Disease Proof

Buckle up kids. We’ve got a tough sell on our hands this week. Marie’s Scrambler is a bonafide standard American restaurant, with all the trimmings; gallons of ooey-gooey cheese, piles of greasy bacon, and plenty of refined-grains to go around. Yeah, it’s pretty bad.

Try this one on for size, the Meat Market Scramble Wrap; loaded with bacon, sausage, ham, scrambled eggs, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, all wrapped up in a flour tortilla. Clearly, finding a Fuhrman-friendly option on this menu is going to be difficult.

And here’s my problem. I don’t eat meat or dairy. Right away this eliminates most of the menu. So, what’s left? Well, the Oatmeal and the Hot Granola look okay, but, they’re both made with milk. A major no-no for me, although, before I kick them to the curb, I’d ask the wait staff if either one could be prepared with hot water instead of milk. If so, I’d order either one, especially since they both include blueberries—one of Dr. Fuhrman’s super foods. Oh, the oatmeal and granola also come with brown sugar, I’m ditching that—brown sugar is no health food.

As far as breakfast goes, maybe the best option is the Fruit Bowl. What’s in it? I can’t say for sure, all the menu says is, “A heaping bowl of the season’s best fresh fruit.” A little ambiguous, but how bad could it be—its fruit! Other than the fruit, the only other things I’d consider ordering would be one their muffins or maybe some toast. I know, I know—not exactly wholesome natural food! Agreed, it’s a lousy option and a huge concession, but in my mind refined grains are a few clicks above cheese and meat, so if push comes to shove, it’s a concession I’m willing to make. Although, the guilt would eat me alive—no pun intended—I’d be hitting the gym extra hard that week.

Alright, aside from the Fruit Bowl, breakfast is hopeless, onto lunch. No surprises here, the only dishes to catch my eye are salads. For example, take the Spinach Salad; prepared with spinach leaves, bacon, tomatoes, red onion, hard boiled eggs, croutons, and hot bacon dressing—talk about ruining a good thing. Okay, the bacon is out, so are the eggs, the croutons too, and the bacon dressing should be launched into space. Minus all that junk you’re left with a pretty basic salad, if I could get a little vinegar to top it off with, I’d be in business and concession free—not bad, right?

Same goes with the Polynesian Salad and the House Salad. Between them they include lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, Monterey Jack, mushrooms, carrots, grilled chicken, pineapple, diced ham, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Now, you know what I’m going to say next. All the cheese has got to go, same with the bacon, chicken and ham, and again, I’d keep the salad dressing as basic as possible. If I do this, I’d feel pretty good about myself. Walking away concession-free at this place is a badge of courage. Dare I say worthy of the Purple Heart?

Now, there are other things on the menu you might want to try experimenting with, like the Garlic Portabella ciabatta sandwich. If you get past the bread, this might make a so-so option. It includes a portabella mushroom cap, garlic, herbs, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, and a combination of melted cheeses. If you eighty-six the cheese, compromise on the bread, and order a side of fresh fruit its not so bad. Heck, the ciabatta might not be my first choice, but I wouldn’t rule it out, after all, that's a lot of veggies—i.e. phytonutrients.

Yeah, that was rough. I can’t imagine Eat to Livers lining are up to grab a table at Marie’s Scrambler. There’s got to be better alternatives out there, oh wait, there are; Arnold's Way, Sacred Chow, Veganopolis, and Pure Food and Wine to name a few. But let me know what you think. Check out Marie’s Scrambler’s menu and let us know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com.

Who’s tired of animals eating fruits and veggies? I’m not. Here’s a skink nibbling on some strawberries and bananas. Enjoy:

Adapted from Dr. Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live:

Do not expect to receive valuable health advice from your typical doctor. Physicians usually do not help; they rush through their patient appointments, especially in the current HMO climate, because they are paid so poorly for each visit and are pressured to see as many patients as possible each day. Your physician is likely doing just as poorly as you are and eating just as unhealthfully or worse. With proper nutritional intervention you could improve his health and reduce his risk of premature death more than he could help yours. Even when physicians offer their fullest time and effort, their recommendations are invariably too mild to have a significant benefit.

Drs. Randall S. Stafford and David Blumenthal, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, reviewed the records of more than 30,000 office visits to 1,521 U.S. Physicians of various specialties and found that doctors measured patients’ blood pressure during 50 percent of the visits. However doctors tested their patients’ cholesterol levels only 4.6 percent of the time. Physicians offered patients advice on how lose weight in 5.8 percent of the visits, and suggestions on how smokers could quit 3 percent of the time. On average, doctors gave patients advice on dietary and other changes that can help lower cholesterol in 4.3 percent of the visits, and advice on exercise in 11.5 percent of the visits. When records were reviewed in those who had cardiovascular disease, the typical (almost worthless) dietary counseling and exercise was usually never even mentioned.1 Obviously we have a long way to go.
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A couple months ago we learned that Vitamin D plays an important role in physical performance levels of the elderly. Here’s what Eric Nagourney of The New York Times reported:

The researchers, led by Denise K. Houston of Wake Forest University, drew on data from an Italian study in which more than 900 people 65 and older were tested for vitamin D levels and asked to perform several tasks. The researchers looked at how fast they walked, how quickly they could get out of a chair and how well they could balance.


By some estimates, about a quarter of elderly people do not get enough vitamin D. But it is not purely a matter of diet, the researchers said, because much of the body’s vitamin D comes from exposure to sunlight. Older people may be less likely to be in the sun, said the researchers, who also pointed out that skin produces vitamin D less well as it ages.

And now, Dutch research has determined the same thing. Vitamin D deficiency may be responsible for declining physical performance in seniors. Charnicia Huggins of Reuters reports:

"Physicians and the general public should be made more aware of the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, and more effort should be concentrated on the early detection and treatment of people with suboptimal levels of vitamin D," study co-author Dr. Paul Lips, of VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, and his colleagues write.


Previous research has shown that low vitamin D status is not uncommon among seniors, which may be explained by their decreased exposure to sunshine, reduced dietary consumption of vitamin D, and reduced capacity to naturally synthesize the vitamin. This deficiency is known to result in bone loss and fractures, among other bone and muscle-related problems.

