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The Nature of Being Human and How to Succeed in the Dynamic Human Marketplace – a combination book report on “Cool”, movie review of “Trainwreck” and Commentary on Social & Cultural Trends – by Gary S. Smolker

Introduction

The book “Cool” and the movie “Trainwreck” are about the same topics: human nature, human tendencies, human motivations, why we think the way we do, why we do what we do, why things happen to us they way they do and the forces causing society to be visibly changing in front of our eyes.

Among other things, “Cool” is about food, sex, relationships, diets, dieting, dieters, vanity, money, power, instant gratification, why we consume what we consume, what our pattern of consumption reveals and conveys about ourselves, the dramatic changes in society that have occurred in the past thirty years including the sex life of women, dramatic changes in the status of women, the dramatic changes in women’s participation in society, and the evolving status and self-image women have of themselves and what a man should do if he wants to get the favorable attention of a woman.

The story told in the movie “Trainwreck” illustrates many of the points made in the book “Cool” and vice versa.

“Cool” is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the nature of being human or who seeks guidance on how to succeed in the dynamic human marketplace.

Any one who wants to sell anything to younger people should read “Cool.”

The authors of “Cool” discuss how young people decide what to buy.

The authors of “Cool” report:

“Today, young people believe that their musical taste is the best indicator of their identity…”
There is a deep consensus among young people about what various kinds of music reveal about fans’ personalities, values, ethics and even social class.
The authors of “Cool” point out there are about 25 million songs for sale today and more than one thousand distinct musical genres.
Just before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee of the United States Senate held hearings on offensive content in records in response to Tipper Gore’s campaign and proposal to have music rating labels, requiring albums bearing warnings to be be placed under store counters, forbidding such works to be broadcast, and asking music companies to reassess their contracts with musicians who produced explicit music (rating categories to be based on sex, masturbation, violence, the occult, and drug and alcohol use content), none other than Donny Osmond made the point on Nightline that a sticker would make an album cool and kids would want it that much more. He even said he might have to add some suggestive lyrics to his own songs to avoid a dreaded G rating that would doom sales.
Madonna, whose album in 1984 Like A Virgin sealed her global recognition has gone on to become the best selling solo artist of all times, to appear on Time’s 2010 list of “The 25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century, and was the highest-paid musician of 2013, earning $125 million.
Even as early as her 1984 “Like A Virgin” performance, Madonna parodied the social commodification and fetishizing of female virginity.

Can and Should A Woman Have Sex Like A Man?

“Cool” contains a very interesting discussion of sex therapist Ian Kerner’s 2009 article titled “Can You (and Should You) Have Sex Like a Man?”:

Writing on “Today’s” health blog, he warned that the female orgasm releases oxytocin, a hormone that predisposes women to attachment, and when attachment is not forthcoming ‘orgasm becomes a regretful reminder of the hollowness of the sex that preceded it.’

Suggesting an even worse picture of the dire emotional consequences of casual sex, the University of Southern California professor Ruth White adds that while a woman’s brain releases oxytocin, men’s brain release testosterone, which ‘drives them off to find some other women with whom to spread their biological material.’

Quartz and Asp point out that the authors (Kerner and White) get the biological facts wrong. They leave out the fact that male orgasm likewise releases oxytocin – indeed oxytocin appears to play a central role in male monogamy.

They also point to a study which reported that men and women college students report identical rates of casual sex, and that women were not more motivated by the thought that hookups might result in long-term relationships, indicating casual sex has equal appeal for both sexes. They found no negative effects on well-being.

The movie “Trainwreck” takes the path cut by Madonna in “Like A Virgin” one step further by showing what would happen if women were able to turn-the-tables on men in their sexual relationships with men.

By the way, in the United States, the last forty years have seen the most dramatic and most rapid transformation of gender relations in the United State’s history.

“Cool”

The authors of “Cool” (Steven Quartz and Anette) talk about what they have found from studying brain activity scans.

They also talk about biological and evolutionary forces that cause us to do what we do.

They talk about food – why we eat what we eat; they talk about dieting – why and how the human brain works against dieting.

They talk directly about how women choose their sexual partners, how women evaluate men.

They talk about personal, cultural, and group identities and why those identities are so important to us.

They talk about having street creed and securing the trust of other people.

They talk about how the three “identities” (our personal identity, group identity and cultural identity) impact our behavior, including what we buy and sell and how we act.

They talk about what our actions signal to others.

They talk about status (swagger and star presence), social identity, and social norms.

They talk about why social hierarchies exist.

They discuss how your pattern of consumption conveys who you are to yourself and to others.

They discuss how and why material objects are symbols with meanings that communicate values, identities, aspirations and even fears.

They even discuss Margaret Thatcher’s remark that there is no such thing as society.

They tie all of the above to (a) what we consume, (b) why we consume what we consume, (c) how we interact with (i) other people, (ii) society, and (iii) the world we live in.

They also discuss the “real reason” people work.

Economic Life and Social Image

According to Quartz and Asp our economic life isn’t about just the bare necessities.

If it were, we’d stop working as soon as we had food and shelter – just like every other animal.

According to Quartz and Asp after people obtain bare necessities what people really work to obtain is recognition from others – to be viewed favorably.

Why does that happen?

According to Quartz and Asp:

Human beings are social animals.
Your brain keeps track of your social image – your perception of how other people evaluate you.
It’s doing it all the time, usually outside your awareness.
You and me and all other human beings are exquisitely sensitive to the approval and disapproval of others.
When you see a product your brain computes how much it will likely enhance or hurt your social image.

TAKE AWAY: In an economy of abundance people invest great personal meaning in their purchasing decisions.

I don’t know to what degree people invest a great personal meaning in their purchasing decisions.

Many people work hard; may people struggle just to survive (just to be able to pay the rent; many people don’t have much time to go shopping.

I expect whether or not a person invests great personal meaning in their purchasing decisions depends upon a person’s personal situation and personality, including their age, their health, their maturity, their wealth, the groups they belong to (if any), their cultural background, their success in whatever they are doing, their self-esteem, their education, their experience, their job, their satisfaction with whom they are, etc.

Brain Based Quest for Esteem

Quartz and Asp are convinced we have a brain based quest for esteem.

Status seeking is not artificial.

Status seeking is not imposed by an unjust and crass society.

Status seeking is a natural element of being human.

Products Have a Social Life

According to Quart’s and Asp’s point of view, products are valued for their imaged effect on social image.

The impact of products on social identity (personal identity, group identity and cultural identity) is discussed below in sections titled “There’s A Big Symbolic Difference Between Riding A Harley and Riding A Ducati,” “Our Social Life Is Rife with Displays of Our Value As A Social Partner,” “Communication Involves More Than The Words You Speak”, “Car Culture and Social Identity”, “What Is Your Favorite Book?” and “Signaling Your Social Identity to Others.”

Why Do We Do Anything?

According to Steven Quartz and Anette Asp (the authors of “Cool”) our brain has three behavior control systems:

A survival oriented behavior control system
A habit oriented behavior control system, and
A goal oriented behavior control system.

Until I read “Cool”, I didn’t realize that evolution had rigged my brain to be biased to instant gratification; or that when there is a conflict between my brain’s survival instinct (survival behavior control system) with my brain’s goal oriented behavior control system my brain’s survival control system (seeking instant gratification) wins.

That explains how the survival behavior control system in our brain results in many of us becoming overweight – Most of us prefer sweet deserts over celery stalks (because of our survival control system), because our brain justifies a second trip to the desert bar by taking note of the possibility of a famine in the future. Most of us do not consciously realize that is the reason we prefer sweet deserts over celery stalks.

Grocery Cart Choice Architecture

According to Quartz and Asp: Two-thirds of the items in the typical shopper’s cart aren’t planned purchases.

There is a biological logic to that phenomena.

Unplanned purchases appear in the typical shopper’s cart because the human brain is a computational system which tells us for the purpose of survival it is more important to eat things with a lot of calories “while the getting is good” than to put off eating them for another time.

The sweet and fatty goods we reflexively put in our grocery cart taste good because evolution has shaped our brain to align our eating preferences with the evolutionary beneficial goal of survival by making us want to eat sweet and fatty foods.

That is why our “taste” for sweet foods and fatty foods has such a strong sway over us.

Take away:

The reason why you consume sweet and fatty foods is that you have an evolutionary driven biological instinct to survive.
The survival control behavior system in your brain thinks eating sweets and fatty foods will increase your chance of survival.

BEWARE: Although “fat” is the “metabolic dollar in the bank” stored for future energy needs, crucial for survival during times of food storage, the fat you eat will be the fat you will wear no matter the source.

“Good fat” like olive oil is no more attractively worn around a person’s waistline than “bad fat” from lard.

Impulse Buying

In “Cool”, Quartz and Asp explain:

We buy items in a grocery store on impulse that will increase our pleasure short-term (which is a survival oriented behavior) even if doing so will decrease our chances of meeting long-term goals.
Our brain prefers “survival” (instant gratification) over long-term goals.

The physical presence of a good (such as a bag of potato chips or Cheetos) triggers programmed responses, such as the impulse to reach for the bag of potato chips or Cheetos automatically.

Reaching for a bag of potato chips or Cheetos is the result of a survival process that launches motor behaviors to contact the bags of potato chips and Cheetos.

The Shopping Cart of Dieters

According to Quartz and Asp: “A striking example of this can be found in the shopping carts of dieters, which are likely to be filed with more calorically dense items and fewer fruits and vegetables than those of non-dieters – the very food choices that sabotage diets. Here’s what’s happened: The dieter’s hypothalamus senses a caloric deficit. That can only mean one thing: ‘You are starving!’ The right course of action is to adjust the Survival value system, upping the value of calorically dense foods while lowering the value of calorically sparse foods. These altered values create cravings for foods such as potato chips, bread, pies, ice cream, and other calorie-rich fare. Without being aware of what the hypothalamus is up to, the dieter finds a cart full of the wrong foods.”

Confirmation

After I read the above quote in “Cool” I asked a friend of mine who is a exercise physiologist if the above quote made sense to her.

In reply, she told me: ”

“Right after the Northridge Earthquake I had an irrepressible and irresistible urge to eat Hostess Cupcakes and Hostess Twinkies.
“I hadn’t eaten Hostess cupcakes or Hostess Twinkies or thought of eating them in over twenty years.
“But, after the earthquake, I realized I could die at any moment and with that in mind I went out and got myself lots of Hostess cupcakes and Twinkies and ate all of them.
“I have not eaten Hostess cupcakes or Hostess Twinkies since them.
“I hadn’t thought of them since then, until You [I] asked if that quote made sense.

Sex and Sexual Strategies Women Pursue

According to Quartz and Asp: Two forms of behavior are intimately connected to survival (our own and that of our genes): food and sex.

In “Cool”, Quartz and Asp ask: Why would a shrewd politician risk a successful career for a brief tryst?

They provide the following explanation:

‘While we are not enslaved by our Survival system, its pull is strong and its myopia great, and we inevitably fall back into Survival patterns despite concerted efforts to avoid them.”

According to Quartz and Asp a human being’s survival instinct, biology and evolution has shaped human (men’s and woman’s) sexual activities and strategies.

Women choose men with a certain type of face (a rugged face) as a one night stand sexual partner and a woman’s evaluation of male job applicants is controlled by the type of face a man has and where that woman is in her cycle.

Female preferences for male faces are not fixed but fluctuate across a woman’s cycle and according to their own relationship status

Women’s preferences shift towards the more masculine (rugged faces) when they are in the follicular phase of their cycle, when conception is most likely.

This shift in preferences towards more-masculine faces also coincides with the frequency of short-term mating and extra-partner affairs. Sexual affairs are 2.5 times more likely when a woman is ovulating.

What women wear to attract men’s sexual attention (how much skin they show and how tight their clothes are) shifts according to where a woman is in her cycle.

Women going to a club during this phase wear shorter skirts and show more skin than they doing during other parts of their cycle. Women are three times more likely to wear pink or red when they are ovulating.

When presented with photographs of women taken across their cycle, independent judges are able to reliably identify when a woman is ovulating based on assessing when the women are trying to look most attractive.

According to Quartz and Asp:

These shifts in how women evaluate male faces impact more than just mating strategies.

In one study, women were given resumes of various male job applicants that included the man’s picture (the faces had independently been rated in terms of masculinity).

They were asked to assign the candidates to various job positions, which differed in terms of salary, perks, office size, and so on. The assigned positions shifted across the women’s cycle.

In particular, they assigned more high-status positions to highly masculine faces when they were near ovulation or ovulating.

In “Cool” the authors ask you to imagine looking at the faces of Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic and Daniel Craig in his role as James Bond. Or, if you prefer, to think of Orlando Bloom and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Craig and Schwarzenegger have much more masculine rugged faces than do DiCaprio and Bloom.

In “Cool” the authors then tell you

which “kind of face” people typically think is more trustworthy (DiCaprio’s face and Bloom’s face),
which face type heterosexual women typically judge (cuter vs. rugged) as being better potential long term partners (DiCaprio and Bloom)and/or to be a better potential short-term hookups (Daniel Craig and Arnold Schwarzenegger),
what women want sexually and how they behave sexually during different times in their cycle.

Unconscious Biases and Preferences Guide Our Choices

According to Quartz and Asp:

Masculine features are thought to be unconscious signals of good genes.

They are the product of high testosterone which can only be borne by individuals with strong immune function.

In one study, female preferences for masculine male faces increased as the rate of disease increased across thirty countries.

There is often a trade-off — those with good genetic resources (healthy offspring) may be less reliable long-term partners.

Women with high estradiol, the predominant female sex hormone, are regarded as more attractive. But, they are more likely to flirt, to have an affair, to be less satisfied with their partner and to be the target of “mate poaching.”

Men with high testosterone are more likely to have an affair, divorce, and delay marriage.

They are also less likely to respond to infant cries then men with lower testosterone.

People may find certain facial features attractive in part because (typically unknown to them) they are signals of underlying genetic qualities.

According to the authors, “… what we look for in a partner[‘s face] depends on the kind of relationship we are after, and especially the duration.”

“Trainwreck”

The casting director of “Trainwreck” deserves to receive an academy award for casting men with the face types the authors of “Cool” tell us women are likely to pick for short-term hookups as the actors to play the parts of the men with whom the star of this movie (a younger sister) has short-term hookups.

In the opening scene of “Trainwreck”, a father asks his two very young daughters to repeat after him: “Monogamy doesn’t work.”

The rest of the movie is about the youngest daughter’s “sex life.”

This movie makes fun of traditional concepts of the relationship of men with women and of women with men.

In “Trainwreck” the main character is a younger sister who is an aggressive sex driven woman — she has one-night-stand-sex with many different men throughout the movie.

Eventually, the main character (the younger sister) falls in love with a man who has the face type the authors of “Cool” tell us women judge to be a better potential long term partner.

How the fact that fact that the main character is youngest child is of import to the authors of “Cool.”

Birth Sequence Matters

According to the authors of “Cool”, sibling competition for parental affection is a pervasive evolutionary force.

It remains so today.

Being the first born means you are more likely to be the dominant child as well as the mini-parent” to our siblings.

Later-borns (i.e., the youngest sibling, i.e. the youngest sister and/or youngest brother) are more likely to break the rules, are more liberal, and take more risk to find their own niche.

Among brothers in professional baseball, younger brothers are ten times more likely to steal bases.
Later-borns are more rebellious, often leaders of revolutions, while firstborns are those most opposed to radical change.

My experience agrees with those comments.

I have three daughters.
My youngest daughter is very adventuresome.
The main hobbies of my youngest daughter are climbing volcanoes and traveling all over the world.
In my mind, my youngest daughter is a female version of “Indiana Jones.”
I have a grandson (a later-born) who is an incredibly aggressive ice hockey player and soccer player.

According to the authors of “Cool”, Firstborns are likely to be a mini-parent to their siblings.

I’ve seen and experienced that too.

The Humor in “Trainwreck”

In the opening scene in “Trainwreck” the audience sees a father asking his two daughters to repeat after him: “Monogamy doesn’t work.”

In the next scene the youngest daughter, now grown up, is shown living a sexually active life of a woman who believes “monogamy does not work.”

The humor in “Trainwreck” comes from the main female character (the younger sister) “doing” what women complain men do after having an orgasm. asking her male sex partners to do what men ask women to do while having sex and her male sex partners’ inability to “talk dirty” while having sex with her and their other reactions to her sexual demands.

