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

As a young person living in America, the superficial society that it is, I have an aversion for any blemish, pimple, or mark that threatens to make its presence known on my face. Glowing, blemish free skin is the ideal and a sign of good health.    Every girl is entitled to radiant, clear skin and avoidance of the bad mood that occurs as a consequence of the appearance of a gargantuan pimple. Granted, I do realize that there are infinitely worse scenarios that can be inflicted upon a person, but at the same time one should not have to face the awfulness of pimples or a dull complexion amidst all the other chaos in one’s life.

Thankfully, as the daughter of Dr. Fuhrman, I know that diet plays a huge role in maintaining healthful, as well as youthful, looking skin. The same nutrient dense diet that keeps us healthy and prevents chronic diseases naturally helps prevent pimples, acne, and the like. Welcome to Radiant Skin 101, my one article class on the ins and outs of how to attain and maintain healthy, radiant skin:

Radiant Skin 101:

1)     The hormones inside our bodies are important contributors to what cause pimples to appear on the outside. In particular, the hormone insulin an important modulator of breakouts. Insulin is most commonly known as the hormone for regulating blood sugar and is associated with diabetes, yet interestingly it also increases   oils that appear on our skin. Who would have thought? Insulin levels fluctuate based on what we eat, and these fluctuations can affect other hormones such as testosterone that also promote acne.

2)     Processed foods made with white flour and sugar lead to blood sugar spikes, causing insulin levels to go into the hateful “pimple-producing zone”. Sugar and processed foods are nada good for our skin. 

3)     Of course this is more complicated than just sugar and insulin. The peeps at Harvard say milk is not skin-friendly food. The Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study in which the diets of 6,084 teenage girls were analyzed. Girls who drank two or more servings of milk per day were 20 percent more likely to have acne. Milk contains bioactive molecules that act on the glands where blackheads are formed. William Danby MD, a dermatologist at Dartmouth, noted in an editorial accompanying the study that 70 to 90 percent of all milk comes from pregnant cows and that the milk contains hormones such as progesterone, testosterone precursors and insulin-like growth factor releasing hormones, all linked to acne.

4)     The foods you should eat for radiant skin? Green vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, seeds, avocadoes, starchy vegetables, and whole grains, of course. These foods are loaded with antioxidants, substances that help our skin repair damage. Plant foods also contain an array of phytochemicals. The foods rich in carotenoids are super foods for your body, not just your face. They supercharge the immune system’s defensive capabilities and help prevent many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Many thousands of these chemicals are found in brightly colored plant foods. So in regards to the health of our skin, the more carotenoids and phytochemicals that are present, the faster our skin can repair damage, and remove and detoxify waste products and toxic compounds. 

So, in summary, consumption of micronutrient-rich natural plant foods leads to radiant, pimple free skin and processed foods and dairy are blackhead friendly.   How many more teenagers would eat a cancer-protective diet, if they knew it would repair their skin and keep them looking good? Avoiding dairy and junk food is easy when there are so many healthier, just as tasty, food options available. I’m a huge fan of soymilk and almond milk, for example. To me, faux milks taste better than actual cow’s milk. Resisting processed foods becomes pie in the sky when I know I can have a delicious fruit smoothie instead. Instead of poppin’ M and M’s, pop blueberries and cherries. Great skin and tasty food? Check!  

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Dr. Fuhrman highly recommends eating seeds of all kinds.  Unhulled sesame seeds are rich in calcium as well as several forms of vitamin E.  Natural forms of vitamin E such as those found in sesame seeds are thought to have anti-aging properties, and sesame consumption is known to raise plasma levels of tocopherols (vitamin E) in humans.¹ Sesame seeds display high antioxidative capacity and inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, especially black sesame seeds, which have triple the phenol antioxidant content of white sesame seeds.²

Research is beginning to accumulate on sesamin, the most abundant antioxidant in sesame seeds.  Sesamin is a lignan – a class of phytoestrogen with antioxidant activity.  Flaxseeds and sesame seeds are two of the richest sources of lignans.³

In human studies, sesamin has been previously shown to have cholesterol-lowering , antihypertensive, and antioxidative effects.⁴ Consumption of sesame seeds has also been found to result in decreased total and LDL cholesterol and oxidative stress, and increased sex hormone binding globulin concentrations, which could have implications for prevention of hormonal cancers.⁵

In new cell culture studies published over the past few months, sesamin has now been found to have these protective biological activities:

•  Suppression of angiogenic activity (formation of new blood vessels) and expression of pro-angiogenic, pro-inflammatory, and pro-invasion molecules in breast cancer cells.⁶
• Inhibition of proliferation of tumor cells from leukemia, multiple myeloma, and breast, colon, prostate, pancreas, and lung cancers.⁷
• Decreased expression of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells initiated by an inflammatory stimulus (expression of adhesion molecules contributes to the formation of atherosclerotic plaque by attracting white blood cells).^8,9

These data suggest that sesame seeds can be an important tool for prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease.  Be sure to buy raw, unhulled sesame seeds or raw tahini (sesame seed butter) for maximum nutritional benefit.  White or black sesame seeds (or tahini) are a great addition to dips and salad dressings – try this apricot tahini dressing  on your next salad.

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While growing up, food is what set me apart from my peers. Naturally, being the daughter of Dr. Fuhrman is going to result in some pretty unconventional school lunches and after school snacks. As a young child, it didn’t take me long to figure out that my friends were being packed ham sandwiches and chips and I was not. My parents only packed me healthy stuff, never processed foods, white bread sandwiches or Lunchables, those highly processed convenience foods that children thought (due to commercials) were as cool as winning a game of dodgeball. I did not try a McDonald’s French Fry until I was in the fourth grade. I felt like a rebel buying chocolate chip cookies in middle school, a thought process never occurring to my friends. 

During my childhood, I chose to ignore the health consequences of what I ate and was a pleasure seeking eater, as any little one has a right to be. I was allowed to have pizza at lunch on some Fridays and I was never denied Carvel ice cream cake at my friend’s birthday parties. I looked forward to those Fridays and any other time my mom would let me eat something she deemed “unhealthy”. My parents were not completely rigid; they just only had healthy foods at home. They did not make me feel guilty or punish us if we strayed. They understood that kids need some flexibility and are going to want to explore the food culture in our society. Yet, while I had some occasional treats, I still wished I was like the other kids. I wanted a box of Brownie cookies when my Brownie troop sold them and I wanted my mom to buy me Lucky Charms like my friend Alyssa’s mom bought them for her. Don’t get me wrong, I liked, and even loved, many of the foods that were provided for me at home. Yet, as a young child, acceptance and pleasure trump health any day of the week.   

Then everything changed. It began in the seventh grade and became an unstoppable force in eighth. Instead of being rebellious, I wanted to be the epitome of a healthful eater. The phrase, “You are what you eat,” finally kicked in, a pride in my unconventional eating habits blossomed, and I became an unstoppable walking nutrition encyclopedia. I went so far as to criticize my friends for their poor eating choices. “Are you really going to eat that donut?” I would proclaim, and then begin a diatribe on the dangers of consuming partially hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids. Understandably, my friends were annoyed and thought I was nuts. After having so many friends become angry with me that year, I learned my lesson to set a good example, yet not attempt to give others diet advice unless I was asked.

Since that time, I have continued to appreciate eating a natural, plant based diet, not only because it is delicious, but because it grants me the gift of health. I could not be more grateful for being raised on our unconventional diet and I am happy to report that I suffered no permanent damage from being allowed only three pieces of candy on Halloween and no other candy. Many of the foods I grew up eating have become my favorite foods and I realize how fortunate I am to never have to transition to eating healthier foods, as I was already there from the get-go. 

Let my previous words be words of encouragement to all mothers who are having difficulties raising nutritious eaters in our junk food world. Even if your child or children don’t appreciate the foods you are feeding them now or resent the denial of junk foods, they will in later years. Years that will be filled with good health, rather than debilitating health problems. Eating well is a lifestyle that should be embraced by the entire family and every child deserves to have the best start in life and can learn to love being “different,” just like I did.    

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Rancho Bernardo Inn, tucked away in beautiful San Diego County, was the location for Dr. Fuhrman’s Health Getaway that took place on July 11-17. Every detail was perfectly orchestrated to make it an incredible week of learning the latest nutritional discoveries by Dr. Fuhrman, motivational encouragement, special presentations, physical fitness classes, healthy eating, tasting new recipes, health assessments, relaxation, and forming lasting friendships.  Because describing the Getaway is like trying to capture Niagra Falls into a glass jar, I’ll focus on different parts of it over the next few weeks; plus, I’ll include some commentaries from others so you can hear various perspectives also. [Special thanks to Dan Williams, a guest at the Getaway and a phenomenal photographer, for sharing some wonderful images that I'll be posting over the next few weeks.] 

