Listen to this fascinating interview of Dr. Silverstein by Faith Middleton of WNPR.

Faith Middleton Show: Maximum Healing

On Friday 7/29/11, H. Robert Silverstein appeared on WTNH Television’s show “Connecticut Style” at 12:30. He talks about the essential biological requirements of the human body, and how following them more closely will help you lead a healthier life and reduce your risk of disease. These ideas are detailed in his recently re-written book, Maximum Healing: Improve Your Immune System and Optimize Your Ability to Heal.

You can watch the video embedded below, or view it on the WTNH Connecticut Style site.

Dr. H. Robert Silverstein: wtnh.com

Yoga can be a vital part of your holistic health plan. Yoga is a complete health system that restores vitality to the body, and can help you establish a peaceful and relaxed state of mind.

There are two Yoga programs we know about in the Hartford area: West Hartford Yoga and Chanda Yogo with Tayelor Kennedy.

You can read more about the benefits of yoga on our lifestyles page.

Here is a printable version (pdf) of Diet Record

List all that you eat or drink except cooked vegetables, vegetable soups, beans, tea, or water. Try not to snack or eat after dinner but tell the truth. Write in your daily exercise . If you do this correctly, this should be blank with just the listed exercise. Here is the basic guide.

BREAKFAST: any/all fresh or frozen berries cooked soft in 1″ juice or rice milk; cooked vegetables and vegetable soup.

a.m. SNACK: cooked vegetables and vegetable soup (“no salt added” on the can or box )

LUNCH: cooked vegetables and/or vegetable bean curd soup for 2 with occasional shrimp as desired.

p.m. SNACK: cooked vegetables and/or vegetable soup

DINNER: cooked vegetables and/or vegetable soup/ 6-8 ounces of beans/day total (less than 12% sodium per serving)

EVENING SNACK: cooked vegetables and/or vegetable soup.

In the Opinionator section of the New York Times on 5/23/11 there was an article by Justin E. H. Smith titled: The Flight of Curiousity.  Here are a few paragraphs from it:

Must one be endowed with curiosity in order to become a philosopher?

Today, in the academic realm, at least, the answer is surely and regrettably “no.” When a newly minted philosopher goes on the job market, her primary task is to show her prospective colleagues how perfectly focused she has been in graduate school, and to conceal her knowledge of any topic (Shakespeare’s sonnets, classical Chinese astronomy, the history of pigeon breeding) that does not fall within the current boundaries of the discipline.

But how were these boundaries formed in the first place? Did they spring from the very essence of philosophy, a set of core attributes present at inception, forever fixed and eternal? The answer to that latter question, is also “no.” What appears to us today to be a core is only what is left over after a centuries-long process by which the virtue of curiosity — once nearly synonymous with philosophy — migrated into other disciplines, both scientific and humanistic. As this migration was occurring, many curiosity-driven activities — such as insect-collecting and star-gazing, long considered at least tributaries of philosophy — were downgraded to the status of mere hobbies. This loss of curiosity has played an important but little noticed role in the widespread perception that professional philosophy has become out of touch with the interests of the broader society.

Let me rush to qualify what no doubt sounds like a harsh assessment of the state of my own discipline. I am certainly not saying that, as individuals, philosophers will not often be “curious people,” in the very best sense of that phrase, but only that they are habituated by their discipline to make a sharp distinction between their sundry interests and what they do professionally, as philosophers. The distinction is as clear as that between Richard Feynman’s contribution to theoretical physics and his enjoyment of Tuvan throat-singing.

Here is H Robert Silverstein’s comment:

Philosophy is like my medicine, a malleable construct of sociology, objectivity, biology, knowledge, psychology, math, linguistics, literature, friendship, the law, and wisdom, etc., obtained through life’s education and experiences. It tends to originate in curious minds and is less about “how” and “why,” than the seemingly less interesting “IS” which is the the focus of Pragmatists like William James and Eric Hoffer. E.g.: how can one tell when the fox is behind the tree? The answer IS, you can’t tell when the fox is behind the tree, because it is behind the tree (and you can’t see it/know such). Philosophy is like a converging line that veers away from whatever goal is sought by other disciplines when those disciplines discover what is is likely the factual basis of a given question. Philosophy seems like one of those V-shaped snow plows through the unknown, with the piles of detritus on the side becoming differential calculus, behavioral psychology, economics, and the other disciplines as they hit the nail on the head or so appear to–I have my issues with (against) dark matter as I invoke the “ARMATURE effect” as to why galaxies do not spin their arms off. Technical discussions of philosophical approaches are mostly linguistics and logic, and seem a Tower of Babel to me being a mere periphery to the central issue of IS. Respectfully. HRS, MD

“Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine, And Thy Medicine Be Thy Food.” – Hippocrates

Food Matters is a documentary movie that came out in 2008, from first-time Producer-Directors James Colqhuoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch.

