The Italian Reset Diet
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Its abundance of quercetin, a molecule belonging to the flavonoid family that restores vitamin E, ensures its anti-inflammatory power, inhibiting all processes that promote inflammation.
We can also find caffeic acid within our liquid gold. Caffeic acid is a natural antibiotic, an inhibitor of inflammation and of the formation of uric acid (responsible for gout).
In addition, the fatty acids found in extra virgin olive oil, which provide us 9 kcal/g, are not responsible for weight gain, but if anything stabilize it! I am sure you have already surmised that, by reducing extra virgin olive oil, the diets they push on us are nothing but dangerous for our health.
Proteins to Watch Out For if You Want to Hurt Yourself
For years, there has been a media campaign against nutrients that our bodies could not do without: proteins. How many times have you been admonished to be careful how many proteins you take in because of their alleged negative effects on the kidneys and liver? Too bad all that news is unfounded. Since so many people love to talk about scientific studies, I will tell you that in reality there is no scientific study that confirms the supposed negative effects of a healthy person eating an excess amount of proteins. The studies showing that proteins can damage the kidneys were conducted on nephropathic patients—that is to say, on patients with kidney disease. That is akin to saying that patients with third degree burns should not be exposed to the sun because it can burn their skin even more! What’s more, as you have no doubt concluded yourself, there are scads of studies and counter-studies that can create crazy amounts of confusion. Further studies have shown that nephropathic people, being catabolic, lose more proteins with respect to healthy people, and so must consume more proteins to counteract excess protein catabolism. So who should we listen to? Let's employ some logic! Going by the anti-protein strain of logic, athletes should all be nephropathic due to their excessive protein consumption. And what about the peoples of North America who are forced to fight against the cold, and whose nutrition is based on large quantities of fish (including salmon and whales)? They certainly do not have damaged kidneys. Furthermore, going off the previous chapter, cardiovascular pathologies there are almost unheard of. Let's move on to the other myth about this macronutrient—the notion that meat proteins cause cancer. If this were the case, mankind would have gone extinct, given that prehistoric man fed largely upon meat and fish, and knew not of cereals! But of course, mention that and the expert-of-the-moment jumps in to claim that the average age of the primitive man was thirty. I reply to these geniuses that they would not be able to survive a single day in the middle of the jungle, without heating, without a home, without drugs and without a refrigerator! Primitive man died only from infections that resulted from injuries caused during the hunt or clashes with his fellow men. There were no chronic degenerative diseases. These appeared shortly after the start of cereal cultivation, but especially after the Second World War with increased industrialization. Tumors, in general, might be produced by a diet rich in sugars and dairy products. The only meat proteins to avoid are pork proteins. Epidemiological studies are clear on this, as we will see in later chapters.
Much of our bodies is made up of proteins: organs, skin appendages and DNA. Protein deficiency can lead to:
● the metabolism slowing down;
● a poor immune system response*;
● skin appendages falling out;
● asthenia;
● mental confusion and depression;
● poor muscle growth;
● edemas with swollen hands and eyes;
● sarcopenia;
● kwashiorkor: a deficiency of alumina, a protein whose deficiency triggers a phenomenon called osmosis, causing water to escape from the blood vessels into the tissues. This causes the abdomen to swell.
Obviously, it is almost impossible to find that last one in the Western world, but all the other points are, I think, everyday occurrences. Absurdly, many suffer from excess weight and, at the same time, hair loss and nail problems. This is all due to a diet with an abundance of sugars and carbohydrates that is also low in protein. What about fatigue, mental confusion and depression? I think many of you are finding yourselves in what I am saying. Not to mention low muscle growth or sarcopenia, the latter very present in the elderly, who should be consuming more proteins than a man of average age due to the low protein synthesis typical of old age. I marked one of the previous points with an asterisk. In point of fact, a poor immune response may be at fault, present in people who consume fewer proteins than needed, as well as in people who manage to take in their proper protein quota but use proteins unsuitable for their immune system, which, as you will see, lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.
Proteins activate glucagon, a hormone that enables weight loss. There are those who claim that proteins make you fat, but have they ever studied biochemistry?
I have been to Africa, in the area where there are no wars and where they do not have the possibility to buy food. Where I stayed, they eat meat for lunch and dinner and snack on dried meats. Breakfast? Eggs! Any obesity in the population, you may ask? It is almost nonexistent. But there is no need to travel that far; come to my office, and you will see the results of a diet low in carbohydrates and rich in fats and proteins.
Carbohydrates: A Fuel You Must Know How to Dose
Carbohydrates are the best-known macronutrients in Italy. For years, carbohydrates have been thought to be the main fuel for our bodies. There are people who are frightened by the fact that they have to abandon their dish of pasta, due in part to all the careful brainwashing perpetrated by the people in charge. “How can I possibly live without bread and pasta?” This is the question that some of my patients ask themselves as soon as I eliminate these foods from their diets. Allow me to clarify this once and for all: carbohydrates, unlike some fatty acids and amino acids, are not essential for the body, since the latter is able to synthesize carbs from amino acids. Our bodies are able to do this because it has done without this nutrient for long periods of time: our prehistoric ancestors, and even still-living populations such as the Inuit and the Maasai, consumed no carbohydrates for most of their lives.
Yet all they talk about today is the importance of eating complex carbohydrates, such as those derived from the beloved wheat flour, at the expense of sugars. This would be an excellent indication if it was made clear, however, that abusing complex carbohydrates always leads to the same consequences as the intake of simple sugars: diabetes, tumors, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory diseases, hypothyroidism and more. To the average Italian, it seems normal to consume 200 grams of pasta for lunch and 200 grams of bread in the evening, not to mention the croissant in the morning. Trust me, the croissant is not a pastry product eaten only by people who are not on a diet: I have seen cafeterias for the Italian Olympic athletes overloaded with them. And then we wonder why our athletes fail to achieve certain results! In addition, I would like to make a clarification: the intake of a complex carbohydrate makes no difference, when compared to the intake of sugars, if it comes from white flours. These, in fact, have completely lost their fiber and mineral and vitamin content, and are foods with empty calories, derived from carbohydrates whose glycemic index has skyrocketed. But what is the glycemic index? The glycemic index is the ability of a food to raise the blood sugar level when compared to another food. The scale goes from 0 and continues beyond 100. For example, whole wheat pasta raises blood sugar less than white bread because white bread, being refined, is more easily digested. This concept came about in the 1980s and was used to set up slimming diets. The reason? If you consume foods with a low glycemic index, or better yet, a low glycemic load (with few carbohydrates), the blood sugar level would rise slowly and, therefore, produce less insulin than a food with a high glycemic index. Remember, the more insulin we release, the fatter we get. The goal of all diets should be to slow down this production.
At this point, I find myself telling you a truth that no one has ever told you before: many recommend pasta, even if it is refined, because it has a low glycemic index. This, unfortunately, is a half-truth. Just because a food has a medium-low glycemic index does not mean that it does not stimulate insulin production. Not everybody realizes that, in reality, it is not a food’s glycemic index that counts as much as its insulin index—the effect that that food has on the pancreas and on the stimulation of insulin as soon as that particular food gets to the intestines. The more insulin is released, the fatter we get. The insulin index of the most common pasta is very high and, moreover, common wheat, the kind you likely eat and which has been processed in a laboratory, has a glycemic index almost identical to that of white sugar; this is due to its starch structure, which is composed of amylopectin A, a form of starch that is quickly digested by our intestines. Yes, every day, 3 to 5 times a day, the average Italian is consuming a food product that has more devastating effects on the pancreas than white sugar. Like wheat, other cereals belonging to the grass family, such as rice, also have a very high insulin index. Our bodies have a mainly lipidic metabolism. Breast milk contains more calories from fats than from carbohydrates. In fact, in every 100 grams of milk, there are 3.5 grams of fats corresponding to 31.5 kcal, as opposed to the 28 kcal released by 7 grams of carbohydrates. We, as adults, invert this relationship with the belief that the metabolizing of carbohydrates does not involve the creation of waste substances, such as the urea from proteins and the ketones from fats, but the two are waste products that our liver and kidneys know how to get rid of very well.
Clinical Cases
● A.A.: 47-year-old female, with Cushing's syndrome via pituitary adenoma. She came to me because she suffered from hypertension, glycemia, and sudden weight gain that had stabilized at 120 kg (approx. 265 lbs.). Examining her bodily composition, I suggested she see an endocrinologist for tests, and a pituitary adenoma was discovered. Six months went by before the surgery, and the doctors were amazed. Through my Italian Reset Method, she managed to control the changes in pressure and her blood sugar concentration. Plus, she managed to lose 40 kg (approx. 88 lbs.) in six months. The scheduled surgery went well, and today she is a very different woman.