The research may be different, but the message remains the same—vitamin D is important! Especially for older people, I’ll let Dr. Fuhrman explain why. From Importance of Vitamin D:

Americans age 50 and older are at increased risk of developing vitamin D deficiency. As people age, skin cannot synthesize vitamin D as efficiently, and the kidney is less able to convert vitamin D to its active hormone form. It is estimated that as many as 30-40 percent of older adults with hip fractures are vitamin D insufficient.1 Therefore, older adults especially benefit from supplemental vitamin D.

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ParentDish relays a story about a mom that may lose custody of her kids—why? Because she’s vegan. Read on:

Gail Nelson-Folkerson's estranged husband Jeff has filed a court application seeking primary custody of their five children (quintuplets, no less), citing control issues and the fact that she will not allow the kids to eat meat, eggs or dairy.


Obviously, the Father sees Veganism as unhealthy for his kids, though vegans would disagree arduously, noting that animal-free diets teach animal compassion and respect for other life while avoiding hormones infused in animal products and also avoiding junk like hamburgers and gravy.

I’m no lawyer, but, I can’t imagine any judge taking this seriously. What do you think?

Last year The New York Times took a look at the diabetes epidemic ravaging New York City. The series revealed that genetics (and a poor diet) give Asians and Hispanics an increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes. From Living at an Epicenter of Diabetes, Defiance and Despair:

The fact that East Harlem is roughly 90 percent Hispanic and black, groups believed to have a genetic predisposition to the disease, explains part of the problem. There are also other factors: bad food habits, little exercise, rampant poverty and, according to health officials, poor access to medical care.

More from East Meets West, Adding Pounds and Peril:

Asians, especially those from Far Eastern nations like China, Korea and Japan, are acutely susceptible to Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease and the subject of this series. They develop it at far lower weights than people of other races, studies show; at any weight, they are 60 percent more likely to get the disease than whites.

And here’s a reminder that diabetes can effect everyone, regardless of race, religion, creed, or whatever. New research has determined that white children have the highest rate of type-1 diabetes in the United States. Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters reports:

"We found more type 1 diabetes than we expected in whites, blacks and Hispanics," said Dr. Dana Dabelea of the University of Colorado in Denver, who led the study.


"Although the rates of type 2 diabetes are relatively low, we did find type 2 in all racial and ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic whites," she said in a telephone interview.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections.

Now, you don’t have to suffer needlessly from type-1 or type-2 diabetes. Dr. Fuhrman believes that a nutrient-dense vegetable-based diet is essential for improving a diabetic’s quality of life and, in the case of type-2 diabetes, curing the disease. Check out these posts:

Don't Settle For Diabetes
I have achieved marked success with diabetic patients and the success at becoming "non diabetic" or almost "non-diabetic" regularly occurs on the Eat to Live program whether the patient follows a strict vegan diet or not. I describe the diet-style as a "vegetable-based" diet because the base of the pyramid is vegetables, not grains. Even though most animal products are excluded, it is not necessary to adopt a completely vegan diet to achieve the goals. I offer patients the choice of adding two servings a week of low fat fish, such as tilapia, flounder, sole, and scrod, as well as an egg white omelet, once or twice each week. A few servings of very low saturated-fat animal products each week can be interspersed with the vegan meals without diminishing the results achievable from the vegetable-based diet.

Hope for Type 1 Childhood Onset Diabetics
With a truly health-supporting lifestyle, including exercise and real food designed by nature, the type 1 diabetic can have the same potential for a long, disease-free life as everyone else. Even though the type 1 diabetic still will require exogenous (external) insulin, they will no longer need excessive amounts of it.

We all know veggies are great to eat, but they also make great action heroes! Take a look:


The force is strong with you my young pepper.

The director of "Sicko" seems to have taken his own message to heart. The often scrutinized filmmaker has lost a bunch of weight. Here are some of his weight-loss tips via Diet-Blog:

1. Increase Your Physical Activity: Walk 30-40 minutes a day - "sweat a bit" says Moore.
2. Start your breakfast each day with Oatmeal. "I eat at least 35 grams of fiber every day. Eat foods that are heavy in weight but low in calories."
3. Diets? "Like every overweight person, I’ve tried everything. Weight Watchers, no white food, etc. None of them work, and they’re a huge waste of time."
4. Get enough sleep. Moore believes that most overweight people do not sleep enough and now tries to sleep between 7-8 hours a night.

Love him or hate him, this is some pretty sound advice. Although, that’s a little too much oatmeal for my liking—I’d have fruit withdrawals!

Antioxidants, where do they come from? Diana Kohnle of HealthDay News has a quick list of sources. Take a peek:

• Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits and juices; berries and other fruits; dark green vegetables; red and yellow peppers.
• Vitamin E, found in vegetable oils, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables.
• Selenium, found in whole grains, most vegetables, chicken, eggs, and most dairy products.
• Beta carotene, found in colorful fruits and vegetables like broccoli, spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, red and yellow peppers, apricots, cantaloupes and mangoes.

Dr. Fuhrman would take issue with vegetable oil. In fact, Dr. Fuhrman doesn't consider oil to be all that healthy, even the long-heralded olive oil. He talks about it in Cholesterol Protection for Life:

I know you were told that olive oil is health food. It is not. Keep in mind, oil is processed food, it is not a natural whole food. Oils, even if they are monounsaturated, should not be health food because they are low in nutrients and contain 120 calories per tablespoon, promoting weight gain.


Sure, olive oil and almond oil are improvements over animal fats and margarine, but they still are a contributor to our overweight modern world. Overweight Americans consume and average of three tablespoons of oil in their daily diet, adding and extra 360 calories to their food each day. You need to reach a thinner, ideal weight to achieve maximum protection against heart disease and to reverse heart disease. Use oil, even olive oil sparingly or not at all; certainly, do not have more than one teaspoon per day.

I’m not sure if this would deter people, but the American Medical Association wants fast food restaurants to display the nutrition facts of their food. Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters reports:

The influential physicians' group said the information should be easy to understand and include calorie, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium content.


"One of the key things to address in the obesity epidemic is that people know what they're eating," AMA President Dr. Ronald Davis told reporters at a news briefing.

"We would like voluntary action now, but we will also be calling for policies ... at the local, state and national levels to require chains to do this," Davis said.

