By Dr. T. Colin Campbell on October 12, 2011
For more than two decades, many commentators have discussed and cussed so-called low-fat diets and gotten away with talking nonsense. It is time to look at some facts.
Virtually all of these discussions are based on recommendations of reports of the National Academy of Sciences during the 1980s when the initial suggestion was made to reduce total dietary fat to 30 percent (from the average of 35-37 percent of calories). I know because I co-authored the first of these reports on diet and cancer in 1982. Then, during the next decade or so, this 30 percent benchmark became the definition of a low-fat diet. A myth was born because this diet did not lead to obesity, as claimed.
During the next 10 years when this low-fat myth was growing, average percent dietary fat barely changed, maybe decreasing a couple percentage points to about 33 percent, at best. In reality, the amount of fat consumed increased because total calorie consumption also increased. Furthermore, during this same period of low-fat mythology (1980s-1990s), obesity incidence increased.
Now, enter Robert Atkins and other writers who argued that obesity was increasing because of our switch to low-fat diets. By going low fat – so the mythical story went – we were consuming more carbohydrate, an energy source from plant-based foods. This was a serious misrepresentation of the facts.
By falsely blaming low-fat, “high-carb” diets for the obesity crisis, these writers were then free to promote the opposite: high-fat, “low-carb,” high-cholesterol and high-protein diets rich in animal-based foods, a so-called “low-carb” diet. During the initial discussions of this “low-carb” diet, no distinction was made between the refined carbohydrates (sugar and white flour as commonly present in processed foods) and the natural carbohydrates almost exclusively present in plant-based foods.
Later, some attention was given to refined carbohydrates (sugar, white flour) as a contributor to obesity, but by then the damage due to this obfuscation had been done. “Carbs” were out; protein and fat were in. By initially demonizing “carbs” and so-called “low-fat” diets and emphasizing increased protein and fat consumption, the intended path was clear: Consume a diet rich in animal-based foods instead of a diet rich in plant-based foods.
Obesity continues to climb, but not because of a switch to a plant-foods rich diet naturally low in fat and high in carbohydrate (total carbohydrate, that is). Rather, obesity increases as physical activity decreases and as sugary, fatty, salty, processed food consumption increases.
More serious, however, is the effect that this mythology has had on suppressing information on the extraordinary health value of diets that are truly low in fat (10-12 percent). I am referring to a whole-foods, plant-based diet that avoids added fat, and processed and animal-based foods. This diet contains about 10-12 percent fat, sometimes pejoratively referred to as “extremely low fat.” Call it what you will, but this diet (also low in total protein, about 8-10 percent) produces, by comparison, “extremely low” incidences of sickness and disease. In fact, it now has been shown not just to prevent these illnesses but to treat them. Importantly, this dietary lifestyle cannot be dismissed by the mythological argument that so-called low-fat diets have been proven to be questionable.
Professional medical researchers and practitioners also repeat this same mantra as if it were real. It has been shown, for example, in the very large Nurses’ Health Study at Harvard over an observation period of at least 14 years that reducing dietary fat from about 50 percent to about 25 percent of total calories has no association with breast cancer rates. Based on this and related studies, the sole manipulation of fat within this range does little or nothing when the diet still contains such high proportions of animal-based and processed foods. Total protein remains very high throughout this range and worse, the proportion of protein from animal-based sources, already high when fat is high, if anything, increases even more when fat is independently decreased.
It is time that we seriously consider the health benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet, which is naturally low in total fat, animal-based protein and refined carbohydrates, but rich in antioxidants and complex carbohydrates. The health benefits that are now being reported for this dietary lifestyle are unmatched in scope and magnitude of effect. It is time to discard the gibberish about low-fat diets being responsible for the obesity epidemic. This demonizing of low-fat diets does not apply to whole-food plant-based diets, even lower in fat, because this dietary lifestyle really works. Just try it; but stay with it long enough to allow your body to overcome your taste preferences for fat that arise from its addictive nature.
For more information on how to optimize your health, visit tcolincampbell.org/.
Originally published at HuffingtonPost.com
Photo credit: (OvO)
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By Jennifer Reilly RD LD on October 5, 2011
There’s not a soul out there who can argue against the need for sleep. Not only is it beautifully rejuvenating both physically and mentally, but it also boosts your metabolism, quiets any tendency toward the “F-its,” and helps you choose healthier foods during the day.
Without adequate rest (seven or more hours a night), your body is stressed and responds by making more cortisol. This gives you a quick burst of energy, which is perfect if you’re in the wild running from a hungry lion. But, chances are you’re not running from a hungry lion, so the extra cortisol simply stimulates hunger and disrupts your ability to metabolize carbohydrates, therefore increasing blood sugar levels, insulin production and body fat storage.
