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

Dr. Fuhrman's Holiday Challenge has now begun and what an opportunity this is for you to be able to take action and regain your health! You have made the decision to take on the challenge, which is the first step, but now you need to take action. You'll need to stay firm and dedicated the entire six weeks; not just here at the start. Eating high-nutrient foods will provide motivation, because you’ll feel great and see the positive physical results quickly, but there is more that you can do to increase your success. 

The following are a few strategies, some of which you may have already heard of or used in the past, and they will increase your likelihood of successful completion of the challenge:

 

1.  Tell everyone you know what you are doing for your health and how excited you are about it. By telling close friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers, you are going to make this more “real” and not just a secret struggle that you “hope to get through”. The worst position to be in is all alone; just you and your addictions and bad habits. You’ll see that others will ask you about how you are doing with the challenge, and many will want to support you and cheer you on. You don’t want to let yourself down, of course, but by involving more people that are also expecting you to follow through, you won’t want to let them down either.

 

2.  Ask friends, family members and coworkers that also have a need to turn their health around to do the challenge with you. Share recipes and ideas. Eat and exercise together, if you can. It’s more fun and motivating this way and is one of the best strategies for success.

 

3.  Interact with others who have succeeded already and have “been there” so they can motivate you and give you more tips for success. A great way to do this is by participating in the online forums at DrFuhrman.com. [Dr. Fuhrman is offering a free, six week membership over the holidays. See link below.] There isn’t a better place where there’s such a concentrated group of like-minded nutritarians than on the member center; and the more you get involved there, the more success you’ll have. Some will even post their daily thoughts as they are transitioning to a healthy lifestyle, and they’ll get daily responses from experienced nutritarians who care.

 

4.  Educate yourself daily about the science of nutrition. Make efforts to understand why eating a high micronutrient, plant-based diet is the healthiest for you, and why it is the most sustainable way to lose weight and keep it off. Read Dr Fuhrman’s newsletters and books, and actually look up the research articles that are referenced in these materials and on DiseaseProof.com and DrFuhrman.com. Knowing why you are making these changes in your life is an important component for long term success.

 

5.  Track your success each day (perhaps with a chart on your refrigerator) and give yourself non-food related rewards for reaching your dietary goals weekly or even daily, if needed.

I wish all of you the best success in reaching your health goals. I’ll see you on the other side!

To view the official rules and promise, click here.

Dr. Benson sees the majority of patients at Dr. Fuhrman’s office in Flemington, and is well versed in modern high-tech medicine and the nutritional and natural methods utilized by Dr. Fuhrman. He also works side-by-side with Dr. Fuhrman on nutritional research, gives lectures, and answers questions on Dr. Fuhrman’s Ask the Doctor forums.

image credits:  flickr, table setting by Allan Henderson; four women by TheArches

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Remember the wonderful reasons why we are eating high-nutrient foods?  click here

 

The Holiday Challenge rules and promise will be posted this coming Tuesday, and the official kick-off will be on Monday, November 21st.  Let's all enjoy the best holiday season yet!

 

Let us know the reason(s) why you will be jumping on board the Holiday Challenge this year.

image credit:  Esther Boller

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A couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the pages of my local newspaper when I ran across an article by The Associated Press titled, “Oldest US diabetic ‘lifer’ reaches age 90.”

It caught my attention.

Back in 1926, a five-year-old boy by the name of Bob Krause was diagnosed with type I diabetes, (aka juvenile diabetes), shortly after the commercial production of insulin.  Before that time children died of the nasty disease, including his brother. 

As most of you may know, type I diabetes is different from type II diabetes. It’s a chronic illness in which the body no longer produces insulin, and life expectancy is shortened due to serious health complications that can develop as a result. However, Mr. Krause was determined to successfully beat it, and he’s now the oldest American known to live 85 years beyond the time of diagnosis. 

I spoke with Mr. Krause over the phone to congratulate him and to discover his success tips, and guess what his number one tip has been?  In fact, he calls it his “life’s motto”: he eats to live instead of living to eat!   [And he'd never heard of a book with that title!]  He always treats his body like a car and only eats enough food to fuel activities, and that’s it. For him, that equates to just two modest meals a day . . . not for pleasure; or emotional, social, or recreational reasons; and his fuel doesn’t consist of processed foods and lots of animal protein either. 

