Embracing Health Radio Show #63 – Evaluating the Modern-Day Workplace; Cell Phones and Cancer; Exercise Eases Anxiety Disorders; How Food Companies Trick You Part I

Top of the morning to everyone!  Happy Monday and hope everyone enjoyed the weekend as this was the last weekend before the official start of  summer, and it’s been toasty already here in north Georgia.

A couple of things here for this week’s radio show — I talk about our modern day workplace and how researchers are looking into part of the equation to weight maintenance from the energy expenditure  side of things, also known more commonly as calorie burn.  Most of us think immediately to exercise, but this recent research report looked at forms of activity that have nothing to do with formal exercise.  Not to long ago, we had to move alot more as part of our daily lives — whether we farmed or worked in industrial settings or other forms of manual labor.  Now, most people work at desks like myself, and we have to rethink the modern day workplace to make up for this lack of  activity.   You may not think it adds to much, but  the body to expend many more calories that over months can add up to quite a bit, about 120 to 140 calories per day over weeks and months is alot.  The foods that we eat can then be more used for energy rather than stored.  I present this to simply add to your understanding of the whole issue that presents itself to us today regarding body composition.  It’s important to know the metabolic/hormonal complications as well as the lifestyle/calorie imbalances that have occurred too.

Next, some discussion on resistance training and how it helps generalized anxiety disorders, much more than aerobic exercise.  There’s something about stressing your body appropriately and how that affects your whole outlook and mood.  The take away is to include short bouts of some form of intense exercise into your fitness program.

Then we get into a recent World Health Organization warning about cell phones and their potential risk in cancer.  They have put cell phone radiation in the same category as dry cleaning chemicals and pesticides.  That’s something you need to know and consider for your overall health.

A recent poultry drug was pulled from the market – Roxarsone – because of its arsenic content.  From this point, I talk about chemicals in our food and our environment and give you some perspectives on minimizing risk factors for disease by chemical accumulation.

Finally, part I in a series of “How Food Companies Trick You Into Thinking that Junk Food is Healthy” —– you won’t want to miss this one from the desk of Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, MD – founder and medical director of the Bariatric Health Institute in Ottawa, Canada.

Enjoy, and have a great week!   

(click here =>) In the News: Less Active at Work, Americans Have Packed on More Pounds: What the Modern Day Workplace Should Look Like; Resistance Training Improves Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Cell Phone Radiation May Cause Cancer, Advisory Panel Says; Poultry Drug to Be Pulled From Market Due to Arsenic Concern; How Food Companies Trick You into Thinking Junk Food is Healthy

Embracing Health Radio #62 – Eating Fat to Stay Lean? Plus, High Carbohydrate Diet During Pregnancy Linked to Gallbladder Disease

Hi there Folks!  Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of this summer season, as things are warming up rather quickly here in Northeast Georgia.  Today’s posts covers some interesting topics that I think you’ll find interesting.  First, more research data is supporting that higher fat diets that are within optimal calorie ranges are found to be very healthy, helping people to lose fat faster and showing no signs of vascular damage, which has been the current thinking.  Indeed it is commonly thought that dietary fat clogs arteries, and actually, in the context of an appropriate calorie intake, there seems to be advantages over equal calorie higher carbohydrate diets.  Those of you that have been reading my posts already know about the advantages of lower carbohydrate diets, particularly in weight loss efforts as it helps decrease hunger which allows you to follow the eating plan LONG TERM.  That’s the thing with diets, what helps you in the long term is really what is going to help you overall.  Not to mention all the cardiometabolic improvements for folks who have damaged glucose metabolism.

Next, I talk about gallbadder problems and I highlight a recent study that links overconsumption of carbohydrate to gallbladder disease during pregnancy.  I get into understanding the hormone factors involved in pregnancy and how that predisposes one to blood sugar disorders and then as the study states, ultimately to gallbladder issue.  Find out this and much much more on this recent edition of Embracing Health —– enjoy!

(click here to listen =>)Research Updates: Higher Fat Diet Resulting in Quicker Weight Loss Compared to Higher Carbohydrate Diet, Plus Healthy Blood Vessels – Evidence Continues to Mount In Favor of the Benefits of Dietary Fat; Higher Carbohydrate During Pregnancy Linked to Gallbladder Disease; How to Know if You Are At Risk for Gallbladder Disease

Embracing Health #61 – Gluten, Paleolithic Nutrition and Gut/Anxiety Connection

Hi there everyone — hope you are relaxing into Memorial Day weekend. I’m certainly looking forward to an extra day of sun and relaxation, mindful of the meaning of this day in the heritage of our beautiful nation. I am on my way back from a busy week in Texas, and I thought I’d post my previous radio show recording where I introduce for the first time the concept of paleolithic nutrition. This is a movement that is gaining steam as there is a lot of scientific research that points towards a lifestyle and dietary approach that attempts to emulate the characteristics of our nutritional landscape before the advent of agriculture, which has been estimated to be about 10,000 years ago more or less. I am personally a big fan of this approach just from a health perspective, as this diet is the one that helps most people recover from the most debilitating illnesses, including autoimmune disease in all its various forms. It is a very nutrient dense diet, where animal protein/foods, vegetables and fruits are all allowed in abudance, and grains, legumes and dairy are excluded. Many people opt for a version of this diet, and modify to their personal needs. Many practitioners who work with autism are using this diet very well with their patients. Anyhow, tune in to hear more about how this diet was recently compared to the regular diabetic diet promoted by the American Diabetic Association, and how well it performed.
Also, I discuss how one man’s rising performance in the tennis world is coinciding with his recent change in diet to eliminate gluten. Furthermore, I discuss how mood is affected by our digestion, particularly by the composition of the bacteria that live there.
Hope you enjoy it, and I’ll include the show notes below. Have a safe weekend!
Ricardo

(click here =>) Gut Bacteria Linked to Behavior: That Anxiety May Be in Your Gut, Not in Your Head; The Diet That Shook Up Tennis? Gluten Making the Headlines; Paleolithic Diet Much Better for Diabetics than Conventional Diabetes Diet

The study, published in 2009 in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology [1]. In this study, 13 men and women with type 2 diabetes ate, on separate occasions, two different diets, each for three months. One diet was a typical ‘diabetes diet’, rich in carbobydrate. The other was a ‘primal’ or “Paleolithic’ diet based on foodstuff resembling those that humans ate prior to the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry some 10,000 years ago. Here are the details of these diets:

Diabetes Diet

The information on the Diabetes diet stated that it should aim at evenly distributed meals with increased intake of vegetables, root vegetables, dietary fiber, whole-grain bread and other whole-grain cereal products, fruits and berries, and decreased intake of total fat with more unsaturated fat. The majority of dietary energy should come from carbohydrates from foods naturally rich in carbohydrate and dietary fiber. The concepts of glycemic index and varied meals through meal planning by the Plate Model were explained. Salt intake was recommended to be kept below 6 g per day.

Paleolithic Diet

The information on the Paleolithic diet stated that it should be based on lean meat, fish, fruit, leafy and cruciferous vegetables, root vegetables, eggs and nuts, while excluding dairy products, cereal grains, beans, refined fats, sugar, candy, soft drinks, beer and extra addition of salt. The following items were recommended in limited amounts for the Paleolithic diet: eggs (?2 per day), nuts (preferentially walnuts), dried fruit, potatoes (?1 medium-sized per day), rapeseed or olive oil (?1 tablespoon per day), wine (?1 glass per day). The intake of other foods was not restricted and no advice was given with regard to proportions of food categories (e.g. animal versus plant foods). The evolutionary rationale for a Paleolithic diet and potential benefits were explained.

Compared to the diabetes diet, the Paleolithic diet led to individuals eating an average of about 300 calories less each day. This likely reflects the ability of primal, lower-carb diets to satisfy the appetite more effectively than ‘healthy’ diets richer in carbohydrate.

