A Guide to Memory Increase by Rocco Oppedisano - HTML preview

18 - A Bad Temper Will Cut Your Memory

Bleached foods, an excess of starch, the constant eating of white bread, bleached and processed products has been known to cause a nerve-grating effect that can lead to violent, uncontrollable temper outbursts. In prolonged situations, there may even be symptoms resembling that of a nervous breakdown.

A key to the "mystery" of the influence of nutrition on emotional health may be in the body-balance of calcium and phosphorus levels. Nature has decreed that there must be a healthful balance of these two substances or else the parasympathetic nervous system will react with somewhat temperamental outbursts.

How Natural Foods May Heal Nervous Disorders.

Dr. Melvin E. Page, author of Degeneration-Regeneration, tells of helping many patients by eliminating excess carbohydrates from their diets, eliminating white flour products and cutting down on the sugar intake. In this way, Dr. Page was able to stabilise the delicate calcium-phosphorus level and help relax and heal nervous disorders.

He presents the case of Mrs. B., a 33-year-old woman who had a diet rich in sugar, but low in minerals and the Vitamin Bcomplex group. She had high blood pressure, was nervous and sensitive to cold, had cold hands and feet, slept a great deal because of extreme tiredness and had back pains. Her nervous disorder was so severe that she was constantly losing her temper.

Dr. Page treated her by eliminating sugar and white flour from the diet. He then prescribed supplements of minerals, Vitamin Bcomplex and halibut liver oil capsules to stabilise Mrs. B.'s calcium-phosphorus levels. Within a year, on this easy-to-follow prescribed food program, Mrs. B. was able to enjoy a happy and healthier life.

A nervous and temperamental road contractor, Mr. C., age 55, treated by Dr. Page, had a high calcium level and extreme nervous disorders. While Mr. C. ate no sugar, he did admit to eating pie, canned fruit and lots of white bread products. Dr. Page took him off sugar and all foods containing sugar and also took him off the bleached white bread products. Gradually, his calcium-phosphorus levels were stabilised — and so was his disposition.

How Calcium Nourishes The Nervous System.

As has already been pointed out, calcium is essential to the nervous system. Ninety-nine percent of all calcium in the body is found in the bones and teeth. The remainder of a scant 1 percent circulates in the soft body tissues and the fluids. Calcium is vital for nerve nourishment, for normal bone and tooth development, for blood clotting, for enzymatic action and the regulation of fluid passage through walls of tissues and cells. It is needed for the alternate contraction and relaxation of the heart muscles.

 Calcium is stored inside the ends of bones in long, needle like crystals called trabeculae. When you are in a stress situation, your body draws calcium from these bones, if you do not have enough in your daily diet.

Your body draws first usually from the spine and pelvic areas. This causes a weakness that may lead to a vertebrae fracture. An early symptom is osteoporosis or brittle bones. Another calcium deficiency illness is osteomalacia, deformed bones, such as in rickets.

How Phosphorus Soothes A Temperamental Disposition.

Calcium is closely related to phosphorus. Each body cell contains phosphorus, and about 66 percent of this mineral is found in skeletal system in the form of calcium phosphate. The balance appears in soft tissues as organic and inorganic phosphate.

Organic phosphate compounds aid in converting oxidative energy to cellular work, during emotionally tense situations, the nervous cells and tissues call for "food" in the form of phosphorus. It may well be considered Nature's own tranquilliser. High energy phosphates play a soothing role in the synthesis of protein, carbohydrate and fat, and also help to maintain emotional tranquility.

In particular, phosphorus works to provide nervous energy benefits, soothe the action of muscular contraction, participate in gland secretions, function of the kidneys. Phosphorus is needed as a generator of nerve impulses. A deficiency or imbalance of this mineral means a "weak generator" and an uncontrollable nervous system that may erupt in violent bursts of temper.

 Phosphorus also seems to help in the formation of lecithin (a nerve-feeding nutrient), and also in the metabolisation of fats and starches.

Phosphorus Sources:

Most of the foods containing calcium are also good suppliers of phosphorus. The problem is that bleached white flour and white sugar deplete these supplies. A suggestion made by many doctors is to keep these non-foods to a minimum or eliminate them entirely. Basic food sources of phosphorus include all dairy products, natural cheeses, poultry, fish, peas, whole-grain cereals, beans and nuts. A tablespoon of brewer's yeast mixed in eight ounces of soya milk, whole milk, buttermilk and skim milk is reported to make a good calcium-phosphorus nerve tonic.

Frequent Small Meals Help Strengthen Emotional Health.

 One researcher advises strengthening the nervous system by eating small meals. She suggests:

"A good breakfast (not coffee and a sweet roll), a mid-morning snack (not a soft drink or cookies), preferably protein like raw nuts, sunflower seeds (high in protein), cheese, boiled egg, etc. Eat a good lunch with plenty of protein. An afternoon snack very much like the mid-morning one, then a good evening meal with more protein. This eating often of protein keeps the blood sugar from falling too low too rapidly, and at the same time, builds up the health of the glands ... A snack at bedtime is a must... In the middle of the night, when the blood sugar has fallen, is when so many... crazy symptoms occur."

 This woman was subject to temperamental derangement and emotional disorders but was reportedly able to correct her condition with evenly-spaced smaller meals, high-protein, low-sugar, low-starch and moderate fat. When she says that a "snack at bedtime is a must", she refers to a high-protein snack such as sunflower seeds, sliced egg, or nuts.

Other Nutritional Suggestions.

The need for Vitamin Bcomplex to feed a healthful nervous system has already been discussed in some detail. But to amplify further, symptoms such as neuritis, exhaustion, digestive disorders, deranged blood pressure, pounding nervous headaches may occur as a result of a prolonged deficiency of Vitamin C, or folic acid and biotin of the Bcomplex. These are found in raw wheat germ and rice polish.

Franklin Bicknell, M.D., in The Vitamins in Medicine, emphasises the need for such nutrients, as well as for wholesome, natural foods. Dr. Bicknell, and other researchers, suggests a complete balance of vitamins and minerals to help nourish the entire system. Your doctor can prescribe the specific formula to meet your needs.

Dr. Bicknell tells of treating patients with severe mental problems and disorders with prescribed amounts of natural Vitamin Bcomplex, together with healthful foods such as freshly cooked meat, liver, eggs, raw vegetables and yeast. In cases of more severe mental derangement, yeast and liver concentrates were given, along with special supplements of vitamins A, D and C, and iron. Disturbed, often violent, patients were able to respond and eventually live without emotional symptoms.

In these disturbed cases, there was also an emphasis on calcium-phosphorus foods. A temper outburst drains the calcium supply. Metabolic studies show that such emotional explosions exert an adverse effect upon the retention of both nitrogen (needed by calcium) and calcium itself. A prescribed calcium-phosphorus program aims at providing emotional defenses to nourish temperamental outbursts and ease erratic symptoms.

Suggestions:

It's possible to consume much calcium but lose it with faulty combinations. For instance, the dark outer leaves of salad greens are rich in calcium. But if you eat bleached bread and sugary foods with your calcium foods, you provide phytic acid which interferes with calcium absorption. Presumably this is due to the precipitation of insoluble calcium phytate in the gastrointestinal tract. The wisest course, nutritionists believe, is to eliminate artificial bleached foods to enable the gastrointestinal tract to absorb and assimilate calcium without interference.

Good Calcium-Phosphorus Sources.

Soy beans are an excellent source of these valuable minerals. Use as a vegetable; soy flour is good for baking; use soy flour as a thickener instead of white flour. Try soy milk as a beverage. Sesame Seed: This is a romantic, yet healthful source of minerals that help soothe the system. Sesame seeds are available at most health food stores. Use them to coat hamburgers, liver, fish.

Other Sources: Molasses, almonds, figs and beans are reportedly good sources of nerve-emotionbuilding calcium and phosphorus.

Control Tempers With The "Mind Food" Vitamin.

A late discovery in the Vitamin Bcomplex family of temper-taming vitamins is pantothenic acid. Doctors have found that supplements of this nutrient, or an increase in the foods containing it, can help persons who are cranky, always on the go, or a "bundle of nerves".

Pantothenic acid is part of the complex molecule of coenzyme A. This substance acetylcholine, a chemical transmitter at the autonomic nerve endings controlling motor and secretory intestinal activity. This complex is also involved with the metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates; in the synthesis of sterols and steroid hormones, and porphyrin which forms the basis of the respiratory pigments of hemoglobin.

The British Medical Journal (1963) alerted the public to the temper-taming qualities of pantothenic acid. Research doctors said that "after a period of stress, the acetylcholine reservoir in the body is diminished, but ... if pantothenic acid is given, the acetylcholine level may be increased for as much as 50%".

 This helps feed the entire nervous system and thereby promote a feeling of emotional fortitude.

E.P. Ralli, M.D., writing in Endocrinology suggests that pantothenic acid can help build up resistance to stress and help nourish the glandular-hormonal system involved in tension. It could be the difference between maintaining a cool even disposition and exploding in unreasonable anger.

Food Sources Of The "Temper-Taming" Vitamin.

 Good sources are brewer's yeast, liver, kidney, heart, salmon and eggs. Other sources are mushrooms, broccoli, beef tongue, peanuts and soybean flour.

The Agriculture Handbook tells us that the muscles of young, rapidly growing animals are highest in pantothenic acid supply. Beef and veal liver are believed to be the most potent sources. (Just two ounces of beef liver will offer 5,324 milligrams of pantothenic acid.) The dark meat of turkey has about twice as much pantothenic acid as the white meat. Organ meats are better sources than muscle meats.

Balanced Diet Is Needed For Nerve Health.

We repeat: a healthful and balanced diet is essential to promote a tranquil attitude and strengthen the nervous system. Nervous cramps in the hands and feet can be soothed by calcium. Magnesium, found in fresh leafy green vegetables, can ease the grating effect on the nerves that often leads to an emotional outburst. Protein is helpful to maintain the glandular hormonal rhythm, and, of course, the Bcomplex vitamins are precious sources of nerve nourishment.

Bleached white flour and white sugar products devitalise and deplete the Vitamin Bcomplex stores, lb help boost emotional health capacities, resist temper outbursts, nutritionists advise eliminating these non-foods.