On Healthy by Nature this week: Garry F. Gordon, MD, DO, MD(H), of the Gordon Research Institute will answer calls as we talk about the 90,000 women treated for breast cancer that they did NOT have; about his 10-year study of 10,000 patients who experienced no cancer deaths; and about how in 20 years, no patient on his program has had a fatal heart attack; also something better than bio-identical hormones and more. Gosh, it’s only a one-hour show…

IN THE NEWS

Robot cars: Italian engineers are currently conducting an 8,000 mile road test of an automobile that uses laser scanners, cameras and computers instead of a driver. I’m not making this up! (They do have a human backup during the test hopefully avoiding hazards that the navigation system misses.)

My 2 cents: Personally, I plan to stay off the highway between Italy and China until the test is complete. These science-fiction-envisioned cars would sure be a blessing to blind people, giving them more independence. Also, thousands of lives could be saved each year if everyone drove one. That’s because we’d be spared the deadly mistakes of drunken drivers, drive-while-texting idiots and even those who fall asleep from low blood sugar.

See next item.

McDonald’s smoothies: Fruit smoothies are now on the menu of the fast food giant.

My 2 cents: …fast food so fast you don’t even need to chew it. At first you might think the chain is doing a good thing because the smoothies contain fruit. Yessss, but it’s not like eating a piece of fruit. If you ate a whole medium banana plus ½ cup of sliced strawberries, you’d get 4+ teaspoons of sugar. With a medium size (16 oz) McDonald’s Strawberry Banana Smoothie, you gulp down 13+ teaspoons of sugar. Such a load of sugar spikes your blood glucose and that calls on the pancreas to pump out insulin to clear the sugar. (Sometimes that results in blood sugar so low that you get drowsy and need a robot car.) Insulin also tells the body to store fat. Chronic high levels of insulin are associated with heart disease and the early stages of Type 2 diabetes. The McDonald’s smoothie is at least a better choice than their 16 oz McCafe® Strawberry Shake. It has 25 teaspoons of sugar or over ½ a cup. As I mentioned in a previous newsletter, my recipe for a refreshing protein shake easily creates a dramatically lower carbohydrate and more nourishing drink. Add yummy Fruit of the Spirit for more fruit flavor and tons of nutrition with very little sugar.

RESEARCH

Fiber and Heart Disease: In a huge (58,730 participants) 14-year study of Japanese men and women aged 40-79, researchers came to this conclusion: “dietary intakes of fiber, both insoluble and soluble fibers, and especially fruit and cereal fibers, may reduce risk of mortality from CHD [Cardiovascular Disease].” ¹

My 2 cents: Researchers always make their conclusions a bit modest because, for one thing, they want another grant to further study the subject. The results were actually dramatic. Those with the lowest intake of fiber compared to those with the highest intake had over twice as many heart attacks! (Guess how much fiber is in a McDonald’s McCafe® Strawberry Shake?…NONE. From a medium banana and ½ cup of sliced strawberries you get nearly 5 grams. The McD’s smoothie somewhere in between with 3 grams.)

My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book : Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

Copyright 2010 Martie Whittekin, CCN

¹ J Nutr. 2010 Aug;140(8):1445-1453. Epub 2010 Jun 23. Dietary Fiber Intake Is Associated with Reduced Risk of Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease among Japanese Men and Women. Eshak ES, Iso H, Date C, Kikuchi S, Watanabe Y, Wada Y, Wakai K, Tamakoshi A; the JACC Study Group.