The following were highlights of the week’s meals:

• The Sunday evening welcome reception was on the San Bernardo patio overlooking beautiful views of the landscapes below; complete with a refreshing California breeze and delicious hors d’oeuvres: Fruit Kabobs, No Meat Balls with Marinara Sauce, Endive stuffed with Tuscan Bean Dip, Cantaloupe Slush, and Coconut Slushy.

• This was followed by dinner in the San Bernardo Ballroom: French Minted Pea Soup, Pistachio Crusted Tempeh and Shiitake Mushrooms, Wild & Basmati Rice, Fresh Greens with Dr. Fuhrman’s Salad Dressings, Steamed Green Beans, California Creamed Kale, and Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce. 

• Every meal for the entire week, including each breakfast, was a lavish celebration of delicious foods and visual beauty.  Breakfasts and lunches were served on the Santiago Courtyard; complete with outdoor fountains, sculptures, flowers, linens, and dinnerware. 

• The recipes came directly out of Dr. Fuhrman’s book, Eat for Health, or the recipe section of Member Center of DrFuhrman.com. I tasted almost everything, and there wasn’t one recipe that I would not make for my family and/or dinner guests.  Some of my favorites were:

• California Creamed Kale (I could eat this for every meal for the rest of my life!)
• Dr. Fuhrman’s Anti Cancer Soup
• Broccoli Vinaigrette (doesn’t get much better!)
• Braised Bok Choy (delicious! a must make-again)
• Roasted Vegetable Pizza
• Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream (tastes a lot like chocolate/cherry cordials)
• Broccolini with Tomato Almond Sauce (my favorite of favorites!)
• Asian Vegetable Stir Fry
• Eat Your Greens Fruit Smoothie
• Eggplant Roll Ups (the tops; fascinating combination of flavors)
• Mixed Berry Freeze (refreshing)
• Banana Walnut Ice-Cream
• Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie (to die for ~ in my opinion)
• Apple Surprise (a wonderful breakfast treat)
• Apple Carrot Custard Pie (“Wow, this is healthy?!”)

• Many were ecstatic to have dropped several pounds by the end of the week while eating such delicious foods!  As one guest described it, "The food was delicious and so satisfying I was surprised this was good for me. I really CAN eat this way for life."  May we all incorporate such great tasting food into our lifetime journeys of eating for health. – Bon Appetit!   

image credits:  meal settings by Rancho Bernardo Inn; food by Dan Williams of KalareStudios.com

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A recent New York Times article focused on Scott Jurek, an ultramarathoner with an impressive record – for example:

• 7 consecutive wins in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run
• 3 wins in the 152-mile Spartathlon in Greece
• 2 wins in the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in California
• 1 win in the 100-mile Hardrock Hundred in Colorado

And he also happens to be vegan.

When Scott Jurek was in college, he began to realize the connections between lifestyle and disease, and he transitioned his diet toward unrefined plant foods.

Scott Jurek recently competed in the 24-Hour-Run world championship in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France. He broke the American record by running 165.7 miles in the single-day run, finishing second overall. USA Today then named him their Athlete of the Week.

So what does Scott Jurek eat?

According to Mark Bittman’s article in the New York Times, Jurek’s lunches and dinners consist of “huge salads, whole grains, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and usually beans of some sort or a tempeh-tofu combination.”

Sounds quite close to a nutritarian diet, doesn’t it? Dr. Fuhrman would of course make sure that nuts and seeds were included in this overall plan. A diet based on unrefined plant foods benefits overall health, lifespan, immune function, and cardiovascular health, so it should certainly promote athletic performance also. Phytochemical-rich foods may suppress exercise-induced oxidative stress and micronutrient adequacy promotes immunocompetence, which helps to prevent disruptions to the training schedule due to illness. Unrefined plant foods, high in micronutrients, are therefore well-suited foods for athletes.

To the average person, it might seem unthinkable that Jurek could run these extreme distances fueled only by plant foods, which speaks to our society’s misguided overestimation of the importance of protein.

Scott Jurek simply increases his number of calories as he increases training volume – Dr. Fuhrman agrees with this approach. Athletes do have elevated protein needs compared to sedentary individuals, since protein is the raw material for muscle growth. However, protein needs increase proportionally with calorie needs. The main concern for vegan athletes is obtaining sufficient calories because of the high nutrient to calorie ratio of plant foods. Dr. Fuhrman advises athletes that they can easily meet these needs by putting additional focus on foods that are rich in both micronutrients and protein – like seeds, tofu, nuts, whole grains, and large quantities of green vegetables.

