Dr.Fuhrman’s Newsletter No. 8 • July 2003 Making Sense of Science for Superior Health and Effective Weight Management Big Benefits of Blended Salad A powerful and delicious way to maximize your intake of nutrients What’s Inside Benefits of Blended Salads Dr. Fuhrman explodes a few pervasive protein myths............. By Joel Fuhrman, M.D. 1 Great Blended Salad Recipes Delicious, easy-to-make recipes, packed with nutrients............. 3 Dairy Products & Osteoporosis Don’t be fooled by misleading dietary information.................... 4 Preventing Osteoporosis Powerful steps you can take to avoid problems of bone loss...... 5 Your Best Sources of Calcium Leafy greens are by far your best sources of calcium..................... 7 Regaining Health Step by Step One visit to Dr. Fuhrman’s office begins health recovery............... Late Breaking News W atch for the Discovery Channel’s Weight Loss Special—Second Opinion with Dr. Oz—which will feature an interview with Dr. Fuhrman, who was sought after for his expert advice on the healthiest way to eat to reach one’s ideal weight. Oprah Winfrey also will appear on the show, which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 23rd. On Sunday, August 24th, all subscribers to Dr. Fuhrman’s Healthy Times are invited to a pool party at the Fuhrman’s home. Call Dr. Fuhrman’s office for more details. 8 W hat is a blended salad, and why would I want to eat one? A blended salad is a mixture of raw, leafy greens and other foods blended together to make a smooth, creamy salad with a baby-food-like consistency. Eating a salad prepared in this manner is quick and convenient,and increases absorption of important nutrients. By adding fruits, nuts, and other ingredients, you can support health and healing with a truly gourmet eating experience. By singing the praises of blended salads, I don’t want to give the impression that a regular “chewed salad” is not a highly-recommended source of nutrients. Blended salads are simply a great addition to the already superior, anti-cancer style of eating that I recommend. What are the advantages of eating a blended salad as opposed to eating a regular salad? All plants are composed of cells whose walls consist mainly of cellulose, which is a type of carbohydrate. A plant-based diet (one rich in fruits and vegetables) contains a large amount of cellulose. Humans do not have the enzyme capable of breaking down cellulose, so we cannot utilize cellulose as an energy source. If we eat cellulose-rich, raw greens without thoroughly masticating them, we lose much of the food value. To get as many nutrients as possible into your bloodstream, the plant walls must be broken open to release the nutrients inside the cell. When we simply chew a salad, about seventy to ninety percent of the cells are not broken open. As a result, most of the valuable nutrients contained within those cells never enter our bloodstream. Blending raw, leafy greens guarantees that a higher percentage of nutrients will be absorbed into your bloodstream for your body to use. Why is it important to consume cellulose and other plant fibers? Many types of bacteria found in the colon and large intestine are capable of digesting small amounts of fiber, such as cellulose. Some of the positive results of this bacterial activity on fibrous, non-absorbable food residue are the production of vitamin K, vitamin B12, thiamine, and riboflavin. Human feces normally should be composed of about fifty percent water and fifty percent solid materials.Cellulose holds water in your gut, which allows easier passage of stool. This helps to prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, and the formation of colonic diverticula. Consuming sufficient quantities of raw vegetables assures that you will have normal bowel health throughout life. These same factors also are important in the prevention of colon cancer. What is it about the digestion process of raw foods that promotes weight loss? The solid portion of human feces is (Please see Blended Salad p. 2) Blended Salad Continued from page 1 normally composed of about thirty percent dead bacteria and seventy percent undigested roughage and sloughed off epithelial cells. When food is chewed, it is mixed with saliva, which contains the enzyme ptyalin. This enzyme hydrolyzes starch into simpler sugars. However, since the food remains in the mouth for only a short period of time, only three-to-five percent of all the starches eaten will become hydrolyzed by the time the food is swallowed. Although green vegetables contain