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

Here’s more depressing vitamin D news. Writing in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology, scientists have determined insufficient vitamin D is associated with a 31% prevalence of metabolic syndrome, compared to only 10% for people with higher levels. I got Dr. Fuhrman's thoughts on this vitamin D mess.

What nobody considers in the metabolic syndrome (and overeating) issue is my overall message and mantra and that is that low-nutrient eating in general creates metabolic derangements leading to discomforts relievable by overeating.

This I have labeled toxic hunger. Toxic hunger or food addition has at its basis, low micronutrient intake. We have an exciting study we just completed documenting the changing perception of hunger with high-nutrient density diet and it is compelling.

In related news, lack of vitamin D has been linked to depression, difficulty thinking, high blood pressure and back pain. Luckily, Dr. Fuhrman’s Osteo–Sun can help keep your Vitamin D level within ideal range.

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I love berries. I eat a bunch of blueberries everyday. Good thing a new study in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claims consuming a lot anthocyanins—a nutrient found in blueberries—may improve both HDL and LDL cholesterol, i.e. raise good cholesterol and lower bad.

Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial design, the Chinese researchers studied the effects of a twice daily dose of 160 mg anthocyanins on the lipid levels of the participants.

After 12 weeks of supplementation, HDL cholesterol levels increased by almost 14 per cent in the anthocyanin group, compared to a rise of only 2.8 per cent in the placebo group. Furthermore, LDL cholesterol levels decreased by 13.6 per cent in the anthocyanin group, compared to an increase of 0.6 per cent in the placebo group.

The removal of cholesterol from cells, the so-called cellular cholesterol efflux, was found to increase by 20 per cent in the anthocyanin group, compared to a 0.2 per cent in the placebo group.

Listen, fruits and vegetables are loaded with all sorts of nutrients. Anthocyanins are just the tip of the iceberg. Other foods like concord grapes and prunes are good sources of anthocyanins too.

Via Nutra Ingredients.

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Sometimes I have high blood pressure, usually during football season, but I would never try lowering it with pills, according to Dr. Fuhrman, using medications to lower blood pressure can actually be harmful. Here’s more about blood pressure from Dr. Fuhrman’s member center:

Question: I have been following Eat To Live for about three months, very gradually. I have not done the aggressive program. Out of nowhere, my blood pressure has become high. I am seeing my doctor in 10 days to check it and I know she will try to put me on medication. I do not want this.

Would it be "dangerous" to give myself a few months on a complete Eat To Live and not take medication to see if I can get it down? I exercise everyday, weight train 3 hrs per week, do yoga, ride my bike. I feel if I work the aggressive weight-loss program until I see her I will already see results.

Dr. Fuhrman: Medications are not the first line treatment for high blood pressure. It is a signal that your lifestyle is not health supporting and you need to drop the weight, exercise more and eat more carefully. Don't put anything with added sodium in your mouth, rev up the diet to the next level and take charge of this immediately. Your doctor will not likely be of any help here. Read my newsletter on high blood pressure.

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I’m not like most physicians when it comes to treating hypertension. I’m not quick to prescribe medications; instead I advocate a non-drug centered approach to reverse heart disease and lower blood pressure. In my medical practice I have helped thousands of patients realize dramatic reduction in blood pressure, sometimes in as little as one week, simply by helping them adapt to my nutrient diet style and exercise program. In fact, I believe the conventional method of drug treatment is actually creating more heart attacks, strokes, and chronic disease than saving lives.

My July 2008 Healthy Times Newsletter, on treating high blood pressure, I outline the primary reasons that diet and lifestyle changes are so much safer and more effective than hypertension drug therapy, including:

• Nutritional excellence, weight loss, salt avoidance, and exercise are proven to be the safest and most effective at providing cardio-protective benefits - actually reversing blood vessel plaque and getting rid of high blood pressure.

• Medications have risks and side effects that can be life threatening.

