Tariq M. Sawandi, M.H., N.D.
First Serial Rights
Tariq M. Sawandi
Copyright ©2003
There
are differences in body physiology between the races of Mankind.
Every human has a specific biochemical makeup and therefore requires a
unique biochemical diet in order to stay healthy and free from disease.
Nature
has programmed every human body-type with certain food parameters which helps to
prevent damage to the biochemical nutritional homeostasis (balance).
Ancient African health practitioners taught that the human body has a
vital force (aura, electromagnetic field) that allows one type of vitamin to
change into another type of vitamin/or energy.
It
is important to understand that energy is the basic unit of the human body.
It is the foundation upon which all the cells, organs, tissues, and
chemicals are formed in the body. The
body emits a vibratory frequency which reflects the thoughts, foods, and
medicines we ingest and contributes to the structure of our vital force.
The Center for Disease Control 's 2001 health statistics show that African-Americans are1.8 times more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites; Blacks are1.3 times more likely to die from breast cancer; 2.8 times more likely to die from prostate cancer and 1.4 times more likely to die from colon cancer. More than 2.7 million African Americans – 1 in 9 have diabetes. African Americans are 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. About 72,000 African Americans have sickle cell anemia, and the disease occurs in approximately 1 in every 500 African-American births and 1 in every 1,000-1,400 Hispanic-American births. Approximately 2 million Americans, or 1 in 12 African Americans, carry the sickle cell trait.
The
purpose of the following report is to show that this great human tragedy in our
communities CAN BE STOPPED NOW,
entirely on the basis of existing nutritional health knowledge.
We will explore the theory that cancer, heart disease, and sickle cell
anemia is a deficiency disease aggravated by the lack of an essential food
compound in African people’s diet, and that its control is to be found simply
in restoring this nutrient in our daily diet.
The
Western View of Health and Disease
The
average doctor today under the Western system of medicine has spent over ten
years acquiring training to learn about disease causation.
Hence, there is a tendency among many physicians to look for a positive
“cause-and-effect” relationship in which something clearly causes something
else – a virus, or bacteria must “cause” a disease. The idea that disease
is caused by an outside agency, or virus is rooted in the Germ Theory of
disease, first proposed by the French scientist, Louis Pasteur in the
mid-1800’s.
There
are many diseases that plague the human family today which modern science has
spent many billions of dollars searching for a prevention or cure, but they are
no closer to the answers today than they were over a hundred years ago.
Perhaps the main reason is that they are still looking for that
“something” which causes these diseases instead of the “lack” of
something.
The
ultimate solution to the scientist’s most puzzling medical problem is to be
found in a near-primitive concoction of herbs and foods.
However, medical doctors have been trained to search for “complex”
answers rather than looking to the simple laws of nature.
As Dr. Laila Afrika, pioneer of African ethnomedicine put it aptly:
“In
health science they (western doctors) believe that the body destroys itself with
disease. Therefore, they must give
toxic, poisonous drugs and vaccines to stop the body from killing itself.
In Caucasian medical science, they believe that evil bacteria and virus
are trying to kill good bacteria and virus.”
African
Health Science
The
African system of health disagrees with the idea of germs being the sole source
of disease. Historically, African
health science was founded upon holistic principles.
This science pre-dates Egyptian medical science and is between 20,000 and
100,000 years old. In fact, it is
the oldest medical science on the planet. African
health practitioners were devoted to teaching individuals to improve their
physical, mental, and spiritual health through preventative lifestyles.
The African physician and health professional had to first develop their
own understanding of how African physiology worked on all levels before they
could treat diseased individuals. This
wholistic wisdom has been passed down to us as “The Science of African
Bio-chemistry”. This is the
African health system according to “Naturopathic” principles.
In this system, the patient is given an herb or food that will help the
body defend itself. For example, if
a patient is suffering from joint pain (arthritis), then this would perhaps
indicate that there may be a calcium and/or mineral deficiency caused by a
nutritional deficiency in the diet.
The
African physician would advise or teach their patient what lifestyle,
nutritional, emotional, or dietary changes should be made to alleviate the
condition. This philosophy was
consistent with the laws of nature and is based upon a belief in the body’s
innate God-given, natural ability to heal itself when given the appropriate
herbs, seeds, and foods.
