Mark Sircus
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 In particular, I see magnesium as an important research topic for survival considering its limited availability from our western diets and due to its ability to inexpensively cure and prevent many expensive diseases, life threatening or not.
"I know how bad depression can be, because I spent September of 1999 through April of 2000 in a clinical depression that worsened from the beginning. By Christmas the depression suddenly became much worse, nearly suicidal in intensity, and remained that way for four more months. |
Bill Sardi
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 Nutrition Cancer 37:119-27, 2000; Neoplasia 8:112-24, 2006] While both of these oils are essential for life, omega-3 oils are in such short supply in western diets as to favor tumor growth. Omega-3 oil is virtually absent in tissues of many human beings.
Use of omega-3 oils should be considered one of the most powerful ways to prevent or treat cancer. Evidence continues to mount for omega-3 oils in the battle against cancer. There are many examples.
A remarkable investigation was conducted among Eskimos, known as Inuit. |
| The consumption of omega-3 oils in a favorable balance over omega-6 oils is attributed to the prevention of a variety of diseases seen commonly in populations consuming western diets. [Biomed Pharmacotherapy 56:365-79]
Miracle triad of flaxseed
Too much has been made of the phytoestrogen content of flaxseed, and for that matter all herbal estrogen modifiers, while its other components have been overlooked. Whole ground flaxseed exhibits unique properties for health promotion over and above those provided by other plant estrogens such as red clover, black cohosh or vitex. |
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
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 What led to the interest in N-3 oils as a protector against vascular disease, especially heart attacks and strokes, was the observation that Greenland Eskimos rarely developed cardiovascular diseases as compared to people eating western diets.587 When these Eskimos began to eat western diets, they developed heart attack and stroke rates equal to most Americans, demonstrating that it wasn't genetic.
Subsequent studies of other populations with fish as a dietary staple showed the same thing. In fact, even eating fish once or twice a week significantly lowered disease rates. |
Bill Sardi
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| Cancer Research 41: 3771-73, 1981]
Japanese women who move to the United States and consume western diets experience an increased risk for breast cancer within one generation. [Network 10: 1-2, 1989]
Breast Cancer Mortality And Sugar Consumption Source: Medical Hypotheses 11:319-27, 1983
Mortality per 100,000 by age groups
Country
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Average grams sugar intake per day
Britain
23.0
64.7
96.9
122.2
131.8
Holland
20.7
56.5
94.2
117.6
125.1
Ireland
19.3
69.0
72.2
112.5
126.8
United States
16.9
51.0
83.0
98.9
133.7
Sweden
13.4
33.9
66.2
94. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 One group was given sunflower oil, a typical oil used in western diets, and one group was given the good stuff: extra virgin olive oil (about which more in a moment). The olive oil decreased the second group's blood pressure by a significant amount; it also decreased their need for blood pressure meds by a whopping 48 percent. As the English might say, "not too shabby."
Olive Oil Decreases Risk of Colon and Bowel Cancer
Dr. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This is almost entirely from their adoption of western diets and medical practices.
Those nations that continue to worship western culture are engaged in a dangerous game of paying homage to precisely the wrong group. Worshipping American foods, products and medicines will only destroy the health and happiness of any nation, and mimicking American financial markets will only spell economic suicide in the long run. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It has been linked to a high intake of saturated fats and calories common in western diets. Pterostilbene may be able to reverse this process, possibly by lowering lipids, Reddy said.
Reddy cited a recent study by co-author Agnes Rimando of the Department of Agriculture. Rimando demonstrated that blueberries, particularly their skins, can lower cholesterol when fed to animals.
Some thirty different species of blueberries are native to North America. The berries are rich in anthocyanins, widely recognized for their antioxidant qualities. |
Michael Pollan
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 This might help explain why so many groups have adopted western diets as soon as they get the chance.
It should be said that researchers working on omega-3 s can sound a bit like Dr. Casaubon in Middlemarch, hard at work on his "Key to all Mythologies." Likewise, omega-3 researchers seem to be in possession of a Theory of Everything, including happiness. The same population studies that have correlated omega-3 deficiency to cardiovascular disease have also found strong correlations between falling levels of omega-3 in the diet and rising rates of depression, suicide, and even homicide. |
Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Toews
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 According to Simon Maxwell, senior lecturer at the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, United Kingdom, black tea may account for more than half of the flavonoid intake of western diets. Theaflavins, a group of catechins formed during the processing of black tea, are much weaker than EGCG but do show antioxidant activity in laboratory studies. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 These changes in rates of diabetes in countries where little or no diabetes previously existed have been directly correlated with the introduction of western diets, specifically with the arrival of American fast-food restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's.
