Disease Proof

What a coincidence. The name of this week’s restaurant was also my ex-girlfriend’s pet name for me…moving on. Boneheads serves up a lot of fish—so you know what that means. We’ve got to be careful. Who’s ready to dodge some mercury? Let’s get ready to rumble!

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way now. You can also order chicken at Boneheads. I don’t eat chicken, so I’ll skip all that. Now, the types of fish we’ve got to choose from are salmon, tilapia, mahi-mahi, shrimp, and grouper. For starters, let's get the skinny from OceansAlive.org:

Salmon
Only Atlantic salmon is rated and Eco Worst and a Health Concern.

Tilapia
All three varieties are rated as Eco Bests.

Mahi-Mahi
It’s also an Eco Best!

Shrimp
Northern shrimp are the variety rated as an Eco Best.

Grouper
All five varieties are rated an Eco Worst and a Health Concern.

For me the writing is on the wall. The easiest—and probably best—option is either the tilapia or the mahi-mahi. Personally, I adore mahi-mahi, so that’s what I’d go with. How about you? I guess you could ask the wait staff about the salmon if you were really hell bent on it.

Alright, so I’ve ordered the grilled mahi-mahi, what would my topping and side dish be? I’d probably go with the Pineapple Salsa over the Sautéed Piri Piri Mushrooms. Between the spice of the Piri Piri peppers and the sautee oil, the salsa is the clear-cut winner.

As for my side, I’m cool with either the Grilled Zucchini Strips, the Chilled Marinated Broccoli, or a Side Salad, but my heart is with the broccoli. You’d be hard-pressed to get me to choose something other than the cruciferous vegetable. Oh! Here’s an idea. Why not just order the chilled broccoli with the zucchini strips and a side salad—good idea? I think so.

The appetizers and soups are bad news, so no need to waste time with them. The salads on the other hand are workable. I’m digging either the Greek Salad or the House Salad; combined they’re made with cabbage, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, carrots, and bell peppers. The only thing I’d ditch is the cheese and in this case skip the dressing—unless of course you think Greek, Ranch, and Blue Cheese dressing are nutrient-dense. You don’t—right?

Now, you might be bold enough to give the tacos and sandwiches a try. Given the other choices, I wouldn’t order them. The Grilled & Roasted Portobello sandwich is made with lettuce, tomato, a piri piri mayonnaise, and served with fries or Asian cole slaw. Well, after you drop the mayonnaise and don’t order the fries or the cole slaw, you’re still left with a bread concession and honestly, not a lot of food. Sorry, but why bother? Stick with a salad or some grilled fish.

I kind of feel like I got off easy this week, Boneheads is pretty straight forward. The things that work are pretty obvious and the things that don’t, even more so, but you tell me. Scope out Boneheads menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send me an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat greatly!

According to a new report poor black women living in the United States and eating an unhealthy diet face a higher risk of developing of cancer. Reuters is on it:

The goals included adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables, a low percentage of fat intake, consuming no alcohol, eating moderate calories and adhering to a U.S. government Healthy Eating Index, which measures overall quality of diet.

"African-American women ... face a worse cancer incidence and mortality rate than most other ethnic groups and poor African-American women are at an even greater disadvantage," said Ann Klassen, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Improving diet is one effective way to help these women lower their risk for developing cancer," Klassen said, adding that the women in the study went on to participate in a program aimed at improving nutrition.

More often than not, race is a major factor in health-related issues. Here’re a few examples from the past:

• White Kids Have Highest Diabetes Rate
• Asia Braces for More Cancer
• Diabetes: A Racial Divide?

The FDA is set to debate how much salt should be allowed in processed food. Steven Reinberg of HealthDay News reports:

The hearing is being held in response to a request made in 2005 by the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), asking the agency to make changes to the regulatory status of salt, to require limits on salt levels in processed foods, and to require health messages related to salt and sodium on food labels.

"Very few people dispute that Americans get way too much salt from processed and restaurant foods, and that an excess promotes hypertension, stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure, and early death," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said in a statement. "While the FDA has historically declined to challenge companies to lower high sodium levels, it is increasingly hard for FDA officials to ignore the calls to action made in recent years by the medical community."

In fact, 150,000 American lives could be saved each year if the salt in processed foods and restaurant meals were cut in half, the American Medical Association has said.

Not everyone agrees that regulation is the way to go, however.

What purpose does adding extra salt serve? Dr. Fuhrman isn’t a fan. Here he talks about some famous research. Take a look:

The famous DASH study clearly indicates that Americans consume five to ten times as much as they need and that high sodium levels over the years has a predictable effect on raising blood pressure.1

Although I admit, kicking salt was pretty difficult, probably one of the hardest parts of my…to be continued.

UPDATE: Here's a related article that Dr. Fuhrman sent over: A little less salt could save 8.5m lives.

San Francisco area restaurants are whipping up some decadent vegetarian dishes! Gregory Dicum of The New York Times reports:

Eric Tucker, the chef, is highly regarded for a polyglot style that marries ingredients and techniques from diverse cuisines with a sense of how best to celebrate Northern California's vegetable bounty. Millennium's menus are famously involved and difficult to parse — when I ate there with three friends, we were confronted with ingredients ranging from papazul to tempeh picadillo to sambal.

I have a soft spot for huitlacoche — the mushroom that grows on ears of corn and resembles distended, blackened kernels — so I ordered the masa pibes ($22.95), a steaming construction of savory, chewy hominy rounds beneath a mound of ragout made from the aforementioned fungi. The dish was set off with colorful accents: a cream of sweet corn and lobster mushrooms, plus roasted poblano emulsion and tangy, cilantro-spiked avocado-heirloom tomato salsa fresca.

Such is Mr. Tucker's skill that the food at Millennium attains a gustatory cohesion not suggested by the eclectic ingredients. The shredded Indian Red peach salad ($8.95) — which, besides tender peaches, included baby heirloom lettuce, green papaya, chili-dusted peanuts, and the sweet zing of a light Thai lime leaf dressing — blossoms on the tongue like a bouquet.

Oh, oh! Check out the slideshow too. The food looks so good! Take a look:

Can the Potato P.D. solve this old-time veggie mystery? Find out:

Do you wash your hands? Aside from after doing my business, I admit, I don’t wash my hands as often as I should—dumb! A couple years ago Laura Landro of The Wall Street Journal wrote that hand washing is an important part of disease-prevention. Have a look:

The most important way to prevent the spread of colds is frequent hand washing. But experts say that following the most basic tenets of good nutrition -- consuming a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats, and eliminating highly processed and junk foods -- can actually help ward off illness.

