April 2004 vol

February 2005 Vol. 2 No. 2
increased ability to produce nitric oxide, which What’s In the News
relaxes the artery and improves endothelialfunction. Folic acid also lowers homocysteine This month I’d like to share with you some of the levels in the blood stream, which can directly most recent articles that have come out in the damage the endothelial lining of arteries.
medical journals. I really enjoy keeping up withthe cutting edge research. I’m always affirmed This study also points out that a higher intake of when newly released studies support what I’ve calcium, magnesium, potassium, and dietary fiber are also associated with a decreased risk of website for many years. So let’s take a quick look developing hypertension. When you combine at six recent studies and hear what they have to cellular nutrition with a healthy diet and exercise, you are able to reverse insulin resistance, whichis also a major reason so many people aredeveloping hypertension.
Forman, JP; Rimm, EB, et al. “Folate Intake
and the Risk of Incident Hypertension Among
US Women”; JAMA, January 19, 2005—Vol
Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, and Macdonald, IA.
293, No. 3
“Beneficial Metabolic Effects of Regular Meal
Frequency….”, American Journal of Clinical
Hypertension is a serious problem, increasing the Nutrition, 2005;81:16-24
risk of heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, andkidney failure. Around 29% of the population now These researchers investigated the effect of meal frequency on weight gain and the risk of heart medication for it, yet in the majority of the cases, disease. They found that the more irregular one hypertension is not brought under control by these eats their meals and snacks, the more they increase their weight. They also found thatindividuals who ate irregularly had increased total Forman and Rimm looked at over 93,000 women and LDL cholesterol levels in their blood, and their to see if taking supplemental folic acid (folate) insulin sensitivity significantly decreased.
decreased the risk of hypertension. Theyconcluded that an intake of supplemental folic These findings point out very clearly that the more acid (over 1,000 mcg) significantly decreased the regular you eat your meals and snacks, the more risk of high blood pressure, especially among weight you lose and the more you decrease your risk of heart disease. Individuals who were also their diet with 1,000 mcg of folic acid had a 46% consuming the good fats, good proteins, and good decreased risk of developing high blood pressure.
carbohydrates in regular meals and snacks did Interestingly, women who merely consumed more even better. You can understand why it is critical folic acid in their diet did not see these significant to develop the healthy lifestyles promoted in the results without the use of nutritional supplements.
Healthy for Life Program. You can learn moreabout this in my new book, Healthy for Life (Real The beneficial effect of folic acid (folate) on blood pressure was felt to be due to the body’s Nagoa T, Komine Y. et al. “Ingestion of a Tea
heart disease, but also your risk of colorectal Rich in Catechins….”; American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, 2005;81:122-9
Green tea provides a number of health benefits.
Larsson SC, Bergkvist L, Wolk A. “Magnesium
Intake in Relation to Risk of Colorectal Cancer
polyphenols and has been shown to decrease in Women”; Journal of the American Medical
your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, Association, January 5, 2005—Vol 293, No. 1
cancer, and diabetes. In this most recent study,the researchers looked at catechins, which are Larsson, Bergkvist and Wolk conducted a large another nutrient in green tea. They found that population-based study of over 60,000 Swedish consistent intake of green tea containing high women to investigate how the consumption of levels of catechins actually reduced body fat.
This was felt to be due to an increase in energy colorectal cancer. They found a direct correlation: The higher the intake of magnesium, the lower therisk of developing colorectal cancers.
Consider switching from coffee to a fine quality ofgreen tea. The health benefits are widely Magnesium supplementation reduces the risk of supported! You will still get some caffeine but the colon cancers in animal experiments. Magnesium benefits to your health are numerous.
is also essential for the stability of normal cellfunction and for DNA repair. It is also critical formaintaining the antioxidant status of the cell.
Chao, A, Thun, MJ, et al. “Meat Consumption
Animals deficient in magnesium display an and Risk of Colorectal Cancer”; Journal of the
increased susceptibility to oxidative stress.
American Medical Association, January 12,
2005—Vol 293, No. 2
insulin sensitivity among healthy subjects andalso among patients with diabetes. When you These researchers observed nearly 150,000 take all of this into consideration, you can see why participants, documenting their red meat intake I recommend supplementing your diet with 400 to and comparing it to their frequency of colorectal 800 mg of magnesium each and every day. cancers. They found that high consumption of redmeat over a prolonged period of time leads to anincreased risk of cancers that occur closer to the Dansinger ML, Gleason JA, et al. “Comparison
rectum. It appears that the high iron content of red of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and
meat causes a damaging “cytotoxic” effect on the Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease
Risk Reduction”; Journal of the American
Medical Association, January 5, 2005—Vol.
This is yet another reason to consider decreasing 293, No.1
our intake of red meat and increasing ourconsumption of the good fats found in cold-water We are a diet crazed society, spending over $30 fish, nuts, and certain vegetables and legumes. billion on diets and diet programs each and every Again, it is a matter of balance. Red meat year in the US alone. There are over 1,000 diet consumed in moderate amounts did not correlate books on the market, and yet there is little to no with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. So evidence that diets help us lose weight or improve feel free to enjoy a nice steak on occasion, but remember that eating a lot of red meat andprocessed meat not only increases your risk of In this study, four different diets were evaluated the program may be more important than the over a 12-month period of time to observe their effectiveness to produce weight loss anddecrease the risk of heart disease. They Diets simply do not work. In my thirty years of investigated the Atkins, the Zone, Weight clinical practice, I’ve seen nothing but dismal, Watchers, and Ornish diets. There were some temporary results. Medical research continues to interesting findings that this study revealed: show that traditional diet programs are failures. Inthis current study, for example, 65% of the 1. Weight loss was only modest, showing that participants gained back all of the weight they lost experienced a 5% weight loss and 10% of the approximately 99% of those who go on a diet will participants experienced a 10% weight loss.
gain the weight back in two years. That’s the bad This means that 65% of the participants did not experience any weight loss or had weightgain. There was no significant difference in The good news is that a balanced approach to the amount of weight loss between any of the food, nutritional supplements, and exercise can make major improvements to your physical andmental well being. When accompanied by 2. The adherence rate was very low throughout support, regular evaluations, continuing all of the diets, especially the Atkins and the education, and ongoing encouragement, these Ornish diets, which were felt to be too severe.
efforts can lead to healthy lifestyles that have
sustained a mean adherence rate of about60%. In other words, 75% of the participants That’s the heart and soul of the Healthy for Life quit the diets and the remaining 25% stayed Program. If you or someone you care about is with the diets less than 60% of the time.
ready to see their life changed for the better andfor the long haul, check out our program at 3. Cardiac risk factors were modestly improved in copy of my book Healthy for Life at that website.
particular diets. LDL cholesterol levelsdecreased modestly in all groups except theAtkins diet group. All diets increased the HDL(except the Ornish group) and lowered thetriglyceride levels. Blood pressure, fastingblood sugar, and insulin levels were decreasedin the short-term but failed to show significantimprovement at one year in all the groups,especially the Atkins group.
4. Adherence to the diet program, not the diet program itself, determined the amount ofweight lost and the improvement in the cardiacrisk factors. The individuals who adhered totheir program had the best results regardlessof which diet they were assigned. This leadsone to conclude that programs that stronglysupport their participants as far as adhering to

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