Dr. Steve Chaney

Does the Blood Type Diet Really Work?

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Is Eating Right For Your Blood Type A Sham?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

cb43e76f-6bf7-4e82-8fc1-95005d2c5626Does the Blood Type Diet really work? In 1997 Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo wrote a book about the blood type diet called “Eat Right 4 Your Type”. Dr. D’Adamo claims that people with different blood types process food differently, so their blood type determines the type of diet that is healthiest for them. Specifically, he claims that people with:

  • Blood group O are descended from hunters and should consume high protein diets.
  • Blood group A are descended from farmers and should consume a near vegetarian diet – completely avoiding red meats.
  • Blood group B are descended from nomads. They have the most flexible digestive system and can eat the widest variety of foods – even dairy products, which he does not recommend for any of the other blood types.
  • Blood group AB are an enigma and are somewhere between blood group A and blood group B.

It’s an interesting concept. Dietary recommendations are made for populations as a whole, and there is tremendous genetic variation in populations. Because of that genetic variation, there is no perfect diet for everyone. Every knowledgeable health expert will tell you that.

The question then becomes “How do you know what kind of diet is healthiest for you?”

The blood type diet is a very simple system. Your blood type is easy to determine. Once you know your blood type you know what to eat. There’s no guesswork.

Could it really be so simple? Over 7 million copies of Dr. D’Adamo’s book have been sold. Millions of people believe in this concept. So it is only fitting to ask “What is the evidence?”

An Objective Scientific Analysis of the Blood Type Diet

There is no doubt that blood type is related to some human genetic and physical traits, but the important question is whether blood type is related to the health outcomes of different diets – the central thesis of Dr. D’Adamo’s book. A Belgian group lead by Dr. Emmey De Buch did a systematic search of the scientific literature to answer that very question (L. Cusack et al, Am J. Clin. Nutr. , 98: 99-104, 2013).

They identified 1415 scientific articles that had the phrase “blood type diet” in either the title or abstract. Then they begin the elimination process. They eliminated:

  • Studies done in test tubes, cell culture, or animals. Only human clinical studies were included.
  • Reviews, commentaries, letters or opinions. Those contained no original scientific research.

At this point they were down to just 16 published clinical studies. Then they asked which of those studies were designed to test the central hypothesis of the blood type diet. They asked:

  • Did the study start with human subjects grouped according to blood type?
  • Did the study have an intervention in which the subjects were required to adhere to a particular type of diet?
  • Did the study measure a health outcome of the dietary intervention?

Guess what? Only one study met these criteria. Just one! And it was a fairly weak study involving a totally different blood typing system than the ABO blood groups.

The Bottom Line:

1)     There is no scientific evidence supporting the blood group diet. A lot has been written about the diet, but nobody has actually shown that it works. The Emperor Has No Clothes!

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

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“Exercise” Versus “Lifestyle Activity”: 

How Active Are You—Really?

Author: Dr. Pierre DuBois

canotThe most frequent questions I get are: “How much exercise do I need?” and “What’s the best way of getting that exercise?” If you are like most people, working out just for the sake of working out does not really appeal (although there are many dedicated gym buffs who couldn’t live without their daily workouts!).

We all know that it’s important to exercise regularly if we want to live a long and healthy life. However, if you find the idea of trotting along on a treadmill for 15 minutes and then spending half an hour of working out on Nautilus machines to be about as exciting as a trip to the dentist, then this article is for you!

What the Experts Recommend:

Experts recommend that we get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week to stay in shape. But many people find taking this much exercise at once (or in three 50-minute stretches) too daunting.

The good news is that a recent study conducted by researchers at Boston University that was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that bouts of exercise lasting less than 10 minutes a couple of times daily, such as the kind you get when cleaning the house, were sufficient to meet your weekly exercise needs.

