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

I’m not much of a dancer—me on the dance floor looks a lot like a dog floundering on a frozen pond—but nevertheless, Eating to Live on the Outside is about to tango. This week we’re hitting salad emporium, Green Tango.

A place that advertises “fresh chopped salads” has got to be good—right? Yeah, it is. Green Tango is a fine place for the discerning nutritarian to call home. So, enough jibber-jabber! Let’s crack this menu open and see what we got.

Green Tango offers two major options, Salads and Wraps. Let’s check out the salads first. Okay, technically they all “work.” All you’d have to do is drop the occasional egg, bacon, and cheese, but here’s the four that really caught my eye.

I dig The Big Salad, the Tusan Salad, the Fiesta Salad, and the Garden Delight. There’s A LOT of veggies in these. Combine they included iceberg lettuce, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, potatoes, chickpeas, feta cheese, arugula, white beans, cremini mushrooms, artichokes, parmesan cheese, corn, black beans, avocado, red onions, grilled shrimp, mesclun greens, broccoli, beets, artichokes, asparagus, and zucchini. Not doubt—this is a MASSIVE amount of phytonutrients—awesome! And once you ditch the egg, cheese, and shrimp it gets even better.

To ensure the health-promoting integrity of these salads, I’d order the dressing on the side. Speaking of the dressing, Green Tango has two options that won’t leave me feeling very guilty; fresh squeezed lemon juice and age balsamic vinegar. I could go for either of these.

If none of the Green Tango favorite salads entice you, why not make your own creation out of these wonderful ingredients? Feast your eyes on these: Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, arugula, spinach, mesclun greens, almonds, artichokes, asparagus, avocado, beets, black beens, broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower, chick peas, cremini mushrooms, crispy noodles, corn, croutons, cucumbers, dried cherries, dried cranberries, green beans, hearts of palm, mandarin oranges, peanuts, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, raisins, red onions, and roasted red peppers. How fantastic is this!

Here’s the salad I would create. Okay, I’d start with a spinach base—I love me some spinach—then on top of that I would pile on some avocado, beets, asparagus, and carrots. Now, for my dressing, I think balsamic vinegar would go nicely with the root veggies—don’t you agree?

Okay, if a salad is striking your fancy—which would be hard to believe if you’re a nutritarian—you could go for a wrap. The wraps are basically one of the salads wrapped up in an original tortilla or either an herb garlic, spinach, or sun-dried tomato basil tortilla. Now, I’m not anti-wrap, but when confronted with all these salad options, I’d easily pass on the tortilla, but if I were to order a wrap, I’d probably go with the spinach tortilla—it’s kind of cruciferous!

Now, to wrap things up—pun intended—I should mention that Green Tango also sells soup, but as we all know, prepared soups tend to be very salty—so, not thanks. Oh! And if you’re looking for a side to go with your salad, Green Tango offers fruit—pretty neat!

I feel like I got off easy this week. Green Tango sounds like a great place to grab a meal; very reminiscent of Eating to Live on the Outside favorite Just Salad—but what do you think? Does Green Tango REALLY stack up? You decide. Take a look at Green Tango’s menu and let me know how you’d handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat greatly! Peace.

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Gina Kolata of The New York Times asks the question, “Does Weight Lifting Make a Better Athlete?” Good question, let’s find out. Here’s some of the report:

Researchers who study weight lifting, or resistance training as it often is called, are adamant. It definitely helps, they say. But other experts in the field are not so sure.


Gary R. Hunter, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a believer. He cites, for example, a recent study involving middle-distance runners. Three months of resistance training, he said, improved their leg strength and running efficiency, a measure of how much effort it took to run.

And, he said, it is not just runners who become more efficient.

“There is no doubt that an appropriate weight-training program would improve efficiency in pretty much any athlete,” Dr. Hunter said.

William J. Kraemer, a kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, said lifting weights also can increase endurance and reduce the risk of injury, especially to connective tissue…

…But other researchers, like Patrick O’Connor, an exercise scientist at the University of Georgia, are not convinced.

Dr. O’Connor points out that the weight-lifting studies, as is typical in exercise science, are small. And each seems to examine a different regimen, to measure outcome differently and to study different subjects — trained athletes, sedentary people, recreational athletes. It becomes almost impossible to draw conclusions, he said.

That may be one reason why different athletes end up doing different weight-lifting exercises. Chris Martin, a 31-year-old chemical engineer who has an elite racing license from USA Triathlon, the governing body for the sport, works on his entire body. But for his legs, he does exercises like leg extensions using one leg at a time, to correct any muscle imbalances or weaknesses. Mr. Martin, who lives in Lawrenceville, N.J., said he got the idea from coaches and from his own reading.

“Cycling and running are one-leg-at-a-time activities,” he explained. And one-legged exercises “recruit more muscles that help the hips.”

Actually, my Yoga teacher tells the class not to lift weights and that weight-lifting strains the body and is not harmonious—I’m warming to this opinion—but I haven’t stopped lifting yet.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want all children to get a flu shot. Thomas H. Maugh II of The Los Angeles Times reports:

The recommendation, which is expected to be adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would call for an estimated 30 million more children to be vaccinated -- although current vaccination rates suggest that less than a quarter of them, about 7 million, would actually receive the shots.


The shots would not be mandatory, but the federal imprimatur would make physicians more likely to offer the vaccine to children.

"This new recommendation will help parents understand that all children can benefit from vaccination," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

In addition, CDC approval would make insurance coverage more likely and the flu vaccine would also be distributed through the government's Vaccines for Children program, which covers about 45% of the nation's youth.

Current recommendations call for vaccination of children between 6 months and 5 years old. The new recommendation raises the age range to 18.