Without enough Zzz’s, leptin production also drops. Big deal? Absolutely. Leptin triggers fullness and helps you stay satisfied with the best food choices. Without it, you’ll crave sugary movie theater carbs, and you may not be able to resist.
Sleep also stimulates growth hormones, which regulate fat and muscle proportions in the body and promote graceful aging. So, without good lengthy slumbers, you may be exercising your little tush off, but you’re not building any muscle, and the wrinkles are piling on. No thank you!
But what if you can’t sleep? Food to the rescue! Certain foods are naturally rich in the antioxidant and sleep hormone melatonin, while other foods are rich in the amino acid and serotonin precursor tryptophan. Not only might these foods help you get a good night’s rest, but they also lack the groggy-foggy day-after side effects of over-the-counter or prescription sleep meds.
Foods Rich in Melatonin
Tart cherries
Bananas
Tomatoes
Oats
Rice bran
Sweet corn
Wheatgrass juice
Ginger
Foods Rich in Tryptophan
Almonds
Peanuts
Pumpkin seeds
Spirulina
Beans
Tofu
Both groups can be helpful for promoting restful sleep by quieting down your noisy brain when the lights turn out. But one food—tart cherries—seems to have a leg up when it comes to knocking you into a deep, refreshing sleep. I decided to do a little experiment: I wondered if it could work just as well as the peanut butter (tryptophan) or almond butter (tryptophan) and banana (melatonin) bedtime sandwich I’d come to love since my first pregnancy nearly seven years ago. And even though I generally have little trouble hitting REM after chasing three young kids and endless dirty dishes around from dawn till dusk, there are still plenty of random nights when my busy brain (on pillow) gets stuck recounting 4th-grade spelling bees.
I tried tart cherry juice for eight nights.
How I cherried: 4 ounces Very Cherre tart cherry juice 15 to 30 minutes before bed: 65 calories, 10.5 grams sugar. Bedtime was 10-10:30 p.m. (My kids are up at 5:30 a.m. sometimes!)
What happened: Fell asleep within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow, except on the night I had the Dixie Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” stuck in my head. That night it took five to 10 minutes to fall asleep. No trouble here!
So?: If falling asleep or staying asleep are potential problems, tart cherry juice is absolutely worth a try. Beyond my own personal n=1 pilot study, several of my nutrition patients, friends and family members have also experienced an easier time falling asleep and staying asleep with just 4 ounces of tart cherry juice at bedtime.
And as a bonus, tart cherry juice has a hearty dose of antioxidants, provides some potential arthritis and inflammation relief, and it supplies half your day’s need for vitamin C in a low-cal, 4-ounce glass. If 4 ounces at bedtime doesn’t work, Dr. Andrew Weil suggests having 8 ounces in the a.m. and the p.m.
Try this tart cherry smoothie nightcap to help neutralize the tart in the juice. This one includes soy milk, which is also naturally rich in the sleepy-time amino acid tryptophan. Heck, you might want to sip it in bed in case you dose off midway through. Cheers!
Sundowner Smoothie
Serves 1 Wired Individual
-4 ounces tart cherry juice
-4 ounces unsweetened soy milk
-1 organic orange, peeled
-1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
-4 ice cubes
Blend until smooth. Tastier than chamomile tea for sure!
Nutrition info: 172 calories, 2 grams fat, 60 milligrams sodium, 33 grams carbohydrates, 3.5 grams fiber, 18 grams sugar, 4.5 grams protein, 8% vitamin A, 117% vitamin C, 20% calcium (200 milligrams), 3% iron.
For more information on how to optimize your health, visit bitchindietitian.com.
Photo credit: Harold Walfish
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By Guest Blogger on October 4, 2011
Imagine how American society would function if drug dealers pumped 150 to 175 pounds of heroin per person per year into the veins of the elderly, the middle-aged and the young alike. Legally.
Well, sugar, an addictive substance that speeds along the same brain pathways as heroin, enters the food supply in those quantities. The result of this sugar surge is that more than one in three adults now has either Type 2 diabetes or its harbinger, pre-diabetes. Include those under age 18, and 105 million Americans are harboring a life-threatening blood-sugar disorder.
As with any addiction, the sugar situation will only worsen barring drastic intervention and widespread lifestyle changes. Consuming too much sweet stuff is lighter fluid for Type 2 diabetes, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that by 2050, the disease, in its full form, will inhabit as many as one in three U.S. adults. Add in the far more numerous pre-diabetics, and you may be hard-pressed to find anyone with healthy glucose metabolism by the middle of the 21st century.
Many of these blood-sugar cripples won’t be capable societal contributors. They may be little more than sugar smack-heads. They’ll bankrupt our healthcare system with their chronic fatigue, dialysis treatments, amputations and the numerous other diabetic complications. A society with such an overwhelmingly diabetic population will no longer be viable economically, a much scarier prospect than that predicted in the dystopian novel, “Brave New World”, where addicts merely crave the comparatively less harmful Soma and then go do their assigned tasks.
Most Americans keep right on eating and drinking boatloads of sugar because, after all, they’re sugar junkies. I witnessed this phenomenon when I saw my father for the first time in 20 years in early 2008. He was lying in a hospital bed looking nearly cadaverous. His entire right leg had been amputated; his teeth had disintegrated amidst swollen gums. Despite this wretched condition, his mood brightened only when orderlies wheeled in a meal of mashed potatoes (along with chicken) and fruit, both of which quickly convert to glucose in the bloodstream. His fix had arrived. He was dying of diabetes, and yet his “caretakers” were still pumping him full of diabetes-friendly carbohydrates.
What’s more, my father openly longed for the bottle of root beer that was stashed away in a cabinet across the room, a scene I describe in “Sugar Nation”: He still indulged this diabetic’s poison even knowing that too much sugar cost him part of his body. This scene reminded me of a drug addict who has seen his life destroyed by the substance he can’t refuse. Only the worse off he becomes, the lousier he feels, the more he craves the very thing that sentenced him to this hell on earth.
How can the white stuff that kids and adults alike sprinkle on their cereal have this narcotizing power? Researchers at Princeton University have studied the effects of sugar on the brain chemistry of rats, and what they’ve found is that their subjects exhibit all the effects of heroin addiction. Sugar does this by triggering the release of the feel-good brain chemical dopamine in the section of the brain normally associated with addictive behaviors. The dopamine release produces a drug-like “high.” Yet the brain adapts. So it takes more of the substance—in this case, sugar—to produce the same effect.
According to lead researcher and Princeton psychologist, Bart Hoebel, PhD, “Our evidence from an animal model suggests that bingeing on sugar can act in the brain in ways very similar to drugs of abuse.”
Lessening the sugar stimulation only makes the body want more dopamine. Remove the substance altogether, and the sugar abuser experiences physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms. The body is addicted. Twinkies aren’t classified as a controlled substance, but for the glucose intolerant, perhaps they should be.
But there’s more to it in the case of my father and the rest of us who have reactive hypoglycemia, an underreported pre-diabetic condition in which blood sugar spikes in response to a heavy carb load. Then the pancreas overreacts by secreting too much insulin, too late, like an over-eager rookie cop coming across a crime scene after the fact. This insulin response drives blood sugar below 70 milligrams per deciliter, making your body crave quick-energy sugar not just for pleasure but also for survival. At this point, it’s not just your brain that’s craving glucose; cells throughout your body demand it, too.
I’d challenge anyone to find a drug whose effects are more powerful than a blood sugar drop from 160 to 50 in half an hour—the scale of my descent on a glucose tolerance test when I learned that I was pre-diabetic. Before I learned to avoid the sugar trigger, fatigue didn’t set in gradually; it hit with a whoosh. I felt as though I’d been shot by a tranquilizer capable of taking down an elephant in the wild. I’ve never taken narcotics recreationally, but I have used Vicodin after surgeries, and the feeling of that drug reminded me of a carb-induced blood-sugar crash. If that prescription pain med came in the form of a jelly doughnut, rather than a pill, you’d have some idea of the hold sugar had on me during childhood and throughout much of my adult life.
The good news is that there are simple rehab solutions to sugar addiction. I know, based on personal experience. Breaking the cycle means avoiding crashes. To do this, you need to eat protein, healthy fats, and fibrous vegetables for breakfast, a meal normally stocked with simple sugars and other fast-acting carbohydrates. Know the code names that are used to disguise sugar on food labels: dextrose/maltodextrin, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, sucrose and xylose. Avoid the foods whose packages list them. Better yet, switch from packaged to whole foods. Exercise daily, which not only helps usher sugar out of your bloodstream, but also produces good-vibe brain chemicals of its own, called endorphins.
So, we can change our fate. We know what to do to prevent this epidemic that will cripple us as individuals and as a society. But the question is: Will we take action before it’s too late?
Jeff O’Connell is the editor-in-chief of Bodybuilding.com and the author of “Sugar Nation” (Hyperion, 2011).