You can watch the official trailer on YouTube. A colleague of Dr Silverstein’s “found the content of this movie strikingly similar to your lectures and the principals you teach”.

”With nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what’s wrong with
our malnourished bodies, it’s no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. ‘Food Matters’ sets about uncovering the trillion dollar
worldwide “Sickness Industry” and giving people some scientifically verifiable solutions for curing disease naturally.” – James Colqhuoun.

Here are another few lines from the movie:

The solutions are here. They’ve always been here. Every single person in the world – every culture, every language – every single person in the world knows it: “You are what you eat”.   Food does matter.

The official site is foodmatters.tv.

MISO is used as bouillon and is an aged, smooth, sandy puree made with soybeans, barley, chick peas, aduki beans, and salt. Barley miso is used most often in daily cooking. If you are just starting to use miso, try Mellow Barley, Sweet White, Chick Pea, or Aduki Bean miso. My preference is chick pea miso first and aduki bean miso second. Other excellent misos are “hatcho” and “natto.” There are also white and yellow misos which are light and sweet tasting. Miso is primarily used in soups in place of bouillon, chicken, meat or bones, and can also be spread on bread or toast especially when combined with tahini.

Miso is reputed to have health promoting qualities:

• Strengthen the immune system
• Detoxify the bloodstream of pollution, radiation, and nicotine
• Contains lactic acid, probiotics, and enzymes to aid digestion

A wide variety of organic misos can be purchased at your local natural food stores. Buy the ones in the refrigerated case. Do not buy powdered or pasteurized misos, but freeze-dried is okay.

Basic sweet vegetable miso soup—makes 4 servings
1/4 cup onion, sliced in thin half moons
1/4 cup cabbage, sliced thinly
1/4 cup carrot, sliced in thin rounds
1/4 cup winter squash or brussel sprouts
1 inch piece of wakame sea vegetable
Cilantro and crushed garlic, if you wish
4 cups of water
2-4 teaspoons barley or other miso (1/2-1 teaspoon per cup)

Soak wakame sea vegetable in a pot with water for 5 minutes.
Remove wakame from pot and slice. Return wakame to pot of water, bring to a boil, reduce flame to medium and let simmer for 3-4 minutes.
When done, add sliced vegetables and simmer for another 3 minutes.
Dilute the miso in a small amount of the hot vegetable broth that you have just cooked. Add the miso only to the soup that you are going to eat now.
You can simmer that broth with the miso in it (simmer is when steam comes off the top but no bubbles come up from below) for the final 2-3 minutes or you can just put the miso in a bowl of vegetables and broth. Do not boil miso. Garnish with parsley or scallions.

Here is a printable version (pdf) of this information about MISO.

Here is another recipe for Summer and Winter Miso Soup.

I have heard it is said that cow’s milk is for baby cows. Certainly, human breast milk should be consumed by human babies and ideally up to about age of 2. There are very few women who do this, but it is the best that can be done for the child protecting him/her from overweight, allergies, etc, etc. However, when one reviews the history of the human race, there are very few cultures that have consumed cow dairy products. Although, Israel may have been referred to as the land of milk and honey, it may have been human milk and not necessarily cow or goat milk. There are several problems with cow milk.

The first is lactose and the vast majority of the world’s population is lactose intolerant. I consumed milk for many years and seemed just fine until I found out my cholesterol was 280! Milk fat is better than meat fat for raising blood cholesterol, as proven in the Seven Country study many years ago. Now that I am off dairy products, I have become lactose intolerant which probably is a normal for most people. Acquired milk tolerance is probably the beginning of multiple disease states. In addition, dairy intake correlates with cancer of the ovaries, and most alternative practitioners believe that dairy products are the cause of ear, nose, throat, lung congestion such as ear infections, bronchitis, recurrent colds and sinusitis, and asthma. I cannot tell you how many of my patients cleared up those problems simply by discontinuing (not reducing!) dairy products.