Dr. Fuhrman addresses dietary considerations for vegan athletes in his most recent newsletter, Fueling the Vegan Athlete, and in his recent publication in Current Sports Medicine Reports.  In this newsletter, Dr. Fuhrman discusses micronutrients and supplements of particular concern to vegan athletes, as well as strategies for meeting their enhanced calorie and protein needs.

References:

New York Times. Diet and Exercise to the Extremes by Mark Bittman. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/sports/13runner.html?ref=health

USA Today. Scott Jurek sets record in 24-hour race, earns athlete of the week. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-05-17-athlete-of-the-week_N.htm

Fuhrman J, Ferreri DM. Fueling the Vegetarian (Vegan) Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2010 July/Aug;9(4):233-241

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I’ve come to realize over the past three years of my college experience that the phrase “I am a healthy eater,” is used liberally and with conviction among my peers. Amazingly, in spite of eating almost no produce they believe that they eat healthful diets. Telling them otherwise would result in defensiveness and rationalizations. I have friends who are athletes, environmental activists, pre-meds, you name it, and are intelligent, forward-thinking people. Yet, when it comes to what they put in their mouths, they are clueless. For example, I just moved into an apartment with two new roommates (one female, one male) and the refrigerator and cabinets were already stocked with food (well, if you could call it that) when I arrived. After living at home for a while with its endless supply of fresh fruits and vegetables, I was taken aback by what I saw: oreos, chips, weight watchers bars, and other convenient, imperishable foods were in the cabinets, frozen pizzas, macaroni dishes, and fake meats with unpronounceable, artificial ingredients, in the freezer. Other than a few carrots and a melon, no fresh vegetables and fresh fruits, no mushrooms, no beans and no raw nuts or seeds were in the kitchen. 

I began chatting with my new roommate about my upbringing and how important eating healthfully is to me. As a competitive runner, he heartily agreed with me about the importance of fueling your body with nutritious foods and he explained that healthy eating is very important to him too. There was a clear discrepancy between his nutritional philosophy and the foods he had stocked in our kitchen. This has been a frequent occurrence for me over the years and shows how nutritionally uneducated people are. Little is done to educate the American populace about one of the most important topics of their lives: how to eat a disease- preventing diet.   I do my best to educate my friends when they ask me for advice, but I’ve learned from experience not to push my eating philosophy on others. Their chosen eating habits are like a religion to some people, and not open to debate. I hope my friends are curious about what I eat and ask me questions, and in many instances they do. I also have friends who could care less about what I put in my mouth, convinced that their mediocre diet is just as healthy, if not more so. I accept this, but I do wish that all my friends and others were blessed with the nutritional knowledge that I am fortunate to possess. 

Have you found those around you to be curious about your diet and the nutritarian lifestyle? How do you handle conflicting nutritional beliefs?

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Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States.   Every year, over one million people are diagnosed with skin cancer. Given the thinning of the ozone layer around the earth and the increased potential for skin cancer with “normal” sun exposure, clearly, we must minimize our skin cancer risk by applying (non-chemical) sunscreen, avoiding tanning beds and limiting the amount of hours we spend in the sunlight. What most people are not aware of however, is the power of a high nutrient diet in the prevention of all types of skin cancer. Cancers, in general, can only flourish in the body when cells that undergo free radical damage and the subsequent DNA damage, are unable to be repaired by the cell’s DNA monitoring and repair tools. 

Natural, plant based foods are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, substances that are needed for these repair mechanisms to function most optimally.   If one’s diet is low in vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds, the body will not be supplied with enough micronutrients for its cells to defend itself from oxidative damaged caused by UV radiation. Nutrients penetrate every cell in the body and are needed in every cell, including skin cells. Oxidative damage caused by free radicals from sunlight exposure can be opposed when a healthful diet rich in antioxidants is consumed. Vegetables, both raw and cooked, offer much needed protection from skin cancer, as they would for other cancers. Green vegetables, most notably the cruciferous variety, win the competition for cancer defending properties. The concept of consuming a high-nutrient, plant based diet has been supported in a recent study conducted in Australia. Researches analyzed the diet, skin color, and sunlight exposure of 1,360 adults, aged 25-75, who participated in a community-based skin cancer study from 1992-2002. Two main eating patterns were identified: a meat and fat pattern and a vegetable and fruit pattern. Not surprisingly, the meat and fat pattern diet was positively associated with development of skin cancer, and even more strongly associated in participants with a skin cancer history. Increased consumption of the vegetable and fruit dietary pattern reduced skin cancer occurrence by 54%, with the protective effect mostly attributed to the consumption of green, leafy vegetables. In conclusion, the researchers deemed that a dietary pattern characterized by high meat and fat intakes increases skin cancer odds, while a dietary pattern characterized by higher consumption of green vegetables decreases it. 

