J Morris Hicks's Blog

Searching for the cure---now has a life of its own.

2012-05-21T18:17:25Z

A midnight message from Karen inspires a new look at cancer research.

At 12:08 EDT, while I was sound asleep at my home in Stonington, Connecticut; an email message arrived from a reader in Arizona. A super healthy, bike-racing grandmother of eight---Karen Barnes---wants to know if our T. Colin Campbell Foundation has a plan for telling the world that the cure for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke has already been found.

: Karen racing in a 70-mile bike race in Mesa, Arizona---April 2012. Since going plant-based, she shaved a full 30 minutes off her previous best time.

I read that message at 4:50 a.m. EDT and was inspired to answer her question with a simple analogy that may change the world. But, first the message from Karen, a 50-year young entrepreneur who asks some great questions:

Hi Jim,

I scored a 36 on your 4Leaf Survey. I follow a whole foods, plant-based diet as outlined by The China Study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and the documentary Forks Over Knives. I started this last September. I feel so fantastic now! I feel so good after every meal! I ride a road bike and I am so much faster riding up hills and riding in races! I’m a 50 year old grandmother of 8 and everyone tells me how young I look! I think because I now weigh what I did in high school! I could never go back to eating the old way.

Jim, how can we educate America? Do you people at the T. Colin Campbell Foundation have a plan? I feel so helpless. I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a huge secret to excellent health and permanent weight loss and hardly anyone is willing to listen. What can be done? Do organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation turn a deaf ear when presented with these facts as found in The China Study? Do the other organizations dealing with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. turn a deaf ear also?

Why don’t they pounce on this research as the answer that they’ve been looking for? I mean, are they not truly looking for the cures for these diseases?

Best regards, Karen

My response: 0600 from the Mystic Starbucks---Mystic, CT---May 17

: J. Morris Hicks

Dear Karen,

I absolutely love your letter. Thank you so much for taking the time to write and share your story. The short answer to your question is yes; we do have a plan. But, until sufficient funds are available to go big-time with that plan---we'll continue with our grassroots revolution that is fueled by the books you mentioned, the Forks Over Knives documentary, this daily blog, and messages like the one you sent me this morning.

While showering, getting dressed and driving from Stonington to Mystic, I was thinking about a simple analogy that might turn into a plan that could go viral---a message that could clarify for all concerned that the answer to our health problems has been right under our noses all along. It's what we put in our mouths every day.

So why is that simple concept not getting any real traction? Even with a former President of the United States among the converts? And, as you said in your note, "Do organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation turn a deaf ear when presented with these facts as found in The China Study? Why is the truth about nutrition and health not circulating more rapidly? Click here to continue reading this post.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

HBO 'Obesity Special' simply adds to the confusion.

2012-05-15T19:29:54Z

Good description of the problem. The solution? Not so much

: Image from the HBO documentary

Did you watch the first few hours of the HBO Obesity special last night? If so, I would like to hear what you thought about it so far. Don't have HBO? No problem, you can watch it for free online (See link below)

Last week, I wrote my own review of the HBO Special, "The Weight of the Nation." And I concluded the same thing as some of the mainstream media folks---but for different reasons. Here's what I wrote: While watching the HBO documentary this week on DVD, I became curious about a few things:

Why do they concentrate on exercise over diet on a ratio of about ten to one?
When they do talk about diet, why do they never talk about the power of whole, plant-based foods to reverse chronic disease and obesity?
Why do they always include the phrases “lean cuts of meat” and “low-fat dairy” when describing a healthy diet?
Why did they choose an obviously obese man as one of their primary messengers?

I suspect that all of the answers to the above questions has something to do with money. And that’s not going to change until our overall “system” changes.

In my review, I concluded that the reason we heard nothing new is because the people who produced the documentary don't have any "new" knowledge.

They probably haven't read The China Study and they are in the dark when it comes to the power of whole foods, plant-based nutrition to promote health, reverse chronic disease and, yes, curb our out-of-control obesity epidemic. Our basic problem is twofold:

We're eating the wrong food.
95% of our best and brightest (including the media) are not aware of that simple fact. They still truly believe that we need all those "lean meats and low-fat dairy" products.

Mary McNamara of the L.A. Times writes:

If you were hoping that the good people at HBO had come up with a solution that will whittle the national waistline in 20 days or less you will be disappointed. "The Weight of the Nation" mostly tells us what we already know. Sodas, juice, sugary breakfast cereals, fast food and most processed snack foods are bad for us, their proliferation corresponding historically with the national weight gain. Fresh food costs more than junk food, which puts the poor more at risk. Children are surrounded by the siren call of unhealthful food, fad diets don't work and real change takes time.

The value of the series, then, is its, well, weight, its relentless attempt to remind us of what we know, to connect many important dots and clear away the emotional and cultural fog that often blurs discussions about obesity, and to offer hope in the form of personal stories, regional projects and past success.

Smoking was once ubiquitous, corporations squawked about cleaning up the air and water, people fussed about wearing seat belts, but when confronted with enough incontrovertible evidence, eventually, we choose life over convenience.

Ms. McNamara is absolutely right; the HBO Special is telling us what we already know. But why didn't they tell us what most of us DON'T already know? That we're eating the wrong food in this country. Unfortunately, that "most of us" includes the producers and the main "cast members" in this special.

Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald writes:

“The Weight of the Nation,” a well-intentioned documentary miniseries three years in the making---that just might send you stress--eating right out of the refrigerator. The statistics — and they are chucked relentlessly at you over the course of five hours in two nights — are soul-sapping.

In its personal vignettes, “Weight” illuminates, but too often the segments are a numbing array of statistics from well-meaning talking heads. One expert cuts through the chatter and demands a concerted effort from government, corporations and the public.

“Obesity will crush the United States, and we will fade in the rearview mirror of oblivion,” she says. “We could have done something different. We should have done something different, and we lacked the moral fiber and the love for our children to do the right thing.”

If we don’t get moving, we’ll be forever known as the Land of the Lard.

: J. Morris (Jim) Hicks

The Bottom Line. The media-reviewers featured here make two very good points:

There is nothing new in this documentary.
There were too many "talking heads" with no plan of action. (One of the primary talking heads was morbidly obese, a fact that none of the media seemed to notice.)

Until we "dispel the protein myth," and everyone understands that we don't need---and should not be eating---animal protein, nothing much is going to change with our mega-system that controls what most of us eat. I say "most of us" because everyone is free to choose what they want to eat, but the vast majority are not going to figure it out on their own. This is the tragedy of this whole situation.

For your convenience, here are links to the three reviews mentioned in this blog---along with a link to my "Dispelling the Protein Myth" article.

L. A. Times Review: HBO's 'Weight of the Nation' pounds away at obesity
Boston Herald Review: HBO’s ‘Weight’ tackles Big topic
The J. Morris Hicks Review: HBO Obesity Special: How important is the messenger? (contains link to the free online HBO special)
Dispelling the Protein Myth, by J. Morris Hicks.

: J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa's 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com...from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Early Detection; then slash, burn and poison...

2012-05-08T11:22:01Z

There has to be a better way---and there is!

: President Richard Nixon signs the National Cancer Act on December 23, 1971.

Since Richard Nixon declared war on cancer back in 1971, a huge cancer business has gotten much bigger. In the past 41 years, the watchword of the day has become "early detection" followed by some combination of slash, burn and poison---more commonly known as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Just this week, a friend of mine passed away after spending the last few years of his life suffering through the standard treatment paradigm for this horrible disease. I continue to ask myself, where would we be today if our leaders had focused on prevention instead of early detection and treatment of symptoms?

I recently blogged about a new book, How We Do Harm, highlighting many of the flaws within our current medical paradigm. While the author presented some very interesting information, he missed the main point in my opinion. In a book review of over 1,000 words, there was not a single mention of addressing our toxic diet as the primary driver of most of our diseases—including cancer. A direct quote from Dr. T. Colin Campbell (The China Study):

“The U.S. government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer.”

: World's 3rd Richest Man has prostate cancer at 81

Almost every day, we hear news about our flawed medical system when it comes to cancer and other chronic disease. A few weeks ago, we heard about Warren Buffett's decision to be treated for prostate cancer at the age of 81.

Then we heard a great debate in the media about whether or not that made any sense and was Mr. Buffett sending the wrong message to older men who had recently been advised against continuing to have the P.S.A. test. From a 4-24-12 article in USA Today (see link below):

The first question to ask: Should an 81-year-old even be screened for prostate cancer? The evidence says no. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of clinicians providing data-based practice guidelines, recommends against routine prostate cancer screening for healthy men of any age. Studies over the years, which have included participation of more than 300,000 men of various ages, have shown that harm from prostate cancer screening outweighs the benefits.

: Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University---says that our government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer.

An earlier New York Times article (See link below) suggested the same thing. "A late outcry among many physicians and patients over a government panel’s recent announcement that healthy men should no longer receive P.S.A. blood testing to detect prostate cancer is rooted in a long and impassioned history among cancer screening advocates that early detection must always save lives. But as science has taught us, that’s not always the case." The article continues:

As early as 1913, physicians and laypeople formed the American Society for the Control of Cancer, which later became the American Cancer Society, bearing this hopeful message: “With early recognition and prompt treatment, the patient’s life may often be saved.” The idea had some scientific basis.

Patients whose cancers appeared to be less extensive at diagnosis lived longer, on average, than those whose cancer was more widespread. The organization put this philosophy in action, publicizing a series of “danger signals” that suggested possible early warning signs of cancer, including breast lumps, irregular bleeding, sores that did not heal and persistent weight loss. “Delay kills!” posters bluntly warned.

: Early detection continues to trump true prevention---the elimination of the cause. Maybe $10 billion a year would help get that word out there, with or without the support of the ACS.

Same Old, Same Old. In article after article, all of the emphasis continues to be on the management of the disease after it has been detected. That means learning more about how every single form of cancer in every part of the body grows, spreads and kills. Treatments are then designed to minimize the spread of each cancer and thereby lengthen the patient's life. But questions remain:

Do we ever know for sure if the treatment regimen actually extends the patient's lifespan?
Are there cases where the treatment regimen actually shortens the patient's life?
Is the pain, suffering, and mental anguish for all concerned worth a few more months of surviving---even if surviving in misery?

Are the results worth it? What about the cost of early detection and subsequent treatment? In the USA Today article below we learn that the annual cost of screening for just prostate cancer in just the United States is $3 billion. Are the results worth it? Even the inventor of the PSA test has his doubts:

The cost of PSA testing contributes $3 billion annually to health care spending, much of it paid for by Medicare and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In fact, Richard Ablin, the scientist who discovered PSA, calls the testing's widespread use a "public health disaster."

Then there's screening for colon cancer which is a whopping $50 billion business in just the United States. If you include breast cancer, we're probably talking about a total of over $100 billion that is spent for early detection on these three most common cancers.

My final question is this. What if we spent just ten percent of that number ($10 billion) on educating the public regarding the primary cause of cancer and how to prevent it in the first place. What if we used that money to let them hear the wisdom of Dr. T. Colin Campbell?

