1. Water Retention 2. The Low-Carb Diet Craze (WAS: sugar-swelling of feet and legs)

[Guest guest]

Hi Belinda,

 

I'm continuing to clean up my backlog for this group, and I find this post

from you. Here are some thoughts:

 

Part 1: Water Retention

 

1. Water is the primary medium that moves material throughout our bodies.

Such material can be either water soluble, as salt and sugar, or water

transportable, as iron. Even fats are primarily transported in water (as

blood, lymph).

 

2. To travel (circulate), soluble materials must go into solution. So, for

example, salt and sugar must both go into solution in water (blood, and then

post-blood), in order to travel anywhere OR be safely stored anywhere in the

body.

 

3. Water at a given temperature and pressure has a certain capacity to take

various materials into solution. When we overload the carrying capacity of

our bodily fluid (primary blood in this case), we experience a strong

awareness of thirst ... if we recognize it. If we do not eat or drink water

quickly, then our body begins to divert water from elsewhere (organs and

tissues), so that the body has enough water to hold everything in solution

in the blood stream. Necessarily, this raises blood pressure, among other

effects.

 

3.1 In the case of salt, the material is highly corrosive, and the body can

only safely eliminate a small amount at a time. The rest is stored in a

heavy brine, initially primarily under the skin, awaiting later elimination.

This is the primary dietary source of water retention. Certain drugs have a

similar effect in various parts of the body; they are so toxic that they

cannot be safely eliminated, at least not entirely, so a portion is stored

in watery brine for later elimination. (Some components that are fat

soluble, as certain metals, are stored in fats instead. Hence, the heavy

metals issue people speak about.)

 

3.2 In the case of sugar, the body perceives a completely different problem

and begins manufacturing more of the hormone insulin. The job of the insulin

is to signal cells throughout the body that sugar (glucose) is available and

to facilitate the transport of glucose from the blood stream and into the

rest of the cells. So yes, there can be a short-term effect as the body

seeks more water to hold the sugar in solution (thirst, resulting in

increased blood pressure). But the body seeks to remove the sugar, as as

burned fuel or via conversion into stored fat, so water retention, as most

people use the term, is not such an issue.

 

Hope this makes sense!

____________

Part 2: The Low-Carb Diet Craze

As the mainstream packaged food supply in the U.S. approaches an almost

nutrient-free state, most Americans are starving to death ... not for

calories, the traditional definition of " starvation " , but rather for almost

all nutrients other than calories. Naturally, a starving person seeks

nutrients ... and so Americans eat, and eat, and eat ... never even

beginning to fulfill their bodies' nutrient requirements.

 

Concurrently, most Americans are now very well-trained to do as they are

told ... which means, among other things, to follow the directions

(advertising) on the television. For years, marketers have been extolling

the virtues of cereals, bread, " quick meals " such as Pop Tarts and the like

.... we all know the story. And Americans have bought the message, hook,

line, and sinker. In the process, consumption of fats has skyrocketed ...

and consumption of carbohydrates has skyrocketed even faster. The resulting

distortion is that the PERCENT of calories Americans consume from fats has

decreased (from 40-42% years ago to about 33-35% today) while that from

carbohydrates has increased (all the way to 50%, give or take). Please note

this distinction: the absolute numbers (physical amounts consumed) have

skyrocketed, as I have said. The confusion lies in the distinction between

percentages and amounts.

 

So now there is a backlash, the so-called " low-carbohydrate diet craze " . My

recommendation is to turn off the television, or at least mute out 100% of

the advertising AND look away when it comes on. Then you can stop filling

your head with nonsense.

 

As you can readily see, the conversation about " low-carb diets " has nothing

to do with us at all.

 

Best,

Elchanan

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Belinda

Friday, May 25, 2007 1:47 PM

rawfood

Subject : [Raw Food] sugar-swelling of feet and legs

 

 

I know salt can cause fluid retention. What are some other foods that can do

this? Can sugary foods? Sugar, as in granulated sugar. Not sugar from fruit.

 

Also, I see stuff in magazines and on TV about low carb diet, don't eat too

many carbs, etc. What are they talking about? Isn't fruits and veggies

carbs? How can one eat too much of those?

 

Belinda