I call refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, white rice, and refined grains, "glue and goo." These foods include pastries, cookies, muffins, bagels, breads, donuts, and crackers. Refined carbohydrates coat the lining of your gastrointestinal tract and interfere with the process of absorbing nutrients and of eliminating waste. They are irritants that create leaky gut syndrome and ultimately lead to inflammation, allergies, candida, celiac disease, and malnutrition.
Many breads, whether white or wheat, state that they have been enriched with vitamins and minerals, meaning that vitamins and minerals have been added back into the bread. But the truth is that when the flour is bleached and refined, it loses important micronutrients, fiber in particular, which are still lacking after enrichment. Fiber is essential for proper elimination and for keeping blood cholesterol levels down. Refined carbohydrates contribute to the alarming rates of people with constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and imbalances in blood sugar levels because they convert rapidly to glucose (sugar). This leads to both hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and diabetes. Also, the bleaching agent used in refined flour, nitrogen trichloride, is poisonous and has been linked to ulcers, schizophrenia, and MS.
Dairy Products
Bovine dairy products (those from cows) are the leading cause of food allergies. Allergies to these products cause sinus problems and gastrointestinal complaints, such as gas, bloating, cramps, gastritis, and diarrhea, Hyperactivity and irritability are common reactions, especially in children. Asthma, headaches, joint and muscle pain, depression, lack of energy, and skin problems are also attributed to dairy allergies.
Lactaid Milk, in which the lactose, or milk sugar, has been removed, was created for those who are lactose intolerant. However, this doesn't solve the problem for everyone who has trouble with milk. There's a difference between being lactose intolerant and having a milk allergy. Most people actually have both conditions. Lactose intolerance means that you lack the enzyme that breaks down lactose. Having a milk allergy means that the body doesn't recognize the milk protein, sees it as a foreign invader, and defends itself by creating an allergic response.
Many in the medical community and advertising industry tell us that drinking milk is the best way to get calcium. Women are especially targeted because of the rising levels of osteoporosis in our country. Yet the fact is that only 30 percent of the calcium in eight ounces of milk is actually absorbed by the body. Pasteurization destroys the enzyme phosphatase. Without phosphatase our bodies cannot use phosphorous, and without phosphorous we cannot assimilate calcium.
The real cause of calcium deficiencies - and osteoporosis - is excessive consumption of high-acid foods, such as animal meats, caffeine, refined carbohydrates, refined sugars, and pasteurized milk and dairy products. Pasteurization and homogenization of cow's milk alter its mineral composition, making it acidic to the body. Eating these acid-forming foods forces the body to leach calcium and other minerals from the rest of the body to buffer the acidity in the bloodstream and maintain an alkaline condition of pH 7.35. Without this protective mechanism, death would result. To maintain that pH balance, the blood robs minerals, which are alkaline, from the body's biggest storehouse of minerals - the musculoskeletal system. In short, consuming dairy products creates exactly the opposite effect that you may be trying to achieve.
Antibiotics and Hormones in Milk
A major factor to consider when deciding whether to ingest dairy products is the use of antibiotics and hormones in raising cows. According to a Newsweek article, "milk is allowed to contain a certain concentration of eighty different antibiotics - all used in dairy cows to prevent udder infections. With every glassful, people swallow a minute amount of several antibiotics." Bovine growth hormone (RBGH), produced through gene splicing to increase milk production, also ends up in milk. These hormones and antibiotics, which are permitted by the government, are creating imbalances in our children as well as in adults. I'm not talking only about milk but also about products made from milk, such as cheese, ice cream, sour cream, and yogurt. The American Dairy Association is spending big bucks to convince you that "milk does a body good," as the billboard says, but I ask you to think again. To find out more, you can check out Diet For Yeast Infection.