Selected Podcast
The Importance of a Healthy Diet
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In this episode, Reza Hakkak, Ph.D. talks about nutrition, obesity, gut bacteria, and how a poor diet can lead to heart disease, liver damage, and cancer.
Featured Speaker:
Learn more about Reza Hakkak, PhD
Reza Hakkak, PhD
Reza Hakkak, PhD, a professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition and associate dean for research College of Health Professions and Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine has contributed greatly to research on effects of diets on diseases prevention and obesity and breast cancer and is known nationally and internationally for his discoveries and his expertise in these areas.Learn more about Reza Hakkak, PhD
Transcription:
The Importance of a Healthy Diet
Prakash Chandran (Host): Did you know that gut bacteria and our diet can be directly related to our risk for cancer and other deadly diseases? Knowing about how nutrition and lifestyle choices can improve your gut health is very important. Here to tell us how every bite we take determines our future health, is Dr. Reza Hakkak, a Professor and Chair of the UAMS Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
This is UAMS Health Talk, the podcast from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. My name is Prakash Chandran. So, first of all, Dr. Hakkak, it's great to have you here today. You know, we know that there's a link between our diet and disease, but we don't necessarily know the specifics. So, can you talk a little bit about some of the most common things that you see?
Reza Hakkak, PhD (Guest): Well, the most common one that we have on a healthy diet for past 34 years, and I just want to start with the article, it was in the New York Times. I think it was a year or two ago and the title was Our Food is Killing Too Many of Us. And for example, we know we have more than a hundred million adults, which is half of the population, either they are pre-diabetic or diabetics, or they have a diabetes. Cardiovascular disease affects almost 120 million with almost 810,000 deaths per year.
And this is almost 2300 deaths by the way, daily and also three fourths of our population are either overweight or obese. Beside of all of these, the cost of the cardiovascular disease, almost $350 billion a year, diabetes is around another $320 billion and cancer more than 1200 billion dollars. And obesity is $1.7 trillion per year. So, you can see that there is a link between diet, what we put in our mouth and the disease promotion. As a result of that, we are killing ourselves. Also we are killing our economy too.
Host: That is incredible. I had no idea how big and expensive of a problem it is. So, let's talk about that link a little bit more and maybe talk about it in relation to some of the research that you've done concerning gut bacteria.
Dr. Hakkak: Well, gut bacteria, we have almost a hundred times more gut bacteria than the cells in our bodies. So, that's if you imagine that we have almost a hundred trillion gut bacteria in our body, and which is 10 times more than number of the cells that we have. So, and they play a major role. And I do believe that they are ordering our diseases and also that so many placement of these gut bacteria. But our diet, either it can help us to stay healthy or hurt us and kill us actually. So, some of these example, for example, that we know some of these bacteria, there are very, a small amount in the small intestine, but major ones, they or in the colon or large intestine, which is manipulated by the diet hundred percent. Such as the vegetable and the beans and everything else that we are eating in our diet. So, there is correlation between the healthy bacteria and our health. And when we are eating unhealthy food, the number of the healthy bacteria goes down and unhealthy goes up.
That's how we are progressing the diseases. So, there should be a balance between healthy and unhealthy. And that's how the body functions and definitely with diet, we can manipulate that. For example one of the main things is that the aging, for example, it can change these bacteria population because we are eating differently and also we are less probably active and so, the diet and also prebiotics, probiotics and antibiotics. All of these things, they can affect the diversity of these bacteria.
Host: I see. This is really interesting because I think most people believe that bacteria is bad, but as you've alluded to, there is good bacteria and bad bacteria, and that is regulated by the types of food that you put in your body. And the activity that you do is that correct?
Dr. Hakkak: Yeah, correct. You can control your health by really eating the right food and healthy food. Therefore you can control the population of these healthy bacteria in your body. And so I think that's what is missing is that we have not paid attention to this correlation of the gut bacteria and disease promotion.
Host: So let's talk about the foods that we should be consuming more of to promote the healthy bacteria.
Dr. Hakkak: Okay. So, I mean, the vegetable, for example, that there are really a big one because the vegetables that they have a higher level of the micronutrients such as the vitamins and minerals. And besides some of these vegetables, they have more fibers. And the more fiber you have in your diet, the better off you can be on prevention of the diseases.