• Excessive lowering of diastolic blood pressure in the elderly and those on medication to control significant coronary artery disease actually increases the risk of heart attack.1

This newsletter offers detailed information about the risks and overuse of blood pressure medication and recent research findings corroborate my approach for lowering blood pressure.

According to a Cochrane Review treating patients with medications to reach lower blood pressure targets below the standard 140/90 did not show any reduction in morbidity and mortality. The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of over 22,000 adults with hypertension taking anti-hypertension medication which indicated a higher risk for total mortality and a relatively significant increased risk of major cardiovascular events with more aggressive use of medications.

High blood pressure (BP) is defined as having a systolic (the upper number) blood pressure above 140 and a diastolic (the lower number) blood pressure above 90 mmHg. High blood pressure is a risk factor for increased risk of heart attack and stroke. As a result this range has become the standard blood pressure target for physicians and patients. A recent trend toward lower targets has been recommended by hypertension experts who set treatment guidelines. This trend is based on the assumption that the use of drugs to bring the BP lower than 140/90 mmHg range will reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. However, this approach was proven false even in high risk patients.

The review was performed to find and assess all trials designed to examine whether lower blood pressure targets are better than standard blood pressure targets. When the data was analyzed, it revealed that using more drugs in the lower target groups did achieve modestly lower blood pressures. However, this approach did not prolong survival or reduce stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure.2

Blood pressure medications are especially a concern when medication lowers the diastolic number too low. When the diastolic blood pressure is lowered excessively (as they lower systolic pressure), it increases the potential for cardiac arrhythmias that can lead to death.3 The excessive use of blood pressure medications that lower diastolic blood pressure too low also have been shown to increase the occurrence of atrial fibrillation, another serious rhythm disturbance of the heart.4

I have been educating my patients and readers about this for many years and now this meta-analysis provides even more scientific evidence that supports my recommendations--to avoid heart attack and stroke, the goal is not just to achieve a systolic blood pressure below 130; you must achieve it without medication!

Learn more about why using drugs to treat hypertension is dangerous and ineffective in my July 2008 Healthy Times Newsletter.

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New findings in the journal Circulation reveal glutamic acid—a protein found in vegetables—reduces average systolic blood pressure by 1.5 to 3 points and diastolic pressure by 1 to 1.6 points.

The drop may seem teeny tiny, but overall it may lower death rates from stroke by 6% and heart disease related deaths by 4%.

Vegetable protein is 23% glutamic acid, while meat protein is only 18% glutamic acid.

However, researchers insist improving blood pressure does not come down to one single nutrient and urge people eat their vegetables, avoid fatty foods and not drink a lot of alcohol.

Now, you probably know this by now, but cutting salt is a major way to lower blood pressure. In March, a study discovered salt decreases an important blood pressure-lowering enzyme, which signals blood vessels to relax. Eek!

Via HealthDay News.

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You hear it all the time. “A glass of red wine a day is good for you.” But many experts insist no study has ever proved a relationship between moderate drinking and lower risk of death. Instead, the association may occur because healthy people—with healthy habits—just don’t drink a lot. Even supporters of booze for health are quick to point out that alcohol has been linked to breast cancer, liver disease and stroke when abused; The New York Times reports.

Hooch might be a great social lubricate, but it’s risky. Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t condone alcohol for health, saying the negatives of alcohol outweigh the supposed positives. For example, a previous report found heavy drinking harms the heart, by stiffening arteries and raising blood pressure.

In related news, excessive drinking has been shown to shrink brain volume and a lot of boozing may be lead to erectile dysfunction. So, don’t drink. You’ll go limp and dumb!

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New research in the Archives of Internal Medicine claim plant-based diets promote weight-loss and reduce risk of heart disease. For the study, participants—overweight men and women with high LDL—were fed a diet rich in vegetables, nuts and fruits or a typical low-fat diet. Findings revealed both groups lost weight, but people on the vegetable-based diet had better cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. Here are Dr. Fuhrman’s thoughts on the study:

It’s a pretty good effort. They are getting closer to the ideal diet—a nutritarian diet—by studying a vegetarian diet with reduction of flour and other high glycemic carbohydrates.

Of course, the results are pretty good, but it is evident these researchers lack the knowledge and clinical experience designing a diet-style for nutritional excellence.

We have a pilot study coming out shortly with results that dwarf this, but clearly we at the Eat Right America Foundation are in need of funding to begin our larger study on diabetics.

Via Newswise.

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Everyone wants to be happy and healthy. Like Charlotte, she used to be sick with diabetes and heart disease, but she got healthy and feels great. Now take Martha and Stanley, they started off sick and struggling, but today they’re slim, trim, healthy and looking good:

Neither of us is on cholesterol lowering medication. I have stopped the blood pressure medication. Our blood work results are excellent. We feel great, more energy and enjoying what we are eating more so than our previous SAD diet. Oh, and our weight has dropped without effort. For years we have tried to reduce our weight. Martha was a faithful at the local health club.

We were and still are frequent walkers. Her weight going back to 2001 ran between 150 and 165 regardless of the amount of exercise or diet. Now her weight is about 132. My weight, which is shown on the attached spreadsheet, historically ran from the high 170’s to the mid 180’s. November 1, 2006, a few days from now, I estimate that my weight will be 141, down 40 pounds from a year earlier…continue reading.

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A new study in the journal Pediatrics found many teenagers are wigged out on caffeine and up late surfing the web, texting their friends and watching television. Experts surveyed 100 kids, ages 12 to 18 years old, finding only one in five participants got 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night, one third of kids reported falling asleep in school and teens multitasking with all their gadgets were more likely to risk poor academic performance. Average caffeine consumption among participants was 215 mg a day, roughly two espressos; Reuters reports.

Caffeine is a toxin and like a drug it can cause uncomfortable detoxification symptoms, leading to poor diet and food addiction. It also heightens risk of cardiovascular disease by hardening arties and raising blood pressure and last year, caffeine was linked to miscarriage risk.

In related news, Germany banned Red Bull after finding trace amounts of cocaine in test samples and officials in the United States have already called for warning labels on energy drinks.

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In the most recent study, investigators reviewed 61 trials, involving 25,388 patients, in a meta-analysis comparing angioplasty and stent placement with no treatment or medications alone. A meta-analysis pools numerous studies on the same subject. The findings indicated that there was no evidence that angioplasty and stent placement for coronary artery disease resulted in fewer heart attacks or deaths when compared to patients with the same level of disease who were not treated in this manner.

Interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery is basically a scam based on a misunderstanding of the nature of heart disease. Searching for and treating obstructive plaque does not address the areas of the coronary vascular tree most likely to rupture and cause heart attacks. If there was never another CABG or angioplasty performed or stent placed, patients with heart disease would be better off. Doctors would be forced to educate our citizens that their heart disease risk is determined by what they place on their forks. Millions of lives would be dramatically extended. To abandon the theory of stretching and cutting out areas with plaque would shut down interventional cardiology, nearly all cardiovascular surgery, and many suppliers of the biotechnology. In many cases, interventional cardiology is the major income generator to hospitals. The ending of this ill-conceived, out-dated and ineffective technology would dramatically downsize hospitals in the United States and free up over $100 billion annually in medical care costs. Besides being ineffective, interventional cardiology places the responsibility in the hands of the doctor and not the patients. When patients finally realize they must take control of their heart problems with aggressive dietary modifications (and when needed medications for temporary periods) we will essentially solve the health crisis in America.

The sad thing is surgical interventions and medications are the foundation of modern cardiology and both are relatively ineffective compared to nutritional excellence. My patients routinely reverse their heart disease, and no longer have vulnerable plaque or high blood pressure, so they do not need medical care, hospitals or cardiologists anymore. The problem is that in the real world cardiac patients are not even informed that heart disease is predictably reversed with nutritional excellence. They are not given the opportunity to choose and just corralled into these surgical interventions.

