Medical Myths You Can Do Without - Myth #1: Dieting Will Help You Lose Weight and Make You Healthy

By Tim Reynolds, MD

Every day we are bombarded with medical garbage. It comes from all sources -- maybe even your doctor. There are also medical myths that have been passed on from one generation to the next -- unfortunately, no one has looked carefully at where the information started and whether it is in fact valid or not.

In the following weeks, I would like to explore five of those myths and raise some questions. Hopefully, you will begin to think about them (and others) more critically…

I hate budgets and I hate diets. I think I hate them for the same reason -- they make me want all the things I can't have even more. Have you ever noticed that the word DIET is a four letter word and that the first three letters are DIE?! That's how I feel about dieting. So many times we go to the doctor and he/she says “Well you are overweight and you need to start on a diet”. Unfortunately, many health professionals do not know exactly what this means -- it is also the wrong approach to take to lose weight.

Instead of going on a diet, why not change the way you look at food and the way you approach your health? Why not change your reality and realize that food is nutrition that is good for the body as long as it's the right kind and eaten in moderation? Food is not the enemy -- choosing the wrong foods and overeating is the enemy.

A major problem started with flawed research that was then capitalized upon by food manufacturers. In the 1970s and 80s, it was erroneously determined that our high fat diet was making us all fat.¹ Food manufacturers quickly caught on and soon every product had a label that said “low fat”. Unfortunately, we replaced the fat with sugar. As we all ate our low fat diets, the entire country got fatter.

A variation on the theme is being seen now with carbs. Everyone wants to be on a low carb diet. So now everything at the grocery store is advertised as “low carb”. Once again, most people have no idea what this means. There is more than one type of carbohydrate and not all carbs are bad.

Natural plant fiber is made from carbohydrates. Fruits are carbohydrates but should not be considered the same as carbohydrates from a doughnut. If we only look at the carb count, once again we will be led down the wrong path due to creative advertising.

So what are we to do? How can we figure all this out? I have two simple recommendations that will help. First get back to nature. I do not mean move to the mountains (although that does sound nice) -- but start eating natural foods. Think of it this way -- if you can't catch it or pick it, don't eat it. If you follow this rule, you can have all the fish, fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits you want.

In fact, if your diet consisted of just these foods, you would never be fat. As I write this, I am at a scuba diving resort in Borneo, Malaysia. This island does not have an overweight person on it. Why? Because they only eat what they can catch or pick. They have a natural high protein, low carb diet.

Second, if you are going to eat processed foods, always check the label. You will find protein content in grams, fat in grams, and carbohydrates in grams. Under carbohydrates it will list sugar in grams. If the grams of sugar are higher than 10 (8 if you want to be strict), put it back and choose something else.

You will be amazed at what does and does not have sugar once you start looking. Remember, it is not simply the fat or carbohydrates -- as it turns out, the problem is the amount of sugar it contains.

Finally, I have an 85/15 rule. If you eat like I just showed you 85% of the time, you can eat what you like the other 15%. Food is energy -- it is good for you. Choose the right foods and they will keep you healthy. Choose the wrong foods and they will make you ill. You are in fact what you eat.

Reference

1. http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2008/02/dr-jamie-bailes-fat-free-fallacy.html

[Ed. Note: Tim Reynolds, M.D., is a practicing physician and a health and lifestyle expert. For more information, click here.]

Cutting Edge Fitness: Never Do Crunches Again By Craig Ballantyne

If you want to have a flat stomach or 6-pack abs, you never have to do another crunch or sit-up ever again.

In fact, the truth about abdominal crunches is that they are useless, ineffective, and even damaging to your spine. The latter fact is covered in great detail by Dr. Stuart McGill in his book, Ultimate Low Back Fitness and Performance. His research will shock and scare the bejesus out of you -- if you are one of those gym rats who spends 30 minutes on abdominal crunching type movements.

I found out crunches are useless the hard way by spending ten minutes per day on crunches back in my 3rd year of University -- but to no avail. They didn't do anything for my abs.

That year I stumbled across interval training and total body abdominal exercises. Finally, it was these training secrets that helped me change my torso from just a fit but regular-looking college-aged male, into a cover-model with 6-pack abs!

We've talked about interval training before here at THB, so let's focus on the total body abdominal exercises to help you build a better-looking torso without doing so at the expense of your low back health.

For beginners, the three exercises you must master are called, the Plank, the Side Plank, and the Bird Dog. Now I'll be honest, these aren't the most exciting moves in the world, but they will put you on track to flatter abs and a healthier low back.

For intermediate fitness and strength, you can graduate to exercises such as Mountain Climbers, Plank with your Forearms on the Ball, and Stability Ball Jackknives. There are also at least a half-dozen advanced pushup exercises that will work your abs as well as crunches ever could!

Finally, if you are advanced, some of my favorite abdominal exercises include Cross-Body Mountain Climbers, Chin-ups with Knee-Ups, and Stability Ball Rollouts.

You can find these exercises demonstrated on many websites. If you have a gym membership, ask one of the trainers to show you how they are done.

Here's to the new era of CRUNCH-FREE abdominal workouts.

[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine.]

Healthy Recipes: Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp By Kelley Herring

Recent published research found that rhubarb extract significantly reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes in peri-menopausal women -- with none of the harmful side effects of estrogen therapy.¹ By using the natural sweetener, erythritol, you can enjoy the authentic sweet-tart flavor of this traditional summertime recipe without all the unwanted sugar.

Time to Table: 1 hour
Serves: 8

Benefits

• Excellent source of vitamin C
• Good source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, protein, vitamin E
• Low sugar, low sodium

Ingredients
2 lb. organic rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices
1/2 pint organic strawberries, halved
1 c. organic erythritol (try ZSweet)
4 tbsp. organic butter
1 tsp. organic vanilla
2 tsp. organic arrowroot
1/2 tsp. organic cinnamon
1/2 c. organic almond flour
1/2 cup organic rolled oats

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 3-quart baking dish with non-stick spray. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, erythritol, arrowroot, and cinnamon. Put in baking dish. Combine melted butter with vanilla and pour over almond flour and oats, gently mixing with a fork to combine. Sprinkle over rhubarb-strawberry mixture. Bake at 375° for 35-45 minutes until topping is crisp and brown. Serve with organic whipped cream.

Nutrition Information
185 kcal Calories, 14 g Carbohydrate, 15 mg Cholesterol, 13 g Total Fat, 5 g Fiber, 5 g Protein, 59 mg Sodium, 3 g Sugars, 4 g Saturated fat, 0 trans Fat, 6 g Monounsaturated fat, 2 g Polyunsaturated fat

Reference

1. Heger, M. Menopause, September/October 2006; vol 13: pp 744-759.

[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet's Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill, including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility. For more information, click here.]

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs [Issue 07-25-08] which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com/