She “forces” the many men she takes to bed (“sleeps with”) to do things that will cause her to have an orgasm.
After she has an orgasm she immediately falls asleep, leaving the man whose actions brought her to orgasm sexually unsatisfied.
She asks a man “to talk dirty to her” while they are having sex. He is unable and incapable of doing so.

“Trainwreck” is a “woman-in-the-sexual-driver’s-seat-movie.”

The Story in “Trainwreck” Contradicts Freud’s Theory About Women

According to Freud,

Women only have sex to have children.
All women are sexually passive because there is no feminine libido.

That is not the case of the main character in “Trainwreck”, a sexually active woman who “sleeps around.”

Being a housewife and caring for children represented, for Freud, the only source of female psychic fulfillment.

Freud’s theory of women served as the “scientific” justification for the 1950s status of woman in America, despite the fact that Freud’s theory was nothing more than Freud’s own fantasy, with no scientific support.

See: Webster, Richard. 1995. Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science, and Psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books.

See Freud’s 1929 Civilization and It’s Discontents.

The History of Monogamy

In “Cool”, Quartz and Asp report on the history of polygamy and the history of monogamy.

Historically, in about 85 percent of all known human societies, men were allowed to have more than one wife.
In those societies, richer men had more wives; powerful men had sex and sired children with a multitude of women.
Take the example of Genghis Khan: About 16 million men alive today are direct descendants of Genghis Khan as a result of his pillaging and siring hundreds of offspring.
See, Zerjal, Tatiana, et. al. 2003. “The genetic legacy of the Mongols.” The American Journal of Human Genetics 72:717-21.
The global spread of monogamy is recent – Japan prohibited polygyny in 1880, China in 1953, and India in 1963.

One interesting thing about the advent of monogamous marriage is the “theoretical” belief that it would have been against the interests of the male ruling elite since rich powerful men had the most to lose.

As a practical matter, monogamous marriage results in lower birthrates, increasing parental investment, savings and economic productivity.

Today, Aggressive Women Are In the Sexual-Driver’s Seat

Women have moved from the back seat to the driver’s seat of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

When I purchased my first motorcycle (in 1965) women sat in the back, on the back seat of motorcycles; they did not drive motorcycles; they did not own motorcycles.

Today, women sit in the front of motorcycles, in the driver’s seat, they drive Harley-Davidson motorcycles; they own their own motorcycles.

The nature of women’s participation in the world has profoundly changed in the past 50 years and is still changing.

There’s A Big Symbolic Difference between Riding A Harley and Riding A Ducati

In my opinion we are always communicating whether we know it or not.

According to the authors of “Cool” everything we do signals our identity.

For example, there is a big symbolic difference between riding a Harley and a Ducati, despite the fact that on the surface level its the same behavior.

Given a choice I would never own a Harley but I would own a Ducati.

It is a matter of life style.

I have a model of a Ducati motorcycle on the hutch on my desk in my office.

Our Social Life Is Rife with Displays of Our Values and of Our Values As A Social Partner

According to the authors of “Cool”: Our social life is rife with displays of our value as a social partner.

In our social lives we communicate to others what type of person we are and what social, economic, or political benefits can be gained by interacting with us.

As long as we’ve been around we have been using things to signal who we are to others (identity goods) to facilitate social exchange and to signal our value as social partners.

Others, use the signals we send to decide how or whether to engage in cooperative enterprises with us.

They use the signals we send to determine whether we are trustworthy, to determine whether we would make a good partner, a good friend or ally, or business associate, or someone interesting to be with.

A successful signaler is the recipient of many benefits, which may include increased social status, lucrative trading partners, allies in times of conflict, supporters in time of need, the selection of reliable long-term mates, or just a date.

Signaling is tied to creating and maintaining cooperative relationships.

Communication Involves More Than The Words You Speak.

The events you attend, the clothes you wear and the car you drive non-verbally signal who you are, what group you belong to, what your tastes are and how you relate to other people in the world.

For example: I love contact sports. I signal that I am a “sports fan” by attending sporting events.

I have signaled I am a fan of sumo wrestling to the world at large (1) by posting the photographs below of me next to a Sumo wrestler in this post and (2) by posting the photograph below of the cover of the program for the sumo wrestling competition at which that photograph was taken, and (3) by posting the photograph of me wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a sumo wrestler on it below.

I am a big fan of speed, style, beauty, supercars, glamour and style.

I signal that in the clothes I wear, and the car that I drive.

See the photograph below showing what I wore at the sumo wrestling competition and the photograph below showing me wearing a t-shirt showing a sumo wrestler on it.

See also the photographs below of the car I drive, a Nissan GT R.

Below is a picture of me with a sumo wrestler who weighs over 600 pounds, at the 15th Annual US Sumo Open on August 8, 2015 and a photo of the program for that event.

The black long sleeve shirt I am wearing in that photograph is part of the Ralph Lauren “purple label” collection; there is no identifier on that shirt of the fact that it is a Ralph Lauren shirt.

There Can Be A Big Difference Between Image and Reality

Wearing a t-shirt with a sumo wrestler on it does not make me a sumo wrestler, but it does indicate that I am a sumo wrestling fan.

Directly below is a photo of me wearing a t-shirt with the word SUMO on it above a picture of a sumo wrestler.

The above photo of me was taken in my office a few days after I attended the US Sumo Open on August 8, 2015.

The sumo wrestler next to me in the top most photo was taken at the US Sumo Open on August 8, 2015. That sumo wrestler weighs over 600 pounds.

The sumo wrestler whose photo is on the right hand side of the program for the US Sumo Open (held on August 8, 2105) is six foot in inches tall and weighs 360 pounds.

I am five foot six inches tall and weigh 143 pounds.

I am not a sumo wrestler.

Car Culture and Social Identity

I love speed and style and glamour.

The automobile that I own, a 2013 Nissan GT R, has been described as a missile with headlights and a gas pedal.

Very few Nissan GT Rs are manufactured each year.

I understand that 2,500 are manufactured each year.

The 545 horse power V6 twin turbo charged engine and rear mounted clutch box in these cars are assembled by hand.

Very few people know that the Nissan GT R exists or have ever seen one.

Below are photographs of the front and of the rear of my Nissan GT R.

When I bought my GT R, the GT R held the Guinness World Record for acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour for a four seat production car.

People I have never met, who know cars, positively identify my Nissan GT R.

When those people see me in that car, they want me to know that “we” are members of a brotherhood, i.e. we are members of the same group (fast car enthusiasts who know what a GT R is).

They let me know we belong to the same group by coming up to me and talking to me.

They give me a thumbs up when they see me in my GT R.
They come up to me to make a comment about my GT R when I park it on the street.
This morning (August 14, 2015) when I parked my GT R in the visitor’s parking lot at the Cedar Sinai medical office towers a man who was driving by me in Porsche, stopped his car to tell me how much he loves the Nissan GT R.
Oftentimes, when I park my car in the parking lot of a grocery store or a restaurant people come up to me to talk about my GT R.
A lot of people are car enthusiasts.
There are nuances to being a car enthusiast.
One person who loves the Nissan GT R noticed the fact that I don’t have a custom license plate.
He told me it is unusual for a person who owns a GT R not to have a custom license plates.

Me At 4:00 A.M. on Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Above are two photos of me taken with my Apple iMac desk top computer at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.

It is completely dark outside.

I am in my living room looking straight into the camera.

Behind me are posters for three movies KILL BILL, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and SPIDER-MAN on A wall in my living room.

I took those photos this morning for a fashion design blogger who asked me yesterday (August 25) to send her a current photograph of me.

People Are Exceedingly Groupish

Consumption signals a wide variety of social traits and personal identity.

People are able to rapidly categorize various products – cars, clothing, jewelry, music, movies, books and so on – by the social groups that use them.

The experiences described above – of people coming up to me to talk to me about my GT R – are but one example of how goods (in this case an automobile) identify a group you belong to, signal who you are to other members of the same group and sometimes to the public at large and signal that you are a member of the same group as someone else, i.e., that you have the same taste, ideas, opinions, likes/dislikes, etc.

We signal a group level identity by what we wear, what we read, what movies we see, what car we drive, etc. etc.

What Is Your Favorite Book?

When someone reads the right book at the right time in their life it can have a profound effect.

My favorite book is “Never Say Die” by Harold Pinter.

I recently read that Tim Cook’s favorite book is “Competing Against Time” by George Stalk, Jr. and Thomas M. Hout and that Mark Zuckerberg’s favorite book is “The Aeneid” by Virgil.

Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple.

Mark Zuckerberg is the founder and creator of Facebook.

Several prominent people in the entertainment world (Will Smith, Madonna, and Pharrell Williams) are quoted in that article saying that “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho is their favorite book.

Signaling Our Social Identity to Others and to Ourselves

In “Cool” authors Quartz and Asp point out that we represent ourselves to others by what we wear, what we drive, where we go, and what we do.

Cook (the current CEO of Apple) reports that the book that had the greatest effect on him Is “Competing Against Time.”

Cook is known to hand out copies of this book to colleagues.

The book is about how time management is one of the most important aspects of a company. When a company organizes its time, it cuts down on costs and makes customers happier.

In an interview in The New Yorker, Mark Zuckerberg (the founder and creator of Facebook) said his favorite book is “The Aeneid” by Virgil. Zuckerberg said he first read that book in high school. Zuckerberg said that the one thing that stuck with him was Aeneas’s drive to follow his fate to build a city that “knows no bounds in time and greatness.”

When I am at my local Starbucks and see someone reading a book, I walk up to them and ask them, “What are you reading?”

According to Quartz and Asp we have three levels of representation:

Our Individual Self: the collection of traits that make us a unique person;
Our Relational Self: The way we think about ourselves in relation to significant others – as a spouse, a friend, or in work or in other relationships;
Our Collective Self: The way we think of ourselves in terms of larger groups that we identify with such as our identity as a member of a nation, or our identity as a member of an ethnic or religious group or political party or as the fan of a particular sport or sports team or as a person who loves speed style glamour contact sports and fast cars.

Who we are (our social identity, the collection of traits that make us a unique person, etc.) carries over into what we do, how we behave, our personality and what we say.

For example, a certain type of person owns a Prius.

My two youngest daughters own a Prius.

Owning a Prius signals environmental concern.

It is an identity good more than a status good.

The purchase price of a Prius is several thousand dollars more than many standard-fuel cars, and the difference is typically not made up in savings from increased efficiency.

My middle daughter bought her Prius drives a lot and purchased her Prius to save money on gas.

She lives in Orange County, California and was not consciously aware of the fact that the fact that its cost to own is higher than for many standard cars is a costly signal that its owner has sacrificed financially to drive a car that has less of an impact on the environment then a cheaper alternative.

By the way, places like Berkeley and Boulder, Colorado are crawling with Priuses.

Will Smith, Madonna, and Pharrell Williams, besides being some of the highest-charting musicians of the past three decades, all credit “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho with changing their lives.

The social theory promoted in “The Alchemist” is that everyone has a Personal Legend – what he or she has always wanted to do with his or her life – and if you follow your Personal Legend the universe will work in your favor and rise up to meet you; if you follow your Personal Legend, you can achieve the impossible, like alchemy, which is turning lead into gold.

I don’t agree with that theory at all.

The best advice I can give anybody is: Learn to do something well that you like; remember to be yourself and be good at it.

If I saw someone in Starbucks reading “The Alchemist” I would not attempt to strike up a conversation with them.

If, on the other hand, I saw someone in Starbucks reading “Conversations with Eckermann” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I would immediately strike up a conversation with them.

Here is a quote from that book:

“A man of talent is not born to be lefty to himself, but to devote himself to art and good masters who will something of him. I have lately read a letter from Mozart, in reply to a baron who had sent him a composition. He writes somewhat in this fashion:

‘You dilettanti must be blamed for two faults, since two you generally have: either you have no thoughts of your own, and take those of others; or, if you have thoughts of your own, you do not know what to do with them.'”

We Are Products of How We Were Raised and Our Environment

How we were raised and the social norms in our environment count.

We can’t escape who we are, how we became who we are, how we are becoming who we are or how we are expected to behave.

That explains how brilliant people can seem to be so stupid or insensitive and act to act stupidly/insensitively to other people who were raised differently.

An recent article in the Los Angeles Times illustrates this point.

In the August 12, 2015 Business Section of the Los Angeles Times, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, is quoted as having said last year when he was the first male CEO to address the annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, “Women shouldn’t ask for raises but rather trust that they will come their way.”

In my opinion, Satya Nadella’s upbringing and culture were showing when he made that statement; what Mr. Nadella was taught to believe as he grew up is responsible for him saying that.

This Los Angeles Times article goes on to claim Nadella’s generation of Indians benefited from coming from a culture that has respect for people of all walks of life.

In my opinion, nothing could be more untrue than that.

Read “The Billionaire’s Apprentice – The Rise of the Indian-American Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund” by Anita Raghavan if you are interested in that topic.

India is a Hindu country.

The Hindu castes system of India is the most extremely hierarchically socially stratified status system in existence.

The Hindu caste system is described in “Cool” as follows:

Hindu castes of India society are segregated according to hundreds of rigidly defined groups, they are segregated by occupations according to those castes; there is physical segregation among those castes and strong social norms regulating interactions (such as marriage) among social groups.
In such a world, individuals and groups are not merely different: one’s place in the hierarchy corresponds to one’s social status and determines one’s access to valued resources including income, prestige, and prominence.

Beware of what you read in the Business Section of The Los Angeles Times.

Here is a description of how people get along in India in the same article.

“Venktesh Shukla, a venture capitalist and president of the Silicon Valley networking group the Indus Entrepreneurs, said even in the smallest of villages Muslims live next to Hindus and white-collar professionals next to weavers. Languages, dress and hobbies diverge.

“Shukla said they were taught to see the ‘different’ people as neither superior nor inferior.

“‘Treating people with respect comes very naturally to Indians, he said. ‘People from homogeneous societies need that as an acquired skill.'”

That is contradicted by, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella in the same article being quoted as telling women that women ought not to ask for raises.

The happy fun rainbow gum drop feelings expressed in that Los Angeles Times'” article aside, all has not been smiles and rainbows and gum drops and lollipops in India during its history as an independent country.

British Colonial India was divided into modern-day India and Pakistan, in 1948.

For a accurate view of life in modern day India see the movie “Midnight’s Children” or read the book of the same name or read “The Billionaire’s Apprentice – The Rise of the Indian-American Elite and the Fall of the Galleon Hedge Fund” or research the history of what led to the break-up and the division of British Colonial India and what happened in India immediate after that.

There was extreme violence during the break up of India into modern-day India and Pakistan and extreme violence during the breakaway of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

The reason British colonial India was broken up into modern-day India and modern-day Pakistan is because Hindus and Muslims could not get along.

During mass migrations of Muslims from what became the independent modern day (post British colonial) India to Pakistan and during mass migrations of Hindus from what became Pakistan to the modern day Nation of India, close to a million people were killed.

There are still sporadic acts of violence by Hindus against Muslims and by Muslims against Hindus in India including bombings of Hindu holy palaces by Muslims and bombing of Muslim holy places by Hindus in India.

The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off

People make choices all the time.

In “Cool”, Quartz and Asp say explain why men have affairs in terms of a “exploration-exploitation trade-off” and relate that to why branded consumer products go down in value and their companies go out of business unless they continually improve.

Here is what they say:

Our brains face a basic conundrum that affects all foragers and shoppers, from bees to us.
In science its known as the exploration-exploitation trade-off; everywhere else, it’s know as “what have you done for me lately?” and “the grass is greener on the other side” problem.
Our brains treat a brand that is not constantly improving (exceeding our expectations) as if it’s getting worse.
According to Quartz and Asp – The only way a brand’s value can increase is when some brand experience exceeds your prediction.
In other words, it is “natural” for men and women to want to have “new” sexual partners.
Contrary to what President Jimmy Carter said about “sex”, you are what you think about.
The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel determines the way you act.

Quartz and Asp are well aware of the strong interest people have in the topic of sex and in sex itself.

They point out that Kinsey’s early reports on male sexual behavior and in 1953 on female sexual behavior showed that what was going on behind closed doors was a lot different from the public profession of traditional “sex as procreation within marriage.”

Kinsey’s report reported that two out of three males had premarital sex and about half of all females did too.

According to Quartz and Asp, in 1953, only the Bible and a popular book on positive thinking sold more copies than Kinsey’s report on female sexuality.

