
CoActive Health Links from Around the Web: August 2010
I would like to start a weekly series where I share some of the better health links I come across during the week. Discussion encouraged.
Learn to live well.
- ADA Response to Accusations on Partnership with Hershey
- “Balance and Moderation” are words you here pushed way too much in the world of nutrition. Perhaps it’s a result of Corporate influences on nutrition recommendations and research? The ADA defends its association with large food companies for their ability to influence these organizations…in my opinion they overlook (or are trying to protect) the obvious influence from the other direction.
- Living to Work VS. Loving to Work
- Wellness is perceived to be difficult because it challenges long-standing habits. I have patients who could eat all of the right foods, but still struggle with their health due to the stress of their career or a relationship at home. Sometimes getting to the root of a health problem, means looking indirectly into your social life — fail to address these and chance the ill effects of long-standing chronic stress. Change has to come from within — whether it’s your job, your health or your relationships. Maren Kate opens us to the process of “making the shift”…
- Why Does Europe Deserve Safer Food than the US?
- Corporate influences apparently also have an effect on food safety in our country. Some chemicals such as food colorings are banned in Europe or must be mentioned on the label. We still can’t even agree if we should label GMO foods (obviously the industry has an interest in pushing against labeling). In my opinion, when you produce food on a large scale, you’re going to have problems of contamination — if its salmonella or E. Coli, some of the responsibility is back on the consumer. Supporting local farmers is the safer, as well as the more ecologically and economically-sound habit.
- Fear and the Art of Creation
- Thought leaders Jonathan Fields and Chris Guillebeau put together an incredible 1–2 punch of ideas regarding fear and action. Fear is a limiting factor in business, health, and just life in general — if you want to go places, you have to persevere through uncomfortable situations. The only natural fears are of fear of loud noises and fear of falling, the rest…learned. Check out the links to their TED talks, amazing stuff.
- Is Baby Food Fit for Babies? (follow Precision Nutrition’s RSS for access!)
- I won’t even start on the breastfeeding issue, but this articles brings up some very good questions about what we are feeding children (and what we continue to feed them as they age). Making your own baby food is easier than it sounds and much more nutritious than many processed items on the market full of additives and preservatives.
- The Squishy Science of Food Allergies (NY Times)
- Competing theories are discussed, including some utilized at CoActive Health such as IgG testing, elimination diets, and the hygiene hypothesis.
- Hospital Food Gets a Makeover
- Hot topic that just isn’t getting enough press. People go to hospitals to get better, but are fed the same stuff that got them there in the first place. Whether its a McDonald’s next to Cardiology at St. Barnabas Memorial Hospital, or cardiac patients being fed cafeteria hamburgers and french fries, we have a long way to go in our hospital systems.
- More Reasons to Avoid Fructose?
- Supermarket Guru takes a quick glance at two recent studies demonstrating the negative effects of high fructose corn syrup and its potential complications with obesity and cancer.
- Book Review: The Vegetarian Myth
- Modern Paleo gives an in-depth review of The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability
(affiliate link). Vegetarian diets have been the craze over the least couple of decades, but new science pushed foremost by the Paleo Diet movement has brought questions to cholesterol, saturated fat and their links with heart disease and poor health outcomes. In my opinion, meat is meant to be consumed by humans, but only if the individual has an ample intake of vegetables. High saturated fat combined with a lot of sugar is an inflammatory cocktail that will lead to poor health outcoms, but the truth is always in the details, be careful of broad health statements — nutrition recommendations need to be personalized!
Hope you enjoyed this month’s round of health links from around the web. Please share your thoughts and comments and feel free to share articles that you feel I should mention next month! Also follow CoActive Health on Google Reader for instant access to many articles and journal abstracts that I share almost daily.
Health Psychology, Mind-Body•
on September 1st, 2010•

Can You Prime Your Mind for Health?
It is discouraging to see chronic disease patients become more and more prevalent. Some say it’s the Standard American Diet, others blame Aging Baby-Boomers or the poor economy…Whatever your reasoning, Americans are in trouble when it comes to their health.