The human body contains millions of microorganisms which support and help to keep our immune systems healthy and have enabled us to have healthy lives. The ancient Africans believed that a healthy immune system is responsible for the health and healing of the human body. From this premise, health problems occur as the result of “something lacking” in our nutrition, leaving the human body vulnerable to disease. African medicine is a nutrient based system. A diet and lifestyle deficient in vital nutrients makes us susceptible to opportunistic infections, and cellular disorganization (cancer). This is why some people who are exposed to the cold virus do not get a cold. Or why some people are able to recuperate from a deadly disease such as cancer and others, cannot. However, many scientists and physicians reject the vitamin deficiency concept of disease until it is proven and tested through clinical trials.
African
Physiology and Nutritional Needs
The
African health scientists have discovered that many of the intricate biochemical
processes that govern the body can be influenced by the presence or absence of
certain vitamins, minerals, or nutrients. The
ailments that African people suffer from today are based on our improper diet
and lifestyle. The science of African bio-chemistry is based on the melanin
molecule which is dominant in Africans. Western
health science is based on white body chemistry, and is incompatible with the
African body type.
According
to Dr. Carol Barnes in his book, Melanin: The Chemical Key to Black
Greatness:
“Melanin
is a molecule, but a very large complicated and complex living molecule.
It has a very high molecular weight of over 200, meaning that one
molecule of melanin is composed of a three dimensional configuration of over 200
individual atoms. It is a living
molecule, a life chemical, and it is charged like a battery.
In fact, it operates like a battery or super-conductor, yet it is
heat-resistant and is characterized by a nice, sweet fragrance.”
Melanin
is responsible for manufacturing and sustaining life and it keeps the Black
human in constant contact with the natural energies of the Universe. (See
Diagram 1)
This
is because Melanin is found not only in the skin, hair, and eyes, but it is also
contained in many other vital organs of the body as well.
It is in the nervous system, the spinal cord, the glands, the brain, the
DNA, the muscles, intestines, heart and liver.
Its presence can be found throughout nature and is also found in many of
our foods – plants, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.
It is also found in animals, in the soil, in the bark of trees, rivers,
streams, and seas. In explaining the
importance and significance of melanin in African physiology, Professor T. Owens Moore, in his book “The
Science of Melanin”, liken melanated people to plants:
“A melanated human body is synonymous with chlorophyll in plants.
The chlorophyll functions as a converter of solar energy.
Similarly, melanin is a converter of physical energy.
We know that such pigments are essential to maintain the vitality of the
plant. Thus, no flora without pigment
exists on this planet. White leaves
do not exist. The pigment chlorophyll is necessary for all vegetation.
Similarly, melanin is important for proper human physiology.”
Yes,
the same melanin that gives life to the plants that grow in the soil is a life
giver to humans as well. On the
molecular level the electrons in melanin molecules orbit and rearrange
themselves. They undergo what is
called resonance. This rearrangement
of electrons causes certain energy shifts in the body.
This energy is then used in metabolism and cellular organization.
Melanin depends on nitrilosides to keep itself clean.
“When we eat synthetic foods, or cooked foods, we don’t get enough B
vitamins and a lot of toxins are not removed and end up in the brain,” states
Dr. Jewel Pookrum.
When
melanin becomes toxic, it adversely affects the biochemistry, and the individual
with toxic melanin becomes susceptible to a host of diseases.
How does melanin become toxic? When
we eat certain foods that are not compatible with our physiology, melanin is
blocked from making the energy exchanges that are needed and this has resulted
in dysfunction and disease. Dr.
Laila Afrika states in his book, African Holistic Health:
“Blacks
have specific nutritional and dietary needs.
These nutritional needs arise because we
have specific bodily differences as
compared to other races and cultures. For
example, over 70% of Black people (worldwide) cannot digest cattle milk.
In addition, the intestinal florae (bacteria, virus, fungus and yeast)
that naturally live in Black people’s intestines are unique to Blacks.
Subsequently, Blacks assimilate food in the intestines differently. Also, despite centuries of living in countries outside of
After
African people were transported into the cities of
A
brief look at the African-American diet tells the story.
The food shelves of Black Americans are now lined with high carbohydrate
foods that have been processed, refined, synthesized, artificially flavored, and
loaded with chemical preservatives. To
compound this problem, most of the vitamins, trace elements, and enzymes are
completely removed through the manufacturing process, mostly so as to render the
food more
durable. We are told by the
food processors that the vitamins and minerals are put back into the food before
sending it to the market. And so we
see the word “enriched” on our bread, milk, and other foods.