He noted the privately held Subway fast-food chain already lists grams of fat on its menu board.

"We would like to see other restaurant chains doing that voluntarily. We also would like to see other detailed information on their menus, where there is more room -- information like calories, grams of fat, grams of sodium and so on," Davis said.

From Dr. Fuhrman’s book Fasting and Eating for Health:

Fat in the diet of the diabetic not only accelerates the disease process but also interferes with the uptake of glucose by the cells, thus further raising the blood glucose level.

Experiments described in the medical literature have tested the effects of high-fat diets on insulin intolerance. In one study, healthy young medical students were fed a very high fat diet containing egg yolks, heavy cream, and butter, and within two days all of the students had blood sugar levels high enough to be labeled diabetic.1 Complex carbohydrates have been shown to have the opposite effect.2

Fat in the food we eat prevents the proper utilization of insulin and more insulin is needed to process the glucose when fats are included in the meal. Additionally, the fat on one’s body makes the cells resistant to insulin, and the pancreas must produce more insulin to compensate. This is due not only to the additional insulin demanded by the extra body mass of fat cells, but also to the fact that the fat in and around normal tissue, like muscle and internal organs, interferes with insulin uptake into these tissues. The major contributors to fat in the American diet are animal source foods such as meat, fowl, fish, and dairy products, as well as cooking or salad oils.
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The new weight-loss drug Alli comes with a nasty side effect and the comedians are having fun with it. Karl Stark of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

Alli (pronounced al-EYE) went on sale for the first time about a week ago — a stronger prescription form, Xenical, has been available since 1999 — and its promotional material alone makes for strong medicine: The drug, which helps people lose small amounts of weight, can cause oily discharges, uncontrolled bowel movements, and gas if you eat too much fat.


Its marketing effort makes an impression by telling users to wear dark pants and carry extra clothes in case they soil themselves.

"Well, that sounds attractive, doesn't it?" Jay Leno cracked Monday on "The Tonight Show." "You lost a couple of pounds, and you're on a date with that special girl. 'Excuse me while I change my pants.' "

NBC's Conan O'Brien also spoke up to pooh-pooh Alli, suggesting that "the drug comes in three forms: pills, capsules and chimichangas."

Even the serious Boston-based Prescription Access Litigation Project, which often sues drug companies, got gleeful. It gave the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline its "With Allies Like This, Who Needs Enemas?" Award for Irresponsibly Selling a Formerly Prescription-Only Weight Loss Drug Over-the-Counter.

New research claims that diabetics can lose weight with portion control. Robert Preidt of HealthDay News reports:

Over six months, about half of 122 patients (average age 56) used the portion-control plates and bowls, while the rest of the patients received usual care consisting of dietary assessments and teaching by dietitians.


The patients who used the portion-control plates and bowls lost an average of 1.8 percent of their body weight, compared to an average of 0.1 percent among those who received usual care.

The University of Calgary researchers also found that 16.9 percent of the patients who used the portion-control plates and bowls, which were donated by a U.K. company called The Diet Plate, lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 4.6 percent of patients who received usual care.

This is all well and good, but, Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t think portion control is a great idea. Actually, he finds it kind of futile. Here’s an example why, from Bad News for Portion Control:

It is meaningless to compare foods by weight or portion size. Let me provide an example to explain why this is the case. Take one teaspoon of melted butter, which gets 100 percent of its calories from fat. If I take that teaspoon of butter and mix it in a glass of hot water, I can now say that it is 98 percent fat-free, by weight. One hundred percent of its calories are still from fat. It didn’t matter how much water or weight was added, did it?

Crabs eat lettuce? Apparently they do, and, they actually beg for it. Look:

At least it seems that way. Because despite a recent report linking aspartame with cancer, the FDA doesn’t think there’s any reason to review its safety—man, that FDA sure is progressive. More from Reuters:

Morando Soffritti of the Ramazzini Foundation in Bologna, Italy, and colleagues tested aspartame in rats, which they allowed to live until they died naturally.


Their study of more than 4,000 rats showed a lifetime of eating high doses of the sweetener raised the likelihood of several types of cancer.

"On the basis of the present findings, we believe that a review of the current regulations governing the use of aspartame cannot be delayed," Soffritti's team wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectivesexternal, which is published by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

"This review is particularly urgent with regard to aspartame-containing beverages, heavily consumed by children."

FDA spokesman Michael Herndon said the agency had not yet reviewed the study.

"However, the conclusions from this second European Ramazzini Foundation are not consistent with those from the large number of studies on aspartame that have been evaluated by FDA, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies," Herndon said in an e-mail.

"Therefore, at this time, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."

Personally, I avoid artificial sweeteners like the plague. They’re fake, chemically created junk—why chance it? Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t trust them either. In Eat to Live he calls a spade a spade, take a look:

Sweeteners cause brain tumors and seizures in animals, a legitimate health concern exists, despite the FDA’s declaration that aspartame is safe. In the past twenty years, brain tumor rates have risen in several industrialized countries, including the United States. Aspartame was introduced to the American market several years prior to the shaper increase in brain tumor incidence.1 This suggests to me that the potential danger of aspartame should more carefully studied.

Dr. Fuhrman goes on to explain that aspartame plays into our dangerous food addictions—not good—and here’s why, back to Eat to Live:

Clearly this is a controversial subject because much of the research documenting the so-called safety of aspartame was financed by the aspartame industry, and a huge amount of political and monetary pressure led to eventual FDA approval. My opinion is that the possible dangers of aspartame are still unknown. Utilizing such artificial products is gambling with your health. Aspartame also exposes us to a methyl ester that may have toxic effects. I recommend playing it safe and sticking to natural foods. Getting rid of your addictions to unsafe substances is valuable in achieving long-term success.

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So, how is the ban on trans-fat going? Well, according to the Associated Press, it’s going swimmingly. In fact, most eateries have changed oil days before New York City’s July 1st deadline. David B. Caruso reports:

The trans fat overhaul is viewed as a major victory by health advocates. Trans fats, found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, clog arteries and contribute to heart disease. But they are also cheaper and have a longer shelf life, so industry at first stubbornly resisted dumping them.


That began to change last winter.

