The
# 1 Prayer Request in the
What
would you guess, in this modern day and age, is the most frequent prayer
request made by Christians in the
The
answer is: none of the above. According
to an article I recently read, the number one subject of prayer requests in
most churches, by a large margin, has to do with health issues. This is probably not surprising to most of
us, as we have no doubt had personal experience in offering up this very kind
of prayer ourselves, probably on a regular basis. Health problems, more than any other issue,
hit more frequently and more to the core of our being than any other problem
seems able to. Concerns over health, and
the potential for death, get our attention and hold it in a vice-grip more easily
than any other occurrence in life.
Finding
out one day that we or a loved one has cancer or some other deadly disease or
serious malady, or has been in an accident has a tendency to put all the other
problems we face in their proper perspective – as not being nearly as important
as life and health. If the health
problem happens to be our own, God forbid, we quickly realize that the old
adage, “if you’ve got your health, you’ve got just about everything,” is more
than just an overused saying; it’s actually very true.
As
we get further and further away from being an agrarian society, it becomes more
obvious with each passing decade that the health of the average American has
actually declined in many ways. Obesity,
diabetes and cancer are becoming more the norm than the exception. Although the average lifespan has continued
to grow, the quality of those added years has not kept pace. Very few people any more seem to just die of
natural causes in their sleep, as was very common a few decades ago. Heart attacks, diabetes, strokes and cancer
account for fully 90% of all deaths in this great over-fed but under-nourished
nation of ours.
In
fact, if the rate of obesity and degenerative diseases keeps growing, it is now
projected that no longer can parents expect to see their children live longer
lives than they do. It has become
painfully obvious that the gains in longevity that have been made the past few
years have not had corresponding gains in quality of life, but mainly have just
been gains in years of medically extended existence.
One
would have hoped that those who have placed their faith in Christ would have
escaped the trauma, at least partially, of these oft-occurring health problems - but this has
apparently not been the case. While
Christians do seem to live a few more years than their non-religious
counterparts according to some studies, there is no evidence that they enjoy
much better health along the way.
Possibly the 7th Day Adventists do, because of their diet,
but otherwise there is not much evidence of any great health blessing being
conferred on Christians, just because they are Christians.
This
is tragic, as Christians should be setting the standard to be followed in all
areas of life, not just in church attendance and devotion to God. Christians should be the last to be lulled
into complacency in the physical areas of life, not just in the spiritual
areas. After all, shouldn’t “being the
temple of the holy spirit” confer blessings in all aspects of life? Just
try to imagine how effective and influential a church would be in its
neighborhood if it’s members not only were beacons of godly living, but were
also beacons of radiant health!
Instead,
the church suffers from just as many degenerative diseases as the rest of the
population. Christians get diabetes and
need by-pass surgeries just as frequently as those who never darken a church’s
door. Why is that? Why have Christians not been able to separate
the wheat from the chaff when it comes to making decisions that affect their
health? Likely this has occurred because
they have been all too willing to follow the herd nutritionally. They have been willing to let their taste
buds rule, rather than their brain cells.
While
high-quality nutrition is readily available throughout the
“But
hold on there!” you might be saying.
“You’re getting personal now.
Those things you’ve listed above are some of the staples of my weekly
fare. And who says that these things are
all bad for you?” That’s just the
problem – empty calorie foods comprise a major portion of the average
American’s daily diet. The “foods”
listed above are just as commonly found in every American household as a car is
commonly found in their garage. Many
health authors refer to this diet as the SAD diet – the Standard American Diet. And it is indeed sadly lacking in much food
value at all (yes – including milk – especially the hormone-laden, highly
processed cow milk of this day and age).
No wonder the average American is overweight, or soon will be.
The
future does not appear to be too bright for Christians or the general
population. It is estimated that over
75% of all Americans are overweight. No
matter how much information becomes available about the dangers of a sedentary
lifestyle and a diet heavily dependent on processed foods, we don’t change our
ways. The number one health problem in
the United States is obesity, and if the current tread continues, by the year
2230 it is projected that all adults in the United States will be obese! Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of
people in the
Americans
have been bombarded with a multitude of gimmicky diets that promise to combat
obesity. But almost all diets are
ineffective. You may already know that
the conventional “solution” to being overweight – low-calorie dieting – doesn’t
work. But you may not know why.
It is for this simple, yet much overlooked reason: for the vast majority
of people, being overweight is not caused by how much they eat, but by what
they eat. Reread that sentence
carefully, for it holds the secret key to successful, long-term weight loss and
good health: being overweight is not caused by how much people eat, but by what
they eat.
According
to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, in his new myth-shattering book, “Eat to Live” (Little,
Brown & Co, 292 pgs, $23.95), food is an amazing
substance that has the power to both create and destroy health. Over 85% of all Americans ultimately die from
diet-related illnesses. The idea that people
get heavy because they consume a high volume of food is indeed a myth. He stresses that large amounts of the right
food is your key to success and is what makes a diet plan workable for the rest
of your life. What makes many people
overweight and subject to so many diseases is not that they eat so much more
than they need, but that they get a higher percentage of their calories from
fat and refined carbohydrates, or mostly low-nutrient foods. This low-nutrient diet establishes a
favorable cellular environment for disease to flourish.
He
has put together in his book information based on his exhaustive look at
research data from around the world over the past 15 years. This research data strongly points to the
conclusion that the diseases that afflict, and eventually kill almost all Americans
can be avoided. You can
live a high-quality, disease-free life and remain physically active and
healthy. You can die peacefully and uneventfully at an old age, as nature
intended.
He
goes on to stress that to achieve results in preventing and reversing disease,
and attaining permanent healthy body weight, we must be concerned with the
nutritional quality of our diet. The
picture is becoming crystal clear – the key to what will make us thin will also
make us healthy. Once one learns to “eat
to live,” thinness and health will walk hand in hand, happily ever after.
As
an aside, Dr. Fuhrman has an interesting and impressive background, just in
case you’re wondering about his credentials.
He was a former member of the U.S. World pairs figure skating team back
in the 70’s, and developed an interest in sports medicine, fitness, and
preventative medicine. He is a
board-certified family physician in private practice in New Jersey, and sees
over 5000 patients a year, as well as doing phone consultations and
seminars.
He
is a noted nutrition and longevity expert, and has appeared on numerous TV
programs. He teaches nutrition classes
to other physicians at
Dr.
Fuhrman’s newest book, “Eat to Live” (as opposed to “live to eat,” which is the
mindset of many of the heftier folks on the planet), was just published this
year (2003). I’ve read his book, been to
one of his seminars, and seen his video, “The
Greatest Diet on Earth.” I was very
impressed with the solid, usable information that he presented, as you have no
doubt gathered by now. I know that the
concept he teaches works, as I have been applying his principles for about 4
months, and have dropped 17 pounds off my 6’3” frame. I’m now down to my college weight of 180 lbs,
where it has stabilized.
My
lower weight translates to a 22.5 on the BMI scale (24 + [some charts say 25+]
is overweight, below 18.5 is underweight), so you can see that I am near the
middle of the normal weight scale – not too thin, as some might think at first
glance. You can find a BMI (body mass
indicator) calculator easily, just by going to google.com and typing in
“BMI”. Or use the formula: BMI = (wgt in lbs times 703) divided by height in inches
squared.
My
health, which has always been extremely good, ran into a few problems earlier
this year, which definitely got my attention.
Since going on this diet several months ago, my overall health has been
steadily improving, so I can testify from personal experience that Dr.
Fuhrman’s nutrition plan works, especially in the weight normalizing area. I
didn’t adopt his ideas to lose weight, but mainly because of my health
concerns, as his ideas made sense nutritionally.
I
readily admit to having been a bit of a health food “nut” for the past 35
years. I have come to realize that even
in the health food and vitamin industry, there are so many opposing theories,
that making assumptions can cost you your health, your money, and even your
life. But over the years, especially
after the advent of the internet, researching health topics has become much easier.
For
those of you who might be tempted to go out and buy his book, be forewarned
that Dr Fuhrman’s book may not appeal to many Americans, as they are for the
most part in denial about the dangers of their eating habits and those of their
children. Most people will do anything
to continue their love affair with rich, disease-causing foods and will
sacrifice their health in the process.
Many
American consumers prefer not to know about the dangers of their diet because
they don’t want to have their pleasures interfered with. If this is the case in your life, Dr.
Fuhrman’s book, video, his diet, or my article, for that matter, is not for
you. But if you have come to the point
where your eating pleasures have taken a back seat to your
desire to have really great health and a trim figure, or if you are facing
serious health problems and want some nutritional answers, then this book is
indeed for you.
By
the way, the information in this book is somewhat similar to that taught by
George Malkmus, who has a very good approach which he
incorporates into the Hallelujah Diet (see www.hacres.com),
which I came across back in 1997, but have applied only sporadically. Some of you may be familiar with him. But Malkmus is not an M.D. but a pastor, and has a tendency to
use generalizations and leaps in logic in his defense of a Genesis 1:29 diet. Dr. Fuhrman
goes into much more dietary detail, and backs his statements up with facts and
has actual hands-on experience with thousands of patients.
I
will be drawing heavily from Dr. Fuhrman’s book for the rest of this article,
often quoting entire paragraphs. Due to space limitations, there is no way that
I can do real justice to his book in this limited article,
therefore I will try to pass on some of his most pertinent points. As I can
only hit the high points of his book, I would strongly recommend either buying
a copy of his book for yourself, or getting one from
the library. Also, his video (The Greatest Diet on Earth, $19.95) is a
powerful tool that can be used in helping friends and relatives become more
familiar with Dr. Fuhrman’s discoveries in a very painless manner.
I
feel very strongly that he has uncovered some vitally important information
that many overweight and sick people are just not aware of. I know that I was extremely glad to come
across the information contained in Dr. Fuhrman’s book and video, and I know that there are many folks out there
who are suffering from some pretty demoralizing health problems that could
really be helped by the information I am going to pass on to you.
This
is of course assuming that they have reached a level of desperation that will
allow them to break out of the rut of conventional thinking and eating, and are
willing to give a change of diet a chance. I believe that struggling along with
never-ending health problems that God never intended us to face can be just as
spiritually destructive and crippling as being in a cult. It can be hard to be full of faith and joy
while having to come to grips with physical pain and suffering day-in and
day-out.
And
I believe that health problems plague most of us every day, to one degree or
another. Sometimes desperation when
facing these health problems can be the very greatest blessing God can give us
at the time, as it gives us incentive to expand our horizons in looking for
relief. I feel that this article, which
likely will bring some facts to light that most are not aware of, could be as
beneficial to the reader as anything I have ever
written, maybe even more so. This
article is a bit longer than normal, but I believe that this subject is so crucial, and the information that Dr.
Fuhrman presents in his book is so
compelling, that I think you will be captivated by nearly every paragraph.
Most
Americans are not aware that the diet they feed their children guarantees a
high cancer probability and heart problems down the road. The 1992 Bogalusa Heart Study, which studied
autopsies performed on children killed in accidental deaths, confirmed the
existence of fatty plaques and streaks (the beginning of atherosclerosis) in
most children and teenagers! Another
recent autopsy study appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine found
that more than 85% of adults between the ages of 21 and 39 already have
atherosclerotic changes in their coronary arteries. Fatty streaks and fibrous plaques covered
large areas of the coronary arteries.
(Dr. Fuhrman’s 360 footnotes/references documenting these facts and
others throughout this article and his book can be found in “Eat to Live” on
pages 251-278. They are too voluminous
to include in this article)
A
27- year study of nearly 20,000 men showed that lean people live longer. Among men who never smoked, the lowest
mortality occurred in the lightest fifth.
Those who were in the thinnest 20% in the early 1960s were two and a
half times less likely to have died of cardiovascular disease by 1988 than
those in the heaviest fifth. Overall,
the thinnest were two-thirds more likely to be alive in 1988 than the
heaviest. As a good rule of thumb: for
optimal health and longevity, a man should not have more than one-half inch of
skin that he can pinch near his umbilicus (belly button) and a woman should not
have more than one inch. The truth is
that most people who think they are at the right weight have too much fat on
their body.
Determining Where You Stand,
Weight-wise
A
commonly used formula for determining ideal body weight follows:
Women: Approximately 95 pounds for the first 5 feet
of height, then 4 lbs for each inch thereafter.
A 5’4” woman should weigh 95 + 16 = 111 lbs.
Men: Approximately 105 pounds for the first 5 feet
of height, then 5 lbs for each inch thereafter.
Therefore, a 5’10” male should weigh approximately 155 pounds.
Or
you can use the BMI formula given earlier as another way to see where you
stand.
Once
a person starts to eat healthfully, they may find that they are getting thinner
than expected. Most people lose weight
until they reach their ideal weight and then they stop losing weight. Once the fat is off your body, your weight
will start to stabilize. Stabilization
at a thin, muscular weight occurs because you body gives you strong signals to
eat, signals of “true hunger.” The
ability to sense true hunger, which is a mouth-and-throat sensation, not a pain
in the stomach, does not occur until after you are eating healthfully and have
a high nutrient-per-calorie diet. Then,
when the period of withdrawal from excessive eating of unhealthy foods and
caffeine is over, you can be in touch with “true hunger.”
The
evidence for increasing one’s life span through dietary restriction is enormous
and irrefutable. Reduced caloric intake
is the only experimental technique to consistently extend maximum life
span. This has been shown in all species
tested, from insects and fish to rats and cats.
High-nutrient, low-calorie eating results in dramatic increase in life
span as well as prevention of chronic illnesses. From rodents to primates we see: resistance
to cancers, nonappearance of atherosclerosis and diabetes, less signs of aging,
enhanced cellular and DNA repair, etc.
Dr.
Fuhrman has given numerous seminars in his home state of
Dr
Fuhrman gives the key to his extraordinary diet as this simple formula: H = N/C
Health
= Nutrients/Calories
Your
health is predicted by your nutrient intake divided by your intake of calories.
H=N/C
is a concept that Dr. Fuhrman calls the nutrient-density of your diet. Food supplies us with both nutrients and
calories (energy). All calories come
from only three elements: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Nutrients are derived from noncaloric food factors, including vitamins, minerals,
fibers, and phytochemicals (a fancy name for plant
nutrients). These noncaloric
nutrients are vitally important for health.
Your key to permanent weight loss
and superior health is to eat predominantly those foods that have a high proportion
of nutrients (noncaloric food factors) to calories
(carbohydrates, fats, and proteins).
Every
food can be evaluated using this formula.
Once you begin to learn which foods make the grade – by having a high
proportion of nutrients to calories – you are on your way to lifelong weight
control and improved health. Eating
large quantities of high-nutrient food is the secret to optimal health and
permanent weight control. In fact,
eating much larger portions of food is one of the beauties of the Eat to Live diet. You eat
more, which effectively blunts your appetite, and you lose weight –
permanently.
The
Eat to Live diet does not require any
deprivation. In fact, you do not have to
give up any foods completely. However,
as you consume larger and larger portions of health-supporting, high-nutrient
foods, your appetite for low-nutrient foods decreases and you gradually lose
your addiction to them. By following the
menu plans with great-tasting recipes from Dr. Fuhrman’s book [which is
available in book stores, or through his internet site (www.drfuhrman.com)], you will
significantly increase the percentage of high-nutrient foods in your diet, and
your excess weight will start to drop off quickly and dramatically, just as it
did for me.
Dr.
Fuhrman makes three promises to the followers of his diet plan:
-
-
substantial,
healthy weight reduction in a short period of time;
-
-
prevention or
reversal of many chronic and life-threatening medical conditions;
-
-
and a new
understanding of food and health that will continue to pay dividends for the
rest of your life.
To
help you learn how to apply this formula to your life, you first need to
understand why you must follow it, exploring the relationships between diet,
health, and disease.
For
example, most of us don’t give too much thought to whether we eat some fruit
each day. Fruit is an essential part of
our diets. It is an indispensable
requirement for us to maintain a high level of health. Fruit consumption has been shown in numerous
studies to offer our strongest protection against certain cancers, especially
oral and esophageal, lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancer. Researchers have discovered substances in
fruit that have unique effects on preventing aging and deterioration.
Some
fruits, especially blueberries, are rich in anthocyanins
and other compounds having anti-aging effects.
Studies continue to provide evidence that more than any other food, fruit consumption is associated with lowered mortality
from all cancers combined. Eating fruit
is vital to your health, well-being, and long life.
Unlike
the fruits found in nature – which have a full ensemble of nutrients –
processed carbohydrates (such as bread, pasta, and cake), are all deficient in
fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals, all of
which have been lost in processing. In a
six-year study of 65,000 women, those with diets high in refined carbohydrates
from white bread, white rice, and pasta had two and a half times the incidence
of Type II diabetes, compared with those who ate high-fiber foods such as
whole-wheat bread and brown rice. These
findings were replicated in a study of 43,000 men. Diabetes is no trivial problem; it is the
fourth-leading cause of death by disease in
These
starchy (white flour) foods, removed from nature’s packaging, are no longer
real food. The fiber and the majority of
minerals have been removed, so such foods are absorbed too rapidly, resulting
in a sharp glucose surge into the bloodstream.
The pancreas is then forced to pump out insulin faster to keep up. Excess body fat also causes us to require
more insulin from the pancreas. Over
time, it is the excessive demand for insulin placed on the pancreas from both
refined foods and increased body fat that leads to diabetes.
Refined
carbohydrates, white flour, sweets, and even fruit juices, because they enter
the bloodstream so quickly, can also raise triglycerides, increasing the risk
of heart attack in susceptible individuals.
Every time you eat such processed foods, you exclude from your diet not
only the essential nutrients that we are aware of but hundreds of other
undiscovered phytonutrients that are crucial for
normal human function.
