Student Excerpts: Vitamins, the Sun and Hormones

The following is an excerpt from an assignment by Student Vanessa Nixon Klein. She makes a good point that some vitamins are more than just "vitamins". In this case they act as hormones as well. This is true in the case of many vitamins - and in many cases we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what a vitamin is and how it works.

>William B. Grant, PhD is one of the top vitamin D researcher in the world. In a 2004 interview with Dr. Joseph Mercola, he explains the role of Vitamin D in our bodies in the following manner, “ When produced in the skin or ingested, it is a "vitamin" or "prehormone"and essential for life. Just as cholesterol is metabolized into testosterone, precholesterol is turned into cholecalciferol (vitaminD), which is metabolized into what now is looking more and more like a hormone [25(OH)D]. In turn, this is metabolized in the kidneys or other organs into an even more potent hormone [1,25(OH)2D].

Vitamin D is an essential part of the endocrine system as it controls several of the adrenal hormones, growth of cells, production of enzymes and has other direct genomic functions. The key difference in definition is that hormones have DNA receptor sites, and vitamin A is in that family as well as vitamin D, and vitamins are parts of coenzyme systems (not genomic). In a way, vitamins A and D are both vitamins and hormones."

Sharing Information with Clients

When I talk to clients about the results of their consult and give them suggestions about lifestyle changes they can make I find it is essential to give them reasons for those changes. Often, people have been told the same things all their life - "eat right", "eat more vegetables", "don't eat so much meat", "don't eat so much bread", "exercise more". What you need to do is describe to them what EXACTLY their habits are doing to THEM to cause THEIR issues (that they have described to you). This description will often be different for different clients. For example, if a client is consuming too many starches and/or too much bread and they are overweight I may talk to them about how starches help you gain weight. If a client complains of irregular menses I may talk to them about how starches can put your menses out of sync. In addition, giving details can make your evaluation more effective too. Clients often appreciate details such as ingredients, scientific studies or more. However, you must also remember that clients need to hear things in laymen's terms and you need to make it as short as possible. They don't always have time to read that entire book that inspired you or even to take a course. This is why I enjoyed the following article so much. The following article is one of the most effective ones I have seen to date that describes the dangers of fast food in an effective, yet concise way. I have files it away to share with future clients. I am sending the link to you so you can do the same.

The Shocking Facts About Fast Food
We all know it is bad but this article has some great DETAILS...
http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/45380/4-shocking-secrets-about-fast-food/

Consulting Client Tip #4: Pace the Client

These answers were taken from a student assignment. This student is working with a client and helping her with some lifestyle changes that will improve her health. I added the following suggestions after her suggestions. The student suggestions are in regular font. Mine are in bold italics:


8-10 glasses of water a day (promotes flushing out toxins, body 80% water, helps with snacking and can help avoid the junkaholic time).

6-8 should be fine. Tell her to monitor. Drink the 8. If she feels ill drinking more then the 8 was enough. Recent studies are showing that too much water can hurt people’s ability to digest or absorb certain foods. If she is thin she may not need the 10 glasses.

Eat 5-10 servings of vegetables a day

However, be sure to tell her that even 3 or 4 is great. Sometimes if we set the bar too high for a client they will become discouraged very quickly. You might want to start her on a less intense program first and then lead her into something more intense. The advantage of this is that you can also monitor her response to your “first level” of suggestions and modify the final program even more to suit her needs.

Student Question: Combining Starches and Protein?

Question: For food combining. It says not to eat protein and starches together. We have always made supper as a meat, veggie and potatoe or rice. So that would be protein and starch. So what I am wondering is, how far apart do they have to be to be eaten? For example, if raw foods are eaten as a first course and then the meal and finish up with fruit as dessert, does that give sufficient time for things to be digested before the fruit is eaten, or should it be spaced out even more? The same goes with protein and starch. Could you eat raw foods, then some veggies and starch and then protein after, or should there be more time inbetween eating them both?

Answer:

The way of eating that you are talking about is part of an alkaline diet. Some doctors have made this diet famous by claiming that all people should eat using this method. This wouldn't hurt anyone, but it is not very realistic either, and does not take into account that all people have different needs and lifestyles.

I would suggest an alkaline diet for anyone who has an "acidic" lifestyle. This would include anyone who does heavy exercise or is training for sports, anyone who has a lot of stress in their life, anyone who drinks coffee or sodas or consumes fast foods or "junk foods" more than three times a week, etc...a full profile of what creates an acidic lifestyle can be found in the readings.

I also suggest that if someone is having a "highly acidic" day (one full of stress or a lot of exercise) that it would also be very helpful to follow a more alkaline diet that day.

If you have a vegetarian lifestyle, this diet is not as applicable because beans are proteins AND starches. This is another thing that confuses some people. A vegetarian's diet is naturally alkaline as long as they are eating whole foods and avoiding highly acidic foods such as coffee.

If you are eating healthy, whole foods and balanced meals that are minimally processed and generally include in-season produce, then that should be sufficient for the average person. It is only when our lives become unbalanced that we need to balance with strict diets - sometimes for long periods of time, sometimes for life, sometimes for short periods. It depends on the person and the situation.

One also needs to consider the amounts of protein being used. If you are using protein as a "flavor" rather than a main dish, this results in a more alkaline dish.

You are also correct in stating that if you take your time eating that the time in between your foods will be sufficient. If you finish a meal, you can have your desert or fruit about a half-hour later.

I hope this helps.

Blessings & Health,
Kristie