More Benefits Of DASH

The DASH diet can reduce depression along with all of its other health benefits.

The popular Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet was created to lower blood pressure, but new research says it can also reduce the risk of depression later in life.

A study, to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 70th Annual Meeting in April, shows that the popular diet -- rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products and very few foods that are high in saturated fats and sugar -- does more than what has been shown in multiple studies: Lowering blood pressure, bad cholesterol (LDL) and body weight.

Keep on eating those Big Macs though!

In all seriousness, people have a choice between healthy and unhealthy eating, and this choice should be reflected in health insurance premiums.

Health Eating And Mortality: Confirming Common Sense

By popsique - Dieta Mediterranea, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1380032

Hopefully, readers of this blog know by now the importance of a healthy diet - emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats. However, it is comforting to have this knowledge, this common sense, legitimized by study.  Thus, read the following abstract about reduced risk of death with healthy diet consumption over time:

BACKGROUND:

Few studies have evaluated the relationship between changes in diet quality over time and the risk of death.

METHODS:

We used Cox proportional-hazards models to calculate adjusted hazard ratios for total and cause-specific mortality among 47,994 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 25,745 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study from 1998 through 2010. Changes in diet quality over the preceding 12 years (1986-1998) were assessed with the use of the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 score, the Alternate Mediterranean Diet score, and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet score.

RESULTS:

The pooled hazard ratios for all-cause mortality among participants who had the greatest improvement in diet quality (13 to 33% improvement), as compared with those who had a relatively stable diet quality (0 to 3% improvement), in the 12-year period were the following: 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 0.97) according to changes in the Alternate Healthy Eating Index score, 0.84 (95 CI%, 0.78 to 0.91) according to changes in the Alternate Mediterranean Diet score, and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.95) according to changes in the DASH score. A 20-percentile increase in diet scores (indicating an improved quality of diet) was significantly associated with a reduction in total mortality of 8 to 17% with the use of the three diet indexes and a 7 to 15% reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease with the use of the Alternate Healthy Eating Index and Alternate Mediterranean Diet. Among participants who maintained a high-quality diet over a 12-year period, the risk of death from any cause was significantly lower - by 14% (95% CI, 8 to 19) when assessed with the Alternate Healthy Eating Index score, 11% (95% CI, 5 to 18) when assessed with the Alternate Mediterranean Diet score, and 9% (95% CI, 2 to 15) when assessed with the DASH score - than the risk among participants with consistently low diet scores over time.

CONCLUSIONS:

Improved diet quality over 12 years was consistently associated with a decreased risk of death. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health.).

An example of a healthy eating index can be found here.

Cancer Field Effect

Here is a paper on the cancer field effect, an idea that states than an entire area of a tissue can be altered in some way to predispose that area to develop cancer. Of interest is the possibility that diet, lifestyle (including smoking), etc. can alter the tissue microenvironment to create a "field of susceptibility" to cancer. Hopefully such research can fulfill the promise of "personalized prevention and treatment strategies for precision medicine;" however, until then, controlling diet and lifestyle to prevent cancer, to the best of your ability, is the optimal behavior modification to do.

The term 'field effect' (also known as field defect, field cancerization, or field carcinogenesis) has been used to describe a field of cellular and molecular alteration, which predisposes to the development of neoplasms within that territory. We explore an expanded, integrative concept, 'etiologic field effect', which asserts that various etiologic factors (the exposome including dietary, lifestyle, environmental, microbial, hormonal, and genetic factors) and their interactions (the interactome) contribute to a tissue microenvironmental milieu that constitutes a 'field of susceptibility' to neoplasia initiation, evolution, and progression. Importantly, etiological fields predate the acquisition of molecular aberrations commonly considered to indicate presence of filed effect. Inspired by molecular pathological epidemiology (MPE) research, which examines the influence of etiologic factors on cellular and molecular alterations during disease course, an etiologically focused approach to field effect can: (1) broaden the horizons of our inquiry into cancer susceptibility and progression at molecular, cellular, and environmental levels, during all stages of tumor evolution; (2) embrace host-environment-tumor interactions (including gene-environment interactions) occurring in the tumor microenvironment; and, (3) help explain intriguing observations, such as shared molecular features between bilateral primary breast carcinomas, and between synchronous colorectal cancers, where similar molecular changes are absent from intervening normal colon. MPE research has identified a number of endogenous and environmental exposures which can influence not only molecular signatures in the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome and interactome, but also host immunity and tumor behavior. We anticipate that future technological advances will allow the development of in vivo biosensors capable of detecting and quantifying 'etiologic field effect' as abnormal network pathology patterns of cellular and microenvironmental responses to endogenous and exogenous exposures. Through an 'etiologic field effect' paradigm, and holistic systems pathology (systems biology) approaches to cancer biology, we can improve personalized prevention and treatment strategies for precision medicine.

