DrCarney.com Blog

A low-fat, whole-food, Starch-Smart® diet significantly reduces pain and PMS symptoms in many women. There are several reasons that account for this. For example, the micronutrient content and phytochemicals in a plant-based diet reduces and discourages inflammation. The high fiber content in whole plant foods also removes excess circulating estrogen which is associated with higher...

Autopsies performed on over 300 Korean War casualties revealed that over 77% of the hearts examined had gross evidence of arteriosclerosis. The average age of the men examined was 22 years. Some vessels were clogged 90% or more. Subsequent autopsies performed on over 1,500 battle casualties confirmed these same findings.

This short video excerpt is from Dr. John McDougall's presentation "The Starch Solution." Dr. McDougall describes the results of an archaeological excavation in Turkey, where they discovered a grave site containing the bodies of 60 Gladiators. Examination of the mineral content of the bones, they concluded that the Gladiators ate a vegetarian diet, which included...

This is an excellent 27 minute presentation given by John Mackey of Whole Foods Market.  He explains the benefits associated from eating a whole-food, nutrient-dense, plant-based diet.

What three ingredients do food manufacturers add to addict you and increase sales of their products? You will find these three addictive substances in the majority of today's hyper-palatable processed and fast foods. And... drumroll please... the three secret ingredients are: sugar, fat, and salt. But, why? These ingredients "seduce our taste buds" by stimulating...

Nitrites, found in processed meats like ham, bacon, and hot dogs are potent chemical carcinogens. This may explain why hot dog consumption has been associated with the two leading types of pediatric cancers. While this is now considered common place with even the World Health Organization warning us, it was not always understood or accepted.

In a recent study, Dr. Dean Ornish discovered that a whole-foods, nutrient-dense, plant-based diet had increased telomerase activity that is associated with slowing down the aging of our cells. Telomerase is an enzyme that rebuilds the telomeres at the end of our cell's DNA. Scientists believe that if we can slow down the loss of our...

Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death in America, following very closely behind heart disease. And like heart disease, many cancers can be prevented through dietary and lifestyle interventions. I am pleased to share with you some excellent resources offered by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The Food For Life Cancer Project Diet and Cancer page examines factors that contribute to the development and progression of various cancers and how a whole-foods, nutrient-dense, plant-based diet can reduce the risk of developing cancer. This is an excellent place to become acquanted with foods that prevent cancer and to browse the their latest resources. 

Daily aspirin therapy is often recommended by physicians to reduce inflammation and the risk of heart attack and stroke. Recently though, researchers found that people who don't take aspirin have low levels of aspirin in their bloodstream. How did it get there? Where is it coming from? and Why?

Researchers discovered that "aspirin is widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom". When aspirin blood levels were measured in those who eat a plant-based diet, surprisingly, some of their aspirin levels were found to be as high as other people who were taking aspirin as a drug. Therefore, researchers concluded that eating a plant-based diet offers the benefits of aspirin therapy, yet without the associated risks such as the risk of bleeding like hemorrahagic strokes.

Research indicates that eating red meat increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. This is consistent with the results from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up study, that involved 120,000 people. It was estimated that "each serving (100 grams) of red meat raises the risk of cardiovascular death by 18 percent." The...

Many years ago, it was once thought that vegetarians had to combine certain foods in order to make a "complete protein." This is just a dietary myth that has been disproved. It originally surfaced in 1971 in the book Diet for a Small Planet, written by Frances Moore Lappe. By the 10th edition in 1981, Lappe renounced the myth as follows: "In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein ... was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought."

Why do highly processed foods give us so much pleasure, while at the same time being so harmful? Dr. Doug Lisle says that the "answer is related to a system called the motivational triad." "This is a trio of biological mechanisms that nature has designed into every creature on planet earth so that they can...