vitamins, minerals
& toxic metals
underlying causes
of ill-health
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"The Eskimo Diet Doctor", Dr Hugh Macdonald Sinclair DM DSc FRCP, once induced in himself the longest bleeding times ever recorded in Western civilization, (apart from haemophiliacs).
While serving in the British army during World War II, Sinclair - one of the world's greatest nutritional researchers - had observed that there was a surprising absence of heart disease among certain eskimo populations. This was in spite of the fact that their diet was extremely high in fat.
He concluded that the type of fat
in their diet
must help them to stay healthy.
Thirty years later he set out to prove it. Using himself as a guinea pig, Sinclair ate only seal and fish for 100 days in order to demonstrate that consuming marine oils could dramatically reduce blood clotting.
In 1956, in a letter published in The Lancet, one of the most prestigious medical journals, Sinclair, a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, claimed that most of the world's so-called "diseases of civilization" - coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, strokes and skin disease - were caused by a disturbance in fat metabolism.
This was not well received by the medical profession at that time, and he was ridiculed for his theory on fats. Modern science, however, has discovered that his theories were indeed correct. He is now recognized and praised for insights that were far ahead of his time.
Today fish oil is widely believed to help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes from blood clotting. Furthermore, researchers at the Harvard Medical School in Boston have shown that fish oil improves bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic depression.
Current research demonstrates that low levels of important fats are commonly found in patients suffering from ADD/ADHD, Parkinson's Disease, aggression, Alzheimer's Disease, and depression. In these days of increasing incidence of autism, behavioural problems and learning difficulties in children, modern research into fat metabolsm and infant brain development appears to be vindicating Sinclair's assertions.
More than anyone else, Sinclair highlighted the vital importance of essential fats in the development of human intelligence, and as protection against many diseases, particularly of the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
His keen observation of the Inuit eskimo population and his willingness to experiment on himself opened the worldís eyes to the benefits of fish oil. Sadly, at that time, National Health Service free cod liver oil for all British children was being replaced by vitamin drops containing only a few isolated vitamins.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910, Dr. Hugh Sinclair was a great grandson of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Sinclair, the great British Agriculturalist. As founder and Director of the Oxford Nutrition Survey, Hugh Sinclair had been deeply involved in nutritional research to help sustain the people of Britain through World War II, and also for the recovery of the starved populations of post war Europe. As founder and Director of the International Nutrition Foundation, he became the world leader in understanding the vital importance of essential fats to human health.
Colleagues would later write of him: "Inspiration to generations of distinguished scientists, loyal friend, original thinker, his deep knowledge, sharp wit, great intellect, and brilliant writing and speaking, make him one of the great scientists of our time." And one of Dr Sinclair's students at Magdalan College, Oxford recalled:
"He taught me that we should never
take anything for granted,
and to be open
to every alernative explanation
for a given set of facts"
Sinclair theorized that the major reason for the disturbance in fat metabolism was because the typical Western diet was full of processed foods, saturated fats and trans-fatty acids ("bad fats") which blocked the "good fats". He called these good fats essential fatty acids (EFAs) because the body cannot make them for itself and must obtain them from food.
Today, we know that EFAs are vital to the construction of every cell of the body, including the brain. Often known as vitamin F, these vitamin-like lipids control or modulate an amazing number of cellular processes. Each EFA plays a specific role in the body. Enzymes depend on them, as do hormones and prostaglandins (a kind of local hormone). As with other essential vitamins and minerals, all are necessary for good health.
Some interesting research with fish oils is currently being done in the areas of kidney inflammation, lupus, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and cystic fibrosis. And research into the link between fat metabolism and diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, immune function and autoimmune disease, alcoholism, PMT, skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, and the prevention of cancer has shown promising results. A keen supporter of the McCarrison Society for Nutriton and Health, Dr Sinclair always saw food and health as a whole. He was fond of quoting Sir Robert McCarrison, whose library he had inherited:
"The greatest single factor in the
acquisition and maintenance of good
health, is perfectly constituted food".
Like Price, McCarrison and Cleave, Hugh Sinclair was aware of the damage that the refining of flour and sugar had inflicted upon whole populations. Wheatgerm, stripped from the grain in the refining process, is a rich source of essential fatty acids. Wholegrains also contain nutrients vital to the body's ability to utilise essental fatty acids properly - zinc, magnesium, copper and selenium and the vitamins B6, A, C, and E, for example.
