THE SLOW OXIDIZER EATING PLAN

by Lawrence Wilson, MD

© January 2010, The Center For Development

DIETARY CONCEPTS FOR EVERYONE

A very healthful diet is basic to nutritional balancing science. While health authorities disagree as to what this means, nutritional balancing seeks to balance five main qualities in food intake:

· How to obtain the most nutrients from an extremely nutrient-depleted food supply,

· How to avoid toxins in foods, both natural and man-made

· How to eat a more yang diet to balance the yin quality of most bodies today,

· How to obtain more etheric or subtle energy from food, and

· How to balance the oxidation rate and perhaps major mineral ratios with food.

Based on these criteria, here are general dietary suggestions for everyone:

· Fill two-thirds or more of your plate with steamed or otherwise lightly cooked vegetables. The emphasis on vegetables and on cooking them are both important. I am emphasizing vegetables because they are highly nutritious, yang in nature and very alkaline in their reaction in the body. They also provide hundreds of nutrients in an extremely usable form. Cooking is explained below.

· Avoid the nightshade family of vegetables. This includes potatoes, but not sweet potatoes or yams. It also include all peppers - hot, dried and fresh peppers, and paprika - as well as all tomatoes and eggplant. These are really fruits. All are too yin, or cold and expansive. Most bodies today are already too yin. Nightshades also contain solanin, a toxic substance.

· Eat food as fresh as possible, and perhaps also locally grown. Frozen peas, green beans and perhaps other frozen vegetables are fine, however, since they are not as available fresh. Other frozen or canned vegetables are not as good. Eat them only if fresh cannot be found.

· If possible, eat food grown without chemical sprays and pesticides and grown on richly mineralized soils. Organic grown food is a wonderful start, but does not guarantee quality.

· Eat all oils and fats as raw as possible. Cooking fats and oils damages all of them, some more than others. Therefore, eat all meats lightly cooked and eggs soft-boiled, poached or lightly scrambled. Try to find raw, certified dairy products. Raw and certified dairy is available on the internet and often of excellent quality. If you use vegetables oils, buy only cold-pressed, raw, organic oils. Raw flaxseed or hempseed oils are very good, but watch the expiration dates as they go rancid quickly.

· Ten to twelve ounces of carrot or other vegetable juice daily is excellent for almost everyone. It is very sweet, but provides a highly bioavailable form of calcium and some other nutrients most people need. An alternative is to have one or two ounces of fresh or frozen wheat grass juice daily. Fruit juices are definitely not recommended. Nor is more vegetable juice a good idea for most people as it is extremely yin, or cold and expanded. Other vegetables besides carrot have specific therapeutic uses. I recommend an older book, Raw Vegetable Juices by Norman Walker, for specific information about the use of small glasses of vegetables juices. Do not overdo on juices, however, as they are extremely yin.

· Cook most vegetables, and all meats and eggs. Eating food uncooked offers more vitamin C and food enzymes. However, far more important are the benefits of steaming or otherwise cooking most foods, which accomplishes the following:
a) Breaks down tough fibers in vegetables. This allows better absorption of most nutrients, particularly minerals.
b) Concentrates many foods such as spinach, allowing one to eat more of them at a meal. Eating salads and raw foods uses up more stomach volume, which is not helpful.
c) Adds heat or yang energy. This is subtle, but vitally important for most people, especially anyone who is ill.
d) Kills literally thousands of surface bacteria, fungi, yeasts, parasites and other harmful organisms. Most people do not have enough stomach acid to kill the micro-organisms on some food. Also, much of our food is grown out of the country where standards of cleanliness are often much lower. Transporting food thousands of miles also increases the chances of food-borne infections.
e) Warms the food. If food is eaten cold, the body must warm it up. This actually stresses the glands to some degree and wastes energy that could be used for healing.

· Healthful cooking methods are steaming, grilling, stir-frying, baking, crock pots, pressure cooking or roasting. Microwave ovens are not as good. Deep frying is not recommended in most instances due to problems caused by heating oils very hot for extended periods of time.

