Monthly Archives: January 2012

Can Fresh Organic Juice Cure Type 2 Diabetes?

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Jane’s husband, Bruce, found Jane’s passion for eating healthy a bit odd and restrictive, but he tolerated it. After all, it didn’t bother him, except in his pocket book, but a small price to pay to keep Jane happy. Food was something to indulge in, according to Bruce.

A social drinker, Bruce lost all sense of mindfulness when he drank, which often led to gorging himself, as were many of his buddies. Unsurprisingly, most of them were consuming a daily cocktail of medications, were overweight and suffered from some ailment such as pre-diabetes and/or heart disease.

The problem was that Bruce became so reliant on the meds to keep him “healthy,” but they affected him in many untold ways, including lethargy and irritability. He became so unbearable that Jane threatened to separate if he didn’t follow a healthier lifestyle.

For one month, Bruce followed a plant rich diet, reduced his alcohol intake and drank 1 to 2 JOOS per day. He also started to wean himself off the meds. After one month, he went to the doctor and, for the first time in years, his triglyceride levels were normal. Even better, his moods were more stable, he slept better and lost 15 lbs.

This is a fairly typical story of many men who start drinking fresh organic, non pasteurized juice. One of the biggest surprises for me was that the blood sugar levels of Type 2 Diabetics stabilized, despite drinking juice with apple in it. This showed me, at least on an anecdotal level, that it’s not the non pasteurized sugars from fruit that is affecting the blood sugar levels; it’s the high acidic, processed diet that is!

What are you waiting for to live a fulfilling, satisfying life?

 

Dark Leafy Greens Saved the Fireman

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Fireman James “JR” Rae had a cholesterol level of 344 mg/dL putting him at dangerously high risk for coronary heart disease. He went on a plant rich, vegan diet, and after only three weeks, JR’s cholesterol dropped to 196 mg/dL, within the normal range.

Seeing that many of his other fellow Engine 2 firefighters in Austin, TX also suffered from dire physical condition, Fireman Rip Esselstyn designed a life-saving diet plan for the firehouse. By following Rip’s program, everyone lost weight (some more than 20 lbs.), lowered their cholesterol, and improved their overall health, which he shares in his book, The Engine 2 Diet.

I’ve heard many of these firefighters interviewed and each one of them speaks with passion about their transformation to a plant rich diet and how much healthier and more vibrant they feel as a result.

I believe whole-heartily that there’s a place for western medicine, but most doctors find it easier to prescribe a pill to lower cholesterol than to guide their patients through a plant-rich diet. I don’t blame them because nutrition generally isn’t taught in medical school (and typically if it is, it’s at a very cursory level), but prescribing medications is.

Don’t be fooled: these medications have side effects. Also, despite that medicated people’s cholesterol may be in the normal range, that’s actually deceptive! The fact is that the moment these people are taken off of their cholesterol lowering drugs, their cholesterol may actually increase to dangerous levels.

Even worse, because these people are under the impression that their cholesterol levels are in a normal range, the tendency is to follow a very poor diet high in saturated fats, processed foods and dairy.

Logically, eventually this is going to catch up with them.

For many people, it’s very difficult to switch to a plant rich diet, which is one of the driving reasons we’ve created the JOOS Reboot. This is a VERY easy-to-follow, non deprivation program designed to kick start healthy, sustainable eating habits.

What are you waiting for to feel your absolute best?

Part 4: 5 Easy Tips to Make YOU Eat Healthy Forever

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As I mentioned in Parts 1 to 3, there are many misconceptions about what it takes to implement a healthy diet plan forever. Many people believe it’s difficult and involves deprivation. While you may have to exercise some discipline, it is actually very easy once you get the hang of it.

Some of these tips will resonate with you. Some won’t. My hope is that you’ll take from this what is most helpful to you. Here are 5 more tips:

1. Sip water, don’t gulp.

When you gulp, it’s like a damn opening in your body.  When you sip, you allow the water to seep into your cells and provide better hydration.

2. Your lunch should be big enough so that you’re not hungry for dinner.

Many people avoid lunch, but in many countries, it’s the largest meal of the day and there’s good reason for that. Many people who started eating large lunches have seen substantial weight loss. If you eat your large meal at dinner time, you do not give your body enough time to metabolize your food so you’re essentially sleeping with rotting food in your belly.

3. Do not eat 2 hours before you go to bed. See Tip 2. above.

4. Eat with the seasons. Obviously, it is not going to kill you if you eat a blueberry during the winter, but generally foods during the winter should be heavier. If you’re an animal protein eater, this is the season (but remember to keep your portions small).