Mr. Krause was determined from early on that he wanted to live the best life possible. And he did.  He became a professor and established a career in teaching mechanical engineering at the University of Washington; plus, he and his wife raised a wonderful family together.

I was blown away by his positive attitude and wisdom of living with type I diabetes. He genuinely considers himself a blessed man to have had diabetes at such a young age as it caused him to do what he was supposed to do. 

Before hanging up the phone, he told me that if all people would live as if they had diabetes, everyone would be a lot healthier. He said it’s each person’s decision to live or die, and that if we each do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll live a long and healthy life.

Congratulations Bob Krause – you are an inspirational hero! 

By the way, he can’t understand why so many people have been making such a big fuss over him as he just did what he was supposed to do, to live! 

Image credit:  flickr by Genista 

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Three weeks in and I'm thrilled, along with my teams at DiseaseProof.com and DrFuhrman.com, that almost 1500 people, most of whom were on the fence for years, have joined us in taking the Six Week Holiday Challenge. We're flabbergasted by the success of this outreach and the many hundreds of supportive e-mails and posts that we've received from those, who for their first time in their lives, are getting their health back over the holidays instead of watching it deteriorate further.  This challenge has even helped motivate thousands more, who were already eating healthfully, to do even better.  We’ve all come together in solidarity to eat healthfully throughout the holiday season. 

For those of you who are now half-way through the challenge, I’m so proud of you that you are sticking to the promise; staying away from fast food and junk food, and adding high nutrient foods and exercise instead. Can you imagine only three weeks left and then you can go back to eating junk again?! (just kidding!)  And that’s the exciting part also; with all the delicious, healthy recipes, many have found the holiday challenge much easier and more enjoyable than they could’ve ever imagined.  They now know that they can stay on the road to wellness long after the holidays are over.  I’m looking forward to hearing more of your succes stories after the New Year.

                                                     

Congratulations to all of you! 

 

Being a shining example of excellent health is an exciting personal victory and one that also enables you to help others in need.  Keep up the great work.

 

Your health is your greatest wealth. 

 image credit: flickr by catsper

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I was born at the tale end of the infamous Baby Boom. This picture was taken on the day that I was brought home from the hospital.  My parents were of “The Greatest Generation”; a term coined by journalist, Tom Brokaw, to describe the generation who were children during the Great Depression and teens/young adults during World War II. This generation of youth learned the value of sacrifice, hard work and commitment. I remember my mom saying how much she loved the first weeks of spring as a child to be able to go out and pick dandelion greens for supper, because fresh food sources were so scarce after the long winter months. A few years later she mourned the death of her brother, a young soldier fighting in Europe, as she herself helped with the war effort by growing a Victory Garden. Women all across America grew lush vegetable gardens; supplying over 40% of the nation’s food, on top of carefully rationing additional food supplies.¹

Fast forward three decades. 

• Teen girls traded growing and preparing food for after school activities. 
• A magical applicance called a 'microwave' was introduced.
• At the touch of a button food could be instantly heated.
• Pre-packaged and processed meals flourished. 
• These young women eventually married and started families of their own. 
• They met friends at McDonald’s Play Land for their toddlers' play dates. 
• Happy Meals replaced green beans and carrots. 
• Carbonated drinks replaced glasses of cool water. 
• Coupon clipping for artificially flavored, processed food replaced working in the garden.   

Fast forward another decade; the Happy Meal toddlers became teens. 

• Soccer and dance practices replaced the family dinner hour. 
• Traditional, sit down meals became a thing of the past. 
• No longer was anyone home at the same time. 
• Big Macs 'supersized' replaced Happy Meals.
• Dad nuked cold spaghetti in the microwave and watched the evening news . . . alone. 
• Thankfully, Death by Chocolate ice-cream was in the freezer.

