Medical authorities agree—the overall health status of the average child or adult in the United States is declining. Look around you! Diseases previously only affecting the elderly are now also affecting the young; diseases once considered rare are now becoming commonplace; new diseases and variants thereof are cropping up everywhere. Our bodies are crying out for nutrients!

Many of the foods we now consume are lacking in sufficient essential nutrients and also devoid of all vital enzymatic activity needed to run the “machinery of life,” e.g. immune function, metabolism, waste removal, organ function, etc. No wonder our health is declining!

Our only hope for protecting ourselves and arresting this escalation of disease lies in restoring the nutrition our bodies are crying out for. Most symptoms of disease have their roots in a nutritional breakdown. If not recognized early and corrected, the disease symptoms may become permanent, progressive and non-reversible.

Let there be no doubt . . . the food we eat nowadays has changed considerable from days past . . . and over the same time period has come the rise in disease frequency and decline in health!

Soils have been depleted of nutrients by overworking our soils. Most food is now processed and stripped of much of its potential value. Considerable of our food is cooked, which can destroy its enzyme content and degrade its nutrients. Genetically modified foods (GMO) are commonplace. Heavy amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones are used in the agriculture industry and have become part of our food source.

And if you have any doubt about the correlation of our changing food supply and disease frequency, look at Senate Document No. 264, which was written in 1936:

• “99% of the American people are deficient in minerals [nutrients/micro-nutrients], and a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals [nutrients/micro-nutrients] actually results in disease.”
• “The alarming fact is that foods, fruits, vegetables, and grains now being raised on millions of acres of land no longer contain enough certain needed minerals [nutrients/micro-nutrients] and are starving us, no matter how much of them we eat.”

Do you think the problem has gotten better or worse since 1936? Science has established a direct link between many nutrient deficiencies and the onset of disease. Today, even major medical centers and medical journals are recommending that everyone supplement their diet with basic nutrients to ensure there is no weak or missing link in the chain to health. But even supplementation is not enough! For the problem is in our food supply or, more specifically, the lack thereof. And, yes, for completeness, it is also a matter of the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Yes, even one missing nutrient can result in symptoms of disease. But we need them all. And we need them all together and in a form the body can use. No nutrient works alone but rather all the needed nutrients work together, synergistically as a team. Most nutrients will not do their job without the presence of other “helpers” or cofactors.

Only “whole foods”, which have not lost their nutrient content or been degraded, will supply the nutrients in a biologically active form that your body can use most efficiently.

Let’s face it! Drugs to cure all the diseases are not here and are not coming anytime soon. A cure for cancer is not just around the corner. People are becoming sicker at a younger age. Progression of cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and their related complications does not stop just because you take medication (although it may help slow progression or alleviate symptoms). We must also get the nutrition our bodies are crying out for! And most authorities agree . . . the answer lies in “whole foods”—foods that have been properly grown, harvested and processed with the intent of preserving the needed essential nutrients.

The current “pilot study” is intended to investigate one such nutrient-dense, whole food labeled “X 454 Phytonutrient Complex”. This hypoallergenic, grain-based whole food is unprocessed except to stabilize its very high nutrient content. Participants self-graded themselves as to various symptoms and feelings of wellbeing, such as energy and activity levels. They were accessed for various body composition parameters, including girth tape measurements, body weight, body fat and lean tissue percentages, and blood pressure.

It should be noted that previous studies with this nutrient-dense, whole food have shown significant reductions in serum lipids (blood cholesterol, etc.) and blood glucose levels along with HbA1C or glycohemoglobin levels. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus was impacted similarly. In addition, previous study has shown a dramatic and positive impact on eliminating malnutrition in school age children exhibiting various degrees of malnutrition.

Methods:

A total of fifteen subjects, roughly representing both sexes equally, were recruited from a medical office setting. They were predominately middle class Caucasians and non-smokers. Subjects were not excluded due to chronic medical conditions or due to taking medications. Health status was verified by comprehensive history and body composition measurements.

All subjects were assigned to take the study product, labeled “X-454 Phytonutrient Complex”, as a separate 10g feeding twice daily, and eat their usual or regular diet as their appetite allowed. They were asked to drink 10 – 8 oz glasses of water daily and walk for 30 minutes 5 times weekly (or other alternative activity).

Subjects were monitored weekly for compliance and progress over a 2-month period. Weight and percent body fat was measured using a Tanita BF681 Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor, which is a bioimpedance measurement of the relative amount of body fat present. A health questionnaire was completed at each visit and blood pressure checked at least monthly.

Results:

During the 2-month study period, the average subject lost -12.6 inches in the “heart-cancer zone” (area from the mid-thigh to upper chest) and a total of -22.4 inches from measurements taken all over the body.

The average subject lost only -4.92 pounds while losing considerable inches and obviously slimming. However, this apparent lack of pounds lost was due to a “desirable” increase or gain in lean tissue (muscle, etc.) of +3.28 pounds. The average fat loss was –2.4% or -8.05 pounds. Reduced clothing size was consistent in most subjects. Considering the short duration of this study, these slimming results were very impressive and represent the ideal type of weight loss occurrence, i.e. lose fat, gain lean.