“The U.S. government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer.”

The bottom line. Address the cause and win the war on cancer. If we started spending $10 billion per year on educating the public about the cause---we'd win this war on cancer and it wouldn't take another forty-one years. This message needs repetition, just like any other advertising message. People will have to hear it many times before they start believing it.

*****************

The Shortfalls of Early Cancer Detection New York Times
What's right for Buffett may not be right for every man USA Today
Older Men Still Being Screened for Prostate Cancer New York Times
An earlier blog on this topic: Early detection of prostate and breast cancer…

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Just say NO to a flawed "disease care" system.

2012-04-24T15:39:45Z

For if we continue to follow the money, our population will never be healthy.

Just read a book review in the New York Times (See link below). The book is How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick In America (St. Martin’s Press). In his book, Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, paints a grim picture. It sounds like an interesting book but is of little value to someone like me who has taken charge of my own health.

He describes some bizarre patient situations and talks about fixing the "disease care" system---yet we all know that our "system" cannot be fixed until we begin to focus on disease causation instead of symptoms. Here is just one of those patient situations:

There was a man with colon cancer who went to a wonderful hospital with a wonderful reputation. He got surgery and was referred to a medical oncologist who has a wonderful reputation as a doctor to the rich and famous in Atlanta. That medical oncologist started giving him chemotherapy and two other expensive drugs. When this man lost his insurance, the oncologist basically dropped him, and the guy ended up being seen by me at the county hospital.

A doctor who is training with me to be an oncologist immediately realizes that this guy is getting a chemotherapy regimen for colon cancer that we stopped using about 15 years ago. His medical oncologist was practicing the best medicine of the late 1980s, but we were in 2006. The other drugs he was being prescribed were totally unnecessary. But the doctor could get a substantial markup and make a substantial amount of money by selling them. The oncologist had known just enough to be greedy and prescribe drugs he can make money off of, but he didn’t know enough to prescribe the chemotherapy that would have given the patient a much better chance of surviving his cancer.

In a book review of over 1,000 words, there was not a single mention of addressing our toxic diet as the primary driver of most of our diseases---including cancer. A direct quote from Dr. T. Colin Campbell (The China Study):

"The U.S. government should be discussing the idea that the toxicity of our diet is the single biggest cause of cancer."

Do you wonder why Dr. Brawley's American Cancer Society doesn't share this simple fact with ALL Americans? The answer might be that if everyone ate an optimal diet for their entire lives, the field of oncology would be about as rare as the female membership of the Augusta National Golf Club. In short, cancer would no longer be a big business. So why is this business so big?

Dr. Brawley doesn’t place all the blame on insurance companies, hospitals and doctors. He also blames patients who have bought into the notion that more care — more treatment, more screening, more scans, more drugs — is better care. Many Americans, particularly wealthier ones, he says, are “gluttonous” in their consumption of health care resources and often use them unwisely.

: Doctors make more money and get sued less often if they order lots of expensive tests like this MRI.

The Bottom Line. Unless the book "reviewer" was missing something, this book contains no mention of dealing with cancer by preventing it in the first place. While he does a great job of describing some horror stories that are taking place every day in our "system," he comes up way short of describing a real fix. After reading the book review, here is how I would size up the futility of trying to "fix" our seriously flawed "disease care" system.

As long as doctors can earn more money and incur less risk by prescribing expensive MRIs and unnecessary chemotherapy, there will be no real progress. And I don't see much change in our system anytime soon. The only solution that I see is for enlightened individuals to "Just Say N0" to disease care and take charge of their own health.

A personal anecdote. Last year I received this note from a college friend who had been influenced by our book to greatly improve his diet:

I have been on the 4-Leaf Program for 12 weeks and have lost 36 pounds. My cancer doctor called yesterday to discuss a recent blood test. He said my cancer markers he was measuring had dropped 30%. I told him about the diet and he thought it was good idea.

But the oncologist never recommended a superior diet or told him what would comprise that kind of diet.

NY Times Book Review How Doctors and Patients Do Harm

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com Blogging daily at hpjmh.com...from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

Not much "health promotion" going on at VegFest

2012-04-17T11:25:35Z

Most exhibitors featured food that was just "not animals"

On a warm and sunny spring day in Worcester, Massachusetts---Dr. T. Colin Campbell was the highlight of the event as he he addressed a standing-room-only crowd at 1 p.m. He attended the show with his wife and grandson and was there primarily to promote his daughter's Whole Plant Cookbook and to continue spreading the word about plant-based nutrition.

: Dr. Campbell was a big hit at the VegFest. The man standing in the top right corner of the photo is the Holy Cross professor who invited me to speak at one of his classes in February. He reports that our book has made a big difference for him, his family and for many of his students.

Highlights of the show for the 4Leaf Team

There was great interest in our 4Leaf Survey as we administered it to about 100 people.
We sold all but two of the books that we brought with us.
Many people who had read our book stopped by our table to tell us what a difference it had made in their lives.
We added many new names to our database.
We had a chance to work together as a team for the first time---Jason, Lisa, Andrew and me.

: The authors are all set up and ready for the show. Don't miss the last photo of our youngest 4Leaf team member.

Vibrant health? Although I didn't get a chance to walk around the show, Jason told me that there were only 2 out of nearly 100 tables that were promoting vibrant health --- ours and Dr. Campbell's. Most of the exhibitors were giving away free food and none of it was 4Leaf. Catering to new vegetarians, they had lots of fake meats, cheeses, and sweets---with nary a whole plant in sight. Not animals, but not healthy either.

