Wonderfully Made

Plant Foods

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: George Guthrie, Tim Arnott

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Series Code: WM

Program Code: WM000332


00:37 Hello this is Wonderfully Made and
00:40 I am Dr. George Guthrie Medical Director
00:43 of the Lifestyle Center of America.
00:46 There is a special message for the people today
00:50 there are some people who have tried the lifestyle
00:53 management of disease and have been discouraged,
00:57 because their weight didn't come down,
01:00 their cholesterol didn't come down and maybe their
01:04 diabetes hasn't improved their
01:06 blood sugar haven't does improved.
01:07 We would like to focus today on plant foods,
01:12 because they are not all created equal.
01:18 Here to help us with this discussion is Dr. Tim Arnott.
01:22 Hello George, it's good to be with you again.
01:25 Yes, people with this obesity, diabetes,
01:30 high cholesterol, who have tried that lifestyle
01:34 approach, have found themselves discouraged.
01:39 What's the underlying problem why aren't they
01:41 getting better while their compatriots
01:43 who may be doing the same thing are improving
01:46 dramatically? Well, what we need to understand
01:49 is the role of insulin in the body.
01:53 Insulin of course is a protein made by the pancreas
01:57 that's in the middle upper middle of the abdomen
02:00 and that insulin of course has job and that job is
02:04 to get sugar and actually fat into the cells,
02:08 so that the cells can burn and do the work what they
02:12 need to do and make the things that they need to
02:14 make and so insulin is very important the trouble
02:17 is if your insulin level is too high then something
02:22 is happened that aren't very good
02:24 and that is insulin basically sends the body the
02:27 message hang on to the energy hang on to the
02:31 calories that you have don't let go over them
02:33 and so its more difficult to loose weight
02:36 if you have the high insulin level, also elevated
02:40 or high insulin levels actually tell the body tell
02:44 the liver if you will to make more cholesterol
02:47 they encourage the liver to make more cholesterol,
02:51 so its more difficult to get that the cholesterol level
02:54 down if you have a high insulin level and so another
03:00 a group of individuals may have tried a total plant
03:03 diet as George mentioned a few minutes ago
03:06 and seen their triglycerides the fat in the level.
03:09 The fat in the blood go up, they may have seen
03:11 their good cholesterol go down and the reason for
03:15 this impart at least is that the insulin level may be
03:19 too high in their blood stream,
03:21 so what we want to share in this program is
03:23 how do I get my insulin level down and there is
03:25 one more thing its important to know is that
03:27 insulin is a growth promoter. It moves
03:31 and stimulates cells to divide and so it can raise
03:34 your risk of cancer if your insulin level is too high.
03:37 So, George how on earth can we deal with
03:40 this whole problem of insulin being too high?
03:43 Well that's especially important when we
03:45 think about how doctors tend to treat people
03:48 who have for example diabetes and these are
03:50 some often the people have the hardest time by this.
03:54 What they trying to do is to get medications to
03:56 increase the insulin levels in the body that makes
03:59 it harder to lose weight. I have noticed
04:01 when I treat somebody with who hasn't been able
04:05 to manage their blood sugars with diet
04:07 or pills or by start them on insulin they want to gain
04:10 15 pounds. Insulin is a problem short of a hormone.
04:15 Well, it's important to the body.
04:16 It's still their when there is too much of it,
04:20 its definitely a problem. So, how do we get it down?
04:23 Well, you know different plant foods actually affect
04:28 insulin levels a little bit differently.
04:31 They are some of them that drive the blood sugar
04:34 up higher and because they drive the blood sugar up
04:36 higher the insulin level needs to go higher in
04:39 order to bring the blood sugar back down.
04:42 So, basically what you are telling us George is that
04:45 there are plant foods that the creator has provided
04:49 that have the smallest or the least ability to raise
04:54 blood sugar and that means they have the least
04:57 or smallest ability to raise insulin levels.
