USAFrom the book "Natural Solutions for Pain Free Living" by Dr. Shawn Talbott:
"Based on several recent scientific sutdies and many decades of population studies, we no know quite clearly that nutritional factors can influence connective tissue health in a variety of ways. For example, your choice of diet can promote or prevent many of the metabolic factors associated with arthritis, osteoorosis, fibromyalgia, low-back pain, and the very process of aging itself.
When it comes to diet and connective tissue healht, we know a great deal about what not to do. This comes down to avoiding or limiting your intake of highly refined carbohydrates, sodas, and processed foods containing high-gructose corn syrup and trans-fat. These foods set off a meatbolic chain-reaction in the body that leads to unhealthy elevations in blood sugar, insulin, cortisol, cytokines and free readicals- yikes!- all that from eating a Twinkie.
Not only are these metabolic events bad for your longterm health- they're also bad for both your long and short term ability to heal and rebuild connective tissues. For example, chowing down on that monster-size bagel (refined carbs) leads to microscopic tissue destruction via a number of related events , such as:
1. Spiking blood sugar and insulin levels lead to protein glycation and destruction of caollagen and elastin (key structural proteins in healthy connective tissues).
2. Elevated cortisol levels lead to imbalances in the inflammatory process in favor of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids (which leads to further tissue damage).
3. Inflammatory eicosanoid signaling elevatds free readical destruction of tissue membranes throughout the body- especially in the connective tissues.
Luckily, we also have very good scientific evidence to help us choose a diet that povides ingredients to not only reduce these detrimental metabolic chain reactions, but to atually prevent and reverse the effects of oxidation, glycation, inflammation, and all the rest on connective tissue health.
Some of the easiest routes to controlling these metabolic marauders are to:
1. EAt more of the right kinds of fats (and less of the bad kind)
2. Eat fewer refined carbohydrates (and more whold grain carbs)
3. Eat more antioxidants (from brightly colored fruits, veggies, and supplements).
4. Reduce stress (or control your exposure to the stress hormone cortisol.
Based on data collected since the mid-1970s on more than 90,000 women and 50,000 men, researchers at Harvard University have whosn quite convincingly that the type of fat and the type of carbohydrate that you eat are vitally important in determininig your overall level of systemic inflammation and heart disease. Their recommendations focus your dietary choices toward healthy fats (olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, and peanut oils) and healthy carbohydrates (whole grain foods such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice)- and are associated with a 30-40 percent reduction in risk for inflammatory heart disease.
Choose brightly colored fruits and vegetables, such as berries, tomatoes , and carrots, for the hghest content of carotenoids and flavonoids. When supplementing, avoid megadoses of single antioxidant compounds and focus instead on selecting products that provide a balanced blend from amont each category of the antioxidant network."
sue in ohio