small amounts of starch, these naturally occurring starches are digested very poorly by ptyalin. This is because the starch is contained in small globules encased within a thin, protective, cellulose membrane. Unless these protective cell membranes are broken down by cooking (or blending, see next paragraph), little of the starch content is available for digestion and assimilation. For example, even though carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets are high in starch, if you consume them raw in a salad, only a small percent of the calories are absorbed due to the cellulose packaging of the starch. This is one of the reasons why raw vegetables are such effective weight-loss-promoting foods. People in need of weight reduction can consume virtually unlimited quantities of raw vegetables, but not cooked starches. Green vegetables, especially leafy “But doctor, won’t I waste away eating all that salad?” greens, are protein-rich and not high in carbohydrates. They are comparatively low in calories and have a very high nutrient-to-calorie ratio. When leafy greens are blended, most of the cellulose packages are opened, and the beneficial nutrients can be absorbed successfully. Certainly, more and better chewing is advised, but most people don’t chew their salads well enough. Even if they did, they could not expect to crush the cell walls with the same efficiency as the blades of a blender spinning at hundreds of revolutions per second. How effectively do we absorb the protein in green vegetables? Even ingested meats are poorly pen- etrated by digestive enzymes when they are inadequately chewed and swallowed in small chunks. By contrast, when you consume a blended salad, you are assuring a thorough digestion of the plant protein. Ninety-eight percent of all the proteins will be broken down into amino acids or very small peptides, and absorption will be almost complete as well. As a result, you absorb almost all the protein in the raw greens, instead of losing so much. No one chews well enough to break down food this well. Approximately fifty percent of your digested and absorbed protein (amino acids) comes from ingested food, about twenty-five percent Dr. Fuhrman’s Healthy Times™ Joel Fuhrman, M.D., Editor • Jeff Novick, M.S., R.D., Contributing Writer Lisa Walfield Fuhrman, Copy Editor • Editorial, design, and production services provided by Lennon Media, Inc. Dr. Fuhrman’s Healthy Times™ is published six times per year. ©2003 by Joel Fuhrman, M.D., P.C. All Rights Reserved. Address: Joel Fuhrman, M.D., P.C., Hunterdon Medical Center, Doctor’s Office Building, 1100 Wescott Drive, Suite 106, Flemington, N J 08822 Website: www.DrFuhrman.com • Telephone: (908) 237-0200 • Subscription rates: $35 via email, $45 via mail Special written permission is required to reproduce, by any means, in whole or in part, the material contained herein. IMPORTANT: Before adopting any kind of diet or medical program, please consult your doctor. The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only, and is no substitute for a physician's consultation and/or examination. To subscribe or to see our online catalog of health products, visit our website at: www.DrFuhrman.com 2 DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 from protein in digestive juices that are reabsorbed, and twenty-five percent from desquamated mucosal cells (cells that have sloughed off the lining of the digestive tract). If adequately chewed or broken down, only about two-to-five percent of protein consumed escapes digestion and absorption. Besides increasing the protein and micronutrient absorption and availability, blending a salad generally increases the amount of raw greens a person consumes. Many people have trouble eating six-tosixteen ounces of leafy greens daily, the amount usually recommended in my diets. Eating this quantity of raw blended greens is quite easy. Most people who try them find blended salads to be delicious and really look forward to this portion of the diet. When would you most likely recommend a blended salad? Some people have difficulty digesting large quantities of roughage when they first switch to a high-phytochemical, natural, plant-based diet. These individuals can solve their problems with gas and bloating by blending their salads before eating them. For example, patients with Crohn’s disease or colitis often do not tolerate raw salad well, but blended salads can offer these individuals the benefits of this highnutrient food source, without the negative effects of the roughage. Those who have