Blah-blah-blah flu shot. I’m tired of hearing about this wonder drug, but in case you’re not, check out these recent flu-oriented posts:

• Got the Flu Shot, Still the Got Flu
• Our Outmatched Flu Shots
• Flu Shots: New Jersey Goes Un-American!
• Mandatory Flu Shots: NJ Goes Insane!

And for more, don’t forget DiseaseProof’s cold and flu category.

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I was thinking of something witty to say, but, I think the title says it all. Ladies and gentlemen, I present the dance of the cucumber—enjoy:


In my opinion, the tomato doesn’t seem excited enough.

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I could care less about Lindsey Hilton or Paris Lohan, but this picture really irked me. Britney Spears demonstrates her abysmal parenting skills by SMOKING while she was pregnant. Disgusting:


As a man, I realize that I swimming in dangerous waters here, but, I think it is incredibly selfish and offensive to smoke while a new life is forming inside you—opinions?

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“Accumulating evidence has implicated a bacterium that is transmitted via pasteurized cow’s milk in the etiology of Crohn’s disease,” explains Dr. Fuhrman. According to him, dairy and Crohn’s Disease are dangerous bedfellows. Take a look:

It was discovered that a bacteria called Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) found in dairy products survives the heat of pasteurization and causes inflammatory bowel disease in a variety of animals, including monkeys and chimpanzees.

Certainly a daunting prospect—especially since humans aren’t that genetically far removed from monkeys and chimpanzees—and the research supports the insidious Crohn’s disease-cow’s milk connection. More from Dr. Fuhrman:

In the last few years, this same bacterium has been detected in a large percentage of humans who have Crohn’s disease.1 To quote the most recent of these referenced medical journal articles, “The rate of detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in individuals with Crohn’s disease is highly significant and implicates this chronic enteric pathogen in disease causation.”

Now, not everybody is sold on the dangers of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis. Guest blogger Rachel Kirby drops this post on Aetiology. Here’s a bit:

One of the first I came across and strangest but most relevant to an infectious cause was that the bacteria enters your body through contaminated milk (dairy) or water products. The bacteria are a mycobacterium that is abbreviated MAP (Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis).There seems to be some correlation between culturing MAP in patients with Crohn's. The idea that there is a bacterial cause may come from the idea that there is a similar bovine disease called Johne's disease. It has many of the same symptoms. Because of the similarities with Johne's disease, a mycobacterial cause of Crohn's disease has been sought for many years. It has been disproved that they have any real connection. In one study it suggests that once the bovine strain enters a human host it becomes less virulent. Another reason there is a problem making the correlation of MAP and Crohn's is because MAP is often hard to culture. Why they do they still suggest that there is an infectious agent that causes Crohn's? This could be because they still continue to culture MAP in Crohn's patients but there is not strong enough evidence to fully support the theory. It may be that MAP is present even before the onset of Crohn's.

Perhaps there is a grayish hue surrounding the MAP-Crohn’s disease link, but at the very least, the preponderance of evidence certainly warrants further investigation. Let’s check back with Dr. Fuhrman:

An unexpected finding from all this research on Crohn’s disease was the revelation that patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome may also be affected with MAP from dairy product consumption.2 The problems caused by the MAP bug, transmitted from dairy products, may be a severe public health issue.

Okay, here's what I take away from this disagreement. When you look at the dairy with a wide angle lenses, you’ll see that there are A LOT of reasons to avoid it. Here’s just a handful:

• Milk Linked to Prostate Cancer
• Cow's Milk an Invader?
• The U.S. Department of Meat, Milk, and Cheese
• Dairy and Weight Loss
• A Dairy Conspiracy?
• No Milk for Acne
• Dairy Ousted for Weight-Loss
• The Hard Truth about Milk
• Dairy Soon to be Even Scarier
• Are Dairy Products the Answer to Osteoporosis?

All I can say is—EEK!
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A new study has determined that fad diets like Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and the Zone produced only modest weight-loss with limited sustainability. Ian Ayres of the Freakonomics blog has more:

A randomized control year-long study looked at the impact of four different diets (Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets) on a group of overweight and obese subjects who were looking to lose weight. The diets produced only “modest” average weight loss of about 6.4 lbs (2.3 percent of original body weight) and found no statistically significant difference in weight loss for the four different diets.


People do a pretty good job of losing weight for about half a year, and then their weight tends to drift back toward their pre-diet number. The difficulty of sustaining weight loss can be seen in this figure taken from a 2-year randomized study of the Weight Watchers program:

Now, news like this is rather redundant. Diets programs like Atkins and Weight Watchers are nothing but hype—BIG wastes of time! According to Dr. Fuhrman diets like these are doomed to fail. He explains:

All those second rate diets fail, because without addressing adequate micronutrient density, people crave more food than their body requires for good health.


In spite of the more than $110 million consumers spend every day on diets and “reducing” programs (more than $40 billion per year), Americans are the most obese people in history. To be considered obese, more than one-third of a person’s body must be made up of fat. A whopping 34 percent of all Americans are obese, and the problem is getting worse, not better.

Unfortunately, most weight-loss plans either don’t work or offer only minor, usually temporary, benefits. There are plenty of “rules and counting” diets, diet drugs, high-protein programs, canned shakes, and other fads that might enable you to lose some weight for a period of time. The problem is that you can’t stay on these programs forever.

Here’s my UNEXPERT opinion. Ditch the “diet” and change your lifestyle. Hey, it worked for me—Healthy, with a Vengeance!

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Last October, Dr. Jung San Huang of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine determined that cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis; i.e. artery plaque. Reuters was on it:

Cholesterol is known to promote plaque build-up in blood vessels, which raises the risk of heart attack, and other cardiovascular problems. Now, new research suggests that cholesterol does this by reducing the activity of a chemical called transforming growth factor (TGF-beta).