But make no mistake about it; nothing is left but raw starch which has
little nutritive value. These starch
synthetic chemicals are injected, which form only part of the missing vitamins,
and are not properly ingestible by human beings because they are not “in
balance”.
Most
African-Americans assume that it makes little difference what they put into
their stomachs as long as they are full. And
one of the leading culprits in the way of poisonous foods eaten by Black
Americans is soul food – Ham, potato salad, French fries, pork chops,
chitterlings, collards, pig feet, cornbread, black-eyed peas, and hog maws.
All of these foods are cooked in or laced with pork fat, lard, milk,
eggs, butter, salt, spices, and lots of refined sugar.
These foods are not compatible with our bio-chemical makeup, and are
responsible for the many diseases that we suffer from today.
Let
us pause, then, and reflect on the significance of this knowledge.
Is it possible that hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
rheumatic diseases, much of our gastrointestinal disorders, sickle cell anemia,
and skin disorders all are related directly or indirectly to a deficiency in our
diet? Let us return to the main topic – African Bio-chemistry, and to the
realm of those questions for which we do have answers.
It is no longer a speculation, but a fact supported by a mountain of
evidence that “nitriloside” (beta-cyanogenetic glucosides)-rich plants and
foods are a vital part of an amazing bio-chemical process in the African body
type.
The
compound nitriloside occurs abundantly in nature in over twelve hundred edible
plants and found virtually on every continent in the world.
It is mainly found in the seeds of those fruits in the “Prunus
Africanus” and “Prunus Rosacea” species of plants.
It can also be found in grasses, sorghum, millet, cassava, and many other
foods that generally have been removed from the foods of Western civilization.
Like
sugar, nitrilosides can be classified as a food component or a food factor.
It is non-toxic, water-soluble, and completely normal to and compatible
with human metabolism. Since it was
an essential food compound in the diet of our African ancestors, I call it
“African Nutritional Factor”.
African
physiology evolved over millions of years to be in the best possible harmony
with the diet our ancestors were eating. If
we were to eat now approximately what we ate then, our bodies will automatically
tend to resume the harmony of their natural state.
In other words, our immune systems would perform at its highest function
if we give it those food nutrients, in the form that it craves.
The African diet was primarily vegetarian. That is, our diet was almost exclusively from the plant kingdom. Very little animal or dairy products were eaten. However, today, the foods that once provided African-Americans with ample amounts of natural nitriloside compounds were replaced altogether by foods almost devoid of this factor. Significantly, it is during the time span that we have been in the Americas that the cancer rate has moved steadily upward to the point where, today, it is one of the number one causes of death of Africans in America.
The
Protective Role of Nitriloside Foods against Cancer
For
centuries, nitriloside-rich plants were used by Africans as a food and medicinal
agent without manifesting any side effects.
This diet has been one of the deciding factors that protected the
integrity of the biochemical processes in African people.
Preventing the formation of cancer cells, appear to be closely related to
the traditional African diet. Let’s
examine the science behind this ancient wisdom.
Numerous
studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer effect of nitriloside food nutrients.
Its molecular composition was first isolated and identified in the
1950’s by Dr. Ernst T. Krebs, a biochemist in
According
to G. Edward Griffin’s book, World without Cancer, “Anything that produces
prolonged stress or damage to the body can initiate the healing process. If this goes unchecked because the body lacks the necessary chemical
ingredients to restore the equilibrium, then the result is cancer.”
It
is significant that prior to African people’s arrival to the Americas, there
were no known records of them contracting cancer while maintaining their traditional diet.
Millet was once
As
far back as 1913, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the world famous medical missionary to
On
my arrival in
From
all over the African continent, the one thing Africans have in common is that
the degree to which they are free from cancer is in direct proportion to the
amount of nitrilosides found in their diet. As
much as 80% of the tropical African diet consists of nitriloside and thiocyanate
yielding foods. The main staples of
sub-Sahara Africa are cassava, yams, sorghum, and millet grains.
Let us reinforce our knowledge with the science of how nitriloside
foods work to fight cancer, sickle cell anemia and other chronic diseases.
