Body

We believe that it takes more than the right balance of nutrients for the body to reach the state of homeostasis; we need the right frame of mind to turn the healing power on.  By addressing the “underlying causes” of the symptomatic health issues, we are able to help the body regain its balance by reviving the self-healing abilities.

In order to know what the body needs to thrive on, we have to understand what the body is composed of.  Among the sixteen major chemical elements that make up the body, the top four elements account for about 97 percent of the composition – 

1) oxygen - 72 %

2) carbon - 13.5 %

3) hydrogen - 9.1 %

4) nitrogen - 2.5 %

Others include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, fluorine, zinc, and silicon.  There are also dozens of trace elements that are vital for our normal bodily functions, such as selenium, copper, manganese, and iodine.

All these elements are naturally present in the universe, which is also the source that nourishes our food and diet.  Humans are part of nature and so are all living organisms that depend on the earth for nourishment.  When the physical body ceases to exist, it decomposes back into the basic elements and returns to the universe for another life cycle.  The Book of Genesis states that God formed man from the “dust of the ground” – “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19)

Life only thrives on life.  From the lowest form of life like amoeba to one that is as complex as human beings, lives are sustained through the consumption of real food, which means any form of life-sustaining organisms.  Nature has provided us with all necessary nutrients to grow, regenerate and heal. But as our society becomes modernized and industrialized, we begin to rely on processed or refined foods that are nutrient-deficient and filled with chemically or synthetically made ingredients. And how can we expect ourselves to thrive healthily on all these unnatural, man-made products that are not even food.

The Seven Essential Nutrients

Similar to the composition of the body, the three basic components of food – carbohydrates, proteins and fats– are also composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with the addition of nitrogen for proteins.

All three macronutrients – proteins, fats and carbohydrates – are organic (meaning that they contain carbon) components that are part of the Earth’s living tissues of plants and animals.

Together with water and the three micronutrients – vitamins, minerals and enzymes, these seven essential nutrients become the fundamental elements of good health.  As each person is biochemically unique, our nutritional needs will depend on our body constitution, lifestyle, emotional state and thinking pattern (perception). 

Carbohydrates

• Carbohydrate molecules are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. 
• Basically, there are simple and complex carbohydrates, which are broken down into simple sugars and some digestible and indigestible starches.
• Functions of natural carbohydrates include:
  • Best source of energy for internal organs, nervous system, muscles. Glucose is the only energy source useable by the brain (so think twice before you go on a low-carb diet)
  • Regulate protein and fat metabolism
  • Regulate appetite mechanism in the body
  • Rich in fibre which aids in regular elimination
  • Feed friendly intestinal bacteria
  • Rich sources of vitamins and minerals
  • Promote absorption and retention of calcium

Proteins

• Protein molecules are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
• Complex molecules that comprised of combination of 22 naturally occurring amino acids, which are considered as building blocks of proteins.
• While many of the amino acids can potentially be produced in the body, eight of them are considered as essential amino acids, which mean that they have to be consumed in the diet.  Having said that, the capability of producing an amino acid also depends on the availability of other cofactors. For instance, glycine is an amino acid that the body is capable to make and the body makes glycine by taking another amino acid – serine and transforming it with the help of an enzyme called serine hydroxymethyltransferase and vitamin B6 (pyridoxal phosphate).
• Functions of proteins include:
  • Building blocks of our muscles, hair, nails, skin, eyes and internal organs, especially the heart muscle and brain
  • Source of energy secondary to carbohydrates and fat
  • Formation of enzymes that are required to spark our metabolism, haemoglobin of the red blood cell that carries oxygen to the tissues of the body, hormones that regulate our body chemistry (such as insulin and thyroid hormones) and antibodies that are crucial elements of our immune syste
  • Maintain fluid and salt balance on the cellular level
  • Normalize the acid-alkaline balance by acting as buffers
    

Fats

• Fats or lipids are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
• Fatty acids are basic components of fats and are linked in chains of carbon atoms.
• There are Saturated Fatty Acids (the most stable and least interactive) and Unsaturated Fatty Acids (unstable, more interactive and susceptible to damage).
• Depending on the length of the chain of carbon atoms, Saturated Fatty Acids are classified as:
  • Long Chain Fatty Acids (LCFAs) – Arachidic acid (peanut), stearic acid (beef cattle), palmitic acid (palm), myristic acid
  • Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) – lauric acid (coconut), capric acid (goat), caprylic acid (goat), caproic acid (goat)
  • Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) – butyric acid (butter)
•  Unsaturated Fatty Acids are classified as:
  • Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs)
  • Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs)
    • Polyunsaturated Omega-6
    • Polyunsaturated Omega-3
• Functions of fats include:
  • As part of every cell membrane and every organ and tissue, lipids perform many life-supporting functions in each cell of our body such as keeping the cells strong to protect against invasion by microorganisms or damage by chemicals.
  • Important to the nervous system as well as in the manufacture of the steroid and sex hormones and the important hormone-like prostaglandins.
  • Act as insulators to maintain body temperature and as shock absorbers for vital internal organs.
  • Provide the greatest energy output per gram of any food source; stored fats are good energy reserve (metabolism possible only if oxygen, vitamins and minerals present)
  • Improve palatability of food and promote digestion.
  • Carry fat-soluble substances such as vitamins A, D, E and K and by assisting vitamin D absorption, they help calcium get into the body, especially to the bones and teeth.
• Due to their viscosity and insolubility in water, fats or lipids require the body to take more time and energy to digest.
• As much as we have to pay attention to the type of fats that we consume, it is equally important for us to avoid the adulterated form of fats – trans-fatty acids - that are detrimental to our health.  Trans- fatty acids are produced by high temperatures and hydrogenation and are present in margarines, shortenings, processed foods and even some oils.

Water

• About 60 – 75% of your body is made up of water; and the brain is about 75 – 85% water
•  the primary component of all the bodily fluids – blood, lymph, digestive juices, urine, tears and sweat is involved in almost every bodily function: circulation, digestion, absorption, elimination of wastes and so on
•  regulates temperature; carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushions your joints and helps dissolve vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to make them accessible to your body; dissolves the body’s waste products and flushes out toxins
•  the average adult can lose up to 2 litres of water each day by elimination of body waste, perspiration and breathing
•  in the medical research, dehydration is linked to a long list of chronic health problem, including adult-onset diabetes, arthritis, asthma, back pain, cataracts, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, depression, heartburn, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, kidney stones, lupus, migraines, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy
•  soft drinks, coffee and tea are diuretics, which means they take out more liquid than they put in
•  water is the only substance on earth that occurs naturally in the three states of matter: liquid, solid, gas