Water

 Water is a basic ingredient that is essential to life in any form. It makes up around two-thirds of the human body and is constantly being lost in the form of sweat, water vapour, urine and faeces. We need to drink 1–2 litre water every day.
 Water varies in nutritional value. The quality of the tap water in large urban areas is often poor. It may have been recycled 3–4 times and contain traces of hormones, nitrates and metals such as lead (lead pipes are still common in many old houses).
 Bottled mineral water is significantly more nutritious than tap water and contains a range of minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, sulphate, silica, fluoride, zinc, manganese, selenium and borate (check for these minerals on the label). However, once opened, bottled water should be stored in the refrigerator and drunk quickly; it can rapidly become a breeding ground for bacteria. Some mineral waters are inappropriate for long-term daily use due to their high mineral content.
 Bottled waters with a low mineral content are excellent for everyday use and can be given to infants. They include Volvic and Evian.
 Bottled waters with a medium mineral content are beneficial when used every day for a limited amount of time. They include Vittel and Contrex.
 Mineral waters that are rich in calcium (San Pellegrino and Contrex) are recommended for the kidneys. Those rich in magnesium (Badoit and Hepar) are better for the liver.
 Bottled waters, such as Vichy, with a high mineral content have a stronger therapeutic action and should be drunk occasionally or as part of the detox programme (page 130): they are diuretic, facilitate the elimination of toxins, strengthen teeth and bones and improve kidney and liver function. They are often recommended for rheumatism and arthritis, circulatory problems, hypertension, kidney problems, low immunity and digestive and metabolic problems.

Culinary oils

 When selecting culinary oils try to choose cold-pressed ones. These are made by simple mechanical cleaning and crushing processes and they retain their nutritional and therapeutic properties. Industrially-extracted oils have a longer shelf-life, but have lost most of their taste and therapeutic qualities. Industrial extraction is lengthy and complicated and involves chemical processing and heating the oil to high temperatures. Recent research suggests that the industrial manipulation of fatty acids may render them detrimental to our health.
 The most common culinary oils are as follows:
 Olive oil: in my opinion, this is the most nutritional and therapeutic type of oil (page 28).
 Sunflower oil: this is rich in vitamin E, oleic and linoleic acid. It can be used for cooking and in salads. Sunflower and walnut oil are excellent in combination; the sunflower oil moderates the strong taste of walnut and increases its shelf life; the walnut oil supplies alpha-linoleic acid.
 Walnut oil: a mineral-rich, strong-tasting oil favoured in south-west France. Walnut oil is best diluted with sunflower or corn oil. A tablespoon of the oil can be added to vegetable juices to enhance their taste and therapeutic value.
 Hazelnut oil: this has a delicate taste, is very nutritious and is best used in salads. Both hazelnut and walnut oils are traditionally given to children to support their growth and treat mild digestive problems and worms, including tapeworm.
 Peanut and corn oil: these oils can stand very high temperatures which makes them good for frying. They are of little therapeutic or nutritional value. Organic versions of these oils are difficult to find.
 Sesame oil: widely used in Asian countries, this oil is comparable to olive oil in its therapeutic and nutritional value.