What’s most troubling for me is that so much of chronic disease is preventable — developing over 10–20 or even 30 years. The issue with most chronic disease is that we “get away” with eating poorly, not exercising and living stressful lives through our 20’s and even our 30’s. When people hit their 40’s, however, I find them in my office wondering “What happened?”.
Here’s what we know about chronic disease…
- Heart disease can begin as early as in the womb! “Fatty Streaks”, the first stage of atherosclerosis, have been found in newborns!
- Cancer? Caused by faulty cellular division, due (most simply) to chronic low-level inflammation over time and the genetic changes that follow.
- Diabetes? Caused by years of spiking your blood sugar with late nights out, binge eating, processed foods and periodic stops at fast food restaurants.
- Alzheimer’s disease? Suggested to be a Type 3 Diabetes, yet another complication of poor blood sugar control throughout life. The placquing — perhaps the body’s scarring and defense mechanism against further sugar damage.
- Stress? Caused by poor coping skills and the perception of a lack of control in our lives.
The moral of the story? Health is certainly achievable for anyone, it’s up to us to choose how we roll the dice. We may be susceptible to certain illnesses, but our capacity for health is still within us if we give our bodies the raw materials to express it — including positive thoughts!
As a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and holistic chiropractor, I consider prior diagnoses, but my foremost concern is to look for underlying patterns behind my clients’ symptoms. Stress, poor diet, toxic environment, and a lack of physical activity underly most disease. Interestingly, a person’s mindset & perception of their illness is equally important in the healing process.
As a Doctor, I have to be extremely careful in how I deliver good and bad news to my patients. I can make the right diagnosis, I can choose the right nutraceuticals or medical foods, I can counsel patients on the healthy habits required to jumpstart healing — but really I am only as effective to the degree of my client’s willingness to heal.
Because chronic disease is so prevalent today, many people perceive a disease label as a prison sentence. People’s lives become defined by their disease. The mind works in subtle ways, but the repercussions are huge.
For instance, the acceptance of the label “I have arthritis” could create a line of thinking where the person slowly stops going for an afternoon walk, or going on weekly outings with their friends, or something as simple as wanting to sit outside and enjoy the sunlight and breeze on a beautiful morning.
What happens to this person? They slowly stop socializing with friends. Their minds become less sharp. The lack of activity progresses their arthritis and the degenerative changes that come along with it. They become more susceptible to falls at home. They become depressed due to a lack of vitamin D and mental stimulation. The disease continues to take over their life and they give up — first emotionally, then physically.
Did the arthritis cause it? Or was it the psychological acceptance that life had to take a back seat to their chronic disease…? You decide.
A new website is being launched this month that I have the pleasure of taking a part in and I invite you to join the mailing list.
It’s called Zenfully Delicious. The mission? To help people with chronic disease live a delicious life. The site will link individuals dealing with stress, food allergies, and other chronic diseases like fibromyalgia with tools and resources from health professionals, chefs, food bloggers and others to help you learn to take care of yourself and enjoy life despite any diagnosis.
Healthy Recipes, Knowledge•
on August 30th, 2010•

CoActive Health Book Review: Gluten-Free Girl
I like to keep track with things my readers and my clients are reading and like to give credit when I come across great work. A review for Gluten-Free Girl
(affiliate link), may seem odd coming from a 6’5″ guy from Northern New Jersey, but keep in mind that most of my patients are women. I am always looking for resources that are going to appeal to my clients beyond my own research and clinical advice that can be dry and unmoving for some people.
Foremost, I want to help individuals with chronic disease continue living a delicious life.
Too many people are living with chronic conditions that could respond to an elimination trial of some highly allergenic foods such as dairy, wheat and soy. The clinical testing out there is often not sensitive enough to correctly diagnose and screen for some of these diseases. Celiac diets are difficult for many.
For instance, for Celiac disease testing to be positive, you already need 50% atrophy (damage) to the microscopic folds in your small intestine that allow you to absorb nutrients. I have heard about too many cases where tests came back negative, but these individuals were still having potentially serious problems with wheat!
When I first thought about how to describe Gluten-Free Girl, the first thing that came to mind was that it read like a love letter...a love letter to food.
Foods held dear to the heart can quickly become a nightmare — gluten sensitivity being a common culprit. Shauna Ahern talks a bit about her early struggles and leads us through her transformation to a gluten-free lifestyle. She cleverly trickles useful recipes for you to try at home throughout her story — including delectable treats when you find your cravings in an uproar. Shauna created the popular and award-winning food blog, Gluten Free Girl and tweets at @glutenfreegirl.
What I give Shauna most credit for is how she devotes minimal pages to negative self-talk. The majority of the book focuses on all of the amazing aspects of food that she began to cherish even more once she became gluten-free. She takes us through each stage of her transformation from tears to triumph — but celebrates her victories more than she reflects on her failures.
Shauna has a knack for taking fancy sounding recipes that you might see in a posh, Manhattan restaurant and brings them to our home kitchens. When most people think of a gluten-free diet, they’re thinking rice cakes and raw vegetables. Shauna opens us to a world of “Quinoa Salad with Horseradish Creme Fraiche” , and how to make “Red Wine Reduction Sauce” — enough to have me salivating on the pages as I read.
Healthy cooking for me is typically looking at what’s left in the refrigerator and making some sort of concoction from it, but Shauna opens us to a world of high quality cooking oils, salts, and spices. If you thought living a healthy life was bland, Gluten-Free Girl proves this to be a choice, not a necessity.
So if you’ve been recently diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease or you suspect that you may be sensitive to gluten, save yourself some struggle and heartache and add Gluten-Free Girl
(affiliate link) to your bookshelf.
Action Steps, Knowledge•
on August 23rd, 2010•

Eating Healthy When Eating Out
Eating out is always a risk. Besides issues of food safety such as the recent salmonella egg scare that has taken over the airwaves this past week, eating healthy is next to impossible at many restaurants. Recently, I went to lunch at a small italian restaurant and ordered a chicken and shrimp stir-fry from their “healthy” menu. I soon found that “healthy” is really not healthy at all. The stir-fry had vegetables, shrimp and chicken, but it was served on a bed of white rice and covered in a thick, teriyaki glaze. It took three requests for the waiters to finally understand that really I just wanted it saute’d in oil and garlic.
Our nation suffers from a lack of health consciousness. We see wellness as nothing more than a fad — something to aspire to, but deep in our nation’s conscience is the idea that wellness is “too hard” and “unrealistic” to follow consistently.
This just isn’t true. We behave in accordance to what we value. We will pay $100 a month for a cell phone bill, but will balk at the price of a monthly gym memberships. We’ll gladly pay money for reflux drugs or other medications, but will balk at paying a little extra for healthy food. Research shows that significant health benefits could be experienced if families spent as little as $10 more on their grocery bills each week on fresh produce.
Some tips on eating healthy when eating out:
1.) Plan beforehand. Most restaurants have their menus available online. It is easy to plan your order ahead of time so that when your tummy is rumbling before the meal, you’re not pulled by the fancy food descriptions on the menu.
2.) Ask questions. Most places will be happy to meet simple requests such as exchanging vegetables for french fries and putting salad dressings and other condiments like butter on the side instead of directly on your plate.
3.) Save some for home. Portion sizes at restaurants tend to be a bit excessive. Have some of your meal wrapped at the beginning or simply make a mental note that you can have leftovers for lunch the next day or for a snack.
4.) Face up to the facts. Just because its listed on the “healthy” menu, doesn’t actually mean that the dish is healthy. Sticking with a salad and basic oil and vinegar dressing can go a long way.
If you’re serious about your health goals, you have to be serious about your choices. A former alcoholic cannot simply just go to the bar with his friends and have a soda. Lifestyle change takes some deep commitments. Eat something before you arrive at a restaurant where you may be limited by just a salad. If you have severe food restrictions such as a gluten allergy, it’s important to keep an emergency stash of nuts or other allergy-friendly snack in case a restaurant is unable to meet your needs.
It has never been easier to live a healthy life. Healthy sections of groceries are tripling in size. Community supported agriculture programs and local farmers markets are becoming more and more popular, even for those living in urban neighborhoods. Gyms are popping up everywhere and communities are coming together to create walking trails, clean up parks and improve other indirect factors such as street lighting to create opportunities for safe exercise.
You are responsible for your health — eat on your own terms, not the restaurant’s.
