DrCarney.com Blog

Upon deciding to make changes towards a more health-supporting diet many people wonder what food to put on their plate. If this is you then a good graphical representation can be worth a thousand words. There are many valuable visual representations on the Internet, all with slight variations. One of my favorite nutritional experts has created...

The first few trips to the grocery store will take a little longer as you make the transition to a whole-food, nutrient-dense, plant-based diet. But after you learn some label reading guidelines, and the basic principles of a plant-based diet, you'll be able to zip through the store easily.  This informative video of Chef AJ shopping...

Whole, intact, grains can be an essential component of a whole-food, nutrient-dense, Starch-Smart® diet. A whole grain consists of all three parts of the kernel, which are the bran, germ, and endosperm. When any of these are removed in processing, then it is no longer considered a whole, intact, grain. Many people today believe that whole...

Are you ready to take steps towards a more health-supporting diet, but aren't sure how to begin? If so, Rip Esselstyn from the Engine 2 Diet, has combined the basic concepts of plant-based nutrition into a 28-day, Nationwide Engine 2 Challenge. This simple action plan has transormed the life of thousands of people. It can work for you and for the people you love. 

PCRM (Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) offers a "21-day Vegan Kick Start Program" that begins the first day of every month. However, you may register for it at anytime during the month.

As parents, we have the enormous privilege of shaping our children's future. This is also true for their future health outcome. What we feed our children the first ten years of their lives has a tremendous impact on whether they will suffer from chronic disease later in adulthood. Modeling good eating habits and providing a diet rich in whole, plant foods builds a strong foundation for a life time of healthy living. Many times, though, children need a little encouragement to eat those green vegetables.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is deficient in whole plant foods. I encourage my patients to greatly increase their consumption of vegetables and fruits many of which are delicious without being cooked. Some patients believe that they NEED to eat only raw foods in order to be healthy. This is simply not true. Raw foods are good but unfortunately many raw foodists have been found to be deficient in several nutrients, such as lycopene. In fact studies show that cooked tomatoes contain four times the amount of lycopene than raw tomatoes.Additionally, a study conducted on three different types of diets showed that even though the raw food group consumed significantly more servings of plant foods, their blood beta carotene levels were equal to those that ate the typical Western diet.

After making the transition to a plant-based diet, it's only natural to want to rush out and buy an expensive juicer to make our own juice. However, before you start searching on Amazon for the best kind, watch this six minute video clip from Jeff Novick's "Fast Food - Shopping School" dvd.

Jeff explains how fruit juice is not a natural state of the whole fruit, but actually a highly processed, refined food that should be used very sparingly, as a condiment for extra flavor. A whole fruit contains fiber, is low in calorie-density, and high in satiety, whereas fruit juice has had its fiber and many nutrients removed, is calorie-dense, and is low in satiety. Jeff refers to juice as "liquid calories" that can quickly add unwanted pounds and elevate blood sugar levels as well as triglycerides.