Who can you trust when it comes to what causes cancer?

Posted on 12/13/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

Treat nutrition and cancer research cautiously.

ReutersThat was the title of a Reuters Health news article (see link below, 12-5-12). And why should we treat nutrition and cancer research cautiously? Because everything you read in the news or see on television is not necessarily true.

The Harvard School of Public Health

The Harvard School of Public Health

A new report from two professors at Stanford and Harvard respectively sheds some light on a big problem in this country. There is a ton of information coming at all of us continuously—so much information that we never really know what to believe.

In my own case back in 2002 when I first began studying about the “optimal diet for humans,” I found myself searching for legitimacy, credibility and authenticity. I was seeking to understand the “big picture” about food and found it difficult to do so in the early days. In the article, I thought Professor Fung summed up the problem very well:

“You have all these individual studies, and people are not getting together and trying to figure out what is going on in terms of the entire picture,” said Teresa Fung, a professor of nutrition at Simmons College in Boston.”It’s a system problem. It’s also how science is reported,” Fung, who also has an adjunct appointment at the Harvard School of Public Health, told Reuters Health.

StanfordThe researchers began their study by creating a list of 50 random food items. They then researched all the studies that had been done on those foods for the past 35 years. And most of what they found was based on weak evidence.

For 40 of the 50 food items, they found a total of 264 studies. And guess what, “Of those, 103 suggested the ingredient was tied to an increased risk of cancer, and 88 to a decreased risk.”

Confusion over clarity. That’s a phrase I picked up from The China Study in 2005 and I have been blogging about it for the past two years. Like profits over health, confusion over clarity is the way industry would prefer things to remain.

A confused food customer is a good food customer. That’s because after hearing conflicting advice enough times about a particular food, the average consumer is going to conclude that the scientists will never get it right—so she should just keep eating what she enjoys. In another quote from the article, the same case was made about too many studies but not enough “big picture” truths:

“We have seen a very large number of studies, just too many studies, suggesting that they had identified associations with specific food ingredients with cancer risk,” said Dr. John Ioannidis from the Stanford Prevention Research Center in California, who worked on the analysis. That back-and-forth can distract the public from associations that do have solid evidence behind them, such as the increased cancer risk tied to smoking or the beneficial effects of fruits and vegetables, he said.

Looking for clarity over confusion, read the works of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. --- Bill Clinton did and it probably saved his life.

Looking for clarity over confusion, read the works of Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. — Bill Clinton did and it probably saved his life.

The Bottom Line. People everywhere are confused. That’s because they’ve never found the legitimacy, credibility and authenticity that I was seeking in 2002 through 2004.

Fortunately for me, I did—when I began to study the works of Dr. T. Colin Campbell of Cornell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic and Dr. Dean Ornish of the UCSF. After reading all of their works and the works of other pioneering medical doctors, I chose this simple definition of optimal nutrition:

The closer we get to eating a diet of whole, plant-based foods, the better off we will be. —T. Colin Campbell, PhD

Dr. Dean Ornish wrote the cover endorsement----and we filled the entire book with a heavy dose of "big picture" CLARITY.

Dr. Dean Ornish wrote the cover endorsement—-and we filled the entire book with a heavy dose of “big picture” CLARITY.

And that “better off” includes all chronic diseases. We now know that we can easily prevent or reverse almost all of them—including many kinds of cancer. How much simpler could it be? When I saw this article, I sent a note to Dr. Campbell, asking if he had seen it. He wrote back:

I didn’t see it but it is SO TRUE! I have two reasons–one coming from enthusiastic marketers who manage to get the semblance of a study done, the other from people who don’t understand the limitations of reductionist research. Regards, Colin

Consecutive daily blogs

Consecutive daily blogs

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

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

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

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. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

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

Posted in Cancer | Leave a comment

“Lincoln-esque Leadership” prompted some comments.

Posted on 12/12/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

On Sunday, my blog (inspired by the Lincoln movie) was all about the need for superior vision, leadership and commitment to wake the world up to the devastating consequences of our typical western diet. For your review, here is how it ended:

A scene from one of the darkest hours of the move---when he visits a battlefield where thousands of lives were sacrificed for the good of billions of lives in future generations.

A scene from one of the darkest hours of the war—when he visits a battlefield where thousands of lives were sacrificed for the good of billions of lives in future generations.

The Bottom Line. We need another Lincoln now—at the right place at the right time. How ironic that that person might be the president whose destiny was only possible but for the actions of President Lincoln 147 years ago.

As I have blogged recently, President Barack Obama is the ONLY president that we’ve ever had who truly understands the consequences of how we’re using our planet to feed ourselves. Like Lincoln, he is at the right place at the right time—with the right knowledge and skills to get the job done.

And he has the most popular ex-President in our generation as an ally. Both Mr. Obama and Mr. Clinton have the knowledge and they have the political skills to make a HUGE difference in the next four years. But, even with all those things working in their favor, their task will be anything but easy. As David Brooks said,

If anything, the movie understates how hard politics can be. The moral issue here is a relatively clean one: slavery or no slavery. Most issues are not that simple.

Presidents Obama and Clinton at the 2012 Democratic Convention

Presidents Obama and Clinton at the 2012 Democratic Convention

And one of those issues that is not that simple is the one we’re facing about our “food choices” and the sustainability of our species. But, without a doubt, there’s never been a more important issue.

Let’s do all we can to promote the “Obama-Clinton” team to pull some Lincoln-esque levels of vision, commitment and focus out of their bag.

First I heard from Sal. Even if America had ten “Lincolns,” the way Americans eat— even with a national tragedy in the making—will never change. Bill Clinton, after his heart surgery and then his change to a supposedly plant food diet has made no impact on the SAD. And Obama, forget it, he likes a good “steak.” Whole Foods CEO may be vegan but his stores still sell junk food. It never ends as the beat goes on.

Then from Joanne. Sal, HOPE is our mainstay. Against all odds, Lincoln achieved the unimaginable. Would slaves have dreamed that their bondage would be abolished in 1865? My guess is – hardly. For all of us who know that a plant based lifestyle is the answer to both the health crisis and our planet’s sustainability concerns, we have to keep pushing – writing letters, blogging, teaching, spreading the message. Whatever we believe and can conceive, we will achieve. It may not be in our lifetimes, but it will happen. Jim, the comparison between Lincoln’s actions and today’s crisis is masterful. Time to send THIS blog to Presidents Obama and Clinton, and some key leaders in Congress; Michelle Obama, too. Personally, this blog should be published in the NY Times. No holds barred. Flood the media. Contact Mika on MSNBC. Together, we need to hold HOPE that we will be the change we want to happen, for the sake of our children, grandchildren, and future generations.

Then from Ray. Hello Jim, I am afraid that I agree with Sal. There is no way that people will just give up the SAD. My brother came down with type 2 diabetes. I gave him Dr Barnard’s book. He read it, gave it back and said he would rather die than give up what he eats. The young and healthy would not believe the truth about what to eat for any reason. they have been raised to love their food, and see nothing wrong with it. Some will change their minds when they get old and sick, like myself. 

Finally, for today, my response to Ray

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

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

Dear Ray,

You’re right, everyone wouldn’t change overnight, but you’d be surprised how many would if both Obama and Clinton got as serious about abolishing our harmful, inefficient and unsustainable western diet—as Lincoln was about abolishing slavery.

We’re talking about leadership here—with vision, commitment and determination. Lincoln faced a mountain of obstacles in the North and the South but was absolutely positive that he was making the right decision for the longterm future of the nation. The only difference is that now there is a lot more at stake than one nation—-the longterm sustainability of the entire human race is what’s hanging in the balance today.

And once those two guys get passionate about sharing the “big picture”—with the entire world—about what we’re eating and how we’re using the planet for our own selfish diet-styles—you’ll began to see the most accelerated move toward plant-based eating that we’ve ever seen.

You know, Lincoln didn’t solve all of our nation’s problems with his 13th amendment, but he definitely put us on the right track at critical moment in history. And he wasn’t very popular for making that move.

676Ray, this is a critical point in the history of the world—much more critical than Lincoln’s 13th amendment campaign. And we have two popular and charismatic leaders—BOTH of whom understand the power of plant-based in addition to the UNSUSTAINABILITY of our western diet.

And neither of them ever has to worry about getting elected again. It’s a moment that may never happen again. —My 676th consecutive daily blog—

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

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

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

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. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

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

Posted in Activism & Leadership | 8 Comments

Squandering the exceptional wisdom of George McGovern

Posted on 12/11/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

An error that has caused more deaths than all of our nation’s wars

During a press conference in 1977, Sen. George McGovern, chairman of the Senate Nutrition Committee, displayed cans of sodas, sugar and fat that he said represented a person’s average intake for a year.

During a press conference in 1977, Sen. George McGovern, chairman of the Senate Nutrition Committee, displayed cans of sodas, sugar and fat that he said represented a person’s average intake for a year.

