Digestive Tune-Up Webinar #4

Chef AJ All-Vegetable Weight Loss Wednesday

On the Road to Wellness

Official diagnosis: Asthmatic Bronchitis

Unofficial diagnosis: lung full of gunk, throat as red as raw meat.

Back on the bronchodilator/steroid, on a round of antibiotics.

Rest and liquids. "Should have seen me sooner." Boy, did he get an ear full from me & my husband about this! He just shrugged.

More to come later.

Still Hacking and Wheezing

Going out for a half hour Saturday in the gloomy grey dampness did nothing to improve my spirits or the cough.

And yesterday I woke up with laryngitis and a weird squeak after each cough. This morning, I can't speak at all, not even in hushed tones. Lovely.

This time tomorrow I *should* be home from the doc, hopefully with a new prescription for Advair, and within 2 weeks, the time it usually takes for a med like that to start working. If the doc is unhappy with what the inside of my throat looks like or the sound of my lungs, I may even be gifted with a script for oral prednisone. Oh, joy. Instant 50 pound weight gain if that happens. :(

And yes, my poor son now has this full blown, nearly identical to mine, as opposed to the version he started out with 5-6 weeks ago. He still refuses to see the doc. Oh, well.

Don't Blame Me, I'm Still Sick

I got weepy when I watched this at 2am. Everything is weep-worthy at 2am!

And It Only Gets Worse

No doc yesterday. The office manager tried, and even had me penciled in at one point, but then the doc had her cancel all afternoon appointments because he had a meeting to go to. Oh, come on! You only have like 12 office hours all week, and now you cancelled 4 of them??

So, I either hold out until Tuesday afternoon or hit an urgent care center. Since what I'm probably going to have ordered for me is the combo steroid and bronchodilator inhaler, and since it'll take at least 2 weeks before it actually does anything, I guess I'll wait.

Because I kept dozing off while sitting up watching tv yesterday (Can't lie down - that's when it's worse), I tried sleeping in a rocking chair in the living room last night. Not too bad. I slept about 6 hours in 2 hour intervals - the most sleep I've had in 2 weeks. It's just so sore on the butt. I need to find the gel cushion we used when that chair was my husband's headquarters after his CABG surgery. He said it was pretty comfy at the time.

And hey - I may actually get out of the house today! Our cars haven't been moved since we did our last grocery shopping trip before the recent ice storm, 2 weeks ago today, the day I got sick. Hubby would walk to a mom and pop store and grab a few items we needed, like his bread and bananas, but no big order, so we're starting to get low on a few things again. I wish I could go, but people would hear me coughing and gagging and run the other way. I'm a public health hazard, to say the least. So hubby is taking one of the cars and is getting a small order. Small, because 1) He has to shop for and carry it all alone and 2) I really haven't been eating much of anything so don't need to restock the freezer or pantry with much. We've had a lot of leftovers lately.

Anyway (I always wander so far off the subject), after he gets home and we get all the stuff put away, we'll see how I feel and how the weather is. It's supposed to hit 60 this afternoon, but rainy. If it's not too bad, and if I feel up to it, we'll head out again with the other car and take a ride around town, then get gas. I may actually be out for an hour! I haven't even been dressed for the past 2 weeks! I have 2 appointments on Tuesday (podiatrist and primary care), so I better get used to getting up and about again.

My son brought this thing home from work 5 weeks ago today, and he never got rid of it. It lessened to a great degree, but never stopped completely. Just when he thought it was ready to finally fade, he tells me that Thursday night he developed a sore throat again. By the time he got home from work yesterday, if you closed your eyes you wouldn't be able to tell us apart. Stereophonic coughing! You only knew who any particular hacking wheeze was coming from by which room it was emanating from. I'm sorry, kiddo! Referring to us as the 2 Muto from Godzilla the other day was a joke! I didn't want you to get it as bad as I have it again!

Oh, he was on the same asthma med as I was for the longest time, but he stopped taking it on his own once he hit college. He was on it a few years before I was. He refuses to even consider going back on it. Maybe if he sees it working on me to get rid of this cough in a few weeks he'll consider asking the doc for it back again.

Better get my day going. It's going to be a busy one for a change. Hopefully I will get out and hopefully the fresh air will do me some good. Cross your fingers the rain holds off until we get back home.

Digestive Tune Up Webinar #3

Off to See the Wizard - I Hope

I'm now running a fever of 101 for the past 24 hours; I'm still not sleeping; still coughing, coughing, coughing, gagging; and now add nausea and lack of appetite to the list. Yesterday I had maybe 2 teaspoons of oatmeal, no lunch, and less than a half cup of rice and veggies for dinner. I was just too nauseous to eat any more.