Medical
investigations clearly show the dangers of consuming the quantity of processed
foods that we do. And because these
refined grains lack the fiber and nutrient density to turn down our appetite,
they also cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and significantly increased
cancer risk. Numerous studies show that
eating a diet that contains a significant quantity of sugar and refined flour
does not just cause weight gain, it also leads to an
earlier death.
Refined
foods are linked to: oral cavity cancer/
stomach cancer/ colorectal cancer/ intestinal cancer/ breast cancer/ thyroid
cancer/respiratory tract cancer/ diabetes/ gallbladder disease/ heart disease
If
you want to lose weight and build up your health, the most important foods to
avoid are processed foods: condiments, candy, snack, and baked goods; fat-free
has nothing to do with it. This includes
eliminating the refined white flour carbs: bagels,
pasta and bread.
Soil
depletion of nutrients is not the problem – our food choices are. Contrary to many of the horror stories you
hear, our soil is not depleted of nutrients.
Thankfully, by eating a diet with a wide variety of natural plant foods,
from a variety of soils, the threat of nutritional deficiency merely as a
result of soil inadequacy is eliminated.
Americans are not nutrient-deficient because of deficient soil, but
because they eat a nutrient-deficient diet.
Over 90% of the calories consumed by Americans come from refined foods
or animal products. With such a small
percentage of our diet consisting of unrefined plant foods, how could we not become nutrient-deficient?
Eating
“enriched” foods is not the solution.
Refining removes so much nutrition from our food that our government
requires that a few synthetic vitamins and minerals be added back. Whenever you see “enriched” or “fortified” on
a package, it means important nutrients are missing. Refining foods lowers the amount of hundreds
of known nutrients, yet usually only five to ten are added back by
fortification. Unlike eating whole-grain
foods, ingesting processed foods can subtract nutrients and actually create
nutritional deficiencies, as the body utilizes nutrients to digest and
assimilate food. If the mineral demands
of digestion and assimilation are greater than the nutrients supplied by the
food, we may end up with a deficit – a drain on our nutrient funds.
The
body converts food fat into body fat quickly and easily: 100 calories of
ingested fat can be converted to 97 calories of body fat by burning a measly 3
calories. Fat is an appetite stimulant:
the more you eat, the more you want. If
a food could be scientifically engineered to create an obese society, it would
have fat, such as butter, mixed with sugar and flour.
The combination of fat and refined
carbohydrates has an extremely powerful effect on driving the signals that
promote fat accumulation on the body.
Refined foods cause a swift and excessive rise in blood sugar, which in
turn triggers insulin surges to drive the sugar out of the blood and into our
cells. Unfortunately, insulin also
promotes the storage of fat on the body and encourages your fat cells to swell.
As
more fat is packed away on the body, it interferes with insulin uptake into our
muscle tissues. Our pancreas then senses
that the glucose level in the bloodstream is too high and pumps out even more
insulin. A little extra fat around our
midsection results in so much interference with insulin’s effectiveness that two to five times as much insulin may be secreted in an
overweight person than in a thin person.
The higher level of insulin in turn promotes more efficient conversion
of our caloric intake into body fat, and this vicious cycle continues. People get heavier and heavier as time goes
on.
Eating
refined carbohydrates – as opposed to complex carbohydrates in their natural
state – causes the body’s “set point” for body weight to increase. Your “set point” is the weight the body tries
to maintain through the brain’s control of hormonal messengers. When you eat refined fats (oils) or refined
carbohydrates such as white four and sugar, the fat-storing hormones are
produced in excess, raising the set point.
To further compound the problem, because so much of the vitamin and
mineral content of these foods has been lost during processing, you naturally
crave more food to make up for the missing nutrients.
An
effective way to sabotage your weight-loss goal is with high-fat dressings and
sauces. Americans consumes 60 grams of
added fat daily in the form of oils, which is over 500 calories a day from this
form of no-fiber, empty calories.
Refined or extracted oils, including olive oil, are rich in calories and
low in nutrients.
Oils
are 100% fat. Like all other types of
fat, they contain 9 calories per gram, compared with 4 calories per gram for
carbohydrates. There are lots of
calories in just a little bit of oil.
Fat, such as olive oil, can be stored on your body within minutes,
without costing the body any caloric price; it is just packed away (unchanged)
on your hips and waist. If we biopsied your waist fat and looked at it under an electron
microscope, we could actually see where the fat came from. It is stored there as pig fat, dairy fat, and
olive oil fat – just as it was in the original food. It literally goes from your lips to your
hips.
Actually,
more fat from your last meal is deposited around your waist than on your hips,
for both men and women. Analyzing these
body-fat deposits is an accurate way for research scientists to discern food
intake over time. Having research
subjects remember what they ate (dietary recall analysis) is not as accurate as
a tissue biopsy, which reports exactly what was really eaten.
The
message Americans are hearing today from the media and health professions is
that you don’t need to go on a low-fat diet, you
merely need to replace the bad fats (saturated fats mostly from animal products
and trans fats in processed foods) with olive oil. Americans are still confused
and receive conflicting and incorrect messages.
Olive oil and other salad and cooking oils are not health foods and are
certainly not diet foods.
There
is considerable evidence to suggest that consuming monounsaturated fats such as
olive oil is less destructive to your health than the dangerous saturated and trans fats. But a
lower-fat diet could be more dangerous than one with a higher level of fat if
the lower-fat diet had more saturated and trans
fats.
In
the 1950s people living in the Mediterranean, especially on the
Today
the people in
Ounce
for ounce, olive oil is one of the most fattening, calorically
dense foods on the planet; it packs even more calories per pound than butter
(3,200 calories for butter, 4,020 for olive oil). The bottom line is that oil will add fat to
our already plump waistlines, heightening the risk of disease, including
diabetes and heart attacks. Olive oil
contains 14% saturated fat, so you increase the amount of artery-clogging
saturated fat as you consume more of it.
If you are thin and exercise a lot, one tablespoon of olive oil a day is
no big deal, but the best choice for most overweight Americans is no oil at
all.
When
we think of fiber, we usually think of bran or Metamucil, something that we
take to prevent constipation and that tastes like cardboard. Change that thinking. Fiber is a vital nutrient, essential to human
health. Unfortunately, the American
diet is dangerously deficient in fiber, a deficiency that leads to many health
problems (for example, hemorrhoids, constipation, varicose veins, and diabetes)
and is a major cause of cancer. As you
can see, if you get fiber naturally in your diet from great-tasting food, you
get more than just relief from constipation.
When
you eat mostly natural plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and beans, you
get large amounts of various types of fiber.
These foods are rich in complex carbohydrates and both insoluble and
water-soluble fibers. The fibers slow
down glucose absorption and control the rate of digestion. Plant fibers have complex physiological
effects in the digestive tract that offer a variety of benefits, such as
lowering cholesterol.
Because
of fiber, and because precious food components haven’t been lost through
processing, natural plant foods fill you up and do not cause abnormal
physiological cravings or hormonal imbalances.
Some
people are so confused that they do not know what to believe anymore. For example, two recent studies about fiber
received sensational coverage by the media after appearing in the April 20,
2000 New England Journal of Medicine. Newspapers proclaimed the bold headlines
HIGH-FIBER DIET DOES NOT PROTECT AGAINST COLON CANCER. No wonder our population is so confused by
conflicting messages about nutrition.
Some people have actually given up trying to eat healthfully because one
day they hear one claim and the next week they hear the opposite. There’s a lesson to be learned here: Don’t
get your health advice from the media.
Dr.
Fuhrman further stresses, “I bring up this issue so you will realize not to
jump to conclusions on the basis of one study or one news report. You can see how research information is often
(mis)reported in the news. I have reviewed more than two thousand
nutritional research papers in preparation for this book and many more in prior
years, and there is not much conflicting evidence. As in a trial, the evidence has become
overwhelming and irrefutable – high-fiber foods offer significant protection
against both cancer (including colon cancer) and heart disease. I didn’t say fiber; I said high-fiber foods. We can’t just add a high-fiber candy bar or
sprinkle a little Metamucil on our doughnut and french fries and expect to reap the benefits of
eating high-fiber foods. Yet this is
practically what the first study did.”
The
studies mentioned above did not show
that a diet high in fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and raw nuts
and seeds does not protect against colon cancer. It has already been adequately demonstrated
in hundreds of observational studies that such a diet does offer such protection from cancer at multiple sites, including
the colon.
The
first study merely added a fiber supplement to the diet. I wouldn’t expect adding a 13.5-gram fiber
supplement to the disease-causing American diet to do anything. It is surprising that this study was actually
conducted. Obviously, adding
supplemental fiber does not capture the essence of a diet rich in these
protective plant foods.
The
second study compared controls against a group of people who were counseled on
improving their diet. The participants
continued to follow their usual (disease-casing) diet and made only a moderate
dietary change – a slight reduction in fat intake, with a modest increase in
fruits and vegetables for four years.