Overall, the Paleolithic diet brought improvements in a range of health measures and markers compared to the diabetes diet. Specifically:

• An additional 3 kg reduction in weight
• A reduction in triglyceride levels (high levels of triglyceride are linked with increased risk of cardiovascular disease)
• Reduced diastolic blood pressure (the lower of the two blood pressure readings)
• 4 cm reduction in waist circumference
• Lower levels of HbA1c (measure of blood sugar control over the preceding 3 months or so)
• Increased levels of HDL cholesterol (the form of cholesterol associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease)

In other words, the Paleolithic diet, compared to standard diatetic advice for diabetes, led to significant improvements in markers for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Some of these benefits might be related to the fact that, on the ‘Paleo’ diet, individuals ate less. But ate less of what? Daily consumption (in grams) of protein, carbohydrate and fat in the paleo diet and carbohydrate diet were:

Protein: 94 and 90
Carbohydrate: 125 and 196
Fat: 68 and 72

In other words, the Paleo diet contained a little more protein and a little less fat, but the major difference was a lot less carbohydrate.

There is a common notion that when individuals go ‘low-carb’, they end up eating a tonne of protein and fat. This study actually reflects what tends to happen in reality: individuals don’t end up doing that at all, they just eat less carbohydrate. And the typical results of this are, in this study, here for all to see.

References:

1. Jönsson T, et al. Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2009;8:35.

Embracing Health #60 – New Radio Post Talking About Life Extension, Protein and Alzheimer’s

Here’s a fresh new radio post that just aired today on WBCX, where I talked about a few interesting topics you might be interested.  First, some new technologies being created through stem cell research that can extend lifespan, and especially restore severe damage to organ systems.  Next, I discuss a recent research paper in Nutrition Journal where once again, we see that diets higher in protein, compared to high-fiber higher carbohydrates, are much better to drop body fat and improve blood pressure control.  Then, I talk about the recent guidelines that were released last month that help to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier, as it is becoming a serious threat to our economic health structures.  Tune in and click below to hear the rebroadcast.  Below that, I post the show notes for your reference.  Enjoy!

Ricardo

 Extreme Life Extending Technologies Are Around the Corner: Take a Peek into the Future of Medicine; More Data Supporting a High Protein Diet for Weight Loss Yielding Better Results, Including Better Blood Pressure Control; New Alzheimer’s Guidelines Stressing Early Diagnosis

 

David Kekich of Maximum Life Foundation

Dear Future Centenarian,

Do you remember how much you paid for your first digital watch, pocket calculator or mobile phone? It was probably a whole lot more than you pay for equivalents now, right? In fact, you can barely give away the products you paid so much for then. But you were the first kid on the block to own one, and you paid a premium price.

Extreme life extending technologies won’t be cheap when they are introduced either. And you can bet they’ll be a lot more than you would ever expect to pay for a cell phone. In fact, they most likely may only be affordable to the well off. Sure, prices will drop… and fairly rapidly. But what if you are at the age when you don’t have time to wait?

We will soon be entering the era in which money can buy significant amounts of additional healthy life. So saving for later years has never been more beneficial than it is now, and that benefit will grow rapidly.

We’re on the verge of ordering organs grown to replace those that are failing. Stem cell transplants that heal our age-damaged tissues are right around the corner. BioTime’s subsidiary ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc, will utilize its ReCyte™ technology to reverse the developmental aging of human cells. Then it will be used to generate embryonic vascular and blood progenitors from the ReCyte cell lines for therapeutic use in age-related vascular and blood disorders such as coronary disease and heart failure.

I’m thrilled to see this revolutionary stem cell therapy actually approaching the clinic. BioTime’s CEO, Dr. Michael West, can reset the telomere clock of aging in stem cells created from normal adult cells. And all of this is done without the use of embryos or cloning. ReCyte is forthrightly announcing it will cure conditions caused by normal human aging. This is truly revolutionary.

These new “pluripotent” stem cells, made from your own cells, are identical to embryonic stem cells in that they do not age and can be designed to become any cell type in your body. They can also be multiplied and stored indefinitely. Only when these cells have started down the path to their final cell state does the biological clock begin ticking.

ReCyte has announced it will begin banking individuals’ cells this year in preparation for regulatory approval. When ReCyte has enough of these cardiovascular repair cells (and regulatory approval in some legal jurisdiction), they will be given back to patients via transfusion. There will be no immune reaction, because they are your own cells. We know what they will do because you have lots of these cells already, though they are as old as you are. The new cells though, will be only weeks or months old biologically and will displace the older and less effective endothelial precursor cells.

Once in your body, your new rejuvenated stem cells will produce the various cells needed to replace old and damaged heart and vascular cells. These new cells will be vigorous, fully functioning, and youthful. In time, you will have, essentially, a new heart and vascular system – without surgery. The same technology can and will be used to rejuvenate your immune system.

These cells are inside you now. The actual mechanism of action, the replacement of aged cardiovascular cells with new cells, is taking place in your body even as you read this article. If it didn’t work, you would already be dead. BioTime is exploiting natural biological processes, but they will use rejuvenated versions of your own cells.

Until now, four out of ten of us were destined to die from age-related cardiovascular disease. If you’re one of them, your healthy life span will be extended significantly by endothelial precursor therapy. Initially, BioTime’s therapy will be expensive, but not as expensive as the cost of treating an end-stage heart condition. In time, most of the procedure will be roboticized. Costs will plummet.

Coming later, you’ll see artificial cells and engineered bacteria that scour our bodies for harmful levels of waste products in the elderly. Then, you’ll see artificial immune systems, much superior to what you have now, complete rejuvenation when the SENS program matures, and eventually, full-blown nanomedicine. That will give you tools you need to reverse aging, and to keep you from aging. You’ll be able to get everything from drugs, to bioimplants, to cell repair and enhancements, built atom by atom.

Which brings us back to money. As biotechnology advances, the more important money to pay for it becomes. Being self-sufficient and not depending on a broken healthcare system can save your life.

With each passing year, the amount of additional healthy life you could purchase increases. While that increase is comparatively gentle now, and the amount of extra life modest, both will become much larger in ten or twenty years.

Long Life,
David Kekich

Comparison of high protein and high fiber weight-loss diets in women with risk factors for the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial

Lisa A Te Morenga, Megan T Levers, Sheila M Williams, Rachel C Brown and Jim Mann

For all author emails, please log on.

Nutrition Journal 2011, 10:40 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-10-40

Published: 28 April 2011

Abstract (provisional)

Background

Studies have suggested that moderately high protein diets may be more appropriate than conventional low-fat high carbohydrate diets for individuals at risk of developing the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. However in most such studies sources of dietary carbohydrate may not have been appropriate and protein intakes may have been excessively high. Thus, in a proof-of-concept study we compared two relatively low-fat weight loss diets – one high in protein and the other high in fiber-rich, minimally processed cereals and legumes – to determine whether a relatively high protein diet has the potential to confer greater benefits.

Methods

Eighty-three overweight or obese women, 18-65 years, were randomized to either a moderately high protein (30% protein, 40% carbohydrate) diet (HP) or to a high fiber, relatively high carbohydrate (50% carbohydrate, >35g total dietary fiber, 20% protein) diet (HFib) for 8 weeks. Energy intakes were reduced by 2000 – 4000 kJ per day in order to achieve weight loss of between 0.5 and 1 kg per week.

Results

Participants on both diets lost weight (HP: -4.5 kg [95% confidence interval (CI):-3.7, -5.4 kg] and HFib: -3.3 kg [95% CI: -4.2, -2.4 kg]), and reduced total body fat (HP: -4.0 kg [5% CI:-4.6, -3.4 kg] and HFib: -2.5 kg [95% CI: -3.5, -1.6 kg]), and waist circumference (HP: -5.4 cm [95% CI: -6.3, -4.5 cm] and HFib: -4.7 cm [95% CI: -5.8, -3.6 cm]), as well as total and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose and blood pressure. However participants on HP lost more body weight (-1.3 kg [95% CI: -2.5, -0.1 kg; p=0.039]) and total body fat (-1.3 kg [95% CI: -2.4, -0.1; p=0.029]). Diastolic blood pressure decreased more on HP (-3.7 mm Hg [95% CI: -6.2, -1.1; p=0.005]).

Conclusions

A realistic high protein weight-reducing diet was associated with greater fat loss and lower blood pressure when compared with a high carbohydrate, high fiber diet in high risk overweight and obese women.

Larry King Returns to CNN for Alzheimer’s Special

May 2, 2011 — In his first CNN special since stepping down from his nightly talk show, Larry King discusses Alzheimer’s disease. The 1-hour special, called Unthinkable: The Alzheimer’s Epidemic, aired last night. It looked at who gets the disease and why, the race to find effective treatments, and a possible cure.

King hung up his suspenders in December, ending Larry King Live, the program he hosted for 25 years, but he was back again Sunday speaking with neurologists and celebrities affected by Alzheimer’s.

Larry King

King talked to Ronald Petersen, MD, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Petersen treated President Reagan. “If we don’t do something about Alzheimer’s disease right now, Alzheimer’s disease in and of itself may bankrupt the healthcare system,” he warned.

King also spoke with Jeffrey Cummings, MD, director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. They discussed how doctors are treating patients and what people can do to diminish their risk.

“It’s a progressive fatal disease,” King said during the special. “The number is expected to hit 16 million by 2050 — that’s an epidemic.”

“It’s an epidemic today,” Harry Johns, president of the Alzheimer’s Association, responded. “5.4 million people have the disease and there are 15 million caregivers. The heartbreak is so real for individuals and families and the cost to the country is expected to be 1.1 trillion by mid-century.”

Johns said the greatest researchers from around the world believe there are remedies for Alzheimer’s disease. “They’ve convinced me it can be done. The real question is when it will be done, not if. But if we don’t make those investments at the federal level in America soon, it will be too late for this boomer generation.”

In Maria Shriver’s first interview since the death of her father, Sargent, from Alzheimer’s, Shriver told King she’s concerned there is no national policy.

“I’m really adamant about finding a cure and getting policies in place to help caretakers. I call it a mind-blowing disease because not only does it blow the mind of the person who gets it, but it blows the mind of everybody who loves that person because it’s forever changing.”

Mind-Blowing

Shriver is the author of the children’s book, What’s Happening to Grandpa. “It’s very challenging to look at your father or your mother and have them not know who you are and have to introduce yourself to them over and over again,” Shriver said during the special. “Even though they look like your parent, they’re not your parent; they become really your child.”

King also spoke with Angie Dickinson whose late sister had Alzheimer’s. “It’s a long good bye, isn’t it?” King said.

“Yes, it is,” Dickinson said. “It was horrible to watch her be afflicted.” Dickinson said she is skeptical there will ever be a cure for Alzheimer’s. “I think they will definitely find something to slow it down,” she noted.

For families in the throes of the disease with someone they love, Dickinson recommended, “Love them and I don’t mean just love them with your soul and your head, but with your arms and your company and your touch and whatever pleasure still might be there for them, and don’t ever let up,” she said.

While promoting the special to HLN’s Dr. Drew Pinsky, King said he asked Dr. Paul Dudley White, the first cardiologist in America, in the first recognized medical specialty, if he were starting again today, what specialty he would choose. Dr. White, who treated President Eisenhower, said he’d choose neurology “because the brain is today what the heart was 50 years ago.”

Dr. Pinsky, also known for his show Celebrity Rehab, said he agrees. “It’s the century of the brain. We just had the decade of the brain and now people are really realizing there’s a lot more.”

The special will re-air Saturday, May 7, at 8 pm ET/PT.

 

 

New Alzheimer’s Guidelines Stress Early Diagnosis

Spinal Fluid, Imaging Tests Still Experimental but May Confirm Early Alzheimer’s

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

April 19, 2011 — Alzheimer’s disease should be diagnosed early, before a person develops severe, late-stage dementia, new guidelines suggest.

It’s been 27 years since guidelines for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease were laid out. Since 1984, research has shown Alzheimer’s to be a disease that begins decades before dementia appears.

Now panels from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association have split Alzheimer’s disease into three stages:

• Dementia, including mental impairments not as severe as those previously required for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
• Mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease. This new category of Alzheimer’s disease includes patients with changes in memory and thinking ability that do not keep them from performing everyday functions, but which strongly suggest that a patient will develop Alzheimer’s dementia.
• Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. The new guidelines recognize that the Alzheimer’s disease process begins before there are any symptoms. But for now, there aren’t good enough tests to tell whether a person has this stage of Alzheimer’s.

Perhaps the biggest change is the way doctors will diagnose Alzheimer’s dementia, says Gary Kennedy, MD. Kennedy, a geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, was not a member of the guideline-writing committees.

“The real new component here is you need not have memory impairment to have Alzheimer’s dementia. They are ratcheting down the dementia criteria,” Kennedy tells WebMD. “If you’re having trouble making plans, have problems adapting to changes in your environment, or have lapses that impair your social involvement with others, you may have Alzheimer’s disease even if your memory is not so bad.”

Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s

Diagnosis of Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Also new is that the guidelines assume it is possible to identify people with mild cognitive impairment whose worsening symptoms likely reflect an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

The criteria for diagnosing mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease are:

• Concern expressed by a patient, family member, friend, or doctor, about a change in mental function: specifically, memory, reasoning/problem solving, language ability, visual/spatial skills, or ability to pay attention.
• Objective evidence, usually test results, showing that a patient has one or more of these changes in mental function.
• The person is still independent and able to carry out everyday functions.
• The person is not demented.

“‘Mild’ here means you are not socially impaired, but it does imply you know there is a problem, and your family and friends notice a problem,” Kennedy says.

The problem, of course, is that many people with mild cognitive impairment deny there is a problem.

“So the criteria need refinement,” Kennedy says. “This is more of a provisional diagnosis. That is why the guidelines put an emphasis on biomarkers — signposts that dementia may be down the road.”

Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease

Biomarkers are tests that detect a disease process. Examples are tests of cholesterol levels to predict heart disease risk or blood sugar tests to predict diabetes.

Biomarkers are being developed for Alzheimer’s disease, but the guidelines stress that they are not yet ready for clinical use except in certain well-defined situations.

There are several Alzheimer’s biomarkers being explored, but two basic types are in the most advanced stages of development:

• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test. A protein called beta-amyloid begins to accumulate in the brain even in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. When this happens, beta-amyloid levels drop in the CSF. Tests of CSF, collected by a spinal tap, measure beta-amyloid levels.
• Imaging tests such as PET scans, SPECT perfusion imaging, and even MRI scans can detect beta-amyloid accumulation or markers of brain injury typical of Alzheimer’s disease.

The new guidelines stress that none of these tests have been fully validated and that there are no cutoff levels that clearly distinguish normal people from those who have Alzheimer’s.

Nevertheless, the guidelines suggest that for some patients with mild cognitive impairment suggestive of Alzheimer’s disease, biomarker tests “would affect levels of certainty in the diagnosis.”

Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease

There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, so why the emphasis on early detection? Kennedy says the earlier you detect possible Alzheimer’s, the more you can do about it.

“Ten years ago we said there was no treatment for Alzheimer’s. That isn’t true now,” he says. “We can’t cure it, but just like diabetes, we can delay the illness and disability associated with it. I counsel patients to be aggressive about diet and exercise, to take the medications they need for other conditions, and to stay intellectually engaged.”

The new Alzheimer’s guidelines appear in the April 19 online issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

5 Motivation Myths Debunked

When it comes to making great changes in our lives, there is so much more required than simply the power of our WILL.  Don’t get me wrong, willpower, defined as the strength to act or to refrain from acting in the pursuit of a goal, is absolutely essential in creating the changes that lead us towards acquiring that goal, whatever that goal may be.  Learning a new language, landing a new job, starting a new semester in school, overcoming an illness - all require proper attention and focus sustained over time if we are to be successful.  The question I would like to pose today is, when it comes to changing our health for the better by consistently eating right, resting right, exercising right – why is this one of the most difficult things to accomplish?  Where great self-discipline and self-control are easy to exert in other areas – maybe it’s a no-brainer for us to avoid getting to work late or to clean up the dirty dishes at the end of the day – when it comes to diet, there is so much more at work in our physiology from hormones to brain chemistry that help shape our behaviors.  Truly, a comprehensive plan for losing weight has to take into account not only our physiology, but the psychology as well.  I posted an article before on the interplay between these two aspects (click here).  Most of my seminars I’ve provided to date have to do with the physiology behind our health concerns, and though it is an absolutely critical part towards having success, I know it is only half the story.

I came across an article today that I’d like to share with your that I found to be wonderful in providing some key points in helping to shape our psychology for long-term success.  It goes along just nicely in what we have been instructing here at the Spa on Green Street/Body Sanctuary, where weight loss is so much more than calories in vs. calories out.  Enjoy the article and let me know if you have any questions/comments!

Ricardo

 Calories in, calories out-in theory, losing weight should be that simple. But we’re going to venture a guess that the reason two thirds of Americans are classified as overweight or obese isn’t because they can’t do basic math. Age, genetics, hormones, and the big one-a lack of will power-better explain the disconnect between wanting to lose weight and actually doing it.

 © 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com

New Radio Show Post – Stress, Toxins and Grass-fed Meat and Dairy

Hi Folks!  New radio show post is up —- I am going to be putting up all new shows on our blog, and some of the prior ones that I think will be of interest to you.  All you need to do is click on the link and you can listen to the episode.   On this current episode of Embracing Health, I discuss how circadian rhythms and sleep are involved in the stress response and how it impairs glucose metabolism; also, more evidence of how chemicals impact our health, and in this research report, how it plays into congenital heart disease; and finally, I weigh in on the benefits of grass-fed animal products in our diet.

Below are some of the show notes to the section for your further interest.  Enjoy the show and savor the weekend!

5.06.11

“Stress Predicts Development of Impaired Glucose Metabolism; Fetal Exposure to Environmental Contaminants May Underlie Congenital Heart Disease; Why Choose Grass-fed? Weighing in on the Environmental, Ethical and Nutritional Considerations of Grass-fed Beef and Dairy “

Grass-Fed Basics

by Jo Robinson

Back to Pasture. Since the late 1990s, a growing number of ranchers have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots to be fattened on grain, soy and other supplements.  Instead, they are keeping their animals home on the range where they forage on pasture, their native diet. These new-age ranchers do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural pace. For these reasons and more, grass-fed animals live low-stress lives and are so healthy there is no reason to treat them with antibiotics or other drugs.

More Nutritious. A major benefit of raising animals on pasture is that their products are healthier for you. For example, compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and goats has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA.  Read more about the nutritional benefits of raising animals on pasture.

The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to a feedlot. For example, in order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, the cattle need to forage on high-quality grasses and legumes, especially in the months prior to slaughter. Providing this nutritious and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many pasture-based ranchers refer to themselves as “grassfarmers” rather than “ranchers.”  They raise great grass; the animals do all the rest.

Factory Farming. Raising animals on pasture is dramatically different from the status quo. Virtually all the meat, eggs, and dairy products that you find in the supermarket come from animals raised in confinement in large facilities called CAFOs or “Confined Animal Feeding Operations.”  These highly mechanized operations provide a year-round supply of food at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and convenient, there is growing recognition that factory farming creates a host of problems, including:
• Animal stress and abuse
• Air, land, and water pollution
• The unnecessary use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Low-paid, stressful farm work
• The loss of small family farms
• Food with less nutritional value.

Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main ingredients are genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at artificially low prices by government subsidies. To further cut costs, the feed may also contain “by-product feedstuff” such as municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Until 1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores. This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of BSE or “mad cow disease.”

Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are switched from pasture to grain, they can become afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful condition called “subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious and sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant to them. When people become infected with these new, disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to treat them.

Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese.  Most of the nation’s chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an even worse fate than the grazing animals. Tightly packed into cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages that are so small that there is not enough room for all of the birds to sit down at one time. An added insult is that they cannot escape the stench of their own manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.

Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or cages, they deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be collected and transported away from the area, an expensive proposition. To cut costs, it is dumped as close to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water pollution. When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure is spread over a wide area of land, making it a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.” Read more about the environmental differences between factory farming and grass-based production.

The Healthiest Choice. When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals, helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

© 2010 by Jo Robinson