Bio-chemical
Process of Nitriloside against Cancer Cells
The
nitriloside compound is a crystalline structure which contains two units of
glucose (sugar), one of benzaldehyde, and one of cyanate, which are tightly
bonded together. Locked together in
this natural state, it is completely inert chemically and has absolutely no
effect on human tissue.
There
is only one substance that can unlock the nitriloside molecule and release the
cyanate and benzaldehyde. That
substance is an enzyme called “beta-glucosidase”, which is known as the
“unlocking enzyme”. When the
nitriloside molecule comes in contact with this enzyme in the presence of water,
both the cyanide and benzaldehyde are released, which are high toxic by
themselves. Now both of these
substances working together are at least a hundred times more poisonous than
either of them separately. This
phenomenon is known in biochemistry as “synergism”.
Perhaps
the most interesting fact of all about this biochemical process is that the
“unlocking enzyme” is not found anywhere in the body except at the cancer
cells, where it is always present in large quantities, as much as one hundred
times that of the normal cells. The
result is that the nitriloside molecule is unlocked at the cancer cell site,
releases its poisons to the cancer cell, and only to the cancer cell!
Another
important enzyme in this process is called “Rhodanese”, which is called the
“protecting enzyme”. This is
because it has the ability to neutralize the cyanate by converting it instantly
into nourishing by-products, which are actually beneficial and essential to
health. But more than that, the
protecting enzyme is found in great quantities in all parts of the body except
at the cancer cell site, which prevents the cancer cells from being protected.
On the other hand, healthy cells are protected, because of the excess of
this enzyme which completely neutralizes the effect of the unlocking enzyme.
There
are voluminous private records and medical papers written and published by
well-known nutritionists, and physicians who have used nitriloside therapy in
the treatment of their own cancer patients, with an effectiveness approaching
100%! It has been used to control
and cure breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and colon
cancer, without any toxic side-effects.
The
Controlling of Sickle Cell Anemia through African Nutritional Factors
Another
benefit of the traditional African diet is the connection between nitriloside
plants and the control of sickle cell anemia.
In
According
to Barbara Dixson’s book, Good Health for African Americans,
“In
Other
Health Benefits of African Nutritional Factors
Another
welcomed consequence of eating nitriloside and thiocyanate plant foods is that
they prevent high blood pressure, arthritis and rheumatism, gastrointestinal
disorders, and cardiovascular disease.
Experiments
conducted by Dr. Ernest Krebs have indicated that trace amounts of cyanate and
benzaldehyde released in the mouth and intestines are a part of the delicate
balance of nature and serve beneficial effects in the human body.
In the mouth and stomach, these chemicals apparently attack the bacteria
associated with tooth decay and bad breath.
The large and small intestines are home for over four hundred different
kinds of microorganisms, mostly bacteria, flora, and some fungi.
These microorganisms live in harmonious, symbiotic relationship with us,
provided the conditions are favorable and the friendly bacteria (Lactobacillus
acidophilus and Lactobacillus bifidus) are sufficient in quantity.
These bacteria feed on the fermentable carbohydrates in our diet (found
in grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, roots, and seeds).
If the African body type lacks in a sufficient diet rich in nitriloside
and thiocyanate plant foods, it causes a decrease in the number of favorable
intestinal bacteria and a subsequent increase in unfavorable organisms.
This is the beginning of many problems such as gas and constipation,
yeast infections, to colon and rectal cancer.
However, African Nutritional Factors, interact with the “bacterial
micro-flora” in the stomach and colon to suppress or eliminate the ailments
associated with westernized foods.
High
Blood Pressure and Heart Disease
But,
more than that, thiocyanate is known as a natural regulator of blood pressure,
which helps to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure) in African physiology.
High blood pressure is a condition in which the muscles in the walls of
the arteries constrict, causing the heart to pump harder or in which arteries
have lost their elasticity due to arteriosclerosis.
One of its underlying causes is a deficiency of African Nutritional
Factors. Dr. Afrika states in his
book, African Holistic Health:
“Hypertension
is usually caused by a lack of proper nutrition.
Improper nutrition weakens the internal organs, immune system, and lowers
the organs’ abilities to utilize nutrients which feed the body.
The body begins to starve because the loss of proper nutrients creates a
nutritional debt.
