Did you know that Obama really “gets it” about food?

Posted on 12/04/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

I didn’t until seeing Dr. McDougall’s recent article about him.

“Obama’s Nutritional Knowledge Will Heal America” That was the title of an article that Dr. John McDougall posted on his website last week. After watching the 5-minute video (below) of then-Senator Barack Obama on the campaign trail, I agree that he has the knowledge, but he certainly hasn’t shown any signs of using it since he has been president.

The most powerful couple in the world. If they both just talked everyday about the power of plant-based nutrition, they could change the world.

The most powerful couple in the world. If they both just talked everyday for the next 400 days about the power of plant-based nutrition, they could change the world.

Dr. McDougall’s article is terrific and includes some great advice for Mr. Obama when it comes to using his superior nutritional knowledge—to make a huge difference during his all-important second term.

In addition to the video of Senator Obama, his article contains another video of First Lady Michelle Obama on Leno. The primary message in that article is that our president—and his wife—understand more about the power of plant-based nutrition than most people realize—and that they are in an ideal position to do some great things for our health, our cost of health care, world hunger, energy and water shortage and the long-term sustainability of our ecosystem.

Most people are familiar with Michelle’s vegetable garden at the White House and her work to improve school lunch programs, but few us realize that the president himself really does understand the horrible consequences of our toxic western diet. Even though he jokes about having a steak now and then, we know now that he “gets it” regarding our harmful, wasteful, and totally unsustainable diet-style. Now what’s he going to do about it?

The most powerful garden in the world

The most powerful garden in the world

As Dr. McDougall points out, President Obama has exactly the right knowledge and occupies exactly the right position at exactly the right time to have an incredible opportunity to lead the world toward a global diet-style that will serve to preserve the long-term sustainability of the human race. Most importantly, as a second term president, he doesn’t have to worry about getting elected again.

Unlike any president before him, President Barack Obama has the knowledge and the global platform to do amazing things.

As you’ll see in this 5-minute video filmed at a high school in Florida in August of 2008, Mr. Obama knows his stuff when it comes to plant-based eating—but he wouldn’t have gotten elected if he had talked very much about that delicate topic at the time.

That's Barack in the middle at about the age when he met Dr. McDougall. That 70-71 UH team inspired him to choose basketball as "his" sport.

That’s Barack in the middle at about the age when he met Dr. McDougall. That 70-71 UH team inspired him to choose basketball as “his” sport.

Like me, Dr. McDougall has spent some time in Hawaii and was in the company of our future president when he was a very young man. In my case, I attended most of the home games of the 70-71 University of Hawaii basketball team and I know from Mr. Obama’s book that he was also at most of those games.

He was about 10 and I was a 25-year old officer serving at the U.S. Coast Guard Base Honolulu. Unlike Dr. McDougall, I never actually met the young Mr. Obama; from Dr. McDougall’s article:

Barack Obama was introduced to the McDougall Program as a teenager during his years at Punahou High School (1975 to 1979). At the invitation of Brad Yates, the school’s health education teacher, I spoke annually at this top private school in Honolulu, Hawaii. After one of my lectures, a group of four young men sitting in the front row of the auditorium approached me. One of the students was introduced to me as Barry Obama. As a young black man he stood out from the rest of the white and Asian student body. Hopefully, I made a lasting impression on his thinking.

The Bottom Line. I have blogged many times about why a presidential candidate would never be elected with plant-based eating on their platform. And, once elected, they couldn’t win a second term if they even hinted about disrupting our toxic American diet machine.

But now we have Mr. Obama with just the right knowledge at just the right time—and about to begin that all-important second term. But he needs to get real serious with complete clarity—real soon. Maybe he’ll heed Dr. McDougall’s advice and delight us all with his actions.

It's time for Mr. Obama to "surface" and share his powerful nutritional knowledge with the world.

It’s time for Mr. Obama to come to the “surface” and share his powerful nutritional knowledge with the world.

For your convenience, I have provided links to Dr. McDougall’s article along with links to a half-dozen of my own related blogs. The last three blogs are the oldest and feature some good things that Michelle has done—along with where she is missing the boat big time. —My 668th consecutive daily blog—

The following six books can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of less than $60—and will enable you to understand the overwhelming challenges we face—along with the single most-powerful solution of all.

Six-Pack from Hicks—for health, hope & harmony on planet Earth

  1. 4Leaf Guide to Vibrant Health, powerful new book by Kerry Graff, MD and yours truly
  2. Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (my first book)
  3. An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell; the primary book that influenced Bill Clinton to adopt a whole food, plant-based diet.
  4. Primary cause of cancer is not bad luck. Stop Feeding Your Cancer, by John Kelly, MD
  5. A horrifying wake-up call for leaders. TEN BILLION by Dr. Stephen Emmott
  6. Food choices are the primary cause of our environmental problems, yet our world leaders, scientists & experts are Comfortably Unaware, by Richard Oppenlander.

Why should we be eating mostly plants? The “big picture” in 4 minutes.

Want to find out how healthy you are eating? Take our free 4Leaf Survey. It takes about two minutes. eCornell is now using our survey in their plant-based nutrition course.

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.

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

To order more of my favorite books—visit our online BookStore now For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, visit our 4Leaf Program website, which is now being used by an ever-growing army of enlightened medical doctors who are fed up with “disease care” and want to promote true health for their patients.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmh@4leafglobal.com

—J. Morris Hicks, board member since 2012; click banner for more info:

Nutrition Certificate

Posted in Activism & Leadership | 7 Comments

Much-needed medical “clarity”—featuring Dr. Scott Stoll

Posted on 12/03/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

Helpful information from my 7-day health immersion experience

THI imageAlways talking about making every bite count, Dr. Stoll’s approach begins with the premise that “food is the foundation of good health.”

In his opening lecture last week, he told the story of  how he stopped being a traditional physician who treats symptoms with drugs, tests and procedures. Like Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall and other compassionate doctors before him, he began to feel guilty about the fact that his treatments were doing nothing to address the causative factors.

After enough patients told him that they were literally “falling apart,” he decided to take a proactive approach and learn how to truly promote health. Then, after studying all the nutritional information available; like me, he found his own “blinding flash of the obvious solution” to so many of our medical issues. After reading 10,000 articles, he concluded that the secret was simply two words—Whole Plants.

As we say in 4Leaf for Life, the goal of nutritional excellence is the pursuit of vibrant health; weight-loss is just a fringe benefit that happens effortlessly and naturally when we eat the right foods. Early in the immersion experience, Dr. Stoll asks all of the attendees to think deeply as to “why” they are about to make this permanent lifestyle change in the way that they eat. And he tells them:

“Weight-loss is not a big enough WHY!”

So, before the end of the week, most of the 90 attendees had posted their own “why” on the wall for all to see. Here is one of them.

One of the many "WHY" statements posted by a Whole Foods Market team member at the "immersion."

One of the “WHY” statements posted by a Whole Foods team member at the “immersion.”

In the following seven-minute video, Dr. Stoll provides us with a concise summary of the importance of healthy eating. The video format is a series of questions related to his immersion programs at Whole Foods Market. So who is Dr. Stoll? From the THI website:

Dr. Scott Stoll is a board-certified specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and currently serves as the medical director for the Back and Neck center at Coordinated Health, chairman of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and team physician for Lehigh University. His practice specializes in treating musculoskeletal injuries through regenerative therapies and improving health through nutritional excellence.

He can be heard daily on his radio program Health Minutes in the Lehigh Valley and in lectures around the country.  As a former Olympian, Dr. Stoll is well suited for his additional roles as a team physician for the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and an advising physician serving professional and Olympic athletes.  Dr. Stoll also serves on the Whole Foods Market Scientific Medical Advisory Board.

Meet Dr. Stoll

First Question: What is your solution to the health care issue and how has this been proven with your current/past patients?

Tom Dunnam, President of THI

Tom Dunnam, President, Total Health Immersions, LLC

From the THI website: Total Health Immersions eats, sleeps and breathes health and nutrition.  We conduct health and nutrition educational programs and retreats for corporations, health professionals and school and community groups.  Our mission is to reverse the obesity and chronic illness epidemic, one life at a time.

For more information, check out their website below and when you call, ask for Tom Dunnam, President. And tell him that J. Morris Hicks sent you. —My 667th consecutive daily blog—

667Handy 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 M.D.s---Health-Promoting | Tagged , | 5 Comments

A no-nonsense medical doctor—that simply heals people

Posted on 12/02/2012 by J. Morris Hicks

One of the highlights of Dr. Stoll’s Seven-Day Immersion Program

It's all about the food at the "immersion program."

It’s all about the food at Dr. Stoll’s “immersion” program. As he says, food is the foundation of health.

Last week, I attended a seven-day Total Health Immersion in Naples, Florida—as a guest of Tom Dunnam, president of the organization. The event is one of many that are conducted throughout the year for their largest client, Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods founder John Mackey may be the only Fortune 200 CEO in the country who is seriously establishing a true wellness culture within their sprawling operation of over 60,000 team members around the world. For the event that I attended, it is open to all high-risk team members—relative to some combination of their blood pressure, medications, cholesterol, obesity, diabetic, etc. John Mackey knows that a healthy team member is more productive, thinks better and incurs a far lower cost of health care.

