The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona
by James Bogash
Lyon Diet Heart Study
This is a wonderful article outlining very nicely what a Mediterranean diet consist of. I am a big, big fan of the Mediterranean diet and feel that, for most patients, it is probably one of the healthiest on the planet. In previous studies it has been compared to the ADA and AHA diets and pretty much puts them to shame; and yet these organizations continue to recommend their outdated, ineffective programs.
Circulation — Kris-Etherton et al. 103 (13): 1823
by James Bogash
Should Immunonutrition Become Routine in Critically Ill Patients?
This study shows definite benefit in the reduction of infectious complications in critically ill patients. This shouldn’t really be a question, however. The efficacy and safety of adding nutrients like arginine and glutamine is already well established (this article is a review of many studies). One of these days it will dawn on the powers that be that nutrition is an incredibly powerful tool to be used in human health and disease.
by James Bogash
Somewhere along the lines, people trying to lose weight decided that skipping meals was a good idea. Maybe it was the idea that fewer calories were better, but the advice is ill-founded.
Whenever I have a patient who needs or wants dietary advice (unfortunately, those two categories do not always go hand in hand) there is one question I ask that gives me the most information about where this patient is at on the healthy living continuum.
“What is a typical breakfast for you?”
It’s only on a rare occasion that I get an answer that is ideal. It usually ranges from nothing to oatmeal to an Egg McMuffin. Breakfast is something that many people think they are doing right, but most likely is a decision based on poor information from their doctor or excellent marketing. Some less-than-ideal examples include:
Here’s the rub–most oatmeal and certainly most junk breakfast cereals like Cheerios would fall under the category of “high glycemic” index foods. Unless you’re eating the real heavy-duty steel cut oatmeal that takes forever to cook, you should be avoiding oatmeal. Or, your breakfast cereal needs to have 8 grams of naturally occurring fiber or more. Fiber One, for example, adds corn bran to get the fiber content up. That’s cheating and doesn’t count. (Even worse–ALL the Fiber One products have artificial sweeteners in them, so they’re off the list anyway).
The other option is a protein based breakfast. Eggs, chicken, hummus, peanut butter (my particular favorite, on whole grain bread and a banana sliced on top) are good options. There have been times when, due to time constraints, I have recommended that a patient just eat a small handful of nuts for breakfast. It is not unusual for these patients to actually lose weight in the first month from actually adding food.
All of this brings us to this particular study. Researchers looked at the eating habits of 26,900 health professionals over the course of some 16 years. Here’s what they found:
As I sit here writing this blog post at 11 PM eating a bowl of air-popped popcorn sprayed with basil olive oil and sprinkled with garlic spices drinking unsweetened Teavana tea, #2 has me a wee bit concerned. However, I’m pretty sure that the average late night snack is probably not quite the same as mine, so that makes me feel a little better.
Clearly eating patterns had a strong role. The proverbial midnight snack was almost literally a killer. Overall, though, knowing existing relationships between skipping breakfast and diabetes risk, the results of this study should be nothing more than a reminder of why you are already eating breakfast.
And, if you don’t eat breakfast, just make sure your life insurance premiums are paid up.
by James Bogash
A simple Google search will leave you confused about whether eating soy is good for your heart and blood vessels or as evil as Twinkies.
Ok…so nothing could be as evil as Twinkies.
But what IS the deal with soy? Is it good for us, or does it vaporizes the thyroid, cause breast cancer and stimulate teenage boys to grow Dolly Parton-esque boobs?
As someone who reads through hordes of medical literature, I can tell you that the evidence overwhelmingly points to soy as being very protective for our health. I don’t even recall coming across any negative studies on soy, and this is a topic I always keep my radar screen open for. Interestingly enough, all of the articles and blog posts on the Internet demonizing soy seem to point out the evils and then, in fine print, begrudgingly note that soy might be ok if it’s not processed and non-GMO.
When pressed, the naysayers agree that soy is part of a healthy lifestyle once those two factors are addressed. So why not address these two requirements right out of the gate? I can’t figure that one out myself. Regardless of other opinions, I continue to promote soy as part of a healthy lifestyle. And, as noted, this means no processed soy (as in veggie burgers, veggie dogs, textured vegetable protein, etc..) and non-GMO.
Also important to note is that soy contains protective compounds referred to an isoflavones, specifically daidzein and genistein. By themselves, these compounds have protective effects. Beyond this, if someone has the right blend of bacteria in his or her gut (like Asians raised on soy) these bacteria in the gut convert another class of compounds (lignans) into an even more potent compound called enterolactone. This benefit may be destroyed by antibiotics.
You can see that it’s not all that simple. The take home message is that soy is, in almost all circumstances, very good for you, so long as the above 2 criteria are met. And you’re not allergic (not really all that common unless you were inundated with soy over a long period of time), and in some susceptible people it might cause some thyroid problems.
All of this brings me to this particular study looking at the effects of genistein on certain cardiovascular markers. Participants to 54 mg/day (just under a cup’s worth of tofu) for 6 months, along with a Mediterranean-style diet. Here’s what they found:
Overall, this was a very positive effect on the health of the blood vessels. Contrast this with the negative health effects of poor quality, abused, commercially grown beef. Complete opposite ends of the vascular health spectrum.
by James Bogash
Soy protein attenuates bone loss in perimenopausal women
In keeping with the previous article, switching from dairy products to a soy based diet may have some strong health benefits. To date, most of the evidence suggests the the strongest benefits from soy are derived from the whole food, not from concentrates in supplements.
by James Bogash
Dietary Protein and Weight Reduction
It’s so nice to know that the American Heart Association is so current and up to date with dietary recommendations. All sarcasm aside at how slow the AHA is to adopt any position that may be considered new or different, this article really does highlight some of the dangers of a high protein diet.
Circulation — Abstracts: St. Jeor et al. 104 (15): 1869
by James Bogash
Surgery Advocated as Primary Treatment for Many Cases of GERD
I consider this topic, and this article, especially disturbing. To Western medicine, there are only two options to reflux disease: acid blockers or surgery. My gosh!! Have we forgotten that food allergy is known to play a strong role in lower esophageal tone? Cow’s milk allergy and GERD are well accepted bedfellows in infants–why do we forget this concept when the patient becomes an adult? How about avoiding the nightshade vegetables, caffeine and alcohol long before any pharmaceutical intervention?? Remember–it is not the acid causing the problem, it’s acid getting where it’s not supposed to be…
87th Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons Surgery is the only way to cure gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and should be the preferred treatment for Barrett esophagus, according to Dr. Jeffrey H. Peters of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Peters made the case for Nissen fundoplication during a debate on surgical versus medical management of GERD at the 87th Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Peters challenged a recent report in The Journal of the American Medical Association, in which Dr. Stuart Jon Spechler and others concluded that antireflux surgery does not obviate the need for medications in most GERD patients. According to Dr. Peters, Dr. Spechler’s group reported that 40% of GERD patients treated with surgery died within 10 to 13 years, and most of the surviving patients required proton pump inhibitors. Dr. Peters challenged the accuracy of those data and said that most of the surgery patients who were put on medical therapy following surgery had no indication for treatment. “If you look carefully at these patients, you will find that only 10% had acid indications that required proton pump inhibition,” he said. Dr. Peters added that surgery should be offered to patients with pH-positive, non-erosive GERD and said surgery is the “preferred treatment for patients with endoscopic esophagitis — but it should be the primary treatment for Barrett’s esophagus.” He said, too, that successful GERD surgery is often more dependent on “repair of the hiatal hernia rather than lower sphincter repair.” Dr. Joel Richter, head of gastroenterology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, represented the medical side of the debate and disagreed with Dr. Peters’ claim that surgery can cure GERD. “In some patients you may get a good result for 5 or 10 years, but these patients are going to once again become symptomatic. I think it is more accurate to call surgery a functional repair.” He added that “abdominal stressors don’t go away just because you perform surgery.” But Dr. Peters responded, “In a sense abdominal stressors do go away, because after a good repair, these patients can’t vomit.” Dr. Richter pointed out that surgery is “very dependent on good surgeons performing good operations on the right patients.” Before a standing-room-only crowd of surgeons, Dr. Peters’ remarks received long ovations, while Dr. Richter’s remarks were greeted with polite applause.
by James Bogash
AMA promotes benefits of “genetically improved” foods
The concept of GMO (genetically modified organism) is very controversial. The main problem is that we are creating new proteins that the body has never before been exposed to, creating a myriad of opportunities for new food allergies/sensitivities. On the other hand, many of the GMO products are produced to make the organism grow better or more hardy and resistant to disease. Personally, I choose not to put any GMOs into my body if I can help it. And, by the way, when did the AMA become such a wonderful reference source?
bmj.com Hopkins 323 (7317): 828f
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