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On occasion, I will have an update to this blog. If you are new to this site, there are hundreds of valuable postings. Just because they are old postings does not mean they are outdated. Most are as up-to-date today as they were when I posted them.
Wishing you good health. Ken Leebow
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Well...as will happen to all of us, Jack died - at the ripe old age of 96. However, as of this writing, his wife Elaine is still an inspiration at 97. They gave us the solution to good health about sixty-five years ago. As I like to say: "There's no new information." If we practice what they preach, we'll live a long and healthy life. Oh yeah...and our health care system won't go broke (or us). Here's a brief definition: any of various neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (such as sugars, starches, and celluloses) most of which are formed by green plants and which constitute a major class of animal foods The other day I was listening to Dr. David Kessler talk about this issue and his book: Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs. As far as I'm concerned, it just causes confusion. Let's go back in time to Jack LaLanne...simply, he told us the items to stay away from. Nowhere, in his presentation is the word carb. Thank you Jack. Bottom line: stay away from junk food. And, take the advice of Michael Pollan: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." That ain't so difficult to understand.
... take a look at the two titles below - How to Eat and What to Eat. First, the authors, Dr. David Katz and Marion Nestle are two highly respected professionals. And, in my many years of research, I have learned a tremendous amount from them. However, for a seemingly intelligent species, do we actually need books that tell us what and how to eat? Obviously, the answer is yes. I find it a truly sad commentary about our species. Of all the animals on this planet, we are the only ones that need reference material about this subject. Amazing.   Quite simply, we are addicted to ...  ...the processed foods that contain high doses of salt, sugar, and fat makes it almost impossible to eat foods that are good for our health.
Would you rather eat a donut or edamame? If you answered donut...you now know how difficult it is to quit highly addictive foods.
When I read nutrition research that is complex or confusing, I always defer to Michael Pollan's famous seven words. I believe in simplicity and that's pretty much all you need to know.
My exercise regimen consists of going to the gym to do strength training, hiking, running, and some spin biking. I do what I need to do to stay in shape...nothing more. When I read an article that paraphrased Michael Pollan's advice for exercise, I was very pleased. If you want to "knock yourself out" with CrossFit, marathons or ultra-marathons, go for it, but for good health, not too much is required. Bill Maher highlighted it, but the NY Times wrote about it. The crap food that many Americans eat, quite simply moves them toward our health (disease) care system. So, I appreciated Maher bringing up the issue. Quite simply, Michael Pollan stated: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Use that as your basis for eating and most likely you won't have the major diseases that are caused by our crap food system.  I'm not fond of the word "superfood", however, this is an excellent article about my favorite nutrient.
Far too many people do not appreciate nature. Here are just a few pictures of nature in my neck of the woods.  I've been on a high-fiber diet for over ten years. Here's four things that I know:
Any time I read about the benefits of fiber, I perk up. I know the benefits first-hand. Check out this article about freaking-farting-fiber.
First: That old gentleman is not Dr. Katz. Second: I have learned much from Dr. Katz. He's one of the few docs who doles out great information on a regular basis. This video sums up living a healthy lifestyle without having to do hours of research. The chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society has resigned. Over the years, I have learned a lot by listening to Dr. Brawley. His book, How We Do Harm, has had a major impact on my perspective of screening and testing for various procedures.
Dr. Brawley resigned because he believed the ACS had a conflict of interest with its sponsors...such as Herbalife, Long John Silvers, and Tilted Kilt. BTW, the ACS is not the only organization that has questionable sponsors. Among others, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has had sponsors that are "interesting". No one plans on going to the doctor for the purpose of dying. However, this excellent podcast is about a specific doctor who is now in jail for maiming and killing patients. And, the third leading cause of death in the United States is ... medical errors.  Fiber is the structural material of plants that is found in all fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and other seeds. Before food can be absorbed from your intestines into your bloodstream, it must be broken down into basic building blocks. Since you lack the intestinal enzymes to break down fiber into its building blocks of basic sugars, you do not absorb fiber in your upper intestines. Fiber passes through your intestines into your colon where soluble and insoluble fiber are treated differently by the bacteria in your colon.
Soluble fiber dissolves in water and is readily fermented by enzymes produced by bacteria in your colon, so its breakdown products can be absorbed in your colon. Soluble fiber does all sorts of good things for you: • It helps to control your weight by drawing water into your stomach to delay emptying and keep your stomach full, so it can decrease the amount of food that you eat. • It helps to lower blood sugar and insulin levels. Since it draws water into your stomach to keep food there longer, it slows the rate at which your body absorbs sugar from your intestines. This helps to control blood sugar levels in diabetics and non-diabetics. • It binds to sugars and starches in fruits, vegetables and seeds, which prevents much of the sugar from being absorbed in the intestines so it passes to the colon. There bacteria break down the soluble fiber, releasing the sugars so they can be absorbed. This delayed absorption markedly reduces the rise in blood sugar after you eat fruits, vegetables and grains, which helps to prevent diabetes or to control blood sugar in people who are diabetic. • It is readily fermented in the right side of the colon to form short-chain fatty acids that help to reduce risk of colon cancer, inflammation and high cholesterol. • It helps to prevent heart attacks by being fermented by bacteria in your colon to form short chain fatty acids that are absorbed into your bloodstream and travel to your liver to help prevent the liver from making the bad LDL cholesterol. Soluble fiber is the major food component we know of that lowers blood cholesterol when you add more to your diet. • It adds water to the stool to help prevent constipation. Insoluble fiber can absorb water but does not dissolve in it, so it is generally not fermented by bacteria or absorbed in your colon. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool so can pass out from your body to help prevent constipation. How Much Do You Need? I do not recommend trying to count grams of fiber in your diet each day, but ideally you will eat at least 30 grams a day. Good sources of soluble fiber include dried peas, soybeans, beans, oats, rye, barley, figs, avocados, plums, prunes, berries, bananas, apples, pears, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes and onions. Good sources of insoluble fiber include wheat bran, beans, lentils, dried peas, nuts and other seeds, potato skins and most whole fruits and vegetables. Don't worry about whether you are getting soluble or insoluble fiber; you need both kinds, and both are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans. If you're not getting enough fiber, don't try to correct the situation by adding fiber supplements, lots of bran cereal or foods made with added ground-up fiber. When you eat whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans, you get all of the vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals nature packages with the fiber. Introduce more high-fiber whole foods into your diet gradually to avoid digestive discomfort. Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, And Wastes Billions9/12/2018 The article Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science opened my eyes to the world of "bad science". Here's a presentation by Richard Harris about bad science/research. While it is difficult for the layman to comprehend much of this, it should instill in you that you must be a critical thinker. Since much of my research is about nutrition, diet, and ultimately health, I am very aware of the flaws of much of that advice that is readily handed out on the Internet. My tip: do some research and identify experts that you believe you can trust. They are out here. 1. the government to make changes - it's getting worse 2. corporations to assist - big food assists big med in making money 3. our food environment to change - it's getting worse 4. big pharma to identify drugs to assist - please, hold the meds and the supplements 5. doctors and nutritionists to figure out the "best" eating plan - I'm tired of hearing about carbs vs. fat or vegan vs. paleo ... it's all a misdirection I will be long dead before the above come to any real consensus to assist. Over the past ten years, I have taken the issue of diet and health into my own hands. To date, all is good. I recommend that you do the same.If you've read my book or heard me speak, you know that I am a fiber-fanatic. Since the benefits of fiber are rarely discussed, it's great to hear this podcast about fiber. These guys might be more into fiber than me. Check it out here. One of the podcast hosts, Jackson Long, recently spoke at TED. I love the title: Make Pooping Great Again. Unfortunately, most of us are not good with math. When it comes to most reports in the media about health conditions and outcomes, a percentage is used. Typically, the percentage used is: Relative Percentage. The reason: It's a more impressive outcome. The percentage that should always be used is: Absolute Percentage. Got that? Let this doctor explain. Forevermore, it will change the way you view a scientific study that is reported in the media. Warning: You might need to watch this more than once and you might need to do a little more research.
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Welcome to my blog about diet, health, and lifestyle issues. You'll find snippets and tidbits to assist with living a healthier lifestyle. Enjoy. - Ken Leebow
 Buy the Book I'm a professional speaker. If your organization would like someone to speak on the subject of diet, health, and lifestyle issues, please contact me.
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