05:00 So, if you had difficulty bringing your weight down
05:03 on a plant diet, if you have had difficulty your blood
05:07 sugar down on a plant diet and if you have had your
05:10 triglycerides the fat in the blood go up and your good
05:13 cholesterol go down and had your doctor saying get off
05:16 for that plant diet, because your, your risk of a heart
05:20 attack is going up rather than going down there is hope
05:24 there is hope for you and that hope isn't knowing
05:27 that not all plants are created equal,
05:30 so George give us an overview for individuals
05:33 who need the information fast.
05:36 What kind of plants are we talking about?
05:40 Well, it's those plants that are high in fiber
05:45 and the fiber hangs on to the sugar
05:50 and lets it going slowly. Foods that have not been
05:54 broken apart into different pieces,
05:58 so the body takes some time to break them apart
06:01 that lets the blood sugar go inn. A concept that we
06:05 use to talk about this is called Glycemic Index.
06:10 You can actually rate foods from high to low on
06:14 how much they will actually raise the blood sugar
06:19 and the higher of course they raise the blood sugar
06:22 the harder its going to loose weight the harder
06:24 it will be to have the cholesterol come down
06:27 and the higher the number of the Glycemic Index.
06:30 Its a 100 scale and usually either white bread is at
06:36 the top 100 in another words it raises blood sugar
06:40 most aggressively, most readily or it can be a
06:45 glucose at the top of the scale 100 on a scale
06:48 and so what basically they do is they feed
06:51 individuals different foods, different plant
06:54 foods for example and then they measure their
06:57 blood sugar a short time later and based on the
07:02 blood sugar elevation they assign that food
07:05 which they ate a number and the lower the
07:08 number the lower the blood sugar rise
07:11 the lower the insulin rise after those foods and so,
07:17 what we wanna look at and what we wanna share
07:20 during this program is what foods raise insulin levels
07:24 at the smallest amount to the least elevation.
07:28 So, and spell them out for us Tim,
07:30 what are these categories? Well, George its actually
07:33 quite simply beans are one of the most important
07:37 tools if you wanna have a low insulin level
07:40 and beans are rich in soluble fiber which means
07:44 the blood sugar will actually go in more slowly
07:47 into the blood stream and that would lead to a
07:50 lower insulin rise. So, beans are very important.
07:53 Another category of plant foods that are very
07:57 helpful in keeping the insulin level low are whole
08:01 grains in other words these are oats, barley,
08:04 rye, wheat and other grains that have not had
08:08 anything removed from the grain the fiber is still
08:11 still there. And its best not to have them ground
08:13 up as well as you grind them it, it makes the blood
08:17 or the sugar going to the blood faster.
08:19 That's right George in fact if you can use breads,
08:23 whole grain breads now and Pastas,
08:25 whole grain pastas now if you can use those more
08:28 sparingly and just eat whole grain hot cereal
08:31 or brown rice streamed and beans poured over it,
08:36 those whole grains just cooked and eaten without
08:40 grinding it into flour will give you the lowest insulin
08:44 rise possible and may help those who had
08:46 difficulty loosing weight. Now, other categories of
08:50 plant foods that can keep the insulin low are the
08:53 above the ground vegetables and these are the leaf
08:57 and flower and the stem vegetables like
09:00 Broccoli, kale, collards, Brussels sprouts,
09:05 and all your favorites your understand the leafy green
09:08 vegetables are just powerful in fact George some of
09:13 them are so low and their ability to raise blood sugar
09:16 that they have a Glycemic Index of how much?
09:20 Pretty close to zero, I mean they just don't raise
09:22 it at all and that's exciting news if you have
09:24 diabetes, if you have difficulty loosing the weight
09:27 or if you have had your triglycerides go up
09:30 and your good cholesterol go down you wanna plug
09:33 into these above the ground vegetables which
09:37 essentially don't raise blood sugar and they
09:40 don't raise the insulin level very much at all.
09:43 Well, now Tim will, you say above the ground
09:47 vegetables and that's very positive.
09:49 What about the below the ground vegetables?
09:52 Well, the below the ground vegetables
09:54 are rich in starch those roots lots of starch there
09:58 of course the creator he made those foods
10:01 they have a particular role we'll talk more about that
10:03 later, but if you have had difficulty in loosing
10:06 weight if you had difficulty in getting your blood
10:09 sugar under control, if you have had your
10:11 triglycerides go up and you good cholesterol go down
10:14 on a plant diet then you may want to use the root
10:18 vegetables more like the nuts and seeds more
10:21 sparingly, however you should know that when you
10:24 do go below the ground after those roots there are
10:28 some that are actually little better than others
10:31 and the boiled carrots or the raw carrots are
10:35 probably least able to raise your insulin level next
10:40 on the list would be the yam and then the sweet
10:43 potato and then the new potato those are the little
10:47 round ones and then come to big spuds the large
10:53 white potato they actually have a quite a high
10:58 blood sugar raising and insulin raising affect,
11:02 so you may wanna use those when you go out
11:04 and to eat that is and when you do eat them
11:07 you may wanna add some beans you may wanna
11:10 add some avocados some of the fats,
11:12 because the fats can actually help to slow down
11:16 the blood sugar entry from some of those
11:19 higher Glycemic food like potatoes.
11:24 Good, good so there was some, another
11:26 category you were going to tell? Yes, there is another
11:29 category fruits and lot of people say George that
11:32 fruits raise the blood sugar I can't have those.
11:35 Well, what you should know what's important to know?
11:39 What we have discovered I should say is that
11:42 if you don't juice the fruit if you don't cook the fruit
11:46 and perhaps if you don't dry it that's probably
11:48 going to be the best fruit in keeping
11:50 the insulin level down. The fruit the whole fruit
11:53 and nothing but the fruit so help me.
11:55 That's exactly right. Now, what we like to share
11:58 with our patients and what we have seen to be
12:00 most helpful for those who want to keep the sugar down
12:03 and these insulin level down is to move toward the
12:06 Northern fruits these would be the apple,
12:09 the pear and fruits that grow up North that have
12:12 a pit like cherries and apricots and peaches plums
12:17 and then the berries don't forget the berries remember
12:20 the blueberry has more anti-oxidants then any
12:25 other fruit, so berries and northern fruits will
12:29 give you the lowest blood sugar elevation
12:31 the lowest insulin of elevation and that will help
12:36 and then the final category remember the nuts
12:39 and seeds. Now, you don't wan to use fistfuls,
12:42 but you do want to use at least one cupped handful of
12:46 nuts everyday and its good to use those at breakfast,
12:50 because the nuts maybe avocado or olives at lunch
12:54 will help to slow the blood sugar entry into the blood
12:59 stream that also will help keep the insulin level down
13:01 and so all of these important foods again its beans
13:08 whole grains not yet ground into flower,
13:10 above the ground vegetables northern fruits
13:13 and nuts and seeds sparingly that can be a powerful
13:16 tool to keeping the insulin level down and helping
13:18 people to loose weight they couldn't, helping people to
13:20 get the blood sugar down who couldn't and
13:23 helping that triglycerides to go back down
13:26 and good cholesterol to go up. Now, I am interested
13:29 in this term you have used Northern fruit
13:31 its can of a principle or a category of fruit that tend
13:37 to be better and apparently the Southern fruit
13:39 or tropical fruit and while its true green bananas are
13:43 little safer than over ripe once, but pineapple
13:46 and papaya and watermelon, mangoes all tend to
13:53 raise the blood sugar little more and so what we are
13:55 doing is encouraging people to minimize those
13:58 and maximize as far as fruits are concerned the more
14:02 Northern varieties. It's a just a general principle
14:04 to help people remember which fruits
14:07 are better than the others.
14:08 Absolutely, but we are not saying never have any
14:11 tropical fruits and don't eat white potatoes ever,
14:15 but what we are saying is if you had difficulty
14:18 getting your weight down or your blood sugar down
14:21 on a total plant diet just remember not all plants
14:26 are created equal and the creator has plants for those
14:30 individuals that are dealing with those kind of
14:32 struggles. Now, Tim the science is beginning to
14:37 come in at high Glycemic foods can cause problems
14:41 and that lower Glycemic foods tend to improve some of
14:45 these numbers and problems. You share us with us a
14:48 little bit what you have learned?
14:50 You know, George something that's coming on the
14:54 scene of importance in health is that to as your
14:57 insulin level goes up and what we were saying
15:00 a lot of negative things about insulin and don't get
15:03 us wrong, insulin is very important,
15:04 but again the body cannot tolerate insulin levels
15:08 that are too high in fact insulin is a growth
15:11 promoting protein and it pushes cells it can
15:16 push cells to divide and if you have too much insulin
15:20 you have too much cell division to rapid cell
15:22 division and you can have any increased risk
15:24 of cancer which is cell division out of control.
15:27 It probably doesn't cause the cancer,
15:30 but certainly if a cancer begins to grow its going to
15:34 make it grow faster, so it would be something
15:36 you would want to avoid if possible.
15:38 That's right if you have a cell that is turned
15:42 cancerous and its going to divide at a more rapid rate,
15:46 because of the influence of the high insulin level,
15:50 so its going to be more difficult for the immune
15:52 system to get a hold of and destroy those
15:55 cancer cells. So, what cancers have been
15:57 associated with the high insulin levels?
15:59 Well, Dr. Meshad and his colleagues actually
16:03 at the National Cancer Institute reported that
16:07 there was an increase in the risk of pancreatic
16:11 cancer. In fact, individuals who let me say it
16:16 positively individuals who ate foods least likely to
16:20 raise the blood sugar least likely to raise the insulin
16:23 level they had about one third the risk of pancreas
16:28 cancer as those who were eating foods with the
16:31 greatest stability to raise blood sugar.
16:34 So, in another words if you want to help avoid
16:38 pancreas cancer then one of the things
16:41 that you want to do is eat foods that
16:43 we've outlined in this program.
16:45 Well, pancreatic cancer is a not a real common one.
16:47 And occasionally people get it, are there any common
16:50 cancers that are more likely to be worse
16:53 or affect people who eat foods that are
16:56 high-glycemic. Well, actually colon cancer is the next
17:00 one on our list and Dr Franceschi reported
17:04 in the Annals of Oncology in 2001 that individuals
17:09 who ate foods least likely to raise the blood sugar
17:13 and least likely to raise that insulin level they had
17:17 about a 70 percent lower risk of developing colon
17:22 cancer and so you know what they are showing is
17:27 that if you raise that insulin level you push
17:30 your cancer risk up and more positively
17:35 if you move toward beans, whole grains above the
17:39 ground vegetables, northern fruits eaten raw
17:42 or frozen, nuts and seeds. You will actually lower
17:46 your insulin level and lower your risk of cancer.
17:49 So, it's a, an additional side benefit.
17:51 You know, I appreciate that emphasis
17:54 and these studies that you are talking about are
17:56 focusing actually on decreasing the Glycemic Index
18:02 of food and haven't focused at all at some of the
18:04 other benefits. For example the anti-oxidants,
18:08 the phytochemicals that tend to fight cancer which are
18:12 within the plants whether it's the berries
18:17 or the greens or the fruit, vegetables.
18:21 Absolutely, you know we want to point out
18:24 that these foods that are least likely to raise your
18:28 blood sugar least likely to raise the insulin level
18:31 they not only lower may lower your risk of cancer,
18:34 but they have actually been shown to
18:36 lower the risk of heart disease.
18:38 Well, that makes sense because we know
18:40 that insulin tends to raise the cholesterol the LDL
18:45 or bad cholesterol and it lowers the good
18:48 cholesterol or the HDL and the triglycerides go up,
18:52 so there are so many benefits to keeping insulin
18:54 where it should be nice and low.
18:56 And the Dr Liu and his colleagues at the
18:59 Harvard medical school found that individuals
19:03 now that ate foods least likely to raise the blood
19:07 sugar, least likely to raise insulin levels at about
19:10 a third the risk of developing coronary artery disease
19:14 as those eating foods mostly likely with the
19:18 greatest ability to raise insulin and blood sugar
19:21 levels. So, it makes it makes a difference not
19:24 all foods are created equal and of course
19:28 it's also important to understand George.
19:31 What kind of foods that, that are high in their
19:35 ability to raise blood sugar in America.
19:38 It's not just that they are eating white potatoes
19:41 they are some other foods as well we'll talk about
19:43 that. They take those white potatoes
19:45 and then they fry them in grease to increase
19:48 their calories to make the insulin resistance worse
19:51 to drive the insulin levels up. There is a lot of
19:54 refined grains. Certainly, these tend to raise the
19:58 insulin levels and I am sure that that's the factor
20:02 that's being studied in these particular done studies.
20:05 Now, one thing to understand is when they do these
20:08 studies they actually try to rule out as many other
20:12 causes of heart disease or cancer of the colon
20:16 or pancreas as they possibly can't.
20:17 I mean they control for weight they control for age,
20:21 they control for a number of dietary parameters
20:26 and so what they are trying to do is just look at
20:29 this one factor and that is the ability of food to
20:34 raise the blood sugar. And so its really important
20:38 especially for those who had trouble with the
20:41 weight loss, how are trouble with getting the blood
20:43 sugar down trouble with the triglycerides going up,
20:47 good cholesterol going down. Even despite having
20:50 tried a plant based diet and so take heart.
20:55 Take a hold of those beans those whole grains
20:58 specially Oats, Barley and Rye and the above the
21:03 ground vegetable specially the leafy grains.
21:05 These are so powerful I cannot say enough about
21:08 the above the ground vegetables,
21:11 because they are your chief weapon for
21:14 loosing weight bringing blood sugar down.
21:16 Tim in our little introduction we talked about
21:19 people with diabetes, who are just having a
21:22 hard time loosing weight and managing their
21:25 cholesterol for example. What about those
21:30 who are don't have diabetes is there any benefit
21:34 to move in this direction even if they don't
21:37 have an obvious disease for example?
21:39 Oh, absolutely in fact George I would say that
21:44 because there are many more people at risk of
21:48 diabetes than actually have diabetes.
21:52 These foods are power foods for these individuals,
21:55 because one of the reasons that diabetes shows up
21:59 is that someone has had a lot of insulin resistance
22:03 perhaps they are carrying a extra weight in their mid
22:06 section or they are just carrying an extra weight
22:09 in general and their body has become insulin
22:12 resistant perhaps they are not using their muscles,
22:14 they are not exercising the muscles
22:16 or insulin resistant and that forces the pancreas
22:20 to put out greater and greater amounts of insulin
22:23 overtime the pancreas can wear out that can fatigue
22:27 and when it wears out then the blood sugar goes up
22:31 hits a 126 fasting and we say the person has diabetes,
22:35 but if they could find foods that would not stress the
22:40 pancreas that will not force the pancreas to put out
22:42 so much insulin they might be able to actually
22:46 avoid type 2 diabetes all together.
22:52 these individuals and the U.S. Government is
22:55 especially interested in any program that will help
22:58 prevent diabetes, because now we know that
23:01 if you have diabetes you essentially have
23:04 coronary artery disease. They are considered to be
23:07 equivalent and so these foods that we are talking
23:10 about although they may seem very simple
23:13 as far as a treatment they are very powerful.
23:17 Now, next George I want to look at some other
23:21 foods that Dr. Willett and his colleagues at the
23:25 Harvard School of Public Health found to be
23:27 very prevalent or prominent in those
23:32 who eventually went on and got type 2 diabetes.
23:35 What food are those? Well, it's very interesting
23:39 you mention the French fries few minutes
23:42 ago that's on the list. French fries and white
23:47 potatoes and white bread and colas those are
23:52 all on the list. Also on the list George are white rice
23:58 and white Pasta, white, we've mentioned white
24:02 potatoes also carbonated and non-carbonated sodas.
24:07 All of these are foods that those who went on
24:11 and got diabetes were using quite frequently
24:15 and all of those by the way are very good at
24:19 raising blood sugar and they are very good at
24:21 raising insulin levels and so again its so
24:26 encouraging George at the Lifestyle Centre of America
24:29 to see the triglycerides come down and the good
24:33 cholesterol go up or stay the same,
24:35 despite individuals eating plants,
24:39 foods that are rich in carbohydrates.
24:40 Why because we encourage our guests
24:44 to move to these foods like the beans,
24:47 the whole grains, the above the ground vegetables,
24:51 the Northern fruits and the nuts and seeds which are
24:55 very lowest at their ability to raise blood sugar
24:59 and insulin levels. So, this has been a big
25:02 encouragement to me what I have noticed
25:05 when people move to a plant based diet in order
25:07 to manage their disease, there is about ten
25:10 and may be 20 percent of them who don't have the
25:13 response that they wanted, that they need it
25:15 and those of us who have used lifestyle changes to
25:19 help treat those have sometimes been a bit
25:22 discouraged. This whole concept of Glycemic Index has
25:26 given us some hope a new tool to help those
25:30 who are discouraged and don't do as well
25:33 actually improved significantly.
25:35 Absolutely, and also George its important this
25:40 Glycemic Index principle and this principle of not all
25:44 foods being created equal its important
25:48 because of this. If you simply plant foods
25:53 and you may eat them refined and processed
25:56 you may actually have worst results then someone
26:00 who is on a high protein diet. Someone who is on a,
26:03 for a example an Atkins style diet and actually
26:06 one leading researcher at the Yale school
26:12 of medicine actually said in a recent program in the
26:16 American Diabetes Association that the Glycemic Index
26:20 and this whole principle of foods not being created
26:24 equal. This principle is probably the salvation
26:28 against some of these high protein diets,
26:31 because it answers the problems of high triglycerides
26:36 low HDL, difficulty getting blood sugar down
26:40 if you just eat any plants or plants that
26:43 are highly processed. So, it decreases the insulin
26:47 level and safely without the damage that occurs
26:50 from a lots and lots of protein to the kidneys
26:53 and other parts of the body. Well, this is a
26:56 very encouraging picture. And one of the things
27:01 that we want to mention is that you know
27:04 if your just moving into a plant based diet for
27:07 the first time. Don't be frightened, don't be upset
27:11 by what we have shared in this program.
27:13 We have shared information that is for a small
27:17 population of individuals who do have difficulty
27:20 loosing weight. Who do have difficulty in getting
27:22 blood sugar down. Who do have difficulty with their
27:26 triglycerides going up and their good cholesterol
27:28 going down on a plant based diet, but if your are
27:32 transitioning to a plant based diet the main thing
27:35 is to include in a generous way all of the foods
27:39 that the creator has provided and these will
27:43 give you the protection that you need against the
27:47 killer diseases that we struggle with not only
27:51 heart disease, but cancer and stroke and just
27:55 remember the dark leafy greens are the most
27:59 protective food on the planet and they may be
28:03 your best weapon for weight loss and for
28:06 general health improvement.
28:09 And so my friends remember
28:11 you are wonderfully made.


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Revised 2014-12-17