2013 AHA/ACC Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Guidelines - Drug Companies Win Again

Last week the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) published new updated guidelines in the journal Circulation for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease in individuals [1]. Their goals aim to "prevent cardiovascular (CV) diseases, improve the management of people who have these diseases through professional education and research, and develop guidelines, standards and policies that promote optimal patient care and cardiovascular health".

To accomplish these commendable goals, AHA/ACC targets better management of blood cholesterol levels, overweight and obesity in adults, and provides information on lifestyle modifications [2]. They also provide extensive guidelines on the use of cholesterol-lowering medications, mainly the statins [1].

After reading through the updated guidelines it is clear to me that the state of cardiovascular health, as it stands currently in the United States today, will remain dismal at best. The chance of heart disease and strokes being displaced as the number one and number four leading causes of death in the U.S. [3] are slim to none. Here's why...

Eliminating Trans Fats - Another Government Mandate?

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Last week the FDA took initial steps that will eliminate trans fats from all foods.  Food scientists and others can respond to this mandate to the FDA over the next 60 days.  This will help the FDA determine when to phase out all trans fats since manufacturers may need to reformulate some of their products. After that, food manufacturers will need to petition the FDA to allow trans fats in a particular product. 

By forcing hydrogen atoms into vegetable oil and changing its molecular structure, trans fats are created. This saturates the oils and makes them solid. Trans fats improve the texture and extend the shelf life of manufactured food products. (Have you ever seen a moldy Twinkie?) Among the foods trans fats are commonly found in are frozen pizzas, frostings, popcorn, snack foods, crackers, pizza and cookie dough, stick margarine, cake mixes, fried foods, muffins, pies, cookies, and other baked goods. Most experts consider trans fats as the most damaging fat to our health. Clinical trials have shown trans fats to increase the risk of a heart attack and premature cardiovascular death. Our body metabolizes trans fats differently than other fats and is linked to liver dysfunction.

Food Over Medicine - Book Review

I recently had the pleasure of reading the book Food Over Medicine: The Conversation That Could Save Your Life. Authors Dr. Pamela Popper, PhD, ND and Glen Merzer take on the subjects of health, nutrition, and the practice of modern medicine as we know it today. They do an excellent job in doing so and in a very unusual fashion might I add.

Food Over Medicine is literally a conversation between Glen and Pam on some of the most pressing health issues that face our current system today. Both authors maintain a high degree of credibility and professionalism that you would expect when covering these serious topics, yet their style is fun, casual, and entertaining to say the least.

About The Authors

Dr. Pamela Popper, PhD, ND is the Executive Director of The Wellness Forum located in Colombus, OH. She is a naturopathic doctor who uses lifestyle medicine, and more specifically plant-based nutrition, to prevent and reverse many of the chronic diseases ailing her patients. She has appeared in the blockbuster documentary Forks Over Knives and is an internationally recognized speaker and expert in the field of nutrition, medicine, and health.

Glen Merzer is coauthor of Mad Cowboy with Howard Lyman, as well as No More Bull! with Howard Lyman and Joanna Samorow-Merzer. Glen is a playwright and screenwriter residing in California. He has been a vegetarian for forty years and vegan for almost twenty.

Chickpea Vegetable Medley with Brown Rice

Recently, I did a book review on author Rebecca Joy's new book Inner Course. Her amazing journey of healing and recovery unfolds as she shares her story of being raised from birth into a religious sex cult, then finally leaving after 25 years. Not only is Rebecca's story an incredible dose of inspiration to all those who read it, but so is her secret talent of cooking.

This week I feature her delicious, mouthwatering recipe incorporating fresh vegetables, whole grains, and a few tomato products that whips up into an easy-to-make vegetable medley the whole family will love! This is comfort food at its finest without having to sacrifice your health or your waistline.

The Business of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (And How To Prevent Breast Cancer In The First Place)

Every year October comes along. Every year during October pink ribbons are more plentiful than ever signifying National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The intentions of many well-meaning non-profit organizations, medical establishments, individual healthcare providers, and even government agencies is to promote the awareness of breast cancer as well as raise funds for research in relation to its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. These are all very noble intentions. I commend any individual or organization who truly desires to eradicate this horrible disease.

However, many of these efforts are designed to promote the business of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment through the use of expensive medical care instead of focusing on the eradication (and subsequent loss in business opportunities) of this terrible disease. Allow me to explain.

Breast Cancer Overview

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women and the second most common cancer in the United States (excluding basal and squamous cell cancers of skin) [1].

Estimated number of new cases and deaths due due to breast cancer in 2013 according to the American Cancer Society [2]:

• New cases: 234,580 (total); 232,340 (women); 2,240 (men)
• Deaths: 40,030 (total); 39,620 (women); 410 (men)

Healing and Recovery After Cult Life - INNER COURSE - Book Review

Author Rebecca Joy

Born and raised into a cult, Rebecca Joy experienced anything BUT a joyful childhood. Her days were filled with the endless onslaught of degrading demands as cult leaders forced her to carry out the 'work of God', or so they called it. She was told she was one of the lucky ones. She had been "chosen" to be one of the Lord's witnesses to bring people to Christ.

"The Children of God" or "The Family" is nothing more than a religious sex cult, using Christian missionary work as a front to hide the abhorrent lifestyle and conditions leaders subject their members to. Rebecca was of no exception to this. Self-worth and self-love were seen as workings of the devil inside the cult, and nobody (with the exception of cult founder David Berg) was allowed to claim any credit for doing anything good by their deeds. Women were especially demeaned and degraded, brainwashed into thinking that their primary purpose in life was to please the sexual desires of men. You simply did not say no if you were a female.

Kitchen Culinary For The Healthy Life - Gadgets Every Plant-Based Foodie Must Have

At the time I started my transition to a healthier, plant-based lifestyle back in 2009 there were really only two key items I couldn’t live without—a pizza stone and an oversized cereal bowl. Tombstone® pizzas, Cocoa Pebbles, and Marie Callender’s® frozen dinners were pretty much the norm for me. I didn’t need a lot of kitchenware at my disposal because of this, and so I stuck to the basics of bachelorhood. While I still use my pizza stone and cereal bowl today, I’ve found that a few modern-day kitchen appliances make living a plant-based lifestyle much easier. Today I’ll show you how to save time and energy by stocking your kitchen with the essentials to make your transition to this healthier lifestyle much easier. Remember, spend only what you can afford, prioritize your needs as you proceed forward, and keep a wish list for everything else.

Must Have Kitchen Appliances

There are a few kitchen tools/appliances that are on my must have list when it comes to successfully adopting a plant-based diet. Yours may be different and that’s ok. My list includes a blender, a chef’s knife, a quality cutting board, and a nice line of cookware.

Make Our Food Work For Us

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Earlier this month, I attended Veggie Fest in Naperville, Illinois.  Not just for vegetarians, this festival drew over 25,000 people, had food demonstrations, dozens of speakers, and over 100 booths.

One of the speakers was Sara Sukumar, PhD, Professor of Oncology and Pathology and Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Johns Hopkins University. She spoke on anti-cancer properties in specific foods.  Here is her list:

The Anatomy Of A Bowel Movement (And How To Cure Constipation)

Many of us take for granted our trip(s) to the porcelain throne each day as we rid ourselves of built up toxins and waste products via nature's evacuation system. Or to put it more candidly, I'm talking about pooping. Everybody does it, but not everybody does it well.

We've all been in this second group of folks, at least at some point in our life, straining and struggling to get those rock hard miniature boulders out of our bottom end to finally provide us some relief. Ultimately, many of us still find ourselves falling short of the call of "duty". This is no fun by any means, so what now? A pill? A powder? An extra gallon of water? A trip to the doctor's office?

I'm going to outline the ins and outs of constipation, as well as what you can do about it, to help you navigate the human plumbing system in hopes of providing you with some much needed relief. After all, everybody deserves to feel good. As an added bonus, you'll get the bragging rights of becoming a super pooper. Now how can you turn down that deal?!

Constipation - Definition and Prevalence

Constipation is officially defined as less than 3 stools per week using the Rome III criteria. The presence of hard stools, straining, and incomplete defecation is present 25% or more of the time. Constipation does tend to be a very subjective disease, however, as lack of agreement between patient and physician can occur when defining what exactly constipation means to each individual. Nonetheless, nobody wants to be constipated regardless of how many or what kind of stools are taking place so no sense in squabbling over diagnosis details.

Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition by Dr. T. Colin Campbell - Book Review

This summer spawned the publication of Dr. T. Colin Campbell's latest book Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition. This was a follow up to his bestseller The China Study  which took the nutrition world by storm back in 2005 and continues to be a leading seller today. Today I provide a book review on Whole.

Both The China Study and Whole paint a picture (and very intriguing one at that) of the health and nutrition world as it's come to exist today. While The China Study gives more of the intricate details of the individual studies relating to health and nutrition, Whole focuses on the bigger picture of how it all fits together within our current "system". Dr. Campbell lays out how a reductionist approach to nutrition, health, and medicine functions within our current system, and, more importantly, why the system operates the way it does.

Whole is comprised of three main parts followed by Dr. Campbell's engaging thoughts in Part IV on how we should move forward if we wish to turn around the current disease-care system we've come to know today.

Whole - Part I - Enslaved by The System

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.

Part I of Whole plants a seed in readers to think differently. It reveals a wholistic approach towards our healthcare system as we move forward. The present-day strategies of using pills, procedures, and/or surgeries to combat the epidemic of chronic disease is, for all intensive purposes, not working. Instead, Dr. Campbell enlightens us on the benefits of a whole foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet in our quest to end the epidemic of sickness and suffering.

Part I goes on to detail Dr. Campbell's background of how he grew up on a dairy farm and then made his subsequent entrance into the scientific world as a leading nutritional biochemist looking to rid the world of hunger and malnourishment. The details of his upbringing provide a very telling story with a surprising twist of fate.

Chapter 1 - The Modern-Day Health-Care Myth
Chapter 2 - The Whole Truth
Chapter 3 - My Heretical Path

Maximize Those Nutrients!

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

The American Cancer Institute for Cancer Research conducted an analysis of over 7,000 scientific studies on food, nutrition, and physical activity as it relates to cancer.  Amazingly what they found was diet and nutrition are responsible for up to 40% of all cancers.

Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals that fight cancer cells.  Here are some methods of cooking that will retain the highest amount of these cancer fighting compounds.

1)  Tomatoes have a cancer fighting antioxidant called lycopene.  Cooking tomatoes will increase our body’s absorption of lycopene.

2) Chopping garlic and onions releases the compound allicin, which boosts our immune system - important in fighting cancer. Let chopped onions and garlic sit 5-10 minutes before using to maximize the effects of the allicin.

Fish Oil Reviews - The Evidence Behind Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplements

Like many individuals, my day starts with an eagerly awaited trip to the kitchen after a quick hop in the shower. By this time, the alarm clock haze has finally worn off long enough to realize the neurotic taste buds in my mouth are going crazy. They need their morning bowl of cinnamon oatmeal with mixed berries or else!

In the past, I'd always follow breakfast with a handful of vitamins and some fish oil supplements before heading out the door. I was off to fill prescriptions and make the world a healthier place! As a pharmacist, I dispense pills and educate others on all the benefits they have to offer, including a few over-the-counter supplements. Fish oil is one of these supplements. In school I learned that pills equal health. Pharmacists dispense pills. Therefore, pharmacists dispense health.

Since I am the expert on pills, I deem it my responsibility to keep up with the scientific literature behind all of these pills as best I can. After all, medicine is a constantly changing environment and if you snooze you lose (and so do your patients). Today I present you with the evidence behind fish oil supplements, known widely for benefiting cardiovascular health and many other chronic diseases, or so they say.

Oyster Mushrooms Help Fight Disease

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

Oyster mushrooms are a mild tasting mushroom that grows on the trunks of trees.  This, along with many other mushroom varieties, have many healthy antioxidants that may help to reduce the risk of cancer, improve blood cholesterol, and boost the immune system [1].

Oyster mushrooms contain complex carbohydrates called polysaccharides that stimulate the immune system to fight cancer. They can up-regulate (turn on) the genes which stop tumors from growing and support tumor regression [2].

Eating oyster mushrooms can lower cholesterol, reduce triglycerides, and have antioxidant properties that fight oxidized LDL. Unique to the oyster mushroom is the lowering cholesterol molecule lovastatin [3], which inhibits the production of cholesterol.  In a study published in the “Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology” in 2003, rats with high and normal cholesterol were fed oyster mushrooms.  Total cholesterol was reduced 28%, LDL (bad cholesterol) by 55%, triglycerides by 34% and HDL (good cholesterol) increased 21%.

What's The Best Plant-Based Diet?

Your health depends heavily on your lifestyle and, more importantly, the foods you choose to include in your lifestyle. Over the past few years there has been a popular and growing movement to transition towards a plant-based diet in order to achieve better health and trimmer waistlines. The science and evidence is certainly there to support this move towards a plant-centered diet, not only in terms of health, but also in terms of benefiting the environment and the welfare of all living beings on the planet.

Along with these many benefits comes many choices. There's at least a dozen or more different plant-based diets to follow so which one is the best? Which provides the greatest benefit to you?

We'll get to these questions soon, but first let's take a look at just a few of the popular plant-based diets out there to give you a sense of what's available.

Popular Plant-Based Diets

1) The Fab Five - The Plant-Based Pharmacist

I've laid out some simple guidelines to adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet and which foods to incorporate as part of this eating style at my website. This includes five basic food groups I like to call my Fab Five:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Legumes
• Whole Grains
• Nuts/Seeds

I focus on keeping things simple and including all of your calories from these five food groups. The amounts of each food group and tips on how to adopt this health-promoting diet can all be found here.

Searching For Quality In Healthcare - Studying A Study And Beyond

Health information is everywhere these days!

Have a weird pain in your side? Google it. Want to know what to expect from a new medication? Google it. Curious as to the best treatment for whooping cough? Google it.

As we've made our way into the 21st century our definition of 'seeking advice from your doctor' has went from getting it while sitting in the exam room to obtaining it via the internet. People are searching for answers, and they're finding them too. But what's to believe and not to believe? How is one to find quality health information via the internet?

Whether you're a healthcare professional or a lay person, I hope to offer you some reliable, quality health resources I've found useful in my quest for trusted health information. My goal as a medical professional is, and always has been, to seek out the most effective, safest, and least costly approaches in treating the healthcare needs of others. With that being said, I have always been, and will always be, adamant about using evidence-based scientific and medical literature free of commercial bias, if at all humanly possible to achieve this.

Many of the resources below are focused primarily on conventional medicine. While I often advocate for the use of lifestyle medicine (diet and exercise) over conventional medicine—due to its superior efficacy and safety profile when treating most chronic diseases—I also believe it's important to highlight the benefits and/or risks of conventional treatments so both patients and providers can make informed decisions regarding their health and how to achieve their goals in regards to this. In addition, the resources below will offer medical professionals some very valuable tools to help them in their everyday clinical practices.