That same use of EFAs by the body can also be blocked by deficiencies of the B vitamin, biotin, but that brings us right back to gut dysbiosis, since biotin is one of the B vitamins that are produced by the friendly intestinal bacteria of a healthy gut. Refined sugar and flour, of course, contribute greatly to the problem of dysbiosis.
In addition, when the gut wall is damaged by dysbiosis it can't manufacture the carrier proteins that are necessary for those minerals, zinc, magnesium, copper and selenium to be transported through into the body. Without such minerals the metabolism of essential fatty acids is hindered. So, in the disturbance of fat metabolism, we have yet another insight into the health-damaging effects of the Saccharine Disease.
Moreover, fatty acids are vital to the health of the lining of the gut wall. When the lining of the gut wall is compromised, the problems caused by a leaky gut exacerbate the essential fatty acid deficiency. Fatty acid deficiency causes cells to become leaky, so the greater the deficiency, the more leaky the gut wall becomes. The leakier the gut wall, the greater the deficiency. A vicious circle! A chicken and egg situation! This is just one example of what has been called:
"an interrelated tapestry
of inblances within the human body"
The use of EFAs by the body can also be blocked by pollution, radiation, some viruses, stress, diabetes, ageing, too little protein, too many calories, too much alcohol, excessive cholesterol and saturated fat. Western populations tend to eat abnormally large quantities of saturated fats which harm the basic structure of cellular material, and thereby harm our essential organs. Low fat diets, however, can cause health problems if they are deficient in essential fatty acids.
Seeds, nuts, and pulses, are rich sources of one type of essential fatty acid (Omega 6), while oily fish and green vegetables are rich in another kind (Omega 3). Olive oil is a rich source of yet another kind (Omega 9). We need all three types on a regular basis, so a diet that is consistently high in white flour products and sugar, and low in seeds, green vegetables and oily fish and olive oil will result in a deficiency of EFAs. Fruit, salads, olive oil and fish, of course, form the basis of the Mediterranean diet that has contributed so much to the health and longevity of generations living in those regions.
Sadly, other areas of the world have discarded these natural foods in favour of processed convenience products, stripped of health promoting vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. However, there are other reasons why we become deficient in vital nutrients such as these and others....Read more about this in the article:-
Deficiency and anti-nutrients
The idea that anyone who eats a reasonably
well-balanced diet can't be deficient is a dangerous fallacy. Modern agriculture,
food processing, dietary choices and environmental factors have created
widespread shortages of nutrients vital to the health of the body and
the brain.
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(from a tribute to Hugh Sinclair)
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Fish oils on prescription “It is clearly recommended in international guidelines,” said Dr. Massimo Santini, the hospital’s chief of cardiology, who added that it would be considered tantamount to malpractice in Italy to omit the drug. In a large number of studies, prescription fish oil has been shown to improve survival after heart attacks and to reduce fatal heart rhythms. Yet patients in Britain and the US are not being prescribed purified fish oil, even though there is strong research supporting its beneficial properties. Heart specialists have expressed concern over the UK and US's failure to prescribe fish oil to heart patients. They point out that that drugs are being recommended to patients instead of fish oil. |
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work through this
series of short articles
which
provide some insight
into underlying causes of ill-health
1. Health
in isolation
Isolated people, cut off from modern foods,
enjoyed remarkable health, together with surprising resistance to
infection and degenerative disease.
2. Emotional
as well as physical
Happiness as well as health shone out of a
primitive community. A scientist's quest to demonstrate the effect
of their diet upon their emotional health.
3. Health
before birth
Old hospital birth records convinced the Medical
Research Council that what a woman eats when she’s pregnant can
affect the health, not only of her children, but of her children’s
children.
4. The Saccharine Disease
One of the most original thinkers of the twentieth
century brought about a major revolution in scientific thought.
He insisted that a condition common to many health problems is the
most dangerous cause of disease in westernised countries.
5. Disease
begins in the gut
A Russian scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize
for his research on the internal eco-system of the body. Current research is confirming this as an important
factor in inflammatory disease, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue
and certain cancers.
6. Leaky Gut
One of the repercussions of our modern diet
is its effect on the intestinal wall. This has consequences that
can undermine health and promote disease.
7. Essential
Fatty Acids
The disruption of these vital fats is just
one of many interrelated imbalances within the human body that are
being exacerbated by an increasing number of nutritional and environmental
factors.
8. Deficiencies
and anti-nutrients
The idea that anyone who eats a reasonably
well-balanced diet can't be deficient is a dangerous fallacy. Modern
agriculture, food processing, dietary choices and environmental
factors have created widespread shortages of nutrients vital to
the health of the body and the brain.