So, I think that's one thing. The other side of it, if you have a high fat, high sugar diet or eating too much, or even you have a really unactive life style, or antibiotic abuse. That most of the harmful bacteria goes up and the amount of the helpful bacteria goes down. So, the other side of the coin is if you have really a healthy diet. And like having your probiotics or prebiotics and you have a really good, healthy diet. It can be reversed. You'll have more beneficial bacteria than harmful bacteria.
Host: So, I want to dig into the vegetables a little bit more. You mentioned that eating vegetables would promote this good bacteria. Can you talk specifically about the types of vegetables? Are we talking about kale, lettuce? What should we be eating?
Dr. Hakkak: Well, there is all kinds that will that for example, the course first vegetable, like broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts and there is a huge amount of literature about the effect of the vegetable on health. And I have not seen any literature that that is proving otherwise. So, that's something that we have to pay attention, but mostly lack of fiber in our diet. I do think that we are supposed to have between 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. And I don't think that we have it. And as a result of that, you know what the fiber is very important in the prevention of the gut diseases, more specifically, colon cancer.
So, when do you have less fiber in your diet that it means that you have probably a high-fat diet. And the high-fat diet, the toxin, it can stay in your colon much longer than what's supposed to be. And as a result down the long period of time, it can be really developing the toxin and causing the damage like colon cancer.
Host: Just on fat a little bit. Aren't there such things called healthy fat as well. And can you break down the difference between good fat and bad fat?
Dr. Hakkak: Yeah. I mean, there's high saturated fat, which is really in the meat. A lot of meat, like fatty meat, such as cheeseburger, for example, not the burger itself, but when you are adding cheese to it, that it can be fatty food. Usually the animal fat mostly they are saturated fat.
But we have an unsaturated fat, which is olive oil, for example, is that really the best source of the fat. All of the fat, by the way, they have nine calories per gram. So, all of them are fats, but there is a healthy versus unhealthy what the it is that we are eating a lot more saturated fat and not enough unsaturated fats. So, we do recommend, for example, the olive oil to be replacing any other oil that you are using daily in your diet.
Host: Okay. So, I want to go into foods that we should avoid completely. You know, you kind of alluded to the fact that some foods are high in saturated fat. Those are some of the things you might want to avoid. Maybe be specific about some of the things that people eat today that they should not be eating.
Dr. Hakkak: Well, I'm a firm believer of the moderation in everything is good. The data is showing that eating a lot of fried food daily, almost that it is as a part of the Southern probably culture diet. It is not really good for your health and on top of that, we are eating a lot of fried food barbecues.
And so when you are eating a lot of fried food, you are not eating the vegetable. And it's really funny sometimes when you are talking about the vegetable with this audience they said, yes, we are eating the vegetables, but they are frying the vegetable. I rather not for you to eat vegetable at all. Because when you are frying the vegetable, all of those nutrients that we are talking about, they're helpful they are going to be hurtful, they are not going to be good for you. So, we do recommend that having the fresh vegetable and fruit to be included in your diet. One question arise all the time they are saying that a fresh vegetable is, especially when they are out of season, they are expensive. Well, I don't think so for two reasons, for you can get the bag of the frozen vegetable for a dollar or two, you don't need to have it fresh all the time. It has almost 80, 90% of the nutrient as the fresh.
And the other thing is we are not talking about fried meat all the time or the food. You can bake it, you can boil it, you can enjoy it different way. So, I think that's one of the main thing is, and I think that the other side of it is being in medical school for almost 30 years, you have to imagine the cost of going and visit one doctor. How much is going to be probably a hundred dollars at least a month. So, if you cannot really spend $5 on your diet daily, and make it healthy then y'all are going to be in longer term, you're going to pay huge amount of the doctor bills. And I think that's the problem.
Host: I'd love to learn actually a little bit more about what you personally eat. For example, what is your favorite food that promotes healthy gut bacteria?
