Wow! A link between diet & health.
The study is apparently the first to link blood pressure to a person’s metabolic fingerprint.
Metabolic fingerprint is a catchy way of describing the the unique acidic metabolites that are left behind by specific cellular processes. In this case, the scientists were looking at the metabolites (small molecules) found in urine, which reveal the way food is broken down in the body.
Getting to the point.
Western diets (rich in acidic animal meat, high in the acid alcohol and low in fibre) are bad because they compromise the delicate pH balance of the blood and tissues.
People who eat a diet high in acid producing animal protein (indicated by the metabolite alanine being present in urine) have higher blood pressure, eat more calories, have higher cholesterol and body mass indexes.
People who eat diets higher in starches such as rice (indicated by the metabolite formate) have lower blood pressure and ingest fewer calories.
People who have a healthier root system or intestinal villi (destroyed by antibiotic use, increased by green foods and green drinks and indicated by the presence of hippurate in the urine) also have lower blood pressure. Hippurate is also present in the urine of individuals with low levels of alcohol intake and higher levels of dietary fibre.
While comparing the metabolic fingerprints of study participants in the U.K., United States, China and Japan, the scientists concluded that test subjects from the U.K. and the U.S.A. have similar genetic and metabolic profiles. In contrast, while the Chinese and Japanese participants had similar genetic profiles, they had different metabolic fingerprints.
What was most interesting was the comparison of the native Japanese participants with those Japanese individuals living in the U.S.A..
Japanese-Americans displayed a typical American metabolic fingerprint; indicating that lifestyle has a stronger effect on blood pressure & heart disease than genetics.
To summarize:
It does matter what you eat and drink. The food and the liquids you ingest do determine your over-all health. I have found that eating a diet high in chlorophyll, healthy polyunsaturated oils, drinking alkaline water at a pH of 9.5 and including liberal amounts of mineral salts can prevent heart attacks and strokes and keep your lymphatic and cardiovascular system clear, strong and healthy. In fact, I just had my heart and peripheral vascular system tested and the tests showed I have the heart and the cardiovascular system of a healthy 18 year old. I know that as a 60 year old exercising everyday, drinking greens, eating lots of healthy fats and including liberal amounts of alkalizing salts made the difference. On top of all this, I feel great!