I must say, having listened recently to Benjamin Britten’s recording of The Dream of Gerontius that like cholesterol there is good and bad vibrato. Yvonne Minton (what a beautiful voice) represents the good creative use of vibrato whereas Peter Pears represents the bad, using it permanently. Actually performances of Elgar’s music seem to suffer from excessive vibrato generally. Did he ask for it in scores? But of course Roger Norrington went too far the other way and played Elgar with no vibrato at all … with horrendous results.

I know that Pears’ voice is like Marmite – you love it or you hate it. But comparing his performance with (for instance) a more recent Gerontius release (from CBSO/Oramo), I much prefer the passion of Pears to Lavender who (with a rather all-purpose, non-expressive vibrato) sounds rather like a rather annoyed accountant, rather than a human being about to meet his maker.

Bad vibrato is the all-time killer for me as far as musical enjoyment is concerned (it keeps me away from a lot of opera).

Alright, I know this is going to sound simple and silly, and some people my even wonder why I felt this was important enough to post. But that’s alright! Because this fruit and cereal combo I made is amazing Simple, yet amazing.

Chocolate Cheerios

First of all, since when do they have CHOCOLATE Cheerios? I bet the Big Man Upstairs chuckled to himself and said, “You know what would be a funny joke – cocoa and Cheerios. Those humans won’t know what to say.” Well, He was right. My mother bought a box of these for my brother to try. Those attempts were unsuccessful, so I have inherited the box of deliciousness and let me tell you – they are just little O’s of lightly cocoa-ed goodness! When I first ate them, I exclaimed to my mother how much they tasted like CoCo Puffs – which they do – however they are even better than CoCo Puffs because they don’t taste like they’re coated with sugar and other refined messes of crystals. They just taste like regular Cheerios infused with a bit of cocoa.

So I took this little-choco-warrior of a cereal and mixed it with its grand-daddy cereal, regular Cheerios, and threw in some slices of bananas and strawberries. I thought I would stop there, considering I was salivating profusely already (not exactly attractive, I know), but no! I decided to go one step further and add a touch of one of my favorite spices – cinnamon.

I love cinnamon.

cinnamon

Did I ever tell you that I love cinnamon?

I love cinnamon.

I could add cinnamon to almost any baked good recipe, and to a lot of other things as well. When I’m home from college, I add cinnamon to my cappuccino that I have in the morning with my parents. I love cinnamon so much that I’m bringing back a small container of it with me to college so I can sprinkle it on cereal and other treats to make them even tastier. I just think it’s such a wonder spice, it really livens-up any food you use it with, in an almost festive and holiday-like way. Also, to make cinnamon even better, in my health research, it has been found that just a small bit of cinnamon a day can reduce LDL cholesterol. Cinnamon is also a great source of magnesium, fiber, calcium and iron, and one study eve connected the smelling of cinnamon to a boost in cognitive function and memory!

Try this fruit and cereal combo, trust me, it makes for a great, light breakfast or lunch – and it’s so easy and quick to make too!

Coco-Cheerio Cinnamon Fruit Bowl

1/2 cup of regular Cheerios

1/2 cup of Chocolate Cheerios

1 medium banana, sliced

4 fresh strawberries, sliced

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix both regular and Chocolate Cheerios in a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, slice banana and strawberries.

3. Combine cereal and fruit, mix with spoon.

4. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of mixture, mix one more time to coat all ingredients with cinnamon.

ENJOY!

Liberation Wellness President and author of the Liberation Diet Kevin Brown will be one of the main speakers at the Pittsburgh farm to table conference, this event is huge so come on out if you are able!

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

We’ve all been there: exhausted, glum and reaching for that second or third helping that we just don’t need. Why do we do that? why do we do it now more than ever? did cave men do it? if they did, how come they didn’t get as fat as we are now? These are all questions that David Kessler, former commissioner of the FDA tried to answer for us in his recent blog post for the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper.

In his post, Kessler explains that the triple threat of SALT, FAT, and SUGAR are the culprits in our gluttony and that the food industry has spent billions researching that fact. According to Kessler’s interview with a major designer of fast food ( yes, they have designers for fast food!), the industry designs dishes to hit those “3 point of the compass”. The brain changes that occur when we eat sugar, fat and salt can almost be described as a high that is impossible to resist. We’re talking a chemical high with neurons firing and dopamine releasing, people , so it’s not about willpower.  In essence it makes us feel GOOD for a moment and then compels us to eat more to maintain that feeling. Consequently, the more we eat, the bigger we get and the more money the industry makes because we buy more to eat more.  The amount of complexity involved in the design and deliberate availability of today’s high fat/salt/sugary food is scary because it isn’t designed to work in our favor. How can we fight a system that’s set up to undermine our efforts? Well, now that we know what we’re up against we need to have a plan of defense.

1. Know your trigger foods and don’t buy ‘em: don’t think you can outwit the system and that includes your biology. Can’t stop at one potato chip, pretzel, Dorito? don’t buy the bag.
2. Practice portion control: Humans are designed to eat as much as they’re served so serve yourself less.  If you’re still hungry after that, wait at least 20 minutes before choosing another low-fat and calorie food item.
3. Eat enough good fats: It’s helpful to include some healthy plant and fish based oils into your diet so that your fat doesn’t feel deprived. Having a fat-free break fast and lunch and then gorging on a a high fat dinner is not the way to go. Too much fat in any single meal goes straight to our stores ( read: weight gain).
4. Always question your hunger: Are you really hungry or just upset, bored or tired? do you really want to eat that anyway or can you wait for a healthier choice? Try not to go more than 3 hours between meals because you will be vulnerable to making poor choices. Also never food shop when you’re starving.
5. Eating out or at a party? Visualize making the right choices or better yet, eat a small salad or fruit at home beforehand so you aren’t starving when you get there.

Pecans have it all. Besides being one of the most elegant, versatile and rich-tasting nuts you can put on your plate, they offer up a package of health benefits that’s very impressive. In fact, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend eating 4 to 5 servings of nuts each week.

The Mayo Clinic conducted a study which found that all nuts are nutrient dense and naturally cholesterol free. Not only are nuts cholesterol free but, studies have suggested that eating pecans may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels, leading to a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and coronary artery disease. The serving size for nuts is about one ounce, which equals about 15 pecan halves. Pecans are a great staple for vegetarians, because one serving of pecans can take the place of the protein found in an ounce of meat.

Pecans are also a rich source of oleic acid, the same type of fatty acid found in olive oil. Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago recently found in laboratory tests that oleic acid has the ability to suppress the activity of a gene in cells thought to trigger breast cancer. While this area of study is still in its early stages, the researchers say it could eventually translate into a recommendation to eat more foods rich in oleic acid, like pecans and olive oil.

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces , New Mexico , have confirmed that when pecans are part of the daily diet, levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood drop. Pecans get their cholesterol-lowering ability from both the type of fat they contain and the presence of beta-sitosterol, a natural cholesterol-lowering compound. Eating 1 ½ ounces of pecans a day, when its part of a heart-healthy diet, can reduce the risk of heart disease. Moreover, a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts contained the highest antioxidant levels of all nuts tested.

The same natural compound that gives pecans its cholesterol-lowering power, has also been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland in men. About two ounces of pecans provides a dose of beta-sitosterol found to be effective. In addition, a recent laboratory study from Purdue University found that gamma-tocopherol, the type of vitamin E found in pecans, has the ability to kill prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. Last but not least, despite the widely held belief that “nuts are fattening,” several population studies have found that as nut consumption increased, body fat actually decreased.

Pecans can be found in many of your favorite Wholefood Farmacy foods including Phi Plus, Cornaborealis, Corn of Plenty and your favorite Farinas.

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You may remember MOM pushing Cod-Liver oil on the kids, but our understanding and application of fish oil has come along ways. 

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“A Pizza Hut… A Pizza Hut…Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut.  McDonalds, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut..”  “I like food… you like food… Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut.”

Super Size Me opens with children singing these lines.  The reality is, children are not the only ones being seduced by the lure of fast food… chicken, pizza and burgers.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to view Super Size Me, the documentary by Morgan Spurlock, please check it out.  Even if you have seen it, why not watch it again.  Follow Mr. Spurlock as he embarks upon a McDonalds-only diet for 30 days.  What will happen?

Super Size Me | Spurlock’s rules

• Eat only McDonalds food (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• If McDonald’s doesn’t sell it, he can’t eat it
• Every menu item must be eaten at least once
• If asked to Super Size, well of course, he must accept

(HDL molecule. from www.lbl.gov)

Week 5 of NMGI. The day after Daylight Savings time ended. AND the Monday after the weekend when the UVM men and women’s basketball teams won their entries into the NCAA tournament.

So Dr. Tracy was pleasantly surprised when most of our class showed up for our 8 AM lecture. She told us she remembered having her kids wake up late for school on the day after we lost an hour, calling it the “worst day of the year”.

She also couldn’t hide her excitement for the upcoming sports events. “If any of you want to discuss March Madness, I am happy to do so.” Although, she later admitted, ”My favorite team is Syracuse.” I’m surprised she didn’t get booed.

***

Every year, the medical school measures the cholesterol of the current first-year class.  

We had our blood drawn for fasting lipid counts about two weeks ago. We were also interested in the results, because apparently each incoming class had better cholesterol measurements than the ones before them.

And yes, part of it is because we’ve been trying to outcompete the classes before us, whether it’s in test scores or on the field.

So in the afternoon, Dr. Martha Seagrave (of Family Medicine) presents our class results. They look good. Most of us have total cholesterol in the desirable range  (< 200 mg/dL), LDL in the optimal (<100 mg/dL) or near optimal range  (<130 mg/dL), and HDL (‘the good cholesterol”) higher than 60 mg/dL.

Then they compare us against the other classes with various graphs, with each class having a different color (except for 2008 to 2010, which are combined together).

And well, we don’t stand out. Don’t get me wrong. Most of us are obviously very healthy. But let’s just say 2011 had some amazingly healthy people, and a few outliers that have to be genetic.

So finally a student asks the question on everyone’s mind: “So did we win?”

You know you’re in trouble when this is your reply:

“Well, it depends on what we’re measuring. If we’re going by which of you has the prettiest color [on the graph], then I’d say you won, since you’re the orange.”

*** 

Another student asks the other obvious question: Do they measure the cholesterol level of each class when they’re 4th years, and compare it to the data from when they were 1st years?

No, Dr. Seagrave tells us, but she thinks it’s an excellent idea, and polls our class if we’d want to participate. Most of us do. That’ll depend on getting funding from Dean Jeffries, she tells us. Start petitioning…

***

Lectures today included Dr. Tracy’s talks on how cholesterol is synthesized and broken down, as well as dyslipidemias–diseases where there’s an error in the synthesis, processing or degradation of cholesterol.

You know all those pathways that we’ve learned in today’s first lecture? Basically, an error in any one of the step can give you a dyslipidemia. We’re guaranteed to see one of these in our medical careers, Dr. Tracy tells us.

We also learn about dietary management of cholesterol levels from Ms. Johansen. Obviously we learn about avoiding saturated fats and trans fats. I won’t dwell too much on the obvious.

But among the interesting tidbits: 

• Even if your total cholesterol is low, your risk of serious disease is still very high if your HDL level is also low.
• Nuts are great for lowering your risk of heart disease, although they’re high in calories.
• Apparently the jury’s out on the effectiveness of soy. We know certain parts of soy are linked to benefits, but we don’t know the correlation between the magnitude of the effect and the amount of soy eaten. Sorry, tofu lovers.
• Weight loss actually causes your HDL cholesterol levels to decrease at first, but if you sustain the weight loss, your HDL levels will increase. For every 7 pounds of weight you lose, you gain 1 mg/dL in HDL levels…as long as you maintain the loss.
• And in a very interesting experiment, people who drank half a bottle of wine every day for six months had their HDL levels increase by 7 mg/dL! Let’s see if our class we’ll try that one…

***

We also get a Heart Healthy lunch today! Not sure why today of all days, but it’s a nice little break. It’s about 90% heart healthy, according to Dr. Tracy: water, salad and whole grain rolls. The missing 10%? Cookies, some meat and probably the salad dressings. 

Hey, I’ll take it. But perhaps not everyone. This is the only time I’ve seen a faculty member walk back in the room and encourage people to take seconds.

Don’t worry. We cleaned it all off. Eventually. I think.

Josh Pothen (UVM’s Meager Med Student)

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In the February issue of Lancet, Sattar and his colleagues presented a meta-analysis of 13 large, placebo-controlled trials, in which they discovered statin users have a higher risk of developing diabetes. 

The analysis involved 91,000 individuals and the results indicated that statin users were associated with a slight (9%) increase in risk of developing diabetes.  The increase in risk of diabetes was found mostly in older patients and the increase in risk was not associated with body-mass index or changes in LDL cholesterol.

So, should you discontinue your statin therapy?

To put this result into perspectives, it is important to note that other cardiovascular drugs have also been associated with an increase in the risk of developing diabetes.  These drugs include diuretics, beta-blockers and niacin.

Furthermore, Sattar and colleagues calculated that one extra case of diabetes occurred for every 255 patients treated with statin over four years.  However, 5.4 deaths or myocardial infarction and 5 cases of stroke or coronary revascularization procedures would be avoided over the same period.   Therefore the benefits of taking statins seem to greatly outweigh the risk by a ratio of 9:1 in favor of taking statins.  

Even though you should continue taking your statins (rosuvastatin(Crestor), atorvastatin(Lipitor), simvastatin(Zocor), lovastatin(Mevacor), pravastatin(Pravachol), fluvastatin(Lescol)), it is important to ask your physicians to also monitor your glucose level, in addition to liver-function and creatine kinase monitoring, during your routine check-up. 

Sattar et.al.  Lancet (02/27/10) Vol. 375, No. 9716, P. 735

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