The Hazards of Salads

I originally wrote this article for Lifestyle Investor magazine March 2011.
Thanks to the LI magazine editor, and old friend, John Shirley for permission to reproduce it here in full.

Salad receives a dressing down:

are salads a wise investment in your health? 

Surely salads are good for you? If I eat more salads wont I be healthier, smarter and more successful?

Not so, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the grand-daddy of all health therapies. In fact many Chinese people won't even consume a single lettuce leaf with out first dunking it in a steaming bowl of broth.

With an unbroken lineage of written records dating back well over 2,500 years, TCM is uniquely placed when it comes to giving out health advice. Countless generations of Chinese medical practitioners have written down their observations and the results of their treatments for the benefit of the following generation. Over such an extended period of refinement the Chinese have been able to develop a system of medicine that is safe, effective and great value for money. TCM is a system that has seen its fair share of health fads come and go and it reminds me of a wily old investor - TCM is sure of itself and doesn't get taken in by the latest fashions.

Emphasising salads and raw fruit and vegetables as a ‘super-healthy must-do’ is one such health fad that a modern day TCM practitioner comes face to face with on a daily basis. We advise our patients to avoid or minimise raw fruit and veg, especially if there are any digestive or immunity issues or if the patient has low energy levels. The idea that an excessive consumption of salads and fruit can be detrimental to health runs counter to all modern ideas about diet, according to which, by eating raw vegetables and fruit, we can absorb all the vitamins and minerals contained in them. However, excessive consumption of what Chinese Medicine considers to be cold-energy foods and raw foods (such as salads, ice-creams, iced-drinks or fruit) weakens the digestive system. From the Chinese point of view, the digestive system prefers warm cooked foods and excessive consumption of the above foods will be very difficult to digest and may cause:

·       tiredness

·       weight gain

·       low immunity with frequent low grade infections

·       diarrhea or loose stools

·       poor appetite (eating out of habit or for fun only, not actually 'starving' for food)

·       feeling cold relative to others

·       abdominal pain.

It’s hardly a picture of health! I can’t see how anyone could turn tiredness, weight gain and frequent infections into a wealthy lifestyle!

Modern science can shed some light on how the Chinese point of view may indeed be correct.

Raw fruit and veg has three main drawbacks

1.     Your body's energy is wasted trying to break open the cellular structure of fruit and veg,

2.     The nutrients inside each cell of the fruit and veg remain locked up inside and are unable to be utilized,

3.     Germs and toxic residues are more likely to be present.

The cellular structure of plants is different to animals in one key aspect - the cell wall. Animal cells have a thin malleable membrane enveloping the internal cellular bits and pieces (AKA organelles). Plant cells have the same membrane plus a thick rigid wall made from cellulose or fibre. This thick wall is hard for the human digestive system to break down (cows can do it but they have four stomachs!), mostly it ends up passing straight through and acting as our intestinal tooth brush. The nutrients from fruit and vegetables (vitamins, minerals and other phyto-chemicals) are contained within the thick walls of their cells. To split open the cell wall allows the nutrients to spill out and to be absorbed from our intestines and into our bloodstream. Chewing your salad breaks open a small percentage of the cell walls, chewing thoroughly will break open even more. Your digestive enzymes will split open some more cell walls but even after all that effort in chewing, and then producing and secreting enzymes there is still a large amount of nutrients that pass through your digestive system in an unzipped state depriving your body of the nutrients it requires. A good example of this is the undigested corn kernel whose nutrients laugh at you from your toilet bowl, "haha you can't get me"!

To get those cheeky nutrients out of their cell walls and into your bloodstream where you can use them is simple – heat up the cells until they pop open – its called cooking!

Just watch the poor veggies wilt as you steam them. The rigid cell walls break open and the structure of the whole vegetable wilts as a result. All of those nutrients you spend your hard earned money on become freely available.

The main criticism of cooking fruit and veg is the break down of vitamins and other nutrients due to the high temperatures involved. It's a fair criticism, and so it seems we are damned if we cook and damned if we don't! However, the net gain of nutrient availability from cooking outweighs the loss of nutrients from high temperatures, especially if your food is cooked on low heat for a long time. Many traditional cultures, including the Chinese, hold this method of 'slow cooking' to be the most beneficial for peoples health.

The other drawback of raw fruit and veg is the increased likelihood of germs and toxins being present. Parasites, bacteria and other micro-organisms can exist in and on the fruit and veg we eat. On top of that is the possibility of a toxic residue from chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Most people wash their fruit and veg but it's far more effective to cook your plant-based ingredients in order to remove microbes and toxins. The heat from cooking will destroy 99.9% of all germs, and can transform many different toxins to make them either gone or less damaging.

So consider maximising your intake of warm, cooked fruit and veg if you feel

·       low in energy

·       sluggish, heavy

·       slow to 'start up' in the morning

·       bloated or uncomfortable after you eat

If you love your salad and fresh fruit and can't bare to give them up - don't stress out - you can make them less damaging and more digestible by

·       having small amounts, preferably at then end of a warm meal

·       use a salad dressing that includes vinegar and some warming spices such as ginger, pepper or coriander,

·       chew your fresh fruit and veg very thoroughly

·       visiting a Chinese Herbalist for an individualised prescription of digestive helpers.

A diet made up of mostly plant-based foods - prepared by cooking - provides us with an optimal chance of longevity and a high quality of health. The perfect platform to build up your wealth.  

David Whitmore 

B.App.Sci., Adv.Dip. TCM