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

Can you imagine losing 333 lbs? Scott realized that bariatric surgery was not a solution for him, and after much research, embraced Dr. Fuhrman’s nutrient rich eating-style. He has an incredible story of hope; especially for anyone caught in the dark pit of morbid obesity. Welcome to Disease Proof, Scott.   

Tell about yourself and the events that led up to getting your health back.

Starting in puberty, I put on weight. Even though I was a competitive swimmer, rode my bike everywhere, and played pickup games of football and baseball, I still packed on the pounds.

Eventually I got married and became a stay-at-home Dad, which was a privilege, but also very isolating and lonely.  My weight increased dramatically, yet I denied the seriousness of the problem. However, one day I woke up and admitted that I had fallen directly into a huge, black pit. In November of 2005, I weighed 501 pounds.

I was unable to walk more than a few feet. My knees, lower back and feet suffered greatly, causing my independence of movement to be completely gone. My wife, who is a nurse, had to help me shower, dress, walk, etc., and consequently, I had no self-esteem. She also noticed that I had developed serious sleep apnea.

I went to three, different surgeons for consultations regarding the possibility of bariatric surgery, but couldn't and wouldn't commit to it.  The surgeries seemed like handing my problems over to someone else to fix. This was my problem and I had to solve it, or else live with the negative consequences. I chose to solve it.   

I read books and contemplated ways to get out of my precarious situation. In my quest, I discovered Eat to Live and decided to commit to it, because it’s not a diet to get to a certain goal weight, but about learning to take care of one’s health for life. Dr. Fuhrman’s teachings dovetailed perfectly into my plans to totally restructure my life. I found peace in doing simple things like cooking, biking, taking care of myself, and taking care of my family. By February of 2009, I had lost 333 lbs and got my health and life back. 

How did you feel before starting ETL?

A better question would be, “How did I possibly survive?"

Life was intolerable. Weighing as much as I did, I couldn’t move without a lot of pain and exhaustion. I stepped outside my house, at the most, four to six times a year; and only then at the begging of my wife and daughter. I would sit on the stoop for fifteen minutes, and then the stares would begin; whether real or imagined, it was deep, unending uncertainty and sadness.

How do you feel now?

I have a life. Physically I feel great. My wife even admits that she can’t keep up with me now.  

However, I also feel angry at times due to the scorn and ridicule against fat people, and the false hope and lack of understanding the dieting industry throws at them. When I was morbidly obese, I felt worthless, unclean, stupid, unacceptable, and rejected. I was judged according to my size; therefore, it produced a lot of resentment.   

Now, when I look in the mirror, I only recognize my eyes and teeth.  When I’m in public places, I am no longer noticed, because now I fit in and look “normal.” This prejudice still makes me mad. My mind seems unable to embrace the lack of stares now, because psychologically, I still feel like I weigh 501 lbs.

Tell us how you got involved in cycling and how much you ride now.

When I was a kid, I loved to ride my bike. Then it all came to an abrupt halt on my 16^th birthday when driving became my “right of passage.” Consequently, my bike became a fading, dusty memory stored in back of the garage. 

To get my health back, I needed a way to exercise.  For me, biking made complete sense as it was a way to move around without further destroying what was left of my body. It also reconnected me with all the best parts of childhood; that sense of adventure and freedom.  It was, is, and always will be great for me. That first year I rode approximately 1,400 miles. Last year I rode 19,700 miles, and this year I’m shooting for 25,000.  Now, as a family, we do almost all errands via our bikes. Anywhere we used to go by car, we now take a bike. 

Do you have any success tip(s) that you’d like to share? 

• First and foremost, find a way back to believing in your true and honest self. However, the path must work for you. Take and borrow suggestions from others, but until it becomes 101% yours, it's not going to stick.

• Make a sacred pact to commit to this new lifestyle. Do it at any and all cost. This is the only way out.

 Congratulations Scott! We applaud you with a standing ovation! 

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For years, Terry, a former high school and college athlete, could “eat anything” and work it off with lots of exercise through sports.  However, in his late twenties, the weight began to pile on as his social eating and drinking increased, and his exercise decreased.  The once fit athlete ballooned into an obese and unhealthy, middle-aged guy who felt miserable. Thankfully, a mutual friend and vegan proponent, Heather Mills, posed a challenge to Terry to get his health back and introduced him to Dr. Fuhrman. The rest is history. He’s now more than half way through the challenge, and it has changed more than just his medical stats.  Welcome to Disease Proof, Terry.

Tell us about yourself and how you decided to take the plunge to get your health back?

For more than a decade I’ve been overweight and unhappy with how I’ve looked and felt. I’ve wanted to lose 75 lbs to get down to what I weighed when I played collegiate rugby. I grew up playing sports and ate lots of high fat food, but never had a potbelly until I was twenty-five; and even then, when rugby season would start, I could always run it off. However, by the time I was thirty I was a heavy drinker and hardly exercised anymore. My career as an advertising executive in Manhattan requires dining out with clients late into the night as a significant part of my job. There seemed to be no end to my disease promoting lifestyle. Two years ago, when I turned forty, I thought I was a hopeless case. I didn’t think I’d ever be fit, active or happy again like I was in my early twenties.

Heather posed a challenge for me to go vegan for six months to see what effect it would have on my weight, blood pressure and cholesterol. She wanted me to do it “right” so she introduced me to Dr. Fuhrman, who took the challenge a step further. He wanted me to focus on eating high nutrient vegetation for optimal health, and become a nutritarian for life.     

At first I thought Heather’s idea was crazy, because I loved meat and cheese; and it was even suggested that I give up alcohol! She offered to provide the food for six months and arrange monthly check-ups with Dr. Fuhrman if I would write a blog about the experience. After thinking about the challenge for many weeks, I decided to go for it. By this time, I had tipped the scales at 302 lbs [6’4”].  
   
I started the six month quest with 100% gusto on November 1, 2009; just as I was entering my favorite eating and drinking season of the year. A couple of days prior I had my first consultation with Dr. Fuhrman and he laid it on the line just like a coach would, and Eat to Live became the playbook.

How did you feel before committing to Eat to Live? 

I was tired all the time, and it was a struggle to perform even the simplest of tasks such as bending over to tie my shoes or climb a flight of stairs. However, even though I was obese, I didn’t look more than 50 lbs overweight and I lived a “normal” life. I could still fit in airplane seats and was never in want of a date; therefore, I ignored my extremely unhealthy body. I thought I ate relatively healthy and didn’t consider myself to be a junk food addict. For those rare times that I did look in the mirror and become shocked at my size, I would order a giant steak, creamed spinach, bottle of wine, and a few Scotches to make me happy again. 

I naively assumed that if I just cut back on food intake and exercised more that I could achieve my weight loss goal; however, Dr. Fuhrman quickly set me straight. I was surprised to learn that my steaks with creamed spinach and 12” subs were junk food; causing my cholesterol to be dangerously over 300! When Dr. Fuhrman stated, "We got you just in time," I knew it was not a hyperbole. My life was truly at risk. 

What's happened to your body so far?

By the eighth day of following Eat to Live, I had lost 12 lbs and within six weeks my cholesterol dropped an incredible 100 points! I’ve lost 41 lbs in the last 3½ months, and feel great and closer to “normal” again. My body is now conditioned to enjoy healthy food. I love this new way of eating! 

                 

 Are others noticing changes about you? 

Yes, someone recently commented, “I didn’t know you had a chin!” My girlfriend said that my skin looks healthier and more alive, and friends from years ago now see the same person they first met. However, the biggest change that others notice is my attitude. I was never without a drink and luscious spread of food, and now I’m surprising everyone. Many are encouraged and motivated because I’m the last person in the world they’d ever expect to see change eating and drinking habits. Now, the common response is, “If Terry can do it, I certainly can!”

Do you have any success tip(s) that you’d like to share with others in their journey to health?

• Yes, be selfish.  In my case, I love to write, and the prospect of documenting this journey through a blog seemed irresistible. I told everyone I met that I was going on this radical quest to lose 75 lbs., and that I would be writing about it daily. [It’s easy to set up a blog. If you tell everyone about it, and commit to writing about your journey, you are under pressure to stick with it!]

