Dr. Jonny Bowden

Blog

  • Watch Less TV, Live Longer?

    A recently published study in the journal Circulation found that every hour spent watching television actually increases your risk of dying.

    Yes, you did read that correctly.

    We’ve known for a while that there’s a relationship between television watching and obesity, though we’re not 100 percent sure why. One theory holds that the more time you spend in front of the tube, the less time you have for exercise (which assumes you’d be exercising if you weren’t watching reruns of Friends). Another is that watching TV leads to mindless eating (no kidding). And some researchers have floated the theory that staring passively at the screen in some way changes brain waves and lowers metabolism. (more…)

  • The Truth About Agave Nectar: It’s All Hype

    Agave nectar/ syrup is basically high-fructose corn syrup masquerading as a health food.

    It’s easy to understand how agave syrup got its great reputation. Even the word “Agave” has a fine pedigree, coming from the Greek word for noble. The blue agave species- considered the best for the making agave nectar- flourishes in rich volcanic soil— (it’s also the only variety permitted to be used for the making of tequila). And extracts from the agave plant have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. (Unfortunately there’s zero evidence that any of those compounds are present in the commercially made syrup.)

    Agave nectar is an amber-colored liquid that pours more easily than honey and is considerably sweeter than sugar. The health-food crowd loves it because it is gluten-free and suitable for vegan diets- and, most especially, because it’s low glycemic (we’ll get to that in a moment). Largely because of its very low glycemic impact, Agave nectar is marketed as “diabetic friendly”.  What’s not to like? (more…)

  • New study: Omega-3’s slow aging!

    A new study has found that heart patients with the highest blood levels of omega-3s have lower levels of a key sign of aging.

    I’ve long advocated omega-3’s for the health of your brain and your heart, largely because they’re one of the most anti-inflammatory substances on the planet. But the new study shows that they do even more than we thought.

    A little background. Scientists have long known that as we age, the DNA sequence at the end of our chromosomes called telomeres begin to shorten. The more the cells replicate (and the more we age) the shorter the telomeres, which are basically like protective caps on your chromosomes. Last summer, researchers showed that two habits- drinking tea and taking a multivitamin- were associated with having longer telomeres. (more…)

  • I Wish I Had Written This Book!

    It’s not often that I can point to a book that I wish I had written, but this is one of those times. The brilliant Michael Pollan has distilled most of what you need to know about eating healthy in this short, inexpensive, easy-to-read book which should be at the top of your list for 2010.

    Many of you know of Michael Pollan, the brilliant writer and journalism professor who has become—deservedly- the new guru of the whole food movement. I assign his book “In Defense of Food” to the students in my Certification course for Weight Loss Coaches. (more…)

  • Why Low-Fat Caused Obesity

    When you have something as massive and scary as the obesity epidemic, it’s hard to point the finger at one single element and say, “that’s why it happened”.  But however you slice it, the low-fat movement played a huge part in the epidemic.

    After World War ll, heart disease rates had begun to rise precipitously. In the 1970’s a committee led by Senator George McGovern issued a report advising Americans to lower their risk of heart disease by eating less fat.

    This recommendation was based on evidence that linked diet to heart disease. Unfortunately the report wrongly singled out saturated fat as the wicked element in our diet responsible for all our problems. This was the beginning of the low-fat movement. (more…)

  • Aging And Memory Loss – Who Doesn’t Worry?

    Few things strike fear in the heart of us baby boomers as much as the idea of losing our memory and hence, our minds.

    Have you had personal contact with an aging parent, friend or relative with memory loss?  Most of us have.  Watching those we care about suffer with either dementia or Alzheimer’s is heart-wrenching.

    We watch and standby helplessly as they lose sense of “self.” My father suffered with dementia for the final three years of his life.  It was excruciating to watch this lovely man who looked like my dad, sounded like my dad, but that dad I knew and loved was gone. (more…)

  • The Big Missing Element In Health Care Reform

    Dear Friends,

    Want to know what’s wrong with the health care debate? It isn’t about getting well. It’s about making sure you have insurance for when you get sick.

    Do you see what’s missing? They aren’t talking about ways for you to get healthy and stay that way.

    I try to keep my political views out of my newsletter so don’t worry– this isn’t going to be about where I stand on various health bills now being debated –

    Instead, it’s going to be about something else– something important that tends to get neglected in the discussions about who is going to pay for insurance, what is going to be covered and how much it’s going to cost.

    And it’s something I think virtually all of us can agree on.

    Which is this: It’s a really good idea to stay out of the medical system. (more…)

  • Lethal Fructose – Teenagers Staggering Consumption

    Lethal Fructose – Teenagers Staggering Consumption

    Back in 1977, average daily consumption of fructose was about 37 grams per person per day.

    Recent surveys show that it’s up to 54.7 grams, or about 10 percent of total caloric intake. And for teenagers- who consume a ton of sodas– fructose intake averages a whopping 72.8 grams, the equivalent of 18 spoonfuls of the stuff every single day.

    Why should we care? It’s deadly. Fructose is one of the worst sweeteners you can possibly consume.

    Table sugar (sucrose) is made up of fructose and glucose. Studies that compare the effect of these two simple sugars (glucose and fructose) consistently show that it is the fructose part of table sugar that does the most damage, raising triglycerides and creating insulin resistance.

    High-fructose corn syrup- while it’s been demonized a lot recently- is only marginally worse than plain old sugar (high fructose corn syrup is about 55% fructose and 45% glucose while table sugar contains equal amounts of both).

    Recently, researchers at the Department of Physiology at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland decided to investigate the effect of a high-fructose diet on the children of diabetic patients. Twenty-four healthy young men were enrolled in the study; 16 of them were children of diabetic parents, 8 were not.