"The finding that cholesterol causes atherosclerosis (plaques) by attenuating TGF-beta responsiveness in...cells could lead to the development of novel and effective therapies for atherosclerosis," senior investigator Dr. Jung San Huang told Reuters Health.

I know, not exactly new news, but important nonetheless. Now, get this. New research claims that total cholesterol is linked to the risk of plaque rupture. More from Reuters:

In individuals without symptoms who have thickened walls of the carotid arteries, two major arteries located on each side of the neck that provide blood and oxygen to the brain, the total blood levels of cholesterol are strongly associated with the presence a lipid, or fat-based," core within plaque, which have a vulnerability to rupture, researchers report.


"We know that a lipid core, made up of fatty dead tissue deposits, within an atherosclerotic plaque puts the plaque at risk for causing an adverse clinical event, such as a stroke if the plaque is in the carotid artery or a heart attack if the plaque is in the coronary artery," lead investigator Dr. Bruce A. Wasserman told Reuters Health.

To identify factors associated with a lipid core, Wasserman of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues examined subjects taking part in a study of atherosclerosis, also referred to as hardening of the arteries. All of the subjects were free of cardiovascular disease and were among participants with the thickest carotid artery walls, as determined by ultrasound.

Okay, here’s a no-brainer—lower cholesterol! Not sure how? Dr. Fuhrman offers up some advice for getting your cholesterol down. Check it out:

A vegetable, fruit, nut, and bean-based diet has been shown to be the most effective cholesterol-lowering dietary approach in medical history. This newsworthy data with the potential to save millions of lives has been ignored by the mass media. With this dietary approach, most patients drop their total cholesterol below 150 and LDL below 100, without the need for medications. In areas of the world where people eat a diet of unrefined plant foods, people have total cholesterol levels below 150, and there is zero incidence of heart disease in the population1…


…The dietary program I recommend for heart-disease reversal utilizes natural cholesterol-lowering therapies instead of drugs, which eliminates the risks of drug side effects. And because my dietary program is richer in fiber and nutrients than the typical vegetarian diet, my patients achieve spectacular reductions in cholesterol, body weight, and blood pressure. Fortunately, this approach also can help those who already have heart disease. They can avoid future heart attacks and reverse and remove atherosclerosis.

And trust me, not only is Dr. Fuhrman’s approach effective—it’s delicious! Oh, and for more on cholesterol, don’t forget about Wednesday’s post Low Cholesterol and Cancer-Risk.
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You hope people are better than this, but, it seems overweight people face heightened scrutiny at the workplace. That’sFit is on it:

Stigmas surrounding obesity plainly exist. People carrying significant weight are commonly labeled lazy, slovenly, and lacking self-discipline, so often whispered with that annoying phrase, "they just let themselves go." I've known and know plenty of overweight people whom absolutely none of those labels apply.


Unfortunately these swirling negative stereotypes can damage careers, says a new study. Researchers examined data from a pool of 25 separate studies looking at weight-based bias in the workplace. They determined bias definitely exists, with a stronger bias for sales positions than managerial ones.

Well, to add levity to this touchy subject—there are certainly some drawbacks to dressing slovenly at work. From a great movie:


“Um yeah…what’s happening?”

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Dr. Fuhrman emailed me this the other day. It shows the differences between fruits and vegetables when it comes to diabetes-prevention. From NutraIngredients-USA:

A higher intake of vegetables, rich sources of fibre, antioxidants, and magnesium, may reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by almost 30 per cent, suggests a new study.


On the flip side of the coin, however, an increased consumption of fruit was not associated with any benefits, according to the study with 64,191 middle-aged Chinese women published in the new issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

"Our study adds to the limited and conflicting data of the associations between fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of type-2 diabetes," wrote lead author Raquel Villegas from Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center.

"A higher intake of vegetables, rich in fibre, antioxidants, and magnesium and with a low glycemic index, was associated with a decreased risk of type-2 diabetes."

The authors, including researchers from the Shanghai Cancer Institute and the Diabetes Research and Training Center in Nashville, recruited the women (aged between 40 and 70) and, using a food-frequency questionnaire, report they had average fruit and vegetable intakes of 239.4 and 236.0 grams per day, respectively.

I know from talking with Dr. Fuhrman. That he advises diabetics to eat more veggies than fruit, but, he does encourage blueberries—lots of blueberries!

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New York City has given mobile fruit and vegetable stands the green to roll out all over the city. Reuters reports:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said underserved New Yorkers would have better access to fresh produce as early as this spring.


"The communities in our city where obesity and diabetes continues to skyrocket are the same communities that lack even the most basic access to fresh fruits and vegetables," Quinn said…

…There are more than 4,000 permits for so-called green carts in New York and the stands are a common sight in wealthy Manhattan.

But low-income New Yorkers are left with little choice but to buy unhealthy "convenience" foods, most of which are packaged and processed, supporters of the bill said.

Very cool, but lest anyone think NYC is devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables. Just check out Union Square:


That reminds me. A new farmers market just opened up by my house—guess where I’m going this weekend?

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“Low cholesterol as a result of eating healthfully does NOT place one at higher risk of cancer,” exclaims Dr. Fuhrman in response to a recent Reuters report that low cholesterol has been linked to stomach cancer-risk. From the report:

Some studies have linked low cholesterol levels to higher death rates from cancer in general, Dr. Kouichi Asano, of Kyushu University, Fukuoka, and colleagues explain in the International Journal of Cancer. "With respect to gastric cancer, a limited number of studies suggest this inverse association, while others do not."


The researcher looked into this in a study involving some 2,600 residents of Hisayama, Japan, who were followed for 14 years.

Gastric cancers developed in 97 subjects. After accounting for age and gender, stomach cancer rates rose significantly with descending cholesterol level. For example, among subjects with the highest cholesterol levels, the gastric cancer rate was the equivalent of 2.1 cases per 1000 persons per year; among those with the lowest cholesterol, the rate was 3.9 per 1000 person-years.

I talked to Dr. Fuhrman at length about this study and he thinks it’s a bunch of hooey. He goes on to explains why you shouldn’t worry about low cholesterol and cancer if you’re consuming a superior diet. Take a look:

Low cholesterol levels around the world in healthy populations are linked lower rates of all cancers and that was confirmed in the China-Oxford-Cornell Study. That means if you eat a cardio-protective diet that earns you a low cholesterol level. That is indicative of a lower risk and protection against multiple cancers.


Cancer is a disease with a slow doubling time. It is in the body on the average of 8-12 years prior to diagnosis in the U.S. and 12-18 years prior to diagnosis in areas without modern screening and detection. Having cancer and having cancer even when it is not yet diagnosed lowers cholesterol levels. Having very low cholesterol, on a diet that you would expect to generate a high-cholesterol, is suspicious and it could potentially be a sign of an undiagnosed or early cancer.

Take my cholesterol numbers for example:


I’m not worried about getting cancer from low cholesterol—are you?

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My friends, it’s a dark day. The avocados are being threatened. Water restrictions in California are slicing into avocado groves—sigh. Deborah Schoch of The Los Angeles Times reports:

Less than two months after a mandatory 30% cutback in agricultural water deliveries, some Southern California growers have begun "stumping" hundreds of healthy, well-nurtured avocado trees, putting them out of production for the next one to three years to leave more water for the rest of their trees.


Their actions represent the downside of a water deal between area farmers and the region's water wholesaler, the Metropolitan Water District. Over the years, thousands of farmers signed up for a program that gave them discounted water in return for their willingness to be first in line for a water cutback.

This winter is payback time.

For the first time since the program started in 1995, farmers must reciprocate for years of discounts. The MWD cut their water deliveries by 30% on Jan. 1 because of the regional shortage caused by last year's record dry weather, an eight-year drought in the Colorado River Basin and a court order protecting the endangered smelt in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta.

No! Don’t stump my avocados. What an atrocity. How can they do this? Oh no, you can witness the horror in action. Oh I can’t bear to look:


Please. Put the chain saw down! Egad:


Save the avocados! Save them now! With the avocados strained, how will we make all these delicious creations:

Very Veggie Salad

15 ounces or 10 cups mixed greens or baby salad greens
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
left over steamed vegetables (optional)
1/2 15-ounce can lentils, drained, or 1 cups cooked lentils
2 medium carrots, grated
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dressing of choice

Distribute greens, vegetables (except carrots), and lentils on dinner plates. Then distribute grated carrots. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and pour dressing over salads.

Got Greens Smoothie

3 ounces fresh organic baby spinach
2 cups fresh or frozen pineapple cubes
3 kiwis
1/2 avocado
1 banana

Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender until smooth and creamy.

Alright, something has to be done. This looks like a job for—SUPER GERRY!

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A new study claims that many of our foods—fruits and veggies included—are losing their nutrients over time. Julie Deardorff of Julie’s Health Club is on it:

Here are more findings Halweil cited from Thomas' study that used data between 1940 to 1991:

• "Spinach's potassium content dropped by 53 percent, its phosphorus by 70 percent, its iron by 60 percent and its copper by 96 percent."
• "Substantial data show that in corn, wheat and soybeans, the higher the yield, the lower the protein and oil content."
• "The higher tomato yields (in terms of harvest weight), the lower the concentration of vitamin C, levels of lycopene (the key antioxidant that make tomatoes red) and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor.)"

This is certainly fascinating stuff—reminds me of Dr. Fuhrman’s commentary on soil depletion in Eat to Live. Here’s an excerpt:

Soil depletion of nutrients is not the problem—our food choices are! Contrary to many of the horror stories you hear, our soil is not depleted of nutrients. California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Florida, and other states still have rich, fertile land that produces most of our fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds. America provides some of the most nutrient-rich produce in the world.


Our government publishes nutritional analyses of foods. It takes food from a variety of supermarkets across the country, analyzes it, and publishes the results. Contrary to claims of many health-food and supplement enthusiasts, the produce grown in this country is nutrient-rich and high in trace minerals, especially beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.1 American produced grains, however, do not have the mineral density of vegetables. Grains and animal-feed crops grown in the southeastern states are the most deficient, but even in those states only a small percentage of crops are shown to be deficient in minerals.2

Thankfully, by eating a diet with a wide variety of natural plant foods, from a variety of soils, the threat of nutritional deficiency merely as a result of soil inadequacy is eliminated. Americans are not nutrient-deficient because of our depleted soil, as some nutritional-supplement proponents claim. Americans are nutrient-deficient because they do not eat a sufficient quantity of fresh produce. Over 90 percent of the calories consumed by Americans come from refined foods or animal products. With such a small percentage of our diet consisting of unrefined plant foods, how could we not become nutrient-deficient? Since more than 40 percent of the calories in the American diet are derived from sugar or refined grains, both of which are nutrient-depleted, Americans are severely malnourished. Refined sugars cause us to be malnourished in direct proportion to how much we consume them. They are partially to blame for the high cancer and heart attack rates we see in America.

I got to side with Dr. Fuhrman on this. First, let’s get people eating more healthy plant foods and then we’ll deal with the other stuff—what do you think?
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• Shill—oops, I mean—Dr. Robert Jarvick has been dropped by from Pfizer’s Lipitor ads. More from the Associated Press:

On Monday, Pfizer took the doctor and inventor of the artificial heart off the mound as pitchman for the world's best- selling medication, after his credentials - in medicine and in his own exercise regimen - came under fire.

