Other saturated fats which ought to be mentioned are the medium-chain fatty acids of coconut oil. These fatty acids are easily absorbed by the intestinal mucosa, even without the kicking off of the digestive processes, reaching the cells and penetrating them with the utmost ease, thereby providing immediate energy. For this reason, they are used by patients in the acute phase of serious intestinal autoimmune diseases (who are unable to feed themselves regularly), as well as by athletes.
Diets Calling for a Teaspoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
May he who has never cut back on extra virgin olive oil as soon as they started a diet cast the first stone! I think that almost nobody can be that person, because all the most common diets involve a reduction in calories and especially in fats. The very first food to be cut back on is our fantastic extra virgin olive oil, despite the fact it should be freely consumed without worrying about measuring it by the teaspoonful, a method which, among other things, causes patients not to adhere to their diets. I myself would go crazy trying to measure this liquid gold by the teaspoon. Rich in oleic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid, extra virgin has proven itself to be a fundamental nutrient, and a safeguard for our cardiovascular health. Together with phytosterols, additional components of extra virgin, it allows for the lowering of triglycerides and of LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL cholesterol. Oleic acid, as stated in an article published in the journal Diabetes Care, has proven able to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 50%. Oleic acid has also been proven to be an effective nutrient to combat depression. Recent studies have shown that people who adopt a diet rich in extra virgin olive oil have a lower chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis than individuals who consume it in small amounts. Beneficial effects were also shown with regard to bone-density and the prevention of osteoporosis. It seems, in fact, that regular consumption of olive oil improves the bodys calcium absorption. There is data that correlate the use of extra virgin olive oil with the reduction of some types of cancer, especially breast cancer. Furthermore, cancer mortality is higher in Northern European countries than in Mediterranean countries. The polyphenols present in extra virgin olive oil strengthen cell walls and increase the elasticity of blood vessel walls, offering the cardiovascular system protection. A study published in Chemical Neuroscience has shown that oleocanthal, the substance responsible for that burning sensation in the throat, has useful properties in reducing the risk of developing Alzheimer's. It also improves cognitive function. Extra virgin olive oil is known to have beneficial effects on digestion, and is commonly used as a medical oil to clean the digestive system and thus improve intestinal movement, with preventive effects against constipation. Our grandparents knew that, but we forgot.
A nice technique for aiding digestion involves putting a little extra virgin olive oil on a puffed rice cake with a pinch of salt. By doing so, you will have prepared a delicious snack with high digestive power. In fact, extra virgin olive oil has anti-inflammatory properties, and salt is rich in sodium (making it an antacid). We have found an ideal pairing to deal with acidity and/or reflux disorders.
Its abundance of quercetin, a molecule belonging to the flavonoid family that restores vitamin E, ensures its anti-inflammatory power, inhibiting all processes that promote inflammation.
We can also find caffeic acid within our liquid gold. Caffeic acid is a natural antibiotic, an inhibitor of inflammation and of the formation of uric acid (responsible for gout).
In addition, the fatty acids found in extra virgin olive oil, which provide us 9 kcal/g, are not responsible for weight gain, but if anything stabilize it! I am sure you have already surmised that, by reducing extra virgin olive oil, the diets they push on us are nothing but dangerous for our health.
Proteins to Watch Out For if You Want to Hurt Yourself
For years, there has been a media campaign against nutrients that our bodies could not do without: proteins. How many times have you been admonished to be careful how many proteins you take in because of their alleged negative effects on the kidneys and liver? Too bad all that news is unfounded. Since so many people love to talk about scientific studies, I will tell you that in reality there is no scientific study that confirms the supposed negative effects of a healthy person eating an excess amount of proteins. The studies showing that proteins can damage the kidneys were conducted on nephropathic patientsthat is to say, on patients with kidney disease. That is akin to saying that patients with third degree burns should not be exposed to the sun because it can burn their skin even more! Whats more, as you have no doubt concluded yourself, there are scads of studies and counter-studies that can create crazy amounts of confusion. Further studies have shown that nephropathic people, being catabolic, lose more proteins with respect to healthy people, and so must consume more proteins to counteract excess protein catabolism. So who should we listen to? Let's employ some logic! Going by the anti-protein strain of logic, athletes should all be nephropathic due to their excessive protein consumption. And what about the peoples of North America who are forced to fight against the cold, and whose nutrition is based on large quantities of fish (including salmon and whales)? They certainly do not have damaged kidneys. Furthermore, going off the previous chapter, cardiovascular pathologies there are almost unheard of. Let's move on to the other myth about this macronutrientthe notion that meat proteins cause cancer. If this were the case, mankind would have gone extinct, given that prehistoric man fed largely upon meat and fish, and knew not of cereals! But of course, mention that and the expert-of-the-moment jumps in to claim that the average age of the primitive man was thirty. I reply to these geniuses that they would not be able to survive a single day in the middle of the jungle, without heating, without a home, without drugs and without a refrigerator! Primitive man died only from infections that resulted from injuries caused during the hunt or clashes with his fellow men. There were no chronic degenerative diseases. These appeared shortly after the start of cereal cultivation, but especially after the Second World War with increased industrialization. Tumors, in general, might be produced by a diet rich in sugars and dairy products. The only meat proteins to avoid are pork proteins. Epidemiological studies are clear on this, as we will see in later chapters.