Meanwhile, at our table, we administered the 4Leaf Survey to a steady stream of interested people all day. Here's how they scored on our 12-question survey---with the number of people at each level listed first:

: Our 4Leaf survey estimates the % of daily calories from whole, plant-based foods.

# ----- level % of calories from whole plants
9 --- 4Leaf Over 80%
13 --- 3Leaf 60 to 79%
15 --- 2Leaf 40 to 59%
26 --- 1Leaf 20 to 39%
23 --- "BTM" 10 to 19% (Scoring "better than most")
14 --- "Unhealthy" < 10% (The "majority of Americans are in this group)

As you can see from the above, only about 25% of the people scored at 3Leaf or better on our survey. But this is much better than the scores that we would see in the real world. For example, if we surveyed 100 people at a McDonalds on a Friday night, we'd find less than 3% at those levels, if any. And we'd likely find 65% or more in the "unhealthy" category with less than 10% of their calories from whole plants.

Vegan is not necessarily healthy. I have made this statement many times---in our book, on this blog and in our speeches. And this was proven at the VegFest by a self-described "vegan" woman who took our survey. She actually tallied the lowest score of the day---reporting that she eats zero daily servings of whole fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes.

She admitted that she's not eating a very healthy diet; but she is not alone in the world of vegans and vegetarians---most are focusing primarily on what they're NOT eating. Hopefully, our survey will help her make some much-needed improvements in her diet.

Obesity at VegFest? Yes, there was a fair amount but not nearly as much as you'd see at Walmart on Saturday. And many of those obese folks are fairly new to being vegetarian and others are suffering from eating disorders. That being said, if they loaded up on all the "unhealthy" free vegan food at the event, their obesity would not improve.

Our conclusion. Even uninformed vegetarians are eating a much healthier diet than the average American. But this wasn't your average "vegetarian" crowd. Based on the throng of people trying to get into the Dr. Campbell portion of the event, my guess is that most people attended the conference primarily to see and hear Dr. Campbell. And that kind of group as a rule is going to be more knowledgeable about what constitutes a health-promoting diet.

The bottom line. For me, this was a very worth-while event. It was great to visit with people who are moving in the direction of plant-based eating---for whatever reason. So you can expect to see us at more VegFest events in the future.

Scroll down for a few more photos

: Dr. Campbell reviewing our 4Leaf Survey yesterday in Worcester--- before the VegFest began.

: This photo was taken from our table---looking across at Dr. Campbell's table on the same level.

Finally---one more photo of our youngest 4Leaf team member

: Middle grandson, Andrew (9), sitting with his "GranBuddy" just before the show began.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation

The daunting task of moving the world to plant-based

2012-04-10T11:09:21Z

Could anything be more difficult? Yes!

In an era when over 90% of us are eating some form of the typical Western diet with meat, dairy, and/or eggs three meals a day---we know that it is a daunting task to challenge that widely accepted norm. Even though we know we're right---for a plethora of reasons---it's hard to imagine anything more difficult than radically changing our eating paradigm to one that requires zero animal products.

But there is a task that would be far more difficult. Imagine for a moment that almost everyone in the world was already eating nothing but plant-based foods. That's right---the 60 billion farm animals that we used to raise for our deadly eating habits no longer exist. All of the great chefs and fine restaurants of the world are focusing 100% on plant-based dining and are written up in the Michellin and Zagat guides everywhere.

That's how things might be in 2112

: By 2112, people will have traded this "balanced" meal for fabulous plant-based dining in all the best restaurants.

Further, people everywhere are raving about the foods, they are healthy and the cost of healthcare has plummeted to record low levels---now hovering somewhere around 2% of the GDP. Gone are the days when that number soared from 5.2% in 1960 to almost 20% in the early 2000's.

The medical schools of yore have all been converted to institutions dedicated to health promotion. Most of the medical costs now are for things like prenatal services, injury repair, cosmetic surgery, etc. Screening tests for cancer are no longer needed since the incidence of that former killer disease has shrunk to near zero.

But there are a few populations in remote regions of the world that have no access to fresh plants---and they're still killing wild animals for their food. Occasionally a few tourists to those areas get a chance to dine with those people and some of those tourists found that they enjoyed eating that cooked flesh and cheese.

: If we can get the Brits to go plant-based, we can easily change the rest of the world.

Now a few of those wealthy tourists decide that it would be great to promote that way of dining in the more populated areas like New York, London, Paris and Tokyo. They plan to start with the wealthiest people and ultimately roll out their plan to everyone in the world. But first they must convince their future customers that a diet of animal-based foods is a good idea.

After doing a little review of the history of the 21st century, when humankind finally came to their senses, they realize that moving back to animal-based foods would be a much more daunting task than they had imagined. A review of the historical data reveals that:

It would take between ten and twenty times more land, water and energy to feed everyone an animal based diet. And with all three in short supply, that was going to make their vision very difficult to execute.
We can expect to see well over half the population eventually die of food-driven diseases like cancer, heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
That rise in chronic disease translates into a 20-fold or 30-fold cost of health care that must ultimately be borne by the citizens---either directly or through taxation.
Now that environmental controls are in place, the production of the highly inefficient animal-based diet will more than quadruple the grocery bill of most families.
Since there wouldn't be enough land to feed the world's now 9 billion people this tasty new animal-foods diet---many new billions of people would just have to go hungry while the wealthy feasted on these fat-laden foods.
There would eventually need to be over 200 billion farm animals slaughtered per year to meet the world's appetite.
I can just hear it now, "We can raise pigs, chickens and cows on the moon and bring you gasoline for $2.50/gallon at the same time."

Who will lead this mis-directed group?

Realizing that only a fool would try to execute such a ludicrous plan, candidates for president of the United States will begin talking about growing cows, pigs and chickens on the moon, Mars, and beyond.

So lets compare our "daunting" task of 2012 with the infinitely more daunting task 100 years later...when a few lunatics try to move us back in the other direction. By comparison, let's take a look at what we have working in our favor today.

Here is what we now know in 2012:

We know that we can save much needed water, land and energy.
We know that we can eliminate 80% of our costly disease care.
We know that we can take much better care of our environment with plant-based eating: our topsoil, our trees, our climate and our water.
We know that we can easily feed 9 billion people on the 8 billion arable acres with plant-based foods.
We know that most people really do not want to ever cause any animal to suffer.

Bottom Line. We know that we are right about all of the above. And that's why our task is so much less daunting than that mis-directed group of the early 22nd century.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com...from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, Board of Directors…

Academic "Unfreedom" at Cornell---T. Colin Campbell

2012-04-03T13:43:21Z

The headline in the Cornell Progressive on March 8, 2012

We may no longer have academic freedom at Cornell or ANY of our schools of nutrition, but the first amendment is alive and well. And it was recently exercised by Dr. T. Colin Campbell (Nutritional Biochemistry) and Dr. Randy Wayne (Plant Biology).

We're talking about some serious stuff here---we're talking about suppressing the freedom of scientists to seek, identity and publicize the truth about nutrition. We're talking about saving lives and we're talking about saving the planet in the process. We're also talking about blatant violation of our nation's first amendment in a tax exempt, land-grant university.

: Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University---author of The China Study

This blog contains key excerpts from a recent article; one that will probably damage the career of the younger author (Dr. Wayne) and will likely lead to further removal of the older author (Dr. Campbell) from the official presence of Cornell University. But these are not ordinary men, they are brave scientists who believe that scientific integrity is more important than fleeting status or personal income. (Link to complete article provided below) Excerpt:

At Cornell, life science professors do not necessarily profess their beliefs based upon evidence and critical thinking as our title implies;; rather, all too often, professors market an unwritten and unspoken syllabus to promote, if not a brand name, then a way of looking at the world that is sympathetic to corporate sponsors.

Sound incredulous? I thought so at first, but then I have witnessed it first-hand. In November of 2009, while enrolled in Dr. Campbell's Plant-Based Nutrition course, I attended one of his lectures in Savage Hall on the campus of Cornell University. Speaking to a packed house in a large lecture hall, Dr. Campbell spoke to a crowd that seemed to be about equally split among students and PhD faculty. Click here to continue reading this article.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com...from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, Board of Directors…

From Bison Burgers to Saving the Planet

2012-03-22T19:27:31Z

Trailing in the bottom of the 7th inning---with Ted Turner

Entering Atlanta's mega-airport yesterday morning at 6:00 a.m., I noticed a large poster image of Ted Turner gesturing with one hand and saying, "We're this close to ending polio." Then, while waiting for my flight back to Boston, I decided that it was time to write another blog post about Ted---and what better time than while spending a few hours in the place where I met him in person---the old Atlanta airport back in 1978.

Thirty-four years ago, he and I were walking down a lonely corridor to an Eastern Airlines flight when he jovially started talking to me. I was impressed that a man of his fame would be so warm and engaging to a total stranger. But this was no ordinary man. To refresh your memory, here's what the polio poster had to say about him:

Known for his environmental activism and generous philanthropy, Turner created the United Nations Foundation in 1998 with his historic $1 billion gift in support of the United Nations. Since its creation, the United Nations Foundation has been a proud partner of Rotary International and an active participant in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

As stated above, Ted is well-known for environmental activism and philanthropy---exactly what we need to help fix our out-of-control global feeding model. He is also well-known as the former owner of the Atlanta Braves, the founder of CNN, the creator of Ted's Montana Grill and the skipper of the winning boat (Courageous) in the America's Cup in 1977.

In the following 3-minute video, Ted talks about global warming and nuclear weapons with Charlie Rose in 2008. He said we've simply got to take care of business with both issues, and we can't afford to have "dumb leadership." He's absolutely right---we must have strong leadership with vision and passion. Once Ted fully understands what our Western diet-style is contributing to many of our most serious problems, I am confident that he will "step up to the plate in the 7th inning" as he says in the video and that he is capable of providing that leadership, vision and passion that we need. Click here to continue reading this article (with video).

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

Protein---There's only one way not to get enough of it...

2012-03-16T17:13:50Z

By not getting enough calories

Essential nutrient? Yes. More important than complex carbohydrates? No. Earlier this week, I blogged about the importance of fiber in the diet of herbivores. Today, I want to revisit the old question about protein---because this is a concern that is not likely to disappear during my lifetime.

: Our fellow herbivore in the wild ---the strongest animal in the world---getting plenty of protein and fiber and eating nothing but raw plants.

Even Bill Clinton, who has reversed his heart disease by following the dietary advice of Campbell, Esselstyn and Ornish, still thinks he needs a protein shake to make sure he gets enough. That's fine, as long as he has a plant-based protein shake---he definitely doesn't need to consume ANY animal protein---EVER.

My "Fiber Blog" included an analysis of 13 foods that I consume on a regular basis. They include a few from each category: fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. Once again, I went to nutritiondata.com and determined how many grams of each macronutrient there were in 100 grams of product. A few showed zero protein and/or fat because the amount was less than one gram. So, in those cases, I checked the chart in the back of "The McDougall Plan" book and, sure enough, every single food had at least some of all three macronutrients.

: Two of my 13 foods below feature fat as their #1 source of calories. If you want to lose weight, you should go easy on foods such as avocado, nuts and olives.

Grams of macronutrients/100 grams for 13 of my routine foods. (Macronutrients are where we get our calories.) Notice that every single one of these 13 foods has protein in it---some more than others.

Same for carbs and fat---every single one has some of both. And Mother Nature has made sure that all three macronutrients contain just the right amount of all three of our macronutrients. This bears repeating:

All 13 foods have protein
All 13 foods have carbohydrates
All 13 foods have fat

Protein-Carbs-Fat (grams per 100 grams)

: Another great source of protein, carbs AND fat.

1 --- 10 --- .5 ---Carrots

2 --- 7 ---- .5 ---Broccoli

3 --- 4 ---- .5 ---Spinach

2 --- 9 ---- 15 ----Avocado

9 --- 24 ---- 1 ----Black Beans

11 --- 10 --- 5 ---Edamame Beans

21 --- 22 --- 49 --Almonds

1 --- 14 --- .5 ---- Blueberries

1 --- 15 ---- 1 ----Pear

.2 --- 15 --- .5 ---Apple

5 --- 27 --- 1 ----Whole grain pasta

13 --- 69 ---7 ---Oatmeal

3 --- 23 ----1 ---Brown Rice

*As you may have guessed, water makes up much of the weight of many of these foods---especially the first three.

*Avocado and almonds are in red only because of their high fat content. If you're trying to lose weight, you might want to go easy on these very healthy, whole foods.

: Nature's ONLY approved source of animal protein in our diet.

Animal sources of protein. The only animal source of protein that we should ever consume is the milk from our own mother. Did you know that her milk is only 5% protein, and that is during the period of our lives when we are growing most rapidly.

By comparison, the typical adult in the Western world is deriving over 15% of her calories from animal protein---and it is literally killing us. On the other hand, it's impossible to consume too much protein when your only sources are whole, plant-based foods.

By the way, even Dr. Spock learned the truth about milk and animal protein before he died. Two final points to remember:

We are the only species in history that ever consumes the milk of another spices.
We are the only species in history that consumes ANY milk after weaning.

Still have questions about protein? Visit our Protein Page

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

: J. Morris Hicks -- Member of the Board of Directors -- Click image to visit the foundation website.

Cancer screening? Saving Lives or Making Money?

2012-03-05T16:49:13Z

A little of the first---a whole lot of the second

Finally, a thoughtful member of the medical community speaks out---in a recent Op-Ed in the New York Times and in a recent video; both of which are featured in this blog. I am talking about Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, and the author of Over-diagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health. From his 2-27-12 Op-Ed in the Times:

Screening the apparently healthy potentially saves a few lives (although the National Cancer Institute couldn’t find any evidence for this in its recent large studies of prostate and ovarian cancer screening). But it definitely drags many others into the system needlessly — into needless appointments, needless tests, needless drugs and needless operations (not to mention all the accompanying needless insurance forms).

This process doesn’t promote health; it promotes disease. People suffer from more anxiety about their health, from drug side effects, from complications of surgery. A few die. And remember: these people felt fine when they entered the health care system. (See link to complete article below)

Since I began this blog in February of 2011, I have blogged about the huge screening $$ business several times. For example, we have a $50 billion colonoscopy screening business for a disease that carries a 7% likelihood of death. The primary problem is that our medical industry fails to explain how we can lower that risk.

They place all the emphasis on early detection---which is followed by all the testing and procedures that Dr. Welch mentions in his article. Click here to continue reading this article, complete with a video made possible by Dr. John McDougall.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

Vegan Prize Fighter---Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley

2012-02-29T20:00:39Z

That's right, vegan prize fighter and it's not an oxymoron.

On June 9, the undefeated (28-0) Desert Storm will fight the defending welterweight champion, Manny Pacquiao, in Las Vegas. And for at least three months leading up to the fight, Timothy will eat nothing but plant-based foods.

No meat, no dairy and no eggs. Unlike Rocky, he never breaks five eggs into a glass and slurps them down raw. Instead, according to a 2-27-12 article in the Wall Street Journal:

This boxer will pass on the burger. He will deny the cheese. He will skip the sushi that he adores. Instead, the boxer will embrace the quinoa. He will thrill to the avocado and befriend the almond. He will enjoy the spinach, the tofu, and the $7.95 organic smoothie that bears his not-yet-household name. (Scroll down for link to article)

: Manny and Timothy will fight in Las Vegas on June 9

Bradley began experimenting with a vegan diet in 2008 and has now embraced it most of the time---including 100% of the time while in training. And in Las Vegas, after months of strict vegan training, the undefeated boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. hopes to have the fight of his life—and defeat the world-renowned champion Manny Pacquiao.

In fact, he says the only reason he doesn't eat vegan all the time is because of his wife Monica. Like everyone else, Timothy knows that eating animal foods from time to time is more convenient and more practical than eating vegan. But, unlike everyone else, he knows that plant-based eating is the way to go from a health perspective. Like Tony Gonzalez (all-pro tight end), Timothy knows that plant-based eating gives him an advantage over his professional adversaries. As Timothy says in the article:

"The reason I love it so much is that I feel connected to the world...My thoughts are clearer, crisp. I am sharp. Everything is working perfectly—I feel clean. It's a weird feeling, man. It's just a weird feeling."