And it is paying off. In a recent video, Mackey explains how his investment in the health of team members is resulting in a downward trend in the cost of health care as a percent of sales. Scroll to the bottom of this blog for that video.

But first, I want to tell you about meeting the great Dr. Michael Klaper, whom I have blogged about several times in the past year. A diversified medical doctor, he is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Whole Foods Market, he works on the staff at the True North Health Center & on Dr. McDougall’s staff in California, and he has a private practice. Now for the highlights of one of his lectures this week:

Dr. Michael Klaper

Dr. Michael Klaper

Sense & Nonsense about Nutrition—(My Notes)

  1. Don’t worry about destroying digestive enzymes with cooking. Just try to get half your calories from raw foods and use the gentler cooking methods (with water) when you do cook.
  2. Olive oil is not a health food; nor is any other kind of oil. It is 100 percent fat with 14% saturated fat. You can stir-fry in vegetable broth, or water.
  3. Cow’s milk (and derivative products) is not fit for human consumption at any age; it should be labeled BABY CALF GROWTH FLUID. It is designed to turn a 65 pound calf into a 400 pound cow in 18 months. Just as bad: cheese, yogurt, butter, cream and ice cream.
  4. Protein shakes are totally bizarre and completely unnecessary. Too much protein weakens bones, damages kidneys and serves no useful purpose. After 40 years in medicine, Dr. Klaper has never seen a single patient with protein deficiency.
  5. Energy drinks. Just a shot of sugar and caffeine, both of which are bad for you; sugar ages your tissues and caffeine weakens bones.
  6. Diet sodas do not aid in weight-loss. Most have caffeine, are acidic and may be doing far more damage than we know. Worse than worthless; they’re harmful.
  7. Supplements. Most of them are worthless and many do more harm than good. The only thing you might need is a little Vitamin D and some B12.
  8. Alcohol and coffee. The less the better; a maximum of one or two glasses of red wine with dinner and one cup of coffee in the morning.
  9. Microwaves. Not the best way to cook; use sparingly for no more than two or three minutes. Dr. & Mrs. Stoll use their microwave as a counter pantry—for storage.
  10. Colon Cleanses and Colonics. Mostly a scam. You should cleanse your colon naturally by eating a whole foods, plant-baseed diet.

You Can’t Do One Thing!

Everything is connected and even though our intent is to treat a single problem; oftentimes, we inadverdently cause damage somewhere else. Throughout his lecture, he talked about the “side effects” of everything from damming the Amazon (for flood prevention) to taking all kinds of supplements or drugs. When we dam the Amazon, we damage nature’s ecosystem and create all kinds of unexpected problems. When we take drugs and supplements, we do exactly the same thing to other parts of our bodies.

Some of the learning sessions were all about cooking---led by world class chefs from the Whole Foods staff.

Some of the learning sessions were all about cooking—led by world class chefs from the Whole Foods staff.

He wraps up with humor. As he talked about colonoscopies, he shared some classic favorite comments that patients have made while lightly sedated during the procedure:

    • Hey Doc, have you found Amelia Earhart yet?
    • Can you hear me now?
    • Have you located my dignity yet?
    • Any sign of the trapped miners?
    • Please write a note to my wife and tell her my head is not up there.

Looking for some sound medical advice from a medical doctor whose first priority is promoting your health? Then contact Dr. Michael Klaper. You can reach his northern California office at 707-586-5555 or email him at mail@doctorklaper.com.

His rates for phone consultations reasonable in my opinion and far better than beginning a lifelong regimen of drugs you may not need. Before calling for an appointment, you may wish to review several of the blogs posted below and watch the videos that are included. Please tell him that J. Morris Hicks sent you.

Dr. Klaper Video Page. The last tab on the right is labeled “Video” and features a drop-down list of 9 pages, all with videos. All of these videos were selected based on their compelling simplicity and overall credibility and legitimacy. All of these videos are helpful tools for you when sharing some of this sensitive information with others. For Dr. Klaper, visit: 5 Minutes with Dr. Klaper

Finally, here is the 5-minute video of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey explaining the benefits of investing in the health of all of your team members.

Promote health and the cost of health care comes down!

There's even time for some relaxation during this transformational week for the Whole Foods team members.

There’s even time for some relaxation during this transformational week for the Whole Foods team members.

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 M.D.s---Health-Promoting | 7 Comments