Social Emotions

Quartz and Asp explain how and why your emotions are a critical factor in control of your behavior, as follows:

If your predicted award is greater than what you actually experience – if the brand disappoints you – your Habit pleasure machine (behavior control system in your brain) downgrades the brand.
These negative experiences are much more important to your brain than positive ones.
Have you ever gone back to a restaurant that gave you food poisoning?

Take away:

Emotions and emotional memories are critical to consumption.
In the business world, brands build emotional connections between our memories and our consumption, shaping our beliefs, desires and feelings.

In the world of dieting we need to pay attention to what we want to accomplish, keep our survival instinct that drives us to impulsively reach for foods that are bad to eat while we are in a diet. We need to keep our urge to eat cake in check.

We need to override our instinctual pre-programmed reaching for cake on the shelf at a grocery store, if we want to lose weight.

Without focus our brain will ruin our life.

Body Fat

In the early twentieth century, the actress and singer Lillian Russell was considered the most beautiful woman in America. Russell weighed two hundred pounds, and her body mass index (BMI) would classify her as either overweight or obese today.

In Russell’s day, more body fat was a sign of health because food was less abundant than it is today, and a high BMI was relatively rare.

Likewise, wealthy men of her day were known as “fat cats” because they could afford to put on more weight.

Today, the opposite is true.

The amount of body fat that is considered attractive depends on the economic prosperity of a country.

The richer the country, the lower the body fat that’s considered attractive.

Income Inequality and Portion of Time Spent “Working-Out”

Where once “prosperous” was a synonym for overweight, being fit (and thin with it) is now a marker of success in prosperous countries.

According to the US Center for Disease Control, in 2013 a quarter of adults engaged in no leisure-time physical activity at all beyond the bedroom.

According to the “American Time Use Survey”: In 2013 the 20 percent of the richest full working people in America spent on average 40 hours per week exercising, in 2014 they spent on average about 60 hours per week exercising.

The 20 percent of the poorest full-time working people in America spent an average of about 20 hours per week exercising in 2003 and about 10 hours per week in 2014 exercising.

Exercising means working out, weightlifting, using cardiovascular equipment, yoga and aerobics.

According to figures from the International Health and Sports Club Association, gym members now number 54 million, up from 45 million in 2009.

Twice as many Americans subscribe to gyms as in the mid-1990s.

But the population has not got visibly healthier.

Between 2001 and 2012,the age adjusted proportion of the population who are obese or extremely obese grew from 36% to 41%.

My source for the above statistics is an article subtitled “Sweating Is Becoming An Elite Phenomenon” on page 27 of the August 1, 2015 issue of “The Economist.”

Diets Alone Don’t Work

Diets alone don’t work.

Exercise alone doesn’t work.

You need (a) self-control, (b) the right amount of sleep, (c) the right diet, (d) the right type and amount of type of exercise and (e) to not spend you time sitting for prolonged periods of time day in day out in front of a computer or a TV set or any other screen.

Sitting Is the New Smoking

Sitting is not exercise.

Sitting too long is dangerous to your health

According to the Mayo Clinic, sitting is now the new smoking.

Quartz and Asp report: Sitting too long, up to three or four hours at a time, is now equivalent to smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes a day. See, James Vlashos, “Is Sitting A Lethal Activity?” The New York Times, 14 April 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html?_r=0 Believe it or not, the average American employee will sit anywhere from 7.7 to 15 hours a day without moving.

Momism

Quartz and Asp also give us something else to worry about, overly protected moms, momism.

In his 1946 book Their Mothers’ Sons, Edward Strecker, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, argued that more than 1 million men had either been rejected from military service or discharged during the war because of psychiatric disorders that were rooted in overprotective moms.

Willpower is Hard to Build

Two parts of your brain are constantly at war: (1) the part that wants pleasure and gratification now [the survival instinct] and (2) the thoughtful part of your brain that formulates goals, knows what is good for you in the long run and knows what you should do.

In “The Daniel Plan”, Rick Warren D. Min., Daniel Amen M.D. and Mark Hyman M.D., address how to win that battle.

According to Rick Warren D. Min., Daniel Amen M.D. and Mark Hyman M.D.,

When it comes to you health everybody needs a buddy.
Research shows that people getting healthy together lose twice as much weight as those who do it alone.
Success dramatically increases when you are connected with others, receiving constant encouragement to stay focused and motivated toward your goals.
Social connections are critical.
When you are surrounded by people who have the same values, goals, and health habits, you are going to progress further than you could on your own.
You thrive when you are connected to others.
It is possible to achieve outcomes with other people that aren’t possible alone.

Every great achievement began when someone saw it in advance.

I have personally experienced how difficult it is to lose weight, with and without the cooperation and support of others.

I know, from my own personal experience, it can be done.

An Encouraging Thought

“The greatest discovery of our generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind. As you think, so you shall be.” — William James, philosopher

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Tags: " "The Alchemist", "Can You )and Should You) Have Sex Like A Man?", "Civilization and It's Discontents", "Competting Against Time, "Conversations with Eckermann", "Cool", "The Aeneid", "The Billionaire's Apprentice - The Rise of the Indian-American Elite and the Fall of the Galleion Hedge Fund", "The Daniel Plan", "Their Mothers' Sons", "Trainwreck", "Why Freud Was Wrong - Sin Science and Psychoanalysis", "zero day mentality", 15th Annual US Sumo Open, Anette Asp, aniel Amen M.D., Anita Raghavan, Apple, approach to solving problems, beautiful woman, beauty, behavior, BMI, body fat, body mass index, brain, brain control of behavior, branding, capitalist economy, car culture, character traits, commerce, commercial instincts, communities of friendship and respect, competitive advantage, cultural territory, culture, desire, dieters, diets, driving intellectual force, durable competitive advantage, economy of abundance, Edward Strecker chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania, elite phenomenon, emotional associations, emotional memories, estradiol, exercise, exploration-exploitation trade-off, Facebook, fat cats, female sexuality, first born, friendship, Genghis Khan, goals, group identity, habits, Hardley-Davidson, hidden currents of culture, how the brain controls behavior, how we become who we are, human nature, human needs, human relations, human sexual maturity, Ian Kerner, identity, image, impulse eating, impulse shopping, income inequality, Indian culture, Indian immigrants tech's new titans, instincts, intellectual force, International Health Racquet and Sports Club Association, Internet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Kinsey's report on female sexuality, knowing what to sell, later-born, lifestyle, lifestyle choices, lifestyle symbols, lifestyles, Lillian Russell, losing weight, Madonna, magnetic personality, Mark Hyman M.D., Mark Zuckerberg, marketplace position, monogamous marriage, monogamy, most desirable characteristic, motivations, needs, Nissan GT R, opportunity, people's tendencies, perception, personal meaning, personal relationships, personality, Pharrell Williams, pleasure, polygyny, power, precosious puberty, premarital sex, preprogrammed responses, purchasing decisions, rank status and style, Richard Webter, Rick Warren D.Min., Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft, self-control, sex drive, sexual strategies, sexual strategies women pursue, shopping, Sigmund Freud, signalling identity, sleep, smart phones, social change, social codes, social emotions, social identity, social norms, social position, star presence, Steven Quartz, street cred, sumo, survival behavior, survival instincts, swagger, sweating on purpose is an elite phenomena, talent, the codes of the street, the consumpiton of goods, the creation of goods, the dynamic potential of the marketplace, the messy reality of perception, the relationship of income inequality to time spent exercising, Tim Cook, true persona, understanding the marketplace, University of Southern California Professor Ruth White, US Center for Disease Control, vanity, vision for the future, vision for the future of technology, why we do what we do, Will Smith, William James, willpower, women-in-the-sexual-driver's-seat

The Medical Establishment Will Stop Treating People Like Cattle – An Autobiographical Book Report with Personal Commentary by Gary S. Smolker on Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.’s book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease,” Tom Rath’s book “Eat Move Sleep” and David Perlmutter, M.D.’s book “Grain Brain.” This Is an Autobiographical Book Report Which Describes Steps Personally Taken by Gary S. Smolker to Put into Action Ideas, Opinions and Theories Presented in Those Books As A Way to Prevent Heart Attacks, Prevent Stroke, Prevent Diabetes, Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. This Book Report Also Contains Commentary on (a) The Current State of Medical Knowledge, (b) The Current State of Medical Practice and (c) How The Practice of Medicine Is Currently Undergoing A Process of Creative Destruction. This Book Report Also Presents A Predictive Look Over the Horizon at the Future of Medicine, the Future of the Health Care Industry and Future Medical Practices Related to the On-going Creative Destruction of the Current Practice of Medicine. (PART ONE)

Jan 8

Posted by Gary S. Smolker

Take Away

I read the three books referred to in the title of this book report because

I am interested in preventing diabetes, reversing heart disease, preventing stroke, and preventing cognitive impairment (i.e., preventing memory loss, loss of mental acuity, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.).

I want to preserve and improve my mental faculties.

I want to live a vibrant healthy life.

I want to know if it is safe for me to be taking cholesterol lowering medicine. Relatedly, I want to know if it is safe for me to continue taking the cholesterol lowering medicine that I am currently taking.

I want to know if it is a waste and/or if it is unreasonably dangerous for me to continue taking any of the prescription medications I am currently taking.

I want to understand the impact of the prescription medicines I am currently taking on my short term and long term health and well-being.

I want to understand the impact of the foods I consume on my health.

In this book report

I comment on some of the ideas, opinions, theories and facts presented in the three books listed in the title of this book report.
I report on changes I have made in my life for “medical reasons.”
I report on steps I am taking in my life in attempt to prevent having a heart attack, in an attempt to reverse heart disease, in an attempt to avoid having a stroke, in an attempt to avoid having diabetes, and in an attempt to preserve and improve my mental faculties.
I also report on steps I have taken in my own life in my attempts to receive more efficient and more effective medical care and on frustrations and disappointments I have experienced while doing so.

I have read Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr., M.D.’s book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” three times, Tom Rath’s book “Eat Move Sleep” once, and part of David Perlmutter, M.D.’s book “Grain Brain.”

Previously, I read William Davis’ “Wheat Belly”, John A. McDougall’s “The Starch Solution”, and parts of Mark Hyman’s “The Blood Sugar Solution” and JJ Virgin’s “The Virgin Diet” because I wanted to lose weight and to avoid having diabetes and to avoid having a heart attack and wanted to know what I should do about being “overweight”, and how to lower my blood sugar level, my triglyceride level and my total cholesterol and “bad cholesterol” levels.

It is not a secret that the practice of medicine is controversial or that the current practice of medicine is extremely inefficient and wasteful.

I have heard it said by a world renown cardiologist that at least one third of prescription medicines don’t work and that many backfire.

There is a groundswell of disappointment at the lack of personal attention and information physicians give patients.

Tremendous frustration is generated by the hoarding of information by medical professionals which leads to lack of opportunity to digest lab test information before meeting with a physician to discuss lab results, and at the flippant way physicians report, if and when they or their office reports lab test results to patients.

The public is frustrated by the fact that its interests and the medical professions interests are not aligned.

The practice of medicine in the future will be transformed because of public reaction to the disconnect between the profit making goals of the medical industry and the wellness goals of people.

People are in revolt at the focus and priorities of the pill driven mentality of the medical profession focused on producing office visit income for physicians, producing laboratory testing income for medical laboratories and producing pill producing income for pharmaceutical companies rather than on maximizing the amount of relevant helpful preventive health information, reporting and monitoring provided to patients.

Every thinking person realizes that society can not afford the way medicine is being practiced today.

There is no doubt in my mind that in the future the use of smart phones will change the way medicine is practiced.

Wireless medicine is coming. Patients with chronic disease can be monitored in real time from their own homes.

Medicine has entered the digital age.

The use of electronic medical record keeping is expanding. It now enables doctors and scientists to scour hundreds of thousands of patient records in seconds to find specific pieces of information they need in their work.

For the first time it is technically possible to plug every doctor, every patient, and every hospital, university and laboratory in the world in top a single healthcare data system.

The power of such a unified system to improve health and fight disease is almost beyond imagining.

At the most fundamental level, data and information technology promise to transform medicine from what it has long been – an art – into much more of a rigorous, objective science.

Hopefully, electronic medical record systems will soon be able to make predictions, based on scientific evidence concerning the outcomes of particular interventions — hopefully through the use of computers doctors will make better decisions, patients will enjoy better outcomes, and the cost of treatment will be reduced.

Currently, there are over 7,000 self-tracking apps for smart phones.

I use a health monitoring smart phone app called Fitbit to track how many steps I take each day because I want to take at least 10,000 steps per day.

A Fitbit can also be used to track how many hours a person’s sleeps each day, how many calories you “burn”, the number of calories eaten and number of fluid ounces of liquid consumed each day as well as how much you weigh each day.

Other apps make other medically useful measurements.

The market for such gadgets is exploding.

The use of such devices theoretically will lead people into lifestyles that promote good health.

Smart phone apps are available today by which a person can track, calculate, plan and research just about anything health related and personalize that information.

In the not too distant future we may be checking our vital signs on our phones.

I can envision a future in which physicians will prescribe more “smart phone apps” than drugs.

The Cleveland Clinic has a computerized registry called the Cardiovascular Information Registry. As of 2013, the registry includes data on more than 220,000 patients.

In “The Cleveland Clinic Way” Toby Cosgrove, MD says, “Soon a patient will be able to enter her information into a ‘comprehensive risk calculator’ that uses algorithms to calculate the patient’s risk of complications or success based on the experience of thousands or even millions of other patients, taking into account all the specifics of the patient’s situation. Cleveland Clinic already has some risk calculators online. Although they’re primarily for doctors, consumers can use them as well.”

Dr. Cosgrove also says:

In the twenty-first century, no provider can afford to offer anything less than the best clinical, physical and emotional experience. As patients become savvier, they will increasingly judge health care providers not only on clinical outcomes but on their ability to show compassion and deliver, patient-centered care.
Medical professionals are thus feeling increasing pressure not just to talk about empathy but to take steps to demonstrate real compassion, even while lowering costs.
Medical centers, like all businesses, need customers more than customers need them.

By the way, the statements, opinions and ideas expressed by me in this book report are either taken from what I read in the books mentioned above or are my own.

