Health News Update: Health is Your Most Valuable Asset

Hello again: The next series of newsletter is a follow up to the last one dated 1.6.25 and continues the theme that Food is Medicine…i.e., you are/become what you eat. Here is a link to a short video on ultra-processed things to eat, which should not be called food as it harms more than it nourishes. My ongoing wish for you is that you make the commitment to consuming nourishment…whole food plant-based minimally processed (home cooking), plastic free, organic when possible…and become your own physician and master some level of home cooking. By taking the interest in learning how to create delicious and diverse meals, you invest in your future that offers you a greater return for your efforts/time/money than any other possible investment other than sincere prayer and/or meditation. A relatively simple way to understand this is to note what is contained in unprocessed wholefoods that is not in ultra-processed stuff. Let us start with a class of phytonutrients called polyphenols. “Inflammation occurs by activation of the immune system in response to infection, injury, or irritation. In recent decades, the role that inflammation plays across wide spectra of human diseases and disease processes has received considerable attention. At the same time, there is mounting evidence that polyphenols can prevent, mitigate, or contribute to the prevention and/or treatment of many conditions and diseases associated with chronic or systematic inflammation.” https://www.academia.edu/14659803/Polyphenols_and_inflammation Bottom Line: Since you already know that inflammation will cause, perpetuate, and/or aggravate all known human illnesses, then it only makes sense to consume and anti-inflammatory food pattern…in other words, do not feed the fire (pain, fatigue, aging, malfunction, disease). The only place you get polyphenols is from a minimally processed whole-foods dietary pattern. To make it easier to get started or to refine or upgrade your food pattern, aim for a 90/10 balance. This means to allow only 10% or less of all of your food intake to have some processed qualities. This is a do-able goal and one that is reasonable from both a scientific viewpoint and a real world ability. This is truly the best type of health insurance you can get.

Hello everyone: First off, all of us hear wish you a wonderful and healthy New Year’s celebration. And secondly, we wish you and yours a healthy 2025…and if you follow my blogs then you know that inflammation will cause, aggravate, and/or perpetuate all illness or disease. Additionally, you know that according to the literature, the leading risk factor for death and disability is food driven inflammation. Given the fact that at least 60% of the average person’s diet is derived from ultra-processed foods (UPF’s), and that these so called food like things drive inflammation it then becomes easy to see that just eliminating UPF’s is the single most powerful move you can make to securing a future free from illness as well as to speed your recovery from any condition. You may also be aware, that this conversation is a bit more nuanced than previously thought, so some clarity can be helpful as is provided by this short article: “UPFs are generally packaged foods that contain ingredients to extend shelf life and improve taste and palatability. It's important because 60%-70% of the US diet, if not more, is made up of UPFs. So, the relationship between UPFs and CVD (cardiovascular disease…the leading cause of death) and other health outcomes is actually very important. Often, UPFs will include additives, such as preservatives, flavor enhancers, colorants, emulsifiers, and sweeteners, and they tend to have an excess amount of calories, added sugars, added salt, sodium, and saturated fat. The packaging can be high in bisphenols, which have also been linked to some health outcomes. In comparing the highest quintile vs the lowest quintile [of total UPF intake], we saw that some of the UPFs were associated with significant elevations in risk for CVD (over 20%). These included sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats. But some UPFs were linked with a lower risk for CVD. These included breakfast cereals, yogurt, some dairy desserts, and whole grains.”  Overall, it seemed that UPFs are actually quite diverse in their association with health. It's not one size fits all. They're not all created equal, and some of these differences matter. Although overall we would recommend that our diets be focused on whole foods, primarily plant based, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, and other whole foods, it seems from this report and the meta-analysis that certain types of UPFs can be incorporated into a healthy diet and don't need to be avoided entirely.” https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/ultraprocessed-foods-and-cvd-myths-vs-facts-2024a1000iqn?ecd=wnl_dne1_241018_MSCPEDIT_etid6917809&uac=428598BV&impID=6917809 Bottom Line: It becomes clear that the overall dietary pattern needs to be from unprocessed or minimally processed (baked, fermented, etc.) whole foods and to avoid added sugars, processed meats, additives, preservatives, plastics, and other chemicals or processing steps. For example, sugary and flavored yogurts may largely lose their health benefits when compared to unsweetened brands. Whole pure and minimally processed grains (e.g. natural granola without added sugars, sweeteners, oils, etc.) can be a component of a healthy plant-based food plan, especially if they are organic and pesticide free. However, if you have blood sugar issues, it is not something you should eat every day. It is most important to focus at least 90% of our food from a plant-based plate that is home cooked, whole food, unprocessed, as organic as possible and not fried or overly heated. If now and then we have something less than optimal, it should not create such a nutritional stress or debt to significantly matter. On the other hand, if you are struggling with ANY type of chronic condition, the first thing that is needed is to shift your food plan to a 100% clean plate: organic, unprocessed, whole foods that are mostly vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, beans, and whole natural grains (you may benefit from avoiding gluten and dairy as well as reduce meat consumption at least 50%). Once you have improved and stabilized your health, then you can think about a ‘cheat’ every so often. There are so many resources on this it is hard to know where to begin, and from my experience I can give you a small list of authors that is a great place to start creating a healthy and anti-inflammatory lifestyle: · Eat For Life: Joel Fuhrman, MD who originated the Nutritarian philosophy · Food Revolution Network: they have several excellent cookbooks, classes, and other resources. · Forks Over Knives: magazines, classes, cookbooks · The Longevity Diet: Valter Longo, PhD · What to Eat, When: Michael Roizen, MD…when is as important as what we eat!! It is important to know that you can use these informational sources as a foundation of knowledge that you can tweak to your tastes and needs. I will frequently “Smitherize” most recipes but still keep them whole, unprocessed, plant-based and as natural as possible. For example, a really good sounding recipe may have an ingredient that you do not particularly like, so find a substitute for that: as a vegetarian I will often substitute tofu or tempe or beans or nuts in place of chicken or fish or meat. If you simply go online and search for anti-inflammatory plant-based recipes, you can find some great resources like the Minimalist Baker or Downshiftology (they also have great cookbooks). WARNING: It is possible to eat a junk plant-based food pattern, such as mac and cheese, buns, cupcakes, chips, pancakes, breads, fake meats of all kinds (highly processed) and more…so be careful…lean on the vegetables, learn many ways to prepare them and reap the rewards of eating the way our Mother Earth has provided for us from the beginning. Think about how this Creation has been fashioned and what was provided to us for our nourishment and re-align with that way of life. Food is so foundational to every aspect of our health that I have never seen a patient fully recover from any chronic health condition without a balanced plant-based whole food approach…no matter how many supplements that are consumed. Food first, please!!! Take these ideas, think about them, make them your own in your own way, and enjoy a spectacular New Year as you watch your health transformation. For more information, here is the link to the research upon which the above link was based: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(24)00186-8/fulltext

