Eat Less, Live Longer? That's Right - A Secret of Longevity

It's a pretty good bet that a diet high in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties and Omega-3 fats will stack the odds in your favor when it comes to longevity. But, what about the amount of food you eat? Could that make a difference?

In 1982, some inventive research scientists decided to investigate the effect of a calorie-restricted diet on longevity and disease. They divided a few hundred male rats into two groups; one group was allowed to eat all the rat chow they desired and the other group was allowed to eat about two-thirds of what they would have normally consumed when left to their own devices.

The results set the stage for some of the most interesting anti-aging research of the past decade. Here's what happened to the rats -

The ones who received the normal diet lived their normal maximum life span of about 1,000 days usually dying from cancer, kidney disease or the deterioration of their hearts. That's a pretty typical story for a rat-nothing out of the ordinary.

However, rats fed the limited calorie diet were a whole different story. These rats lived 1,500 days on average, a whopping 50% percent increase in life span. Even better, they avoided much of what we would consider the accompaniments of aging-feebleness, low energy, sluggish behavior and grizzled appearance.

For example, their coats which normally turn gray after age two, stayed shiny and white for 3 and a half years and even longer! They performed better running mazes more successfully than their "normal eating" lab mates. Immune systems were stronger; their rates of diabetes and cancer were far lower and had fewer cataracts.

When they finally did die, most of them just expired.

Said Edward Masoro, Ph.D., a physiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, "When we look inside them, they are completely clean."

Calorie restriction, at least in rodents, was shown to be a demonstrable anti-aging strategy.

There have now been more than two thousand animal studies confirming these results across species as varied as yeast cells, fruit flies, monkeys and mice. Scientists have produced these dramatic effects hundreds of times under all sorts of laboratory conditions.

Because humans live much longer than, say, rats or fruit flies, and because of the ethical and practical considerations, there are no long-term definitive studies on calorie restriction and humans - nevertheless, some people are voluntarily practicing calorie restriction (here's their website http://calorierestriction.org)

And here's the amazing part - those who do practice calorie restriction are showing the same effects as those seen in the animal studies-less disease, fewer "markers" of aging and much thinner bodies!

Remember last week's protein-packed diet plan with a goal of only losing 10% of your body weight? Now another great reason to shoot for that goal -- longevity and a far better quality to your health.

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Let's Stop Dying, OK?

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, the University of Toronto and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington have just published the most comprehensive study ever done about how diet, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors for chronic disease contribute to mortality in the U.S.

Want to know what they found?

Here are some of the highlights. Remember, these are the numbers of preventable-repeat preventable- deaths each year in the U.S. directly caused by the following individual risk factors.

Get ready to be stunned.

• Low intake of dietary poly-unsaturated fatty acids: 15,000 deaths
  

• Low intake of fruits and vegetables: 58,000 deaths
  

• Alcohol use: 64,000 deaths. (Note: because moderate drinking reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, alcohol use actually prevented 26,000 deaths, but these deaths were outweighed by the 90,000 alcohol-related deaths from traffic, violence, cancer and other diseases. Net loss, 64,000!)
  

• High intake of trans-fatty acids: 82,000
  

• Low intake of omega-3 fats: 84,000 (we'll be talking a lot more about this in the future!)
  

• High blood sugar: 190,000
  

• Sedentary lifestyle: 191,000
  

• Overweight/ obesity: 216,000
  

And the winner is...

Smoking: 467,000

These figures speak for themselves. I'm particularly stunned by the number of deaths specifically related to high blood sugar (!) and to lack of omega-3's, but all the numbers are sobering.

Now consider this: In another one of the largest ongoing studies of diet and health ever undertaken- the Nurses Health Study- it was found that five behaviors- five- could reduce the risk of heart disease by a whopping 83%. That percentage is higher than any drug has ever performed in the history of the world.

Ready for the five simple behaviors?

1. maintain a healthy weight
   
2. eat a Mediterranean diet (eat fish, omega-3's)
   
3. exercise every day
   
4. don't smoke
   
5. drink alcohol in moderation (if you drink it at all)
   

These same five behaviors will keep an awful lot of people from being swallowed up by the "health care" system, which is- let's be honest- really "sickness care"

Five simple behaviors.

It sure beats becoming a statistic.

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"More Potassium" As Important As "Less Sodium"

New Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that increasing potassium may be just as important as decreasing sodium.

For years, health professionals have known that not everyone is "salt sensitive"- the problem is that no one really knows who is and isn't sensitive to sodium, so the general recommendation has been to cut back on the stuff. But there's another part of the sodium equation that doesn't get enough attention.

