The Dr. Oz Show
Air date: October 28, 2011
Dr. Oz's Most Extreme Experiment Ever: Could a Prehistoric Diet Save Your Life?
- Locked in a Zoo for better health
- Three prehistoric meals
- Irregular menstrual cycles shouldn't be ignored
- International sleep tips
- Natural Ways to Get More Energy
Dr. Oz created a radical diet challenge for three viewers: be locked in a zoo for 48 hours with only raw fruits and vegetables to eat. What? He is trying to prove a point that by eating healthy, going cold turkey [ba-da-bum] these three women could made drastic positive changes to their concerning healthy numbers.
Can they make a significant impact on their health in just 48 hours?
Welcome to the Zoo!
Could you live in a zoo for 2 days with a bag a carrots? They had a little bit more food then that but did not have any meat, dairy, sugar or caffeine.
All three of the women under went medical and psychological exams before their lock down at the Crane Pen of New Jersey's Turtle Back Zoo.
Their food for the week: 10 lbs of fruits and vegetables per day and one olive per day for sodium. They were fed the same food that the other animals at the zoo are fed: carrots, melons, squash, broccoli and what our ancestors used to eat. It's not the foods the like and it's not the environment they prefer.
First few hours at the zoo: women were thinking what did we get ourselves into, happy and excited to find ways to lower cholesterol and the company, both the other women and the animals.
During the day, they played board games together, walked around their enclosure, and maintained a food log. By midnight, one woman was feeling hungry. In the morning, one women told zoo visitors she'd pay $20 for a cup of coffee.
What was the hardest part? Th raw veggies were hard to eat without dressing for a dip. If it was just fruit and nuts, one woman said she would have felt better.
The poignant question: How many times do you go to the bathroom? Three or four times that first night and about 3-4 times each day.
Since leaving the women have stayed on the raw food and vegetable diet with only a little straying for a cup of tea.
What do the numbers say after eating raw foods for just a few days? Could this be a powerful tool? Or was it too drastic?
The Numbers:
Their average blood pressure average was 128/91, a criteria for hypertension.
After 48 hours in the zoo and 20 lbs of raw fruits and veggies, their average blood pressure measured 115/72. Dr. Oz was amazed by the drastic positive impact on the blood pressure numbers explaining that high blood pressure is the number one cause of aging.
Triglycerides numbers came in before the zoo with an average of 138, not a bad number. After the zoo, their average triglycerides were 88, a superb number.
Their LDL cholesterol number whet down 37 points in just 2 days.
Together, the women dropped 4 lbs at their weekend zoo camp.
Dr. Oz understands that this is not the most appealing diet and it would be challenging to stay on for any length of time. As magnificent as the results, it's not a diet that you can keep up over-time. There's a happy medium to be achieved.
Dr. Oz invited registered dietician Julieanna Hever, RD [plant-based dietician and author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking, due out in December] to build a better prehistoric diet plan covering the basic food categories.
Categrory One: Protein
Where do you get protein from a fruit and vegetable based diet? Ms. Hever says we don't need as much as we think, only 10% of the day's calories should come from protein.
Leafy greens devote half their calories to protein, utilize beans, nori seaweed and broccoli to increase protein intake.
Category Two: Calcium
Calcium is an important component but not the whole story of bone health. Non-dairy milks such as soy, almond, rice [and coconut] milk typically have the same amount of calcium as dairy milk. One serving of tofu has half the daily amount of calcium.
Category Three: Fat
Again, Ms. Hever says we don't need as much fat as we think. Get healthy fats from whole foods. Olives and avocados provide monounsaturated fats. Flax, hemp and chia seeds are loaded with omega-6 and omega-3 fats. Dr. Oz voiced his concern over the lack of fat. He appreciates and utilizes olive oil every day. Ms. Hever countered that if you don't have heart disease and you're not trying to lose weight than the fat from olive oil is a good choice. But consider that one tablespoon of olive oil is 120 caloriet and it's pure fat.
Category Four: Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are needed for energy and are the only source of fuel for brain. Look toward whole grain pastas, whole grain breads, and quinoa. Ms. Hever's mantra is “Let thy greens be our medicine and our medicines be our greens.” Eating a rainbow of vegetables and fruits provides an array of nutrients, antioxidants as well as carbohydrates.
Dr. Oz's website gives the colors that will be the guide along with examples within and hue:
Red: Strawberries, apples, tomatoes
Orange: Carrots, mango, oranges
Yellow: Bananas, squash, lemons
Greens: String beans, limes, pears
Blue/purple: Blueberries, plums, beets
Brown: Whole-grain bread and pasta, quinoa
Prehistoric Meals
Put all the categories and colors together for three meals full of nutrition.
Breakfast: It's Easy Being Green Smoothie
Filled with greens, seeds, frozen fruits and a frozen banana to cover up the green flavor and milk (dairy free) for a balanced and tasty smoothie.
Lunch: Mexican Noritos
Use sheets of seaweed instead of tortillas along with avocados, cilantro, salsa and jicama.
Dinner: Beans and Greens Chili
A variety of beans, vegetables, spices and lots of greens for a hearty meal that is packed with powerful nutrients.
How to Read Changes in Your Period
Cancer in the uterus can cause irregular bleeding for women at any age and should not be ignored.
The normal menstrual cycle is an ebb and flow of hormones. Estrogen increases which enlarges the size of the uterus while blood accumulates along the walls of the uterus in preparation for an egg to implant. When no egg takes hold, progesterone elevates to evacuate out the excess of the lining.
When too much estrogen is present and not enough progesterone, the cycle is off balance indicated by spotting. Spotting, at any age, should be discussed with a health care provider. Menopausal women should not experience any spotting, according to Dr. Oz. If spotting occurs that's an indication of a problem that needs to be explored.
Exposure to excess estrogen throughout life, often seen when the menstrual cycle begins early, increases cancer risks. Excess body fat disrupts hormones, where the body converts fat into estrogen increasing risks of cancer.
To support a more balanced state of hormonal activity, Dr. Oz recommends physical activity and a diet low in saturated fat and high in vegetables and fruits.
Passport to Better Sleep
Whole Living Magazine Senior Editor Terri Trespicio shared sleep remedies from around the globe.
Egypt Sleep Secret: Buckwheat pillow
Buckwheat pillows help to align the spine and plays a role in releasing neck muscle tension allowing for more restful sleep. [Buckwheat hulls are noisy! Being a bit of an obsessive personality, having crunching noises in my pillow create much more tension than the pillow is aiming at releasing.]
Ms. Trespicio says buckwheat pillows are readily available from home stores and online for about $30. [Buckwheat hulls can be purchased in bulk inexpensively, if you can find a store that has them. Making your own pillow is a choice that can prove to be easy to make and easy on the wallet. A homemade pillow may allow for an easier change of the hulls when needed.]
India Sleep Secret: Acupressure Mat
An acupressure mat is a modern version of a bed of nails. The raised surface of the mat stimulates acupressure points along the back to release endorphins for a calm and restorative sleep. Ms. Trespicio says they can be found at select stores and online for about $50.
Greece Sleep Secret: Valerian Root
Valerian root has a long history of use in sleep support and relaxation. Ms. Trespicio recommends taking 500mg one hour before bed to provide a calming and sedative effect. Valerian is also available in tea form but she cautions that it smells bad. Find valerian at health foods stores for around $10.
[To me, valerian smells like earthy flowers with undertones of fruit. At the store, a bottle was dropped on the floor - a concentrated liquid extract. Everyone at the store, employees and customers alike, said the smell was horrendous. Does that mean I need more valerian in my life? Is it like minerals and tasting the mineral in the water indicates a deficiency? Time to get a box of valerian tea and see what happens. Valerian is also readily available in a liquid form, beware of fragile glass, that can be placed in a small amount of water.]
Cutting-Edge Ways to Boost Your Energy
Game: Who Wants to Be A Health Extraordinaire?
An easy, do-it-yourself remedy to relieve tension and energize yourself is:
Chamomile tea, inhaling sandlewood, pulling your hair, or watching TV?
Pulling your hair, gently, pulls the skin away from the scalp and gets blood flowing to the brain.
[What? A neurotic behavior is being recommended to relieve tension and provide energy. Sure, nerotic behavior is consistent with the definition of energy but I wouldn't categorize it as tension relieving. My vote is for chamomile tea – I myself is allergic but I think it may be a better option.]
People exposed to this liquid performed better on a standard alertness test: Milk, warm water, ice water, or rain water?
Ice water: when exposed to ice cold water, the body releases an energizing hormone. Splashing cold water on your face is a good way to pick up the energy.
This supplement, derived from an Amazonian fruit, has one of the highest caffeine contents of all plants: Acai, guarana, bilberry, jujube?
Guarana: [Guarana is a strong source of caffeine, a powerful stimulant. Supplemental forms of guarana may be higher in caffeine than the healthy, moderate amounts of coffee that Dr. Oz often recommends. I'm against popping caffeine pills. It's too easy. I'm met many people over the years at the health food store who over used it. In fact the company I worked for limited the number of guarana containing products due to their success at depleting the adrenals. The adrenal glands are responsible for our flight-or-fight response, they produce adrenaline, they are the basis for our response to stress. When under long-term stress, the adrenals work over-time and can become depleted if not they don't receive TLC through things like sleep and balanced nutrition. Large amounts of caffeine – the definition of large differs with each individual – ramp up the adrenals. Adrenal fatigue is incredibly common and extremely challenging to reverse. Beware of stimulants for energy. A healthier approach to energy is to look toward sleep patterns and stress reduction. Yeah, I know, easier said than done.]
“Is today the day you change your health forever? Only you know the answer.” ~ Dr. Oz
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