Dr. Hakkak: Well, all of the vegetables is. And I think one thing I really big fan of it it's garlic and garlic has a lot of antioxidant activity, which is fighting and boosting the fighting diseases and also boosting the immune system. And especially during the cold, the weather that you can add it to your diet, boosts your immune system.
Okay. And the funny thing it's garlic, it has more fans probably I do believe during this difficult time COVID which when you are eating garlic, you're bringing a really natural social distancing, so you don't need probably to have a mask on at that time. This was just a fun part of it.
Host: So you, you brought up COVID, I'm curious as to, if you think the pandemic has improved the way Americans eat, or do you feel like it's made it worse?
Dr. Hakkak: I think data is still out there, but I do believe probably that during the pandemic, the people, they stay at home and they eat probably healthier or cook healthier. The biggest problem we have is we forgot how to cook. So, we go to the restaurants or fast food and everything. We get something quick. And I think if we learn back the basic of how to cook, probably healthier than we can recover from all of these diseases. One thing I have to mention that there are some reports, the effect of the obesity and dying from COVID a lot faster. There is there was a report a couple of weeks ago, that's showing that obese patient, the COVID patient, they died 10 times faster than a lean COVID patient. So, you clearly, you can see that obesity, which is caused by too much calories in your diet is really increasing the inflammation in your body, which your body cannot fight COVID a lot better.
Host: I see. So, just before we wrap up here today, is there any final tips that you want to leave our audience with, regarding their gut health or gut bacteria and the foods that they eat?
Dr. Hakkak: I think we have an opportunity to beat all of the diet related diseases by really paying attention to our diet and getting a little bit more information about a healthy diet and improving the gut bacteria is been really a huge research right now in all kinds of diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers for it specifically. There are some data that are suggesting that the cancer patient, they have unbalanced gut bacteria. So, there are some drugs, probably they are helping to make it more balanced and more healthier, so, the cancer patients, they have better outcome than before. So, there is a lot of opportunity for us to beat these diseases at very cheap way, which is, healthy diet. And I think we can survive all kinds of diseases if we pay attention to our diet.
Host: Okay. Well, Dr. Hakkak, that is a perfect place to end. Thank you so much for your time today and all of the information.
Dr. Hakkak: Anytime, just let me know.
Host: That's Dr. Reza Hakkak, a Professor and Chair of the UAMS Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. For more information on this topic and to access the resources mentioned, please visit uamshealth.com. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. This has been another episode of UAMS Health Talk. My name is Prakash and we'll talk next time.
The Importance of a Healthy Diet
Prakash Chandran (Host): Did you know that gut bacteria and our diet can be directly related to our risk for cancer and other deadly diseases? Knowing about how nutrition and lifestyle choices can improve your gut health is very important. Here to tell us how every bite we take determines our future health, is Dr. Reza Hakkak, a Professor and Chair of the UAMS Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
This is UAMS Health Talk, the podcast from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. My name is Prakash Chandran. So, first of all, Dr. Hakkak, it's great to have you here today. You know, we know that there's a link between our diet and disease, but we don't necessarily know the specifics. So, can you talk a little bit about some of the most common things that you see?
Reza Hakkak, PhD (Guest): Well, the most common one that we have on a healthy diet for past 34 years, and I just want to start with the article, it was in the New York Times. I think it was a year or two ago and the title was Our Food is Killing Too Many of Us. And for example, we know we have more than a hundred million adults, which is half of the population, either they are pre-diabetic or diabetics, or they have a diabetes. Cardiovascular disease affects almost 120 million with almost 810,000 deaths per year.
And this is almost 2300 deaths by the way, daily and also three fourths of our population are either overweight or obese. Beside of all of these, the cost of the cardiovascular disease, almost $350 billion a year, diabetes is around another $320 billion and cancer more than 1200 billion dollars. And obesity is $1.7 trillion per year. So, you can see that there is a link between diet, what we put in our mouth and the disease promotion. As a result of that, we are killing ourselves. Also we are killing our economy too.
Host: That is incredible. I had no idea how big and expensive of a problem it is. So, let's talk about that link a little bit more and maybe talk about it in relation to some of the research that you've done concerning gut bacteria.
