“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

The first few pages from my book, so that you could read this very important report from these very fine doctors.

As Hippocrates said:

 “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

We all think we know what superfoods are:- spinach, silver beet, almonds, potatoes, beetroot, kumara, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate, rhubarb, tea, kombucha are a few of them, plus some spices and condiments like Turmeric and pepper.

You wouldn’t find the information in my book if you searched for the word “Superfoods” because the information I found is in a different category – ANTI-NUTRIENTS! My own research has led me to some very interesting information that really is new and undermines what we think we knew about ordinary fruit and vegetables.

THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF SUPERFOODS

This next piece of information is rather dry reading, but I recommend you do give it a look. It demonstrates that the doctors who wrote this report in the 1930s knew a thing or two about our food chain. Yet here we are today still eating these fruits and vegetables that could be leading to the upsurge in depression, kidney stones, dental work, fibromyalgia, coeliac disease, diabetes and, as you will read, some professionals, such as Susan Owens and Sally Norton have also made the link to autoimmune diseases such as autism and ADHD.

ILLNESSES THAT CAN OCCUR DUE TO CONSUMING “SUPERFOODS”

Joints

Arthritis Forms of Arthritis - With over 140 different forms of arthritis it is not possible for us to have a dedicated page for each of these. Chondrocalcinosis of the metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints.  Acute gout.

Spinal stenosis - Leg pain (sciatica) Leg pain with walking claudication) Tingling, weakness or numbness that radiates from the lower back into the buttocks and legs.

Synovitis & Tenosynovitis - Tendon sheath synovitis is referred to as tenosynovitis. It is a generalised response of that particular tissue (the synovial lining) to a local problem e.g. injury or infection.

Bursitis - Painful inflammation of small, fluid-filled sacs that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near your joints. bursitis of the hip, knee, elbow, or shoulder), a tendon (tendonitis), and a joint (arthritis).

Kidneys

Acute tubular necrosis - Inside your kidneys are small tube-shaped structures that remove salt, excess fluids, and waste products from your blood. When these tubules are damaged or destroyed, you develop acute tubular necrosis (ATN), a type of acute kidney injury. The damage may result in acute kidney failure (AKI).

 Interstitial fibrosis -  Its cause is unknown. Nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis: Interstitial lung disease that's often present with autoimmune conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma).

Nephro calcinosis - Too much calcium is deposited in the kidneys. If kidney stones are present, symptoms may include blood in the urine, fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, and severe pain in the belly area, sides of the back (flank), groin, or testicles. To reduce abnormal levels of calcium, phosphate, and oxalate in the blood. Medications that cause calcium loss are typically stopped.  Nephrocalcinosis is largely irreversible.  It may also commonly present with haematuria or urinary tract infection (UTI).   It also occurs in preterm infants.

Kidney stones - Kidney stones form when your urine contains more crystal-forming substances — such as calcium, oxalate and uric acid — than the fluid in your urine can dilute. At the same time, your urine may lack substances that prevent crystals from sticking together, creating an ideal environment for kidney stones to form.

Heart

Arrhythmias - A fluttering in your chest. A racing heartbeat (tachycardia) A slow heartbeat (bradycardia) Chest pain. Shortness of breath. Light-headedness or dizziness. Sweating. Fainting (syncope) or near fainting.

Diastolic dysfunction - High blood pressure is called the silent killer. That's because it has no symptoms. Having high blood pressure (hypertension) increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.

Valvular abnormalities - Shortness of breath and/or difficulty catching your breath. Weakness or dizziness, chest discomfort, palpitations, heavy sweating,  swelling of your ankles, feet or abdomen or rapid weight gain.

Impaired ejection fraction - This condition causes areas of heart tissue to thicken. It also narrows or blocks the two main arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle.

Infiltrative process - Such signs and symptoms include local oedema, skin blanching, skin coolness, leakage at the puncture site, pain, and feelings of tightness.

Skin

Livido reticularis - Results from disturbance of blood flow to the skin causing low blood flow and reduced oxygen tension to the skin. 

Acrocyanosis - The digits and hands or feet are persistently cold and bluish, sweat profusely, and may swell.

Papules and nodules on face and digits - Skin tags are benign tumours of the skin. They commonly occur in creases or folds of the skin.