In the ads, which began their heavy rotation on TV and in print in 2006, Jarvik touts the benefits of Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering drug. As of Monday afternoon, Jarvik's photo still appeared on Pfizer's Web site advertising the drug.

But House Democrats said the ads could be misleading to consumers because Jarvik appeared to be giving medical advice, even though he is not licensed to practice medicine. While Jarvik holds a medical degree, he did not complete the certification requirements to practice medicine.

• A new study suggests that antibiotics are overused in people dying of dementia. The Associated Press reports:

The study raises ethical questions about when it's acceptable to withhold perhaps futile treatment and let people die, and whether public health issues should ever be considered.


"Advanced dementia is a terminal illness," said study co-author Dr. Susan Mitchell, a senior scientist with the Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston. "If we substituted 'end-stage cancer' for 'advanced dementia,' I don't think people would have any problem understanding this."

Many experts, including the Alzheimer's Association, consider Alzheimer's and other dementias to be fatal brain diseases. Patients die of infections such as pneumonia and other complications, but the underlying cause is damage to brain cells.

• C. Claiborne Ray of The New York Times investigates the claim, do midnight meals make you fat? Check it out:

“Eating a big meal just before going to bed has been found in studies to elevate triglyceride levels in the blood for a period of time,” r. Louis J. Aronne, director of the comprehensive weight control program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said. A higher triglyceride level “has been associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance,” both related to weight gain, he said.


Dr. Aronne suggested a theoretical framework for why late meals may stay with you. “If you ate 500 calories during the day but walked around afterward, your muscles would be competing with your fat cells for the calories and could burn them up as energy for physical activity,” he said. “But if you consume it at bedtime, with no physical activity, the body has no choice but to store the calories away as fat.”

• New research has determined that Europe takes quite the hit when it comes to heart disease. The AFP is on it:

Heart disease in Europe claims over two million lives every year, and cost the European Union 192 million euros (285 million dollars) in 2006, a group of health organizations said Tuesday.


A statistical study by the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network also shows huge differences across Europe in death rates due to coronary artery disease and strokes, the two main types of heart disease.

Several countries in eastern and northern Europe -- notably Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia -- have mortality rates five to seven times higher than western European nations, especially France, Portugal and Switzerland, the study showed.

• Do you stretch before you workout? Because as Anahad O’Connor of The New York Times found out, you might not need to stretch. Look:

Another systematic review, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2004. It looked at multiple studies and found that stretching “was not significantly associated with a reduction in total injuries,” but also concluded that more research was needed.


For now, many experts say that what may work is a quick warm-up, like low-impact aerobics or walking. It also helps to ease into an activity by starting off slow and then increasing speed, intensity or weight (for lifting).

Research suggests that stretching does not affect soreness or risk of injury during exercise.

• Scientists believe that what you eat directly impacts how your brain ages. More from The Chicago Tribune:

Scientists are investigating other causes for the deterioration of brain function, including the deposition of a protein called amyloid in brain tissue. This process is thought to be accelerated by inflammation in the body.


Research shows that the foods we eat probably play a role in decreasing inflammation in the body. Taking this into account, the brain-healthy diet includes:

* Five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This includes apples and onions for their flavonoids, dark green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach for their carotenes, cooked tomatoes for lycopene (another carotene) and blueberries for their antioxidants.

• Here’s a shocker. It seems that most people aren’t getting their recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. EMaxHealth explains:

Between August and October 2007 Food Standards Agency (FSA) surveyed 2627 people about if they had five or more portions of fruit and vegetables the day before being questioned. There were 58% positive answers, which shows an increase compared to 2006's 55%. However, the increase is too low to indicate healthy diet improvement.


Besides, the survey shows disparities between different social classes: AB class reported 71% positive answers, DE class reported 45% positive answers. This means, that higher social grades are more successful in diet management that lower ones.

Disparities also occur between men and women: 63% of surveyed women were able to manage five or more portions of fruit and vegetables compared to 54% men.

• More good pressure for exercise—it seems exercise may help to cut the risk of gallstones. Joene Hendry of Reuters reports:

Dr. Kenneth R. Wilund and colleagues found that the overall gallstone weight was 2.5-fold greater in sedentary mice compared with mice that exercised. The researchers suggest that exercise may provide similar benefit to humans.


"The basic physiology of gallstone formation is pretty similar in humans and mice," Wilund told Reuters Health. Many of the proteins involved in the liver's cholesterol and bile acid metabolism are very similar, he said.

"So it is reasonable to suggest that the changes we believe were responsible for the reduction in gallstone formation in the exercise-trained mice could also occur in response to exercise training in humans," commented Wilund, of the University of Illinois, Urbana.

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Here’s a great animation about some flies fighting over a pea. Enjoy:


Admit it, you were pulling for the little fly the whole time!

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Cool! Yesterday I grabbed a banana—a new banana. That’s right. Check another one off the list. Introducing my banana, farm number 759. Take a look:


Yes, I eat A LOT of bananas. They’re a great boost after a workout. Bananas are like a dessert to me. So, here’s another sweet picture of my banana. Enjoy:


Now, this time my banana hails from Ecuador—making it our fourth Ecuadorian banana—here’s what the Dole Organic Program had to say about the MarPlantis farm:

• Country: Ecuador
• Farm Units: Finca Colón, Finca Matanegro
• Location: Balao, Guayas, Ecuador
• Crops: Organic Bananas
• Organic Certified since: 2005

Guess what? Farm number 759 marks the tenth banana we’ve discovered—Operation Banana Hunt is a third of the way there! Awesome! Let’s celebrate with some photos of MarPlantis:


This is good, but we’re not done yet—get out there! Buy some Dole organic bananas, plug them into the Dole Organic Program, and tell me all about it! Operation Banana Hunt needs you! If not, you’ll have to answer to him:

And remember, it doesn’t matter if we’ve already discovered your banana. I still want to hear about it. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Peace.