difficulty chewing also can benefit from blended salads. The high-nutrient availability of blended salads aids those recovering from illness, and helps normalize immune function in those suffering from asthma, allergies, and other immune system disorders.Those with added nutritional requirements—such as nursing mothers and athletes—find that blended salads can be used to increase milk supply and athletic Blended Salad Recipes Green Gorilla Green Citrus Medley 5 oz. baby romaine lettuce 5 oz. baby spinach 1/2 avocado 1 banana 8-10 oz. romaine or leaf lettuce 1 orange, peeled 1 cup fresh pineapple 1 Tbsp. blood orange vinegar Blend avocado with the banana, then add lettuce and spinach. Smooth & Creamy Greeny 6 oz. baby romaine lettuce 6 oz. baby spinach 1/4 cup soy milk 8 dates Garden of Eden 6 oz. baby romaine 6 oz. baby spinach 4 figs soaked overnight in 1/4 cup soy milk 2 Tbsp. fig vinegar performance. Those interested in maximizing weight loss in a healthful manner can use blended salads to increase their consumption of greens before meals.This will supply them with a dynamite nutrient punch while at the same time providing satiety to prevent over-eating on the highercalorie foods that follow. High-performance athletes or those interested in gaining weight can mix nuts and seeds into their blended salads. This combination supplies healthful sources of protein and fat in an efficientlyabsorbed, high-nutrient package. What if I just juice the vegetables instead? Juicing greens is good, but blending them is better. With juicing, you retain many of the phytochemicals and other nutrients but lose the valuable lignans, fatty acids, and amino acids that are bound to the cell membranes. The cellulose and other plant fibers contained in blended salads are also an added Athlete’s Green Fuel 8 4 1 1 1 1 3 oz. romaine lettuce oz. baby spinach oz. raw sunflower seeds oz. pine nuts oz. raw cashews banana tsp. fig vinegar Anna’s Drink & Stink 5 oz. raw spinach 2-3 medium tomatoes 2 cloves raw garlic 1 thin slice of red onion benefit. Eating whole food gives you complete nutrition. How do I make a blended salad? I usually start with about three to five ounces of lettuce and three to five ounces of raw spinach, but any mix of raw vegetables is possible. Put a tomato, or a fruit such as an orange or a banana, in the blender and add the leafy greens on top. Put the lid on the blender. Remove the cover of the small opening in the lid and, using either a cucumber, celery sticks or a big carrot, push the lettuce down into the whirling blades. If you have a VitaMix, you can just use the provided plunger to make it easier. Add a little water, juice, or soy milk if necessary. Turning the blender on and off while you push the leaves down into the mix also is helpful.The food processor with the metal “S” blade also works well, but it is usually necessary to turn it off periodically, take off the top, mix the small lettuce leaves back into the blended por■ tion, and repeat the process. DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 3 Special Report Are Dairy Products the Answer to Osteoporosis? Learn how to protect yourself from bone loss and from misleading dietary information. By Anna Quisel, M.D. A s a woman and a breast-feeding mother, I almost feel guilty when someone asks, “You don’t drink milk? How do you get your calcium?” As people learn more about the problems associated with osteoporosis, interest in calcium is skyrocketing. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the dairy industry has done a terrific job of promoting dairy products as the only adequate dietary source of calcium. Dairy products are far from the solution, and may very well be a cause of the problem. Adequate amounts of calcium are necessary for high-level health. Calcium is necessary for heart muscle contraction, skeletal muscle contraction, the action of most hormones in the body, and bone strength. Because calcium is so crucial to survival, our bodies carefully regulate the amount of it in our blood. We even have a back-up reservoir of calcium available at all times—our bones. Calcium reservoir To keep a constant level of calcium in the blood, our bodies are continually adding and removing calcium to the bloodstream. When there is extra calcium in the bloodstream, the body removes some of it and stores it in the bones.When there is too little, the body takes calcium from the bones and adds it to the bloodstream. It works like this: When serum calcium levels fall, a hormone called parathyroid hormone, produced in four small