The other day I was reading Devotions for Men on the Go (Arterburn and Farrel) and the particular devotion was about  ‘writing our own commandments’.  The point being that by twisting the truth, we can feel in control and avoid accountability for our actions. 

The devotion had the first five of the Ten Commandments rewritten:

• Create your own religion. Worship whatever god you think will get you ahead.
• Have as many idols as you want.  Follow sports teams and movie stars, and do whatever you want.
• Swear whenever you want.  In fact, say anything you want, whenever you want.
• Don’t get hung up on going to church.  After all, it’s just a building.  Besides, the people who go to church are just a bunch of hypocrites anyway. Be “spiritual” any way you feel like it.
• Don’t listen to your parents.  Those old people will just hold you down.  Family is like a noose around your neck.

It got me thinking about how our culture does this in pretty much all areas of life.  We’ve become a society of ‘self governing’ people.  We believe we have the ‘right’ to think, say or do whatever we want without consequence.  There always exists the law of cause and effect.  Any action we take has an effect.  Some effects are immediate, some are delayed, some are cumulative; but the effect cannot be avoided, denied, rationalized or swept under the rug.  And as always, I took this train of thought into how we as a society approach the lifestyle decisions affecting our health.

We now live in an era of complete denial regarding the law of cause and effect.  People seem to think they can ‘rewrite’ the physiology of their bodies.  Here’s what I see as “The Dietary Commandments” of our modern society:

• Create any type of food out of any type of substance you find convenient or profitable and if it tastes good, go for it and eat all you want; because it doesn’t really matter to the cells of your body as long as you like the taste and it fills you up.
• Satisfy any cravings you may have because the fulfillment of your personal desires is what ultimately provides nutrition to the organs and systems within your body.
• Say whatever you want about lifestyle behaviors and how they affect health, because your personal truth is true.
• Don’t get hung up about whether food is organic, fresh, processed, sweetened with chemicals, stripped of its nutrients, colored with dyes, saturated with unnatural oils, or made to sit on shelves for months at a time.  After all, food is food – it all goes in one end and out the other.  Be “healthy” any way you like.
• Don’t listen to the science of healthy living outcomes.  Those people just want to spoil your pursuit of pleasure.  Evidence-based research of health-producing behaviors is a ‘millstone’ around your neck – it only gets in the way of doing what you like and want.

That pretty much sums it up today, right?  “A little won’t kill me.”  “I think it doesn’t really matter as long as I feel good.”  “Well, I’m going to die of something.” “I believe in ‘everything in moderation’.” (I want to scream when I hear that one). 

Just like the laws of gravity and thermodynamics, there are natural laws for our health that always follow the law of cause and effect. These laws can be proven by feeding your family dog ‘Glo Worms’, donuts, Diet Coke and Doritos.

At the bottom of the devotion was the prayer ‘God, may there be no room in my heart for counterfeits’.

You can do it – you can live within the natural laws that govern our health.  It’s fun, easy and it tastes good!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

Did you know that eating things like Cheerios, pasta, bread (yes, your beloved bread), crackers, cakes and candy are more likely to raise your cholesterol and disrupt your HDL/LDL ratios than eating steak? (PS. Did you notice I called those things ‘things’ and not food?  Just seeing if you’re paying attention.)

Why do so many meat eaters along with so many vegetarians struggle with their weight?  One eats saturated animal fat while the other doesn’t and yet they both are often overweight.  Is it possible that eating fat isn't what's making people fat today?

The answer lies in what is now being referred to as the ‘master hormone’ – its name is insulin and, it’s way more important as a biomarker for health than cholesterol, HDL/LDL, or bone density.

As a matter of fact, insulin is being called the ‘longevity biomarker’ – meaning a good predictor of how long you’ll live is your insulin levels on an ongoing, daily basis.

Did you get that?  That means you can live longer (and live well) by managing your insulin production in a healthy manner.

