Why You Must Be Thin To Be Healthy

This article is incredibly important for you to
read even if you are just 10 pounds overweight. I
will give you several scientifically backed
reasons why to be healthy, you must be thin. This
information might finally give you the motivation
to go raw and reach your ideal weight.

A problem I have noticed with many people is
that they think being overweight isn't unhealthy.
I've had some people tell me they have perfect
health and yet they are 30 pounds overweight.

The information I'm bringing to you today will
show you how even being 10 pounds overweight can
have a dramatically negative effect on your
health. Also many people don't realize they are
overweight.

Did you know that the weight tables in the
United States have moved up in the last 20 years?
The government is trying to tell us it's ok to
put on more weight. But in reality, up to 85% of
all Americans are overweight.

You'll also learn a quick way to determine if
you are overweight, without the use of a scale.
In addition, you'll learn two methods to determine
your ideal weight range.

I wrote this information down because several of
my friends and family members are overweight and
yet they don't even know it. So I decided if most
of the people I know need this information then
it might be a good idea to pass this on to my
newsletter readers.

The majority of the information in this email
was taken from studies mentioned in the book,
"Eat To Live," by Joel Fuhrman M.D. This is one
of my favorite books on nutrition. I must have
underlined and highlighted at least 75 pages. I
even have an index of all the amazing points I've
uncovered after reading this book.

In terms of his diet recommendations, they are
ok. He recommends a high raw diet, but not 100%.
So that is where we part company. But so much of
his information is really right on the money. If
you want detailed and scientific information why
eating raw fruits and vegetables is the
healthiest thing for you to do, then I recommend
reading this book.

For more information, you can use this link below:

http://www.howtogoraw.com/EatToLive.html

(Pg 24, - 26 "Eat to Live," by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.)

"The Only Way to Significantly Increase Life Span

The evidence for increasing one's life span
through dietary restriction is enormous and
irrefutable. Reduced caloric intake is the only
experimental technique to consistently extend
maximum life span. This has been shown in all
species tested, from insects and fish to rats and
cats. There are so many hundreds of studies that
only a small number are referenced below.

Scientists have long known that mice that eat
fewer calories live longer. Recent research has
demonstrated the same effect in primates (i.e.
you). A recent study published in the
"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"
found that restricting calories by 30 percent
significantly increased life span in monkeys. The
experimental diet, while still providing adequate
nourishment, slowed monkeys' metabolism and
reduced their body temperatures, changes similar
to those in long-lived thin mice. Decreased
levels of triglycerides and increased HDL (the
good) cholesterol were observed. 25  Studies over
the years, on many different species of animals,
have confirmed that those animals that were fed
less lived longest. In fact, allowing an animal
to eat as much food as it desires can reduce its
life span by as much as one half.

High-nutrient, low-calorie eating results in
dramatic increases in life span as well as
prevention of chronic illnesses. From rodents to
primates we see:

" Resistance to experimentally induced cancers
" Protection from spontaneous and genetically
predisposed cancers
" A delay in the onset of late-life diseases
" Nonappearance of atherosclerosis and diabetes
" Lower cholesterol an triglycerides and
increased HDL
" Improved insulin sensitivity
" Enhancement of the energy-conservation
mechanism, including reduced body temperature
" Reduction in oxidative stress
" Reduction in parameters of cellular aging,
including cellular congestion
" Enhancement of cellular repair mechanisms,
including DNA repair enzymes
" Reduction in inflammatory response and immune
cell proliferation
" Improved defenses against environmental stresses
" Suppression of the genetic alterations
associated with aging
" Protection of genes associated with removal of
oxygen radicals
" Inhibited production of metabolites that are
potent cross-linking agents
" Slowed metabolic rate

The link between thinness and longevity, and
obesity and shorter life span, is concrete.
Another important consideration in other animal
studies is that fat restriction has an additional
effect on lengthening life span.  Apparently,
higher-fat intake promotes hormone production,
speeds up reproductive readiness and other
indicators of aging, and promotes the growth of
certain tumors.

In the wide field of longevity research there is
only one finding that has held up over the years:
eating less prolongs life, as long as nutrient
intake is adequate. All other longevity ideas are
merely conjectural and unproven. Such
theories include taking hormones such as
estrogen, DHEA, growth hormones, and melatonin,
as well as nutritional supplements. So far, there
is no solid evidence that supplying the body with
any nutritional element over and above the level
present in adequate amounts in a nutrient-dense
diet will prolong life. This is in contrast to
the overwhelming evidence regarding protein and
caloric restriction."

Roger's Notes:

From what I understand, many studies have been
done with supplementation and they have not
proved helpful in terms of increasing longevity.
Some supplements have been found to increase
disease rates. I'll include some more info from
Dr. Fuhrman book below.