    In the first part of the study, all of the 24 young men were fed a “regular diet” and in the second part, they were switched to a diet that added 35% more calories from fructose.

    The researchers expected that the children of diabetics might be more susceptible to disorders associated with insulin and fat metabolism, so there was reason to expect that the children of diabetic parents would be particularly vulnerable to the effects of a high fructose diet.

    And indeed, the children of diabetic parents did start the study with higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels of insulin sensitivity. But the fructose caused havoc not only in the children of diabetics, but in the children of non-diabetics as well.

    In other words, high fructose is bad for everyone.

    The high-fructose diet decreased insulin sensitivity in both groups (by about 5%).

    It also increased blood levels of triglycerides by a whopping 110 % in the children of diabetics. But the children of diabetics were not the only ones affected: the high-fructose diet increased triglycerides by a stunning 50% in the children of non-diabetic patients as well!

    It gets worse. In both groups, deposits of fat in the liver increased by more than 75%.

    To me, fructose is like fur. Fur looks great on its original owners- it belongs on the backs of animals where it looks just fine, thank you very much! On the backs of people at the opera…. Not so much..

    It’s the same thing with fructose!

    Fructose belongs in fruit, where it is surrounded by fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals and other good stuff. Extracted from its natural source and concentrated as a sweetener, it’s a metabolic disaster.

    I have no problem with consuming fructose in fruit (unless you are a diabetic or very insulin resistant). I have a huge problem with extracting fructose from its normal sources, producing cheap fructose-based syrups made from corn, and then sticking it in every food and food product in the supermarket.

    That’s a recipe for disaster.

    By the way, my personal favorite sweetener is Xylitol. It mixes great in hot beverages, stands up to heat, is sweeter than sugar, has a very very low glycemic impact, and actually has some health benefits, preventing bacterial adhesion to surfaces.

    Save this week with 15% off Xylitol – read about it here

    Reference:
    J Clinical Nutrition 09; 89: 1760-1765

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  • 7 Imposters: Healthy Foods That Aren’t

    7 Imposters: Healthy Foods That Aren’t

    You can’t open a newspaper, website or iPhone app without reading about the dangers lurking on our dinner plate (OK I’m kidding about the iPhone app.) Trans-fats and high-fructose corn syrup are the demons d’jour and with the modern diet being what it is, the food police don’t seem to be in any danger of running out of new material to warn us about.

    Fair enough. But what about all the “health” foods we’ve been told are our nutritional salvation? Are they all they’re cracked up to be?

    There’s no better place to start than with salmon, generally thought to be one of the best of the superfoods. And it is– when it’s wild. Farm raised salmon have up to 8 times the level of carcinogenic PCBs as wild salmon. Kept in crowded pens, they’re fed grain and fishmeal and a ton of antibiotics. Wild salmon are a health food. Farmed salmon… not so much.

    Then there’s cereal, believed by many to be the center of a healthy breakfast because of its high-fiber content. But with few exceptions, most supermarket cereals are fiber lightweights. Most are loaded with sugar (contributing to mood swings and energy dips). Whole grains are better, but those who are sensitive to blood sugar fluctuations will have still have to be careful. The best cereals are old-fashioned oatmeal, and a few standouts like Fiber One and All-Bran. Look for those that pass the “5 and 5” rule: less than 5 grams of sugar, more than 5 grams of fiber. (You’ll be surprised at how few make the cut.)

    Granola bars are simply candy bars masquerading as a health food. Most are simply chewy versions of candy bars–they have very little fiber, lots of processed carbs, and a ton of sugar. You’re better off “rolling your own” out of raw oats, chopped almonds, coconut flakes, raisins and a dollop of raw organic honey or molasses to hold it together.

    Frozen yogurt is a prime example of the triumph of marketing over good sense. The only thing frozen yogurt has in common with real yogurt is that they’re both white. Real yogurt- one of the healthiest foods on earth– is loaded with live cultures which support your digestive health. The live culture content of most frozen yogurt is precisely zero. What’s more, frozen yogurt is usually filled with chemicals, and the artificial sweeteners in the non-fat kind can cause cravings just like sugar. You’re better off with real, creamy, organic ice cream. Just don’t eat too much.

    Though most of us have been led to believe canola oil is the bees knees, it actually isn’t such a health bargain after all. The high temperatures needed to extract the oil from the rapeseed plant from which it comes make canola oil’s highly touted omega-3’s rancid and foul smelling, requiring them to be deodorized, a process which creates some trans-fatty acids. It also goes through caustic refining, bleaching and degumming. Unless it’s cold-pressed and organic, stay away.

    And what could possibly be healthier than an egg-white omelet? Give up? Whole eggs! While an egg-white omlette isn’t exactly unhealthy, it’s hardly as good as the real thing. The yolk contains the superstars of eye nutrition, utein and xeazanthin which need fat to be absorbed properly. Egg yolks are an important source phosphatidylcholine an important nutrient for brain health.

    Apples- healthy. Apple juice- maybe not. One cup of apple juice has zero grams of fiber, 117 calories, and 29 grams of carbs of which 27 are sugar (and your typical serving is a lot more than a cup). Sorry, but that’s not a health drink, it’s sugar water with apple flavoring. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Wish I could say the same about apple juice, but I can’t.

    So what’s the take home? Simple: eat real food. Food your grandmother would have recognized as food. Food you could hunt, fish, gather or pluck. Food as close to its natural form as possible. Food without a bar code. Whole fruit (not the fruit juice). Whole eggs (not the egg whites). Meat, eggs and milk from healthy, grass-fed cows and chickens that roam around pecking at worms (free-range). Any vegetable in the world.

    Even if you don’t hit the “bulls eye” 100 percent of the time, you’ll still be way ahead of the game.