Okay, a reporter is one thing. What are Dr. Fuhrman’s thoughts on hand washing? In short, he thinks it’s a good idea, especially when it comes to warding off colds and the flu. He talks about it in this post about Avian Flu. Here’re some relevant pieces:

If this virulent form of the flu does appear in our region we are not without protection. We have control over the size of the exposure, because we can avoid hand to mouth and hand to nasal contact and we can wash our hands after touching people and birds…

…Wash your hands after you touch something that other people have touched like a doorknob or gas pump…

…If you use a public bathroom, use a paper towel to turn off the water knobs and then to open the door to leave the bathroom, to keep your hands clean.

I agree. I don’t DARE grab anything in a public bathroom with my bare hands. In fact, there should be decontamination showers setup outside most of them—EEK! Now, new research contends hand washing is more useful than drugs for virus control. Reuters reports:

Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS, a study has found.

The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, came as Britain announced it was doubling its stockpile of antiviral medicines in preparation for any future flu pandemic.

Trawling through 51 studies, the researchers found that simple, low-cost physical measures should be given higher priority in national pandemic contingency plans.

"Mounting evidence suggests that the use of vaccines and antiviral drugs will be insufficient to interrupt the spread of influenza," they wrote in the report.

I don’t know how practical a mask and gown would be, but, if you’ve ever peed on a NJ Transit train, you’d think about it.

Okay, no doubt. Portion sizes at most restaurants are ridiculous, but, no one says you HAVE to eat all of it. However, some new research claims the chefs might be feeding our fatness. The New York Times Well blog is on it. Here’s a bit:

Researchers at Clemson University recently surveyed 300 chefs about what goes into their decisions about portion sizes and the food they serve diners. The study, published in the August issue of Obesity, found big differences between what chefs consider a regular portion compared to the standard serving sizes dictated by the United States Department of Agriculture. When chefs were asked to estimate a typical portion size of penne pasta served in their restaurant, for instance, half of the chefs suggested portions that are six to eight times larger than the U.S.D.A.’s standard 1-ounce serving. Nearly half the chefs said they normally serve 12-ounce steaks in their restaurants, although the U.S.D.A. says daily meat intake shouldn’t exceed 5.5 ounces…

…Targeting chefs to improve the quality and serving-sizes of the food they provide diners is a strategic way to improve the nutrition of large numbers of people, says study co-author Marge Condrasky, assistant professor of culinary science. Clemson researchers already are distributing nutrition information at culinary conferences and talking about ways chefs can improve the nutritional quality of meals without affecting presentation or taste.

This smacks of “don’t kill the messenger.” What do you think? Personally, I’m not big on blame-shifting. If you look in the mirror and see a fat person and it upsets you. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself, not mommy, not daddy, and certainly not some cook.

Diet Blog passes along some tips to help you get your Omega-3 fatty acids. Here are a few good ones:

1. Grind up flaxseeds and sprinkle them on salads or add them to oatmeal, protein shakes or morning cereals. Alternately, supplement with flaxseed oil; 1 tbsp is equivalent to 3 tbsp flaxseeds (use as a supplement; Not for cooking)
2. Snack on walnuts, which contain modest amounts of omega 3 fats (other types of nuts and seeds can also contain significant amounts of omega 3 fats)
3. Increase your consumption of leafy greens which contain small amounts of omega 3 fats.

Howard Schneider of The Washington Post gives gimmicky health and fitness foods the business…and not in a good way. Have a look:

The landscape these days is thick with sometimes conflicting advice about how, what and when you should eat and drink to get the most out of your workout: Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat ... eating fat before a workout burns more fat ... eating right after a workout burns more fat ... not eating after a workout burns more fat. Gatorade and the other sports-drink companies make it seem as if casual sweating requires an Olympic refueling…

… But otherwise, keep it simple, and don't get lured into 300 to 400 extra calories unless you're sure you need them.

With the Holidays barreling down on us and all the news of toxic toys kicking around, CNN offers up some tips for buying safe playthings. Check out this video:

New research claims not enough milk, exercise, and sunshine is causing rickets in some children. Lauran Neegaard of the Associated Press reports:

It's not just that they don't drink fortified milk. Bodies make vitamin D with sunlight. With teen computer use, urban youngsters without safe places to play outdoors and less school P.E., it's no wonder D levels are low. Because skin pigment alters sun absorption, black children are particularly at risk.

Rickets marks the worst deficiency, where bones become so soft that legs literally bow. Rickets was once thought to have been eradicated with milk fortification, but "I am now treating rickets in a way that I never treated it 20 years ago," says Tosi, who diagnoses rickets or super-low D levels in children every month at a bone clinic she runs for mostly inner-city children.

Doctors who've never seen rickets can miss it. Charlene Bullock repeatedly asked her 5-year-old's doctor why his leg was bending inward and he could no longer run with his playmates. It took a trip to Tosi's special clinic to learn Na-shun had rickets — the once energetic child had quit running because his bones ached like an old man's.

Fortunately, rickets caught early is easily cured with high-dose infusions of vitamin D and calcium, and Bullock's son quickly rebounded. "He's doing everything with that little leg."

I wasn’t sure how to approach this report. So, I asked Dr. Fuhrman for his input. Here’s what he had to say:

I saw plenty of kids with rickets in my medical school and residency days in the inner cities. Clearly, lack of exercise and sunlight, especially in those with darker skin is creating an epidemic of bone disease. Milk is fortified with Vitamin D, and can be the only D and calcium source in people who do not eat vegetables. I agree that the public needs to be better educated in these important nutritional issues.

Now, in regard to milk, exercise, and sunshine, these posts should explain things. Take a look:

Regular Exercise Pays Big Health Dividends
“As we condition our muscles and gain strength, our bones thicken and strengthen along with the muscle. Without regular exercise along the way, your bone structure can deteriorate as you get older. Some people survive with weak bones, but their quality of life suffers when they are immobilized by arthritis and osteoporosis.”

Cow's Milk and Kids Aren't Made for Each Other
“Milk, which is designed by nature for the rapidly growing cow, has about half its calories supplied from fat. The fatty component is concentrated more to make cheese and butter. Milk and cheese are the foods Americans encourage their children to eat, believing them to be healthy foods. Fifty years of heavy advertising by an economically powerful industry has shaped the public's perception, illustrating the power of one-sided advertising, but the reality and true health effects on our children is a different story.”

Importance of Vitamin D
“Sun exposure is perhaps the most important source of vitamin D because exposure to sunlight provides most humans with their vitamin D requirement. The further you live from the equator, the longer you need to be exposed to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Season, time of day, cloud cover, smog, and sunscreen affect UV ray exposure and vitamin D synthesis.”

In a nut shell—good, bad, good.

I don’t subscribe to "carbophobia", but, refined grains, rice, and cereals are bad news. Here’s a brief lowdown from Dr. Fuhrman. Take a look:

White pasta, white rice and white bread are just like sugar; because their fiber has been removed, these nutrient deficient foods are absorbed too rapidly. This, in turn, will raise glucose, triglyceride, and insulin levels in your blood. Refined grains are undesirable and will sabotage your weight-loss and cholesterol-lowering efforts…

…White or "enriched" rice is just as bad as white bread and pasta. It is nutritionally bankrupt. You might as well just eat the Uncle Ben's cardboard box it comes in. Refining removes important factors: fiber, minerals, phytochemicals, and vitamin E. So, when you eat grains, eat whole grains…

…As we change food through processing and refining, we rob the food of certain health-supporting substances and often create unhealthy compounds, thus making it a more unfit food for human consumption. As a general rule of thumb: the closer we eat foods to their natural state, the healthier the food.

So, it shouldn’t surprise you that a new study has determined that a high-carb diet raises women's diabetes risk. More from Robert Preidt of HealthDay News:

Black American women and Chinese women who ate foods high on the glycemic index -- which measures the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels -- were at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, two new studies found.

One of the studies also found that eating more cereal fiber may be associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in black American women…

…Women who ate high-glycemic index foods or ate a diet with a high glycemic load were more likely to develop diabetes. Women who ate more cereal fiber were less likely to develop diabetes.

"Our results indicate that black women can reduce their risk of diabetes by eating a diet that is relatively high in cereal fiber," the study authors wrote. "Incorporating fiber sources into the diet is relatively easy: A simple change from white bread (two slices provides 1.2 grams of fiber) to whole wheat bread (two slices provides 3.8 grams of fiber) ... will move a person from a low fiber intake category to a moderate intake category, with a corresponding 10 percent reduction in risk."

The answer? Stick to wholesome natural nutrient-dense foods. Dr. Fuhrman explains that plant foods are the real diabetes-fighter. Check out Starch-Based Diets No Answer for Diabetics for more.

More like black magic. Here’s how hamburgers are made. It’s over at Threadless:

It’s over at Christmas Recipes. *Remember, not all recipes are Fuhrman-friendly.

This guy has written book that tells you which FAST FOOD restaurants are a stop and which ones are a go. From Fox News:

A lettuce that produces insulin! What will they think of next? Have a look:

One psychiatrist realizes that being on a pharmaceutical company’s take can influence your judgment. More from The New York Times:

I had already prescribed Effexor to several patients, and it seemed to work as well as the S.S.R.I.’s. If I gave talks to primary-care doctors about Effexor, I reasoned, I would be doing nothing unethical. It was a perfectly effective treatment option, with some data to suggest advantages over its competitors. The Wyeth rep was simply suggesting that I discuss some of the data with other doctors. Sure, Wyeth would benefit, but so would other doctors, who would become more educated about a good medication…

…Michael Thase, of the University of Pittsburgh and the researcher who single-handedly put Effexor on the map with a meta-analysis began by reviewing the results of the meta-analysis that had the psychiatric world abuzz. After carefully pooling and processing data from eight separate clinical trials, Thase published a truly significant finding: Effexor caused a 45 percent remission rate in patients in contrast to the S.S.R.I. rate of 35 percent and the placebo rate of 25 percent. It was the first time one antidepressant was shown to be more effective than any other. Previously, psychiatrists chose antidepressants based on a combination of guesswork, gut feeling and tailoring a drug’s side effects to a patient’s symptom profile. If Effexor was truly more effective than S.S.R.I.’s, it would amount to a revolution in psychiatric practice and a potential windfall for Wyeth…

…When it came to side effects, Effexor’s greatest liability was that it could cause hypertension, a side effect not shared by S.S.R.I.’s. Norm Sussman showed us some data from the clinical trials, indicating that at lower doses, about 3 percent of patients taking Effexor had hypertension as compared with about 2 percent of patients assigned to a placebo. There was only a 1 percent difference between Effexor and placebo, he commented, and pointed out that treating high blood pressure might be a small price to pay for relief from depression.

Now, psychotropic medications are probably a bit of a grey area, but there’s no question. Doctors and patients are too drug-conditioned. This pharmaceutical rep remarks:

This is the problem with our society today. It's easier for physicians to just throw medications at patients, rather then really consult with them about diet and exercise.

That being said, those that do consult with these patients--a lot of the patients are not compliant. It's like asking an alcoholic to quit drinking. These behavioral patterns are embedded early into these patients.

Here’s Dr. Fuhrman’s hope for this dubious relationship, “Some day the public will wake up to the medicalization of America and the collusion between the drug companies.” Hopefully.

It seems some bureaucratic red tape might be closing this fruit and veggie stand in Croydon England. Healthy Eating & Nutrition News is on it:

"Most council's would be delighted at a healthy eating project like this that is not only saving them money but paying them for the priveledge!" she says Kurdish Jawher Ahmad Mohammed and Salam Hassan have worked hard over the years to start a fruit and veg stall at East Croydon Station after finding a businessman to lend them the thousands of pounds they needed to start up. Then they had to find more thousands to pay Croydon Council for planning permission, council tax, business rates, and street traders licences. Then there's solicitors fees.

"Croydon Council are obviously trying get themselves nominated for the Christmas Carol Ebineezer Scrooge Bah Humbug award for callousness. They plan to ruin Jawher Ahmad Mohammed and Salam Hassan's business making them unemployed 2 weeks before Christmas. Because they are self employed they probably won't even be entitled to benefit!" says a horrified Yvonne.

Instead, how about giving these dudes a tax break!

A new study has determined that school children will eat healthy food. Steve Karnowski of the Associated Press is on it:

When the researchers crunched all the numbers they found that schools serving the healthiest lunches did not see a falloff in demand.

While serving better meals does entail higher labor costs, the study found, that's offset by lower costs for more nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables compared with processed foods. However, many districts need to upgrade their kitchens and train their staff to prepare these foods, the researchers said.

The study's conclusions rang true for Jean Ronnei, director of nutrition services for St. Paul Public Schools, which serves more than 46,000 meals daily. The district was held up by the authors as a model for others.

Ronnei said the percentage of St. Paul kids eating school lunches has increased in recent years at the same time the district has been offering more fruits and vegetables.

"That doesn't mean we don't have a hot dog on our menu. We do. ... In our case it's a turkey low-fat hot dog," she said.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, said she was pleased to see evidence that schools can offer nutritious meals kids will eat without higher costs.