Moreover, the
nutritionally starved body tries to get more nutrients to pay the debt. Consequently, the body demands more food (nutrients in the blood
)
by
drawing on
more (below-nutrient-level) blood.
In order to increase the blood supply the body begins to increase the
pressure. The increase in pressure
is the body’s attempt to feed itself.”
The
body is merely defending itself by reacting with high blood pressure caused by a
poor diet lacking in essential plant nutrients.
Traditional
African doctors consider heart disease (arteriosclerosis, heart attack, stroke,
and hypertension) to be a combination of poor nutrition and destructive eating
habits. When this occurs, there is a
tendency for cholesterol to accumulate in the arterial lining.
The major cause is a loss of vein and artery flexibility due to a lack of
biochemical precursors and enzymes which prevents the artery walls from
deteriorating. These chemical
precursors have been found in natural foods containing nitrilosides.
Arthritis and Rheumatism
The fact is nitriloside food factors also serve as bio-chemical mechanisms in African physiology to prevent rheumatism and arthritis. Once they enter into the blood stream, derivative compounds called "salicylates" are produced. This natural compound helps to fend off arthritis and rheumatism. Some African health practitioners including myself attest to the theory that many toxins bind to cell membranes and disturb cellular metabolic functions, and can cause tissue damage which contribute to many of the symptoms of rheumatism, arthritis, and muscle aches. Intestinal bacteria - "Proteus mirabilis", for example, an organism recently implicated in rheumatoid arthritis, is believed to be produced by the toxic waste in the body causing painful joint inflammations.
Whereas rheumatoid arthritis disease afflicts millions of people of African descent in the U.S., affecting one in 10, very few cases have been reported among the larger populations of tropical Africa. This has defied explanation in Western health sciences. According to African traditional medicine, rheumatism and arthritis is a disease reaction which creates inflammation caused by crystallized urine and toxic waste. These impurities accumulate around the joints, bone lining and connective tissues. Arthritis is waste in the bone joints while rheumatism is waste in the muscles. Both of these diseases are caused by the same thing - excessive fat and meat, synthetic foods, and a poor diet deficient in thiocyanates and nitrilosides.
In this connection, Robert Houston, M.D., author of Sickle Cell Anemia and the Metabolites of Vitamin B17, compared the rate of rheumatoid arthritis between African-Americans and continental Africans. He found that Africans living in West Africa and throughout tropical Africa only experienced rare cases of rheumatism, arthritis, and osteoarthritis where millet and sorghum grains are staples. He also found that a "salicylic acid isomer" is nutritionally produced from the nitriloside in millet and sorghum grains which works in the body to nourish healthy tissue and joints.
As demonstrated in the foregoing research, nature has assigned to the African body-type a specific diet for keeping it vital, healthy, and free from cancer. There is much yet to be learned about our bodies, and no one can claim nitrilosides are the whole answer. It is possible that an important role also may be played by other vitamins and enzymes. However, nitriloside rich foods and vitamins seems to be the most vital and direct acting of all these factors. It is an interlocking part of the total African bio-chemistry.
The Anin in the word Melanin is derived from a similar word called Amine;
Amine is a Nitrogen based functional group derived from Ammonia (NH3) and is
designated in chemistry as a Hydrocarbon Amine, when it is attached to a Hydrocarbon.
Hydrocarbons are chemical units that contain Carbon and Hydrogen atoms. Nitriloside is
essential for African biochemistry metabolism. Melanin depends on it to keep itself clean. Nitriloside
molecules aid in converting the electronic configuration of nitrogen energy groups in the melanin molecule.
It is also important in stabilizing the essential amino acids in the body.
Essential Amino Acids
Trp = tryptophan *
Gln = glutamine
NH2C(=O)CH2CH2CH(NH2)COOH
Table of Melanin Molecules
| RCHOOH= | Carboxylic acid |
| OH= | Hydroxyl (alcohol) |
| ROR= | Ether |
| RCOOR= | Ester |
| RNH2= | Amino |
| AROR= | Phenolic |
| RCHO= | Aldehyde |
| NH= | Nitrohydrogen |
| HC= | Hydrocarbon |
| NH3= | Ammonia |
| NH4= | Ammonium |
| NH4CI= | Ammonium Chloride |
| NH40H= | Ammonium Hydoxide |
| H= | Hydrogen |
| N= | Nitrogen |
| C= | Carbon |
| H20 | Water |