In fact, in 2006 A. Hauber, an economist from Bear Stearns International, and E. Gale, a doctor at the University of Bristol in England (an unusual collaboration between the world of finance and that of medicine and science), wrote:
There are two dimensions to each new treatment for diabetes. |
Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
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 Although most western diets contain ample or even excessive amounts of phosphorus, older people who supplement with large amounts of calcium may be at risk of developing phosphorus deficiency. For this reason, the authors of this study recommend that, for elderly people, at least some of the supplemental calcium be taken in the form of tri-calcium phosphate or some other phosphorus-containing preparation.
Vitamin D (page 607) s most important role is maintaining blood levels of calcium. |
| However, because so much meat is consumed as part of many western diets, a significant portion of dietary alpha-linolenic acid often does come from meat. Therefore, at least in theory, alpha-linolenic may merely be a marker for meat consumption. When researchers have adjusted for the intake of meat or saturated fat, however, a correlation between alpha-linolenic acid and prostate cancer risk has remained. |
| Until recently this mineral was considered abundant in western diets, due to the introduction of iodized salt and the iodine added to many foods.136 However, iodine intake has decreased considerably in recent years and may be low in as much as 12% of the total U.S. population and 15% of women of childbear-ing age.137 These numbers may be greater in countries where iodized salt is not available. Still, most people have adequate iodine intake unless they avoid iodized salt, seafood, and sea vegetables. People with thyroid diseases should check with their doctor before using iodine supplements. |
| However, average-size adults require approximately 800-1,000 mg of methionine per day—an amount easily obtained ot even exceeded by most western diets.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
Animal studies suggest that diets high in methionine, in the presence of B-vitamin deficiencies, may increase the risk for atherosclerosis (page 38) (hardening of the arteries) by increasing blood levels of cholesterol (page 223) and a compound called homocysteine (page 235).15 This idea has not yet been tested in humans. |
Mike Adams
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 Spirulina also contains an omega-3 oil - GLA - that's critical for proper brain nutrition (and is almost always lacking in western diets).
• Chlorella contains CGF (Chlorella Growth Factor) which actually rebuilds damaged nerve tissue in the body.
• The high chlorophyll content of both chlorella and spirulina demonstrate powerful cleansing effects on the body's blood and organs (liver, kidneys, spleen, etc.)
• These micro-algae have been shown to help reverse cancer, fight diabetes, prevent heart disease, and much more.
They are truly amazing food sources. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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 Increased levels of estrogen and related hormones are a result of the consumption of typical western diets, high in fat and animal protein and low in dietary fiber.3,13-18
The difference in estrogen levels between rural Chinese women and Western women19 is all the more remarkable because a previous report20 found that a mere 17% decrease in estrogen levels could account for a huge difference in breast cancer rates when comparing different countries. |
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
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| When these Eskimos began to eat western diets, they developed heart attack and stroke rates equal to most Americans, demonstrating that it wasn't genetic.
Subsequent studies of other populations with fish as a dietary staple showed the same thing. In fact, even eating fish once or twice a week significantly lowered disease rates. In one such study, it was found that men who ate as little as 1.2 ounces of fish daily, as compared to men who ate no fish, reduced their risk of coronary heart disease (heart attacks) by 38 percent and death from heart attacks by 67 percent. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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| The difference between rural Chinese diets and western diets, and the ensuing disease patterns, is enormous. It was this distinction, as much as any other, that made this study so important.
The media called the China Study a "landmark study." An article in the Saturday Evening Post said the project "should shake up medical and nutrition researchers everywhere."8 Some in the medical establishment said another study like this could never be done. What I knew was that our study offered an opportunity to investigate many of the most contentious ideas that I was forming about food and health. |
| Like the Nurses' Health Study, these studies all involved typical western diets highly skewed toward the consumption of animal-based foods, where people are tinkering with the intake of only one nutrient or one food at a time. Every study failed to take into account a broader range of dietary choices—including those which demonstrated positive effects on breast cancer risk in the past. |
Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
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| Severe vitamin C deficiency is uncommon in people who consume western diets, but mild insufficiency is found in 6% of healthy adults59 and larger numbers of college students60 and smokers.61 On the basis of extensive analyses of published vitamin C studies, some authorities have suggested that optimal intake for disease prevention may be at least 90 to 100 mg per day.62' 63 However, supplementation with over 200 mg per day of vitamin C by healthy people does not result in higher vitamin C concentrations in the body64 and may be no more helpful for preventing disease than smaller amounts. |
Neal D. Barnard and Bryanna Clark Grogan
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 In fact, the culprit seems to be lurking in our western diets.
The inescapable fact is that the problem is not carbohydrates (that is, sugar and starch). The problem is in how the body processes them. If we can repair your body's ability to absorb and use carbohydrates, not only can you enjoy healthy carbohydrate-rich foods without worry, but diabetes itself ought to improve—perhaps even go away.
A look inside your body will show you what I mean.
A LOOK INSIDE YOUR BODY
Your pancreas, an organ in your abdomen, produces insulin. |
Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
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 And that might just include some vegans, since the main sources of iodine in western diets are fish and milk." The Messinas conclude that
OTAL SOY KICK
I recently went through a thyroid scan, needle biopsy and a week of worry waiting to find out whether I had cancer of the thyroid. As it turns out, I have inflammation of the thyroid and have been taking 0.088 meg of Synthroid. About a year and a half ago, I decided to make "healthy" changes in my life and started with a thorough medical exam at which time my thyroid was tested and I was told I had a normal thyroid. |
Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
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| Western diets typically provide 5 grams per day. The body also produces ornithine.
Ornithine has been used in connection with the following conditions (refer to the individual health concern for complete information):
Rating Health Concerns
þ?ft Liver cirrhosis (page 290) (hepatic encephalopathy) (L-ornithine-L-aspartate) Recovery from illness (ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate)
þftft Athletic performance (page 43) (for body composition and strength)
Who is likely to be deficient? |
Mark Hyman, M.D.
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 Few of us need supplementation, as western diets usually have sufficient iodine content.
Hormone use
Women taking hormones, either in the form of a birth control pill or as menopausal hormone therapy, may have alterations in thyroid function that may require a change in treatment. See www. ultraprevention.com to learn more about getting a blood test.
Environmental toxins
Avoid chemicals and mercury—small amounts of these potent hormone disruptors can significantly affect the thyroid and other endocrine organs (sex organs and adrenal glands). |
Walter Last
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 Eat mainly legumes and vegetables
• Eat (fresh) fruits on their own and not with or after meals
• Minimize sweetened food, grains, and cereals
Proteins: Proteins from animal sources are oversupplied in traditional western diets. Initially, this causes stimulation—you feel energetic and even aggressive—but later in life it leads to enzyme exhaustion, putrefaction of bowel contents, toxemia, breakdown of the immune system, gout, and cancer. These problems are not due to proteins per se, but rather to the cooking of proteins, which destroys their enzymes and denatures their structure. |
| Calcium is not well absorbed from cow's milk, as can be seen in the high incidence of osteoporosis developing in people on conventional western diets and the fact this is not a problem in milk-free Asian countries. Vegetables and sprouted and fermented seeds are high in usable calcium; the calcium content in juice from cereal grasses is higher than in milk as, after all, cows obtain their calcium from grasses in the first place.
Similar considerations apply to iron, which can easily become harmful as an inorganic supplement. |
The Life Extension Editorial Staff
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 The Importance of Essential Fatty Acids
The increase in the prevalence of asthma has recently been linked to the altered consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). western diets contain almost 10 times more linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acids) than alpha-linoleic acid (omega-3 fatty acids) resulting in excess production of eicosanoids derived from arachidonic acid that inctease levels of Th-2 immune cells, thus increasing the production of IgE. Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent an asthmatic response by limiting eicosanoid production (Kankaan-paa et al. 1999). |
| Resveratrol was also able to lessen the growth stimulatory effects of linoleic acid, a fatty acid frequently overconsumed in western diets (Nakagawa et al. 2001).
• Resveratrol significantly teduced tumor volume (42%), tumor weight (44%), and metastasis (56%) in mice with highly metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma. Researchers noted resveratrol's ability to inhibit angiogenesis and reduce oxidative stress (Kimura et al. 2001; Kozuki et al. 2001). |
| The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil help to balance the omega-6 fatty acids normally abundantly supplied in western diets. When these two groups of fatty acids are out of balance, the body releases chemicals that promote inflammation. People appear to produce more inflammatory chemicals when experiencing psychological stress. With a fatty acid imbalance, the inflammatory response to stress appears to be amplified (Maes et al. 2000). |
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