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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Watching Dr Oz 4/10/12: A.J. Jacobs – The Many Who Tested Every Diet, Retrain Taste Buds, Antioxidant Guide, 24-Hour Antioxidant Diet Plan, Kitchen Cures

The Dr. Oz Show
Airdate: April 10, 2012
The Man Who Tested Every Diet, Supplement and Health Product Reveals What Works


  • A.J. Jacobs shares which diet secrets really work
  • Learning to like and enjoy vegetables can be easy with these tricks
  • Know your antioxidant food colors to support health
  • The Kristen Kirkpatrick 24-Hour antioxidant diet plan
  • The best cures could already be in your kitchen
  • Dr. Oz shares what's in his kitchen


Hitting a wall in your weight-loss goals? Need more energy? There are so many trends out there, how do you choose the right diet, product, supplement? One man says he has tried every diet and every product out there touted being able to improve health. Today, AJ Jacobs shares what worked for him to lose weight and lower his cholesterol and what became his favorites tricks.


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The Man Who Tested Every Diet, Supplement and Health Product Reveals What Works

A.J. Jacobs, author of Drop Dead Healthy and several other fascinating journey's he's taken in the quest for knowledge [and editor-at-large for Esquire Magazine], says he was a heart attack ready to happen. Two years ago, Mr. Jacobs had high cholesterol, never exercised, and thought why bother getting healthy when healthy people drop dead at a young age. After a two year journey of trying to get healthy and trying everything labeled “healthy” out there he says there are a million reasons to get health and be happier.

Mr. Jacobs looked at 100 different health plans and tried them all. So which plan is his favorite? His own, of course! He took the best of all the things he tried and wrapped them into his book to share with the world! Today, he shares several tips with Dr. Oz.

You may be thinking that, sure, these worked for Mr. Jacobs but, will they work for you or everyone else? Dr. Oz had his medical team go through each page of Drop Dead Healthy and reviewed each recommendation. Everything tip Mr. Jacobs recommends was verified as true and that it works by Dr. Oz's own staff.

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Shop the Perimeter of the Grocery Store
Mr. Jacobs likes to stick with the produce and unprocessed fish sections of the grocery store which are always located on the perimeter. In the middle of the grocery store is all the processed foods that do not provide as much nutritional value.

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Eat the Rainbow
He learned this tip from his vegan friends – eat fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors. The different colors is an indication of the different antioxidants contained in each food group. [Learn more about the food rainbow in the Ultimate Antioxidant Guide in the middle of this post.]

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Eat Like a Baby
You have probably heard of eating off smaller plates to reduce total calories consumed. [Some researchers are saying that doesn't work.] Mr. Jacobs said it has worked for him to reduce calories and he thought, why stop there? Why not use small, or baby, forks and small spoons too. So he took his children's silverware and started using those too. The result, he reduce his calorie intake further.

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Apples to Reduce Cravings
When working towards eating a healthier diet, how do you deal with cravings? Mr. Jacobs says an apple a day keeps the appetite away. Studies have shown that people who eat an apple before a meal will eat 187 fewer calories. We've heard Dr. Oz talk about eating soup before a meal to reduce calories as well. Mr. Jacobs shared that studies showed that people who ate soup before a meal will eat 130 less calories.

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Squatting Toilet
A squatting toilet can help you go poop three times faster, says Mr. Jacobs. There's a huge variety of contraptions available on the internet to help you get into a more natural position to do your business.
Mr. Jacobs says on a squatting toilet you don't get hemorrhoids, can't read as long but, you will strengthen your legs.

Dr. Oz agreed that the squatting position is how our bodies are designed to eliminate most easily and most effectively. In fact, Dr. Oz says that as a kid his bathroom was a hole in the ground outside. [I didn't think he lived such a rural lifestyle. Perhaps it was during a camping trip?] The squatting position will open the rectum and allow everything to come out easily.

[I've heard people recommend to use a step stool, or kids potty step, while using the toilet to bring the feet up. While it's not exactly the squatting position, it gets the body closer to that position and can potentially be significantly less than buying a contraption.]

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: Fidgeting as Exercise?
Many people have difficulty with exercise, as in actually exercising consistently. Mr. Jacobs says that you can burn as much as 300 more calories a day just by fidgeting. We all know that being still is the worst for health but did you know that fidgeting can help you burn more calories? Apparently it's true. So wiggle away in the name of burning more calories.

Dr. Oz Health Tips That Work: High Intensity Interval Training
Check with your doctor first if high intensity interval training would be appropriate for you. Reduce your total exercise time while increasing your total output. Mr. Jacobs says working out at full-throttle for 30 seconds then resting for 30 seconds and repeat for a total of 10 minutes is a more effective way of exercising. Dr. Oz says working out in this way can give you a better workout than jogging for 30 minutes.

The Numbers:
Two years ago, when Mr. Jacobs began this experiment he:
  • weighed 172 lbs;
  • had a body fat measurement of 18%; and
  • had LDL cholesterol at 77 while on a statin drug – before statins, his LDL was over 100.
After two years of trying and finding the healthiest routines that worked for him, now Mr. Jacobs:
  • weights 156.5 pounds;
  • has only 7% body fat; and
  • his LDL measures 62 without statin drugs.

Dr. Oz said if other people can achieve the same cholesterol numbers by adopting some of Mr. Jacobs' health recommendations and without drugs, heart disease could be eliminated.

In his book, Dr. Oz said Mr. Jacobs speaks poetically about the role his wife played in getting him healthy. He credits his wife with providing him the inspiration and support to take on a health journey. An unexpected side-effect from this whole experiment, says Mr. Jacobs, is that his testosterone and libido increased during the process.

Dr. Oz Energy Boosting Tips That Work

AJ Jacobs sticks around for another health tips segment, this time focusing on a very popular issue: boosting energy.

Dr. Oz Energy Booster: Sports Drink Spit
before you exercise take a sip of sports drink don't swallow spit out
tongue recognizes sugar and creates an energy boost without ingesting the calories
oz says it's true no calories body thinks you have more energy

Dr. Oz Energy Booster: Chewdaism
While Dr. Oz chewed on an almond, Mr. Jacobs explained that America is a nation of underchewers. Studies show that chewing 20 times, instead of 10, for each bite will send more healthy monounsaturated fats to the heart and cause people to take in fewer calories overall.

Dr. Oz Energy Booster: Wind Instruments for Better Sleep
If you're exercising more and eating healthier, then getting better sleep can help provide more energy.
Playing a wind instrument, such as a didgeridoo (an ancient Australian instrument) for at least five minutes can help to reduce snoring. A kazoo, singing, or vocalization exercise will also work to strengthen the vocal muscles that collapse when sleeping causing snoring.

Dr. Oz Four Ways To Retrain Your Taste Buds

We're all different and like different foods but some people say that healthy foods taste bad. Eating more fruits and vegetables can support health. But if you don't like the taste, it's going to be hard to force yourself to eat all that health goodness.

Dr. Oz Retrain Your Taste Buds: The Sugar Splash
A spoonful of sugar helps the veggies go down, says Mr. Jacobs. It's sneaky but, studies show if you have veggies with a small amount of sugar your attitude about veggies will change and you'll end up eating more veggies and eventually eat them without sugar.

Sprinkle a little brown sugar onto Brussels sprouts or dip cauliflower into sugar water to dramatically change the way veggies taste. Overtime, you'll eat more veggies and support health – even with the little bit of sugar.

Dr. Oz Retrain Your Taste Buds: The Cheeto Cheat
Studies show that crunchy foods are more appealing and taste better. Add sunflower seeds to salads or Cheeto's on top of vegetables. Really, they sprinkled Cheeto's onto broccoli. Even Dr. Oz said it tasted great.

Dr. Oz Retrain Your Taste Buds: The Puree Slip
Purees are a great secret weapon to get more veggies into your diet. Pureed foods like cauliflower, zucchini, and sweet potatoes can be added to whole wheat macaroni and cheese. You'll end up eating less over all and getting more veggies.

Dr. Oz Retrain Your Taste Buds: Sound of Silence
Noise can change the way your taste buds respond to food. More noise in the environment makes food taste bad. Could that be why airplane food tastes bad? Mr. Jacobs says to eat veggies in quiet or use ear plugs. He likes to use Surefire ear plugs, designed for law enforcement and military.

Dr. Oz added that when you've grown up not liking veggies, you've got to find what makes sense to increase your enjoyment of them and increase nutrition.

Dr. Oz Ultimate Antioxidant Guide

Kristen Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD, Wellness Manager at the Cleveland Clinic says when you look at the typical western diet, we are not getting enough antioxidant. Ms. Kirkpatrick says that the CDC looked at the top 10 foods American's eat and fruits and veggies did not make the list.

Dr. Oz showed an animation of what happens when we don't get enough nutrients or enough antioxidants from our food. When we take a deep breath, oxygen is carried into the lungs where the red blood cells suck up the oxygen. The red blood cells takes the oxygen throughout the body to meet up and pair with nutrients and antioxidants to protect the body. When antioxidants aren't in the system, these cells travel around without a partner and can cause damage to other cells increasing cancer risks.

Ms. Kirkpatrick recommends eating from a rainbow of food colors to provide a variety of antioxidants and nutrients for the body to do its job.

Dr. Oz Antioxidant Guide: Yellow and Orange Foods
Representing Vitamin A, the yellow and orange food families promote the health of organs and enhance healthy cell activity both of which lead to a reduced risk of cancer, heart attack and depression.

To get the most out of your carrots, Ms. Kirkpatrick recommends cooking them whole so that nutrients don't escape. Cut carrots have greater surface area leading to a greater loss of nutrients.

Don't throw out brown bananas. The riper the banana, the higher the antioxidant value.

Dr. Oz Antioxidant Guide: Green Foods
Green foods contain isothiocyanates, an important compound that supports detoxification. Ms. Kirkpatrick calls green foods soldiers that provide free-radicals savaging power to the body.

Get the most out of your broccoli by cutting it and letting it sit for 5-6 minutes then add heat. Allowing the cut broccoli to set allows those important antioxidants to come out. Parsley is a great green food but, it's best to get it fresh as dried parsley doesn't provide as much antioxidant power. Cabbage, or any foods with iron, go better with a food containing Vitamin C, such as oranges, to boost absorption of the iron.

Dr. Oz Antioxidant Guide: Purple Foods
Anthocyanins are the powerhouse of purple foods. Ms. Kirkpatrick says purple foods do double duty to prevent cell damage and to help heal damage that's already been done. Look for foods with the darkest purple colors among prunes, plums, and berries.

The anthocyanins in purple foods support eye health, relax blood vessels, and can reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke.

Red wine has the highest levels of antioxidants with Cabernet being the highest. Moderation is the key when it comes to drinking wine. Ms. Kirkpatrick says that women should only have one glass of red wine per day and men should have only 2 glasses per day. Cabernet, she says, is the best as far as nutritional value over other red favorites Pinot noir and Merlot.

Of these three food color categories, Ms. Kirkpatrick says the Green Food Family is the most important. When you look at the most healthy communities in the world, they eat more greens than Americans, live longer, and have less disease.

[Ms. Kirkpatrick has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show two other times this season. Click the links to read more about previous segments where Ms. Kirkpatrick's knowledge and recommendations were featured.


Dr. Oz 24-Hour Antioxidant Diet Plan

Ms. Kirkpatrick shares tricks for getting more from antioxidants. The is to get the nutrients from whole foods to support more disease prevention.

Dr. Oz 24-Hour Antioxidant Plan: Breakfast Power Smoothie
Powering up with antioxidants in the morning can provide the body with the tools it needs to protect us throughout the day from all those harmful things we come in contact with.

1/2 cup wild blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice

Combine berries and pomegranate juice in a blender, and blend to desired consistency.

Dr. Oz 24-Hour Antioxidant Plan: One-Two Punch for Lunch
Cooking tomatoes brings out their lycopene. Combine tomatoes with broccoli to reduce the risks of prostate cancer. Lightly steaming broccoli is the best way to its antioxidant value.

