Updated 2 November 2006 see note at the end of this article

The government and media are so concerned with obesity that it seems absurd to think that we in the western world may be malnourished. The terms malnourished and malnutrition are reserved for poverty stricken third world countries.
Most think that the cause of obesity is too much food and malnutrition is thought to be caused by too little food.

Malnutrition is signs in the body of bad nutrition, whether it is too little, too much or of poor quality.

The body’s design is that it should function fully and properly. So what is happening when the body ceases to provide the required functions? Just like a car, you cannot put unleaded fuel into a diesel engine, the engine eventually gives up and the car breaks down. So in the same manner you cannot expect your body to function fully if you are not feeding it the right fuel.

It is not enough to consume a few nuts when we are hungry or eat a piece of toast despite it being organic wholemeal bread. We need to be responsible and put a balance of good nutrients in our bodies at every meal. The nutrients we need to consume are: Water, carbohydrates, proteins, fat/oils, vitamins, minerals and fibre.

So what is the right food for normal body functions?

I’ll start by telling you what I think the Wrong Food is:
Finely graded white flours
Cereals
White sugar
Table salt
Margarine
Low fat spreads, cheeses, yoghurts
Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk
Processed cheese
Hard vegetable fat
Cooking oils like refined sunflower oil
White rice
Instant mash
Vegetables and fruits without their skins
Fruit squashes
Coca cola and fizzy drinks

Basically all the foods we live off today. I have put cereals as not a right food because generally they are highly processed with so little nutrients left in them after processing that nutrients have to be added. Much better to make your own muesli using wholegrains and nuts with freshly chopped apples and bananas.

These are the symptoms of malnutrition
Oedema (water retention)
Large abdomen and spleen
Dry hair
Hair loss
Spoon shaped nails
White spots on nails (lack of zinc)
Anaemia
Weight loss
Red gums
White ‘fur’ (fungus) on tongue
Brown and/or white marks on teeth
Muscle loss
Fatigue
Listlessness
Apathy

Are these the diseases of malnutrion?:
Diabetes
Arthritis
ME/CFS
MS
Thyroid disease
Kidney, Heart and Liver disease
High or Low blood pressure
Osteoporosis
IBS
Obesity
Anorexia
ADD
ADHD
OCD
Depression
Cancer
Anti-social behaviour
Scurvy

So what is the Right Food for proper body function?
Whole grains
Flour ground from WHOLE grains
Whole grain rice (not brown rice which can be stained white rice)
Whole organic milk
Butter
Olive Oil
Honey
Unrefined sugar
Sea salt
Matured cheese in its rind
Whole milk plain yoghurts
Freshly butchered meat (not processed)
Fresh fish
Eggs
Fresh vegetables keeping skins on where appropriate
Fresh fruit keeping skins on where appropriate
Water
Please note that grains and whole grain flours can go rancid and should be kept in an airtight tin in the fridge. They should be bought from stores with a high turnover of these products and consumed within 3 months or the eat by date.

What foods are really good for you?
Milk has gone out of fashion but it is a really good food. It is a complete food which is why it is good for babies if they can tolerate it. Organic milk seems to have more quality nutrients in without the pesticides and it could be the pesticides causing milk allergy.
Lactose intolerance can be improved and eliminated, click on the link.
Whoever coined the phrase that cow’s milk is for calves only, is wrong. We eat the meat of animals so why not the milk? Unfortunately due to poor or bad – mal – nutrition the immune system can weaken and allergies can result; milk being the Number One allergen.
However in people that have improved their nutrition, their allergy has improved and sometimes disappeared. So bring on the whole grain rice milk puddings; and the glass of cold milk and wholemeal biscuit for children after school that was popular in the 50s.

