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

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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Parents, would you know if your kid had a weight problem? You might see it, but could you admit? New research contends parents fail to perceive weight-related issues. Reuters reports:

These findings are "important" and "troublesome," the researchers say in their report in the medical journal Diabetes Care, because recognition that a child is overweight is a critical first step to making diet and lifestyle changes to promote weight loss.


Dr. Asheley Cockrell Skinner of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues interviewed 104 adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their parents about perceptions of the adolescents' weight, diet and exercise habits.

To gauge weight perceptions, the teens and their parents were asked if they thought the adolescents were "very overweight, slightly overweight, about right, slightly thin, or very thin?"

While 87 percent of children were overweight by accepted standards, "only 41 percent of parents and 35 percent of adolescents considered the adolescent to be 'very overweight'," the team reports.

I’m not a parent—at least not that I know of—so for a comment, I figured I’d ask the best parent I know, my mom. She raised two boys—and one particularly obnoxious one—she must know something about this. Take a look:

I think most parents know that their child is overweight, but it is hard to acknowledge and deal with it. One worries about putting too much emphasis on weight and body image which may lead to eating disorders and self esteem issues.


There is guilt in taking away the foods you child enjoys and constantly pointing out what is good or not good for them. It is also hard to lead by example as most parents don't follow a healthy diet, therefore, how can we ask our children to do so?

For the most part, parents convince themselves that their child is not really overweight and he/she will outgrow it. It's unfortunate but it is the easiest way out.

Okay, my mom isn’t the only parent out there—although she’d probably the only parent that can tolerate my craziness—so, other parents. What do you think about this report?

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• Looking for a healthy heart? Sure you are! Get some cranberries then, because they’re being linked to good heart health. More from EMaxHealth:

A recent review of scientific research suggests cranberries may offer a natural defense against the development of this dangerous disease. Researchers feel that many of these results are due to the fact that cranberries contain a greater concentration of antioxidants than other commonly consumed fruit and that these nutrients may be working together to offer even greater benefits.

The report conducted at Tufts University, and published in Nutrition Reviews, found that cranberries offered a range of different benefits that work to promote cardiovascular health. These benefits include effects on cholesterol as well as on blood pressure and the development of blood clots, all established risk factors for heart disease.

• Smoking is not doing India any favors. It could kill 1 million people by 2010. Muneeza Naqvi of the Associated Press reports:

One in five of all male deaths and one in 20 of all female deaths between the ages of 30 and 69 will be caused by smoking, said the study, conducted by a team of doctors and scientists from India, Canada and Britain and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.


"The results we found surprised us, because smokers in India start later in life and smoke fewer cigarettes or 'bidis' than those in Europe or America, but the risks are as extreme as in the West," said Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, the lead author of the study.

• Surprise! Fast food isn’t good for you—or your liver. A new study claims eating a lot of fast food spikes liver enzymes. WebMD is on it:

On average, the students gained 14 pounds, added 2.6 inches to their waistline, and padded their body fat percentage by 3.7% during the study.


Blood samples provided by the students throughout the study show a spike in levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT). ALT levels rose quickly -- typically within a week -- after the students started the fast-food diet.

• I don’t eat tuna, but if you do. You might want to check out the “tuna calculator.” It helps you decide how much tuna to eat. See it at ParentDish:

Tuna is one of those annoying pregnancy foods that might be really, really good or really, really bad for the baby.


Instead of driving yourself crazy (like I did!) trying to guess the proper amount to ingest without putting increasing your mercury level to the point of now return, you can use the handy dandy Tuna Calculator that will give you a suggested weekly serving based on your weight.

• Cloned meat makes a lot of people nervous—myself included—one food producer is prohibiting cloned animal products. The Seattle Times reports:

PCC Natural Markets is prohibiting suppliers from using cloned animal products in their food. It also wants them to disclose where ingredients are from and what they mean by terms such as "natural flavors."