Dr. Oz 24-Hour Antioxidant Plan: Double-Duty Dinner
Poach the salmon to retain the highest amount of nutrients or steam or broil it. Grilling is also an option but, to reduce carcinogens from the BBQ, add rosemary to the meat before grilling or marinate the meat with rosemary.

2 tomatoes, diced
2 1/4 cups artichoke hearts
1 bunch scallions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes

Preheat oven to 350°F. Chop tomatoes and artichoke hearts; mix with scallions, olive oil, add about half of the oregano and salt.

In a food processor or blender, combine beans, pepper and the remaining salt and oregano.

Slice sweet potatoes into halves and add to lightly oiled dish. Add remaining salt and pepper. Add the bean purée and artichokes, covering with additional potatoes. Top with tomato slices. Add any remaining seasoning and cover.

Bake for 1 hour, or until tender. Remove cover, and bake for 10 more minutes or until topping is golden brown.

Dr. Oz Kitchen Cures Your Doctor Can't Live Without

Some of your doctor's favorite go-to cures may already be in your kitchen. Dr. Donnica Moore, MD, women's health expert, says your doctors best friend is already in your kitchen.

Dr. Oz Kitchen Cure: Ripe Banana Peel for Splinters
Clean the area thoroughly, cut a piece of ripe banana peel to the size of the effected area. Apply the banana peal and affix with gauze overnight. Antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in the banana peel will help to bring the splinter to the surface. Enzymes in the banana peel will loosen the skin and break down the splinter material, making it easier to remove the splinter.

Dr. Oz Kitchen Cure: Apple Cider Vinegar for Dandruff
If you watch The Dr. Oz Show, you probably have apple cider vinegar in the pantry. It's been recommended to promote health when you drink it but it can also support the health of your hair when applied topically.


Add ½ cup of apple cider vinegar and ½ cup of water in a small spray bottle. Spritz the solution onto the scalp. Massage the solution into the scalp, wrap the head with towel, turban style, and leave on for 20 minutes then shower and style as normal.

Dr. Moore recommends doing this treatment three days in a row at first then reduce to twice per week. Apple cider vinegar breaks down the material in the hair that bacteria that causes dandruff eats. It may leave the hair with more volume.

Dr. Oz Kitchen Cure: Pickle Juice for Muscle Cramps
Exercising can cause the legs to cramp, stops the exercise flow and can reduce motivation. Dr. Moore says she learned this trick from her daughter's high school trainer.

Drink 2.5 ounces of pickle juice at the onset of muscle cramping. Dr. Moore says studies done in labs showed that it took only 85 seconds for the pickle juice to begin to work. She says it's unclear if it works on menstrual cramps as it does for muscles.

Dr. Oz Kitchen Cure: Licorice for Calluses
Licorice contains estrogen-like compounds that can soften and breakdown the hardness of calluses. If the harden calluses have been around forever, you should look at the type of shoes you're wearing.

Grind 4 dried licorice sticks and mix with ½ teaspoon sesame oil or petroleum jelly. The mix will make a paste that can be rubbed onto calluses at night. Cover the area with a non-absorbant bandage pad and put a sock over that.

Dr. Oz Bonus Tips! Cures From Dr. Oz's Kitchen

Natural Remedies from Dr. Oz's Kitchen: Sage for Bad Breath
Dr. Oz recommends to chew on sage leaves to prevent bad breath. Essential oils in sage leaves helps to eliminate the cause of bad breath. Other remedies only mask the smell but sage can be beneficial for gingivitis.

[Talk with your doctor to see if sage could cause any interactions with medical treatments. Sage can effect mucus membranes in women and may play a role in disrupting milk supply. There could be other interactions as well so it's always best to check before starting something new.]

Natural Remedies from Dr. Oz's Kitchen: Lime for Bug Bites
Mix equal parts of lime juice and water and apply to bug bites to reduce itching and support healing. The lime juice mix may keep the bug bite from getting infected.

Natural Remedies from Dr. Oz's Kitchen: Raspberry Tea for Cancer Sores
Dr. Oz recommends drinking raspberry tea to relieves pain and promotes healing of canker sores.


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