While enjoying summer days out by the pool this summer, remember not just to apply a non-chemical sunscreen, but to fill up on those ever remarkable and delicious fruits and veggies. And, don’t forget to invite me to your 100 year old birthday party..

Reference:

Ibiebele TI, van der Pols JC, Hughes MC, et al. “Dietary pattern in association with squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: a prospective study.” Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 85(5):1401-8.

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Robert always was active and athletic, but as an adult he began to struggle with an autoimmune condition. He consulted with several physicians, but did not find much relief for his condition. Then Robert read Eat to Live, and began incorporating Dr. Fuhrman’s dietary recommendations into his lifestyle. Switching to a high nutrient diet made all the difference for Robert, who was free of his autoimmune symptoms within six weeks.  

This experience moved Robert to get the message out about good nutrition, especially to children. As a musician, Robert created “The Broccoli Rob Show,” a performance aimed at children which combines several of his passions - music, fitness, nutrition, and martial arts. Broccoli Rob, along with his friends Bruce Leek and Elvis Parsley, performs in schools and encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Children’s health and development, both physical and mental, are dependent on the beneficial micronutrients contained in natural plant foods. However, very few children eat sufficient fruits and vegetables. By 15-18 months of age, French fries are the most commonly consumed vegetable among children.¹ Only about 5-10% of teenagers in the U.S. consume two or more servings of fruit and three or more servings of vegetables per day.²  American children are becoming a generation of “picky eaters” who would choose to live on nothing but cheese, chicken fingers, and soda.

The Broccoli Rob Show attempts to intervene and initiate healthy habits in children at a young age, encouraging kids to eat their vegetables with music and comedy.  

Robert is making a valiant effort to get the word out about healthy eating to kids – he models healthy behaviors in a fun and engaging way that gets kids excited about eating greens. And it’s working – take a look at Broccoli Rob’s video:

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According to an article on livemint.com, a news website associated with The Wall Street Journal, the term ‘nutritarian’ is catching on.

Originally coined by Dr. Fuhrman, a nutritarian is someone who bases their food choices on micronutrient content per calorie of foods, striving to consume a broad array of micronutrients in their diet.

The article reports that “nutritarian” is poised to become a ubiquitous dietary definition on par with vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, flexitarian, locavore… There is one major difference, though: the exclusion of cooked foods, meat, foods grown far from home, or even all animal products does not define a health-promoting diet. Nutritarian diets, however, always include an abundance of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables accompanied by additional whole plant foods.  A nutritarian diet is health-promoting by definition.

The article’s advice for going nutritarian? “Eat the rainbow.” Excellent advice, since phytochemicals, antioxidants in particular, are pigments that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colors. And of course, consult Dr. Fuhrman’s ANDI scores.

Read the full article on livemint.com.

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 Dr. Fuhrman is providing nutritional guidance for Whole Foods Market’s new Health Starts Here initiative, a program geared toward promoting the health of Whole Foods team members and customers.

The Health Starts Here program’s healthy eating principles describe a diet based on nutrient dense unprocessed plant foods that limits added fats. To guide customers and team members toward the most nutrient dense foods, Whole Foods Markets are adopting Dr. Fuhrman’s Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) scoring system, as outlined in his book Eat For Health.

Signs displaying ANDI scores of fruits and vegetables are hanging in the produce section, letting shoppers know that leafy greens are at the top of the list when it comes to number of nutrients per calorie. Additional signs hanging in other aisles of the stores similarly compare ANDI scores of different beans and grains. By implementing Dr. Fuhrman’s ANDI scoring system, Whole Foods is taking a significant step toward educating its employees and the public about the powerful health-promoting effects of nutrient dense plant foods.

The salad bar and prepared foods section of Whole Foods Markets are also beginning to offer more oil- and salt-free options, including salad dressings. These new additions will provide a great resource for busy individuals striving for nutrient density with limited time – they can make nutrient rich salads with a variety of greens, raw and steamed vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and grains while avoiding oil and salt, not to mention chopping and cleaning.

The appearance of ANDI scores in the produce section of Whole Foods Market is making news in San Francisco and Minneapolis:

Sample ANDI Scores:

Read more about the ANDI scoring system.

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