The Sodium/Potassium Balancing Act

Sodium and potassium have an interdependent relationship in the body. Much like omega-3's and omega-6's, they need to be in balance. And much like omega-3's and omega-6's in our diet, they are anything but.

So maybe it's not so much our high intake of sodium that's the problem, it's our low intake of potassium!

How Much is Enough?

The "ideal" diet would pretty much contain more potassium than sodium. But our modern diet contains the exact opposite.

• The minimum daily requirement for sodium is only 500mg
  
• The "Adequate Intake" is set at 1500mg
  
• The Food and Nutrition Board recommends <2400 mg a day (the amount in one teaspoon of salt).
  

Of course, table salt isn't the real problem- it's the sodium contained in processed foods (and canned foods) that flies under the radar and increases our daily consumption into the stratosphere.

But here's the rub- the "Adequate Intake" level for potassium is 4700 mg a day, more than three times the "AI" for sodium. Potassium is found in fruits and vegetables.

A Recent Harvard Study

Recently researchers affiliated with Harvard Medical School examined data from more than 2,000 men and women with "pre-hypertension" who were monitored for 10-15 years. The researchers found that a higher sodium-to-potassium ratio was associated with a significantly increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, the effect of this ratio was stronger than the effect of absolute amounts of sodium or potassium.

What This Means to You

It is probably just as important to increase potassium intake from fruits and vegetables as it is to decrease sodium intake, at least if you want to protect your heart.

"Not all people should try to increase their potassium", says W. Gifford Jones, MD. "Patients with type 1 diabetes and those taking ACE inhibitor drugs, certain diuretics or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should consult their doctors. Some patients on these drugs cannot handle more potassium"

How to Get More Potassium and Less Sodium

The rest of us would do well to follow the "more potassium" advice. How can you best decrease the amount of sodium you're consuming while increasing potassium at the same time?

Simple. Think fresh and unprocessed:

Buy less:

• foods with bar codes
  
• less TV dinners
  
• less canned soups
  

Buy more:

• Fruits
  
• Vegetables
  
• Fish
  
• Beans
  
• Nuts
  
• Berries
  
• grass-fed meats and free-range poultry
  

What Exactly is a "Low-Carb" Diet Anyway?

Having just finished the revised and expanded edition of my 2004 best-seller Living Low Carb (out in January, in case you were interested!), I've been thinking a lot recently about low-carb diets.

Specifically, I've been thinking about definitions.

How exactly do we define low-carb, anyway?

For years, low-carb suffered from bad publicity. Atkins- a superb nutritionist and very smart guy- couldn't shake the stigma of recommending "pork rinds" (a recommendation that was taken out of context) and people who didn't know any better thought his diet forbade all carbohydrates (it most certainly doesn't).

Then there was the ketosis confusion. Ketosis- a harmless metabolic state that the body goes into when carbohydrate intake is very low- became identified with low-carb diets largely because early editions of Atkins' books stressed ketosis as a desirable goal for the first stage of the Atkins diet (which limited carbs to 20 grams a day).

But very few low-carb diets put the body into ketosis.

Then there was the American Dietetic Association and its spokespeople, who frequently have a questionable relationship with the truth. These folks even characterized Barry Sears' "The Zone" as a low-carb diet (even though the majority of calories on the Zone Diet come from carbs!)

So what exactly is a low-carb diet?

The American Dietetic Association designates "low carbohydrate diets" as less than 130 grams a day (or 26% of calories from a 2000 calorie diet). Though I hardly think this is "low", it seems to be a decent working definition, given that most Americans consume a whopping 300 grams of carbs a day! (Just for the record, carbohydrate consumption before the epidemic of obesity averaged 43%, just about what is recommended by Dr. Sears in "The Zone".)

According to Richard Feinman, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and head of the Nutrition and Metabolism Society (of which I am a proud member), 26%-45% of calories from carbs is a good range for what we might call "moderate" or "controlled" carbohydrate eating. According to Feinman, less than 30 grams a day should be referred to as a "very low carbohydrate ketogenic diet"; the term "ketogenic diet" should be reserved for the therapeutic approach to epilepsy, for which it works quite well.

Some low-carb diets for weight loss limit carbs strictly (20-30 grams) for the first couple of weeks (the Atkins Induction Phase), then add them back gradually. Many health professionals and weight loss experts believe that you can get most of the benefits of "controlled carb eating" with anywhere up to 100 grams a day. In a recent blog, I talked about a study in which they used a vegan version of Atkins that contained 130 grams of carbs a day and everyone still lost weight and had improvements in their risk factors for heart disease to boot.