The most striking thoughts I took from reading the books written by Esselstyn, Rath and Perlmutter are:

There is a general consensus that the typical American diet, what most Americans eat, is toxic.
The current practice of medicine with respect to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and brain health is extremely inefficient, primitive and wasteful.
If you take cholesterol lowering medication and are “physically fit” that does not guarantee you will not have a heart attack or that you will not have a stroke and the cholesterol lowering drug you are taking might increase the odds that you will get Alzheimer’s disease and/or that you will get diabetes.
With respect to preventing heart attacks, experts disagree on what to eat, what not to eat, and what medication (if any) to take. You might “die” learning which one is right.
They disagree on whether having low cholesterol is good for you or bad for you. They disagree on whether or not your total cholesterol or so called “bad cholesterol” level matters.
They disagree on whether taking cholesterol lowering drugs is good for you or bad for you.
They disagree on whether your cholesterol level is a good predictor of the chance/probability/risk of you having a heart attack or a stroke.
They disagree on whether eating meat and eggs is good for you or dangerous, bad for you.
They disagree on whether having a high carbohydrate diet is good for you or bad for you.
They disagree on whether eating wheat and wheat products is a good idea, is safe or will cause you harm.
They disagree on whether the so called Mediterranean diet (i.e., consuming so called healthy oils, virgin olive oil and/or canola oil) is good for you or will harm you.
They disagree on whether eating dairy products will be harmful to you.
They disagree on whether fish consumption is harmful or helpful.
Their state of knowledge (understanding) of what causes heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, memory loss, and cognitive impairment seems conjectural to me.
Expert opinions and explanations of what “causes” heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease etc., and their prescription(s) for preventing heart attacks, strokes, etc. seems to me to based on a fallacy which has been recognized since Roman times (400 BC) – post hoc ergo propter hac – it follows this, therefore it was caused by that.
It is a logical fallacy if one event follows another the former must have caused the latter. If that were the case, medical science would dictate that male baldness causes men to die because so many men lose their hair years before they die.
Much current advice by the medical profession regarding what should be done to prevent heart disease, etc. – reported by Dr. Esselstyn in “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” and reported by Dr. Perlmutter in “Grain Brain” – appears to me to be based on the logical fallacy post hoc, ergo propter hac (that because one event follows another the former must have caused the latter).
It appears to me, that medical doctors are guessing when they prescribe cholesterol lowering medications, i.e., they guessing that if you take the cholesterol lowering medication they have prescribed that it will do more good for you then the harm it will cause (i.e., it will be more beneficial than detrimental).
The only thing that is true is that you are going to die.
All medicines cause effects. Some of those effects are known and some of those effects are unknown.
It is likely that any medicine I take to lower my blood cholesterol level will cause “some effect”; it is not clear to me whether the effect or effects caused by this medication will overall be to my benefit or be to my detriment.
One expert (Esselstyn) theorizes that if you lower the cholesterol level in your blood and eat a plant based diet (including grains) you will lower the risk of having a heart attack, while another expert (Perlmutter) theorizes that if you lower the cholesterol level in your blood and/or eat a diet which includes grains [i.e., wheat products (gluten)] such as bread, you will increase the likelihood of brain degeneration, i.e. of having Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, memory loss, cognitive impairment.
Here is what Perlmutter says about cholesterol in “Grain Brain”: Cholesterol is at most a minor player in coronary heart disease and represents an extremely poor predictor of heart attack risk. Over half of all patients hospitalized with a heart attack have cholesterol levels in the “normal” range. The idea that aggressively lowering cholesterol levels, will somehow magically and dramatically reduce heart attack risk has now been fully and categorically refuted….when I see patients with cholesterol levels of say, 240 mg/dl or higher, it’s almost a given that they will have received a prescription for a cholesterol lowering medication from their general practitioner. This is wrong in thought and action. As discussed, cholesterol is one of the most critical chemicals in human physiology, especially as it relates to brain health. The best lab report to refer to in determining one’s health status is hemoglobin A1c, not cholesterol levels. It is rarely, if ever, appropriate to consider high cholesterol alone to be a significant threat to health.”
Here is what Esselstyn says in “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”: … no one who achieves and maintains total blood cholesterol of 150 mg/dl and LDL levels below 80 mg/dl – using strict plant-based nutrition and, when necessary, low doses of cholesterol-reducing drugs – experiences progression of heart disease. Many, in fact, are able to rejoice at clear medical evidence that they have actually reversed the effect of their disease…. I am convinced from my research and from counseling hundreds of patients with heart disease that you, like them, can make yourself heart-attack proof.
“Our research data have clearly confirmed that we were right. My patients’ decision to enter the study not only put an end to the progression of their disease; the information we have gleaned from their experience has set a new gold standard in the therapy for coronary artery disease. We can arrest and reverse it. We can make ourselves heart-attack-proof. Coronary artery disease need not exist, and if it does, it need not progress.”
In general, physicians do not provide their patients with information patients need in order to make informed decisions about preventing heart attacks, preventing strokes, preventing diabetes, or provide worthwhile information on how to maintain their mental faculties.
Perlmutter claims the two biggest myths are (1) a low-fat, high-carb diet is good and (2) cholesterol is bad. Perlmutter claims study after study shows that high cholesterol reduces your risk for brain disease and increases longevity.
With respect to preventing heart disease, stroke, diabetes and brain diseases, in general, physicians do not efficiently or effectively provide their patients (such as myself) with sufficient quality information – about the debate briefly outlined above or any other aspect of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, brain diseases, etc. – to enable their patients to make well informed decisions about what to do to increase their chances of living a vibrant healthy life.
Instead, physicians treat their patients like unthinking robots.
In general, medical doctors are not trained in nutrition; they are trained in writing prescriptions and treating symptoms.
I am intuitively sure there is an overlap between what Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. Perlmutter recommend.
By the way, I do not believe that wet streets cause rain.
I am going to think about that.

Personal Perspective

On September 14, 2013, I had a heart attack and was rushed to a hospital in Toronto, Canada while I was having a heart attack.

At the hospital it was determined that one of my coronary arteries was 100% blocked and two other coronaries arteries were seriously blocked.

The three blocked arteries were opened up by angioplasty and a stent was inserted in each artery.

After that, a friend told me that having a stent in an artery does not solve the underlying problem that caused the artery to be blocked in the first place.

My friend told me, You still have heart disease. Inserting a stent in a “blocked artery” that has been opened by angioplasty does not cure heart disease. STOP what you are doing right now and read “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.” He was a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic and he has a proven track record.

That friend told me that I need to prevent and/or reverse the underlying problem (the disease) that caused me to have a heart attack.

My friend told me my underlying problem had to be my “diet” – what I was eating; the issue is not being physically fit, not being in “good shape”, not exercising enough, many “fit” people have/had heart attacks.

He told me that I should read and follow the advice given in Dr. Esselstyn’s book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.”

I followed my friend’s advice.

Dr. Esselstyn’s message is: coronary artery disease is preventable, and even after it is underway, its progress can be stopped, its insidious effects reversed.

After I completed reading “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease three times I began following Dr. Esselstyn’s recommendations.

I am still following Dr. Esselstyn’s recommendations.

Provocative Ideas and Opinions I Took Away As a Result of Reading “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”, “Eat Move Sleep” and “Grain Brain”

HEART DISEASE

In fully one out of four patients with heart disease, the first symptom is sudden death.

In the course of a lifetime, one out of every two American men and one out of every three American women will have some form of heart disease that could have been prevented by eating the right food.

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes and brain diseases are largely preventable by eating the right food and are uniquely tied together.

How long you live your life is more about how you live your life and less about how long your parents lived.

In was observed in 1995 that by the age of twelve, 70 percent of American children had fatty deposits in their arteries, the precursors of heart disease.

In the United States, heart disease is the number one killer.

The United States contains just 5 percent of the global population, but every year physicians in American hospitals perform more than 50 percent of all angioplasties and bypass procedures in the entire world.

Unfortunately, about half of all angioplasties performed in the United States each year are unnecessary.

“Interventional cardiologists earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, and particularly busy ones make millions. In addition, cardiology procedures generate huge revenues for hospitals.”

“All told, there has been little incentive for physicians to study alternative ways to manage disease, so the mechanical/procedural approach continues to dominate the profession even though it offers little to the unsuspecting millions about to become the next victims of disease.”

“HEALTH CARE, to put it mildly, is an industry out of control.

“If we don’t make some major changes, projections show that by the year 2014, spending on health care will account for one-fifth of America’s gross domestic product.

“By the middle of this century, spending on Medicare alone will consume an estimated 40% of the U.S. budget.

“This is unsustainable.

“Starbucks, one of the most successful companies of the past two decades, recently announced that it is spending more on health care for employees than it spends on coffee beans.”

SUGAR IS A TOXIN

Every bite of food you take is a small but important choice.

Sugar is a toxin.
It fuels heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.
Much like cigarettes, sugars are addictive. Each time you eat sweets, it causes your brain to want more sugar.
Your brain builds a tolerance to sugar over time. As a result, once you consume sugar your body needs larger quantities over time to mimic the pleasurable sensation.
At the current dose we consume, more than 150 pounds per person per year, sugar and its derivatives kill more people than cocaine, heroin or any other controlled substance.
Sugar is “candy” for cancer cells.
It accelerates aging and inflammation in the body and subsequently fuels tumor growth.
What you eat can greatly reduce the risk of cancers growing and spreading.
It is clear if you lower your sugar intake, you reduce the odds of cancer.
Half of all men and one third of all women in America will be diagnosed with cancer.
Cancer is the number 2 killer in the United States.
Glucose levels of 82 to 110 mg/dL have an adverse impact on your health over time.
Blood sugar levels at the higher end of the normal range have been linked to significant shrinkage of the brain.

The next time you are with two friends, consider that two of the three of you are likely to die from heart disease or cancer.

Heart disease, stroke, diabetes and brain diseases are largely preventable by eating the right foods and are uniquely tied together.

Unfortunately, due to lack of reliable information and proper advice, people find it easier to figure out their income taxes than to know how to eat right.

BEING SEDENTARY WILL KILL YOU

Being active throughout the day is one of the most important things you can do to keep you healthy.

On average, we now spend more time sitting (9.3 hours) than sleeping in a given day. The human body is not built for that.
Reducing this chronic inactivity is even more essential than brief periods of vigorous exercise.
“Sitting is the most underrated health threat of modern times. On a global level, inactivity now kills more people than smoking.”
“Sitting more than six hours a day greatly increases your risk of an early death. … Every hour you spend on your rear end – in a car, watching television, attending a meeting, or at your computer – saps your energy and ruins your health.”
“One leading diabetes researcher claims that sitting for extended periods poses a health risk as ‘insidious’ as smoking or overexposure to sunlight. He contends that physicians need to view exposure to sitting just like a skin cancer expert views exposure to direct sunlight.”
“As soon as you sit down, electrical activity in your leg muscles shuts off. The number of calories you burn drops to one per minute. Enzyme production, which helps break down fat, drops by 90 percent.”
“After two hours of sitting, your good cholesterol drops by 20 percent.”
“… people with desk jobs have twice the rated of cardiovascular disease.”
The critical variable is how many hours you sit, not how many hours you work out.
You should move around every twenty minutes.
Find a few moments each day when you an walk briskly. Do a few push-ups or anything else to break up a 10 hour span of limited activity.
If nothing else, make sure you get up several times a day and move around your office.
One way to force movement is to increase your consumption of liquid. This makes you get up more often for refills and restroom breaks.
At a minimum at least two or three times an hour get up and stretch lightly or change position or take a walk.
“Don’t worry about breaks every 20 minutes ruining your focus on a task … taking regular breaks from mental tasks actually improves your creativity and productivity … mental concentration is akin to muscle that gets fatigued with prolonged use. It needs a period of rest before it can recover. Getting up for the sake of your body may yield as much benefit for your mind … organize your home and office to encourage movement over convenience.”
People who walk fewer than 5,500 steps per day are considered sedentary.
The average American falls below the sedentary level at just 5,117 steps per day, in comparison the average Australian takes 9,695 steps per day, nearly two times the average American steps per day.
This helps explain why Australia’s obesity rate is just 16% while the United States is 34%.
Ten thousand steps per day is a good target for overall activity. This equates to roughly 5 miles per day.
“When scientists from the National Institutes of Health followed 240,000 adults for a decade they discovered that exercise alone is not enough. Even seven hours a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity was not enough to keep people alive. Among the most active group studied, who exercised more than seven hours a week, those who spent the most time sitting had a 50 percent greater risk of death from any cause. They also doubled their odds of dying from heart disease.”
“… technology – from computers to washing machines – minimizes the need for manual labor and our health suffers as a result.”
Today, only 20% of jobs require real activity.
You can now accomplish countless tasks with the click of a mouse and a few key strokes. While this increases efficiency, it comes at the expense of our physical health.
In many ways we’ve engineered physical activity out of our lives, so we’ve got to find ways to put it back into our lives.
You need to find ways to infuse deliberate movement into your day.

Exercise prevents cognitive decline. It flips the switch that spurs the growth of new brain cells.

Exercise actually reverses memory decline in elderly humans by increasing the growth of new brain cells in the brain’s memory center.

The more you move, the fitter your brain becomes.

Your brain’s healthy functioning requires regular physical activity.

Examine your surroundings and think about how you can prevent sedentary time.

Organize your home and office to encourage movement over convenience.

Exercise is a wonder drug.

There is no shortage or reasons to move more today.

SLEEP

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential.

Sleep is not a luxury. It is a basic necessity.

If you sleep less, you eat more, you remember less, you get sick more often and you make poor decisions.

Every hour of sleep is a positive investment. It is not an expense.

Sleep less, achieve less.

Poor sleep leads to high blood pressure, irritability, and poor decision making.

In some work places it is a badge of honor to ‘pull an all nighter.’

“One hour less of sleep does not equal an extra hour of achievement or enjoyment. The exact opposite occurs.”

“The person you want to fly your airplane, operate on your body, teach you children or lead your organization tomorrow is the person who sleeps soundly tonight.”

“Getting fewer than six hours of sleep leads to burn out on the job. If you want to succeed in your job, make sure your work allows you to stay in bed long enough.”

INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION

Keeping the brain mentally stimulated is a good thing for brain health.

The brain rises to the challenges of intellectual challenges.

When intellectually stimulated, the brain becomes faster and more efficient in its processing capacity and also better able to store more information.

Thinking is good for your health.

Personal Weight Loss

I have been trying to lose weight since September, 2012.

In September, 2012, I weighed 187 pounds and my waist size was approximately 40 inches.

In January, 2014, I weighed 135 pounds and my waist size had become 34 inches.

In the time period September, 2012 through January, 2014, I lost over 50 pounds and my waist measurement shrank approximately six inches, from a 40 inch waist to a 34 inch waist.

Personal Observations

Published information about health is very confusing, contradictory.

People need individualized guidance because they do not know enough to understand the “big picture”, how one thing is related to another thing or how everything is related to everything else.

We, not our doctors, are responsible for our health.

If we want to lose weight and/or if we want to avoid or prevent our self from having a heart attack or to avoid/prevent having a stroke or diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease we need to know the right questions to ask , we need to know what is the information we need to know.

Reading “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”, “Eat Move Sleep” and “Grain Brain” and talking to my friends about what I read helped me determine questions to ask, things to think about including the right questions to think about.

I would be happy to discuss my “quest” with you.

Gary Smolker

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Your Waist to Height Ratio and The Relationship of Diet, Food and Nutrition to Health – Part One of an Autobiographical Book Report by Gary S. Smolker on “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, MD, “The Starch Solution” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall, “The Blood Sugar Solution” by Mark Hyman, MD, and “The Virgin Diet” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS.

Apr 30

Posted by Gary S. Smolker

Introduction

I don’t want to get diabetes or to be overweight.

I have been told there is a relationship between what you eat and health.

I’ve read that nearly all people who are overweight (over 70 percent of adult Americans) already have pre-diabetes and have significant risks of disease and death. They just don’t know it yet.

In September, 2012, I decided to focus on learning what to eat.

In the middle of September and in the months that followed, I changed my normal day to day diet by following a food plan prepared for me by a professional dietitian.

Later, in January, 2013, I changed what I was eating (I modified the food plan my dietitian had prepared for me in September) by ceasing to consume food containing wheat products. Additionally, I limited the amount of fruit I ate and simultaneously, I increased the amount of meat, cheese, eggs and nuts and seeds I ate, based on what I had learned or discovered from reading “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, M.D.

Later, in early April, 2013, I further modified what I ate after reading “The Starch Solution” by John A. McDougall.

I ceased consuming nuts and seeds altogether and I also stopped consumption of all dairy products; additionally, I also stopped taking vitamins and supplements based on what I became aware of while reading “The Starch Solution” by John A. McDougall, M.D.

Later yet, at the end of April, after I read in “The Blood Sugar Solution” by Mark Hyman, MD, that “The addition of high levels of fiber to the diet is as effective as diabetes medicine in lowering blood sugar.” celery became my favorite snack food.

By late April, 2013, seven months after I began to follow the initial food plan prepared by my dietitian for me and after continuing to follow that diet as modified by me after reading “Wheat Belly” and as further modified by me after reading “The Starch Solution”, and as further modified by reading “The Virgin Diet” and by reading “The Blood Sugar Solution”, I had lost more than 20 pounds.

The level of triglycerides in my blood, according to the most recent test of a blood sample drawn from me, had dropped by almost fifty percent.

I am still losing weight.

In one of the books I review in this autobiographical book report (“The Blood Sugar Solution”), the author Mark Hyman, MD advises that your waist to height ratio is a significant predictor of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and the risk of death, and is a more significant predictor than almost any other number.

In my reading of the books reviewed in this post, I also discovered that currently there are no national screening recommendations, no treatment guidelines, no approved medications and no reimbursement to health care providers for diagnosing and treating anything other than full blown diabetes albeit nearly all people who are overweight already have pre-diabetes and have significant risks of disease and death. They just don’t know it yet.

Think about that. Doctors are not expected, trained, or paid to diagnose and treat the single biggest chronic disease in America, which along with smoking, causes nearly all the major health care burdens of the twenty-first century, including heart disease, stroke, dementia, and even cancer.

The things I read in the books I review in this book report convince me that pre-diabetes is not pre anything. It is a deadly disease driving heart attacks, strokes, cancer, dementia and more.

At least two of the authors believe that the standard of care in the medical community for preventing diabetes and for treating diabetes is abysmal.