(From Pgs 20-22 in "Eat to Live")

"Surprise! Lean People Live Longer

In the Nurses Health Study, researchers examined
the association between body mass index and
overall mortality and mortality from specific
causes in more than 100,000 women. After limiting
the analysis to nonsmokers, it was very clear
that the longest-lived women were the leanest.
The researchers concluded the increasingly
permissive U.S. weight guidelines are unjustified
and potentially harmful.

Dr. I-Min Lee, of the Harvard School of Public
Health, said her twenty-seven-year study of
19,297 men found there was no such thing as being
to thin. (Obviously, it is possible to be too
thin; however it is uncommon and usually called
anorexia, but that is not the subject of this
book.) Among men who never smoked, the lowest
mortality occurred in the lightest fifth.
Those who were in the thinnest 20 percent in the
early 1960s were two and a half times less likely
to have died of cardiovascular disease by 1988
than those in the heaviest fifth. Overall, the
thinnest were two-thirds more likely to be alive
in 1988 than the heaviest. Lee stated, "We
observed a direct relationship between body
weight and mortality. By that I mean that the
thinnest fifth of men experienced the lowest
mortality, and mortality increased progressively
with heavier and heavier weight."

The point is
not to judge your ideal weight by traditional
weight-loss tables, which are based on Americans'
overweight averages. After carefully examining
the twenty five major studies available on the
subject, I have found that the evidence indicates
that optimal weight, as determined by who lives
the longest, occurs at weights at least 10
percent below the average body-weight tables.
Most weight-guideline charts still place the
public at risk by reinforcing an unhealthy
overweight standard. By my calculations, it is
not merely 75 percent of Americans that are
overweight, it is more like 85 percent.

The Longer Your Waistline, the Shorter Your
Lifeline

As a good rule of thumb: for optimal health and
longevity, a man should not have more than one-
half inch of skin that he can pinch near his
umbilicus (belly button) and a woman should not
have more than one inch. Almost any fat on the
body over this minimum is a health risk. If you
have ever gained even as little as ten pounds
since the age of 18 or twenty, then you could be
at significant increased risk for health problems
such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and
diabetes. The truth is that most people who think
they are at the right weight still have too much
fat on their body.

A commonly used formula for determining ideal
body weight follows:

Women: Approximately ninety-five pounds for the
first five feet of height and then four pounds
for every inch thereafter.

5'4"  95 +16 = 111
5'6"  95 + 24 = 119

Men: Approximately 105 pounds for the first five
feet of height and then five pounds for every
inch thereafter. Therefore, a 5'10" male should
weight approximately 155 pounds.

All formulas that approximate ideal weights are
only rough guides, since we all have different
body types and bone structure."

Here are two posts from Dr. Douglas Graham on
this same topic. He uses similar guidelines but
with a bit more detail and variability.

Women:

http://www.howtogoraw.com/womens-weight.html

Men:

http://www.howtogoraw.com/mens-weight.html

Here's even further evidence from Dr. Fuhrman's
book. This passage will show you that even if you
are just 10 to 20 pounds overweight you can be
doubling your insulin levels. This can eventually
lead to diabetes and all the related diseases of
diabetes as the pancreas wears out from having to
produce so much excess insulin.

(Pgs 160 - 161, Eat to Live, by Joel Fuhrman M.D.)

Insulin for Type II Diabetes Makes Things Worse

Insulin works less effectively when people eat
fatty foods or gain weight. Diets containing less
fat improve insulin sensitivity, as does weight
loss. An individual who is overweight requires
more insulin, whether he or she is a diabetic or
not. In fact, giving overweight diabetic people
even more insulin makes them sicker by promoting
weight gain. They become even more diabetic. How
does this process work? Our pancreas secrets the
amount of insulin demanded by the body. A person
of normal weight with about a third of an inch of
periumbilical fat will secrete X amount of
insulin. Let's say this person gains about twenty
pounds of fat. His body will now require more
insulin, almost twice as much, because fat on the
body blocks the uptake of insulin into the cells.

If the person is obese, with more than fifty
pounds of additional fat weight, his body will
demand huge loads of insulin from the pancreas,
even as much as ten times more than a person of
normal weight needs. So what do you think happens
after five to ten years of forcing the pancreas
to work so hard? You guessed it - pancreatic poop-
out.

What this means is that typical Type II diabetes
is cause by overweight in individuals who have a
smaller reserve of insulin-secreting cells in the
pancreas. In the susceptible individual, even ten
to twenty pounds of excess weight could make the
difference. Losing the extra weight enables these
individuals to live within the capabilities of
their body. Most Type II diabetics still produce
enough insulin to maintain normalcy as long as
they maintain a thinner, normal weight."

I want to thank Dr. Fuhrman for his amazing
book. If you are into learning about nutrition,
this book is a must read.

http://www.howtogoraw.com/EatToLive.html

To Your Radiant Health, Happiness, Fitness and Freedom,
Roger Haeske