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

Diabetics who take insulin-type drugs appear to be more prone to increased rates of cancer diagnosis, according to several prominent researchers who spoke at a press conference at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. The concerns were first raised by German researchers in a data base analysis submitted in 2008, which linked an insulin-based medication to increased cancer risk. The researchers generally agreed that insulins may promote cancer through their actions as growth factors.

The message here is that when you follow my nutritarian diet-style and protocols for diabetes, a Type 2 diabetic would not need an insulin-based medication. In fact, over 60% of diabetics who follow my protocol no longer need any medication at all. A Type 1 diabetic following my nutritarian diet-style would only have half the insulin requirements, without the highs and lows, which would signifacantly extend their lifespan and reduce complications.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

My kids always look forward to Halloween, even though they don’t eat the candy (at least in front of me). They look forward to dressing up in costumes, being out with their friends, and staying up late on a school night.

I, on the other hand, I do not look forward to Halloween. I don’t like the focus on fear of ugly-looking creatures and giving of toxic items to children. (I don’t call the candy “treats” because they certainly aren’t nourishing.) The sad fact is that even normally well-behaved children can start acting crazy after consuming all the highly-sugared, chemicalized junk they get. And the disrupting behavior can last for as long as a month afterward.

So, I'm not a person who believes in letting eating choices turn my home into a war zone. Read my recent "War Zone" post on DiseaseProof. I believe in providing an education in healthful eating—and setting a good example! I keep unhealthful foods out of the house, and trust my kids to use their best judgment. Thankfully, we have figured out how to make Halloween a happy time for all of us, without joining in the candy craze. Here are some tips that have worked for us.

1. Hand out inexpensive toys or gifts instead of candy. By setting this good example, perhaps a neighbor will pick up on the idea. Even if nobody follows your lead, you will feel good about your decision. Toys are perhaps a little more expensive than candy, but not much, and they definitely send a great message to both the kids and the parents.
   
   My children help choose what they think is cool. In recent years, we have been giving out glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets*. The best thing about these toys is that they make kids safer in the dark because cars can see them when they are walking in the road. Kids say, “Wow!” or “Cool!” when they see the glowing gifts, so I know they love them. Plus, my kids are proud to hand them out. Now that my kids are older, they always remind me when it’s time to place my order (which is right around now). Other toys that we have purchased include small cans of Silly String, glow-in-the-dark animals, and glow-in-the-dark balls.
    
2. Make your family's favorite dinner on Halloween night, including their favorite desserts. There are great healthy fall menu ideas in the Member Center recipe guide. With full stomachs, your kids will be less tempted to eat the junk they receive. You also can try the Halloween treat recipes in the September 2006 Healthy Times Newsletter, or have some delicious Pop'ems on hand from DrFuhrman.com.
    
3. When the children come home, set a limit on how many candies they are allowed to eat. I suggest you allow them two pieces of candy, which they can pick out—and then discard or give away the rest. We let our children pick one or two candies to eat. Most of the time they only take a bite or two before tossing the rest out. Our youngest, Sean, has no desire to even taste the stuff, because as he explains, "I don't eat junk food." Luckily for us, he is too finicky to try anything new. He rejects anything he is not accustomed to.
    
4. Some people find it easiest to throw out all the candy after the children go to sleep. Little ones probably won't even remember it once it's gone, and getting rid of it eliminates temptation for the adults in the house.
    
5. Life is full of compromises— and this day will pass! I believe that with a little advance planning you can ensure that your children will have a good time and not be tempted to hide or sneak candy. Plus, you will be happier knowing that they will be eating a lot less candy this year than they did last year.

That's a good start!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

With the current epidemic of 40% of adults living in the US having diabetes or pre-diabetes, diabetes and insulin have become household words; almost as common and all-American as baseball and apple pie.

Obesity.  Diabetes.  Metabolic Syndrome.  Insulin resistance.  Blaah.  Blaah.  Blaah.  Yawn.

Ten percent of those with diabetes have type I or juvenile diabetes.  It’s an auto-immune disease where the body attacks and destroys its own islet cells that produce insulin.  Most often it appears in childhood and the child is totally dependent upon insulin 24/7 for the rest of his or her life.

The remaining ninety percent have type II or adult onset diabetes.  (Some call it insulin resistant diabetes.)  The pancreas makes insulin, but due to layers of excess fat surrounding the cells, they become insulin resistant, thus resulting in high blood sugar.

Diabetes, whether it is type I or type II, is a nasty disease that eventually produces life threatening complications such as heart disease, heart failure, blindness, kidney disease, circulatory problems and amputations; not to mention daily micromanagement of blood sugars, and astronomical costs of diabetic supplies, insulin, doctor and hospital bills, and high insurance premiums as a result of the disease.  On top of all that, with the best of care and self-management, one can still feel miserable when blood sugars fluctuate. 

