Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Fitness, Health and Nutrition

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Add Fiber to Fruit Juice?

Add Fiber to Fruit Juice?

A study sponsored by PepsiCo showed that adding extra fiber to regular orange juice markedly reduced the usual high rise in peak blood sugar and insulin concentrations in men who were at high risk for diabetes and heart attacks.

Add Fiber to Fruit Juice?

Gluten-Free Diets Can Harm

Two studies in prestigious medical journals show that gluten-free diets can cause nutritional deficiencies in all age groups (Clinical Nutrition, published online May 7, 2016) and interfere with growth and development in children.

Otto Warburg, Cancer Pioneer

Otto Warburg, Cancer Pioneer

83 years after Otto Warburg published his landmark paper on cancer, the New York Times has a major article on the revival of his idea that cancer cells can be starved to death (NYT, May 12, 2016). Otto Warburg (1883 – 1970) was arguably the most brilliant and productive chemist of all time. Throughout his 50 years of research, he made major breakthroughs in intracellular respiration, photosynthesis and cancer.

Add Fiber to Fruit Juice?

Don’t Count Calories

Contestants on the television program The Biggest Loser dropped an average of 129 pounds, yet six years later, most have regained more than 70 percent of their lost weight, largely because dieting decreased their ability to burn calories. They now burn about 500 fewer calories each day than would be expected for a person of the same age and weight.

Reduce Inflammation to Help Prevent Cancer

Reduce Inflammation to Help Prevent Cancer

Certain dietary habits are associated with increased risk for breast and prostate cancer. Of 3184 adults followed for more than 20 years, 565 were diagnosed with cancer. Those who drank sugary drinks had three times as much prostate cancer as those who took in less. Men who ate processed lunch foods (pizza, deli meats and burgers) four or more times a week had double the risk for prostate cancer. Women who ate vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes were 67 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, compared with women who favored refined carbohydrates.

Tommy Kono, Greatest Weightlifter in US History

Tommy Kono, Greatest Weightlifter in US History

Tommy Kono was probably the greatest Olympic weightlifter of all time. Between 1952 to 1960, he won two Olympic gold medals and one silver Olympic medal. His Olympic medals were in three different weight classes: gold in lightweight, gold in light heavyweight and silver in middleweight.

Belly Fat Predicts a Heart Attack

Belly Fat Predicts a Heart Attack

You are at high risk for a premature death if you can pinch more than three inches in your belly. Even people who are not overweight are at high risk for a heart attack and diabetes if they store most of their fat in the belly instead of in the buttocks, hips and thighs.

Tommy Kono, Greatest Weightlifter in US History

Chyna Laurer’s Destructive Choices

Chyna Laurer was a wrestler, bodybuilder and actress who wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as the Ninth Wonder of the World. She often wrestled with men and beat them. In 1999 she became the first, and still the only, woman to win the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Intercontinental Championship.

Preventing Prostate Cancer

Preventing Prostate Cancer

High blood sugar levels, particularly fructose, turn on a man’s immunity that is supposed to attack and kill invading germs. Instead his immunity attacks his own normal cells to damage the genetic DNA material and turn normal prostate cells into cancer cells.

Tommy Kono, Greatest Weightlifter in US History

Ida Keeling, Setting Running Records at 100

Two years ago, Ida Keeling (born May 5, 1915) set the world record for a 99 year old woman in the 100-meter dash at 59.80 seconds. At age 95 she set the world record for running 60 meters at 29.86 seconds. Her brain matches her athletic prowess. She can recall names and dates immediately. Running as she ages has given her life more meaning and purpose, which is very important as she probably has many more years to live,