Much of our bodies is made up of proteins: organs, skin appendages and DNA. Protein deficiency can lead to:
the metabolism slowing down;
a poor immune system response*;
skin appendages falling out;
asthenia;
mental confusion and depression;
poor muscle growth;
edemas with swollen hands and eyes;
sarcopenia;
kwashiorkor: a deficiency of alumina, a protein whose deficiency triggers a phenomenon called osmosis, causing water to escape from the blood vessels into the tissues. This causes the abdomen to swell.
Obviously, it is almost impossible to find that last one in the Western world, but all the other points are, I think, everyday occurrences. Absurdly, many suffer from excess weight and, at the same time, hair loss and nail problems. This is all due to a diet with an abundance of sugars and carbohydrates that is also low in protein. What about fatigue, mental confusion and depression? I think many of you are finding yourselves in what I am saying. Not to mention low muscle growth or sarcopenia, the latter very present in the elderly, who should be consuming more proteins than a man of average age due to the low protein synthesis typical of old age. I marked one of the previous points with an asterisk. In point of fact, a poor immune response may be at fault, present in people who consume fewer proteins than needed, as well as in people who manage to take in their proper protein quota but use proteins unsuitable for their immune system, which, as you will see, lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.
Obviously, it is almost impossible to find that last one in the Western world, but all the other points are, I think, everyday occurrences. Absurdly, many suffer from excess weight and, at the same time, hair loss and nail problems. This is all due to a diet with an abundance of sugars and carbohydrates that is also low in protein. What about fatigue, mental confusion and depression? I think many of you are finding yourselves in what I am saying. Not to mention low muscle growth or sarcopenia, the latter very present in the elderly, who should be consuming more proteins than a man of average age due to the low protein synthesis typical of old age. I marked one of the previous points with an asterisk. In point of fact, a poor immune response may be at fault, present in people who consume fewer proteins than needed, as well as in people who manage to take in their proper protein quota but use proteins unsuitable for their immune system, which, as you will see, lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.
Proteins activate glucagon, a hormone that enables weight loss. There are those who claim that proteins make you fat, but have they ever studied biochemistry?
I have been to Africa, in the area where there are no wars and where they do not have the possibility to buy food. Where I stayed, they eat meat for lunch and dinner and snack on dried meats. Breakfast? Eggs! Any obesity in the population, you may ask? It is almost nonexistent. But there is no need to travel that far; come to my office, and you will see the results of a diet low in carbohydrates and rich in fats and proteins.
Carbohydrates: A Fuel You Must Know How to Dose
Carbohydrates are the best-known macronutrients in Italy. For years, carbohydrates have been thought to be the main fuel for our bodies. There are people who are frightened by the fact that they have to abandon their dish of pasta, due in part to all the careful brainwashing perpetrated by the people in charge. How can I possibly live without bread and pasta? This is the question that some of my patients ask themselves as soon as I eliminate these foods from their diets. Allow me to clarify this once and for all: carbohydrates, unlike some fatty acids and amino acids, are not essential for the body, since the latter is able to synthesize carbs from amino acids. Our bodies are able to do this because it has done without this nutrient for long periods of time: our prehistoric ancestors, and even still-living populations such as the Inuit and the Maasai, consumed no carbohydrates for most of their lives.
