Eat To Live: a book review

No Illness which can be treated by the diet should be treated by any other means.”

- Moses Maimonides (1135-1204)

When I was in medical school, I took a class on nutrition that required we read the book "Eat to Live," by Joel Furhman. Furhman is a family physician who specializes in treating obesity and chronic disease using diet alone. At that time, I was intrigued by the common sense logic of Furhman's approach, and could not understand why more doctors did not refer to his book to help them when developing diets for their patients.

Furhman explained what he called the 90/10 rule—where he encouraged people to obtain 90 percent of their calories from unprocessed fruits and vegetables—with animal products accounting for only 10 percent. This type of diet encourages people to eat foods that are high in nutritional content with very few calories. In Furhman's estimate, the most nutritious foods are green leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and beans (roughly half should be eaten raw), with animal products coming in dead last.

While many people prefer to make the meat dish the main course, from a nutritional standpoint, it is probably better to make the salad the main course; with meat acting as a kind of condiment. What this means is that people who eat this way consume foods that are high in nutritional value with very few calories. This is in contrast with the way most people live and eat today; where they consume high calorie foods that have little nutritional value whatsoever. Because this type of eating is naturally much lower in calories, but loaded with fiber and nutrients, people feel full, quickly begin to lose weight, and experience much better health overall.

Perhaps the most interesting observation I have made about this diet is that it so closely resembles what we believe people closer to nature eat. An example would be the Native American populations of the Pacific Northwest Coast, like the Sahaptin of the Columbia River, which I studied while a student at the University of Washington. Most anthropologist today believe that gatherers and hunters subsist mostly on a vegetarian diet with meat only eaten in small quantities. We also find that people who eat this way, live much longer and experience far less chronic diseases.

When in doubt about what to eat, Furhman suggest you eat 2 pounds of vegetables and fruit a day (1/2 of these should be raw and 1/2 cooked), to obtain optimal health. This way of eating is also very high in fiber (which has been found to lower cholesterol and help in elimination). If you are looking for an excellent book on general information about health and diet, I cannot think of a better one to recommend than Eat to Live, it is by far the best book I have ever read on health and nutrition for the health professional and layman alike.

What The Sahaptin People Taught Me About Health

Before I went to medical school, I had the opportunity to study Anthropology, under Dr. Eugene Hunn, while a student at the University of Washington.
Dr. Hunn received his doctoral degree after researching a North American tribe known as the "Sahaptins" and is the author of the book, "Nch'i wana, The Big River". (the greater Sahaptin tribe can be found with bands across Oregon reaching as far as Washington and Idaho).
They lived on the Columbia River, and ate a mostly plant-based diet that included plenty of fresh berries (mostly huckelberries), nuts, seeds, and vegetables, like wild Camas (Camassia quamash), and wild celeries — known by their latin name as "Lomatium kous," (the Lomatium are a family of plants researched extensively for their immune supportive properties).
They supplemented this diet with wild salmon and wild game; that was either eaten fresh, or, like their vegetables, stored by being smoked and dried.
What I learned from Dr. Hunn, was that most gatherers and hunters lived in temperate zones, and ate a diet that was 90 percent plant-based with animal products making up only 10 percent of their overall diet. I also learned that this is probably the earliest diet humans had, and that this is probably the diet our bodies were evolved to eat.
Often I hear theories from people about what constituted the Paleolithic diet, but these theories are rarely supported by environmental anthropologist today, like Eugene Hunn. Instead, these diets draw on a myth of the caveman from earlier anthropologist theories that have since been dismissed by the majority of modern achademics. These supposed "Cave Man"diets often contain a great deal of animal products and are frankly not healthful. The truth is, with the exception of those communities that lived in harsh terrains (like Greenland), few tribes ate such large quantities of meat, but instead relied on their women folk to gather the majority of food that was eaten. A diet that was usually mostly vegan with meat acting as a type of condiment.
Hunting was labor intensive, and required a great deal of preparation and skill; making plant collection the bulk of most peoples diets.
Like other gatherers and hunters, the Sahaptin enjoyed excellent health, even without modern medical interventions.
The Sahaptin people lived much longer than their European counterparts (often decades longer). And are believed to have made contact with Louis and Clark, in the winter of 1805, when they crossed the Columbia river, and stayed in an area that later became Astoria Oregon. They are credited with keeping the Louis and Clark expedition alive during their harsh stay there.
They were called the "salmon eaters," and it was noted by the expedition that they lived to a very ripe old age, and their burial sites contained few child graves. They kept busy, and worked hard, had close extended families, and spent much of their time outdoors engaged in food collection and storage.
Dr Hunn's course, which was titled "Environmental Anthropology," was amongst the most interesting courses I took during my studies at the University of Washington. And the lessons I learned about health, and the proper diet for the human body, stayed with me long after I graduated; as I continued my studies in medical school and beyond. I often draw on these lessons when I discuss health and diet with my students and patients or develop diets to promote my patients health.

Why You Should Be Including Foods High In Fiber In Your Diet

When people ask me what I think is the most important change they can make to their health, I usually recommend that they begin eating a diet high in dietary fiber.

Most anthropologist today believe that early humans ate a diet far higher in fiber than we currently do. And most health experts agree that the daily intake of fiber should be approximately 25 grams (early humans may have eaten twice that amount or more).

There are two kinds of fiber you should be aware of soluble and insoluble. A soluble fiber dissolves easily in water. This kind of fiber has been linked to reducing cholesterol—namely because soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in our digestive tracts and helps flush it from our bodies.

Soluble fiber has also been researched as a dietary adjunct treatment for type II diabetes. This is because fiber slows how quickly sugar can enter the blood stream—preventing it from becoming dangerously high. In fact, several high concentrate soluble fibers are currently being researched for their ability to stabilize the blood sugar of type II diabetics.

Insoluble fiber is responsible for bulking up our stool—helping to prevent constipation, polyps, and diverticula (intestinal out-pouches that can be caused by straining during bowel movements).

In general, fiber fills you up reducing hunger pangs—even when the high fiber food you are eating is low in calories. These foods are often not only high in fiber, but nutrient dense as well. Good examples of high fiber low-calorie foods include; root vegetables like carrots and parsnips, green leafy vegetables, like spinach and kale, as well as squashes, beans, nuts and seeds, and whole grains (like unprocessed brown rice, buckwheat an quinoa). These foods are highly nutritious but low in calories—filling you up without weighing you down.

So if you are serious about staying healthy and loosing weight, simply begin counting your fiber. Begin by looking at the foods you are eating and asking yourself "how much fiber is in the meal I am eating right now?" How much fiber is in this condiment or dressing? You can be sure that if you are eating a meal rich in fiber—your meal is substantially lower in calories. High fiber meals are typically either vegan or 90% vegan with meat being eaten as a condiment. Great ideas for high fiber meals include; beans, whole grains, or a salad garnished with a small amount of lean animal protein like salmon or chicken.

Fat Sick And Nearly Dead: A Movie Review

Recently, I watched the movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," available on Netflix. The film chronicles the real life adventure of Joe Cross, an entrepreneur from Australia, who decides to go on a 60 day juice fast. Cross had a series of medical conditions that included obesity, and an autoimmune disease commonly referred to as "Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria." Cross's decision to go on a juice fast, is based on the idea that his lifestyle choices made him sick. In fact, many healthcare providers now believe that much of America's epidemic of obesity and chronic disease have more to do with diet and lifestyle choices than anything else.

The film was shot in the United States, and depicts Cross traveling across the country asking people about health and diet, while discussing the current medical epidemic of obesity and chronic disease that has lead to Americans consuming more prescription drugs than any other nation on earth. Along the way Cross meets a truck driver named "Phil," Phil is 425 pounds and suffering from the same debilitating disease. Phil decides to go on his own juice fast and not only recovers his health but looses close to 200 pounds (for his part, Cross lost around 90 pounds during his fast).

This film is amazingly inspirational, and I highly recommend people watch it. Not just because it demonstrates how diet and exercise can cure disease, but because it addresses, what I have come to believe, are gaping holes in our current healthcare system. Mainly, the lack of emphasis we have placed on diet and lifestyle changes to cure disease in this country, and have opted instead for the "quick fix," medications can offer instead.

The film maker argues that juicing is better than eating foods raw because it would take far too many fruits and veggies to equal the amount of nutrients found in a single glass of juice. Therefore, in order to maximize the amount of micronutrients available in vegetables it is better to juice them.

This is not a perfect film. I am not a huge proponent of a juice only fast. One of the main reasons I don't like this type of fast is because it eliminates fiber from the diet. Fiber is vital to our health for a number of reasons. For starters, fiber bulks up our stool helping us to have healthier and more frequent bowel movements (preventing constipation, and decreasing our risk of diverticulitis and polyps). Fiber is also thought to reduce our risk of colon cancer and type II diabetes. Fiber also helps keep our blood sugar stable. It does this by slowing down how quickly sugar can enter the blood stream; preventing the elevated levels you can sometimes get from consuming high sugar content food items like soda pop and white bread.

Instead of the juice only diet seen in this film, I advice people to do both a juice fast combined with nutrient dense foods like plenty of raw veggies, brown rice, and beans. This keeps the blood sugar stable during the fast, while still gaining all of the added benefits of taking in nutrient dense juices.

Like every article we write on Anderson Health Watch, we always want you to ask your doctor before starting any diet or exercise regime to see if it is right for you.