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Naturally Speaking

Early Origins

Having survived the first world war, the horrendous Bolshevik revolution, and the depression that followed, Gerhard and Senta Erasmus left their Latvian homeland when communists advanced towards the Baltic countries. Udo was born during the second world war in Poland, the first stop on his parent's exodus. With mostly German and Swedish background, they left for Germany with four small children (one child yet unborn). When Udo was ten years old, the Erasmus clan left a weary Europe. As refugees without means or connections, but with renewed hope, they started life over in Canada, a more peaceful land with greater opportunity.

Part of Udo's childhood was spent on 112 acres of bushland in Northern Canada, without electricity, television, telephone, or radio. It was here he learned about the wonders of the biological world and developed a passion for the delicate complexities of Mother Nature. As a child, he remembers being fascinated by small spiders negotiating leaves of grass, exploring abandoned mines with other children, and picking wild strawberries and herbs. Udo and his siblings helped to tend a large organic family garden, in which they each had their own plot to grow personal vegetable favorites: radishes, carrots, peas, and more. For several years, he built a collection of skulls taken from dead animals found in nearby woods and meadows, and on riverbanks.

During his first three years in university, Udo worked in a mining exploration company. He was flown into remote mountain locations in northern British Columbia by plane; food was air-dropped in. He took soil samples for mineralization tests and was issued a rifle for self-defense against non-vegetarian carnivores!

In school, his favorite courses were the Sciences, where he learned how things work, and English, where he especially enjoyed literature and poetry. Specific interests included biology, environmental studies, natural history, health and human nature. When it came time to pursue an education, he chose Life Sciences, and maintained interests in English as a hobby; interests which would later turn into a lifelong career.

Udo Erasmus received his B. Sc. degree in Honors Zoology with a major in Psychology, followed by graduate studies in Biochemistry and Genetics at the University of British Columbia. While he studied Genetics at UBC, one of his research papers was published in the peer reviewed journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in 1967, and two more of his papers were published in the peer reviewed journal Mutation Research, in 1971.

A Major Turning Point

In 1980, life for Udo took a significant turn when he was poisoned while carelessly working with pesticides. When medicine was unable to provide help, he concluded that health was his own responsibility and sought the answers he needed by burying himself in research literature on nutrition and health. He gave special attention to the least understood arena: the effects of fats and oils on human health. This meant finding and perusing thousands of original research studies, many which were inaccessible to the public and were therefore unknown. Several years of collecting and reviewing this data culminated in his landmark Canadian best-seller Fats and Oils. This book also became his thesis and earned him a Ph.D. in nutrition in 1986. The book is now available in expanded, revised, updated form as Fats That Heal Fats That Kill.

In 1988, he received his MA in Counseling Psychology from the Alfred Adler Institute of Chicago (now called the Adler School of Professional Psychology).

More than 15 years of exploring the practical aspects of fats has earned Udo Erasmus authoritative status in the field, as well as the nicknames "The Fatman" and "His Royal Oiliness". He pioneered technology for pressing and packaging fresh oils under exclusion of light, heat, and oxygen - three main factors which can transform nutritious oils into toxic ones. Until that time, oils were highly processed by destructive methods, sacrificing health benefits in order to attain long shelf life. Originally, he worked with flax oil, and later added sunflower, sesame, and other oils to address the main shortcoming of flax oil - its high omega 3 and poor omega 6 fatty acid content, which can result in omega 6 deficiency. In addition to essential fats, he works with phyto-nutrient-rich greens, digestive enzymes, fiber-rich whole foods, friendly bowel micro-organisms, herbs, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.

He also innovates manufacturing methods for maintaining nutrient quality, and runs a consulting practice for manufacturing companies in Europe and North America.

In his spare time, Udo partakes of one of his therapeutic endeavors: digital photography.

1. Savvy Question: How did you get started in the natural health industry?
Like most people, I was not born wise. I set very low standards for myself. Even though I knew better, I took a job as a pesticide sprayer. Predictably, the pesticides I worked with poisoned me. With cancer to look forward to, and limited help from the medical profession, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

For starters I set higher standards than the ones leading up to my problem.