Bradley was staggered to feel an almost-immediate surge in preparation and competition. "I was able to outwork a lot of my opponents," he said. "He really liked it," said Bradley's trainer, Joel Diaz. "His body felt different."

The article noted that Timothy "stuck by the vegan diet as he became junior welterweight champion and built an unblemished record of 28-0. For three months leading up to a bout, he will eat vegan, with no exceptions. This is what he intends for his MGM Grand showdown with Pacquiao on the second Saturday in June."

His favorite restaurant even has a namesake smoothie in his home town of Palm Springs, CA, it is called "Bradley's Ultra Green" and includes includes spinach, kale, mint, ginger, probiotic, bananas, aloe vera, apple juice and Spirulina.

Bradley becomes the second pro-boxer to announce his preference for the plant-based diet---the other one was Mike Tyson. But, Bradley is the first to make the change in the prime of his career. Although not a boxing fan, I have marked my calendar and will be pulling for the Desert Storm on June 9---maybe he'll pull an upset on the champ and prove to the world that broccoli beats bacon.

: Not only does this guy get along just fine without eating animals, the strongest animals in the world -- like elephants -- eat nothing but raw plants.

As for other macho athletes choosing plant-based, the most prominent is probably ten time all-pro tight end, Tony Gonzalez. We quoted him in our book extolling the virtues of a 4Leaf kind of diet. From our book...

He lists the multiple benefits of his diet in his book. About endurance, he says, “You last longer while everyone else is getting tired.” About focus, he says, “In the meeting room, in the classroom, at home, out on the field; wherever you are, you have greater ability to concentrate on what needs to be done.”

He also reports faster recovery time: “The day after working out hard or playing a tough game, you come back feeling fresh and full of energy. The other guys [are] hurting and moaning and, sure, you’ve got a few bumps and bruises, but you’re ready to go again!”

Manny Pacquiao vs. the Vegan Timothy Bradley (Wall Street Journal)

If anyone is wondering where they're getting their protein, click here.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

: J. Morris Hicks -- Member of the Board of Directors -- Click image to visit the foundation website.

Want more protein from milk? Rat's milk is your answer.

2012-02-24T21:27:51Z

Last weekend, I posted a video by Dr. Walter J. Veith entitled "Sitting on a Time Bomb." Since then, I have discovered another one of his educational videos. It is entitled "Udderly Amazing" and features 80 minutes worth of non-stop scientific information about why humans should NEVER drink any cow's milk and shouldn't drink any milk at all after weaning.

Dr. Veith was educated in South Africa and received his PhD in Zoology in 1978. You can view his complete bio by clicking here, but here is just a snippet to give you the idea of his educational background.

1978 Ph.D. Zoology (University of Cape Town). Title of thesis: ’Autoradiographic and Electron Microscopic study of embryonic nutrition in the teleost Clinus superciliosus’

2002-2004. Professor of Medical Bioscience, University of the Western Cape. Since 2005, Retired from academia but active as an international lecturer in most western countries and former east-block countries. Guest speaker at numerous international universities, health and science institutes, radio and television broadcasts as well as schools and church bodies on issues related to diet and degenerative diseases as well as science and religion.

Since meeting this man via video over the weekend, I have been quite impressed with his extensive documentation of facts, his relaxed style, his presentation skills and his sense of humor. In the video featured here today, he made some key points early in his presentation.

: The dairy farm of the future for those who want more PROTEIN

The mother's milk of humans contains the lowest percentage of protein of all 5500 mammals on the planet. He presented a chart showing the protein content in mg./liter for humans, horses, cows, goats, dogs, cats and rats.

Alongside that data, he showed the number of days required for each of those mammals to double their weight after consuming only their mother's milk.

Beginning with humans, and continuing through all of the seven other animals---to rats, the number of days went from 120---60---47---19---8---7---4.5 for the rats. The human milk contains 1.2 mg/liter of protein while the rat's milk contains ten times as much---11.8 mg./liter---enough to double the infant's birth-weight in less than five days.

Hence, Dr. Veith's comments on the video, "If it's protein maximization that we're seeking, we should be drinking rat's milk---not cow's milk." Click here to finish the article that includes a powerful video by Dr. Veith.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

EAT PLANTS -- NOT TIME-BOMBS

2012-02-20T12:38:03Z

Want to be healthy? Listen to Dr. T. Colin Campbell, NOT David Zinczenko, the editor of Mens's Health and the author of Eat This, Not That. Dr. Campbell tells you the truth about nutrition---Mr. Zinczenko makes a ton of money posing as someone who is concerned about your health.

And even though he criticizes the least healthy, or should we say the most-deadly foods, he is making our overall food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries very happy. That's because he is helping to maintain the status quo of obesity, chronic disease and all of the trillions of dollars that go along with it.

Last week, Mr. Z was on the Today Show with Savannah Guthrie reviewing the breakfast offerings at Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King and Dunkin' Donuts. Let's take a look at what America's favorite health guru has to say about having breakfast at McDonald's.**

Beginning with the "Not That" option, he talks about the Big Breakfast. From nutrition data.com, I learn the following about that meal:

"Not That," says Mr. Z about...
McDonald's Big Breakfast
767 calories, 469 from fat (61% of the calories from fat)
52 grams of fat, 17 grams of saturated fat
465 mg. of cholesterol
1477 mg. of sodium
Score on the 4Leaf scale: No-Leaf (zero calories from whole plants)

Click here to continue reading this article.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

Pork tales continue; when does the madness end?

2012-02-15T12:38:10Z

Apparently not anytime soon

I don't know which is worse---the horrors inflicted on our environment, our health or the poor animals that suffer their entire lives so we can enjoy our Egg McMuffin. But today, I want to talk about the latter.

: How would you like to spend four months in a place like this? Laying hens spend their entire lives in similar quarters.

On Monday, there was an article in the New York Times (See link below) about the practice of using "gestation crates" for pregnant sows in the pork industry. Did you know that there are five million breeding sows in the United States and that over three million of them spend their entire 4-month pregnancy in a 2 by 7-foot crate which does not give them enough room to turn around? From the article:

At a little more than 2 feet by 7 feet, sow stalls are too small for a pregnant pig to turn around. Being confined in a stationary position for the four months of an average pregnancy leads to a variety of health problems, including urinary tract infections, weakened bone structures, overgrown hooves and mental stress, according to animal rights advocates.

This is just the latest story to hit our mainstream newspapers reminding us of the absolute madness associated with our marriage to the deadly habit of eating some form of meat and dairy three meals a day. As the article points out, McDonalds is now involved in this saga, one that has been around for a long time. And it will probably be around for much longer.

In 2007, Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, pledged to end the use of gestation crates in the facilities it owns by 2017, a date it postponed during the economic downturn. The Humane Society then conducted an undercover investigation, releasing video of pigs in Smithfield’s stalls, and the company once again pledged to stop using the crates by 2017.

: Our children think that pigs have a pretty nice life---the 3 little pigs of our youth.

When will all of this "madness" end? The answer is simple---when we stop buying the products. You've no doubt heard the children's story about the three little pigs. Well, today we're featuring "three little pig stories." Here are the other two---from earlier blogs.

COMPLICITY — Billions of animals suffering in factory farms Warning, there is a video in this blog that features vivid images (and sounds) of things that take place in today's pig factories. I couldn't make it past the first 30 seconds.
Burning trees in the Amazon — to feed pigs in China As Mark Bittman (New York Times) has noted over the years, our meat and dairy food model is the most wasteful, damaging and unsustainable system imaginable. I frequently mention this example of just how ridiculous our meat-eating habits have become. We're now burning trees in the Amazon---to make room for growing soybeans---that we then ship 10,000 miles to feed pigs in China. That's because the Chinese don't want to depend on the United States for their all-important pork eating needs.

All of the above reinforces just how far humankind has strayed from living in harmony with Nature on this planet. Sadly, we are the only species (out of millions) that have taken this route. This week, I am delivering lectures on college campuses. Following the theme of our book, my topic is:

The “big picture” about the food we eat and how it relates to the promotion of health, hope and harmony on planet Earth

Of course, the simple answer to ending the madness is for all of us to start choosing the kind of food promotes health, hope and harmony. When we choose a whole foods plant-based diet for ourselves, we not only promote our own health---we can also save our nation $2 trillion in health care, conserve fossil fuels, remove the #1 driver of global warming, feed all of the world's hungry on far less land, and facilitate the restoration of our degraded arable land, forests, lakes, rivers and oceans. We can also end the suffering of sixty billion "food animals" per year---those who are grown to feed the wealthiest 2 billion people in the world---a very unhealthy diet.

Finally, one more article on "ending the madness" along with a link to the New York Times article about the sows in the crates.

Ending the madness. For the environment

McDonald’s Vows to Help End Use of Sow Crates - NYTimes.com.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

: J. Morris Hicks -- Member of the Board of Directors -- Click image to visit the foundation website.

A tiny few eating a perfect diet? -- or truly changing the world?

2012-02-06T11:49:12Z

: Dr. T. Colin Campbell -- author of The China Study and the world's leading authority on health promoting, plant-based nutrition.

Keeping the "big picture" in mind

Back in November, while meeting with Dr. Campbell in his home, he reiterated what he has often said and written:

Our role is to help people understand exactly what comprises a near optimal, health-promoting diet for humans -- telling them the goal. What people do with that knowledge is completely up to them.

Upon learning the truth about nutrition for the first time, some will adopt a 100% plant-based diet immediately, more will begin to gradually add more fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains to their diets, but the vast majority will probably do nothing -- at least for now. We know from past experience that only a tiny percentage will adopt this seemingly difficult diet-style immediately; but if we convey the message properly, a great many will HEAR and will begin to make some improvements.

: Reaching the masses -- like this soccer crowd in Brazil

The huge group that will listen to our message and make modest improvements is exactly who we are trying to reach in our book AND in this blog. Just yesterday, I heard from two readers who summed up my feelings perfectly. They posted the following comments beneath the blog where I admitted to having one cookie and a coke on Delta Airlines -- in the middle of a high 3-Leaf or low 4-Leaf day...

First from Jean. Thanks for sharing what you do in the real world. While I realize the earlier comments are true about the unhealthiness of Coke, cookies, etc.; when you are trying to help the masses change to healthier eating, you cannot come across as a fanatic or you turn everyone totally off.

Is it better for a very few to eat pure diets or for a lot of people to eat mostly healthy diets? Thanks for keeping the big picture in mind! Jean

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com

Then from Denise. Life is about choices, not regiments. It is called wiggle room and without some flexibility, we would all bomb out sooner or later. No, Jim you won’t go to H*** because you had one coke and a cookie. If I learned anything from your posts, It’s the Big Picture not the small. Keep up the good work Denise. p.s. It shows that you are human tooooooooo.

These two comments prompted me to revisit an earlier blog on this subject. While walking home this morning, I explained the focus of that blog to a friend. I explained that it's all about the question that Jean asked above, "Is it better for a very few to eat pure diets or for a lot of people to eat mostly healthy diets?" Without a doubt, it would be the latter. Click here to continue reading this article.

—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com