Most subjects reported significant reductions in “cravings” for foods such as sweets, sodas and “no, no” foods. Several easily stopped previously heavy intakes of these. Most also noted reduced need for their usual amount of food intake and less hunger, i.e. they were “satisfied” with less food for longer periods of time.

Certainly, these reduced cravings and hunger were largely due to previous research-proven stabilization of blood sugar levels, but also to satisfying nutrient deficiency cravings. Associated with this stabilization, several reported elevated moods with less depressive feelings, increased energy and resultant increased activity levels, improved sleep patterns and fewer headaches.

Several subjects had significantly elevated blood pressure leading into the study (several of whom were on antihypertensive medication), however; most all subjects quickly normalized their blood pressure on the study food. One reported a reduction in cardiac arrhythmia palpitations.

Of the few who had laboratory assays during the study, notable was a drop in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides—there was no significant change in HDL cholesterol.

As noted previously, prior studies with this nutrient-dense, whole food have shown significant reductions in serum lipids (blood cholesterol, etc.) and blood glucose levels along with HbA1C or glycohemoglobin levels. In addition, previous study has shown a dramatic and positive impact on eliminating malnutrition in school age children exhibiting various degrees of malnutrition.

Discussion:

The results of this pilot study using “X-454 Phytonutrient Complex” are compelling, particularly considering the short 2-month period of observation. Especially impressive is the measurable slimming that occurred in an area of the body that is known to be “the last to go” or hardest to lose weight from, i.e. the abdomen, chest and hips--medically called “abdominal” or “trunkal” obesity. Loss from this area in particular should pay off with huge rewards toward future health!

The authors of this study have labeled the area from which subjects had such a remarkable loss of inches as the “heart-cancer zone”. Why? Unfortunately, obesity or excess weight specifically in the area of the “heart-cancer zone” is most significantly linked with the development of serious diseases, including but not limited to coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer—the top three causes of disease related death in the United States. Type 2 diabetes alone carries a 2 to 3 times’ normal risk for developing cardiovascular disease even without obesity being present.

Being overweight or obese in any part of the body is also associated with the same coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, but to a lessor extent than in the “heart-cancer zone”. In addition, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol, etc.), strokes, sleep apnea, gall stones, degenerative diseases (osteoarthritis, etc.), and other disease processes are associated with being overweight or obese. The gravity of truly being obese can be measured as a 7.7 times normal incidence of cardiovascular disease! Research clearly shows that maintaining, or achieving, a healthy weight and body fat range can reduce the risk of developing these diseases and help prevent potential complications of them.

Current-day medicine defines being at normal weight with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, “overweight” at a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, “obese” at a BMI of 30 to 39.9 kg/m2, and “extremely obese” at a BMI of 40 or more. One’s BMI can be determined easily by an Internet search for “BMI calculation or chart”, or at most medical practitioner offices—all that is needed is a current accurate height and weight measurement.

Being overweight or obese is further defined as a waist circumference of 35 inches or more in a female and 40 or more inches in a male. Unfortunately, neither BMI or waist circumference is a direct measurement of actual body fat percentage or its distribution. To determine actual body fat percentage, underwater weighing, bioimpedence, infrared or skin pinch measurements must be obtained, which all require special or potentially expensive equipment.

The goal in any weight loss program generally is, in most people’s view, to lose weight. However, weight loss can become dangerous if that is the only goal. Ideally, one would like to only lose fat and not lean muscle, bone or organ size. Unfortunately, many that go on a diet lack needed information on how to protect their valuable lean tissue and lose predominately or proportionately more lean tissue. Unless one uses one of the above mentioned measurements of body fat, one would have no idea if they may in fact be losing critical amounts of lean tissue instead of fat.

To make matters worse, one must recognize that it is lean muscle tissue that gives us a nice shape and it is lean tissue that burns larger amounts of fat for energy. The less lean tissue one has, the less fat they may be able to burn off, making it more difficult to lose or maintain weight. A “Catch 22”!

The significance of this pilot study is the obvious beneficial affects of supplementing this nutrient-dense, whole food. Not only were inches lost from the all-important abdominal area (“the heart-cancer zone”), but lean tissue was actually gained while losing relatively more fat.

One could conclude from this study that bringing nutrient-dense, whole foods back into our diet may be part of the solution for the current epidemic of being overweight and obesity itself. And further, since being overweight or obese is linked to our most dangerous diseases, we might again conclude that these same nutrient-dense, whole foods would also help prevent and help support the treatment of such diseases as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, strokes, high cholesterol, hypertension, etc. Since the majority of all diseases have a significant nutritional correlation, might we also expect many diseases to be impacted by such an approach? Remember Senate Document No. 264 that we discussed earlier!

Certainly, further study is needed—however, this study says a lot about the potential of bringing nutrient-dense, whole foods back into our diet and their potential for impacting both the onset and the natural progression of many of today’s epidemic diseases.

And again, as mentioned previously, the whole food used in this study has already been shown in previous research to positively impact type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia.