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This week, I was planning to write about recent research that found a strong, positive correlation between a diet including animal proteins and type 2 diabetes.  The study "Low-carbohydrate diet scores and risk of type 2 diabetes in men" was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. As I was reading through the articles, though, I found a number of articles in the current volume of the journal that support (albeit indirectly) a whole-food, plant-based diet. Here''s a few of the articles I found:

• A high-fat diet impairs cardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism and cognitive function in healthy human subjects. The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 4 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 04/2011 Pages: 844 - 850.
• This was a small study (n=16) of young males that compared a high fat diet (75 +/- 1% of calories) to a standard diet (23 +/- 1%). The researchers measured cardiac functions and cognitive functions. They found that the high fat diet decreased a major biomarker for cardiac function. They also found reduced cognitive abilities from the high fat diet. The real question to me is how did anyone manage to consume a diet with 75% of calories from fat...I can see why they had to use young males in the study.
• High-protein, reduced-carbohydrate weight-loss diets promote metabolite profiles likely to be detrimental to colonic health: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 5 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 05/2011 Pages: 1062 - 1072
• This study followed 17 obese men and put them on both a high protein, moderate carbohydrate diet and a high protein, low carbohydrate for 4 weeks at a time. The researchers concluded: "After 4 wk, weight-loss diets that were high in protein but reduced in total carbohydrates and fiber resulted in a significant decrease in fecal cancer-protective metabolites and increased concentrations of hazardous metabolites."
• Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 5 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 05/2011 Pages: 1128 - 1135
• I found this study one of the more interesting because they had a large sample size (n=27,670). The results they published: "There was a strong relation between cataract risk and diet group, with a progressive decrease in risk of cataract in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters (participants who ate fish but not meat), vegetarians, and vegans."

The last study in the list is just part of the growing body of large-scale evidence supporting the hypothesis that a whole-food, plant-based diet will lead to better health outcomes that a diet rich with animal foods and processed products. Hopefully I''ll get around to a more in-depth analysis of the type 2 diabetes study next week.

At TrueNorth Health Center we see many cases of type I and type II diabetes. Both types respond well to our diet and lifestyle recommendations, and type II diabetics often see reduction in symptoms by undergoing a medically-supervised water fast. While we recommend that everyone is medically supervised during a water fast, this is especially important for diabetics, as their blood sugar levels must be closely monitored.

If you have diabetes, as with any disease, it is important to understand what is happening in your body. The following videos give a brief introduction to the physiology of diabetes:

If you have diabetes and would like to find out if our services can help
you, give us at call 707-586-5555 for a free consultation.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors associated with stroke, diabetes, coronary heart disease. One of the primary indicators of metabolic syndrome is extra weight around the waist. The indications of metabolic syndrome are any three of the following: blood presssure greater than 130/85 mmHG, fasting glucose greater than 100 mg/dL, large waist circumference (40+ in for men, 35+ in for women), HDL cholesterol under 40 mg/dL for men or 50 mg/dL for women, or triglyercides greater than 150 mg/dL. A diagnosis of MetS indicates that you are at much greater risk of stroke, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.

Researchers at Loma Linda University found that a vegetarian diet was associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome.  The study, published in March issue of DiabetesCare, analyzed 773 subjects in the Adventist Health Study 2. Subjects self reported their dietary habits via a food questionnaire (vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, or non-vegetarian).  This data was used to determine association between diet and risk factors (HDL, triglyercides, glucose, blood pressure, and waist circumference).

When compared to the non-vegetarians, vegetarians had lower means of the risk factors, except for HDL, and they had lower risk of Metabolic Syndrome.

Research by doctors and scientists at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT revealed metabolic changes during fasting that could be linked to better health. The most recent study confirmed their finding from an earlier study that was published in the October 2008 Journal of Cardiology. The original study found a correlation between the fasting behavior of members of the Latter Day Saints church and reduced risk of Coronary Artery Disease.  The study says,

The most recent study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal (at least that I have found), but several news sources picked up the press release from the Intermountain Medical Center. According to the press release:

The results of these studies is no surprise. At TrueNorth we've fasted thousands of people over the past many years, and heart disease is one condition that consistently responds to a fasting protocol. For more information about the research on fasting that we've done, click here.

Vesanto Melina, co-author of Becoming Vegan and Becoming Raw, recently visited TrueNorth Health Center.  She wrote about her experience for the Canadian magazine, Common Ground.  You can read about her experience here.

Time and time again, we see patients at TrueNorth recover from grave illnesses or brush up on healthy lifestyle habits. If you're considering a fast, fill out our health questionnaire, then give Dr. Goldhamer a call at 707-586-5555 for a free consultation.

Forks Over Knives is a new feature length film that will change your mind about what you eat.  The film follows Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn as they expose how what we eat affects our health. The work of these two researchers has been truly groundbreaking in the field of diet and health.

Go ahead, say it out loud: sar-co-pee-nee-uh.   The word may make you blush a bit, but it's merely the fancy medical term we use which means a loss of muscle tissue.  Once you learn about age-related sarcopenia I think you'll agree that it's something you really do want to prevent, or at least minimize.

The Process of Aging

In our modern, sedentary society, as we age through the decades a steady degradation is generally noted in the body:  we tend to get progressively fatter, even though we may actually eat fewer calories than we used to.  We get weaker and routine physical tasks become more challenging and ultimately impossible.  We stumble and fall more often, get injured more frequently and don't recover readily.  We run out of steam earlier in the day.  We eventually become truly frail, fragile and fearful of activity.  This is not a pretty picture, but it is indeed a valid generalization of the aging journey for too many of us.

Everyone Suffers from Sarcopenia

A variety of factors contribute to this downward spiral of vitality, durability and function, but sarcopenia is always a major culprit.  Traditionally, we have considered age-related sarcopenia to be entirely biologically hard-wired and irreversible; after all, even aging horses and gorillas develop sarcopenia.  But in modern humans, sarcopenia develops prematurely and is profoundly accelerated by our sedentary lifestyles.  Therefore, we can, and should, do something about it.  Aerobic fitness, though incredibly important, is inadequate.  Health and functional independence require reliable, strong and powerful muscles, right on into our 90's and beyond.

... but you can do something about it

So what's the antidote for sarcopenia? Strength training, plain and simple. Studies suggest we should engage in some form of strength-enhancing activity at least twice a week; three times per week is much better.  Strength training needn't be very time- consuming, nor complicated.  40 minutes of devoted strength training, three times per week, can make you very strong and you'll never regret it. And don't fret about getting bulky and looking like a fire hydrant - it simply won't happen, particularly if you maintain a high level of aerobic fitness. Strength training has an easy, short learning curve, but do make the effort to learn how to do it right. Hire a smart trainer for a few sessions and you'll be good to go. You'll learn that we now emphasize full-body strengthening with free weights and body weight workouts.  The benefits of seated, artificial, machine-based training absolutely pale when compared to the profound functional benefits of multi-dimensional, compound training performed with body weight and free weight exercises.

Sarcopenia. The word even sounds like a bad thing and it truly is. And only you can prevent it. I'll meet you at the pull-up bar and we'll get right to it.

At TrueNorth Health, we see a variety of unique patient cases. Recently, our medical team treated a case of subacute appendicitis with medically supervised water only fasting followed by diet and lifestyle modifications. This patient recovered from the appendicitis, and the results are presented in the attached case study. A Case of Nonpharmacologic Conservative Management of Suspected Uncomplicated Subacute Appendicitis in an A...