When I was a kid, ice cream cones were rare commodities reserved only for very special occasions.  However, when I became a mother, the 99 cent cones at McDonald’s were routine lifesavers. Sure, freshly cleaned grapes would have been a better choice, but the drive thru was more convenient to a busy soccer mom. Unfortunately, I raised most of my kids in the fast lane on waffles, processed cereals, pizzas, chicken nuggets, mac n’cheese, pot roasts, “homemade" beef n’ noodles, and plenty of chips, sweets, and junk food in-between.

I recently asked my 21-year-old son, who now freely chooses high nutrient foods over the junk he was raised on, what has influenced his healthy choices the most. His reply was seeing the impact that nutrition has made on his mother’s life, and the healthy example now set at home.

Last year I wrote a post titled, “Moms, we have the most influence.”

I still believe it.  

1.  wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_garden

image credits:  Emily Boller's family archives

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Over the past few months I've felt the best of my entire life. I can pedal up hills on my bike that last year I could only walk. I can do killer, intense interval workouts at the Y that a year ago I could only dream of doing. My exercise sessions are exhilarating! I'm amazed at how far my body has come in less than two years when I couldn’t even run to catch a fly-away ball in the backyard, or climb a flight of stairs without shortness of breath.

However, therein lies the potential problem.

Dr. Fuhrman recently reminded me that because I had let myself go for so many years I damaged my health in the process; even though I can't see or feel the damage.  He also cautioned me that now it's imperative to keep putting superior nutrition into my body to continue to repair, cleanse and heal the cellular damage caused by years of eating the standard American diet.

In other words, now's not the time to kick back and relax with the I-feel-great mentality and start compromising on superior nutrition. There's a huge difference between mediocre/good nutrition AND excellent/superior nutrition. Plus, it’s those little, innocent compromises that do the most damage, because they pave the way for bigger, more damaging compromises on down the road. It's going to take years of eating superior nutrition to prevent disease and heal the damage that’s already been done. Just because I feel great doesn't mean that my body is out of the woods.

Eating for optimal health is for life; no matter how great one feels.

No compromises. No excuses.

image credit: dutchlabusa.com

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Bok choy (or pak choi) is a relative of cabbage, scientifically named Brassica chinensis. It is most often associated with Chinese cuisine, and has been grown in China for over six thousand years. Today, bok choy is also grown in Europe, Canada, and the U.S, and is available almost year-round – it is said to be most tasty in the winter months.

Bok choy has crisp, white stalks and dark green leaves, and in Chinese its name means “white vegetable.” There are over twenty different varieties of bok choy – the two most common seen here in the U.S. are the traditional and “baby” or “Shanghai” bok choy – however, if you visit your local Asian market, you may see several more of these varieties.^1-2

Bok choy provides abundant amounts of vitamins A, C, and K as well as folate and calcium.³ A recent study detected 28 different polyphenols - antioxidant phytochemicals - in bok choy. Some of these were more concentrated in the leaves, and some in the stems.⁴ The most abundant polyphenol these scientists found in bok choy was kaempferol, a molecule shown to have anti-cancer properties.⁵ 

Bok choy falls under the category of cruciferous vegetables, a family of especially nutrient-dense vegetables that contain unique anti-cancer compounds. Like all cruciferous vegetables, more cancer-preventive compounds are produced when bok choy is chopped before cooking. 

Bok choy is one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world, and it is uniquely beneficial for its calcium availability – bok choy is lower in oxalate, a substance that binds up calcium and prevents it from being absorbed, than most other leafy greens. 54% of the calcium in bok choy can be absorbed by the human body – compare this to 5% in spinach, a high oxalate vegetable, and 32% in milk. We can much more readily absorb calcium from bok choy than from dairy products.

Bok choy can be eaten raw in salads, green smoothies, or vegetable juices, or cooked in stir-fries, soups, or other vegetable dishes. 

Braised Bok Choy

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

8 baby bok choy or 3 regular bok choy

1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce

2 cups coarsely chopped shiitake mushrooms

2 large cloves garlic, chopped, optional

1 tablespoon unhulled sesame seeds, lightly toasted *

Instructions:

Cover bottom of large skillet with 1/2 inch water. Add bok choy (cut baby bok choy in half lengthwise or cut regular bok choy into chunks).

Drizzle with liquid aminos. Cover and cook on high heat until bok choy is tender, about 6 minutes.

Remove bok choy and add mushrooms and garlic to the liquid in the pan.

Simmer liquid until reduced to a glaze. Pour over bok choy. Top with toasted sesame seeds.

*Lightly toast sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, shaking pan frequently. 

References:

1. http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetablesrecipes/a/bokchoy.htm

2. http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=3002

3. http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2377/2?print=true

4. Harbaum B et al. Identification of flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids in pak choi varieties (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. communis) by HPLC-ESI-MSn and NMR and their quantification by HPLC-DAD. J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Oct 3;55(20):8251-60. Epub 2007 Sep 12.

5. Luo H et al. Kaempferol inhibits angiogenesis and VEGF expression through both HIF dependent and independent pathways in human ovarian cancer cells. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(4):554-63.

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It is no secret that young people in America eat unhealthy diets.  What most people might not be aware of is just how unhealthy teens are actually eating.  According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a meager 9.5 percent of high school students in the United States eat two or more servings of fruits and three or more servings of vegetables a day, which are the amounts recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  As the fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations given by the USDA are conservative compared to actual ideal requirements as suggested in scientific studies, the number of teens who consume enough nutrients is actually considerably less than 9.5 percent.  Tragically, the majority of high-school and college students don’t eat any fruits and vegetables at all.  It is tragic because such behavior is predictive of the development of serious chronic disease in their adult lives.

While one might think this information is shocking, teenagers themselves are not solely to blame. Most, if not all, high-schools fail to educate teens about the importance of eating healthfully, and the limited information that is given is almost worthless. They cook foods such as pastries and macaroni and cheese in cooking classes and no effort is made to teach the link between diets low in produce and later life cancer and heart disease. Young people are constantly bombarded by advertisements from fast food, soda and snack companies trying to promote their products.  Due to the popularity and high-publicity of many chain restaurants and snacks, eating unhealthy is not just considered normal, but cool.  Junk foods such as soda, candy, chips, white-flour products and processed snack items abound around school campuses and are the most convenient and available food choices.  Seventy-five percent of high schools currently serve lunches that are high in saturated fat and salt and low in nutrients, according to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 

In addition to the paltry supply of fruits and vegetables available on school campuses, students are loading up on soda to fulfill caloric needs. In fact, soda is the food (if you can call it that) that supplies the most calories to the American diet. Most of these calories come from high fructose corn syrup, equivalent to about 10 teaspoons of sugar. The typical soda offers, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is packed with artificial food colors and sulphites.

Soda consumption is linked to osteoporosis, attention deficit disorder (ADD), insomnia, kidney stones, and tooth decay. Worst of all, soda is linked to obesity. In fact, the risk of obesity increases a dramatic 60 percent for each can of soda a person drinks per day. Teenagers and children, whom most soft drinks are marketed toward, are the largest consumers. Currently, teenage boys drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10 percent drink seven or more cans each day. The average for teenage girls is two cans per day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans every day.

This year, let’s try to educate our youth.  If nothing is done to improve the eating habits of young people, I fear for my generation. The current climate of nutritional ignorance will lead to a future population of suffering and sickly adults riddled with chronic diseases, If you are trying to get healthier and lose weight, make it a family effort and try to teach your children about the importance of eating healthy and avoiding junk foods too.  Small efforts can result in big changes. It is never too early to make nutritious eating choices.

What do you think?  What strategies should be implemented? What can we do to instill healthy eating values in our junk food world? 

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image credit: Emily Boller

• In my town lentils cost 92 cents/lb.  Combined with no-salt tomato puree, garlic, onions and spices, an entire pot of lentil stew can be made for a fraction of the cost of spaghetti and meatballs, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, or beef and noodles.
• Ripe bananas can be purchased for 29 cents/lb.  They can be frozen and made into delicious and healthful ice cream desserts.  I make ice cream for my family for less than ten dollars a month.  Compare that to two quarts of high fat, high sugar, chemical laden ice cream that lasts a family a couple of days (or one stress-relief binge!)  
  
