Obesity 65taking longer to digest, it leaves food particles behind. Leftover food
turns into acidic waste, some of which is stored in the body as fat.
Dr. Edward Howell, in his excellent book Enzyme Nutrition,writes that
unlike raw food, cooked food stimulates the endocrine glands, causing
them to secrete excessive levels of hormones.^1 This increases body weight
because hormones regulate body functions. They switch body functions
on and off according to the body’s needs. An excessive level of hormones
turns the production centers in the cells on too often, causing the over-
production of nutrients. Excess nutrients are stored in fat molecules under
the skin. A study in which the effects on weight gain between canned and
raw food are compared supports Howell’s contention. Conducted by
E. F. Kohman, W. H. Eddy, Mary E. White, and N. H. Sanborn of
Columbia University and published in The Journal of Nutrition in 1977,
the study concluded that canned food, which must be cooked at a high
temperature, caused more weight gain than the same food left raw.^2
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is added to many bottled and
canned foods as well as poultry and fast foods, is also linked to weight
gain. A review of the article “Diabetes Danger in a Taste of Chinese”
states that scientists have discovered that MSG affects insulin secretion.^3
Since MSG is known to excite the endocrine glands, it is safe to conclude
that the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, when exposed to
MSG, become whipped up and overproduce it. Excessive levels of insu-
lin lower blood sugar excessively. The resulting low blood sugar, referred
to as hypoglycemia, is associated with obesity, probably because the
excess glucose that is removed from the blood is converted to fat. Ele-
vated insulin is not only associated with obesity but also with the recur-
rence of breast cancer. It can be lowered by taking pantothenic acid, a B
vitamin. (Specifi c suggestions are given at the end of this chapter.)
MSG is not the only artifi cial chemical that promotes obesity. Any
foods that are altered by chemical additives confuse the appestat mecha-
nism. This is the part of the brain that signals us to eat when our stom-
achs are empty and our body tissues need nourishment by creating
hunger pangs. It tells us to stop when our stomachs are full and nutrient
requirements are met, by creating a feeling of satiety. Chemicalized
foods tend to stimulate hunger, even when the body does not need
nutrients. A nother factor contributing to obesit y is eating food defi cient
in such alkaline minerals as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. (This
includes most processed foods.) Alkaline minerals are needed to neu-
tralize the acidic waste that is the by-product of even the most nutritious