These moves come months after the Seattle chain eliminated high-fructose corn syrup from its eight stores and began identifying the countries of origin for its meat, seafood, peanuts and fresh and frozen produce.

• Some people think red wine is a magic potion for your heart. Well, it turns out its no better than other alcohols. From the Dairy Reporter:

According to the research, red wine and alcohol consumption were found to have virtually identical impact on health, with one drink of either substance helping to reduce the work rate of the heart.


The findings, which are published in the February edition of the American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulatory Physiology, could challenge the perception that polyphenol content of red wine is responsible for cardiovascular benefits.

Red wine has been linked to extended survival rates of mice and prevented the negative effects of high-calorie diets, in other testing, due to the presence of the polyphenol, resveratrol.

• Sandi Doughton of The Seattle Times asks the question, “Does our lack of sun put your health in danger?” Here’s a bit:

"You're in a dark, gloomy place," said Bruce Hollis, a leading vitamin D researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina. "In the winter, you could stand outside naked for five hours and nothing is going to happen."


Increased use of sunscreen has turned a seasonal shortfall into a year-round condition for many people. A recent survey in Britain found 87 percent of adults tested during winter, and more than 60 percent in summer, had subpar vitamin D levels. Doctors in many parts of the world — including California — report a resurgence of childhood rickets, soft bones caused by lack of vitamin D.

• Look, cigarette companies up to no good—big surprise. It seems the “tobacco giants” are in cahoots. The AFP reports:

Tobacco giants Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco actively collude with cigarette smugglers to gain a foothold in lucrative developing markets, campaigners alleged on Wednesday.


"Transnationals benefit in a number of ways from the illicit trade in tobacco," said Kathyrn Mulvey, director of international policy with the lobby group Corporate Accountability International (CAI).

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Want your kids to eat healthy? It’s actually pretty simple. Parents, it starts with you. Dr. Fuhrman explains:

Setting an example supported by both parents is the most important and most effective way for your children to develop a healthy attitude toward food.

Don’t worry. It’s not as rigorous as you might think. You’ve just got to roll with the punches. More from Dr. Fuhrman:

As parents, we must be consistent, but not perfect. Likewise, it is okay for the children to be consistent, but not perfect either.

Now, one thing’s for sure, this idea of “sneaking” healthy food into junk food is pretty dumb. Mark Bittman of Bitten doesn’t like it:

I sincerely hope that the moronic idea of hiding food that kids don’t like in foods they do — see “The Sneaky Chef” and “Deceptively Delicious” — is a passing phase. (The funniest thing about these two books is that the public uproar wasn’t over their approach to cooking but over which author had the idea first.) This does a real disservice to kids and — not that this is my bailiwick — is evidence that today’s parents will do anything to avoid a confrontation.

Mark’s not the only one. Well’s Tara Parker-Pope is not impressed by it either. Here’s a snippet from my interview with her:

Let's talk about that Jessica Seinfeld book, “Deceptively Delicious,” it is one of the single worst things to happen to childhood nutrition ever.


This idea that we have to hide vegetables from our kids is so wrong. Our job isn't just to inject nutrients into their little bodies. It’s about teaching them about healthful eating. Why are we so puritanical about vegetables, serving them steamed and flavorless? We make our good food taste really good. We should make our good-for-you food taste really good too.

Again, instead of singling out the kids, the whole family should start eating healthfully. Back to Dr. Fuhrman:

No rules only for children. If the parents are not willing to follow the rules set for the house, they should not be imposed on the children.

Veggies are great, but a sugary brownie packed with carrots doesn’t sound healthy to me—what do you think?

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Hard to believe? No. It’s reality. Sandy Maple of ParentDish shares her feelings on premature puberty in her own family. Take a look:

I know several women, including my daughter Christy, who hit puberty before the age of ten. Breast development is considered the first sign of the onset of puberty, but lord knows it isn't the only one…


…One new study claims that environmental toxins may be to blame. The mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEA), which has properties similar to estrogen, can be found naturally in the environment but is also structurally similar to anabolic growth agents used in animal breeding…

…Clearly, the true cause of this phenomenon is yet to be discovered and it very well may be a combination of many factors. But as a parent of a young girl, the trend concerns me.