Photo credit: Dave Hoffman
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By Dr. Keith Block on September 30, 2011
Many people facing a diagnosis of cancer are looking for ways to release stress and tension. Yoga and mindfulness training that is, practices intended to cultivate present-moment awareness and relaxation are two of the best-studied options in this regard. But can such practices really help people with cancer?To answer this question, in this blog, I examine some of the most recent research findings concerning the potential benefits of yoga and mindfulness after a cancer diagnosis.
First off, there is little doubt that yoga can play a key role in helping you relax and enjoy a better quality of life, as indicated by a meta-analysis published online ahead-of-print in the March 9, 2011 issue of “Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine.” This analysis included a total of 10 studies in which cancer patients practicing yoga were compared to those not practicing yoga or receiving nothing more than “supportive therapy.” Based on comprehensive psychological assessments and pooling the findings from all ten studies, the yoga groups showed statistically significant lower levels of anxiety, emotional distress, depression and overall stress, when compared to the cancer patients in the control group.
Yoga incorporates a blend of elements: relaxation, meditation, imagery, controlled breathing, stretching and movement. Of my patients who practice yoga and/or mindfulness training on a regular basis, most report a greater sense of calm and improved sleep. Also, yoga can help with recovery from cancer treatments. For example, breast cancer patients may experience limited arm motion due to scarring from surgery and radiotherapy; yoga can increase flexibility as well as range of motion in the affected arm.
I mentioned above that better sleep is among the frequently reported benefits of practicing yoga. Exercise and sleep do seem to go hand in hand. Over the years, I have met many people who swear by this interrelationship: the better their exercise habits, the deeper and more satisfying their sleep tends to be. And because cancer patients frequently have problems with sleep, there is good reason to consider sleep as one of the worthwhile benefits of an integrative physical care program that includes yoga and possibly mindfulness training as well.
Researchers at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, recently conducted a randomized trial of cancer patients practicing Tibetan yoga, which involves a combination of movement and meditation. Reporting in a 2004 issue of the journal “Cancer,” Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., and his M.D. Anderson colleagues found that those patients who practiced Tibetan yoga for seven weeks had better overall sleep quality compared with lymphoma patients who did not practice yoga. The yoga-practicing patients went to sleep faster, slept longer and used less sleep medication than their non-practicing counterparts.
All of the patients in the yoga group reported that they found the program was beneficial, and more than half the group said they practiced at least twice a week during the follow-up period. While there was a trend toward improvement in such factors as fatigue, depression and anxiety, the only statistically significant difference between the two groups was sleep quality. As might be expected, patients practicing Tibetan yoga also had better energy levels and less daytime sleepiness.
Developed over thousands of years, the movements of Tibetan yoga are gentle and subtle. The two forms used in the intervention group, called Tsa lung and Trul khor, involve controlled breathing, visual imagery, and maintaining awareness of the present moment. Dr. Cohen hypothesized that Tibetan yoga might serve as a stress-reduction practice for people with cancer ? much like going to the gym is for many people who sit behind a desk all day. Based on the study’s outcome, he concluded that Tibetan yoga is particularly useful for people receiving and recovering from chemotherapy. In addition, one of the key findings in studying cancer patients who practice Tibetan yoga is that they also have more favorable cortisol profiles. This is very important, as cortisol is a stress hormone associated with chronic anxiety, depression, poor immune function and a worsening prognosis for breast cancer patients.
A recent study of the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) found that these practices led to statistically significant reductions in blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate, along with a more relaxed, present-moment awareness. The MBSR training also led to a statistically significant effect on the morning cortisol level, as reported online ahead-of-print in the October 2010 issue of “Western Journal of Nursing Research.”
More research is needed to determine whether the favorable effects of yoga and mindfulness training on cortisol levels hold true. However, if other studies find such an effect, it could very well be that such practices would help extend survival in people with cancer. My belief is that any practice that improves the quality of life and overall functioning of a person is worth pursuing, not only because quality of life itself is a worthwhile goal, but it has, in fact, been associated with improved survival.
For more information on how to optimize your health, visit lifeovercancer.com
Photo credit: MyNeChimKi
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By Guest Blogger on September 16, 2011
One of the most amazing things that happened to our father’s male heart patients while on his Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease diet was not that their cholesterol numbers went down, or their blood pressure numbers plummeted, or their weight dropped effortlessly, or their type 2 diabetes went away — it was that another part of their body was doubling in size.