Too much of a good thing
Insulin is an anabolic hormone, meaning it’s responsible for growth and repair – that’s a good thing … up to a point.  When there’s too much insulin produced and circulating throughout the body, the cells of the body become insulin resistant to protect themselves from being overdosed.  When that happens, a lot happens, and it’s all bad.  All chronic lifestyle diseases that dominate our culture today (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases) are either directly caused or indirectly influenced by insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance leads to the following:

• Diabetes:  Increased blood sugar from insulin resistance is the best predictor to becoming diabetic
• Suppressed immune system: Vitamin C and glucose are very similar in their biochemical structure so when there’s excess glucose (which goes hand in hand with insulin resistance), the immune system suffers.  Also, because vitamin C and insulin share the same pathway into our cells, insulin resistance by definition causes vitamin C resistance.
• Increased fat: Excess insulin and glucose result in saturated fat storage – in the blood AND the body – you get fat and your cholesterol and HDL/LDL levels go bad.
• High blood pressure from decreased magnesium levels:  (1) magnesium allows for smooth muscle relaxation; when magnesium levels are depressed, it results in chronic increase in blood pressure; (2) magnesium is also important for proper insulin production and absorption; so decreased levels of magnesium worsen insulin resistance.
• High blood pressure from increased sodium levels:  High insulin levels lead to increased sodium levels which also causes high blood pressure and fluid retention.
• Cardiovascular disease (heart attack and stroke):  Insulin stimulates the sympathetic stress response which results in raised LDL levels.
• Increased risk of cancer:  Insulin is also mytogenic – meaning it stimulates cell division; when insulin levels are abnormally high it results in abnormal cell division = cancerous cell growth.
• Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis is not caused by a deficiency in calcium – it’s a hormone and pH problem that is negatively impacted by insulin resistance.
• Thyroid problems: Hyperinsulinemia results in abnormal thyroid hormone regulation
• Dysfunctional sex hormone production:  Insulin participates in the production of cholesterol which all sex hormones are derived from.

Are you starting to get the big idea?  This is no joke.

It’s your fault
Any lifestyle behavior that you do that elevates insulin levels too quickly or keeps it high for extended periods is bad for nearly every aspect of your health.  What causes insulin levels to spike to abnormal levels?   It’s not just when you indulge in a Crispy Cream orgy or eat an entire bag of Chips Ahoy cookies.  When we eat a refined processed food diet, experience chronic stress, are sleep deprived and don’t exercise, our insulin levels rise. 

The Top Insulin Spikers:

• Refined sugar (i.e. sweets: soda pop - even diet soda, candy, energy drinks, coffee drinks - Frappuccinos, sport drinks, corn syrup - it’s in everything, usually as high fructose corn syrup)
• Refined carbohydrates (flour products - bread, pasta, muffins, cereals, crackers, cookies, cakes, etc.)  
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Chronic stress
• Sleep deprivation

The Good News: Avoiding or Reversing/Curing Insulin Resistance is Easy
Insulin resistance and all of its deadly consequences are all associated with lifestyle behaviors that can easily be avoided and/or reversed.

The Insulin Helpers

• High fiber plant-driven diet - eat lots of salads and vegetables (avoiding all grains and dairy)
• Regular consumption of quality fats and quality proteins
• Regular (daily) moderate to intense exercise
• Optimal sleep (no less than seven hours)
• Adequate water intake
• Lifestyle stress avoidance/management

In summary, virtually every hormone in the body is affected by insulin.  You can immediately improve your health and ultimately prolong your life by stepping off the insulin train right now!

You can do it!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

TV Drug Ads - Are You Kidding Me?
First, what's the percentage of TV commercials that are drug ads?  Casual observation leads me to guess at least 1 in 4 ads are for drugs.  Second, the disclaimers that the advertisers are required to verbally state in the commercial are nothing short of mind boggling.  The list of potential adverse effects reads like a list of torture 'research' at a Nazi concentration camp: "serious, even life threatening, allergic reactions, swelling of the face, mouth, lips, gums, tongue or neck, suicidal thoughts or actions, hair loss, diarrhea, vomiting, fainting, ringing in the ears, loss of appetite, bleeding from the ears" (ok, I made that last one up - sorry).  Third, I love the names given to drugs: Levitra, Lipitor, Lyrica, Celebrex, Celexa, Cymbalta.  This is one area where my hat goes off to the drug companies - they almost always come up with cool sounding names for their drugs.  Fourth, there's always the final 'Ask your doctor if Pooease is right for you.'  [That's the name I came up for a laxative product - as you can see, I won't be hired as a drug naming marketer - my other choice was Pooflow.]