In “The Blood Sugar Solution”, Dr. Hyman states: Treating diabetes with medications or insulin is like mopping up the floor while the faucet continues to overflow.
In “Wheat Belly” Dr. Davis states: Years ago I used the ADA diet in diabetic patients. Following the carbohydrate intake advice of the ADA, I watched the patients gain weight, experience deteriorating blood glucose control and increased need for medication and develop diabetic complications such as kidney disease and neuropathy. Just as Ignaz Semmelweis caused the incidence of childhood fever in his practice to nearly vanish just by washing his hands, ignoring ADA diet advice and cutting carbohydrate intake leads to improved blood sugar control, reduced HbA1c, dramatic weight loss, and improvement in all the metabolic messiness of diabetes such as high blood pressure and triglycerides. The ADA advises diabetes to cut fat, reduce saturated fat, and include 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate – preferably ‘healthy whole grains – in each meal, or 135 to 180 grams of carbohydrates per day, not including snacks. It is, in essence, a fat phobic, carbohydrate centered diet, with 55 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates. If I were to sum up the views of the ADA toward diet, it would be: Go ahead and eat sugar and foods that increase blood sugar, just be sure to adjust your medications to compensate. But while ‘fighting fire with fire’ may work with pest control and passive aggressive neighbors, you can’t charge you way out of credit card debt and you can’t carbohydrate-stuff your way out of diabetes. … To this day, the notion of treating diabetics by increasing consumption of foods that caused the disease in the first place, then managing the blood sugar mess with medications persists.

By the way, Albert Einstein once said: We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

Reading the four books I review in this book report was very eye opening for me.

Among other things, I was surprised to read that taking statins and beta-blockers (I take a statin, Lipitor) cause insulin resistance because the doctor who prescribed Lipitor for treating my “high cholesterol” never informed me of that fact or discussed the possibility or claim that taking Lipitor would or might cause insulin resistance and/or higher the level of glucose (sugar) in my blood serum.

I have been advised that I have what is known as pre-diabetes.

On the topic of having pre-diabetes, here is what Dr. Hyman says in “The Blood Sugar Solution”:

“Many people believe that pre-diabetes isn’t a problem until it becomes full-blown diabetes, that is just a warning sign. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is an earlier stage of diabesity that carries all the risks of diabetes. Pre-diabetes can kill you before you ever get to diabetes, through heart attacks, strokes, and even cancer.

“Pre-diabetes can even cause ‘pre-dementia’ or mild cognitive impairment – think of it as early Alzheimer’s. Recent studies have shown that diabetics have a fourfold increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and patients with pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome have a dramatically increased risk of pre-dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). You don’t even have to have diabetes to have brain damage and memory loss from high insulin levels and insulin resistance, Just having pre-diabetes can give you pre-dementia. Recent studies have shown that as your waist size goes up, the size of your brain goes down.

“…So if your doctor has diagnosed you with pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, don’t think that you are at risk for something ‘in the future,’ such as diabetes or heart attack. The problems are happening right now.”

People, myself included, are concerned and confused about what food to eat: the relationship between food, diet, nutrition and health.

After reading the four books reviewed here, I now believe heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are lifestyle diseases.

After reading those books and changes my own eating habits, I also believe that high blood pressure, overweight, physical inactivity, high blood sugar and high cholesterol are preventable risk factors.

When I began the diet described and commented upon in this autobiographical book report, I had a lot to learn about the relationship of diet, food and nutrition to health.

As a result of reading those books and performing the dietary experiments described in this book report, I learned a lot, beyond the advice given to me by my dietitian and beyond the advice given to me by my primary care physician.

The books I review here each broadcast, the same message – We should focus on creating health because:

Disease goes away as a side effect of getting healthy.
Eating whole real fresh food and exercising vigorously will keep your blood sugar low and your insulin needs down.
Food is not just calories. It is information.
Food is the information that quickly changes your metabolism and genes.
The quality of the food we put in our bodies drives our gene function, metabolism and health.
You lose weight by getting your system in balance, not by starving yourself.
The same things that make you sick, make you fat, so when you address the underlying cause of disease, the weight loss is automatic.

Reading Dr. Mark Hyman’s book “The Blood Sugar Solution” confirmed for me that I must take informed action, as the captain of my own ship, regarding the diet to be on in the future.

Dr. Hyman claims: Anyone with a fasting blood sugar level greater than 87 mg/dl is at increased risk of diabetes. Normal blood sugar level is 90 mg/dl.
When I decided to go on my diet my last fasting blood sugar level reading was 87 mg/dl.
Dr. Hyman also claim that ideal Hemoglobin A1c (HgA1c) is under 5.5. According to the lab that performed my Hemoglobin A1c test: A HgA1c level between 5.4 and 6.4 indicates increased risk for diabetes. A HbgA1c level above 6.4 indicates diabetes. According to that lab report I received: I had increased risk for diabetes.

I read the books reviewed here, performed the research and diet experimentation by modifying what I eat, as discussed in this autobiographical book report, because I don’t want to have diabetes or to be overweight.

My Food Preferences, Changes in Diet, Health and Changes in Health

I am 67 years old.

I love licorice, popcorn, Cheetos, pretzels, Frito Corn Chips, wheat thins, triscuits, ice cream, hot fudge on ice cream, caramel on ice cream, chocolate, fruit (especially mangoes, pineapple, watermelon, cherries, plumbs and grapes), pizza, pasta, Chinese food, Thai food, Persian food, Mexican food, Italian food, Jewish Delicatessen food, smoked fish, Sea Bass, Shrimp, Sand Dabs, Hamburgers, BBQ Spare Ribs, Beef Stew, Steak, hot dogs, baked beans, re-fried beans, potatoes, corn, rice and breads of all kind (sour dough bread, French bread, wheat bread, rye bread, and bagels) and See’s candies, especially See’s molasses chips covered with dark chocolate candy, and See’s nuts and chews covered with dark chocolate candies.

In September, 2012, I read a lab report which informed me that I have an increased high risk for diabetes due to having a high blood sugar level.

I decided to take positive action, to become pro-active, by taking steps (a) to lower the level of glucose level in my blood (my blood sugar level), (b) to lower my HgbA1c level (average fasting glucose level over a two to three month period), (c) to lower my total cholesterol, (d) to lower the level of triglycerides in my blood and (d) to lose weight.

My primary care physician gave me a prescription to have a series of consultations with a professional dietitian on the staff of a highly regarded hospital (Saint John’s Medical Center) located in Santa Monica, California.

When I began consulting with her (that dietitian), I assumed and was assured she is expert in providing medical nutrition therapy, in providing nutrition and diabetes education, that is what is indicated on her business card.

I got down to the business of trying to protect myself from getting diabetes and losing weight on September 19, 2012, by beginning to attended a series of one-on-one educational consultations with that dietician at that hospital.

At first, I followed all the advice and instructions she gave me and I followed the food plan (ate what was on the food plan) prepared for me by that dietitian, except I ate bigger proportions than specified in my food plan of meat, chicken and fish.

I lost weight and was happy about my weight loss.

However, the meals that I ate for dinner were not fulfilling. I was still hungry after eating my dinner.

A few months after I had been following the diet given to me by my dietitian, I read “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, MD.

After reading what Dr. Davis said about wheat, meat, eggs, nuts and seeds, I modified my diet (what I ate in the food plan given to my by my dietitian) by excluding all foods containing wheat or a wheat product from my diet (which my dietitian had told me it was okay to eat and had included in my food plan) and I began to eat copious amounts of nuts and seeds albeit my dietitian had told me to eat only a small amount of nuts and seeds.

Eating seeds and nuts made me feel full after eating, satisfied my hunger pains.

My dietitian had advised me that I should not eat more than six or ten nuts at a time. Dr. Davis advises that you may eat as many nuts and seeds as you want to eat.

Dr. Davis also advises that it is okay to eat as many eggs as you desire and it is okay to eat meat.

In his book “Wheat Belly” Dr. Davis has a chart which specifies:

Foods to consume in unlimited quantities which include vegetables (except potatoes and corn), raw nuts and seeds, meats and eggs, cheese, non-sugary condiments, avocados, olives, coconut, spices and unsweetened cocoa or cacao.
Foods to consume in limited quantities which include non-cheese dairy (including milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and butter), fruit (but be careful of sugary fruits including pineapple, papaya, mango and banana and avoid dried fruit especially figs and dates), whole corn, fruit juices, non-wheat, non-gluten grains (quinoa, buckwheat, rice, oats and while rice), legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas, white and red potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, soy products.
Foods to consume rarely or never which include wheat products (wheat-based breads, pasta, noodles, cookies, cakes, pies, cupcakes, breakfast cereals, pancakes, waffles, pita, couscous, rye, bulgur, barley, unhealthy oils (fried, hydrogenated, polyunsaturated especially corn, sunflower, safflower, cotton seed), gluten-free foods (especially those made with cornstarch, rice starch, potato starch or tapioca starch), dried fruit (figs, dates, prunes, raisins, cranberries), fried foods, sugary snacks (candies, ice cream, sherbert, fruit roll-ups, craisins, energy bars), sugary fructose-rich sweeteners (agave syrup or nectar, honey, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose), and sugary condiments (jellies, jams, preserves, ketchup, chutney).

After reading what Dr. Davis says in “Wheat Belly” about nuts, seeds, eggs and meat, I upped the amount of nuts, seeds, eggs and meat I ate beyond the limitations that had been specified by my dietitian.

After reading both “Wheat Belly” by William Davis, MD and “The Starch Solution” by William McDougall MD, I discovered that Dr. Davis and Dr. McDougall disagree on what food should be eaten and which foods should not be eaten.

I came to realize that the dietary and nutritional instructions my dietitian had given me are highly controversial in that those two experts vehemently disagree with different aspects of the food plan developed for me by my dietitian.

I discovered that in every meal my dietitian planned for me to eat there was at least one food that either Dr. Davis and Dr. McDougall warn against eating.

Below is a list of some of the foods my dietitian advised me to eat (which she had included in the food plan she prepared for me to follow) which Dr. Davis and/or Dr. McDougall advise against eating.

My dietitian advised me to eat cottage cheese, fruit, cereal,and toast for breakfast (and she included those foods in the food plan for breakfast she gave me) and to drink coffee. In his book “Wheat Belly”, Dr. Davis advises against eating any product containing wheat. Don’t eat toast, don’t eat any product containing wheat including any kind of bread, wheat bread is dangerous to your health. Dr. Davis also advises to minimize consumption of fruit and of dairy products except cheese.
In his book “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall advises against eating any dairy product, i.e., it is not okay to eat cottage cheese, it is not okay to eat any kind of yogurt, it is not okay to drink milk, etc. Contrary to Dr. Davis’ advice, Dr. McDougall advises that it is okay to consume as much fruit and toast (bread/wheat product) as you want unless you are part of the one percent of the population who has celiac disease.
My dietitian advised me it is okay and desirable to have Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal with milk for breakfast (she included that breakfast in the food plan she prepared for me to follow). She also told me it is okay and desirable to eat yogurt (she included yogurt in my breakfast food plan and in my snack food plan); she also told me it is also okay to eat a limited number of eggs (which she included in my food plan) and to have/consume turkey or chicken breakfast links and toast with my eggs during breakfast. In “Wheat Belly”: Dr. Davis advises against eating any product that contains wheat, i.e. don’t eat toast or bagels. However, Dr. Davis approves of eating as much meat as you wish. Contrariwise, in “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall advises against consuming any dairy product, i.e., don’t drink milk, don’t have milk with cereal, don’t eat yogurt. Dr. McDougall also advises against eating eggs or any meat or chicken, i.e. don’t eat turkey or chicken links with eggs for breakfast. Contrary to Dr. Davis, Dr. McDougall advises that it is okay and advisable to eat grains such as wheat.
My dietitian advised me that I should eat a roast beef, turkey, tuna salad or grilled chicken sandwich (she recommended that my sandwich be on wheat bread) for lunch and she also advised me to eat salads with chicken, steak, salmon, tuna or turkey for lunch. Dr. Davis, the author of “Wheat Belly”, has no problem with a recommendation to eat roast beef, turkey, tuna or chicken but strongly recommends against eating any product containing wheat, including wheat bread. Contrariwise, in “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall strongly advises against consuming meat (i.e. roast beef), poultry (i.e., chicken and turkey) and fish. However, unlike Dr. Davis, Dr. McDougall states that eating wheat containing products is healthy thing to do except if you are part of the one percent of the population which has celiac disease.
My dietitian also told me it is okay to eat Almonds and Walnuts and Cashews (6 maximum). Dr. Davis advises that you may eat as many nuts and seeds as you wish. Dr. McDougall advises that you should not eat nuts or seeds but if you “must” you show eat only a few.

My dietitian also advised me to take various vitamins pills I was taking with my breakfast meal and to take the cholesterol lowering pill (Lipitor) and the high blood pressure lowering pills (HCTZ and Atenolol) I was taking before dinner.

In “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall advises against taking any vitamin pills and advises against taking any supplements. In “Wheat Belly”, Dr. Davis advises against taking Calcium supplements but has no comment/advice on vitamins. In “Blood Sugar Solution”, Mark Hyman, MD advises it is necessary for everyone to take vitamins and supplements.

At one of my early meetings with my dietitian, my dietitian gave me a plate on which three food groups are designated with the portion/size of each food from each food group to be eaten at each meal.

The plate I was given by my dietitian is divided into the following three sections:

Section One has printed in it the word “protein.” By the word “protein” she was referring to meat, poultry and fish. Dr. Davis advises that you can eat as much meat as you want. I also believe he has no objection to you eating as much poultry and fish as you desire. Dr. McDougall, on the other hand, advises that you should not eat any meat, or any poultry or fish.
Section Two, which is the same size as the Section One, has printed in it the word “starch”, and also the words “potatoes”, “pasta”, “rice”, “corn”, “peas” and “beans.”
Section Three of the plate, which is approximately twice the size of either of the other two sections, has printed in it the word “vegetables.”

My dietitian also showed me figurines which depict the size of a portion of meat, fish or poultry you are allowed to eat at each meal.

My dietitian never advised me that I could get all the protein I needed by eating plants/vegetables, potatoes, beans, etc., i.e. that I didn’t need to eat meat or poultry or fish in order to consume enough protein.

Dr. McDougall advises in “The Starch Solution” that the following foods are never part of a healthy diet, and should be meticulously avoided, if you are to benefit from the diet he recommends in “The Starch Solution”:

Meat, such as beef, pork, lamb
Poultry, such as chicken, turkey, duck
Dairy foods, such as milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream
Eggs
Animal fats
Vegetable oils, including olive oil, corn, flaxseed, canola, and safflower oils
Processed and packaged foods, except for ones containing only permitted ingredients

In “The Starch Solution” Dr. McDougall states that the diet he recommends is not a diet in the traditional sense of restricting how much you can eat. “So long as you choose the right foods, you always eat until you fee comfortably full and satisfied. If you are hungry again an hour later, eat some more. You need never again feel hungry or deprived.

Dr. McDougall’s diet “… does not require you to purchase prepared foods, count calories or starch equivalents, keep a food journal or exercise log, or eat only specified menus or dishes at particular times. So long as you eat only the permitted ingredients you can combine them in any way you like, in any preparation, to suit your own taste You can eat a wide variety or limit your choices to a few simple dishes repeated over and over again.

In Chapter 13 of “The Starch Solution”, claims you the following will occur if you follow his “Starch Solution Diet”:

“Your friends are going to be mighty envious. First they’ll notice you lost weight; then that you’re looking great. Next they’ll hear that you’ve gotten your blood pressure down so far that your doctor was incredulous – especially because you gave up the meds you were prescribed to control it. They may also hear that your type 2 diabetes is under control for the first time, also without medications, and that you’re eating all the starches that their doctors (and yours) told them to avoid. They’ll also hear that your cholesterol is down to 150 from 270, and that you’re off those muscle-damaging statins. Your friends will do a double take when they see you slamming balls on the tennis court, or when you zoom past them on foot heading up a steep hill, overtaking them effortlessly while they stop, bend over, and strain to fill their lungs with air. Oh, no – they are not going to be happy about that.

“Why won’t your friends be happy for you? You’ve done something you say is simple – you’ve only changed the way you eat. Yet, for them, the task seems next to impossible. Give up bacon and eggs for breakfast? They’d rather lie down and die, right now. Don’t worry. It’s not your job to tell they they’re already headed down that path. That if they want to ensure more time with friends and family, to enjoy their favorite music and even their favorite foods, a very straight forward change can help.”

According to the inside flap of the cover of “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall’s diet is based on a simple swap: By fueling your body primarily with carbohydrates rather than proteins and fats, you’ll feel satisfied, boost energy, and look and feel your best.

