The carbohydrate jewels

By upping your intake of low GI fruit and vegetables, you will not only be on your way to becoming leaner, but you will have a profound effect on your health. The amazing phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that you find in brightly coloured raw organic fruit and vegetables are clever little substances that can protect you from ill health in various ways, although many people's diets are sadly lacking in them.

Phytonutrients can help regulate the immune system, stabilize vitamins in body tissues and protect from serious illnesses, such as such as cancer. They do this by working as antioxidants alongside vitamins A, C, E and D, and the minerals, selenium and zinc. As a team, these powerful compounds have the ability to slow down the damaging oxidative process caused by those 'enemies of a healthy state', the free radicals. Antioxidants can also rid the body of these free radicals, which are the natural waste products of metabolism, which, if left unchecked, can lead to degenerative disease, by causing imbalances on a cellular level.

Take note that these free radicals are also found in overheated oils and fried foods, another good reason to kiss junk food good bye.

They aren't classed as essential nutrients, but without phytonutrients your sense of wellness would be severely compromised.

They work in the body at deep physiological and biochemical levels, and luckily enough are to be found in low-density/low GI fruit and vegetables. Eating these raw wherever possible is the key to maximizing their life- enhancing qualities. Cooking destroys many of the benefits that you will reap if you include a colourful array of energy-boosting raw fruit and vegetables in your daily diet.

Life is a balancing act

So now you have a better understanding of the impact that the wrong carbohydrates can have on your body, and have established that you need to incorporate more of the colourful and low GI fibrous fruit and vegetables in your diet. But man cannot live by carbohydrates alone. You will have to take a close look at the two other macronutrients that work hand-in-hand with carbohydrates to provide energy and nourish the body: protein and fats.

The key to balancing blood-sugar levels, banishing insulin resistance and losing excess weight lies in successfully balancing these three macronutrients.

Health Concern: FAT?

The term "fat" includes fats from meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products as well as vegetable oils and the nuts, seeds, and grains from which they have been extracted. There are two basic kinds of fats—saturated, occurring mostly in animal foods (although some vegetable fats such as the kind that coconut contains fall into this category too), and unsaturated, in the form of vegetable oils such as safflower, corn, and sunflower, and in seeds and nuts. Fish tends to contain more unsaturated than saturated fats, meat more saturated than unsaturated.

Whether saturated or unsaturated, all the fats you eat rapidly form a film around blood cells and platelets, creating a kind of sludge which causes them to stick together. This clumping significantly interferes with circulation by clogging blood vessels and even temporarily closing down small capillaries. As a result, your cells do not receive all the oxygen and nutrients they need to function efficiently. They only run at about 80 percent capacity. This interferes with cell metabolism as well as with the efficient elimination of cellular and tissue wastes.

The chemical structure of an unsaturated fatty acid differs from its saturated brother in that at least two of the carbon atoms in its formula are free. This means that they have no hydrogen atoms attached to them, as the molecule of a saturated fatty acid does. It was long thought that while saturated fats were bad for you, unsaturated fats were good. For unsaturated fats have been shown to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, and therefore were believed to be helpful in preventing arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. That is the reason we have been encouraged in the last thirty years or so to include plenty of polyunsaturates in our diet by switching from butter to margarine and vegetable oils. The catch is that although unsaturates do this, like all fats they still raise triglyceride levels (another factor linked with coronary heart disease) and they also create the same clumping as the saturated fats do, which leads to tissue anoxia.

Women have also lately been encouraged by poorly informed writers to include lots of polyunsaturates in their diet for their beauty's sake. Unsaturated fatty acids are an important constituent of skin and muscle tissue and so it was thought, quite wrongly, that we need more of them. For what we have not been told is that the chemical structure of unsaturated fats with their free carbon atoms makes them extremely unstable compounds, and that when an unsaturated fat is exposed even to the smallest trace of a catalytic agent it begins a process of autooxidation which results in the fat molecule's breaking down to produce what are known as free radicals.

Free radicals are highly reactive particles which, if left unchecked in the presence of oxygen molecules, will form toxic peroxides. These peroxides can damage and destroy cells. They have also been implicated as a primary cause of the aging process itself. When a cell, or the genetic material of a cell, is destroyed by free radicals, the result is something known as a lipofuscin pigment granule—often referred to by biochemists as a "clinker." With age, ever more cells are damaged or destroyed as tissue degenerates, leading to increase in the number of these pigment granules. This is something you want to avoid in every way you can if you don't want to look and be old before your time.

