DrCarney.com Blog

Scientific evidence demonstrating the dangers associated with consuming animal-based diets continues to mount, as newer studies confirm these findings. There are several components in meat and dairy products that raise risk factors for developing serious illness. Among them are industrial carcinogens which concentrate in animal fats. The video below by Dr. Michael Greger reveals compelling...

Childhood obesity rates continue to climb, especially in the United States. Parents who are overweight tend to raise children that are also overweight. Childhood obesity increases a child's risk of developing serious health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea and cancer. Switching your child to a whole-food, nutrient-rich, plant-based diet not only provides...

Before switching to a plant-based diet, fast-food French fries tasted so much better than a plain baked potato, would you agree? There are two reasons that would explain this.

The first reason is due to what Dr. Doug Lisle calls "The Pleasure Trap." He says that our bodies were designed to search for three key flavors in foods that would not only satisfy our appetites, but would also enable us to survive and reproduce. However, we were designed to eat these flavors in very low concentrations that are contained in "highly-fibrous, water-dense, nutrient-rich foods."

How we spend the last years of our lives can largely be determined by what lifestyle choices we made during our earlier years. Research indicates that although we may have a genetic family history of heart disease, cancer, etc., these conditions are largely preventable with diet and lifestyle measures. These lifestyle measures play a significant...

As parents, we have the enormous privilege of shaping our children's future. This is also true for their future health outcome. What we feed our children the first ten years of their lives has a tremendous impact on whether they will suffer from chronic disease later in adulthood. Modeling good eating habits and providing a diet rich in whole, plant foods builds a strong foundation for a life time of healthy living. Many times, though, children need a little encouragement to eat those green vegetables.

Scrambled, fried, hard boiled, or poached - there seems to be a way to prepare eggs to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. I'm sure many of you have fond memories of eating bacon and eggs for breakfast with your families on weekend mornings. Eggs are a comfort food. When asked what is wrong with eggs I sometimes flippantly reply "besides the yolk, the whites and the shell?" But, seriously, let's delve a little deeper...

Eliminating nutrient-deficient foods from our kitchen is a good way to begin making the transition to a health-supporting diet, but we must not stop there. In order to achieve optimal health, we must also replace those foods with whole, nutrient-dense, plant foods. These foods contain a symphony of micronutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, essential fats, phytosterols,...

Environmental estrogens (Xenoestrogens) appear to play a role in the reduction of male fertility. These estronens are man-made and primarily enter our food supply though the consumption of fish. Man-made chemicals such as PCBs and pesticides have the ability to disrupt endocrine hormones, which affets male fertility. Dr. Michael Greger explains in this short video...

Research has narrowed down a compound in red meat that could be an important link in the promotion of coronary artery disease. This is in addition to the well known fact that saturated animal fats significantly increase the risk factors associated with developing heart disease. The compound that was discovered in red meat is called carnitine. During...

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."

High protein diets such as the Atkins or Paleo diet may result in initial rapid weight loss, however, there are numerous adverse health consequences associated with these types of diets. So, while the weight may be decreasing other serious health risks are increasing. Is it worth the risk to lose weight in this way? In a nutshell: No! 

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...