One of the important pieces of information presented in “The Starch Solution” is cost data put togerher by Dr. McDougall in “The Starch Solution.”

Chapter 13 of “The Starch Solution” has a section entitled “Keeping Costs Down.”

That section contains tables containing tables entitled “Food”, “Cost per Item” and “Cost Per 2,500 Calories.” Those tables contain information on the following topics:

Food Costs of a Diet Based on Animal Foods: contains cost information per 2,500 calories for (a) beef rib eye, (b) ground beef, (c) chicken breast, (d) salmon, (e) cheddar cheese and (f) milk.
Cost of Eating in A Fast Food Outlet: contains cost information per 2,500 calories for eating out at Burger King, (b) KFC, (c) McDonald’s, (d) Round Table and (e) Taco Bell.
Cost of Eating a Starch Based Diet: contains cost information per 2,500 calories for eight different items – (a) white potatoes, (b) sweet potatoes, (c) pinto beans, (d) brown rice, (e) white rice, (f) corn tortillas, (g) corn grits, and (h) oats.

In “The Starch Solution”, Dr. McDougall reminds us that for many families food is one of the greatest monthly expenditures.

Using information in the tables referred to above you can easily figure the cost savings of a starch based diet.

According to Dr. McDougall: Roughly half of US food dollars are spent eating out – about 40 percent in full-service restaurants and 40 percent in fast-food establishments.

Dr. McDougall also informs us that at least one in three Americans (adults and children) eats at a fast-food restaurant daily.

According to Dr. McDougall: About $14 per person day is the average cost of eating in a fast-food outlets. In comparison, a starched based diet with added fruits, vegetables, and condiments will cost you about $3 per person per day. The typical cost of a home-cooked meal featuring animal foods could easily be $10 per person or even more day.

According to Dr. McDougall:

“The net savings from switching from your 2,500 calories per day from fast foods to starch-based meals is $11 per person, per day ($14 – $3). Over the course of a year that puts savings in your pocket of more than $4,000. If you are feeding a family of four, this means an additional $16,000 saved annually on food costs alone…”

By the way, Domino’s Pizza (a fast food enterprise) reported on April 30, 2013 that it had solid first quarter sales and profit, which lifted its shares to anew high.

Domino’s, a pizza delivery and takeout giant, earned 26% higher than last year.

Its revenues grew nearly 9% — the best sales gain in 10 quarters, showing that the chain’s value offerings were enticing cash-strapped consumers.

In a post earnings posting conference call, CEO Patrick Doyle said, “Customers have gotten a little more conservative about their balance sheet. We are a good value. That’s part of the reason we had a strong quarter overall.”

The big picture economic ramifications of the information Dr. McDougall presents in “The Starch Solution” are staggering.

The portions of meat and potatoes my dietitian told me I am supposed to eat are also staggering.

My first reaction when I looked at the size of food portions depicted on the plate my dietitian gave me and in the figurines my dietitian showed me was, You must be kidding.

The amount of meat I usually ate at a meal before starting my new diet was about three or four or five or six times as much as the portion size represented by the dimensions of the figurine.

The amount of fish or poultry I usually ate at a meal before starting my new diet was about three times as much as the portion depicted in the figurine.

Before starting my new diet, the amount of beans, or rice or potatoes I would eat at a meal were about two or three times the amount shown in the figurine.

I was thankful to be given that plate and to be shown those figurines.

I brought the plate home and for the next few months, looked at it whenever I ate meat or chicken or fish at home.

Over time I was able to eat smaller and smaller portions of meat, chicken and fish and bigger portions of vegetables at dinner. Eventually, I began to eat a salad with breakfast and to eat vegetables for snacks.

When I first met my dietitian I weighed 187 pounds.

At that time, my dietitian told me I should have as my weight goal to weigh 176 pounds, i.e. to lose 10 pounds. I told her my weight goal is to weigh 150 pounds, i.e., to lose 37 pounds.

My Life Was Turned Upside Down As A Consequence of Reading “Wheat Belly”

I thought I was lucky to have consulted with my dietitian after listening to my dietitian because she told me it was okay/safe and recommended for me to eat roast beef, or chicken or turkey on wheat bread. Previously, I had understood it is not okay to eat red meat.

Ever since received a food plan from my dietitian I have followed the diet given to me by my dietitian as best I could.

However, I am always struggling to reduce the portion of meat, chicken, fish, pasta, etc. I eat at meals and am rarely able to restraint myself from eating more than the recommended portion of meat, chicken and/or fish at any meal.

In January, 2013, I began to read “Wheat Belly.”

As a result of reading “Wheat Belly”, I became convinced that I should stop eating any product containing wheat.

Although my weight had dropped from 187 pounds to 173 pounds, on January 17, 2013 I stopped eating food containing wheat products.

Dr. Davis advises, in “Wheat Belly”, Contrary to popular wisdom there is no deficiency that develops from elimination of wheat — provided that lost calories are replaced with the right foods.

If the gap left by wheat is filled with vegetables, nuts, meats, eggs, avocados, olives, cheese then not only won’t you develop a dietary deficiency, you will enjoy better health, more energy, better sleep, and reversal of every abnormal phenomena we have discussed. … removing wheat is the first step. Finding suitable replacements to fill the smaller — remember wheat-free people naturally and unconsciously consume 350 to 400 fewer calories per day — calorie gap is the second step. If you fill the gap left by excising wheat products with corn chips, energy bars, and fruit drinks, then, then, you will have replaced one undesirable group of foods with another undesirable group; you’ve achieved very little.

If ideal health is your goal, then it does indeed matter what foods you choose to fill the gap left by eliminating wheat.

This is a battle that needs to be fought on all fronts: Turn on the TV and you won’t see ads for cucumbers, artisanal cheeses, or locally raised cage-free eggs. You will be inundated with ads for potato chips, frozen dinners, soft drinks, and the rest of the cheap-ingredient, high mark-up world of processed food.

A great deal of money is spent pushing the products you need to avoid. Kellogg’s, known to the public for breakfast cereals ($6.5 billion breakfast cereal sales in 2010), is also behind Yoplait yogurt, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Larabar health bars, Keebler Graham Crackers, Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, Cheez-It crackers, as well as Cheerios and Apple Jacks.

One thing is clear: There is no nutritional deficiency that develops when you stop consuming what and other processed foods. But this hasn’t stopped the food industry, and its friends at the USDA, the American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association, and the American Diabetes Association from suggesting that these foods are somehow necessary for health and that doing without them might be unhealthy. Nonsense, Absolute unadulterated, 180 proof, whole grain nonsense.

Forget everything you’ve learned about “healthy whole grains.” Instead, remember the need for “healthy whole grains” is pure fiction. Grains such as wheat are no more a necessary part of the human diet than personal injury attorneys are in your back-yard pool party.

Let me describe a person with wheat deficiency: slender, flat tummy, low triglycerides, high HDL (“good”) cholesterol, normal blood sugar, normal blood pressure, high energy, good sleep, normal bowel function.

After deciding to stop eating all products containing wheat, I found out that wheat, or a product containing wheat, is in many of the foods I love. I learned “wheat” is ubiquitous.

After I began to look at food labels to discover ingredients, I was amazed to find out that my favorite candy “licorice “contains wheat flour.

If I adopted the diet recommended by Dr. Davis in “Wheat Belly” I would have to stop eating every kind of bread, bagel, pizza, pretzels, licorice, wheat thins and other “thins” in order to go “wheat-less” because they all contain wheat.

Giving up “wheat” (bread, pretzels, wheat thins, etc.) was a great sacrifice for me. But, I did it.

After I stopped eating “wheat” and all products containing wheat (which I stopped eating on January 18, 2012) my weight continued to drop and drop.

On January 18, 2013 my weight was 173.6 pounds.

By February 18, my weight was 166.8 pounds.

On April 25, 2013 my weight was down to 163.2 pounds. — My weight had dropped by April 25 more than 20 pounds from what it was (187 pounds) when I began my “diet” on September 19, 2012.

When I began my diet in September 2012 I was taking two medications my primary care physician had prescribed to control my blood pressure.

I monitored my blood pressure.

In April, 2013 my blood pressure was consistently normal.

My blood pressure had dropped so much while I was “dieting” that on April 11, 2013 I stopped taking one medication (Atenolol) that had been prescribed to control my blood pressure. My blood pressure remained in a healthy range thereafter.

On April 17, 2013, I stopped taking the other medication (HCTZ) that had been prescribed to control my blood pressure.

My blood pressure has remained in healthy range after that.

Why I purchased “Wheat Belly”, “The Starch Solution”, “The Blood Sugar Solution” and “The Virgin Diet”?

“WHEAT BELLY” by William Davis, MD

While shopping in Costco I saw the cover of a book entitled “Wheat Belly.”

On the back cover was a picture of two pieces of wheat bread.

Under that picture was the statement: DID YOU KNOW THAT EATING TWO SLICES OF WHOLE WHEAT BREAD CAN INCREASE BLOOD SUGAR MORE THAN 2 TABLESPOONS OF PURE SUGAR?

I purchased that book after reading that caption and the inside flap of the book cover because at that time I was very interested in lowering the level of sugar in my blood and in loosing weight.

The inside book cover states: Since the introduction of dietary guidelines in the 1970s calling for reduced fat intake, a strange phenomena has occurred: Americans have steadily, inexorably become heavier, less healthy, and more prone to diabetes than ever before. After putting more than 2,000 of his at-risk patients on a wheat-free regime and seeing extraordinary results, cardiologist William Davis has come to the disturbing conclusion that it is not fat, not sugar, and not our sedentary lifestyle that is causing our nation’s obesity epidemic — it is wheat.

In ‘Wheat Belly’, Davis exposes the truth about modern-day wheat, deconstructing its historical role in the human diet. No longer the sturdy staple of our forebears ground into their daily bread, today’s wheat has been genetically altered to provide processed-food manufacturers the greatest yield at the lowest cost; consequently the once benign grain has been transformed into a nutritionally bankrupt yet ubiquitous ingredient that causes blood sugar to spike more rapidly than eating pure table sugar and has addictive properties that cause us to ride a roller coaster of hunger, overeating, and fatigue. Dr. Davis sheds light on its connection to weight gain and fat buildup, in all the wrong places, as well as a host of adverse health effects from diabetes to heart disease to immunologic and neurological disorders like celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and dementia. Finally, he presents a compelling argument for eliminating wheat products from the diet entirely, with strategies for making the transition both simple and permanent.

...’Wheat Belly’ is an illuminating look at a familiar food and a positive course of action to regain health and lose unwanted pounds for good.

I purchased “Wheat Belly” because I want to lose weight and lower my blood sugar level.

I was led to believe that if I read “Wheat Belly” I would learn how to do that.

“THE STARCH SOLUTION” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall

While following my diet, I learned, by reading the ingredients label, that the 0% fat, Dannon “Light and Fit” Greek Yogurt I was eating contained 7 grams of sugar per serving.

After learning that, I went to a “Whole Foods Market” to see if I could find a yogurt that had no sugar.

While in “Whole Foods” I picked up a book entitled “The Starch Solution” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall.

On the front cover is the following endorsement, Dr. John A. McDougall is the dean of medical practitioners in nutrition-centered medicine, because of his incredible accomplishments, knowledge, and courage to stand up for what he believes. Thousands of his patients know him as an icon. When you read this book, you will too.” – T. Colin Campbell, PhD, coauthor of THE CHINA STUDY.

At the beginning of the book is the following endorsement by John P. Mackey, co-chief executive officer and director of Whole Foods Market, Inc.: “The Starch Solution” is one of the most important books ever written on healthy eating. As Dr. McDougall shows us in his book, human beings flourish on starch foods from whole food sources. When combined with healthy servings of vegetables and fruits, we have the perfect diet to prevent and reverse the lifestyle diseases that are now killing 80 percent of Americans – obesity, heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancer. The recipes included in the book are easy and delicious. “The Starch Solution” will change your life. Read it and live it.”

In the preface, Dr. McDougall writes:

“Whether you are doing now is not working. That’s why you’ve picked up this book. Most likely, you’ve tried other diets – probably many of them – but they have failed you. That’s because most diets make losing weight easy if you stick with them – but because they ask you to suffer a life of deprivation, or make you feel ill, they are not sustainable. Instead, you lose weight, then you lose interest, quickly gaining al the weight back and more.

‘”The Starch Solution’ is different because it offers a way of eating that keeps you feeling satisfied. You won’t feel hungry or deprived, because starches are not only healthy, they’re comforting and filling. This is a plan you can follow indefinitely – even when you stray by not following it 100 percent – and its benefits will be with you for a lifetime. In other words, this is not an all or nothing approach.

“Beyond shedding excess weight almost effortlessly, you will look better, feel better, function better, and live better. For the majority of people, blood pressure and cholesterol will drop and digestion will finally work the way it should. In most cases, you will be able to get off and stay off prescription and nonprescription medications and supplements, saving a bundle and enjoying good health naturally.

“You needn’t worry about getting sufficient protein, calcium, vitamins, or other nutrients. These ingredients are naturally built into foods.”

I would be happy to achieve those benefits.

I purchased “The Starch Solution” to find out what Dr. McDougall has to say about me being able to eat the foods I love, while regaining my health and losing weight for good.

I would not have not known that Dr. McDougall and Dr. McDougall’s book “The Starch Solution” exist if I had not read “Wheat Belly ” and as a consequence of reading “Wheat Belly” started to read the food labels on the packaged foods (i.e. yogurt) that I ate.

“THE SUGAR SOLUTION” by Mark Hyman, MD

I purchased “The Blood Sugar Solution” because I saw a copy in Costco and read the front cover and back cover.

On the front cover is an endorsement by President Bill Clinton which states: “I hope Dr. Hyman’s new book will inspire you as he has inspired me.”

On the front cover, under the titled “The Blood Sugar Solution” is the statement: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease and Feeling Great Now!”

On the back cover is the following endorsement by President Bill Clinton: “In the last decade, the rise of obesity and diabetes has emerged as a crisis that threatens our families, the global economy, and the success of our next generation. I’ve made drastic changes to my own diet and exercise routine since my heart troubles surfaces in 2004, and I hope Dr. Hyman’s new book will inspire you as he has inspired me.”

The back cover also contain endorsements by Arthur Agatston, MD (author of The South Beach Diet), Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life), Deepak Chopra, MD, Mehmet Oz, MD, Dean Ornish, MD, and Jack Canfield( author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series).

“THE VIRGIN DIET” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS

JJ Virgin and her “The Virgin Diet” was featured on a local TV show.

A good friend told me that Ms. Virgin claims the real cause of weight gain is food intolerance and that if you drop 7 foods you will lose 7 pounds in 7 days and then be able to determine your food intolerance.

According to Ms. Virgin the secret to weight loss (a) isn’t calories, (b) isn’t fat, (c) isn’t protein and (d) isn’t even carbs. Those things are important, but you won’t lose weight if you’re eating foods your body can’t handle. The key to weight loss is avoiding and overcoming food intolerance.

Food intolerance is a series of physiological responses your body has to certain types of food. Most people have at least one type of food intolerance, and many have several.

I bought her book (“The Virgin Diet) because I wanted to learn more about what she has to say about food intolerance.

Additional Interesting Facts, Opinions, Theories, Explanations and Claims I Discovered While Reading “The Virgin Diet”, “The Blood Sugar Solution”, “Wheat Belly” and “The Starch Solution”

“THE VIRGIN DIET” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS

In the “Virgin Diet” Ms. Virgin states/claims,

“If you weigh more than you’d like and look older than you’d prefer, you most likely are struggling with food intolerances.

” What’s the solution? Stop eating high Food Intolerance foods and replace them with low Food Intolerance foods: foods that are unlikely to trigger food intolerance.

“Although the total number of calories counts, it is only part of the story. The source of the calories matters far more. If your calories come from foods that are causing your body trouble, then it almost doesn’t matter how much or how little you eat. Even moderate intake of problem foods sets up your body for wight gain.

“Food is information. Each bite of food that you put into your mouth sends your body a message – maybe several messages.

“Not all calories are created equal. You might portion out a cookie, a hamburger and a serving of cauliflower so they all have the same number of calories, but each of those foods is going to send your body very different messages. And its the messages we care about, not just the calories.

“If yogurt, eggs, soy milk, and whole-wheat bread are a frequent part of your diet – and especially if you are eating them every day – your system is overwhelmed with problem foods, and your immune system never really calms down. This creates a number of problems…

“If you can cut out the top 7 high Food Intolerance foods for just 3 weeks, you’ll see weight loss and beauty results that will have you looking and feeling terrific.

