June 2010
Welcome to the monthly Ask Dr. Marty Newsletter. In response to several requests, I have decided to share some information based on questions that I frequently receive regarding natural health topics. I promise to keep the newsletter short. But if at any time you get overwhelmed with emails, please let me know and I’ll be glad to take you off of the mailing list. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the newsletter and hope that you will forward any questions you may have as well. Even if they don’t make it into the newsletter, I promise to answer all questions. All questions will be anonymous.
My apologies for the length of this newsletter. I usually keep it short, but due to the nature of this question, I needed to lengthen this month’s newsletter.
Question: I keep seeing this email on when to eat fruit. (See attached) How important is this and what’s your opinion on the subject?
Answer: I’d be glad to reply to the message on fruit. There were a few things with which I disagree, but I agree with many things in the letter. So best not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and glean what we can from the info!
-It’s usually better to eat fruit alone, on an empty stomach. It is not important whether it is eaten before or after a meal. It is important whether it will sit in the stomach with other foods. If the sugar in the fruit mixes with other foods, it can cause fermentation, acids, and gas. A gastroenterologist explained it to me in the early 1970s. Eating a sandwich of meat and bread is one of the worst food combinations because it takes different enzymes to digest carbs, like fruit and bread, than it does to digest the meat. They cancel each other out, and the food sits there at 98.6 degrees. We know here in Florida what happens to food that sits out at that temperature for even a short period of time! Not good!
-The other consideration here is when you eat fruit alone, diabetics must use caution. When eaten at times when it will not be in the stomach with other foods, the sugar will go into the bloodstream quickly and raise blood sugar. For that reason, it is best to only consume fruit with high fiber content. High fiber levels slow the absorption of sugar. For this reason, an apple is better than watermelon. As always, diabetics know the value of monitoring blood sugar levels closely.
-Fruit is the master detoxifier. As long as you are in excellent health and have no blood sugar issues, it might be fine to do a short fresh fruit fast. Try to say that three times without twisting your tongue! Fresh fruit juice is safer for blood sugar and healthier if juiced with vegetables. Bottled commercial fruit juices have had most, but not all of the nutrients destroyed. Enzymes are destroyed very quickly when the juice is pasteurized. When in doubt, ask your health professional whether it is safe for you to fast.
-It is not true that all fruit becomes alkaline after it is eaten. It IS true that some acidic fruits, like lemons, leave an alkaline “ash” after they are digested and “burned up” as fuel. But some fruits and vegetables are picked so green for long storage times that the acids never are allowed to turn alkaline. Make sure you don’t eat potatoes with green skins because of the toxic acids in them, Some fruit and vegetables are picked so green that they will rot before ripening, even though they are “gassed” in storage facilities to ripen them. Some fruits, like cranberries and blueberries are actually acid forming.
-Chewing fruit thoroughly before swallowing starts the enzyme action to digest the sugars in fruit. Swishing juices in the mouth before swallowing won’t make you popular at parties, but will help your mouth produce the enzymes required to digest the sugar so that it is less likely to ferment and create problems with yeast and fungus in the body.
-I don’t really agree that strawberries have the most antioxidants of the major fruits, but it might depend on what you call the major fruits. Blueberries, for example, have much higher antioxidant levels.
-Cold water with meals is not a good idea, I agree. I would agree that it can contribute to many problems, but to say it causes cancer is, in my opinion, a real stretch and overly dramatic. What does happen when you have cold water before, during, or after a meal? enzyme production essentially shuts down, so the food is not properly digested. When we can’t fully digest our food, we have food cravings due to the body’s emergency mode that says, “Give me nutrients!” If we don’t give our bodies the nutrients we need and fully digest them, our bodies will continue to crave more and more… Also, any liquids we drink while we have food in our stomachs will dilute the digestive juices we have and slow down digestion. Not good. The comment in the email that says the cold grease lines the intestines doesn’t make sense to me since a 98.6 body temperature will liquify the oils long before they get to the intestines. Very hot foods, like piping hot soups, will also shut down some enzyme production.
The blurb about heart attacks… I completely agree. Women’s heart attacks are often very difficult to detect.
Hot Tip: Listen to your body and even journal how you feel when you eat fruit at different times and with a variety of other foods.
Next month…WATER
*******
Maureen (Marty) Kernion is not a physician and does not diagnose nor prescribe. She received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Louisiana State University, and a Master of Science degree and Doctorate of Natural Health degree from Clayton College of Natural Health. She is the author of Going Natural with Herbs. Marty lectures on natural health topics across the country and has been featured at 78 Barnes and Noble book stores since her book was published. She is also a retired adjunct professor with Clayton College of Natural Health where she authored 39 courses in nutrition and herbal remedies.
It is always wise to advise your pharmacist or health care practitioner about any change in diet or supplements you plan to take, especially if you take any prescription medication.
“Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12
Subject: …About Eating Fruit !!
EATING FRUIT
This is informative!
We all think eating fruit means just buying fruit, cutting it up and popping it into our mouths. It’s not that easy. It’s important to know how and when to eat fruit.
What’s the correct way to eat fruit?
IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUIT AFTER A MEAL! FRUIT SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
Eating fruit like that plays a major role in detoxifying your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.
FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.
Let’s say you eat two slices of bread, then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it’s prevented from doing so.
In the meantime, the whole meal rots and ferments, and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach, and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.
Eat your fruit on an empty stomach, or before your meal! You’ve heard people complain: Every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet, etc. This will not happen if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. Fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas. Hence, you bloat!
There’s no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruit becomes alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruit, you have the Secret of Beauty, Longevity, Health, Energy, Happiness and normal weight.
When you need to drink fruit juice drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT the concentrated juice from the cans. Don’t drink juice that has been heated. Don’t eat cooked fruit; you don’t get the nutrients at all. You get only the taste. Cooking destroys all of the vitamins.
Eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit-fast to cleanse your body. Eat fruit and drink fruit juice for just 3 days, and you will be surprised when your friends say how radiant you look!
KIWI: Tiny but mighty, and a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fibre. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange!
AN APPLE a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C, thereby helping to lower the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.
STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.
EATING 2 – 4 ORANGES a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.
WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. Also a key source of lycopene, the cancer-fighting oxidant. Also found in watermelon: Vitamin C and Potassium.
GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene, good for your eyes.
Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer!
Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this applies to you. It’s nice to have a cold drink after a meal, however, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you’ve just consumed, which slows digestion. Once this ‘sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
A serious note about heart attacks.
HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE
Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they’re asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Be careful, and be aware. The more we know, the better our chance to survive.
A cardiologist said if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life.
It can even be your life!
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG – http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.437 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2797 – Release Date: 04/07/10 18:32:00
Ask Doctor Marty 