#1 Absolute SUPER FOOD For Your HEART Is...

hello world champions today we're going to talk  about the number one absolute best food for your  

heart so I came across this list that has things  on it like leafy greens and berries whole grain  

fish nuts and seeds fruit garlic olive oil  legumes and tea so we're going to talk about  

these different things and we're going to try to  iron out what to think about and if one of these  

would be the number one absolute best food for  your heart now the problem with trying to pick  

one thing out of a group of good things where  some may be good and some may be bad is that  

all of a sudden we think that this one thing has  some magic ingredient that it has some incredible  

medicinal properties that it can magically heal  and this whole thing comes from a medical mindset  

where we think that we can take this thing whether  it's a Medicaid Nation or an herb or a food or a  

supplement and we take that for that condition  for this symptom and it just doesn't work like  

that that's still symptom treatment and we're  still stuck in that medical mindset which is so  

hard to break out of because we've been trained in  that thinking and it's the most common problem in  

my comments in the clinic it's the hardest thing  for people to break out of and stop thinking in  

terms of take this for that and instead start  asking what helps the body what does the body  

need to have and what interferes with the body  so we want to think about there is an upside to  

things the body needs but more than that it's  about avoiding the downside of the things that  

interfere and screw things up so when we go to  a doctor typically we expect to get a pill and  

that's all part of this mindset and the problem  with this thinking is also that whenever we just  

want a list we want a top 10 list we need we want  a bullet point list and everyone in the comments  

sections they always there's always someone who  writes a list but what happens then is we never  

get the full picture we stop thinking and people  are looking for quick fixes they're looking for  

shortcuts and what we have to understand is  about health that the body is self-healing  

and we shouldn't have to worry about hardly  anything the problem is that we have changed  

our environment we've changed the food so it's  not the same anymore and that's why we need to  

have a little bit broader understanding of how  the body works and what the foods do to us so  

the real question is when figuring out this list  is first of all Do no harm because you can't take  

a pill you can't take a supplement of some sort to  make up for the damage that something else does so  

it's more about avoiding the bad stuff and then  if we're talking about a food does this provide  

substantial calories because some of these herbs  and things that people think are oh these are  

great foods like tea well it's not really a food  because you can't live off of it and some other  

items it's not just is it good or bad because a  little bit might be good and a lot of it might  

be really bad and when we pick number one best  then we automatically fall into the idea that  

more is better and I'm saying this because I see  the comments that I get on my video so I'm really  

trying to clarify this and another thing would  be is it possible to overeat this food because  

a little bit might be okay but if a lot tends to  make us overeat then it's not so good so if food  

should be pretty much self-limiting it's should  be so filling that we are not tempted to overeat  

and another really important question when we ask  about food being good or bad is good for whom and  

what we need to understand is people fall on  a spectrum it's not that one food is good for  

everybody or that food is Black or White it's  that depending on where we are on a metabolic  

Spectrum there's a gradient here so here we might  be insulin sensitive here we might have a type  

2 diabetic over here we might have a 25 year old  and here might be a 70 year old here we might have  

someone who is super sedentary and here's someone  who runs a 10K every day these people the food  

that is good for them is completely different  so we can't just simplify and ask what is the  

best food food so we want to weigh all of these  factors in as we talk about this so let's start  

out with whole grains and they're different types  of grains but one would be the modern wheat which  

is the vast majority of what's being consumed in  terms of grains and I would put a big red X that's  

not something that anybody should really eat it  causes insulin resistance it causes cardiovascular  

disease so if you talk about a food that would be  the best food for your heart well I don't think we  

can make any sort of case for modern wheat being  on that list now there's a different story with  

Ancient Grains before we started messing with them  then now we could have a whole range of responses  

where it might be okay for some and not so great  for others so these would be things like iron corn  

Ember spelled kamut Rye oats and barley these are  all Ancient Grains that we haven't messed with  

so if it's good or bad now depends on where you  are on that metabolic Spectrum if you're a type  

2 diabetic if you're very metabolically unhealthy  then it would be a big red X this food will make  

you sicker there's nothing good about it for you  whereas if you are very insulin sensitive you have  

a good digestion you're active then then you could  probably have moderate amounts of these grains not  

60 of your calories but you could have a certain  amount several times a week and still be fine  

so on the good side we need to understand that  grains are very inexpensive they're easy to  

produce it's one of the greatest Staples without  grains we would not have been able to develop the  

world and Society into what it is today so that's  on the upside on the downside we can say that it  

may be okay for some but if we're going to talk  about the necessity then there is no real need  

we cannot make a case that this would be good for  the heart or that you should eat this if you want  

be healthy Etc so when we try to make a case if  it's best food for the heart and if it belongs on  

a list then the answer would be absolutely no next  we have legumes and this is a huge range of foods  

also so legumes could be something like a green  bean that I think would be totally fine for almost  

everybody then we have things like a huge staple  which is lentils and again just like we talked  

about with the grains if you're type 2 diabetic  then it's probably not so great if you are insulin  

sensitive metabolically healthy then we know that  it's a staple that helps feed a lot of people and  

they don't really get in trouble then black beans  would be the exact same situation now when we get  

into soybeans I think it's a different story and I  would put a big red x on it maybe a question mark  

If you make tofu out of it but soybeans is one of  the most common allergies it's very difficult to  

digest for most people especially the way they  process it and include it as filler protein in  

almost every product and difficult to digest  unless you turn it into tofu now it's much much  

better and all the traditional cultures in Asia  that eat a lot of soy they typically eat it as  

tofu Foo or some other prepared or fermented form  of soybeans and if you do eat the tofu which is  

very popular as a protein source for vegetarians  then I would strongly suggest that you get the  

organic version because if it's not organic then  you're pretty much guaranteed that it's a GMO  

food nuts and seeds I think are a great food I  eat nuts and seeds on a regular basis however  

they are very high in omega-6s so we're going to  give them a question mark there so here it's all  

about quantity if you have a little bit of seeds  or a little bit of nuts here and there maybe 10  

percent of your calories then I think that should  be fine and I just picked that number out of thin  

air I don't really know what that number would be  but just to give you an idea as long as you don't  

turn it into a staple if you think oh nuts and  seeds they get a green check I can should eat as  

much as possible no now you're kind of unbalancing  things again so I don't believe it's a staple I  

think it's a great food to have as a snack here  and there and next we have fruits so fruits tend  

to be some sort of Holy Grail we're always told  to eat more fruits and vegetables more fruits and  

vegetables so every time I talk about it I get  attacked but it's one of these things where it's  

good for some and not so great for others and  it has everything to do with where you are on  

the metabolic spectrum and how much you eat so if  you have type 2 diabetes I would suggest that you  

eat no fruit or an extremely small amounts very  rarely if you are insulin sensitive then I think  

that you could have some fruit I think you could  have one or two fruits most days I don't think  

necessarily the fruit is something you eat the  same stuff 365 days a year because that's not  

how our ancestors ever had it it's only because  of modern Agriculture and production that we  

have that luxury and I don't think that's how it  was intended and we also have to understand that  

berries even though they're typically in the same  categoric lump together I think berries are quite  

different and it's much much more difficult  to overeat berries so I think even as a type  

2 diabetic I think you can have some berries  and I think that you're all okay to eat almost  

unlimited berries if you're insulin sensitive it's  very difficult to overeat compared to most sweet  

fleshy fruit it has much less sugar and more fiber  so it I would say you could probably eat three  

to four times more berries in most cases than  you can fruit and get the same amount of blood  

sugar impact next on the list was garlic which I  think is totally fine I think it's an awesome herb  

I love garlic I put it in tons of foods and the  problem here is again when people put it on a list  

they think in medicinal terms they think it has  some magical properties that are going to undo all  

the damage that they've done over the years and  continue to do and again that's not how it works  

plus garlic is an herb or a spice it's something  that you eat in relatively small quantities so  

it's not a food in that sense because it's not a  staple and then I know someone's going to tell me  

that well you don't know how much garlic I eat in  my case it probably is a staple so that might be  

the exception same thing with tea it's great it  has some flavonoids it has some phenolics it has  

some plant properties some phytonutrients in it  that are probably good I can probably help fight  

off something which is great so we put a check  mark on it but you don't want to Expect Miracles  

it's still not a food you can't drink a bunch of  tea and start undoing it's part of good things  

that you can consume but again don't think of it  as having any miraculous properties with fish we  

also put a big green check mark I think fish  is great if you eat the fatty fish especially  

now you get some of these essential fatty acids  that are fantastic for your heart and your brain  

especially if you're deficient so what we again  what we want to understand is these are not going  

to undo a bunch of bad habits what they will  undo is if you're deficient and you have health  

problems then taking more of these will make you  sufficient and some of those problems will go away  

and it also helps normalize inflammation it's not  anti-inflammatory per se but what happens is when  

you eat more Omega-3s then the ratio to omega-6  improves and most people eat way way too much  

omega-6s and that's why they're pushing their  bodies toward inflammation increasing Omega-3s  

will help improve that ratio but you also need  to decrease the omega-6s which we'll come back to  

a little bit fish also has fantastic protein it  is just as good as meat or most animal products  

so it's a full value protein and it is very very  difficult to overeat fish it's not like ice cream  

you have one bite and you just keep going back  for more until the container is gone fish you get  

full you're satisfied you're done and that's how  it should be with a good whole food now the only  

thing we want to keep in mind is that a lot of  fish produce today is farmed fish and they don't  

have good in conditions they don't feed them right  they give them hormones and artificial colors and  

they get mold and parasite infections and so forth  so do the wild caught as much as you can and let  

me put that in perspective though so when I say  that it doesn't make farmed fish the worst food  

in the world so if you're in a restaurant and  you're choosing between french fries and salmon  

then the the salmon is far superior it's just when  we're trying to nitpick a little bit we want to  

understand that it can be a problem with the farm  fish but again you need to get the bigger picture  

it doesn't make it so if I'm in a restaurant and  there's nothing else really that I'd like to have  