Diet Vs. Drugs

In general, I believe that, when and where appropriate, lifestyle changes should be tried first before taking drugs to deal with certain common types of chronic metabolic disorders (but of course always consult with your physician, as "in general" does not apply to every specific case). The experts agree with my opinion:

Many Americans, when faced with a serious health risk like high cholesterol, opt to take a pill rather than adopt healthier living habits.

A middle-aged woman I know is typifies this attitude. Thrilled with how well medication has controlled her rising cholesterol level, she continues to indulge in foods rich in cholesterol-raising saturated fats. She also carries around more body fat, especially risky abdominal fat, than is considered healthful.

I met people like that. For example, some people with Type II Diabetes believe that taking medication gives them green light to load up with cookies, cakes, and doughnuts.

Dr. Philip Greenland, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said, “People should be following a heart-healthy diet, keeping their weight under control and exercising regularly. This would be a highly preferable approach. Unfortunately, it’s not the direction we’re going in.”

Admittedly, swallowing a little pill every day is simpler than changing one’s behaviors — and especially one’s eating habits. Yet experts like Dr. Greenland say that even when taking a statin or some other cholesterol-lowering drug, changes in diet and exercise habits are needed to maximize the drug’s benefits. He and others insist that drugs should be a last resort, after lifestyle changes fail to lower serum cholesterol adequately.

I agree. Unfortunately, Dr. Greenland is correct that this is not the direction we are going on. Everything and everyone needs to be medicated, it seems. I recently read a suggestion stating that drugs for treating the consequences of obesity are needed, since it is unrealistic to think people are going to lose weight. In other words, eat excessively, be obese, and then take a pill to try and evade the consequences. Of course, all of these drugs have side effects.  Wouldn’t it be easier to attack the problem rather than its consequences?  Lifestyle changes involving diet and exercise may help the underlying problem, and do so without expensive medications and their side-effects.

Noting that “every food a person might eat either fights or contributes to disease,” Dr. Kopecky said his clinic “tries to get everyone on a Mediterranean diet,” the traditional eating habits of people living in Greece and southern Italy. In addition to its heart benefits, studies suggest the Mediterranean diet may “reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, arthritis and the metabolic syndrome”… “people in Greece eat an average of nine servings a day of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables,” and the booklet outlines a long list of potentially healthful foods. Some examples include prunes, blueberries, red grapes, oranges, strawberries, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, beets, red bell peppers, corn and eggplant.

At a minimum, Americans should strive to consume two or more servings of vegetables and two to three or more servings of fresh fruit each day. If “fresh” is not available, “fresh frozen” is the next best option.

Living near the sea, Mediterraneans eat lots of seafood, often daily, and the Mayo diet recommends three or more servings a week of fish or shellfish. One or more servings should be a fatty fish rich in protective fish oils, like salmon, tuna, bluefish, sardines, mackerel and trout.

The white meat of chicken or turkey, eaten without the skin, is the land animal protein of choice, the Mayo Clinic says, with a serving size limited to 3 ounces of cooked meat, about the size of a deck of cards.

Unlike many Americans, people living along the Mediterranean also consume lots of foods with vegetable protein: legumes like split peas, lentils and peanuts, and beans like lima, black, red, kidney and navy…Whole grain breads and cereals are part of the recommended diet, but note that a serving of bread is one slice. Breads should be eaten plain or dipped in olive oil, the Mayo booklet says.