Lucky for me, I have a good technical background in life sciences (biological sciences, including biochemistry and genetics) and know how to read research, so I used my background to immerse myself in research literature for health and nutrition. I began to find the information I needed to improve my health. I began to focus on fats once I learned how much damage is done to our cooking oils by processing done to prolong shelf life.

Oils are our most sensitive essential nutrients. They are easily damaged by light, oxygen, and heat. Consequently, they have a naturally short shelf life, which means they should be made and used fresh. However, industry began to mass-produce oils about 100 years ago. They were more interested in making bigger profits by extending shelf life, expanding markets, and benefiting from economies of scale than they were in understanding the health benefits of fresh oils.

To extend shelf life, they began to treat oils with corrosive harsh alkaline and acidic chemicals, and bleaches. The rancid molecules produced by these first three processing steps, as well as about 50% of the pesticides found in oils, are removed by heating the oil to frying temperatures (up to 450°F; 250°C) in a process called deodorization. This chemical process results in a colorless, odorless, tasteless oil that has lost some of its healthy nutrients. In other words, processed oil has lost its natural balance in addition to its natural flavor, color, and fragrance.

Even worse, this processing damages some of the oil molecules. Nature did not make a digestive process for breaking down some of these damaged molecules because they didn’t exist naturally. As a result, they tend to accumulate in the body. Use of these oils is associated with increased inflammation, cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease.

2. Savvy Question: How do you maintain balance in your life?
I was born during the Second World War, was abandoned by my mother, and had a highly antagonistic relationship with my father for most of our time together on this planet. Sounds like a sad story, doesn’t it? During the first 30 years of my life I often focused on my hardships and misfortune. Then one day it occurred to me, in spite of all my dramas and traumas, the universe had taken care of me during every moment, day and night. That’s why I’m still here. From that point on I began to gradually fall in love with my life, instead of complaining about my hardships. My life began to look a whole lot better, the way it is meant to be for all of us. I take care of myself by living the following practices:

Every morning after I wake up and before I get out of bed, I take an hour to do nothing but breathe and experience what it feels like to be alive, and be present. I connect to the core of my being, my life, my essence, my true nature, my heart, and myself. This gets my day started on the right track. From the fullness, contentment, clarity, and the simple joy that’s embedded in this feeling of life, I receive more inspiration and energy, think more clearly, and keep better focus on my goals. As a result, I act more purposefully, respond more effectively, react less impulsively, am kinder to others, am able to give more than I get, and get more done with less stress.

When I eat, I focus on green foods, good fats, and protein. I limit my carbohydrate intake for two reasons. First, limiting my intake of breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, potatoes, sweets, desserts, pancakes, waffles French fries, potato chips, and soft drinks makes it possible to avoid the mood swings generated by blood sugar swings. Second, I avoid the low energy and the cravings generated by low blood sugar. These cravings lead to overeating and weight gain.

I stay active in the midst of what I do. This keeps my body in shape and keeps body and soul together. When I don’t stay active, I feel sloppy. I don’t like that feeling.

I remember that I have everything I need. This keeps me feeling grateful, and allows me to feel good no matter what my external situation is. I don’t need to own every newest gadget nor do I need to be on top of every fad. Life is the greatest ‘gadget’ and the best ‘fad’. Is there a greater gift than being ‘alive’ and ‘human’? With these gifts, I am complete and need nothing else. Anything else is a bonus.

I get the sleep I need. One of my favorite luxuries is to sleep until I wake up, without an alarm. I can’t do that every day with my schedule, but I do it as often as possible.

Every day, through insight, I create beliefs that are in line with my goals. All our beliefs are arbitrary, they were created by our elders, teachers, culture, and ancestors, or we made them up on our own! We can choose to accept these beliefs without question, or we can create different ones. Why not make up beliefs that are suited to live fully in the present world? Why not choose to believe in what is good for life, good for the body, good for the mind, good for the environment, and good for the planet? Why not create better beliefs than the outdated ones we inherited?

