“As an Eating Disorder Professional, I know that many of my clients that are in treatment for Anorexia, Bulimia, Bulimarexia, Binge Eating Disorder or Obesity are overwhelmed by all the information in the news about our health. In hopes of relieving some of the stress this can inflict on both my patients and readers, I’ve highlighted some of the weekly health news that was of particular interest to all of us at The Norton Center for Eating Disorders and Obesity. From my eating disorder treatment center in Cincinnati, here is your news update for the week of November 6-12 2011.”
Were there any news articles that you saw this week that really grabbed your attention? Leave a comment with a link. If the article helped you, it will likely help some of my other readers!
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
“I’ve been treating eating disorders (ED’s) and obesity for nearly 25 years and have always had good outcomes. My rate of success improved dramatically, however, when I discovered the critical role that processed food plays in causing as well as in preventing recovery from Anorexia, Bulimia, Bulimarexia, (a combination of the two) Binge Eating Disorder (BED,) Emotional Eating and Obesity. To this end, I find it of great importance to provide both my patients and readers with relevant nutrition information to aid in their recovery. You can view all my Nutrition, Fitness, and Health articles here.”
In the media, we often see that the healthiest milk we can drink is low fat or fat free dairy milk. A prime example is this advertisement, that was released late last month…
In my practice, I am often asked if there are any disadvantages of drinking low fat or fat free dairy milk. I’ve done some research and the results are in! Here’s what I’ve found:
”A study at Harvard found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy per day, like skim milk or yogurt, had 85% higher risk of infertility than those that ate full-fat dairy products.”
-Chris Kresser, in response to this study
“Low fat milk causes weight gain. This is how farmers fatten pigs. If they give them whole milk, the pigs stay lean.
Low fat milk is missing all the vitamins that you get in the fat. The industry has figured out that they make a lot more money on butter and butterfat if they put it in ice cream. So they take the cream out of the milk, put it into ice cream. They would much rather you spend the money on ice cream, than on butter or buttercream; they make a lot more money.” -Sally Fallon, Weston A. Price Foundation
“A note on the production of skim milk powder: liquid milk is forced through a tiny hole at high pressure, and then blown out into the air. This causes a lot of nitrates to form and the cholesterol in the milk is oxidized. Those of you who are familiar with my work know that cholesterol is your best friend; you don’t have to worry about natural cholesterol in your food; however, you do not want to eat oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, to atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk thinking that it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease.” -Weston A. Price Foundation, Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry
“Let us get rid of one fallacy which is that skim milk is actually milk that has had the cream skimmed off the top. That actually sounds logical but it is not how is done, at least not in this modern world. That process would not remove all the cream so what is done in modern processing is the milk is spun around with centrifuges, eventually completely separating the cream (fat) and milk. It is first clarified, then separated, then pasteurized (or ultra-pasteurized), and then finally homogenized. This over-processing has now removed every healthy vitamin, living enzyme, and natural mineral. Welcome to your now-dead beverage……Skim milk will not support life. So by removing the cream you have essentially turned the milk into something completely useless, especially the pasteurized variety as you have not only removed the healthy fat but you have also as stated removed the living nutrients.” -Raw Milk Truth
“Researchers from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute conducted a study that monitored the dietary habits of more than 20,000 Swedish women for a decade. It turned out that women who consumed full fat milk or cheese had a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than the rest of the group. The results were convincing enough for the researchers to recommend that a glass of full fat milk every day will cut weight gain by 15%, and a portion of full fat cheese each day will cut weight gain by 30%. Alicja Wolk, professor at the Karolinska Institute stated, ‘The surprising conclusion was that increased consumption of (full fat) cheese meant that overweight women lost weight.’