What the Study Showed

Over 2,000 participants were included in the study, more than half of whom were overweight. Motion detectors were attached to each of the subjects for eight days, and an average of half the participants met their weekly exercise quota of 150 minutes. The average participant met his or her quota with exercise that lasted less than 10 minutes at a time. The types of exercise ranged from moderate (heavy cleaning, walking briskly and sports such as golf and badminton) to vigorous (running, hiking, shoveling and farm work).

As long as the participants met their 150-minute per week quota, no matter the length of their exercise, they had lower body mass index, smaller waists, lower triglycerides and better cholesterol levels than those who did not meet the quota.

Assistant professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine, Nicole Glazer, says “This study really speaks to the idea that some activity is better than nothing. Parking a little bit farther away, getting off the bus one stop early—all of these little things can add up and are related to a healthier profile.”

For years, researchers have studied the effects of exercise from practicing sports or visiting the gym. However, according to Glazer, “This idea of lifestyle activity is one that is under-measured in research studies.” Activities such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, using a push mower instead of a riding mower, etc. can add up to a significant amount of energy expenditure. Experts still stress that it’s important to also get in some traditional forms of exercise and not merely replace it with lifestyle activity. Still, any exercise is useful.

“The levels of sedentary behavior in this country are alarming. So the concern that someone’s going to stop exercising and instead just get off the bus a stop earlier, that’s not my concern,” Glazer says. “The real concern is, is this a stepping-stone? Is this the way we can get inactive people to do any sort of activity? People will come up with any excuse to not exercise. I don’t need to worry about my giving them one. They’ll be able to think of something.”

The Bottom Line:

  • Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week
  • That doesn’t mean that you need to be a gym rat or marathoner. Ten minute exercise intervals centered around everyday lifestyle activities can be sufficient.
  • So you are out of excuses. You have the time. You have all the equipment you need. You don’t even need special workout clothes.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Are High Protein Diets Your Secret To Successful Weight Loss?

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Do High Protein Diets Reduce Fat And Preserve Muscle?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Healthy Diet food group, proteins, include meat (chicken or turkAre high protein diets your secret to healthy weight loss? There are lots of diets out there – high fat, low fat, Paleolithic, blood type, exotic juices, magic pills and potions. But recently, high protein diets are getting a lot of press. The word is that they preserve muscle mass and preferentially decrease fat mass.

If high protein diets actually did that, it would be huge because:

  • It’s the fat – not the pounds – that causes most of the health problems.
  • Muscle burns more calories than fat, so preserving muscle mass helps keep your metabolic rate high without dangerous herbs or stimulants – and keeping your metabolic rate high helps prevent both the plateau and yo-yo (weight regain) characteristic of so many diets.
  • When you lose fat and retain muscle you are reshaping your body – and that’s why most people are dieting to begin with.

So let’s look more carefully at the recent study that has been generating all the headlines (Pasiakos et al, The FASEB Journal, 27: 3837-3847, 2013).

The Study Design:

This was a randomized control study with 39 young (21), healthy and fit men and women who were only borderline overweight (BMI = 25). These volunteers were put on a 21 day weight loss program in which calories were reduced by 30% and exercise was increased by 10%. They were divided into 3 groups:

  • One group was assigned a diet containing the RDA for protein (about 14% of calories in this study design).
  • The second group’s diet contained 2X the RDA for protein (28% of calories)
  • The third group’s diet contained 3X the RDA for protein (42% of calories)

In the RDA protein group carbohydrate was 56% of calories, and fat was 30% of calories. In the other two groups the carbohydrate and fat content of the diets was decreased proportionally.

Feet_On_ScaleWhat Did The Study Show?

  • Weight loss (7 pounds in 21 days) was the same on all 3 diets.
  • The high protein (28% and 42%) diets caused almost 2X more fat loss (5 pounds versus 2.8 pounds) than the diet supplying the RDA amount of protein.
  • The high protein (28% and 42%) diets caused 2X less muscle loss (2.1 pounds versus 4.2 pounds) than the diet supplying the RDA amount of protein.
  • In case you didn’t notice, there was no difference in overall results between the 28% (2X the RDA) and 42% (3X the RDA) diets.

Pros And Cons Of The Study:

  • The con is fairly obvious. The participants in this study were all young, healthy and were not seriously overweight. If this were the only study of this type one might seriously question whether the results were applicable to middle aged, overweight coach potatoes. However, there have been several other studies with older, more overweight volunteers that have come to the same conclusion – namely that high protein diets preserve muscle mass and enhance fat loss.
  • The value of this study is that it defines for the first time the upper limit for how much protein is required to preserve muscle mass in a weight loss regimen. 28% of calories is sufficient, and there appear to be no benefit from increasing protein further. I would add the caveat that there are studies suggesting that protein requirements for preserving muscle mass may be greater in adults 50 and older.

The Bottom Line:

1)    Forget the high fat diets, low fat diets, pills and potions. High protein diets (~2X the RDA or 28% of calories) do appear to be the safest, most effective way to preserve muscle mass and enhance fat loss in a weight loss regimen.

2)     That’s not a lot of protein, by the way. The average American consumes almost 2X the RDA for protein on a daily basis. However, it is significantly more protein than the average American consumes when they are trying to lose weight. Salads and carrot sticks are great diet foods, but they don’t contain much protein.

3)     Higher protein intake does not appear to offer any additional benefit – at least in young adults.

4)     Not all high protein diets are created equal. What some people call high protein diets are laden with saturated fats or devoid of carbohydrate. The diet in this study, which is what I recommend, had 43% healthy carbohydrates and 30% healthy fats.

5)    These diets were designed to give 7 pounds of weight loss in 21 days – which is what the experts recommend. There are diets out there promising faster weight loss but they severely restrict calories and/or rely heavily on stimulants, they do not preserve muscle mass, and they often are not safe. In addition they are usually temporary.  I do not recommend them.

6)    This level of protein intake is safe for almost everyone. The major exception would be people with kidney disease, who should always check with their doctor before increasing protein intake. The only other caveat is that protein metabolism creates a lot of nitrogenous waste, so you should drink plenty of water to flush that waste out of your system. But, water is always a good idea.

7)     The high protein diets minimized, but did not completely prevent, muscle loss. Other studies suggest that adding the amino acid leucine to a high protein diet can give 100% retention of muscle mass in a weight loss regimen – but that’s another story for another day.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Staying Fit On The Road

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How Can You Work Exercise Into Your Travel Schedule?

Author: Kai Fusser, MS

Stretch Band Yoga Work OutMany of my clients ask me “How can I stay fit while I’m on the road?” If you are traveling for work or leisure, traveling and working out can be a challenge, finding a gym, time, convenience and more gets in the way. For my athletes exercise is a must and getting it done is part of their job even though they have the same challenges. But also for us non-athletes, we want to stay fit even during travel, it also makes us feel better and can help with jet lag and combat the effects of “travel” food.

Travel Exercise Tips;

Now we should realize that we don’t need a gym to get a good workout in, a hotel room or some outdoor space can be sufficient. We also don’t necessarily need any equipment although bringing along a jump rope and a rubber band can add to the variety of on the road exercises.

So here are some ideas for simple ways to exercise, feel free to be inventive, our body can move in many ways and we need to take advantage of that.

  1. The power of walking: walking is one of the most natural and healthiest movements for us, it uses our whole body, stimulates the circulatory and nervous system, massages our organs and is relaxing. Take a 30-60 min. walk in a park, neighborhood or city, if done in the evening it will help you sleep better as well.
  1. Use your own body: here we can take advantage of our own body weight and gravity, there are countless exercises that can be done in a tight space, try to do 3 sets of 8-15 reps for each exercise, alternating between different exercises will save time. Here are some good ones: pushups with different arm widths, lunges in all different directions, squats, crunches with different leg positions, dips on a chair, regular and side planks, wood chop up, shot put etc.
  1. Use bands: attach it to the door or stand on it, curls, overhead extensions, pushing and pulling, straight rotations, shoulder rotations, pull downs, wood chops
  1. Cardio: here I recommend the burst training as it is the most efficient in time and effect, 4-6 minutes alternating between slow and sprint pace at 20 sec. slow and 10-20 sec. sprint ratio. This can be done by running in place with use of arms, rope jumping, hotel stairways, shadow boxing (no worries you are alone in the room).
  1. The ultimate way: if you really want a challenge and get things done quick do 3-5 sets of either Turkish get ups or pushups to jump (also called burpees) at high speed.
  1. In the hotel gym: hotel gyms are often “compromise gyms” but most have a treadmill (turn the motor off and push the belt while holding on) or a bike where the burst training can be done which I recommend over the long slow cardio for its effectiveness and its much easier to convince yourself of doing a short 4-6 min. workout verses a 45-60 min. long haul.

It is best to keep the workout short in time but high in intensity according to your fitness level.

Also remember your nutrition during travel, I know it is very challenging as we get out of our routine, but making the right choices (why not stopping at the super market for some healthy snacks before checking in) and eating in moderation will go a long ways towards still feeling good when you get back home.

Remember to keep it simple and fun so traveling doesn’t have to be a threat to your health.

For some great exercise tips and ideas for different exercises please visit my website; www.kaifitnessforgolf.com

The Bottom Line:

1)     Don’t neglect your health just because you’re on the road.

2)     Even if the hotels where you are staying don’t have fancy workout facilities, you have plenty of options. Just choose the ones that fit you best.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Does Skipping Breakfast Increase Heart Disease Risk?

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Should You Eat Breakfast Every Day?

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

Mature Man - Heart AttackDoes skipping breakfast actually increase your risk of heart attacks? You’ve probably heard the saying “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”.

You’ve probably also heard that skipping breakfast is associated with increased risk of things like:

 

  • obesity
  • high blood pressure
  • and diabetes

If you believe those associations are true, the latest study showing an association between skipping breakfast and heart disease risk just makes sense. After all, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes all increase the risk of heart disease.

But, how good is the evidence skipping breakfast actually increases the risk of any of those things?

The evidence for the link between skipping breakfast and heart disease risk:

Let’s start with the current study linking breakfast skipping with heart disease (Cahill et al, Circulation, 128: 337-343, 2013) because its study design is similar to the studies linking breakfast skipping to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. This study surveyed the eating habits of 27,000 men (45+ years old) enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study in 1992 and followed those men for 16 years.

The results were pretty dramatic. After correcting for other factors that might influence heart disease risk, the men who skipped breakfast were 27% more likely to develop heart disease over the next 16 years than the men who ate breakfast on a daily basis.

As impressive as the association between breakfast and heart disease was, there was an even more impressive association that never made it into the headlines.

There was no association between skipping breakfast and eating late in the evening. However, those men who ate late in the evening were 53% more like to develop heart disease than men who did not.

The pros and cons of the study:

The pros:

1)     The strength of this study is that it is large (27,000 participants), long (16 years) and well designed. The results were statistically very significant.

The cons:

1)     This study only shows associations. It does not prove cause and effect. Having said that, it would be really, really hard to design a placebo controlled study for breakfast versus no breakfast. So cause and effect is almost impossible to prove for this type of comparison.

2)     The study did not ask what kind of breakfast the participants were eating. We don’t know whether the breakfasts were a Danish and coffee, an Egg McMuffin and hash browns  or a high protein smoothie with perhaps some fruit or oatmeal– and, believe me, there is a difference among those three breakfasts!

The Bottom Line:

1)     Eating breakfast is probably a good thing. Yes, the evidence that skipping breakfast increases heart disease risk is circumstantial, but it is also substantial. This is a large, well designed study.

2)     Not all breakfasts are equal. You probably already knew that! I recommend a breakfast with fruit, nuts, whole grains in moderation and lean protein sources.

3)     While this particular study only included men, previous studies suggest that the potential health risks of skipping breakfast are equally strong for women.

4)     Finally, while skipping breakfast grabbed all the headlines, the data suggest that eating late at night is an even stronger predictor of heart disease risk.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Health Tips From The Professor