I try to remember that I live in a friendly universe. As a result, I am not often stressed. The universe loves me unconditionally. Negativity and paranoia create stress that ages us. I don’t want it. I prefer to be by myself or with people that foster a positive outlook on life.

I respect both my social and my natural environment as much as possible. Green plants are like gods to me. Why? They don’t need me for anything, but I need them for everything. They make the oxygen I breathe, provide me with minerals, vitamins, proteins, good fats, fuel, antioxidants, and natural medicines. They hold water in the soil and help keep the planet cool. They make materials for my clothing and shelter. What do we do for them? Nothing! It seems to me we would have a better role on this planet as grateful gardeners than as the greedy killers we have been for the past hundred-thousand years.
 
I also love people. People are so different, unique, and incredibly interesting. What do they love? What do they do? How do they think? What do they pay attention to? How do they express themselves and what do they understand? What a show! So entertaining! I can’t get enough of it.

So, how do I keep in balance? Here’s my one-sentence summary: I find balance from feeling my heart aligned with life and keeping my body aligned with nature.

Want a shorter summary? Here it is:
Live consciously.
Live in gratitude.

How do I keep balance? Here’s my one-sentence summary:

I find balance from feeling my heart aligned with life and keeping my body aligned with nature.

Want a shorter summary? Here it is:
Live consciously.
Live in gratitude.

In a nut shell, can you tell us which fats heal us and which ones harm us?
Good fats are those that are made by life’s standard in nature. These are found in all whole foods, and are especially abundant in seeds and nuts. They are also found in oils made with health in mind.

My work over the past 27 years has been to set higher standards for edible oils. I set six standards.

First, when I found out how much damage is done to oils by processing (one tablespoon of an oil 1% damaged by commercial processing contains about 1.5 million damaged molecules for every one of the body’s 60 trillion cells) I devised methods for making oils with health rather than shelf life in mind. In other words, I decided that we should give oils the care they need in order to retain their health benefits. I set out to develop a method for making oils without damaging them.

Second, when I found out that omega 3 is essential, but too little is found in most people’s diet, I decided to bring omega 3s, which are even more sensitive than omega 6s (both being essential for life and for health), and must be made with even more care, back into the diet in optimum quantities.

Third, when I suffered omega 6 deficiency from getting too much omega 3 (from flax oil, with a very poor balance of omega 3 to omega 6) in my diet, I worked on optimizing the ratio between omega 3 and omega 6. Too much of one can crowd out the other and lead to imbalance that leads to deficiency, which leads to body breakdown.

Fourth, when I found out that oils swell plastic and that plastic can leach into oils even faster than plastic leaches into water, I decided to use glass for packaging. Glass is more expensive, but I don’t want plastic in my body, because it synthetic, man-made molecules that did not exist in nature and.

Fifth, knowing that (therapeutic) fish oils are much (about 25 times) more sensitive than seed oils and are more damaged by processing than seed oils, and can contain highly toxic PCBs and dioxins, I never used or recommended them. For about 20 years, I searched for a cleaner and less damaged source of therapeutic oils.

Eventually I found a source. Fish don’t make these oils. Fish get them from their foods. At the bottom of the food chain, red-brown algae make these therapeutic omega 3 oils for the entire food chain.

The therapeutic omega 3 found in algae can be grown in a controlled environment. They do not contain industrial toxins like PCBs and dioxins. The omega 3s that these algae contain can also be harvested without damage.

Sixth, knowing that the body needs seed oils as a major nutrient foundation for health, and can benefit from therapeutic omega 3s as well, Flora and I developed a blend of seed and therapeutic oils that contain everything good and nothing bad from fats, in the right ratio, made with health in mind and without damage, in glass packaging, for use in foods.

These oils create wonderful flavors in foods, improve the absorption of the oil-soluble nutrients that foods contain, and support the good health of every cell, tissue, gland, and organ in the body. They increase energy, improve skin, elevate mood, speed learning, and improve concentration and both physical and mental performance.

Research shows that increasing intake of omega 3s can improve most of our major degenerative conditions.