Yet skim and 1% milk is pervasive in school lunch programs, and throughout the American diet. If you summarize the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food pyramid you see an emphasis on grains plus skim milk, the very combination that fattens hogs so efficiently! In fact, the USDA recommends we start the low-fat habit early: children as young as pre-school are recommended to consume non-fat or low fat milk, yogurt and cheese. With a food pyramid like this it’s little wonder we face an obesity epidemic from childhood onward.” -Ann M Childers, MD. Life Balance Northwest
“Guess what they feed a pig if they want to make it as fat as possible as fast as possible? Low-fat milk, because if they give the pig milk with fat in it, the pig gets satiated. It’s satisfied and won’t eat any more. But if they give it low-fat milk, it will eat the grain they feed it forever because it’ll have a deficiency of fat. Now think of what we’re eating for breakfast in this country… If you don’t want to get fat you’re told to drink low-fat milk, and corn or wheat or oat-based cereal. It’s the prescription to make you as fat as possible as quickly as you can get there. You’ll never stop wanting to eat because you’re never getting any food that causes satiation. Americans are told to eat a diet that is scientifically designed to make you as fat as possible as fast as possible.”
-Dr. Al Sears, MD. Power for Healthy Living
I recently read somewhere that we are becoming Homobesians! (Instead of Homosapians) Is it any wonder? -J. Renae Norton
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
Were there any news articles that you saw this week that really grabbed your attention? Leave a comment with a link. If the article helped you, it will likely help some of my other readers!
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
There is so much information in the news about our health these days, that it can become quite overwhelming. In hopes of relieving some of the stress this can inflict on both my patients and my readers, I’ve decided to start a new weekly series. This series will highlight some of the weekly health news that was of particular interest to me. With no further ado, here is your weekly health news summary for the week of October 9th-16th. Enjoy!
Were there any news articles that you saw this week that really grabbed your attention? Leave a comment with a link. If the article helped you, it will likely help some of my other readers!
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
As discussed yesterday in the first installment of ”What Whole Foods Market Is Doing To Help Us Reduce Our Exposure to Obesogens“, Whole Foods Market is taking steps to make us more aware of products containing obesogens. Yesterday, we discussed their use of obesogen-free take-out containers, and changes that are being made in their “Cleaning Supply Aisle”. What else is Whole Foods Market doing?
4. Whole Foods Market is also helping us make more informed choices when it comes to personal care products. They clearly label products that they have rated “premium” or “organic” body products. All of these products had to meet a strict set of criteria, set by Whole Foods Market. They have banned the use of over 400 chemicals in the personal care products they sell. Whole Foods implemented this rating system because there are few government standards set in regards to what the word “natural” means when it came to body care products.
◦ “Premium Body Care Products” do not contain parabens, polyproylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfates or sodium laureth sulfates. The only permissable “fragrances” will be those made from “natural essential oils” and “components of natural essential oils”.
◦ “Organic Body Care Products” will meet all the requirements of “Personal Body Care Products”, but will also be required to meet other standards. These products are the highest quality products available.
▪ If a company labels their product “organic”, the product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients and meet USDA National Organic Standards
▪ If a company claims their product is “Made with Organic X”, the product must contain 70% organic ingredients and meet USDA National Organic Standards
▪ If a product is labeled “Contains Organic X”, the products must contain 70% organic ingredients and meet NSF/ANSI 305 standards
5. Whole Foods Market is making many positive advances in their product packaging. According to their website, they have done more than any US retailer when it comes to keeping the customer informed and taking the actions needed to find safe packaging alternatives. Some of the advances they have made include:
◦ They use Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) in packaging for their ‘private label’ products, when possible. PETE is a plastic that is not known to leach any carcinogenic or hormone- disruptive chemicals.
◦ They have banned child cups, baby bottles, and individual refillable water bottles that are made of polycarbonate plastic.
◦ When there are safe alternatives to packaging containing BPA, Whole Foods Market uses that alternative.
◦ They are putting pressure on their current suppliers to switch to BPA-free packaging.
It doesn’t stop here! Whole Foods Market is continually doing research to do everything they can to go completely BPA free. They hear us when we tell them we are concerned about the use of BPA, they are on our side. I feel relief that they are thoroughly investigating all of their options, instead of making an uneducated change.
The standards set by Whole Foods Market are helping us make more informed purchases. They are allowing our voices to be heard in telling the industry that we want full disclosure of the substances that we are allowing in our households, that we want non-toxic cleaning products!
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
“Is Your Shampoo Affecting Your Weight Management Goals?” revealed a lot of information about the presence of obesogens in our environment. Since that post, I’ve found some really comforting news! Whole Foods Market is taking steps to make us more aware of products containing obesogens. This means we will be able to make more informed decisions without having to read every label for every product we purchase, they’ve already done some of the work for us. What are they doing to make us more informed consumers?
The take-out containers in their Prepared Foods Area are made of uncoated “molded pulp”. As mentioned in “Is Your Shampoo Affecting Your Weight Management Goals?”, many leaders in the food industry line use BPA-lined take-out containers to prevent grease and other liquids seeping through the containers.
According to ‘Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World’, some of the take-out containers at Whole Foods are manufactured by a company called ‘EATware’. EATware manufactures the containers using natural raw pulp fibers. The organic containers are water resistant, oil resistant, and free of chemical and insecticides. They are also biodegradable, recyclable and renewable. So, not only are we protecting ourselves, but we are protecting the environment too. Double win!
On September 23, Whole Foods Market announced that they are moving towards an “eco-scale rating system” on their cleaning products. This new system is expected to be implemented by Earth Day 2012. This will allow time for their current suppliers to meet the new standards being set by Whole Foods Market. According to the Whole Foods Market blog, they are the first major retailer to set standards on their household cleaners.
All cleaning products will be rated using a color system. No phthalates will be permitted in any cleaning products sold at Whole Foods Market (for a complete list of ingredients that will be considered ‘unacceptable’ for each color rating, check out www.wholefoodsmarket.com/eco-scale/unacceptable.php). All products will be reviewed by a third-party company.
An “orange” rating will be assigned to those cleaning products that are free of phosphates, chlorine and fake colors.
A “yellow” rating will be assigned to those cleaning products that contain 100% natural fragrance and have minimal safety concerns
A “green” rating will be assigned to those cleaning products that contain 100% natural ingredients and non-petroleum ingredients.
Any products that are rated “red” will contain ingredients that Whole Foods Market has deemed ‘unacceptable’. These products will not be sold in Whole Foods stores.
It doesn’t stop here! Check in tomorrow to read more about what Whole Foods Market is doing to help us reduce our exposure to obesogens!
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
When we think of managing our weight, the areas of our lifestyle we look at are usually diet and exercise. Right? What if there was something lurking in your shower that was the culprit for some of these excess pounds? Obesogens; agents that when absorbed, contribute to obesity. Our world is full of them. They lurk in everything from the foods we eat to the receipt for things we purchase.
According to Leah Zerbe of Rodale, obesogens are “chemicals and compounds in our environment that disrupt hormones, making it hard to maintain a healthy weight”. Obesogens mimic estrogen, causing the body to send a signal to convert stem cells to fat cells. In addition to affecting our endocrine (hormone) system, research shows that obesogens may also cause cancer, birth defects, infertility, insuline resistance, ADHD, autism, and high cholesterol. The main sources of obesogens are pesticides, BPA, personal-care products, vinyl, non-stick products, PCBs, soy and nicotine.
Pesticides, which are designed to disrupt the hormone systems of pests, also affect the hormone systems of humans. Some genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are even designed to create their own pesticides.
So, what is the solution to this seemingly impossible situation? There are several easy things we can do to reduce the amount of obesogens we are exposed to. There are also some more difficult things that will require more of a lifestyle change.
We can purchase organic foods and avoid GMOs.
Eliminating processed foods is also important, because they often contain soy and corn. Soy and corn are two of the most commonly modified crops in the US.
In situations where organic produce is not accessible, a wash and rinse with a water and vinegar spray will remove many pesticides.
To avoid BPA, choose fresh, jarred or frozen foods instead of canned. Cans are often lined with BPA to avoid a chemical reaction between the contained food and metal of the can. Some companies do not line their cans with BPA, but the chemical the do line the cans with has not been in use long enough to be deemed “safe”.
Also, try to avoid getting receipts, whenever possible. Receipts are printed with thermal printers, and BPA is used during this printing process.
Avoid using plastics. Use metal water bottles instead of plastic, use glass or stainless steel food storage containers.
If you really want to get serious:
Vinyl contains obesogens called “phthalates”. Many shower curtain liners are made of vinyl. We can used hemp shower curtain liners as an alternative. Hemp is naturally anti-microbial, and has a much longer lifespan than vinyl.
Non-stick coating is found on many products, including cookware, microwave popcorn bags, fast food packaging and non-stick cooking sprays. We can avoid being exposed to this obesogen by using stainless steel or US-made cast iron cookware, popping popcorn in coconut oil on the stovetop, and using healthy oils (such as coconut or olive oil) to cook our foods.
Personal care products and household cleaners contain many obesogens, including phthalates, petrochemicals (petroleum products), and parabens. The ingredients “fragrance”, “parfum” and “perfume” are 95% petrochemicals. By eliminating products that contain “fragrance”, we can eliminate up to 700 petrochemicals from our lives. When shopping for personal care products and household cleaners, avoid any products containing ingredients ending in “eth”, such as “sodium laurETH sulfate”.
Anything ending in “eth” was produced using petrochemicals. Also, avoid any ingredients containing the words “methyl”, “propyl”, “butyl”, “ethyl”, “mineral oil” or “paraffin”, these are all parabens. Some products use a “natural” preservative called “grapefruit seed extract” but petrochemicals are used to derive this extract from the seed.
According to “green beauty expert”, Paige Padgett, good quality safe personal care products are available. Some companies that make these products include: Jane Iredale, Eco Nvey, Primitive, Suki, David Babaii, and Prima Vera. Seventh Generation makes safe household cleaners. Visit www.paigepadgett.com and www.rodale.com for additional suggestions for safe personal care products and household cleaners. Rodale also offers tutorials on creating your own household cleaning products.
Sources
Rodale – Where Health Meets Green (http://www.rodale.com/)
Paige Padgett – Green Beauty Expert (http://paigepadgett.com/)
Croxton, S. (2011, July 21). The Organic Manifesto. Underground Wellness Podcast. Podcast retrieved from www.undergroundwellness.com
Michaels, J. (2011, April 8). Fat is not the enemy and green beauty. Jillian Michaels Radio Show. Podcast retrieved from www.jillianmichaelsradioshow.com
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
Many people would say that we are becoming less and less healthy as a nation because we overindulge. On the surface, this appears to be a safe assumption. At present we have the distinction of being one of the top ten countries in the world for overweight adults! Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the population at large with a whopping 60% of all adults being overweight and one out of four being morbidly obese. Break out the numbers specifically for the aging Baby Boomers and the stats are even more distressing- practically three out of four mature U.S. adults are classified as overweight or obese. But the worst part is that obesity is increasing at such an alarming rate among U.S. children at present, that they will be the first generation in decades that are projected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents! So the future looks even worse than the present. Eating disorders are also proliferating, affecting new segments of the population that include younger and younger children, as well as older women and men.
The complications of obesity alone have wreaked havoc with our health care system as well as our national economy. For example, “Health care costs related to obesity- which is associated with conditions like hypertension and diabetes- would total $344 billion in 2018, or more than one of every five dollars spent on health care, if the trends continue. If the obesity rate were held to its current level, the country would save nearly $200 billion a year (or $1.4 Trillion)by 2018, according to the study.” (Sack 2008) In terms of Eating Disorder’s, Anorexia alone, kills more women between the ages of 15 and 24 than any other cause of death.