Yet all they talk about today is the importance of eating complex carbohydrates, such as those derived from the beloved wheat flour, at the expense of sugars. This would be an excellent indication if it was made clear, however, that abusing complex carbohydrates always leads to the same consequences as the intake of simple sugars: diabetes, tumors, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, hypothyroidism and more. To the average Italian, it seems normal to consume 200 grams of pasta for lunch and 200 grams of bread in the evening, not to mention the croissant in the morning. Trust me, the croissant is not a pastry product eaten only by people who are not on a diet: I have seen cafeterias for the Italian Olympic athletes overloaded with them. And then we wonder why our athletes fail to achieve certain results! In addition, I would like to make a clarification: the intake of a complex carbohydrate makes no difference, when compared to the intake of sugars, if it comes from white flours. These, in fact, have completely lost their fiber and mineral and vitamin content, and are foods with empty calories, derived from carbohydrates whose glycemic index has skyrocketed. But what is the glycemic index? The glycemic index is the ability of a food to raise the blood sugar level when compared to another food. The scale goes from 0 and continues beyond 100. For example, whole wheat pasta raises blood sugar less than white bread because white bread, being refined, is more easily digested. This concept came about in the 1980s and was used to set up slimming diets. The reason? If you consume foods with a low glycemic index, or better yet, a low glycemic load (with few carbohydrates), the blood sugar level would rise slowly and, therefore, produce less insulin than a food with a high glycemic index. Remember, the more insulin we release, the fatter we get. The goal of all diets should be to slow down this production.
At this point, I find myself telling you a truth that no one has ever told you before: many recommend pasta, even if it is refined, because it has a low glycemic index. This, unfortunately, is a half-truth. Just because a food has a medium-low glycemic index does not mean that it does not stimulate insulin production. Not everybody realizes that, in reality, it is not a foods glycemic index that counts as much as its insulin indexthe effect that that food has on the pancreas and on the stimulation of insulin as soon as that particular food gets to the intestines. The more insulin is released, the fatter we get. The insulin index of the most common pasta is very high and, moreover, common wheat, the kind you likely eat and which has been processed in a laboratory, has a glycemic index almost identical to that of white sugar; this is due to its starch structure, which is composed of amylopectin A, a form of starch that is quickly digested by our intestines. Yes, every day, 3 to 5 times a day, the average Italian is consuming a food product that has more devastating effects on the pancreas than white sugar. Like wheat, other cereals belonging to the grass family, such as rice, also have a very high insulin index. Our bodies have a mainly lipidic metabolism. Breast milk contains more calories from fats than from carbohydrates. In fact, in every 100 grams of milk, there are 3.5 grams of fats corresponding to 31.5 kcal, as opposed to the 28 kcal released by 7 grams of carbohydrates. We, as adults, invert this relationship with the belief that the metabolizing of carbohydrates does not involve the creation of waste substances, such as the urea from proteins and the ketones from fats, but the two are waste products that our liver and kidneys know how to get rid of very well.
Clinical Cases
A.A.: 47-year-old female, with Cushing's syndrome via pituitary adenoma. She came to me because she suffered from hypertension, glycemia, and sudden weight gain that had stabilized at 120 kg (approx. 265 lbs.). Examining her bodily composition, I suggested she see an endocrinologist for tests, and a pituitary adenoma was discovered. Six months went by before the surgery, and the doctors were amazed. Through my Italian Reset Method, she managed to control the changes in pressure and her blood sugar concentration. Plus, she managed to lose 40 kg (approx. 88 lbs.) in six months. The scheduled surgery went well, and today she is a very different woman.
M.R.: 45-year-old male, a diabetic with hypercholesterolemia and asthenia. After only two months of being on the proper food regimen, he managed to stop needing Metformin, bringing his cholesterol back down within normal ranges and losing 10 kg (approx. 22 lbs.). His fatigue disappeared after the first 20 days of dieting.
V.D.: a female with severe intestinal disorders and polycystic ovary syndrome. Within a few days, she managed to obtain perfect intestinal function, and no longer suffered any pain. Her menstrual cycle, despite her following a very balanced diet, did not come, and we were forced to make a modification to her Italian Reset Diet. After a few days, her period returned, and today V.D. is able to maintain low carbohydrate levels in her diet in order to promote her menstrual cycle.
S.B.: a 36-year-old male with Crohn's disease who was not undergoing any drug treatment. In only a few days, by choosing the appropriate foods, he managed to stop his blood-stained diarrhea, and no longer has any unpleasant intestinal disorders. Today, he knows what to eat and no longer fears his old condition.