Trying to figure out how to pay for ineffective and expensive medicine by politicians will never be a real solution. People need to know they do not have to have heart disease to begin with, and if they get it, aggressive nutrition is the most life-saving intervention. And it is free.

Representative Case Studies

The interesting part of the results achieved with excellent nutrition is that lots of these individuals were already on “healthy diets” and getting worse, before following my nutritional protocols to reverse heart disease. Some were even worsening on vegetarian diets. The other notable achievement is they do not get a small amount of reversal of atherosclerosis, they get a dramatic amount of reversal:

• Case 1: 60 year old male, with chest pain. Height 5’ 8” weight 158. This 60 year old male had read “Fit For Life” over 10 years ago and was following a healthy “starch-based Mediterranean-type diet.” He ate mostly vegetarian foods with brown rice, potato and whole wheat, fruits and vegetables, chicken only a few times a month, fish once or twice a week and some olive oil on salads. He began an exercise program in June of 2006 and surprisingly found he had chest pain with exertion. His weight was stable at 158 for years. A stress thallium test indicated a significant coronary artery disease with an LDL cholesterol of 126. And Lipo (a) of 202. His CT angiogram done on 6/30/06 showed near total obstructive disease in the proximal LAD (left anterior descending artery) due to low density plaque. He began my careful dietary protocol for the reversal of heart disease and did not have angioplasty or bypass as was suggested by the cardiologists. After following my nutritional advice for one month the chest pains resolved and his weight dropped to 140 in the first 8 weeks (loss of 18 pounds). One year later a repeat of the CT angiogram showed the LAD with a non-obstructive mixed density plaque with a stenosis estimated at 50 – 70 percent estimated. His weight has remained around 138 – 140 since following my dietary suggestions. In August of 2008 the last evaluation of his coronary arteries was performed showing normal cardiac blood flow and no evidence of heart disease.

• Case 2: 44 year old male weight 240 height 5’ 9” high cholesterol. Carotid artery 60 -80 percent as measured by carotid ultrasound. First year after reading Eat To Live and then following the high nutrient protocol he lost 80 pounds. His repeat carotid ultrasound in one year showed no visible plaque.

• Case 3: Middle age male on the strict version of the Pritikin program for over 3 years while his carotid artery disease as measured by ultrasound, continued to worsen. "After a year on Pritikin, the results were same or very slight improvement. I went on very strict Pritikin for 2 years, to improve it. After 2 years on very strict Pritikin, significantly worse! The radiologist said "The lesion on the left side is stable, there is some early buildup on the right side. I got a nice picture of a lipid (fat) inclusion in the artery wall. I was recommended to Dr. Fuhrman by Jeff Novick, at the Pritikin Center. After 20 months of Fuhrman program, great results. Thinner artery walls. Radiologist comments: "Borderline evidence for evidence of atherosclerotic burden" No longer talking about a lesion or early buildup!! Barely any sign of atherosclerosis. In the 20 months, following my dietary protocol this person, Lost 10 pounds, to pinch 1/2 inch to 6'0" 157 pounds. Last 5 months no snacking, eating 3-4 oz seeds and nuts daily. Ran 2 miles/day, whereas he was running 4 miles/day during the last 2 unsuccessful years on Pritkin. Pritikin was different in that I was living on lots of whole grains, and ate 6+ meals. Much less high nutrient food.

• Case 4: 66 year old male with a history of Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome, which was responsible for his sensitivity to develop a rapid heartbeat with the ingestion of caffeine, alcohol and sometimes even heavy exercise. He changed his diet first to vegetarian and then to low fat vegan. After a little more than one year on the very low fat vegan diet his irregular heart beat (arrthymias) worsened and he then developed atrial fibrillation. In June of 2008 he changed his diet to my nutritional recommendation, high micronutrient intake, strict salt avoidance, but not low fat, with the liberal use of nuts and especially seeds and within three months his cardiac arrhythmias completely disappeared. Since then he has religiously kept to this program with no further heart evidence of atrial fibrillation.

Conclusion

Come to your own conclusion.
 

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