Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

If you’re a sports fan you know the name Michael Jordan—actually—if you’ve been alive for the past twenty years you know MJ. Michael Jordan is sports royalty, but, he’s also quite the restaurateur. In fact, the Jump Man’s got his own restaurant. That’s right! This week Eating to Live on the Outside goes one on one with Michael Jordon’s Steakhouse.

I know. The word STEAKHOUSE is daunting, but don’t forget, we survived our Outback adventure just fine, and, had no problem wrangling Lonestar. So let’s grab a menu and take it to the house—or outside the house for that matter.

Okay, the appetizers don’t do it for me. I can’t imagine eating Foie Gras—yuck—and the rest of the offerings are also pretty gross; Ahi Tuna Tartare and Prime Steak Tartare. Needless to say, I’ll pass. Let’s see if we can find something more Eat to Live friendly further down the menu.

I’ve said this before, but no surprise here. There’re a couple very doable salads. Sure, the Baby Spinach Salad needs a little work, but it’s totally manageable. The Baby Spinach Salad is made with baby spinach, smoked bacon, walnuts, and grain mustard. Clearly, my nemesis bacon has got to go, but other than that it’s all good. Another nice choice is the basic House Salad; baby lettuce and balsamic vinegar. I’d ask the wait staff, but I bet it comes with other veggies too. Now, if you go easy on the dressing—or ditch it altogether—you’re doing pretty well. To be honest, it takes a lot of effort to screw up a salad.

Alright, time for the main courses. Obviously I wouldn’t be foolish enough to order a steak, so that’s out. Now, all the main courses are meat-based. So if your vegetarian you’d probably just sick with the salad. As for me, I don’t eat meat, but I’m cool with fish. That’s why the Broiled Maine Lobster caught my eye; made with Maine lobster and sweet vermouth butter. Yup, you guessed it. I’d ask the wait staff to omit the butter, but other than that I’m cool with the lobster. After all Maine Lobster has a very low contamination risk. I like the Sea Scallops too; prepared with sea scallops, pink peppercorns, pancetta, and mustard aioli. Sea scallops are another safe seafood option, which is great. However the pancetta—Italian bacon—is not so great. I’m dropping that. With that being said the only concession I’d be looking at is the aioli (oil). I can live with it. Now of course, if I ordered either of these seafood dishes, I'd wait awhile before I ate fish again—Dr. Fuhrman's orders.

Now, you’re probably wondering. Where are all the side dishes? Wonder no further. They’re up next and here’s a bunch to choose from, but the only ones I’d order are the Roasted Assorted Mushrooms or the One-Pound Baked Potato. The roasted mushrooms are cooked in white truffle oil, so that’d be a concession—albeit a minor one—and as long as you don’t order the potato with sour cream, cheddar cheese, or butter, you’re sitting pretty. Oh, and of course. Instead of ordering any of the main entrees you could just pair these two side dishes together. But if you ask me, the Baby Spinach Salad or the House Salad is still your best bet.

That wasn’t so bad. I always thought going one on one with MJ would have been a lot harder. You know what? I find it ironic that a supreme athlete like Michael Jordan would have so many unhealthy foods on his restaurant’s menu. Well, actually I’m not that shocked. Just check out Why NFL Players Shouldn't be Nutritionists. But hey, do me a favor. Check out Michael Jordan’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or shoot—pun intended—me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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Eating to Live on the Outside is a lot of fun. It’s also great practice and helps me—and hopefully helps you—make more informed decisions when dining outside the home. Now, for the most part I don’t catch a lot of flack for my sometimes scathing evaluations, but, it does happen. Just check out the bickering about Fazoli's. Take a look:

Commenter Bridget
Have you ever been in a Fazoli's. I have worked at the Fazolis for 7 1/2 years and i can tell you that most of what you said just isnt accurate. It is very easy to eat healthy at Fazolis. There are many meals that are advertised as under 5 grams of fat. We don't use Olive oil on anything, not even the Grilled Chicken salad. Also, we are always willing to special order anything you want. If you want no dressing or mayo on your sandwich we can do that or if you want extra sauce or a different kind of sauce...we can do that too. The lite Italian dress is lite compared to our regular Italian dressing. If you ask you can get a nutrition guide.