Cooking oil companies had already ramped up production of trans-fat alternatives. Restaurant supply companies began stocking kitchens with replacement products.

Big fast food chains that relied heavily on the old oils, from Burger King to Carl's Jr. to Kentucky Fried Chicken, announced they would eliminate the stuff from their fryers nationwide.

Even McDonald's, which had anguished over the potential impact on its french fries, said its phase-in of the new oils in thousands of restaurants has gone unnoticed by customers.

Although this is only half the battle, because as the report points out, some restaurants are still resisting the mandate requiring them to post calorie-content on their menus—eh, you can’t them all.

This ABC News report attempts to explain why kids get migraines, and, I think it does a good job, but, I wish they talked more about food triggers and less about medication treatment options. What do you think? Take a look:


Now, Dr. Fuhrman treats migraine suffers by focusing on their diet. He talks about it in Eat to Live. Here’s an excerpt:

My experience in treating migraine and severe-headache patients with a more comprehensive nutritional approach has shown that 90 to 95 percent of patients are able to remain headache-free after the first three-month period. These patients avoid common migraine triggers, but also in the healing phase they adhere to a strict natural-food vegan diet of primarily fruits and vegetables rich in natural starches like potatoes and brown rice. These patients must avoid all packaged and processed foods, which are notorious for containing hidden food additives, even though they are not disclosed on the labels. They also avoid all added salt.

Oh, and be sure to check out today’s post Retained Toxins are the Major Cause of Headaches.

From Dr. Fuhrman’s book Fasting and Eating for Health:

The standard theory that tension headaches are caused by widening of the blood vessels and migraines are caused by constriction of the blood vessels has been disproven in recent investigations.1 The evidence now illustrates that similarities between migraine and other types of headaches rather than the differences. The major cause of both tension headaches and migraines is the retention of toxins or tissue irritants within the central nervous system. These chemical irritants may cause an oversensitivity of nerve tissue to other stimuli.

It has also been shown that tissue waste, such as nitric oxide and other irritating chemicals, can be released from both the nerves and blood vessels in the central nervous systems.2 These recent findings illustrate the biochemical players associated with detoxification in the central nervous systems. Withdrawal from toxins either taken orally or self-produced within the body is a form of detoxification. This merely means the body is actively engaged in an effort to lower the levels of waste retained in our cells. Sometimes this release of waste from cells can be painful; nevertheless, it has a positive benefit to the body. Our cells and the tissue they comprise must continually strive to maintain their purity to prevent early cellular degeneration and premature cell death.
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Well, the odd certainly gets an audience here on DiseaseProof. Late last year we learned that snail venom might actually work as a pain medication, and now, gila monster spit for weight-loss—no, I’m not joking. Robert Preidt of HealthDay News reports:

The Gila monster is a venomous lizard that lives in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.


This study of 217 patients found that three years of treatment with the drug exenatide (brand name Byetta) resulted in sustained, progressive weight loss averaging 11 pounds. Many of the patients also showed sustained reductions in blood sugar levels and in blood biomarkers that indicate liver injury.

The findings were to be presented Monday at the annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association, in Chicago.

"Overweight and weight gain is an almost universal problem for people with diabetes," lead researcher Dr. John Buse, chief of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement. Buse is also the ADA's president-elect for medicine and science and will become president in September.

And it seems especially bad for little kids. New research has determined that drinking too much sugar-sweetened beverages at a young age makes kids twice as likely to be overweight later. Juhie Bhatia of HealthDay News is on it:

Canadian researchers found that 2- to 4-year-olds who regularly drank sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks and fruit drinks between meals were more than twice as likely to be overweight at age 4 1/2, compared to kids who didn't drink these beverages.


"There have not been a lot of studies like this in preschool children, we see more in adolescents," said study author Lise Dubois, a Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Population Health and an associate professor in the department of epidemiology and community medicine at the University of Ottawa. "These children are not old enough to buy their own beverages, so, in this case, the products are in the house, and the parents are giving these drinks to their children."

The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Makes sense to me, just check out the graph in yesterday’s post High-Fructose...Still Rotten.

The NBA big man is whipping kids into shape on his new show:

(Via TrueHoop)

Lemon Zest Spinach

1 1/4 pounds fresh organic spinach or 4 bags organic baby spinach
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons pine nuts
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Steam spinach and garlic until spinach is just wilted. Place in bowl and toss in remaining ingredients. Serves 4.

D'Anjou Veggies

4 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 carrots, chopped
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, cut in large pieces
1 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked for at least an hour & cut up
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
1/4 cup fresh parsely, chopped
4 teaspoons Dr. Fuhrman's D'Anjou Pear Vinegar
1/2 cup sesame seeds or coconut, toasted (optional)

Saute' vegetables, seasonings and parsely in 1/8 cup water until vegetables are just fork-tender. Add vinegar and saute' 2 more minutes. If desired, place sesame seeds or coconut in a small pan and toast on low heat, stirring constantly until light brown. Sprinkle over veggie mixture. Serves 4.

Acorn Squash w/ Apples and Pecans

1 acorn squash
1 medium apple, chopped
1/2 cup raw pecans, chopped
1/4 cup raisins or currants
cinnamon, to taste

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place face down in a baking pan. Add 1/8 inch of water. Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix apples, pecans and raisins together in a small bowl. Take squash out of oven and place apple mixture in hollowed out bowl of squash. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover loosely with foil and bake another 30 minutes, or until squash and apples are soft. Serves 4.

Earlier in the month we learned that Omega-3s help with blood pressure, and today, Reuters reports Omega-3s boost baby’s brainpower. More from reporter Amy Norton:

Researchers found that 9-month-olds whose mothers had eaten DHA-fortified bars during pregnancy performed better on a test of problem-solving abilities than infants whose mothers had not added DHA to their diets.


DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, is one of the major omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish like salmon, sardines and tuna. Because of the fat's vital role in brain development, experts recommend that pregnant women get 300 milligrams (mg) of DHA each day.
However, research shows that few U.S. women meet this goal.

The new findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that women who do get adequate DHA may aid their infants' cognitive abilities.

