DrCarney.com Blog

Dr. Jay Gordon is a pediatrician that uses whole-food, plant-based nutrition as preventative medicine in his medical practice in California. In the above eleven-minute video, Dr. Gordon addresses common questions regarding children's nutritional needs and the importance of establishing good eating habits at home.

A few of the topics he covers are:  

• The benefits of children eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
• How a plant-centered diet impacts children's developing brains and bodies
• Raw vs cooked vegetables
• Childhood obesity
• What to say to children when they want to eat the junk food that their peers are eating

Vegans have lower body weights as well as cholesterol levels, according to a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and reported by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:   "Those who consume vegan diets have better cholesterol levels than people who eat meat, fish, dairy, and/or egg products, according to a...

A new study conducted in Taiwan involving over 4,000 participants revealed a higher risk of diabetes in those that consumed even modest amounts of animal products in their diets.  This was reported by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, February 13, 2014.  "Vegetarians are less likely to have diabetes, compared with non-vegetarians, according to a...

Dr. John McDougall has been studying, writing, and speaking out about the effects of nutrition on disease for over 30 years. In this two-minute video excerpt, Dr. McDougall talks about his early experiences as a sugar plantation doctor on the Big Island of Hawaii where he provided medical care to three generations of people.

During this time, his observations led to a clear understanding regarding the association between diet and disease. Those first-generation patients who had originated from China, Japan and the Philippians ate diets rich in starchy grains and vegetables; as a result, they were fit, trim, and had no evidence of heart disease or diabetes. They also maintained their good health and activity well into their eighth and ninth decade. Their children and grandchildren however, traded their traditional vegetable and starch-based diets for the typical American diet. As their diets became more Americanized, they became sick and obese.

A new proposed Nutrition Facts label will provide some good information that has been missing but also removes some extremely important information from the Nutrition Facts label.

1. FDA proposing adding the display of Added Sugars which we commend!
2. FDA proposing removing the display of Calories from Fat which we lament!

Why do we care?
With the removal of the Calories from Fat we will no longer be able to calculate the Percentage of Calories from Fat (AKA Calorie Density) which is important information to aid people in combating our growing obesity epidemic. We have always wished for the Percentage of Calories from Fat to be ADDED to the Nutrition Facts label. Up until now this values has NOT been displayed but could be calculated by dividing the Calories from Fat by the Total Calories. Now the plan is to remove the values which allow us to do the calculation.

The statistics are distressing. Heart disease is our nation's leading cause of death for both men and women, resulting in a heart attack every 34 seconds. Eighty-one million Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease killing one out of every three people or 831,000 each year.

Will you be next? You may not have any symptoms of heart disease, or have been told that your cholesterol is within the "normal" range, yet these measures are not an accurate means of assessing your risk for heart disease. The majority of heart attacks occur in patients whose cholesterol is between "the normal range" of 150-200. In order to be truly protected, we should strive to maintain a total cholesterol level below 150. Heart disease is very rare in those with cholesterol levels this low. 

Switching to a whole-food, plant-based diet not only improves our health and prevents disease; we are also changing the world for the better.  What we choose to eat no longer has just a local impact on our environment, our choices are seen globally. Plant-based diets reduce pollution, combat world hunger, prevent animal suffering, and saves precious natural resources. Even some governmental agencies are speaking out much to the chagrin of the meat and dairy industries. 

Dr. Michael Greger discusses the results of the "Daniel Diet" eaten as seen in the book of Daniel, Chapter 1, Verses 8-16 of the Bible. In Chapter 1, the prophet Daniel himself takes on a challenge of eating an all natural, plant-based diet. He says, in verses 12-13: "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see."

We are greatly saddened by the increasing obesity trends in America knowing that obesity is a precursor to unnecessary disease, suffering and premature death. Millions of people are effected! After clicking through the Obesity Trends slides from the CDC one can only wonder where we will be ten years from now. It is scary to think about. That, coupled with the increasing tendency for medical care to be rushed, if available at all, and we can see a time of great suffering coming on the United States that will be unprecedented. When we lose our health we have pretty much lost everything.

This is a great article by Lindsay Nixon from Happy Herbivore! In response to her question, her readers shared their stories when making the transition to a whole-foods, plant-based diet. Many times we will experience withdrawal symptoms, as mentioned in her article. These symptoms can be mistakenly interpreted as "not getting enough protein, or nutrients." So it's important that we know about the detox symptoms before we start a nutrient-rich, plant-centered diet.

High protein diets such as the Atkins or Paleo diet may result in initial rapid weight loss, however, there are numerous adverse health consequences associated with these types of diets. So, while the weight may be decreasing other serious health risks are increasing. Is it worth the risk to lose weight in this way? In a nutshell: No! 

Dr. Michael Greger has two videos that suggest some of the research behind plants' power to help stabilize our mood. In Improving Mood Through Diet, Dr. Greger explains that unlike animal products, plants have no arachidonic acid, a substance that produces inflammatory compounds. These compounds have been postulated to inflame our brain, contributing to stress,...