Dr. Oz appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show today to present engaging new information and myth busters about the food we eat.
The Discovery Health Channel and The British Broadcasting Corporation used several innovative research tools for “The Truth About Food”, a television series that is hosted by Dr. Oz.
Dr. Oz is a lively, engaging speaking style that makes heath and nutrition interesting. The energetic doctor has a positive attitude that is motivational and fun to watch. Dr. Oz has an entertaining, engaging, and sometimes, almost overly descriptive style of explaining bodily functions to the layman.
On the Oprah Show, Dr. Oz presented some fascinating truths about high fiber, drinking water, calcium consumption, dietary sunscreen, stress busting omega 3 and detox diets. The information was based upon experiments on human volunteers, conducted by researchers for “The Truth About Food,” on Discovery Health Channel.
Following is a brief description about the truths presented by Dr. Oz. on The Oprah Show.
High Fiber
In order to determine how quickly a high fiber diet can start working, two long distance truck drivers swallowed a small camera before and after making changes in their diet. The camera tracks how quickly food moves through their digestive system. Both truckers had diets consisting of whatever they could eat in the truck, a diet devoid of fiber. The truckers converted to a high fiber diet for a week, including high fiber cereal bars an whole fruits. After a week on the high fiber diet both truckers reduced the time that food transited through their systems impressively.
According to Dr. Oz. there are positive effects of helping food to move through the system quickly. The faster transit time helps to move toxins out of the body. In addition, cholesterol is formed when the bile gets absorbed through the bowel. Fiber pulls the bile out of the system, so cholesterol drops. The high fiber diet also helps the body to get rid of sugar.
According to Dr. Oz, the average American gets only seven grams of fiber daily, which is much less then they should eat. Women should get about 25 grams of fiber daily, while men should strive for 35 grams daily.
Conclusion: A high fiber diet makes your digestive tract more efficient and benefits health.
Calcium and Fat Loss
Volunteers had stool samples analyzed before and after a week on a high calcium diet and a week on a low calcium diet. The complicated analysis of the specimens collected took three months to analyze.
The results of the experiment showed that people on a high calcium diet excreted more fat. A high calcium diet can double fat excretion through stool. Dr. Oz. had six and a half pounds of fat brought out, saying that amount of fat could be excreted from the systems with a diet high in calcium. The calcium intake should be 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily. Calcium should be taken along with magnesium, to prevent constipation.
Dietary sources of calcium include dairy products, leafy vegetables, figs and prune. Many people need to take a calcium supplement to get adequate calcium.
Conclusion: Adequate calcium can help you lose weight.
Fruits and Vegetables
In this experiment, volunteers went to the Paigton Zoo in Devon, England. Nine people with high blood pressure ate a diet like the apes. Each volunteer had to eat 11 pounds of raw fruits, nuts and vegetables daily.
Dr. Oz showed a basket with 11 pounds of fruits, vegetables and nuts, to demonstrate the quantity of food represented. The basket contained blueberries, nuts, broccoli, cauliflower and other naturally colorful foods.
The results of the experiment were amazing. After twelve days, the volunteers blood pressure, cholesterol and weight dropped dramatically. Blood pressure dropped 10%. Cholesterol dropped an average of 25%. The volunteers lost about 10 pounds each. They lost over two inches off their waist measurement.
Dr. Oz stated that high blood pressure can take 10 years off your life. A drop in high blood pressure of 10% is significant.
Food in America is stripped of nutrients so people are still hungry after eating. The diet consisting of fruits and vegetables is rich in nutrients, which make the body feel satisfied. This satisfaction signals the brain that the nutritional needs have been met.
Conclusion: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nut has many heath benefits, including lowering high blood pressure, reducing cholesterol levels and weight loss.
Tomatos as Sunscreen
Volunteers ate four tablespoons of tomato paste a day for three months to see if the food protected the skin from sun. After three months the volunteers experienced 30% reduction in sun damage to the skin. According to Dr. Oz, lycopene, which is an antioxidant found in tomatoes, replenishes the skin cells. lycopene also prevents skin wrinkles by keeping elastic skin tissues from losing tenseness.
Conclusion: Tomatoes help your skin protect itself from UV rays.
Water and Skin
Researchers tested twins, who liked to drink a lot of water to keep their skin elastic. During the week long experiment, one girl drank plenty of water, while the other drank no water. Other than the difference in water consumption, the twins ate the same diet. The results showed that the amount of water consumed made no difference in skin elasticity.
According to Dr. Oz, we get plenty of water in the food we eat. However water does have benefits. Drinking water is a great tool to lose weight, because it satisfies the satiety center. There are a lot of benefits to drinking water, but forcing fluids in not required.
Conclusion: We don’t need to force fluids.
Omega 3 and Stress
Ten London cab drivers were monitored while a actor posing as a demanding client stressed them out on purpose.; After 15 minutes, each driver’s heart was racing and their cortisol levels were elevated. Cortisol is a hormone that measure the amount of stress in the body.
The cab drivers were given a diet that included fish four times a week for three months. The omega-3 acids in fish are thought to have a calming effect. The cab drivers ate fish rich in omega-3, including mackerel, sardines, kippers, haddock, salmon and tuna.
After three months, the cab drivers were put into a similar stressful situation. Lab tests showed a 22% reduction in cortisol and a 12% reduction in some other stress hormones. Their memory also improved.
Dr. Oz suggested fish as a rich source of omega-3. Other sources of omega-3 include flaxseed and walnuts. There are also omega 3 rich eggs on the market.
Conclusion: A diet rich in omega 3, which is found in fish and other sources, can help to alleviate stress.
Detox Diets
Researchers on “The Truth About Food” created a detox diet that incorporated principles of many popular detox diets. Ten women who proclaimed they like to party, and drink a little too much, were tested.
The group of ten women was divided into two groups. One of these groups ate a :”detox diet” for a week, while the second group ate a normal balanced diet. The women on the detox diet found the concoctions they drank unpleasant to taste. Urine and saliva samples were tested. At the end of the week there was no difference in toxicity. Dr. Oz said this was because toxins tend to store in the fatty tissue and it would take more than 10 day to get the toxins out of the body.
The detox diets don’t cleanse the body in the short amount of time that most people do them. However they can be useful to reset your taste buds and jump start a new diet or nutrition plan.
Conclusion: Short term detox diets are not effective for detoxification, however they are a good way to reset your taste buds and start a new nutrition plan.
Dr. Oz presented this information convincingly. The dietary truths were backed up by research. Researcher at Discovery Channel’s “The Truth About Food” conducted the experiments using unique methods that illustrated the dietary truths.
Many of the truths presented have been consistent with the instructions that Dr. Oz, Dr. Roizen, Real Age and many health experts have advocated for years for a longer, healthier life. The most controversial experiment may have been about drinking water not being as necessary as we have thought. The conclusions about omega 3 reducing stress and tomatoes in the diet making an internal sun screen were new to me. The dramatic results illustrated by eating 11 pounds of fruits and vegetables every day makes adding a significant amount of these foods to the diet sound very worthwhile.
The show illustrated in a dramatic, pointed manner some dietary truths that we may be familiar with. The advice to eat a diet high in fiber, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, add fish and omega 3 fats to the diet and to take a balanced calcium supplement has been offered for years. The experiments presented by Dr. Oz on the Oprah Show provides a fresh look at why this advice continues to be a very good idea.
The energetic Dr. Oz has coauthored popular diet and health books with Dr. Mike Roizen, including “You on a Diet,” “You the Smart Patient,” and “You: Staying Young.”