Commenter Chante
Fazoli's doesnt even use "olive oil". The comment that you made about the chicken panani, and the whole wheat penne isnt accurate... no such thing. There is NO OLIVE OIL in a Fazoli's restaraunt..thats like looking for A1 sauce @ a Steak n Shake. I think their catchy little commercial says it all, "fresh, fast, italian" Fresh it is. They prep their menu items daily. Salads are made to order. The cooking process for the pasta, is just perhaps as if you made it @ home. Cooked in boiling water, with some salt for 8-12 minutes. Then covered w/ some vegetable oil, *not olive oil* the vegetable oil is actually cooked off, because they submerge the pasta in boiling water to heat it, when you order. all orders are made to order.Comment about the minestrone soup, all soups are loaded w/ sodium, read the back of the soup cans. Now, your comment about your meat allotment for the week, the chicken panani only has 2 1/2 oz of chicken on it, so if thats your meat allotment for the week... *shruggs* There are plenty of "meatless" menu items. They do serve Alf Sauce and a Marinara Sauce. Perhaps next week we'll read about how you have compared a McDonalds burger to that of a Ruby Tuesday's burger. Good Day.

As you can see, most people that object to my amateur reviews—and I’m not ashamed to say that—don’t know the slightest thing about truly healthy eating. Take this for example. Recently someone named Mike emailed me to share his “great deal of knowledge” on the human body and nutrition, and, to let me know he disapproved of my recent review of Huddle House. Here it is:

I read your "informative" comments about Huddle House on your website and felt compelled to send you an email. Obviously, grease is not the way to healthy nutrition...that much we agree upon. However, when you stated that you do not even eat eggs at all, you demonstrated to me your lack of education regarding healthy foods. To put it simple...eggs are some of the most nutrition rich food a person can eat...provided of course they are not cooked in grease. I am an extremely healthy person, a gym rat for 20+years, with around 10% bodyfat year round. I have competed in many bodybuilding contests in my life and have acquired what I consider a great deal of knowledge concerning the human body and what works and what doesn't work. Red Meat is not bad for you...as long as it is lean red meat. Eggs are an excellent source of nutrition. Vegetables are also very nutritious...much more so than fruits and dairy products...which raise the blood sugar level too high.


I won't carry on. It's just when I read where someone is writing about nutrition and foods as an "advisor" so to speak...and they talk like a typical vegetarian (foolish people that don't understand the body), I have to comment.

Have a good day. Go enjoy some eggs and steak.

By the way, I have eaten at Huddle House...and they will cook your meals like you want if you will only tell them how.

Wow! Mike has some serious emotional attachments to food, but, he’s entitled to his opinion and I’m happy to hear him out. Now, since I’m not the expert here, I’ll refrain from nitpicking his remarks, but, Dr. Fuhrman was more than happy to impart a little knowledge. If you’re reading Mike, hopefully this broadens your horizons a little. Have a look:

Sorry for the straight talk Mike, but just because you consider yourself knowledgeable about nutrition doesn't mean you have a broad and insightful knowledge. Most misinformed individuals consider themselves knowledgeable about nutrition and as a result we have over 80 percent of our country dieing of heart attacks, strokes and cancer. Lots of self-proclaimed knowledgeable nutrition "experts" die prematurely of heart disease.


If you want to disagree with the information here, it might be a good idea if you read my books or even some of the prior blog posts that discuss meat eating. My work is supported with extensive research from scientific sources and an understanding of the broad overview of relevant scientific studies, not just a few selected citations. This helps a person understand the issues with clarity.

I do considers eggs a relatively cleaner and safer animal product compared to cheese and red meat, however I’m still careful to advise limits on animal product intake because animal products at the level of consumption eaten in America is clearly disease-promoting and lifespan shortening. Lastly, Americans only consume four percent of calories from fresh fruits, vegetables beans, nuts and seeds, and yes fruit is essential for protection against certain cancers. I hope you decide to hang around and read more of my blog. Then if you disagree, at least you will know what you are disagreeing with and you will learn about the science that supports such viewpoints.

Now, as for me and Eating to Live on the Outside, keep looking for my “foolishness” every Friday. Oh, and here’s a few posts on meat consumption and disease:

• The Meat-Disease Connection
• Animal Fat and Cancer
• HealthDay News: Veggies Good, Cured Meats Bad

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Relax! I know you read the word brewery and freaked out a little. No, I didn’t order any beer. But yes, you just assumed correctly. I have eaten at the Harvest Moon Brewery. In fact, it’s only a quick highway-drive from where I live. So last Friday night my friends and I paid it a visit.

Sadly, my friends aren’t exactly into nutrient-dense living, so their orders were typical standard American fare; greasy meats, fried things, and ooey-gooey cheese. My salad stuck out like a sore thumb. Speaking of thumbs, let’s go ahead and thumb through Harvest Moon’s menus.

Alright, let’s start with what I actually ordered. Now, I admit. I didn’t think too deeply about it—I really wasn’t in the mood to nitpick. So I went with the Moon Salad; prepared with red leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, julienne carrots, red onions, garlic croutons, Romano cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. Yup, I nixed cheese and the croutons. I also ordered the dressing on the side. Truth be told, it was a really tasty. Very simple, very light, but most off all—packed with phytonutrienty goodness!

Now unlike last Friday, today I feel very nitpicky. So let’s cruise through the menu and see if there’s anything else worth ordering. The lunch menu is up first. Okay, the appetizers are out. So are the pizzas. Well, the veggie burger might work for some people, but I’m not a fan. Alright, the Veggie Flatbread has potential; it comes with eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, roasted red peppers, mozzarella, pesto mayo, flatbread, and house chips. Clearly the cheese, mayo, and chips are out. The flatbread is a concession, but if I was in the mood for a sandwich this would be my best bet. I still like my salad better.

Speaking of salads, what other salads could I have tried? The Spinach Salad is a solid option; it’s put together with baby spinach, saffron orzo, grape tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, chickpeas, and lemon-basil vinaigrette. I’m ditching the feta and the orzo—orzo is a type of pasta. Again, I’m also going easy on the dressing. Overall it’s got the makings of a decent meal. The Asparagus Salad is very similar; it comes with white beans, asparagus, roasted red peppers, mixed baby greens, Romano cheese, and honey-Dijon vinaigrette. And one more time, I’d ditch the cheese and limit the dressing—what a fine meal it’d make!

Onto the dinner menu! Again, the appetizers aren’t all that great. The Sesame Hummus looks okay, but doesn’t fascinate me enough to order it. But if you think it is, go ahead; it’s made with sesame-green onion hummus, tomato-ginger salsa, wonton crisps, and sliced cucumber—not a terrible choice if you ditch the wonton crisps. Well, the salads are the same on the dinner menu, and yes, I still love my Moon Salad the most.

The entrees aren’t that spectacular. Actually, there’s only one I’d consider ordering. I’d go with the Atlantic Salmon; it’s prepared with salmon, sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable quinoa, grilled asparagus, and peppercorn-chive oil. Now, salmon is okay because it is one of Dr. Fuhrman’s least contaminated fishes. Quinoa is great—as this post explains: Know Your Quinoa. The peppercorn-chive oil makes me nervous, but I could live with it. I do a good job at limiting my consumption of oil.

Well, having spent a little time more thoroughly going through Harvest Moon’s menus I can tell you, I stand behind my original selection. For me the Moon Salad is the best fit. The Veggie Flatbread came with bread, the Sesame Hummus had wonton crisps, and the salmon—while lower in Mercury than most fish—is still a little bit iffy. Give me leafy greens instead of fish any day of the week.

So what do you think? Did I do okay? Is the Moon Salad really the best option out there? I know everyone’s taste is different. So do me a favor, check out Harvest Moon’s menus, figure out what you’d order, and tell me about it. How do you handle Eating to Live on the Outside? Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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Eat to Livers—welcome to hell! I’m sure a lot of people say to themselves, “Why are Americans so unhealthy?” It’s because of restaurants like this. Huddle House might just be the worst standard American restaurant Eating to Live on the Outside has ever attempted to tackle. Let us proceed with caution.

I find it ironic that the Huddle House’s website has colorful pictures of fresh strawberries, peppers, and tomatoes, but don’t be confused, this place is simply chock full of cheese, bacon, cured meat, creamy sauces, and greasy fixings. Otherwise know as—DYING YOUNG!

First up is the breakfast menu, well, its horrible. Fried eggs—no! Cured sausage—no! Greasy hash browns—no! Rib-eye steak—no! Yeah, let’s move on to the next section, omelets and waffles. I don’t know about you, but a Philly cheese steak omelet doesn’t sound very health promoting to me. And regardless, I don’t eat eggs, so none of these will work for me and as for the waffles? Think again—nah!

Next up are the big house platters and the signature sandwiches. Clearly the signature of Huddle House is furthering heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure in this country, because there’s nothing good about a Triple Decker burger, Country Fried Chicken sandwich, Half Pound Hamburger Steak, Chicken Melt, Philly Cheese Steak, or whatever other horrible excuse for food this place can cook up. I’m sorry Eat to Livers, but this place is miserable.

Now let’s look at the dinner menu—bad, just bad. Again, I see nothing I’d be eager to order here; lot’s of French fries, red meat, fried chicken, and toasted white bread. Not exactly the instruments of a long healthy life. Perhaps the only redeeming thing here is the dinner salad. If I had to order something, I’d go with the dinner salad, but as we’ll see, there’s no guarantee that salad is going to be Fuhrman-friendly either.

This menu section is called “Lite House.” My guess is this is supposed to be the healthy section of the menu, which is funny, because there’s nothing really overwhelmingly healthy about it. Sure, compared to the rest of the menu it’s a few steps up, but overall, more standard American garbage food. The two salad options are packed with hardboiled egg, cheese, and chicken strips—I’ll pass!

But again, if I HAD to eat at Huddle House—which would mean I was struck over the head, kidnapped, and awoke chained to a table—I’d take either the Grilled Chicken Salad or the Crispy Chicken Salad and strip it of its chicken and egg. Leaving you with a pile of lettuce and tomato, now, as good as lettuce and tomato are for you, I’m not paying restaurant prices for it. This would be the part of my kidnapping story where I gnaw through my chains and run out of Huddle House screaming.

In the end, I would not eat at the Huddle House. If I were asked to go, I would politely decline or just go and eat ice chips the whole time. The Huddle House is no place for the casual or ardent Eat to Liver. In fact, it should be considered a public health hazard.

Okay, time for a dumb question. Have any of you ever eaten at a Huddle House? If so, let me know. Make a comment or send me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Oh, and if you're a gluten for punishment. Check out Huddle House’s menu and see if you can make any of it work. Feel free to evoke the power of higher beings, you’ll need it.

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Well, it’s Friday and you know what that means? Time to once again test the waters of restaurant Americana—and we’ve got a cool restaurant on deck this week! Cilantro Live is quite similar Eating to Live on the Outside favorite Pure Food and Wine; all raw, loaded with phytonutrients, and looking delicious. So, enough stalling—let’s see we what we got!

First up are the soups and salads—no surprise here. The first soup to catch my eye is the self-titled Cilantro Live; made with avocado, cilantro broth, and diced tomatoes. Okay, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see why I picked this one…the avocado! But it’s not just that, cilantro is a great herb and the combination of all three ingredients sounds scintillating. The Autumn Wild Rice also looks cool; it’s got tomato broth, wild rice, kale, and mushrooms. Kale! Dr. Fuhrman would be proud. And yes, the rice is a bit of a concession, but, at least its not refined white rice. I can live with it.

As for the salads, I’m digging the Baby Spinach; primed with red onion, marinated Portobello mushrooms, pine nuts, and pink grapefruit. Pretty unique sounding—right? I’m curious about this one. I wonder what the flavor combination tastes like. Hopefully good, because this salad is concession-free—sweet! Speaking of unique, try some cactus! Yeah, that’s right, I said cactus. The Nopalitos is prepared with cactus, avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro. The avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro are cool—but cactus! Hey, it’s worth a try. Have any of you ever eaten cactus?

Okay, here are some cool appetizers and wraps. The Nori Rolls are neat. They’re sushi-like; nori seadweed rolls stuffed with daikon sprouts, red peppers, cucumbers, avocado, wild rice, and a carrot-pine nut pate. As a fan of sushi, this is right up my alley, although the rice is a concession. I also like The Cilantro Live Guacamole, its pretty simple; salsa fresca and flax seed crackers. Now, I’m not sure if flaxseeds crackers are a concession or not. I’ve never tried them before, so, in this case curiosity can kill the cat…meow! The Buenos Vida wrap is looking good too. For starters, all the wraps are made without tortilla, instead, everything is wrapped in a lettuce—I do this at home! And it’s cool to see an actual restaurant doing it too. Leads me to believe I’m not all that weird. The Buenos Vida is put together with cilantro pate, wild rice, house almond cheese, and salsa fresca. Again, that pesky wild rice is the concession.

Now, if you haven’t noticed yet. Cilantro Live has lots to offer, so let’s continue—shall we? The entrees and the specials are awesome! I really like the Roma Raw-Violis; made with Roma tomatoes, pine nut-basil cheese, and topped with pesto sauce. Stuffed tomatoes are great! The concession here would probably be the pesto sauce. Every pesto sauce I’ve ever eaten is made with olive and according to Dr. Fuhrman, olive is hardly health food. The Mole Enchilada is cool too. It’s prepared with a lot of different ingredients; raw corn tortilla, banana, Mexican wild rice, sesame seeds, and a sauce made with three different red peppers, fruits, and spices. Sure, the concession is the tortilla and the wild rice, but, this dish is just too interesting to pass up. What do you think?

In addition to all this wonderful food, Cilantro Live also boasts an extensive list of raw juices, smoothies, desserts, and candy—yes—I said candy! Yeah, I’ll skip the dessert and candy. Instead, I’d just make one of the juices or a smoothie my sweet treat. Let’s scope them out. Well, the juices definitely don’t look like the junk they sell in supermarkets. These juices are thick and look like they’ve retained a lot of fiber and nutrients, same goes with the smoothies. Okay, the Cleansing Cocktail looks good; it’s made with beet, carrot, apple, celery, and parsley. I’m also feeling the Wild Berry smoothie; its blended almond milk, agave, and berries. With both of these they’re might a concession lurking in there somewhere, but there’s plenty of phytonutrients to ease my worries.

Cilantro Live has four locations in California, so, next time you’re in the golden state, I think they’re certainly worth a visit. But first, check out Cilantro Live’s menu and let us know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com, or, blow up the comments.

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