Clinical Nutrition•
on August 17th, 2010•

Supplementing Diet for Wellness
I am a firm believer in a whole food approach to health and nutrition. I also know that work schedules, finances, and time can interfere with the ability to eat healthy throughout the day. Nutrient-rich foods are incredibly important in our diet. Both macronutrients and micronutrients help us to fuel health promotion and maintenance and fuel recovery from life stresses.
It is often difficult to time meals correctly or to find the time to prepare healthy foods. This is why many products are out on the market to assist you while you transition to wellness and to prevent binging on poor food choices when your schedule demands convenience.
At CoActive Health, we have aligned with supplement companies that only distribute through health professionals. I stay away from network marketing companies such as NutraMetrix, that are becoming more and more popular in healthcare. Network marketing companies sell doctors on profitability for the their practice, not necessarily increased health outcomes for their patients.
I mix and match brands to ensure my clients are paying for quality & clinical utility, not excessive marketing or pre-packaged detoxification programs. Nutrition needs to be tailored specifically to YOU.
I primarily use Metagenics supplements. In my opinion, Metagenics is the leader in quality and innovation. Their supplements are clinically based, with some great options for wellness. They also allow me to dropship directly to my practice members, guaranteeing freshness & enhancing convenience. Some companies also dropship supplements, but I have not seen another company that takes quality to the level of Metagenics. Many leaders in health and nutrition, and even acupuncturists, align themselves with Metagenics products.
Wellness Supplements
Metagenics offers daily wellness packets carefully formulated to meet the unique needs of men, women and children. Wellness Essentials packets include a fish oil, multivitamin, as well as gender or condition-specific nutrition to meet specific needs. For instance, those with joint Pain should try Wellness Essentials — Joint Focus. Those hoping to become pregnant? Try Wellness Essentials for Pregnancy.
I also like recommending the UltraMeal shakes and UltraMeal bars to fulfill cravings and to take place of quick meals that may otherwise take place at a local fast food restaurant. Using a Magic Bullet or a Blender Bottle are both helpful means to add convenience no matter your work schedule or environment. They offer rice and soy-based formulations to help meat allergy restrictions, and are also free of many of the sugar and caffeine additives you find in more commercial products.
I do not see myself as a vitamin pusher by any means. My clients will tell you I use a mix of herbs, supplements, Chinese medicine, homeopathic and mind-body techniques with almost all of my patients. I try my best to transition my practice members to a whole foods, vegetable-based Paleo diet with some basic vitamin supports.
It is my goal that once patients are feeling better and have entered recovery and wellness, that they supplement with Vitamin D if they are unable to get sunlight during the day, or supplement with fish oil or flax oil if they are not eating enough fish or are concerned with heavy metal toxicity. Investing in the Wellness Essentials packets along with optional vitamin D supplementation would be ideal in this regard.
Most vitamin formulations found in the store are formulated to meet minimal nutrition standards set forth by the American Dietetic Association. While meeting these needs is important to prevent objective illness, there are many conditions that can smolder beneath the surface and require short-term high potency nutraceuticals. This is similar to how pharmaceuticals should be used. Most pharmaceuticals are designed for short-term use — giving your body a window to heal, or lowering pain and inflammation when it is clinically necessary.
The research and health communities are very cautious about the use of vitamins, herbs, and minerals in this way, but many lack the advanced training, clinical understanding, & experience necessary to approach patients in this manner. The medical industry has been defined by the last century by pharmaceutical and surgical therapies. Now that the nation’s needs have shifted to wellness, they are trying to treat chronic-conditions with remedies designed for short-term relief and emergency care.
I understand that health is a result of physical, biochemical, psychological, emotional, spiritual and socioeconomic factors and that the stress of work and home can get in the way of promoting wellness. Food as medicine (along with evidence-based nutraceuticals and medical foods) can help one reach their wellness needs while still meeting the needs of work and life.
Knowledge•
on August 13th, 2010•

What Makes a Holistic Doctor Different?
As a holistic Chiropractor and Clinical Nutritionist, my role is being more of a motivator and guide for health information. Many clients visit my office already knowing their diagnoses –having already been to numerous specialists or self-educated by the Internet.
