Soups. All creamed soups are high in fat content. The commercially prepared ones are particularly fat-heavy, and since the fat cannot be readily removed from them, they should not be used. It is always a good idea to read the label carefully on any packaged product from which soup is being made. The law pertaining to the labelling of foods requires a description of any fat contained in the product, so undesirable sources of fat can be avoided.
Low-cholesterol Program. Foods To Avoid.
Soups. All creamed soups are high in fat content. The commercially prepared ones are particularly fat-heavy, and since the fat cannot be readily removed from them, they should not be used. It is always a good idea to read the label carefully on any packaged product from which soup is being made. The law pertaining to the labelling of foods requires a description of any fat contained in the product, so undesirable sources of fat can be avoided.
How Many Years Will Low-fat Living Add To Your Life?
How many years could you add to your life by reducing your weight to normal, and maintaining it there? This is a question that can be answered, and the answer is a dramatic one. No matter what your age may be, you can increase your life span by a definite number of years. What's more, those additional years can be healthy, happy years, full of things that make life worth living - really worth living. In the first six chapters of this book we have heard the part that diet plays in warding off heart disease and in promoting over-all good health. We have seen how your arteries work, and have discovered the nature of the health wrecker - fat. You have been given a program of what foods to eat and what foods to avoid to achieve health, by low-fat living. You have learned how to use dietary supplements and how to count the calories, so as to keep your weight at the proper level. All of these things have been given to you for one purpose - to show you how to live the low-fat way, because the low-fat way is the key to healthier, longer life. Now let's find out how many extra years of health and life you can count on, once you have followed the low-fat way of life.
The Use And Abuse Of Tobacco. Part 3
How can you stop smoking? Perhaps the best insight into "How to Stop Smoking" is Mark Twain's comment: "It's easy to stop smoking - I've done it hundreds of times"! "Doctor," a harassed advertising executive patient of mine said desperately, "I've tried so hard for five years now to give up this awful smoking habit, which I know is so harmful to me, but I just can't seem to be able to. If I stop or even try to, I become so nervous that living with me is utterly impossible. I can't even live with myself. I can't sleep, I can't concentrate, I can't do my work properly, I tremble and go around like Shakespeare's young lover, 'sighing like a furnace,' life doesn't seem worth living. I've tried everything I know or hear of - hypnosis, auto-suggestion, pipes, prayer, preparations on my tongue to make smoking taste bitter, "gimmicks" of all kinds - but I always come back to these - cigarettes. What can I do?" Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, was trained originally as a pharmacologist, and was an inveterate, heavy cigar smoker. Undoubtedly, this habit contributed to his death and great suffering from cancer of the mouth and throat. He recognized his addiction to cigar smoking and its toxic effects on his heart. Yet after stopping several times, he couldn't hold out any longer and found it impossible to work or concentrate without smoking. In a letter to a friend he describes this craving as follows: "I have started smoking again since I still missed it after 14 months' absence, and because I must treat that mind of mine decently, or the fellow will not work for me." (Italics mine.) And still later he wrote, "It was impossible for me to entirely stop smoking, because of my present burden of theoretical and practical worries." Clearly these victims of my "lady nicotine" have become "addicts" of tobacco, and are addicted to it like so many other unfortunates who cannot live without opium, sedatives, or marihuana. The moment they stop tobacco they develop "withdrawal" symptoms that can be truly distressful and even agonizing. Luckily most smokers are not addicts enslaved by tobacco. They can break or modify the habit, so that it becomes harmless although still yielding enjoyment.
The Use And Abuse Of Tobacco. Part 2
How smoking affects the blood vessels. For many years scientists and physicians have studied the effects of smoking on the peripheral blood vessels, i.e., those particularly in the hands and legs. These studies were carried out by all kinds of ingenious instruments that measured the rate of blood flow, the temperature of the tissues around the blood vessels, the degree of narrowing and opening or constriction and dilation of the blood vessels - in all sizes and locations - as influenced by smoking. As a result of these studies it is thoroughly established now that tobacco causes a marked interference with the circulation in the hands, the feet, and the legs. These findings, of course, though very important, are not new to the practising physician, who has seen numerous instances of disease of the blood vessels caused by excessive smoking, mainly through prolonged spasm and constriction of these peripheral blood vessels. Nicotine is the most noxious substance that can effect the blood vessels in man. This is aptly demonstrated in certain diseases such as Buerger's disease (a condition of obliteration of the blood vessels, usually in the legs) which not infrequently require amputation due to gangrene. Still another disease associated with the excessive use of tobacco is Raynaud's Syndrome, a condition characterized by spasm of the small blood vessels in the hands, feet, nose, cheek, and ears. Patients with this disease suffer from blanching of the skin and local pain after exposure to cold, anxiety, fatigue, physical pressure, or shock. This condition may lead to other diseases of the blood vessels. In the conditions of peripheral arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis, especially of the legs, nicotine has been shown to aggravate and increase the constriction already present in the peripheral blood vessels of human subjects. Patients with this condition are far better off without tobacco.
The Use And Abuse Of Tobacco. Part 1
The agreeable effects of smoking. Smoking tobacco is known from time immemorial to produce the following agreeable and enjoyable reactions:
- Smoking is part of the social life from the days of primitive man. It introduces a note of friendliness, relaxation, and sociability. It often creates a subtle bond between strangers, or may help "cut the ice" in a hostile atmosphere. It has its origins in ancient rites and religious ceremonies and so is most welcome to both primitive and civilized man on social occasions. To extract every possible enjoyment and benefit from tobacco, man has smoked it, swallowed it, chewed it, drunk concoctions of it, gargled it, sniffed it up his nose, licked it during ceremonies, smoked it through the nose instead of the mouth, used enemas of it, applied poultices of it, and healed wounds with it. Man has even used tobacco to commit suicide and murder. Now hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of people the world over earn their "daily bread" thanks to tobacco.
- Smoking "soothes" the nerves for many people, and will often help tide them over anxious periods of emotional crises.
- Smoking often is used to relieve pain and shock, as seen after an accident, in war, or in disasters. It may act for many as a sedative and even permit the smoker to go to sleep after a smoke, which might have been impossible without one. Some of my patients who were addicted to smoking could not sleep through the night without getting up at least once during the night for a smoke. (More about this later.)
- Smoking is known to cause a "cooler" sensation in the skin due to the temporary constriction or tightening up of the blood vessels in the skin of the body. This temporary "cooling" sensation is momentarily welcome in times of hot weather or when people are nervous, excited or generally "hot under the collar."
- Smoking may, temporarily, give enjoyment by the action of nicotine, coal-tars, or other ingredients contained in tobacco, by the resultant rise in blood pressure, increase in heart action, release of adrenalin, and consequent increase in blood sugar. These latter physiological and pharmacological effects often cause a temporary feeling of lightness or light-headedness, mental clarity, and what appears to feel like increased physical and mental efficiency.
- Smoking after meals has been considered one of the most enjoyable aspects of dining. For centuries, it has been regarded as an aid to digestion, and a fitting end to each meal. Even in 1599, Henry Buttes, in his "Dyets Dry Dinner Consisting of eight severall Corses" placed tobacco as the last course of the meal, because of its value in overcoming "sorrow, pain, and constipation."
- 7. Smoking often establishes a habit, which, like other habits, gives a certain sense of security and expectancy to many people who look forward to their "smoke." It may give a rhythm-like pattern to daily living, just like the rhythm involved in smoking a cigarette, cigar, or pipe; a kind of "ebb and flow" in the breathing process itself.
The indifferent effects of smoking. Millions of people smoke tobacco merely as an incidental habit, which they adopt solely to be sociable in the business world. Like some of my patients who may be businessmen, salesmen, or in other walks of public life, they smoke to put their business associates, colleagues, clients or customers at ease. Some of my patients, following my caution, will merely light the cigarette necessary for social or business amenities, keep it burning, and simply hold it without smoking. Similarly, the woman who smokes at a bridge game, or who smokes after meals to keep their husbands or friends "company," can "take" smoking or "leave it." These smokers usually do not smoke to excess and frequently avoid the toxic effects of tobacco smoking. It is very easy for them to stop smoking and when they have done so, they rarely miss it. As a rule, these individuals have strong will-power and are not "compulsive," as habitual smokers are apt to be.
The effects of smoking on health. Tobacco is a poison. If you were to consume 2 or 3 cigarettes, the effect might easily prove fatal! This is because nicotine, one of the main ingredients of tobacco, is an old established toxin, or poison, affecting the brain, the heart, and other vital organs. The tobacco plant is directly related to the deadly nightshade family of plants. The average cigarette weighs one gram and contains only from 1 to 2 per cent of nicotine - 100 to 200 milligrams (thousandth of a gram). The lethal dose of nicotine required to kill a man usually is only from 60 to 120 mg! In smoking a cigarette the average amount of nicotine inhaled is generally about 2 milligrams. There are thousands of cases of suicides, accidental deaths, and murder recorded in the United States by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, as a result of consuming nicotine preparations. Some investigators have found that only a few drops of nicotine base kills wild animals, such as the lion or wolf, within a few seconds. Some animals, like sheep, can tolerate large doses of tobacco. Fortunately, the body excretes or gets rid of nicotine rapidly, not allowing the average amount inhaled to accumulate, unless heavy or excessive smoking is indulged in. If the latter is permitted, then the clinical symptoms of nicotine poisoning often occur, even in the habitual, heavy smoker, who may have developed some tolerance to nicotine. Even when the cigarette is not continually inhaled, there is still at least about 1/2 to 2/3 of the nicotine absorbed into the system through the lining of the mouth, the tongue, and the saliva. Aside from the chief poison, nicotine, there are other well-known poisons present in tobacco: carbon monoxide (when tobacco is burned), arsenic, and coal tar substances are some. The latter contribute to the formation of cancer of the mouth, the esophagus (the gullet) and the respiratory tract, including the larynx, bronchial tubes, and the lungs. Let us consider some of the actions of these poisons that may occur in man from excessive tobacco smoking.
The effect of smoking on the heart. Like many other physicians, in my 25 years of practice I must have treated literally thousands of patients who at one time or other suffered from symptoms of some degree of tobacco poisoning. Some were dramatic, some resistant, some funny and some tragic. Usually the toxic effects on the heart will be noticed by the patient from "skipped" heart beats or palpitations of the heart, nervousness, or a rapid heart rate often producing dizziness, shortness of breath, especially on exertion, headaches from rises in blood pressure, or pains and distress over the front portion of the chest. As described in Chapter 3, I had the opportunity of studying the effects on the heart of various stimuli in a series of volunteers. I examined the effects of stomach distention on the heart through an apparatus I devised at the time, as published m the Journal of the A.M.A. One male patient of mine, in particular, was an instructor in our own medical school, and had a mild case of coronary artery disease. This showed itself by chest pain after exertion or excitement. A habitual smoker, he had improved so greatly under treatment, which included his abstaining from tobacco, that he was now itching to get back to the "weed". In order to demonstrate to him the effects of smoking on his own heart, I asked him to resume smoking for one test period, a habit which I had asked him to stop, because of his angina. After smoking and delightedly inhaling two and one-half cigarettes he developed severe anginal pain over the chest, which reflected itself in striking abnormalities in his electrocardiogram, which I was running continuously during the smoking experiment. Fortunately, I abolished the anginal pain immediately by placing a tablet of nitroglycerine under his tongue. This relaxes and dilates the coronary arteries promptly, thereby stopping the pain.
This experience has been reduplicated in countless patients, since it is well known that tobacco will produce pain and em-harassment of the heart when it is already damaged or weakened by some condition, particularly coronary atherosclerosis. Here additional constriction of the coronary arteries by tobacco smoking, in the already narrowed passageways of the coronary arteries, can lead to further damage to the heart. The term "tobacco angina" or "tobacco heart" was originally employed to describe these chest pains due to the toxic effects of tobacco on the heart. Like many physicians, I advise my patients with heart conditions to refrain from smoking, even in moderation, because of the injurious effects of tobacco on their hearts. The blood pressure is known to rise on an average of 38 points (the systolic, or higher one) in patients with normal but unstable, sensitive blood pressure. And in patients with high blood pressure, tobacco smoking in moderate to heavy amounts has a strong tendency to send the blood pressure even higher than the above mentioned 38 points.
Should You Stop Smoking?
Smoking is the burning question of the day. Everyone wants to know, for certain, the answer to this question: "What is the effect of smoking on my health?" "To smoke or not to smoke" is a frequent topic of conversation of the more than 100 million American smokers. Until recently, the public has been as confused as the medical profession was in the past. Now overwhelming evidence on the harmful effects of excessive use of tobacco can no longer be disregarded. In spite of all this evidence, however, the public is either uncertain or resistant. This is perfectly exemplified by my patient, Mr. R. He was suffering from "tobacco angina," an old term used to describe chest pains in coronary artery disease induced in his case by excessive cigarette smoking. "Dr. Morrison," he said, "I guess I should stop smoking, what with all the newspaper stories on the relationship of excessive cigarette smoking and cancer of the lungs. But I play golf with my family doctor, Dr. X, who is a chain smoker, and I notice my dividends from investments in tobacco stocks keep going up! Now, if cigarettes are harmful to health, why do so many doctors continue to smoke and why does the American public smoke more and more?"
Smoking has been with us for a long time. The smoking habit is known to be deeply ingrained from the very dawn of man's history. Archeologists tell us of their finding evidence of smoking pipes among the South American Indians in Venezuela, 6,000 years before Christ. The legendary origin of the birth of tobacco and the "tobacco habit" is even told charmingly in Greek mythology. Zeus was banqueting with his gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. During the dancing after the banquet, Vulcan, the god of fire, forging and smelting, was urged to dance. He was ashamed to dance, however, because of his hunchback, and his fear of ridicule. In his nervousness and embarrassment he sought comfort by lighting his pipe with a burning coal and filled Olympus with a dense cloud of foul tobacco smoke. Zeus was enraged at Vulcan's extremely bad behaviour. He cast a thunderbolt at the pipe, which smashed it and spread bits of the pipe and the tobacco all over the world. Rain then fertilized the seed and the tobacco plant grew luxuriantly forever after!
One of my patients, Mrs. A, tells me she is completely at a loss as to which doctors and statisticians to believe. So many seem to be in complete disagreement on the harm from smoking. I tell her that differences in opinion make medical meetings and horse races possible, and that virtually the same controversy raged over 350 years ago. In 1604, King James I was anxious to improve the health and well-being of his loyal subjects. After careful medical advice from his court physicians he issued the following frightening but delightful proclamation on tobacco: "A Custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs (italics - mine), and in the black stinking fumes thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the hell pit that is bottomless." The king's apparent first-hand knowledge of hell-fire is a triumph of the imagination.
A little later, in 1689, the Medical School of Paris studied and reported the effects of tobacco smoking upon health and its influence on the span of life. They concluded and maintained for long after that tobacco definitely shortens life, and that it causes colic, diarrhea, "ulcerations of the lungs," asthma, coughs, "pains in the heart," undernourishment and impotence. Enough to frighten even the stoutest of Frenchmen!
Yet despite the death penalty for tobacco smoking, imposed by many kings and rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries, smoking flourished. The reason, apparently, was and is that it is an ingrained part of man's very social life. It is something that must be conquered by intelligence and will-power. Otherwise it becomes a bio-chemical as well as social "addiction."
What is the truth about smoking? Let us now examine the tobacco habit in the light of modern scientific knowledge, and group the advantages and disadvantages of smoking as, "good, bad, and indifferent."
Smoking has been with us for a long time. The smoking habit is known to be deeply ingrained from the very dawn of man's history. Archeologists tell us of their finding evidence of smoking pipes among the South American Indians in Venezuela, 6,000 years before Christ. The legendary origin of the birth of tobacco and the "tobacco habit" is even told charmingly in Greek mythology. Zeus was banqueting with his gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. During the dancing after the banquet, Vulcan, the god of fire, forging and smelting, was urged to dance. He was ashamed to dance, however, because of his hunchback, and his fear of ridicule. In his nervousness and embarrassment he sought comfort by lighting his pipe with a burning coal and filled Olympus with a dense cloud of foul tobacco smoke. Zeus was enraged at Vulcan's extremely bad behaviour. He cast a thunderbolt at the pipe, which smashed it and spread bits of the pipe and the tobacco all over the world. Rain then fertilized the seed and the tobacco plant grew luxuriantly forever after!
One of my patients, Mrs. A, tells me she is completely at a loss as to which doctors and statisticians to believe. So many seem to be in complete disagreement on the harm from smoking. I tell her that differences in opinion make medical meetings and horse races possible, and that virtually the same controversy raged over 350 years ago. In 1604, King James I was anxious to improve the health and well-being of his loyal subjects. After careful medical advice from his court physicians he issued the following frightening but delightful proclamation on tobacco: "A Custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs (italics - mine), and in the black stinking fumes thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the hell pit that is bottomless." The king's apparent first-hand knowledge of hell-fire is a triumph of the imagination.
A little later, in 1689, the Medical School of Paris studied and reported the effects of tobacco smoking upon health and its influence on the span of life. They concluded and maintained for long after that tobacco definitely shortens life, and that it causes colic, diarrhea, "ulcerations of the lungs," asthma, coughs, "pains in the heart," undernourishment and impotence. Enough to frighten even the stoutest of Frenchmen!
Yet despite the death penalty for tobacco smoking, imposed by many kings and rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries, smoking flourished. The reason, apparently, was and is that it is an ingrained part of man's very social life. It is something that must be conquered by intelligence and will-power. Otherwise it becomes a bio-chemical as well as social "addiction."
What is the truth about smoking? Let us now examine the tobacco habit in the light of modern scientific knowledge, and group the advantages and disadvantages of smoking as, "good, bad, and indifferent."
How To Use Dietary Supplements. Part 1
Even a goat wouldn't eat what you eat. It is said that goats will eat anything. At various times their owners have reported that the animals had consumed such things as items of laundry from the clothesline, old shoes, paper (including banknotes), and in one case a horse's tail. With an appetite like that, you would think that Billy or Nanny would gladly accept an invitation to have dinner with us. But such, apparently, is not the case. Not long ago, partly as a joke and partly out of curiosity, a man I know offered the same food that had been prepared for his dinner to a neighbor's goat. He reported that the animal turned aside in disgust from the dishes offered it. Of course, man's dietary requirements differ somewhat from those of a goat. But in meeting those requirements, we have not shown any better sense in choosing our food. You are overfed but undernourished. Health authorities, nutritional experts, and practicing physicians are agreed that although Americans can afford to buy more and better food than any other peoples in the world, their diet is sadly deficient in certain important nutritional elements. We are a nation that is overfed but undernourished. The reason for this is that very often nutritional deficiency can and does occur without any outstanding clinical signs. Also, upper income groups are no more immune than those of a lower economic level. Dr. Norman Jolliffe, Director of the Bureau of Nutrition, New York City Health Department, and one of the country's outstanding authorities on nutrition, recently warned:
It is well established that deficiency disease, even without obvious clinical signs, may impair growth, mental development, resistance to many infections, ability to attain the maximum rate of wound healing, and decrease working ability.
In fact, inadequate nutrition, and incorrect nutrition, comprise a "hidden disease" in the United States - a disease costly in terms both of dollars and lives.
What is wrong with our diet and our eating habits? Many things are wrong with our diet and eating habits. Nowhere in the world is food treated so badly before it is eaten as in the United States. Here it is raised by the use of artificial chemicals. In an all-out effort aimed at quantity, rather than quality, we do everything humanly possible to destroy the original character that the Creator provided and intended for the yield of the earth. Moreover, by the time most of our food reaches the consumer, it is too highly processed, refined, and improperly preserved. To add to this inadequacy, we destroy what nutrient value remains by flame, fire, by watering it down with tap water, and by overloading it with salt, sugar, or seasoning. Then we sit down during hurried and harried business hours and bolt it down. And the result? Some 50 million or more Americans, adults and children, suffer from constipation, bad teeth, skin troubles, digestive disorders, fatigue, nervousness, and a multitude of other complaints. Most of them are caused directly by poor nutrition and sub-clinical vitamin deficiencies. To add to these digestive troubles, modern man has cut his oxygen intake by living indoors, often in artificially heated cells or rooms, and has lost contact with both sunshine and fresh air. This unnatural way of life is undoubtedly responsible for important metabolic changes that have occurred in civilized man. He has brought certain evils upon himself by losing those "catalysts" or "stokers of the body furnace." As a crowning insult to nature, we frequently sit scrunched in a chair most of our days, living in a constant state of tension and apprehension at our work. Man was originally very energetic, physically active and almost constantly engaged in some exercise or other. Today, thanks to our mechanical genius, we tend to depend upon a push-button instead of a muscle. All these factors make it necessary for us to seek "outside help" to make up for our nutritional and hygienic shortcomings.
How to supplement your diet with essential nutrients. One way science has found of helping us accomplish this is to supplement our diet with vitamins and other essential nutrients. Dr. Jolliffe, noted nutritionist whom we quoted earlier in this chapter, not long ago pointed out that the improved nutritional status of our population since 1940 is, in fact, largely due to enrichment of foods and vitamin supplements. States Dr. Jolliffe:
The agricultural scientist and the scientific farmer alike, know that it is not practical nor economic to raise hogs or chickens from purely agricultural products alone. They supplement the diet of their animals with a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other nutritionals. Although man does not like to think of himself as governed by similar nutritional rules as farm animals, we could learn and profit much by following what the scientific farmer practices.
For a number of years, the author has studied the effects of the following food and nutritional supplement programs, recommended to a large number of patients. They produced a striking and gratifying improvement in health levels and well-being. Also of greatest importance was the fact that they were found to be instrumental in lowering the cholesterol content of the blood and in reducing the amount of harmful blood fats. There was a corresponding decrease in the number of colds and infections that patients usually had. They also reported less constipation, nervousness, fatigue, and the like.
The five-step program. Here are the five steps that patients were asked to follow:
- Include daily as a food supplement at breakfast two to four tablespoonfuls of Lecithin extracted from soya beans.
- Add to your diet each day B Complex vitamins in the most potent form. Avoid the cheaper preparations which provide only small and ineffectual quantities of the vitamins, and have little or no effect on the body. Your doctor or druggist can advise you which brands provide potent quantities of the vitamins.
- Also add to your daily diet at least 25,000 units of Vitamin A, and 150 mg. of vitamin C.
- Take two tablespoonfuls of soya bean oil, corn oil orsafflower oil daily to provide the essential fatty acids necessary to proper nutrition. The oil may be used as a salad dressing, taken with tomato or fruit juice, or in any way you prefer.
- Include in your diet two to four tablespoonfuls of whole wheat germ each day. This may be eaten as a breakfast cereal with fruit, or sprinkled in your salad.
Now a word about the nature of these health-giving nutrients, and the reason for their use.
How to use Lecithin.
Now I'm going to tell you about one of the most important nutritional supplements developed in the last 50 years. Make a careful note of it and of how it is to be used, as described in these pages. The least it can do for you is to improve your health and give you added vitality. And it may even help save your life. The substance is Lecithin - a bland, water-soluble, granular powder made from de-fatted soya beans. Soya beans have been an important staple in the diets of people in China and the Far East for centuries. But it was only recently that the health-giving properties of one of the beans' constituents - Lecithin - have been studied. Lecithin is what biochemists call a phosphatide. That means it is an essential constituent of all living cells, both animal and vegetable. As such, it plays a vital role in various phases of body chemistry and function. After more than 10 years of intense experimentation, not only with Lecithin, but with a large number of other cholesterol-reducing preparations used in the treatment of heart disease, atherosclerosis, and allied conditions, we found Lecithin to give the most rewarding result. It was, in fact, not only useful in treatment of heart and blood vessel disease, but also in their prevention.