Certainly a dicey topic, but one we’ve talked about before. Here’s a refresher from last month’s post, Girls and Puberty, Sooner and Sooner:

Physicians are seeing more and more girls with precocious sexual development, even before today’s average age of twelve, and medical studies confirm that the trend is real and getting worse…


…Diet powerfully modulates estrogen levels. One recent study illustrated that eight-to-ten-year-olds, closely followed with dietary intervention for seven years, dramatically lowered their estrogen levels compared to a control group with dietary modification1...

…Early puberty is strongly associated with breast cancer, and the occurrence of breast cancer is three times higher in women who started puberty before age twelve2…

…Cohort studies, which follow two groups of children over time, have shown that the 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.3

Now, I scanned this out of Disease-Proof Your Child—and yes, I did a bad job—but, it should help put things into perspective. Check it out:

Hopefully this influences parents like Sandy to ratchet up their kids’ diet.
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A new study has determined that many baby care products may be exposing babies to potentially harmful chemicals called phthalates. Megan Rauscher of Reuters reports:

"At this time, we do not know what the potential long-term health effects might be, but there is a large body of animal studies to suggest developmental and reproductive toxicity (from phthalates) and a few human studies with changes in health outcomes as well," Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana told Reuters Health.


Phthalates are used to make plastics flexible and stabilize fragrances, and are found in a plethora of consumer products including toys, personal care products and medical equipment.

As reported online today in the journal Pediatrics, Sathyanarayana, from the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues measured the levels of nine different phthalate breakdown products in urine from diapers of 163 infants aged 2 to 28 months.

All of the urine samples contained at least one phthalate at measurable levels, they report, and 81 percent of the samples had measurable amounts of seven or more phthalates.

I don’t know all that much about phthalates, so, I ran it through Wikipedia. This caught my eye, scary stuff. Take a look:

In 2007, a cross-sectional study of U.S. males conducted by researchers at Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry concluded that urine concentrations of four phthalate metabolites correlate with waist size and three phthalate metabolites correlate with the cellular resistance to insulin, a precursor to Type II diabetes.

Now, this clearly illustrates that the manufacturers don’t have children’s best interests at heart. So, who’s job is it to protect our kids form stiff like this. Dr. Fuhrman makes it very clear:

We must be careful not to expose our children to chemical cleaners, insecticides, and weed killers on our lawns. Chemicals used in pressure-treated wood used to build lawn furniture, decks, fences, and swings sets have been shown to place children at risk. When children are around, we must be vigilant to maintain a chemical-free environment.

In this case, baby lotions and shampoos are no different.

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Julie’s Health Club relays a list of America’s top ten medical costs. Scary stuff, my wallet hurts just looking at it. Check it out:

1. Heart conditions ($76 billion)
2. Trauma disorders ($72 billion)
3. Cancer ($70 billion)
4. Mental disorders, including depression ($56.0 billion)
5. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ($54 billion)
6. High blood pressure ($42 billion)
7. Type 2 diabetes ($34 billion)
8. Osteoarthritis and other joint diseases ($34 billion)
9. Back problems ($32 billion)
10. Normal childbirth* ($32 billion)

*Normal childbirth means without medical complications or surgical procedures. C-sections are not included in the normal childbirth category.

This list gets even more frightening when you consider the over-arching cost of obesity. Dr. Fuhrman offers up some facts and figures:

The number one health problem in the United States is obesity, and if the current trend continues, by the year 2230 all adults in the United States will be obese. The National Institutes of Health estimate that obesity is associated with a twofold increase in mortality, costing society more than $100 billion per year.1

Wows, it certainly pays to be healthy.
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