The question is why is this happening? The answer is that if you are a fish, you do not see the water. Because you are immersed in it, you take it for granted. In much the same way, we are immersed in a culture that we assume to be safe. This is our underlying assumption. The fish may remain in polluted water until it becomes so polluted that it is no longer life sustaining. By then, it is too late. Like the fish, we are oblivious to the forces surrounding us. To change our culture, we must first be able to identify the underlying assumptions that are driving the current epidemic of obesity and eating disorders in the U.S. We must each then act to change our lifestyle and advocate for our safety. Stay tuned for Dr. Norton’s soon to be released book that details the problems, their causes and the solutions.
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
Over the past 35 years, the percentage of U.S. mothers who hold down a job while raising kids have soared from less than 50% to more than 70%. During this same time frame, the childhood obesity rate-which is now close to 17%- has more than tripled. Many researchers are claiming that there’s a direct connection between these two figures. The journal of Childhood Development just published a study, which showed that the longer a mother is employed, the more likely her children are to be overweight or obese. The study demonstrated that for each additional five-month period that his or her mother is employed, a child of average height could be expected to gain 1 extra pound over and above normal growth. In addition, six graders with working mothers were found to be six times more likely than those with stay-at-home moms to be overweight.
Another study published in Business Week supports this same concept, finding that was a correlation between the number of hours a women works outside the home and the BMI of her children. This research found that for a third grader of average height, the increase in BMI was equivalent to an extra one and a half to two extra pounds over what that child would normally gain in a year.
With studies like these being done, the idea that American kids are getting fat because women work outside the home now, could seem convincing. But hold on. These are correlative studies, not experimental research. The problem with these conclusions is that there may be several other things occurring simultaneously “causing” or contributing to this dietary epidemic.
Obviously, if women are spending long hours at work, as many do, home cooked meals are less of an option. In our nation it has become far too common for the wife to pop something pre packaged into the oven at night or pick up a pizza on her way home in order to accommodate her family with a meal that is quick and tasty.
The issue is that convenience foods have become a way of life for Americans. The ability to buy ready-made food is so much the norm that cooking for yourself seems like overkill, like you’re trying to win the best mom ever trophy. When push comes to shove, and it often does, most moms say the heck with it! Bring on the pizza. But that’s when the real problem kicks in, as processed foods are loaded with MSG, HFCS, Aspartame and Acesulfame, all of which are neurotoxins and all of which contribute to weight gain or disturbed eating. It doesn’t matter if the wife had the WHOLE DAY to cook a meal anymore because she wouldn’t anyway. Not when she can just run down the street to KFC and have a bucket of chicken in less than 10 minutes.
Thus it is the additives in these convenience foods that are directly responsible for why our nation and our children have become so fat. The percentage of mothers working full time may have gone up over the past 35 years, but so has the amount of MSG and high fructose corn syrup being poured into the foods we buy. They are found in just about all prepackaged, frozen and fast foods. They keep our stomachs saying “yum!” and “more,” and our blood sugar levels on a constant rollercoaster. Working mothers who have jobs don’t directly cause weight problems in their children. Reliance on and trust in processed foods containing dangerous addictive additives should be getting blamed. Unfortunately, most people don’t even know they’re there!
Sources:
Verropoulou G, Joshi H. Mothers’ Employment and Child Development. London, UK: Center for Longitudinal Development. 2006.
Business Week (online version) – WHAT! WORKING MOTHERS = FAT KIDS??? (http://www.businessweek.com/careers/workingparents/blog/archives/2007/05/who_knew_seems.html)
Medical Advice Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation or if they have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan. Reading the information on this website does not create a physician-patient relationship.
Adam Yust | Roos Tribute | EDP Web