glands attached to the thyroid gland, stimulates osteoclasts. The osteoclasts break down bone and release calcium.When calcium is plentiful, a hormone called calci4 DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 tonin, made in the thyroid, stimulates osteoblasts, cells that store calcium by building bones. For a long time, scientists thought this was the whole story—if you don’t get enough calcium, your body will withdraw calcium from your bones, and eventually you will develop osteoporosis.But the story is turning out to be more complex. High intake, weak bones Much to the chagrin of the dairy industry, scientists have discovered that more calcium isn’t better. In fact, the countries around the world with the highest rates of calcium intake—including the U.S. and Canada—have the highest rates of hip fractures among the elderly. The largest source of calcium in these countries is dairy products. In one of the largest studies of diet and health ever undertaken in the U.S., the Nurse’s Health Study, researchers found that high total calcium intake and milk consumption did not protect against osteoporotic fractures.1 In a comprehensive review of all studies of dairy intake and bone strength in 2000, researchers concluded “that the body of scientific evidence appears inadequate to support a recommendation for daily intake of dairy foods to promote bone health in the general U.S. population.”2 Japanese women have lower total calcium intake than U.S. women at about 400-500 mg per day from soy products, vegetables, and small fish bones—yet they have lower rates of hip fracture despite having smaller bones.3 So high calcium intake alone, especially when the source of calcium is dairy products, does not ensure bone strength. Even bone mineral content (the amount of calcium-phosphate in bones) does not necessarily determine risk of fracture. This mineral-content finding is very important because physicians currently assess risk for bone fractures using x-ray measurement of bone mineral content. Building strong bones Adopting an Eat to Live-style diet is crucial for strong bones.Vegetables, beans, fruits, and nuts are the best Calcium content of selected healthful foods Food Portion Bok choy, cooked 3 oz. Turnip greens, cooked 3 oz. Mustard greens, cooked 3 oz. Collard greens, cooked 3 oz. Romaine lettuce, raw 3 oz. Kale, cooked 3 oz. Sesame seeds, raw 1 Tbsp. Broccoli, cooked 3 oz. Tofu, raw firm 1/2 cup Green beans, cooked 3 oz. Soy beans, cooked 1 cup Orange one Almond butter, raw 1 Tbsp. Calories Calcium in mg. Calcium per calorie 12 20 15 26 12 28 52 28 183 35 254 64 101 Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture data 93 137 74 119 31 72 87 46 258 46 261 56 43 7.8 6.9 4.9 4.6 2.6 2.6 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.3 1 0.9 0.4 sources of calcium, potassium, vitamin K, magnesium, and vegetable protein, as well as the phytochemicals (such as isoflavones) and micronutrients that are gaining recognition as important for bones. Keep in mind that the current U.S. daily calcium recommendation of 1200 to 1500 mg for postmenopausal women is an attempt to offset the ill effects of the typical vegetable- and nutrient-deficient American diet, which is laden with salt, caffeine, and junk-food. Sadly, even this attempt to flood the body with extra calcium to compensate for poor nutrition has not been proven to prevent fractures.4 (See table on p.4 for good sources of calcium.) Weight bearing and resistance exercise are extremely important to bone strength,and can reverse osteoporosis even in postmenopausal women.5 Walking is particularly important to hip bone strength. Vitamin D might be more important to bone strength than calcium. Vitamin D promotes the uptake of calcium from the intestines and also increases bone building. The sun is probably our best source of vitamin D.Vitamin D needs are probably met with 15 minutes of exposure in the middle of the day three times per week. Many studies have shown that vitamin D supplements increase bone density in postmenopausal women; however, a recent comprehensive review of the subject determined that the efficacy of vitamin D supplements had not been proven.6 If you haven’t had your vitamin D blood levels checked, you might consider it so that you can increase your sun exposure or add a supplement if necessary. Avoid toxins. The ingestion of animal protein—especially when combined with low vegetable intake, steroids, caffeine, cigarettes, vitamin A (retinol—found only in animal foods, fortified foods, and vitamin pills),and salt all have been associated with weak bones. ■ About the Author Anna Quisel, M.D., is a board-certified family physician with extensive experience in urgent care and research. Currently, she is heading research projects for DrFuhrman Online, including working with Dr. Fuhrman on a long-term prospective study in conjunction with the University of Southern California. References 1. Feskanich D, Willett WC, Colditz GA. Calcium, vitamin D, milk consumption and hip fractures: a prospective study among postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77(2): 504-11. 