Are Grains Healthy?

While books and websites have demonized grains in every form, the scientific literature does not support this belief.  Indeed, in study after study, grains can be healthy provided they are real whole grains.  Real whole grains are high in fiber and are not processed.

Processed grains, on the other hand, are really just sugar.  It's also pretty clear that processed grains are responsible for much of the obesity crisis, as well as the epidemic of atrial fibrillation, heart failure and diabetes that I see in my cardiology practice every day.

Everyone Loves Processed Grains

After a five hour winding five hour bus ride through the thick mountain foliage of southwest China, not far from the Vietnam border, we met Fang. When our family arrived it was after midnight and we were in the middle of a torrential downpour.

His was the last taxi and he agreed to take us the last hour of the journey to China's Longevity Village.  As part of our conversation, he shared with me that he grew up in China's Longevity Village and then moved to Bama city as an adult to find work.

Growing up, the only grains he ate was brown rice and whole wheat that was not yet pulverized into flour.  Because this remote village lacked the industrial machinery to process rice and wheat, he had no choice but to eat real whole grains.

Over time, China's economic miracle made its way to even this remote corner of China.  With economic prosperity also came white rice and white wheat flour.  Fang, like almost everyone else in China, enthusiastically embraced this change.

With processed grains has also come a diabetes, obesity, and heart disease epidemic in China.  Fang was not exempt.  He now had a belly that extended well beyond his belt and he looked nothing like the lean Chinese still living the traditional lifestyle in the village.

4 Things to Know About Grains

Every day patients ask me, "are grains healthy?"  As there is so much confusion about grains, below are four important things to know about grains.

1. Are grains healthy?

The answer to are grains healthy is simple, it depends.  If it is a processed grain, stripped of fiber, then it is really nothing more than sugar.

Sugar, whether it comes from white crystals, high fructose corn syrup,  or processed grains has the same effect to the body.  Metabolism is altered, the gut flora changes, and inflammation is ignited with resulting obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

On the other hand, real whole grains, or those grains which are high in fiber and look like the plant they came from, may protect you from obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  Indeed, studies show that real whole grains may even be protective against cancer.

In a Harvard University study of 367,442 people followed for 14 years, those who ate the most whole grains were 17% more likely to still be alive, 21% less likely to die from heart disease, 15% less likely to get cancer, and had 34% less diabetes.

These Harvard researchers concluded that it was the fiber in whole grains that is protective.  Fiber reduces inflammation, helps to create a healthy gut flora, and has many other health benefits including blood pressure and cholesterol lowering.

2. Do grains cause weight gain?

The reason why most people gain weight from grains is because most people eat the fiber-less processed grains.  In another Harvard study, researchers studied 173,230 people for as long as 25 years, to understand the effect of grains on body weight.

These Harvard researchers found that for every extra serving of processed grains you average daily, your weight goes up 0.14 pounds per year.  While this doesn't seem like much, it can quickly add up.

For example, eating cereal for breakfast, a sandwich on white bread for lunch, and a roll at dinner on most days would cause you to gain a pound a year.  For an adult, that works out to be a 45 pound weight gain by age 65!

On the other hand,

6 Protein Sources that May Shorten Your Life

Not all protein sources are the same when it comes to longevity.  In this article, I review a recent Harvard University study which reported that 6 protein sources could shorten your life.

Jin's Experience

On our last trip to China's Longevity Village, I met Jin.  It was a hot summer night in Southwest China and the entire village had come together to prepare for a wedding.  As part of this wedding preparation, we had the honor of being the guests of the district mayor.

Shortly after arriving, a man in his 30's called for me to sit next to him.  As he was in charge of making the tofu, and I was eager to learn how to make tofu, I sat down next to him.

"Are you American?" Jin said in Chinese.

"Yes," I replied back in Chinese.  "Have you always lived here?" I asked.

"No.  I grew up in the village but then moved to Guangdong for work.  I recently retuned for health reasons," he said.

Jin, like most younger men in this part of China, left their rural villages for the higher paying jobs in the big Chinese cities.  In Guangdong he had cash and could afford the things he never experienced as a child.

His favorite indulgence was Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC.  He went from meat being a special treat on perhaps just one day of the week to lots of meat with every meal.

While he didn't notice much at first, little by little his health declined.  Seven years after leaving the Village, he was fatigued and also started developing chest pains and shortness of breath.

His parents urged him to return to the village to recover.  After much pleading, he gave in and left his higher paying big city job.  Within just three months of returning home, his health was restored.

Do protein sources affect health?

The cardiologist side of me couldn't help but to analyze his experience.  It goes without mention that life in rural China is vastly different than the high stress, big polluted cities of China.

In addition to the village versus city life, he had also traded a mostly vegetable based diet for a mostly meat based diet.  As I made tofu with him that night, I couldn't help but wonder if the vegetable protein sources protected him in a way that the meat protein sources couldn't.

The Harvard Protein Study

With the growing popularity of high protein, low carb diets, Harvard researchers wanted to know if how you got your protein mattered.  To find out, they studied 131,342 doctors and nurses for up to 32 years.

This Harvard study asked a simple question, what would happen if you just replaced one serving daily of meat or dairy with a plant-based protein.  In other words, would it matter if say you replaced one serving of say bacon with protein from a serving of vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, or seeds.

6 Protein Sources that May Shorten Your Life

After carefully analyzing the data from these 131,000 doctors and nurses, Harvard researchers found that how you get your protein may determine your lifespan.  In particular, replacing one serving daily of the following 6 protein sources with plant-based protein sources could significantly lengthen your life.

1. Replacing 1 serving of processed red meat: 34% longer life

2. Replacing 1 serving of eggs: 19% longer life

3. Replacing 1 serving of unprocessed red meat: 12% longer life

4. Replacing 1 serving of dairy: 8% longer life

5. Replacing 1 serving of poultry: 6% longer life

6. Replacing 1 serving of fish: 6% longer life

It goes without saying that if you substitute processed foods for meat and dairy, your health will suffer.  To gain any possible health benefit, all substitutions need to be with unprocessed whole foods, like vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, or seeds.

Protein Sources Don't Matter for Some People

For some people in this study, protein source didn't affect their longevity.  Interestingly, these Harvard researchers found that only people with risk factors for heart disease benefited from...

3 Ways to Lower Cholesterol: Better than Drugs

Half of all Americans need to lower cholesterol.  Of these people, most should be on a "statin" drug to lower cholesterol according to the American Heart Association.

This recommendation comes despite the fact that "statins," may increase your risk of diabetes by 46%, may cause memory loss, may increase coronary artery calcification, and can damage your muscles.

Cholesterol is just one of many risk factors for heart disease.  Fortunately, there are better ways to lower cholesterol.  In this article, I share the three best ways to lower cholesterol naturally.

My Bad Cholesterol Gene

I was not born with the low cholesterol gene.  Even worse, I inherited one copy of the ApoE4 gene.  Sadly, one in four Americans also have at least one copy of this ApoE4 gene as well.

The ApoE4 gene not only controls cholesterol levels but is also the Alzheimer's Disease gene.  Thus, people with this gene are at high risk for an elevated cholesterol and Alzheimer's Disease.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that when I was on a sugar, processed foods, meat, and dairy diet, my cholesterol was high.  In fact, at one point my total cholesterol was 211 mg/dL.

My First Attempt to Lower Cholesterol

As a cardiologist, I knew I had to lower cholesterol.  Not wanting to make any changes to my lifestyle, I put myself on the most popular statin drug, atorvastatin (Lipitor).

Within a week or two of starting this drug, I tore my gastrocnemius muscle (calf muscle) while playing basketball.  While it could have been a "coincidence," it didn't seem like one to me.

Fearing it was a side effect of the drug, I immediately stopped atorvastatin.  I reasoned that it was better to risk a heart attack than give up playing basketball.  Interestingly, the only muscle tear in my life was during the one to two weeks I was on atorvastatin.

How I Dropped My Total Cholesterol from 211 to 118

For the next seven to eight years, I basically just ignored my cholesterol.  I knew it was high but didn't want to think about it.

As part of my health turn around a few years ago, processed foods, sugar, and dairy were all but eliminated.  Other than an occasional wild fish, everything had to be real food high in fiber.

It was basically the ultra high fiber version of the traditional Mediterranean Diet.  Almost immediately, my  cholesterol dropped. Without even a single medicine, it went from 211 to 118.

Lifestyle vs. Genes

While we all have "bad genes," fortunately lifestyle trumps genes.  Indeed, studies show that only about 20% of our health, happiness, and longevity is determined by our genes.  The other 80% is entirely from the little health decisions you make every day.

The Nigerian Paradox

This finding that lifestyle beats out genes could explain the Nigerian Paradox.  The Nigerians are known to have the highest rates of the ApoE4 gene but yet also have very low cholesterol.

How can this be?

The answer comes from their lifestyle.  At the time of this study in 1989, the Nigerians were still physically active and ate a mostly plant-based real food diet.  Interestingly, studies show that not only was their cholesterol low but heart disease and Alzheimer's Disease were also incredibly rare.

Studies show that even in nearby Uganda, heart disease is virtually nonexistent.  To prove this, researchers had to autopsy the hearts of 1,427 older adults, to even find one person with a mild case of heart disease.

Sadly, once Africans with the ApoE4 gene emigrate to the U.S., and adopt a Western lifestyle, everything changes.  Their cholesterol shoots up and heart disease and Alzheimer's Disease soon follow.

The Confusion About Cholesterol

While there is a lot of confusion on the Internet about cholesterol, if you look at the scientific literature there is no confusion.  Cholesterol is an important risk factor for heart disease.

However, not every heart attack comes from a cholesterol plaque.

The Top 3 Benefits and Risks of Raw Foods

Raw foods can be a great way to boost nutrition, lose weight, and eat more naturally.  In fact, I would probably see far less cardiovascular disease in my practice if people ate more of the right kinds of raw foods.  Perhaps this explains the growing popularity of "eating raw."

In this article, I'll cut through the hype and focus on what the science tells us.  Read on to discover the top three benefits and risks of raw foods based on the latest medical studies.

My Raw Food Journey

At one point in my life, the closest I ever came to raw foods was an occasional bag of carrots or the standard dinner salad. In fact, raw versus cooked was something that was never even on my radar screen.

Since my health turn around a few years ago, I now eat raw foods every day.  While you won't find me drinking unpasteurized milk or eating raw meat, you will find me eating a heaping salad or munching on raw vegetables.

Personally, I don't take sides in the raw versus cooked debate.  As there are benefits to both, I enjoy the best of both worlds.

Top 3 Benefits of Raw Foods

Raw foodists believe that cooking destroys the enzymes and nutrients in food.  After reviewing the medical literature, here are my top 3 benefits of raw foods.

1. More of Some Nutrients

It should come as no surprise that cooking changes the digestibility of foods.  Some nutrients are better absorbed raw and others by cooking.

For example, raw vegetables have more carotenoids, vitamin C, plant proteins, and other key nutrients.  If you like your veggies cooked, but want to maintain the nutrients, studies show that lightly steaming is best.

Raw meat may also make some proteins easier to digest.  With dairy, pasteurization, which is a form of cooking, has been reported to increase food allergies in some studies.  However, these studies are adamantly refuted by the FDA.

While enzymes are certainly deactivated by cooking meat and dairy, I could find no clear evidence that this has any detrimental effect to human health.  This is probably because even if you eat raw meat and dairy, few enzymes can survive the hydrochloric acid in your stomach.

2. Weight Loss

The more raw vegetables you eat the less you will weigh.  In fact, studies show that the main challenge with the raw vegan diet is that you simply can't get enough calories.

While the 100% raw vegan diet certainly presents many health risks, simply eating more raw vegetables every day will likely improve your health, extend your life, and shrink your waistline.  In contrast, eating raw meat or unpasteurized dairy does not cause weight loss.

Raw vegetables are so low in calories that I suspect you could eat a wheelbarrow full every day and still lose weight.  Of course, if you smother your raw veggies with ranch dressing then you have completely undone any potential health or weight loss benefit.

3. Potentially Lower Cancer Risk

It is well known that overcooked meat, or even toast, may create carcinogenic substances.  For example, studies show that overcooked meat creates heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which may increase your cancer risk.

Burned toast, or over cooked carbohydrates, create acrylamide.  Studies show that acrylamide may also increase your risk of cancer.

Of course, the simple answer is don't eat burned or charred foods.  As long as you don't overcook anything, you should be fine.

Top 3 Risks of Raw Foods

1. Food Poisoning

By far, the number one risk of eating raw foods is food poisoning.  This is something you hear about every week in the news.

The main offender is salmonella.  However, it could also be norovirus on a cruise ship, E. coli from the intestines of people or animals, or other nasty bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

According to the CDC, the number one cause of food poisoning in the U.S. is from raw milk.  The reason why this occurs is because milk may come in contact with cow feces,

5 Things Multitasking Does To Your Brain

I had no idea what multitasking does to your brain until I did the unimaginable...I accidently dropped my iPhone into the toilet last weekend.

It was literally a race against time to prevent irreversible water damage.  I quickly fished my iPhone out of the toilet with my hand, powered it off, dried every aspect of the phone, and waited for the inner components to dry.

Life without Multitasking

For an entire weekend I was without my iPhone.  I had to wait for everything to dry.  If I was even tempted to turn it on, the inner electronics would likely be forever destroyed.

Once I got beyond the initial frustration of dropping my iPhone into the toilet, I started tuning in more to my family.  No one could call or text me.  Nor was I be tempted to check email or something on the Internet while I was with my children.  For an entire weekend, I didn’t multitask.

It was kind of nice.  Sort of like a vacation.

Without my smartphone gone, I stopped multitasking.  I was even less stressed.  My thinking was clearer and I was more tuned in to the real world around me.

The 5 Things Multitasking Does to Your Brain

This iPhone experience caused me to reflect what multitasking does to your brain.  Based on my review of the latest scientific research, here are the 5 things multitasking does to your brain.

1. Your Brain Works More Slowly

While most people are convinced that multitasking speeds things up, studies clearly show that multitasking actually slows cognitive performance.  Even when researchers study those who are recognized as excellent multitaskers, the brain still slows down.

Why is this the case?  When you are multitasking your brain is constantly shifting from one mental task to another.  Each time this occurs it takes time for the brain to reset and focus on a new task.

2. Your Memory Isn't as Sharp

If slower cognitive function wasn't bad enough, studies also show that multitasking makes it harder to retain new information.  In other words, the more you multitask, the less you will remember.

This is something you have probably experienced.  For example, how well do you remember the conversation you recently had while you were texting on your phone, surfing the web, or watching TV?

3. You Are Easily Distracted

This should come as no surprise.  Studies show that multitaskers are easily distracted.

According to these studies, not only are multitaskers easily distracted but they also have difficulties determining the key point of what they are doing.  Indeed, one common theory is that the reason why people multitask in the first place is because they simply can't focus on what they really should be doing.

4. You Are Unhappy

One would naturally assume that the more options you have available, like texting while watching TV, the happier you would be.  Surprisingly, researchers have shown that the more options you have the unhappier you are.

This is what Dr. David Schwartz has described as the Tyranny of Choice.  This theory may help to explain why depression is far more common today than a generation or two ago.

5. Your Brain is Damaged

Finally, multitasking changes your brain.  While research in this area is still new, early studies show that multitasking may damage the anterior cingulate cortex or ACC.

The ACC is responsible for signal processing and emotions within the brain.  While many have suspected that media multitaskers have blunted social and emotional skills, recent research now shows that the gray matter in the ACC is actually smaller.

Is multitasking ever beneficial?

Can multitasking ever be beneficial?  According to medical studies, multitasking is possible when one or more of the tasks have become automatic.

This is why you can listen to a podcast while working out.   Of course, if you try to listen to that same podcast while talking on the phone, you probably won't get much out of either activity.

Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

Your grandmother was full of good advice. But if she told you that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” you only got part of the story.

An early meal can be a vitally important part of the day — for some people, and only if it’s a truly healthy breakfast.

What is a healthy breakfast?

What’s a truly healthy breakfast look like? Well, it looks something like what a lot of people have for dinner: A big salad with nuts and seeds on top served with some wild salmon and fruit.

As for the more standard American breakfast foods — processed cereal, pancakes or waffles doused with syrup, processed meats and fruit juice — that really couldn’t be a worse way to start the day. You might as well not eat breakfast at all.

Is skipping breakfast bad?

And for some people, skipping even a very healthy breakfast isn’t a bad idea. One exceptionally well-done study from England, for instance, demonstrated that metabolism and heart disease are not significantly affected by either eating or skipping breakfast.

Breakfast eaters in the study did appear to be more physically active in the morning — that’s a good thing. Breakfast eaters also ate more total calories, though, and had a statistic trend toward weight gain — that’s a bad thing.

Tip: Try a Break/fast

My general advice to my patients regarding breakfast is this:

Children should eat breakfast — and the healthier that breakfast can be, the better.

Adults should stop thinking about a Denny’s Grand Slam when they picture a typical breakfast and start thinking more about what a healthy lunch or dinner might look like, with a responsibly sized protein and plenty of veggies.

Eat breakfast if you need breakfast. Don’t eat it if you don’t.

How do you know if you need breakfast?

Choose a day a week to go without it and hold onto the habit for a month, paying close attention to how you feel during those days. If you find that your energy level isn’t impacted, try a second day. Make sure you’re eating a very healthy lunch and dinner on these days and the days preceding.

This sort of short fasting isn’t for everyone. Personally, I feel lethargic, grouchy and irritable without my breakfast.

Intermittent Fasting

For many of my patients this type of intermittent fasting has been one of the keys to better health. Why? Because short periods without food allow our bodies to “reset,” dedicating energy and attention to things other than the digestion of food and distribution of the chemicals it provides to us.

If skipping breakfast is not your preferred method of intermittent fasting, the same thing can be accomplished by not eating until morning after an early dinner. This resetting process from intermittent fasting is likely a big reason why some studies show that people who occasionally go without food may be less prone to suffer coronary artery disease and diabetes.

Take Home Message

The bottom line is that there simply is no scientific proof that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for adults.  If breakfast works for you then continue to eat breakfast.  If not, then don't.

Do you eat breakfast?  Please share you thoughts and questions regarding breakfast in the comment section below.  If you liked this article, please follow the links to my free weekly newsletter and podcast.

How to Find Out the Age of Your Arteries in 1 Minute

You are only as old as your arteries.  In this article, I will show you how to find out the age of your arteries in just one minute.

As long as your arteries stay young, your heart, brain, kidneys, and other organs should continue to function normally. Read on to find out if your arteries are older than you are and what you can do to reverse artery aging now.

A Simple Test to Find Out the Age of Your Arteries

The easiest and quickest way to find out the age of your arteries is to determine your "pulse pressure."  This can easily be done at home with a blood pressure machine.

First, take your blood pressure after you have been comfortably resting for five minutes.  The blood pressure cuff on your arm should fit well and be at about the same height as your heart.

The pulse pressure is calculated by subtracting the lower number of your blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure) from the upper number (systolic blood pressure).  For example, if your blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg, then your pulse pressure would be 40 (120 minus 80).

What does pulse pressure mean?

The pulse pressure is a gauge to the age of your arteries.  As people age, arteries tend to stiffen and fill up with plaque.

People with stiff, or old arteries, tend to have a high systolic blood pressure (top number).  In contrast, the diastolic blood pressure (bottom number) doesn't change much with age.

What is a normal pulse pressure?

A normal pulse pressure for adults is somewhere around 40.  The closer your pulse pressure is to 40, the better.

If the pulse pressure is more than 10 points above or below 40, this could be a warning sign.  For example, a very low pulse pressure could mean heart failure, a tight aortic valve (aortic stenosis), or other problems.

On the other hand, a high pulse pressure is usually caused by stiff or old arteries.  Other causes of a high pulse pressure could include a leaky aortic valve (aortic regurgitation), too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism), anemia, or other causes.

How serious is a high pulse pressure?

A high pulse pressure is something that shouldn't be ignored.  For example, in a study of 7,929 people, researchers found that if your pulse pressure was even 10 points higher than it should be, then your risk of dying prematurely was 20% higher.

Another study showed that if your pulse pressure is more than 20 points above normal (60 or higher), that your risk of atrial fibrillation is increased by 316%!

When it comes to your brain, studies show that a high pulse pressure is associated with early dementia.  Likewise, studies also show that a high pulse pressure is linked to kidney failure and dialysis.

What causes a high pulse pressure?

The top four causes of a high pulse pressure that I typically see are due to smoking, diabetes, obesity, or advancing age.  While their isn't much you can do about the number of candles on your birthday cake, there is a lot you can do now to reverse the biologic age of your arteries.

8 Ways to Normalize Your Pulse Pressure

The following tips to normalize your pulse pressure are based on the assumption that your high pulse pressure is due to premature aging of your arteries.  Below are the eight best ways to lower pulse pressure based on the latest medical studies.

1. High Intensity Exercise: 14 Point Reduction

The best way to lower your pulse pressure is with exercise.  Whether it is interval training or plain old "cardio," it all helps.

Indeed, one study showed that pulse pressure was lowered by 14 points with just one hour of high intensity exercise three days a week.  While this study was definitely on the high end of what you can expect to see, most other studies show a three to six point reduction in pulse pressure with traditional exercise.

2. Yoga: 10 Point Reduction

If high intensity exercise is not your thing, another study showed that yoga was highly effective as well.  In this study,

Why You Need More Fat in Your Diet

Do you really need more fat?

Everyone knows that if you want to cut the fat on your body that you have to cut the fat in your meals. That seems obvious enough, doesn’t it?

Indeed, it’s what we’ve been telling ourselves for a long time.  And, that is exactly what most Americans are still doing.  According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly twice as many Americans are cutting back on fat than carbohydrates.

The problem is that, much as not all carbs are bad, not all fats are, either — and so fat avoidance is a very good road to nowhere.

Can you get too much fat?

Studies have shown, for instance, that even ingesting a liter each week of olive oil (which is high in oleic acid, a monounsaturated, omega-9 fatty acid) does not cause weight gain. A liter!

Not All Fats Are Created Equal

Trans fat, though, is devastatingly bad for us. It has been shown again and again to cause intense weight gain and heart disease. And the highly processed industrial vegetable oils that are so often included in processed foods — like soybean oil, corn oil and sunflower oil — may not be that far behind.

If you’re among the people who have made the mistake of thinking that fat is fat — or even if there are better and worse fats, that it’s safest to just avoid them all — then you shouldn’t feel bad. Companies that peddle processed foods are always trying to game the system by claiming some trans fats aren’t actually trans fats. Instead, they call these fats “partially hydrogenated.” In no small part as a result of this confusion, we consume way too many trans fats, and not enough healthy fats.

Why Low Fat Diets Don't Work

That problem is further aggravated by the fact that, when people cut any kind of fat from their food choices, they tend to replace it with processed carbohydrates. It’s no wonder that studies show low-fat diets don’t work very well.

Tip: Go Nuts

As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’ve got a real bias against processed and prepared foods. That’s especially true when it comes to foods with unhealthy fats.

Now, it’s true that large quantities of some naturally occurring fats — like bacon fat — may be unhealthy, too. But the best way to start is to avoid fats in processed foods. After you’ve taken that step, you can start to worry about which natural fats you’re ingesting.

You Need More Fat from Real Food

At that point, one of the best things you can do is to get as much of your fat as possible from other real foods like avocados or olives — and especially seeds and nuts.  Indeed, studies show nuts are one of the best foods to lose weight! Why? Simply because of what happens in your body when you eat them.

The Almond Effect

Take a handful of almonds, for instance: First of foremost, they fill you up with protein, fiber and fat. They’re also packed with a very healthy dose of vitamins B2, E and H and a bunch of additional healthy minerals. And because there isn’t much natural sugar in an almond, there’s almost no effect on your blood sugar — which means your liver is left alone to do more important things than making fat.

Can you gain weight from healthy fats?

Now, could you get fat by eating healthy fats like nuts if you really gorged yourself? Theoretically, sure — but its incredibly unlikely. That’s because the long-lasting filling effect of nuts prevents much over-eating.

I definitely don’t advise my patients to eat seeds and nuts in lieu of other healthy foods — and especially not in lieu of vegetables — but I don’t worry much about the possibility that they might overeat seeds and nuts if they’re including those healthy fats in a regular and balanced intake of real food.

Take Home Message

The take home message of this article is that you probably need more fat in your diet. You really do need the healthy fats from nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and fish for optimal health and to maintain a healthy weight.

Was it hard for you to give up the 1980s mindset that all...

Why Portion Control Doesn't Work for Most People

Why portion control doesn't work for most people...

Take out your phone. Then go to the top of the nearest building, head straight up to the top floor, and chuck it out the window. First, though: Really focus on the idea that, when you toss your phone into the air, it won’t actually fall to the ground and break. See if you can use your willpower to protect you phone from the impact of the fall.

You haven’t budged, have you? That’s because nobody in their right mind would believe they can prevent their phone from falling to the ground and smashing into pieces simply by focusing their mind on that result. But for some reason we’ve long applied this sort of logic to our eating habits.

Portion Control Works for a While

You've probably heard the advice, "eat less, move more."  While studies show that eating less, or portion control, works for a short period of time, there is no proof that it will work for the rest of your life.

Simply put, most people can only muster up enough willpower to starve themselves on a new diet for a month or two.  In the end, hunger always wins.  This is why portion control doesn't work for most people.

Hunger is Like Gravity

Hunger is like gravity. It always wins. And while you can avoid food to lose weight in the very short term, you’ll never be able to maintain that weight if you’re constantly hungry. And you’ll be miserable to boot.  That’s why studies show that the advice to just "eat less" of all foods is doomed to fail.

What causes hunger?

Hunger, after all, is complex. While hunger can be your body telling you it is time to eat, it can also be due to a messed up metabolism from too many processed carbs, a lack of certain micronutrients, or even simple thirst. It can also be the result of a psychological desire to eat that has absolutely nothing with how much you actually need to eat to thrive.

Whatever the reason, though, one thing is clear: Battling hunger is a losing game.

Tip: Eat, for goodness sake!

There is absolutely no limit to the amount of non-starchy vegetables you eat. None at all. I’ve yet to meet a single person who has gained so much as a pound of weight from eating too many cucumbers, too much broccoli, or too many carrots. As long as you are not adding unhealthy foods to your veggies, it just won’t happen.

From asparagus to zucchini — and every veggie in between — there’s simply no such thing as overeating. That’s why it’s silly for anyone to purposefully subject themselves to hunger.

The key to keeping your belly full while losing weight is simple: Eat more vegetables, fruits and legumes while avoiding sugar and processed carbohydrates. That alone won’t solve all of your cravings for every sort of unhealthy food, but it will allow you to battle those desires on an level playing field — one in which you aren’t trying to make good decisions on a grumbling stomach.

What helps you to stop feeling hungry all the time?  Please leave your thoughts and questions below.

Did you like this article?  If so, please be sure to sign up for my free weekly newsletter and podcast!

The 6 Things That Put You in a Nursing Home

No one wants to end their life in a nursing home.  In this article, I share the 6 things that could put you in a nursing home and what you can do now to avoid this fate.

Brian's Experience

For years, I cared for Brian as his cardiologist.  Each time he came to see me, he was always excited to share their latest travel plans once he retired.

Tragically, two weeks after he retired, he suffered a massive stroke.  Their travel plans were forever changed.

His stroke left him so weak on the left side of his body that he could no longer get to the bathroom or dress himself independently.  As he was a big person, his wife was physically unable to lift or help him.

Brian's wife tried everything possible to keep him in the home.  She arranged for neighbors and family members to help her bathe and dress him.  However, in the end, it was too much.  Both of them realized that a nursing home was their only option.

On one of our clinic visits Brian said, "if I knew my life was going to end this way I would have taken better care of myself."  Sadly, this is something that I often hear from patients.

The 6 Things That Put You in a Nursing Home Study

In an interesting study, researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey studied 4,254 people to find out what eventually put them in a nursing home.  Starting at age 45, they followed these people for 21 years.

Below are the six top causes that led middle aged people to ultimately require a nursing home.  As you might suspect, the more of these six factors people had, the higher their risk.

1. Diabetes: 325% Increased Risk

Based on the results of this study, diabetes was the number one thing that could put you in a nursing home.  This finding may come as a surprise for many, as diabetes is so common.

The word, diabetes mellitus, actually means "like honey" in Greek.  This is because ancient physicians tasted the urine of their patients.  These ancient physicians noticed that the urine of diabetics tasted like honey.

Glucose, or sugar, is not only high in the urine with diabetes.  It is also elevated in the blood as well.

The elevated levels of glucose in the blood then wears out the arteries, heart, kidney, and brain.  Over time, people suffering from diabetes are prone to heart attacks, atrial fibrillation, strokes, kidney failure, dementia, and other conditions.

If you have diabetes, what can you do now?

As diabetes is defined as a hemoglobin A1C blood test measurement of 6.5 or higher, the goal is to get your hemoglobin A1C below the diabetes range.  The hemoglobin A1C measures how much glucose is coating your red blood cells.  As red blood cells live an average of three months, the hemoglobin A1C gives you a running three month average of how high your blood glucose has been.

Fortunately, most people can get their hemoglobin A1C below the diabetes zone with simple lifestyle changes.  Indeed, most of my patients can get their hemoglobin A1C below 6.5 with daily exercise, healthy eating (avoiding processed carbohydrates), and getting back to a healthy weight.

In some cases, medications may be required.  Also, even those suffering from the genetic causes of diabetes can minimize the insulin they need with healthy lifestyle changes.

2. Smoking: 56% Increased Risk

Personally, I would have predicted smoking to be at least on par with diabetes.  Perhaps the reason why smoking did not come in at number one is because smokers may not live long enough to need a nursing home.

As everyone is familiar with the risks of smoking, I won't go into it here.  If you are still smoking, now is the time to quit. Get help, as this addiction can be beaten with the right tools!

3. Inactivity: 40% Increased Risk

Inactivity, or not exercising daily, came in as the third leading reason of why middle aged people ultimately end their lives in a nursing home.  This is another risk factor that can be easily reversed.