Remember- hard as it is to believe- your body has no physiological requirement for carbohydrate. That's not to say you shouldn't eat carbs- you should!

But if you're looking to lose weight and improve your health, you should get the vast majority of them from vegetables and fruits.

Carbs from fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber and other good stuff that your body thrives on. And you can eat more vegetables and berries than you can imagine and still stay in the range of 100-130 grams of carbs a day! Add to that about 100-120 grams of protein and about 60 grams of fat, and you've got a blueprint for health and weight management that will work for just about anyone.

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Weight Loss Myth #1: It's All About the Fat

This is a 3-minute excerpt from my DVD The Truth About Weight Loss which was filmed live at T. Harv Eker's Extreme Health event in Southern California. Normally $39.95, you can get it for just $24.95 in August when you use coupon code TRUTH25 during checkout. Watch more video clips »

"Calorie Restriction" Extends Life

Reducing calories by just 25-30% can not only help you lose weight but it can also extend your life.

We've known for a while that "calorie restriction" extends the life of every species studied in the lab, from yeast cells to worms to mice. But up to now, there's been some question as to whether those results apply to "higher" species like primates.

Twenty years ago, researchers began a study of rhesus monkeys to see if they would respond to a reduced calorie diet in the same way as mice and other species do. The first of those studies was published in the journal Science suggests that calorie restriction works just as well for primates as it does for mice. The hope is that it might work for humans as well.

The researchers allowed half of the monkeys to eat as much as they wanted, while the other half ate a nutrient-rich diet with about 30% less calories. Sixty-three percent of the animals eating the calorie restricted diet are still alive, compared to 45% of the "eat all you want" group. The unlimited calorie group died at about three times the rate of those on the lower calorie diet.

Reducing calories not only slowed aging in the monkeys but it also delayed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and brain atrophy.

You can see what the monkeys looked like here.

The conventional wisdom has always held that losing weight is simply a matter of reducing calories. While there's certainly truth in this, the fact is that staying on a reduced calorie diet is often difficult, especially when that diet is low in fat and high in carbs. High-sugar diets- even when calories are low- create their own cravings and make sticking to them very difficult, as anyone knows who ever tried to eat just one chocolate chip cookie.

While you can certainly lose weight (and hopefully extend life) by gritting your teeth and counting calories, proponents of lower carb diets- like me- have long argued that it's easier to stay on a diet higher in fat and protein and somewhat lower in carbohydrates. It's also a lot easier to get all your nutrition from less calories when your main source of carbs is vegetables and fruits, and it's a lot easier to stave off cravings when you're eating enough protein and fat.

That's the principle behind the Diet Boot Camp Program. Even though calories clearly count, you don't count calories on Diet Boot Camp. You simply knock out the foods that are highest in junk carbs, leading to an automatic reduction in calories (and sugar!) and a healthier diet all around.

Plus you lose weight!

The Okinawans have a saying called "hara hatchi bu" which means 'Eat until you're 80% full". Since they're among the longest lived (and healthiest) people on the planet, it might be a good idea to learn from their playbook.

You're less likely to have to worry about calories if you limit your food to what I call "the Jonny Bowden Four Food Groups": Food you could have hunted, gathered, fished for or plucked.

That's not only the foundation of the Diet Boot Camp eating plan, but it's also the best natural fuel for a healthy body!

Modest Carb Reduction May Facilitate Weight Loss

A new study from the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham shows that even a modest reduction in carb intake was enough to stabilize blood sugar, reduce insulin and, in the long-run, facilitate weight loss.

Barbara Gower, PhD, the coauthor of the study, said "There has been great public interest in low-carbohydrate diets for weight loss, but they are difficult to maintain, in part because of the drastic reduction in carbohydrates".

Well, we can quibble about the difficult to maintain part- many low-carbers feel it's the easiest program they've ever been on once they get used to it- but let's admit that many people do find the idea of giving up high-carb foods daunting to say the least.

This study shows that even a partial reduction in high sugar (high-glycemic) carbs can make a huge difference to your health and your weight.

The researchers studied two groups of people. One group was given a "standard" diet of about 55% carbohydrates, 18% protein and 27% fat. The second group was given a diet of 43% carbs, 18% protein, and 39% fat.

Calories were identical in both groups, and the calorie level was set at just the amount needed to maintain weight.