Which brings us back to fats. Olive oil, especially extra-virgin and virgin, the least processed forms, or canola oil should be used in place of butter or margarine…Eggs are back in fashion, consumed in moderation. That means a limit of three to four egg yolks a week, though no limit on egg whites. A good trick when preparing an omelet or scrambled eggs is to use two egg whites for every one yolk…However, red and processed meats should be limited to one three-ounce serving a week. And those cherished treats and desserts — pastries, cakes, doughnuts, cookies, pudding, French fries, potato chips and all sweetened and diet carbonated soft drinks — are best avoided altogether…Likewise, avoid high-fat dairy products…

Of course, what you eat is only half of the health-saving story. Regular physical exercise is a critical ingredient, even if it doesn’t result in weight loss. “Fitness trumps fatness,” Dr. Kopecky said, adding that being fit even while remaining fat markedly reduces cardiovascular risk. He urges parents to establish heart-healthy habits early in their children’s lives. “Patterns for physical activity are set by ages 6 to 9, and healthy eating habits by ages 9 to 12; together, they can result in a much lower risk for developing heart disease as adults,” he said.

This is all sound advice. If radical changes are considered too difficult at first, then go slowly. Reduce rather than eliminate the more unhealthy foods and continue to reduce their intake over time, until they are eliminated or are taken at a reasonable and acceptable frequency. Gradually increase your intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Increasingly incorporate physical activity into your daily regimen. Over time, you will have reached the required goals and objectives.

Maintaining a Healthy Diet While Traveling

Some tips on how to eat healthy when traveling come from this excellent article:

Business trips have plenty of perks -- new travel destinations, expense-account meals and an excuse to get out of the office. But road trips have a common pitfall as well in terms of the poor food choices you may make -- from indulgent client dinners and unhealthy airport fare to the temptation of room service. All can quickly derail your healthy lifestyle.

The good news is that it’s easier than you think to stay on track while you travel. If you’re actively trying to lose weight or managing a chronic condition like diabetes, be sure to work with your healthcare provider to create a plan that suits your needs. If you’re just trying to maintain your healthy habits while you’re on the go, here are some simple tips to keep you feeling great.

The article continues to give a series of useful tips. 

It is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle (in terms of diet and exercise) when traveling. 

However, you should not be discouraged, if you cannot perfectly replicate your home program. Do the best you can, and maintain as much of your routine as possible. 

Remember that many times “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” If you can maintain most of your health agenda on the road, that will be good enough. Of course, the more you travel, the more important it will be to better replicate your home program when on the road. 

If you are going to be away for only a few days once or twice a year, it’s not a big deal, but weeks away from home necessitate more stringent attempts to optimize the situation.

Additional advice comes from my wife:
 
Before my trips, I always Google-search my final destination for nearby health food stores, pharmacies and supermarkets. Once I am at my destination, I buy fruit, vegetables (usually baby carrots), nuts, crackers, and plain yogurt (if the hotel room has a refrigerator). I do not load my luggage with food, since I travel with a small bag that fits any overhead compartment in any plane. The only food I do carry with me is the food I consume during the travel hours, since the food choices at the airports are surprisingly unhealthy, expensive, or both.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids And Prevention Of Colorectal Cancer Recurrence

Omega-3 fatty acids in (recurrent) cancer prevention.

Increasing evidence supports the contention that many malignancies, including sporadic colorectal cancer, are driven by the self-renewing, chemotherapy-resistant cancer stem/stem-like cells (CSC/CSLC), underscoring the need for improved preventive and therapeutic strategies targeting CSCs/CSLCs. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFA), have been reported to inhibit the growth of primary tumors, but their potential as a preventive agent for recurring cancers is unexplored. The primary objectives of this investigation are (i) to examine whether eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; one of the ω-3 PUFA) synergizes with FuOx (5-FU+Oxaliplatin), the backbone of colon cancer chemotherapy, and (ii) whether EPA by itself or in combination with conventional chemotherapy prevents the recurrence of colon cancer via eliminating/suppressing CSCs/CSLCs. FuOx-resistant (chemoresistant; CR) colon cancer cells, highly enriched in CSCs, were used for this study. Although EPA alone was effective, combination of EPA and FuOx was more potent in (i) inhibiting cell growth, colonosphere formation, and sphere-forming frequency, (ii) increasing sphere disintegration, (iii) suppressing the growth of SCID mice xenografts of CR colon cancer cells, and (iv) decreasing proinflammatory metabolites in mice. In addition, EPA + FuOx caused a reduction in CSC/CSLC population. The growth reduction by this regimen is the result of increased apoptosis as evidenced by PARP cleavage. Furthermore, increased pPTEN, decreased pAkt, normalization of β-catenin expression, localization, and transcriptional activity by EPA suggests a role for the PTEN-Akt axis and Wnt signaling in regulating this process. Our data suggest that EPA by itself or in combination with FuOx could be an effective preventive strategy for recurring colorectal cancer.