I could not believe this HUGE piece of evidence was not gaining more attention in the medical field. What a motivational kick in the pants. Seriously, some patients need the proverbial skillet to the head announcing, “Stop eating all that penile artery-clogging grease, meat and cheese, if you want to get it up past the age of 40!”
Sure this is a message for men. But I jumped at the chance to write this because I am a woman. A married woman. And we married women depend on our men for some things in our crazy sexy lives.
A current estimate of the number of men in the United States who experience erectile dysfunction is 30 million. And not all cases are reported, as you can imagine.
Causes of erectile dysfunction can vary from type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, to smoking, neurological damage, depression and even certain medications.
The plant-strong approach to eating can combat the symptoms of erectile dysfunction for the aforementioned disease states, as well as the disease states themselves.
Here is how.
First, a snapshot of a healthy anatomy and physiology.
Our vascular system is everywhere in our bodies and is made up of an intricate network of blood vessels (also known as arteries and veins) that carry our blood throughout our body. The innermost lining of every artery is called the endothelium – a smooth, slippery surface that is spectacular for a number of reasons. We are going to focus on the endothelium’s ability to release nitric oxide, which when released dilates arteries.
Did you catch that? Nitric oxide can cause the small round tubes that carry our blood to expand – get bigger.
Nitric oxide is a gas.
Nitric oxide dilates arteries.
Nitric oxide is amazing.
So, in a healthy body when the brain sends the blood vessels a neurological message of, say …
“There is a tiger, run!”
“Save that child who is heading into traffic!”
“What just went bump in the night?”
… this causes the arteries in the legs to release nitric oxide, which dilates arterial walls, provides an increase in blood flow and the power to sprint to safety.
The same goes for the penile arteries – the ones that provide blood flow to the penis. The brain sends a neurological message of … say …
“Oh, the mood is right.”
“Hey, the kids are all at sleepovers.”
“Hey, the kids are all at college.”
“Thanks, for doing the dishes, honey.”
This triggers the arteries of the penis to release nitric oxide, which dilates arterial walls and provides increased blood flow to the corpora cavernosa (engorge-able) tissue of the penis. The engorgement of this tissue does something essential – it presses up against, compromises, sort of cuts off the flow of blood in the penile vein. This blocks drainage of blood out of the penis creating a blood-filled erection, a boner, a stiffy, a hard-on, you name it.
Now a snapshot of the unhealthy physiology.
The Standard American Diet (otherwise referred to as SAD) hardens and thickens the lining of the arteries. The fact that this plaque-y build-up within the arteries comes from eating a meaty, greasy, cheesy diet is widely known. Yet, lesser known, is the injury to the endothelium – that smooth, slippery innermost layer of blood vessels that releases nitric oxide. This is where we are focusing once again.
Day after day, meal after meal, bite after bite of highly processed, fatty foods injure the endothelium’s ability to function correctly. This sort of diet compromises the endothelium’s ability to release nitric oxide (gasp).
Dr. Vogel, Director of Clinical Vascular Biology from the University of Maryland, performed a brilliant experiment that showed how quickly the endothelium loses the ability to release nitric oxide after a fatty, processed meal. The insult is almost immediate.
Any male eating the standard American diet, pay heed if you enjoy your erections: No nitric oxide means no dilation – which means no increased blood flow – which means no squashing of the penile veins – which means no blood build up in the penis – which means no erection! Which means no …
The uplifting news is that a plant-strong diet filled with whole grains, greens, fruits, veggies, beans and berries literally cleans out the plaque coating the endothelium of the vascular system and repairs the endothelial cell’s ability to release nitric oxide.
My brother Rip ran a few pilot studies while writing The Engine 2 Diet. After eating a plant-strong Engine 2 Diet for 6 weeks, guys in the 30’s and 40’s reported back to Rip with exciting news:
“I am back to my high school blue-steel down there!”
“I have got the diamond-cutter back!”
“This diet has me gaining in other ways.”
These guys did not have any diagnosed diseases, but the self-assessed changes down there have convinced them of the power of plants.
So raise the flag!
Supply the blood-bank!
Keep it up!
Make that crouching tiger a hidden dragon!
Go plant-strong and be a pant–strong man so when your heart goes pitter-pat for your partner, you will not get angina, but vagina!
Jane Esselstyn RN is a nurse and a married mother of three. She loves presenting about disease prevention through nutrition and is a sex ed teacher to middle school boys and high school girls. They get the plant-strong message, respectfully: If you want a life filled with all those new erections you are experiencing, steer clear of a greasy, cheesy, meaty diet. And you will keep both your breasts at their best if you steer clear of cow’s breast milk.
Photo credit: norwichnuts
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