The results showed that even when weight loss was not the goal, the group eating slightly lower carbs stayed fuller longer and were more satisfied. They also had healthier blood sugar levels and lower levels of insulin, the fat-storage hormone.

Commenting on the study, which was presented at the 91^st Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society in Washington DC, Dr. Gower said this: "Over the long run, a sustained modest reduction in carbohydrate intake may help to reduce [calorie consumption] and facilitate weight loss".

Amen to that.

If you'd like a structured low-carb diet plan designed to stabilize blood sugar levels and lower levels of insulin (the fat-storage hormone) check out Diet Boot Camp. It includes a healthy shopping list, quick and tasty recipes, and a food almanac.

Special Announcement Coming Thursday

It's the perfect time to start thinking about getting in shape for the summer- or better- for the rest of your life.

The best way I know to do that is with Diet Boot Camp- a program I designed to help not only build the body of your dreams but more importantly, to build habits that will last you a lifetime.

This Thursday we will announce the details of the first ever Diet Boot Camp Challenge!

We've designed a special community website where participants can post questions, pictures and comments and can work together while achieving their weight loss goals, learning from, inspiring and encouraging one another.

And... there will be prizes!

Watch your e-mail for the special announcement of details on Thursday.

Diet Secret: Healthy Snacks

Jonny reveals two of his favorite between-meal snacks.

Are Hidden Food Allergies Making You Fat?

Patients unable to achieve goal weight loss just by cutting calories were significantly aided in their attempts when they avoided foods that had been shown by a unique lab test to excite their immune response, according to a new study from Dubai.

The authors, led by Dr. M. Akmal of the Dubai Specialized Medical Centre, pointed out that hidden food allergies, or food sensitivities, are unique to each individual and can cause inflammatory diseases, and an inability to lose weight.

Food sensitivities often provoke delayed and chronic symptoms, like IBS, migraine and arthritis that are not as obvious as the dramatic and immediate onset of "true" food allergies, such as peanut anaphylaxis, but, over the long term, can be just as devastating and are more difficult to detect.

The patients were all tested on a well known system called the ALCAT test which I've written about in "The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth". The ALCAT test shows which foods activate your immune system, even if you're not "technically" allergic. The only "treatment" the patients underwent during the 12 week study was to avoid all foods that showed up in the test as being problematic.

The results were pretty impressive.

By just eliminating the foods to which they were sensitive, the study participants dropped an average of 37 pounds in 12 weeks- a very impressive amount. They also dropped an average of 6 points on their BMI (body mass index) and a reduced their body fat by a stunning 30%.

My friend Fred Pescatore, MD, author of "The Hamptons Diet" (and former Medical Director of the Atkins Center) commented: "I'm not surprised by these results, dramatic as they may appear. I've used the ALCAT test with my difficult patients time and time again, and it always works".

Other studies based on the elimination of food sensitivities had previously been reported. In a Baylor Medical College study 98% of subjects also displayed significant improved body composition and/or scale weight following an ALCAT test-based food elimination diet within four weeks. A matched control group that followed calorie restriction alone actually became fatter.

Roger Deutsch, co-author of the excellent book, "Your Hidden Food Allergies Are Making You Fat" had this to say: "Now we know that chronic inflammation, caused primarily by exposure to incompatible foods, is at the root of metabolic problems like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. The immune system chemicals block insulin receptors; so, guess what happens to the sugars we eat? - they get stored as fat. Cut the inflammation, cut the fat storage."

So if nothing's worked for you, perhaps it's time to try some experimentation. A rotation diet or an elimination diet is one low-tech way to see if certain foods are contributing to weight loss resistance (or even to vague symptoms like headaches, fogginess, aches and pains and low energy). I explain how to do it in "The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth".

And if you want to go all the way and actually take the ALCAT test yourself, you can find out more at www.alcat.com.

Senior Moment? Maybe it's Your Blood Sugar!

Is the phrase "I'm having one of those senior moments" becoming an increasingly common utterance?

New research suggests it might be related to your sugar levels.

The new research, published in the December 2008 Annals of Neurology focused on a particular section of the hippocampus- an area of the brain associated with memory and learning. This section- the dentate gyrus- is typically affected by changes seen with aging.

"In this study, we were able to show the specific area of the brain that is impacted by rising blood sugar", said Scott Small, MD, the lead researcher on the study which was partly funded by the National Institute on Aging. Using special high-resolution brain imaging, Small and his team found that rising blood sugar was directly associated with decreased activity in the dentate gyrus.

The result: you forget where you put your keys!

