Shrinking someone's stomach to the size of a walnut with surgery is one way to battle obesity and diabetes and may be lifesaving for a few, but it doesn't address the underlying causes.
Placing too much emphasis on a yes/no diagnosis, meaning you either have a disease or you don't, can lead even the most well-meaning physicians to miss underlying causes and early warning signs of illness.
The very fact that we are having a national conversation about what we should eat, that we are struggling with the question about what the best diet is, is symptomatic of how far we have strayed from the natural conditions that gave rise to our species, from the simple act of eating real, whole, fresh food.
Don't get me wrong, I admire elegance and have an appreciation of the finer things in life. But to me, beauty lies in simplicity.
I have experienced some amazing food! Yet when I think about the most luxurious and exquisite meals I have had, visions of simple food made from a few natural ingredients are what most excite me.
It is just physics - who can argue with Newton and the first law of thermodynamics?
The food industry profits from providing poor quality foods with poor nutritional value that people eat a lot of.
The best advice is to avoid foods with health claims on the label, or better yet avoid foods with labels in the first place.
Most schools have only a microwave or deep fryer, hardly the tools needed to feed our children real, fresh food.
While weight loss is important, what's more important is the quality of food you put in your body - food is information that quickly changes your metabolism and genes.
Your social networks may matter more than your genetic networks. But if your friends have healthy habits you are more likely to as well. So get healthy friends.
We need a grassroots movement and government policies and programs to change the food landscape and the built environment to give our children a chance to have happy, healthy successful lives.
The body maintains balance in only a handful of ways. At the end of the day, disease occurs when these basic systems are out of whack.
You cannot control the primitive urges and hormones that drive your eating behavior.
Part of my training was learning how to refer patients to cardiologists for heart problems, gastroenterologists for stomach issues, and rheumatologists for joint pain. Given that most physicians were trained this way, it's no wonder that the average Medicare patient has six doctors and is on five different medications.
Tricking your brain into thinking you are getting something sweet plays dirty tricks on your metabolism.
Seems you can't outsmart Mother Nature.
You are more likely to be overweight if your friend's, friend's friend is overweight than if your parents are overweight.