Dr. Hakkak: Well, gut bacteria, we have almost a hundred times more gut bacteria than the cells in our bodies. So, that's if you imagine that we have almost a hundred trillion gut bacteria in our body, and which is 10 times more than number of the cells that we have. So, and they play a major role. And I do believe that they are ordering our diseases and also that so many placement of these gut bacteria. But our diet, either it can help us to stay healthy or hurt us and kill us actually. So, some of these example, for example, that we know some of these bacteria, there are very, a small amount in the small intestine, but major ones, they or in the colon or large intestine, which is manipulated by the diet hundred percent. Such as the vegetable and the beans and everything else that we are eating in our diet. So, there is correlation between the healthy bacteria and our health. And when we are eating unhealthy food, the number of the healthy bacteria goes down and unhealthy goes up.
That's how we are progressing the diseases. So, there should be a balance between healthy and unhealthy. And that's how the body functions and definitely with diet, we can manipulate that. For example one of the main things is that the aging, for example, it can change these bacteria population because we are eating differently and also we are less probably active and so, the diet and also prebiotics, probiotics and antibiotics. All of these things, they can affect the diversity of these bacteria.
Host: I see. This is really interesting because I think most people believe that bacteria is bad, but as you've alluded to, there is good bacteria and bad bacteria, and that is regulated by the types of food that you put in your body. And the activity that you do is that correct?
Dr. Hakkak: Yeah, correct. You can control your health by really eating the right food and healthy food. Therefore you can control the population of these healthy bacteria in your body. And so I think that's what is missing is that we have not paid attention to this correlation of the gut bacteria and disease promotion.
Host: So let's talk about the foods that we should be consuming more of to promote the healthy bacteria.
Dr. Hakkak: Okay. So, I mean, the vegetable, for example, that there are really a big one because the vegetables that they have a higher level of the micronutrients such as the vitamins and minerals. And besides some of these vegetables, they have more fibers. And the more fiber you have in your diet, the better off you can be on prevention of the diseases.
So, I think that's one thing. The other side of it, if you have a high fat, high sugar diet or eating too much, or even you have a really unactive life style, or antibiotic abuse. That most of the harmful bacteria goes up and the amount of the helpful bacteria goes down. So, the other side of the coin is if you have really a healthy diet. And like having your probiotics or prebiotics and you have a really good, healthy diet. It can be reversed. You'll have more beneficial bacteria than harmful bacteria.
Host: So, I want to dig into the vegetables a little bit more. You mentioned that eating vegetables would promote this good bacteria. Can you talk specifically about the types of vegetables? Are we talking about kale, lettuce? What should we be eating?
Dr. Hakkak: Well, there is all kinds that will that for example, the course first vegetable, like broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts and there is a huge amount of literature about the effect of the vegetable on health. And I have not seen any literature that that is proving otherwise. So, that's something that we have to pay attention, but mostly lack of fiber in our diet. I do think that we are supposed to have between 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. And I don't think that we have it. And as a result of that, you know what the fiber is very important in the prevention of the gut diseases, more specifically, colon cancer.
So, when do you have less fiber in your diet that it means that you have probably a high-fat diet. And the high-fat diet, the toxin, it can stay in your colon much longer than what's supposed to be. And as a result down the long period of time, it can be really developing the toxin and causing the damage like colon cancer.
Host: Just on fat a little bit. Aren't there such things called healthy fat as well. And can you break down the difference between good fat and bad fat?
Dr. Hakkak: Yeah. I mean, there's high saturated fat, which is really in the meat. A lot of meat, like fatty meat, such as cheeseburger, for example, not the burger itself, but when you are adding cheese to it, that it can be fatty food. Usually the animal fat mostly they are saturated fat.
But we have an unsaturated fat, which is olive oil, for example, is that really the best source of the fat. All of the fat, by the way, they have nine calories per gram. So, all of them are fats, but there is a healthy versus unhealthy what the it is that we are eating a lot more saturated fat and not enough unsaturated fats. So, we do recommend, for example, the olive oil to be replacing any other oil that you are using daily in your diet.
Host: Okay. So, I want to go into foods that we should avoid completely. You know, you kind of alluded to the fact that some foods are high in saturated fat. Those are some of the things you might want to avoid. Maybe be specific about some of the things that people eat today that they should not be eating.