ParentDish ponders, is organic really worth it? Let’s see if it is:

I like my apples with some holes, my peppers to be irregular, my blueberries to not be the size of car-tires, please. I am also cognizant of my footprint of the earth, much more so now that I've had Nolan. I feel like buying organic is a lighter tread on the earth. I have no idea why I feel that, though, especially since I heard on the radio the other day that organic food might actually put more strain on the earth because it has to travel such a distance to get to most local markets. I'm not sure whether it's true, but it certainly made me think.

For Dr. Fuhrman talking about organic, give this post a whirl: Is Organic Food Safer?

Amie Hamlin is the Executive Director of the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food, and, she’s steamed over the resistance to the idea of feeding kids healthfully. Here’s a recent Op-Ed piece she wrote for the Buffalo News. Look:

Contrary to food industry public relations, there are good and bad foods. Whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense plant foods contribute to good health. Schools should be setting a good example by focusing on these foods. Children go to school to learn. When schools offer foods that are inconsistent with what is being taught about nutrition, what message are we giving them?


Children will not starve in a healthy school food environment. They eat junk food because adults make it available and give them money to buy it. Schools are undermining the efforts of parents who feed their children healthfully at home. And for kids whose parents are not setting a good example at home, it’s even more important that schools offer only healthy choices.

Be sure to check out Amie’s website: www.healthylunches.org

Reporter Emily Sohn takes a long look at the highs and lows of caffeine consumption:

"As soon as you say coffee, people think caffeine; as soon as you say caffeine, people think coffee," says Terry Graham, a metabolic physiologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, a longtime caffeine researcher who recently organized an international symposium on caffeine and health. Scientists have isolated antioxidants, polyphenols, and micronutrients from coffee and tea, but there have been no long-term studies of how each ingredient, including caffeine, affects the body on its own or within a beverage.


"There are health benefits of coffee that have nothing to do with caffeine," Graham says. In fact, he adds: "There are no health benefits I've ever seen documented for caffeine."

Soft drinks are hardly part of a healthy diet. Why? That darn high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)! According to Dr. Fuhrman, HFCS is one of the major reasons obesity has been on the rise in this country. From Disease Proof Your Child:

Obesity rates have risen in tandem with soda consumption in the United States, and in the last twenty years the consumption of soft drinks by teenagers had doubled.1 Twelve to nineteen-year-old boys consume thirty-four teaspoons of sugar a day in their diet, and about half of that comes from soft drinks. Children start drinking soft drinks at a very young age, and advertisements and promotions by the soft drink manufacturers are aggressively marketed to the young.

Source: Data from the National Soft Drink Association, Beverage World, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org)

And here’s more reason to avoid HFCS. E.J. Mundell of HealthDay News reports on new research linking fructose to poor artery health. Read on:

The type of sugar in a sugary drink may impact how healthy -- or unhealthy -- it is for arteries, a new study suggests.


Fructose-sweetened drinks are more likely to provoke the development of fatty artery deposits in overweight adults than glucose-sweetened beverages, researchers say.

Kimber Stanhope, of the University of California at Davis, and colleagues compared the results of drinking fructose-sweetened beverages versus glucose for 10 weeks in overweight and obese adults.

Participants ate a balanced diet with 30 percent fat and 55 percent complex carbohydrates. Thirteen of the participants also consumed glucose-sweetened drinks, while 10 drank fructose-sweetened drinks.

The researchers found that 9 weeks later, 24-hour post-meal triglyceride (blood fat) levels went up after 2 weeks of fructose-sweetened drink but went down in those who consumed glucose-sweetened drinks.

Those who drank fructose-sweetened drinks also had a boost in fasting blood concentrations of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and other measures. Those levels were unaltered in those consuming glucose-sweetened drinks, however.

This hamster gets some lettuces, gives you the evil eye, and then, stuffs his face. Take a look:

Dr. Fuhrman makes it pretty clear. A nutrient-dense vegetable-based diet is the key to long-term health. Among other things, you’ll lose weight, prevent disease, and maintain healthy blood sugar. A good thing, because according to this report, high blood sugar is bad news if you’re pregnant. Carla K. Johnson of the Associated Press explains:

The research involved more than 23,000 pregnant women in nine countries. It found a surprisingly strong relationship between the blood sugar levels of the women and the rate of big babies and first-time Caesarean sections, said lead investigator Dr. Boyd Metzger of Northwestern University.


The newborns also were more likely to have low blood sugar levels and high insulin levels if their mothers' blood sugar levels were higher. The problems can lead to obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.

Large babies risk shoulder damage and other injuries if delivered vaginally and lead to more C-sections, which also pose health risks to mothers and babies.

Large babies were defined in the study as those bigger than 90 percent of those born in the local population, so large Thai babies would be smaller than large U.S. babies.

Be sure to check out Dr. Fuhrman on…

Okay, the work week is over, time to relax—but first! We’ve got to check in on the world of Eating to Live on the Outside. So, where are we headed this week? To sunny—Michigan! Well at least it’s not winter. Besides, I hear Michigan is beautiful, but, is it bliss? Let’s find out, as we explore this week's restaurant Café Bliss. Now, the name sounds promising, but does the menu live up to expectations? Saddle up troops, we’re going in.

Alright, first the appetizers, they look good—not perfect, but what is? For starters, I’m digging the Garlic Roasted Vegetable Paté, although, the word “roasted” makes me nervous. That usually means burnt and that spells acrylamides. But the buzz-word for Eating to Live on the Outside is concessions, and, its time to make one. So, beyond the acrylamides, the Paté comes with fresh vegetables, garlic, herbs, spices, and garlic-roasted crostini. Clearly the crostini is a refined grain concession, but all the veggies are enough to quell my worries. The Portabella Mushrooms are cool too, provided you ditch the butter—egad, butter! Besides the butter the mushrooms are prepared with spinach and pecans. Can you say nutrient-dense?

The salads have potential. There’s some tweaking to be done, but no serious overhauling. The House Salad is a fine option. It’s made with organic spring greens, fresh vegetables, Romano cheese, multi-grain croutons, and soy Dijon vinaigrette. Okay, goodbye cheese, adios croutons, and ciao vinaigrette! Instead of the vinaigrette I’d probably just put some vinegar on the salad—it’s a new habit I’ve been settling into. The Fresh Spinach Salad is probably an even better choice. It’s prepared with spinach, feta cheese, honey-roasted red peppers, black olives, pecans, baguette, and a poppy seed balsamic vinaigrette. Again, the cheese is out the window, same with the croutons, and I’ll toss the baguette too. So, the major concession here would be the honey on the roasted peppers—I can live with it. It’s a mantra; focus on the veggies…focus on the veggies…focus on the veggies.