· Reduce or eliminate all fruit. Fruit is very yin, quite hybridized and its sweetness tends to upset the blood sugar level in most people. Also, fruit is very low in what I call etheric energy, a concept that is not well known, but mentioned a number of times in this text. It is related to its yin quality. Fruit juices and dried fruit are even worse and should be avoided.

· Avoid most refined sugars, wheat in all forms, most beef, all pig products except pancreatin, all organ meats and any foods that cause severe allergic reactions. This is explained later.

· Avoid snacking. However, when beginning this program, those with weak adrenals should have four or even five small meals daily to help maintain a steady blood sugar level.

· Eat a variety of foods. Do not eat the same food two or three days in a row, if possible.

· Keep meals simple for best digestion. Many people believe meals should be complex. In fact, a single food or two types of vegetables and a protein are plenty. Simpler is better as long as the diet is balanced correctly.

· Avoid all irritating foods such as very spicy foods.

FOODS THAT ARE EXCELLENT FOR EVERYONE

VEGETABLES. Eat mainly cooked vegetables at least twice daily. The following are best: Roots include turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, onions, carrots, celery root, red and golden beets, daikon and other radishes, yams, sweet potatoes and some garlic, ginger and burdock root. Leafy greens include spinach, kale, collard and mustard greens, Swiss chard, and beet and carrot greens. Other excellent vegetables are peas and green beans (frozen is okay), celery, and the cabbage family: cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. Among the squash family of vegetables, winter squash such as acorn and spaghetti squash are best. Pumpkin and summer squashes such as zucchini are too yin and better eaten only occasionally. Squashes are fruits.

Avoid or eat very few vegetables that are really fruits: They are too yin and include cucumber, okra, summer squashes such as zucchini and yellow squash, and the nightshades - tomato, potato, peppers and eggplant. Also avoid old, wilted and most canned vegetables.

Salad greens: A little is okay, particularly jicama. This is more yang because it is a root and it is peeled, so it is often cleaner than others such as lettuce. Other salad vegetables are too yin, often unclean, hard to digest for most people, and not recommended. Blended salads are a little better, but still unclean and much too yin for the regular diet. Be sure to wash lettuce extremely carefully with soap and water to remove infectious organisms.

Garnishes and dressings. Eating vegetables plain is best to appreciate their true flavor. If flavoring is required, use sea salt, mild herbs and spices, butter, or oils of fish, hemp or flaxseed to flavor them. Other dressings to make vegetables more palatable might include a little nut butter mixed with water, or dressings made with yogurt, kefir, butter, cheeses or olive oil.

PROTEINS. The best proteins are wild game, lamb, chicken and turkey - cooked lightly or “medium”. Eggs are also excellent if cooked soft. Some organic and preferably raw cow, goat or sheep cheese, yogurt or kefir are fine unless you are allergic to dairy products.

Several times per week you may have some almond butter, preferably toasted. Other fresh or packaged nut butters are also okay once in a while. However, they are quite yin because nuts are yin and nut butters are broken apart or expanded as well. Avoid peanut butter, even of the highest quality, as it can be moldy and quite toxic. Two or three times weekly you may have pintos, black beans, lentils, split peas or other dried beans. Lentils are often the best legumes as they are very rich in selenium and other vital nutrients.

Twice weekly you may have sardines or salmon, even canned. These are the only fish that offer plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. Most fish, even wild-caught in clean waters, are high in mercury. Large fish are the worst and all should be avoided. Sushi is not good because it often contains large fish like tuna, mahi mahi or ahi. Raw fish often contains infectious organisms. Tofu and tempeh may be eaten once or twice a week, but are considered lower quality proteins.

Less desirable protein foods: These are natural turkey or chicken sausage and naturally-raised beef, buffalo and beef hot dogs without chemical additives. Others are natural beef or turkey jerky with as few additives as possible. This can make a healthy snack now and then.

Beef is a sad story. The animals are quite inbred and hybridized, even those raised naturally. As a result, I only recommend beef for occasional usage.

Avoid the following: All pork, ham, pork sausages and bacon can harbor parasites, even if well-cooked. Have turkey bacon instead if you must have bacon. Also avoid most processed meats such as hot dogs, bologna, salami, canned meats like Spam and others. Avoid commercial meats, if possible, buying only naturally-raised meats and free-range meats. Also avoid organ meats as they are higher in toxic metals, in general. Some organic liver might be okay.

Avoid tuna, swordfish, shark, and all shellfish, which contain far too many toxic metals. Also avoid all soy products except a little tofu and tempeh. Unprocessed soy is not a healthful food as it is high in phytates and contains enzyme inhibitors and other toxins. It is found in thousands of products from protein drinks and powders to meat extenders and others. The label may say soy isolate or textured vegetable protein. This always contains some MSG, for example, that appears during processing.

Avoid most protein bars, shakes and powders. These are popular because they are quick and easy to use. However, they contain far less nutrition than the original food such as an egg or even high quality milk. If you must use them occasionally, the best are egg and whey protein. Eat these a maximum or once or twice weekly. Instead, eat whole, natural foods because they contain many more nutrients, and are much more yang in nature than any protein extracts, liquids or powders. Avoid spirulina and most algae products, as these are often slightly toxic and somewhat unbalanced foods, in my view. Dr. Eck did not recommend them, either.

FATS AND OILS. Eat all fats and oils in as natural and uncooked a state as possible. Among animal fats, the best are from free-range or pasture-fed animals as these contain far more omega-3 fatty acids. These include free-range chicken and eggs, turkey, lamb and a little free-range beef. Cook meats only as much as needed. Do not let meats cook overnight in a crock pot, for example. Take the meat out after an hour or so if you must cook the rest of the meal longer. Make sure that egg yolks are runny for the most benefit from them. This means eat eggs lightly scrambled, lightly fried, soft boiled or poached rather than in omelets, quiche or hard boiled.

Raw, certified goat, sheep or cow dairy products such as butter and full-fat yogurt or milk are excellent products if one is not allergic to dairy. Pasteurized or homogenized dairy products are not nearly as healthful. Other excellent oils that also provide the vital omega-3 fatty acids include krill, salmon, sardine, flaxseed and hempseed oils. However, they all go rancid very quickly, so they must be refrigerated and eaten promptly before their expiration date and before they begin to taste bitter.

Other quality oils are fresh, raw olive and cod liver oil. Some health authorities heap praise on coconut oil, palm oil and avocados. However, these are not as easy to digest for some people and they are very yin in Macrobiotic terminology. Almond and other nut butters or nuts may contain quality oils, but should be used only occasionally. Nuts are very yin, and difficult to digest unless chewed very thoroughly or eaten in the form of nut butters. Toast almonds to make them more yang.

Reduce all processed vegetable oils such as canola, peanut, sunflower, safflower, corn, soy or sesame oils. A small amount, such as that found in blue corn chips, is fine.

Avoid lard and all old, rancid, overheated, hydrogenated or trans-fats. These are commonly found in French fries, most fast foods, most deep-fried foods, all margarines, all shortening, bacon fat, frozen fried foods and most butter substitutes. They are also found in hundreds of prepared and frozen dishes.

SUGARS. Reduce or avoid most sugars. Sugars are all extremely yin. They also often cause yeast infections in the intestines, disrupt calcium metabolism, weaken the adrenals, aggravate blood sugar imbalances, increase infections and cause other problems as well.

The best sweetener is stevia, which is basically a non-caloric natural sweetener. Among the calorie-containing sweeteners, uncooked honey, pure uncooked maple syrup and unrefined cane sugar are best. However, use these only occasionally.

Avoid candy, cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream and soda pop. Also avoid dried fruits, fruit juices, almost all fruits, and all other sweetened foods. This includes thousands of prepared sauces, dressings, breads, pastries, dips and other products, as well.

Also avoid all foods in which one of the first two ingredients is barley malt, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane-juice crystals, cane sugar, caramel, carob syrup, chocolate, corn sweetener, corn syrup, date sugar, dextran, dextrose, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, fructose, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, grape sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt sweetener, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, maple syrup, raw sugar, refiner’s syrup, rice syrup, rice bran syrup, sorbitol, sorghum syrup, sucrose, turbinado sugar, xylitol or yellow sugar. Agave syrup and molasses are a little better, but should also be limited.

Do not substitute Nutrasweet, aspartame, Equal or saccharin. Splenda is a bit better in terms of toxicity for most people, but is still a toxic chemical additive. If you must use an artificial sweetener, use a little xylitol, mannitol or stevia, preferably just once in a while. To wean off sweets may take some time, but is well worth the effort.

Reduce all fruits to a maximum of one piece of juicy fruit daily or a few berries as an occasional dessert or snack. Many health authorities recommend fruit, but we find it is not helpful in the least for the reasons given at the beginning of this chapter.

GRAINS. Avoid all wheat and most spelt. Also, reduce your intake of most of the other grains. Most people simply do not digest grains very well. Grains require a healthy digestive tract and cause problems for people who have a lot of intestinal candida albicans and other fungal infections. If you can digest grains well, the best ones include organic blue corn chips with sea salt, corn tortillas (especially blue or yellow corn without preservatives), most brown rice, white basmati rice, millet, quinoa and amaranth. You may also eat some pasta made of corn, rice or quinoa. Rye, oats and barley contain gluten. They may be eaten occasionally if you are not sensitive to gluten, but are not as highly recommended as the others above. Many people feel better avoiding all gluten-containing grains, as well as all products made with them such as oat flour and barley malt.

Avoid all wheat and spelt products, particularly all white flour products. Wheat is not the wonderful food it once was. It is now very hybridized and highly inflammatory with a very high level of glutamic acid, an amino acid that is highly inflammatory. It therefore tends to irritate the intestines and can contribute to many problems such as leaky gut syndrome, gas, bloating, gastric reflux disease and many others.

White flour (labeled as wheat flour) is a horrible concoction. Most of the vitamins and minerals have been removed from the wheat, leaving mostly starchy empty calories. Then the product is bleached with a chlorine-based chemical that is highly toxic. A few nutrients are added back, among them a poorly absorbed form of iron that further unbalances the food. Read labels carefully because wheat flour is found in thousands of prepared foods. White flour is often used as a thickener, for example, in many sauces, dressings and other products.

Most breads are even worse, made with fluoridated water, toxic bromides and at times up to 10 preservatives and other additives that add nothing of value and are all toxic to some degree. Instead of wheat, bread can be made with corn flour, rice flour and millet flour. However, the fresh whole grains, simple corn tortillas or blue corn chips are better than most breads.

BEVERAGES. Drinking water is discussed in Chapter 2. To repeat the basics, steam-distilled or quality spring water are the only recommended drinking waters. Black or green teas and most mild herbal teas are acceptable, but not quite as good as pure water. Be sure to drink at least three quarts daily. Another excellent beverage is 10-12 ounces daily of preferably freshly-squeezed carrot juice. Alternatively, one or two ounces of wheat grass juice is superb as well. One cup of coffee daily is okay, but not recommended. More coffee is not healthful at all.

Avoid soda pop, sugar-free sodas, alcohol, all fruit juices, punch, most tap water and most other commercially-prepared drinks. Sparkling water and club soda are okay occasionally.

Snacks. Snacks should not be needed if you are eating correctly. Four or even five small meals are far better than snacking. Most people snack because they are unable or unwilling to prepare a small meal for themselves. Others want to eat at work, in the car or while running around the house. These are not good times to eat. Also, most people forget to take their digestive enzyme with their snack, so the food is not utilized as well for this reason, too.

If a snack is needed, here are several suggestions: blue corn chips made with sea salt, toasted almond butter on a rice or rye cracker, a piece of quality cheese or some yogurt. Others include a few nuts or seeds provided you chew them thoroughly, an egg, fresh turkey jerky or a piece of leftover chicken.

Eating Habits. Most people should eat every few hours to offset hypoglycemic tendencies. However, do not eat all the time. Before sitting down to eat, rest a few minutes. Then sit down in a quiet place to eat, consume your food slowly and chew thoroughly. Chew each mouthful at least 10 times, or even more. Rest a few minutes after eating before leaving the table. Rotate your diet, preferably eating the same food no more than every third day, if possible. Avoid eating in the car or in noisy places. Do not eat standing up, or when upset or anxious. Do not drink a lot of liquid with meals. Drink up to 10 minutes before a meal and an hour or more afterwards. This is to prevent diluting the digestive juices with too much liquid.