So Dr. Fuhrman, how do you feel about exercise? “Exercise is important for healthy psychological function and to maintain significant muscle and bone mass as we age,” he said in a previous post, “It has been shown to improve mental function; to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; and to improve sleep patterns, aiding healthful cycles of deep sleep.”

And the word might be spreading! According to Reuters more Americans are getting up off the sofa and moving around. Will Dunham reports:

In 2005, 46.7 percent of U.S. women and 49.7 percent of U.S. men engaged in regular exercise on a weekly basis, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on a survey of 356,112 adults nationwide.

That represents an 8.6 percent increase in the rate among women and a 3.5 percent rise among men from a similar survey in 2001. Blacks continued to lag whites but made some strides.

The CDC said 33 percent of U.S. adults are classified as obese, compared to 15 percent in the 1970s. Obesity, attributed in part to people getting too little exercise and eating too much of the wrong foods, has become a rising problem in the United States and worldwide, contributing to chronic diseases.

"The positive picture is that American adults are increasing their regular physical activity," said Isa Miles, a CDC epidemiologist who contributed to the report.

Exercise is great. I’m a serious gym rat. Just part of the total transformation I…to be continued.

Braised Kale and Squash with Pumpkin Seeds

2 bunches kale
1 medium butternut squash or small pumpkin
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's Black Fig Vinegar
1 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, lightly toasted

Strip kale from stems. Discard stems. Wash leaves well, and coarsely chop. Peel, seed, and cube butternut squash or pumpkin. Place kale, squash, onion, garlic, and VegiZest in a large pot with water. Cover and steam over low heat for 20 minutes or until squash is tender. Add vinegar and toss. Serve sprinkled with lightly toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Toast seeds in oven at 300 degrees for 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Serves 6.

Brussels Sprouts Polonaise

6 cups Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup soft tofu
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons date sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
1/2 cup fresh parsley, snipped & divided
1/2 cup plain soy milk

Cut large sprouts in half and steam for 8 minutes until tender. Blend tofu, lemon juice, date sugar, garlic, VegiZest, 1/4 cup parsley, and soy milk in blender and pour over sprouts. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serves 3.

Doubly Delicious Greens

1 large bunch bok choy, chopped
1 large bunch Swiss chard, chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes (no salt)
2 cups shiitake and/or baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning

Place bok choy, Swiss chard, onions, and garlic in a large steamer and steam until almost tender, about 10 minutes. In a large pot add tomatoes, mushrooms, steamed greens mixture, and seasoning. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves 8.

Looks like more E. coli-beef problems. After two reports of illness, 96,000 pounds of ground beef have been recalled. The Associated Press reports:

A company voluntarily recalled nearly 96,000 pounds of ground beef products after two people were sickened, possibly by E. coli bacteria, the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture said Saturday.

The beef products by the company, American Foods Group of Green Bay, were distributed to retailers and distributors in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. The problem surfaced after an investigation by the Illinois Department of Health, which was looking into two reports of illnesses.

The bacteria type is E. coli O157:H7, which is harbored in the intestines of cattle. Improper butchering and processing can cause the bacteria to get onto meat. Thorough cooking, to at least 160 degrees internal temperature, can destroy it.

Amanda Gardner of HealthDay News reports that many Americans can’t afford to eat healthfully. Here’s some of the article:

One study shows that low-income Americans now would have to spend up to 70 percent of their food budget on fruits and vegetables to meet new national dietary guidelines for healthy eating.

And a second study found that in rural areas, convenience stores far outnumber supermarkets and grocery stores -- even though the latter carry a much wider choice of affordable, healthy foods.

"I think it's a matter of raising awareness among health professionals -- and that could be dieticians or diabetes educators or even doctors -- that when we typically give people a recommendation to eat more fruits and vegetables, that is actually so much more complicated in a rural environment," said Angela Liese, study author of the second report and an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

"There needs to be some thought given to how do you make these recommendations," Liese said.

Kind of hard to argue with this when we live in a country with fast food dollar menus and fruits and veggies cost a few dollars a pound…sigh.

The flu freaks people out. I worked at a hospital for almost two years and every fall, flu pandemonium descended upon us; the young and old all desperately seeking inoculation. Something that comes with a price according to Dr. Fuhrman, here’s a quote:

Three antiviral drugs, amantadine (Symmetrel), rimantadine (Flumadine), and oseltamivir (Tamiflu) are available in the US for influenza. These medications are only partially effective and not effective at all unless they are started within the first two days of symptoms. All are prescription drugs and have serious potential risks. Besides the more common side effects of nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and insomnia, rare but serious adverse reactions have been reported including depression, suicide, and a potentially fatal reaction called Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, which involves a high fever muscle rigidity and mental status changes. I cannot recommend the general use of these medications given their poor benefit-to-risk ratio.

At this point Tamiflu is a household name. Everyone knows someone who ran kicking and screaming to their doctor for a fix. Now, if you didn’t, be glad you didn’t. This CNN video report claims children who took Tamiflu are exhibiting abnormal behavior. Take a look:

Another drawback to Tamiflu and the others is that it takes time to diagnose the flu and by the time one gets to a doctor for an accurate diagnosis, you have passed the window in which the medications are effective. Hundreds of thousands of doses of Tamiflu will be prescribed and in more than 90 percent of instances, it will be used after the period when it has any potential to help. People will be increasing their risk of medication-caused side effect, without any potential benefit.

Even in my pre-Eat to Live days I never got flu shots. And now that I eat a disease-preventing high-nutrient diet, my body can kick the flu’s butt. Exhibit A: Flu, Shot!

No doubt most Americans take good plumbing for granted. Think about it, how much would your life stink without it? Pardon the pun, but in all seriousness a working toilet is quite the lifesaver. In fact, lack of toilets can be fatal. Reuters reports:

Lack of proper toilet facilities and sanitation kills almost two million people a year, most of them children, the World Toilet Association said at its first meeting on Thursday.

"It is regrettable that the matter of defecation is not given as much attention as food or housing," Sim Jae-duck, the association's South Korean head, told the meeting at its recently opened lavatory-shaped headquarters south of Seoul.

Sim, a lawmaker nicknamed "Mr. Toilet", said some 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to proper toilet facilities, with potentially fatal consequences.

About 1.8 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases that are mainly blamed on inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, the World Health Organisation's regional director for the Western Pacific, Shigeru Omi, told the meeting.

I’ll keep this in mind the next time I’m suffering through the aroma of the New York Penn Station men’s room.