To some extent, the presence of sufficient amounts of an antioxidant such as vitamin E in the system may prevent this from happening, because it minimizes the damage done by free radical chain reactions by breaking the chain. Vitamin E, like other antioxidants, helps block the oxidation that turns fatty acids into harmful peroxides. The more unsaturated fatty acids in your diet, the greater will be your need for the vitamin.

An interesting dietary survey that was done at the University of California at Irvine looked at over 1,000 patients and examined the degree of wrinkling and crow's-feet, frown lines, and other indications of skin degeneration such as damage to the collagen and elastin fibers and the irregular pigmentation characteristic of old skin. The subjects ranged in age from seventeen to eighty-one and 76 percent of them were women. Cadvan Griffiths, M.D., the professor of surgery who carried out the study, discovered that there is an undeniable link between marked clinical signs of aging and the intake of unsaturated fats in one's diet. Those who regularly and frequently included polyunsaturated fats and oils in their diet had marked signs of premature aging. Some looked as much as twenty years older than they were. Very few of those who had made no special effort to eat more polyunsaturates showed any clinical signs of premature aging. Evidence is also accumulating that links free radical reactions to the etiology of cancer, senility, atherosclerosis and hypertension—all of them disorders generally associated with aging. This is all the more reason to limit the amount of every kind of fat you eat to no more than you actually need.

Play it safe – earn immunity! Part 3

What is Procydin?

Simply put, it is an extremely powerful antioxidant that scavenges- literally meaning to search for, collect and eliminate - free radicals. When the damage of free radicals is limited, the body is able to fight off auto-immune diseases and to utilise nutrients optimally.

Research has proved over and over that the most effective way of protecting the body from free radical damage is to take antioxidants. Completely natural and organic, Procydin is a combination of grape seed extract and pine bark, enclosed in easy-to-take capsules.

Procydin is a special blend of highly concentrated bioflavonoids called proanthocyanidins. This blend improves the blood circulation, strengthens the immune system and helps the body reduce the damage caused by free radicals. It is completely safe and non-toxic and can be taken in combination with any medication. It is also absolutely safe for children and pregnant women.

Procydin has a three-way action:

• It helps the body resist the damage caused by free radicals and helps cells to repair themselves.

• It enhances the ability of collagen - which occurs in the cartilage, capillaries,

arteries and veins - to repair itself, thereby preventing degeneration and hardening or calcification of the artery walls and degeneration of cartilage.

• It has an anti-inflammatory effect.

Who will benefit most from Procvdin?

There is not a man, woman or child who will not benefit, in the long run, from a good antioxidant like Procydin.

The sad fact of modern day life is that our food is often nutrient-poor and does not provide us with our full daily requirement of antioxidants. And as is often the case with our drinking water, our food could also be full of chemicals and additives. We are continually exposed to industrial, domestic and commercial pollution and first- or second-hand cigarette smoke. We lead extremely stressful lives, thereby depleting our bodies' reserves of nutrients. But above all, the majority of us don't follow a carefully balanced diet! Add to that the fact that most of us have not been physically active for years - I mean physically active as in having enjoyable, regular exercise in the open, fresh air, which is one of the most effective ways of counteracting free radical damage.

Because the fight against obesity has been my life's task, I am painfully aware of the fact that at least 60% of our population are overweight. I also happen to know why: we simply do not follow a healthy, varied and balanced diet and we don't do enough exercise in the fresh air. And by now it is common knowledge that obesity is the one disease that opens the door to so many of those auto-immune diseases.

Therefore, if you are even slightly overweight, which means you fall in the 'prevention-is-better-than-cure' category, you will benefit most from Procydin. Believe me, that 'little extra weight' could make you a walking time bomb.

People who suffer from diabetes, arthritis and cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, yuppie flu, allergies, asthma, food intolerances and lupus will benefit enormously from Procydin.

If you do not suffer from any of these diseases and your weight is normal, but you want to reduce your chances of suffering from any of them in the future, you also need Procydin. And yes, if you want to keep (or improve) your looks, Procydin improves the texture of your skin tremendously.

How will Prodycin help me control my weight?

Quite simply by improving your general health. A body that functions at optimum capacity does not have unreasonable food cravings, feels fit and wants to move, and all of these combine to instill a sense of well-being and optimism. That is what contributes to successful weight loss and maintaining it afterwards.

Play it safe – earn immunity! Part 2

So what are free radicals:

They are highly reactive toxic molecules that are electrochemically unbalanced. They are a part of all biological systems and are formed naturally during a wide variety of processes, including perspiring, energy production and cell metabolism. We are supposed to have sufficient essential antioxidant enzymes in our bodies to de-activate them before they succeed in causing us any harm.

But the trouble starts with the daily onslaught of physical, emotional, chemical and electromagnetic stresses. Our bodies simply start producing more free radicals than our natural, essential antioxidant enzymes are able to dispose of.

When these free radicals get out of hand - and they do, after constant, severe and/or long periods of exposure to these lifestyle hazards - they set in motion a relentless process of destruction and degeneration of the body as a whole.

Research has concluded that free radical damage underlies the pathology of all 50-odd 'non-germ' (i.e. auto-immune or lifestyle) diseases, despite their different manifestations in the body*. They include diabetes, arteriosclerosis, cancer, allergies, arthritis, lupus, dementia and other age-related diseases, heart disease, asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol, stress and depression.

As a matter of interest, free radical damage also lies at the heart of premature ageing. Free radicals can cause severe nutrient deficiencies, since they prevent and/or inhibit the efficient uptake of certain nutrients by the body.

How can their effects be controlled?

Naturally, you would want to minimise your physical risk of free radicals entering your body. There are numerous ways in which to avoid them and make a positive contribution towards your body's well-being.

1. Quit smoking. Now,
2. Limit your alcohol intake and if you do enjoy wine, go for red wine.
3. Focus on eating whole foods such as beans, pulses and grains and avoid foodthat obviously contains (even so-called harmless) chemicals such as colorantsand MSG.
4. Eat as much organically grown food as possible. A few considerate, cleverly managed food stores now stock a respectable range of organically grown foods. Woolworths especially, gets my loyal and enthusiastic vote for their good (but still too small) range of organic foods.
5. Ensure a substantial daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables
6. Invest in a decent water filter and drink filtered water. This includes the water you use for making beverages and cooking.
7. Increase your physical activity. Walking, swimming, dancing, jogging and all sorts of aerobic exercises counter-act damage.

As life insurance, take Procydin for the rest of your life.

Play it safe – earn immunity!

Anyone who follows the Survivor show on television will know how importantimmunity is But the difference between playing Survivor and actual physical survival lies in the fact that you have to provide your body with immunity and not merely play a game to avoid being voted out.

In today's stressed-out concrete jungles the body is in constant baffle to earn itself immunity. And the odds are stacked against it-odds known as free radicals.

When I think of free radicals, I immediately think Procydin. The whole world is agog about this remarkable supplement that restores physical immunity.

But what exactly does it do, you might ask. Well, tales of miraculous recoveries abound - from heart attacks to rheumatoid arthritis, yuppie flu to emphysema, hypertension, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, high cholesterol and a long list of other lifestyle-related (auto-immune) diseases. They are called auto-immune diseases because they involve the immune system, the body's first line of defence against disease. Auto-immune diseases develop when the immune system goes awry during an onslaught of free radicals and begins to destroy healthy cells. Obviously this becomes easier when the immune system is weak. One of the reasons for a weakened immune system is age - it simply becomes less effective as we grow older. But it is also affected by genetic make-up, stress, unhealthy lifestyle, antibiotics, unhealthy foods and toxins in the environment.

Although there has been extensive press coverage of the merits of Procydin, many overweight people don't read these reports, because they believe they couldn't possibly be suffering from any of the diseases discussed in the articles. It follows that they don't quite understand how this miracle supplement works. We know that most obese people feel like normal folk (just a little overweight perhaps) who simply want to lead a fit and healthy life (and, please God, shed a few extra kilos!). All they really want is a body that doesn't embarrass or inconvenience them.

Well, bingo! You've hit the jackpot with Procydin! Why? Because we 'ordinary folk' who are 'just a little overweight' are the ones most at risk to develop those dreaded lifestyle diseases, that's why!

The truth is that without realising it, you might already be developing what is called 'Syndrome X': The deadly quartet of lifestyle diseases, These diseases include insulin resistance, hypertension, obesity and dislipidemia, a formal term for abnormal blood-fat values such as having low 'good' cholesterol and high 'bad' cholesterol.

If these facts are not enough to galvanise you into action to start taking Procydin, you should also remember that you are constantly under threat of free radicals from food, water and air, which puts you firmly in the highest possible health risk bracket.