Health Headlines I Just Couldn’t Avoid–November 17, 2008

Most of the time I allow the health headlines to build up before I write a blog post about them since they tend to trickle out here and there. But although I just did an update a couple of weeks ago with the new health stories that have recently come out, there has been a rush of health headlines I just couldn’t avoid this week. And so I’m sharing those with you today. ENJOY!

NYC MAYOR BLOOMBERG NOW WANTS TO BAN SALT

First it was trans fat followed by government-run food establishments in New York City. Now Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on the warpath to reduce salt from food by one-fifth in the next five years because of the alleged “public-health threat facing” New Yorkers because his administration believes salt contributes to high blood pressure. This will merely be a suggestion for restaurants and food operations to comply with on a “voluntary” basis, according to the report. But what’s all this bellyaching over? Haven’t they read the latest research and information on salt? Maybe a little more education and a lot less hyperbole is in order for New York City’s chief executive!

VITAMIN C AND E NOT GOOD AT PREVENTING HEART ATTACKS OR CANCER

A new study presented at a cancer research symposium on Sunday claims that people who take vitamins C and E do not appear to lower their cardiovascular or cancer risks. It was a fairly large study (14,600 male doctors) of 50+ year old physicians and focused primarily on vitamin pill supplementation and not so much on obtaining these vitamins from healthy foods. Although the study is being lauded, there is concern that many of the doctors were already “very healthy” before the study and that it began when they were already in the aging process–thus, skewing the results. Additionally, the dosage of these vitamins was very low compared to more aggressive naturopathic professionals would suggest to their patients attempting to ward off heart disease and cancer. The other “X” factor is the diet (carbs have been shown to feed cancer cells) and exercise program of the individual study participants. This information is unknown and could very well have played a role in the incidence of cancer as well. In other words, this study didn’t prove much at all.

SPEAKING OF VITAMINS, WHAT DO THE EXPERTS TAKE?

This recent CNN story featured several big names in the health industry to get their take on what vitamins they personally take as part of their healthy lifestyle. Most notably was Dr. Andrew Weil, who has been losing weight on a low-carb regimen for the past year or so, and Harvard medical school professor Dr. Walter Willett. I was most encouraged by what I saw Dr. Weil was taking because it mirrored much of what I take, too: A daily multivitamin/multimineral, vitamin D, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, omega-3s, and CoQ10. I also take chromium, cinnamon, calcium, fiber, and acidophilus (a probiotic). When asked what he thought about studies like the one above showing vitamins C and E are not as good for you as once believed, I LOVE what Dr. Weil said in response: “I believe vitamins E and C are important as part of our antioxidant defenses, even if we have not yet documented specific preventive effects.” In other words, I’m gonna keep taking my vitamins whether you like it or not! Go get ‘em, Dr. Weil! He did suggest men skip the iron since they get plenty of it in the foods they eat, but warns against taking calcium supplements which could lead to prostate cancer. Hmmmm, maybe I should dump that one from my handful of vitamins in the mornings.

THE ULTIMATE PRIMER ON VITAMIN D

With all the attention being given to vitamin D lately (ever since my interview with Dr. William Davis last month, I have been taking 10,000 I.U. daily), I wanted to put together a column detailing this rising star in the vitamin world. But my friend and fellow low-carb blogger Scott Kustes from the “Modern Forager” blog beat me to the punch and did a PHENOMENAL job in the post “Just How Important Is Vitamin D?” You should print this out and reference it often for all you’d ever want to know about why vitamin D should be a part of your supplementation each day.

ARE WE SURPRISED? CORN DOMINATES FAST FOOD!

Michael Pollan foreshadowed this news in his instant classic The Omnivore’s Dilemma a couple of years ago, but research has confirmed the obvious for us all–CORN IS IN EVERYTHING THESE DAYS AT FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS!!! Are we REALLY surprised about that? I mean, with all the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) pumped into everything these days, it is virtually impossible to avoid. This newly-discovered “basis of all fast food” is raising the eyebrows of those who claim they had no idea. Say WHAT?! You gotta know this was happening and it didn’t happen overnight either. According to the research, only a dozen food items came back corn-free out of the hundreds they checked. YIKES! With over $100 billion spent annually on fast food, that’s a whole lot of corn being consumed by unsuspecting consumers who wonder why they have a weight and health problem.

DIET DEBATE RAGES ON STRONG IN SWEDEN

Although there isn’t much open discussion of high-fat, low-carb diets within the context of a national discussion in the United States right now, the same cannot be said for the country of Sweden (I’ve previously interviewed Dr. Annika Dahlqvist and Per Wikholm on my podcast show to discuss the details of this newfound interest in low-carb, high-fat diets). On Sunday, there was a major national television program called “Kalla Fakta” (Cold Facts) with some of Sweden’s best investigative journalists revealing the poor science behind the official dietary guidelines of a high-carb, low-fat diet. They revealed some rather damning evidence showing a rather tight bond between the so-called health “experts” and the food industry and even featured interviews with Dr. Dahlqvist and other high-profile Swedish low-carbers. Can you imagine if American journalists cared enough about getting to the truth behind the dietary guidelines being promoted by the United States Department of Agriculture to connect the dots between the “experts” and the food manufacturers here? There would be an uproar like you’ve never seen before. Speaking of recommendations, in the next few days I’ll be sharing some news about the panel chosen for the new 2010 Food Pyramid panel that is not good if you are a fan of livin’ la vida low-carb. Stay tuned!

HUNTINGTON CITY, WV: THE FATTEST, UNHEALTHIEST CITY IN AMERICA

Now this is a distinction I don’t think you’d be too proud of. But for the residents of Huntington City, West Virginia–the new “fattest and unhealthiest city in America”–that’s EXACTLY what they are–PROUD! The story blames the economy, poverty levels, a fatty diet, junk food restaurants, lack of exercise, and smoking as the main culprits in the disproportionate obesity rates and incidence of diabetes and heart disease. It’s sad to see them passing the buck of responsibility to something besides making their own conscious choices regarding their weight. There seems to be a great deal of apathy among the citizens of this community about their health problems. That’s a difficult tide to turn when people just don’t seem to care. I see people like that every day of my life and it’s so sad. My late brother Kevin was one and I used to be before the Atkins low-carb lifestyle saved my life. Some television producer–somebody like Mary Bissell from the Canadian documentary My Big Fat Diet–should go to Huntington City and see if they can motivate the entire town to get healthy. Sounds like a ratings winner to me!

SPAM MAKES A COMEBACK DURING DIFFICULT TIMES

The economy has been going through some challenges in late 2008, but not all companies are suffering from this grim news. Hormel Foods, makers of the popular canned meat known as SPAM, has seen booming business in recent months because people are stocking up on the inexpensive processed ham and pork food produce. For just a few bucks, you can get a 12-ounce can of SPAM to feed your family and people are putting aside their jokes and disdain for this el-cheapo food that just happens to be low-carb, too (just 1g carb per 2-ounce serving)! But not everything that’s selling well in these challenging economic times is low-carb. Rice and beans are also selling extremely well because they are cheap and filling. I would assume Ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, and other cheap processed foods are soaring in sales during these economic hardships as well.

WANNA PETITION TO REMOVE HFCS FROM COLAS IN AMERICA?

The move against high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is gaining momentum with leadership from businesses like Jason’s Deli restaurants removing HFCS from their menu. Despite the recent intensive marketing campaign by the Corn Refiner’s Association promoting HFCS as healthy, people have come to realize what a danger this substance is to their weight and health. That’s why a petition has been created to convince the major soda manufacturers to ditch the HFCS for better alternatives. Granted, most people who are livin’ la vida low-carb wouldn’t drink regular soda anyway, but the move away from this highly unnatural, man-made sweetener derived from corn would be a step in the RIGHT direction!

And that’s about it for now! If the news keeps coming this hot and heavy, then plan on seeing another big post again real soon with all the health information your brain can handle. As always, if you see a diet or health-related news story that you think I might want to know about, then send it my way by e-mailing livinlowcarbman@charter.net.