The type I diabetics can utilize less insulin, stop hypoglycemic events and protect their future health with a nutritarian diet.  However, almost everyone with type II diabetes can get completely rid of it through embracing Dr. Fuhrman’s diet-style.  Dr. Fuhrman’s results in this arena are remarkable.  Imagine if the majority of type II diabetics took the challenge to get totally well.  That translates into almost 90% of those with diabetes; resulting in nearly 40% of the adult US population completely free from a life of diabetes and diabetes related complications!

Ask any kid who lives day-in-and-day-out with type I diabetes if he or she would consider committing to the nutritarian way of eating in exchange for the privilege of getting completely rid of diabetes for the rest of his/her life.  Hands down every child and teen would gladly embrace the opportunity.

As a nation, let’s all get healthy and eradicate type II diabetes from our vocabulary.  May diabetes no longer be an all-American, household word for generations to come!

Drugs for diabetes can perpetuate type II diabetes, and often cause more weight gain and worse disease outcomes.  Let’s get real and expose this nasty disease called diabetes.  Do you know someone suffering from it?  Without revealing the person’s identity, how has it affected his or her life?  If they knew for sure they could get rid of it, with excellent nutrition and daily exercise, would they?

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (12)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

As the number of people with type-two (adult onset) diabetes continues to soar, it is openly recognized that the growing waistline of the modern world is the main cause of this epidemic; however, most physicians, dieticians, and even the American Diabetes Association have virtually given up on weight reduction as the primary treatment for diabetics. Consider this statement from a medical advisory committee: “It is nearly impossible to take very obese people and get them to lose significant weight. So rather than specifying an amount of weight loss, we are targeting getting metabolic control.” This is doublespeak for—our recommended diets don’t work, so we just give medications and watch patients gradually deteriorate as the diabetes advances. Today, medications are the mainstay of treatment and, unfortunately, most of these medications cause weight gain, worsening the syndrome and making the individual more diabetic. Additionally, the narrow focus on blood-sugar reduction and reliance on medications gives patients a false sense of security because they mistakenly think their somewhat better controlled glucose levels are an indication of restored or improved health. They continue to gain weight following the same dietary habits that originally caused the problem.

It is well accepted that if it were possible for people to stick with weight reduction and high nutrient eating, that route would be the most successful. Patients with diabetes who successfully lose weight from undergoing gastric bypass surgery typically see their diabetes melt away.1 Dietary programs that have been successful at effecting weight loss have been dramatically effective for diabetics too, enabling patients to discontinue medications.2 Preventing and reversing diabetes is not all about weight loss. The nutritional features of Eat for Health have profound effects on improving pancreatic function and lowering insulin resistance over and above what could be accomplished with weight loss alone. The increased fiber, micronutrients, and stool bulk, plus the cholesterol-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects of this eating-style, have dramatic effects on type-II diabetes. Scores of my patients have been able to restore their glucose levels to the normal range without any further need for medications. They have become non-diabetic. Even my thin, type-I, insulin-dependent diabetic patients are typically able to reduce their insulin requirements by almost half and have better glucose control using this high-nutrient eating-style.

Diets high in fiber and vegetables have been consistently shown to be beneficial for diabetic patients and offer considerably better results when compared to the current recommendations of the American Diabetic Association Diet.3 The dietary advice typically offered to diabetics is not science-based, and it caters to Americans’ social and food preferences and food addictions. In contrast, the qualities of an eating-style that maximizes benefits for weight reduction, cardio protection, and diabetes reversal are described in Eat for Health.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Share Link

Not getting enough vitamin D can be harmful, just last week a report found lack of vitamin D heightens risk of metabolic syndrome and now researchers have found not getting enough vitamin D raises cholesterol.

[Researchers] obtained macrophage cells from diabetics and non-diabetics, with and without vitamin D deficiency. When the cells were exposed cells to cholesterol and low vitamin D levels, they found that low vitamin D levels in the culture dish resulted in fewer macrophages becoming foam cells.

On the other hand, when the human macrophages were placed in a vitamin D-rich environment, the uptake of cholesterol was suppressed, and they don't become foam cells, said Bernal-Mizrachi.

The researchers noted that it may be possible to delay or reverse the development of atherosclerosis in diabetics by helping them regain adequate vitamin D levels.

Recently, in a post of about children and their need for vitamin D, Dr. Fuhrman explains it get be difficult to get sufficient vitamin D from food, unless you are spending a lot time outdoors, and even then its tough.

A sufficient amount of vitamin D is difficult to obtain from dietary sources. It is possible to obtain vitamin D from direct sun exposure—without sunscreen (sunscreens block UV-B rays they in turn prevent the body from converting vitamin D). However, since the generous amount of sunshine necessary to assure sufficient vitamin D exposure is potentially harmful and because children often spend too much time indoors watching television, playing video games, or on the computer, it is advisable for all children to assure vitamin D levels with supplements, not sunshine.

To help you get your vitamin D, Dr. Fuhrman recommends his supplement Osteo-Sun, for both children and adults.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Are you tired? You might get diabetes! A new report Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism claims poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and insufficient sleep heightens risk of diabetes:

Dr. Plamen Penev, of the University of Chicago, Illinois, and a senior author of the study and colleagues subjected 11 healthy but sedentary middle-aged men and women to two 14-day periods of sedentary living with free access to food and either 5.5 hours or 8.5 hours of sleep each night.

As nightly sleep times changed from 8.5 to 5.5 hours, the participants went to bed later and got out of bed earlier and, as a result, average sleep duration was reduced by about two hours a day.

When the adults had their bedtimes decreased from a healthy 8.5 hours to 5.5 hours they showed changes in their response to two common sugar tests, which were similar to those seen in people with an increased risk of developing diabetes.

Go to bed already! Previous studies have linked lack of sleep to weight-gain, getting the common cold and obesity. Now, do you really need to know why sleep is a good idea? Here Dr. Fuhrman explains the importance of getting shuteye:

During sleep, your body removes the buildup of waste in the brain. Sufficient sleep is necessary for the normal function of your nervous and endocrine systems. Most civilizations in human history recognized the value of mid-afternoon naps. The desire for a rest, short sleep, or “siesta” after lunch should not be seen as an abnormal need, but rather a normal one. People who “cover up” their lack of sleep by using drugs (such as caffeine) as food and/or food (such as highly processed, sugary foods) as drugs sometimes claim (even boast) that they can get by with very little sleep. As you begin to live more healthfully, you may quickly recognize that you need more sleep than you previously thought.

Via Reuters.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

I’m Italian, so I’m required to like garlic, but that garlic powder I grew up on can’t hold a candle to fresh garlic. A new study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry claims that raw, crushed garlic has more heart-protective effects than the dried stuff.

In the study, Dipak K. Das and colleagues point out that raw, crushed garlic generates hydrogen sulfide through a chemical reaction. Although best known as the stuff that gives rotten eggs their distinctive odor, hydrogen sulfide also acts as a chemical messenger in the body, relaxing blood vessels and allowing more blood to pass through. Processed and cooked garlic, however, loses its ability to generate hydrogen sulfide.

The scientists gave freshly crushed garlic and processed garlic to two groups of lab rats, and then studied how well the animals' hearts recovered from simulated heart attacks. "Both crushed and processed garlic reduced damage from lack of oxygen, but the fresh garlic group had a significantly greater effect on restoring good blood flow in the aorta and increased pressure in the left ventricle of the heart," Das said.

Garlic is one of the foods Dr. Fuhrman recommends diabetics eat plenty of, along side green vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. Sometimes I bake garlic cloves in the oven and spread it on wholegrain bread.

Via EurekAlert!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (6)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Geez, I know people who do all three—in one sitting! If you know someone like this too, show them this.

New research in the International Journal of Cancer suggests lifestyle changes—such as eating less red meat, not smoking, avoiding alcohol and exercising—may lower your risk of colon cancer.

Scientists analyzed 100 studies on colon cancer risk, finding that high intake of red and processed meats, smoking, obesity and diabetes were associated with a 20% increased in the risk.

As for alcohol, people averaging one drink or more each day had a 60% higher risk of cancer. However, people who exercised regularly were 20% less likely to develop colorectal cancer.

Makes sense! Especially since last week a report came out saying vegetarians—i.e. people who don’t eat meat—have less cancer than meat eaters.

And previous findings reveal smoking and drinking heighten risk of bowel cancer, but eating fruits and vegetables, protect against cancer. Sweet!

Via Reuters.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In college, the only citrus I got was the lime in my beer bottle, but now I know better. Citrus fruits are loaded with health-promoting nutrients, like vitamin C.

Kiwi fruit, watermelon, strawberries, mangos and raspberries are all packed with vitamin C. And in May, vitamin C was found to stave off age-related vision loss.

Now, new findings in the journal Diabetes claims another fruit nutrient, naringenin—a flavonoid in citrus fruits—halts the development of metabolic syndrome, which leads to diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

For the study, scientists fed mice a high-fat diet—to simulate a western diet—in order to induce symptoms of metabolic syndrome and discovered mice fed a fatty diet plus naringenin had “corrected” levels of triglycerides and cholesterol.

Naringenin also protected against insulin resistance. Experts say naringenin reprogrammed the liver to burn up excess fat, instead of storing it. However, more research is needed to determined naringenin’s exact effect on heart disease.

In related news, pomegranates were found to reduce inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease.

Via EurekAlert!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Published in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers have determined fat cells in obese people release a protein, called pigment epithelium-derived factor or PEDF, and when let into the blood stream PEDF causes muscles and the liver to become desensitized to insulin. In response, the pancreas produces more and more insulin to counteract the problem, but eventually the pancreas craps out, leading to the development of type-2 diabetes; ScienceDaily reports.

Diabetes and obesity are major problems in the United States. In January, a report revealed 24 million Americans now have diabetes. But don’t despair! You don’t have to be another statistic. A diet based on fruits and vegetables offers amazing protection against type-2 diabetes and keeps you thin.

In related news, obesity was found to increase the risk of endometrial cancer—adding nearly 22 times more risk—and obesity has also been linked to poor ovary health and impaired fertility.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link