In the early afternoon, my husband called the doctor's office to get me an appointment ASAP. Well, Tuesday at 3pm IS ASAP. The office manager said to call back this morning because if there was any cancellations she can slide me into it. I'm going to tell my husband if she can't schedule me today, to ask which urgent care center the doctor recommends, because I'm not playing around with a 101º fever and nausea for the next 5 days. That's what happens when the office has no weekend OR Monday hours. I've been a patient of the practice since 1983 - they better be able to squeeze me in today.

Last night I was awake all night, with the exception of 15-20 minutes here and there while watching the March Malice marathon on TCM. Gojira, King Kong, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing from Another World, and I gave up and got out of bed as soon as The X From Outer Space came on. My poor husband was trying to sleep but aside from the few minutes of respite, I was constantly coughing, coughing, coughing. At least me getting up at 3am he can have 3 hours of peace and quiet.

Wish me luck.

Argh (hack, hack, cough, cough, wheeze, gag, cough)!!

Things got so bad yesterday that I had to start taking my asthma rescue inhaler ever 4 hours and had to restart my inhaled steroid/bronchodilator med. By bedtime (a bit after 7pm) I was able to sleep in 45 minute to 2 hour segments, but since I woke up this morning at 5:30 am (kept waking my husband so I gave up), the cough is just as bad as it's been the past 2 weeks. If I go 5 minutes without an attack I feel it's a "win".

And when I woke at 2am to hit the bathroom, I was once again drenched with sweat from head to toe, including my sheets and pillows, so it was hard getting back to sleep after that. I did, but woke again around 4:15am, and wound up chuckling myself back to sleep.

Anyone familiar with the Godzilla movie from 2014? Godzilla himself had a very minor role in the storyline, but the kanji stars were the 2 Mutos, a male and female. One of the plot lines pointed out that the "signal" that was being detected were the 2 Mutos calling out to each other. For some weird, sick reason, that part of the movie kept popping into my head early this morning. Here was my son in his bedroom, getting ready for work (He has to leave a bit before 5am), coughing his head off, like he has been for the past 4 weeks, and there was I in my bedroom, hacking and gagging.

I started chuckling. He would cough almost to the point of gagging, then I would do the same. I laughed enough to bother my husband and wake him up, and he asked what was wrong. I told him to ignore the Muto, go back to sleep, and he did, and I dozed off again soon after him. During the middle of his work this morning he comes into the bedroom where I'm trying to rest (while coughing, coughing, coughing), and he says: "By the way, did you talk about Mutos calling you at 4am? I had to think for a minute, then cracked up laughing (between gasping, wheezy inhalations), and said Yeah, I guess I did, but forgot all about it. He shook his head and left the room. I can't wait to tell my son when he gets in from work at 3:30pm. He already knows his mom is weird.

Argh!

After being advertised on both the McDougall Talks Facebook and the official forums, it looks like the webinar on children I mentioned here a week or so ago is not available to watch and is now marked as private. I just noticed, too, that even though I registered to see it and got the link, I never got an email with replay information.

And I didn't get a chance to watch it "live" because I've been sick again. This time, like the last 2, it started as a sore throat, but for a change it went right into a constant nagging cough, a cough so bad I can't sleep, can't taste my food so have no appetite, and have problems eating and drinking because the cough can come up suddenly and without warning, in the middle of a sentence or middle of a bite of food. Forget about sleeping! If I get 4 interrupted hours total a night that's a lot, and I only managed to get that twice in the past 10 days.

I really can't wait until this winter is finally out of here!

Digestive Tune-Up Webinar 2

Starch Solution in the Comics Section!

Six Chicks March 16, 2017

If the comic doesn't show up, go to this link.

New Cookbook from Dr. Fuhrman

Dr. Fuhrman’s fantastic new book, Eat to Live Quick and Easy Cookbook, is set to hit stores on May 2, 2017. This collection of 131 delicious, fast and simple recipes, which covers everything from delightful breakfasts to on-the-go lunches, hearty dinners, satisfying salads, tasty dips and salad dressings, desserts and much more, is sure to become your go-to kitchen manual. Your family and friends will enjoy these tasty and healthful dishes, which require minimal preparation without sacrificing flavor. And you’ll love the way you feel when eating these healthful foods! But you won’t need to wait until May 2nd to start enjoying Dr. Fuhrman’s quick and easy recipes! FREE when you preorder Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live Quick and Easy Cookbook TODAY: an exclusive downloadable booklet that contains a 7-day meal plan with 30 bonus recipes that are not found in the main cookbook. You’ll be able to start creating and enjoying delicious Nutritarian meals right away – even before you receive the Quick and Easy Cookbook! This special bonus booklet is only available for a limited time, as a gift with preorders of the Eat to Live Quick and Easy Cookbook – so don’t delay; order yours today!

McDougall EXTRA Webinar - Implementing a Healthy Diet for Children

Remember, there will still be the regular weekly webinar on Thursday March 16, 2017 on the Digestive Tune-Up book.

TWO McDougall Webinars this Week

I just got an email telling about another webinar tomorrow - Tuesday March 14, 2017 - besides the Digestive Tune-Up ones on Thursdays.

Implementing a Health Promoting Diet for Children.


John McDougall, MD
In this live webinar, you will be able to interact directly with Dr. McDougall as he discusses how to implement the McDougall plant-based diet for children (and parents!).

He will explain what the negative effects of consuming meat, oil and dairy are.

Dr. McDougall will also talk about how much protein a child really needs and how to get it in the cleanest and safest way possible.

Dr. McDougall will also talk about what the best milk is for babies and toddlers.

And he will answer YOUR questions as well!


Register now for this free webinar and let your friends know too!
The Registration Button is at the bottom of this page.


TO SEND QUESTIONS, please email Webinar@DrMcDougall.com.

CANNOT ATTEND THE LIVE WEBINAR? No problem, go ahead and register and you will automatically receive the REPLAY when it becomes available!
Tuesday, 14 March 2017, at 01:00 pm
Eastern Time (US and Canada), GMT -4

https://app.webinarjam.net/register/14990/34d265e7ed

Dr Lisle Does the Perfect Personality Talk Again

Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar on Sale

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If that link doesn't work, here's the link that goes directly to the Grand Reserve Balsamic Vinegar page. Just remember to use the code above when checking out. It's good until March 9, 2017.

Dr. Esselstyn Replies

Remember those posts last week about Dr. Esselstyn's name being on one of many who authored a study on CVD that "concluded" nuts and oils are heart healthy? Well, we were right to be skeptical.

Apparently, Dr. McDougall wrote him about it, and Dr. McDougall shared his reply on the forums:

John, 
As I crawl from underneath the bus, it is essential for me to clarify your criticism of me in regards to this week’s committee authored American College of Cardiology (ACC) publication. 
On page 1182 of the ACC paper there is reference to three of my publications immediately followed by the statement “On this basis, it appears that a whole food plant based diet may halt progression of coronary atherosclerosis and achieve evidence of angiographic disease regression.” The reference to my publications numbers 133, 134, and 135 appear on page 1187 of the ACC paper. To update you further, in 2016 I published an article in the Journal of The American College of Lifestyle Medicine entitled “Defining an Overdue Requiem for Palliative Cardiovascular Medicine” and I just completed a paper entitled “Coronary Artery Disease: A Mandate for Effective Therapy.” to be published later this year in a geriatric journal issue edited by Robert Ostfeld. In two weeks, on March 19th, I have been given 12 minutes to preset my research and clinical strategies how to prevent and reverse heart disease before the membership of the American College of Cardiology in Washington, D.C. 
My point is that in none of these writings or presentations in the past, present, or future have I deviated from my “NO OIL” plant based nutrition message. 
While I would like nothing more than to have the ACC paper echo my hard and fast no oil plant based approach, you can appreciate the conflicts of some of the authors resulting in compromise and in brutal editing, not surprising in a committee authored article. 
Thank you for sharing my response with your audience. 
Es

As a reminder, the whole thread with links to the study can be found here. 

Digestive Tune Up - Webinar 1

This is the book being discussed: Dr. McDougall's Digestive Tune-Up

This week's discussion based on: My Stomach Is On Fire and I Can't Put It Out newsletter article

The video is in 2 parts because after the first few minutes Dr. McDougall lost his connection and when he was finally able to get reconnected the talk started with the week's subject.



Next week is Dr Doug Lisle talking about his video The Perfect Personality, first seen at the 2010 ASW.

AJ's Tupperware Webinars (Edited)

Overpriced? Yeah, but Aunt Cassie was such fun to watch!




Edited to add:

And I just noticed she did another Tupperware demo but with Kurt. I haven't watched this one yet, but if he says "Shut the front door!" we'll know it's Cassie's other persona.

March Is Auto-Immune Disease Awareness Month

In honor of Auto-Immune Disease Awareness Month I'll once again post the link to the Mixed Connective Tissue Disease Foundation site.

This is the crap disease I have to live with daily. 

I refuse to take the chemotherapy or steroid drugs that are usually handed out like jellybeans by rheumatologists, so I stick to the WFPB no added SOS food plan and eliminate foods that cause me pain, like gluten and (sob) potatoes in all forms. At least I'm not reacting too badly to nightshades right now so I can still have tomatoes a few times a week.

I know eventually, as my disease progresses, I'll have to go on some of those strong medications, chemical concoctions whose side effects are worse than the disease(s) it tries to control, but if doing without my beloved spuds not only lets me sleep at night with a little less pain but keeps me one more day away from that poison, so be it. Once again let me say, maybe Dr. Fuhrman was right.

More by Jeff on That CVD Study

Jeff Novick does a follow-up on the study I mentioned in that previous post, and promises even more about it in the future. As it turns out, once you read the entire study you see what was really concluded.

I suggest you read  the entire thread, but here's a snippet from one of his posts:

I agree 100% with most all of it including... 
no to - - juicing- - (most) supplements- - coconut oil- - eggs- - hi fat diets
and 
yes to..- -veggies, - - protein from plant foods- - (fruits)/berries.  

The question is on nuts, which we do allow in moderation but they are not recommended for weight loss, which is exactly what the paper recommends, limiting intake to one ounce a day (30 gm) and that "Moderate quantities are required to prevent caloric excess." No argument there. 
The real question is liquid vegetable oils like corn, olive & canola oils which I have addressed in this forum in detail and in my talk. I would recommend reading the paper on this issue. It says they found that when substituting these vegetable oils for saturated fat, there was a decrease in the numbers but no evidence on better CVD outcomes.That is exactly what I say in the fats talk and in this forum.  

It says olive has some more evidence from some MED studies and PREDIMED Trial, which I discuss in this forum and in my talk. They also say there are no studies comparing the MED to the Okinawan which uses virtually no nuts or oils and has great outcomes too. 
Most of what they are discussing is the impact of these oils on those on the SAD moving in our direction or on a current unhealthy MED diet. They are not discussing what happens when someone is on our diet and lifestyle and then adds the oil to them. These are all the same points I make in my writing/talks. Olive oil may be shown to decrease LDL or LDL oxidation when someone is not on a very healthy diet, but it is not going to decrease LDL or LDL oxidation even more when someone is strictly adhering to our recommendations.  

It's like the example I use on the nuts studies that show that adding nuts to a typical diet may lower TC 4.5% and LDL 6.5%. Yet, changing ones whole diet to the one we recommend without the use of nuts, lowered TC and LDL 25-30%, Will adding nuts now to that diet lower TC and LDL even more?

New Cardio-Vascular Disease Study Results

Jeff Novick posted this over on the McDougall forums. He has the thread locked so nobody can reply, so here it is in its entirety.

(Edited to add:)
Looks like Dr. Fuhrman was right all along. Maybe his program deserves another look.

Trending Cardiovascular Nutrition Controversies- Nuts, Oil..

Just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The authors include Dr Barnard, Dr Esselstyn, Dr Ornish & Dr Williams

Trending Cardiovascular Nutrition Controversies
(J Am Coll Cardiol 2017;69:1172–87)

Andrew M. Freeman, MD,a Pamela B. Morris, MD,b Neal Barnard, MD,c Caldwell B. Esselstyn, MD,d, Emilio Ros, MD, PHD,e Arthur Agatston, MD,f Stephen Devries, MD,g,h James O’Keefe, MD,i Michael Miller, MD,j Dean Ornish, MD,k Kim Williams, MD,l Penny Kris-Etherton, PHDm

Full text

http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/69/9/1172

Abstract

The potential cardiovascular benefits of several trending foods and dietary patterns are still incompletely understood, and nutritional science continues to evolve. However, in the meantime, a number of controversial dietary patterns, foods, and nutrients have received significant media exposure and are mired by hype. This review addresses some of the more popular foods and dietary patterns that are promoted for cardiovascular health to provide clinicians with accurate information for patient discussions in the clinical setting. 

A Look to the Future

In summary, the future health of the global population largely depends on a shift to healthier dietary patterns (Central Illustration). However, in the search for the perfect dietary pattern and foods that provide miraculous benefits, consumers are vulnerable to unsubstantiated health benefit claims. As clinicians, it is important to stay abreast of the current scientific evidence to provide meaningful and effective nutrition guidance to patients for ASCVD risk reduction. In this brief review, just a few of the current trends in nutrition have been highlighted to serve as a starting point for the patient-clinician discussion. Available evidence supports CV benefits of nuts, olive oil and other liquid vegetable oils, plant-based diets and plant-based proteins, green leafy vegetables, and antioxidant-rich foods (Central Illustration). Although juicing may be of benefit for individuals who would otherwise not consume adequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables, caution must be exercised to avoid excessive calorie intake. There is currently no evidence to supplement regular intake of antioxidant dietary supplements. Gluten is an issue for those with GRDs, and it is important to be mindful of this in routine clinical practice; however, there is no evidence for CV or weight loss benefits, apart from the potential caloric restriction associated with a gluten-free diet.

Summary Chart

Looks like Dr Esselstyn just put his name on a published paper endorsing nuts & oils

In Health
Jeff