least 1.5 litres of water a day or more. Many of the molecules in our body are made up of Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) atoms and we all know water is H2O. Catabolic (breaking down) processes in the body often create water as a by-product which passes out of the body through urine and sweat (around 2 litres). Anabolic processes (construction) require water to form new molecules to replace those lost and for healing and growth. So it’s not just enough to know that our bodies are over 50% water, it’s also good to understand the importance of water at are more fundamental level. Minute to minute and hour to hour the balance is thus critical to our health.
Unfortunately, modern diets aren’t always conducive to good hydration. Diuretics like coffee are increasing in popularity. Alcohol consumption is also a great concern. Soft drinks (sodas) remain popular and the salts (sodium, potassium, etc.) and caffeine in them play havoc with hydration. Not to mention so-called “energy drinks” many of which are loaded with caffeine. Worse still, we have young people mixing energy drinks with alcohol – a double whammy of dehydration, coupled with stimulant and anti-stimulant properties! All these drinks are making your body fight against dehydration. As your body wages this battle, it cleverly tries to protect critical things like brain function, blood volume, waste removal, etc. So, to do this when you are dehydrated it takes from elsewhere. If you have regular headaches, muscle pains and cramps, erratic thinking and concentration, poor bowel movements and so on, chances are you are simply dehydrated.
Ah, what to do? “I don’t like drinking heaps of water Jason, it’s boring, tasteless, etc.” you say. Well there are other options. Limit your alcohol to a couple of glasses a week. Enjoy only one or two cups of coffee a day. Try and mix this with alternatives like herbal teas, fruit juices, vegetable juices, rice milk, almond milk… and just plain water! If you mix it up a bit, you may just have one a day from each of these categories and if you do have coffee you will appreciate it much more as a real treat. Also try to eat more fluid-friendly foods such as fruit and vegetables. Junk foods are not only fattening, but the salt and sugar content can leave you quite dehydrated.
If you have already read up on, or studied Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), you will understand the basics such as yin and yang, qi (sometimes “chi”), the Zang Fu organs, etc. TCM philosophy is based around the ancient Chinese wisdom that our bodies are part of a greater whole (state, country, planet, universe, etc.). The body thus interacts with and is part of, the whole. The body can thus reflect and be reflected in, the whole. The Chinese believe that qi is energy that again interacts with, and is affected by other forms of energy.
This philosophy is very similar to that of another ancient culture – India. Ayurvedic (in Sanskrit “life knowledge”) Medicine from India recognises like TCM, basic elements such as fire, water, earth and air. There is also a strong emphasis on balance, and cause and effect relationships. Although these two cultures each have a long history of successful diagnosis and treatment of a range of ailments and diseases, they are often too readily dismissed by western medical practitioners and patients as either having no scientific basis or at worst being labelled “dodgy”.
I have never seen or heard of anyone ever alluding publicly to the following comments, but I reckon I have the answer – quantum physics! This level of physics it can be argued is the most fundamental level we currently understand about the building blocks that make up humans, and everything else around us. We have a universe which can be broken down into galaxies, stars and planets. Using Earth as an example, it can then be broken down into countries, states, and cities or societies. Societies consist of common groups and families made of individuals. Individual humans can be broken down into systems, organs, tissues, then into cells. Cells are made up of molecules, which are made up of atoms. Atoms are made of protons, neutrons and electrons. These particles are made of things called quarks and gluons. Quarks can be further reduced to bosons and fermions. Wow, you’re losing me with all this science stuff Jason, move on!
Basically, quantum physics has shown us that when we break things (all) down to the smallest constituent elements, elementary particles can behave like particles, light waves and/or energy depending on how they are observed. This suggests that everything may consist of energy or light, but can form matter under the right circumstances. Scientists working with the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, appear to have verified the existence of the Higgs Boson which in a nutshell is a most fundamental particle that gives mass. This discovery opens the possibility that everything we know could be stated as being made of energy. Now go back to my earlier comments on TCM and you can see the correlation. Everything is connected and energy permeates all matter. Thus, affecting energy flow can make you well or ill. It really does look like the ancient Chinese and Indians were on to something!
Young collard plants growing in a container (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Chlorophyll is not just for plants! This amazing substance is very important for our diet. This wonderful green pigment allows plants to take up light from the sun and convert it to energy (fuel) for the plant. Chlorophyll has a chemical structure that is quite similar to heme (component of haemoglobin) found within our red blood cells. Think about that one… A basic difference is the fact that this structure (called a porphyrin ring) contains an atom of iron at its centre when it is found in our red blood cells, but when it is found in plants, it contains an atom of magnesium at the centre.
Why is this so useful to our health? Apart from having anti-carcinogenic, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, chlorophyll is also a Chelate. The process of chelation is that the chelate can easily combine with heavy metals such as lead and mercury (remember those fillings in your teeth) and remove them from your organs and bloodstream. This can help alleviate one of the most powerful yet hidden syndromes in the world today – fatty liver. If your liver is clogged full of toxins such as heavy metals, it starts to retain fats and once it cannot cope with them it assists in sending excess fat out to other parts of the body. This chemical makeup of chlorophyll is also very important in helping us maintain the optimum pH level in our bodies, another overlooked health issue.
All of the green vegetables – asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, celery, collard greens, green beans, green peas, kale, leeks, green olives, parsley, romaine lettuce, sea vegetables, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens are concentrated sources of chlorophyll. A little known fact is also that certain blue-green algae contain concentrated sources of chlorophyll. Blue-green algal blooms in our waterways get a bad rap from the media and rightly so as generally they can contain harmful toxins. But when harvested from a reliable source, these cyanobacteria can offer a potent source of chlorophyll.
So there are more reasons to eat lots of green vegetables! It’s hard with a modern lifestyle to consume copious amounts of greens everyday so I highly recommend buying in bulk and juicing your greens with some apple to add some balance and sweetness. Eat and snack on greens (uncooked when suitable) during the day and consider a blue-green algae supplement if you think you need a real liver lift.
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