How Not To Die Flashcards
What is the cause of high blood pressure?
Salt and Sodium
What is gluten?
Group of proteins found in grain cereals and wheat
What is considered normal blood pressure?
Under 120/80
What is considered high blood pressure?
Over 140/90
What type of nut lowers bad cholesterol levels and raises the good cholesterol?
Brazil nut.
What is bad cholesterol called?
LDL
What is good cholesterol called?
HDL
What does the first blood pressure number represent and what is it called?
It represents the pressure in your arteries as your blood pumps from the heart and it is called “systolic”.
What does the second blood pressure number represent and what is it called?
It is the pressure in your arteries while the heart is resting between beats and it is called “diastolic”.
What happens to your blood pressure after a salty or high sodium meal?
Blood pressure increases and arteries begin to stiffen.
What food ranks as a leading contributor of sodium in the American diet?
Cheese.
Which food industry commonly injects their carcasses with salt water to artificially inflate their weight, raising the sodium levels and still label it as “100% natural”?
Poultry/chicken
If there are 100 grams in the serving size, the product should have _____ than _____of_____.
Less than 100 milligrams of sodium.
Shoot for fewer milligrams of sodium per serving than _____.
Calories.
what are good grains and bad grains?
good grain = whole grains - kernel with the bran, germ, and endosperm intact. Ex: oats, whole wheat, and brown rice.
bad grain = refined grains - started out as whole grains, but they are processed to give them a finer texture and longer shelf life. During this process, the bran and germ are removed, which also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins.
Ex: white flour, de-germed cornmeal, white bread, and white rice. Most refined grains are enriched.
What type of food reduces high blood pressure and high cholesterol and even reverse atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries which is the leading killer?
whole grains, whole vegetables, whole fruits, whole beans, and other whole plant foods are needed, along with a significant reduction in your intake of trans fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol.
What is a flexitarian diet?
A semi-vegetarian diet- one that eats mainly plant foods with the occasional inclusion of meat.
What is a lactovegetarian diet?
Dairy, but no meat or eggs.
what does DASH Diet stand for and what is it?
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
DASH diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and less meat.
(You can obtain better results by excluding meat entirely; it only includes meat to make it more ideal for everyone).
what food is deemed “miraculous” to hypertension, has anti-cancer properties, helps control cholesterol, triglyceride, blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation, and successfully treats constipation?
Ground flaxseed, tablespoons daily.
what does nitric oxide do in your body and what happens if you don’t get enough nitric oxide?
Opens up your arteries for more blood flow.
If you don’t get enough, arteries can stiffen which raises your blood pressure.
what is the enemy of nitric oxide and what foods should you eat to get rid of the enemy?
Free radicals are the enemy and you need to eat more antioxidant-rich foods such as berries, beets, kale, beans, spinach.
What are free radicals?
highly unstable molecules that cause tissue damage and contribute to aging.
what is the enemy of nitric oxide and what foods should you eat to get rid of the enemy?
Free radicals are the enemy and you need to eat more antioxidant-rich foods such as berries, beets, kale, beans, spinach. They will also help boost nitric oxide in the body.
what are some of the top food sources of nitrates (nitric oxide)?
Arugula (top food), rhubarb, cilantro, butter leaf lettuce, mesclun greens, basil, beet greens, oak leaf lettuce, swiss chard, beets - in that order.
These help dilate your arteries and increases blood flow. Great to consume before exercise.
What is hyperfiltration?
Dramatic increase in the workload of the kidney.
What causes hyperfiltration of the kidney?
High animal protein intake.
What causes hyperfiltration of the kidney?
High animal protein intake.
why does animal protein overload the kidneys while plant protein doesn’t?
Because of the inflammation animal products can cause.
A higher dietary acid load is associated with a significantly higher risk of protein leakage into the urine- an indicator of kidney damage. What are acid-inducing foods and base-inducing (alkaline) foods?
acid-inducing: meats, eggs, cheese.
base-inducing: fruits & vegetables.
what additive is added to color coca-cola and add water weight to chicken?
Phosphorus additive.
Having too much phosphorus in the blood may increase the risk of kidney failure, heart failure, heart attacks, and premature death. Excess phosphorus also appears to damage our blood vessels and accelerate aging and bone loss.
Why does cooking meat at high temperatures or for a long period increase risk of cancer?
Due to cancer-producing substances such as Heterocyclic Amines (HCA).
Cancer appears to feed on _________.
Cholesterol.
What foods appear to double the risk of prostate cancer and what does research suggest why poultry is advancing cancer?
Eggs, chicken, turkey. Research suggests it may be due to cooked-meat carcinogens. These carcinogens build up more in the muscles of chickens and turkeys than other animals. Higher levels of choline (found in eggs) in the blood have been associated with increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
Can you get too much sugar from eating fruit?
No, a study showed that adding blended berries to a cup of sugar water showed no additional blood sugar spike and no hypoglycemic dip afterward, unlike the group that had sugar water only.
Should fruit be restricted to those with diabetes type 2?
Diabetics randomized into a group restricted to no more than two daily pieces of fruit had no better blood sugar control than those randomized into a group told to eat a minimum of two pieces of fruit per day. The researchers concluded that “the intake of fruit should not be restricted in patients with type 2 diabetes.”
In the United States, the massive study determined that the leading cause of both death and disability was the American diet, followed by smoking. What did they determine to be the worst aspect about our diet?
Not eating enough fruit.
Why does Dr. Gregor say blending is better than juicing?
It preserves nutrients that are attached to the fiber. Even cloudy apple juice, which retains a bit of the fruit fiber, can have nearly triple the phenolics compared to clear apple juice.
Why does Dr. Gregor not recommend cooking with oils- even extra virgin olive oil?
He views it like juicing fruit- it has empty calories and lacks nutrients. Even extra-virgin olive oil may impair your arteries’ ability to relax and dilate normally.
How do you cook without oil?
To keep food from sticking, you can saute in wine, sherry, broth, vinegar, or even just water.
What is sulforaphane and it’s benefits?
It is a natural plant compound found in many cruciferous vegetables. It forms when it’s been chopped or chewed.
It’s an anticancer agent, protects brain, eyesight, reduce nasal allergies, manage type 2 diabetes, helps treat autism.
How do you enhance sulforaphane?
Hack & hold- wait 40 mins after chopping before cooking. Use mustard powder on frozen cooked cruciferous veggies that lack sulforaphane. Add fresh greens to cooked greens. Garnish w/ purple cabbage which is filled with sulforaphane-producing enzyme.
What is ubiquinol and how is it generated in the body?
Ubiquinol is CoQ10 and it’s an antioxidant. After ubiquinol extinguishes a free radical, it is oxidized to ubiquinone. In order to become an effective antioxidant again, it needs sunlight and chlorophyll (from eating greens) to regenerate.
How do you maximize nutrient absorption of greens?
Pair it with green-light fats such as avocado, nuts, coconut, seeds. Study shows that doing this can triple the amount of fat-soluble nutrients that get absorbed.
Why is eating alfalfa sprouts not recommended?
Too many have been linked with salmonella poisoning. Alfafa sprout seeds have too many nooks & crannies where bacteria from manure-contaminated water can hide. Even home sprouted is not safe.
What is ergothioneine and what food contains the most?
Ergothioneine is an unusual amino acid that acts as a cell protector. Mushrooms contain the most.
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a measure of the energy contained in food. Calories come in 3 forms- carbohydrates, fat, and protein. We need a certain amount of energy each day in order for our bodies to function properly. If we do any exercise or manual labor, then we need more. Food provides us with energy. If we consume more than we need, then we will gain weight.
List macronutrients
Protein, carbohydrates, fats (the elements in our food that deliver calories).
List micronutrients
Vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals. They provide a secondary level of nutrition that adds a complex layer of disease resistance and longevity benefits.
Micronutrients are not sources of calories.
What are phytochemicals?
Phyto means plant.
Chemicals produced by plants that play a role in plant growth & defense against pathogens/predators. They occur in fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds and act as antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals).
What does fiber do?
Feeds our good bacteria and performs a cleansing or “scrubbing” function. It improves digestion, stabilizes blood sugar levels, detoxifies, keeps our pH low, and helps with the excretion of unwanted substances from the body.
What type of fats raise LDL (bad) cholesterol?
- Saturated fats.
- Trans fats (found in animal products and hydrogenated vegetable oils).
- Dietary cholesterol (cholesterol we consume when eating animal foods).
What are the benefits of phytonutrients?
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. May also enhance immunity and intercellular communication, repair DNA damage from exposure to toxins, detoxify carcinogens and alter estrogen metabolism.
What is an allostatic load?
It is the “wear and tear” in the body which accumulates as an individual is exposed to repeated chronic stress.
Mitochondrion
Is an organelle in the cell (similar to an organ in our body). It’s job is to convert fat, protein, carbs from food we eat into energy and is called metabolism.
