I have long been concerned about the nutritional adequacy of the diets of most of our senior citizens whether resident in their own homes or in various forms of care. Very often, when left to their own devices many older people cannot be bothered to prepare proper meals and many of them fall into a toast and tea or coffee regime: they do what is easiest without recognising or realising the longer term consequences of this behaviour. They often become seriously under nourished. Many do not maintain an adequate intake of fluids,  particularly water, sometimes due to fear of incontinence or of inability to get to the toilet in time, even when they have dementia. Dehydration may cause brain shrinkage, headaches, memory loss and an inability to think clearly and logically. It can also cause serious kidney malfunction.

As we age, we often become less active physically and stress levels should diminish all of which reduces our energy intake requirements. A situation which, in combination with a declining digestive system, amplifies the requirement to maintain a nutritionally adequate and balanced diet. This also maintains the immune system, body warmth, energy levels, mental activity and the body’s natural healing and repair functions. Almost conversely, it becomes more critical that as the food quantity diminishes the need for appropriate fundamental quality and adequate nutritional balance increases. To avoid doing the elderly a grave disservice we need to better understand and provide for their nutritional needs taking into account the issues that also arise from their aging metabolisms.

I also believe that it is important for the elderly to remain as physically active as possible in order to maintain bone and muscular strength as well as their balance and blood circulation. Sadly, there are many older men in nursing homes, and elsewhere, who appear to be losing weight and muscle tone through being inadequately fed: quantity and quality wise. There are also increasing numbers of elderly women with open, ulcerated sores on their shins that will not heal: due often to the combined lack of an adequate diet and physical activity regime causing poor blood circulation. They all require quality sources of protein and vegetables in their diets not snacks, convenience foods, bread, cakes and biscuits etc.

The maintenance of good nutritional status in this group is critical. The elderly have the right to enjoy healthy, productive and fulfilling lives. Better nutrition will ensure greater independence for longer, better quality of life, higher immunity, lower mortality and less need to progress to higher, more expensive forms of care.

All human beings need to eat their body weight in quality food per month if they are to maintain body weight and good health. This requirement is inescapable. If there is insufficient food the outcome is loss of weight, malnutrition and a declining immune system leading to poorer quality of life, ill health and reduced life expectancy.

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Last week I mentioned in High Sodium Levels Linked to Cancer, how Dr. Max Gerson provided us all with valuable information about the health benefits of eating high proportions of fresh fruit and vegetables, instead of foods high in acidity and sodium. This week I will build on this by looking at several long lived populations from history. By studying the diets of these long lived populations, the benefits of reducing foods with high proportions of acid and sodium from our diets are evident. Three long lived populations we should study the diet’s of are: the Hunzas in the Himalayas, Peruvian natives living in the high Andes and the Okinawans of Northern Japan.

Both lots of mountain dwellers lived into active, healthy old age (110 -120 years) on an essentially alkaline diet of fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables watered by glacier induced mineral rich irrigation water. Both the Hunzas and the Peruvian natives in the high Andes, consumed alcohol and animal proteins and fats, milk etc sparingly. The Okinawans also live into healthy old age on a traditional diet of mineral rich seafood and seaweed, tofu, miso, rice, fruit and vegetables. Similarly, their traditional diet is also more alkaline than the typical Western diet.

Quite obviously in Western communities, the combination of constipation, excess acidity and sodium levels, lack of exercise and the consumption of energy dense, mass produced and often over-processed and nutritionally deficient convenience foods high in fat, salt and sugar is proving to be a disaster. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, macular degenerative eye diseases, Coeliac Disease, asthma, osteoporosis, obesity and declining life expectancy, under our regime, are all on the rise: a very sad reflection and commentary upon our dietary and lifestyle choices. A situation, which despite our knowledge, we appear reluctant to address.

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In last week’s post, The Dangers of Acidity and Sodium, I wrote about the diet of the Western world containing too many highly processed foods with high proportions of acidity and sodium levels – leading to health serious health problems. I also wrote about Dr. Max Gerson’s discovery of high sodium intake being the cause of his recurrent severe migraines. Read on to find more about Gerson and his cancer treatment clinic.

Dr. Max Gerson believed that an excessive intake of sodium, caused the sodium to replace and displace the potassium in the human body, modifying body chemistry significantly and undesirably. In clinical trials, he found that body cells rich in potassium were highly oxygenated or aerobic – the anti-cancer condition. Whereas body cells rich in sodium become increasingly anaerobic or deprived of oxygen: a situation he believed to be cancer inducing. Gerson’s treatments involved treating people with water and seasonal fresh raw fruit and vegetable juices.

Towards the end of his life, Dr. Max Gerson complained increasingly of the declining nutritional quality of many of the fruits and vegetables he was using, also a sad indictment of our farming practices and another reason underlying our seemingly increasing poor health. His treatments involved a major cleansing regime and progressively reversed the sodium-potassium imbalance with patients often excreting 10g per day of sodium via their urine over quite extended periods.

Gerson’s cancer treatment clinic used treatments that were slow, gentle and effective. The treatments often adapted to treating a particular form of cancer, taking up to two or more years. They worked with the body’s natural healing systems, strengthened the immune system and were relatively non invasive compared to mainstream, Western, allopathic medicine. Many patients, over the years, have left his clinic free of cancer, diabetes, arthritis and the many other symptoms of an affluent lifestyle: the Gerson treatments often addressing multiple ailments simultaneously.

Sadly, Gerson’s treatments were beyond the reach of most patients financially. However, they do provide important clues as to what constitutes a more ideal long term diet for the human race; something we continue to ignore at our peril.

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Firstly, I’d like to start this post by wishing all my readers Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. I hope you all enjoyed the festive season as much as I did.

Unfortunately, too large a proportion of most people’s diets is acidic. Bread, pasta, dairy products, meat, tea, coffee, sugar, soft drinks and alcohol are all acid forming in the human digestive system. This often neutralises high dietary intakes of calcium and can lead to malabsorption of nutrients, and deficiency diseases. In the longer term this can lead to serious rheumatic, arthritic, dental and osteoporosis issues, like the rising incidence of hip fractures. I also believe this acidity plays a role in and is one of the factors behind the rising incidence of cancers of various types, especially in conjunction with constipation and excessive sodium intake.

Most people eat too high a proportion of the above listed foods and insufficient fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh fruit and vegetables tend to be more liquid, alkaline and rich in potassium and dietary fibre than most processed foods. It is my belief that fruit and vegetables should constitute at least two thirds of the diet with all the above acid forming foods being eaten sparingly rather than forming the major portion of the diet, as they do in many instances.

Sodium is another especially critical issue when consumed to excess. In the early 1920’s Dr. Max Gerson, a young veterinary student in Vienna, suffered from severe migraine headaches for which no-one could find a cause. By careful observation of his own eating habits, Gerson eventually related these severe headaches to the consumption of milk and bacon, both of which he found contained very high levels of sodium which he suspected constituted the major cause of his headaches. At the time and to this day milk was treated with caustic soda or sodium hydroxide to neutralize the acidity produced by fertilizers and the process of pasteurising the milk. At the time, bacon was also being cured with very high levels of salt or sodium chloride.

After making these discoveries, Gerson transferred to study medicine and later went on to establish a world famous cancer treatment clinic in Mexico, still being run by his daughter, Paula.

In next week’s post I will continue writing about Dr. Gerson, his cancer treatment clinic

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Joan reported that she has had severe asthma her entire life. “My memories of childhood were the loneliness of being awake in the night with asthma, unable to lie down because that made it worse, unable to sleep and not wanting to call my parents because there was little they could do.”

She had asked her doctor to test her for food allergies, but the doctor declined, saying that since she was allergic to so many things, it would not make a difference to eliminate certain foods.