Non-healing ulcers - A wound that does not improve after four weeks or does not heal in eight weeks. These include: Diabetic foot ulcers* Venous-related ulcerations. Non-healing surgical wounds.

Eyes

Retinal oxalate deposition - Retinal toxicity leads to early and progressive vision loss.

Nerve and muscle

Axon loss and demyelination - Is characterized by acute paralysis and loss of reflexes without sensory loss.  Demyelination prevents nerves from being able to conduct messages to and from the brain.

Myopathies - Muscle cramps, stiffness, and spasm causes of myopathies are genetic, inflammatory (caused by infection), endocrine (hormonal), and metabolic (errors in how cells function).

Polyradiculoneuropathies - Slowly developing autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the myelin that insulates and protects your body's nerves. The exact cause is not known. Common symptoms are gradual weakness or sensation changes in the arms or legs. Other symptoms may be overweight or those who have diabetes.

Teeth

Periodontitis - Hyperoxaluria is a metabolic disease with excessive urinary oxalate excretion that can be primary or secondary. Hyperoxaluria can result in chronic renal disease and renal failure. Calcium oxalate crystals can be deposited in oral tissues, and the disease can be associated with severe periodontitis 

Jaw bone and root resorption - Several oral findings have been described in patients with oxalosis, most important of whose are bone resorption in the jaws, external root resorption and rapidly progressive dental mobility, as well as dental pain associated with deposition of oxalate in the dentine and the pulp.

Dental mobility - Tooth mobility is the medical term for loose teeth or movement of teeth.

Bone marrow

Erythropoietin stimulating agent resistant anaemia - Anaemia is a common finding in congestive heart failure (CHF) and is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity. Several conditions can cause depression of erythroid progenitor cells: reduction of iron absorption and reuptake, decreased bone marrow activity, reduced endogenous erythropoietin production, and chronic inflammatory state. Anaemia’s etiology in CHF is complex and partially understood; it involves several systems including impaired hemodynamic condition, reduced kidney and bone perfusion, increased inflammatory activity, and neurohormonal overdrive. 

Bones

Fractures - Oxalate is found in foods and some beverages; most notably spinach, chard, berries, chocolate, and tea, oxalate binds with calcium and increases the loss of calcium through faecal excretion. For example, even though sweet potatoes contain calcium, not all of it is absorbed because of the oxalic acid (oxalate) that is also in them.

Pseudo fractures - Diffuse joint and bone pain (especially of spine, pelvis, and legs) Muscle weakness. Difficulty walking, often with waddling gait. Hypercalcemia (positive Chvostek sign) Compressed vertebrae and diminished stature. Pelvic flattening. Weak, soft bones. Easy fracturing.

Sclerosis - Lichen sclerosis can occur in both men and women and in both adults and children. While it tends to occur on the genitals, it also appears on non-genital areas of the body. Treatments for non-genital patches and in children and men often stop the condition from appearing, but for adult women, treatment is likely to be lifelong and possibly frustrating.  Vulvar Pain and small tears on the Labia (lips) are an indication that the oxalate level consumed is high.

Cystic bone changes - PATHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS Direct evidence in favour of the hypothesis mentioned above includes the demonstration of an opening into the joint cavity, the finding inside the cyst of fragments of cartilage clearly derived from the articular cartilage, and the similarity between the fluid in the cyst and the synovial fluid.

Dense metaphyseal bands - The cause of macrophagic myofascitis has not been identified. A unique material that accumulates within the affected macrophages has been seen on electron microscopy but this material has yet to be characterized.

Increased bone density - Reflects range of disorders that affect the skeletal system

Breast cancer

Micro calcifications can be the early and only presenting sign of breast cancer. One characteristic of breast cancer is the appearance of mammographic mammary micro calcifications that can routinely be used to detect breast cancer in its initial stages, which is of key importance due to the possibility that early detection allows the application of more conservative therapies for a better patient outcome. The mechanism by which mammary micro calcifications are formed is still largely unknown but breast cancers presenting micro calcifications are more often associated with a poorer prognosis.  We found that all tested breast tumour tissues contain a higher concentration of oxalates than their counterpart non-pathological breast tissue.