5. Calories are secondary if you eat a diet of 90% whole foods with approximately 60% of that as alkaline foods (fruits and vegetables). You will fill up before you over-eat. Calories come in handy when you eat processed foods that are empty calories.

If you’d like to discuss any of these points in more detail or your general eating plan, I’m happy to discuss with you. Please email me at healthcoach@drinkjoos.com.

Do you want to Lose Weight? Restricting Calories is NOT necessarily the answer!

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A Harvard study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the consumption of starches and refined grains may be less satiating, increasing subsequent hunger signals and total caloric intake, as compared with equivalent numbers of calories obtained from less processed, higher-fiber foods that also contain healthy fats and protein.

What does this mean? That processed foods do not fill us so that within a short period, we are hungry again and the cycle continues.

As I’ve written a few times, I know several overweight people who are starving. They eat protein bars that they believe are low in calories, but wonder why within an hour they are craving another bar.

I wrote in my blog this week that a solution is to eat high fat foods from fish and vegetable sources, such as avocado and coconut. These foods fill us up and diminish the cravings. As a result, we fell satisfied, which diminishes are desire to binge and over-eat.

Here is the link to the Harvard Study:

Meet a real Powerhouse: Bok Choy

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Barry Sears, MD, creator of the Zone Diet and author of The Top 100 Zone Foods, says that bok choy is the healthiest of all cabbages, which says a lot because cabbage is so incredibly healthy.

Bok Choy has long been a staple in Asian cuisine, and has been making its way into mainstream America.  Bok Choy is a member of the brassica family, a genus of plants known as mustards or cabbage. It is rich in folate, Vitamin C, beta-carotene (1 cup contains nearly the entire RDA), calcium (1 cup contains approximately the same as 1/2 cup milk) and potassium. It also contains nitrogen known as indoles, which are phytochemicals that are said to prevent breast cancer.

The small heads of bok choy are called baby bok choy, which are more tender than the larger variety pictured above.

Bok choy has crunchy stems and crinkled, spinach-like leaves.  You can throw it in a stir-fry, sautée or steam it. Here is one of my favorite recipes:

 

Baby Bok Choy Ramen Salad
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  •  1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
  •  1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  •  1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
  •  1/4 cup sesame seeds
  •   2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodle pasta, crushed
  •   1 medium head baby bok choy
  •   3 green onions (scallions)
    Directions
  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, sugar and soy sauce.  Set aside.               
  2. Crush the ramen noodles while still in their packaging and sautée over medium heat in a small skillet with the almonds and sesame seeds until everything is golden brown.  Remove from heat and drain on a paper towel.               
  3. Chop the bok choy and green onions and add to a large bowl.  Just before serving, sprinkle with the noodle mixture and dressing, and toss to coat.               
 
 

If Grazing is so Good for us, then Why are we Obese and Sick?

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A couple years ago, I challenged my readers to eat 3 meals per day without snacking. “Why would I do that?” so many people asked, “Isn’t grazing the best way to eat?”

Well, yes and no. All over world, with the exception of the United States, people wake up and eat breakfast. They go about their day until mid-day and then eat a full lunch, the heaviest meal. They go about their day until dinner, and then eat a small dinner, which is more like a supper. By the way, when I grew up, we called our evening meal supper, not dinner, because it was a lighter meal. When did this change occur to eating heavier meals at night?

Many American health care professionals recommend that we eat small meals throughout the day. The problem with grazing is that it doesn’t allow our systems a break so we’re not burning fat. Dr. John Douillard writes in The 3 Season Diet:

“…the problem with grazing is that it acclimates the body to an up-and-down scenario in which it never has quite enough to eat or enough time to digest food completely. It is as if you cooked a pot of rice halfway through, then opened the lid, threw in some more raw rice and cold water, and let it continue to cook. You would end up with a gunky mess of partially cooked rice that nobody could digest….by eating small amounts all day, we never give the digestive system a rest.”

A major way to burn fat is through giving our metabolism a break. If we’re constantly grazing, we don’t give our systems the break it needs to burn fat. Fat is the “calm fuel.” Burning fat enables our systems to detoxify and stabilize mood (i.e., minimize depression).

When we eat constantly and not in tune with nature, we block up our lymphatic systems. We become tired and lethargic, develop headaches, rashes, allergies, sinus problems sore throat, sinus problems, bloat, cellulite. All of these are symptoms of poor drainage.

Give it a try. It just may work for you.