“High Food Intolerance foods not only make you feel tired, unfocused and moody, but they’re also the hidden cause of weight gain, weight-loss resistance and premature aging.”

According to Ms. Virgin the top 7 High Food Intolerance foods are (1) Gluten, (2) Soy, (3) Dairy, (4) Eggs, (5) Corn, (6) Peanuts, and (7) Sugar and Artificial Sweetners. The Virgin Diet is designed to send only the right messages to your body twenty four hours a day for 21 days.

The Virgin Diet works this way: You take out the foods listed above that might be causing you problems. You then reintroduce some of the High Food Intolerance Foods – eggs, dairy, soy and gluten – back into your diet. If you tolerate them terrific. If you show symptoms, out they go.

Here are some of the symptoms, which according to Ms. Virgin, are caused by you eating foods your body doesn’t like:

Sleep issues, such as fatigue, insomnia or waking up in the middle of the night
Congestion, sneezing and coughing
Muscle aches and pains
Dull, lifeless hair
Skin problems, including acne and rosacea
Mood problems, such as lack of focus, brain fog, depression, anxiety or irritability
Poor or unsteady energy
Weight gain
Premature aging

According to Ms. Virgin, “If you are struggling with any of these symptoms, you are almost certainly struggling with food sensitivities and perhaps with other types of food intolerance as well. Food sensitivity is incredibly common. It affects 75 percent of us and is a major factor in weight gain and weight retention.”

According to Ms. Virgin: “… weight gain, bloating and fatigue are not just annoying facts of life. They are your body’s way of telling you that you’re eating foods that aren’t working for you. Until you get rid of the foods that your body can’t handle, load up on healing foods and supplements that give your body a chance to recover from what you’ve unknowingly put it through, you are likely to gain weight, retain wait and suffer from premature aging.

“If you weight more than you’d like and look older than you’d prefer, you most likely are struggling with food intolerance. … What’s the solution? Stop eating high food intolerance foods and replace them with low food intolerance foods: foods that are likely to trigger food intolerance.

Here are some of the statements of praise that appear at the beginning of “The Virgin Diet.”

You must read this book if you think you’re doing everything right and still struggling to lose weight. – Suzanne Somers, bestselling author of 23 books, including Bombshell.
Eliminates the ‘healthy’ foods that are actually holding your health hostage, so you can lose weight quickly and permanently. – Mark Hyman, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Blood Sugar Solution.

In her book “The Virgin Diet”, Ms. Virgin also discusses your poop.

According to Ms. Virgin, poops are a critical part of digestion.

Regarding your poop, according to Ms. Virgin, there are three danger signs: (1) You are moving your bowels less than once a day. Ideally you should be moving your bowels twice a day. (2) You’re having to really struggle. Ideally, everything should come out nice and smooth. (3) You’re producing poops that are tiny or don’t come al the way out.

What is a poop you can be proud of?

According to Ms. Virgin:

“It is a well formed poop that you don’t have to struggle with. It comes out fully – it doesn’t stop halfway through and leave you stuck. Nor does it dive bomb to the bottom of the bowl. It sinks to the bottom of the bowl. It doesn’t mark things up.

“If you have an oily residue or slick slides, you are not absorbing your fat well. If you have rabbit pellets or you’re straining, you don’t have enough fiber If you have floating poops, it could be from excess gas, produced by an overgrowth of bad bacteria lurking in your intestines.

According to Ms. Virgin: All you have to do is cut the wrong foods out of your diet (the foods your body doesn’t like) and replace them with the foods your body does like.

The reason Ms. Virgin gives for discussing your poop is because if you don’t eliminate properly, you’ll be bloated and fat and setting yourself up for a permanent problem with both digestion and obesity. If you don’t have poops you can be proud of, you are holding a toxic mess inside your body every single day: “The uneliminated poop is releasing toxins that are reabsorbed into your body, leading to bad breath, hemorrhoids and acne, not to mention impaired digestion, inflammation and food intolerance. The net result is that you gain weight that you can’t lose, and you feel sluggish, tired and old before your time.”

In her book “The Virgin Diet” Ms. Virgin invites the reader to take a poop quiz: “JJ’s Poop Quiz”: Skip It At Your Peril!

Ms. Virgin’s Poop Quiz consist of a series of 13 questions.

Ms. Virgin advises: “…none of these symptoms are normal, and you shouldn’t experience them regularly on a long-term basis. … But if you have any of these problems chronically, you need to address them. And you should be aware that the more questions you answered yes to, the more severe your problem.”

Ms. Virgin then informs the reader, “quite often, removing high Food Intolerant Foods and adding in low-Food Intolerant Foods corrects most if not all of the problems. Ms. Virgin also provides information on how to fix any remaining poop problems.

“THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION” by Mark Hyman, MD

According to Dr. Hyman: There is one simple concept you need to learn about nutrition. It will save your life: Not All Calories Are Created Equal.

“Five hundred calories of cookies are not the same as 500 calories of broccoli, an idea that even Weight Watchers and the American Diabetic Association are finally recognizing: they are changing their point system and carb exchange as a result. If you eat the same amount of calories from broccoli rather than cookies, you will lose weight.

“The source of calories (and the information carried along with the calories) makes a gigantic difference in how your genes, hormones, enzymes, and metabolism respond. If you eat food that spikes your insulin level, you will gain weight. If you eat food that reduces your insulin level you will lose weight. This is true even if it contains exactly the same number of calories or grams of protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fiber.

“Low-glycemic-load diets are the only diets that have proven to work – these diets don’t spike blood sugar and insulin.

“The glycemic load of a meal tells us how much of and how quickly a fixed quantity of a specific food will raise your blood sugar and insulin levels. The slower these levels rise and the lower they are, the better.

“You need to combine protein; fats; and whole-food, fiber-rich, low-starch carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and a limited amount of whole grains and low-sugar fruit.

“Another way to think about it is to never eat carbs alone. Combine carbs with protein and fat at every meal or snack. Have an apple, but eat some nuts with it. Have a whole grain, but only with a meal containing some fish or chicken, fat and veggies with fiber.

“The key is to have a slow, even burn of food all day to keep your blood sugar and insulin levels stable.

“Choose fresh vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and lean animal protein such as fish, chicken, and eggs.

“You may not realize this, but there are no essential carbohydrates. There are essential fats (omega-3s) and essential proteins (amino acids), but if you never had any carbohydrates again, you would survive.

“But there are a few things that hang out almost exclusively with good-quality carbohydrates that come from plant foods (vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds). So unless you’re going to eat the brain, livers, kidneys, and other organs, and chew the bones of animals like the mostly meat-eating tribes once did, carbohydrates are critical for health. Why? Because they include high levels of vitamins and minerals, fiber and special plant compounds with healing properties called phytonutrients, or phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are medicinal molecules such as curcumin in turmeric, glucosinolates in broccoli, anthocyanidins in berries and black rice, and so on.”

According to Dr. Hyman you should eat slow carbs and not eat fast carbs. In “The Blood Sugar Solution” he lists which carbs you may eat freely (Green Carbs), which carbs you should eat in moderation (Yellow Carbs) and which carbs you should eat in limited amounts (Red Carbs).

Dr. Hyman advises readers to eat the following for blood sugar and insulin balance and to control hunger:

“Beans or legumes. They are rich in protein and filled with fiber, minerals, and vitamins that help balance blood sugar.
“Whole soy products. These include tepeh, tofu, misok and natto. These vegetarian sources are rich in antioxidants that can reduce cancer risk, lower cholesterol, and improve insulin and blood sugar metabolism. Don’t use processed industrial soy products, such as those found in deli-meat replacements, soy cheese or typical meal-replacement bars; they are harmful.
“Nuts. Keeping nuts in the pantry is essential. They have been proven to help weight loss and reduce the risk of diabetes. They are also a great snack, full of protein, fiber, minerals and good fats. Buy raw or lightly toasted unsalted nuts. Avoid nuts that are fried or cooked in oils. The best are almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans. Stick with one or two handfuls for a snack once or twice a day. They have a tendency to raise blood sugar if you binge on them. Remember a serving is 10-12 nuts or a good handful.
“Seeds. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds are all high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. They are a great snack in addition to vegetable, bean, grain, or salad dishes.
“Omega-3 eggs or free range eggs. These are one of the few animal products that are low in toxins and high in nutrients and balance blood sugar. They contain lots of DHA and they don’t raise your cholesterol; just the opposite. Enjoy up to eight of these kinds of eggs a week. Whole eggs are okay; you don’t need to stick to just egg whites. Yolks contain important vitamins and fats needed for brain and mood function.
“Mercury-free fish, shrimp, and scallops. These are good sources of high-quality protein as well as omega-3 fats.
“Organic grass-fed, and hormone-antibiotic-, and pesticide-free poultry. Poultry raised without hormones or antibiotics is recommended. Remove the skin from poultry before cooking. Keep some boneless, skinless breasts in the freezer for a quick dinner.
“Small amounts of lean, organic, grass-fed, and hormone-and antibiotic-free lamb or beef. Buy as much grass-fed organic, hormone-free meat as your budget will allow. Trim all visible fat from the meat before cooking. Remember, red meat is a treat. Lamb is a better choice. Pork is the worse. Eat no more than 4-6 ounces of red meat (the size of your palm) no more than once or twice a week. Excess meat consumption is associated with diabesity, although wild meat such as deer, elk, or kangaroo may reverse it.
“When choosing meat products, understand your choices and their impact on your health and the planet. If you eat meat and drive a Prius, you use more energy and harm the planet more than if you are a vegan and drive a Hummer.

According to Dr. Hyman you should limit your intake of the following:

“Starchy, high-glycemic cooked vegetables. These include winter squash, peas, potatoes, corn, and root vegetables such as beets. Starchy vegetables raise blood sugar more quickly, so they should be consumed in smaller quantities (up to one-half cup a day) and ideally in the context of other foods that reduce overall glycemic load of the meal.
“High-sugar fruits. Melons, grapes and pineapple contain more sugar than the fruits listed above, so they should be limited to a half-cup treat once a week.
“Forbidden Carbs: Avoid completely: Processed carbs. Gluten containing whole grains. Stay away from wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, kamut, and triticale for the first six weeks of the program. Dried fruit.

In “the Blood Sugar Solution”, Dr. Hyman discusses a six week program which he claims will delight your senses, stimulate your palate and leave you feeling clear and healthy and automatically thinner.

On the six week program Dr. Hyman discusses in “The Blood Sugar Solution” you are to avoid the following for six weeks:

“Sugars in any form whatsoever. Examples are agave, maple syrup, stevia and the ‘latest greatest’ sweetener of the day.
“All flour products (even gluten-free). These include bagels, breads, rolls, wraps, pastas, etc. They are quickly absorbed and drive insulin sky high.
“All processed food.
“All gluten and dairy. These are the major inflammatory foods in our diet.
“If you are on the advanced plan, all grains, starchy vegetables and fruit. Avoid winter squashes, peas, potatoes, corn, and root vegetables such as rutabagas, parsnips, and turnips, and all fruits, except one-half cup of berries for just six weeks…”

According to Dr. Hyman it’s not only the quality of your calories that’s important. When you eat and the composition of your plate are also important, focusing on when you eat and the composition of your meals can reprogram your metabolism: “It is most important to avoid eating quickly absorbed carbohydrates alone, as they raise your sugar and insulin levels. And any large meal raises your blood sugar, so smaller meals help keep your blood sugar even.

According to Dr. Hyman your plate should look like this: One half of your plate should have low-starch vegetables. You can refill this part as much as you want. You may eat a pound or two of asparagus or broccoli if you like. One quarter of your plate should have protein: fish, chicken, eggs, shrimp, meat, nuts or beans. The other quarter should have either one-half cup of whole grains (ideally brown or black rice or quinoa) or one-half cup of starchy vegetables such as sweet potato or winter squash. “If you have advanced diabesity, you should avoid all grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit until your metabolism resets and you become more insulin-sensitive. Just make vegetables three-fourths of your plate and protein one-fourth.

“...eat early and eat often. Keep the fire of your metabolism burning all day, rather than slowing it down during periods of ‘mini-starvation.” Always have breakfast, eat every 3-4 hours, and try to schedule meals art the same time every day. Your metabolism will work faster and more efficiently. You will lose weight, have more energy, and feel better.”

Dr. Hyman advised that his basic dietary program can be followed by anyone.

In “The Sugar Solution”, Dr. Hyman makes the following claims about his dietary program: (1) It balances your blood sugar, reduces insulin spikes, balances hormones, cools off inflammation, helps improve digestion, boosts your metabolism, enhances detoxification, and calms your mind and nervous system, Eighty percent of people following this basic plan will have all the tools they need to take control of their health.

Dr. Hyman advised that his advanced dietary program is designed to help people with more severe/serious biochemical and metabolic imbalances, including all those who have been diagnosed with diabetes.

According to Dr. Hyman it is not necessarily the number of of calories you eat or the the ratio of protein to at to carbohydrate in your diet. What is important is the quality and type of food you eat and when and how often you eat.

Dr. Hyman recommends that you take measure of yourself then get started.

Measure:

Your weight. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning without clothes after going to the bathroom. Track your weight once a week.
Your height.
Your waist size. Measure the widest point around your belly button. Track this once a week.
Your blood pressure. Measure it first thing in the morning before you start your daily activities. Ideal blood pressure is less than 115/75. Over 140/90 is significantly elevated. Track it weekly.

Determine:

Your Body Mass Index (BMI). This is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared. Or use this calculation: BMI equals weight in pounds times 703 divided by your height in inches squared. Normal is less than 25, overweight is 26 to 29, and obese is over 30. However you should take in your waist size as well. Also certain ethnic groups, discussed by Dr. Hyman in “The Blood Sugar Solution” have diabesity at much lower BMIs. Track your BMI weekly.
Your Waist-to-Height Ratio. Take your waist measurement and divide it by your height in inches. Move the decimal point two places to the right. This number tells you if you are fat around the middle. If you stand sideways while looking in the mirror and have a big belly, or if you can’t see your toes when standing up, then you have a problem. This number is a better predictor of diabesity, heart disease, and the risk of death than almost any other number. Measure this number once a week while you are following his six week diet. Later you can measure it once a month.

Dr. Hyman provides the following information for readers of “The Sugar Solution” to use to interpret their Waist-to-Height Ratio:

WOMEN

Ratio less than 35: abnormally slim to underweight.
Ratio 35 to 42: slender and healthy.
Ratio 42 to 46: healthy
Ratio 49 to 54: overweight
Ratio 54 to 58: extremely overweight/obese
Ratio over 58: highly obese

MEN

Ratio less than 35: abnormally slim to underweight
Ratio 35 to 43: extremely slim
Ratio 43 to 46: slender and healthy
Ratio 46 to 53: healthy, normal weight
Ratio 53 to 58: overweight
Ratio 58 to 63: extremely overweight/obese
Ratio over 63: highly obese.

Dr. Hyman recommends testing for everyone who considers following the program set forth in his book “The Sugar Solution”, or is overweight, has diabetes, or has a family history of 2 diabetes.

He recommends that such people get the following tests and provides detailed explanations for each test and how to interpret the results. He encourages people to become partners in their health, and that includes knowing their numbers and following them over time.

Below is a list of the tests he recommends having performed:

“Insulin response test. This test measures fasting, 1-hour, and 2-hour glucose and insulin levels after a 75-gram glucose load. It’s like a glucose tolerance test but it measures both glucose and insulin. Your blood sugar can be normal but your insulin can be sky high. Demand this test. It is the most important indicator of the presence and severity of diabesity, but is rarely done in medical practices today. That is why diabesity is not diagnosed in 90 percent of people who have it.
“Hemoglobin A1c. This test measures the average of the last six weeks of blood sugar. Abnormal is greater than 5.5% of total hemoglobin.
“NMR lipid profile. This test determines the particle size and number of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. Small dense particles are dangerous and an indicator of diabesity, even if your overall cholesterol is normal with or without medication.
“Lipid panel.

Dr. Hyman recommends additional specified tests to assess the severity or complications of diabesity.

Diabesity is a comprehensive term Dr. Hyman uses to describe the continuum from optimal blood sugar balance toward insulin resistance and full blown diabetes.

“Nearly all people who are overweight (over 70 percent of adult Americans) already have “pre-diabetes” and have significant risks of disease and death. They just don’t know it. Even worse, while the word “diabesity” is made up of the concepts of obesity and diabetes, even those who aren’t overweight can have this problem. … Currently there are no national screening recommendations, no treatment guidelines, no approved medications, and no reimbursement to health care providers for diagnosing and treating anything other than full-blown diabetes.”

In “The Blood Sugar Solution”, Dr. Hyman goes on to say:

Think about that. Doctors are not expected, trained, or paid to diagnose and treat the single biggest chronic disease in America, which, along with smoking, causes nearly all the major health care burden of the twenty-first century, including heart disease, stroke, dementia, and even cancer.

“Even if you have perfectly normal blood sugar, you may be sitting on a hidden time bomb of disease called diabesity, which prevents you from losing weight and living a long healthy life. Insulin resistance is the major cause of aging and death on the developed and most of the developing world.”

“The Blood Sugar Solution” by Mark Hyman, MD is on my “must read list.”

“WHEAT BELLY” by William Davis, MD

The six topics which Dr. Davis discusses in “Wheat Belly” which I found most fascinating are:

The fact that the body has an ideal PH balance and what the body does in its attempt to maintain that balance.
The impact wheat has on my brain and on your brain.
How modern day wheat differs from the wheat in “your daily bread” referred to in the Bible.
How ubiquitous wheat is in supper markets and in our daily lives and diets.
What acid rain, car batteries and wheat have in common. According to Dr. Davis: “Wheat is among the most potent sources of sulfuric acid, yielding more sulfuric acid per gram than any meat. (Wheat is surpassed only by oats in quantity of sulfuric acid produced.) Sulfuric acid is dangerous stuff. Put it on your hands and it will cause a severe burn. Get it in your eyes and you can go blind. (Go take a look at the warnings prominently displayed on your car battery.) The sulfuric acid in acid rain erodes stone monuments, kills trees and plants, and disrupts the reproductive behavior of aquatic animals.
The fact that taking calcium supplements is a waste of time and money. According to Dr. Davis: “…taking calcium supplements is no more effective at reversing bone loss than randomly throwing bags of cement and bricks in your backyard is to building a new patio.

“Wheat Belly” by William Davis, MD is on my “must read list.”

The April 6, 2013 Wall Street Journal Article entitled “When Your Boss Makes You Pay for Being Fat”

According to an article in the April 6, 2013 issue of the Wall Street Journal it has been reported that annual corporate spending on health care is expected to reach an average of $12,136 per employee.

Companies across America are penalizing workers for a range of conditions including high blood pressure and thick waist lines.

Employers are demanding employees share personal health information such as body-mass-index, weight and blood sugar level or face higher health insurance premiums and deductibles.

Michelin North America awards credits towards deductibles to those workers who meet health standards for blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and waist size of under 35 inches or women and 40 inches for men. Employees who hit baseline requirements in three or more categories will receive up to $1,000 to reduce annual deductibles.

A recent survey of 800 mid- to large firms found that six in ten employers say they intend to impose penalties in the next few years on employees who don’t take action to improve their health.

According to Dr. Hyman: “Whether you choose vegetarian or animal sources, it is essential that you get protein at each meal and snack. Eating protein turns up your metabolic fire and ability to burn calories while reducing your appetite.”

Dr. Hyman further states: “This book will help you identify and reverse this explosive situation for yourself.”

What Is A Healthy Diet?

In “Wheat Belly”, Dr. Davis criticizes diets recommended by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association, and the American Heart Association.

For example, at one point in “Wheat Belly” Dr. Davis states, Part of the prevailing standard of care to prevent and treat diabetes, a disease caused in large part by carbohydrate consumption … is to advise increased consumption of carbohydrates. Years ago, I used the ADA diet in diabetic patients. Following the carbohydrate intake advice of the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association (ADA), I watched patients gain weight, experience deteriorating blood glucose control and increased need for medications, and develop diabetic complications such as kidney disease and neuropathy. … ignoring ADA diet advice and cutting carbohydrate intake leads to improved blood sugar control, reduced HbA1c, dramatic weight loss, and improvements in all the messiness of diabetes such as high blood pressure and triglycerides. The ADA advises diabetics to cut fat, reduce saturated fat, and include 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrate — ‘preferably healthy whole grains — in each meal… It is in essence, a fat-phobic, carbohydrate centered diet, with 55 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates. If I were to sum up the views of the ADA toward diet, it would be: Go ahead and eat sugar and foods that increase blood sugar, just be sure to adjust your medication to compensate…. To this day, the notion of treating diabetes by increasing consumption of the foods that caused the disease in the first place, then managing the blood sugar mess with medications persists…Diabetes in many cases can be cured – not simply managed – by removal of carbohydrates, especially wheat.”

In “Wheat Belly”, Dr. Davis sets forth a nutritional approach for optimum health in which he advises us of foods we can consume in unlimited quantities, foods to be consumed in limited quantities, and foods to consume rarely or never. Among the foods we are allowed to consume in unlimited quantities are meats and eggs – preferably free-range and organic chicken, turkey, beef, pork; buffalo, ostrich; wild game; fish, shellfish, eggs (including yolks); cheese, and raw nuts and seeds. Yum. Among the foods he advises us to consume rarely or never are wheat products.

William Davis, MD states unequivocally, “the advice we’ve been given to eat more ‘healthy whole grains’ has deprived us of control over appetites and impulses, making us fat and unhealthy despite our best efforts and good intentions.” Dr. Davis says, I liken the widely accepted advice to eat healthy whole grains to telling an alcoholic that, if a drink or two won’t hurt, nine or ten may be even better. Taking this advice has disastrous repercussions on health. Forget everything you’ve learned about ‘healthy who grains.’ Instead remember that the need for healthy whole grains’ is pure fiction. Contrary to popular wisdom, including that of your friendly neighborhood dietitian.”

“THE STARCH SOLUTION” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall

I was fascinated by everything Dr. McDougall discusses in “The Starch Solution”, including the case studies he publishes in “The Starch Solution.”

The most impressive story/case study he publishes in “The Starch Solution” is the story/case study of Ruth Heidrich, Triathlete in Hawaii, which is told in her own words.

In brief, here is the story she tells.

Ruth didn’t know a cancer was growing in her right breast, until it grew to the size of a golf-ball.
When the lump was detected she was rushed to surgery to have it removed.
While recovering from surgery, she was given the bad news that the tumor was malignant.
Later she was informed that the cancer had spread throughout the breast and into her bones and one lung.
The prognosis was not good.
While paging through the newspaper during her recovery she saw a call for volunteers for a breast cancer study involving diet.
She signed up.
After meeting with Dr. McDougall in 1982, as part of that study, she left his office with instructions to follow a low-fat, vegan diet.

Here is what Ruth Heidrich reports happened after that:

“That diet changed my life. I am now cancer free. Since my diagnosis three decades ago, I have completed the Ironman Triathlon six times, run 67 marathons, won more than a thousand racing trophies and have been declared ‘One of the Ten Fittest Women in North America.’ At age 74 I had a ‘fitness age’ of 32. I’ve written a book about my recovery: ‘A Race for Life: A Diet and Exercise Program for Superfitness and Reversing the Age Process.”

Here is what Dr. McDougall says about diabetes in “The Starch Solution”: Sugar will not make you fat or diabetic.

“The misconception that carbohydrates are bad is at the root of your avoidance of some of nature’s most perfect foods. Remember that there are three sources of calories – proteins, fats and carbohydrates – that can be obtained from foods. Sugar, a carbohydrate, is the primary source of energy for cells throughout your body. If you avoid carbohydrates you are left to fill your calorie void with fat and protein, most likely in the form of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, and vegetable oils.

“Studies show that people who eat more simple sugar tend to take in fewer calories altogether, which means less chance of becoming overweight. One reason for this is that people who eat more simple and complex sugars generally eat less fat, the real culprit in weight gain and illness. This is because sugar and fat act as a sort of seesaw: When one goes up in a person’s diet, the other goes down, naturally.

“Type 2 diabetes is a direct result of obesity. Worldwide, the populations with the lowest rates of diabetes are those that eat the most carbohydrate; type 2 diabetes is all but unknown in rural Asia, Africa, Mexico, and Peru, where a high-carbohydrate diet is the cultural norm. Some of the highest rates of obesity and diabetes are, however, found among people of Hispanic, Native American, Polynesian, and African decent living in prosperous countries, but not because of their genetic makeup or the starch-based diets of their distant ancestors. These ethnic groups became fat and sick when the adopted the high-fat, high protein Western diet.

“Scientist understand that sugar does not cause type 2 diabetes; the American Diabetic Association recommends that diabetics consume 55 to 65 percent of their calories from carbohydrate, which may include sugary foods. High-carbohydrate diets based on starches have been shown to help diabetics cure their underlying disease, get off their medications, and improve their overall health.

“That the role of sugar in common diseases has been overrated does not mean that sugar and white flour hold the keys to good health. As carbohydrates become increasingly refined, they become less efficient in inhibiting weight gain and increasing weight loss. Refined sugars and flours are referred to as ’empty calories’ because most essential nutrients have been removed in their manufacturing. Complex carbohydrates in the form of whole starches, like brown rice, whole oats, corn, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes, are the best route to weight loss and good health.

By the way, JJ Virgin warns readers in “The Virgin Diet” that the vast majority of corn and soy (about 90 percent of the crop) available in the United States have been genetically modified.

“The Starch Solution” by John McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall is on my “must read” list.

Soy

According to JJ Virgin:

“Soy has been marketed as the miracle food of all time, maybe because it can be produced so cheaply and some big companies have invested in its production and modification. If you go to Natural Products Expo West and other big health-food conventions, they seem like one big homage to soy.

“Yet eating soy on a daily basis may create problems, whether in traditional forms like tofu and endamame or in modern incarnations such as soy milk, soy ice cream and soy cheese. One study showed that a high midlife tofu consumption – high being only 2 servings per week – increased the risk of late-life cognitive impairment and dementia both in men and in women.

“Soy is rich in phytates, or phytic acid, which blocks the adsorption of minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. In other words, soy can be an antinutrient.

“Soy is also full of trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is an enzyme produced in the pancreas that we need to digest protein. Trypsin inhibitors can interfere with protein digestion and cause pancreatic disorders. Not surprisingly, in countries where there is more soy consumption, we find more pancreatic, stomach and thyroid cancers.

“What about soy as a source of protein? Again, the news is not good. Although soy is a complete protein, it has very low amounts of two essential amino acids, lysine and methionine, so it is not a quality protein source.”

JJ also discusses that soy disrupts your hormones, including your sex hormones.

According to JJ, soy is also bad for your thyroid. Soy can depress thyroid function. She has seen among many of her clients that when they eat soy every day, they tend to have elevated TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which is an indicator of hypothyroidism.

Genetically Modified Foods

In “The Virgin Diet”, JJ tells/warns us:

“Basically, soy is cheap because the big companies have figured out how to genetically modify it so it can be sprayed with a potent herbicide that kills everything around it with destroying the crop.

“Farmers can now plant a ton of soy and spray the heck out of it. So where is that poison going? Into the soybeans – and then into the person who consumes the soy. Or, if the soy is fed to cattle or the farm-raised fish, which is becoming more and more common, then the poison goes into those animals and then into you. Remember, you are what you eat, ate.

“I don’t think it is an accident that just when genetically modified foods flooded the market – between 1994 and 2001 – food-related illnesses doubled. Genetically modified foods tend to be more allergenic, antinutritional, carcinogenic and toxic, with special dangers for your gastrointestinal tract, your endocrine system and your immune system. So we’re going to see more infertility, immune issues and gastrointestinal changes.

“Animals that have been fed genetically modified foods have been known to have bleeding stomachs, damaged organs and immune system problems. The animals themselves often have infertility problems, miscarriages and premature births. Their young suffer from lower birth rates, inability to reproduce and altered DNA functioning. If that is what is happening to them, what’s happening to us?

“In my view, genetically altered foods are anything but innocuous. When you start to create new genes, you have no idea what the result will be.

“The American Academy of Environmental Medicine recommends that we avoid genetically modified food. They think it is very dangerous, and so do I. And so do many parts of Western Europe, where genetically modified foods have bee outlawed.”

“The Virgin Diet” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS is on my “must read list.”

CONCLUSION TO PART ONE: SEE BEYOND THE OBVIOUS.

I am sure each of the four author’s whose books I have reviewed in this post will agree with the following statements:

Nothing under the sun is greater than education. By educating one person and sending him or her out into society of his/her generation, we make a contribution extending a hundred generations to come.
The topic of the relationship of food, diet and nutrition to health is an enormously important topic.
Heart disease, diabetes and cancer are lifestyle diseases. High blood pressure, overweight, physical inactivity, high blood sugar and high cholesterol are preventable risk factor.
Food is not just calories. It is information. Food is information that quickly changes your metabolism and genes.
When getting a “check up”, you and your physician must also consider genetic and environmental factors.
The collective experiences of our lives – diet, toxins, microbes, stress, social connections, thoughts, beliefs – control which of our genes are turned on or off.
The collective experiences of our lives also controls the quality and types of proteins produced by our DNA, as well as what happens to those proteins and how they function once they are produced.
How we eat, how much we exercise, how we manage stress, and our exposure to environmental and food based toxins is important.
The same things that make you sick make you fat.
Your body can heal given the right conditions, including enough time.
Health problems can be caused by not having enough information soon enough and/or by not timely taking appropriate action.
You need the right knowledge and the right plan to solve problems.
If you have a “health problem” you must identify and treat the real causes of that problem. You must get to the root of your problem.
Ideally, under your physician’s guidance, you will treat the causes of your health problems, not just the risk factors; you will treat your entire biological/biochemical/physiological/neurological/emotional/social and cognitive system, as well as your physical environment, and not just your symptoms.
Symptoms result from problems.
The most important question you can ask your doctor is: “Why?”
Don’t ask your doctor: “Which disease do I have?” Ask your doctor: “Which systems in my body/life are out of balance?”
Be a forward thinker.
You can’t solve what you don’t understand.
Stop wishing.
Vision without action is hallucination.
There are consequences to choices.
Do your best to be informed and intelligently proactive.

Medicine is food and food is medicine.

More than 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

I believe you only know something if you have a good explanatory theory of which factors affect outcomes and which do not. Knowledge consists of explanations.

Scientific explanation is an account of what is really out there, what is really happening and why.

Scientists eagerly address interesting problems, conjecture good explanations, test them, and only lastly claim to have induced the explanation from the experiment. They make a distinction between what does and does not make sense.

There is an objective reality. Seeking good explanations creates an engagement with reality.

My goal is to find out the truth about nutrition and health, to understand the healthy path to take to have the fullest life.

I wish you good luck in finding, understanding and taking your own personal individually tailored healthy path to have the fullest life.

Sincerely,

Gary

Gary S. Smolker. Publisher

Gary Smolker Idea Exchange Blog

http://www.garysmolker.wordpress.com

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Gary S. Smolker

An Idea Exchange

Blog Archives

Take Away

Personal Perspective

Provocative Ideas and Opinions I Took Away As a Result of Reading “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”, “Eat Move Sleep” and “Grain Brain”

HEART DISEASE

In fully one out of four patients with heart disease, the first symptom is sudden death.

SUGAR IS A TOXIN

BEING SEDENTARY WILL KILL YOU

SLEEP

INTELLECTUAL STIMULATION

Personal Weight Loss

Personal Observations

Introduction

My Food Preferences, Changes in Diet, Health and Changes in Health

My Life Was Turned Upside Down As A Consequence of Reading “Wheat Belly”

Why I purchased “Wheat Belly”, “The Starch Solution”, “The Blood Sugar Solution” and “The Virgin Diet”?

“WHEAT BELLY” by William Davis, MD

“THE STARCH SOLUTION” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall

“THE SUGAR SOLUTION” by Mark Hyman, MD

“THE VIRGIN DIET” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS

Additional Interesting Facts, Opinions, Theories, Explanations and Claims I Discovered While Reading “The Virgin Diet”, “The Blood Sugar Solution”, “Wheat Belly” and “The Starch Solution”

“THE VIRGIN DIET” by JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS

“THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION” by Mark Hyman, MD

“WHEAT BELLY” by William Davis, MD

The April 6, 2013 Wall Street Journal Article entitled “When Your Boss Makes You Pay for Being Fat”

What Is A Healthy Diet?

“THE STARCH SOLUTION” by John A. McDougall, MD and Mary McDougall

Soy

Genetically Modified Foods

CONCLUSION TO PART ONE: SEE BEYOND THE OBVIOUS.

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