All Videos for Standard American Diet

Garlic & Raisins to Prevent Premature Birth

Consumption of even small amounts of garlic or raisins are associated with significantly lower risk of pregnant women going into premature labor or having their water break too soon.



Collaboration with the New Vectors of Disease

Appeasement by the food industry through partnerships with children’s organizations to steer the focus to inactivity rather than our diet recalls tobacco industry-style tactics and may require tobacco industry-style regulation.



What’s the Best Mouthwash?

There’s a cheap concoction one can make at home that safely wipes out cavity-forming bacteria on our teeth better than chlorhexidine mouthwash and also reduces their plaque-forming ability.



Evidence-Based Medicine or Evidence-Biased?

Evidence-based medicine may ironically bias medical professionals against the power of dietary intervention.



Saving Lives by Treating Acne with Diet

Over-activated TOR signaling may help explain the link between acne and subsequent risk for prostate and breast cancer.



Cooking to Live Longer

Does cooking meals at home lead to improved health outcomes? And how do TV dinners compare nutritionally to TV-chef recipes?



Alzheimer’s Disease: Grain Brain or Meathead?

Grain consumption appears strongly protective against Alzheimer’s disease, whereas animal fat intake has been linked to dementia risk.



When Low-Risk Means High-Risk

Dr. Rose’s sick-population concept may explain why many nutrition studies underestimate the role of diet in disease.



Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

Nutritional quality indices show plant-based diets are the healthiest, but do vegetarians and vegans reach the recommended daily intake of protein?



Eggs and Arterial Function

Even studies funded by the American Egg Board show our arteries benefit from not eating eggs.



Debunking Egg Industry Myths

The latest meta-analysis of studies on egg consumption and heart disease risk found that even less than a single egg a day is associated with increased risk of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes.



Treating Asthma with Fruits and Vegetables

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to seven servings a day appears to cut asthma exacerbation rates in half, whereas restricting consumption to Standard American Diet levels leads to a significant worsening of lung function and asthma control.



Taxpayer Subsidies for Unhealthy Foods

What if billions in tax dollars were invested in healthier options, rather than given to corporations to subsidize the very foods that are making us sick?



Caloric Restriction vs. Animal-Protein Restriction

The lifespan extension associated with dietary restriction may be due less to a reduction in calories, and more to a reduction in animal protein (particularly the amino acid leucine, which may accelerate aging via the enzyme TOR).



Phytates for the Prevention of Cancer

Phytic acid (phytate), concentrated in food such as beans, whole grains, and nuts, may help explain lower cancer rates among plant-based populations.



Dr. Burkitt’s F-Word Diet

The famous surgeon Denis Burkitt suggests an explanation for why many of our most common and deadliest diseases were rare or even nonexistent in populations eating plant-based diets.



Turmeric Curcumin and Osteoarthritis

The yellow pigment curcumin in the spice turmeric may work as well as, or better than, anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.



Arteries of Vegans vs. Runners

The carotid arteries of those eating plant-based diets appear healthier than even those just as slim (long-distance endurance athletes who’ve run an average of 50,000 miles).



Antioxidant-Rich Foods with Every Meal

To stay out of oxidative debt, we need to take in more antioxidants than we use up.



How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA”

Even nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day may not reach the minimum recommended intake of antioxidants if one doesn’t make the right choices.



Minimum “Recommended Daily Allowance” of Antioxidants

How many antioxidant-rich foods do we need to eat every day just to stay out of oxidative debt?



One in a Thousand: Ending the Heart Disease Epidemic

Many of our most common diseases found to be rare, or even nonexistent, among populations eating plant-based diets.



The Broccoli Receptor: Our First Line of Defense

There is a receptor in our intestines activated by phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables that boosts immune function (the aryl hydrocarbon [Ah] receptor).



Canned Beans or Cooked Beans?

Canned beans are convenient, but are they as nutritious as home-cooked? And, if we do use canned, should we drain them or not?



Testing Your Diet with Pee and Purple Cabbage

Plant-based diets tend to be alkaline-forming. This may help protect muscle mass, and reduce the risk of gout and kidney stones. The pH of one’s urine can be estimated with natural pigments, using kitchen chemistry.



Methionine Restriction as a Life-Extension Strategy

Plant-based diets may prove to be a useful nutrition strategy in both cancer growth control as well as lifespan extension, because these diets are naturally lower in methionine.



Which Seaweed Is Most Protective Against Breast Cancer?

Nori seaweed snacks may favorably alter estrogen metabolism by modulating women’s gut flora, resulting in decreased breast cancer risk.



Breast Cancer Risk: Red Wine vs. White Wine

Modest lifestyle changes that include the avoidance of alcohol may cut the odds of breast cancer in half, but certain grapes appear to contain natural aromatase inhibitors that may undermine the ability of breast tumors to produce their own estrogen.



Plant-Based Diets for Breast Pain

Plant-based diets appear to offer relief from a variety of menstrual symptoms, including cramping, bloating, and breast pain (cyclical mastalgia).



Flaxseeds vs. Prostate Cancer

What happens when men with prostate cancer and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) are placed on a relatively low-fat diet, supplemented with ground flax seeds?



98% of American Diets Potassium-Deficient

Less than 2% of Americans achieve even the recommended minimum adequate intake of potassium, due primarily to inadequate plant food intake.



How Fast Can Children Detoxify from PCBs?

Based on the half-life of industrial pollutants children may be exposed to in the womb or at the breast, how many years does it take for them to detoxify their bodies (assuming they’re brought up on a healthy diet)?



Too Much Soy May Neutralize Benefits

Vegans consuming 7 to 18 servings of soy foods a day may end up with circulating IGF-1 levels comparable to those who eat meat.



How Plant-Based to Lower IGF-1?

Those eating vegan had significantly lower IGF-1 levels and higher IGF-binding proteins than those just eating vegetarian, suggesting that the more plant-based one’s diet becomes, the lower one’s risk of fueling growth hormone-dependent cancer growth.



The Answer to the Pritikin Puzzle

Lower cancer rates among those eating a plant-based diet may be a result of reduced blood levels of IGF-1, and enhanced production of IGF-1 binding protein.



Some Prostates Are Larger Than Others

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH—an enlarged prostate gland—affects 80% of older men, but like many other Western chronic diseases, it appears to be a consequence of our diet.



Is It the Diet, the Exercise, or Both?

Whose blood is better at killing cancer cells? People who eat a standard diet and exercise strenuously, or those who eat a plant-based diet and just exercise moderately?



Ex Vivo Cancer Proliferation Bioassay

Two weeks on a plant-based diet appears to significantly enhance cancer defenses against breast cancer and colon cancer cells. The blood of those eating a vegan diet for a year suppresses cancer cell growth nearly eight times better.



Optimal Phytosterol Dose

Those eating plant-based diets get the most phytosterols, but there’s still room for improvement to maximize cholesterol reduction.



Mineral of the Year—Magnesium

Despite promising autopsy and population data suggesting that inadequate magnesium intake is a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, it wasn’t until recently that this was demonstrated in prospective studies.