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If you need to lose weight, grasp the concept that being overweight has mostly to do with what you eat, not how much you eat. This is because micronutrient fulfillment (getting your fill of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber) blunts the drive to consume calories. Eating primarily high-nutrient foods is nothing like being on a “diet” (where you try to eat less). First of all, you will be eating hearty portions of (low-calorie) food. But most importantly, high-nutrient foods are so nutritionally satisfying that you simply will have less desire for the high-calorie, low-nutrient foods that put the weight on in the first place.

I hope it is clear that I am not advocating that you eat primarily high-nutrient foods for a period of time to lose weight and then go back to your old eating habits. I am advocating that you eat primarily high-nutrient foods from now on. The common practice of losing weight for a temporary period of time and then gaining it back is of no benefit to your health. Good health is dependent on maintaining a stable lighter weight for the rest of your life. The means you should not diet. What you should do is learn to eat a nutrient-rich diet, which automatically reset your weight to a lower point permanently.

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If you ever see me eating fast-food, odds are I’ve got a gun pointed to my head. A quick burger and fries is a bad idea, and now, a new study has determined that fast food can stress the liver. ABC News reports:

In a new study, 18 slim, healthy Swedish men and women took on a fast food diet, eating meals from popular chains twice a day for four weeks while refraining from exercise.


At the end of the experiment, blood tests showed evidence that the subjects eating fast food had liver damage. They also had gained an average of 16 pounds.

The subjects were eating "an outrageously high amount" of calories, said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Ayoob said the calorie intake was almost double the average daily caloric intake of most Americans, which is about 2,700 calories.

Studies have shown that a diet high in fat and calories — the magic recipe for delicious, greasy fast food — puts people at greater risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which can lead to cardiovascular diseases and heart failure.

How can a boardroom of fast-food executives live with themselves? I guess they just call the tobacco execs for support.

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Cathy Fitzgerald, a registered dietitian with the University of Michigan Health System, offers up some pretty good tips to stay heart-healthy in the supermarket. Here’s four I really liked:

• Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats have been shown to benefit the heart. Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and trout are good sources of omega fats and are low in saturated fat.
• Sterols and stanols. Plant sterols and stanols are cholesterol-lowering substances often added to products like margarine and salad dressings. Review the label carefully to make sure a product states it offers the cholesterol-lowering benefits of plant sterols and stanols.
• Sodium. Look for phrases like "low sodium" or "reduced sodium." This is especially important in processed and canned foods. If a food is labeled as "reduced" in sodium, it has 25 percent less salt than the regular product.
• Trans fats. Eat trans fats sparingly, as they raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Fried foods and processed foods that have a long shelf life are often loaded with them. The term "partially hydrogenated oil" on an ingredient's list indicates the food contains trans fats.

For the rest of the list, check out the report from HealthDay News: How to Be Heart Smart at the Supermarket.

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This seems pretty radical to me, but one health professional feels that world governments focus too much on fighting terrorism and not enough on fighting obesity. Lawrence Bartlett of the AFP reports:

Overcoming deadly factors such as poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise should take top priority in the fight against a growing epidemic of preventable chronic disease, legal and health experts said.


Global terrorism was a real threat but posed far less risk than obesity, diabetes and smoking-related illnesses, prominent US professor of health law Lawrence Gostin said at the Oxford Health Alliance Summit here.

"Ever since September 11, we've been lurching from one crisis to the next, which has really frightened the public," Gostin told AFP later.

"While we've been focusing so much attention on that, we've had this silent epidemic of obesity that's killing millions of people around the world, and we're devoting very little attention to it and a negligible amount of money."

This sounds like rabblerousing to me, but no doubt, obesity is a major problem. What do you think about this?

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They’re the celery bunch and they love to crunch. Check it out:


I need a celery costume—STAT!

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This Reuters report got me excited—diet tied to breast and ovarian cancer risks—but when I started reading it, right away I found problem. Can you spot it? Take a look:

Women who eat diets rich in meat and dairy may have a decreased risk of breast cancer, while those who bulk up on fiber, fruits and vegetables show a lower risk of ovarian cancer.


The findings, published in the International Journal of Cancer, add to questions surrounding the role of diet in women's risk of the cancers…

…Using detailed dietary questionnaires, the researchers identified four common dietary patterns in the study group: an "animal product" pattern, which was heavy in meat and saturated fat, but also zinc, calcium and certain other nutrients; a "vitamins and fiber" pattern, which besides fiber was rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene and other nutrients found in fruits and vegetables; an "unsaturated fat" pattern that contained high amounts of vegetable and fish oils, as well as vitamin E; and a "starch-rich" pattern high in simple carbohydrates, vegetable protein and sodium.

Overall, the study found, women who followed a pattern rich in vitamins and fiber had a 23 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who consumed the lowest amounts of those foods and nutrients.

On the other hand, the animal-product pattern was linked to a similar reduction in breast cancer risk.

Meat and dairy decrease cancer-risk—since when! Uh hello, The China Study? Here’s a quote from The China Study. Author T. Colin Campbell, PhD drops the hammer on milk:

What protein consistently and strongly promoted cancer? Casein, which makes up 87% of cow’s milk protein, promoted all stages of the cancer process. What type of protein did not promote cancer, even at high levels of intake? The safe proteins were from plants, including wheat and soy.

Okay, let’s see what he has to say about animal protein in general. My guess is the cattle ranchers of the world are going to be just a wee bit upset. More from Dr. Campbell:

Indian researchers had studied two groups of rats. In one group, they administered the cancer causing aflatoxin, then fed a diet that was composed of 20% protein, a level near what many of us consume in the West. In the other group, they administered the same amount of aflatoxin, but then fed a diet that was only composed of 5% protein. Incredibly, every single animal that consumed the 20% protein diet had evidence of liver cancer, and every single animal that consumed a 5% protein diet avoided liver cancer.

Make no mistake about it. Animal products are no friend to cancer-prevention. Now, Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Campbell are friends, so, here’s Dr. Fuhrman’s take on all this:

Humans are genetically adapted to expect a high intake of natural and unprocessed plant-derived substances. Cancer is a disease of maladaptation. It results primarily from a body’s lacking critical substances found in different types of vegetation, many of which are still undiscovered, that are metabolically necessary for normal protective function.

Trust me, he’s not kidding. Plants are strong medicine! Take green vegetables for example. Leafy green or cruciferous vegetables are potent cancer-fighters. Check it out:

These vegetables also contain indole-3- carbinol (I3C). Indole-3-carbinol has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer by decreasing estrogen activity. Important recent studies have shown that cruciferous vegetables and the compounds they contain can do the following:

• Halt the growth of breast cancer cells2
• Dramatically reduce the risk of colon cancer3
• Prevent the replication of prostate cancer cells and induce death of cancerous cells4
• Inhibit the progression of lung cancer.5

Good stuff and the sooner you start eating lots of veggies—the better! Consider the plight of young women and breast cancer-risk. More from Dr. Fuhrman:

Higher consumption of produce and protein-rich plant foods such as beans and nuts is associated with a later menarche, and the higher consumption of protein-rich animal foods—meat and diary—is associated with an earlier menarche and increased occurrence of adult breast cancer.6

The newswires are a virtual ping-pong of what’s good for you and what’s not—drawn your own conclusions—here, this might help. From the European Journal of Cancer Prevention:

The aim of this study was to investigate whether polymorphisms in N-acetyl transferase 1 and 2 modify the association between meat consumption and risk of breast cancer. A nested case-control study was conducted among 24 697 postmenopausal women included in the 'Diet, Cancer and Health' cohort study (1993-2000). Three hundred and seventy-eight breast cancer cases were identified and matched to 378 controls. The incidence rate ratio (95% confidence interval) for breast cancer was 1.09 (1.02-1.17) for total meat, 1.15 (1.01-1.31) for red meat and 1.23 (1.04-1.45) for processed meat per 25 g daily increment in intake. Compared with slow acetylators, the IRR (95% confidence interval) among fast N-acetyl transferase 1 acetylators was 1.43 (1.03-1.99) and 1.13 (0.83-1.54) among intermediate/fast N-acetyl transferase 2 acetylators. Interaction analyses revealed that the positive associations between total meat intake and red meat intake and breast cancer risk were confined to intermediate/fast N-acetyl transferase 2 acetylators (Pinteraction=0.03 and 0.04). Our findings support an association between meat consumption and breast cancer risk and that N-acetyl transferase 2 polymorphism has a modifying effect on the association, indicating that the association is confined to only genetically susceptible women.

Alright, since we’ve already crossed over into nerd territory. Let’s look at one more study. It appeared in the International Journal of Cancer. Here’s the abstract:

Meat intake has been positively associated with risk of digestive tract cancers in several epidemiological studies, while data on the relation of meat intake with cancer risk at most other sites are inconsistent. The overall data set, derived from an integrated series of case-control studies conducted in northern Italy between 1983 and 1996, included the following incident, histologically confirmed neoplasms: oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus (n = 497), stomach (n = 745), colon (n = 828), rectum (n = 498), liver (n = 428), gallbladder (n = 60), pancreas (n = 362), larynx (n = 242), breast (n = 3,412), endometrium (n = 750), ovary (n = 971), prostate (n = 127), bladder (n = 431), kidney (n = 190), thyroid (n = 208), Hodgkin's disease (n = 80), non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (n = 200) and multiple myelomas (n = 120). Controls were 7,990 patients admitted to hospital for acute, non-neoplastic conditions unrelated to long-term modifications in diet. The multivariate odds ratios (ORs) for the highest tertile of red meat intake (7 times/week) compared with the lowest (3 times/week) were 1.6 for stomach, 1.9 for colon, 1.7 for rectal, 1.6 for pancreatic, 1.6 for bladder, 1.2 for breast, 1.5 for endometrial and 1.3 for ovarian cancer. ORs showed no significant heterogeneity across strata of age at diagnosis and sex. No convincing relation with red meat intake emerged for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus, liver, gallbladder, larynx, kidney, thyroid, prostate, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and multiple myeloma. For none of the neoplasms considered was there a significant inverse relationship with red meat intake. Thus, reducing red meat intake might lower the risk for several common neoplasms.

Ultimately it’s your call, but I think the evidence is clear, eat more veggies and less meat. So, when you read headlines like this, you got to dig deeper and THEN see if you believe it.
Continue Reading...

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This is neat. MSN Health & Fitness list the ten foods toughest to digest. I thought these three were particularly relevant. Take a look:

Raw Onion
Onions and their cousins like garlic, leeks and shallots are filled with a variety of phytonutrient compounds—some of which seem to offer healthy, heart-protective benefits, and some of which cause stomach distress (or it could be the same compounds that do both). Cooking them seems to deactivate some of the problem-causing compounds. But on the chance that you’re also deactivating some of the good stuff, dietician Mary Ryan, suggests using mix of cooked and raw so that you can reap the benefits without suffering the consequences.