● M.R.: 45-year-old male, a diabetic with hypercholesterolemia and asthenia. After only two months of being on the proper food regimen, he managed to stop needing Metformin, bringing his cholesterol back down within normal ranges and losing 10 kg (approx. 22 lbs.). His fatigue disappeared after the first 20 days of dieting.
● V.D.: a female with severe intestinal disorders and polycystic ovary syndrome. Within a few days, she managed to obtain perfect intestinal function, and no longer suffered any pain. Her menstrual cycle, despite her following a very balanced diet, did not come, and we were forced to make a modification to her Italian Reset Diet. After a few days, her period returned, and today V.D. is able to maintain low carbohydrate levels in her diet in order to promote her menstrual cycle.
● S.B.: a 36-year-old male with Crohn's disease who was not undergoing any drug treatment. In only a few days, by choosing the appropriate foods, he managed to stop his blood-stained diarrhea, and no longer has any unpleasant intestinal disorders. Today, he knows what to eat and no longer fears his old condition.
CHAPTER 3
THE FOUR BIG KILLERS
Premise
As mentioned in the chapter on the Mediterranean Diet, nutrition has changed a lot over the years. When we reflect on our ancestors’ diet, and how it was based around meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, dry fruits/nuts, and only sporadically fresh seasonal fruit, we can picture the sheer disruption that our bodies have had to endure over the years. New food products are present now on the market, which we consume in excess because we are convinced that our wonder-sack—the stomach—is always ready to work for us on absolutely anything. No one ever told us that all foods contain proteins and lectins which communicate with our DNA and immune system, and which can cause the entire body to go haywire, causing serious pathologies. In this chapter, we will analyze the molecules and foods to fear the most, since, according to my experiences and studies, they are the most devastating of all.
Gluten
Gluten is a macromolecule consisting essentially of proteins from some varieties of cereals, and responsible for cellular toxicity phenomena. Their mechanisms, to date, remain largely unknown. These consequences occur in a significant portion of the population with a complex symptomatology described using the term celiac syndrome or celiac disease. For a long time, the symptoms of the gastrointestinal tract have been used almost exclusively as a tool to formulate diagnoses, prognoses and therapeutic courses with regard to the disease. The acquisition of further knowledge regarding pathogenetic mechanisms and diagnostic markers and monitoring has made it clear that many other zones and functions, in addition to those of the gastrointestinal system, may be affected by this complex pathology. Taking this into consideration, a much larger number of people are diagnosed with celiac disease; for example, the functioning of the immune system, the musculoskeletal development of the individual, and some neurological aspects are part of modern clinical investigation protocols. The prestigious medical journal “The Lancet” reiterates the following in an article: “to improve diagnoses, the medical belief that sensitivity to gluten is an exclusively intestinal disease must change.” Furthermore, this new knowledge has allowed us to highlight, in some cases, phenomena that cannot be identified as a real food intolerance, but rather as a so-called “sensitivity” to gluten. By being a real problem for a large number of people, this “sensitivity” is attracting increasing attention in the clinical and nutritional fields.
Wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut and oats all belong to the cereal family. These food products have always been, and still are, the basis of the Western diet. Their main protein is gluten, which, as mentioned before, is a macromolecule, consisting of two proteins (known as gliadin and glutenin) which tend to form chemical bonds in water, giving dough elasticity and resistance. Because of these characteristics, in recent years the industry has increased the quantities of gluten in our wheat through genetic selections. The first was made in the 1950s on Cappelli wheat, which was first irradiated with y-rays and then crossed with Mexican CIMMYT wheat. From this selection, Creso wheat was born, followed by many others. To date, there are many species of wheat, and these selections have spurred the increase in celiac disease.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease of the small intestines that occurs with the introduction of gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. Celiac disease is a genetically transmitted disease that can affect members of the same family. The manifestation of this pathology occurs following a weakening of the body, such as an instance of influenza, surgery, etc. The percentage of people affected by celiac disease is about 1 percent, meaning one out of every hundred suffers, but the data collected in recent years on the expansion of the phenomenon and its variability shows that among these hundred people there would be many who have the disease but will never be diagnosed and just go on living with it.