Although the merits of self-directed care is a subject to be argued elsewhere, what is clear is that twenty-first century healthcare necessitates a new line of thinking for health insurance companies, researchers, patients, and doctors alike.
Conventional medicine has asked the philosophical question “How do we screen, treat and manage disease”. It is my opinion that we should ask instead, “How do we promote and maintain health” while working with the dynamic rules of the human body.
Wellness approaches are less dependent on objective tests and measures, and are much more subjective and algorithmic by their very nature. The answers we are looking for are likely found in complex fields such as chaos theory and quantum physics, but wellness is really just about identifying patterns behind illness and coaxing them back into balance.…the body knows how to figure out the details.
The word “Doctor” literally translates back to “teacher”, and so I think that medicine is failing today partly because health professionals have lost sight of their roles. Health professionals have become machinists, largely focused on symptoms and disease labels. “Care” is now characterized by running patients through a myriad of tests and basing recommendations simply off of standard deviations and averages.
The “person” has been lost in medicine, and it is the “person” where the answers are more likely to be found.
The body is the smartest Doctor and the most skilled pharmacist you could ever find…if given the right tools and environment to do so. Chiropractors often refer to this phenomenon as the “innate”, which has been the basis of Chiropractic philosophy for over the last 115 years.
Scientific research supports an important role for Chiropractors in our health system for both health outcomes and cost-effectiveness. But before we turn to a system where professionals recommend “two adjustments and see me in the morning” , I think the answer lies in the very question Chiropractors ask…“What is interfering on a physical, biochemical, emotional, & spiritual level with a person’s innate ability to express optimum health.”
One of the most remarkable things about Wellness is that it is a journey, not an end in itself. Holistic care is about looking to the “Whole” person and leading with a respect and admiration for the body’s dynamic ability to self-heal and self-regulate. There truly are no straight lines to wellness, but its achievable with patient, yet concerted action.
For those brave individuals who undertake a wellness program, 90% of the battle is getting started, the other 10%? — listening to your body and building a support network to meet your health goals. Instead of becoming a victim, adapt your life and career to fit your new health needs.
My patients often walk in to my office with a laundry list of symptoms. I tell my patients that sets of symptoms are experienced like a pendulum, swinging back and forth — leveling out peaks and valleys, and a hopefully reaching a tipping point where the body finally resets with a higher capacity, vibration & attraction for health.
My job, and ultimately my passion as a health professional, is finding the common patterns behind the symptoms my clients experience, fit together the pieces of the puzzle, develop a story of how my patients went from A to B, and develop a personalized & multidimensional to correct those patterns. When you focus on the upstream influences of health and disease, the downstream symptoms and experiences remarkably seem to fix themselves.
Focusing on the whole person, may just reveal the answers to our healthcare dilemma after all.

CoActive Health Practice Update
Greetings practice members, friends and readers. This is a much needed update as I have changed office locations and have some exciting things to announce.
I am now working with Dr. Donna Cantalupo of East Hanover Chiropractic Center where I will be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 7pm, Tuesday’s from 2pm to 7pm and Saturday’s from 8:30am to 12:00pm. I start THIS Wednesday, but will need a week or two to be acquainted with the new office. I also just sat for the CCN (Certified Clinical Nutritionist) exam which is a nationally and internationally recognized certification for health professionals using “Food as Medicine” as a tool to promote optimum health.
I will be adding Graston Technique and Clinical Nutrition to the practice, but by joining I am now also able to offer a non-adjustive technique known as Pro-Adjuster. Pro-Adjuster is a neurologically based technique that utilizes high-frequency, low-force adjustments. Pro-Adjuster is similar to the “Activator” which is used in many practices which patients refer to as a low-force, spring-loaded “gun” or “clicker”. Dr. Cantalupo also utilizes Applied Kinesiology, a technique that focuses on acupuncture meridians as a diagnostic tool for musculoskeletal complaints.
Pro-Adjuster is popular with Medicare patients who may not be able to tolerate traditional Chiropractic adjustments and other practice members who may be hypersensitive to Chiropractic soft tissue and adjustive techniques. These are patients with Fibromyalgia, moderate to severe degenerative changes, as well as other chronic pain conditions.