Dr. Hakkak: Well, I'm a firm believer of the moderation in everything is good. The data is showing that eating a lot of fried food daily, almost that it is as a part of the Southern probably culture diet. It is not really good for your health and on top of that, we are eating a lot of fried food barbecues.
And so when you are eating a lot of fried food, you are not eating the vegetable. And it's really funny sometimes when you are talking about the vegetable with this audience they said, yes, we are eating the vegetables, but they are frying the vegetable. I rather not for you to eat vegetable at all. Because when you are frying the vegetable, all of those nutrients that we are talking about, they're helpful they are going to be hurtful, they are not going to be good for you. So, we do recommend that having the fresh vegetable and fruit to be included in your diet. One question arise all the time they are saying that a fresh vegetable is, especially when they are out of season, they are expensive. Well, I don't think so for two reasons, for you can get the bag of the frozen vegetable for a dollar or two, you don't need to have it fresh all the time. It has almost 80, 90% of the nutrient as the fresh.
And the other thing is we are not talking about fried meat all the time or the food. You can bake it, you can boil it, you can enjoy it different way. So, I think that's one of the main thing is, and I think that the other side of it is being in medical school for almost 30 years, you have to imagine the cost of going and visit one doctor. How much is going to be probably a hundred dollars at least a month. So, if you cannot really spend $5 on your diet daily, and make it healthy then y'all are going to be in longer term, you're going to pay huge amount of the doctor bills. And I think that's the problem.
Host: I'd love to learn actually a little bit more about what you personally eat. For example, what is your favorite food that promotes healthy gut bacteria?
Dr. Hakkak: Well, all of the vegetables is. And I think one thing I really big fan of it it's garlic and garlic has a lot of antioxidant activity, which is fighting and boosting the fighting diseases and also boosting the immune system. And especially during the cold, the weather that you can add it to your diet, boosts your immune system.
Okay. And the funny thing it's garlic, it has more fans probably I do believe during this difficult time COVID which when you are eating garlic, you're bringing a really natural social distancing, so you don't need probably to have a mask on at that time. This was just a fun part of it.
Host: So you, you brought up COVID, I'm curious as to, if you think the pandemic has improved the way Americans eat, or do you feel like it's made it worse?
Dr. Hakkak: I think data is still out there, but I do believe probably that during the pandemic, the people, they stay at home and they eat probably healthier or cook healthier. The biggest problem we have is we forgot how to cook. So, we go to the restaurants or fast food and everything. We get something quick. And I think if we learn back the basic of how to cook, probably healthier than we can recover from all of these diseases. One thing I have to mention that there are some reports, the effect of the obesity and dying from COVID a lot faster. There is there was a report a couple of weeks ago, that's showing that obese patient, the COVID patient, they died 10 times faster than a lean COVID patient. So, you clearly, you can see that obesity, which is caused by too much calories in your diet is really increasing the inflammation in your body, which your body cannot fight COVID a lot better.
Host: I see. So, just before we wrap up here today, is there any final tips that you want to leave our audience with, regarding their gut health or gut bacteria and the foods that they eat?
Dr. Hakkak: I think we have an opportunity to beat all of the diet related diseases by really paying attention to our diet and getting a little bit more information about a healthy diet and improving the gut bacteria is been really a huge research right now in all kinds of diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancers for it specifically. There are some data that are suggesting that the cancer patient, they have unbalanced gut bacteria. So, there are some drugs, probably they are helping to make it more balanced and more healthier, so, the cancer patients, they have better outcome than before. So, there is a lot of opportunity for us to beat these diseases at very cheap way, which is, healthy diet. And I think we can survive all kinds of diseases if we pay attention to our diet.
Host: Okay. Well, Dr. Hakkak, that is a perfect place to end. Thank you so much for your time today and all of the information.
Dr. Hakkak: Anytime, just let me know.
Host: That's Dr. Reza Hakkak, a Professor and Chair of the UAMS Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. For more information on this topic and to access the resources mentioned, please visit uamshealth.com. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the entire podcast library for topics of interest to you. This has been another episode of UAMS Health Talk. My name is Prakash and we'll talk next time.