Doctors’ Deal With Coke Creates Uproar

November 9, 2009

Associated Press

By Lindsey Tanner

Advice about soft drinks and health from one of the nation’s largest doctors groups will soon be brought to you by Coke.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has prompted outcry and lost members over its new six-figure alliance with the Coca-Cola Co. The deal will fund educational materials about soft drinks for the academy’s consumer health and wellness Web site, http://www.FamilyDoctor.org.

Academy CEO Dr. Douglas Henley said Wednesday that the deal won’t influence the group’s public health messages, and that the company will have no control over editorial content. He said the new online information will include research linking soft drinks with obesity and will focus on sugar-free alternatives.

But critics say the Coke deal will water down the advice.

“Coca-Cola, like other sodas, causes enormous suffering and premature death by increasing the risks of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, gout, and cavities,” Harvard University nutrition expert Dr. Walter Willett said in an e-mail.

He said the academy “should be a loud critic of these products and practices, but by signing with Coke their voice has almost surely been muzzled.”

Dr. Henry Blackburn, a University of Minnesota public health specialist, said the deal “will inevitably have a chilling effect on the focus of their message in regards to sweet drinks.”

Coca-Cola spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said that kind of criticism “misses the point of the partnership which is to provide education based on sound science.”

Dr. William Walker, public health officer for Contra Costa County near San Francisco, likened the alliance with ads decades ago in which physicians said mild cigarettes are safe,

Walker has been a member of the academy for 25 years but quit last week. He said 20 other doctors who work with his local medical practice also quit because of the Coke deal.

In an announcement last month, the academy, based in suburban Kansas City, Kan., said the new Coca-Cola-funded educational material will be posted online in January.

The idea is “to develop educational materials to help consumers make informed decisions so they can include the products they love in a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle,” the academy’s president-elect, Dr. Lori Heim, said at the time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics received similar criticism seven years ago when it allowed an infant formula maker’s logo to appear on copies of that group’s breast-feeding guide.

And the American Medical Association faced harsh reaction more than a decade ago with a plan to endorse Sunbeam appliances without testing them. Criticism forced the AMA to abandon that deal.

The Coke deal is not the only corporate alliance for the family physicians group. In 2005 it received funding from McDonalds for a fitness program. And its consumer Web site includes advertising for a variety of products, including deli meats and air freshener.

Henley said the Coke deal is worth six figures but he and a Coca-Cola spokeswoman declined to elaborate.

In a protest letter to Henley, 22 health specialists and activists questioned the safety of artificial sweeteners and urged the academy to abandon the deal and speak out against sugary drinks “in the strongest language.”

Henley said the academy regrets the resignations and hopes other members will not “rush to judgment” before seeing the new content.

Coca-Cola is among several corporate contributors to the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, a separate philanthropic group. These contributors include many drug companies, McDonalds, PepsiCo and a beef industry group. Henley said the academy is in talks with other foundation contributors to fund other materials for the group, but he declined to say which ones.

Click here for the full report.

Diet and Exercise to Kick Insulin

October 26, 2009

LATimes.com

By Marni Jameson

By harnessing the power of lifestyle, the following people are managing their Type 2 diabetes without insulin, and in some cases without any medication at all. Some made the commitment when they were first diagnosed, but others reversed a condition that had been spiraling downward for years. Here’s how they did it:

“I’m controlled, not cured, but I’m not going back.”

Aaron Snyder, San Diego

Age: 31

Occupation: Commodities analyst for Shell Oil

Diagnosed: 10 years ago. (Diabetes is diagnosed by a fasting blood sugar of higher than 126 and an A1C of 6.5 or higher.)

Weight then: 220 pounds

Height: 5 feet 6

Background: “I was a math major at UC Berkeley and the pressure was enormous. I solved a lot of problems with food.” One evening, after he went out to dinner with a diabetic friend, she tested his blood sugar out of curiosity. It was 215. His A1C was in the 7s. “I had a long family history of diabetes; I just never thought I’d be part of it.”

Lifestyle changes: Over the next year he lost 50 pounds on a low-carb diet, and 10 more pounds the year after that. His doctor put him on insulin and metformin, a non-insulin medication that decreases the liver’s output of sugar and boosts cells’ ability to metabolize insulin. He began exercising daily.

Today: He still weighs 160 pounds, and sticks to his low-carb diet. Two years ago, he stopped taking all his diabetes medications, and his blood pressure and cholesterol are normal. He works out every day, lifting weights four days a week, and riding a stationary bike 30 minutes three days a week.

Advice: “I wish people understood that what you eat now influences what you want to eat next. A low-carb diet is the best way to curb your appetite and maintain your weight.”

What keeps him on track: His great grandmother had a stroke and lost a leg to diabetes, and his grandfather went blind and died of kidney disease, also due to diabetes. Besides, he adds, “I like how I look now, and more important, how I feel.”

“I went from eating frequently from the vending machine to knowing where all the yoga classes and running trails are around town and shopping at the farmers market.”

Howard Yosha,

Laguna Hills

Age: 37

Occupation: Cable consultant for Time Warner Cable

Diagnosed: Six years ago

Weight then: 240 pounds

Height: 5 feet 8

Background: While working at a communications call center, Yosha developed gout in his legs and feet, which triggered a toe infection that wouldn’t heal. His doctor suspected diabetes. Tests revealed his blood sugar was 415 and his A1C was approaching 13. His doctor started him on Actos, a drug that helps reverse early diabetes and increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. He put Yosha on a 1,400-calorie diet and sent him to a hospital-sponsored class.

Lifestyle changes: He took the six-week class “very seriously,” he said. He made losing weight a priority, joined e-diets and downloaded hundreds of healthy recipes. “I learned to cook and shop at the local farmers market.” He got on a strict schedule, and programmed his Palm Pilot to sound every time he was supposed to sleep, eat, check his blood or take his meds. He started walking 2 miles at lunch and after work. He eventually lost 65 pounds and started taking yoga.

Today: He’s medication-free and weighs 175; his A1C is 5.2 and his blood sugar stays around 98. He eats and sleeps at the same time every day. He takes two to four yoga classes a week and walks or jogs 2 to 8 miles a day. Last December, his employer sponsored him to run the O.C. half-marathon. He ran the 13-mile race again in May.

Advice: “Make moving more [of] a habit. I park on the top floor of my office’s parking structure . . . and I pick the farthest parking space at the shopping center.”

What keeps him on the program: “I will do anything to avoid that terrible foot pain I had. I had uncles lose limbs to diabetes. I never want that to happen to me.”

“Don’t underestimate the body’s potential to heal on its own.”

John Burgess, Irvine

Age: 43

Occupation: Accountant

Diagnosed: 18 years ago

Weight then: 220 pounds

Height: 5 feet 11

Background: For a long time Burgess controlled his disease with diet and exercise, but eventually he needed medication. He started taking metformin and Actos, and ultimately, in July 2007, insulin, which caused weight gain. By December 2008, he weighed 250, had become more insulin resistant and needed medications to manage blood pressure and cholesterol. His sedentary job didn’t help. He ultimately needed the strongest insulin available, five injections a day of U-500. In six months he gained 50 more pounds, peaking at 305. In July 2009, he saw Dr. Wei-An Lee.

Lifestyle changes: Lee put Burgess on a strict, 700-calorie-a-day diet. One week later he was off all insulin. After two weeks, he graduated to a 1,000-calorie diet, and added some exercise. He got a pedometer and aimed for 5,000 steps a day. He lost 84 pounds in 85 days. All his numbers, which he charts meticulously, have improved.

Today: He weighs 211 pounds, has dropped eight prescription meds in three months, including all his diabetes medications, two blood pressure medications, and medicine for his triglycerides. He’s halved his cholesterol medication. He does 5 1/2 miles a day on the elliptical and sometimes runs an additional half a mile on the treadmill, for a total of 6 miles. He focuses on carb control and relies on Lean Cuisine. “Last summer I couldn’t walk 100 steps; now I’m jogging.”

Advice: Because taking clients to lunch is part of his job, he looks at the restaurant’s menu online and when possible, the nutritional content of certain dishes, so he can decide in advance what to order. If he can’t get the nutritional information, he orders meat and vegetables.

What keeps him on track: Results. “The program sounds drastic, but sticking with it is easy when you understand the payoffs.”

“I’ve had plenty of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, plenty of cocktails; now I just want to live.”

To continue reading this report, click here.

My Favorite Natural Healing Juices…

Folks, you’ve heard me say it before, stay away from drugs! Stay away from all the garbage and all the crap. There are natural cures out there! The drug companies don’t want you do know this because they’ll lose money if you find a natural way to cure yourself.

Here are just a few of my favorite natural healing juices…

Celery Juice:
High blood pressure medication is so damaging to the body. If you’re on high blood pressure medication, you don’t need to be. Get a juicer and start making your own celery juice. It’s loaded with magnesium and magnesium deficiency is the number one cause of high blood pressure. There are a whole bunch of other nutrients in celery that relax and soothe muscle cells in the arterial walls. This allows the arteries to dilate, lowering the blood pressure. It will also calm you down. One of the physicians at the Whitaker Wellness Center decided to put this to the test. Every day for a month, she and her father would drink one bunch of celery, mixed with a little orange juice for flavor. In just 30 days, her father’s blood pressure went from 148 to 128 and hers went from 120 to 105. That’s without dangerous, prescription drugs.

Cabbage Juice:
Two thousand years ago, in ancient documents, cabbage was said to surpass all other vegetables as a digestive aid. One of the reasons is that it’s very high in glutamine, which is an amino acid that serves as fuel for the rapidly dividing cells in certain parts of the body. Multiple studies support cabbage’s reputation as a therapy for gastro-intestinal disorders, especially ulcers, heart burn, and GERD. Cabbage juice actually can heal peptic ulcers. One study showed that it healed peptic ulcers 92% of the time. Do you realize that’s better and more effective than any drug known to man? There’s one person I know who swears by cabbage juice. She was plagued with inflammation of the stomach lining and had severe acid reflux. Her regular MD doctor tried all of the usual drugs, but nothing alleviated her pain or reduced the frequency of her episodes. She then learned about cabbage. Whenever she had a flair-up, she would drink the juice of half a head of cabbage, which is about 4 ounces. She did this 5 times a day for about 3 days and also drank a lot for pure water. She was then problem free for 9 months. If she would have just taken a little bit on a regular basis, it would have been even more miraculous.

Cherry Juice:
Cherries have been discovered to contain very powerful, natural anti-inflammatory compounds. They work better than Aspirin, Advil or any other pain medication. Researchers at Michigan State University found that just 10 tart cherries packed the same pain relieving punch as 2 Aspirin, plus the fact they have all the anti-oxidants for anti-aging and good heart health! You can’t get that from any drug! Cherries have also been shown to reduce or eliminate gout, which is caused by a build-up of uric acid. As you know, this can cause pain and stiffness, specifically in the big toe. A study at the University of California found that eating 8 oz of tart cherries reduced levels of uric acid. Cherries are an amazing and healthy food. If you have pain or inflammation, this is a wonderful natural cure.

Cranberry Juice:
Now a lot of people have known this for years, but in recent years, no one is talking about it since the FDA passed a rule that only a drug can be used to treat, cure or prevent a disease. For years, doctors used to treat urinary tract infections with cranberry juice. Back then when you went to the store and bought cranberry juice, the cranberries were not genetically modified and weren’t loaded with toxins. It was real cranberry juice. Today, it’s hard to get real cranberry juice, unless you go to a whole foods type store where you can get 100% organic cranberry juice. Read the labels. No high-fructose corn syrup allowed. You can also get cranberries and juice them yourself in a juice machine. Make sure, if they have the pits in them, you take them out. The juice of cranberries can absolutely, 100% cure and prevent urinary tract infections.

Melon Juice:
Cantaloupe and honeydew are very good natural remedies for weight loss. I personally drink, in season, organic watermelon juice. It is the first thing I drink in the morning. Sometimes I drink other types of juice in the morning, but generally melon. It’s great for clearing out the intestines and livening up the whole digestive tract!

Juice It Up!

August 19, 2009

Natural News

By Dr. Julian Whitaker

Some mornings on my way to work, I drop by the local Jamba Juice store a block from my office and down 16 ounces of carrot juice and four ounces each of wheatgrass juice and a green tea energy drink. I drink this cocktail for overall health and vitality. The wheatgrass is full of vitamin K and amino acids, the carrot juice is packed with beta-carotene, and the green tea gives me a boost of caffeine and antioxidants to get my day started.

However, this is not a story about general health maintenance. It is about “targeted” juices that have predictable and rapid therapeutic effects on specific health conditions. Let’s start with a very common problem: high blood pressure.

Celery Juice Lowers Blood Pressure
When you think about lowering blood pressure, celery probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But this crunchy vegetable deserves some serious attention. Loaded with potassium and magnesium, celery contains something even more important: 3-n-butyl-phthalide, a compound that relaxes the smooth muscle cells in the arterial walls, allowing the arteries to dilate and effectively lowering blood pressure.

One of the physicians at Whitaker Wellness decided to put celery to the test. Every day for a month, she and her father juiced and drank one bunch of celery, mixed with a little orange juice for flavor (it’s somewhat bitter on its own). Her father’s systolic blood pressure went from 148 to 128 and hers went from 120 to 105. Imagine results this dramatic without dangerous prescription drugs!

Another great juice for people with hypertension is Low-Sodium V8 Juice. It works on two fronts to lower blood pressure. First, it contains a particularly high dose of potassium (840 mg per eight ounces) that helps keep blood pressure in check. Second, according to a study recently published in JAMA, it is an effective blood thinner, which further contributes to its antihypertensive effects. For Ted, one of my longtime patients, simply drinking 12 ounces of Low-Sodium V8 Juice daily was enough to keep his blood pressure in the normal range.

Cabbage Juice Heals the Stomach
Roman statesman Cato the Elder wrote more than 2,000 years ago that, as a digestive aid, “Cabbage surpasses all vegetables.” One reason is its high content of glutamine, an amino acid that serves as a primary fuel for the rapidly dividing cells of the GI mucosa. Multiple studies support cabbage’s reputation as a therapy for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, especially ulcers, heartburn, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In one of them, cabbage juice healed peptic and duodenal ulcers in an incredible 92 percent of cases studied!

One person who swears by cabbage juice is a patient we’ll call Betty, who was recently at the clinic. Betty was plagued with inflammation of the stomach lining and severe acid reflux. Her conventional doctor tried her on all the usual drugs, but nothing alleviated her pain or reduced the frequency of her episodes-until she came across an article on cabbage juice and decided to give it a shot.

Now whenever Betty has a flare-up, she drinks the juice from half a head of cabbage (yielding approximately four ounces of pleasant-tasting, slightly sweet juice) five times a day for about three days, in addition to copious amounts of water. This three day-regimen keeps her problem-free for eight or nine months-and I’ll bet if she drank it religiously, she wouldn’t have any problems at all.

Sauerkraut has also been touted for its ability to heal the stomach. In addition to the healthful compounds found in cabbage, this fermented food and its juice are also an excellent source of beneficial bacteria that nurture the GI tract. Eldon, a Health & Healing subscriber, eats it right from the jar to quell heartburn.

Cherry Juice Reduces Pain and Inflammation
Cherries make a mean pie, but a pain reliever? In recent years, cherries have been discovered to contain potent natural anti-inflammatory compounds called anthocyanins and other flavonoids that work on the same inflammation pathways as aspirin and NSAIDs to reduce pain. In fact, researchers from Michigan State University found that just 10 tart cherries pack the same pain-relieving punch as one or two aspirin-and offer a wallop of antioxidants to boot.

Cherries have also been shown to reduce gout. Gout is caused by a buildup of uric acid, which crystallizes in the joints and causes pain, stiffness, and inflammation. In a study conducted at the University of California Davis, eating eight ounces of cherries significantly reduced levels of plasma urate, a marker of uric acid. Cherries also produced small but notable decreases in markers of inflammation.

Francis, a friend of mine, squelches the gout pain in his big toe by eating cherries. And J. Otto Garry, a subscriber from Tamarac, Florida, has had great success treating his arthritis with cherry juice. He drinks three ounces in the morning and another three ounces in the evening to reduce and prevent inflammation. He also includes cod liver oil in his juice and takes alfalfa tablets along with it, which add to its anti-inflammatory value.

Cranberry Juice for UTIs
Everybody knows that cranberry juice can prevent and treat urinary tract infections (UTIs), but have you ever wondered why? Cranberries contain a combination of anthocyanins (the phytonutrient that gives both cranberries and cherries their rich color) and a unique sugar called mannose. Together, these compounds are responsible for thwarting UTIs by making it impossible for bacteria to cling to the walls of the bladder and urinary tract.

Ann, a subscriber I met at a Subscriber Seminar a while back, told me she used to have frequent UTIs until she started keeping a bottle of unsweetened cranberry juice in her fridge. Now when she feels a flare-up coming on, she drinks a glass or two daily for a few days, and she never gets infections anymore.