Food sensitivities. Temporarily avoid any food to which you are sensitive. After a few months, try rotating in a small amount of it. Most food allergies are due to a damaged intestine or weak digestive enzyme production. The sensitivity reactions will go away eventually on a nutritional balancing program, though months or more may be required for food sensitivities to abate. To minimize all food reactions, avoid all products made with sugars of all kinds, all wheat, most beef, and if needed, skip dairy products except butter. Also avoid products made with soy, although a small amount of tofu and tempeh should be okay for most people.

Eat meals with few food combinations and choose only natural foods without chemical additives. Eat slowly, chew thoroughly, have relaxed, quiet meals and rest for at least five or more minutes after all meals. If food sensitivities are a serious problem for you, the Coca pulse test in Appendix VI might be helpful to identify reactive foods. A more costly option is to have a food allergy test. In my experience, none of the food allergy tests are 100% accurate, but they can help pinpoint foods that are causing reactions. All autistic, ADD, ADHD and delayed development children are sensitive to some foods and need special attention to their diets to avoid these foods until their body chemistry improves.

Protein drinks, weight loss products and cleansing products. These are discussed in the next chapter on food supplements.

Condiments. The best are mild herbs and spices, especially East Indian spices such as cumin, turmeric, curry powder and others. These tend to be the most yang. A good quality sea salt is excellent. Do not add salt to your drinking water, a dangerous practice some are recommending. It can unbalance your minerals slowly and insidiously. Avoid table salt, as it is highly refined and often has added aluminum. Table pepper is often rancid and not healthful.

Eating Out. Eating out is not recommended. If you eat out, ask for exactly what you want if it is not on the menu. Ask for more vegetables if few are served. If portions are too large, consider sharing a dinner or just ordering an appetizer. If bread is served, ask that it be taken away. Ethnic food such as East Indian, Chinese or Thai are the best in many cases as they are often made fresh and offer meats and vegetables. However, avoid MSG used in Chinese food. Italian food is a problem because it usually contains wheat pasta. Mexican food usually includes few fresh vegetables and too much carbohydrate such as beans, rice, corn and others. One could order chicken enchiladas or fajitas with corn, but not flour tortillas.

Avoid most fast-food restaurants and most chain restaurants. These often use poorer quality ingredients to save money and use more chemical-laden, prepared products.

Cooking And Food Preparation. Excellent cooking utensils are electric steamers, crock pots and perhaps a pressure cooker, although this is not needed. Avoid microwave ovens, though one can be used to boil water. Cookware may be glass (the best), stainless steel or enamel-coated iron or enamel-coated aluminum. Non-stick cookware such as Teflon or Silverstone, uncoated iron and uncoated aluminum pots are not recommended as they could affect the quality of the food cooked in them.

Simple meal preparation is best. For example, meats bought fresh can be divided into meal-sized portions and stored in the freezer if they are not eaten fresh. Defrosting small portions of meat is often unnecessary. Frozen meat will cook rapidly if it is not too thick. Add some vegetables and you are ready to eat. Simple vegetable soups such as chopped onions and carrots, or other vegetables, can also provide a quick and easy meal.

Breakfast Ideas. Alternate 2 eggs with a non-wheat cereal such as organic corn meal, quinoa or rice. Cold cereals may include blue corn chips, puffed rice or corn, or other non-wheat-containing cereal. Nuts or seeds, or some natural turkey or chicken sausage can add protein to a cereal breakfast.

Lunches And Suppers. You may have just vegetables for a lunch or supper. You may also have vegetables with a protein such as chicken or turkey.

Rotate foods every day to avoid developing allergies. If accustomed to starches at every meal, you may use root vegetables instead. Also include green leafy vegetables. Use berries or a piece of juicy fruit as an occasional dessert.

DRINKING WATER

This is also a very important subject, as most people today are not well-hydrated. For information about the correct amount of the right kind of drinking water, please read Water For Drinking.

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