Part 3: 5 More Easy Tips to Help YOU Eat Healthy Forever

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As I mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2, there are many misconceptions about what it takes to implement a healthy diet plan forever. Here are 5 more tips:

1. Not all fat is equal.

Fat satiates us and you can eat fat, just make certain it’s a healthy fat from fish oil, olive oil, avocado or generally most plant sources – NOT an animal source. Generally speaking, don’t skip on eating it. The first time I gave a friend this advice, he thought I was crazy, but he still have it a try. He LOVES guacomole and can literally sit down and eat a huge bowl of it. Now, over a year later, he’s lost 20 lbs.

2. You can eat in restaurants, just make certain that you maintain the fist full of protein and the rest vegetable rule (see tips from Part 1). Also limite starches to no more than a fist full.

3. If you have a sweet tooth or salt craving, work with it and don’t deprive it and find healthy substitutes for it that equally satisfy you.

4. Get rid of those unhealthy snacks and foods in your cabinet. If you think you keep them there for your kids, you’re NOT doing them a favor. In fact, you’re hurting them in the long run. As stated in Tip 3 above, you just have to find substitutes for the foods you crave.

5. The healthier you eat, they more you crave healthy foods. It’s as easy as that.

You have the right to be healthy!

Is Diet Soda Poison? Aspartame can Act like a Slow and Steady Killer!

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Would you give your child some arsenic and say, “It’s OK, only a small amount is fine?” That’s what you may be doing every time your child drinks diet soda.

Some members of the medical community believe that drinking diet soda is better than regular soda because of the lack of calories, but I urge you to do your own investigation about aspartame (a sweetener found in diet soda and many artificial sweeteners) before you take your next sip of a diet soda.

Studies have shown the correlation between aspartame ingestion to cancer, heart disease, Graves disease and other diseases. Aspartame has also been shown to have neurological and psychological side affects. Furthermore, studies have found that symptoms of fibromyalgia and IBS were relieved when aspartame is eliminated from the diet. Below is a link to an excellent source on aspartame, which contains several links to primary studies:

You have a right to be healthy! 

Do you really believe that synthetic vitamins fortify you?

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Many health professionals tell us to take a multi-vitamin and for good reason. Many of us eat an unhealthy, acidic, processed food diet, which is deplete of vital nutrients. Moreover, the soil in which our vegetables grow is increasingly devoid of minerals.

Most of the vitamins we consume these days are synthetic made from coal tar derivatives. No co-factors are present. As a result, there is a high degree of controversy whether these synthetic vitamins are bio-available in the human body.

There are very few studies to back that show that synthetic vitamins may not be helping us, but my question is: if they were fortifying us, then why are we getting so sick?

Solution: If you really want to get your daily requirement of the highest quality vitamins and minerals, then drink fresh organic juice. That way, you’re consuming concentrated nutrients grown in high quality soil by farmers who care.

As a reminder, if you truly want to feel healthy and balanced, at least 60% of your diet should come from alkaline-forming foods; that is, vegetables and fruit.

You have a right to feel healthy! 

Does Eating Less Keep Your Brain Young?

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One who eats once is a great Yogi (Divine Man). One who eats twice is a great Bhogi (sensual gratifier). One who eats thrice is a great Rogi (plagued by ill-health). One who eats 4 times is a great Drohi (one who torments all)
— Proverb of India

In India, there are several practicing yogis who eat one meal per day. The reason is so that they can practice moderation. Their lifestyle is more contemplative and slower paced so this isn’t very practical for most of us, but what interests me is that they live with a sense of gratitude and peace and without diabetes, heart conditions and other related illnesses to obesity.

On the other extreme are us Americans, who over-indulge in eating, are obese and riddled with disease. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome found that overeating may cause brain aging while eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young.

Many studies suggest that obesity slows down our brain and causes early brain aging, making it susceptible to diseases typical of older people as the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In contrast, caloric restriction keeps the brain young. This Italian study discovered the precise molecular mechanism behind the positive effects of an hypocaloric diet on the brain.

According to the study, caloric restriction means the animals can only eat up to 70 percent of the food they consume normally, and is a known experimental way to extend life, as seen in many experimental models.

While I would by no means suggest this for a person with an eating disorder, for many of us who are overweight and/or over-indulge, with the next bite of food you eat, slow down for a second and think about WHY you are eating that food? Are you genuinely hungry? Are you nervous? Upset? This doesn’t mean that you’re going to change your eating habits instantaneously, but at least it may help you become a little bit more mindful about your eating habits.

What are you waiting for to feel your best? You have a right to be healthy!

Here is the link to the study:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/cuor-elk121611.php