Disease Proof

Personally, I’m beyond nuts—probably certifiable at this point—anyway, MSN Health & Fitness tells us why nuts are great for our health. Take a look:

Almonds: A June 2006 study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry showed an ounce of almonds provides as many flavonoids—compounds that fight free radicals and reduce inflammation—as a 1⁄2-cup serving of broccoli or a cup of green tea.

Walnuts: Walnuts contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fat linked with reduced risk of heart disease, improved glucose control and, most recently, stronger bones. In a study of 23 overweight people published earlier this year in Nutrition Journal, increasing intake of ALA via walnuts and flaxseed oil decreased the rate of bone breakdown.

Pecans: Last year in Nutrition Research, researchers from Loma Linda University reported that pecans contribute significant amounts of gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in U.S. diets. Pecans also provide notable amounts of zinc, a mineral most often found in animal-based foods.

Pistachios: Research presented earlier this year at an Experimental Biology conference suggests that lutein, an antioxidant in pistachios, helps protect "bad" LDL cholesterol from oxidization by free radicals. Oxidized LDL contributes to the development of plaque in arteries.

Fantastic! All four of these are delicious. Now, We Like it Raw passes along this awesome video. Here’s how to make your own nut milk. Enjoy:

I’m a big fan of nut milk. My favorite is almond milk. In fact, here’s the one that’s in my refrigerator right now. Check it out:

Almond Breeze is a non-dairy beverage made from real almonds, all natural, smooth and creamy with a hint of almonds. Almond Breeze is a great tasting non-dairy beverage without the thin, chalky after taste of rice and soy beverages.

Almond Breeze won the 2004 Best Taste Award from the prestigious American Culinary Institute (ACI). ACI is an independent, chef based judging organization.

Enjoy Almond Breeze chilled by the glass and on your cereal. You will love how it froths in coffee drinks, enhances fruit smoothies, and blends cup for cup in your favorite recipes.

• Gluten, cholesterol and lactose free
• Excellent source of calcium, vitamins D & E
• Good source of vitamin A
• A refreshing alternative to soy and rice non-dairy beverages

Do any of you drink almond milk? Ever try this one?

Written by Dr. Fuhrman’s colleague Anna Quisel, M.D. for the July 2003 edition of Healthy Times:

As a woman and a breast-feeding mother, I almost feel guilty when someone asks, “You don’t drink milk? How do you get your calcium?” As people learn more about the problems associated with osteoporosis, interest in calcium is skyrocketing. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the dairy industry has done a terrific job of promoting dairy products as the only adequate dietary source of calcium. Dairy products are far from the solution, and may very well be a cause of the problem.

Adequate amounts of calcium are necessary for high-level health. Calcium is necessary for heart muscle contraction, skeletal muscle contraction, the action of most hormones in the body, and bone strength. Because calcium is so crucial to survival, our bodies carefully regulate the amount of it in our blood. We even have a back-up reservoir of calcium available at all times—our bones.

Calcium reservoir
To keep a constant level of calcium in the blood, our bodies are continually adding and removing calcium to the bloodstream. When there is extra calcium in the bloodstream, the body removes some of it and stores it in the bones. When there is too little, the body takes calcium from the bones and adds it to the bloodstream.

It works like this: When serum calcium levels fall, a hormone called parathyroid hormone, produced in four small glands attached to the thyroid gland, stimulates osteoclasts. The osteoclasts break down bone and release calcium. When calcium is plentiful, a hormone called calcitonin, made in the thyroid, stimulates osteoblasts, cells that store calcium by building bones.

For a long time, scientists thought this was the whole story—if you don’t get enough calcium, your body will withdraw calcium from your bones, and eventually you will develop osteoporosis. But the story is turning out to be more complex.

High intake, weak bones
Much to the chagrin of the dairy industry, scientists have discovered that more calcium isn’t better. In fact, the countries around the world with the highest rates of calcium intake—including the U.S. and Canada—have the highest rates of hip fractures among the elderly. The largest source of calcium in these countries is dairy products. In one of the largest studies of diet and health ever undertaken in the U.S., the Nurse’s Health Study, researchers found that high total calcium intake and milk consumption did not protect against osteoporotic fractures.1 In a comprehensive review of all studies of dairy intake and bone strength in 2000, researchers concluded “that the body of scientific evidence appears inadequate to support a recommendation for daily intake of dairy foods to promote bone health in the general U.S. population.”2

Japanese women have lower total calcium intake than U.S. women at about 400-500 mg per day from soy products, vegetables, and small fish bones—yet they have lower rates of hip fracture despite having smaller bones.3 So high calcium intake alone, especially when the source of calcium is dairy products, does not ensure bone strength. Even bone mineral content (the amount of calcium- phosphate in bones) does not necessarily determine risk of fracture. This mineral-content finding is very important because physicians currently assess risk for bone fractures using x-ray measurement of bone mineral content.

Building strong bones
Adopting an Eat to Live-style diet is crucial for strong bones. Vegetables, beans, fruits, and nuts are the best sources of calcium, potassium, vitamin K, magnesium, and vegetable protein, as well as the phytochemicals (such as isoflavones) and micronutrients that are gaining recognition as important for bones. Keep in mind that the current U.S. daily calcium recommendation of 1200 to 1500 mg for postmenopausal women is an attempt to offset the ill effects of the typical vegetable-and nutrient deficient American diet, which is laden with salt, caffeine, and junk-food. Sadly, even this attempt to flood the body with extra calcium to compensate for poor nutrition has not been proven to prevent fractures.4 (Check out Get Some Veggie Calcium for good sources of calcium.)

Weight bearing and resistance exercise are extremely important to bone strength, and can reverse osteoporosis even in postmenopausal women.5 Walking is particularly important to hip bone strength.

Vitamin D might be more important to bone strength than calcium. Vitamin D promotes the uptake of calcium from the intestines and also increases bone building. The sun is probably our best source of vitamin D. Vitamin D needs are probably met with 15 minutes of exposure in the middle of the day three times per week. Many studies have shown that vitamin D supplements increase bone density in postmenopausal women; however, a recent comprehensive review of the subject determined that the efficacy of vitamin D supplements had not been proven.6 If you haven’t had your vitamin D blood levels checked, you might consider it so that you can increase your sun exposure or add a supplement if necessary.

Avoid toxins. The ingestion of animal protein—especially when combined with low vegetable intake, steroids, caffeine, cigarettes, vitamin A (retinol—found only in animal foods, fortified foods, and vitamin pills), and salt all have been associated with weak bones.

For a long time I thought the only place you could get calcium was milk and since I’m lactose intolerant, well, I thought I was screwed. So I panicked, I used to take calcium supplements the size of horse pills. Sometimes I still have flashbacks that I’m grazing in a meadow, odd.

But now, even though I avoid dairy products like the plague, I’m not worried about my calcium. Why? I eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Greens like kale and romaine lettuce, not to mention hearty portions of sesame seeds; both of which Dr. Fuhrman considers great sources of calcium.

In fact, in a previous post he explains that vegetable calcium is absorbed better than animal calcium. From Choose Vegetable Calcium Over Animal Calcium:

Green vegetables, beans, tofu, sesame seeds, and even oranges contain lots of usable calcium, without problems associated with diary. Keep in mind that you retain the calcium better and just do not need as much when you don’t consume a diet heavy in animal products and sodium, sugar, and caffeine.

So if you’re system kicks back dairy like mine, here’s a thought, hit the produce isle with a vengeance! And it seems, this idea if being put to the test. The Los Angeles Times reports nutrition scientists are feeding older women with osteoporosis prunes in hopes that it will yield measurable restoration in their bone mass. Susan Bowerman explains:

Although that study was too brief to measure changes in bone density — something the new study will allow — the women who ate 10 dried plums daily had significantly higher blood levels of two compounds (the hormone IGF-1 and the enzyme BSAP) that are associated with greater rates of bone formation.

What do prunes offer that other dried fruits don't? Various substances, and scientists don't yet know which among them is most important. Prunes contain small amounts of calcium and magnesium — both bone-building minerals — and some natural acids that could improve mineral absorption.

They are a rich source of antioxidant polyphenols, which also could be bone protective. They're also rich in boron, a bone-building mineral that is often lacking in the diet. (Boron prevents excretion of calcium and magnesium, which allows these minerals to be deposited in bone tissue.)

It is kind of funny that prunes, a food already associated with old people, are good for them for a reason outside of, “Prunes, prunes, a wonderful fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel, so eat some prunes at every meal!” And yes, I know that song is really about beans, but it works!

For a couple charts on the calcium content of fruits and vegetables, check out these posts:

• Get Some Veggie Calcium
• Nutrient Density of Green Vegetables

It is interesting to note that peas, green vegetables, and beans have more protein per calorie than meat. But what is not generally considered is that foods that are rich in plant protein are generally the foods that are richest in nutrients and phytochemicals. By eating more of these high-nutrient, low calorie foods we get plenty of protein, and our bodies get flooded with protective micronutrients simultaneously. Animal protein does not contain antioxidants and phtyochemicals, plant protein does. Plus, animal protein is married to saturated fat, the most dangerous type of fat.

As we saw yesterday in Michael Pollan’s article about nutritionism, the stuff that lurks in plants might be the best dietary recommendation of them all. Hey, maybe this Dr. Fuhrman guy is onto something. You think?

From the March 2005 edition of Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Times:

High cholesterol levels and other blood markers of heightened cardiovascular risk are a documented risk factor for both knee and generalized osteoarthritis.1 It is not difficult to understand why osteoarthritis is related to meat and cheese consumption, since sufferers of both conditions are more likely to have high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels. These are typical signs of a diet that promotes atherosclerosis, impaired circulation, and subsequent cartilage compromise.2

Populations with lower rates of heart disease, such as the Chinese, correspondingly have lower rates of osteoarthritis in the same age bracket. The elderly in Beijing, China were found to have 80-90 percent less osteoarthritis than elderly Americans.3 Radiographic signs of arthritis in the age range of 60-89 were found in only about one percent in the Chinese portion of the study, and the percentage did not increase with age.

Cardiac risk factors also are risk factors for arthritis, but there is more to the story. Marginal nutrient intake also can interfere with the chondrocytes’ ability to make structurally strong cartilage. Contrary to the view held for many years, in osteoarthritis the cartilage does not passively erode away; in fact, the body works hard to protect itself. In the early years when the joints are stressed by improper nutrition, the body increases the production of cartilage in an attempt to compensate. The production of cartilage matrix has been observed to increase as much as six times the normal amount in the beginning phase of osteoarthritis.

The problem lies in the production of poor quality cartilage. Without optimal nutrition, DNA synthesis goes on, but does not perform singing the best tune. As time goes on and the disease advances, the chondrocytes start to die and collagen synthesis falls.

Mounting research has pointed to the fact that a high intake of carotenoids, particularly lutein and beta-cryptoxanthin, found in colorful vegetables, is necessary for high-quality cartilage.4 Studies also have shown that low levels of boron, selenium, glutathione, and sulfur are related to osteoarthritis incidence and exacerbation.5 The good news is that if osteoarthritis is caught early—before much loss of cartilage and death of chondrocytes—and nutritional excellence is initiated, most of the damage still can be reversible.

Fish oil supplements, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), glucosamine, and chondroitin have been shown to be helpful in retarding the advancement and reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis.6 Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA have anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce joint inflammation, and glucosamine and chondroitin can supply nutrients needed for cartilage synthesis. Keep in mind, however, that just as with other diseases, supplements alone are not all that is necessary for optimal results. However helpful supplements may be, without the adoption of a superior diet containing the full concert of healthful phytochemicals and antioxidants that results in low cholesterol, one cannot expect maximum healing and maximum protection against OA. Once excellent nutrition is instituted, the body adequately produces its own cartilage precursors, and supplements have little effect.

Here’s more on osteoarthritis:

• Understanding and Preventing our Nation's Primary Crippler
• Joint degeneration

From the March 2005 edition of Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Times:

Currently, the pathogenesis of OA is explained by various contributing factors that adversely affect cartilage cells. In simple terms, the chondrocytes (cells that produce cartilage) become stressed, overworked, injured, and eventually die. This destruction of the chondrocytes makes it impossible for your body to keep up with the production of high-quality collagen needed for normal wear and tear. As the cartilage erodes, the joint becomes inflamed, and lytic (caustic) enzymes can further degrade the cartilage matrix. As cartilage wears away on the ends of the bones and cushioning is lost, the intensity of pain may increase. Pain may become quite severe if the cartilage has completely deteriorated.

Surprisingly, physical inactivity can be more harmful to the joints than overuse. Joint activity signals for the delivery of nutrients to the joints. A lack of exercise or varied movement can weaken the muscles that support the joints, and an underused joint may become stiff, painful, dysfunctional, and prone to injury and osteoarthritis.

Joints, because of their somewhat unusual blood supply, are extremely sensitive to negative nutritional influences compared with other parts of the body. When we abuse our body with poor nutrition, we not only raise our blood pres sure and increase our risk of heart attack and stroke, but we also damage our joints. In fact, OA and degenerative bone disease of the spine could be early warning signs of heart disease in years to come.

The reason why joints have an increased susceptibility to damage from dietary folly is because of their indirect blood supply. Instead of direct oxygenation and nourishment from being bathed in blood (such as with muscles and organs), cartilage is nourished from the fluid in the joint capsule. Oxygen comes from tiny capillaries that surround the joint capsule and diffuses across the joint capsule membrane and into the joint fluid. With normal microcirculation and good nutrition, plenty of oxygen and nutrients bathe the cartilaginous surface of the joints.

This intricate and fragile system can be vulnerable to nutritional stresses. The nourishment to the cartilaginous surface of the joint can be curtailed even by the smallest impediment to normal blood flow. When atherosclerosis is present, the delivery system can be easily disrupted by as simple a thing as eating a high-fat meal. Even the earlier stages of atherosclerosis can impede oxygen delivery to the joint, revealing itself in joint problems that occur decades before the heart problem is diagnosed.

When you eat a piece of high-fat food—such as cheese pizza, bacon, or steak—the saturated fats thicken the blood and make the red blood cells sticky. This clumping together of red blood cells makes them too large to enter the small capillaries that surround and nourish the joint capsules. Atherosclerotic deposits thicken the walls and narrow the vascular bed, further impeding delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the joint area where most cartilage and bone remodeling takes place. Defective remodeling then occurs, with gradual destruction of the joint.

Here’s more on osteoarthritis:

• Understanding and Preventing our Nation's Primary Crippler
• High Nutrient Supply

From the March 2005 edition of Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Times:

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a nearly universal degenerative condition, affecting both men and women as they age. OA is the most common type of arthritis, affecting more than 28 million adults in the United States.

In OA, the cartilage cushion in the joints breaks down, which eventually can cause the bones to rub together. Pain, stiffness, and sometimes the formation of bone growths, called spurs, result. OA can affect any joint, but it is most common in the hands, feet, spine, and in large, weight bearing joints such as the hips and knees. OA of the hip and knee represents the leading cause of pain and disability in adults in the U.S. OA is often referred to as the “primary crippler” of adults, and the percentage of the population with these symptoms has been increasing in recent years.1

OA also is called degenerative joint disease (DJD) or ordinary arthritis. It differs from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as it does not involve an immune system-mediated attack on the joints as is the case with RA.

Despite its prevalence and the fact that it worsens with age, OA is not the inevitable consequence of aging. Recent scientific advances have enabled us to better understand the contributory factors that promote arthritis, dispelling the myth that joint degeneration is merely an age-related phenomenon.

Here’s more on osteoarthritis:

• Joint degeneration
• High Nutrient Supply

Mike lived many years of his life in pain. By the time he was age 36, his back was such a problem for him that he could not sit for very long. For weeks at a time, he had to hire a driver to take him to work each day, so he could lie down in the back seat. He saw a chiropractor three times a week, and went to a rheumatologist for prescriptions for pain medications and muscle relaxants. He traveled to New York City to see specialists -- osteopaths and orthopedic surgeons -- who he thought could help him with his pain. X-rays of his back showed degenerative back disease, and, in addition to his back pain, his knees and hips bothered him, too.

By the time Mike came to see me, he was age 46. He weighed 236 lbs., his cholesterol was 245 mg/dl, and he frequently complained of burning when he urinated, the cause of which no doctor could discern. As you might imagine, he was sick of suffering ill health and disability at such a young age and hoped I could help him.

His was certainly not an unusual case. Many Americans suffer with similar complaints. What makes Mike's case atypical is that he followed my nutritional recommendations and persevered until he achieved a complete recovery. His urinary problems ended after about six weeks. After one year, he weighed 178 lbs. and his cholesterol came down to 190 mg/dl. Unfortunately, his chronic back complaints and joint aches had not yet gone away.

To his credit, Mike did not let the continual back and joint problems dissuade him from his commitment to a healthy lifestyle. He enjoyed the high-nutrient diet and lifestyle I designed for him and was firmly committed to healthful eating for the rest of his life. After two years, he weighed 168, his cholesterol was 175, he no longer had knee and hip complaints, and he had noted a definite improvement with his back problem. Over the next year, his back aches simply faded away. Now, five years after first seeing me as a patient, Mike feels terrific. His total cholesterol is down to 160, he goes to the gym, does abdominal and back exercises, and can drive around in his car without any problems.

This story originally appeared in Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Times newsletter.