Quotations by Joel Fuhrman

Always wash fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly. Buy organic if possible. Always buy organic strawberries, spinach, and celery, as these three items are the most pesticide-contaminated foods in the produce section. Twelve foods with the lowest pesticides: 1. Onions 2. Sweet Corn 3. Pineapple 4 Avocado 5. Cabbage 6. Sweet Peas (frozen) 7. Asparagus 8. Mangos 9. Eggplant 10. Kiwi 11. Cantaloupe (domestic) 12. Sweet Potatoes; Twelve foods with the most pesticides: 1. Apples 2. Celery 3. Bell peppers 4. Peaches 5. Strawberries 6. Nectarines (imported) 7. Grapes 8. Spinach 9. Lettuce 10. Cucumbers 11. Blueberries (domestic) 12. Potatoes [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

Should you occasionally choose to use a prepared soup, keep in mind that your overall daily sodium intake should remain under 1,200 milligrams for men and under 1,000 milligrams for women. Natural whole foods contain 400 to 700 milligrams of sodium, which allows for a leeway of about 500 milligrams. Be sure to read labels. Try to select a no-salt added variety. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

It is best to eat only when you're hungry, and not eat after dinner. People who eat more frequently usually take in more calories per day. More frequent eating or snacking has been shown to increase the risk of colon cancer in men. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

I do recommend taking a high-quality multiple vitamin/mineral supplement to supply extra vitamins D and B12, zinc, and iodine because ideal amounts of these are hard to acquire even in an excellent diet.  [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

Even though most people are deficient in Vitamin D, too much can also be suboptimal, so blood tests are often recommended to assure the proper level of supplementation. 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 is an appropriate amount for the majority of individuals, even though some people could require more. Vitamin D is a critical nutrient, not just for your bones but also for general protection against heart disease, cancer, autoimmume disease, and many other health problems. The 25-hydroxy vitamin D level ideally should be between 30 and 50 ng/ml. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

Supplementing your diet with herbs and plants to lower glucose is reasonable, both in capsule form and added into dishes. A few grams of cinnamon have demonstrated benefits at lowering blood glucose and improving lipid parameters without apparent side effects. Gymnema sylvestre is also mildly effective. Powdered fenugreek seeds require too large a dose to be effective so are more difficult to utilized. There are other plants and plant extracts that have little side effects and have been shown to mildly lower blood sugar. They include green tea, acacia extract, hops, bitter melon, and nopales cactus. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

Walking up flights of stairs is the very best exercise. Walking twenty to thirty flights a day is an effective way to meet your fitness goal. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

No oil should be considered a health food. All oil, including olive oil, is 100 percent fat and contains 120 calories per tablespoon. Foods rich in monounsaturated fats like olive oil are less harmful than foods full of saturated fats and trans fats, but being less harmful does not make them healthful. You can add a little bit of olive oil to your diet if you are thin and exercise a lot. However, the more oil you add, the more you are lowering the nutrient-per-calorie density of your diet--and that is not your objective, as it does not promote health. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

Cruciferous vegetables (kale, collards, broccoli, broccoli rabe, brocollina, brussels sprouts, watercress, bok choy, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, mustard greens, arugula, kohlrabi, red cabbage, mache, turnip greens, horse radish, rutabaga, turnips, radishes) are the foods with the most powerful anticancer effects of all foods. [2013] - Joel Fuhrman

In citrus fruits, most of the anti-cancer compounds are present in the membranes and pulp, which are removed in processing juice. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

I do not recommend that most people consume supplements containing vitamin A, high-dose (200 IU or greater) isolated vitamin E, isolated beta-carotene, folic acid, or copper, as there are risks associated with excess consumption of these nutrients. When my patients ask what multivitamin they should use, I tell them I'd prefer they take a high-quality multi that doesn't contain vitamin A or plain beta-carotene. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

Those who avoided red meat but ate white meat regularly had a more than 300 percent increase over those who ate no white meat in colon cancer incidence. Eating beans, peas, or lentils at least twice a week was associated with a 50 percent lower risk than never eating these foods. Chicken has about the same amount of cholesterol as beef, and the production of those potent cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) is even more concentrated in grilled chicken than in beef. Beans in general, not just soy, have additional anti-cancer benefits against reproductive cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

It is exceptional rare for a person to gain more muscle just from eating more food. Forcing yourself to consume more food than your body wants is not in your best interest. If you want to gain weight, lift weights to add muscle; then the exercise will increase your appetite accordingly. When you eat a healthful diet, nature has you carry only that mass you need; your muscles will enlarge only if additional stress is placed on them. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

If you are slim and exercise regularly, you can consume three to four ounces of raw nuts or seeds daily, an avocado, or little Oliver oil. Growing children, or an individual who is heaving the difficulty gaining weight, can eat a little more dietary fat, but it still should mostly be fat from the whole-some foods described above. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

You were told that if your blood pressure is below 140/90, it is normal. Unfortunately, this is not true. It is average--not normal. This number is used because it is the midpoint of adult Americans older than sixty. The risk for stokes and heart attacks starts climbing at 115/70. At a minimum, we should consider blood pressure higher than 125/80 abnormal. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

It makes good sense to peel fruits if possible, and not to eat potato skins unless you are able to purchase pesticide-free potatoes. Remove and discard the outermost leaves of lettuce and cabbage if not organically grown; other surfaces that cannot be peeled can be washed with soap and water or a commercial vegetable wash. Washing with plain water removes 25 to 50 percent of the pesticide residue. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

Tofu and frozen soybeans are good sources of omega-3 fat and calcium, but soy nuts, soy milk, and other processed soy products do not retain much of the beneficial compounds found in the natural bean. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

There is no data to suggest that blood pressure drugs prevent heart attacks in healthy people with only mildly elevated blood pressure. In the elderly, moderately high blood pressure is not a risk factor for increased mortality. Low blood pressure, on the other hand, is: blood pressure values below 140/70 are associated with excess mortality in the elderly, and this is especially noticeable when drugs push down the diastolic blood pressure too low. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

Adding mushrooms, onions, greens and blackberries to the diet lowers cancer rates. My argument and recommendations are for people not just to eat these foods, but to eat these foods in significant amounts and simultaneously. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman

Cruciferous vegetables such as kale, cabbage, collards, broccoli, cauliflower and turnips are twice powerful as other plant foods. A 20% increase in plant food intake generally corresponds to a 20% decrease in cancer rates, but a 20% increase in cruciferous vegetable intake corresponds to a 40% decrease in cancer rates. 28 servings of vegetables per week decrease prostate cancer risk by 33%, but just 3 servings of cruciferous vegetables per week decreases prostate cancer risk by 41%. One or more servings of cabbage per week reduces the occurrence of pancreatic cancer by 38%. [2011] - Joel Fuhrman