She took matters into her own hands. She went gluten free 16 months ago because of neurological symptoms and recognising the health effects of gluten free diets. But the unexpected result was that her asthmatic symptoms disappeared. She has been without symptoms – or asthma medication – for more than a year, even during spring and autumn, when pollen is significant.

This lady writes, “My theory is that there is a cumulative effect on your body. My gluten intolerance was stressing my body – causing a heightened response to all allergens. Once the stress was removed, the other allergens have not been able to trigger the allergic reaction.”

Is her theory right? Does it matter? What does matter is that because of her gluten free diet, she now leads a normal life. No more asthma.

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If you are gluten sensitive and have cardiomyopathy it is possible that going on a gluten free diet may reverse the condition as the following cases illustrate:

Two winners, one loser (who failed to go gluten free).

Three individuals with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and coliac disease, were all instructed to follow a gluten free diet. Two of the three patients recognized the health effects of gluten free diet and were faithful to the diet. After 28 months following a gluten free diet, they showed improvement in their echocardiogram tests, as well as in a cardiological questionnaire and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale questionnaire. The third patient refused to eat gluten free and experienced a worsening of symptoms.

Gluten free wins again.

An account published in 2005 describes the case of a 70 year old man who was experiencing symptoms of cardiomyopathy, including the classic symptoms of non-exertional chest pain. The patient had been diagnosed with dermatitis herpetiformis 20 years earlier, but had never followed a gluten free diet. When he was examined he had a dermatitis herpetiformis rash and of course the examination showed cardiomyopathy. The man was put on a strict gluten free diet and informed about the negative health effects of gluten on his body and that he might have a gluten alergy. He also continued with his drug treatment of losartan. After 10 months on a strict gluten free diet he had gained over 8 kg, his night sweats had resolved and he had not experienced further episodes of chest pain.

A different form of cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, also responds well to a gluten free diet. In a study published in 2002, researchers screened the serum of 187 patients with myocarditis and found that 4.4 % had coeliac disease. All of the individuals responded to a gluten free diet. The researchers wrote, “Patients with biopsy proven myocarditis, especially in the presence of clinical findings of malabsorbtion, should be screened for coeliac disease. In fact, if coeliac disease is associated with autoimmune myocaditis a gluten free diet alone or the diet in combination with immuno-suppressive agents can significantly improve the clinical outcome”.

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It should surprise you to learn that going on a gluten free diet can reduce or eliminate Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms.

For example: in 2001, one US study confirmed that going gluten free clinically benefits rheumatoid arthritis patients. In this study 66 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis were randomly assigned to either a vegan gluten free diet (38 patients) or a well balanced non-vegan diet that included gluten (28 patients). The tests subjects participated in the study for 12 months and were assessed at the start of the test, as well as at 3, 6, and 12 month intervals. Researchers also measured levels of antibodies against gliadin.

These were individuals who had rheumatoid arthritis. Prior to the study none of them had been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity. The results of the study showed that, 22 patients in the gluten free group and 25 in the non gluten free group completed 9 months or more on the diet regimes. Of those who completed the study 40.5 % (9 patients) in the gluten free group experienced significant improvement in their rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, compared to 4 % (1 patient) in the non gluten free group. Also the anti-gliadin antibody levels decreased in the gluten free group but not in the other group.

Going gluten free may also help individuals who have osteoarthritis the most common and oldest type of arthritis. Osteoarthritis exists as two different types: primary osteoarthritis and secondary osteoarthritis.

Primary osteoarthritis is the “wear and tear” form of osteoarthritis. As each of us gets older, it is likely that we will have some degree of primary osteoarthritis. Although osteoarthritis is widespread and can be traced to the dawn of human kind (Ice Age skeletons showing osteoarthritis have been found), its causes are not known. It is thought to be genetically linked, and some researchers speculate it could also be autoimmune in origin.

Secondary osteoarthritis is arthritis that has an apparent cause, such as an injury, heredity, obesity or something else. That “something else” might easily be gluten sensitivity.

Whatever researchers have to say, individuals with osteoarthritis who have tried a gluten free diet give testament to its effectiveness.

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Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis can cause osteoporosis, so can gluten sensitivity. In a 2005 study, researchers evaluated 266 individuals with osteoporosis, along with 574 without the condition, to identify the prevalence of coeliac disease. They discovered that close to 5 % of people with osteoporosis had a positive blood test for coeliac disease, which is significantly higher then in the individuals without osteoporosis who only had 1% that tested positive for coeliac disease. These finding are clear enough that the researchers recommended blood tests for gluten anti-bodies in all patients with osteoporosis.

As amazingly high as this statistic is, we need to keep in mind that blood testing for coeliac disease misses a significant number of individuals who are gluten sensitive; it is these individuals that may already be on the way to losing bone density.

Osteopemia and osteoporosis can often be reversed, but the condition must be treated correctly. This does not always happen due to misdiagnosis, as the following case suggests.

Willow, a post menopausal woman had her first bon scan in 1991 because osteoporosis ran in her family and because she was thin and small boned. She was not surprised when she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. In an attempt to stop and reverse the disorder her rheumatologist tried the medications available at that time Fosamax and Actonel, both of which failed to help Willow.

Several years passed and the disease progressed. In 2003 Willows osteoporosis specialist prescribed a new medication. Despite her diligence in taking this course of treatment, it also failed to stop the degeneration of her bones. It was by either luck or instinct that Willow demanded to be tested for coeliac disease. Her husband had been diagnosed with coeliac disease in 1982, so she had kept up to date on coeliac disease research. Although she had not suffered from any symptoms of coeliac disease, she did not have diarrhoea, weight loss, anaemia or other symptoms, she asked her doctor to run a tissue transglutaminase blood test (a test for gluten sensitivity). The doctor and laboratory were unfamiliar with the blood test, but they learned how to do it. To everyone’s surprise, except possibly Willow’s, the tests came back positive. She went on a gluten free diet, gained over 6kg and has continued to see an improvement in her bone density. A gluten free diet came to her rescue.

Willow’s experience is not an anomaly. As far back as 1996, research has shown that going on a gluten free diet would reverse bone density loss, even in patients who showed no symptoms of malabsorption, normally the primary reason why osteoporosis occurs in people with coeliac disease ( In cases of malabsorption, the body does not absorb minerals and other nutrients necessary for bone growth. Porosity then results). In that study of 63 patients, every patient improved when they followed a gluten free diet.

These improvements are not short term only. Authors of a 5 year follow up study of coeliac disease patients who adhered to a gluten free diet said, “According to our results, bone disease in coeliac patients is cured in most patients during 5 years on a gluten free diet. The improvement in BMD (bone mineral density) mostly occurred already within the first year after the establishment of a gluten free diet”.

The lesson to be learned: if you have been diagnosed with osteopemia or osteoporosis and you haven’t seen improvement with all you have tried, go gluten free. The diet may save you from pain and suffering.

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9 Years of Non-Communication

A 9 year old boy was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. The boy never started talking, found it difficult to stay focused, and had trouble responding to communication. From the age of 7 he finally started saying words spontaneously. When the boy was 9 his parents started him on a Gluten Free/Casein Free diet after advice from friends. Within the first 4 months the boy had become potty trained, started reading, was talking in long and sophisticated sentences and he was even able to interact with other children and adults.

Tantrums and more

A 10 year old boy who had been diagnosed with autism when he was 4 years old, had typical autistic behaviour including; temper tantrums, biting himself, kicking, pushing and screaming. His mother started him on a Gluten Free/Casein Free diet on her own. Within 3 weeks the boy was talking clearly in long sentences, his temper tantrums had diminished and he became friendly and lovable.

A 2 year trial.

