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

Maybe I’m an idiot. I can’t imagine being overweight or obese is good for anything—except winning belly-flop competitions—but apparently there is a school of thought out there that high body mass index helps build strong bones. Luckily, a new study shoots that pieces. Turns out muscles keep bones strong, not fat.

The researchers looked at bone density and volume, as well as lean and fat mass, in 768 men aged 25 to 45, including 296 pairs of brothers.

After the researchers adjusted for weight, they found that men's bone mass and volume fell steadily as their percentage of fat mass increased, while bone size rose in tandem with lean mass. Fat in the trunk area had a stronger influence on bone size than fat on the arms and legs.

"Lean mass," the researchers conclude, "is the major determinant of bone size, providing further evidence that bone size is adapted to the dynamic load imposed by muscle force rather than passive loading" by fat.

Dr. Fuhrman agrees with the muscle-bone link, saying, “Strong muscles and bones are married together. Working out and strengthening the muscles, thickens the bones in the process.” And in his DVD Osteoporosis Protection for Life you’ll learn how certain exercises tone muscles and build bone density.

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Abstinence is staying within the picket fence around us called “boundaries.” The purpose of a boundary is to keep us safe. The nutritional wisdom and guidelines in Dr. Fuhrman’s books, newsletters, teleconferences, etc., if followed, keep us safe and healthy. There’s freedom, optimal health, and many pleasurable perks within the fence.

Seeds of abstinence sown in the soil of our lives will eventually produce a harvest of freedom from addiction that leads to optimal health. Guaranteed.

Yes, of course, we may have imperfect “slip ups”, especially in those first few weeks and months of getting rid of the toxins that have built up in our bodies over the years. The key to success is to recognize and acknowledge the slip up when it happens and quickly continue on eating for health.

If we’ve sown seeds of compromise for several days, weeks, or even months, now is the time to stop. Stop immediately. Continue on the journey to eat for health. Forget the past. The past is the past. Let it go. There’s nothing that can be done about it and dwelling on the misery is counterproductive to optimal health.

Get up. Dust the dirt off and roll up the sleeves. Fix the nicks and dents in the picket fence by going back to key chapters in Eat to Live and Eat for Health and re-read them. Listen to the teleconference on overeating again. Ask for help from like-minded friends on Dr. Fuhrman’s members’ center. Abstain from making ice cream desserts until the taste buds have readjusted to enjoy the subtle flavors of greens again. Turn off the news and go outside for a walk. It may take several weeks or months to get back to optimal health again, but it will be sooooo worth it!

Have the mindset to nurture and gently care for the body. In those seemingly, insignificant choices, let’s all be kind to ourselves. Kindness is the backbone of superior health.

There’s freedom in boundaries.

Abstinence, not perfection, is one of the keys to success.

Let’s all enjoy living within the picket fence!

Freedom to all!

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No one wants creaky bones, but the number of hospitalizations for osteoporosis-related fractures has increased in the United States, jumping 55% since 1995. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says more than 254,000 hospital stays are due to injuries stemming from osteoporosis.

That’s why Dr. Fuhrman made a DVD called Osteoporosis Protection for Life. In it he explains what you can do to keep your bones strong and healthy, with exercise, improved diet and supplements.

Most people mistakenly are led to believe that drugs are the answer to treating osteopenia and osteoporosis. However, studies reveal that the bisphosphonates, like Actonel, Fosamax, Boniva, and Reclast, commonly prescribed for osteoporosis, are not as effective as we have been led to believe. As more and more research data comes out about the long-term risks of these medications, we are finding out that they are more dangerous than we had previously thought.

I want to give people the information they need to put an effective plan into action. In this video, I offer my advice regarding diet, supplements, and exercise. I am joined by my wife, Lisa, and staff to demonstrate the best exercises to effectively build your strength and bone mass. We've even added a fun 15 minute workout to start you on your way. Now is the time to take control of your health destiny!

For more, here’s a preview clip of Osteoporosis Protection for Life.