The important point here is that the research strongly suggests that keeping blood sugar under control could be the key to preventing "senior moments" and lapses in memory, even in healthy individuals with no hint of diabetes!

"Our findings suggest that maintaining blood sugar levels, even in the absence of diabetes, could help maintain aspects of cognitive health", said Small.

Two of the most effective measures to manage blood sugar are and a controlled-carb diet!

Yet another reason to not eat high-carb, high-sugar foods.

Make Your Genes Behave

Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body doesn't process sugar well, and it often leads to diabetes or heart disease. But with all the talk of finding "genes" for diabetes, what often gets overlooked is the fact that genes interact with the environment. According to a new study, lifestyle choices have a lot more to do with insulin resistance than heredity does. What you do- or don't do- can actually "turn on" these genes (or render them inactive).

A new study from the University of Helsinki found that a sedentary lifestyle actually impairs the functions of certain genes that are related to insulin resistance in obese people. The study looked at pairs of identical twins in which only one twin was obese. In every single case, the obese twin had greater insulin resistance-- and was less fit. The twin who was more fit- even though he or she had identical genes- had far better insulin sensitivity, and wasn't obese.

Remember: genes loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. Lifestyle and diet choices actually impact what your genes do. In many cases- if not most- you have the choice to "turn them on" or "turn them off".

Curbing Food Cravings

This article is adapted from an excellent article on food cravings by my friend Ingrid Kohlstadt, MD, MPH. The original article appeared in the January Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. Visit Dr. Ingrid at www.ingridients.com.

We all know that food cravings are some of the biggest obstacles to weight loss. Smart dieters will do everything possible to avoid food cravings, rather than fight a losing (not as in "losing weight") battle. We mere mortals have smell, taste, and gut feelings intrinsically hardwired in our brains. These pre-human senses scream "Eat that food!" before the high-reasoning brain centers in the neocortex even know what it is. In this way the brain is not like a computer where newer is faster. The brain's developmentally newer centers work more slowly than the impulse-driven, survival mode brainstem and "older" portions of the brain.

Don't Fight Intense Food Cravings: Fix the Cause

Battling food cravings can be dangerous. Unheeded food cravings can result in losing a job, losing concentration while operating machinery, and being insufficiently alert while commuting in heavy traffic. Ignoring the brain's "Eat!" message could also involve overlooking warning signs of migraine, gallstone, muscle loss or gout. Therefore "giving in" to intense food cravings may be the wisest immediate choice, even if it means busting a diet. Long-term, the best choice is to reduce the intensity and frequency of food cravings so that dieting is safe.

Remember that meals matter. Reducing food cravings begins with a knife and fork. Here are some general guidelines:

• Eat slowly and mindfully
  
• Eat fiber
  
• Avoid refined carbohydrates
  
• Don't skip meals
  
• Frontload with breakfast
  
• Eat calories rather than drinking them
  

Food cravings often reflect inadequate neurotransmitters in the dopamine or serotonin pathways. Amino acids can often be a successful way to treat cravings. Generally a starting dose of 150 mg 5-HTP and 1,500mg Tryrosine can help curb them.

Food cravings are like the "check engine" signal on the console. Battling food cravings is like battling the dashboard to sever the signal indicator light- not effective and not a good idea.

Address the metabolic engine trouble and the food cravings will go away.

Low-Carb Diets Cause Memory Loss? Not so fast!

Recently the media had a field day reporting a Tufts University study that supposedly showed that low-carb diets have a negative effect on memory. Once again, the media got it wrong, and in two critical ways. First, they reported conclusions that were not found by the study and two, they omitted findings that were critically important to understanding what was found.

In the study, half the people were put on a low-calorie high-carbohydrate diet and the other half were put on a low-carb diet. The researchers then gave the participants tests for long and short-term memory and attention after one, two and three weeks on their respective programs.

The first thing to note is that the low-carb group was on a basically no-carb diet, at least for the first week. And they did indeed score slightly worse on the reaction time part of the test that week. (What the media buried deeply in their reporting was that the low-carbers performed better than the other group in tests that measured attention and the ability to stay on task!)

Also buried deep in the reporting- when it was reported at all- was that the low-carbers quickly improved on the tests by the second week.

These results are really exactly as expected. There is a short period of adaptation when the brain and body switches over to ketones as a fuel source, which most certainly was happening in this situation as the dieters were consuming no carbohydrates whatsoever. This adaptation period is natural and mental and physical performance returns as soon as the adaptation period is over. Stephen Phinney, PhD has even done research showing that, after a brief period of adaptation, world-class cyclists on a ketogenic diet are back to cycling at their previous levels of intensity and endurance within a month!

