Daily diet soda may increase risk of heart attack, stroke: study | Reuters

Here's what the researchers found ... (from the Journal of General Internal Medicine) older adults who drank diet soda every day were 44 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack.

44 percent!! That's a HUGE number.

Here's the caveat. 
Their research showed a correlation between 2 things -- more diet soda = more heart disease. That said, it may be something else about this population of diet soda drinkers that caused the heart attacks ... Maybe diet soda drinkers are ALREADY overweight and so ALREADY have risk factors for heart disease.

Maybe maybe maybe.

Honestly? It may also be that diet sodas only contribute to the problem, but don't cause it all by itself. So, science has some work to do over the next few years to tease apart this little puzzle and decide whether diet soda 

1. has nothing to do with the problem, 
2. contributes to the problem, 
3. or causes it outright. 

Until then, what are YOU supposed to do? 
Basically, you have to choose whether to believe that the 44 percent increase in heart disease risk can be explained away by something else ... anything else. And, truly, that may ultimately turn out to be the final result of all the experiments over the next decade or so.

In the interim, while you're waiting on science's gavel to come down on this issue, a safe bet might be to have one of these crazy new alternative zero-calorie drinks called ... water or tea. I think the science is already sorted out on those.

Daily diet soda may increase risk of heart attack, stroke: study | Reuters

Video: How Harvard Disses Dairy ... and WHY?

The USDA has been producing dietary guidelines for about 100 years now. 


The picture has gone from a PIE, to a square, to a pyramid, to a "rainbow pyramid", to a circular plate. 


In this interview, I talk about how this change happened, WHY it happened, and the controversy around it.  


I have to say that, for those who are anti-dairy, you may have issues with this piece ... I hope not. When Harvard's School of Public Health  dislodged dairy from the Healthy Eating Plate, it seemed kind of weird, and out of the blue. 


So I started reading about their reasoning, and kept coming up with concerns that the Dairy industry has too much influence in policy making.  


Dude, stick to nutrition. It either is okay for you or it is not. I actually agree with them that the overlap between the food industry and the food regulators is WAY too cozy. 


But you are the Harvard School of Public Health, not the Harvard School of Public Policy. 


Later in the document, Harvard said that the USDA was recommending that you drink MORE milk. However, the recommendations for milk consumption have never increased (it's always been ~2-3 cups per day). 


How could they get that wrong? 


Finally, if you have TOO MUCH milk, they say, you could get ovarian or prostate cancer. Really? The "slippery slope argument? Here's the problem with this concern: 

• If you drink too much water, you'll get hyponatremia and die. 
• If you have too much wine you'll get cirrhosis of the liver ... 
• if you have too much meat you could harm your kidneys or heart ... 
• heck, if you have too much fiber, you're going to be sorry!! 

This is so unfortunate, coming from an institution that I respect so much. They sound overtly political, and come off sounding a bit petty, as if they have an ax to grind.  



 For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower's website.

My Segment with Dr Oz

This is my segment with Dr Oz on Cancer Fighting Foods. 

Dr Oz was terrific, by the way. As a person, he is exactly as he seems -- genuine and very easy to be with. 

It was a great pleasure to talk and laugh with him. 

For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower's website.

Vitamin D pills don't prevent heart attack or cancer

Vitamin D from food is exceptionally healthy for you.

But, here again, when the same thing is abstracted into pill form ... It does NOT act the same way in the body.

Here is the link to the article: http://reut.rs/tPctdg

Eat food. If it ain't food, don't eat it.

I found this using the Thomson Reuters News

Sent from my iPhone

RadioWill: All About Cholesterol

Here is the link for the Saturday Radio Show (airs Saturday at noon EST)

www.wmnyradio.com/business_of_health.aspx

And you can call in to talk with me during the show:

412.333.1360

I'm talking about cholesterol, heart disease, weight, the Mediterranean Diet, and "Beans-n-Greens"!!

WMNY Money Talk 1360

For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower's website.

What’s Cholesterol Got to Do With It?

I love Gary Taubes ... he's awesome. 


I'm prepping for my Saturday radio program and ran across his op ed in the NYTimes (here's the link), which reviews how "the cholesterol hypothesis" happened. 


Does the cholesterol idea (lower cholesterol = 
lower heart attack risk) even work? 


This article makes the point that the early research confused a "false positive" correlation with a true causal link. 


Yes, statins decreased heart attack risk, but not because it lowered cholesterol. Check this out and see what you think.

What’s Cholesterol Got to Do With It? - New York Times

Study: Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, lower bone density

What would you do to make sure your bones didn't fall apart beneath you? 


How far would you go to make sure your bones wouldn't break: in the normal bumps of an average day; under your own weight? 


According to this study, there is a very simple solution that can bias your bones toward a healthier, sturdier direction. 


Don't drink colas. Just stop. 


It's likely to be the phosphoric acid in sodas that's pulling the calcium OUT of your body -- so you body has to pull calcium OUT of your bones. But whatever the ultimate cause, we're pretty clear that drinking colas can lead to porous bones. 


Bottom line? Don't drink colas. Just stop. 


Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study

New Study: Eat Slow. You'll Eat Less.

How many times have we said this? 

The amount you're hungry for is only PARTIALLY due to calorie-debt. It's also about how FAST you eat it! 

Two new studies (click here to see yourself) by researchers at the University of Rhode Island found that: 

A) men eat significantly faster than women, B) heavier people eat faster than slimmer people.

The author of the study, Kathleen Melanson,  found “very strong gender differences” in eating rates. At lunch, the men consumed about 80 calories per minute while the women consumed 52 calories per minute.

“The men who reported eating slowly ate at about the same rate as the women who reported eating quickly,” said Melanson, director of the URI Energy Balance Laboratory.

The second study found that  individuals with a high BMI typically eating considerably faster than those with a low BMI.

“One theory we are pursuing is that fast eating may be related to greater energy needs, since men and heavier people have higher energy needs,” said Melanson.

“It takes time for your body to process fullness signals,” she concluded, “so slower eating may allow time for fullness to register in the brain before you’ve eaten too much.”

The latest research follows up on a landmark 2007 study conducted by Melanson that was the first to confirm the popular dietary belief that eating slowly reduces food intake. That study found that women who were told to eat quickly consumed 646 calories in nine minutes, but the same women consumed just 579 calories in 29 minutes when encouraged to pause between bites and chew each mouthful 15 to 20 times before swallowing.

For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower's website.