Nutrition
Nutrition (according to the Oxford dictionary) is the process of providing or receiving nourishing substances. A nutrient is a substance that provides essential nourishment. The object of Nutrition is to supply the cells in our body with all the nutrients they need to function optimally. When all cells function optimally the body is in optimum health and can maintain optimum health.

The process of nutrition can be divided into six different stages:

1. Consumption
2. Digestion
3. Absorption
4. Transportation
5. Assimilation
6. Utilisation

1. Consumption

To achieve and maintain perfect health, our body needs many nutrients, which we can usually obtain from our diet i.e. proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins, minerals and many other substances that are essential for our body.

Diets differ from country to country, but until 50 years ago within a certain country the diet was more or less the same for all people. Nowadays foods are available from many other parts of the world. Asian countries are starting to adopt Western eating habits (including eating junk food) and in most Western countries a rich variety of Asian food is now incorporated in the diet. Our Gastro-Intestinal Tract (GIT) therefore has to digest different foods, herbs and spices that have now become part of the diet.

2. Digestion

Some foods are easier to digest by the GIT than others. This depends on whether we have the enzymes to digest the food, the appropriate gut flora as well as other factors. If the body cannot digest a certain food, digestive problems result often followed by absorption problems. As we all have different genes, we deal with certain foods in different ways.

An example of a digestive problem is lactose intolerance or an intolerance to the sugar part of dairy products. If the body cannot make (enough of) the enzyme lactase (necessary to digest lactose), the body will have problems digesting dairy products such as cow’s milk, cream, cheese etc. The body can have a problem producing lactase because the gene is missing or the gene can be defective as is the case in many Asian, Aboriginal and Polynesian people. Even if we were not lactose intolerant at birth we all become lactose intolerant to a greater or lesser extent as we grow older. In nature no animal drinks milk after they are weaned and it is the same for humans. As a result the production of lactase drops dramatically after the age of 7 and we have more trouble digesting milk after that age.

If there is a problem digesting proteins in the body, a person can also become sensitive to the protein in dairy products (casein) as well as many other proteins, i.e. protein in wheat: gluten: gliadin.

3. Absorption
Foods that cannot be digested completely often cause irritation in the GIT leading to inflammation. Normally the gut wall is covered with a thick jungle of villi, which are like small hairs (see picture). The nutrients are absorbed through the wall of the villi where they enter the blood and are distributed to all the cells in the body. When there is Inflammation, the villi are destroyed and absorption of nutrients is not possible. This often leads to malabsorption of the nutrients that need to be absorbed in the area that is inflamed, which ultimately causes a deficiency of the nutrient. For example if the body has a problem digesting wheat as is the case in Celiac’s disease, the resulting inflammation in the GIT can lead to poor absorption of Iron, causing Anaemia. If the body has a problem digesting the protein in cow’s milk (casein) it may not benefit from the calcium in milk due to the inflammation and malabsorption that is caused by the consumption of cow’s milk.
 
4. Transportation

The body needs to transport the nutrient to its target cells. This usually happens by attaching the nutrient to a transport protein. If the person does not consume enough protein, or if the protein is not fully digested, or if there is a problem with the liver (which is responsible for the production of Albumin, a major transport protein), the nutrient will not arrive at the target cells and the cells are still starved of the nutrient.

5. Assimilation

Once the nutrient arrives at the cell surface, it needs to be brought into the cell. This is a process that requires proteins, fats, energy as well as other substances. Again a protein deficiency or a lack of the appropriate fats in the cell membrane can create a problem in the assimilation of the nutrient. On the outside of every cell are many proteins that act as receptors for many nutrients. The combination of a nutrient with its receptor protein needs to fit like a key in a lock (see information booklet: What is Health?). If this is not a good fit, the nutrient cannot get into the cell. An example of this is the phenomenon called Insulin Resistance where the combination of Insulin with its receptor is not 100% and therefore glucose cannot enter the cell. The worse the fit, the worse the cells will be starved of glucose and the person will feel fatigued because no energy is obtained from burning glucose within the cell.

6. Utilisation

Even when the nutrient is inside the target cell, it is possible that it cannot be used. It is possible that the enzyme, co-enzyme or co-factor that is necessary for the utilization of that nutrient is not there, so the reaction cannot take place. For example glucose cannot get broken down if there is no Vitamin B3.

Therefore Nutrition is only optimal when you consume all of the required nutrients and when all of these processes function optimally as well. Achieving and maintaining good health therefore is dependent on choosing foods that are good for you.

How do you determine which foods are good for you?

Muscle Checking (see Kinesiology) is a technique that can be used to determine which foods are beneficial (health promoting foods) for someone and which foods are not. Muscle Checking can also be used to determine in which nutrients the body is lacking and why. The same technique is used to determine how the problem can be solved. For example if there is an absorption problem due to an intolerance to wheat, wheat needs to be eliminated from the diet, which usually takes care of the problem. In the mean time a supplement that will replenish the body’s stores of the nutrient may be advisable as well as some supplements to repair the inflammation in the GIT and restore the gut flora when necessary.

You can learn how to muscle check yourself and find out which foods and supplements are beneficial for you and your family in the Food for Health Course (please click on the Brochures link to view the course brochures). You do not need any prerequisites for this course.

Case histories
* A number of years ago a lady came to see me with a huge goiter due to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Food testing revealed an allergy to dairy and to a lesser extent to wheat. When these foods were removed from the diet, her Hashimotos Thyroiditis improved to the point that the goiter has disappeared and she is now on only a minimal amount of Thyroxine. If she has any dairy in her diet by accident, her Thyroid flares up.
* One child had poor concentration and disruptive behaviour. Food testing showed that he was sensitive to allergies to dairy products. After a week the school Principal asked the mother whether she had put him on the drug Ritalin. His concentration had improved dramatically and now his reading and writing has improved out of sight!

Most people will argue that Dyslexia cannot be cured. I disagree. In the 14 years that I have worked with dyslexic and brain injured children I have not come across one child yet that cannot read now. Dyslexia is a state of confusion that prevents access to certain areas of the brain, mostly to the areas on the left hemisphere that process language, i.e. decoding, writing and spelling is affected. Diet plays an important role in determining what chemicals the brain can make. If the brain cannot access a certain area, teaching skills to that area is never going to work. Once the brain can access those areas of the brain that are necessary to learn the skills, the missing skills can be learned and once identified these skills need to be taught, because they could not be acquired naturally.