What the heck and I supposed to eat these days ?  This is a question our patients are always asking us.

"If you keep on doing what you have been doing, you will keep on getting what you been getting"   -Author Unknown-

It is now known that following a diet high in Carbohydrates such as corn, grains, rice and wheat will probably  kill you from heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. It does this by creating a higher lifetime insulin load. Anytime you eat carbohydrates you increase insulin output from the pancreas as your body attempts to shuttle the resultant sugar from the blood into the cells where it is rapidly and easily converted to body fat. In fact carbohydrates biochemically convert to human bodyfat much more easily than either dietary protein or fat. Elevated levels of Insulin cause fat deposition as well as systemic and   vascular inflammation which increases one's chances of stroke and heart disease. Alcohol, sugary and starchy food such as cookies, baked goods, candy, sweet drinks and white bread, processed
foods (which in fact are quickly turned into sugar in the body) triggering a rush of insulin. People with poor diets and low exercise often develop insulin resistance. It reinforces the tendency toward mid-section obesity which in turn favors overproduction of estrogen which in turn leads to excessive levels of these hormones which
leads to increased risk factors for breast cancer as well as polycystic ovaries. Having a mass of fat in the abdominal area actually creates an endocrine organ which produces extra estrogen by aromatizing testosterone. It also makes the cells of the body insulin resistant and favors the development of Type II Adult Onset Diabetes.  Dr. Dean Ornish, long a proponent of the high carbohydrate diet has now changed his views, as has Dr. Cooper, head of the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, Texas.

Gary Taubes wrote a startling article in the New York Times in 2002 titled “What If it Were All a Big Fat Lie!”  In it he stated:

The cause of obesity [is] precisely those refined carbohydrates at the base of the famous Food Guide Pyramid -- the pasta, rice and bread -- that we are told should be the staple of our healthy low-fat diet, and then add on the sugar or corn syrup in the soft drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks that we have taken to consuming in quantity if for no other reason than that they are fat free and so appear intrinsically healthy. While the low-fat-is-good-health dogma represents reality as we have come to know it, and the government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in research trying to prove its worth, the low-carbohydrate message has been relegated to the realm of unscientific fantasy.

Over the past five years, however, there has been a subtle shift in the scientific consensus. It used to be that even considering the possibility of the alternative hypothesis, let alone researching it, was tantamount to quackery by association. Now a small but growing minority of establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, may be the most visible proponent of testing this heretic hypothesis. Willett is the de facto spokesman of the longest-running, most comprehensive diet and health studies ever performed, which have already cost upward of $100 million and include data on nearly 300,000 individuals. Those data, says Willett, clearly contradict the low-fat-is-good-health message ''and the idea that all fat is bad for you; the exclusive focus on adverse effects of fat may have contributed to the obesity epidemic.'

This started the current low-carb tidal wave because people generally have found that it is true: if you cut out refined carbohydrates you will lose weight.

Traditional Fats are Best

So while we wait for the science to catch up with the truth, here is a better idea. Let’s go back and eat the traditional fats our forefathers and other traditional societies have eaten for hundreds and even thousands of years, and were known to be healthy. These fats are rich in saturated fats, and include healthy traditionally raised meat, dairy, and eggs. In tropical climates it includes coconut oil and palm oil. Coconut oil is unique in nature with medium chain fatty acids that are also found in human breast milk, with volumes of research showing that it leads to greater metabolism and weight loss.

Researchers now know that weight loss associated with coconut oil is related to the length of the fatty acid chains contained in coconut oil. Coconut oil contains what are called medium chain fatty acids, or medium chain triglycerides (MCTs for short). These medium chain fatty acids are different from the common longer chain fatty acids found in other plant-based oils. Most vegetable oils are composed of longer chain fatty acids, or triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat, while MCTs are burned for energy. MCTs burn up quickly in the body. Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of MCTs that increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCTs promote what is called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. People in the animal feed business have known this truth for quite some time. If you feed animals vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. If you feed them coconut oil, they will be very lean. Coconut oil is great for cooking as it tolerates high temperature flash frying and wok cooking without smoking or breaking down.

So what exactly do I eat...?

The following foods are unlimited and low glycemic/low insulin producing foods which are high in anti-cancer antioxidants:

Best Veggies

Note:  Try to buy from Farmer's Markets selling produce from the Matsu valley as its nutrient/mineral content is some of the best in the world..Produce bought at Carr's and Fred Meyer comes from the Midwestern US where the same nutrient depleted soils have been producing crops for the last 100+ years.

Artichokes
String Beans and Lima Beans
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower

Brussel's Sprouts
Spinach
Black Beans
Yams and Sweet potatoes
Sweet Potatos
Peppers
Kale
Eggplant
Romaine lettuce
Lettuce
Raw Carrots

Best Proteins

Eggs (Organic,free range)
Organic Chicken
Buffalo
Organic Beef
Organic Pork
Salmon (non farmed)
Halibut
Tuna (3x/week max)
Turkey Breast
Walnuts
Almonds
Cashews
Pine Nuts
Greek yogurt-Plain (Face)
Cottage Cheese (Organic)
Ricotta Cheese (Organic)
Hard Cheese  (Organic)
Almond Butter (grind own at store)

Best Fruits

Berries of any kind (Raspberries and Blueberries are best)
Apples
Grapefruit
Oranges (not juice)
Pears
Peaches

Best Cereals

Razor cut Irish Oatmeal
All Bran
Bran Buds
Quinoa

Best Oils/Fats

Extra virgin olive oil-cooking
Coconut oil-eating-also absolute best frying oil
Walnut oil -cooking
Butter

Best and safest Sweetener

Stevia powder

Best Bread

Ezekial Bread

Best Protein Powder for shakes/Smoothies

Undenatured Whey Isolate if you can find it. Otherwise use Whey Isolate over Whey Concentrate

Foods to Avoid

Potatos
Soda of any kind
French Fries-Often called the most dangerous food in existence due to acrylamide content
Corn products of all kinds
Soy products of all kinds due to Genetic Modification of 90% of all soy on market
Splenda
Aspartame
Acetyl sulfame K
 Any products containing HFC or High Fructose Corn Syrup
Wheat Products - High Allergen and lectin content
Chips of any kind-acrylamide
Fried oysters,clams,shrimp,shellfish, lobster

Be careful of MSG and related products (often called texturized vegetable protein etc)

The adrenal glands are small, triangular shaped glands that sit atop your kidneys, hence their other name “suprarenal glands” (from the Latin supra, or “above”). The adrenal glands regulate our body’s response to stress in a number of ways.

There are two main sections of the adrenal glands: the outer adrenal cortex and the inner adrenal medulla.

The adrenal cortex is further divided into three layers.

Zona glomerulosa – the site of mineralcorticoid production (i.e. aldosterone), which helps to regulate sodium/potassium balance in the body
Zona fasciculata – the site of glucocorticoid production (i.e. cortisol), which helps regulate blood sugar balance
Zona reticularis – the site of sex hormone production (i.e. DHEA, androstenedione)

The adrenal glands are unique in that part of them, the inner adrenal medulla, has a direct connection to the brain. In virtually all of the other hormone producing glands in the body, the message to secrete a hormone is transmitted via a chemical messenger traveling through the blood stream. For example, TSH, a hormone, tells the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone. ACTH, a hormone, tells the adrenal cortex to secrete cortisol.

Not so with the adrenal medulla. There is a nerve that goes directly from the brain to the adrenal glands.
Overactive adrenal glands usually produce too much cortisol and possibly other adrenal hormones (i.e. epinephrine, aldosterone). Since cortisol plays a role in elevating blood sugar, this is often accompanied by an increased blood sugar level. Over time, this might end up leading to conditions like insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Underactive adrenal glands, on the other hand, produce inadequate amounts of hormones, especially cortisol, to maintain homeostasis in the body. A common clinical problem with underactive adrenal glands is hypoglycemic symptoms due to fluctuations in blood sugar. Normal, healthy bodies release cortisol to help liberate glucose to maintain the functions of our brain, organs and cells when blood sugar levels decline between meals, or overnight during sleep. When cortisol is unavailable, glucose levels get too low. The adrenal glands release epinephrine (aka adrenaline) as their back-up plan. This causes the lightheadedness, shakiness and irritability that people with low blood sugar experience, and is why people with low blood sugar commonly wake up during the night.

The adrenal glands and their hormones have major physiological impacts on our body including bone metabolism, hormonal balance, gastrointestinal function, thyroid function, brain health, blood sugar balance, inflammation, immune system function, etc.

What can cause dysfunctional adrenal glands? Unfortunately, a lot of things,but our stessful, on the go, never resting, go go gopher lifestyle is contributory. The number one cause is constant never ending mental/emotional stress (work,marriage, divorce,death in family etc etc), food sensitivities, blood sugar imbalances, infections (i.e. parasitic, bacterial), excessive exercise… basically anything that is a perceived stress on the body.

Adrenal Gland Tests:

Testing adrenal gland function
Try this at home!
Here’s one relatively easy test to do if you have a blood pressure monitor. It’s called the orthostatic hypotension test. After lying down for approximately 5 minutes, take your blood pressure and make note of the systolic pressure (the top number). Then stand up and take your blood pressure again.

If your systolic pressure remained the same or if it decreased, there is a chance you do not have optimal adrenal medulla function, or epinephrine secretion. When we stand, epinephrine is normally secreted to increase our blood pressure to help prevent gravity from pulling blood away from our brain. If your blood pressure drops, it might mean that epinephrine isn’t there to do its job.

Systolic change Possible finding
Increases 6-10 mm/Hg- Healthy adrenal function.
Does not change -Fair adrenal function.
Drops 1-10 mm/Hg- Poor adrenal function
Drops more than 10 mm/Hg -Adrenal exhaustion.

'

Another at-home test you can do is called the paradoxical pupillary reflex. Standing in front of a mirror in a dark room, take a flashlight and shine the light into one eye at a 45 degree angle from the side. Watch your pupil.

When in the dark, your pupil should be dilated (open). When you shine the light it should constrict.  The duration of constriction can indicate adrenal function, though there are other causes for a positive finding on this test. Wait 30 seconds in the dark before repeating with the other eye. (If you get bored while waiting, chew some wintergreen Lifesavers with your mouth open and watch the sparks fly!).

Pupil constriction Possible findings:
Stays constricted for at least 20 seconds Healthy adrenal function
Fasciculates (pulses) after 10 seconds Fair adrenal function
Fasciculates (pulses) in 5-10 seconds Poor adrenal function
Immediate pulsation and dilation Adrenal exhaustion

Adrenal Extracts and protomorphogens such as Drenamin, Adrenal Complex and Drenatrophin. They can help boost the stress response in underactive adrenal glands.
 
Licorice root – This herb is used primarily in the case of underactive adrenal glands and can help with increasing circulating cortisol levels until the adrenal glands restore function. Due to its effects on aldosterone, it is not recommended for people with high blood pressure, though I think it can be safely used when monitored by a qualified medical professional.
 
Phosphytidylserine – This compound is best known for its ability to lower cortisol. But its effects are understated. PS should be used in both overactive adrenal glands and underactive adrenal glands because of its profound effects on the hypothalamus, which is a key regulator in the feedback loop between the pituitary and adrenal glands. Though 600-800 mg taken orally seems to be effective, I personally like using a topical application of PS to get even higher doses while keeping costs down.

Time release vitamin C,- as the Adrenals are the number one consumer of Vitamin C in the human body when it comes to organs.You should take 3-4 grams per day to rebuild the Adrenal Glands.

Excessive Exercise can Kill You.

"In my book I said "The more exercise, the better."  "But I had made a mistake. Exercise isn't a panacea that could fix everything, and it had risks"  Kenneth Cooper MD (The "father of Aerobics")

It is now known that marathon training and running causes increased artery plaquing over a lifetime of running. Researchers have shown that those who have run at least 25 marathons over 25 years show increased plaque buildup in their coronary arteries that supply blood to the working heart muscle cells. High volume runners examined with spiral 64 slice CT's showed higher T scores for calcium buildup than did comparable non-training controls. This study was presented at the American College of Cardiology 2010 Scientific Sessions by Dr. Robert Schwartz of the Minneapolis Heart Institute. On Oct. 10, on a perfect fall day with temperatures in the mid-60s, Peter Curtin,a 23 year old chemistry student at M.I.T lined up with more than 3,000 other competitors to run the Baltimore Marathon.At Mile 25, Curtin — who, his family said, never had any serious medical problems — collapsed. About two hours later, he died.Curtin is one of at least seven runners to die while running either a marathon or a half-marathon in the United States this fall, making it one of the deadliest racing seasons ever. On Oct. 18, three runners — men aged 26, 36 and 65 — died within 16 minutes of one another during the Detroit half-marathon. On Oct. 4, a man and a woman, both in their mid-30s, died while running a half-marathon in San Jose, Calif. On Sept. 6, a 23-year-old man died running a half-marathon in Virginia Beach. Diet was ruled out as a cause of plaque in the Schwartz study as the runners average cholesterol was 190 and HDl was quite high with LDL being a low 115. So diet was not the cause of the calcification. The increased plaque is likely due to mechanical and metabolic stress leaking calcium into the blood stream as well as increased oxidation damage due to lowered antioxidant action.
 

Experts are now aware of what is now termed "The Lance Armstrong Effect" when endurance athletes contract weird diseases. Sub 4 minute miler Steve Scott and Lance Armstrong both developed testcular cancer. Ice skater Scott Hamilton contracted cystic fibrosis, and running legends Marti Liquori and John Walker developed Lymphatic cancer and Parkinson's Disease. German studies show that DNA damage, osteoarthritis, reduced testosterone, increases in muscle wasting cortisol, and hemolysis or destruction of red blood cells all can result from exercising to exhaustion. Dr. Cooper now concedes there is a point of diminishing returns and now recommends a heavy regimen of antioxidant protection, and warns against overtraining. He has his clients at the famous Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, Texas limit limit themselves to a maximum 30 minutes of aerobics 4 days per week and to incorporate weight training as they age. It is now thought that training should replicate what our ancestors did when they were chasing game, which was sprinting interspersed with striding rather than continuous 70% of VO2 max type training which can essentially "wear you out".

Mark Sisson, a former elite runner who once ran a 2:20 marathon and finished 4th in the Hawaiian Ironman now does one day of  sprinting/resting cycle of 40 seconds all out and 2-3 minutes rest between. Overtraining almost killed him and left him with osteoarthritis and muscles drenched in cortisol. He has been able to restore his health and fitness and has even written a book entitled "The Primal Blueprint" as well as maintaining a popular website marksdailyapple.com outlining his current training theories.

Mark recommends avoiding "The Black Hole" as he calls it which is "a training pace that isn't hard enough for you to improve nor easy enough to recover from". This is a pace which is moderately hard and gets the endorphins going which causes you to want to repeat it ad infinitum and causes the DNA damage, increased lactate,reduced testosterone, osteoarthritis, increases in muscle wasting cortisol, and hemolysis or destruction of red blood cells that eventually wears the runner down enough to reduce the immune system.

It makes way more sense to do hard high intensity intervals with lots of recuperation time in between. Excessive cardio will likely wear you down if you don't eat enough, take antioxidants, and vary your training using high intensity interval training (HIIT) interspersed with time for healing and recovery. The main thing is to avoid slipping into "The Black Hole" of overtraining.

Its true...

Did you know that it took the FDA 16 years and 16 tries to finally approve this artificial sweetner.

Asparatame has been linked to brain cancer, memory loss, joint pain, impaired vision and asthma.

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt, aspartame triggers brain tumors" and "therefore, by allowing aspartame to be placed on the market the FDA has violated the Delaney Amendment, which forbids putting anything in food that is known to cause cancer"  Dr.Adrian Gross former senior FDA toxicologist (probably why its "former")

When Donald Rumsfeld (yes, that Donald Rumsfeld) who was formerly the CEO for GD Searle, got appointed to the FDA he appointed a new FDA commissioner who immediately approved Aspartame for Rumsfeld's old buddies at GD Searle.

Since then Aspartame has accounted for 75% of all complaints to the FDA (over 10,000 at last count).  The FDA compiled a list of 92 symptoms linked to the artificial sweetner, one of which is DEATH. It is considered to be a deadly neurotoxin. It is thought to stimulate Ghrelin, the hunger hormone as well as trigger cravings for carbohydrates. No wonder no one ever seems to lose weight with "diet" sodas.

On February 3, 2010, Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan introduced S. 3002, a bill entitled, The Dietary Supplement Safety Act. The supposed purpose of the bill is to make dietary supplements "safer." This is ironic because dietary supplements are already hundreds of times safer than either prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
• The real purpose of this bill is to limit your access to dietary supplements. The government would tell you, the consumer, what dietary supplements you could and could not buy. There is little doubt that if this bill becomes law your choices will be drastically reduced, and many of the supplements you take today will become illegal. This misguided bill affects ALL dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, sports and diet products.

• But, who is behind this bill? The answer is simple: big time sports leagues, especially Major League Baseball, which in recent years have been plagued by steroid scandals. Fearful that Congress will end their lucrative anti-trust exemption and require real drug testing, they have decided to make the supplement industry their scapegoat. When one of their players tests positive for steroids, they'd like people to think it must have been an adulterated dietary supplement.

• Unless you want the government to tell you what supplements you can and cannot take, and unless you want to see your freedom of choice drastically reduced, you need to make your views known to your United States Senators. Tell them to oppose this terrible piece of legislation.
To make your views known, you can go to the Save Our Supplements website (SaveOurSupplements.org) to send a note in opposition to S. 3002 directly to your two Senators or you can use the website to get information to construct your own personal letter. Either way, you need to act immediately.

Do not let Congress take away your right to buy and use dietary supplements