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

Happy Friday! Let’s go on a journey, a digital journey. Fire up the internet, we’re heading to The Vegetable Garden in Rockville, Maryland. And this place is loaded with veggie fare.

It took me awhile and several run-throughs to decide what I’d eat. So, after much deliberation, here’s of list of things I might order. Have a look:

Whole Wheat Steamed Dumplings

• Wheat flour, green chard, carrots, firm tofu and rice vermicelli; the vermicelli is a little iffy, but the chard is cool.

Spinach Roll

• Spinach, sesame and sesame dressing; rock on spinach!

Asparagus Seaweed Roll

• Fresh asparagus, carrots, lettuce, sea salt and sesame dressing; skipping the salt, but everything else is fine.

Vegetable Garden Salad

• Romaine lettuces, carrot, red cabbage, cucumber, grape tomato, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, roasted pine nuts, mandarin orange, dried cranberries and rice vinegar dressing; I’d get the dressing on the side.

Mugwort Soba Noodle Salad

• Wheat flour, buckwheat flour, sea salt, mugwort leaves, organic radicchio, organic cabbage, organic Romaine lettuce, organic carrots, organic maple syrup, organic marukan rice vinegar, black-pepper, roasted sesame seed, roasted sliced almond and virgin olive oil; I’ll ditch the salt and ask for the oil on the side.

Asparagus with Oyster Mushroom

• Yuba, oyster mushroom, asparagus and brown sauce; I’d ask about the brown sauce, the asparagus is awesome.

Eight Treasure Eggplant

• Dried eggplant, shitake mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, lily bulb, pine nuts, dried cranberries, cashew nuts, firm tofu and spicy sauce; just ask about the sauce, otherwise a ton of veggies!

Bamboo Raft

• Marinated yuba, celery, carrots, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, jicama, steamed green cabbage leaves, curry and coconut milk sauce; go easy on the sauce.

Lo Hen Cantaloupe

• Yuba, cucumber celery, butternut squash, jicama, cantaloupe, black mushrooms, pecans, cashews, dried cranberries, curry and coconut sauce; same deal, watch the sauce.

Pearl Squash

• Butternut squash, fresh lily bulb, ginger, red bell peppers, beets and light black bean sauce; watch that sauce again.

Jian Pao Vegi-Gourmet

• Asparagus, firm tofu, lily bulb, sugar snap peas, oyster mushroom, yellow squash, red bell pepper and spicy sauce; yup, again with the sauce.

Bean Nest

• Red kidney beans, chic peas, baby lima, lentil, adzuki beans, pinto beans, black soy beans and brown sauce; all those beans, I wonder what will happen.

Alright, that is a lot of food to choose from. I mean come on! Now, as for my exact order, I’d either get the Vegetable Garden Salad, Bean Nest or any number of the veggie rolls.

I give The Vegetable Garden the seal of approval, but what about you? Check out their menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside.

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Our hunger drive craves volume. A key skill that you are developing for your health is the ability to eat large volumes of raw and cooked, high-nutrient, low-calorie foods every single day. This means eating lots of vegetables.

When you are actively trying to lose weight, you should strive to satisfy your volume requirements first, before addressing the other dimensions of hunger. This may feel strange at first because you may not immediately feel satisfied by the higher volume of food. This is because you are accustomed to eating large quantities of high-calorie foods that cause a dopamine rush, a rush that low-calorie foods don’t deliver. However, your body will adjust, be less dependent on the dopamine surge in the brain, and will gradually become more and more satisfied with fewer calories. Give yourself time, and use the knowledge you have gained. Striving to fulfill your body’s volume and nutrient requirements can help you resolve food cravings and your toxic hunger.

The trick to get you to desire fewer calories faster is to eat lots of these high-volume, high-nutrient foods. You are already familiar with these, but many of the foods that you have been incorporating into your diet because of their nutrient values are also great tools in meeting your volume requirements. They include:

• Raw Vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, celery, anise, snow pea pods, carrots, beets, cucumbers, water chestnuts, red cabbage, onion

• Most Fresh Fruits: melons, oranges, grapefruits, apples, kiwis, berries, papaya

• Cooked Green Vegetables: Brussels sprouts, string beans, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, bok choy

• Other Non-Green Vegetables: mushrooms, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, bean sprouts, cauliflower, spaghetti squash

Especially on holidays and days when you know that you will be around a lot of unhealthy foods, pre-fill with these high-nutrient, low-calorie foods. Never go to a party or event with an empty stomach. Eat a large salad with assorted raw vegetables and a bowl of vegetable soup before going to the places that may tempt your desire to eat unhealthily. Being healthy is about being in control. You must control your hunger, and the more low-calorie, high-volume foods you consume, the less high-calorie food you will be able to eat. When you increase these super healthy foods in your diet, you will feel less temptation, and you will be in control of your food cravings and appetite.

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After a week off, Eating to Live on the Outside is back. And today I found Grezzo Restaurant in Boston and it’s got a lot of potential. Grezzo serves up a ton of veggies!

Having flipped through their online menu, here’s a bunch of things I’d consider ordering. Some are pretty wild and very unique, take a look:

Winter Melon Stew

• Watermelon broth, Santa Claus melon, honeydew and lavender; interesting, I’ve never even heard of Santa Claus melon!

Caesar Salad

• Creamy lemon and dulse vinaigrette, baby iceberg lettuce, red onion, eggplant bacon and garlic croutons; I’ll skip the croutons and since they don’t use animal products, I’m curious to see what eggplant bacon is.

House Salad

• Baby lettuce, house-made cheese, croutons and green goddess vinaigrette; same deal with the croutons and don’t worry about the cheese, its nut cheese.

Big House Salad

• Baby lettuce, marinated and pickled vegetables, raw red wine vinaigrette, herbed cheese and croutons; again with the croutons.

Baby Arugula Salad

• Pickled asparagus, baby arugula grapefruit, marcona almonds and soaked currants; I love asparagus!

Marinated Shiitake Mushroom and European Cucumber Salad

• Baby iceberg, fresh garbanzos, marinated shiitake mushrooms, cucumbers and orange Thai chili cream; looks good.

Land and Sea

• Maitake mushrooms, yellow oyster mushrooms, honshimeji mushrooms, ricotta, dulse and Maine coast kelp; wow, that’s a lot of mushrooms, although the kelp might be salty.

Like I said, pretty exotic. But if I had to choose, I’d probably go with the Land and Sea or the Big House Salad. All those mushrooms intrigue me and a salad is always a great idea.

But what would you order? Check out Grezzo’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Just make a comment. If  not, I'll kick your butt—kidding.

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It’s Friday! Time for your favorite, Eating to Live on the Outside! This week, via the powers of the internet, we’re heading to Leaf in Boulder, Colorado. And, it looks pretty good. Lots of veggie food!

Leaf is a vegetarian restaurant, which is always a good start, so after much contemplation. Here’s a list of things I’d consider ordering.

Persian Sambusa

• Butternut squash, caramelized onions and dried fruit chutney; sounds cool, chutney is always fun!

Thai Spring Roll

• Rice noodle, carrot, Romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, cilantro and peanut dipping sauce; the noodles are iffy, but I deal with it.

Chopped Market Salad

• Hearts of Romaine, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes, red onion, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and tahini vinaigrette; I like it, but with dressing on the side.

Papaya Salad

• Green papaya, shredded carrot, tomato, fresh basil, roasted peanuts and spicy chili dressing; this type of salad is one of my favorite things, ever!

Falafel in Pita

• Chickpea croquettes, black hummus, cucumber, lettuce tomato, red onion and tahini sauce; I’d get the dressing on the side here too.

Mushroom Burger

• Portabella mushrooms, walnuts, onions, herbs, tomato, onion, provolone and remoulade; looks okay, but I’d ditch the remoulade.

Butternut Squash Tower

• Butternut squash, roasted eggplant, caramelized onions, collard greens, grilled green apple, and cranberry-cashew cream; the cream is obviously nut-based, so I dig it!

Jamaican Jerk Tempeh

• Tempeh, forbidden black rice, coconut, coconut plantain sauce, sautéed greens and fruit salsa; I’m not a big tempeh guy, but I can’t pass on the greens, even if they are sautéed.

Tomato Napoleon (Raw)

• Heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, pine nut ricotta, sundried tomato sauce and mizuna; raw stuff always intrigues me, sounds cool!

Okay, my favorite is the Papaya Salad, whenever I see it on a menu, I have to order it! The Chopped Market Salad is cool too. Overall, I think Leaf works! Plenty of Fuhrman-friendly options and not a lot of grief, can't beat that!

Alright, it’s your turn! Check out Leaf’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Just drop a comment. I'm waiting. 

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

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

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

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

Via EurekAlert!

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Okay kiddies. It’s that time again. I’m firing up my imaginary jet plane for another Eating to Live on the Outside. This week, I’m “off” to San Diego, California to grab a bite to eat at Spread.

Spread’s menu is totally doable. I see a lot of veggies. Here’s quick list of foods I might order:

Flowering Arugula & Beet Salad

• Sylvetta arugula, maple croutons, arugula flowers, marinated Chioggia beets, fuerte avocado, red carrots and blood orange thyme vinaigrette; I like it, but I’d ditch the croutons and get the dressing on the side.

Mixed Lettuces

• Heirloom baby greens, yellow grape tomatoes, sweet onions, strawberries, French violas, baby celery, steamed baby artichokes and avocado basil dressing; lots of veggies, I dig it.

Banana Curry Oatmeal

• Caramelized onions, banana, curry and red carrots; I’m probably a banana addict at this point.

Macadamia Rose Pesto grits

• Roasted vegetables, handmade pesto, rose petals and macadamia; I’m not big on grits, but I’ll give it a try.

Kaffir Lime & Kumquat Glazed Vegetable Medley

• Purple cauliflower, red carrots, heirloom squash, kaffir lime and kumquat; I love cauliflower and purpler-er the better!

Haricots Verts Almondine

• Marcona almonds, blended oils, spices, sautéed beans and truffle; not too bad, the oil doesn’t scare me.

Wild Mushroom Ragu

• Roasted fingerling potatoes, flowering dill, rosemary, maitake and king trumpet mushrooms; looks really good.

Hibiscus Blossom Mole

• Grilled vegetables, corn tortillas, hibiscus essence and rose; I’m not sure I could eat a cute little mole, but vegetables are great.

Spread looks good. It works! Okay, if I “really” had to order something, I’d go for either the Mixed Lettuces or the Flowering Arugula & Beet Salad. Both look cool.

Now listen up! You can be a fake traveler too. Just check out Spread’s menu and tell me what you’d order.

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Quick! I need to catch a plane. This week Eating to Live on the Outside heads to Seattle to check out Jhanjay Vegetarian Thai Cuisine. It looks pretty good, but not perfect.

Jhanjay’s menu is loaded with vegetables, no doubt about that, but a lot of the food is stir-fried, which is a problem. So, with that in mind, here’s a quick list of things I might order:

Vegetarian Rolls

• Fresh mint, green leaves, carrots, cucumbers, rice noodles, tofu, wrapped in rice paper and served with homemade sauce; the noodles and rice paper make it iffy.

House Salad

• Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage and house dressing; looks cool, but dressing on the side.

Papaya Salad

• Shaved green papaya, carrots, tomatoes, green beans and peanuts tossed with lime juice; I order this everywhere I go!

Larb Tofu

• Chopped tofu, mushrooms, red onions, mint, chili, lime juice, cabbage and toasted rice powder; I’d ditch the rice powder.

Mango Salad

• Sliced green mango, apple, carrots, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs and tamarind sauce; I like this too!

Sweet and Sour

• Onions, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and pineapple stir-fried with sweet and sour sauce; lots of veggies, but the stir-frying stinks.

Broccoli Lover’s

• Garlic, broccoli, onions, carrots and mushrooms stir-fried oyster sauce; same deal with the stir-frying.

Swimming Rama

• Stir-fried spinach, bean sprouts and garlic topped with peanut sauce; love that spinach.

Abundant Asparagus

• Mushroom cake, asparagus and shitake mushrooms stir-fried in garlic sauce; I have no idea what mushroom cake is, but asparagus rocks!

Mountains of Mushrooms

• Portobello, enoki, ceps and shitake mushrooms stir-fried in special light garlic sauce; I do like mushrooms.

Jhanjay does serve up a lot of vegetables, but if I had to pick, I’m staying away from the stir-fries and going with the house salad or the papaya salad. Odds are it’d be the papaya. It’s too hard to pass up.

Okay, I know its Saturday and you might be hung over or too tired, but if you have a second, scan through Jhanjay’s menu and let me know what you’d order. Hint-hint, go with the papaya salad!

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It’s Saturday, time for another pseudo trip to far off locations to sample the local delicacies and this week Eating to LIve on the Outside heads across the pond to the United Kingdom to grab a bite to eat at Saf a veggie restaurant boasting plant-based, botanical yum-yums. Sounds good!

Now, let’s imagine I’m really in London, sitting at table and about to order something. I better pick something fast! Okay, before the waiter comes over. Here’s a quick list of things I might order, some are better than others:

Edamame

• Wasabi pea powder, fleur de sel and black sesame; I love edamame beans, but I’d ask them to hold the salt.

Vegetable Maki

• Parsnip rice, shitake mushrooms, avocado and shiso & shoyu; I’d ditch the sauce.

White Bean Hummus

• Fresh harissa, mint oil and crostini; not great because of the oil and bread, but I might consider it.

Saf Nachos

• Sprouted crisps, avocado, salsa, tapenade, cashew sour cream and coriander; I’m okay with the crisps and hooray for avocado.

Greens & Flowers Salad

• Baby lettuces, herbs, radishes, flowers, sprouts and citrus miso dressing; just go easy on the dressing.

Baby Kale and Avocado Salad

• Pea shoots, sweet pepper, avocado, baby kale, lemon oil and candied pecan; same deal here.

Chopped Asian Salad

• Smoked tofu, raddichio, watercress, pumpkin, seeds, yuzu juice and wakame seaweed; lots of great stuff here.

Tom Kha Soup

• Coconut-lemongrass broth, baby corn, tofu, oyster mushrooms, coriander and chili oil; it might be salt, so ask first, but otherwise it looks cool.

Swiss Chard Rolls

• Mung beans, water chestnut, Thai vinaigrette, pickled cucumber and seaweed salad; I dig it, but order the dressing on the side.

Shitake Dumplings

• Wood ear mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, tofu, carrot and caramelized black vinegar; sounds tasty.

Hey, not too bad for my first “trip” to the London. Saf looks great. So if I really had to order something, I’d go for the Greens & Flowers Salad, Baby Kale and Avocado Salad or the Chopped Asian Salad, either one of these has enough veggies to satisfy me.

To be totally honest, if I was in London you’d probably find me hanging out in a few pubs too. Cut me a break! I’m young and single. But enough about me do me a favor. Read through Saf’s menu and tell me what you’d bloody order! Peace.

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Gretchen Goel of Total Wellness Mentor and does NOT necessarily represent the opinions of DiseaseProof or Dr. Fuhrman.

My kids have been using The Learning Tower since they were toddlers and I can tell you it has been the most used piece of furniture in our house! It is as necessary of a purchase as a VitaMix if you have kids or even grandkids. Kids can safely climb up in it by themselves and it can be adjusted to height as your children grow.

I have our tower located next to a large assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables on our counter top. They can climb up and grab a snack whenever they want. We don't have a snack cabinet full of processed junk, just a "snack counter" full of healthy whole foods.

When we cook I move the tower to an open space so they can help measure, pour, stir, peel garlic and onions or chop easy-to-chop foods like mushrooms or herbs. They get a hands on math and cooking lesson every day, which I love since I home-school them.

I find that I rarely have issues with my kids trying new foods because I have them so involved in food preparation. My oldest daughter is 6 and she is already inventing her own healthy recipes using raw foods!

The bonus to using The Learning Tower is easily turns into a "puppet theater" for play during the day. We just throw a sheet over it and our kids sit on the platform and perform!

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Happy Saturday, hopefully you slept in. If you did and you woke up hungry, perfect timing! Today Eating to Live on the Outside is off to San Francisco, California and chowing down at Millennium, a healthy vegetarian restaurant serving environmentally friendly foods.

Okay, I’m not really going to California. In fact, I’m enjoying my break from blogging. I actually wrote this on Wednesday and just pretended it is Saturday. So, since we’re playing make believe, let’s assume I’m REALLY at Millennium. In that case, here’s a list of things I might order:

Ruby Grapefruit & Endive Salad

• Ginger pickled onions, sweet & spicy toasted cashews, rosehip-beet vinaigrette, ruby grapefruit, endive and toasted pumpkin seed oil. Dr. Fuhrman’s not a big fan of grapefruit. But if I eat grapefruit once a year it’s a lot. So I’m okay with it. As for the pumpkin seed oil, I’d order that on the side.

Romaine Salad

• Julienne carrots, Romaine lettuce, toasted croutons and Caesar vinaigrette. Looks good, but I’d ditch the croutons and get the dressing on the side again.

Wilted Bloomsdale Spinach & Dandelion Green Salad

• Green tea-miso glazed tofu, spinach, dandelions, orange-ginger tamari vinaigrette, burdock-hijiki kimpura and kumquats. I love dandelion greens and spinach and the exotic stuff sounds very cool.

Grilled Asparagus Salad

• Little gem lettuce, asparagus, creamy pink peppercorn "ranch", sun dried tomato relish and crisp spring garlic chips. I’m not sure what garlic chips are but I’d give them a whirl.

Black Bean Torte

• Whole wheat tortilla, caramelized plantains, smoky black bean puree, pumpkin-habanero salsa verde, cashew sour cream and strawberry-jicama salsa. I’d try it, but I’m pretty sure I would regret the habanero salsa later that evening. Ouch!

Charmoula Grilled Portobello Mushroom

• Saffron scented borlotti bean, Portobello mushroom, fava green, root vegetable tajine, pistachio, mint, bulgar salad, Meyer lemon and dried apricot vinaigrette. Sounds great, all sorts of tasty things!

Seared Emerald Rice Cake

• Indonesian red coconut curry, winter root vegetables, lemongrass tofu, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, pineapple sambal and toasted peanuts. I like this too, I can deal with the rice.

Wow! I got to be honest. I was barely smart enough to decipher Millennium’s menu. Thank goodness for Wikipedia. Okay, back to business. If I was eating at Millennium, I’d probably order the Charmoula Grilled Portobello Mushroom or the Grilled Asparagus Salad, but I like the mushroom best.

Sure, it was a little tough to get through the menu but I think Millennium is cool. You’d certainly find something decent to eat. Maybe you like what I picked maybe you’d order something different. Either way, flip through Millennium's menu and let me know what catches your eye. Peace.

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