As Dr. T. Colin Campbell told us in The China Study in 2005, the nutritional work of Senator George McGovern was ahead of its time—and could have had profound beneficial effects on our nation’s chronic diseases in the three + decades since his original ideas were rejected and even labeled “fraudulent” by subsequent meat & dairy-controlled nutritional information committees. Here’s the heading from Wikipedia on this visionary leader:

George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian, author and U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 presidential election.

A little background from The China Study:

In 1976, Senator George McGovern had convened a committee that drafted dietary goals recommending decreased consumption of fatty animal foods and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables because of their effects on heart disease. The first draft of this report, linking heart disease and food, caused such an uproar that a major revision was required before it was released for publication.

In a personal conversation McGovern told me that he and five other powerful senators from agricultural states lost their respective elections in 1980 in part because they had dared to take on the animal foods industry.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of "The China Study"

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of “The China Study”

A few years later, in a meeting of the new Public Nutrition Information Committee, McGovern’s earlier work was labeled as fraudulent. From The China Study, Dr. Campbell writes:

As I scanned the list of so-called frauds, I was stunned to see the 1977 McGovern dietary goals on the list. First drafted in 1976, these relatively modest goals suggested that less meat and fat consumption and more fruit and vegetable consumption might prevent heart disease. In this proposed news release, they were described as nothing more than simple quackery, just like the widely condemned Laetrile and pangamic acid preparations. In essence, the recommendation to shift our eating habits to more fruits and vegetables and whole grains was a fraud. This was the committee’s attempt to demonstrate their ability to be the supreme arbiter of reliable scientific information!

Mark Bittman, New York Times

Mark Bittman, New York Times

It’s been just over a year since Mark Bittman visited with the ailing Senator (ten months before his death) and then published a revealing article in the New York Times on 12-6-11. It was entitled “The Wisdom of George McGovern” and touched on many of the unfortunate nutritional errors of our federal government. From the article (See link below), these two paragraphs tell the incredible story of how Mr. McGovern had the knowledge forty years ago to head off our emerging obesity crisis.

By the ‘70s, the food industry found a more profitable way to use “excess” corn, converting it to high fructose corn syrup — the cheap sweetener that is in large part responsible for the subsequent obesity crisis. McGovern was early in seeing that problem too: he was chairman of  the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, which initially advised Americans in 1977 to eat less meat and fewer dairy products for the sake of health. To the chagrin of agribusiness, sales of meat, dairy and eggs dropped.

Intense lobbying followed, and the dietary goals were soon revised to say that consumers should “Choose meats, poultry, and fish which will reduce saturated fat intake.” (This was not the only battle McGovern lost, of course.) Note the shift of emphasis from food (“eat less meat”) to nutrients (“eat less saturated fat”), an unnecessary muddling of the issues that has benefited industry at the expense of health and the environment.

Presidents Obama and Clinton at the 2012 Democratic Convention

Presidents Obama and Clinton at the 2012 Democratic Convention

The Bottom Line. Just imagine the lives that could have been saved if we had only listened to George McGovern’s “wisdom” back in the 70’s. Just as the obesity epidemic began, he was the lone voice in the wilderness who understood why it was about to happen and what we could do about it.

But we didn’t listen, and that obesity has resulted in a nation with an obese and sick populace—with no apparent end in sight. But there are a few glimmers of hope on the horizon:

  • Bill Clinton. We now have a former President who knows that George McGovern was right—and our former president is living proof that it works.
  • Barack Obama. We now have a sitting president that truly “gets it” about food and is about to begin his all-important second term—the one when he doesn’t have to worry about getting elected again. In this earlier blog, there is a 4-minute video illustrating our president’s knowledge about food and links to a few other blogs devoted to what he might do during his second term: Did you know that Obama really “gets it” about food?

Maybe Mr. Clinton and Mr. Obama can team up and change how the world looks at food during the next four years. Their former elder statesman from South Dakota would be so proud if they did. In yesterday’s blog, read about the need for some Lincoln-esque type of vision, leadership and determination.  Lincoln. A special man. A special leader. A special time.

Please see Dr. Colin Campbell’s comment below; he ends with this statement, “McGovern at about that same time told me that of all the things he did during his career, he was most proud of his organizing those committee hearings on diet and health in 1975-1977.”

675Today is my 675th consecutive daily blog, a streak will end in 55 days—after two full years of daily blogging. But don’t worry; all of my previous work will remain here for your convenience and I will continue to post blogs several times a month.

But my primary focus will be a full-time effort to help selected corporate clients implement food-focused wellness initiatives aimed at promoting health and slashing the cost of health care in businesses. 

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

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

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now

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. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

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

Posted in Activism & Leadership, Celebrities | 5 Comments