Judicious Juicing
As a general rule of thumb, I don’t recommend drinking a lot of fruit juice as it is loaded with sugar and calories. However, the juices listed above boast too many healing properties to ignore. Judicious juicing offers an easy way to drink to your health and naturally knock out many pressing health concerns. Bottoms up!

Click here to continue reading the full article from Natural News

Why Apples, Avocados and Red Wine Could Ease Your Arthritis

June 22, 2009

UK Daily Mail

Arthritis is the term used for nearly 200 painful conditions of the joints and bones. It affects about 7million people in the UK and all types have similar symptoms of swelling, inflammation of joints, stiffness and restriction of movement.

The good news is that many cases of arthritis can be relieved, postponed or even prevented by good joint care.

Research shows a definite link between the food you eat and the severity of your symptoms. Like your heart, your joints thrive best on plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Try to eat at least five (and preferably eight or more) servings a day.

Fruit and vegetables provide an array of antioxidants that reduce the rate at which cartilage breaks down, helping to slow the process of osteoarthritis. Antioxidants can also reduce inflammation and help combat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and gout.

Apples and avocados are anti-inflammatory superfoods. Don’t peel your apples – the skin contains five times more antioxidants than the flesh. Oily fish are a rich source of omega-3 essential fatty acids that oil the joints and damp down inflammation.

Research shows that omega-3 can reduce the long-term need for painkillers in those with joint problems. You should aim to eat oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herrings and mackerel two to four times a week. You can also take an omega-3 fish oil supplement.

Drink plenty of fluids – approximately three to five pints (two to three litres) – a day to maintain good hydration and a steady flow of nutrients to your joints. Choose from water, soups, tea and juices.

You may find your symptoms are triggered by particular foods. Culprit foods vary, so it’s important to keep a food-and-symptom diary to help pinpoint the foods that irritate. This is not always easy, as symptoms can worsen up to 36 hours after eating a trigger food.

The foods most commonly found to worsen arthritis are wheat, corn, rye, sugar, caffeine, yeast, malt, dairy products, oranges, grapefruit, lemons and tomatoes. Meats most likely to provoke symptoms are bacon, pork, beef and lamb.

A number of foods may trigger joint pain in those with arthritis. Research shows that when these are avoided, about 70 per cent of sufferers report less pain and improved mobility.

Some are particularly sensitive to foods from the nightshade (Solanaceae) family. Commonly eaten nightshade foods include potatoes, tomatoes, aubergine, sweet peppers, paprika, cayenne and all other types of pepper (except black pepper).

Try to minimise your intake of vegetable oils rich in omega-6, such as sunflower oil, because these promote inflammation. Switch to olive oil for cooking, and macadamia nut oil or walnut oil for salad dressings.

Studies have also shown an association between the amount of meat and offal consumed and arthritis.

Eating a vegan (no animal products) diet can reduce the number of tender and swollen joints.

Weight loss is one of the most effective ways to reduce pain in your knees and hips, whatever form of arthritis you have. When you walk, the load on your knees increases by four times your body weight. This means that if you are 10lb (4.5kg) overweight, the load on your leg joints is up to 40lb (18kg) more than if you were at a healthy weight.

Studies show that weight loss can at least halve the level of pain experienced by those with arthritis affecting their lower limbs – this is a better result than standard drug treatments.

The foods below have a natural anti-inflammatory action that’s particularly beneficial for those with arthritis – however, some (such as chilli peppers) may trigger an idiosyncratic reaction in some sufferers:

Apples: Contain anti-inflammatory antioxidants. Red Delicious apples contain the most. The antioxidants are five times more concentrated in the apple’s skin than the flesh.

Avocados: Contain antioxidant monounsaturated oils, essential fatty acids and Vitamin E. Promote cartilage repair in osteoarthritis.

Chillies: Contain capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin which block transmission of pain messages. They also trigger endorphins  -  the brain’s own morphine-like painkillers.

Dark green leafy vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, cabbage and parsley, for example, supply antioxidants, Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium.

Macadamia nuts: The richest source of monounsaturated fatty acids. Also contain Vitamin E and selenium.

Oily fish: A great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Red wine: A good source of antioxidant polyphenols which reduce inflammation.

Walnuts: A rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Some research shows that eating them daily can help alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

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