However, as the chemist Lorenzo Acerra tells us in his book Mal di Glutine (“Gluten Ache”), celiac disease is not a recent pathology, as it began around 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, when man could no longer find enough game, and started cultivating wheat plants. This was a fundamental moment in the development of the first civilizations—in fact, by being able to stay in the same place, man led a more sedentary and less difficult life, guaranteeing a demographic explosion. The generations to follow, however, had a different body structure from their ancestors; they were shorter, less muscular, and were also more affected by bronchitis, pneumonia, osteoporosis and periodontitis. Then there was the advent of new infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis in Egypt. Today we realize that these were the consequences of the introduction of cereals into human nutrition, meaning their diets were very different from those of their ancestors. Cereals are foods rich in starches that give acidity, fermentation, and glycemic and insulin peaks. They are composed of lectins, the glycoproteins used by plants to defend themselves from attacks by insects. Therefore, lectins are capable of damaging the intestinal mucosa once they come in contact with it Cereals are also composed of gluten, a very different protein from the animal proteins to which the human intestines used to be more accustomed.
Gluten was, and still is, a protein that cannot be completely digested, because man does not have the proper enzymes for it. Enzymes are the “workers” of our intestines, involved in the reduction of macromolecules into simple molecules. In gluten, amino acid bonds cannot be split individually and, therefore, small protein chains with high inflammatory power are formed. The symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person. Organs distant from the digestive system may also be affected. In children, there is a prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, such as swelling and diarrhea, but at times also constipation, nausea, vomiting, foul-smelling stools and weight loss. An obvious sign of this disease in children is short stature with a delay in growth, due in particular to poor absorption, which can lead to serious deficiencies, especially with respect to vitamins and minerals. Because of this, we witness iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, depression and anxiety. In adults, the symptoms are not only gastrointestinal in nature. They are very varied and can affect various organs. We can come across epilepsy, depression, headaches, stomatitis, miscarriages, infertility, herpetiform dermatitis and many more. Many people live with the disease without realizing it, but unfortunately, the longer the diagnosis is delayed the more these patients risk suffering long-term consequences.
Celiac disease is a multifactorial pathology in which various causes, from environmental to genetic, contribute to the development of this autoimmune disease. The environmental factor is represented by exposure to gluten. Genetic factors affect several genes, but those genes have only been spotted in a small percentage. You got it right—the classic genetic analysis of celiac disease is not entirely accurate in diagnosing this pathology. The most relevant genes in the development of the disease are currently identified as HLA II DQ2 and DQ8, and they are located on chromosome 6. It must be emphasized that these genes are present in 40% of the healthy population. We must ask ourselves then: is this population really healthy, or is it silently developing gluten problems that can suddenly explode into some pathology? In any case, other genes have been identified, and among these there is the Celiac2 locus on chromosome 5q31-33, Celiac3 on the 2q 33 region, and the recently identified Celiac4 locus.
In the diagnosis of celiac disease, various types of analysis are addressed, ranging from the search for IgA and IgG anti-gliadin antibodies (gliadin is a part of gluten), anti-transglutaminase and anti-endomysium, to intestinal biopsies for the evaluation of the intestinal villi’s health state.
If the analyses metioned above turn out negative, but typical symptoms of the pathology still exist, and if one or more family members are celiacs, the next step in the procedure is a genetic analysis of the HLA DQ2 / DQ8 profile. Positive test results indicate an increased probability of manifesting the disease, but do not give a sure result, given that 40% of the population still has these genes. Therefore, according to conventional medicine, one should make do with the symptoms of the pathology and continue to consume gluten, until the pathology explodes in the intestines with the flattening of the villi. This is odd, considering that they usually give statins to diabetics, even with low cholesterol, for the prevention of atherosclerotic plaques. Prevention, apparently, is good only if we need to take drugs, but if it is a question of changing one’s dietary regimen, then it is not allowed anymore! I consider even more absurd the fact that the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious American medical institutes, informs us how some patients with negative HLA DQ2 / DQ8 results, without the presence of antibodies, may present symptoms typical of celiac disease—a situation due to genetic predisposition with the association of the HLA DQ-α1 HLA DQ-β1 system in the class II region, which activates only the immune response of T lymphocytes, with a consequent lack of the formation of the specific autoantibodies of celiac disease. In summary, gluten is silently destroying a person's body, but as there is no clear laboratory data, then that person can calmly continue to poison himself. This very situation, which is presently studied and well-known in the scientific field but not widely recognized (for reasons I cannot understand), is known as gluten sensitivity. It is a syndrome characterized by multiple intestinal and/or extraintestinal symptoms, which occur shortly after consuming gluten. These symptoms improve or disappear after the elimination of gluten in subjects for whom the celiac disease diagnosis has been excluded. The first detections of this pathology took place in the 1980s, when female patients were described as having symptoms, credited to celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome, that would at first disappear with the elimination of gluten and then reappear with its renewed intake. These women were thought to have psychological issues, and were treated with antidepressants!
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