These findings suggest even more health benefits for omega-3 fatty acids.  It would seem that reasonable consumption of certain polyunsaturated fats has not only cardiovascular benefits, but cancer prevention benefits as well.

Apple Varieties

Eating more fruits and vegetables is an important component of a healthy diet. Adopting such a diet would be easier, if people fully explore the varieties of different fruits and vegetables available, to find those most appealing to their individual taste, or just to have some variety and avoid "taste boredom."

For example, there is a large variety of apples, that differ in sweetness, tartness, crispiness, etc. The image here shows many, but certainly not all, of the varieties. Most people think of apples as "Red Delicious" and, if they are somewhat more adventurous, "Golden Delicious" or "Granny Smith," but there are other varieties as well, and you should at least try some of them, and see what you think.
 

The same principle applies to other plant-based foods, but apples are a good place to start, since there is such a wide variety, and apples have a relatively long "shelf-life" at room temperature, so one can take time trying them out.

Reasons Or Excuses?

Reasons or excuses - it's a bit of both.

The link is to an article citing 20 reasons why losing weight is allegedly more difficult now then ever before. While some of these reasons may be just excusing laziness and lack of discipline, there is some truth to many of them. One common thread is the increasing acceptance of obesity, and accommodation of it in society. Therefore, the fact that so many people around us are overweight/obese "normalizes" the condition, so that physiques that decades ago would be clearly recognized as abnormally overweight are now the "new normal." Also, as indicated in the article, clothes sizes are being adjusted so that larger waistlines are being redesignated as smaller sizes, again accommodating and normalizing unhealthy weight gain.

The ever-changing dietary guidelines are cited, and there is some truth to that. On the one hand, science is all about keeping an open mind and changing paradigms when presented with new evidence, so we perhaps should not be too surprised when guidelines change (although in some cases, the radical changes and complete "U-turns" are indeed disconcerting). One thing that may make these changes more palatable is for any guidelines to be presented somewhat less rigidly, less definitively. To tell people one day that it is absolutely true that "eating X,Y,Z" is unhealthy for you, and then to tell these people five years later the exact opposite, with equal certitude, is going to confuse and discourage them. I understand that some people may say that "hedging bets" about conclusions will make dietary guidelines and health suggestions less powerful and will weaken their ability to alter peoples' behavior. That may be true, but the constant changes in "this is definitely true" probably does more damage. Also, explaining to people why the changes were made would help, and also explaining how and why some evidence is stronger than others may help as well. To just radically change guidelines without explanation or discussion is going to, as I said before, confuse and discourage.

Berries Against Cancer

Something to consider:

Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases across the world. Numerous epidemiological studies indicate that diets rich in fruit, such as berries, provide significant health benefits against several types of cancer, including colon cancer. The anticancer activities of berries are attributed to their high content of phytochemicals and to their relevant antioxidant properties. In vitro and in vivostudies have demonstrated that berries and their bioactive components exert therapeutic and preventive effects against colon cancer by the suppression of inflammation, oxidative stress, proliferation and angiogenesis, through the modulation of multiple signaling pathways such as NF-κB, Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/AKT/PKB/mTOR, and ERK/MAPK. Based on the exciting outcomes of preclinical studies, a few berries have advanced to the clinical phase. A limited number of human studies have shown that consumption of berries can prevent colorectal cancer, especially in patients at high risk (familial adenopolyposis or aberrant crypt foci, and inflammatory bowel diseases). In this review, we aim to highlight the findings of berries and their bioactive compounds in colon cancer from in vitro and in vivo studies, both on animals and humans. Thus, this review could be a useful step towards the next phase of berry research in colon cancer

Vitamin D Deficiency and the Colon

Deficiency of vitamin D can promote colon inflammation and colon cancer.

