Dr. Martin goes through the “Top 20 Sources of Carbohydrates in the American Diet” on today’s podcast and links it to a recent study from the British Medical Journal.
The study shows how carbohydrates, just like sugar, nicotine, or narcotics, take a direct route to the reward centre of your brain! No wonder so many people are carboholics! They are in fact addicted.
We truly do have a problem with metabolic syndrome today… whether it’s heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes… it’s all connected and it has to do with what we eat!
TRANSCRIPT OF TODAY'S EPISODE
Announcer: You're listening to The Doctor Is In Podcast, brought to you by MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.
Dr. Martin: Hello. Good morning everyone. Welcome to another live here this morning. Hope you're having a great start to your day. Couple of interesting studies we'll talk about today. Two studies, okay, British Medical Journal, one of them. Let me read it to you. Recent study in the British Medical Journal following 137,130 people over nine years with no history of heart disease, no history at all, almost 140,000 people, observational study, nine years, ages 35 to 70 with no history of heart disease whatsoever, and here's what they found, okay?
Those who ate consistently, I'm just quoting here, those who ate consistently grains, cereals, bread, pasta, here's what they found, okay, with these almost 140,000 people, 47% increase in the risk of stroke, okay? This is their conclusions. 33% increase in heart attack and 27% increase in total deaths. 47, almost 50% higher risk in stroke, okay these are people that were I would classify them as carboholics. They might not think that, but these people would be classified as carboholics. Those, and again, I'm quoting the study, who ate consistently grains, okay? Because we've always been taught that grains are the best, right, they're good for you. Not only do they have fiber, but whole grains and whatever, your body can't live without that.
Well, I beg to differ with that, okay? Now, I want to combine another study again in the British Medical Journal talking about carbs, okay? So one of them is talking about heart disease and the increase compared to people that don't eat high carbohydrates, grains, they were people... Again, this is another study, okay, in the British Medical Journal study with people who eat high carbs. What they're saying is there's an increase in the brain reward center. So what's that mean? This is well-established, especially with sugars, okay? When you are eating sugars, sugars take a route to your brain to the reward center, to the reward center.
People that are addicts, if you see somebody out in the middle of winter or whatever and they got to go outside to smoke, why are they doing that? Well, they're addicted. They're addicted to tobacco, they're addicted to nicotine. So they go outside and I always used to find it... nah, I didn't mean to laugh at people, but I always found it funny, at least partially funny. I would be visiting a friend or whatever at the hospital, and then you'd see patients with their IVs outside smoking. Have you ever seen that? I mean, when I was a kid, of course you could smoke in the hospitals and up til, I don't know, what, 20, 25 years ago, maybe? I can't remember exactly when they wouldn't allow smoking in the hospitals. Then you see these patients. I felt sorry for them. I mean, here it is. I live in Northern Ontario. It gets to be 40 below there. The hospital, they didn't care. They had to get outside, they'd roll out their IVs and have a cigarette. I remember in our hospital in Sudbury, there was a bus shelter out in front of the hospital and they'd be out with their IVs in the bus shelter having a smoke. Why is that? Yeah. It's addiction. But why? Because of the reward center in the brain, the reward center in the brain.
So what the British Medical Journal was saying is that carbohydrates do the same thing. Carbohydrates do the same thing. Now, I posted this earlier, and if you want to go there, I posted this earlier this morning. So after the program, if you want to go, I'll read it to you, but if you want to go to this chart, I have it and I posted it on the private Facebook group, our private Facebook group, the Top 20 Sources of Carbohydrates in the American Diet. I posted it for you, okay? I posted it for you.
Here's what they're saying, the top 20 sources in the American diet. Number one, the top source, potatoes, okay? The number one source of carbohydrates in America, it's the same in Canada, okay, potatoes. Now, who doesn't like potatoes of some kind, right? Look, you want to give yourself a treat, make it a treat, but don't live on this stuff. Don't live on this stuff. White bread, number two, white bread. White bread is white sugar, okay? You see a slice of any white bread, it's straight sugar. That is going to be sugar in five seconds, okay? Literally, in five seconds. You might as well have a chocolate bar. What's the difference? What's the difference?
Dark bread. No, that's number four. Cold breakfast cereal. Now you know me, guys. I've been speaking against cereals. So as long as you've known me, I've been consistent, cereals, okay? Now, they have cold cereals because that's right at the top of the list of what people... Go to the grocery store. I mean, in the middle aisles of the grocery store, you're going to see the cereal section. I always laugh when I go through Costco and I look at these big box of cereals. You can feed an army with the size of the box. I'm thinking in my head when I see that, I see it's nothing but sugar. Frosted flakes are not great. They're not. Cheerios, they put a heart on the box because you're going to have a heart attack when you eat them. I don't care if they're honey nut, you're going to have a heart attack. That's what we talked about. This is what the British Medical Journal is saying. That's exactly what it's saying.
So what's on that list? Potatoes, number one. White bread, number two. Cold breakfast cereal. People who live on this stuff. "Dr. Martin, I got to get my fiber." Fiber. No you don't. It's overrated. Fiber's overrated. Fiber comes from the cereal companies. Don't eat eggs and bacon and cheese because there's no fiber in there. That can't be good for you because there's no fiber. But fiber was made up by the cereal companies. I watched them do it. As if your body can't work without cereal, brought to you by Kellogg's. They started it. Dr. Kellogg's, he was a doctor. He had some twisted ideas, twisted. I mean it. I studied it. They were all twisted ideas. I think his motives were good. I don't question somebody's motives. I don't know what he was thinking. He wrote a lot of things so you can study it. Dr. Kellogg. He had a twisted view of food.
For those who ate consistently grains according to the British Medical Journal, increase of almost 50% in strokes compared to people that don't live on this stuff. So, okay? Cold cereal, dark bread. Because you guys know me, white bread, dark bread, I don't care. It's still going to be sugar in a nanosecond. "Oh, Dr. Martin it's rye." It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. You're going to need a boat load of insulin to break it down. It's going to go up to the reward center in your brain just like you're smoking. It's going to say, "Hey, I like that. Do it again and again and again." Guys, this is why the Reset... Like why isn't it just one week if an empties the liver in one week? Because you're not going to get rid of that reward center. It takes three weeks to form a habit and to get out of another habit. It takes you at least three weeks.
I took enough psychology in university just to be dangerous. But I learned something about human behavior. How long it takes to form a habit. This is one of the reasons for the Reset. I mean, there's a hundred reasons, but that's one of them. I want people to form habits, good habits. Get off the carbohydrates because of the reward center in the brain and what those carbs do to your heart, nevermind your brain, to your heart according to the British Medical Journal.
Number five, orange juice. We talked about this yesterday. The worst thing you can do with sugar is drink it. Orange juice was never meant to be. You want to eat an orange, eat an orange, but don't drink orange juice. Don't drink. I'll get to apple juice in a minute. Orange juice is the number one breakfast drink in North America. I mean, you might as well have two Pepsis. "Oh yeah, but Dr. Martin, it's Tropicana. It's got fiber." See? See what Tropicana did? It's got fiber in it. It must be good. Eh, no. It ain't good. I'm sorry. It ain't good. The problem that we have in society today medically is not a virus. It's not. All their focus is on this virus, the pandemic. I'm so tired of hearing it, and nobody's talking about this metabolic syndrome, the way we're eating. As a matter of fact, it got worse because we're at home and people are eating worse. People are gaining weight. People are frustrated.
When you're down, guess what you want to eat? Comfort foods. Boy, to be in the potato chip industry. No, but seriously, guys. This is what's happening. Number five is orange juice. You know what? Number six is? Bananas. "Ah, Dr. Martin, I got to have my banana. Because where am I going to get my potassium if I don't have my banana?" Man oh man, a banana is a chocolate bar. Remember, I brought this months ago. How many was it? 49 M&M's. I got to look that up again. I can't remember the exact number. Maybe some of you do, okay? You take out a bag of M&M's, take a banana, eat the M&M's or eat the banana, same difference. 49 M&M's or was it 39? I don't know. You guys tell me. I can't remember. I'll look it up afterwards.
Banana is number six because people have this idea... Now, look, you have a banana once in a while. Okay, I get it. I love bananas by the way. That's why I have long arms. I love them, but I don't eat them. It's a treat. I can't. Neither can you. Neither can you. Don't eat bananas for potassium. Eat eggs, meat, and cheese and you'll get all the potassium you need. No, but seriously, guys, seriously. You see this? We got a problem with metabolic syndrome today. Metabolic syndrome is what's killing 88% of our population, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's diabetes. It's all connected, guys. It has to do with our food and food is carbohydrates. These things are killers in our society today. It's the elephant in the room. This is one of the reasons.
Again, I mentioned this yesterday. Somebody's saying, "I get it. I get it. I get it." But they're wrong. They're saying, "Ah, Dr. Martin's diet. That's no good for you." Based on what? Why are you saying that? "Well, I heard that protein, it causes kidney problems. You have too much protein." Ooh. Your body will thrive with protein. Protein is king. You need those amino acids and not the grains. I got to have a balanced diet. No you don't. That is made up to you by the food industry. Don't be deceived. If you have trouble with metabolic syndrome, if you've got elevated triglycerides, if your HDL your good cholesterol is not high enough, if you have fatty liver, if you got any high blood pressure, what is it? 60% of the population? We got a problem. Houston, we got a problem. We got a problem.
Number seven on the list, white rice. White rice is number seven. Guys, I know you're going to tell me, "Well, the Asians, the Chinese and whatever, they eat rice." They eat a lot more protein than you think they do. The Japanese, they eat a lot more protein. They eat a lot of fish. They eat a lot of protein compared to us and they don't live on... Look, they can get away with their white rice until... You know when the Asians have trouble with their insulin and all this and that, when they eat our food. When they eat the North American diet, not the Asian diet. White rice, it's number seven.
Guest what's number eight, pizza. Kids are weaned on pizza. Pizza, pizza, pizza, pizza. Hey, I like pizza. I married an Italian. I like pizza. You know what I do with the pizza? I take the toppings. I'm a meat lover and the bread stays. The crust stays behind. Don't deceive yourself. Don't deceive yourself. Pizza is going to be sugar in a nanosecond. You know how many kids, and I mean this over the years, I would teach them when they would come into the office... Kids are smart. Kids are very smart. I'd have to grab the parents, though, okay, first. I said, "Listen, you got to do this as a family. If this kid's got ADD or ADHD or got any kind of cognitive issue or whatever," and I said, "I'm giving them a diet, but look, mom and dad, you guys got to lead by example." But I'm telling you, kids are smart, kids will figure it out, and I used to teach them, I said, "You and carbs," and they're looking at me, "What's a carb?" Right? I said, "Well, you and pizza don't get along." "We don't?"
You and cereal… I'd be telling a five year old, six year old, seven year old, eight year old, "You and cereal don't get along." "What?" "Yeah. You don't get along." "What do you mean by that?" "Well, you see when, your brain runs all over the place and never stops and you're bouncing around." I said, "All of that stuff, pizza, cereal, juice, it's all sugar, man, and you and sugar don't get along. You and carbs don't get along. Those are carbohydrates." "Okay. I get it." "You got it?" I said, "Now listen, when they have pizza at school..." Remember school, guys? There used to be school. There's not school anymore. You don't want to get me going on that. Kids who can't get the virus. Oh, they're being punished. They're getting thrown under the bus. I feel sorry for young people. Oh, I can’t handle it.
Anyway, but I used to tell them, "Look, when they're having pizza at school, you have a piece and eat it. If you're going to have a second piece, just scrape the toppings off and eat the toppings." "Oh yeah?" I said, "Yeah. You'll get used to it. Leave the crust behind." "Why doc?" I said, "Remember, you don't get along with crust. It's going to be sugar and don't have a soda." "Don't?" "You have to learn to drink water. Can you do that?" "Yeah." "Okay," I said. This was me. That was my practice. I had thousands of kids over the years and these kids are smart. It was the parents I had the hardest time with. Because they would always come back with the arguments. "Well, doc. What about my fiber?" Don't worry about your fiber. Okay.
I'm going to give you a couple of more. Pasta was number nine. I thought it was higher up on that list. It certainly is for kids, okay? Number 10, muffins. Muffins, number 10. The Top 20 Sources of Carbohydrates in the American Diet. Muffins made to hit parade at number 10. Muffins. I love muffins. My wife doesn't like them. I said, "Well, when I see a muffin, I want to eat it." Okay? But again, and Rosie will make like real low carb muffins, okay, every once in a while just to appease her husband. She doesn't even like them. I love that stuff, but I don't live on it. I can't. I'm like you. I can't. I would like to, I would love to live on that stuff. I can't so I don't. I don't. It's amazing how you can rewire your brain and you just... nope. You know what the hardest word in the English language is? No. How to say no. If you're an addict, put your hands up my name is Tony and I'm a carboholic addict. You have to learn to say no, and oh, it's not easy.
A lot of people, they twist themselves like pretzels in order to, "Well, you know what, doc. I want to eat in moderation." You know what, you're not getting away with it. You think you are, but your insulin... If you're part of that 88% of the population, you're not getting away with it. I know nutritionists and I know dietitians and I know all the gurus and they all you can fiber and you need it. No, you don't. You have to learn to say no. I know I'm preaching to the choir here this morning. Most of you have said no, it's part of your life. You know what? You want to live healthy. It's food. It's saying yes to eggs, meat, and cheese, and to the plant kingdom, I don't care. You can have plants. You can have plants. Don't live on them, but you can have them, right?
You're not doing it during the Reset, but God wants you to eat from two kingdoms. The animal, eggs, meat, and cheese, and the plant kingdom, fruits and vegetables. Like I've said before, don't overdo, especially the fruit. We live in a different world today, like bananas. We live in a different world today, okay? Now, those were the top 10. There's 20 on the list. Okay. There's 20 there. Maybe we'll continue doing that and going down the list. But the study, again, let me just quote it to you from the British Medical Journal, with no history of heart disease, 140,000 people that they followed for nine years, ages 35 to 70, and they had almost a 50% increase in the risk of stroke, 33% increase in the risk of heart attack. What you eat guys has an enormous effect on your body.
Okay. The other study again in the journal is showing that carbohydrates, just like smoking, just like drugs, take a route into the brain that goes to that reward center. You got to change that. You have to change that in your brain, the reward center, because this is why people are addicts. Look at the rate of obesity. They become an addict. The brain says it's like smoking, like, "Give me that again, man. Give me that again. Give me that again." You have to reprogram the brain. You have to reprogram it. Once you're an addict, you're always an addict, meaning that if you do the Reset, you're going into remission 100%.
But it's like me. I tell you my story all the time. It's why I'm a great high priest. You know why? Because I understand. I love food and I love carbohydrates, but they don't love me. They don't love me. I have to be the most careful guy. I have to discipline myself. I have to talk to myself, okay? Okay. We're going to have a good week. We got some great studies, okay? We might continue with the other top 10. If you're not a member of the Martin Clinic Facebook group, because I posted it there. I posted those 20 foods right there for you this morning. We love that group. Thank you for joining, okay? The other thing that I wanted to mention is Friday is question and answer and we want your questions. So don't be shy, okay? The Metabolic Reset, that number one selling book. We thank you for that. Available at martinclinic.com. Okay. Thank you for making that book so successful. We appreciate it. Okay. We really do. Okay. We love you guys. We'll talk to you soon.
Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor Is In Podcast, with your hosts, Doctor Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening!