Thursday, September 8, 2011
Honeymoon is over AKA Fat Recall!
Now that I been married a whole month and gained 13 pounds, it's time for a Total Fat Recall! Now I'm back on my grind and not looking back. Stay tuned.
Forks Over Knives
Just watched another great documentary on our bad eating habits. Read the synopis of movie and go watch it.
What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure.
Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to "battle" these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.
Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously?
FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.
Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960′s with producing "high quality" animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed.
These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led
them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented – and in many cases reversed – by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public.
The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced "nature’s perfect food," to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow "reality patients" who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments – while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.
FORKS OVER KNIVES utilizes state of the art 3-D graphics and rare archival footage. The film features leading experts on health, examines the question "why we don’t know," and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years.
FORKS OVER KNIVES was filmed all over the United States, Canada and China.
Synopsis
What has happened to us? Despite the most advanced medical technology in the world, we are sicker than ever by nearly every measure.Two out of every three of us are overweight. Cases of diabetes are exploding, especially amongst our younger population. About half of us are taking at least one prescription drug. Major medical operations have become routine, helping to drive health care costs to astronomical levels. Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the country’s three leading causes of death, even though billions are spent each year to "battle" these very conditions. Millions suffer from a host of other degenerative diseases.
Could it be there’s a single solution to all of these problems? A solution so comprehensive but so straightforward, that it’s mind-boggling that more of us haven’t taken it seriously?
FORKS OVER KNIVES examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.
Dr. Campbell, a nutritional scientist at Cornell University, was concerned in the late 1960′s with producing "high quality" animal protein to bring to the poor and malnourished areas of the third world. While in the Philippines, he made a life-changing discovery: the country’s wealthier children, who were consuming relatively high amounts of animal-based foods, were much more likely to get liver cancer. Dr. Esselstyn, a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, found that many of the diseases he routinely treated were virtually unknown in parts of the world where animal-based foods were rarely consumed.These discoveries inspired Campbell and Esselstyn, who didn’t know each other yet, to conduct several groundbreaking studies. One of them took place in China and is still among the most comprehensive health-related investigations ever undertaken. Their research led
them to a startling conclusion: degenerative diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even several forms of cancer, could almost always be prevented – and in many cases reversed – by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Despite the profound implications of their findings, their work has remained relatively unknown to the public.The filmmakers travel with Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn on their separate but similar paths, from their childhood farms where they both produced "nature’s perfect food," to China and Cleveland, where they explored ideas that challenged the established thinking and shook their own core beliefs.
The idea of food as medicine is put to the test. Throughout the film, cameras follow "reality patients" who have chronic conditions from heart disease to diabetes. Doctors teach these patients how to adopt a whole foods plant-based diet as the primary approach to treat their ailments – while the challenges and triumphs of their journeys are revealed.
FORKS OVER KNIVES utilizes state of the art 3-D graphics and rare archival footage. The film features leading experts on health, examines the question "why we don’t know," and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years.FORKS OVER KNIVES was filmed all over the United States, Canada and China.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
How To Lose Weight: Is It Easy? NO! That Is, Unless You Know How To Diet Correctly
No one would suggest that losing weight is easy. The facts are in: it takes commitment, time, and change. However, we may be able to take some of the difficulty out of the task by making a few simple adjustments.
The last three decades have shown a remarkable increase in the percentage of people who are overweight or obese. Eating has become the national pastime. We eat when we socialize, watch TV or movies, work (isn't someone just always bringing donuts?). We eat to reward ourselves, to relieve frustration, to calm our nerves, to busy our hands, and, we drink "pop" with abandon, and so on.
The problem with this constant eating is that we have lost touch with the natural, inborn triggers that tell us when we are hungry and when we are full. Eating, for most of us, has no relationship with hunger. We eat because the food is there...we keep eating because there's food left.
The nutrition laboratory at Cornell University tested the theory that we will naturally stop eating when we are "not" hungry. They created a "bottomless soup bowl" which was constantly refilled by means of a hidden tube at the bottom of the bowl. They served soup from a regular bowl to half of a group and soup from the constantly refilled bowl to the other. What happened? The diners eating from the automatically-filled bowl ate 73% more soup than the normal bowl group. Clearly, we eat because the food is there.
Further, we don't concentrate on the food during the process of consuming it. Our minds are fully engaged with something else...TV, chatting, reading...we can call this "mindless eating" (unfortunately it is anything but "fat-less" eating).
Yet another problem is that we eat too fast...a sign of the times in which we live perhaps. Still, the negative effect of that habit, weight-wise, is that even if we are aware of our brain-activated "full signal", we will have eaten more than necessary by the time the neurons have gotten the message...all because we are eating too fast.
Another theory that has been shown by numerous studies is that we eat up to 45% more from large plates than we do when the same amount of food is served in smaller plates. We seem to feel that the plate should be filled...if it is not, we are left feeling unsatisfied or even deprived. Also, the larger the plate or bowl, the larger the portions we will automatically dish up.
So, what's the bottom line? There are several simple steps we can take in order to help with our quest toward weight loss.
1. Develop a habit of "mindful" eating. When we eat, let's eat...nothing else. If we're going to consume calories we might just as well fully enjoy each bite. (If we don't fully enjoy each bite, perhaps it's time to put the fork down?)
2. Have scheduled eating times...three small meals and healthful,satisfying snacks in between (vegetables, fruits, reduced-fat cheese, whole grain breads and crackers, a handful of nuts).
3. Eat when you are aware that you are hungry. Don't munch just because the food is there.
4. Eat slowly and focus on the signal you will receive from the brain that you are full. Then, stop eating.
5. Use smaller plates and bowls for serving food.
While losing weight may not be easy, perhaps we are making it a lot more difficult than it need be?
The last three decades have shown a remarkable increase in the percentage of people who are overweight or obese. Eating has become the national pastime. We eat when we socialize, watch TV or movies, work (isn't someone just always bringing donuts?). We eat to reward ourselves, to relieve frustration, to calm our nerves, to busy our hands, and, we drink "pop" with abandon, and so on.
The problem with this constant eating is that we have lost touch with the natural, inborn triggers that tell us when we are hungry and when we are full. Eating, for most of us, has no relationship with hunger. We eat because the food is there...we keep eating because there's food left.
The nutrition laboratory at Cornell University tested the theory that we will naturally stop eating when we are "not" hungry. They created a "bottomless soup bowl" which was constantly refilled by means of a hidden tube at the bottom of the bowl. They served soup from a regular bowl to half of a group and soup from the constantly refilled bowl to the other. What happened? The diners eating from the automatically-filled bowl ate 73% more soup than the normal bowl group. Clearly, we eat because the food is there.
Further, we don't concentrate on the food during the process of consuming it. Our minds are fully engaged with something else...TV, chatting, reading...we can call this "mindless eating" (unfortunately it is anything but "fat-less" eating).
Yet another problem is that we eat too fast...a sign of the times in which we live perhaps. Still, the negative effect of that habit, weight-wise, is that even if we are aware of our brain-activated "full signal", we will have eaten more than necessary by the time the neurons have gotten the message...all because we are eating too fast.
Another theory that has been shown by numerous studies is that we eat up to 45% more from large plates than we do when the same amount of food is served in smaller plates. We seem to feel that the plate should be filled...if it is not, we are left feeling unsatisfied or even deprived. Also, the larger the plate or bowl, the larger the portions we will automatically dish up.
So, what's the bottom line? There are several simple steps we can take in order to help with our quest toward weight loss.
1. Develop a habit of "mindful" eating. When we eat, let's eat...nothing else. If we're going to consume calories we might just as well fully enjoy each bite. (If we don't fully enjoy each bite, perhaps it's time to put the fork down?)
2. Have scheduled eating times...three small meals and healthful,satisfying snacks in between (vegetables, fruits, reduced-fat cheese, whole grain breads and crackers, a handful of nuts).
3. Eat when you are aware that you are hungry. Don't munch just because the food is there.
4. Eat slowly and focus on the signal you will receive from the brain that you are full. Then, stop eating.
5. Use smaller plates and bowls for serving food.
While losing weight may not be easy, perhaps we are making it a lot more difficult than it need be?
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