As the medical community in general and drug companies in particular continue to exploit every symptom by labeling it a 'condition' for which a drug can be sold, our culture is moving relentlessly toward a the belief that our bodies won't function correctly without chemical intervention.  In what has been a very short 250 years (or eight generations), we've moved from living successfully (i.e. healthy) within our environment to now thinking that we need a drug to alleviate suffering caused by anything from misplaced freckles to leg cramps.  What happened?

Well, in short, we're actually wild animals stuck in captivity; and like nearly all animals removed from their natural environment, we're not doing so well in captivity.  Yes, most people don't have tigers or cholera to worry aboput anymore, but we're not paying attention to how our modern lifestyles are depriving us of what we need to be healthy.  Then, when our health suffers as a result of this disconnect, we don't look to what's causing the deficiency or toxicity within our environment or lifestyles, we look to the great drug lord in the sky for relief. It's pathetic.

The Trifecta of Health
The solution is simple but difficult, of course - but then again, don't the most vexing problems in life fit that bill. To win the war for your health, you have to fight three battles:

1. Start doing what's right
2. Stop doing what's wrong
3. Continuously get better at #1 and #2

Start Doing What's Right
Eat pure whole organic foods.
Drinking optimal amounts of pure water each day.
Exercise moderately to intensely every day (that's move, pant and sweat)
Get optimal sleep.
Manage your mind, stress and attitude.

Stop Doing What's Wrong
Stop eating nutrient-poor processed foods.
Stop allowing toxic industrial chemicals into your body.
Stop wishing you had more; want what you have.
Stop doing things that take time away from doing what's right.

Continuously Get Better
Each month, each quarter, each year, improve; don't strive for perfection, aim for progression. 

Ask your doctor if getting off your butt is right for you.

You can do it.

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

PS.  Dr. Stephen Franson came up with the idea of having a TV ad on Super Bowl Sunday with the slogan Ask your doctor if getting off your butt is right for you - Bonfire Health, You Can Be Healthy. Don't you just love it!

The Home Depot Syndrome
Have you noticed how nearly all home repair projects turn out to be more complicated than you expected?  They always take more time and more skills than you expected and, invariably require at least two trips to Home Depot...and quite often, a new tool (no, I'm not a "tool head")?

In recent years, the mapping of the human genome (the DNA code manual for human physiology) was completed to well-deserved enthusiasm and celebration. That led to the confident assertions by the biotech industry that 'gene therapy' drugs were right around the corner that would give science the ability to prevent and/or reverse many diseases.

The Grand Genome Flop
Well, as it turns out, just like we home improvement wizards, genome drug therapy researchers also suffer from Home Depot Syndrome. Although scientists have mapped out the 3 billion sequences that comprise human DNA, and despite the bio-tech industry's over-hyped promises and the billions of dollars invested in gene therapy research over the past 10 years, they're still standing in aisle 14 scratching their heads looking for someone in an orange apron to come to their rescue. Here's how writer John Freedman summed up the progress on gene therapy to date in a recent article in Fast Company magazine:

"... so far, [genetic research] has given the medical world no more ability to treat or predict most illness than knowing that Al Qaeda is camped out in Waziristan has allowed the U.S. government to clean up terrorism or predict where it will strike next." [read article]  

The brash promise from the bio-tech industry was that once the human genome had been mapped, it would be - if not necessarily simple - just a matter of time before identifying particular DNA segments with specific diseases would lead to drugs that could manipulate those segments, creating the ability to prevent or cure virtually all diseases.  The genetic drug researchers, like we goofy homeowners underestimating the complexity of our home improvement projects, thought that by having the human genome map completed, they'd been provided with a 'paint by numbers' instruction manual to manipulate the gene 'switches' themselves that trigger the disease process.

"At first, a lot of people had the hubris to think 'Oh good, this will be even easier than we thought. We'll just stick all the gene code in an Excel spreadsheet and work with them there,'" John Sninsky, vice president of discovery research for Celera, the first company to sequence the genome, is quoted as saying in the article.

"We don't know what most genes do, and we certainly don't know what the variations are in most people. The idea that we can design custom drugs around genes, or change genes, is just silliness and science fiction," says Craig Venter, who founded Celera.