Next time your iPod dies unexpectedly, don’t fret, grab an onion. Seriously, you can charge it with an onion. Get a load of this video:

Hopefully everyone’s recovered from their Thanksgiving tryptophan hangover because this week Eating to Live on the Outside hitches a ride on the LIRR and sits down for a meal at the Tiger Lily Café. It’s a good mix of healthy vegetarian and healthy flexitarian food, but let’s see if it works for an Eat to Liver. Time to put the Tiger Lily Café to the test—growl!

Let’s start with all the sandwiches and wraps. Okay, let’s just get this out of the way now. All the wraps include bread (the wrap), so that’s the first concession. Personally, I can deal with it. I seldom eat bread anymore and for any of these wraps I’d order the whole wheat to cushion the blow. Alright—glad that’s over with—moving on.

Well, I see four options I like. My favorite is the Balsamic Roasted Vegetable Wrap; made with zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash, onions, peppers, scallions, hummus, kalamata olives, mesclun greens, and balsamic vinaigrette. The reason why I like this one should be obvious—ALL THE VEGGIES! Now, I’d probably ditch the olives because they’re salty and I’d ask for the dressing on the side. Oh, and if the hummus has olive oil, that’d be a concession too. I can live it with.

Next up is the Shaharazade; prepared with hummus, grated carrot, mesclun greens, and sprouts. The main reason I like this one is the sprouts. Sprouts are really tasty and can help jazz up a boring entrée. The only potential worry I see is the hummus, if it has olive oil. The next two are pretty cool too. The Bella Bella Sandwich and the Greek Salad Wrap; combined they’re made with Portabello mushrooms, red peppers, mozzarella, salt & pepper, balsamic/pesto sauce, Romaine lettuce, Roma tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onion, bell peppers, cucumber, and vinaigrette. Okay, if you eighty-six the salt & pepper, cheese, and olives, you’re in good shape. And again, if it was me, I’d order that dressing on the side, that way you can use as little as you’d like.

Now, if you’re feeling silly—I usually am—you might give the Peanut Butter and Fresh Banana Wrap a try; it’s just chunky peanut butter and sliced banana. Here’s the problem. Dr. Fuhrman once told me that conventional roasted peanut butter usually contains acrylamides. So, if you order it, you’re making a pretty decent concession, but like I said. If you’re feeling silly, go for it. I say this because I find it hard to resist the siren-song of bananas and peanut butter—just call me Elvis. “Uh thank you, thank you very much.”

Before we move onto the salads, its worth noting that the Tiger Lily Café gives you the option of making any of those wraps into a salad. So that’d nix that pesky bread concession. Although, I doubt a peanut butter banana salad would taste good, but tempting nonetheless. Now, Tiger Lily Café does offer salad-salads too. They all look good and all could conceivably work; with tweaks as needed. My two favorites are the Mesclun Salad w/”The Works” and the Greek Salad; together they’re made with field greens, salsa fresca, cucumbers, scallions, Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, Bermuda onion, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. Peace of cake! Drop the olives, cheese, and go easy on the dressing. Wham-bam thank you mam!

Finally, the Tiger Lily Café offers up a whole host of fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies. If you feel like treating yourself to something sweet, this might work for you. Heck, it’s a lot better than having a candy bar or something worse. Here’re a few things I’d order. Maybe an apple-pear-carrot juice or what about a blend of blueberries, beets, and cabbage? Hello antioxidants! As far as the smoothies and cocktails go, I like the Iron Maiden, the Red Devil, and Bermuda Triangle—clearly I am feeling evil. The Iron Maiden is made with carrot juice and wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is very interesting. The Red Devil is a blend of beets, red apples, and ginger—neat! And lastly, the Bermuda Triangle is just a bunch of bananas, strawberries, and orange juice all whirled together. Honestly, any one of these sounds mighty refreshing right now!

The goods news is if you ever find yourself stuck in a Tiger Lily Café trap, you know you’re in good hands. The Tiger Lily Café is certainly Fuhrman-friendly. Plenty of wholesome veggie options for even the most ardent Eat to Liver. For me, it all comes down to how many fruits and vegetables I can get my hands on. The Tiger Lily Café has more than enough to go around, but don’t take my word for it! Check out The Tiger Lily Café’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or shoot me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’ve taken the holiday off—time for reruns! Here’s a collection of my favorite posts from the past few months. Enjoy:

Caffeine Buzzed Chi-Town
“Chicagoans eat more chocolate and drink more cola than other U.S. urbanites, and are among the top consumers of energy drinks and coffee. They are also likely to say caffeine is good for you, according to the poll conducted by Prince Market Research.”

Atkins...The Worst
“Deep down to your bones satisfied feeling?” What the heck does that have to do with good nutrition? Marijuana gives you that feeling—so they say—so is smoking weed healthy? Hardly! Sounds like an emotional attachment to food to me.

Boxed Rice Blues
“Boxed rice may be convenient, but these products offer little more than refined grains and lots of excess sodium. Eating a one-cup portion of rice prepared according to package directions (including the prepackaged seasonings and added margarine) can provide up to 1350 milligrams of sodium. Compare that to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines’ recommended limit of 2300 mg per day and you’re well on your way to sodium overload.”

The NYC Calorie War Continues
“City health officials announced Wednesday that they hope to revive their stalled plan to force fast-food chains to add calorie counts to the big menu boards that hang above their counters.”

Something Fishy Here...
“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.”

Tomato 101
“Tomatoes are a wonderful food in their own class. Whether you consider them a fruit or vegetable, it matters not. Slice them into pita pocket sandwiches. Mash some almond butter with a fork into some tomato sauce to add to the vegetable-tomato-sprout avocado pita pocket. What a great school lunch.”

Kids Can't Keep the Weight Off
“A team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that obese children who lost weight kept it off if they were in a maintenance program, but its effectiveness waned over time.”

Gorilla Sandwich
“The Gorilla Sandwich is one of those designs that is a good story, and at the same time it serves as a high-quality example to demonstrate the infinite possibilities when it comes to successfully blending aesthetic design to an object's function, with an end result that most designers wouldn't consider, even in their wildest dreams, could be designed at all.”

Brit Kids Shun Healthy Meals
“The Pied Piper, it turns out, he was not. In the wake of an Oliver-inspired national program to provide more nutritious food, students have gravitated away from the cafeteria in a majority of the schools surveyed, according to a government report released Wednesday.”

Cancer Leads to Divorce?
“Women with cervical cancer had nearly a 70 percent greater risk of divorce at the age of 20, a level that fell to 19 percent at 60. For testicular cancer, the divorce risk was 34 percent at 20 and 16 percent at 60.”

Omega-3s and Type-1 Diabetes
“Optimal health depends on the proper balance of fatty acids in the diet. The modern diet that most of us eat supplies an excessive amount of omega-6 fat, but often too little omega-3 fat. This relative deficiency of omega-3 fats has potentially serious implications. Also, the consumption of too much omega-6 fat leads to high levels of arachidonic acid (AA). Higher levels of arachidonic acid can promote inflammation.”

The Perfect Waistline?
“What did you weigh at age 20? As it turns out, that’s when your body probably settled into its ideal weight. By 20, almost everyone has stopped growing, and the pounds gained in the years following are mostly fat, says Dr. Walter Willett, a nutritional epidemiologist at Harvard University.”

Goofing Up Breakfast with Low-Calorie
Clearly Platkin’s recommendations are more harebrained than health-conscious, but he’s not alone. IateApie has concocted the list of the top ten low calorie breakfast cereals. Yeah, because refined cereals are loaded with nutrients—sigh.

The World's Oldest Man
“The world's oldest man celebrated his 112th birthday Tuesday with a healthy Japanese breakfast of rice, miso soup and seaweed, saying he wanted to live forever.”

American Food Not Good for Immigrants
“Within months, Adrian was in trouble. He'd packed on 30 pounds. Doctors said he had hypertension, high cholesterol and was at high risk for type 2 diabetes.”

More Meat, More Disease
“When it is consumed in significant volume, animal protein, not only animal fat, is earning a reputation as a toxic nutrient to humans. More books are touting the benefits of high-protein diets for weight-loss and are getting much publicity. Many Americans desire to protect their addiction to a high-fat, nutrient-inadequate animal foods. These consumers form a huge market for such topsy-turvy scientific sounding quackery.”

Food Additives and Hyper Kids
"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an increasingly common problem, and theories abound to account for that," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "Among them is the notion that food additives induce hyperactivity."

Shaping Up School Cafeterias
“Food and beverage companies have scrambled to offer healthier alternatives in school cafeterias and vending machines, and some of the changes have been met with a shrug by students. The whole-wheat chocolate-chip cookies? “Surprisingly, the kids have kind of embraced them,” said Laura Jacobo, director of food services at Woodlake Union schools in California.”

Gardasil, Still a Dumb Idea
Not only do mandatory vaccinations seem very un-American, but, Gardasil is hardly the saving grace Merck’s marketing team paints it to be.

America, as Fat as Ever
“A lack of exercise is a huge factor in obesity rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found last year that more than 22 percent of Americans did not engage in any physical activity in the past month. The percentage is greater than 30 percent in four states: Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.”

Kobe Beef or Kobe Vegetables
“Kobe Bryant has instead placed all of his energy into representing his country, and said he probably pushed his body hardest in preparation for this event. He lost about 19 pounds before the minicamp in July, and has stayed away from pepperoni pizza and fast food so long that he said he "can't remember the last time" he had some. His diet has mostly been limited to fish and vegetables.”

Crackdown on Energy Drinks
“The attorneys general of 28 states, Washington D.C., and Guam asked the federal government on Tuesday to crack down on the makers of energy drinks with alcohol and caffeine, arguing their advertisements don't warn of health and safety risks.”

Obesity--THE VIRUS!
What a perfect opportunity for drug-makers to come out with an obesity vaccine—Money, money, mon-ey—MONEY!

Cow's Milk an Invader?
“Our bodies treat cows' milk as an invader, and including milk and other dairy products in our diets is linked to many health problems.”

Answers to Common Questions about Flaxseed
“Ground flaxseed provides more nutritional benefits than does whole flaxseed. That’s because the seeds are very hard, making them difficult to crack, even with careful chewing. Grinding breaks the seeds up, making them easier to digest when eaten. If whole flaxseeds remain unbroken, they may pass undigested through the body.”

High-Fat Foods No Good for Colon Cancer
New research suggests that a nutrient in red meat, poultry and dairy products may contribute to the development of intestinal polyps, which can lead to colon cancer.

Free Fruit Fridays
“Australia has its own problems with rising obesity and diabetes, and this fiber-loaded funding is more than just good stuff on Fridays. Premier John Brumby stated the Victorian plan is more comprehensive than a UK free fruit program that resulted in limited impact, per a published study last month in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.”

Bottled Water Bopping the Earth?
“Oops! The word is "don't reuse those bottles". Guess there's some danger of leaching of bad plastic from those if reused. As my son the chemist told me, "Get yourself one of those bottles especially made for holding water while hiking". It's also better for the environment. "Water-mining" is lowering the water table in some areas changing natural water supply. Plastic bottles, even if recycled aren't exactly eco-friendly.”

Barry Groves and Low-Carb: Junk Interview, Junk Science
"Each time Barry Groves reports on a medical study he gave a different conclusion to the data than the researchers do, and the studies are usually some poorly done old study. It is typical stuff for the Atkins crowd and the Weston Price Foundation to find one research paper they can claim makes their argument legitimate, but even when they hand pick one study, they typically don't report the research accurately."

Now, while you’re enjoying this stroll down memory lane, I’ll be huffing and puffing through my first ever…to be continued.

“To be or not to be? That is the question.” But for the person carving the Thanksgiving turkey this is the question, “Whatcha want? White or dark meat?” Speaking of that, which is healthier white or dark meat? Anahad O’Connor of The New York Times investigates. Take a look:

Many people choose white meat over dark because of its lower caloric content. But according to the Department of Agriculture, an ounce of boneless, skinless turkey breast contains about 46 calories and 1 gram of fat, compared with roughly 50 calories and 2 grams of fat for an ounce of boneless, skinless thigh.

But dark meat has its benefits. Compared with white meat, it contains more iron, zinc, riboflavin, thiamine, and vitamins B6 and B12. Both have less fat than most cuts of red meat, so you can’t go wrong either way.

This doesn’t affect me much because this Thanksgiving I’ll be having fish with plenty of veggies, but the claim that poultry is some heaven sent compared to red meats is incorrect. According to Dr. Fuhrman white meat still doesn’t do your body any favors. From Eat to Live:

Unknown to many is that animal proteins have a significant effect on raising cholesterol levels as well, while plant protein lowers it.1Red met is not the only problem. The consumption of chicken and fish is also linked to colon cancer. A large recent study examined the eating habits of 32,000 adults for six years and then watched the incidence of cancer for these subjects over the next six years. Those who avoided red meat but at white meat regularly had a more than 300 percent increase in colon cancer incidence.2 The same study showed that eating beans, peas, or lentils, at least twice a week was associated with a 50 percent lower risk than never eating these foods.

Chicken has about the same amount of cholesterol as beef, and the production of those potent cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are even more concentrated in grilled chicken than in beef.3 Another recent study from New Zealand that investigated heterocyclic amines in meat, fish, and chicken found the greatest contributor of HCAs to cancer risk was chicken.4 Likewise, studies indicated that chicken is almost as dangerous as red meat for the heart. Regarding cholesterol, there is no advantage to eating lean white instead of lean red meat.5

And Dr. Fuhrman makes it pretty clear, if you’ve got heart problems you should be especially mindful of animal products. More from Eat to Live:

The patient's diet must be nutrient-dense. Animal products and detrimental fats must be avoided to prevent the after-meal fat surge.6 Refined carbohydrates should also be avoided to prevent the after-meal glucose surges and to control triglycerides. Homocysteine levels should be normalized, by supplementation with appropriate nutrients if necessary.

Figured I’d remind you about those nasty refined carbohydrates too. Think of this when you’re tempted to reach for that extra scoop of stuffing—Eek!

Sorry for the sensationalist title, but this might shock you. New search has determined that more women under 45 are dying from heart disease. The Associated Press reports:

For decades, heart disease death rates have been falling. But a new study shows a troubling turn - more women under 45 are dying of heart disease due to clogged arteries, and the death rate for men that age has leveled off.

Heart experts aren’t sure what went wrong, but they think increasing rates of obesity and other risk factors are to blame…

…But what’s going on with younger adults is startling, said Dr. Anthony DeMaria, editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which is publishing the study and released it Monday.

"We have a pretty rosy view of how things are going in the war against cardiovascular disease," DeMaria said. "I view this paper as a wake-up call that says there is a very important segment of our population that needs some attention."

Sadly, this isn’t all that surprising. Most people eat the standard American diet, and, according to Dr. Fuhrman heart disease starts young. I’ll let him explain:

As a result of the heart-unfriendly diet, blood vessel damage begins early. Not only does the development of coronary atherosclerosis develop in childhood, but earlier development of atherosclerosis and higher serum cholesterol levels in childhood result in a significantly higher risk of premature sudden death relatively early in life. Sometimes the effects of childhood dietary abuses can be seen relatively early, with premature death or a heart attack at a young age.

When we study people who died young of coronary artery disease, we find that the highest risk of an earlier death occurs in those who were above average weight in childhood.1 Findings from the famous Bogalusa Heart Study show that a high saturated fat intake early in life is strongly predictive of later heart disease burden and the higher blood pressure in childhood and adolescence is powerfully predictive of cardiovascular death in adulthood.2

It sure seems like the sooner you start eating for health and longevity, the better. I don’t know, just a thought.

Roger Sinasohn of ParentDish wants to exercise—he really does—but with the kids’ busy schedule he just can’t find the time. Here’s his dilemma:

After that, I would sit in the hot tub and kibitz for a bit and then walk home, often stopping at a coffee shop to drink a cup of joe and work on my novel.

I was down to my lowest adult weight ever and well on my way to hitting 200lbs. Then, we had kids. Rachel leaves very early in the morning, so I have to stay home with the kids until it's time for school or until someone is here to watch them. After work, I come straight home and get started on dinner, and cleaning up, and getting the kids to bed -- the whole nine yards. By the time they're in bed, and I'm working on stories for ParentDish, my vision is getting blurry and my brain starts shutting down for the night.

Well, if Roger figures out when to exercise, he might want to give this abdominal workout from The Detroit Free Press a try. Take a look:

Lie on a mat with your arms extended out and palms facing down. With your legs in the air directly over your hips, position a stability ball between your ankles. With your abs tight, squeeze the ball.

With your right shoulder pressed to the floor, rotate your legs to the left as close to the floor as possible. Then, engage your abs to raise the ball back to the starting position and repeat to the other side. Try 12 repetitions to each side.

I’ve used a ball before—it’s okay—more for beginners. How do you work your abs? Oh, and please head over to ParentDish and give Roger some exercise advice.

Veg Blog’s pulled some great veggie-based comic strips. Here’s one:

I doubt someone reading this blog would eat any of this stuff, but just in case, A Calorie Counter has pulled together a list of the 88 Fast Food Items Highest In Trans Fat. Here’s 1 through 10:

1. White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings – Sack; Trans Fat: 30 grams
2. White Castle Fish Nibblers - Sack; Trans Fat: 16 grams
3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie; Trans Fat: 14 grams
4. Burger King Hash Browns - Large; Trans Fat: 13 grams
5. White Castle Chicken Rings - 20 rings; Trans Fat: 13 grams
6. Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Large; Trans Fat: 12 grams
7. Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges; Trans Fat: 12 grams
8. White Castle Clam Strips - Sack; Trans Fat: 12 grams
9. Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 6-piece; Trans Fat: 12 grams
10. White Castle French Fries - Sack; Trans Fat: 11 grams

The Italian city of Naples has issued a ban against smoking near pregnant women and children in public parks. More from the AFP:

"We're not going to use a ruler to measure the distance between smokers and women or children," Deputy Mayor Gennaro Nasti told AFP.

"But it will be forbidden to smoke during open-air shows or under covered structures."

Hey, when the Deputy Mayor’s last name is Nasti, you better do what he says!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be one of those old people whose spine barely budges above 45 degrees. That’s why I exercise my back like CRAZY! And according to this video report by The New York Times core conditioning is pivotal. See for yourself:

Ideally, exercise should be a part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. If you have a busy work schedule and commute, get in fifteen minutes of exercise every day before your morning shower. For example, if you routinely shower every morning, work up a sweat with some abdominal crunches, back extensions, toe raises, walk up and down the stairs in your home, mock jump rope, and then take your shower. Keep in mind; it is important to exercise your lower back frequently. Get in the habit of exercising the same time every day. Make the days where you do not exercise the exception, not the rule.

And here Dr. Fuhrman provides some simple exercise tips. Take a look:

1. Seated cable row: With knees slightly bent, lean forward, then pull the handles back to your chest with elbows wide as your back comes to vertical.
2. Wide cable pull downs: Pull down the cable to your chest with elbows wide as you lean back to a sixty-degree angle.
3. Back extensions: Lean over exercise ball, and arch your back up like a reverse sit up, or use a back extension chair made for this exercise.
4. Superman: While lying on your stomach, lift trunk and legs up off the ground like a bow.
5. Alternate Superman: Use alternate arm and leg to perform the superman.
6. Weighted backpack: Wear a weighted backpack for a few hours per week. Normal activities of moving around and getting up and down with a weighted backpack on strengthens the back.

A new study has determined that avoiding salty foods and not adding salt to food can help lower blood pressure. Reuters reports:

A modest reduction in dietary salt, measured by sodium content in the urine by about 35 percent and lowered daytime blood pressure by 12.1 mm Hg systolic and 6.8 mm Hg diastolic in patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) not taking anti-hypertensive medications, reports Dr. Javad Kojuri. Blood pressure readings at night were slightly lower.

Kojuri and Dr. Rahim Rahimi, both from Shiraz University in Iran, assessed blood pressure and 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in 60 individuals before and after instructing them to follow a 'no salt added' diet for 6 weeks.

Twenty subjects who did not follow the diet were used as a comparison group ("controls"). All of the subjects were similar in age, gender, weight, blood pressure, and initial urinary sodium excretion.

“For optimal health, I recommend that no salt at all be added to any food,” said Dr. Fuhrman. And for good reason, just look what it does to our tastes buds. More from Dr. Fuhrman:

Salt addiction has developed throughout civilization in the last 5000 years, creating a worldwide epidemic of high blood pressure and resultant strokes. Besides fatigue, cravings, and uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms, salt use gradually deadens your taste.1 The more salt you consume, the more you lose the ability to appreciate the subtle flavors of natural food. As salt deadens taste, it makes you want more and more salt to get back some of the missing flavor.

Sounds almost like a drug addiction.

Professor Brian Wansink of Cornell University has a theory, “Americans grossly underestimate how many calories we eat.” Check out this video from 60 Minutes:

“We don’t have any idea what the normal amount to eat is, so we look around for clues or signals. When all you see is that big portions of food cost less than small ones, it can be confusing.”

Maybe that confusion is what leads people to believe that a meal of cold cuts, mayo, chips, and bread is low in calories. Then again, it’s really all about Health = Nutrition / Calories.

Talk about giving up in life. Apparently overweight people lose no weight after a heart attack. More from Reuters:

"On average less than a half of a percent change in body weight occurred, and that's really small," Dr. John A. Spertus of the Mid America Heart Institute of Saint Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the study's authors, told Reuters Health. People need to lose at least 5 percent of their body weight to significantly improve their heart health, he added.

Spertus and his team followed up with 1,253 overweight or obese individuals one year after they had experienced a heart attack. On average, they had lost 0.2 percent of their body weight. Overweight people actually gained an average of 0.4 percent of their body weight, while obese people lost 0.5 percent and morbidly obese individuals lost nearly 4 percent.

Polenta Vegetable Casserole

2 cups fresh organic baby spinach
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest or other no salt seasoning
1/8 cup water
3/4 jar pasta sauce, no or low salt

Polenta
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, soaked overnight & cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cornmeal

Cheese topping
1 cup soy mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute' vegetables, herbs and seasonings in water for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender, adding more water if needed to prevent sticking. Mix in pasta sauce, reserving 1/4 cup. Meanwhile, bring 6 cups of water, sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic to a boil. Then slowly add cornmeal, stirring constantly on low heat for 5 minutes until the cornmeal thickens. Spread 1/4 cup pasta sauce over bottom of 8 X 11 baking pan, then spread a layer of polenta over the sauce. Place a layer of the vegetable/sauce mixture on the polenta and then another layer of polenta and vegetable/sauce mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese over top. Bake in oven for 20 minutes until heated through. Serves 8.

No Pasta Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna noodles
2 large eggplants, sliced 1/4" lengthwise
3 small zucchini, slice lengthwise as thin as you can
3 small yellow squash, slice lengthwise as thin as you can

Tofu ricotta
1 package soft tofu
1 small onion, cut in quarters
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 1/4 pounds firm tofu
4 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest
2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs
1 cup grated soy mozzarella cheese

Vegetables
2 bunches broccoli florets & peeled stems, coarsely chopped
4 cups sliced mushrooms, a mixture preferable (shiitake, cremini, oyster)
4 medium bell peppers (a mixture of red, yellow & orange), chopped
1 7-ounce bag organic baby spinach
3 cups pasta sauce, no or low salt
fresh basil, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lasagna noodles
Bake eggplant, zucchini and squash slices for 10 minutes until flexible but not completely cooked.

Tofu ricotta
Process soft tofu, onion, and garlic until pureed. Add 1 bunch basil leaves and pulse to coarsely chop. Squeeze firm tofu to remove excess water and crumble. Mix pureed tofu and crumbled tofu. Add VegiZest, Italian herbs, and grated soy mozzarella cheese.

Saute vegetables
Saute broccoli, mushrooms. peppers, and spinach over low heat for 5 minutes, without water, just until tender.

Assemble
Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on bottom of a baking dish. Layer eggplant slices, then sauteed vegetables, tofu ricotta, squash and zucchini slices and spread with pasta sauce. Repeat layers ending with tofu ricotta. Spread pasta sauce on the top and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour or until very hot and bubbly. Garnish with shredded fresh basil. Serves 8.

• Here are some great video reports from CNN. The first is about banning new fast food restaurants from opening in South Los Angeles. Take a look:

It’s certainly a noble idea. Especially when you consider how bad trans-fat is for you. More from Dr. Fuhrman:

Hydrogenation is a process of adding hydrogen molecules to unsaturated fats which makes plant oils that are liquid at room temperature, solidify. An example is margarine. These fats are also called TRANS FATS. The hardening of the fat extends its shelf life so that the oil can by used over and over again to fry potatoes in a fast food restaurant or be added to processed foods, such as crackers and cookies. While hydrogenation does not make the fat completely saturated, it creates trans-fatty acids, which act like saturated fats. These fats raise cholesterol and increasing evidence is accumulating demonstrating the harmful nature of these man-made fats and their relation to both cancer and heart disease. Avoid all foods whose ingredients contain partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils.

• Now, check out this video. It talks about using omega fats to help treat mood disorders like depression. Here it is:

The link between omega fats and mood disorders has long been established. In case you need a refresher, here’s Dr. Fuhrman:

When we have insufficient omega-3 fat, we do not produce enough DHA, a long-chain omega-3 fat with anti-inflammatory effects. High levels of arachidonic acid and low levels of omega-3 fats can be a contributory cause of heart disease, stroke, autoimmune diseases, skin diseases, depression, and possibly increased cancer incidence.1 Most Americans would improve their health if they consumed more omega-3 fats and less omega-6 fats. I recommend that both vegetarians and non-vegetarians make an effort to consume one to two grams of omega-3 fat daily.

• A school district in Washington D.C. wants to throw parents in jail if they don’t get their kids vaccinated. Get a load of this video:

This is utter insanity! Rest assured, drug-makers companies make enough money without mandatory vaccinations. Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t like it either:

This is not about arguing about the effectiveness or value of vaccines, just whether we should mandate medical care and take another freedom away from Americans. We no longer have the freedom to take or not take medications. Sounds like the Taliban to me.