2. Weinsier RL, Krumdieck CL. Dairy foods and bone health: examination of the evidence. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;72:681-689. 3. Fugita T. Comparison of osteoporosis and calcium intake between Japan and the United States. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1992;200: 149-52. 4. Hegsted, DM. Fractures, calcium and the modern diet. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;74 (5): 571-573. 5. Bonaiuti D, Shea B, Iovine R, Negrini S, Robinson V, Kepmer HC, Wells G, Tugwell P, Cranney A. Exercise for preventing and treating osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The Cochrane Library 2003 (2). 6. Gillespie WJ, Avenell A, Henry DA, O’Connell DL, Roberston J. Vitamin D and vitamin D analogues for preventing fractures associated with involutional and postmenopausal osteoporosis. The Cochrane Library 2003 (2). Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Strategies Vitally important steps you can take to avoid the debilitating problems of bone loss and osteoporosis By Joel Fuhrman, M.D. O steoporosis affects 8 million American women and 2 million men, causing 1.5 million fractures each year. As many as 18 million additional Americans may have low bone density (osteopenia), a precursor to osteoporosis. As women age, many suffer from a collapse of their lumbar vertebrae, resulting in pain and disability. Even after screening and diagnosis, most women are offered only drugs and calcium.Physicians rarely address the additional causes of osteoporosis. 1. Check your Vitamin D level. Over the years, I have checked my patients’ vitamin D levels (25 hydroxy) regularly. Surprisingly, a high percentage of people are vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency is a leading cause of osteoporosis, but I routinely encounter women who, although taking calcium and drugs such as Fosomax, remain vitamin D deficient. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency I have seen in patients (primarily new patients) is in spite of the fact that most of them were taking a multivitamin with the standard 400 IU of vitamin D. My medical practice is in New Jersey, which offers fewer year-round opportunities for sun exposure than more southerly areas, but people everywhere are trying to avoid the sun because of the skin cancer risks and aging of the skin.Therefore, I recommend that your vitamin D level be checked occasionally at a routine physician visit to assure an adequate level. 2. Do not take vitamin A in a supplement or multivitamin. It has been known for some time that vitamin A in high doses can be associated with birth defects—such as cleft palate and (See Osteoporosis Prevention p. 6) DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 5 Osteoporosis Prevention Continued from page 5 heart abnormalities—but current research suggests the dose at which you become at risk is lower than previously thought. After studying the dietary habits of almost 23,000 pregnant women, researchers were surprised to find that even the doses found in standard vitamin pills resulted in a quadrupling of birth defects. Do you think vitamin A is only toxic to pregnant women and perfectly safe for everyone else? Of course, you don’t. Researchers have found that even relatively low doses of vitamin A also are linked to calcium loss in the urine and to osteoporosis.Taking any vitamin A is unnatural and unwise. We make all the vitamin A we need from the carotenoids in fresh produce. 3. Do not consume more than 1500 mg of sodium daily. All the excess salt Americans consume, leading to high blood pressure and other medical problems, also contributes to calcium loss in the urine and osteoporosis. The excess sodium you consume each day must be excreted, and this process also washes away and wastes your calcium stores. 4. Do back exercises at least twice weekly. Bones are living, dynamic organs. Your bones continually are dissolving old bone tissue and rebuilding new bone tissue. Bone strength is directly proportional to muscle strength. Bones, like muscles, respond to stress by becoming bigger and stronger, and, like muscles, bones weaken and literally shrink if not used. Most women have been told by their physicians to do weight-bearing exercises such as walking and stair climbing to avoid bone loss. While these exercises may be helpful for developing hip muscles and bones, they do not protect the spine from bone loss. It is essential to exercise your back. (See box at right for recommended back exercises.) Studies have found that a backstrengthening exercise program can provide significant, long-lasting protection against spinal fractures in women at risk for osteoporosis. One such study involved postmenopausal women, ages 5875. Half performed back-strengthening exercises for two years, while the other half served as the control group. Almost all of the vertebral compression fractures that occurred during the ten years the women were studied occurred in the control group.The exercise group retained a significant advantage in back strength, even eight years after the exercise program ended, and its members had significantly higher bone density than those in the control group.1 Reference 1. Sinaki M. Stronger back muscles reduce the incidence of vertebral fractures: a prospective 10year follow-up of postmenopausal women. Bone, 2002;30:6:836-841. Aging of the Skin Here are three secrets to help prevent premature wrinkling and aging of the skin. “Bring me a pack of cigarettes, a double Scotch on the rocks, and the ‘Health Salad Supreme.’” 6 DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 1. Avoid the sun because, with our lower level of ozone protection, we see a more profound level of skin damage from sunshine. Sunscreen offers some protection, but protective clothing is even better. 2. Avoid the sun even on cloudy days because the sun’s rays penetrate clouds. 3. Eat a high-nutrient diet. Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live diet is the most effective anti-aging treatment for your entire body, including your skin. Exercises that Help Prevent Osteoporosis By Joel Fuhrman, M.D. T he first three back exercises involve use of gym equipment. Never attempt to lift heavy weights with your back. Perform smooth movements with an amount of weight light enough for you to be comfortable doing at least twenty repetitions. 1. Seated cable row: With knees slightly bent, lean forward, then pull the handles back to your chest with elbows wide as your back comes to vertical. 2. Wide cable pull downs: Pull down the cable to your chest with elbows wide as you lean back to a sixtydegree angle. 3. Back extensions: Lean over exercise ball, and arch your back up like a reverse sit up, or use a back extension chair made for this exercise. 4. Superman: While lying on your stomach, lift trunk and legs up off the ground like a bow. 5. 6. Alternate Superman: Use alternate arm and leg to perform the superman. Weighted backpack: Wear a weighted backpack for a few hours per week. Normal activities of moving around and getting up and down with a weighted backpack on strengthens the back. Your Best Sources of Calcium Don’t be fooled by deceptive labeling. Dairy products are a poor choice. By Jeff Novick, R.D. utritionists do not compare foods or nutrients in terms of weight, volume, or portion size. Comparing foods that way can be very misleading. For example, let’s compare calcium content in various foods by volume. N One cup Skim Milk Kale Bok Choy Broccoli calcium 300 mg. 180 mg. 158 mg. 95 mg. Compared by volume, milk seems to be the winner. However, your body absorbs calcium differently from different foods. For example, only about 32 percent of the calcium in milk is absorbed, while 54 percent of the calcium in bok choy is absorbed. So let’s modify the chart and Step by Step Continued from page 8 creams). So I went back to Dr. Fuhrman again and asked how I could really fix it. He put me on what I call my “green diet,”which is essentially the same as the diet he recommends in his book Eat To Live. These days, I eat a pound of raw veggies (mostly leafy greens) and a pound of cooked green veggies each day, with unlimited fruits and beans, and eat only a small amount of starchy vegetables and grains. I consume no extracted oils, about one half an avocado, and only a small amount of raw, unsalted nuts and seeds in addition to my flaxseed and walnuts. I include eggs and compare by rate of absorption: One cup calcium percent absorbed Skim Milk Kale Bok Choy Broccoli 300 mg. 180 mg. 158 mg. 95 mg. 32% 59% 54% 53% 96 mg. 106 mg. 85 mg. 50 mg. Compared by absorption, kale wins and milk doesn’t seem so special. Now we make our final adjustment. Let’s compare not by volume and rate of absorption, but by equal number of calories and rate of absorption: 100 calories calcium Skim Milk Kale Bok Choy Broccoli 334 mg. 449 mg. 787 mg. 189 mg. percent absorbed 32% 59% 54% 53% 107 mg. 265 mg. 425 mg. 100 mg. As you can see, calorie-for-calorie, leafy green vegetables are far better sources of calcium than skim milk, and the same can be shown for other dairy products. ■ fish in my diet about once each week. On this plan, my psoriasis has mostly disappeared, reoccurring only when I deviate from my diet and include too many starches. Even then, it is much milder. I can use the ointment for a few days and the psoriasis won’t reappear for months. I feel good. Headaches, asthma, bronchitis, and severe allergies are in the past.I take no medications and breathe easily. Although I did not switch all at once to Dr. Fuhrman’s recommended diet, each step I took was permanent. I have made steady improvements in my health over the course of sixteen years.This step-by-step approach has worked wonders for me. ■ DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 7 Feature Story Regaining My Health Step by Step Since my first visit with Dr.Fuhrman, my health and my family’s health have improved steadily. By Ondria J.Wasem A s a graduate student in the mid-1980s, I suffered from asthma, headaches, and allergies. I took the oral medication theophylline, plus two inhaled medications for my asthma, Tylenol for my headaches, and Sudafed for my allergies. I developed bronchitis at least once each year, for which I took antibiotics and sometimes codeine. After a while, I developed recurring migraine headaches, for which I tried the standard medication. My diet had always been fairly mainstream. I had experienced many food allergies throughout my life, and found that raw fruits and vegetables made my tongue, throat, and the inside of my mouth itchy and uncomfortable. As a result, I ate all of my vegetables cooked,except for lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes. I avoided fruit altogether, hoping to prevent allergic reactions. As years went by,I became more aware of the importance of healthful eating and improved my diet somewhat. But it wasn’t until after my first child was born that I found out about a truly healthful approach to eating. My son was born in 1994. By the time he was 18 months old, he was on antibiotics and suffering with his fourth ear infection. Fortunately, I was referred to Joel Fuhrman, M.D. After one consultation with Dr. Fuhrman, I changed my son’s diet. He has never suffered another ear infection. After reading a few articles and information sheets about nutrition by Dr. Fuhrman, and attending one of his lectures,I began to make small changes in my diet. For one thing, I began to eat a large salad with my lunch every day, without fail. I felt a 8 DR. FUHRMAN’S HEALTHY TIMES • JULY 2003 little bit healthier, but I still wasn’t committed to following all of Dr. Fuhrman’s nutritional advice. The real turning point for me came when Dr. Fuhrman helped me through a severe sinus infection. Only then did I realize I had found an expert on whom I could confidently rely for tangible benefits. I often got a cold early in the winter. My sinuses would clog up, and I would feel uncomfortable for months. Dr Fuhrman gave me a menu plan of nothing but raw fruits and vegetables, and stated that my sinuses likely would clear in three days. I pointed out that this condition had already lasted almost two months,to which he replied it might take as long as ten days. I followed his instructions exactly, and one week later my sinuses were clear. I was hooked; I use this method whenever I catch a cold and have not had bronchitis or sinusitis since. No more antibiotics for me! There were more benefits to come. I had my second child in 1999, and during the pregnancy I developed psoriasis. I consulted with a dermatologist who put me on a strong steroidal ointment. When I told Dr. Fuhrman about it, he increased my intake of omega-3 by adding a tablespoon of ground flaxseed and a handful of walnuts each day, increased the amount of vegetables, and had me totally eliminate milk products. The outbreaks came less frequently, which was good. However, they didn’t go away completely. By the time 2002 rolled around, I was totally fed up with the psoriasis (and using steroid (See Step by Step p. 7)