The second detail that was omitted was that limited carbohydrates were introduced in the second week and the performance on the memory tests went right back up.

While the researchers put out a news release saying "diets low in carbohydrates can be detrimental to learning, memory and thinking", this was not what the research showed at all. Larry McCleary, MD, one of the country's top neurosurgeons and author of "The Brain Trust Program" says "There is a groundswell of medical evidence that documents how too much sugar can make the brain shrink, wither, atrophy and just plain work badly".

Last year I told you about a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that compared low-fat to low-carb dieters and found improvements in mood and memory in both groups of dieters. And it's also worth noting that a Colorado biotech company called Accera is currently working on a drug to help the liver create more ketones because their Phase ll studies showed rapid and significant cognitive improvements in Alzheimers when patients were provided with this alternative fuel source.

Let's remember that no one is seriously recommending a no-carb diet. We recommend a controlled carb diet where you reduce the amount of your diet that comes from processed carbs and sugar- as much as possible.

And dangerous as far as memory goes? "If you want to age your brain, just eat the typical diet most Americans consume", says Dr. McCleary.

Confessions of a Fat Runner

For years people have been asking the question "What's more important for weight loss- exercise or diet?"

A recent article in Newsweek should go a long way towards shedding some light on the issue, and makes a point I've been hammering away at for over a decade.

The article, "Confessions of a Fat Runner" is by a woman named Jennifer Graham. Graham runs over 10 miles a week and has been doing it for 20 years.

You'd think she'd be thin, right?

Wrong.

She's a healthy size 14. Defying the laws of science, she says, "my body doesn't look much different even though I've run at least 10,000 miles".

Her conclusion is this: "Without a significant reduction in ice cream (a sacrifice I'm unwilling to make), running won't make you thin".
Amen. Does this mean you shouldn't run or walk, or play tennis, or Spin, or take Pilates or lift weights? Of course not. All these things are great for your heart, your muscles and your health.

But without a change in diet, they won't cause you to lose weight.

You'd have to exercise like Michael Phelps to burn up the calories most people consume with one typical meal at the Olive Garden. (And I don't mean to pick on the Olive Garden. The same could be said of the meals at most restaurants in America, and virtually all typical meals at a fast food place.)

And though you may think you're burning off all those extra calories with exercise, the sad truth is most people greatly overestimate how many calories they burn and greatly underestimate how many they eat.

Exercise alone- as Jennifer Graham has found out- is not the magic formula for weight loss.

Exercise and diet is.

Triglycerides: What you Need to Know

As I get older, I find myself becoming scarily more like my parents, who were known to roll their eyes each time I would finally "discover" something that they had been telling me for years-- as if to silently say, "so you finally figured it out!"

Of course, in my version, it's me rolling my eyes every time the medical profession "discovers" something nutritionists have been saying for years. In this case, they're finally getting wise to the fact that triglycerides are an important risk factor for heart disease. Possibly- gasp- even more than cholesterol.

And the best news is, you can lower triglycerides without any expensive drugs.

Triglycerides are in the news a lot these days because recent 30-year analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES) data by the National Lipid Association shows that the percentage of adults with high triglycerides has doubled. The study also showed an alarming increase among people over 60.

Why should we care? "Studies have shown that unhealthy levels of triglycerides and HDL can lead to heart attack and stroke", said Jerome Cohen, MD, professor emeritus of internal medicine and cardiology at the St. Louis University School of Medicine.

Increased risk of heart disease and stroke seems like a good reason to pay attention. (In my not-so-humble opinion, I'd worry way more about high triglycerides than I would high cholesterol.)

So if you've got high triglycerides, what can you do about it? Simple. Eat a low-carb diet.

Triglycerides are the most common l form of fat found in your both food and in your body. They're in your bloodstream, your diet and your tissues and organs. Most of what you don't like about the way you look in jeans is adipose tissue (fat cells) filled with, yup, triglycerides. When your doctor gives you a blood test, the test invariably measures triglycerides in the blood. (The National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for normal triglycerides are under 150, though most cutting edge docs and nutritionists would prefer to see a more optimal level like under 100.)

High triglycerides are a strong independent risk factor for heart disease, and they also correlate with obesity, and with low levels of HDL (the so-called "good cholesterol"). High triglycerides are also one of the five signs of Metabolic Syndrome, (also called pre-diabetes), a major risk factor for heart disease.