About one tablespoon of the oil blend per 50 pounds of body weight per day (about 25% of calories, which is about the same as the amount of oils that people are used to consuming, unfortunately in processing-damaged form), mixed in food, and spread out over the course of the day constitutes optimum intake.

The oil blend can be used in hot soup and other hot, warm, and cold foods. It is compatible with all types of foods and all nutrients. It can be used with fruit, vegetables, starches, and protein.

3. Savvy Question: What are the bad fats we should avoid?
Good fats are those made in nature. These are found in all whole foods, and are especially abundant in seeds and nuts. They are also found in oils made with our health in mind. My work over the past 27 years has been to set higher standards for edible oils. I have established six standards.

First, I devised methods for making oils with health, rather than shelf life, in mind. I was amazed to find out how much damage is done to oils by processing: one tablespoon of oil that is 1% damaged by commercial processing contains about 1.5 million damaged molecules for every one of the body’s 60 trillion cells! So I decided we should give oils the care they need in order to retain their health benefits. I set out to develop a method for making oils without damaging them.

Second, I decided to bring omega 3 oils back into the diet in optimum quantities. I found out that omega 3 oils are also essential for life and for health, but too little is found in most people’s diet. Omega 3 oils are even more sensitive than omega 6 oils, and must be made with even more care.

Third, I worked on optimizing the ratio between omega 3 and omega 6 oils in our diet. I suffered an omega 6 deficiency by consuming too much omega 3 from flax oil. Too much of one can crowd out the other and lead to an imbalance. This deficiency causes the body to breakdown.

Fourth, I decided to use glass for packaging. I found out oils swell plastic and that plastic can leach into oils even faster than plastic leaches into water. Although glass is more expensive, I don’t want plastic in my body, because it is a synthetic, man-made molecule that does not exist in nature.
 
Fifth, I never use or recommend fish oils.  Therapeutic fish oils are much  more sensitive (about 25 times) than seed oils, and are more easily damaged by processing.  They can also contain highly toxic PCBs and dioxins. It took me about 20 years to find a cleaner and less damaged source of therapeutic oils.
Eventually I found a source by studying fish. Fish don’t make these oils, they get them from their foods. Red-brown algae make these therapeutic omega 3 oils for the entire food chain. The therapeutic omega 3 found in algae can be grown in a controlled environment. They do not contain industrial toxins like PCBs and dioxins. The omega 3 oils these algae contain can also be harvested without damage.

Sixth, Flora and I developed a blend of seed and therapeutic oils that contain everything good and nothing bad from fats. The body needs seed oils as a major nutrient foundation for health, and can benefit from therapeutic omega 3 oils as well. Our blend for use in foods is made in the right ratios, and made with our health in mind, without damage from processing. They are packaged in glass.

These oils add wonderful flavors to foods, improve the absorption of the oil-soluble nutrients that foods contain, and support the good health of every cell, tissue, gland, and organ in the body. They increase energy, improve skin, elevate mood, speed learning, improve concentration and increase both physical and mental performance. Research shows that increasing intake of omega 3 oils can improve most of our major degenerative conditions. About one tablespoon per day of our oil blend per 50 pounds of body weight mixed in food, and spread out over the course of the day constitutes the optimum intake. This is about 25% of normal calorie requirements, and is about the same amount of oils people are used to consuming, but unfortunately in processing-damaged form.
Our oil blend can be used in hot soup or other hot, warm, and cold foods. It is compatible with all types of foods and all nutrients. It also can be used with fruit, vegetables, starches, and protein.

In a nutshell, what are the bad fats we should avoid?
Bad fats are good fats damaged by careless processing or food preparation in the home. They include:

1. Fried, deep-fried, re-used fried, overheated oils. Cooking oils are damaged by processing. They are damaged even more when used for cooking. Our body needs an oil change, just like our car. To protect the engine, we dump the dirty oil and replace it with clean oil. To protect our body, we need to replace the damaged oils with oils made with our health in mind.
2. These oils are damaged both by processing and in-home use. Their use is associated with increased inflammation and cancer risks. I don’t use them, don’t recommend them, and suggest others not use them if health is important.
3. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. These oils are found in margarines, shortening, and vegetable shortening. They are contained in cookies, candies, French fries, fast foods, convenience foods, and junk foods. According to the Harvard School of Health, they double risk of heart attack, increase diabetes, and kill at least 30,000 Americans every year. In Canada, 5,000 annual deaths are attributed to them. Because I was sick before, and prefer to remain healthy, I avoid them.
4. Saturated fats have been demonized unfairly. Omega3 oils protect us from the problems saturated fats cause when omega 3s are too low in our diet. In my opinion, the problems blamed on saturated fats should really be blamed on lack of omega 3 in people’s diet. We get only 16% of what people got in 1850, when intake of omega 3 was already low. 99.9% of the population does not get enough omega 3 for optimum health.
5. Carbohydrates are the main reason for the obesity epidemic in North America. When we eat more carbohydrates than we need, our body converts the excess into fat. The kind of fat? Not the essential omega 3 and 6 type of fat, but into the non-essential saturated and omega 9 fats. Here’s a way to remember the harm they can do: When we eat carbohydrates, we burn theml, or we wear them in the form of fat. Good carbohydrates are all the ones we burn. Bad carbohydrates are the ones we wear.

4. Savvy Question: For those readers who are beginning to learn about eating a healthy diet, what 3 things would you recommend they do?

1. Eat your foods as close to fresh, whole, raw, and organic as possible. This is the standard established for foods for all creatures living in nature. Begin by setting this as your goal, and then, step by step, start heading in that direction.
2. Emphasize greens, good fats, and proteins. These contain all the essential nutrients you need for health, and cannot live without. There are no essential carbohydrates, so make them the least important food you eat, and never eat more than you burn.
3. Health has only three natural requirements:
1. Optimize intake of all essential nutrients, either from foods, or from foods plus supplements. These include: 20 minerals; 14 vitamins; 8 essential amino acids from proteins; and 2 essential fatty acids from fats.
2. Avoid poisons from getting into your body. Most of our poisons today come from industry, and are man-made, synthetic molecules that never existed in nature. Consequently, nature never made a digestive program to break them down to eliminate them, or make them useful to the body. The most common of these include: pesticides, plastics, pharmaceutical drugs, industrial chemicals, cosmetics, and food molecules damaged by processing or food preparation. Since we cannot avoid these altogether, it helps to detoxify the body once or twice a year.Detoxification can be done by sweating, deep breathing,  drinking lots of water, consuming lots of fiber, and by taking herbs and nutrients that support the liver in its job of making harmful chemicals less harmful.
3. Optimize digestion. This involves the use of digestive enzymes to make sure foods are completely broken down, probiotics to protect the digestive tract and to fight bad bacteria, and fiber to keep things moving along smoothly.

5. Savvy Question: We hear the word “probiotic” used a lot these days. What is it and why is it healthy for us to take it?

Probiotics are bacteria. They are good bacteria. They can protect us from bad bacteria, yeast (candida) infections, and from other unfriendly microorganisms. They also help to establish a protective layer inside our intestines that prevents damage to the inside of our digestive tract. Probiotics also help make vitamins in our body, and strengthen our immune system.

I recommend that people brush their teeth with probiotics. Probiotics, used orally, can help protect our entire digestive system starting with our mouth. In our mouth, which is the most vulnerable part of our digestive tract, probiotics can be used to protect against tonsil infections, sinus infections, inner ear infections, gum infections, tooth decay infections, and bite-yourself infections.

Probiotics come in age-specific blends, because the kinds friendly bacteria that do the best job changes with our age. The amount needed for best results also increases as we age. There are infant, children, adult, and advanced adult blends. There is a lozenge to be sucked (not chewed) after meals. There is a blend for travelers called Super 8. And there is a super-high dose blend called Super Bifido Plus for people who suffer irritation in their digestive tract. If you brush your teeth with advanced blend of adult superbifidoplus before going to bed, and leave them in your mouth overnight, they will fight bad breath bacteria all night. You will wake up with an exponentially less severe case of bad breath in the morning. Check it out. In my experience, it works a lot better than mouthwash. That’s because the probiotics are alive and fight the bad breath bacteria all night.