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Appendices: Article, Fad Diet Fiascos
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- Appendices: Talk, Fad Diet Hype
Appendices: Article, Fad Diet Fiascos(Written for the Ithaca Health Alliance newsletter Dec. 2008.) Let’s examine the pros and cons of popular diets, and then create one that supports robust health and healing. The plethora of diets that Americans have tried for the last few decades fit into two broad categories: high fat or high carbohydrate. 
Fig. 1 This graph shows cancer being turned on and off, and on-off again in the same rats, depending on whether 20% or 5% of kilocalories fed to the rats consisted of the milk protein casein, and following exposure to a carcinogen. The graph was taken from a slide deck available free from www.climatehealth.net/SlidesHealthPresentation.html. This slide and several others were donated by T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., co-author of China Study, www.tcolincampbell.org. (Data are from Youngman LD and Campbell TC, J. Nutr.,1991;121:1454–61, Nutrition and Cancer,1992;18(2):131-42.) Side effects develop with the high fat Atkins or Zone diet for many reasons: 1) the heart is stressed as arteries harden with saturated fat and cholesterol, 2) sexual impotence worsens as hardened arteries restrict flow to organs, 3) high animal protein tends to promote cancer cell growth and reproduction (see Fig. 1), 4) osteoporosis worsens because the high sulfur content of any animal protein can result in acidic byproducts being buffered by drawing alkaline calcium phosphate from bones, also an effect of ingesting milk protein 5) a diet consisting of so few carbohydrates fails to energize the brain, with the potential result of grogginess, 6) the kidneys are stressed by processing ammonia from high protein, 7) constipation worsens due to lack of fiber, 8) ketones formed by metabolizing fat produce date-destroying halitosis, “rotten-apple” breath. With the high fat diet, weight loss may occur when water is initially drawn from tissues to dilute toxic metabolites and hydrolyze carbohydrate stores, which is not a long-term benefit. Also ketones reduce appetite, so that on average a person usually eats fewer calories. Because weight gain often recurs on returning to a conventional diet, all of the associated side effects of the diet may have been suffered in vain. On the other hand, the high carbohydrate diet is often practiced as a diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in fiber. With a low fiber diet, the stomach generally becomes full only after eating too many calories. The high glycemic index of refined carbohydrates increases blood sugar levels, along with the risk of type II diabetes. Excessive circulating insulin amplifies appetite as well as cholesterol. If any weight is lost, it often returns with a vengeance after resuming a conventional diet. My primary credential for writing about a healthy diet is in having lost 50 pounds, then keeping the weight off. Here’s how I did it. The American Cancer Society guidelines emphasize plant-based foods. I insert “unrefined” into the description because fibrous, high nutrient foods can satisfy appetite without the ingestion of too many calories. This diet also provides the phytonutrients missing from refined foods. For example, even olive oil is a junk food because it doesn't contain the phytonutrients and fiber in the olives. One can limit fat intake to 20% of calories by eating the filling olives instead of oil, which comes at a high cost of 120 kilocalories per tablespoon. Instead of oily salad dressing, try vinegar and olives to get the phytonutrients missing from the oil. You can soak olives to reduce salt. Another good dressing is a water-based sauce plus chopped walnuts. Include carbohydrates to stimulate production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, shown to alleviate stress and reduce appetite. Eat moderate amounts of a wide variety of unrefined plant-based foods. For robust long-term health, limit animal-sourced foods to condiment-sized portions, if any. And supplement your diet with the crucial vitamin B12. For more useful tips on eating a healthy weight-loss diet, see the summary in the introduction of my free ebook, Healthspan. The book was written as a public service and is available linked from SylvesterJohnson.com. After eating the maintenance version of this diet for many years, I’ve found that a healthy side effect is that I hardly ever get sick. I want your healthspan be robust and lengthy, too! A few words of caution: for those who take insulin, less may be needed as your diet improves. The insulin sensitivity of cells may increase, which is good, but maintaining the same dose of insulin can result in a low blood sugar crisis, otherwise known as a hypoglycemic reaction. And anyone taking cardiotonic or antihypertensive medication needs to know that blood pressure can drop as vasculature becomes more elastic, thus requiring a lower dose of medication. It’s safest to improve your diet under the supervision of a health professional. Appendices: Talk, Fad Diet HypeWelcome. I’m Sylvester. Today we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of popular diets and create one that supports robust health and healing. These are organic walnuts that I’m going to pass around for people to sample. They haven’t been seasoned, but at home you can season them or eat them with fruit. Their main calories are in good fats, with nine halves equal to the calories in one tablespoon of any oil, which shows how calorie-dense oil is. That’s because oil’s a refined food, lacking all the good fibers and protein in nuts. Which would be more filling, nine walnut halves or one tablespoon of oil? To maintain or lose weight, and benefit from the broad range nutrients in foods, eat more filling whole foods, not refined. BTW, conventional walnuts may have been fumigated, so it’s important to get organic (www.living-foods.com/articles/nuts.html). Although I’ve been reading about alternative health for over 30 years and certified as a Health Educator, my main credentials are losing 50 pounds in a healthy way and keeping the weight off. [Shows before/after picture.] And a side effect of this diet is hardly ever getting sick. A key turning point was quitting all milk products. The extra calories that they add make it very difficult to consume fewer calories than one uses. This handout that’s your copy lists all the references of web addresses for this packet of handouts that detail the scientific references supporting the statements that I’ll make. I can email the packet to you. My email is on the handout that you keep. The plethora of diets that Americans have been trying for the last decades fit into two broad categories (please see table). Addictive lifestyle: irritating the nervous system with acid-forming foods and drink rather than soothing with alkaline-forming, focusing on the outer, material world to the exclusion of the inner, meditation, balancing. Breaking the Food Seduction by Neil D. Barnard, MD. The AA 12 Step program may prove useful for dealing with a food addiction. One might be overeating because one’s not getting enough vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients from the SAD diet. The body craves ever more food in a desperate search for micronutrients. For those using insulin, less may be needed as one’s diet improves, emphasizing veggies while paying special attention to the glycemic indices of refined foods if any are consumed. Insulin sensitivity of cells may increase, which is good, but maintaining the same dose of insulin may result in a low blood sugar crisis, a hypoglycemic reaction. Also, blood pressure may drop as vasculature becomes more elastic, necessitating diminution of medication for high blood pressure (www.DrFuhrman.com). It’s safest to take steps to change the diet to an optimal dietary approach under supervision of a health professional.
Handout for the talk “Fad Diet Hype versus Fun Diet Health”
Moderate fat, moderate protein, high complex (fibrous) carbohydrates: *Refined foods=dense calories, lower nutrient density, more cravings. Eat a variety of whole, unrefined plant-based foods, whether cooked or raw: the fibrous, high nutrient foods can fill and satisfy you before getting too many calories. “Unrefined” means cutting the five “Whites” - refined sugar and flour, alcohol, oils, most animal products-red and white-, and eliminating milk products (constipation++), including cheese. Even fruit juice is refined, since it’s no longer complexed with fiber. The definition of junk food is “nutrient–poor refined food”. Even olive oil is a junk food, although touted for its monounsaturated fatty acids. However, those fatty acids are also in unrefined olives and avocados, along with the fibers and multiple phytonutrients missing from the oil. Since oils contain 120 kilocalories per tablespoon, avoiding them makes it easier to fine-tune one’s weight. The bulky fibers of the unrefined food are more filling than the oil. Instead of salad dressing, how about chopped olives or avocado? *The World Health Organization recommends 30 grams of protein daily. If one can’t eat high protein legumes or if they aren’t convenient, then one could make sure to get the 30 grams total by adding say 10 grams of protein from vegan rice protein powder daily, or perhaps include a deck of cards worth (three ounces) of sardines 3 times a week. However the vegan approach avoids the environmental poisons such as PCBs concentrated in all animal-based foods. *Supplement B12 or B complex, D, DHA, and minerals as needed. (DHA is not the hormone DHEA.) The B vitamins are essential for a healthy nervous system and alleviating addictions. (Please see www.DrGreger.org for brief articles regarding possible supplements.) *All pros, no cons: To lose weight, eat all the bulky, fibrous, filling, nutrient-rich, calorie-sparse green veggies you want. The fibers reduce appetite. Green means chlorophyll, with its “porphyrin ring” identical to the ring in hemoglobin, and phytonutrients. *Use water-based sauces (lemon juicesalty savor, tomato paste) or no sauce, since refined oil= extremely high calorie density. The same amount of calories is in one tablespoon of oil as in 8 large walnut halves. Which is more filling? For weight loss, limit fatty foods to say 20% of calories, including 2 tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed (dedicate a small coffee grinder to it), and olives or half an avocado (guacamole without mayonnaise). *For carbohydrates that reduce appetite, how about orange sweet potatoes without oil, other colorful root vegetables like carrots (color=phytonutrients), and soaked, rinsed, whole grains boiled until fluffy (or Ezekiel, Manna bread) plus colorful fruit, all as much organic food as possible. *Caffeine stimulates appetite. *Limit NaCl salt to at most 1/4 teaspoon daily (shaker); salt stimulates appetite among other effects; beware processed foods. *Zero trans fatty acids. *Instead of dessert, a cup of herbal tea can provide a sense of closure. *A larger variety of flavors and dishes in a meal stimulates appetite, such as more than 2 or 3 flavors (out of the full range of flavors, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, savory). *Chew food well for the stomach has no teeth. *Exercise, even walking for ten minutes, increases metabolic rate for hours afterwards, increasing calorie usage. Exercise also increases endorphins, the feel good hormones that counter irritation. Lose weight; get fiber and phytonutrients; support robust health and healing. *Bonus: Eating foods that germs hate and the immune system loves, helping to fight off infectious disorders. *These points summarize much of what’s taught at alternative health spas like Kushi, Pritikin and Hippocrates, at considerable expense. Handout for the talk “Fad Diet Hype versus Fun Diet Health” Dear Friends, The book Breaking the Food Seduction by Neil D. Barnard, MD (ISBN 0-312-31493-0) shows how to escape the trap of foods such as sugar, cheese and chocolate with a chapter focused on how hormone fluctuations set you up for bingeing, as well as several chapters on the biochemical reasons for various foods’ addictive potentials. The following also detail a dietary approach that provides gustatory satisfaction while arriving at an ideal weight. Book: The optimal Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman MD (www.DrFuhrman.com ISBN 0-316-82945-5), possibly The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart by John McDougall, MD ISBN0-452-27266-1, DVD set: McDougall’s Medicine: Fighting the Big Fat Lies with Fad-Free Truth www.DrMcDougall.com. Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch MD. “Stopping Cancer Before it Starts” by Michael Greger MD (www.DrGreger.org), and “Plant-Based Sources for Key Nutrients”, and “Recommendations for Optimum Vegan Nutrition”. Gives supplement recommendations. Vegans are wimps! Tell that to professional Ironman Triathlete Brendan Brazier, author of Thrive: A Guide to Optimal Health and Performance Through Plant-Based Whole Foods (www.brendanbrazier.com, www.vegsource.com/heidrich), or to Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D., author of A Race for Life (ISBN: 0-9604190-2-0). Can’t do without the convenience of burger and fries? How about after reading “What’s in the Meat” in Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation? (Ch.9, ISBN 0-06-093845-5). My free book Healthspan on health controversies as well as lesser known startling issues is available for download from www.climatehealth.net. The book only occupies about a megabyte of disk space. I wrote this book as a voluntary community service. No personal income is expected or desired. I have no business association with the author or publisher of any of the books mentioned, nor with any of the suppliers.
The contents of Healthspan include: Fad diet hype, Dairy dubious for health, Curing the common cold and other acute infections, flu, Reversing advanced clinical disorders, Vegan B12 bliss? Not., Outstanding Omegas, Back sore?, Acid-alkali balance, and Medications: better living through chemistry?, and other topics. The book should come up in 2 side by side columns in Print Layout view in microsoft word formatted into full size pages and ready to print. Enjoy! If you would like to discuss any points in Healthspan or other health issues, please let me know. My educational background includes: Health Educator (certified by Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida, but independent, not receiving any compensation from Hippocrates), PhD Applied Physics (Cornell), BSc Accounting (Villanova). Hope you're having a great day! Best regards, Sylvester SylvesterJohnson.com Download 0.98 Mb. Share with your friends:
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