A low-carb diet will bring triglycerides down 100 per cent of the time (and that's regardless of whether or not you lose much weight on the diet). You read that right. Not 90 percent, not 95%, but 100 percent of the time. There are very, very few strategies in nutrition that have 100 percent success rate, but when it comes to lowering triglycerides, low-carb diets do in fact have that enviable track record.

Conversely, when you replace fat in your diet with carbohydrates- especially the kind that do not come from vegetables and fruits- your triglycerides go up!(3,4,5) So a low-fat diet is not necessarily the answer to high triglycerides.

In fact, one particular form of fat- omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil and flaxseed- have been shown to help lower triglycerides, particularly in combination with vitamin C!
Obviously, you're going to get better overall results if you couple that low-carb diet with exercise and a few other healthy habits, but low-carb is a great beginning.

One reason low-carb works so well to lower triglycerides is that the liver manufactures triglycerides out of fat and excess sugar. The more sugar in your diet the more the liver converts that sugar into the little packages we call triglycerides. Give the body less sugar- (and less processed carbs that convert quickly to sugar in the body)- and guess what? Triglycerides return to a nice, healthy, (low) level.

The best prescription for high triglycerides is a very moderate calorie diet of whole foods with plenty of healthy protein and fat, no sugar, a ton of vegetables, some fruit and nuts and very limited starchy carbs (or not- you can leave out the starchy carbs if you like).

For reducing triglycerides, that diet will work as well as any drug, and has no side effects to boot-- (unless you call weight loss a side-effect).

And that's a very good reason to get the extraneous carbs- white bread, desserts, sugar, soda- out of your diet for good.

A Weight Loss Strategy That Really Works!

Are you one of those people who's been told that "diets don't work" and that "95% of people who lose weight gain it all back"?

If so, you're not being told the whole truth.

Fact is, the word "diet" comes from the Greek word meaning "a way of life"-- and if you indeed change your way of life, diets work just fine. For example: The National Weight Control Registry tracks thousands of people who have successfully lost at least 30 pounds and kept if off for a year. The average member of the Registry has done way better than that- 60 pounds average weight loss, kept off for five years.

Hardly sounds like failure to me.

What we've learned over all these years is that there are certain habits and behaviors that predict success in the weight loss arena. And one of the best is keeping a food diary.

You've probably heard about food diaries a million times, since every nutritionist I know pushes them. And let's face it, people hate them. A food diary causes you to be aware of everything you eat, something many people- myself included- would prefer not to do. It's a pain in the neck. And it's uncomfortable.

But it works.

New research backs this up. A recent study from the Center for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Northwest attempted to identify what weight loss strategies work and what behaviors are associated with successful weight loss. At the top of the list was keeping a food diary. In fact, keeping a food diary was such a powerful strategy that those in the study who kept food diaries lost twice as much weight as those who didn't.

Hey, if there was an infomercial selling a pill that actually produced 100% more weight loss in those who took it, the operators "standing by" wouldn't be able to keep up with the calls.

In the Kaiser study, researchers enrolled 1685 overweight or obese adults and offered 20 group weight-loss sessions over the course of 6 months. During that time, participants were also given instructions on the right number of calories for their target weight as well as how to follow a basic diet low in sodium, and high in fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy. They were also encouraged to complete 180 minutes a week of moderate exercise, and, of course, to keep a food diary.

At the end of the 6 months, 70% of the participants had lost at least 8.8 pounds, an amount considered to be clinically significant- (8.8 pounds or more of weight loss has been shown in other research to lower blood pressure). And the average amount of weight lost in the study was even better- about 13 pounds!

A successful food diary is about more than just writing down what you eat. The participants were encouraged to measure as much as possible (using simple things like teaspoons and cups) and to approximate calories based on a calorie book or info available on the web. This calorie-estimating was an important part of the success of the program. (Note: it's not nearly as hard as you might think since most of us eat the same dozen foods over and over again.)

Other behaviors that predicted weight loss success were attending the group meetings and number of minutes of exercise a week.

Bottom line: losing weight may be a challenge, but it's very far from impossible. An old saying around 12 step programs is "learn from the winners"- in other words look at what people who are already successful at what you're trying to do and then copy what they're doing!

There's a strategy that works well in all areas of life, and definitely in the weight loss arena.

Look Younger, Feel Happier, and Be More Productive in 2009

It's a new year, and there's an awful lot of change in the air. Most of it is going to wind up being for the good, I'm sure of that. And if weight loss has been on your "to do" list for as long as you can remember, why not make this the year you really make "change" a true part of your life?