  
   
• At monthly sales I stock up on bags of frozen vegetables: 10 bags for $10.  Compare that to two bags of frozen fries for ten bucks. 
• A pound of romaine lettuce is cheaper than a pound of shredded cheese.
• A large bag of fresh carrots costs the same as a bag of chips.
• A bag of oranges is comparable in cost to a package of disease promoting cookies.
• Oatmeal is a fraction of the price of processed cereal. 
• Gardening saves even more on bountiful supplies of high nutrient foods.

Add the astronomical costs of doctor visits, insurance co-pays, hospitalizations, missed work, and popular medications used to manage cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes: Prinivil, Zocor, Lipitor, Atenolol and Metformin . . . . . eating for health costs more than eating for disease? 

Don’t believe the lie.

As the old adage goes, “Pay the grocer or pay the doctor.”

I’d rather pay food bills any day!   

Do you have a money saving tip that supports eating for health?  If so, we’d love to hear from you!

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Joel and I have four children, ages 8, 15, 18 and 22. So, we've had a lot of experience in dealing with childrens' food issues, particularly socially. In my house, my children love the way we eat, yet when they are in the Standard American Diet (SAD) world, they become different human beings. Depending on their age, they have reacted very similarly. Here is a recounting of what we've experienced:
Basically, when the kids are 6 and younger, they know of only what you feed them. They are dependent on their family, not friends and like and do what their parents and siblings do. This makes it very easy for all. One interesting example was when our son was 3 years old and he and I attended my daughter's school fair.  I was talking to my girlfriend (who knows how we eat) when my son started looking at a tray of chocolate chip cookies. If you can picture it, the tray is on a table that is the same height as my son's eyes. It is a huge tray and a huge amount of really big, soft chocolate chip cookies. It really caught my son's attention and just as quickly he grabbed a cookie and took a bite. I stopped talking, watching him and said to my girlfriend, "He's never had a cookie!". Well, as soon as he took the bite, he spit it out of his mouth and said, "Yuk!" Both my girlfriend and I were astounded, as we certainly did not expect that response.

The above event let me see how much children's preferences are dictated by what they are used to. My son never had a cookie, ice cream or processed sweet food in his life and once he tried it, he didn't like it.

As I've watched my girls grow up, particularly after the age of 6, I have not had such luck with them disliking such foods. They all did not like chocolate for the very longest time, but they enjoyed ice cream and certainly pizza once it was offered to them. The social events at school were the way my children were introduced to the many unhealthy foods we never had in our home. This has always infuriated me and I was looked at like a leper whenever I brought up the idea of no candy being allowed in school. I can now happily state that our school district has implemented a policy where no foods with sugar as the first ingredient can be brought in. However, when my daughters were younger this was not the case and is probably not the case where many of our nation's children go to school.

With the hope of keeping my children as psychologically healthy as possible, my philosophy has always been not to make my children feel guilty by the food choices they make. I recognize that food can become a big psychological issue if you let it. I also knew of people whose children rebelled and I certainly didn't want that. So, I rarely ask them about what they ate during their time in school or with their friends. I do know of instances where they have had candy and I know that they may eat what is offered at a friend's house that we many not approve of. I accept these times, with the knowledge that whatever they eat in our house is healthy and that has got to be at least 80% of what they take in that day. One of my daughters orders a "salad" pizzas (where it's only the pizza dough with lettuce, tomato, onion, garlic and italian dressing) when her friends are ordering regular pizza. It's her way of compromising both worlds. To be honest, I tried it and it was good.

This attitude has enabled my children to talk freely to me about their day and to acknowledge that while they have their SAD foods once in a while, they love our food at home. They also chose restaurants that offer salads and veggie dishes when they go out with their friends. All of my children prefer the food we serve at home and whenever they are away, they can't wait to get back to our house to get good tasting, healthy food. I have even overheard Joel speaking to one of my daughters telling her, "Don't worry about it, it is no big deal. Your overall excellent diet keeps you healthy and there is no reason your healthy body cannot tolerate an occasional stress. Just have a fun time."

We feel good that our children know how to take care of their bodies. They have the knowledge that what they eat has a large effect on their health. And that puts them way ahead of the game!

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