Hello and Merry Christmas to you: During this Holy Day season, probably one of the best gifts you could possibly receive is the gift of health. As we all want to do our best to tend our Temple, it is critical to know what to feed it and why so that we can obtain optimal health and be of good service. As you may have read from my previous blogs, you will know that inflammation will cause, perpetuate, and/or aggravate every known human ailment, including aging. You also know that food is the leading risk factor for death and disability in our country, and that food is called the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) or the Western Diet. To avoid the pitfalls of poor food, you need to know and appreciate these facts: “The emerging role of chronic inflammation in the major degenerative diseases of modern society has stimulated research into the influence of nutrition and dietary patterns on inflammatory indices…A traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern, which typically has a high ratio of monounsaturated (MUFA) to saturated (SFA) fats and ω-3 to ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and supplies an abundance of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, has shown anti-inflammatory effects when compared with typical North American and Northern European dietary patterns in most observational and interventional studies and may become the diet of choice for diminishing chronic inflammation in clinical practice.” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49665445_Diet_and_Inflammation Bottom Line: Recent research has shown that the vegan version of the Mediterranean diet is even better, but both plans are much better than the current dietary patterns that over 60% of U.S. citizens follow. “For instance, a study in 62 adults with overweight found that participants who followed a low fat vegan diet for 16 weeks lost an average of 13.2 pounds (6 kg), whereas participants who followed the Mediterranean diet maintained their weight" https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mediterranean-diet-vs-vegan-2 Consider gifting your Temple with an upgraded food plan that is nutrient-dense and health-building so that you can celebrate with gratitude this precious gift of life. We all wish you a very Merry Christmas, the Happiest of Holy Days, and a healthy New Year.

Hello everyone: As we approach this special time of year, it is important to reflect on how much we respect ourselves when it comes to our health and related food choices. Yet knowing what to eat has become tremendously challenging because of the way that the overall media portrays the available science. In other words, the media favors their sponsors so that the messages that we receive are confusing, biased, and all over the place. What is important to know is that the background science is not confused about what constitutes a healthy diet, and over the previous two decades the research that has emerged keeps coming to the same conclusions. You might have read my previous blogs where I repeatedly state that inflammation will cause, perpetuate and aggravate every known human illness, including aging. Here is an article that shows from at least 2015, science has known what the best dietary patterns are, and they are lower in inflammatory potential. “Low-grade chronic inflammation is an underlying pathophysiological mechanism linking risk factors and/or metabolic disorders to increased risk of chronic degenerative disease. A meat-based pattern, as the Western type diet, is positively linked to higher levels of some important biomarkers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 and fibrinogen. Conversely, a Mediterranean-like eating behavior is associated with lower degree of these biomarkers thus suggesting an anti-inflammatory action of its main food components.” https://www.academia.edu/19608755/Mediterranean_Diet_and_sub_clinical_chronic_inflammation_the_MOLI_SANI_Study?email_work_card=view-paper Bottom Line: There is also increasing evidence from newer studies that look into not only going plant-based but into the quality of the food choices. You can go plant-based and lower animal products and still consume ‘junk’ such as refined flour cookies, French fries, chips, candy bars, soda, processed breakfast cereals, and even vegan things like faux chicken nuggets, meat replacements, etc. The more the food has been processed, the worse it is for your health and wellbeing. As you might surmise, higher quality foods offer distinct and superior advantages when it comes to health. By higher quality it means that the food is whole food, unprocessed or minimally processed (cooked at home and not fried!), organic whenever possible, fiber rich, and are consumed largely in their natural form. Here is a modern version or definition of plant-based: A plant-based diet consists almost entirely of whole, unprocessed vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, grains and nuts, with little or no meat, dairy or fish. People usually seek out a plant-based diet for reasons of health, animal welfare concerns, as well as environmental concerns. One of the best authors on this subject is Joel Fuhrman, MD who has written many books on this subject based on both clinical experience and research. Check out his ‘nutritarian’ approach in his 2020 book entitled “Eat for Life”. I cannot think of a good reason not to respect yourself and feed your Temple high quality fuel…investing now will pay dividends later with a longer healthspan and lifespan where you get to enjoy life to the fullest…plus, it is never too late to start feeling better.

Hello again everyone: Thanks for taking your time to stay informed on how to be maximally healthy. Here is some good news: • Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a type of fasting that involves eating within a certain time window. • Researchers recently found that time-restricted eating (TRE), combined with standard nutritional counseling, can help improve glucose control and weight loss among adults with metabolic syndrome. • Compared to people who followed standard dietary guidance alone, people who engaged in TRE experienced greater reductions in fat mass and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) levels. • These data suggests that TRE is an effective and practical lifestyle intervention with positive impacts on glycemic control and cardiometabolic health. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/time-restricted-eating-linked-greater-blood-sugar-control-fat-loss?slot_pos=article_2&utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MNT%20Daily%20News&utm_content=2024-10-01&apid=41304130&rvid=a32216b5e1c0c5df3c84080e2b2e161318206dbce6fd663dd747aa557a4753cd Bottom Line: Personally, I use this type of eating plan to effectively keep my weight and blood sugar numbers in the optimal ranges, and I strongly recommend early time restricted feeding…start with a breakfast of some type, then lunch so that you get 80% of your total calories before 2 pm, and then a light dinner as early as possible so that you have 12 to 14 hours without any calories. This is critically important for your long-term health because it aligns with your natural circadian rhythms. When we live a lifestyle that is out of harmony with our inborn biological clocks, we create an internal environment that is not only inflammatory but will seriously degrade many aspects of our health including our immune system, hormonal regulation, blood sugar balance, weight, brain function, digestive function, our microbiome health, our aging trajectory, the development of chronic illness and more. The two strongest ways to restore healthy circadian rhythms are when we eat and when we sleep. Sticking to the eTRF is the best way to get back into and align with our natural rhythms for optimal health. Studies like the one above have revealed that following eTRF improved health an weight even without an optimal dietary pattern. What do you think might have happened if they ran this test for a longer time frame and then used an unprocessed, whole foods, organic food plan?

Hello everyone: The information in this paper speaks for itself and gives powerful reasons why adopting a plant-based food plan is the healthiest for all of us and the planet, too! Why did they do the study? “The modern global food system is a major contributor to the climate change crisis, accounting for an estimated 26% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions,1 approximately 40% of land use, and 70% of global freshwater use.2 Additionally, agriculture threatens natural habitats through deforestation, overfishing and marine disruption, soil acidification, and eutrophication.3 Simultaneously, dietary factors are among the top three risk factors for global deaths among men and women,4 and are the leading behavioral risk factor for attributable burden of cardiovascular disease worldwide.5 Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death both in the USA and globally, with coronary heart disease accounting for more than 9·1 million deaths in 2019, and the leading cause of disability-adjusted life-years in those older than 50 years.6,7 Diet is a crucial target to ameliorate the global burden of cardiovascular disease.8,9” What did they eat? “These inter-related issues of climate change and diet-related disease burden underline the need for a more sustainable food system that also provides a healthy diet that meets nutrient needs. Responding to this problem, in 2019, the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems designed a healthy reference diet that would benefit human health based on available evidence from clinical and observational studies, while also being environmentally sustainable by functioning within planetary boundaries crucial for maintaining planetary biophysical equilibrium, including total global cropland use, biodiversity loss, water use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.2 The proposed Planetary Health Diet is high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and unsaturated oils, low in seafood and poultry, and restricts red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables.2 As such, the Planetary Health Diet is a plant-based diet, which aligns with the growing body of evidence highlighting plant-based diets, such as high-quality vegetarian and vegan diets, as beneficial for human and environmental health.10–13” What happened??  “We found that adherence to the Planetary Health Diet, designed to be a more environmentally sustainable dietary pattern, was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in three large cohorts of men and women in the USA. These observations support the Planetary Health Diet as a promising strategy to promote both human and planetary health.” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00170-0/fulltext Bottom Line : As it turns out, what one eats will either support health or promote disease. It is that simple…and that important. I have repeatedly observed that those people who fully and wholeheartedly adopt an organic (as much as practical), whole foods, unprocessed food plan are the ones with the best health outcomes.

Hello everyone: For most of us, this time of year is about giving thanks, getting together with loved ones and friends and celebrating the season. Plus, it is usually centered around food that is home cooked and traditional. On the other side of the coin, are ultraprocessed foods that are proven to be detrimental to our optimal health and well-being. Please read what researchers have uncovered…perhaps you know someone who has this problem: “Over the past few decades, researchers have developed a compelling case against ultraprocessed foods and beverages, linking them to several chronic diseases and adverse health conditions. Yet, even as this evidence mounted, these food items have become increasingly prominent in diets globally. Now, recent studies are unlocking why cutting back on ultraprocessed foods can be so challenging. In their ability to fuel intense cravings, loss of control, and even withdrawal symptoms, ultraprocessed foods appear as capable of triggering addiction as traditional culprits like tobacco and alcohol. Some foods are more likely to trigger addictions than others. For instance, in our studies , participants frequently mention chocolate, pizza, French fries, potato chips, and soda as some of the most addictive foods. What these foods all share is an ability to deliver high doses of refined carbohydrates, fat, or salt at levels exceeding those found in natural foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables, beans). Furthermore, ultraprocessed foods are industrially mass-produced in a process that relies on the heavy use of flavor enhancers and additives, as well as preservatives and packaging that make them shelf-stable. This has flooded our food supply with cheap, accessible, hyper rewarding foods that our brains are not well equipped to resist . To add to these already substantial effects, the food industry often employs strategies reminiscent of Big Tobacco. They engineer foods to hit our "bliss points," maximizing craving and fostering brand loyalty from a young age. This product engineering, coupled with aggressive marketing, makes these foods both attractive and seemingly ubiquitous.” https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/hidden-plain-sight-growing-epidemic-ultraprocessed-food-2024a1000gsq?ecd=wnl_dne3_240920_MSCPEDIT_etid6844079&uac=428598BV&impID=6844079 Bottom Line: Ultraprocessed foods are created to be irresistible, and it is now estimated that both children and adults consume on average 60% of their daily calories from these ‘food like objects’. And while 12 to 14% of children and adults are ‘addicted’ to these foods, they harm everyone who eats them. “Numerous studies have found that individuals who exhibit UPFA (Ultra Processed Food Addiction) have more severe mental and physical health challenges. For example, UPFA is associated with higher rates of diet-related diseases (like type 2 diabetes ), greater overall mental health issues, and generally poorer outcomes in weight loss treatments .” Check out the link/article for the four treatment options that they recommend. All of them are good, and from my point of view, the third one has to be a component of the other 3. Friends don’t let friends eat that ‘stuff’, because friends don’t let friends hurt themselves. All the best to you this blessed season. Dr Smith and Staff

Hello friends: As you might guess from the title, pesticides have the unfortunate side effect of creating cancers of several types as well as other health problems. Here is what the medical news reveals: “Pesticides have transformed modern agriculture by boosting production yields and helping alleviate food insecurity amid rapid global population growth. However, from a public health perspective, exposure to pesticides has been linked to numerous harmful effects, including neurologic disorders like Parkinson's disease , weakened immune function, and an increased risk for cancer. Pesticide exposure has been associated with cancers such as colorectal cancer , lung cancer, leukemia (in children and adults), lymphoma, and pancreatic cancer . But these studies primarily have focused on specific groups of individuals with known exposure to certain pesticides or cancer types, thus offering a limited perspective.” “The researchers also estimated the additional cancer risk related to smoking, using the same model. They found that pesticides contributed to a higher risk for cancer than smoking in several cases. The most significant difference was observed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, where pesticides were linked to 154.1% more cases than smoking. For all cancers combined, as well as bladder cancer and leukemia, the increases were moderate: 18.7%, 19.3%, and 21.0%, respectively.” https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/cancer-risk-are-pesticides-new-smoking-2024a1000h2n?ecd=wnl_dne1_240920_MSCPEDIT_etid6844079&uac=428598BV&impID=6844079 Bottom Line: The best solution is to avoid contaminated food as much as possible. There are convincing studies showing that by switching to organically produced foods you can lower your pesticide burden relatively quickly and substantially…within weeks the amount found in your body will be incredibly lessened. It may not be feasible to consume only organic, so it is a good practice to use the Environmental Working Group’s guides called the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15. The dirty dozen are foods that are so contaminated that they should only be consumed if they are organic. The Clean 15 are foods that may be commercially grown yet have little to no pesticide contamination and therefore do not have to be purchased in the organic form. Here are two links to that valuable health preserving information, and at that first link, you can click to view vital information about food and the second link to get a free digital copy of the 2024 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php You can click here to get your PDF of the guide.

Hello everyone: This topic continues to appear frequently in the medical research news, and there are increasing numbers of papers that reveal that no amount of alcohol has any benefits except no alcohol. There is no level of alcohol consumption that does not increase the risk of dementia among drinkers, according to a new study. Using statistical methods based on genetic analyses, the authors of the study found that alcohol heightened dementia risk in proportion to the amount of alcohol consumed. This study contradicts earlier research that suggested light to moderate drinking may protect against dementia. “For many years,” said Toy, “it used to be believed that moderate alcohol intake could be beneficial for heart health, but recent research has debunked this . There is no good reason to drink alcohol for health reasons.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dementia-risk-rises-with-any-amount-of-alcohol-use?slot_pos=article_1&utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MNT%20Daily%20News&utm_content=2024-09-14&apid=41304130&rvid=a32216b5e1c0c5df3c84080e2b2e161318206dbce6fd663dd747aa557a4753cd Bottom Line: There is a bit more nuance to this issue. What I mean by that is, while there is no known benefit to the consumption of any level of alcohol, we should look closely at several issues: 1. What is the overall nutritional pattern for a person consuming alcohol? In other words, if someone is overweight, eating a poor or Standard American Diet (SAD) pattern including drive thru and processed foods, then the alcohol will have a much more devasting effect on their long-term health. A drink every day or weekend binges have proven adverse health effects. If your goal is to be a good steward of your Temple, and to be of good service in this life, alcohol should not be consumed. 2. What is the person’s health history and family history? If overweight, diabetes, high blood pressure, dementia, cancer, heart disease, any autoimmune condition, any digestive disorder, any depression or anxiety, then alcohol (a known carcinogen and neurotoxin) should be avoided. Alcohol damages the gut lining (leaky gut) and alters the microbiome, stresses the cardiovascular system, is a toxin, alters blood sugar, hormones, damages the brain and immune system, induces poor sleep as well as depression, lowers cognitive abilities, and harms the liver and other organs…even a little buzz is damaging. 3. Why is someone drinking? The most common response I get is that the person says they need to relax from the stress in their life. It would be a good idea to find an alternate way to alleviate stress such as mindful meditation, exercise, yoga, therapy or whatever it takes. There are no positive health effects from alcohol consumption, but unwinding with alcohol eventually has the opposite effect.  4. Is there any addiction in the family, or does someone have addictive tendencies? Just say no to alcohol. If you do drink, take a good inventory of your current health status and stop drinking any alcohol for 3 months and see how you feel. I am sure there are other issues, but these are the primary ones that I see. What do you think about alcohol? Because it is essentially a significant poison and drains health away, it is best to avoid it.