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my Diet Boot Camp program. Though many of you know about it- and have done it (and have written me wonderful letters about the difference it's made in your lives) many of you are new to my newsletter and may not know what "Diet Boot Camp" is about.

The Diet Boot Camp program is the closest thing to having me as your own personal coach:

• Imagine having me by your side at the grocery store to help you know what to get and what to avoid.


• What if I could stand in your kitchen and show you how to throw together quick and healthy meals?


• How much easier would it be if I was there at the gym with you, showing you what to do next?


• Could you hang in there a little longer if I was encouraging you every step of the way?

Diet Boot Camp is the next closest thing to having me show up at your front door for an eight week visit!

This empowering home study course is 13 years in the making and is based on my personal coaching program. It's a comprehensive plan for life change, not just weight. It's filled with specific information about which foods to eat and which to avoid, a step by step and week-by-week exercise program, and motivational nourishment that can help you break through your barriers and achieve more than you ever thought possible.

This is the perfect time to try Diet Boot Camp. I've bundled it with over $100 in free bonuses (which includes free UPS shipping). If you try Diet Boot Camp for 90 days and decide it didn't meet your expectations then I'll refund 100% of your money (but you can still keep the bonuses).

Learn more about Diet Boot Camp»

Dumbest idea of the Week: "Fat-Free Living"

According to the USDA, which has never been exactly a "thought leader" when it comes to food and nutrition, January is Fat Free Living Month.

This is probably the worst idea the USDA has ever come up with, with the possible exception of the 1992 Food Pyramid.

Virtually every health professional now understands that fat is vital for our health. But since apparently the USDA did not get the memo, let's repeat some of the many ways fat is essential in our diet:

1. Fat is an important part of cell membranes.


2. Fat is our main source of energy.


3. Fat cushions our organs and tissues and protects them from injury.

And that's just the beginning. Without fat, major vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K are not absorbed (which is why they're called the 'fat soluble' vitamins). Neither are important carotenoids- like the eye-protecting lutein and zeaxanthin. Even calcium needs some fat for maximum absorption!

Dietary fat helps us to feel full and to feel fuller longer, thus decreasing the likelihood of cravings and overeating. Unlike carbohydrates, dietary fat has virtually no impact on the fat-storage hormone insulin. In fact, adding fat to a meal lowers the overall glycemic impact of the meal-- and low-glycemic diets have been linked with lower rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity and even Alzheimers. To make matters worse, any fat-free diet foods typically replace fat with carbohydrates, usually of the worst kind. Research has shown that this substitution has significant negative consequences for our health.

Dietary fat is the starting material from which we make all sorts of important chemicals in the body called eicosanoids which, among other things, help regulate clotting and inflammation.

One particular type of fat- omega-3 fatty acids from fish and flax- bears special mention. Omega-3 fats lower blood pressure, improve mood, and- possibly most important of all- lower inflammation. Inflammation is now recognized as a major component of every degenerative disease we know of including heart disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimers. And omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most anti-inflammatory compounds on the planet.

The "Fat-Free" month is an idea whose time should never have come in the first place. It's time to say good-bye to such idiocy for good.

Exercise for weight loss? Yes and no..

Exercise alone rarely helps people lose much weight.

This politically incorrect truth makes a lot of people very unhappy, but that doesn't mean it's not so.

Does that mean you shouldn't exercise? Hardly.

Exercise does three things that are absolutely vital to your health.

1) It completely, demonstrably, statistically, provably lowers your risk of dying from all causes including but not limited to heart disease- and as a bonus, may lower your risk for dementia and Alzheimers.

2) It insures that you will keep weight off once you lose it. Maintaining weight loss without exercise is virtually impossible- shown in study after study.

3) It has a profound effect on mood and well-being.

So it's not that exercise isn't important for weight loss- it's just that it's usually not enough by itself. It's also becoming increasingly clear that there are some people for whom a simple (dare I say simplistic) recommendation of diet and exercise alone may not be enough for weight loss, but that's a subject for another day.

Meanwhile, how do you stay "motivated" if you're exercising and not seeing an immediate fall in weight?

My good friend Gina Lombardi has written a terrific article on MSN on five alternative ways to measure progress (besides using the scale). The techniques are smart, easy, and highly motivating.

If you want the executive summary, it's this:

1. Measure your body fat

2. Keep a log (Gina explains how to do this in the article)

3. Use a pedometer (ditto)

4. Check and evaluate your sleep (is it better than it used to be?)

5. Use a heart rate monitor

I'll write more about the relationship between exercise and fitness (and about "smart exercising" in general) in the coming year.