MARCH 30-31, 2012 FAT AMERICA

"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." Jim Rohn

"The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor." - Chinese Proverb

"Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted." - Denis Waitley

Life itself is precious. Do not waste a minute of your time doing something that does not behold life. Make the most of your time on Mother Earth. Cherish Mother Earth. I believe William Shakespeare summed it up like this, "Our bodies are our gardens--our wills are our gardeners." I love this quote because it involves the earth and plants.

We all know we must eat less and exercise regularly. I try to the best of my ability to educate my patients about a dietary and exercise lifestyle change. This involves conscious eating and exercise. Gary Taubes published an eye opening book, "Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It."

Most everyone knows that if you eat more calories than your body needs, you will get fat. There are even skeptics about this. I wonder where these people been who question this point have been.

Eat less and get more exercise is the key. What to eat is the problem? The brain and nervous system function on carbohydrates. The question is what carbohydrates should we consume. I know we should not be consuming simple carbohydrates. I know that refined sugar is bad for you. Complex carbohydrates are better, but how much.

Much of what I know is from my clinical practice. Much is from working with other well-known physicians, and lastly from the vast amount of literature I read. Mr Taubes makes statements backed by research that allowed me to think about some theories and prod more literature on certain subjects. On every one's mind (especially Americans) is how to lose weight.

I loved reading that it is not a sedentary lifestyle that makes us fat. It is carbohydrates that make us fat. This makes sense. Let's get the word sedentary out of the medical teaching. Teach about nutrition, food and vitamins. Medical schools need to start teaching that extra insulin makes us fat. This is called insulin resistance, Syndrome X or metabolic syndrome. This has only been discussed in the last 5-7 years. As Mr Taubes states, "...hormones, enzymes and growth factors regulate our fat tissue (and insulin) just as they do everything else in the body."

Do much reading at all on this subject and you will see over and over again that carbohydrates like breads, pastas, rice, cakes, cookies make us fat. This was the basis for many best selling books including the many Atkins Diet books. Remember I worked with this best selling author. It is about carbohydrates, those simple ones, but IT IS SO MUCH MORE. We all know to stay away from carbohydrate rich foods and all of those sweetened drinks, soda etc., but it is more. Anyone can lose weight if he/she stops carbohydrates, but this is not the ONLY answer. There is more and plenty more to read and discuss.

There are debates and more debates. There is research and more research. Be informed. Read more than one book on Dietary Lifestyles.

We have two epidemics, OBESITY and DIABETES. Both will lead to the number #1 killer- Cardiovascular Disease. Look around you- people are obese. It is getting worse all over America and even in cities, such as New York City where obesity was low. The world is changing and so is obesity in the Big Apple.

Until tomorrow...

Was Mark Tawin right when he said, " The only weay to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you'd rather not."