Now the entrees, there’s hope here too. The Tofu Gahn is my first choice. It comes with marinated tofu, garlic tahini sauce, rice, and sautéed veggies. I mostly like it because its all veggie and the other entrees include fish, cheese, or chicken. The concession here is probably some olive oil or sesame oil, sautéed means cooked in oil and most likely that sauce includes some sort of oil, but regardless, I’d order it. I’m also feeling the Chinese Stir-Fry. They make it with chicken or tofu, ginger, garlic, orange peel, sautéed veggies, brown rice, and stir-fry sauce. I’d order the stir-fry with tofu, so that avoids the chicken issue. With that being said, the concessions here would be the sauce and the brown rice. Trust me, you could do worse—can you say Denny’s!

Well, that about does it. The desserts are too iffy, but, if you were feeling adventurous, maybe you give them a try, but that’s a lot of sweet. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it. I can do without. So overall, Café Bliss is pretty cool. If you’re feeling stranded in Michigan, an Eat to Liver can make Café Bliss work, but hey, what do I know? Check out Café Bliss’s menu and let us know how you eat to live on the outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com.

Okay, I’ve seen it all. The other day we had a salad eating cat and today—A DOG THAT EATS ORGANIC SALAD! Look:

Okay, a couple weeks ago we learned that watching entertaining TV can make you fat, and now, it seems TV can lead to poor diabetes control in children. Reuters reports:

The researchers evaluated 538 children and adolescents, average age 13 years, from the eastern part of Norway who had had type 1 diabetes for an average of about 5 years. The time spent watching television and time using a computer was obtained in interviews with the subjects or the parents of very young children.


The average A1C was 8.6%. This measurement is the amount of glycosylated hemoglobin in the blood in relation to the amount of normal hemoglobin, and reflects the degree to which blood glucose levels are controlled over the long term.

The investigators found that as the average number of hours spent in watching television increased, so did the participants' A1C level, their body mass index or BMI, and the total amount of insulin they needed on a daily basis.

From Dr. Fuhrman’s book Fasting and Eating for Health:

Therapeutic fasting can be compared to the recuperative therapy we rely on ever night when we sleep in order to charge the body for the next day. Excess stresses, whether from excess consumption of substances or from stressful physical and mental activities, impose negative biological effects on the body. Recuperation through sleep is responsible for rebuilding and preparing the body to handle the increasing demands. Rest and sleep enable the body to recover from the effects of these waking stresses, because the body can concentrate its repair efforts most effectively at this time when fewer demands are placed upon it.

Recuperation takes time, sometimes more time and effort than people recognize. The goal of fasting is to allow time to provide extended physiological rest for purposes of catching up with recuperative needs generated from the vicious cycle of overactivity, over stimulation, and dietary indiscretions.

More proof that “diet food” is pretty much just over-glorified junk. Apparently some Weight Watchers foods in Australia contain hydrogenated oils. Diet-Blog is on it:

Weight Watchers Australia has come under criticism for using hydrogenated vegetable oils in its branded dessert foods. Please note that this applies to mousse and custard products only in Australia and New Zealand.


This issue of "diet" food is an interesting one. The Weight Watchers plan (which is arguably one of the most respected weight loss programs) does not require any "special" foods.

So why the need for branded foods?

Weight Watchers relies on the "Points" system - whereby certain nutritional components of a food are aggregated into a single value: the number of points. Ready-made branded foods have the points value listed on the box - so presumably this makes shopping slightly easier.

Baby food is gross. Walk down the baby food isle of your local supermarket, just a wall of pureed mush, a mosaic of browns and faded pastels—yum! Hardly, and now it seems some jars of baby food might have an added ingredient…pesticide. ParentDish relays the info:

I'm surprised that Generation X made it out of childhood. Our parents strapped us into adult seatbelts, or careened down the highway with us in their laps. We were just as likely to be formula fed as breastfed, and our canned baby food contained salt, sugar, artificial preservatives and even lead and pesticides. Awesome.


The truth is, parenting in the late seventies and early eighties seemed a lot more freewheeling than it is today. Today's babies are carefully strapped into cars with latch systems and five-point harnasses. Moms hear repeated whispers of "breast is breast, breast is best" from the time of conception to two years post-partum. And almost all baby food today is made without preservatives, as naturally as possible. Even though we fluked our way through our childhood, let it be said that Gen X's babies are very harnessed and educated and well-fed.

From Dr. Fuhrman’s book Fasting and Eating for Health:

Many experiments in animals and observational studies in humans show that both severe malnutrition and overnutrition significantly lower resistance to disease. Longevity studies on humans excluding smokers, drinkers, and the chronically ill illustrate that the leanest live the longest.1 Though thinness is not the only criteria for health, it is undeniable that a person in good health, on a nutritious diet, who is below average weight has by far the best chance for a long life. The National Institute of Health also reports the same conclusion: when smokers and those with a disease that causes thinness are excluded, the greatest longevity is found in those whose weight is below average.2

When the diet is without deficiencies, minimum caloric intake greatly increases resistance to infectious disease. There are a host of mechanisms that strengthen our immune system and make the “soil” unwelcome for microbes when the body is not overfed. After studying various population groups, including underfed wartime prisoners, researchers have concluded that resistance to disease is highest on what would generally be considered an inadequate diet.3 It has been noted that when epidemics struck wartime prison camps, the underfed prisoners had a much lower morbidity than their overfed captors.

When we contract a viral infection and lose our appetites, nature is telling us to fast. It is a means the body has of powerfully exciting white blood cell activity and releasing more immune system modulators, such as interferon, thus enabling the body to more quickly and effectively recover.

The best way to guard against nutritional excesses, while still maintaining optimal assimilation of all essential nutrients, is to consume an abundance of natural plant products that are rich in vitamins and minerals. At the same time one must avoid empty calorie, processed food, fats, refined carbohydrates, and animal products, which are high in fat and protein and deficient in the nutrients that are most protective to our system.
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Reuters reports that consuming foods that are low in nutrients, but high calories is a one way street to fat town. Charnicia Huggins has more:

Foods that fill you up without packing a ton of calories can help in the battle of the bulge, results of a new study suggest.


In the study, obese women who reduced the "energy density" of their diet by cutting their intake of fats and adding more fruits and vegetables lost more weight over a 12-month period, and felt less hungry, than did those who simply reduced their fat intake.

"Incorporating low calorie-dense foods into the diet is an effective strategy for lowering calories and reducing hunger when you're trying to lose weight," study co-author Dr. Julia A. Ello-Martin, of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health.

"This is an approach that allows you to focus on the foods that you should be eating" rather than focusing on restricting calories, she added.

For more on this concept, check out this previous post:

• Foods That Make You Thin

In the spirit of The Meatrix, here’s how the Simpsons explain cattle farming:

Yeah, this article stinks of junk-science-sensationalism to me, but apparently new research has determined that obesity can actually cut your risk of dying after a heart attack. Steven Reinberg of HealthDay News reports:

"Once a heart attack has occurred and been optimally treated, obese patients switch to a more favorable prognosis compared to normal-weight patients," said lead researcher Dr. Heinz Joachim Buettner, the head of interventional cardiology at Herz-Zentrum Bad Krozingen, Germany.


But the finding is no license for Americans to pile on the pounds, since obesity has long been known as a major factor for bringing on heart attack in the first place.

"Every effort should continue to prevent and treat obesity, and this study should not be taken to mean that it is good for one's health to be overweight or obese," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

I feel silly having to bring this up, but since Americans love a good excuse to be fat. It’s worth mentioning that obesity sets you up for a whole host of health problems, such as cancer. Dr. Fuhrman explains in Disease-Proof Your Child:

Obesity increases the incidence of many common cancers. For example, a carefully designed study that tracked more than one million women for twenty-five years found that women who were heavier and taller as youngsters were 56 percent more likely to develop ovarian cancer.1

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I never thought I’d see the day. Just give this cat a salad and she’s good to go:

According to Robert Preidt of Healthday News a new study is being conducted to see whether or not the Mediterranean way of eating can prevent colon cancer. Read on:

Along with its emphasis on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, olive oil and nuts, the Mediterranean diet limits high fat meats and processed foods. The Healthy People 2010 diet -- from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- emphasizes fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with moderate fat intake and limits on saturated fat.


"Overall eating patterns appear to be more important for cancer prevention than intakes of specific nutrients or food groups. We hope this study will give us an indication of the benefits that a person's diet can have on health, especially in terms of reducing the risk of colon cancer," Zora Djuric, research professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and principal investigator on the Healthy Eating for Colon Cancer Prevention study, said in a prepared statement.

For Dr. Fuhrman’s thoughts on the Mediterranean Diet, check out this previous post:

• Sun Setting on the Mediterranean Diet

Personally, I’m not a vegetarian, but I do restrict my intake of animal products. For example, I don’t eat meat; no chicken, no beef, no turkey, no nothing, but, I do eat fish. So, does this mean I’m healthier than your standard American?

Well, according to Dr. Fuhrman the evidence is in my favor. In Cholesterol Protection for Life he points to the health advantages of a vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet like mine. From the book:

We do not know for sure. The preponderance of evidence suggests that either a near-vegetarian diet or a vegetarian diet is the best, especially for patients with heart disease. In the massive China-Oxford-Cornell Project, reduction in heart disease and cancer rates continued to be observed as participants reduced their animal-food consumption all the way down to 1.7 small servings per week. Under this level, there is not enough data available.


Some smaller studies suggest that a small amount of fish added to a vegetarian diet adds benefit, which is the result of the documented benefits from the increased DHA-fat from fish. This benefit can be achieved and heart reversal maximized on a strict vegetarian diet by including flaxseeds and nuts that contain omega-3 such as walnuts and the addition of a DHA supplement. Whether you are a strict vegetarian or not, your diet still must be plant-predominant to achieve protection against both heart disease and cancer.

But here’s the problem, most vegetarians still eat junky diets. Sure, they’re not eating a lot of meat, but many gorge themselves on imitation meat, processed soy foods, salt, sugar, and refined grains—yeah, not exactly Fuhrman-friendly. In Eat to Live Dr. Fuhrman discusses the soy issue:

This brings to mind my basic theme of nutritional biodiversity--eat a variety of plant foods, and do not eat a soy-based diet.


Most of the processed soy products can be tasty additions to a plant-based diet, but they are generally high in salt and are not nutrient-dense foods, so use them sparingly. In conclusion, the soybean is a superior food, containing the difficult-to-find omega-3 fats. Beans in general are superior foods that fight against cancer and heart disease, which is why you will benefit from using a variety of beans in your diet.

I know quite a few vegetarians who basically live off soy; soy chicken, soy nuts, soy bacon, soy sausage, soy cheese, etc, etc. So much processed food, so little natural wholesome plant matter. A dangerous combination because as Diet-Blog uncovers, many of these soy-based meat alternatives are hardly health food, and, they certainly shouldn’t be the cornerstone of a so-called health diet:

Here is a list of a few other restaurants that offer some vegetarian choices you might want to be aware of:

• Burger King Veggie Burger w/Cheese - 470 calories and 20 grams of fat. (A whopper junior has 410 calories & 24 grams of fat)
• Chilis Bar and Grill - Baked Potato bowl of Soup - 440 calories and 33 grams of fat.
• Uno’s Chicago Grill - Roasted Toasted Veggie Panini - 590 calories and 26 grams of fat.
• Ninety-Nine Restaurant Veggie Burger - 910 calories and 41 grams of fat.

And last but not least:

• Ruby Tuesday Veggie Burger- a whopping 943 calories and 52 grams of fat!

Now, I don’t think Dr. Fuhrman or Diet-Blog are being anti-soy—I’m certainly not, I drink soymilk and eat tofu—but, the important point to remember and Dr. Fuhrman would agree, there is no replacing a hearty amount of unaltered fruits and veggies.