I would certainly eat fish even if it's Farm  but when I can I would seek out the Wild and  

the other problem with fish is that they live in  the ocean and the ocean has been heavily polluted  

with Mercury and other heavy metals and pcbs and  so forth so you want to look for the smaller and  

younger fish so the large predatory fish like  swordfish and tuna are generally much much higher  

in Mercury whereas the flat fish and the white  fish and salmon and sardines and small mackerel  

are going to be fairly low in mercury and then  on the list they also had olive oil so what do  

we need to know about olive oil first of all it's  monounsaturated so it's liquid but it only has one  

double bond monounsaturated unsaturated one time  which makes it very stable it's shelf stable it's  

difficult to oxidize it and make it bad make it  Rancid it has about 20 different polyphenols so  

it has certain phytonutrients that can help  the body in terms of of inflammation it also  

has some vitamin E and some chlorophyll and these  are are good things for health in general again  

don't think of it as as a miracle of any sort very  often people say that when you eat a lot of olive  

oil then it's anti-inflammatory that people on a  Mediterranean diet you consume a lot of olive oil  

it's more anti-inflammatory and it's not really  anti-inflammatory it's just that the other diet  

is more inflammatory so this is just normal it's  just neutral in that regard and what it is is it's  

natural and it's clean and it's stable like we  said it can sit on the counter it doesn't need  

Refrigeration it can sit for months and it doesn't  really go bad and it also is filling so we when we  

eat it it doesn't stimulate blood sugar it doesn't  give us Cravings it just makes us very satisfied  

when we eat it together with with other foods  like vegetables or fish Etc and here's what I  

find really interesting about olive oil because  every year they vote for the best diet and the  

Mediterranean diet is always top three it's like  we know Mediterranean olive oil it's great you  

should eat tons and tons of olive oil it's  the preferred oil so you would think by now  

that we're eating some olive oil in this country  well in the United States we consume on average  

under one liter of olive oil per person per year  it is almost nothing in Italy they consume 11  

liters in Spain 12 liters so obviously these  are all Mediterranean countries in Greece they  

consume 24 liters and in Crete which has been  called the origin of the Mediterranean diet  

or the original the real Mediterranean diet they  eat 30 liters of olive oil every year per person  

so that's about six tablespoons per day it is up  to a third of the calories consumed in the entire  

country and then by contrast we have the United  States where we consume 42 liters of soybean oil  

so in a country where we're always told how  great the Mediterranean diet is and how great  

olive oil is and we basically don't consume any so  is there any wonder where in Crete they have some  

of the lowest rates of heart disease anywhere  and obviously in the U.S we have some of the  

highest rates so maybe it's time to understand  where some of those problems are coming from and  

start eating some more olive oil so I named olive  oil the number one best food for your heart and  

again I do that reluctantly because there's no  such thing as the best food it's all a good food  

among many other foods but if we had to pick  one I'd I would be okay making that olive oil  

now again it doesn't have any Miracle properties  it's simply good because fat is good food fat is  

good for you as long as it's good fat as long as  humans haven't put it in a lab haven't screwed it  

up with high heat and chemicals and high pressure  and cleaning and de-gumming and deodorizing and  

hydrogenation Etc olive oil comes from olives  they're very very easy to get the oil out of it  

when you do what's called extra virgin olive oil  that's the first cold pressing then just apply a  

little pressure and out comes the oil in that  sense it's basically a whole food I know that  

the whole food is olives and olive oil is somewhat  processed but because they do it so gently and  

because the olive oil doesn't have any other  properties of processed foods such as increasing  

blood sugar or creating Cravings or anything  like that in that sense olive oil is still a  

whole food and I believe that olive oil should  be considered a staple I sometimes cringe or  

sometimes laugh when people say oh I can't afford  to eat healthy and they keep eating fast foods and  

the processed and the packaged food well let me  just put some numbers on this olive oil where I  

get it I know there's different prices different  places but it is extremely inexpensive you can  

buy two liters of olive oil under twenty dollars  that means it's about a dollar twenty one dollar  

twenty cents for 1 000 calories so if you eat 2  000 calories and a third of it comes from olive  

oil you can get a third of your calories under  a dollar all right it doesn't get much cheaper  

than that so it's more about educating ourselves  and being willing to learn about food and willing  

to experiment and learn how to cook a little bit  then actually that food is so expensive and what  

I'm really trying to get across in this video is  we have to stop thinking about food as medicine as  

some sort of Miracle that's going to do something  good food just gives us what we need to have and  

bad food doesn't so it's not about the upside  of what it does as much as what the downside is  

taking away from us and the biggest advantage of  good food like olive oil is that it replaces junk  

the more of it that you eat of the good stuff the  less you're going to eat of something else so if  

you eat more olive oil you're going to eat less  soybean oil you're going to eat less sugar less  

white bread because you're going to be full from  something else already you're going to eat less  

processed foods if you enjoyed this video you're  going to love that one and if you truly want to  

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