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Here’s a revelation! If you don’t smoke, exercise, eat right and maintain a healthy body weight you are less likely to get sick, so says a survey of nearly 24,000 adults in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Most participants had one to three of these health factors, fewer than 4 percent had zero healthy factors and 9 percent had all four factors. Over an average of 7.8 years of follow-up, 2,006 participants developed new cases of diabetes (3.7 percent), heart attack (0.9 percent), stroke (0.8 percent) or cancer (3.8 percent).

After adjusting for age, sex, education level and occupation, individuals with more healthy lifestyle factors were less likely to develop chronic diseases. Participants who had all four factors at the beginning of the study had a 78 percent lower risk of developing any of the chronic diseases during the follow-up period than those who had none of the healthy factors. The four factors were associated with a 93 percent reduced risk of diabetes, 81 percent reduced risk of heart attack, 50 percent reduced risk of stroke and 36 percent reduced risk of cancer.

The largest reduction in risk was associated with having a BMI lower than 30, followed by never smoking, at least 3.5 hours of physical activity and then adhering to good dietary principles.

I know, pretty obvious advice, but it doesn’t hurt to remind people. Like this. In February, scientists determined if people exercised more and ate better it would help stifle global cancer rates.

Via Newswise.

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Poor little lab rats! New findings in the FASEB Journal show consuming a high-fat diet significantly reduces physical endurance—and memory—in rats. After nine days, rats on a high-fat diet could only run half the distance of rats eating a low-fat diet.

On the fifth day of the high-fat diet (the first day back on the treadmill), the rats were already running 30 per cent less far than those remaining on the low-fat diet. By the ninth day, the last of the experiment, they were running 50 per cent less far.

The rats on the high-fat diet were also making mistakes sooner in the maze task, suggesting that their cognitive abilities were also being affected by their diet. The number of correct decisions before making a mistake dropped from over six to an average of 5 to 5.5.

The researchers also investigated what metabolic changes the high-fat diet was inducing in the rats. They found increased levels of a specific protein called the 'uncoupling protein' in the muscle and heart cells of rats on the high-fat diet. This protein 'uncouples' the process of burning food stuffs for energy in the cells, reducing the efficiency of the heart and muscles. This could at least partly explain the reduction in treadmill running seen in the rats.

The rats that were fed a high fat diet and had to run on the treadmill also had a significantly bigger heart after nine days, suggesting the heart had to increase in size to pump more blood around the body and get more oxygen to the muscles.

High-fat diets will jack you up! Back in April, a study showed low-fat diets improve people’s health after weight-loss by improving blood vessel function much better than fatty diets.

Via EurekAlert!

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Beets are powerful juju. Not only will they turn your pee red, but a new study in the Journal of Applied Physiology, claims beetroot juice boosts stamina and can help you exercise longer.

The research team believes that the findings could be of great interest to endurance athletes. They could also be relevant to elderly people or those with cardiovascular, respiratory or metabolic diseases.

The research team conducted their study with eight men aged between 19 and 38. They were given 500ml per day of organic beetroot juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests, involving cycling on an exercise bike. On another occasion, they were given a placebo of blackcurrant cordial for six consecutive days before completing the same cycling tests.

After drinking beetroot juice the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes, which is 92 seconds longer than when they were given the placebo. This would translate into an approximate 2% reduction in the time taken to cover a set distance.

And root vegetables, like beets and carrots, are loaded with fiber and powerful antioxidants, like cartonoids and betacyanin, which protect against cancer by stopping cell mutations.

Via EurekAlert!

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I love Yoga! I practice twice a week. So this is awesome. Findings in the journal Health Education & Behavior reveal doing a little yoga and meditation everyday during lunch can help people reduce stress at work.

Participants attended one-hour weekly group meetings during lunch and practiced 20 minutes of meditation and yoga per day at their desks. After six weeks, program participants reported that they were more aware of external stressors, they felt less stressed by life events, and they fell asleep more easily than did a control group that did not experience the intervention.

“Because chronic stress is associated with chronic disease, I am focusing on how to reduce stress before it has a chance to contribute to disease,” said Maryanna Klatt, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of clinical allied medicine at Ohio State.

“My interest is to see whether or not we can get people to reduce their health care utilization because they’re less stressed. I want to deliver something low cost at the work site, something practical that can be sustained, that can help reduce health care costs,” Klatt said.

It’s weird for me though. If I’m too stressed I can’t do Yoga. I can’t focus. But I better find a way to chill out, because Dr. Fuhrman insists reducing negative stress is an important of a long healthy life. My bad!

Via Newswise.

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A new study of 2,560 men, ages 42 to 61, claims daily high-intensity physical activity appears to reduce cancer risk in men. The results, published British Journal of Sports Medicine, were based on data collected over one year from men with no history of cancer.

During an average follow-up of 16 years, 181 of the men died from cancer. Those who engaged in moderate- to high-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes a day were 50 percent less likely to develop cancer compared with the other men.

The researchers found that an increase of 1.2 metabolic units (oxygen consumption) was related to a decreased risk of cancer death, especially in lung and gastrointestinal cancers, after they took into account factors such as age, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and fiber/fat intake.

"The intensity of leisure-time physical activity should be at least moderate so that beneficial effect of physical activity for reducing overall cancer mortality can be achieved," the study authors wrote in a news release.

Listen, it’s hard to make a case against exercising. If you try, you’ll end up looking pretty dopey. Dr. Fuhrman considers regular exercise one of the secrets to living a long time.

Via HealthDay News.

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According to a new study published in Journal of the American Medical Association, eating right and exercising is still the best way to protect your health, and your heart.

I know. It’s hardly a revelation, but earlier this year a report said nowadays more Americans have multiple chronic illnesses—including heart disease—than ever before.

Clearly, a lot of us aren’t getting the message. We’ve got too many cheeseburgers and hotdogs on the brain!

The research found individuals that lost weight, exercised, avoided smoking and drinking, and ate plenty of fruits and vegetables have a lower lifetime risk of heart failure and high blood pressure.

So next time you see someone coming out of a Burger King, slap the bag out of their hand, and run! It’s good exercise.

In related news, low-calorie, plant-based diets also help lower heart risks.

Via HealthDay News.

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Recently, my two sons, my brother, and I went hiking up the rocky cliffs overlooking Devil’s Lake, near the Wisconsin Dells. The climb was steep and strenuous, but the view at the summit overlooking the bluffs was gorgeous; well worth the physical exertion that was expended to capture its magnificence.

Three years ago, when I was obese, and carrying around almost a hundred extra pounds, I could only make it a third of the way up due to shortness of breathe and exhaustion.

Unfortunately, I never got to see the breathtaking views from the summit. In fact, past a certain point in the climb, one never sees an obese person.

Not only did I make it to the summit with little effort this time, that evening I asked my 20-year-old son if he’d like to go back, and watch the sunset with me.

We reached the summit in record speed, just as the sun was beginning to melt into the earth, and the picture of me above, on the right, was taken immediately afterwards.

At that moment, I vividly recalled one person’s response to the infamous, “How did you do it?” question that many, including complete strangers, have asked me throughout this past year of getting my health back.

After telling the basics of being a nutritarian, I recall one person emphatically exclaimed, “Oh, I could never give up pizza!”

Give up pizza? Ha. She had absolutely no clue.

I didn’t give up pizza. I don’t want pizza!

Because I eat high nutrient dense foods, my body has become so well nourished that it no longer craves junk. In fact, now, a year later, pizza sounds repulsive to me, and doesn’t even enter the radar screen of desire, because the addictive craving for high fat, low nutrient, processed food is completely gone.

Being a nutritarian not only gave me my health back, but my entire life back!

We reached the base just as darkness settled in.

It was at that moment, I knew that I was completely free from the power of our culture’s toxic food addiction, and would be committed to eating for health for life.

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