American Consequences - January 2020

By Dr. David Eifrig

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t’s January, which means no one is eating the office cookies. Each new year, folks make resolutions to lose weight. They want to try the latest, greatest diet trend that promises to slim you down in just a few weeks. You can’t go anywhere without hearing about it. In fact, one of my researchers just had someone at the nail salon tell her all about the Whole30 diet. It’s a diet where you get rid of sugar, dairy, grains, and legumes for 30 days. Then you start reintroducing them to your diet. It’s supposed to be a quick fix to “reset” your metabolism. Here’s the thing... That kind of restrictive diet sets most of us up for failure. That’s one reason so many folks fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions each year. Each year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the best diets. It looks at factors such as ease of use, nutrition content, weight-loss efficacy, and benefits for folks with diabetes and heart disease. Our favorite diet tied for first place. The Mediterranean diet features lots of fish, olive oil, vegetables, and even some red wine. We’ve written many times about the benefits, including its ability to...

• Slow age-related brain decay • Reverse erectile dysfunction • Lower risk of cancer • Boost the immune system • Protect heart health

Another winner is the DASH diet, which physicians specifically designed for folks with high blood pressure (it stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). DASH is similar to the Mediterranean diet, but emphasizes cutting fatty foods, reducing salt, and improving your intake of calcium and potassium. This last part often gets overlooked in practice, as folks simply opt for low-fat options and cut salt out completely. Remember, low magnesium and potassium levels in Americans’ diets are probably a major component of high-blood-pressure problems. That’s because these minerals are just as important as sodium for regulating blood pressure. Three foods that pack in potassium and magnesium all at once are fish, avocados, and bananas. Cutting out salt completely is also dangerous. Some people cut down way too much on their salt intake, which leads to even worse health problems, including hyponatremia. Hyponatremia, a condition caused by abnormally-low levels of salt in the blood,

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American Consequences

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