Epidemiological studies showed that 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D[1,25(OH)2D3] insufficiency appears to be associated with aging and colon cancer while underlying biological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Inflammatory bowel disease is one of the risk factors for colon cancer. In this study, we investigated whether 1,25(OH)2D3 deficiency has an impact on the colon of 25-hydroxyvitamin D 1α-hydroxylase knockout [Cyp27b1-/-] mice fed on a rescue diet (high calcium, phosphate, and lactose) from weaning to 10 months of age. We found that 1,25(OH)2D3 deficient mice displayed significant colon inflammation phenotypes including shortened colon length, thinned and disordered mucosal structure, and inflammatory cell infiltration. DNA damage, cellular senescence and the production of senescence-associated inflammatory cytokines were also increased significantly in the colon of Cyp27b1-/-mice. Furthermore, the levels of ROS in the colonwere increased significantly, whereas the expression levels of antioxidative genes were down-regulated dramatically in the colon of Cyp27b1-/-mice. Taken together, our results demonstrated that 1,25(OH)2D3 deficiency could induce colon inflammation, which may result from increased oxidative stress and DNA damage, subsequently, induced cell senescence and overproduction of senescence-associated secretory factors. Therefore, our findings suggest that 1,25(OH)2D3 may play an important role in preventing the development and progression of colon inflammation and colon cancer.

Of course, too much of any vitamin or mineral is not good either. Strive for balance and obtain them from natural food sources (rather than supplements) if possible.  Some sunlight can help with vitamin D - but beware of too much exposure there as well (skin cancer threat).

Evidence That A Few Cheat Meals Are OK?

An interesting article states:

A study published on Monday on the benefits of a "Mediterranean diet" found that including a higher number of these foods is linked to a lower risk of heart attack and stroke in people who already have heart disease. However the research also found that a moderate consumption of foods typical in a "Western diet," such as refined carbohydrates, deep fried foods, sugars and desserts, may not always have the negative health consequences expected… 

…Surprisingly the team also found no evidence to suggest that consuming a higher number of unhealthy foods typical of a "Western Diet" caused an increase in MACE, with results suggesting that including more healthy foods in the diet was more important than avoiding unhealthy foods. 

However lead author Professor Ralph Stewart warned that the findings did not mean that people could consume unhealthy foods freely, with the study's limitations making it difficult to assess exactly what the harm of these unhealthy foods may be, concluding that "The main message is that some foods -- and particularly fruit and vegetables -- seem to lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes... If you eat more of these foods in preference to others, you may lower your risk

The way I would interpret these data is that eating healthy reduces your risk of disease, but the occasional “cheat meal” or the occasional “unhealthy snack” is not going to harm you, as long as those more uhealthy foods are consumed infrequently and in moderation, and in the context of an overall healthy diet.

One has to use judgment. Eating a small bag of pretzels a couple of times per week, or one slice of pie, or a cheeseburger and fries, or a cookie very once in a while, is not going to harm the typically heathy person. But such foods cannot be consumed in excess or too frequently; instead the base foundation of your diet has to be the “Mediterranean diet” type foods.

Three healthy meals stretched for the week

Take a look at this.
 

Those are some ideas on how to balance healthy eating and economical eating: good food stretched out for a week's eating. One can try variations of these, or develop new recipes on the same principle. One does not need to spend large amounts of money to eat healthy, assuming normal portion sizes and economical cooking.
 

Related to his, I strongly advise packing lunch to work, to avoid the expense of buying lunch (which adds up day after day, week after week, year after year) and to also avoid the usually unhealthy, calorie-laden, and fat/sugar-enriched meals available outside. I usually have for lunch a potato roll with a piece of cheese (reduced fat) and some mustard, a few reduced fat Triscuits, an apple, and a bottle of water. One or twice a week I may add a small bag of pretzels to the mix - yes, I know they are "empty calories" and have added salt, but a small serving occasionally will not "make or break" a diet.
 

And, of course, eat breakfast at home. There is no need to waste time and money buying some (typically extremely) unhealthy fast food breakfast outside.  Save money, eat healthier.

Obesity and Cancer in The Scientist

One theme of this blog is the importance of healthy eating and the consequences of obesity, which include an increased risk of at least ten types of cancer. The readers interested to learn in depth about the obesity-cancer connection may find this article from The Scientist useful.

The article states that:
 

This year, obesity overtook smoking as the top preventable cause of cancer death in the U.S., with some 20 percent of the 600,000 cancer deaths per year attributed to obesity.
 