Protein is another food source that is misunderstood. Good protein sources are: fresh meat, fresh fish, eggs, cheese, milk, grains, rice and nuts. We need protein but we do not need too much. On average we need about 54 grams of protein a day depending on what we weigh and what we do. An 8 oz steak has 56 grams of protein. Calcium is used for protein assimilation and if too much protein is consumed and not enough calcium then the calcium is robbed from our bones.

Seeds, anything that is a seed whether it is frozen peas or whole grains or pulses are full of good oils, protein, vitamins and minerals.

In the days when milk was fashionable, we all had enough calcium and protein. Now many leave without breakfast or even a glass of milk in the mornings and snack on crisps or chocolate bars with no nutritional values. Then supplements are consumed to make up for the deficit.

Supplements can never take the place of good food.

Supplements are in effect like medicines.

The potent part of a medicine has been taken from a plant or animal but because it is not with the components it is grown with and because it is in such potent concentrations it has an effect in the body that can result in contraindications causing more problems in the body.

A supplement is not in such potent strengths and is generally in a more natural form but it is still a substance that has been separated from the components it naturally grew with. They are useful substances with little or no contraindications and sometimes little effect.

The nutrients in food work exceptionally well in the body when they arrive in the form they grew in.

In a supplement the specific nutrient has been separated from the elements it grew with and that isolated nutrient doesn’t perform as well in the body without its full complement of the elements it was grown with.

Which is probably why supplements work for one person and not another.
One person taking a supplement may inadvertantly have the complementing elements from their food sources for that supplement to work fully, as opposed to someone taking the same supplement without the complementing elements in their diet therefore the supplement doesn’t work as well.

Scurvy is a disease caused by the deficit of fresh fruit. Sailors at sea for months at a time eating foods preserved in salt and no fresh foods got scurvy. Scurvy was eventually controlled when vitamin C from a brew from certain leaves in India in the 16th century and lemon juice for sailors in the 18th century was introduced.
Is it the isolated Vitamin C that kept scurvy at bay or the lemons containing the vitamin C?

Does it matter? Well not for the scurvy argument it may not but for the malnutrition argument I think it does. We are undernourished because of the foods we eat and to compensate we use supplements when what our bodies desperately need is good wholesome food.

Please perservere and read this article about BeriBeri, the symptoms are startling similar to many other ‘illnesses’ including ME/CFS and thyroid disease. I am not suggesting that illnesses have been misdiagnosed I am suggesting that those with an illness are malnourished. The symptoms of being malnourished are different in everyone. I think a disease is named based on what is shown to be lacking in blood tests and other tests. The diagnosis’ may be different in individuals, but I think the solution is the same. Good whole grain foods and no refined, preserved or overly purified foods.

Will eating properly cure all diseases? Well … ‘wouldn’t that be loverly’! I don’t know. But it will strengthen the immune system which will help to fight disease.

So how do I nourish myself properly?
The short answer is:

By eating a balanced diet.

The long answer is:

Breakfast
Whole grain muesli with milk or yoghurt
Freshly squeezed fruit juice
Glass of water

Lunch
Wholemeal sandwich with freshly cooked chicken or egg or fish with lettuce and tomato.
Apple and banana
Water

Tea
Wholemeal biscuit or fruit cake (made from the Right Food list) or handful of nuts
Cup of Green tea

Supper
Fresh meat or fish 4 – 6 ounces
Wholegrain rice or potatoes with their skins or wholemeal pasta
Green vegetable, carrots and another vegetable
Water

You may be interested in this article by Patrick Holford slamming milk. I have written to Patrick Holford to ask him if any studies or comparisons were conducted on Organic Milk. I have pointed out that organic milk is a better and cheaper food source than junk food. That I think the nation is suffering from malnutrition because milk has been substituted with junk food. There was no need in his article to mention again that breast milk is best for babies. Of-course it is but there are occasions when breast milk is not available and animal milk has to be used. I have pointed out that it is production methods which make milk bad not the milk itself and that organic milk is still a cheap and valuable form of nutrition.

I would be interested to hear what you think.