The number of colorectal adenomas four years later was similar. Colorectal adenomas are not colon cancer;
they are benign polyps. Only a very
small percentage of these polyps ever advance to become colon cancers, and the
clinical significance of small benign adenomas is not clear. In any case, it is a huge leap to claim that
a diet high in fruits and vegetables does not protect against cancer. This study did not even attempt to address
colon cancer, just benign polyps that rarely progress to cancer.
In
both studies, even the groups supposedly consuming a high-fiber intake were on
a low-fiber diet by my standards. The
group consuming the most fiber only ate 25 grams of fiber a day. The high-fiber intake is merely a marker of
many anti-cancer properties of natural foods, especially phytochemicals. The diet plan that Dr. Fuhrman recommends is
not based on any one study, but on more than two thousand studies and the
results he’s seen with his own patients.
Following this plan, you will consume between 50 and 100 grams of fiber
(from real food, not supplements) per day.
The
reality is that healthy, nutritious foods are also very rich in fiber and that
those foods associated with disease risk are generally foods made from refined
grains (such as white bread, white rice, and pasta) have had their fiber
removed. Clearly, we must substantially
reduce our consumption of these fiber-deficient foods if we expect to lose
weight and live a long, healthy life.
Fiber
intake from food is a good marker of disease risk. The amount of fiber consumed may better
predict weight gain, insulin levels, and other cardiovascular risk factors than
does the amount of total fat consumed, according to recent studies reported in
the Oct 27 1999 issue of the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
Again, data show that removing the fiber from food is extremely
dangerous.
People
who consume the most high-fiber foods are the healthiest, as determined by
better waist measurements, lower insulin levels, and other markers of disease
risk. Indeed, this is one of the key
themes of this book – for anyone to consider his or her diet healthy, it must
be predominantly composed of high-fiber, natural foods. It is not the fiber extracted from the plant
package that has miraculous health properties.
It is the entire plant package considered as a whole, containing nature’s
anti-cancer nutrients as well as being rich in fiber.
There
are clear reasons why heart attacks and cancer prevail as our number one and
number two killers. Americans currently
consume about 42% of their calories from fiberless
animal products and another 51% from highly processed refined carbohydrates and
extracted oils. Almost half of all
vegetables consumed are potatoes, and half of the potatoes consumed are in the
form of fries or chips. Furthermore,
potatoes are one of the least nutritious vegetables. Excluding potatoes, Americans consume a mere
5% of their calories from fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Cheese consumption is up, and is the primary
source of saturated fat in our diet.
From
convenience foods to fast-food restaurants, our fast-paced society has divorced
itself from healthful eating. It may be
convenient to pick up soda, burgers, fries, or pizza, but that convenience is
not without its price;
the result is that we are sicker than ever, and our medical costs
are skyrocketing out of control.
Populations with low death rates from the major killer diseases –
populations that almost never have overweight members – consume more that 75%
of their calories from unrefined plant substances. This is at least ten times more than what the
average American consumes.
So
why is this the case?
Why do we see so much heart disease and cancer in wealthier
societies? Is it animal products that
are so deadly? Are refined carbohydrates
solely to blame? Or is it just that
plant foods are so miraculously wonderful at protecting us against
disease? Or is it all three?
Natural
plant foods, though usually carbohydrate-rich, also contain protein and
fats. On average, 25% of the calories in
vegetables are from protein. Romaine
lettuce, for example, is rich in both protein and essential fatty acids, giving
us those healthy fats our bodies require.
There
is no longer any question about the importance of fruits and vegetables in our
diet. The greater the quantity and
assortment of fruits and vegetables consumed, the lower the incidence of heart
attacks, strokes, and cancer. There is
still some controversy about which foods cause which cancers and whether certain
types of fat are the culprits with certain cancers, but there’s one thing we
know for sure: raw vegetables and fresh fruits have powerful anti-cancer
agents.
Studies
have repeatedly shown the correlation between consumption of these foods and a
lower incidence of various cancers, including those of the breast, colon,
rectum, lung, stomach, prostate, and pancreas.
This means that your risk of cancer decreases with an increased intake
of fruits and vegetables, and the earlier in life you start eating large
amounts of these foods, the more protection you get.
Natural
foods unadulterated by man are highly complex – so complex that the exact
structure and the majority of compounds they contain are not precisely
known. A tomato, for example, contains
more than 10,000 different phytochemicals (plant
nutrients). It may never be possible to
extract the precise symphony of nutrients found in vegetation and place it in a
pill. Isolated nutrients extracted from
food may never offer the same level of disease-protective effects of whole
natural foods, as nature designed them.
Fruits
and vegetables contain a variety of nutrients, which work in subtle synergies,
and many of these nutrients cannot be isolated or extracted. Phytochemicals from
a variety of plant foods work together to become much more potent at
detoxifying carcinogens and protecting against cancer than when take
individually as isolated compounds.
After
years of examining the accumulating evidence, eight top health organizations
joined forces and agreed to encourage Americans to eat more unrefined plant
food and less food from animal sources, as revealed in the new dietary
guidelines published in the July 27, 1999, Journal of the American Heart
Association. These authorities are the
Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association, the American Cancer
Society, the
Their
unified guidelines are a giant step in the right direction. Their aim is to offer protection against the
major chronic diseases in
Based
on a culmination of years of research, these health experts’ conclusion was
that animal-source foods, with their high levels of saturated fat, are one of
the leading causes of heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, obesity, etc. –
all the major chronic diseases that cost 1.4 million Americans their lives each
year (more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States).
We
are on the verge of a revolution. Hardly
a day goes by when some new study doesn’t proclaim the health-giving properties
of fruits, vegetables, and beans. Eating
a wide variety of raw and conservatively cooked plant foods (such as steamed
vegetables) is the only way we can ensure that we get a sufficient amount of
these essential health-supporting elements.
Taking vitamin and mineral supplements or adding some vitamins to
processed foods will not prevent the diseases associated with eating a diet
containing a low percentage of calories from whole natural foods. Dr. Fuhrman is not against taking nutritional
supplements, especially the B vitamins, and vitamin D. He does not recommend, however, that most
people take supplements containing iron or vitamin A, isolated beta-carotene,
as there are risks associated with excess consumption of these nutrients.
So
now you know that it is not merely excess fat that causes disease. It is not merely eating empty-calorie food
that causes disease. And it is not
merely the high consumption of animal foods such as dairy, meat, chicken and
fish that leads to premature death in
To
illustrate the powerful nutrient density of green vegetables, let us compare
the nutrient density of steak with the nutrient density of broccoli and other
greens. Now, which food has more protein
– broccoli or steak? You were wrong if
you thought steak. Steak has only 5.4
grams of protein per 100 calories, while broccoli has 11.2 grams, almost twice as much. Keep in mind that most of the calories in meat
come from fat; green vegetables are mostly protein (all calories must come from
fat, carbohydrate, or protein). The
biggest animals – elephants, gorillas, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and
giraffes, all eat predominantly green vegetation. How did they get the protein to get so
big? Obviously, greens pack a powerful
protein punch. In fact, all protein on
the planet was formed from the effect of sunlight on green plants. The cow didn’t eat another cow to form the
protein in its milk and its muscles, which we call steak. The protein wasn’t formed out of thin air –
the cow ate grass.
I
am illustrating how easy it is to consume more than enough protein while at the
same time avoiding risky, cancer-promoting substances such as saturated
fat. Consuming more plant protein is
also the key to achieving safe and successful weight loss. Meat does have certain vitamins and minerals,
but even when we consider the nutrients that meat does contain, broccoli has
lots more of them. For many important
nutrients, broccoli has more than 10 times as much as steak. The only exception is vitamin B12, which is
not found in plant fare. When you
consider the fiber, phytochemicals, and other
essential nutrients, green vegetables win the award for being the most
nutrient-dense of all foods. We will
give green a score of 100 and judge all other foods against this criterion.
Interestingly,
there is one food that scientific research has shown has a strong positive
association with longevity in humans. Which food do you think that is? The answer is raw, leafy greens, normally
referred to as salad. Leafy greens such
as romaine lettuce, kale, collards, Swiss chard, and spinach are the most
nutrient-dense of all foods. Most
vegetables contain more nutrients per calorie than any other food and are rich
in all necessary amino acids. For
example, romaine lettuce, which gets 18% of its calories from fat and almost
50% of its calories from protein, is a rich powerhouse with hundreds of
cancer-fighting phytonutrients that protect us from a
variety of threatening illnesses.
Being
healthy and owning a disease-resistant body is not luck; it is earned. In a review of 206 human-population studies,
raw vegetable consumption showed the strongest protective effect against cancer
of any beneficial food. However, less
than one in a hundred Americans consumes enough calories from vegetation to
ensure this defense. Put a sign on your
refrigerator that says The salad is the main dish. The word salad
here means any vegetable eaten raw or
uncooked. A bowl of cold pasta in olive
oil with a token vegetable is not a
salad. Dr. Fuhrman encourages his
patients to eat two huge salads a day, with the gal of consuming an entire head
of romaine or other green lettuce daily.
Did
you notice that 100 calories of broccoli is about ten ounces of food, and 100
calories of ground sirloin is less than one ounce of food? With green vegetables you can get filled up,
even stuffed, yet you will not be consuming excess calories. Animal products, on the other hand, are
calorie-dense and relatively low in nutrients, especially the crucial
anti-cancer nutrients. But what would
happen if you tried to get all your calories from greens. If the average person needs 2000 calories a
day, you would have to eat about 20 pounds of salad a day. That would be over 20 quarts of food! As the human stomach can only hold a little
over a quart, you would find it impossible to get enough calories by eating
salads alone. However, the message to
take home is that the more of these healthy green vegetables (both raw and
cooked) you eat, the healthier you will be and the thinner you will become.
If
you attempt to follow the perverted diet that most Americans eat, or even if
you follow the precise recommendations of the USDA.s
food pyramid – 6 to 11 servings of bread, rice, and pasta (consumed as 98%
refined grains by Americans) with 4 to 6 servings of dairy, meat, poultry, or
fish – you would be eating a diet rich in calories but extremely low in
nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and
vitamins. You would be overfed and
malnourished, the precise nutritional profile that causes heart disease and
cancer.
Earlier
Dr. Fuhrman compared 100 calories of greens with 100 calories of meat. He did not contrast them by weight or by
portion size, as is more customary because to do so would be meaningless. Let me provide an example to explain why this
is the case. Take one teaspoon of melted
butter, which gets 100% of its calories from fat. If I take that teaspoon of butter and mix it
in a glass of hot water, I can now say that it is 98% fat-free, by weight. 100% of its calories are still from fat. It didn’t matter how much water or weight was
added, did it?
In
fact, if a food’s weight were important, it would be easy to lose weight, we
would just have to drink more water. The
water would trigger the weight receptors in the digestive tract and our
appetite would diminish. Unfortunately,
this is not the way our body’s appestat is controlled. As explained earlier, bulk, calories, and
nutrient fulfillment, not the weight of food, turn off our appestat. Since the food Americans consume are so
calorie-rich, we have all been trying to diet by eating small portion of
low-nutrient foods. We not only have to
suffer hunger but also wind up with perverted cravings because we are
nutrient-deficient to boot.
We
must consume a certain level of calories daily to feel satisfied. You must learn to completely rethink what you
consider to be a typical portion size.
To achieve superior health and a permanently thin physique, you should
eat large portions of green foods. When
considering any green plant food, remember to make the portion size huge by
conventional standards. Eating large
portions of these super-healthy foods is the key to your success.
Nutrient-weight
ratios hide how nutrient-deficient processed food is and make animal-source
food not look so fatty. Could this be
why the food industry and the USDA chose this method? Could it be a conspiracy to
have consumers not realize what they are really eating?
For
example, a Burger King bacon double cheeseburger is
clearly not a low-fat food. If we
calculate its percentage of fat by weight and include the ketchup and bun, we
can accurately state that it is only 18% fat (over 80% fat-free). However, as a percentage of calories it is
54% fat, and the hamburger patty alone is 68% fat. McDonald’s
Likewise,
so-called low-fat 2% milk is not really 2% fat.
Thirty-five percent of its calories come from fat. They can call it 98% fat-free (by weight)
only because of its water content.
Low-fat milk is not a low-fat product at all, and neither are low-fat
cheeses and other low-fat animal foods when you recalculate their fat on a per
calorie percentage basis. This is just a
sad trick played on Americans.
Incidentally, 49% of the calories in whole milk come from fat.
Over
50 years ago the USDA began promoting the so-called four basic food groups,
with meat and dairy products prominently displayed near the top of the
chart. This promotion ignored science,
and could be more accurately labeled “the four food myths.” It was taught in every classroom in
With
all the scientific data available today, including massive investigational
studies on human health and diet, you would think that people would know which
foods are best to eat and why – but most people are still confused about diet
and nutrition. Why? Part of the problem is that most of us are
slow to make changes, especially when they involve personal habits and family
traditions. Most people do not embrace
change.
The
USDA food pyramid includes a level of animal food consumption (meat and dairy,
4 to 6 servings daily) that causes the diseases that kill us: heart attacks and cancer. It also suggests that we should consume a
huge quantity of low-nutrient-content foods such as refined cereals, white
bread and pasta (8 to 11 servings per day).
In light of all the scientific data available, the USDA’s
recommendations are a disgrace. Our
government suggests that people consume as few as 5 measly servings of fruits
and vegetables a day.
Two
studies from Harvard Medical School actually put the USDA guidelines to the
test in 51,000 men and women, and both studies concluded that adherence to
these guidelines had no effect on cancer risk. Much higher levels of produce
intake are required for significant protection.
When intake is truly high, the protection afforded is striking.
One
day we hear that a high-fat diet causes cancer, and the next day a study shows
that those on low-fat diets do not have lower cancer rates. The public is so confused and fed up that
they just eat anything, and the number of overweight people continues to grow.
The
Fortunately,
evidence from a massive series of scientific investigations has shed some light
on the confusion. The
China-Cornell-Oxford Project (also known as the China Project) is the most
comprehensive study on the connection between diet and disease in medical
history. The New York Times called this investigation the “Grand Prix of all
epidemiological studies” and “the most comprehensive large study ever
undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.”
Spearheaded
by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., of
The
China Project was valid because it studied populations with a full range of
dietary possibilities: from a completely
plant-food diet to diets that included a significant amount of animal
foods. Adding small quantities of a
variable is how scientists can best detect the risk or value of a dietary
practice. It’s the same principle as
comparing nonsmokers with those who smoke half a pack a day, to best observe
the dangers of smoking. Comparing a
50-cigarette per day habit with a 60-cigarette per day habit may not reveal
much more additional damage from those last ten cigarettes.
In
Fascinating
findings were made in this study. The
data showed huge differences in disease rates based on the amount of plant
foods eaten and the availability of animal products. Researchers found that as the amount of
animal foods increased in the diet, even in relatively small increments, so did
the emergence of the cancers that are common in the West. Most cancers occurred in direct proportion to
the quantity of animal foods consumed.
In
other words, as animal food consumption approached zero, cancer rates
fell. Areas of the country with an
extremely low consumption of animal food were virtually free of heart attacks
and cancer. An analysis of the mortality
data from 65 counties and 130 villages showed a significant association with
animal protein intake (even at relatively low levels) and heart attacks, with a
strong protective effect from the consumption of green vegetables.
The
China Project showed a strong correlation between cancer and the amount of
animal protein, not just animal fat, consumed.
Consumption of lean meats and poultry still showed a strong correlation
with higher cancer incidence. These
findings indicate that even low-fat animal foods such as skinless white-meat
chicken are implicated in certain cancers.
Remember, those countries and areas of
[Note:
As of Jan 2005 “The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever
Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term
Health” is available in book form. It is
written by Dr. T. Colin, PhD with Thomas M. Campbell II. Publisher: Benbella
Books,
Never
forget that coronary artery disease and its end result – heart attacks, the
number one killer of all American men and women – is almost 100% avoidable.
Most of the poorer countries, which invariably consume little animal products,
have less than 5% of the adult population dying of heart attacks. These studies show that the major risk
factors associated with heart disease – smoking, physical inactivity, and
animal-product consumption – are avoidable.
Not
surprisingly, fruits and vegetables are the two foods with the best correlation
with longevity in humans. Not
whole-wheat bread, not bran, not even a vegetarian diet shows as powerful a
correlation as a high level of fresh fruit and raw green salad
consumption. The National Cancer
Institute recently reported on 337 different studies that all agreed with the
same basic conclusions:
1. Vegetables and fruits protect against all
types of cancers if consumed in large enough quantities. The most prevalent cancers in our country are
mostly plant-food-deficiency diseases.
2. Raw vegetables have the most powerful
anti-cancer properties of all foods.
3. Studies on the cancer-reducing effects of
vitamin pills containing various nutrients (such as folate,
vitamin C and E) get mixed reviews; sometimes they show a slight benefit, but
most show no benefit. Occasionally
studies show that taking isolated nutrients is harmful, as was discussed
earlier regarding beta-carotene.
4. Beans in general, not just soy, have
additional anti-cancer benefits against reproductive cancers, such as breast
and prostate cancer.
Although
Americans would prefer to take a pill so they can continue eating what they are
accustomed to, it won’t give them the protection they are looking for. You
need read no further as long as you can incorporate this crucial dietary change
into your life: consume high levels of fruits, green vegetables, and
beans. This is the key to both weight
loss and better health. Exactly how
much veggies and beans you need to eat and how to incorporate them into your
diet and make them taste great Dr. Fuhrman covers in his book later on.
People
who omit meat, fowl and dairy but fill up on bread, pasta, pretzels, bagels,
rice cakes and crackers may be on a low-fat diet, but because their diet is
also low in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals,
important essential fatty acids, and fiber, it is conspicuously inadequate and
should not be expected to protect against cancer. In addition, because these refined grains are
low in fiber, they do not make you feel full until after you have taken in too
many calories from them. In other words,
both their nutrient-to-calorie and nutrient-to-fiber ratios are extremely low.
Let
me repeat this again to be clear:
Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet
rich in fruits and vegetables. A
vegetarian whose diet is mainly refined grains, cold breakfast cereals,
processed health-food-store products, vegetarian fast foods, white rice and
pasta will be worse off than a person who eats a little chicken or eggs, for
example, but consumes a large amount of fruits, vegetables and beans.
Dairy
products are held in high esteem in
Hip
fractures and osteoporosis are more frequent in populations in which dairy
products are commonly consumed and calcium intakes are commonly high. For example, American women drink 30 to 32
times as much cow’s milk as the New Guineans, yet suffer 47 times as many
broken hips. A multicountry
analysis of hip-fracture incidence and dairy-product consumption found that
milk consumption has a high statistical association with higher rates of hip
fractures.
Does
this suggest that drinking cow’s milk causes osteoporosis? Certainly, it brings into question the
continual advertising message from the National Dairy Council that drinking
cow’s milk prevents osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis has a complex etiology that involves other factors such as
dietary acid-alkaline balance, trace minerals, phytochemicals
in plants, exercise, exposure to sunlight and more.
Dr.
Campbell, head of nutritional research at Cornell and of the China Project,
reported, “Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium
intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products. The Chinese data indicate that people need
less calcium than we think and can get adequate amounts from vegetable source
plant food.”
He
told the New York Times that there was basically no osteoporosis in
Epidemiologic
studies have linked osteoporosis not to low calcium intake but to various
nutritional factors that cause excessive calcium loss in the urine. The continual depletion of our calcium reserves over time,
from excessive calcium excretion in the urine, is the primary cause of
osteoporosis. Factors that contribute to
this excessive urinary calcium excretion are:
animal protein
salt
caffeine
refined sugar
alcohol
nicotine
aluminum-containing antacids
drugs such as antibiotics,
steroids, thyroid hormone
vitamin A supplements
Published
data clearly links increased urinary excretion of calcium with animal-protein
intake but not with vegetable-protein intake.
Plant foods, though some may be high in protein, are not
acid-forming. Animal-protein ingestion
results in a heavy acid load in the blood.
This sets off a series of reactions whereby calcium is released from the
bones to help neutralize the acid. The
sulfur-based amino acids in animal products contribute significantly to urinary
acid production and the resulting calcium loss.
The Nurses Health Study found that women who consumed 95 grams of
protein a day had a 22% greater risk of forearm fracture than those who consumed
less than 68 grams.
The
most comprehensive epidemiological survey involving hip fractures and food was
done in 1992. The authors sought out
every peer-reviewed geographical report ever done on hip-fracture incidence. They located 34 published studies of women in
16 countries. Their analysis showed that
diets high in animal protein had the highest correlation with hip-fractures
rates, with an 81% correlation between eating animal protein and fractures.
The
extra calcium contained in dairy foods simply cannot counteract the powerful
effect of all the factors listed in the list above. The average American diet is not only high in
protein but high in salt, sugar and caffeine, and low in fruits and
vegetables. Fruits and vegetables can
help buffer the acid load from all the animal protein and reduce calcium
loss. So we need to consume a lot more
calcium to make up for the powerful combination of factors that induce calcium
loss in the urine.
Many
think that cheese is a good source of calcium.
But considering that cheese is also a powerful inducer of acid load,
which increases calcium loss further, and that cheese and butter are the foods
with the highest saturated-fat content and the major source of our dioxin
exposure, cheese is a particularly foolish choice for obtaining calcium. Dairy products are just not the healthiest
source of calcium. Foods that are
healthful and rich in calcium are green vegetables, beans, tofu, sesame seeds
and even oranges. 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, sodium, sugar and caffeine.
Since
it is estimated that more than 75% of all Americans are overweight, it is not
surprising that diet and weight-loss books abound. But few ever seem to realize that weight loss
and overall health are inseparable. A
weight-loss program can be considered successful only if the weight loss is
permanent, safe, and promotes overall health.
Temporary weight loss is of little or no benefit, especially if it
compromises your health.
One
of the more popular books is Dr. Atkin’s Health Revolution. The popularity of books such as this is
evidence that people are looking for a quick, effortless way to lose weight without
having to curtail their dangerous love affair with rich, unhealthful
foods. People are desperate to lose
weight, and books such as Atkin’s preach what people
want to hear: that you can eat lots of fat, cholesterol and saturated fat and
still lose weight. This illicit romance
can lead to tragic consequences, with some people literally dying to lose
weight.
Robert
Atkin’s books, as well as other authors advocating
high-protein weight-loss plans, recommend diets for health and weight loss with
significantly more animal protein than is typically consumed by the average
American. Americans already eat
approximately 40% of their calories from animal products; we have seen a tragic
skyrocketing in cancer and heart disease rates in the past 50 years as a result
of such nutritional extravagance. You
can lose some weight on the Atkins Diet, but you run the risk of losing your
health at the same time.
Atkins
recommends that you eat primarily high-fat, high-protein, fiberless
animal foods and attempt to eliminate carbohydrates from your diet. Atkins’s menus average 60-75% of calories
from fat and contain no whole grains and no fruit. Hundreds of scientific studies have
documented the link between animal products and various cancers. There are numerous ways to lose weight. However ”effective”
they may be, some are just not safe. We
wouldn’t advocate smoking cigarettes or snorting cocaine simply because doing
so would be effective in promoting weight loss.
Advocating a weight-loss program based on severe carbohydrate
restriction is irresponsible. You may
have to pay a substantial price – you life!
So
how do these high-protein diets work? How can you eat all the fat and grease that
you want and still lose weight? In the first
few days of no carbohydrate fuel (food), the body’s glucose reserves dwindle
and the only way we can produce enough fuel for our hungry brain (which
consumes about 80% of our energy needs when the body is at rest) is by breaking down muscle tissue to
manufacture glucose. Glucose can not be
manufactured from fat. Fortunately, our
body has a built-in mechanism that allows us to conserve our muscle tissue by
metabolizing a more efficient energy source – our fat supply.
After
a day or two of not eating, the body dips into its fat reserves to produce ketones as an emergency fuel. As the level of ketones
rise in our bloodstream, the brain accepts ketones as
an alternate fuel. In this manner, we
conserve muscle and increase survival during periods of food deprivation, such
as fasting. Atkins’s dietary
recommendations prey on this survival mechanism. When we restrict carbohydrates so markedly,
the body thinks we are calorically deprived and
ketosis results. The body begins to lose
fat, even if we are consuming plenty of high-fat foods, as Atkins
recommends.
Once
you stop the diet, you’ll gain all the weight back and more; if you stay on the
diet, you risk a premature death. Take
your pick. Once you start consuming
carbohydrate-containing fruits, vegetables or beans, the ketosis ends and the
meat and fat become fattening again.
Besides the increased cancer risk, your kidneys are placed under greater
stress. Most doctors are taught in
medical school that a high-protein diet ages the kidneys. The dangers of these high-protein diets
include hemolytic anemia, abnormal liver function, renal tubular acidosis, and
spontaneous bone fractures (in spite of calcium supplementation). Kidney stones are another risk.
What
is wrong with every single commercial weight-loss program? They are too high in fat and too low in fiber
because they cater to the American love affair with rich, high-fat food. You will be amazed how easily and
effortlessly you will lose weight when you adopt a diet that consists primarily
of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans. This is a diet with less than 15% of calories
from fat. So instead of searching for
weight-loss gimmicks and tricks, try to adopt a resolution to be healthy
first. Focusing on your health and not your
weight will eventually result in achieving successful long-term weight
loss. Eating a healthy diet, one that is
rich in an assortment of natural plant fibers, will help you crave less and
feel satisfied without overeating. All
diet plans fail because they cater to modern American tastes, which include too
much processed foods or animal products to be healthy.
Appetite
is not controlled by the weight of the food but by fiber, nutrient density, and
caloric density. Since the stomach can
hold about one liter (a little over a quart) of food, let’s look at how many
calories are in a whole stomachful of a particular
food. It’s pretty clear which foods will
let you feel full with the least amount of calories – fruits and green
vegetables. Green vegetables, fresh
fruits, and legumes again take the gold, silver, and bronze medals. Nothing else in the field is even close.
Here
are the caloric ratios of common foods:
Oils 3900 calories/lb 4100 calories/liter 0 grams fiber/lb
Potato
chips/French fries 2600 3000 0
Meat
2000 3000 0
Cheese
1600
3400
0
White
bread
1300
1500 0
Chicken/turkey
(white meat) 900 1600 0
Fish
800 1400 0
Eggs
700 1350 0
Whole
grains (wheat & rice)
600 1000 3
Starchy
vegetables (potatoes
and corn) 350 600 4
Fruits
250
300 9
Green vegetables 100 200 5
Green
vegetables are so incredibly low in calories and rich in nutrients and fiber
that the more you eat of them, the more weight you will lose. One of Dr. Fuhrman’s secrets to nutritional
excellence and superior health is the one pound – one pound rule. That is, try to eat at least one pound of raw
green vegetables a day and one pound of cooked/steamed or frozen green
vegetables a day as well. One pound raw
and one pound cooked – keep this goal in mind as you design and eat every meal.
You can eat as much as you want from the bottom 3 food groups. These are foods that are extremely
nutritious, and yet will not cause you to gain unwanted weight.
This
may be too ambitious a goal for some of us to reach, but by working toward it,
you will ensure the dietary balance and results you want. The more greens you eat, the more weight you
will lose. The high volume of greens
will not only be your secret to a thin waistline but will simultaneously
protect you against life-threatening illnesses.
The
nutrient-density scores below are based on identified phytochemicals,
antioxidant activity, and total vitamin and mineral content.
Highest
nutrient density = 100 points
Lowest nutrient density = 0 points
100 Raw leafy green vegetables (darker green
has more nutrients)
romaine lettuce, leaf lettuces, kale, callards,
spinach, Swiss chard, parsley, daikon
97 Solid green vegetables (raw, steamed, or
frozen)
artichokes, asparagus, bok choy,
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery,
cucumber,
kohlrabi, okra, peas, peppers, snow peas, string beans, zucchini
50 Non-green, non starchy vegetables
beets,
eggplant, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, bamboo
shoots,
water chestnuts, cauliflower
48 Beans/legumes (cooked, canned, or
sprouted)
red kidney
beans, chickpeas, pinto beans, cowpeas, navy beans, cannelloni beans,
soybeans,
lentils, white beans, lima beans, pigeon peas, black-eyed peas, black
beans
45 Fresh fruits
apples,
apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, grapefruits,
grapes,
kiwis, mangoes, nectarines, all melons, oranges, peaches, pears,
persimmons,
pineapples, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines,
watermelons
35 Starchy vegetables
white
potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, winter squash,
parsnips,
pumpkins, turnips, corn, carrots, chestnuts
22 Whole grains
barley,
buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa
20 Raw nuts and seeds
almonds,
cashews, filberts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin
seeds,
sunflower seeds
15 Fish
13 Fat-free dairy
11 Wild meats and fowl
11 Eggs
8 Red meat
4 Fill-fat dairy
2 Refined grains (white flour)
1 Refined oils
0 Refined sweets
It
is true that most of us eat too much fat, but scientific research is revealing
that too little fat can be a problem, too.
We have learned that not merely are we consuming too much fat but, more
important, we are consuming the wrong fats.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are
polyunsaturated dietary fats that the body cannot manufacture, so they are
required for health. The two primary
essential fatty acids are linoleic acid, and omega-6
fat, and alpha-linolenic acid, and omega-3 fat. The body can make the other fatty acids,
called nonessential fats, from these two basic fats.
Most
Americans would improve their health if they consumed more omega-3 fats and
less omega-6 fats. Dr. Fuhrman
recommends that both vegetarians and nonvegetarians
make an effort to consume one to two grams of omega-3 daily. A tablespoon of ground flaxseed or a teaspoon
of flax oil would do the job. Or 4
tablespoons of walnut meats or 1 ½ cups of soybeans (green, frozen, or raw)
would be adequate. He does not routinely
recommend that his patients take fish oil capsules, as this oil is often
rancid, and some patients have a bad reaction to fish oil, also.
One
in 20 people in this country has diabetes, more than 16 million Americans. As our population grows fatter, this figure
is climbing. Diabetes is a nutritionally
related disease – one that is both preventable and reversible (in the case of
Type II diabetes) through nutritional methods.
More than 70% of adults with Type II diabetes die of heart attacks and
strokes. Patients are told to learn to
live with their diabetes and to learn to control it because it can’t be
cured. “No, no, and no!” Dr. Fuhrman
says. “Don’t live with it, get thin and
get rid of it, as many of my patients have.”
By
simple logic you would expect than any dietary recommendations designed for
diabetics would at least attempt to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, or
other cardiovascular event.
Unfortunately, the nutritional advice given to diabetics is to follow
the same diet that has proved not to work for heart disease patients. Such a diet is risky for all people, but for
the diabetic it is exceptionally hazardous – it is deadly. The combination of refined grains, processed
foods, and animal products guarantees a steady stream of available customers
for hospitals and emergency rooms.
Type
II diabetics adopting the correct nutritional approach can become undiabetic and achieve wellness and even excellent
health. They can be diabetes-free for
life! Almost all of Dr. Fuhrman’s Type
II diabetic patients are weaned off insulin in the first month. Thanks to their excellent nutrition, these
patients have much better (lower) blood sugars than when they were on
insulin. The horrors of diabetes about
to befall them are aborted.
Dr.
Fuhrman has also observed patients who came to him with diabetic retinopathy
and peripheral neuropathy gradually improve and eventually resolve their
conditions. Dr. Milton Crane reported
similar findings in his patients: 17 out
of 21 patients who adopted a plant-rich vegan diet obtained complete relief
from their peripheral neuropathy.
Insulin
works less effectively when people eat fatty foods or gain weight. Diets containing less fat improve insulin
sensitivity, as does weight loss. An individual who is overweight requires more
insulin, whether he or she is diabetic or not.
In fact, giving overweight diabetic people even more insulin makes them
sicker by promoting weight gain. They
become even more diabetic. How does this
process work? Our pancreas secretes the
amount of insulin demanded by the body.
A person of normal weight with about a third of an inch of periumbilical fat will secrete X amount of insulin. Let’s say that this person gains about 20
pounds of fat. His body will now require
more insulin, almost twice as much, because fat on the body blocks the uptake
of insulin into the cells.
If
the person is obese, with more than 50 pounds of additional weight, his body
will demand huge loads of insulin from the pancreas, even as much as 10 times
more than a person of normal weight needs.
So what do you think happens after 5 to 10 years of forcing the pancreas
to work so hard? You guessed it –
pancreatic poop-out.
The
pancreas begins to secrete less insulin, in spite of the huge demands of the
body. Eventually, with less insulin
available to move glucose from the bloodstream into the cells, the glucose
level in the blood starts to rise and the person gets diagnosed with diabetes. In most cases, these individuals are still
secreting an excessive amount of insulin (compared to a person of normal
weight), just not enough for them. When
they eat a less taxing diet and lose weight, they don’t need the extra insulin
to control the sugars.
What
this means is that typical Type II diabetes is caused by overweight in the
individuals who have a smaller reserve of insulin-secreting cells in the
pancreas. In the susceptible individual,
even 10 to 20 pounds of excess weight could make the difference. Losing the extra weight enables these
individuals to live within the capabilities of their body. Most Type II diabetics still produce enough
insulin to maintain normalcy as long as they maintain a thinner, normal weight.
Insulin
is a dangerous drug for Type II diabetics.
These are people who are overweight to begin with. Insulin therapy will result in further weight
gain, accelerating their diabetes. A
vicious cycle begins that usually causes the patients to require more and more
insulin as they put on the pounds. When
they come to see Dr. Fuhrman for the first time, they report their sugars are
impossible to control in spite of massive doses of insulin, which they are now
combining with oral medication. It is
like walking around with a live hand grenade in your pocket ready to explode at
any time.
As
Dr. Fuhrman’s patients begin the program he usually cuts their insulin in
half. The insulin is then gradually
phased out over the next few days or weeks, depending on their response and how
advanced their condition was when they started.
Most patients can stop all insulin within the first few days. The warning he gives to patients and their
physicians adopting this program is to not underestimate how effective it can
be.
If
the medications, especially insulin, are not dramatically reduced, a dangerous
hypoglycemic reaction can occur from overmedication. It is safer to undermedicate
and let the glucose levels run a little high at first, then
add back a little medication if necessary.
This will minimize the risk of hypoglycemia, or driving the blood sugar
too low. Since this diet is so
powerfully effective in reversing diabetes and other diseases of nutritional
neglect, it is essential you work closely with a doctor who can help you adjust
your medication dose downward in a careful fashion.
Dr
Fuhrman will typically continue or begin Glucophage (metformin) or other similar drugs. The newer medications that do not interfere
with weight loss are safer than the older oral medications diabetics used in
the past. Eventually, as more weight is
lost, these patients can have normal glucose levels without any
medication. They become nondiabetic, though diabetes can recur should they adopt a
more stressful and girth-growing diet.
What
have we learned so far? First, eating foods with too few nutrients is bad for
your health. Second, a large amount of
animal products in your diet correlates with a vast number of diseases. Last, unrefined plant foods offer the best
protection against disease. The question
is, how can we translate this data into a health
program that will help us achieve a healthy weight, maximize our well-being,
and let us enjoy meals at the same time?
Dr.
Fuhrman has devised his own “Life Plan Food Pyramid.” It’s a great guide for how much we should be
eating of the various food groups.
At
the base of his pyramid, those foods we eat the most of, are “Vegetables – half
raw, half cooked, 30% - 70% of daily calories”
Next
comes “Fruits – 20% - 50% of calories”
Third
comes “Beans/Legumes – 10% - 30% of calories”
Fourth
are “Whole Grains, Raw Nuts, Seeds – 5% - 20% of
calories”
Fifth
are “Fish, Fat-free Dairy – twice weekly or less”
Sixth
are “Poultry, Eggs, Oils – once weekly or less”
And
at the peak of the pyramid “Beef, sweets, cheese/milk, processed food,
hydrogenated oil – rarely”
Some
nutrition tips to remember while you’re getting used to this diet:
1. Remember, the salad is the main dish: eat it
first at lunch and dinner.
2. Eat as much fruit as you want but at least 4
fresh fruits a day.
3. Variety is the spice of life, particularly
when it comes to greens.
4. Beware of the starchy vegetable, especially
if you’re trying to lose weight
5. Eat beans or legumes every day (the body
adjusts to digesting beans and gas
production
gradually diminishes).
6. Eliminate animal and dairy products as much
as possible.
7. Have a tablespoon of ground flaxseed every
day.
8. Your long-term goal should be to have your
diet be made up of at least 90% unrefined
plant
food. Each day’s diet should be built
around a base of raw and cooked green
vegetables.
Wow! What an education! I hope you learned as much from Dr. Fuhrman’s
expertise as I did. After finishing his
book and letting it all soak in, I was amazed that such common-sense
information, all of which we should
have been taught at school when we were kids, could have escaped me all these
years as I read various health magazines and frequented my local health food
store. True, I knew some of what he
teaches, but not that much when considered as a package.
Some
may have a bit of a problem trying to reconcile the results of the various studies
that he references throughout his book with the Bible. Doesn’t the Bible give us the “green light”
when it comes to eating all the animal products we want, such as beef, eggs and
milk? How can milk be a poor dietary
choice, for example, when the Bible called the Promised Land “the land of milk and honey”?
Actually,
the Bible doesn’t delve very deeply into the nutritional aspects of the various
food groups. And just because a certain
food was all right to eat via the scriptures doesn’t mean that it is healthful
in this day and age. For example, it has
been proven that corn -fed beef is much higher is cholesterol-forming fats that
grass-fed beef (omega-6s), and much lower in the omega-3 fats that are so healthful. Back in “Bible times” livestock were not
routinely injected with growth hormones (which encourage breast and prostate
cancers in humans) and antibiotics (which lower our immunity to certain
bacteria). Are we actually comparing
apples to apples when we compare the less-than-pristine steak on our plate with
the grass-fed cattle the Israelites occasionally butchered for sacrifices or
special occasions?
Can
say with any certainty that we should be eating the same amount of fat in our
diet, as we march along our sedentary, automated life’s path, as our ancestors
did? They walked from city to city
instead of riding in cars, wrestled with plow shares as they struggled to keep
the oxen on a straight path, and basically ran rings around us when it came to
getting their daily exercise and burning up fat calories. Do we need to continue to get as many fat
calories in our diet as they did?
“But,”
some may be sputtering, “
My
point is this: don’t assume that the animal products that people ate or drank
back 2000 or more years ago are identical and had the same health impact as
what we are eating today. And don’t
assume that our bodily requirements have not changed over the centuries. I think including a little meat in the diet
is fine, as the fact that those who never eat animal products will eventually
develop a vitamin B12 deficiency shows that God meant for us to consume some
animal related foods. And it is also
obvious that we were meant to eat meat by the type of teeth God has given us.
But
as I mentioned above, the quality of
the meat and dairy products commonly available is extremely suspect, and the quantity of these products that most
consume is far from healthful. We need
to be willing to look at the results of scientific studies about what is
killing us off dietarily in this day and age, to the
tune of 90% of us, and then be willing to make adjustments accordingly.
Sorry
to get off on this tangent, but I know that many will have legitimate questions
about a heavily vegetarian diet, and hopefully I have addressed some of these
concerns. I myself feel a slight quiver
of disgust at even saying the word “vegetarian.” It rings too much of hippies, effeminate
people and tasteless tofu. But I would
have to say, that in the current environment of animal products that just
aren’t what they could or should be, and having to walk in the shadow of some
nutritionally inflicted health problems over this past year, I definitely have
changed my diet, although I am not a vegetarian. I eat a lot less animal products, and sure am
eating my fruit and “veggies” nowadays!
I do eat a raw Amish-raised egg almost daily, and buy only Amish-raised
meat. An even better choice in beef
would be unmedicated, grass-fed, grass-finished (not fattened on grains before being butchered)
beef, such as may be found in your own state at: www.eatwild.com, or at www.grasslandbeef.com and also www.grasslandsbeef.com.
I
realize that this diet may not be for everyone.
No one should twist another’s arm, even if it is obvious that this diet
could make dramatic improvements in their condition, as it is a free country. The important thing is that this information
be made available to everyone that wants it, so that knowledgeable choices can
be made about holding on to one’s health.
Some may read this article and will feel the need or desire to implement
the Eat to Live diet immediately, as they feel they have no time to lose in
trying to head off some serious health problems they have been facing. Others may just want to change their diet to
add more fruits, salads and vegetables to their daily fare. Some may decide to cut back on their meat
consumption, or to cut out junk food from their diet. Whatever the reader implements from this
article, if anything, is of course their personal decision.
I
can guarantee you, that right this very moment, there are multiple thousands of
people in hospital beds throughout this country that are facing death that
would have loved to have had the information in this article, but never came
across it, or had a friend give it to them.
And most certainly, their doctor didn’t tell them about it as one of
their possible optional treatments instead of drugs and radiation, etc.
Knowledge
is a powerful thing – it tends to change all those who stumble across it. In the Bible God tells us that “my people are
destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” I
think we would be safe in assuming that the statement “my people destroy
themselves for a lack of knowledge” would also have the same ring of truth to
it. And certainly this nation has been
destroying itself physically for a lack of nutritional knowledge.
I
think few readers of this article regarding Dr. Fuhrman’s book will go away
unchanged. Has Dr. Fuhrman gotten all his facts absolutely straight? I would say no. Has the doctor perhaps made a leap in logic
here or there? I believe he has. I don't agree with everything that he teaches
- especially the severe restriction on oils. The research I have done shows
that extra virgin olive oil is a very good oil to be using. Organic butter is also good for you. Better
yet is organic, totally unrefined coconut oil.
These
oils/fats are all very good for you (within limits, and minimally refined),
even though they are saturated fats, and have been roundly condemned over the
years as being heart unfriendly. These
products have been pushed aside for the now-condemned hydrogenated fats, but
the thinking is rapidly changing on just what is good for you, and what is
not. A certain amount of saturated fat
has been found to be needed for good health, in spite of what Dr. Fuhrman may
say.
To
eliminate all saturated fats from the diet can lead to a chemical imbalance in
the fatty-rich brain, and cause problems.
I can verify this from personal experience with a close friend, who
eliminated virtually all fats as they closely followed the Fuhrman diet and
developed some problems. These saturated
fats are also needed to keep energy levels on an even keel, and prevent blood
sugar level fluctuations. The only fats
that have been associated with heart/artery problems have been the hydrogenated
fats, and over-use of vegetable oils, which are lopsidedly omega-6 rich, and
very lacking in omega-3’s. A most excellent
book on the topic of the effect of diet on the brain and moods, and what can be
done about it using natural methods, is “The Mood Cure” by Julia Ross. If you have depression or mental problems, or
have a friend who does, be sure to get this book from the library and read it –
you’ll be very glad you did.
For
more information about the benefits of virgin coconut oil, and where some
really good oil can be obtained, go to www.mercola.com,
and go to products, and check out the virgin coconut oil. There is a wealth of information here about
just why coconut oil is good for you, and how it acquired its bad reputation.
This is where I buy mine, a gallon at a time.
We all love it at our house.
But
if you would take Dr. Fuhrman's assertions and compare them
side by side with the assertions of the average doctor who only knows how to
treat your symptoms, not the underlying cause of your health problems, I think
you will find that regarding knowledge of nutritional health and healing, Dr.
Fuhrman stands as a giant among midgets.
If
you found this article to be of value and want to learn more, be sure to order
Dr. Fuhrman’s book and video, or get them from the library (there were 17
copies of his book owned by my library’s multiple branches, but they were all
loaned out when I checked). You have his
website already, and his toll-free number is 1-800-474-9355. He does telephone consultations (not cheap)
for those who may want his personal touch with a health problem.
As
I said above, I think that time will prove that this was probably the most
important, potentially life changing article that I have ever written (or more
correctly, condensed from Dr. Fuhrman’s book), or ever will write. Keep in mind
that you may follow every dietary suggestion that this book makes, and still
not experience good health! Regular exercise and a positive and thankful mental
attitude are also vitally important if one is to get and stay healthy.
Take
care, and may you be blessed with outstanding health!
Whistler