CoActive Health will still be offering nutrition consultations Tuesday mornings from 9am to 1pm at East Hanover Chiropractic Center and Thursday mornings from 8am to 12pm at Advanced Performance and Rehabilitation Center in Short Hills, NJ. Phone consultations are also available in most circumstances, but may be limited depending a patient’s health concerns and appointment availability. Also do not forget about our A La Carte services which include medication-nutrient analysis reports as well as the Purification Program that many practice members find efficacious and affordable.
I am working out a possible practice location in Montclair, NJ as well and will keep you updated. To make a long story short, I have Morris and Essex Counties covered. But I am also offering much more…
I am working with an exciting new project at http://www.ZenfullyDelicious.com. The goal of Zenfully Delicious is to provide tools, resources and inspiration for people with chronic illness to live a delicious life. You can sign up for the mailing list and newsletter by clicking the link above. The first newsletter is being sent THIS week!
Look ahead to future blog articles as well as premium webinars, recipes, meal plans and more. All centered on helping those with chronic illness find the resources and support to continue living a rich and fulfilling life.
Lastly, I am giving a health talk on Tuesday August 17th at 7:00pm on ” Sports Nutrition for Performance and Injury Prevention” at Advanced Performance and Rehabilitation Center at 532 Old Short Hills Road in Short Hills, NJ across from St. Barnabas Medical Center. Bring your questions or just come to learn!
Be well!
Alexander J. Rinehart, MS, DC
PS: Stay tuned to the much-anticipated (yet much delayed) release of the CoActive Health Manifesto, a introductory resource and guide to my vision for CoActive Health.

Did You Know? Myths and Facts Regarding Meat Consumption
Americans eat meat more than any other country in the world, yet we also boast high incidence of many chronic diseases like type II diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Meat has been given a bad reputation the last few years as vegetarian, raw and vegan diets have grown in popularity.
In fact, when most think of “healthy” diets, they automatically assume that the person is going vegetarian or vegan which has been glorified over the last 15–20 years. We know that meat has a role in healthy diets, but the backyard barbecue is not the most ideal place to get it to say the least.
Our paleolithic ancestors ate meat, but the also ate a lot of vegetables too. In fact, many primates eat pounds of vegetable matter throughout the day, which more than balances their meat consumption. We have distinct needs for iron, zinc, B12, and amino acids that can be difficult to acquire solely from vegetarian and vegan diets. Here is a list of facts to consider regarding meat.
- We need moderate sources of protein throughout the day. Too many of us survive on carbs and coffee in the morning, a deli sandwich or fast food meal for lunch, and then finally consume a decent balanced meal for dinner. Having a healthy source of protein multiple times in the day is important, otherwise the body pulls from lean tissue in order to meet its requirements to repair tissues and build important immune proteins.Limiting intake to 15-20g of protein per sitting is important, saving larger intakes following moderate to heavy exercise. This amounts to roughly a palm-sized portion which can be easily met by adding a handful of chopped grilled chicken or steak in a salad or enjoying two eggs with breakfast in the morning.
- Excess intake of meat beyond 15-20g can cause undue stress to the kidneys as they must filter out metabolic byproducts. Excess protein overwhelms our digestive capacity, is then poorly digested, causing your stomach to churn harder to process your meals. Reflux symptoms, as well as gasiness and stomach discomfort following meals can be a sign of too much protein in your diet, and a resultant lack of stomach acid.The body metabolizes and filters out what it doesn’t need every two-four hours, so not eating protein over the recommended 5 small meals throughout the day can leave your body lacking for raw materials necessary to fuel body processes.
- Meat can contain unnecessary additives, hormones, flavorings, and preservatives. For example, nitrates and nitrates found in processed meats such as deli meat and hot dogs, and can be carcinogenic — potentially leading to increased risk of colon and bladder cancers seen with increased meat consumption.Many studies that show harmful effects of meat do not necessarily distinguish between processed and natural forms. Also, watch out for monosodium glutamate, which is often added to ground turkey as “natural flavoring” to enhance taste despite its suggested role as a excitotoxin.
- Grass-fed, organic sources of meat is important as grain-fed animals have higher inflammatory fats content and can contain higher levels of potentially cancer-causing pesticides such as PCB’s and hormones.Fresh meat is actually a source of healthy omega 3 fats when produced naturally. Additionally, widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria as well as resultant pharmaceutical contamination of the water supply.
- Links between meat and increased “acidity” have been suggested to lead to osteoporosis and increased risk of other diseases. High-alkaline diets and supplements are becoming more and more popular and their link to positive health outcomes is not to be ignored. A high-protein diet can cause significant metabolic stress on your body to keep your blood pH balanced, not to mention adding stress to your kidneys as they work hard to filter metabolic residues. A high-protein diet should be accompanied with significant intake of water.
Research shows, however, that the protective effects of the consumption of fruits and vegetables is greater than the negative effects of meat consumption, particularly when it comes to osteoporosis. Therefore, a high meat diet can and will be harmful overtime if not balanced with significant intake of fruits and vegetables. So be sure to reach the recommended 9–13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day!
- High cholesterol and saturated fat diets and their link with heart disease has been under questioning recently. Statin drugs for instance, successfully lower cholesterol, but are not very efficacious at preventing heart attacks.
In fact, you need to treat 100 people with statin drugs in order to save 1 heart attack.When considered alongside the monthly cost of pharmaceutical therapy, a 1–2% chance of severe adverse side effects, and as high as a 30–40% chance of less serious side effects such as muscle aches, one might consider balancing their meat intake with more fruits and vegetables!
The research shows high saturated fat and cholesterol combined with high starches (think steak and potatoes) is a dangerous cocktail that promotes free radical generation which promotes atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, and aggravate just about any disease process. High intake of saturated fats and cholesterol alone do not seem to promote disease. Context is important. In fact, rubbing meats with tea can be flavorful and provide added protection against harmful free radical formation.
- Charring meat and cooking it at high temperatures can create harmful carcinogenic compounds known as heterocyclic amines that have been suggested to promote various cancers. The typical American hot dog, processed, charred, on a white bun, and slathered in condiments is not a recommended source of healthy protein. Ground grassfed, organic hamburger meat, browned and added to a salad can be a healthy alternative.
Exercising a Health Consciousness

Health consciousness is an awareness of how your thoughts, feelings, actions and environment lead to your health status at any given time. It is about systematically breaking away from a mindset of sickness and disease.
Many people look at their health status as something they have no control over. Many people blame their genes, their parents, their job, their friends, and numerous other excuses as to why their health status waxes and wanes.
The truth is, however, we have sole control & responsibility over our health. We can choose to be healthy when we are ready. It comes back to a way of thinking, a health consciousness, that needs developed and exercised just like any other muscle in your body.
Health consciousness in its most basic form comes back to believing that you are solely responsible for your health. Whether you have genetic susceptibilities or were born in a socioeconomically disadvantaged environment, you still have choices. You can choose to be a victim, or you can choose to give yourself the reigns to your future.
Having grown up in a single-parent family, I understand the stresses that families can face. Some turn to drugs and alcohol, many others turn to a victim-mindset. The few that break out from the cycles are those that learn that they must be responsible for themselves foremost — and only then are they fully capable to help others.
Many patients come to me only after their kids have moved out and they finally give themselves permission to take control of their health. They work extremely hard to please their boss and everyone around them, at the sacrifice of their personal health. What if they took that same energy and effort and applied it to their own goals?
Before you know it, the years of stress, the processed meals on the run, and the focus on serving others before yourself will catch up with you and you may find yourself in my office, having gained 20–30 pounds, fatigued, stressed, on multiple medications and a demand to have your problems fixed yesterday.
One of the hardest (and often the most rewarding) aspects of my career is opening people’s eyes to the potential they hold inside them to express health. Too many people are too quick to “settle”. They settle in uninspiring careers. They settle in disease-promoting habits. They settle in letting others achieve their wants and needs at the expense of their own effort and well-being.
Planning for Health Consciousness
Practicing a health consciousness is not easy. It takes commitment and some exercise. Here are some steps to take in order to develop a prosperous health consciousness:
1. Identify your “Dream Lifestyle” — Grab a blank piece of paper and take 10–20 minutes to write down every desire you could ever think of. Have fun with it. You want 15 sports cars, give yourself 15 sports cars. Where would you like to travel? Where would you like to live? What’s the weather like? What hobbies do you see yourself doing?
Like a radio, you can dial in to different frequencies. If you are at the $10 an hour frequency, you’ll seek and find opportunities to make $10 an hour. If you’d rather make a six figure income, then you need to dial in to a six-figure path.
What is interesting is that even the most extravagant lifestyles, when put on paper, actually do not require having millions of dollars in the bank. What they do require is some creativity and critical thinking — which we are all capable of when we open our minds to it.
2. Categorize Your Goals — What goals will take 10 years to achieve? 5 years? 2 years? What goals could you achieve by next week? Prioritize your goals and begin fleshing out an action plan to attain them. A goal requires action steps for completion. If there’s something that could be done today, DO IT!
3. Identify Barriers — What things keep popping up in your head that seem to limit your ability to achieve these goals? Do you have an unsupportive relationship at home? Is your job draining you rather than invigorating you? Do you have friends who support you? Sometimes, things need to get worse in the short-term in order to put you in a better long-term position. Is there a habit or pattern that seems to underlie your perceived limitations?
4. Remind Your Consciousness Daily — Develop affirmations that support your goals. I find it useful to write the affirmations as if you have already achieved them. I also find it useful to put the statements in the form of a question. Every time we read a question, our minds inherently want to seek out possible answers. This trains your mind to think in terms of actionable steps, not pie-in-the-sky possibilities.
For instance ask “How did I become worth X dollars?” or “Why do I have such an amazing spouse?”. “How did I become so good at attracting X new clients a week?” Just reading the statements primes your consciousness to look for activities and opportunities in which to make the possibilities a reality.
5. Make it a Habit — It takes at least 3 weeks to make a habit your routine. This is why many of my diet plans are 21 days long. This is just the beginning. True lasting change can take as long as 8 weeks to be incorporated in to your life.
Many people look at a goal and are overwhelmed by the perceived time and effort it will take to reach it. When you break it into individual tasks such as making specific phone calls, or reading a single chapter out of a book (or even making sure you go to the library to find that book in the first place), the individual tasks are often easy and can be finished in a matter of 15–20 minutes.
6. Keep Yourself Accountable — Journal writing can be a great technique to keep yourself accountable. Sometimes when you are aching for a bowl of ice cream or you just wish you could take a day off, writing it down on paper makes the intangible, tangible and promotes a clear and focused mind.
Surround yourself with friends who have similar goals. Wish to save money and become healthier? Probably not a good idea to make it a habit to hang out with people who just want to go spend their paycheck on wing & beer night at the bar every week.
Health consciousness is very similar to Prosperity Consciousness — in fact, the same habits that lead to health, also lead to wealth. We have deep-seeded tendencies that we are not always aware of — we are primed everyday by our family, friends, and the media to have certain beliefs. Protect your mind and you’ll protect your health.
Are you primed for health or disease? Really give this some deep thought and start establishing a health consciousness today.
Any thoughts or realizations?
Let’s discuss…
Knowledge•
on July 20th, 2010•

Contradictions in Our Healthcare System
If you have ever heard the phrase “I couldn’t even dream this stuff up”, this post pretty much encapsulates its meaning.
- We have a “health“care system focused on screening, treating and managing disease.
- We have fast food in our hospitals (like the McDonald's next to Cardiology at St. Barnabas Medical Center)
- We have candy stores partnering with the American Dietetic Association
- We have the American Academy of Family Physicians partnering with Coca-Cola
- Our healthcare solution is to increase access to an already failing system
- Health insurance covers accidents and acute illness, not health promotion and wellness
- It costs more to have an Health Savings Account eligible plan than a traditional insurance plan (higher deductible is supposed to mean lesser premiums so you can invest more on your own!)
Contradictions create destruction. The degree of destruction is proportionate to the degree of contradiction. Sooner or later, something has to give. A cell cannot be in growth and death at the same time. A health system cannot focus on managing acute illness and symptoms and prevent lifestyle disease at the same time.
What contradictions have you noticed in our healthcare system?