Mucus Clearing Diet

Excerpt from NORTH AMERICAN DIET
               

Bug the body enough, and it’s going to react. The cold virus is a great example of a body being bugged and, boy, do you know it. Sore throat, puffy eyes, and loads and loads of you know what!

Mucus is a sure sign of a body in a state of extreme agitation. The heavy, over-processed, dairy-rich makeup of the North American diet demands the human body to react as if it is fighting a viral invasion every day. In the morning we can feel its effect, foggy clogged head, puffy eyes and dulled senses. The answer, a large mug of strong coffee to kick-start the system so that we can face the rigors of the day. Most of us have forgotten what it is like to awaken, clear-minded and full of energy. Yet, within two weeks, of a changed diet, the transformation can be quite remarkable, jumping out of bed in celebration of the new day; a throwback to a younger, healthier you.

The human body is an incredibly, complex system. It transfers vital fluids through miles of tubes and membrane highways. The circulatory system is 60,000 miles long. You would need a truck load of road maps to travel a small portion of your body. The kidneys, alone, contain 500 miles of internal plumbing. Each time you breathe, 300 billion—yes billion—capillaries in the lungs await to absorb life-giving oxygen. However, mucus can slow down or stop the important movements along the many pathways of the body, creating a feeding ground for viruses and pathogens (disease-producing bacteria).

Let’s look at an antibody soap opera. Antibody X must seek and demolish Microbe Z, a bacterial bad guy, responsible for an irritating cold. The body is tracking his position, Agent X has been assigned to a search-and-destroy mission to intercept Microbe Z before he does greater damage to the host. On his way through the lymph, he finds himself in a traffic jam, an underpass full of mucus. In this vulnerable position, Agent X is a sitting duck. From above, he is ambushed by two million bacterial bad guys who have been feasting on the mucus for days. The last thought in Agent X’s mind before he dies is, in spite of his perfect conditioning and training, nothing had prepared him to deal with the obstruction of thick, sticky mucus. Finally, after the host had suffered for days with a raw throat, coughing, sneezing, reinforcements were able to destroy the bacterial bad guys.

Not all mucus is bad. Healthy mucus is a clear, slippery, lubricating secretion, used to protect mucus membranes along the digestive, respiratory, urinary and reproductive tracts. Unhealthy mucus is cloudy, thick, and sticky. Mucus is secreted to stop irritants, pollutants, or carcinogenic compounds, created by putrefying, undigested food residues. It’s like a blanket of protection. Certain foods such as milk and bread cause an increase of mucus secretions. These foods have large protein molecules (casein and gluten) which are difficult to digest and are more prone to putrefaction, and may be toxic or an irritant to the body. For many, bread and milk cause sinus congestion.

Mucoid is a mixture of large gelatinous particles, which has a sticky or jelly-like consistency. The word mucoid encompasses the terms mucin, colloid, mucoproteins and glycoproteins. Mucoid is caused by many toxins, pollutants, food additives and allergies. Mucoid can be present in any body tissue but is most commonly associated with the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, lymphatic system, uterus, vagina urinary system and the joints. Cartilage in a joint contains mucus membrane cells which secrete a clear slippery mucus to keep joints lubricated. When mucoid-forming substances are present, toxic mucoid builds up deposits within the joint.

Mucoid within the body tissues, drains into the lymph which filters waste from the intercellular fluid. The blood absorbs 90% of this cellular waste fluid and the lymph absorbs the other 10% composed of the larger waste particles. The lymph glands contain one-way valves, lined with muscle tissues that behave like pumps. If an overload of mucoid from the cells accumulates in the lymph and is not cleansed from the system, it can become stagnant and prone to infection.

Dr. Robert Gray, a nutritionist, determined, through intensive testing that certain foods are mucus-forming and others are mucus cleansing. The foods shown to cause mucus are dairy products, white flour, meat, eggs, potatoes, beans, rice, grains, fish, peanuts and fats.

MAKING CELL FOOD FROM CELLS
The relationship between mucus and diet is not a new theory. In 1912, Dr. Arnold Ehret released a book called, The Mucusless Diet and Healing System. He discusses in great detail, the mucus-forming effect of various foods. Ehret theorized that all disease is caused by a clogging of the tube and membrane structures within the body due to a build-up of restrictive mucus.

The process of digestion is to liquefy food small enough to be infused by the absorptive cells on the villus in the intestine. For any nutrient to pass through the membrane of a cell, it must be less than 44,000,000,000 th. of an ounce. The rest of the substance not absorbed remains within the colon until elimination.

Foods that form mucus have a glue-like bond, tightly holding their molecules together. In milk, it is casein, in wheat, rye, oats and barley, the glue-like substance is gluten. The dictionary defines gluten as a tough, sticky mixture of plant proteins, obtained by washing out the starch from wheat or other cereal flour and used as an adhesive and thickener. These glue-like bonds require strong stomach acids for digestion.

Lack of chewing and poor food combinations make it impossible for the stomach acids to properly dissolve the bond between these molecules. After digestion, many food particles are still too large to be used by the body. In a short time, the oversized, partly-digested food particles start to putrefy and are coated with mucus to prevent further putrefaction while still in the intestine.

The intestinal wall is contains over four million microvillus. Their job is the absorption of nutrients. Due to the vast number of microvilli the total effective area for absorption, within the colon is more than 2,200 square feet. On the surface of these microvillus is mucus-secreting cells. Mucus is secreted by these cells to protect the intestinal wall and to impede the absorption of harmful substances through the colon.

Eighty percent of all absorption takes place in the small intestine. Only 20 percent is absorbed by the stomach and large intestine. The stomach performs very little absorption because the gastric contents are so acidic. The entire gastric epithelium must be devoted to mucus production. Without mucus to protect the stomach, ulcers would develop in a few hours. Within the duodenum (small intestine) the submucosal glands produce copious quantities of mucus. This mucus contains buffers that elevate the pH balance. The more acid forming the food, the greater the amount of mucus secreted.

As the mucus and food particle solution pass through the intestines, moisture is removed. As more moisture is removed, the mucus becomes sticky and gluey. In passing, it leaves a coating on the intestinal wall. Layer after layer of gluey feces build up over the years. It forms into a tough, rubbery, black substance found in lumps in the corners of the intestinal tract. X-ray studies show that the accumulation of hardened feces badly deforms the intestines. Autopsies have shown that an average male has seven to nine pounds of this hardened feces within his intestine. This coating causes constipation, a reduction in the absorption of nutrients through the intestinal wall and is a breeding ground for parasites.

Imagine a drain, clogged with human hair, dust, old soap and pieces of decaying food, all forming a sticky mass of rotting waste that cannot be removed. The medical names labeled for these diseases are diverticula, colitis, stricture, prolapsus, hemorrhoids, worms, yeast infection, chronic constipation, colon cancer and appendicitis.

Colonics are given by naturopaths or colon therapists using a device to circulate water through the intestine while your stomach is being massaged. Numerous clients have been helped through this therapy. Removal of clogged waste allows the human machine to work again. But, unless there is dietary change, the symptoms will simply return.

Without the natural, sponge-like properties of fruits and vegetables, intestinal diseases will continue to abound, especially amongst the elderly.

Grapes and citrus fruits are some of the greatest mucus-cleansers. They help the body to remove mucus and toxins, supplying vital nutrients in the correct balance for rejuvenation and healing.

The most powerful method of removing mucus from the intestines and mucoid from the organs and lymph glands is the combined cleansing effect of a non-mucus/mucoid-forming diet and fasting.

Factors Which Increase Mucus

• LARGE MEALS. Our body's need for food is often much less than what we eat. Any foods eaten beyond our body's need is a burden. Some of this excess food will be converted into fat. Yet the body can create only so much fat per day. If you eat above digestive capacity, the excess must be eliminated. During elimination, the lymph glands are overloaded and mucoid forms in response to putrefaction.

• EATING WITHOUT HUNGER. When food is eaten before complete digestion of the previous meal, partially-digested food will be released into the colon thus causing mucus.

• GULPING FOOD. Improper chewing overworks the digestive system. If the food particles are too big to be assimilated, they must be eliminated through the colon. On the way, these particles putrefy, thus causing mucus.

• IMPROPER COMBINATIONS. A typical meal contains starch, protein, sugars and fats, each requiring a completely, different digestive secretion. Complex food mixtures create mucus because the food molecules cannot be dissolved efficiently.