Lecithin has very recently been shown to have the power of removing atherosclerosis from the arteries of experimental animals. Dr. Meyer Friedman, Dr. Sanford Byers, Dr. Ray Rosenman and their research associates in San Francisco have demonstrated in a most convincing and dramatic manner how injections of Lecithin remove the cholesterol plaques that were deposited in arteries. These fatty plaques were produced in the arteries by feeding large amounts of cholesterol and fats to the animals. They were characteristic of the atherosclerosis found in humans. Dr. Friedman and his co-workers believe that in atherosclerosis, as the fats and cholesterol are removed from the artery walls and flood the bloodstream, the atherosclerotic plaques are dissolved and removed by the Lecithin. The excess cholesterol and fats are thought to be converted by the liver into the bile and then excreted from the body. Although there is no known method of using Lecithin by injection in humans, the very high concentrations in the blood of Lecithin that are desirable for treatment can be achieved by feeding Lecithin and incorporating it into the daily diet.
Lecithin has very recently been shown to have the power of removing atherosclerosis from the arteries of experimental animals. Dr. Meyer Friedman, Dr. Sanford Byers, Dr. Ray Rosenman and their research associates in San Francisco have demonstrated in a most convincing and dramatic manner how injections of Lecithin remove the cholesterol plaques that were deposited in arteries. These fatty plaques were produced in the arteries by feeding large amounts of cholesterol and fats to the animals. They were characteristic of the atherosclerosis found in humans. Dr. Friedman and his co-workers believe that in atherosclerosis, as the fats and cholesterol are removed from the artery walls and flood the bloodstream, the atherosclerotic plaques are dissolved and removed by the Lecithin. The excess cholesterol and fats are thought to be converted by the liver into the bile and then excreted from the body. Although there is no known method of using Lecithin by injection in humans, the very high concentrations in the blood of Lecithin that are desirable for treatment can be achieved by feeding Lecithin and incorporating it into the daily diet.
Low-fat Menus. General Considerations For Low-fat Menus
The menus presented here include well balanced meals of high protein and high nutritional quality, with emphasis on very low-fat and low-cholesterol content. Although cholesterol is contained in all animal and vegetable fats, glandular organs such as brains, liver, kidney, sweetbreads, and giblets are especially high in cholesterol. In the case of liver, however, there are additional protective nutrients called phospholipids, that help overcome it's cholesterol content, and therefore make liver a valuable source of nourishment. Egg yolks and all foods with egg yolks are also high in cholesterol and are to be avoided as are egg noodles, pancake and waffle mixes, cake mixes with eggs, mayonnaise-type salad dressings, etc. Some simple suggestions foods are as follows:
Low-fat Menus. 1200-calorie Menus
On all our low calorie menus no fat, oil, margarine, or batter should be need on any food. Salad dressings should be made with the non-fat recipe as given previously. Trim off fats on all mats; only the lean variety should be used. All fruits should be either fresh or dietetic (canned without sugar but with saccharine or Sucaryl). No sugar or cream should be used for beverages. Sucaryl or saccharine may be used if indicated by your physician.
AVOID ALL FRIED FOODS, JRAVY, NUTS, AVOCADOS; PASTRIES SWEETENED CANNED FRUITS, SUGAR. SWEETENED FRUIT JUICES, SWEETENED CARBONATED BEVERAGES, LIQUORS.
Low-fat Menus. 800-calorie Menus
800 Calorie Diet Menu 1
Low calorie diets don't work
Low FAT diets do not work
Low CARB diets make you miserable
BREAKFAST
1/2 grapefruit
1/2 cup cereal
1/2 toast - no butter
Coffee
1 glass skim milk
LUNCH
Clear consomme - no fat
Rolled Filet of Sole (*)
Broccoli
1 glass skim milk or buttermilk
Tea or coffee - no sugar - no cream
3/4 cup strawberries
(*) Rolled Filet of Sole: 2lbs. rolled filet of sole, 1/2 cup cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1 tablespoon grated onion, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons sherry. Make fish into roll. Bake in casserole with all other ingredients except sherry. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Add sherry and serve (3 oz. serving = 185 calories)
DINNER
Small broiled tenderloin, 3 oz. - no fat
Fresh asparagus with lemon juice
1/2 cup carrots
Lettuce hearts with lemon juice
1/2 cantaloupe
Tea or coffee - no sugar - no cream
800 Calorie Diet Menu 2
BREAKFAST
Small glass orange juice
1/2 slice whole wheat toast
2 tablespoons cottage cheese
Black coffee, 1 glass skim milk
LUNCH
Tomato juice cocktail, with 2 crackers
Corned beef hash (*), string beans, pickled beet salad
Dietetic pears, 2 halves
Tea or coffee, 1 glass skim milk
(*) Corned beef hash: 2 oz. canned corn beef, 1 small onion, 2 tablespoons potato, 1/2 cup consomme. Grind all ingredients and thoroughly heat in oven (Calories: 160)
DINNER
1/2 baked breast of chicken (2 oz)
Baked banana squash
Fresh spinach with lemon
Tomato salad with dietetic dressing
D-Zerta with 1/2 sliced banana
Tea or coffee - no cream
Skim milk or buttermilk - no sugar
800 Calorie Diet Menu 3
BREAKFAST
Small glass unsweetened pineapple juice
Baked French toast (*) with 1 slice bread, 2 egg whites
Black coffee
1 glass skim milk
(*) Baked French Toast: 1 slice white bread with crust cut off, 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup skimmed milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sugar. Beat egg whites, add milk, and dip bread in mixture. Bake in moderate oven until light brown. Serve with sugar and cinnamon mixture. (105 calories)
LUNCH
Clear chicken consomme—no fat
2 oz. or 1/4 can dietetic tuna fish on bed of lettuce with carrot stick — dill pickle — with dietetic dressing with quartered tomato
Small baked apple — no sugar
Tea or black coffee
DINNER Broiled lamb chop — trim off all fat
1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup carrots
Cole slaw with dietetic dressing
3 small or 2 large fresh apricots
Tea or black coffee — 1 glass skim milk
800 Calorie Diet Menu 4
BREAKFAST
3 stewed primes — no sugar
3/4 cup Pep or Cornflakes
1 glass skim milk
Coffee — no cream, no sugar
LUNCH
2 hot dogs Sauerkraut
1/4 cup Fordhook limas
Grapefruit and orange salad
Junket made with skim milk
Tea or coffee
DINNER
Broiled beef patty small (3 oz)
String beat
Stewed tomatoes
Celery hearts
Watermelon balls, 3/4 cup
Tea or coffee
800 Calorie Diet Menu 5
BREAKFAST
Large glass of juice
1/2 cup Ralstons
1 glass skim milk
Coffee
LUNCH
Bouillon
Shrimp salad: 6 shrimp, 1/4 cup celery, 3 egg whites, dietetic dressing
Carrot sticks
Royal Ann cherries
Tea or coffee
1 glass skim milk or buttermilk
DINNER
Hawaiian beef steak (*)
Shredded zuccini
Whole baby beets
Tossed green salad with dietetic dressing
1/2 cup sliced fresh pineapple
Tea or coffee
(*) Hawaiian Beef Steak: 2 oz. round steak, pepper and salt to taste, ground ginger to taste, 1 small onion, 1/4 cup pineapple, 1/2 cup tomato juice. Saute onion in tomato juice; add ginger and seasoning. Add steak and bake with pineapple in covered dish until tender. (Approximately 258 calories)
800 Calorie Diet Menu 6
BREAKFAST
1/2 cup fresh raspberries or dietetic canned
1 oz. or 1/2 thin slice ham broiled
1/2 toasted roll
1 teaspoon jam
Coffee — no cream
1 glass skim milk
LUNCH
Sauteed chicken liver (*)
Cauliflower with lemon
Fresh spinach
Tomato salad
Dietetic plums (3)
Tea or coffee
1 glass skim milk
(*) Saute with consomme.
DINNER
Baked fresh salmon (small slice—3 oz.)
Stewed celery
Fresh asparagus
Tossed green salad with dietetic dressing
Sliced orange
Tea or coffee
800 Calorie Diet Menu 7
BREAKFAST
1/2 sliced banana
2 small shredded wheat
1 glass skim milk
Coffee
LUNCH
Beef stew (2 oz. beef) with small onion, carrot, celery
Pickled beet salad
1/2 cup sherbet
Tea or coffee
DINNER
Clear chicken consomme
Fresh fruit platter: sliced fresh pineapple, 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, 1/2 sliced orange, 1/2 sliced peach
4 tablespoons cottage cheese
Tea or coffee
1 double Rye Krisp
How To Count The Calories. Part 3
There is only one healthy way to reduce. Our bookstores and newstands bristle with literature full of spectacular claims and quack formulas, all shouting, "Lose those extra pounds the fast, easy way." But the truth is (unless you like to be fooled at the expense of your own health) that there is only one safe and effective way to achieve the correct poundage and to keep it at that figure. That way is to follow a correct nutritional program, and to follow it consistently, one might almost say religiously. To do that means taking over a lifetime job of vigilance and self-discipline. But first you have to make up your mind that you want to do it, and then do it. And then stick to it.
Seven rules for getting your weight down and keeping it down. Once you have given yourself a powerful incentive, and have decided, "I will get my weight down and keep it down," then the following rules will help you:
- Follow the menus and dietary supplements suggested in this book as closely as possible.
- As an appetite curb, nibble a few low-fat hors d'oeuvres a little while before mealtime. (This raises the blood sugar level and takes the edge off your appetite.)
- Eat a substantial breakfast and a small lunch as provided in the menus given in this book.
- Try to have small servings of the food you eat.
- Avoid second helpings.
- Forego dessert if it is high in calories or fats.
- To know exactly where you stand each day, be a calorie counter, but a serious one. Use the table of foods and caloric values at the end of this chapter.
By glancing at the following table that shows the total number of calories needed daily for a man (or woman) of average weight and height at various ages, you will be surprised to see how much you really overeat. You will observe also that the caloric requirement declines with age. Thus a man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and has the normal weight of 150 pounds, requires 2020 calories between the ages of 14 and 15, but only 1600 when he is 60. Similarly, a woman of average height (5 feet, 2 inches) and weight (125 pounds) requires 1600 calories when she is 14, but only 1260 calories when she is 60.
Drugs are not the answer. Unless they are needed for other reasons, I always counsel my patients against them. Taking thyroid extract, for example, when it is not indicated from a medical point of view, can damage the heart. A number of other commercial preparations now on the market, used for dulling the appetite, have the undesirable side effects of overstimulating the nervous system or, in some cases, of interfering with the body's metabolism. In the game of reducing, there are no "wild" cards, and there is no way to cheat. You will win or lose, depending upon how well you follow the rules and play your hand. Remember that the amount of money you spend for food is not half so important as the way you spend it. Whether your income is $3,000 a year or $50,000, the proper food in the proper amount is within your reach. Not only is such a program wise and helpful for you, but think how many years of good health and happiness you can offer your children. A survey made not long ago revealed that of almost three-fourths of the nation's children studied, not a single one rated top health grades in strict medical examinations! Such a deplorable and widespread epidemic of malnutrition can easily be corrected if you will bring to the vital subject of nutrition the same dedicated parental care that you do to other phases of your children's lives. You have nothing to lose, and precious years of life to gain.
How To Count The Calories. Part 1
If 20 million Americans were to appear on the streets tomorrow, each with a cement block weighing between 20 and 40 pounds permanently attached to his person, it would create a tremendous stir. How, you would ask, can they carry a load like that for the rest of their lives? They would command the sympathy of the entire nation. It is quite likely that our Congress itself would enact some kind of legislation to aid them. Fantastic? Not at all. As a matter of fact, such a situation does prevail right at this moment. The only difference is that the weights those 20 million Americans are carrying consist of fat rather than cement. And the burdens are less conspicuous because they are distributed over the body. But from the standpoint of health and the added work load placed on the heart, it makes no difference whether the cargo is cement or adipose tissue. The cost to the individual - in poor health, loss of energy, and in most cases, a shorter lifespan - is the same.
Overweight is a hidden disease. About the only people who seem to take this seriously are physicians and insurance actuaries. At least they are the only ones concerned in terms of health and longevity. They know that overweight is a "hidden disease," responsible for shortening the life of every average American adult by almost five and one-half years.Think what that means. Our own generation will lose a combined 108 million years of life because of overweight! This figure represents many times the number of adult years lost by the premature deaths of young men killed in World Wars I and II. Only in the past few years has the public become even dimly aware of the critical and dangerous results of being a nation of "fat cats." It's time we all began to sit up and take notice. If we learn how to count the calories, we will learn also how to count on more years of vibrant, healthful life. The tables of calorie values given in this chapter can become your easy-to-use weapon for fighting overweight and the bodily and emotional illnesses it brings on. Dr. Louis D. Dublin and Herbert H. Marks of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company were among the first to point to increased death rates attributable to excessive fat. In consequence, there have been a number of campaigns aimed at persuading people to reduce their weights to the normal or even the ideal figure.
Diet for health, not for beauty. Unfortunately, people are intensely human and, to give a new twist to an old maxim, the spirit is willing but the flesh is strong. The result has been a widespread practice of "stop-and-go" dieting aimed not at improved health, but at a more fashionable silhouette. Nothing could be worse than that kind of up-and-down-the-scales program. In the first place, you benefit from reduced weight only if the normal weight is maintained from that time on. Taking it off and then putting it on again is worse than remaining overweight, because it is in the process of becoming fat that a large part of the damage is done. This damage occurs in the blood vessels, liver, and heart - all critical sites of the body. Although the process of becoming fat is more detrimental than being fat, carrying around an over-upholstered frame is also a way to shorten the period of your sojourn on earth. As you put on excessive fat, movement of the blood throughout the body is slowed. The heart has to work harder to keep the circulation going. And the added weight places a greater burden upon your joints, which may develop trouble as a consequence.
Is overweight due to "glandular trouble"? You may often hear laymen express the view that some people are fat because of "glandular trouble." Such cases actually are very few. The reason most people are fat is simply because they eat more food than they actually need for their activities. The only way to cut down on weight is to cut down on eating, to reduce the number of calories in your daily diet.
What causes overweight? There are many causes for overweight. Most people, however, are overweight simply because they overeat. A very small percentage of people are obese due to some endocrine or glandular disorder. Some cases possibly are due to an error in the individual's metabolism. And still another small percentage of cases result from an inherited or constitutional trait that runs in families and is passed on from one generation to another like coloring, or facial and bodily structure. But the causes of obesity in over 95 per cent of the victims are: (1) nervousness, and (2) bad eating habits.
Nervousness is a primary cause of overweight. People overeat from nervousness, either conscious or subconscious, for a variety of reasons. Some people, when they feel anxious, constantly and regularly relieve their anxiety by the elemental satisfaction of eating. As they become more and more anxious, they require more and more food and become more and more fat! A vicious cycle. One of my patients, Judy S., aged 15, is very obese because of the lack of love and appreciation from her mother, who gives all her love and centers all her attention on her 2-year old, sickly little brother. Another patient, Mr. F., a 38-year old sales manager, is fat because he can't seem to stop eating in between meals and all during the evening as he sits by the television. He has been in danger of losing his job because his sales quotas continue to fall off and he feels certain that he will eventually lose his job. But still he eats. The more nervous he gets, the more he eats. Some people are so habituated to living under constant tension in their work or at home that the glands in their nervous and glandular systems constantly drive their blood sugars to low levels. As a result they feel continuously hungry, weak, tired, and tense. Food momentarily raises their blood sugars to normal levels. By eating continuously or at least frequently in between meals, they are able to have the strength and concentration to complete their tasks at work or in the home.
A feeling of failure can lead to overeating. Many other obese individuals eat out of sheer frustration or a feeling of failure. One patient of mine, a 28-year old man, is a brilliant mathematician. He wanted badly to become a physicist and scholar, especially since he was of a quiet, shy nature. Instead, he was prevailed upon to enter his father's large and very successful business. An only son, he was to be "groomed" as his father's successor in the running of the extensive family factories. Each day at work was one of frustration for him as he struggled to learn a business in which he basically had no interest. Probably most frustrating of all was the problem of coping with a hard-driving, dynamic father who dominated him and virtually threatened to crush his entire personality. Result? Every hour or so found him in the company cafeteria for a "breather," and the coffee breaks were easier to extend when some donuts, candy, or biscuits went along for the ride. At meal-hours, getting "oral" gratification from large meals with second helpings seemed to stave off the time for getting back to work during the day and seemed to make life tolerable. This man ate to ward off his constant frustration at his work and his domineering father. But his "solution" far from solved his basic problem; it created a new one on top of it. We all know that the eating of food is man's most primitive necessity for survival. And in order to survive the frustrations, tensions, anxieties, and loneliness that seem to grow worse with time, man often returns to his primitive behavior to give him a sense of some security and the feeling of overcoming his growing worries. A subsequent chapter discusses more fully some ways to combat these tensions. Many of these more severe problems require the care and guidance of experts especially trained in the treatment of emotional disturbances.
Bad food habits a second main cause of overweight. It is remarkable to find how many people eat out of boredom, sheer habit, or to the accompaniment of a newspaper, a book, or a heated business discussion. Many succumb to the habit of eating at a "minute" diner or lunch counter, gulping their food and running a "hoof and mouth" race with Father Time. (He always wins.) Others are trained from childhood to stuff themselves - "finish your plate." An old relic of primitive days when food scarcities or the uncertainties of a next meal or a next day were constantly present. Some call this "scavenger eating;" many children acquire this habit by imitating their parents who may have been raised under food scarcity circumstances. Many men and women are the victims of monotony or plain poor cooking in their meals. They rarely vary the selection and choice of foods out of sheer inertia, indifference, or lack of attention. So they try to make up in quantity what they lack in quality, seeking satisfaction from calories instead of from quality and contrast.
Epidemic Of Atherosclerosis. Part 4
Women have better natural protection against atherosclerosis. If you are a woman, you are less likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke until well after you pass the half century mark. That is when your protective female hormones give out, and you become as susceptible to the disease as men. Can't men take female hormones to protect themselves? They can, but if they do, they will "cross the border" and develop a high voice, full enlarged breasts, and other feminine characteristics. So that approach to the problem is not practical. Anything else? Yes, there is something everyone can do without great inconvenience, and with the added reward of improved health in general. It is this: select a diet that will keep your blood fats down to normal levels.
Epidemic Of Atherosclerosis. Part 3
What is the situation in other countries of the world? We have evidence that a prime factor for the great difference between Americans and peoples in various other countries is diet. For example, let us see what happened in Norway during the war years of 1940-1945. Consumption of butter, milk, cheese and eggs (all of them high in fats) had to be sharply curtailed. Did the reduction of fat content in the national diet have any effect on the number of deaths from heart attack? The Norwegian Ministry of Health, which kept accurate records, answered that question with an emphatic "yes." With the reduction in fat consumption, the death rate from coronary attacks declined also. The Norwegians reported that heart deaths were reduced by 31 percent during each year among the urban population. At the same time, there was a 22 per cent drop in heart deaths among the rural population. France, which also had to tighten its belt during the war years, had similar evidence to offer. Mr. Marcel Moine, of the French Ministry of Health, reported to me that from 1941 to 1945, when Frenchmen were on a low-fat diet, the death rate from heart disease was reduced to 20.6 for each 100,000 persons. In the postwar years, when normal fat consumption was resumed, the death rate rose to 25.5 per 100,000 population, or a return to the old, prewar death rate.
Epidemic Of Atherosclerosis. Part 2
What is the cause of this new epidemic? Before taking up our discussion of ways to forestall a heart attack, it might therefore be well to understand more clearly the basic physiology involved. Let us start with a closer look at the arteries, the vessels that carry fresh blood from the heart to the billions of cells in our bodies that are in constant need of nourishment.
Upon careful examination, we find that the arteries are not the simple tubes we have pictured them to be. Viewing them in cross section, we see that their structure is more like that of a garden hose, containing three layers of tissue in the walls. The inside layer or lining of the artery, which doctors call the intima9 consists of a slippery membrane somewhat similar to the mucous membrane on the inside of your mouth. The in-between layer, known as the media, is formed of muscle fiber. This enables the blood vessel to expand and contract with the heartbeat, to facilitate the flow of blood through it. The outer layer, called the adventitia, is composed of coarse strong fiber& which provide added strength to the artery. In both the outer and the intermediate layers, there are tiny intrinsic blood vessels which nourish the artery itself.
Epidemic Of Atherosclerosis. Part 1
When a spanish-speaking friend wants to wish you the very best that life can offer, he will often lift his glass with the following toast: "To health and wealth - and time to enjoy both." Embodied in this simple salute are the three basic desires common to people everywhere in all ages.
Why can't we live longer? Everyone wants to live longer. It is one of the most deeply rooted instincts of mankind. Everyone wants to live a life of usefulness and abundance, free of disease and unhappiness. As we grow older, we look forward even more anxiously to increasing our lifespan. We want time to enjoy our achievements, time still to make plans. By the time we reach 60 we realize with the great French painter Gauguin that "life is a split second." We begin to think about all the things we still want to do before we reach our seventieth year. If we are fortunate enough to pass our seventieth birthday, we wonder whether we can't live even longer - perhaps to be 80. Well, why can't we? We are living much longer than did our ancestors a century ago. We have added 20 years to the average life expectancy in America since 1900.
Physiology Of Fat. Part 4
What an extraordinary contrast these two sample menus present in fat content and calories! On the one hand, the total calorie content of a typical American daily diet is about 2800 calories, of which almost 50 per cent is fat. The low-fat diet provides approximately 1800 calories (1000 calories less), which is the normal healthy amount for the average adult housewife or light worker. Here the fat content is about 15 per cent of the total dietary calorie content and is the amount found in the diets of millions of non-Americans who are virtually free of atherosclerosis or heart attacks and strokes. What a clear-cut and simple choice is given us for better health and longer life! The question may still arise, "Isn't fat necessary for normal health and nutrition?" As mentioned previously, the need for fat in humans has never been proven, although certain essential fatty acids contained in some vegetable oils are very valuable for keeping the blood fats lowered. In some people, fat seems to be necessary. The Hottentots are an example. These South African tribes, related to the Australian bushmen aborigines, are unique amongst humans in that their women have enormously developed buttocks, due to extraordinary deposits of fat!
Physiology Of Fat. Part 3
A great proportion of these fats in the blood is combined with proteins, called lipoproteins, which also have been the subject of research by many investigators. Scientists have only recently discovered by new tools of investigation that in these lipoproteins two separate portions can be measured: the alpha and the beta lipoproteins. The first have been shown to be protective against the development of atherosclerosis. They are found predominating in infants, children, and young women who have no evidence of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, the beta-lipoproteins have been found universally in excessive amounts in most cases of active atherosclerosis and so are called atherosclerosis producers or "ather-ogenic." The protective alpha-lipoproteins are spoken of as "anti-atherogenic." The problem of preventing atherosclerosis and its human ravages is the search for ways of increasing the protective alpha-lipoproteins. Chapter 5 discusses lecithin and other nutritional supplements and shows how to use these protective substances against the development of atherosclerosis. One of the greatest factors influential in the current epidemic of heart attacks has unquestionably been the startling increase in fat intake. In the United States alone, the fat content of our diet has just about doubled in recent times. Where fat formerly constituted some 15 to 20 per cent of our meals 50 years ago, it now has jumped to 30 and 40 per cent or more.
Physiology Of Fat. Part 2
Fats - What they are and what they do to you. The outstanding fats eaten daily in the United States and Europe are butter, eggs, whole milk, cream, meat, fish and poultry fats, and cheese in various combinations. These fats, at 9 calories per gram, contain more than twice the amount of calories than protein or carbohydrate does at four calories each per gram. As we have noted and shall describe in later chapters, excessive intake of fats leads to the shortening of life, premature death by heart attacks and strokes, obesity, and numerous crippling illnesses. Fats (or lipids) contain the elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in various combinations of animal and vegetable fats. Examples of animal fats are butter, lard, cream, milk, eggs, and the fat in meats. Vegetable fats are soyabean oil, olive oil, cottonseed and corn oils, and peanut oils; these are found in nuts, coconuts, avocados, margarines and other vegetable fats used in cooking. Fats do not dissolve in water, and when pure they are odorless and tasteless. They are found in most bodily tissues, particularly in combination with other elements, proteins, or minerals. Fats or lipids act as vehicles for the absorption of the natural fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, and E. In order for fats to be utilized by the body, they must first be digested and broken down into constituent parts before being absorbed. They are absorbed in the following manner: After the food is masticated and enters the stomach, the digestive system supplies its first fat enzyme called lipase, to begin the digestion of the fat. Enzymes or ferments are unique chemical compounds manufactured by the cells of the tissues. In the digestive tract they are vital for the chemical breakdown of all foods before they can be absorbed.
Physiology Of Fat. Part 1
Is fat necessary? Is like asking "Is Crime Necessary?" or "Is it Necessary to be Fat?" The implication alone is bad, like asking "How Often Do You Beat Your Wife?" Of course, the answer to all of these questions is "no."
Fat On Trial. Part 4
The lowfat diet proved to be effective in reducing weight and promoting general good health.
An equally important result of this research was this: We found that a substantial weight reduction of about 20 pounds was achieved by both men and women on the low-fat diet. This took place over a period of three years, and the weight loss was safe, gradual, healthful. Typical of this group of patients was Mr. B., a stocky, short man of 180 pounds, who had just recently recovered from his coronary thrombosis. But he now complained of great fatigue and shortness of breath on exertion. He just couldn't seem to be able to resume his work as a builder. For his height and bodily frame, he was easily 36 pounds overweight. On the low-fat diet he lost a pound each week. At the end of the year he weighed 145 pounds. In his own words, he "felt like a million dollars." He found himself vigorously back at work again, clambering about his construction jobs and housing projects with ease and enjoyment. The patients on the low-fat diet also gained some remarkable and unexpected health dividends. Many patients, for example, experienced a striking improvement in energy and vitality. The case of 47-year old Mrs. R. is an excellent one in point. She had made a fairly good immediate recovery from her coronary thrombosis. But even before her heart attack, her household activities were always a series of endless chores to her. To "get through the day," became a daily and finally a monumental challenge. First, it had been the race to get her three children off to school and husband off to work without even a chance to answer nature's call to the bathroom (the new American mother's form of colonic martyrdom!).
Fat On Trial. Part 3
Many other fat preventing agents have been discovered and found wanting. For example, my associates and I found, more than 10 years ago, that in various experimental animals certain members of the Vitamin-B complex were effective in preventing and treating atherosclerosis. These protective, vitamin-like agents were called lipotropic, or fat preventing. Although these findings were repeated and corroborated by many investigators, many medical scientists could not agree, and the use of such fat preventing agents never became generally accepted. Subsequently, they have been replaced by more promising medicines in the treatment of heart attacks and strokes. Another promising substance was heparin, which is a fat-clearing, anti-clotting medicine. Dr. Hyman Engelberg and other investigators have found heparin very valuable for controlling blood fats in the treatment of heart cases. Various other physicians, however, do not agree with these results. Moreover, the necessity of injecting heparin at frequent intervals and the need for greatest care in its administration made it difficult to use it on a wide scale. In certain cases, thyroid extract has been effective in reducing excessive cholesterol and fats in the blood. It was most helpful in those patients who had a sluggish or abnormally low basal metabolism rate, a sign of an underfunctioning thyroid gland. But unfortunately, it has not proved generally effective in all cases.
Fat On Trial. Part 2
Is there an excess of fat imbedded in the artery wall itself? This proved to be a very difficult question to answer. A search through the medical literature disclosed that no one had reported any findings on this crucial question. We found that there were tremendous chemical problems blocking the answer to the mystery, but due to good luck and a brilliant chemical feat by our team, we discovered and reported the following facts. The coronary artery that is damaged by an attack of atherosclerosis has four times as much cholesterol and fat content as that of the person who dies of causes other than heart attacks. Subsequent to our findings, investigators both here and abroad corroborated our findings, tracking down the "killer" fat to his lair directly in the artery itself. We also noted that high blood pressure had the special effect of driving the cholesterol and fats into the artery wall with more speed and greater destructive-ness than would normally be the case.
Fat On Trial. Part 1
In 1911, in Moscow, Russia, a scientist named Anitschkow made the first discovery that later led to the identification of fat as the killer in cases of hardening of the arteries. He gave us the first clue to the role that fat in the blood vessels plays in causing heart attacks and strokes. Professor Anitschkow, now a vigorous 86, fed animals with cholesterol, one of the purest of fats. He found that the arteries of these animals became blocked with fatty deposits, in a manner indistinguishable from the blocking found in human arteries. The experiment also brought about premature aging in the animals; they grew old and suffered a loss of health and general vitality long before their time. It was only after a gap of more than a generation that scientists got on the track of the killer fat, but now the pursuit is highly active all over the world. The culprit is now on trial, and evidence for his conviction is steadily mounting.
How To Be Really Well, The Low-fat Way. Part 1
Your diet is the key to your health.
Diet is an important factor in the cause and cure of many ills. The wrong foods can cause allergic reactions ranging from the well-known strawberry rash to death from allergic asphyxiation. The right foods can help you clear up such allergic reactions. The wrong foods can bring on overweight, sap your energy, rob you of zest and well-being. And in the degenerative diseases of the heart and blood vessels, diet is the key; it is the difference between active good health and dangerous illness. Not all doctors are agreed as to the exact role of the high-fat diet in the development of those circulatory disorders that account for more than one-half of the total deaths in this nation each year. But a careful and continuing study of the subject for more than 15 years, both in the laboratory and in my private practice, has left no doubt in my mind. It is diet that cocks the trigger of the deadly weapon now aimed at the hearts and brains of millions of Americans.
Whether that trigger is ever pulled will depend, admittedly, on a number of other things: heredity, occurrence of other diseases in the victim, certain hormones, stresses, biochemical factors, and so on. But why play Russian roulette with your heart? By eliminating certain foods from your diet, by including others in the right amounts, and by the use of nutritional supplements, you can achieve at least a 50 per cent protection against heart attack.
Now let's see what foods are good for your health and which foods are not. Unfortunately, as simple as proper dieting is, doctors have found it to be one of the most difficult measures to prescribe for their patients, and one of the most difficult to get them to follow consistently. Proper diet is the easiest and safest thing a physician can prescribe. But because eating habits are so firmly established with most patients, and because dietary therapy takes time, many follow a stop-and-go routine that offers little long-range benefit.
A healthy diet does not mean starvation or tasteless foods. Yet a corrective diet does not mean either starvation or the grim necessity of eating unpalatable foods. Moreover, a little experimenting in the kitchen will soon produce meals that, from the standpoint of taste and esthetic appeal, will be equal if not superior to, the high-fat dishes to which you are accustomed. In the following pages you will find ways and means of satisfying your appetite and of stimulating it in such a way that it can be constantly surprised and pleased. This is done by a little originality on your part plus a break with old cooking and eating habits that have grown into fixed, and often monotonous, dining patterns. Your palate will be grateful for the change. And you will experience on the low-fat diet a startling increase in vigor and vitality, a new sense of well-being.
You do not have to lose energy - good diet increases vigor. Neither does it mean a loss of energy or a sharp reduction in poundage, unless you are overweight, in which case the excess fat is melted off. In fact, if you adhere to the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet recommended in these pages, you will feel better, have more vigor, and firmer muscles than before. If you have a faulty fat metabolism, the diet may substantially prolong your life. You will find more energy. You will be able to accomplish more and enjoy better what you do accomplish. The low-fat, low-cholesterol diet is not intended for growing children and young persons under 20. The fatty acids contained in an unrestricted diet are apparently favorable to their growth and development. At the same time, there is the incontrovertible fact that hundreds of millions of children in the Orient and elsewhere develop to their normal physical growth and healthy adulthood on a low-fat diet. Apparently the reason for this is that nature has endowed them with the ability to synthesize or produce within the body itself from other foodstuffs eaten, the essential fatty acids found in high-fat diets. However, additional fats above and beyond those actually required and eaten in the diet are metabolized and discarded by children, or are absorbed without being deposited in harmful amounts on the artery walls. But after the period of growth is completed, and nature has exhausted her protective powers against fats, excess amounts are deposited in the artery walls. This tendency increases with each decade after you are 30 years of age.
Almost everyone can benefit from a low-fat diet. There are, of course, some individuals whose blood is so low in cholesterol and blood fats that dietary restrictions are not necessary. But these persons are decidedly in the minority; and such a condition can only be determined by a competent physician, who will order a laboratory measurement of serum cholesterol levels in the blood. People who are fortunate enough to possess these low-cholesterol levels (fixed around a 200 milligram value) are able to handle all fats ingested. They are usually characterized by outstanding vitality and are inclined to long lives. They rarely suffer from blood vessel diseases and heart attacks. I had such a person as a patient of mine in one of my teaching wards at the County Hospital. She was a Mexican-Indian woman whose documented age was 110 years. Despite this remarkable fact, and despite her other infirmities (which were not associated with degenerative blood vessel disease), she was quite spry.
A healthy diet does not mean starvation or tasteless foods. Yet a corrective diet does not mean either starvation or the grim necessity of eating unpalatable foods. Moreover, a little experimenting in the kitchen will soon produce meals that, from the standpoint of taste and esthetic appeal, will be equal if not superior to, the high-fat dishes to which you are accustomed. In the following pages you will find ways and means of satisfying your appetite and of stimulating it in such a way that it can be constantly surprised and pleased. This is done by a little originality on your part plus a break with old cooking and eating habits that have grown into fixed, and often monotonous, dining patterns. Your palate will be grateful for the change. And you will experience on the low-fat diet a startling increase in vigor and vitality, a new sense of well-being.
You do not have to lose energy - good diet increases vigor. Neither does it mean a loss of energy or a sharp reduction in poundage, unless you are overweight, in which case the excess fat is melted off. In fact, if you adhere to the low-fat, low-cholesterol diet recommended in these pages, you will feel better, have more vigor, and firmer muscles than before. If you have a faulty fat metabolism, the diet may substantially prolong your life. You will find more energy. You will be able to accomplish more and enjoy better what you do accomplish. The low-fat, low-cholesterol diet is not intended for growing children and young persons under 20. The fatty acids contained in an unrestricted diet are apparently favorable to their growth and development. At the same time, there is the incontrovertible fact that hundreds of millions of children in the Orient and elsewhere develop to their normal physical growth and healthy adulthood on a low-fat diet. Apparently the reason for this is that nature has endowed them with the ability to synthesize or produce within the body itself from other foodstuffs eaten, the essential fatty acids found in high-fat diets. However, additional fats above and beyond those actually required and eaten in the diet are metabolized and discarded by children, or are absorbed without being deposited in harmful amounts on the artery walls. But after the period of growth is completed, and nature has exhausted her protective powers against fats, excess amounts are deposited in the artery walls. This tendency increases with each decade after you are 30 years of age.
Almost everyone can benefit from a low-fat diet. There are, of course, some individuals whose blood is so low in cholesterol and blood fats that dietary restrictions are not necessary. But these persons are decidedly in the minority; and such a condition can only be determined by a competent physician, who will order a laboratory measurement of serum cholesterol levels in the blood. People who are fortunate enough to possess these low-cholesterol levels (fixed around a 200 milligram value) are able to handle all fats ingested. They are usually characterized by outstanding vitality and are inclined to long lives. They rarely suffer from blood vessel diseases and heart attacks. I had such a person as a patient of mine in one of my teaching wards at the County Hospital. She was a Mexican-Indian woman whose documented age was 110 years. Despite this remarkable fact, and despite her other infirmities (which were not associated with degenerative blood vessel disease), she was quite spry.
My research laboratory took samples of her blood and analyzed them with keen interest to see how much cholesterol and blood fats it would contain. In repeated tests, we found her cholesterol levels remained consistently within the range of 100 milligrams. Her other blood fats were correspondingly low. Compared with what we regard as "normal" values of blood cholesterol in the United States (150-250 milligrams), this patient's values appeared to be surprisingly low. However, the 100 milligram level discovered in the little old Mexican-Indian lady, who was born in 1840 and brought up on a diet of legumes, fruits, and Indian corn, was probably a more accurate example of what the ideal cholesterol level should be. At the opposite end of the spectrum from this vivacious centenarian are many individuals who have inherited what we of the medical profession call familial hypercholesterolemia. These words are a term referring to persons who have inherited abnormally high levels of blood cholesterol. These are the unfortunate ones throughout whose families runs the devastation of heart attacks and strokes, usually coming in the prime of life.
Such a condition is often discovered accidentally during a routine checkup by an able physician. He may note such signs as cholesterol deposits in the form of whitish plaques under the eye (called xanthalasma); or as a crescent along the periphery of the pupil in the eye (called an arcus senilis). Such indications may also be observed by the alert physician in various other parts of the body, including the elbows, arms, legs, heels, and hands. Many times the condition may reveal itself in the arteries inside the eyes, when they are checked by a competent eye doctor. Whether such danger signals exist or not, however, if you are a man over 20 or a woman over 40, a diet comprising not more than 10 to 20 per cent of fat in calories can offer some measure of protection against heart and blood vessel disease. Such a low-fat diet can, in fact, help you to enjoy the kind of over-all good health that makes life worth living. So, for your health's sake, follow the recommendations found in the rest of this chapter and avoid those foods that may destroy your health and your heart.
Such a condition is often discovered accidentally during a routine checkup by an able physician. He may note such signs as cholesterol deposits in the form of whitish plaques under the eye (called xanthalasma); or as a crescent along the periphery of the pupil in the eye (called an arcus senilis). Such indications may also be observed by the alert physician in various other parts of the body, including the elbows, arms, legs, heels, and hands. Many times the condition may reveal itself in the arteries inside the eyes, when they are checked by a competent eye doctor. Whether such danger signals exist or not, however, if you are a man over 20 or a woman over 40, a diet comprising not more than 10 to 20 per cent of fat in calories can offer some measure of protection against heart and blood vessel disease. Such a low-fat diet can, in fact, help you to enjoy the kind of over-all good health that makes life worth living. So, for your health's sake, follow the recommendations found in the rest of this chapter and avoid those foods that may destroy your health and your heart.
Low-cholesterol Program. Foods Permitted. 2
Eggs. Egg whites, which are proteins, may be eaten and used for cooking as much as desired. The yellow portion of the egg, or the yolk, contains one of the most concentrated forms of fat available - namely cholesterol - and therefore should be avoided.
Milk and Milk Products. One pint or more daily of non-fat or skim milk should be taken. Use fortified milk with added amounts of vitamin A and D, as now commonly in use. Buttermilk is also a refreshing source of milk with an exceedingly low-fat content. As an added source of fat-free or low-fat protein, skim or fat-free milk can be fortified by adding to each glass of milk one or more tablespoonsful of dried, skim milk. This "fortified" milk also has a thick creamy taste and can be flavored to suit the individual taste with various flavoring agents. Yogurt made from non-fat milk can also be used for nutritious variety.
Low-cholesterol Program. Foods Permitted. 1
Soups. Emphasize bouillons and consommes, as they are nutritious, filling, and low in calories and fats. They are ideal for relieving that hungry feeling quickly and picking you up in the process. Soups are great to warm you up instantly in cold weather and, in the jellied form, to cool you off in hot weather. Soups stimulate the digestive juices, start the stomach and intestinal muscles churning and "warmed up" for the job ahead, while "flushing out" the stomach and getting it ready to stoke the digestive furnace. Use fat-free vegetable soups, vegetable broths, and soups prepared with skimmed milk. It is imperative to remove all visible fat and grease from the soup. Here are some good ways to do this:
- Refrigerate or chill the soup first: then carefully remove the fat and grease that has caked on the top with a knife, spoon, or other suitable utensil.
- If there is not time for refrigerating or chilling the soup first, use bread slices by direct application to the top layer of the soup, in order to blot up or absorb the grease.
- Place some lettuce leaves on top of the heated soup. When you see the fat absorbed onto the leaf or leaves, remove them. The lettuce leaf may also impart a slight flavor to the soup, helping to lend a little zest.
- Blot up the top layer of grease by floating one or more paper towels on the surface of the soup.
When it is fat-saturated, discard the towel; it is a greasy reminder of escape from unhealthy calories. Dry soup mixes are quite low in fat and are very enjoyable. Some soup manufacturers prepare canned soups that have about a half-teaspoonful of fat per serving of soup when diluted equally with water. Vegetable and vegetable-beef canned soups, however, are very low in fat content and are thus highly desirable for the low-fat diet.
Meats. Beef, veal, and lamb are naturally high in both visible and "invisible" fat and cholesterol. However, since their protein content is most desirable for energy and palatability, and because of custom, they are basic ingredients in the low-fat diet. Much of the dietary fat allowance is contained in meat, which has its greatest amount of calories predominantly in fat. It must be kept in mind that the butcher will at all times allow a maximum of fat to remain on every cut of meat for reasons of added price and the presumption of "quality." This visible fat must be carefully cut away and trimmed while raw, before cooking. During the cooking, baking, or broiling of the meat, the fat should be drained off by keeping the meat or roast on racks. One ideal way of removing most of the fat content of meat and making it almost fat free is to partially cook it on the day before it is to be eaten. Refrigerate the meat and the broth. On the following day it is now easy to remove the layer of grease that has floated to the top and hardened. Buy and eat lean meats. If you are having ground meat, specify to the butcher that it is to be made from trimmed, lean meat. Bear in mind that the highest fat content is present in the prime and choice grades of beef, lamb, and veal (which are more expensive too), since they originate from fattened animals. Less fat and good quality is contained in meats that bear the stamp "U.S. Good." Do not fry meats. Pan-cook or brown without fat or grease, if desired, by using a dry skillet; heat and salt it first before the meat is placed in it, while turning the meat repeatedly. After it is as brown as desired, cook slowly until well done or rare, whichever you wish.
A preparation called "Pantastic" (manufactured by G. N. Coughlan Company, West Orange, New Jersey) is one method of cooking with pans and reducing fat to a minimum. It prevents meats and other foods from sticking to the pan so that grease and fat-free cooking is possible. Remember that among meats pork, bacon, and ham are highest in fat and cholesterol content. They should not be eaten on the low-fat diet other than occasionally, if permitted by your doctor or by the virtual absence of other fat-containing foods in your menus for the day. The same is generally true of sausages, and organ foods like brains, sweatbreads, and kidneys. Liver is an exception, however, as we will see later. If gravy is desired for the flavoring of meats, it must be prepared free of its usual very high fat content. The regular brown drippings found at the bottom of the pan after meat is cooked must have the meat juices separated from the exceptionally high melted fats. Separate the fat in this gravy by chilling or refrigeration. Remove the thick layer of caked grease as described above by spoon and by blotting with bread or absorbent paper. Fat-free gravies can also be made by consulting various low-fat cookbooks. Instead of gravies, meats can be flavored and made to look appetizing by the following garnishes: watercress, parsley, celery, carrots, radishes, pimento, pickles, paprika, green peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, and onions in various shapes and combinations. Also helpful are spiced peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, cinnamon apples, spiced watermelon rind, applesauce, cinnamon pears, pineapple pieces, broiled bananas, seasoned tomatoes, herbs, and the various relishes such as mint jellies and sauces, chili, catsup, cranberry jellies, chutney, and many others. Also appealing are some of the following seasonings: garlic cloves, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, bay, and peppermint.
Fish. As a rule, fish are often excellent low-fat food sources. Unlike meats, very little fats will be cooked out of the fish, so attempting to drain off fish fats in cooking is unnecessary. Some fish are especially low in fat, such as perch, haddock, flounder, sturgeon, smelts, scallops. Others like brook trout, porgy, cod, and croakers are somewhat higher in fat content, but are still quite low in fat content when compared with meats. Shell-fish are outstandingly low in fat and cholesterol content. Lobster, shrimps, and crabs are ideal examples. Clams are next in line; oysters are a bit higher in fat content, but are still low in comparison with beef, lamb, or veal. For the connoisseurs, frogs-legs are also low in fat content. Tuna is now packed in dietetic form called "Chicken-of-the-Sea Brand" and is particularly low in fat. Many canned fish when not packed in oil are very low in fat.
Poultry. Chicken and turkey are excellent sources of animal proteins for low-fat, low-cholesterol content, provided lean poultry is used. The dark meat of poultry is higher in fat content than white meat. Skin should be discarded. Giblets are very high in fat content. Guinea hen and squab are also comparatively low in fat content. However, duck and goose are extremely high in fat and should not be included unless the fat is drained off and removed by the methods recommended in the section under meats. As a matter of fact, the fat from chicken and turkey, even though much less quantitatively than that in meat, is best drained off and removed in the same manner as in the preparation and cooking of all meats.
Meats. Beef, veal, and lamb are naturally high in both visible and "invisible" fat and cholesterol. However, since their protein content is most desirable for energy and palatability, and because of custom, they are basic ingredients in the low-fat diet. Much of the dietary fat allowance is contained in meat, which has its greatest amount of calories predominantly in fat. It must be kept in mind that the butcher will at all times allow a maximum of fat to remain on every cut of meat for reasons of added price and the presumption of "quality." This visible fat must be carefully cut away and trimmed while raw, before cooking. During the cooking, baking, or broiling of the meat, the fat should be drained off by keeping the meat or roast on racks. One ideal way of removing most of the fat content of meat and making it almost fat free is to partially cook it on the day before it is to be eaten. Refrigerate the meat and the broth. On the following day it is now easy to remove the layer of grease that has floated to the top and hardened. Buy and eat lean meats. If you are having ground meat, specify to the butcher that it is to be made from trimmed, lean meat. Bear in mind that the highest fat content is present in the prime and choice grades of beef, lamb, and veal (which are more expensive too), since they originate from fattened animals. Less fat and good quality is contained in meats that bear the stamp "U.S. Good." Do not fry meats. Pan-cook or brown without fat or grease, if desired, by using a dry skillet; heat and salt it first before the meat is placed in it, while turning the meat repeatedly. After it is as brown as desired, cook slowly until well done or rare, whichever you wish.
A preparation called "Pantastic" (manufactured by G. N. Coughlan Company, West Orange, New Jersey) is one method of cooking with pans and reducing fat to a minimum. It prevents meats and other foods from sticking to the pan so that grease and fat-free cooking is possible. Remember that among meats pork, bacon, and ham are highest in fat and cholesterol content. They should not be eaten on the low-fat diet other than occasionally, if permitted by your doctor or by the virtual absence of other fat-containing foods in your menus for the day. The same is generally true of sausages, and organ foods like brains, sweatbreads, and kidneys. Liver is an exception, however, as we will see later. If gravy is desired for the flavoring of meats, it must be prepared free of its usual very high fat content. The regular brown drippings found at the bottom of the pan after meat is cooked must have the meat juices separated from the exceptionally high melted fats. Separate the fat in this gravy by chilling or refrigeration. Remove the thick layer of caked grease as described above by spoon and by blotting with bread or absorbent paper. Fat-free gravies can also be made by consulting various low-fat cookbooks. Instead of gravies, meats can be flavored and made to look appetizing by the following garnishes: watercress, parsley, celery, carrots, radishes, pimento, pickles, paprika, green peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms, and onions in various shapes and combinations. Also helpful are spiced peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, cinnamon apples, spiced watermelon rind, applesauce, cinnamon pears, pineapple pieces, broiled bananas, seasoned tomatoes, herbs, and the various relishes such as mint jellies and sauces, chili, catsup, cranberry jellies, chutney, and many others. Also appealing are some of the following seasonings: garlic cloves, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano, bay, and peppermint.
Fish. As a rule, fish are often excellent low-fat food sources. Unlike meats, very little fats will be cooked out of the fish, so attempting to drain off fish fats in cooking is unnecessary. Some fish are especially low in fat, such as perch, haddock, flounder, sturgeon, smelts, scallops. Others like brook trout, porgy, cod, and croakers are somewhat higher in fat content, but are still quite low in fat content when compared with meats. Shell-fish are outstandingly low in fat and cholesterol content. Lobster, shrimps, and crabs are ideal examples. Clams are next in line; oysters are a bit higher in fat content, but are still low in comparison with beef, lamb, or veal. For the connoisseurs, frogs-legs are also low in fat content. Tuna is now packed in dietetic form called "Chicken-of-the-Sea Brand" and is particularly low in fat. Many canned fish when not packed in oil are very low in fat.
Poultry. Chicken and turkey are excellent sources of animal proteins for low-fat, low-cholesterol content, provided lean poultry is used. The dark meat of poultry is higher in fat content than white meat. Skin should be discarded. Giblets are very high in fat content. Guinea hen and squab are also comparatively low in fat content. However, duck and goose are extremely high in fat and should not be included unless the fat is drained off and removed by the methods recommended in the section under meats. As a matter of fact, the fat from chicken and turkey, even though much less quantitatively than that in meat, is best drained off and removed in the same manner as in the preparation and cooking of all meats.
How To Use Dietary Supplements. Part 2
How to use Lecithin.
Other research workers have also recently shown that soy bean Lecithin is able to prevent blood clotting in the arteries. Wherever possible add at least two teaspoonfuls of flavored fresh brewer's yeast to skim milk, cereal or whole wheat germ daily. The use of an added two tablespoonfuls or one ounce of a fresh liver powder extract to the daily diet is invaluable for good nutrition. Both of these can be purchased at most drug stores and at all special diet food stores. Many of my patients have prepared a "Molotov" cocktail by mixing both the yeast and liver powders in tomato juice or fruit juice. Drink this "cocktail" before meals. You will often find that it acts truly like "dynamite" in producing energy and vigor! In the course of our research we have also found that Lecithin apparently has the ability to increase the cholesterol esterases in the human blood stream. These esterases are enzymes, or activators, that aid in the metabolizing of fats.Years ago, we found that these cholesterol esterases are deficient in patients with active atherosclerosis. Lecithin has other remarkable therapeutic qualities as well. One that we are just beginning to explore is its ability to increase the gamma globulin content of the blood proteins. These gamma globulins are known to be associated with nature's protective force against the attacks of various infections in the body. In the blood stream of patients who used Lecithin as recommended, we found evidence of increased immunity against virus infections. This is of special interest, since scientists have reported finding this Lecithin-induced immunity against pneumonia. Other studies conducted by various American medical scientists have indicated that Lecithin is also beneficial in the treatment and prevention of a variety of disease, including rheumatic carditis, diseases of the liver, anemia, kidney disorders, and metabolic disturbances of the skin, such as psoriasis. Patients who successfully followed the oil-free, soybean Lecithin program continually volunteered the information that they felt a sense of well-being. They said they had more vitality, did not grow tired so quickly as they had formerly, and were in better general health than before.
Low-fat Menus
Please use these low-fat recipes here as alternates or wherever it seems best to you.
Cracker Torte:
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
8 finely crushed saltine crackers
1 oz. walnut meats, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 10 oz. package frozen raspberries.
How To Count The Calories. Part 2
Too much weight can strain your heart, rob you of energy.
Dr. Arthur Master, in a study of a group of patients not suffering from heart disease, found that a significant loss of weight was followed by an average 35 per cent reduction in the work the heart has to do. The lesson to you is clear: Even though your heart is strong, overweight taxes it with work and strain beyond its normal capacity. A healthy heart is gradually weakened by the extra stress imposed on it by 20, 30 or 40 pounds of unnecessary fat. Your energy reserves are depleted; you feel tired too soon and too often, even when doing simple things like walking and swimming, things that the person of normal weight can handle with ease and pleasure. Don't let too much weight rob you of a strong heart and the vibrant energy that you need to enjoy a full, healthy life. Learn to count your calories and you can count on more years of healthy, happy living.
Dr. Arthur Master, in a study of a group of patients not suffering from heart disease, found that a significant loss of weight was followed by an average 35 per cent reduction in the work the heart has to do. The lesson to you is clear: Even though your heart is strong, overweight taxes it with work and strain beyond its normal capacity. A healthy heart is gradually weakened by the extra stress imposed on it by 20, 30 or 40 pounds of unnecessary fat. Your energy reserves are depleted; you feel tired too soon and too often, even when doing simple things like walking and swimming, things that the person of normal weight can handle with ease and pleasure. Don't let too much weight rob you of a strong heart and the vibrant energy that you need to enjoy a full, healthy life. Learn to count your calories and you can count on more years of healthy, happy living.
How Does Alcohol Affect Your Health? Part 2
The effect of alcohol on the circulation. Alcohol has been used extensively as a vasodilating agent - that is, one that "opens up" and increases the flow of circulation by widening the peripheral blood vessels on the body surfaces and extremities such as in the face, the hands, the legs and the feet. Through this vasodilation the rise in skin temperature after two ounces of whiskey is as great as 9° to 12° Fahrenheit. The florid face of the drinker, the red nose of the tippler, and the traditional method of "warming up" with a "few good ones under the belt" are well-known to all of us.
How Does Alcohol Affect Your Health? Part 1
What about alcohol?
How does it affect your health?Alcohol is both a blessing and a curse, a poison and a food, a 'pick-me-up' and a 'lay-me-down', both an appetite stimulator and a destroyer; it is truly a mass of contradictions. The very name whiskey originates from the ancient Gaelic word "usquebrugh" - water of life! Over 65 per cent of the United States population (more than 100 million Americans) drink alcoholic beverages. Of these, 76 per cent are men and 24 per cent are women. The occasional drinkers total 48 per cent; 27 per cent of men and 8 per cent of women are regular drinkers - that is, people who drink moderately or heavily at least three times a week. There are over 3 million heavy, constant drinkers, and over 750,000 alcoholics or addicts of "hard liquor". Billions of dollars are spent each year on alcohol in the U.S.A. alone, more than is spent by Americans for their own health and medical care. All figures show the growing increase in the drinking habit as part of life and social custom in our country. Let us then take a scientific look at the 'uses and abuses' of alcohol, particularly where our health is concerned.
The Injurious Effects Of Alcohol. Part 2
Chronic alcoholism. I shall not attempt to discuss the social and economic evils of this disease; it is universally condemned, while being universally talked about. But unlike the weather, something is being done about it.
A. The brain: The changes in this organ are often those related to vitamin B and C deficiencies. Hemorrhages frequently are found throughout the cerebral tissue in chronic alcoholism. The brain is particularly susceptible to injuries, such as a blow on the head. Rupture of the blood vessels with subsequent death is a frequent close to an alcoholic bout where the victim has been lodged in the "drunk tank" overnight at the local jail, and has either fallen on his head or sustained a knock on his "noggin."
The Injurious Effects Of Alcohol. Part 1
Now, having considered the beneficial effects of alcohol, we come to the injurious ones. I shall mention here only in passing the well known blights of the excessive use of alcohol on the home, the individual, and society. Volumes have been written on the devastating effects of alcoholic excess on crime, suicide, divorce, general misery in the home and to the individual, venereal disease, juvenile delinquency, traffic accidents, economic and industrial losses. Here we are concerned only with alcohol as it affects your health. The effects of alcohol have been so profound that it is startling to consider that the United States of America exists today probably as a result of alcoholic excess! In the words of the "father of our country," the British were defeated on Xmas eve, after the epochal crossing of the Delaware, because "Cornwallis" men had drunk not wisely, but too well!" What would have happened to the cause of world democracy and freedom if Washington's tattered, frozen, and decimated men had faced a sober and efficient fighting army instead of a band of drunken soldiers! Let us now consider briefly some of the main systems of the body and the effects of alcoholic damage upon them.
How To Care For Yourself After A Heart Attack. How And Why The Heart Heals Itself
To understand the real basis for hope, following a heart attack, let us look briefly at that vital organ that for centuries has been referred to in our common language as the source of feeling (as in such expressions as "heartbreak," "affairs of the heart," "heartless," and so on). As you can see from the accompanying diagrams the heart is a large muscle (about the size of your fist), which is divided into four chambers. The two smaller chambers at the top of the heart are called the auricles; the two larger ones at the bottom, ventricles. The auricles receive that impure blood that is being returned to the heart through the veins. This blood, because its supply of oxygen is almost exhausted, appears blue. The larger chambers, or ventricles, pump the fresh blood, after it has been oxygenated by the lungs, out through the arteries again, to nourish every part of the body.
How To Care For Yourself After A Heart Attack
Not long ago, David S., now a patient of mine, was rushed to the hospital after he had collapsed during a meeting of his newspaper's editorial board. He had had a heart attack. The people who work with Dave, and those who knew him well, were astonished and a little frightened. "He's younger than I am," said the publisher apprehensively. "And a real dynamo. Best city editor I ever had. I didn't know he had heart trouble." Dave didn't know it either. There were some premonitory signs of trouble, it is true. But Dave ignored them or dismissed them lightly. That morning, for instance, he had come to the office a little earlier than usual to make sure his paper didn't miss any newsworthy angles in the running story of a big forest fire that was raging not far from his city. The telephones were ringing constantly; there were instant decisions to be made in covering the day's fast-breaking news; there were several appointments with important people - a luncheon engagement with the chief of police, and an afternoon editorial meeting.
Dave was only 41. He had climbed fast in his profession because, as his publisher said, he was a dynamo. He felt that he had to keep the flow of news moving like a Niagara of copy into the presses. During the past week he had not been feeling as well as usual. He felt a little tired, and had to keep himself going by sheer force of will. It was just that he needed a little vacation, he told himself. He was a little too tense, that was all. That's why he "bounced back" when he got a chance to relax a bit over the weekend.
Dave was late getting back to the office after his luncheon with the chief of police. The official had been detained, and that had thrown Dave's schedule off completely. So he ate rapidly and discussed his business with the chief as he forced down his food. He was not very hungry, but he ate a hearty meal on the theory that he needed the energy to keep going. By the time he got back to the office, Dave was a little short of breath and somewhat dizzy. Also, he was annoyed by a pain in his chest that occasionally ran down into his left arm and hand. He barely had time to see the fourth edition out before hurrying into the editorial meeting. In the meeting he relaxed a little in his chair and felt somewhat better until the national advertising manager made him angry by charging that the paper was losing revenue because the editorial department would not support advertisers with local newstories.
At that point, Dave jumped up and began a heated oration on the responsibilities of the press. And just as his remarks had reached fever pitch, Dave suddenly felt a sharp, pressing pain deep inside his chest, under his breastbone. Beads of perspiration broke out on his forehead. He felt nauseated and very weak. His voice faltered and he collapsed to the floor. In his quiet room at the hospital, after the administration of oxygen had made his breathing easier, and an injection of medicine had relieved the pain in his chest, Dave began to realize what had happened. As a reporter he had once been assigned to the city's receiving hospital, and he recognized his own symptoms. He had suffered a heart attack. But what was going to happen now? Patients who had not died at the hospital or who had not been dead upon arrival, were always sent to other hospitals and he never had had occasion to follow up the story to see what happened afterward. Was he going to die? Or would he be an invalid the rest of his life, a burden to his family and an object of pity to his friends and colleagues?
A generation ago Dave's doctor probably would have given him only slight encouragement. For when coronary thrombosis first began to be accurately diagnosed in the mid-twenties, medical authorities regarded a three-year survival period as the best of good fortune. Today the average survival span, which includes the extremely bad cases as well as the good, may be about 10 years. So when I later discussed Dave's own case with him, I could cite from my own medical experience cases of patients who are in good health as much as 30 years after the attack.
The Low-salt, Low-fat Diet. Part 3
When may you return to work?
When the coronary patient's heart has healed and its function has returned to normal (as determined by his doctor), he is usually allowed to return to his customary activities as soon as is practical. Of course, it is wise to do this gradually, rather than to plunge into a job where he left off. Even if it means only part-time activity at first, most people derive a great satisfaction and a lift to their morale when they can return to some useful routine of life. If the patient was engaged in very strenuous physical labor or factory work which he really did not enjoy, but which he was forced to do to earn a living, he is usually better off to find a lighter kind of work, provided it does not involve the frustrations of a long apprenticeship. There are many ways of reevaluating the kind of work a man or woman has been doing. Many of my patients were engaged in occupations that were a continued source of irritation, causing a state of alarm. Their coronary attack may even have been partly due to the unbearable and prolonged tension. For such patients I always recommend a different occupation or way of life. Then the question arises, "How can I find the right work for myself?" The American Heart Association has developed splendid programs in most of the large cities, aimed at rehabilitation of heart patients. An important part of these programs is helping the patients find the right kind of job. Some centers have also created 'heart kitchens," where housewives who have suffered heart attacks are taught many labor saving devices. Here women learn for the first time that housekeeping need not be a drudgery. The Association also sponsors vocational rehabilitation services which analyze each patient's skill, educational background, physical condition, and so on, to produce a profile of his job qualifications. Often it turns out that the average person possesses hidden talent or unsuspected skills that may open up entirely new vistas that might have remained closed to him all of his life, if he had not suffered a heart attack.
Develop a constructive, optimistic attitude toward life. The case of W. K., a brilliant and successful lawyer, is a perfect example of the vital necessity for the right attitude and philosophy of life. W., who was 52, certainly had a frightening family history. He was the only one of four brothers still alive. His three brothers had all died of heart attacks. Clearly, W. was a familial or hereditary candidate for coronary thrombosis, particularly since his blood cholesterol level was abnormally high. But Bill was a cynic, a disappointed father, and an unhappy man. By nature a pessimist, he believed that it was his fate to die of a coronary thrombosis. He proceeded to help fate along - as had the rest of his former family. No amount of pleading by a devoted and concerned wife, no amount of urging by his doctor, could induce W. to change his philosophy and his living habits. Bill insisted on eating everything, the richer and fatter the better. He drank to excess, smoked heavily and took as little rest as possible. In short order the ax fell. Bill had his coronary thrombosis and joined the rest of his family - 48 hours after his attack. On the other hand, Charles, an optimist and, of all things, an airplane pilot, was confronted with the same problem. He also had lost 3 brothers from coronaries, but Charles believed in helping to direct his own fate in a positive way. At the age of 37, he had the most vital of reasons, other than himself, for remaining in good health. The lives of thousands of passengers were in his hands. Characteristically enough, Charles also had an abnormally high blood cholesterol level. But being of a practical turn of mind, he set to work immediately in following a strict low-fat diet with dietary and vitamin supplements outlined in Chapter 5. His blood tests rapidly became absolutely perfect in every way. He felt and looked marvelous. Today, 10 years after the original examination, he is the perfect physical specimen.
What a sharp contrast in attitude and philosophy of living between Bill and Charles. What a striking contrast that meant perfect health in one case and death in the other! An equally dramatic instance of the importance of a constructive and optimistic attitude toward life and health is the case of John, a railroad engineer, 55 years of age. John piloted a crack transcontinental express for many years. He had become a little overweight and first suffered from mild anginal chest pains. He feared to bring this to the attention of the railroad doctors, for he was certain that he would lose his job. On examining him, I found that he already had coronary artery disease, was overweight, and had a high blood cholesterol level. Our engineer was also a man of constructive action. He put himself on a rigorous low-fat diet, he reduced his weight to the ideal one, and in two months became completely free of all pains. And in his own words, 'he never felt better in his life." He said his own engine had become tired of hauling "excess freight on the line" and "since disconnecting" (to quote his own terrible puns) "the fat in his freight had given him a fright." Now, after eight years of continual work, he has still a sense of well-being. He is in excellent health. His blood tests, his electrocardiograms, and his physical examinations are all perfectly normal for a man of his age. This then is an inspiring example of how a man can help direct his own fate and those of the countless others entrusted to his care. Your chances for long life are excellent. If you have had a coronary thrombosis, a key point to remember is this: your chances are excellent for many years of useful, productive living, provided you follow your doctor's advice. If you will reduce your weight to a normal figure and stay on the low-fat diet and nutritional health program described in this book, you can live just as long as the average overweight man or woman who does not follow the rules of good health given in these pages! The age at which you have an attack is not the important factor in your recovery. One patient of mine, for example, a business man in whom I am particularly interested, had his first heart attack at the age of 63. It was a severe coronary thrombosis.
Neither his family nor, to speak frankly, his former physicians expected him to live very long after the attack. But I recommended the diet and the health rules that I have included here. He took them seriously, and followed them faithfully. He is now 82 years of age, and so active in the conduct of his business that his 44-year old son, who is physically able and in good health, cannot keep up with his father's drive and vitality. A widower, he married a woman many years his junior, and they lead a normal, active, happy life together. They are constantly off on business trips, attend dances (he learned to dance when he was past 70), and take trips abroad. But it is important to bear in mind that this patient has wisely kept his weight to normal; he remains on a low-fat diet, avoids fatigue, naps often during the day, does not smoke or drink, worships regularly, and fallows the Golden Rule in both his business and private life. His outlook on life is vibrant, positive, constructive. No doubt many physicians in America could relate similar cases in their own practice. In short, you can be victorious over modern man's most deadly opponent if you play the game according to the rules.
Develop a constructive, optimistic attitude toward life. The case of W. K., a brilliant and successful lawyer, is a perfect example of the vital necessity for the right attitude and philosophy of life. W., who was 52, certainly had a frightening family history. He was the only one of four brothers still alive. His three brothers had all died of heart attacks. Clearly, W. was a familial or hereditary candidate for coronary thrombosis, particularly since his blood cholesterol level was abnormally high. But Bill was a cynic, a disappointed father, and an unhappy man. By nature a pessimist, he believed that it was his fate to die of a coronary thrombosis. He proceeded to help fate along - as had the rest of his former family. No amount of pleading by a devoted and concerned wife, no amount of urging by his doctor, could induce W. to change his philosophy and his living habits. Bill insisted on eating everything, the richer and fatter the better. He drank to excess, smoked heavily and took as little rest as possible. In short order the ax fell. Bill had his coronary thrombosis and joined the rest of his family - 48 hours after his attack. On the other hand, Charles, an optimist and, of all things, an airplane pilot, was confronted with the same problem. He also had lost 3 brothers from coronaries, but Charles believed in helping to direct his own fate in a positive way. At the age of 37, he had the most vital of reasons, other than himself, for remaining in good health. The lives of thousands of passengers were in his hands. Characteristically enough, Charles also had an abnormally high blood cholesterol level. But being of a practical turn of mind, he set to work immediately in following a strict low-fat diet with dietary and vitamin supplements outlined in Chapter 5. His blood tests rapidly became absolutely perfect in every way. He felt and looked marvelous. Today, 10 years after the original examination, he is the perfect physical specimen.
What a sharp contrast in attitude and philosophy of living between Bill and Charles. What a striking contrast that meant perfect health in one case and death in the other! An equally dramatic instance of the importance of a constructive and optimistic attitude toward life and health is the case of John, a railroad engineer, 55 years of age. John piloted a crack transcontinental express for many years. He had become a little overweight and first suffered from mild anginal chest pains. He feared to bring this to the attention of the railroad doctors, for he was certain that he would lose his job. On examining him, I found that he already had coronary artery disease, was overweight, and had a high blood cholesterol level. Our engineer was also a man of constructive action. He put himself on a rigorous low-fat diet, he reduced his weight to the ideal one, and in two months became completely free of all pains. And in his own words, 'he never felt better in his life." He said his own engine had become tired of hauling "excess freight on the line" and "since disconnecting" (to quote his own terrible puns) "the fat in his freight had given him a fright." Now, after eight years of continual work, he has still a sense of well-being. He is in excellent health. His blood tests, his electrocardiograms, and his physical examinations are all perfectly normal for a man of his age. This then is an inspiring example of how a man can help direct his own fate and those of the countless others entrusted to his care. Your chances for long life are excellent. If you have had a coronary thrombosis, a key point to remember is this: your chances are excellent for many years of useful, productive living, provided you follow your doctor's advice. If you will reduce your weight to a normal figure and stay on the low-fat diet and nutritional health program described in this book, you can live just as long as the average overweight man or woman who does not follow the rules of good health given in these pages! The age at which you have an attack is not the important factor in your recovery. One patient of mine, for example, a business man in whom I am particularly interested, had his first heart attack at the age of 63. It was a severe coronary thrombosis.
Neither his family nor, to speak frankly, his former physicians expected him to live very long after the attack. But I recommended the diet and the health rules that I have included here. He took them seriously, and followed them faithfully. He is now 82 years of age, and so active in the conduct of his business that his 44-year old son, who is physically able and in good health, cannot keep up with his father's drive and vitality. A widower, he married a woman many years his junior, and they lead a normal, active, happy life together. They are constantly off on business trips, attend dances (he learned to dance when he was past 70), and take trips abroad. But it is important to bear in mind that this patient has wisely kept his weight to normal; he remains on a low-fat diet, avoids fatigue, naps often during the day, does not smoke or drink, worships regularly, and fallows the Golden Rule in both his business and private life. His outlook on life is vibrant, positive, constructive. No doubt many physicians in America could relate similar cases in their own practice. In short, you can be victorious over modern man's most deadly opponent if you play the game according to the rules.
Here, in summary, are the 10 most important:
- Hit that waistline hard! Keep your weight normal. Follow Chapter 6 on "Calling all Calories." Your belt in the front should not make you deserve a 'belt in the back'!
- Follow religiously the low-fat diet and nutritional way of living. In this way you will "add years to your life and life to your years."
- Consult your doctor for advice and check-ups regularly (just as you would your dentist) at least once a year. Certainly do so more often whenever there are specific questions or problems, "An ounce of prevention"
- Be sure to get your complete quota of sleep and rest. The average adult needs eight to nine hours a night. The night owl is often a scarecrow in the morning. Whenever you can, steal a cat-nap or rest as often as possible through the day. You recharge your 'battery' this way.
- Find out from your doctor how much exercise and physical exertion is safe for you. Then abide faithfully by his in structions. Perhaps your heart has completely recovered and you can do anything within reason. Perhaps you have to be moderate in physical activities. Your physician is the best judge of this.
- You are best off to stop smoking cigarettes. Ideally you are better off not to smoke at all! If you can't give up the weed, try a pipe, or at least cut down to a few cigarettes.
- As for alcoholic beverages, follow the Greek advice, "all things in moderation." Moderate and controlled drinking is a good relaxant. Remember, "what's one man's meat, may be another's poison." Some people don't tolerate alcohol well. To some it may have serious effects, especially when taken in excess.
- Be sure that your "plumbing" system is working in the famous American way: your bowels must function normally. Avoid constipation, as directed.
- Try to avoid extreme altitudes or extremes of temperature. If you have a choice, try to live in a temperate or equable climate.
- Whenever possible, try to arrange your work and living so that they may give you a maximum of gratification and a minimum of grief. If you can, try to enjoy a hobby that will give you relaxation and mental refreshment. Develop a wholesome, cheerful outlook and philosophy of life.
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