One mechanism that connects obesity to cancer is inflammation. Exacerbating the inflammation problem are diet-related changes in the gut microbiome:
 

Obesity is associated with an overall reduction in gut bacterial diversity, and decreased bacterial richness has been linked to elevated systemic inflammation. Researchers have also demonstrated that high-fat diets are accompanied by impairments in gut barrier function, resulting in higher plasma levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. Increased LPS levels have been shown to induce metabolic endotoxemia, characterized by elevated adipose tissue macrophage infiltration and proinflammatory cytokine expression. Together, these studies suggest that obesity-related perturbations of the gut microbiome and barrier function associated with a high-calorie diet can induce chronic systemic and adipose tissue inflammation, which is known to play a role in the progression of several cancer types.

Another mechanism whereby obesity can promote cancer is through changes in the signaling between cells, including elevated insulin levels ( as in metabolic syndrome).


Obesity not only increases the risk for developing cancer, but it can result in a more aggressive and invasive form.

In addition to putting people at an increased risk for developing cancer, obesity also worsens a cancer patient’s prognosis. Research from our group and others has shown that a variety of cancers grow at faster rates in obese patients than in lean individuals. Furthermore, obesity appears to increase the chances that a patient’s cancer will metastasize. A variety of factors may underlie the obesity-metastasis link, including circulating factors such as leptin, adiponectin, and IGF-1; adipose tissue remodeling, including alterations in adipose-derived stem cells; and other changes to the tumor microenvironment. Our work in breast and pancreatic cancer, for example, has shown that obesity can drive epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key mechanism in progression to metastasis.

Obesity can also result in a diminished response to chemotherapy.
 

Unfortunately, the article concludes with the suggestion that weight normalization is an “unrealistic goal,” and we should instead come up with treatments that would allow people to be obese while blocking some of the negative downstream consequences of obesity, including cancer:

Thus, while weight normalization in a significant number of the obese adults worldwide will likely never be a realistic goal, it is also unclear whether this simple reversal of obesity would markedly reduce the cancer burden. A precision-medicine approach that targets key processes dysregulated by obesity may be needed to break the obesity-cancer link. In addition, combination approaches that simultaneously target growth factor, inflammatory, or other key signals will likely have better success than single agents or interventions.

One justification for this conclusion is that 20% of normal weight individuals are metabolically unhealthy; whereas,10% of the obese are metabolically healthy. Therefore, we should concentrate on the downstream metabolic effects rather than on the weight:

The idea that preventing obesity-related cancers depends on targeting the obesity-associated metabolic dysregulation rather than weight is further reinforced by the recent recognition that some 20 percent of normal-weight people are metabolically unhealthy and at increased risk for cancer,14 while approximately 10 percent of obese individuals are metabolically healthy and show no elevated cancer risk.

Of course, 20% and 10% represent minorities of the normal weight and obese populations, respectively. Most of the normal weight people are metabolically healthy; whereas, a very large majority of obese individuals develop metabolic dysfunction. In addition, the concept that metabolically healthy obese exist might be flawed. Therefore, while it is certainly a good idea to come up with treatments that can block the obesity-cancer link, it will also be important to pursue the “unrealistic” goal of reducing overweight and obesity. Thus, in addition to cancer, overweight and obesity contribute to a broad range of other health problems. We can either continue on the absurd road of obesity, or we can try to restore a more normal weight profile for Americans. If we do not try, the vast majority of Americans will be medicated to counteract/ameliorate the effects of obesity; such medications will likely have side effects and increase the already crushing financial burden to the patients and the health care system. It is clear also that if it is difficult to shed the already-accumulated weight, at least we should try our best to prevent the next generation of Americans from becoming overweight/obese.
 

There will be some who will need treatment, particularly those who are metabolically unhealthy even with normal weight and healthy eating. But that should be a minority. The idea that a huge portion of the American population needs to be extensively medicated because we surrender to the “inevitability” of obesity is unacceptable. Perhaps what we need are more research initiatives like this.

Going Nuts for Heart Health

When I was young, the paradigm was ‘fat is fat”, and all forms of fat were to be reduced to the absolute minimum. That led to a carbohydrates - heavy diet which likely has contributed to today’s epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. Today, our current understanding is that unsaturated fats, in moderation, can be healthy. Thus, nuts, one forbidden as a “fat food,” are now considered healthy, if consumed in moderation, and as part of an overall healthy diet.
 

Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet can be good for your heart. Nuts, which contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients, are a great snack food, too. They're inexpensive, easy to store and easy to pack when you're on the go.
 
The type of nut you eat isn't that important, although some nuts have more heart-healthy nutrients and fats than do others. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts — you name it — almost every type of nut has a lot of nutrition packed into a tiny package. If you have heart disease, eating nuts instead of a less healthy snack can help you more easily follow a heart-healthy diet.
 
Can eating nuts help your heart?
 
People who eat nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet can lower the low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol level in their blood. High LDL is one of the primary causes of heart disease.
 
Eating nuts may reduce your risk of developing blood clots that can cause a fatal heart attack.
 

Once again, moderation is key.

 As much as 80 percent of a nut is fat. Even though most of this fat is healthy fat, it's still a lot of calories. That's why you should eat nuts in moderation. Ideally, you should use nuts as a substitute for saturated fats, such as those found in meats, eggs and dairy products. 

Instead of eating unhealthy saturated fats, try substituting these with a handful of nuts or a tablespoon or two of a nut spread. The American Heart Association recommends eating four servings of unsalted nuts a week. Select raw or dry-roasted nuts rather than those cooked in oil.

A serving is a small handful (1.5 ounces) of whole nuts or 2 tablespoons of nut butter. But again, do this as part of a heart-healthy diet. Just eating nuts and not cutting back on saturated fats found in many dairy and meat products won't do your heart any good.

Eating some walnut or almonds, or having a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter can therefore constitutes a tasty part of a heart-healthy diet.

Check these recipes for walnut-chocolate clusters and spicy walnuts.

Health Benefits of Mulberry Fruit

Here is a study suggesting that mulberry fruit can have positive effects against inflammation, colitis, and cancer:

Here, we investigated the impact of mulberry fruit (MBF) extracts on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses in RAW 264.7 macrophages, and the therapeutic efficacy of MBF diet in mice with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute colitis and MUC2(-/-) mice with colorectal cancer. In vitro, LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production was significantly inhibited by MBF extracts via suppressing the expression of proinflammatory molecules, including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-1 beta (IL-β) and IL-6. Particularly, a dose-dependent inhibition on LPS-induced inflammatory responses was observed following treatment with MBF dichloromethane extract (MBF-DE), in which linoleic acid and ethyl linolenate were identified as two active compounds. Moreover, we elucidated that MBF-DE attenuated LPS-induced inflammatory responses by blocking activation of both NF-κB/p65 and pERK/MAPK pathways. In vivo, DSS-induced acute colitis was significantly ameliorated in MBF-fed mice as gauged by weight loss, colon morphology and histological damage. In addition, MBF-fed MUC2(-/-) mice displayed significant decrease in intestinal tumor and inflammation incidence compared to control diet-fed group. Overall, our results demonstrated that MBF suppressed the development of intestinal inflammation and tumorgenesis both in vitro and in vivo, and supports the potential of MBF as a therapeutic functional food for testing in human clinical trials.

Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables seems to be a "can't lose" proposition for most - likely, all - people. Add mulberry fruit to the list of those plant-based foods you should consider eating.

Top Ten Health Discoveries For The New Year

Some things to think about

The issues revolving around saturated fats vs. carbohydrates are important.  The possibility exists that the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes type 2 may in part be due to the saturated fats scare, and the consequent advice to eat more (whole) grains.  It's not that whole grains are bad in moderation, but in reality the "grains" people started eating were not, I think, for the most part "whole."  Therefore, people substituted highly processed carbs, "white starches," sugar, etc. for all that fat they weren't supposed to eat.

In fact, at one point, all fat - not just the saturated kind - was considered "the enemy" and I know people who avoided nuts and nut butters, olive oil, avocados, etc., because they were "high in fat."  Instead, low fat, high-carb foods were consumed with the results we see today.

Going in the opposite direction (high fat, low carbs) will, in my opinion, not be prudent either. True, some people may be eating too many carbs, particularly of the "simple" variety; however, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. make up a crucially important part of a healthy diet.  One extreme or the other is not good. A small-to-moderate amount of saturated fat as part of a healthy diet is good and normal for most healthy people. Eating carbs in moderation is also healthy, as is, of course, sufficient quality protein, and unsaturated fats from plant sources.