The genetic research industry has resigned themselves to the harsh reality that the interaction of genes is extraordinarily complex, which has in essence, invalidated virtually all gene therapy strategies to date.

"Even the very presence of a given gene is a rabbit hole of confusion. Genes can be "turned off" so that they might as well not be there, or partly turned on so that they contribute only weakly to the disease risk."

"I can find the switches, but I don't know what they do. There are switches for the switches, and switches for those switches. It's endless," Nadav Ahituv, Ph.D, a geneticist at UC San Francisco Medical Center is quoted as saying in the article.

The Verdict's In - Part II:

"And the situation is unlikely to improve much anytime soon," the article states.

So - where does that leave us mere genetic mortals? Right back where we started: eating and moving the way our healthy ancestors did; engaging in the lifestyle behaviors that science has conclusively proven will flip all those genetic switches to produce health and stave off disease.  Eating, moving and thinking in the manner our genes were molded to thrive on 100,000 years ago: daily moderate to intense exercise, whole foods in the form of organic vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit and nature-fed animals (in case that went over your head - grains, dairy and grain-fed animals weren't on the menu when our current genome was formed 100,000 years ago - more on that subject later), and finally, an emotionally nourished, supported and rested mental state absent of chronic stress - that's what our genes want and need. 

Our genes don't need drugs, they need life.

"In the vast majority of cases, individual genes apparently don't influence your destiny as much as, or at least any more than, your behavior does. So lose weight.  Get some exercise.  Trade in the cheeseburgers.  Breathe clean air.  And for God's sake, don't smoke.  It's pretty much the same advice your great-grandfather got from his doctor.  I bet it's the same advice your great-grandchildren will get from theirs,"  Freedman concludes in his insightful article.

Science has proven this beyond a shadow of doubt - health is found in the self-checkout line, not at the customer service counter.

You can be healthy.

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

In football jargon, when your team is within twenty yards of the goal line it's called the Red Zone.  The only thing more disheartening to a football fan than when their team makes it inside the 20 yard line but fails to score is if their team fumbles the ball away to the other team.  Both fans and coaches will go ballistic if their team loses possession from a fumble or an interception inside the 20 - turnovers are never good in football, but when they occur inside the Red Zone, at best it's a momentum shift, at worst, it can be a game changer.

For our health, the 'Red Zone' is the holiday season - the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's. As it is, the seasonal change from Fall to Winter is hard on our immune system and it's the beginning of cold and flu season. Without a doubt this time of year is made worse by the abundance of unhealthy food choices that overwhelm us during the holidays. From people bringing baked goods and candies into offices to the numerous parties and family celebrations that seem to be anchored around Christmas cookies, pies and cakes.

The Double, No ... Triple Whammy
This is not an idle threat - not only is sugar bad for our health, but pies, cakes, cookies and crackers are made with refined flour which acts just like sugar when digested. So pies and other holiday "treats" create a 'double whammy' of sugar and refined flour, both of which cause rapid increases in blood glucose levels, resulting in decreased immune function. And finally, as a 'triple whammy', eating nutrient-poor sweets cause us to not eat or 'displaces' the nutrient-dense foods we should be eating for our health in general and the immune system in particular.

Sugar Decreases Immune Function
It's long been known that sugar intake causes decreased immune system function. Studies have shown that the immune system is weakened substantially within minutes of eating refined sugar; the more you eat, the more your body's insulin response system is compromised. The body's cell-mediated immunity, uses specialized white blood cells called neutrophils to attack tumors, viruses and bacteria, is decreased when there is elevated blood glucose, which is caused by eating refined carbohydrate foods such as sugar and white flour. [Sanchez A, et al. Roles of sugars in human neutrophilic phagocytosis. Amer J Clin Nutr 1973; 26:1180-1184. (view article)]

What's more, not only are we more susceptible to getting colds and flu, even our body's ability to fight cancer is compromised when we eat sugar. [Ely JTA, Krone CA Glucose and cancer. J New Zealand Medical Assoc. 2002; 115(1159). (view article)]

Don't Fumble - Hold Onto the Ball
So, how does one avoid the temptation of all those seemingly "yummy" foods? First, we must own up to the fact that "A little won't hurt" is a lie - sugary foods will hurt your body, and the more you indulge the more it hurts your body - yes, it's cumulative (in case you were wondering, that's how people end up overweight, with heart disease, diabetes and cancer). Second, if the temptation is at the office where holiday cookies, cakes, candy canes, etc. are everywhere, pack nutritious snacks and lunches to take to work - if you have strong 'fall back' foods, you'll be less likely to indulge. Third, if you're headed to an office Christmas party or some other holiday celebration where you know there's going to be ample opportunities to indulge in an array of 'disease foods', one of the best strategies is to (a) eat healthy before you leave for the party; (b) when you get to the party, focus on eating the veggies and other healthy, nutrient-dense foods first, that way your appetite will be satiated before hitting the desserts.

You can do it!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

I have good news and I have bad news.

The Bad News: The year was 1969 when President Richard Nixon declared 'The War on Cancer'. It's now been 40 years and over $50 billion has been spent on this 'war'. What do we have to show for it? Nothing. No cure. No promise of a cure. In fact, according to an article published in October 21, 2009 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and which was announced in The New York Times, we might be moving backwards in our noble but misdirected efforts:

"The American Cancer Society, which has long been a staunch defender of most cancer screening, is now saying that the benefits of detecting many cancers, especially breast and prostate, have been overstated", the NY Times article states.

"We don't want people to panic,"said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical office of the American Cancer Society. "But I'm admitting that American medicine has overpromised when it comes to screening. The advantages to screening have been exaggerated."

The article goes on to state that both breast and prostate cancer screening

"Have a problem that runs counter to everything people have been told about cancer: They are finding cancers that do not need to be found because they would never spread and kill or even be noticed if left alone. That has lead to a huge increase in cancer diagnoses because without screening, those innocuous cancers would go undetected."

Said Dr. Barnett Kramer, associate director for disease prevention at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), "'The issue here is, as we look at cancer medicine over the last 35 or 40 years, we have always worked to treat cancer or to find cancer early. said. 'And we never sat back and actually thought, 'Are we treating the cancers that need to be treated?'"

"And those cancers," he said, "are the reason screening has the problem called overdiagnosis - labeling innocuous tumors cancer and treating them as though they could be lethal when in fact they are not dangerous.

"Overdiagnosis is pure, unadulterated harm," Dr. Kramer is quoting as saying.

As I read this article, I couldn't help but think, 'What are these doctors and researchers NOT saying?'

• How many women have unnecessarily had their breasts removed for "overdiagnosed" breast cancer?
• How many women, or worse, their daughters, have had prophylactic or preventive, bilateral radical mastectomy?
• How many women have died from the toxic "side effects" of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancers and tumors that didn't need to be treated?
• How many men have had to undergo prostate surgery and chemotherapy, and had their lives irrevocably changed or possibly died from these potentially unnecessary procedures?

The point is truly brought home when the JAMA article's lead author, Dr. Laura Esserman, [Department of Surgery and Radiology, University of California, San Francisco and director of the Carol Frank Buck Breast Care Center there] is quoted as saying: "Just like everything in medicine, there is no free lunch. For every intervention, there are complications and problems."

The Good News: Science has now shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that engaging in a healthy lifestyle is the best way to avoid or prevent cancer and the best prognosis for beating cancer, should you develop it.

You can do it!

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

PS. Coming up next: The "gene therapy" bubble has burst.

Staying Well and Getting Well in An Unwell Household

I smiled ... and ... I cringed when I read Dr. Franson's blog about the spike in flu following in the footsteps of the Halloween candy/sugar binge due to sugar's affect of suppressing the immune system and rendering us vulnerable to infection. In our house that exact 'perfect storm' hit with a vengeance when, after staying up late and bingeing on candy, James, our 15 year old went down with a severe case of the flu the day after Halloween. James' flu is so bad that it's been five days and he's just now barely turning the corner with his fever breaking and his lungs starting to open up again.

I thought people might be interested to know what strategies a natural wellness doctor's family employs to stay well and, if someone does get sick, get well. First of course is prevention - supporting the immune system. Persoanlly, I really hate getting sick so I become very disciplined and focused toward my wellness regimen when the virus is camped inside my home. Additionally, because I need to be adjusting James every 3-4 hours during the peak of his illness battle, which is such face to face exposure during the time when he's most contagious, I really have to be on my game. So at the top of my preventive lifestyle list is: 

Adequate rest

Water consumption

Exercise

High intake of phytonutrient and antioxidant-rich plant foods

No sugar, gluten-containing grains, or dairy.

Preventive Battle Plan
When it comes to ancillary efforts such as supplements, my first line of defense each morning is to drink a glass of Perfect Greens mixed with water and lemon-flavored fish oil. This is not shameless self-promotion - I intentionally formulated Dr. K's Perfect Greens to include certain herbs, plants and other natural whole food nutrients specifically because those nutrients are scientifically proven to be immune-enhancing. On an unscientific note, one consistent feedback I get from people who take their Perfect Greens everyday is, they're not getting sick. The immune strengthening benefits of omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish oil are well documented.

I also up my intake of probiotics to bolster my body's own immune troops (although included in Perfect Greens, I augment that with taking probiotics separately as well).

Enemy Engagement Battle Plan
If the virus establishes a firm beachhead like it did in James' case, liquid chlorophyll is our family's "go to" supplement.

Chlorophyll is truly amazing - when I was in practice, patients used to give me that 'What's he selling me now?' look when I'd recommend chlorophyll to them (not to mention it tastes like lawnmower juice spiked with dirt, and I wanted them to drink the entire bottle in 3-4 days). But without fail, the very next day I'd get a call from the patient saying 'Oh my god, that stuff's a miracle - I could feel my lungs clear as I drank it! I've never got over any cold/flu/sinus infection/bronchitis so quickly in my whole life!', etc. And for the price ($12) you cannot find a more cost-effective and clinically effective 'natural therapy' for blood building, immune supporting, and mucous membrane nourishing.

We also take advantage of "nature's antibiotic" - garlic (also scientifically proven), by adding fresh garlic to chicken soup to feed James (since we've been under attack, I've also been eating fresh chopped garlic on my poached eggs for breakfast, which also includes antioxidant and nutrient-packed vegetable smoothies).

That's about it; other than that, our regimen to assist the body in becoming healthy when sick is rest, water and regular chiropractic adjustments.

In case you were thinking of getting a flu shot, watch this:

The body does get sick. The body does heal (on its own). All we have to do is support the body during its times of struggle.

Take care of each other. You can do it.

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

Recently our fancy (read 'over priced') front-loading washing machine stopped working. When the repairman showed up, without any poking around,  his first diagnostic impression (in the first 30 seconds, no less) was that there was a problem with the water pump. Sure enough, he found a small triangular pad from a bathing suit top had somehow made it into the water pump and clogged it up, bringing everything to a halt (sorry you mid-westerners and east coasters, yes, in San Diego we can wear bathing suits in October).  It was a very simple mechanical problem and solution - open up the machine and pull the offending chunk of fabric from the water pump. The repairman was able to reduce the machine to the sum of its parts and figure out the problem and correct it.

If only our health problems were so easy to manage...

One thing I love about pursuing health through proper eating, moving and thinking is that it’s appropriate for everybody, and it works whether you’re sick or well. I love how it’s always correct to eat fresh organic foods, move every day, get optimal rest, and be thankful and optimistic. I’m comforted by the fact that the government and drug companies can’t take that lifestyle, tool or strategy from away from us.

If the body's 'water pump', the heart, clogs up, we can't just reach in and pull out the clog. Despite what cardiac surgeons may optimistically tell us, bypassing a clogged artery won't produce a healthy heart - that comes from our lifestyle choices. When we provide our bodies with fresh whole foods, lots of exercise and rest, and lots of pure water regularly and consistently provided in sufficiency and purity, we flourish in a healthy state. When our body malfunctions due to a lack of those lifestyle components or nutrients, contrary to what medical science advocates, we can't fix a lifestyle-caused health problem with drugs and surgery - only by returning to proper lifestyle behaviors. Although our bodies' are made up of a multitude of systems, organs, tissues, and cells, they are all part of a dynamic biological system and they all require the same things for optimal function and health.