• Also I looked at the weight loss challenge as a sporting event. I’m competitive. I love to win. My ego was at stake because if I lost, I would not only be losing to myself, I would be losing to my doubters, and that got my competitive juices flowing!

Any final thoughts to share? 

• Just because you feel "fine" doesn’t mean your cholesterol is not life threatening.
• Just because you can still buy clothes “off the rack", or fit in an airplane seat, doesn’t mean you’re not dangerously obese.
• Just because people love you, doesn’t mean you should ignore poor health and not do something about it.

   

Almost daily I hear the words of Dr. Fuhrman echo in my head, "We got you just in time." 

Terry has 2 ½ months left of his six month quest to get his health back. I’ll check in with him on the victor’s platform in a few months! In the meantime, check out his blog.  [By the way, since eating out with clients is a big part of his career, he uses his blog to encourage others, like himself, who are committed to eating for health while living in a big city full of challenging temptations.]

Congratulations Terry ~ we are cheering for you! 

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While taking his daily five-mile walk on Monday, 104 year old Joe Rollino was crossing Bay Ridge Parkway in Brooklyn when he was struck by a minivan. Sadly, he died a few hours later at a local hospital.

In the 1920s, Mr. Rollino was a strongman on Coney Island billed as “The World’s Strongest Man.” He got his start in boxing and bodybuilding at age 10. Mr. Rollino became a vegetarian in his teens and firmly believed in fueling the body with natural, health-promoting foods.

He once lifted 475 lbs. with his teeth, 635 lbs. with one finger, and 3200 lbs. with his back. Even more astounding is that he did all this standing at 5’4” and weighing less than 150 lbs. 

Mr. Rollino was not only strong and muscular, he was agile. In the 1920s, he boxed as “Kid Dundee,” often against boxers 50 pounds heavier than he was. He was a World War II veteran, and he swam daily laps in the ocean year-round. He was a classic example of all-around fitness and good nutrition. Joe Rollino, like other fit nutritarians such as Herbert Shelton and Jack LaLanne occasionally corresponded with Dr. Fuhrman on the subject of nutrition. These men provide proof that aging doesn’t have to mean heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and physical fragility.

On his 103^rd birthday, Joe Rollino put a quarter between his teeth and bent it with his fingers. He skipped the cake.

March 19, 2010 would have been his 105^th birthday. Imagine how long he could have lived. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/nyregion/12ironman.html?ref=nyregion

http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/5769/joe-rolino-103-still-fit-fiery/

http://weightlifting.org/aobsnews/aobsnews.htm

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Ronnie is an amazing example of the dramatic results that nutritarian eating can have on the body.  Not only did he lose over 140lbs in one year and get his precarious health restored, but is now completely off $600 a month of medications!  You will be astounded by his remarkable recovery. Welcome to Disease Proof, Ronnie.

Tell us about yourself and the events that led up to getting your health back?

In 2005 I had open heart bypass surgery, and two years later I had three stents put into an artery. Soon after being released from the second hospitalization, I was still experiencing chest pain.  I typed “reverse heart disease” into an on-line search engine and discovered the web site of Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

At that time I weighed over 300 lbs and couldn’t perform even the simplest of tasks without shortness of breath and chest pain. I was getting affairs in order for my impending death, including preparing my wife to take over our business.   

How did you feel before committing to nutritarian eating?

I was always hungry and I felt lethargic all the time. My brain seemed to be in a continual cloud of confusion, and every joint in my body ached.

What’s happened to your body and how do you feel now?

I committed to Dr. Fuhrman's high nutrient diet-style on July 10, 2008.  During the first seven months I lost 110 lbs.  By July 2009, I had arrived at my ideal weight; a total weight loss of 140 lbs! 

After a couple weeks of nutritarian eating I had renewed energy and hope. I gradually lost all aches and pains, and toxic hunger completely disappeared. Each morning I woke up with vitality for the day.

My chest pains have completely ceased. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides have all been reversed to a healthy range. With Dr. Fuhrman’s careful oversight through Ask the Doctor on the Member Center of DrFuhrman.com, I’ve been able to completely stop all medications. (Medications for blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood thinners and more.) As a result I’ve been able to save over $600.00 a month in out-of-pocket pharmaceutical expenses!    

Now I can:

•         do heavy weight strength training 4 x week
•         do interval cardio training
•         play tennis
•         ride a bike 

These are all activities I couldn’t even dream of doing two years ago! 

I’m no longer a patient that needs medications; I’m fit, healthy and well!

Ronnie, do you have any success tip(s) you’d like to share with others in their journey to health?

I highly recommend joining the Member Center of DrFuhrman.com. I couldn’t have done it without the lifesaving and valuable support from Dr. Fuhrman. He personally answered every question that I had along the way, and his continual guidance and oversight was always reassuring.

Also, don’t just read Dr. Fuhrman’s books, put them into practice!

Is there a final thought that you would like to share with anyone who is discouraged or has given up hope?

It’s always the darkest before the dawn. There is life in all of us if we will make the choice to live it! Nutritarian eating works! Don’t live your life always looking in the rearview mirror. Let the past be just that; the past. 

Our journey to optimal health is always in front of our eyes, and we sit at that intersection every new day. Go forward to freedom! Forget past failures and always keep your eyes on the prize of great health and vitality through excellent nutrition. 

I asked Ronnie’s wife, Peggy, if she had anything to add. She responded with the following note written directly to Dr. Fuhrman:

Dr. Fuhrman,

I want to add my note of appreciation to you for your hard work and devotion. I now have a new husband! 

Who can ever know how life can change? Over a year ago I was sure that Ronnie would not be with me much longer. Through his own doing, he was a prime candidate for a stroke or heart attack. Now, through his dedication and hard work, and the knowledge that you have given to him, he is not only (hopefully) going to live a long life, but he is living it to its fullest! His commitment to nutritarian eating is an inspiration to all of us.

None of this could have been possible without you.

Peggy 

                                *Ronnie weighed more, but 300 lbs was his scale's limit.

                                * He now wears a size smaller in pants (30) than he did in high school (31)!

                                *300mg of Avapro and 200mg of Toprol for high blood pressure

                                * 20 mg of Lipitor for high cholesterol

Congratulations Ronnie!

image credits: capturedimage.net

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A study on mortality rate in men with varying levels of physical activity, as would be expected, found that the group of men with high levels of physical activity had a 32% reduction in mortality rate compared to those in the sedentary group. 

A subset of these sedentary men began exercising at or around age 50 – after 10 years, these men had the same mortality rate as the men who had been actively exercising all along.¹ 

In addition to the many well-known benefits of exercise (prevents chronic disease, reduces cancer risk, beneficial for heart health), there is now accumulating evidence that exercise slows aging at the DNA level.

Telomeres are non-coding regions located on the end of linear chromosomes, and they are shortened with each cell division until the cell no longer divides. For this reason, telomere length is an indicator of cellular aging. Telomere length is maintained in actively dividing cells (such as stem cells and immune cells) by an enzyme called telomerase. There is an inverse association between leisure time exercise energy expenditure and telomere length – meaning that those who exercise regularly have “younger” DNA in their immune cells than those who are sedentary.^2-3 A study of middle-aged German track and field athletes found not only longer telomeres in immune cells but also increased activity of the telomerase enzyme and decreased expression of cell-cycle inhibitors – molecules that prevent cell division – in these athletes compared to age-matched untrained individuals.⁴

Collectively, these studies tell us that exercise not only prevents disease, but promotes longevity, even if we get a late start.

References:

1. Byberg L et al. Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort. BMJ 2009;338:b688

2. Ludlow AT et al. Relationship between Physical Activity Level, Telomere Length,

and Telomerase Activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 October ; 40(10): 1764–1771

3. Cherkas LF et al. The association between physical activity in leisure time and leukocyte telomere length. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jan 28;168(2):154-8.

4. Werner C et al. Physical Exercise Prevents Cellular Senescence in Circulating Leukocytes and in the Vessel Wall. Circulation. 2009 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print]

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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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