Column #229

Seeking an easy way out doesn’t work with health. It’s up to each individual to not only learn the appropriate steps, but to actually take the appropriate steps. Unfortunately our society is structured against being successful in both endeavors. The big roadblocks are social norms, the pop-a-pill mentality, and general ignorance in the medical community, media, and schools. So if you want to be healthier, which includes having the appropriate weight for your body type, this column is for you.

I recently received a report by Dr. Parag Goyal, et al. that’s certainly a cautionary tale. It found that an array of commonly prescribed medications that exacerbate heart failure (HF) is often continued or even initiated following a HF hospitalization.¹

Of course it’s rather difficult to believe that medical doctors treating HF patients would prescribe drugs that could actually exacerbate HF. But apparently it’s happening. The “investigators analyzed the use of major HF-exacerbating medications, both at hospital admission and at discharge, in more than 500 older adults hospitalized for HF during more than 700 hospital admissions.” Their findings were not heart warming.

“Medications that can worsen heart failure are commonly used in older adults with heart failure,” said Parag Goyal, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine, division of cardiology, and director of the HFpEF Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City.

“Prior work in this area, coupled with findings from our study, highlight the need for improved processes of medication review and medication optimization—which should include both prescribing and, in some cases, de-prescribing—to ensure the safety and well-being of our patients with heart failure,” he said.²

Drugs are beneficial in that most often they effectively target particular symptoms and therefore bring relief to the afflicted. But they’re also risky because every medication can have an adverse effect, whether a prescription drug, over-the-counter drug, herbal or complementary therapy, or a vitamin supplement. Side effects can be caused by improper dosages, individual reactions, a drug that kills unwanted cells but also damages healthy cells, and interactions between drugs.³

These potential side effects can be magnified when doctors misdiagnose diseases or prescribe the wrong drugs. To me that makes the prescription drug game, no matter in which court it’s being played, a little like playing Russian roulette. This is why focusing on staying healthy or regaining health is so critical for one’s quality of life. Thank goodness when it comes to subduing chronic diseases there are better approaches than drugs.

Chronic diseases are not like injuries or bacterial and viral infections. Chronic diseases, which include obesity, are basically body failings most often caused by abuse. Commonly that abuse is an improper diet. For optimal function human bodies require a very specific food chemistry and the foods that provide the best chemical mix are low glycemic, nutrient dense and diverse, with preferably 1:1 balances of Omega-6 to Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs). This is accomplished by keeping the green leafy plant—not seeds, nuts, vegetable oils, and grains—at the bottom of the food chain.⁴

When people with chronic diseases change their diet by focusing on food with the proper chemistry they’re literally using food as medicine. In nearly all cases a keto/paleo/chemical approach does it best. Proper whole foods are simply a natural part of a metabolical approach (diet, sleep, exercise, and meditation) that address multiple modalities and they rarely if ever have side effects. That’s something drugs can’t match.

Of all the food choices, grass-fed, Omega-3, and wild-caught meats are best at providing all of the many chemicals in the quantities and balances humans require. My first exposure to that idea came from reading a report in 1999 by Dr. Artemis Simopoulos. That’s also when I decided to get into grass-fed meat business. I was already raising grass-fed cattle so it only meant that I had to get them processed and sell the meat. My thoughts at that time were that marketing such a healthy food would be a slam dunk in a nation whose citizens were struggling with healthcare costs that consumed 17% of the nation’s GNP.⁵

Wow, was I way too optimistic. Originally even food retailers like Whole Foods Market laughed at me. Consumers were very skeptical. And the dietary guidelines provided by the government, the medical community, the media, and the education system were certainly no help. Now acceptance lags so much healthcare costs consume 18% of the nation’s GNP.

To this day only a tiny fraction of people eats grass-fed, Omega-3, and wild-caught meats specifically because they are the healthiest food on the planet. Most of the consumers that do eat these meats eat them for other reasons. They think they’re unique, they prefer the flavor, they’re concerned about animal welfare, they want to support small farmers and heritage breeds, etc. To them the nutritional considerations are “nice.” Yet they still consume high glycemic foods and/or foods with very high EFA ratios and other foods with poorly balanced or even missing nutrients. Of course, watering down the benefits of perfect food by mixing in less perfect food means the full benefits of the keto-paleo-food-chemistry approach will fall short.⁶

Losing Weight

Every new year there’s a surge of interest in seeking healthier foods. Weight loss is the primary motivator. For decades it has been proven that the best and quickest way to lose weight is a diet that shuns carbohydrates, sugar, and high Omega-6 EFA foods which Americans eat most. Americans are literally addicted to their grains, grain-fed meats, nuts, seeds, and fruit. Social norms even discourage the best foods which are grass-fed and Omega-3 meats, animal fats, wild-caught seafood, and the green leafy vegetables. Yet it’s these healthier foods that will make overweight people lose weight and keep it off.

In 1999 I weighed 200 pounds. That was after years of lean meats and cutting off the fat, pushing away from the table, eating whole grains, and working on the ranch seven days a week.

When I started paying attention to nutritional science and food chemistry I changed my diet. In a matter of days I was amazed by how fast and how much weight I was losing. It was really easy and it wasn’t long before I weighed 150 pounds. What blew me away was that I was eating more meat, way more animal fat, more eggs, more seafood, and more green leafy vegetables than ever before. I definitely stopped pushing away for the table.

The benefits of the keto-paleo-food-chemistry approach did not start and stop with weight loss. My immune system improved significantly and was I less irritable. My blood pressure moderated and arthritic pains subsided. My heart beat became more regular. To this day I remain drug free while nearly all of my peers are taking prescription drugs. Both of my parents were taking prescription drugs regularly well before they reached my current age. Especially my mother, she actually suffered from the side effects of her daily prescribed drug cocktail. What’s ironic was that she was religious in following the proper guidelines of no fat, no salt, whole grains, lean meats, and all the other nonsense that the USDA (MyPlate) and the medical community still tells people to do to this very day.^{7 8}

This is why my weekly column emphasizes the importance of food chemistry and the sciences of biology and nutrition. Sure, many of the other issues about food that consumers relate to have some merit and should not be totally discounted. But many issues are myths, schmooze, and scaremongering marketing nonsense. This is why I approach the foods I eat with the same approach as a chemist. It’s why I created my Food Analysis Tables.⁹

So, as we enter this new year, I encourage everyone to think of food selections not only as a source of energy and pleasure, but as individual packs of chemicals that will impact brain and body functions. All bodies respond positively to the nutrients humans ate for the past 1.5 million years. That’s why reverting back to mankind’s original diet is a key to health, longevity, and a better quality of life. It also saves on medical bills and the risks associated with going to typical medical doctors and hospitals.¹⁰

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

1. Prescribing Patterns of Heart Failure-Exacerbating Medications Following a Heart Failure Hospitalization by Parag Goyal, et al. an abstract from JACC Journals: Heart Failure

2. Drugs That Worsen Heart Failure Common in Hospitalized HF by Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LSW from Medscape

3. All about Side Effects by Yvette Brazier from Medical News Today

4. Are Humans and Green Leaves Related? By Ted Slanker

5. Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Chronic Disease by Artemis Simopoulos, M.D.

6. 8 Mistakes To Avoid If You're Doing A Ketogenic Diet by Mark Sisson from Men’s Health

7. Too fat? Eat Fat by Ted Slanker

8. USDA Choose MyPlate

9. Food Analysis: EFA, Protein to Fat, Net Carbs, Sugar, and Nutrient Load by Ted Slanker

10. Plants vs. Plant Eaters by Ted Slanker