A mother reported that her baby boy appeared completely normal at birth and his development was “by the book” for the first 5 months. At 6 months of age however he stopped developing and actually regressed in his behaviour. He did not move around on his own until close to 11 months old, or walk until he was 18 months old. At 18 months old he had only one word in his vocabulary: dog. His mother heard about the benefits for a Gluten Free/Casein Free diet shortly after her son’s second birthday. Within 2 weeks of starting the diet, the boy had started talking and his development is continuing. Now at 4 years old he is enrolled in a normal pre-school and “fits in fine”. He is potty-trained, speaks conversationally, has a sense of humour and plays games.

How do these miracles happen? Researchers have found that children with autism excrete more opioid peptides, naturally occurring peptides that have a pain relieving and sedative effects, then non-autistic children and that some of these peptides are derived from gluten, gliadin and casein.

The implication of this discovery is that the presence of these peptides may cause the symptoms and signs of autistic disorders and that too many peptides from undigested gluten and casein exert a significant toxicity.

A study from 2004 found that autistic children had significantly higher levels of gluten antibodies in over 80% of the cases. The researchers concluded: “The results of these studies further support dietary intervention, including a gluten-, gliadin-, and casein-free diet for autistic children”.

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In 2004 a research study was published examining the link between gluten sensitivity and severe headaches.

The research was focused around “soft” neurologic conditions such as headaches in young adults and children. Headaches were the most commonly found neurologic disorder in the 111 patients with celiac disease. Out of the patients in the study; 64.5% with headaches had late onset symptoms of celiac disease or were gluten sensitive, and 35.5% had the early infantile form of celiac disease.

The study broke down the type of headaches the study participants experienced:

• Migraine 45.1%
• Non-specific 35.5%
• Tension-psychogenic 19.4%

Sixteen study participants were put onto a gluten free diet which relieved them of there symptoms.

Imagine the results if all patients who showed gluten sensitivity (not only the ones diagnosed with celiac disease) had been placed on a gluten free diet.

Another study conducted in 2001 followed 10 patients who suffered severe headaches and who all had MRI tests suggesting inflammation of the central nervous system, were each found to be gluten sensitive. These patients were told to start a gluten-free diet and all but one patient found relief. Seven out of the 10 patients recovered completely from their headaches, while 2 experienced partial improvement. The one patient who continued to suffer from headaches? Well he refused to try the gluten-free diet.

The next case from the study illustrates the power of a gluten-free diet.

A 50 year old man whose medical history did not show a disposition towards migraines experienced unexplained headaches for 4 years. When his headaches increased in severity and frequency, he agreed to take a blood test, which showed that he had anti-gliadin antibodies.

When he started on a gluten-free diet, his balance improved and his headaches disappeared completely. But 2 years later his symptoms had returned. When questioned, the man confessed he had stopped following a gluten-free diet. Another blood test was taken and this confirmed the return of anti-gliadin antibodies.

The results convinced the man that gluten was the reason for his headaches. He took up his gluten-free diet and has remained headache free to this day.

If this isn’t enough evidence to show that gluten can be the reason for headaches consider the following case.

One patient said that he had suffered from migraine headaches for more than 10 years. Neurologists that were consulted could find no cure, and the migraines continued to intensify so much that he had to take early retirement. By 2002 his 3 headaches a week had increased to an almost non stop headache, during one particular month he was headache free for only 3 days. Migraine medications did not work to help the patient’s pain.

The patient’s family doctor then suggested a gluten-free diet. The headaches slowly became less frequent and after several months he was 98% headache free.

Gluten-free wins again.

When parents discover they have an autistic child they often take drastic measures including drugs to control or offset their child’s autistic patterns. The Autism Research Institute (ARI) in the US, collected information provided by more then 23,700 parents who completed the questionnaire. ARI wanted to find out which remedies were the most effective in treating autism.

They found that one of the most effective treatments was following a special diet: removing gluten and casein from the autistic child’s diet, with 65% of parents reporting that their child got better.

Parents themselves report excellent results from a gluten-free, casein-free diet (Casein is the major protein in milk).

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