As America marches toward an uncertain future regarding how we will take care of ourselves and each other under the delusional misnomer of health care, lurking in the foreground and the background is the dark side of medical or allopathic research and treatment – reductionist thinking and methods. [Wikipedia defines reductionism " ... to either mean (a) an approach to understand the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts, or to simpler or more fundamental things; or (b) a philosophical position that a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts, and that an account of it can be reduced to accounts of individual constituents. Reductionism is strongly related to a certain perspective on causality."]

It’s that last part about reductionism being ‘strongly related to a certain perspective on causality’ that has proved to be a cultural stumbling block for modern society to understand health. Although using reductionist methods of investigation and correction proves successful when seeking to understand and repair mechanical things like cars, watches and refrigerators, in vitalistic living biological systems like the human body, it rarely proves successful. The current medical or allopathic model proposes and acts upon the premise that if we break down the functioning of the human body to its smallest level, be it cellular, molecular and now more recently, genetic, it will enable science to overcome virtually any disease or condition with drug or surgical treatments targeted at those small parts. The bad news is that that misdirection is leading us astray - science has now shown that it's only by choosing the correct 'large' lifestyle choices that can bring those 'small' components into an alignment called health, not chemicals or surgeries.

The good news is that you have the ability to affect your own genetic, molecular and cellular requirements without having to check into a state-of-the-art health facility or hospital. It's really quite simple - just eat a plant-driven* diet centered around fresh whole foods, get plenty of exercise and rest, drink pure water, and keep your attiitude, thoughts and words in the positive column and the good life is yours to keep!

[*by the way, 'plant-driven' does not mean vegetarian.]

The 1960’s was the counterculture time of ‘peace and love’, and rallying against the establishment – government, society’s expectations, and parental authority. To that was added the 1970’s counterculture questioning of all ‘accepted norms’ of society and the pursuit of altered states and pleasure through sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll (okay, a little disco for the binge and purge). The 1980’s were the hedonistic age marked by both conservative and liberal pursuit of happiness through the acquisition of wealth and material things regardless of the collateral damage to our society as a whole or to us as individuals (along with the sobering reality of our sexual indulgences via the AIDS epidemic). The 1990’s became the era that was an amalgam of the previous three decades – physical pleasure through drugs, but now the Prozac generation using ‘approved’ pharmaceutical drugs, the acquisition of wealth at any cost, and blatant disregard for societal expectations and governmental authority. The new millennium in 2000 brought hope of a cultural catharsis or cleansing as society reflected back on the lessons learned through our previous reckless pursuit of personal gain and pleasure, only to wake to a globalization hangover on September 11, 2001; since, our reaction seems to have been, ‘It’s everyman, corporation and country for himself’.

Now as we approach the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium (where did the time go?), we are faced with an entirely different set of circumstances, all centered around lack – lack of money, lack of truthful and insightful societal, spiritual and governmental leadership in the face of never before seen social, economic, environmental, and international issues, and more insidious, a lack of health. All contemporary issues, whether economic, cultural or physical are simply the consequences of our previous actions or lifestyle choices.

Today, we are experiencing an erosion of our health that threatens to undermine our present and our future on nearly every front; worse still, we seem to be turning a blind eye to this harsh reality. How bad is it? Economically, as a nation, it will bankrupt us; socially, it will mark the decline of our nation as a global leader. Within our families it will drain all joy and peace – after all, without one’s health, there is neither. It’s gotten to the point where doctors and researchers are predicting that for the first time in the history of man, the current generation of children (born in the year 2000 and beyond) will not live as long their parents.

So we are ripe for yet another counterculture revolution – this one in our life’s priorities in general, and our health habits in particular. Let’s rally together to go against the accepted norms, against society’s common traits of living a sedentary existence, eating non-nutritious processed foods, and engaging in busy but unproductive, chronically stressful lives. All of these common contemporary lifestyle behaviors are literally destroying our bodies, our health, and our lives.

To illustrate, 70% of calories consumed today are from foods that didn’t exist when Homo sapien's genes were formed some 50,000 to 200,000 years ago:

•  Breads, cereals, pasta       = 24%
•  Dairy                                = 10%
•  Refined sugar                    = 19%
•  Refined vegetable oils         = 17%
As percentage of calories:     70%

This means that not only are we eating non-nutritious foods but in the process those calories are replacing nutritious foods containing phytonutrients, essential fats, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, all of which are necessary for health and without them results in poor health and disease.

Another example is the sedentary existence common to our modern culture – we sit in our cars to drive to work, where we sit at desks, then back sitting in our cars to drive home, only to sit down to eat and watch television, day after day.

"At present human genes and human lives are incongruent, especially in affluent Western nations. When our current genome was originally selected, daily physical exertion was obligatory; our biochemistry and physiology are designed to function optimally in such circumstances. However, today's mechanized, technologically oriented conditions allow and even promote an unprecedentedly sedentary lifestyle. Many important health problems are affected by this imbalance, including atherosclerosis, obesity, age-related fractures and diabetes, among others.”

Eaton SB, Eaton III SB, An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Physical Activity: Implications for Health. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology 2003; 136(1):153-159 [view abstract]

With some simple vital behaviors, we can be at the forefront of the counterculture health revolution, we can be models for our children and their children, and in the process be healthy ourselves. Yes, it involves sacrifice such as choosing fresh fruit over donuts and pushing ourselves to exercise when we may not feel like it; but notice how when the it’s over, the fruit and workout not only makes us feel so much better than the donut and the couch, it literally makes us healthier.

You can do it! We can do it! It’s time to march against the grain (pun intended).

Yours in health, Dr. Paul

We as a culture have strayed from our natural ways to a dangerous point – a true ‘tipping point’ – whereby if we don’t recognize our faulty navigation, we are destined to crash on the rocks. For millions of years, as a species we moved forward in our environmental and personal health domains. Now, just in the past 200 years for the first time in human history, we’ve done something never seen before in the history of man – we’ve actually moved away from increased health and longevity to the point where man is now the sickest he’s ever been in our estimated 2.5 million years on earth as Homo sapiens. The statistics today are staggering: in America and much of the ‘modern Western world’, 4 out of every 5 people will die from lifestyle behavior diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity; additionally, in the past 30 years alone, senile dementia disorders, autoimmune diseases, allergies, skin conditions and asthma have reached unprecedented levels. Only three to four generations ago, chronic disease was rare to non-existent. Even more disturbing is the fact that it is now common for children to develop these conditions and diseases, something never seen as recently as one to two generations ago.

The sad irony of this is that during this same 200 year period of unprecedented ‘back sliding’, man’s ability to scientifically analyze and understand our environmental surroundings and our physical biology has created great clarity as to the how and why of our declining health epidemic. And yet, we continue to head for the rocks to the point where former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmano stated in the 2008 Chronic Disease Almanac “The United States is experiencing an unsustainable disease burden – 130 million people today suffer from chronic diseases – taking a tremendous toll on individuals, families, and communities. In addition to lives lost and quality of life lost, we are also a nation in crisis – an economic crisis. We spend over $2 trillion a year – about 16 percent of our gross domestic product – on health care”. [The fact that we even have a ‘Chronic Disease Almanac’ speaks volumes to our faulty navigation.]

There is an enormous disconnect within our society whereby massive resources are devoted to taking care of people who, out of ignorance, denial or the belief that medical science will bail them out when the consequences of their lifestyle choices manifest as disease, don’t take care of themselves.  The sad truth is people today are simply breaking the law – the law of cause and effect. As science supports and common sense dictates, we reap what we sow from our lifestyle choices. There is a massive body of irrefutable scientific knowledge on how to avoid and prevent (and in most cases, reverse) virtually all chronic and autoimmune disease through genetically congruent lifestyle behaviors. Not through genetic research, genetic biotech medical treatment, but through the dozens of lifestyle choices we make each and every day in the way we eat, move and think. Our ancestors, both ancient and recent, were successful at this – they lived in ways that were compatible with our genetic design or heritage, our physiology. We too can do the same.

Yes, we are at a tipping point – globally as a species, collectively as a nation, and individually as people living our lives out day to day. The good news is that we have the knowledge of how to change course; we have the knowledge of where to change course; the only question you must ask yourself is whether you have the will to change course.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by. And that made all the difference.                    
                                                                            - Robert Frost

Welcome to bonfire – your map, toolbox and owner's manual to create the change that must take place.

Yours in health, Dr. Paul