Broccoli and Raw Cabbage
These fiber- and nutrient-rich vegetables are incredibly healthy, but they are also well-known for causing gas buildup in the gut. Fortunately, the solution is simple. “Cooking them—or even just blanching them slightly—will deactivate the sulfur compounds that cause gas,” explains Ryan.

Beans
Beans have such a notorious reputation for causing gastric distress that they even spawned their own rhyme (come on, you all know it! “Beans, beans …”). And there is some truth to it. The enzyme needed to break down beans is found only in our stomach bacteria. And if you don’t routinely eat beans, you might not have enough of this enzyme to comfortably digest them. The result, of course, is gas and bloating. Cooking beans in soup can help—the extra fluid will help digest the large amounts of fiber beans contain, and the extra cooking time will start breaking the beans down even before you eat them. By adding beans to your diet gradually, you will help build up the enzyme necessary to digest them without issue.

I like that they don’t discourage people from eating these veggies. Instead, they suggest eating more of them! Now, here’s the other seven courtesy of HealthandMan:

Fried Chicken Nuggets: Battered and deep fried spell trouble for just about any food you throw down your gullet.


Spicy Foods: Can cause heartburn due to esophageal irritation.

Chocolate: Causes your esophageal sphincter to relax allowing stomach acids to creep back up (uh-h-h-h-h, He said Sphincter).

Citrus Juices: Extra acids in the stomach cause irritating stomach aches.

Mashed Potatoes: Can be a nuisance to lactate intolerable persons due to added milk.

Ice Cream: Goes down so good…but there is that whole lactose problem again.

Sugar Free Gum: Another culprit of gas…I never knew. That explains a lot.

You know this list of seven looks a lot like the typical standard American diet to me. No wonder why so many people are grumpy—they’re bloated!

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I’m not a sports drink guy, so all this hype surrounding vitamin waters is lost on me. The CBS Early Show explains why these designer waters come with a price. Check it out:

Registered dietician Keri Glassman cautioned Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday that, "You see all these waters out there loaded with vitamins and minerals. The problem is, they're also loaded with lots of sugar. A lot of these bottles of water have about 150 calories. We're over-consuming calories as a nation…


…As for the vitamins in the designer waters, many aren't water-soluble, Glassman points out, meaning the body won't retain them, anyhow. And it's not worth the added calories just to get the ones the body does retain.

Now, since we’re talking about sports drinks. Here’s my latest gripe, the brainlessness that is protein water. These "fitness experts" are rambling about it:


These protein-based magic potions make my eyes roll. Dr. Fuhrman thinks they’re a bunch of mumbo-jumbo too. His thoughts:

The average American consumes about fifty percent more protein than the recommended daily amount. Yet we often see—in addition to misinformed athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and bodybuilders—businessmen and women, homemakers, and those seeking to lose weight turning to protein powders, drinks, and nutritional bars in their quest for even more protein.


It is true that resistance training and endurance workouts can break down muscle protein and increase our need for protein to fuel repair and growth. But the increased need of protein is proportional to the increased need for calories burned with the exercise. As your appetite increases, you increase your caloric intake accordingly, and your protein intake increases proportionally. If you meet those increased caloric demands from heavy exercise with an ordinary assortment of natural plant foods—vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts, which contain more than 50 grams of protein per 1000 calories—you will get the precise amount of extra protein you need.

The worst is watching people finish up a grueling run and then stop to choke down some goopy gritty brownish mixture—YUCK!

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We all know Michael Pollan is a leading voice in nutrition news. I’ve blogged about him a bunch of times in the past. Have a look:

• Michael Pollan Now!
• Pollan Hits the Well Blog
• Feeding Michael Pollan
• NY Times: Michael Pollan on Nutritionism
• Michael Pollan on American Farming

Now, Lloyd Alter of TreeHugger is pondering something. He wants to know if Michaels Pollan’s opinions on food have changed your meat eating habits. Take the survey:


I answered vegan or vegetarian, even though I’m neither, but out of those choices that best describes me. Anyway, check out the results, very encouraging:


Hopefully things like the recent beef recall really do factor into people’s decision making—it be quite foreboding if it didn’t.

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According to new research stroke risk in the United States is higher than that of Europe. Julie Steenhuysen of Reuters reports:

U.S. women are twice as likely to have a stroke as European women, and American men have a 61 percent higher chance compared with European men.


"What we find is, especially in the very poor, Americans have a much higher prevalence of stroke than Europeans," said Mauricio Avendano of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, who presented his findings at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in New Orleans.

He said Americans have more preventable risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.

And, it seems Americans are having a really bad flu season this year. This time Maggie Fox of Reuters reports:

Influenza is widespread in 49 states, and this year's epidemic has killed at least 22 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday.


On Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to completely change next year's flu vaccine mix because all three strains included in the flu shot cocktail have mutated. But companies have a head start on working with two of the three, the CDC's Dr. Nancy Cox said.

FDA advisers agreed with the World Health Organization recommendations made last week on changing the vaccine to match the drifting flu viruses.

These would probably be non-stories if we all ate and lived healthier—I know, I’m quite the daydreamer.

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Man, am I happy this week is over—what a bear! Anyway, it’s Friday and you know what that means. Time to fire up the machine—vroom-vroom—Eating to Live on the Outside rides again! And this week Salsa Rico is on the hot seat. How will it do? Well there’s only one way to find out.

Time to rock and roll! First up, burritos, and right away we’ve got a concession, flour tortillas—eh, I can deal with it. Believe me, it could be A LOT worse. Now, the burrito I’d go with would be the Calimax; made with ancho chile salsa, melted jack cheese, rice, pinto beans or black beans, fresh pico de gallo, and fresh guacamole. Okay, I’ll ditch the cheese and the rice—and provided the guacamole has no sour cream—it’s a decent option.