Which would you prefer, a kick in the head or a punch in the nose? Yes, this is a very dumb question, but, it’s not all that different from this one posed by The New York Times. Reporter C. Claiborne Ray wants to know if eating fortified food is better than taking vitamins. Take a look:

“In some circumstances a pill might be preferable to an enriched food to make sure a person is getting enough of a specific nutrient,” Dr. Sheldon S. Hendler, co-editor of The Physicians’ Desk Reference for Nutritional Supplements said, “for example, for those on restricted diets, including calorie-restricted diets, for those with food allergies and sensitivities (like lactose intolerance) and for the elderly, who may not be able to eat enough of a particular food.” But eating a fortified food rather than taking a pill gives the added advantage of the food’s overall nutritional value, including valuable plant nutrients called phytonutrients, some of which may not even have been identified yet, as well as calories, fiber and water.

Now, Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t buy the hype of fortified foods. If you’re eating plenty of wholesome nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, seeds, and legumes—you don’t need the fortified food! So, here’s what Dr. Fuhrman had to say about Ray’s question:

Of course this article misses the whole point emphasized in modern nutritional research. That is when you attempt to meet you micronutrient requirements with supplements or fortified products you miss those thousands of phytonutrients that accompany produce that is naturally nutrient rich. So every fortified food you eat is increasing your risk of cancer by decreasing your dietary intake of a food that could have supplied those calories in a more nutrient complete package. Fortified foods = processed foods. Processed foods = obesity and cancer epidemic.

Plants are loaded with tons of health-promoting compounds. Take fruit for example, very strong medicine. From Eat to Live:

Researchers have discovered substances in fruit that have unique effects on preventing aging and deterioration of the brain.1 Some fruits, especially blueberries, are rich in anthocyanins and other compounds having anti-aging effects.2 Studies continue to provide evidence that more than any other food, fruit consumption is associated with lowered mortality from all cancers combined.2 Eating fruit is viable to your health, well-being, and long life.

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Okay, I’ve heard about mercury in the water, mercury in fish, and mercury in vaccinations, but, mercury in antique clocks? It’s true. According to the CDC some antiques can pose a mercury hazard. Michael Hill of the Associated Press reports:

The problem is that mercury in old items can leak, particularly as seals age or when the items are moved, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Ask Ann Smith, whose heirloom clock's pendulum leaked mercury onto the carpet of her gift store in rural Delhi, N.Y., as a cleaner moved it.

An attempt to vacuum the tiny silver balls off the carpet only made things worse, requiring a hazardous materials team to be dispatched to Parker House Gifts and Accessories last summer.

"I didn't really think it was the hazard that it became," Smith said. "I grew up in the days when you played with the mercury that spilled out of a thermometer and nobody knew it was a problem."

Mercury toxicity is a big deal, especially if you’re pregnant. Consider the dangers of eating mercury-tainted fish. From Eat to Live:

Higher levels of mercury found in mothers who eat more fish have been associated with birth defects, seizures, mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and cerebral palsy.1 This is mostly the result of women having eaten fish when they were pregnant. Scientists believe that fetuses are much more sensitive to mercury exposure than adults, although adults do suffer from varying degrees of brain damage from fish consumption.2 Even the FDA, which normally ignores reports on the dangers of our dangerous food practices, acknowledges that large fish such as shark, swordfish, and yellowfin and bluefin tuna, are potentially dangerous. Researchers are also concerned about other toxins concentrated in fish that can cause brain damage way before the cancers caused by chemical-carrying fish appear.

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Hey, we all know Dr. Fuhrman thinks breastfeeding is a smart move. One of it's critical function is supplying babies with important antibodies and nutrients. Dr. Fuhrman explains in Disease-Proof Your Child:

The antibodies derived from mother’s milk are necessary for maximizing immune system function, maximizing intelligence, and protecting against immune system disorders, allergies, and even cancer. The child’s immune system is still underdeveloped until age of two, the same age when the digestive tract seals the leaks (spaces between cells) designed to allow the mother’s antibodies access to the bloodstream. So picking the age of two as the length of recommended breast-feeding is not just a haphazard guess, it matches the age at which the child is no longer absorbing the mother’s immunoglobulins to supplement their own immune system. Nature designed it that way.

And this video report by ABC News provides even more reasons to breastfeed that baby:

According to new research a compound in soy called genistein may help improve bone mineral density. Kathleen Doheny of HealthDay News is on it:

After two years, those taking the soy product had better bone mineral density than those taking placebo. "[Even] after one year, there was a clear difference in the women who got the genistein," said Steven Wilson, a biostatistician at National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, and a co-author of the study, published June 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.


The research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education and the University of Messina, Italy.

Genistein, an isoflavone phytoestrogen, is found abundantly in soybean products. Experts who study it hope it can build bone without the adverse side effects -- such as increased risk of heart disease and certain cancers -- associated with hormone replacement therapy.

In the study, a team led by Dr. Francesco Squadrito of the Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico, Messina, randomly assigned 389 women who were past menopause (ages 49 to 67) to take either 54 milligrams of genistein daily for 24 months or a placebo pill.

For more on soy and how Dr. Fuhrman feels about soy-based foods, check out these previous posts:

• Too Much Soy?
• Soy's Anti-Cancer Effects
• Report: Fish and Soy Cut Cancer Risk

Oh, and if you’re curious to see what a soybean harvest looks like, enjoy this video—it’s even set to music:

Crazy about Carrot Salad

8 medium carrots, shredded
1/2 cup raisins
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste

Combine carrots and raisins. Add orange juice and cinnamon and mix all together.

Carrot Salad

5 carrots, thinly sliced
16 ounces mixed salad greens
1 1/2 cups grapes, halved
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup carrot juice
2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman’s Riesling Raisin Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest
1/2 teaspoon Spike no salt seasoning
1/2 cup Goji berries (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, minced or 1 tsp dried

In a medium saucepan, bring the carrots and 1/2 cup water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered until just tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to bowl. When cooled, add salad greens and grapes. In a blender or Vita-Mix, combine the orange juice, carrot juice, cashew butter, vinegar, VegiZest, Spike, and 1/4 cup of the Goji berries. Blend until smooth and creamy. Mix in tarragon and remaining Goji berries and pour over the carrots, salad greens and grapes and toss.

Carrot Apple Salad

1 pound carrots, shredded
1 gala apple, diced
1 orange, the juice of
1 handful raisins
1 handful walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon