Solid Books on Improving Your Diet, Weight Loss, and a Happier Life

A friend recently asked for advice on diet and lifestyle. Here are some of my recommendations. Despite what the media tells you there is surprising consistently among scientists about the optimal and most healthful diets and lifestyle. Remember the goal is happiness, and happiness actually leads to a healthier lifestyle as well. After all, who wants to be healthy at the sake of happiness?

Ending The Food Fight

Dr. Ludwig's book is revolutionary and may be the first plan for a sustainable diet. He developed his current plan out of extensive research but actually through results. He is a lead in the Children's Hospital weight loss clinic. Though his research was born out of helping children, his plan is simple and has been show effective in adults and treating many conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. If you want to keep it simple, read this book.

One of his most interesting finds is that caloric restriction diets actually increase weight gain in the long run by raising the bodies set point, and restriction also promote depression because of hormonal changes that occur during weight loss that focus on keeping the weight on.

Does Dr. Ludwig have credibility? He's a lead at Children's hospital, and loved by Dr. Oz and Dr. Weil.

Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery

Dr. Ornish was the first to show that Heart Disease is reversible. His book is amazing. He's been endorsed by just about everyone in the health field and government it seems. This includes Dr. Oz and both political parties. It's really hard to imagine why the book is not more popular than it actually is. Can you imagine if we found a cure for cancer? Cardiovascular disease kills more people than all other diseases combined throughout the world. When this book and research was released people thought it was ridiculous, but decades have continue to support Dr. Ornish's research.

Triva: Did you know that there is not a single medication that treats cardiovascular disease that helps you live longer or happier? All of them shorten your life and make you less happy. Don't take my word, take the pharmaceutical companies. There is a reason they say "Proven to help XYZ", rather than "Proven to help you live longer or happier." If you find an exception, please let me know!

The Spectrum: A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight, and Gain Health

Dr. Ornish's updated version of the latest in research on health, cardiovascular disease, and weight loss.

8 Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power

Dr. Weil's book 8 Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power is great if you want a plan to follow. This is great if you like a more structured plan and he also has a video for people who don't like to read.

Cancer Decreasing

I am always surprised by the news, which is why I don't watch it or read it, because it's not news. People forget that news media companies and organizations are financially driven. Their goal is not to inform, but to sell advertisements, or raise donations (NPR). Part of the reason that many things make the news is because they provoke anxiety. Anxiety promotes people reading or watching the news and this sells advertisements. A friend once remarked to me that most news stations have a breaking news segment. They first decide they have breaking news, and then they decide what to fill in that slot.

One way to look at the true state of the world is to look at our goals and agenda. Overall we want to be healthy and happy. We hear so much about the fear of cancer and may fear it is overcoming us, but the reality is that survival rates due to cancer are improving, and death rates are decreasing.

According to the National Cancer Institute, deaths due to cancer have dropped 12% over the last 60 years. The biggest change is a drop of 81% in children under 4. See the Report

Survival rates for cancer have increased from 35% to 69.2% See the Report

I Love Walt Disney

I am a huge fan of Walt Disney and I often think people really don't appreciate the marvel that he was. Here are some interesting points about someone who is the biggest oscar winner, parent, visionary, and somehow who helped create the animal rights movement.

The Impact of Snow White

According to Neal Gabler, author of the leading Walt Disney biography, Snow White may be the most watched film of all time. For nearly 80 years, generations have watched Snow White all around the world. Do you know anyone who hasn't? What movie can say that?

It's hard to imagine today what an impact Snow White made when it was released. Normally when a film is amazing it gets nominated for an Oscar. Not so with Snow White. The film was so original and so amazing the Academy actually created a one time Oscar for the movie along with seven little oscars.

Clark Gable, someone proud of being a man who never cried, was apparently sobbing during the movie.

The Princess Story

I often feel bad when I hear people accusing Disney of promoting the princess agenda. This is because Walt's point of view had to do more with escaping abuse and neglect through having a kind heart and good character than being saved by a prince. Walt himself grew up in a abusive and neglectful household. The idea of escaping from that was a story that always appealed to him.

Walt in general was not a fan of princess films, but sadly it was what made the studio the most money, while his more artistic pieces, like Fantasia didn't. The success of movies like Sleeping Beauty actually lead to Walt being disenfranchised with movies and encouraged him the direction of his theme parks.

The princess battle is one the studio has continued to wrestle with, because audiences seem to crave it, but the message is not always the best. The Disney Studio has worked hard to undermine the princess theme over and over again, the most recent and creative attempt in Frozen.

The Birth of Animal Rights

It was because of Walt's background of abuse and neglect he allowed himself to escape into the fantasy world. Growing up on a farm, he gravitated towards connecting with animals. Walt's animation personified animals in a way that people had not seen before. It's so common today it's hard to imagine it otherwise. Walt showed people that animals have feelings. Bambi is often sited as an anti-hunting film.

Or consider the nature documentary that is so popular today. Those did not always exist and people would have thought they were boring. Walt however saw it differently. In 1947, Walt shot a movie about seals. It is now considered perhaps the first nature documentary. Many people laughed at him and told him the idea was boring and silly. RKO refused to even show it in theaters. Nonetheless Walt moved forward on the film against everyone's judgment. It was so entertaining that it won an Oscar and set the stage for nature documentaries as a genre.

How Many Oscars?

Katherine Hepburn was one of the most successful actresses and has won more oscars than anyone else: four. Walt Disney won 26. In 1953 alone he won 4, the most ever in a single year.

Hello Julie Andrews

Walt selected Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins. This doesn't sound too remarkable until you understand the story. Prior to Poppins, Julie Andrews was the lead in My Fair Lady on Broadway. When the film was made into a movie, Julie Andrews was one of the only cast members not to be selected to play in the Hollywood version of the movie because she was considered unattractive. Audrey Hepburn was selected instead. During the Oscars, My Fair Lady swept winning 8 oscars, except for Best Actress which went to Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins. This cemented her Andrew's role in future movies such as the Sound of Music.

Paying for Disney Land as a Passionate Father

It was Walt's love of his children that inspired Disney Land. He loved playing with his children but found traditional parks a bit boring for adults. So he dreamed up Disney Land a place to support the family being together and having fun together. It was the first of it's kind.

Paying for Disney Land was a problem, but he found a creative way. He signed a contract with ABC to produce the Wonderful World of Disney as a regular TV series. Rather than using the money to create a show, he funneled it into the making of Disney Land. The show was basically a behind the scenes of building the park and the Disney studio, and as also a tool to generating publicity for the park and movies. In essence ABC paid for the building of Disneyland and promoting Disney.

Disney World: A City Not An Amusement Park

Have you ever seen the original plans for Disney World? You should. Watch it here.

Neal Gabler

Do you want to learn more? Read more from Neal Gabler's biography Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination.