Bill Clinton: "I Live On Beans"

September 22, 2010. CNN Transcript:

BLITZER: My last question, and it comes to me as a lot of my followers, as they're called on Twitter, sent me this question. They wanted me to ask you a variation of this question. How did you lose so much weight? What kind of diet are you on?

CLINTON: Well, the short answer is, I went on essentially a plant-based diet. I live on beans, legumes, vegetables, fruit. I drink a protein supplement every morning. No dairy. I drink almond milk mixed in with fruit and a protein powder. So I get the protein for the day when I start the day out.

And it changed my whole metabolism, and I lost 24 pounds, and I got back basically what I weighed in high school. But I did it for a different reason. I mean, I wanted to lose a little weight. But I never dreamed this would happen.

I did it because, after I had this stent put in, I realized that, even though it happens quite often that, after you have bypasses, you lose the veins, because they're thinner and weaker than arteries, the truth is that it clogged up, which means that the cholesterol was still causing buildup in my vein that was part of my bypass. And thank God I could take the stents. I don't want it to happen again.

So I did all this research, and I saw that 82 percent of the people since 1986 who have gone on a plant-based, no dairy, no meat of any kind, no chicken or turkey, and I eat very little fish. Once in a while, I will have a little fish, not often. But if you can do it, 82 percent of the people who have done that, they've begun to heal themselves. Their arterial blockage cleans up. The calcium deposits around their heart breaks up.

This movement has been led by a doctor named Caldwell Esselstyn* at the Cleveland Clinic, Dean Ornish whom you know out in California, the doctors Campbell, father and son, who wrote The China Study, and a handful of others.

But we now have 25 years of evidence, and so I thought, well, since I needed to lose a little weight for Chelsea's wedding, I'll become part of this experiment, I'll see if I can be one of those that can have a self-clearing mechanism. We'll see.

BLITZER: I hope you're healthy for many years and get to see grandchildren for many years.

CLINTON: Me, too. That's really the big deal. You know, Hillary and I, we're happy. We love our son-in-law, and we admire him, but -- and we'd like to be around if there's grandkids. We want to be there to do our part.

BLITZER: Mr. President, good luck.

CLINTON: Thank you.
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* Dr. Esselstyn's diet also omits all oil. No olive oil, soybean oil, corn oil, coconut oil, fish oil, or any other processed or extracted fat/oil.

How To Farm The Great Plains

In Empire of the Summer Moon, S. C. Gwynne discussed water, or lack thereof, in America's Plains states during the reign of the Comanche:

"If warriors were on the trail and short of water, they might drink the warm blood of the buffalo straight from its veins."

And food:

"[Buffalo] entrails were sometimes eaten, stripped of their contents by using two fingers. (If fleeing pursuers, a Comanche would ride his horse till it dropped, cut it open, remove its intestines, wrap them around his neck, and take off on a fresh horse, eating their contents later.)"

Comanche survived on buffalo. They ate most parts save for the heart:

"They ate the kidneys and the paunch [stomach]. Children would rush up to a freshly killed animal, begging for its liver and gallbladder. They would then squirt the salty bile from the gallbladder onto the liver and eat it on the spot, warm and dripping blood."

"If a slain female was giving milk, Comaches would cut into the udder bag and drink the milk mixed with warm blood. One of the greatest delicacies was the warm curdled milk from the stomach of a suckling calf."

Comanches didn't farm. One reason: they didn't have to. The Plains were a virtual sea of buffalo in the 1700s, and buffalo provided most of Comanche needs: food, fuel (dung), shelter, clothing, tools (rope from twisted hair, water pouches from paunches, horn spoons), and weapons.

Another reason, as a semi-arid grassland the Plains were inhospitable to agriculture. In 1823, geographer Edwin James wrote of the region:

"I do not hesitate in giving the opinion, that it is almost wholly unfit for cultivation, and of course, uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence. Although tracts of fertile land considerably extensive are occasionally to be met with, yet the scarcity of wood and water, almost uniformly prevalent, will prove an insuperable obstacle in the way of settling the country."

So, what happened to the Plains that made it farmable? The Texas Panhandle was part of Comanche territory in the early 19th century. Here it is today. Keep your eye on Amarillo.



Let's zoom in:



A little closer, and to the north of Amarillo, near Dumas, TX:



Closer (These are photos, not drawings):



Closer:



I want to thank BL for showing this to me. I was gobsmacked, still am. I had no idea how dependant this area is on irrigation.
________The satellite photos of irrigated farms are from Google Maps. I can't tell if I'm allowed to post them on my noncommercial blog here. If I take them down, I hope you understand.

Potato-Eating In The Andes

The excerpt below was from a reference in my previous post (Andean Nutrition, Exchange, and Ritual, Joseph W. Bastien):

"Rivaling the Irish, Aymaras eat potatoes for five meals during the day. Principal meals consist of quinoa or potato soup and a heaping bowl of many varieties of boiled potatoes. The potato skins are given to the guinea pigs. In spite of the nutritional value of the peels, Aymaras as well as other Andeans consider eating them pi-like behavior. Nutritionists should not hope to change this view.

The peeled potatoes are dipped in a spicy hot sauce called afí (chili peppers and tomatoes). The meal is very bland and relatively tasteless for Westerners, but Aymaras relish the different species of potatoes, popping them into their mouths and commenting whether the potato is a "Red Maiden," "Bitter Potato," or some other of the hundred or more varieties that they cultivate.

Aymaras freeze-dry potatoes to make Ch'uño by laying potatoes on the ground during June, the coldest month, to freeze at night and sweat from the sun during the day while they shuffle through them, squeezing out the water, so that they shrink to the size of marbles. Ch'uño has four times the energy value in calories as that of unprocessed potatoes."

Hundreds of varieties of potatoes. Freeze-dried potato marbles. Life is short.
________Photos are from the International Potato Center located in Peru, from the 2004 annual harvest at San Jose de Aymara.
Pi-like behavior?

Cañahua: Quinoa's Cousin

A new grain! For me at least.



On the left is the dry grain toasted in a skillet (on low for about 20 minutes), then simmered for about 20 minutes. It reminds me of quinoa, but crunchy. Love the toasted flavor. (The red color is not from toasting; it's how it cooks up, which was surprising given the color of the raw grain.)

It made a great side dish with onions, carrots, and minced (cooked) kale. I may try it in a cold salad, something like Autumn's fabulous Quinoa Tabbouleh.

Cañahua Facts:^{1, 2}

• Indigenous to the harsh plains of Peru and Bolivia (potatoes also originated in the high Andes)
  
• Grows well at high altitudes
  
• Resistant to frost, drought, salty soil and pests
  
• Seeds are tiny, about 1 millimeter diameter
  
• Seeds lack bitter-tasting saponin coat of quinoa
  
• Gluten-free, can be consumed by those sensitive to wheat, rye, barley, oats
  
• Less starchy (lower in carbs) than the rice and noodles which are replacing it in local cuisine
  
• High in protein (higher than quinoa), protein is complete which is unusual for a grain (includes lysine and methionine), amino acid composition similar to milk protein (casein), traditionally used for weaning
  
• High in fiber
  
• Low in fat (half the fat of quinoa)
  
• High in magnesium, calcium, iron, and other minerals

Cañahua is also used to make a hot chocolate-type drink sold on the streets of Puno and Cuzco, and a type of beer (Ronald?) or chicha.



I hope ... the more people who hear about cañahua, and try it, and like it, and buy it, the less risk there will be of losing it to the black hole of modern industrialized food production.
________¹ Cañahua Deserves To Come Back
² Andean Nutrition, Exchange, and Ritual, Joseph W. Bastien

Anthony Hopkins: "I Lost Too Much."

Interesting. Many think he looks better in the before photo on the right. What do you think?

Left: Hopkins in 2009. Right: Hopkins in 2006:



Here's Hopkins talking to Cindy Adams:*

"For seven years I'm with my third wife, who's 18 years younger and a nurturer. I'm a loner. Very few friends. None actors. She has her Spanish lady friends around, and I love that. We have a ball. I'm not looking for women, but I do love the ladies."

"I lost too much, 75 pounds in two years. But I gained a little back in Europe. I was addicted to bread, cookies, whatnot. I love all the bad stuff. My wife's no dictator, but she said I must stick to a regimen. So I'm in the gym six days a week, I power walk, live on 800 calories a day. No pasta. No seconds. A sandwich occasionally. Now I'm a health nut. I can't get back into my wardrobe. I gave it all away to some mission. I tried tailoring the pants but they look ridiculous."

I wonder what he considers "bad stuff?" Other than bread, cookies, and pasta.
________* I didn't know who Cindy Adams was. Wikipedia says she is a gossip columnist from New York City. (Again, New York City. Why not Dodge City? Why aren't we interested in Dodge gossip? Or Rapid City? Is there no dirty laundry in Rapid City? Okay, no offense.) Wikipedia also spoke of Adams' sudden unexplained disappearance from the pages of the New York Post last May. Just Gone. She resurfaced yesterday, via this column which essentially thanked Judge Judy and a team from New York-Presbyterian hospital for saving her life. Well, I'm glad you're back, Cindy Adams. I enjoyed this brief piece on Mr. Hopkins' weight fluctuation. I look forward to like nitty gritty. (The job of Gossip Columnist sounds fun. I guess you can't be the antisocial type, though.)

Photos from Huffington Post.

Six Food Myths

BL sent this:

6 Biggest Myths About Food Busted, Huffington Post, Sept 17

Here they are:

• Myth 1: Eggs are bad for your heart.
  
• Myth 2: High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for you than sugar.
  
• Myth 3: A raw-food diet provides enzymes that are essential to healthy digestion.
  
• Myth 4: Your body can’t use the protein from beans unless you eat them with rice.
  
• Myth 5: Microwaving zaps nutrients.
  
• Myth 6: Radiation from microwaves creates dangerous compounds in your food.

Believe it or not, I agree with all of these (I agree that they are myths). Do you?

I was expecting to go into it saying, "Oh, give me a break." But their justifications all make sense. I'm glad I'm not as cynical as I imagine.
________

NSAIDs Increase Risk For Heart Attack And Stroke

Since I've been neglecting my blog, let me post some info about NSAIDs that came up at work.

NSAIDs are short for NonSteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. They include ibuprofen (e.g. Motrin and Advil), naproxen (Aleve), and prescription-only diclofenac (e.g. Voltaren and Cataflam), celecoxib (Celebrex), and rofecoxib (Vioxx, now withdrawn).

NSAIDs are not benign. People who read this blog probably know this, but NSAIDs:

• Raise blood pressure and when taken consistently can contribute to hypertension.¹
  
• Adversely affect the kidneys. (They decrease the kidney's filtration rate (Glomerular Filtration Rate: GFR) and cause sodium and fluid retention.)²
  
• Increase risk for bleeding.
  
• Increase risk for heart attack.
  
• Increase risk for stroke.

Each NSAID has a better or worse profile for the items above but most have some level of these effects. For example, all NSAIDs raise blood pressure, but how much depends on the dose and schedule (when and for how long you take it).

It's the last two in this list that have been drawing attention. Earlier this year a group of researchers from Denmark reported in the American Heart Association's prestigious journal Circulation that short-term use of NSAIDs increased risk for heart attack - in healthy people. We already knew about the heart attack risk with NSAIDs, but not its effect on an apparently healthy population.

They started with the entire Danish population over 10 years, over 4.5 million people, and filtered out anyone who had been admitted to the hospital within the past 5 years and had no chronic use of any serious medication. That left a little over one million people. This was not an insignificant study.

The above was heart attack risk. Last month at the European Society of Cardiology's 2010 Congress, the same authors reported an increased risk for stroke from NSAIDs in a similar large and healthy Danish population.

One of the study's authors, Dr. Gunnar Gislason:

"This is very serious, as these drugs are very widely used, with many available over the counter. ... We need to get the message out to healthcare authorities that these drugs need to be regulated more carefully."

From that same Heartwire article:

"Gislason noted that there was also a dose-relationship found, with the increased risk of stroke reaching 90% (HR 1.90) with doses of ibuprofen over 200 mg and 100% (HR 2.0) with diclofenac doses over 100 mg. He pointed out that the results were particularly striking, given that this study was conducted in healthy individuals."

Doses of ibuprofen over 200mg? That's anything more than one cheap over-the-counter Advil caplet.

Gislason:

"If half the population takes these drugs, even on an occasional basis, then this could be responsible for a 50% to 100% increase in stroke risk. It is an enormous effect."

NSAIDs are effective pain relievers. Sometimes need for pain relief outweighs risk for heart attack or stroke. Who should weigh this? The consumer or the physician? Should NSAIDs be made available only by prescription?
________¹NSAIDs, Coxibs, and Cardio-Renal Physiology: A Mechanism-Based Evaluation: Coxibs and Hypertension, Medscape, 2002
² Renal Effects Of Cyclooxygyenase-2-Selective Inhibitors, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2002

"[NSAIDs] are associated with adverse renal effects caused by the reduction in synthesis of renal prostaglandins through inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX)."

Genetically Engineered "Monster" Salmon Safe To Eat, Says FDA

"Food from the salmon “is as safe as food from conventional Atlantic salmon,” the F.D.A. said in its analysis, which was posted¹ on its Web site Friday. “There is a reasonable certainty of no harm from consumption of food from this animal.”
- Modified Salmon Is Safe, F.D.A. Says, NYT, Sept 3 2010

How Monster Salmon Are Engineered

"The AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon contains a growth hormone gene from the Chinook salmon that is kept active all year round by a genetic on-switch from a different fish, the ocean pout.

Normally, salmon produce growth hormone only in warm weather. So with the hormone produced year round, the AquAdvantage salmon grow faster.

One issue that might attract some discussion ... The engineered salmon have slightly higher levels of insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a hormone related to growth hormone. Some studies suggest that high levels of IGF-1 ... are associated with greater cancer risk."

Will you eat it?
I take that back. I suppose we won't know we're eating it because it won't be labeled.
________¹ BRIEFING PACKET, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, Advisory Committee, Re: AquAdvantage Salmon, September 20, 2010
Photo from NYTs article: "A salmon genetically engineered to grow faster and an unmodified salmon of the same age."

Mouth And Throat Exercises For Sleep Apnea

I've been busy with work but I came across this study and wanted to post it for Jody.

Short of a CPAP machine and weight loss to reduce the pauses in breathing that sleep apnea sufferers experience, this study found that mouth and throat exercises were remarkably effective at improving breathing, reducing snoring, and reducing daytime sleepiness and mood swings (those related to poor sleep at least).

Since sleep apnea is now known to contribute to high blood pressure, insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease, there's the chance that going through these motions could add years to your life, if not improve its quality:

Effects of Oropharyngeal Exercises on Patients with Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2009

The second page of the study details the actual exercises. In brief, they involve combinations of sucking, swallowing, chewing, breathing, and speaking. Oh, and tongue brushing (with a toothbrush). For about 30 minutes a day in total.

Here's a video that accompanied the article:


________