By Eastern medicine, bunions are due to dairy intake and represent a problem with the uterus. I cannot tell you how many of my women patients with menstrual cramps, fibroids, inter- or heavy menstrual bleeding, ovarian cysts, chocolate cysts, endometriosis, etc. have cleared up or relieved their problem(s) or discomfort by discontinuing all dairy. By Eastern medicine, ice cream is a major cause of cancer of the prostate. Since breast and prostate are comparable organs, cancer of the breast may very well be a milk problem. Cataracts correlate with dairy intake. When people develop irritable bowel disease, relief commonly occurs with discontinuing all wheat, dairy, and soy. Although, there is hard scientific information out there that supports the use of dairy, as well as the avoidance of dairy when you “put it all together” I believe that, in balance, it is best to avoid all dairy products 100%.

Here is a printable version (pdf) of Got Milk.

H. Robert Silverstein, M.D.
Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine
Fellow of the American College of Cardiology

MILK.1

Preventive Medicine Center’s Wellness Protecting & Disease Prevention Goal “Numbers”/Insights
(In the Walking Well & modified appropriately for health issues)

1.Non-HDL cholesterol (is ALL of the bad cholesterol): goal less than 90 (subtract the good HDL cholesterol from the total = non-HDL cholesterol)
2.Triglycerides: goal less than 100, similar in effect to high cholesterol
3.A1C diabetes test: 5.5 or less at age 55
4.Blood sugar: 90 at 90 minutes after a meal
5.Cardiac HS CRP: 1.0 or less, body inflammation test, similar in effect to high cholesterol
6.Blood Pressure: near 110/60 or so
7.Less than 12% sodium in any one serving that you eat
8.PSA: 1.0 or less, prostate test
9.TSH: 0.35-3.50, thyroid test
10.Hemoglobin: 14, measure of blood thickness
11.Lp (a): goal 15 or less, similar in effect to high cholesterol
12.Homocysteine: goal 7 or less, similar in effect to high cholesterol
13.Uric Acid: goal 5.5 or less, associated with high blood pressure, kidney stones
14.BUN: 12 or less, kidney test
15.Magnesium: 2.1+: relates to diabetes prevention
16.Potassium: 4.1- 4.5: relates to diabetes, high blood pressure prevention and kidneys
17.25 hydroxy (OH) vitamin D3: 50+, measure of vitamin D levels
18.Percent body fat: 11-22% in men, 15-27 % in women (manifested as clear lines of definition/demarcation on the abdomen = “CLOD/D.” You can see where the muscles meet the muscles)
19.Virtually no one loses weight who eats chicken, turkey, rice, sandwiches, cereal, and much fruit
20.If overweight, keep a diet diary of ALL you eat or drink except tea, cooked vegetables, and vegetable soups and up to 8 ounces of beans/day: hence, your diary should be empty
21.Eat foods (exactly) as they grow in the field:
G-V-B (grains, vegetables, beans, fruit, nuts, and seeds)
22.The Food Mantra: Fresh (fruits & vegetables), Whole & Unprocessed (grains & beans), Organic (all) and Fiber (all) at the 90+% level is the goal
23.If overweight, eat cooked vegetables and vegetable soups before any and all else ALL day long, even breakfast (not potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, plantain, yucca, jicama or calabaza)
24.In general, eat only out of a bowl
25.My healthiest patients are vegan (no eggs, fish, fowl, dairy, or meat)
26.Learn about Aerobic Interval Training, PACE exercise, & BLITZing
27.Smoking is best dealt with by a combination of support and medication including Chantix, Wellbutrin (bupropion), and the nicotine patch/inhaler/gum
28.Limit alcohol to 4 six ounce glasses of red wine (or beer or whiskey equivalent) per week or less.
29.Accept and deal with reality: wishing, wanting and hoping are like alcohol, only safe in small doses
30.If you have high blood pressure, purchase an Omron wrist blood pressure cuff; have it validated at your doctor’s office; check your blood pressure variously before, after, and in between meals
31.Many conditions are vastly improved with 100% avoidance of ALL wheat (rye), dairy, and soy.

Here is a printable version (pdf) of these Wellness Protecting Numbers.

NUMBERS

In this video, Dr. Silverstein discusses his preference for cholesterol lowering drugs, or statins. Lipitor and Zocor are the two leading statins most often prescribed for lowering cholesterol.

In addition, the video covers home testing for cancer and for high blood pressure.