Overcoming Toxic Hunger: A Major Cause of Obesity

this is why this is my favorite site, i learn something new everyday.

So the point of this is what? Are you trying to sell everyone on the idea that a veggie diet is the key to optimal health, is it a super food ramble, maybe your trying out one of those detox arguments.Please do enlighten me because for now this looks to be no more than your talking points/advertisement for your website and books.

Certainly this topic could benefit from some more comprehensive discussion. First, there is a lot of interesting data out there suggesting that fat and protein are much better at satisfying hunger than carbohydrate so whilst I do not disagree with the point that nutrient rich foods like those listed are a good way to alleviate hunger, I think high quality fats and meats would complete the picture.

There is also an interesting study recently published by a guy called Dr Zane Andrews in Nature which suggests that high carbohydrate content in the diet damages the cells that regulate appetite - so this could also be contributing to this 'toxic' hunger effect in some way.

I agree that some foodstuffs do cause a "rebound" hunger effect (usually refined sugars) but I'm not convinced that the symptoms listed in the article are inevitably indicators of TOXIC hunger. ARen't they just normal digestion taking place?

Personally, if I eat a small breakfast/lunch, I'm often hungry -- and I mean genuinely hungry -- 3-4 hours later. I definitely get rumbles in my stomach then... I also find that eating some protein helps me stay full for longer (for the same calories as just eating carbs).

"Toxic hunger" is an interesting topic, but one I'd like to see some thorough research on. I must say that I'm still a bit sceptical that feelings of hunger are caused by toxins.

Huh.
I disagree with this.

Also, I feel what he claims are symptoms of "toxic hunger" after eating his "superfoods"

Another good way to eliminate overeating is to just not to do it.

If I felt shaky, head-achy, and weak, and was getting abdominal cramps or spasms, I wouldn't eat more. I'd lie down. I've never experienced those symptoms on an empty stomach. Slight rumblings yes, but nothing more. I also eat a high nutrient diet so maybe I'm not experiencing toxic hunger. Whether it exists or not, Dr. Fuhrman does provide an excellent list of foods to incorporate into your diet. Overeating is eliminated by not overeating.

Haha, this was good for a laugh. Even when my diet consisted exclusively of McDonald's and grilled cheese sandwiches, I never experienced this "toxic hunger." I have experienced REAL hunger after fasting for ~25 hours (religious reasons), and it is NOT felt in the throat...it is felt in the stomach like you would expect.

Sorry, but these "super foods" (which I do eat frequently) do not fill me up nearly as good as protein and fats do. I could easily eat 3 pints of strawberries in one sitting and still be hungry, but a couple tablespoons of peanut butter fills me up instantly.

Funny, but I wrote about this on my blog just today before checking in here. Well, not with all the scientific stuff, but it was on my mind.

Great information. Thanks.

Two questions, answers would be greately appreciated..

>>When our diet is low in nutrients, we build up intra-cellular waste products.

What kind of waste products and is it ONLY related to level of nutrients or are there other factors? Such as the amount we eat?

>>So when digestion stops, our body goes through a period of "cleaning."

Why does the body wait for digestion to stop, to clean itself? Aren't there two different systems in the body responsible for these tasks seperately?

I've never felt hunger in my throat - are you saying that in 25 years I've never once been actually hungry??

Isn't feeling weak, irritable and headachey after a period without food related to low blood sugar? "Toxic" hunger just sounds like a gimmicky buzz word. Not to mention utter crap.

I have to say this is one of the weakest postings I have read on this blog.... disappointing... if there is any real data to back up these claims bring it on.

No matter how good or bad my diet has been I have never experienced this "toxic" hunger of which you speak... it sounds more like the few episodes of hypoglyceamia (low blood sugar) I experienced several years ago (long story, but it was related to some medication I was taking and is now all sorted)...

ALso.... the body is not a production line. The body doesn't wait until one process is finished (digestion) to start another (cleaning/detoxifying)...

I think you are right in that we often ignore real body cues such as hunger and satiety ... how many times do you have that last piece of pie because you are full & it is delicious (or is it just me lol)... but the rest of the posting is an undocumented mishmash of buzzwords.

I agree with the person who commented that this is one of the weaker postings on this blog. While I'm not debating the health benefits of eating the foods listed, I don't think that the thesis of this post is backed up. What is the biological/neurophysiological basis for his assertion? All I'm seeing is a bunch of gimmicky buzzwords.

Good points raised here. I'm hoping to get Dr Fuhrman on - to respond.

Jim, Editor, Diet-Blog.com

Did he just describe low blood sugar and call it Toxic Hunger?

Hi Methuselah,

I am really interested in the report you mentioned. I checked up Dr Zane Andrews' Nature report on PubMed and found, "UCP2 mediates ghrelin's action on NPY/AgRP neurons by lowering free radicals." Is this the report you mentioned? Thanks in advance.

Yuji from Japan.

I'm starting to hate the use of 'toxins' as a buzzword. There may be something to what Dr. Fuhrman is saying, but I'm not ready to believe that this faux hunger is the result of the body 'releasing toxins.' Our bodies are releasing toxins we take in all the time (in sweat, urine, etc.) not just at specific times.

I won't debate that people eat when they're not really hungry, but it has a lot more to do with boredom, socialization, and cultural cues than anything else.

Anyway, I Googled Toxic Hunger and the only results I found came from Joel Fuhrman, M.D himself. I'll wait until the larger medical/scientific/nutritionist community studies the idea.

Hello all.

I realize physicians are indoctrinated against accepting original thought; especially, if medical researchers do not come up with the idea and test and write about it. People also believe socially accepted norms, things thought by others and respond emotionally to protect their believed knowledge-base. They are not usually interested in the facts, especially when it comes to a new thought. My work describing the physiology, biochemistry and sensations of hunger is somewhat unique, but it holds up to rigorous investigations, is consistent with biochemical findings and clinical experience.

I am a family physician in practice for over 17 years. My life has been dedicated to comprehensively studying the nutritional research literature and I have read over 10,000 scientific studies on human nutrition. I also have been involved with and I’m presently doing research studies, as well as patient care. When researchers from USC and Cornell conducted an in-depth review of 60 consecutive patients who came into my practice, the results showed more weight loss than any other published medical study in history. Patients who returned at 2-year follow up had lost an average of 53 pounds. My methods and protocols are highly effective.

True, I coined the term “toxic hunger” to describe this phenomenon, just as I coined the word, “nutritarian” to describe the diet-style I recommend. I recommend a diet rich in micronutrients. I teach that the micronutrient content is more important than the macronutrient ratio.

By the way, it is well accepted in the scientific literature that toxins such as free radicals, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE’s), lipofusion, lipid A2E, and others build up in human tissues with diets low in micronutrients and phytochemicals, and that these substances contribute to disease. My unique contribution, that I have observed with thousands of individuals, is that the drive to over-consume calories is blunted by high micronutrient, high food antioxidant, consumption and the symptoms that people thought were hypoglycemia or even hunger, simply disappear after following my dietary recommendations after a few months.

You not only lose those aforementioned symptoms of fatigue, headaches, irritability and stomach cramping, but you get back in touch with true hunger felt in the throat, which simply makes eating more pleasurable when you experience true hunger you are directed to consume the appropriate amount of calories for your body’s biological needs. I teach the biochemistry behind these feelings and glycolysis and gluconeogenisis and the enhanced detoxification during glycolysis is not merely some new-age thought, it is established science. Thousands of people have learned about this from me. I discovered that poorly-studied phenomenon is real and it has resulted in people losing hundreds of pounds, some more than 250 pounds, without surgical interventions and are keeping it off.

Instead of an angry and frustrated response to being presented with a new idea, I encourage many of you to read and learn more about this. Then when you disagree, you at least will understand what you are disagreeing with. Also of importance are the hundreds of people who have resolved their psoriasis, lupus, arthritis, allergies, asthma, diabetes, headaches and heart disease via nutritional excellence. Proper nutrition can have tremendous therapeutic implications to treat and reverse disease. Before some of you physicians jump off your chair with frustration and anger, let me remind you that my books are the most heavily referenced of all books on diet and health in the bookstores. They have thousands of references and even though I have original thoughts and viewpoints. Much of my work has already been corroborated by scientific studies and I am now involved in research projects documenting more fantastic results. I suggest, instead of dismissing this, or vehemently disagreeing, please delay your judgment until you learn more.

Regards.
-Joel Fuhrman, MD

I changed my diet to this optimal way of eating and I went through a few periods of what I think were detox, but now I feel as very well and haven't had a cold in 2 years. I used to get about 2 or 3 colds a year.
I think they could add "broccoli sprouts" to the list of foods, it's considered a superfood and there are numerous studies showing it is a cancer fighting plant.

I stumbled across a book by Dr. Fuhrman almost two years ago and gave his advice a try. I lost 35 pounds to return to a normal weight, and dropped my cholesterol readings and blood pressure from "medication nearly required" to perfectly normal. And yes, I got control over my cravings just like this article describes.

If anybody is interested, I encourage them to check out his book in their local library, read it, try the diet for 6 weeks and then make a decision. It has dramatically improved my health and life.

All the best,
Efes

Since being on Dr. Fuhrman’s nutritarian diet, I have greatly enhanced my health, stable weight, never sick, much improved blood test. The food taste great and I only eat when I experience “true hunger” it took a while to learn, it is real. You must eliminate toxic hunger before you can experience true hunger as previously described. Do yourself a favor and learn Dr. Fuhrman’s guidelines for a long healthy life! David-in-Atlanta

I currently have had real hunger only once or twice. I have had toxic type (in tummy) quite often. I can say this...When I eat an optimal nutrient dense diet for a couple of days in a row I have tremendously more energy..I can really tell on the stairs at the hospital where I find myself quite often due to my sons illness. I have felt throat hunger before and since I have read about it, I knew what it was. I think if you know what it is you will notice it more when it happens.
If I eat the foods listed above as a big part of my already vegan diet I don't have tummy hunger much at all. In fact...when I am really, really good, I feel full most of the time. Excellent article.

I have been eating vegetarian for the last year or so and have been gradually improving my diet along the way--becoming especially sensitive to nutrition density after reading a couple of Dr. Fuhrman's books. The idea of "toxic hunger" makes a lot of sense to me theoretically, though I am still have a lot to learn about it in practice. This much I know: When we remove meat, dairy, concentrated sweeteners, processed foods/refined carbohydrates from our diet, while at the same time keeping on hand a good variety of healthful fruits, vegetables, and whole grains--our tastes change radically for the better! I can hardly describe the pleasure I feel when I set down to a meal of avocado, tomatoe, radishes, and beans! Or a big bowl of brussels sprouts and spinach cooked with tomatoe, garlic, and onions. Or a simple meal of beans and rice with a hefty serving of collard greens on the side. Even a collindar full of raw veggies is devoured with gusto! No extra salt is needed and I have the pleasure of knowing that my arteries are clean, my blood-pressure's low, and that (with sufficient rest and exercise) my immune system will optimized to keep me well--well into old-age. I'm learning that I don't have to eat out of habit or compulsion, but that I am free to eat all I want whenever I am truly hungry. For the science behind this type of diet, I recommend "The China Study" first (by T. Colin Campbell) and then, to learn the expanded concept of nutritional density, read Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" and/or "Eat for Health" (preferably both). There is no need to buy these books--check them out of your local library. There is also a myriad of materials available for free on Dr. Fuhrman's web site.

Just to give a slightly different account of being on the Eat to live program:

I was on it for about six weeks. I lost almost ten pounds in the first 10 days (although it obviously wasn't all body fat.) I was hungry constantly. I didn't have enough energy to work out and as soon as I added more whole grains and fat into my diet, I gained all but 3lbs back of my total 15lb loss, but I felt much much better.

I'm vegan and a big believer in upping vegetable and fruit intake to improve energy and health, but so far I've seen no actual evidence, including from the good doctor, that 'toxic hunger' is anything but a gimmick. Instead of encouraging us to buy the book, how about giving us a few links to studies that support these claims.

Could Dr. Fuhrman provide other sources where people could read about this besides his books? I think a lot of people think 'buzzword' if the findings come from one person and feel reassured when they see several studies backing up the theory.

I only get these 'toxic hunger' symptoms when I try to eat flax seed and blueberries and generally a diet almost completely devoted to fresh vegetables. I think if you've been a carnivore most of your life your body is going to get cranky if you switch foodstuffs on it suddenly.

It is cool that he came here and wrote up a post that made a lot of people think :)

Actually, a person really shouldn't feel weak, headachey, or irritable just because they have gone a few hours without food, yet it happens to people all the time, and it used to happen to me as well. Like so many others, I always thought this was real hunger, and I was always afraid to go too long without eating, for fear of experiencing the uncomfortable symptoms, followed by the feeling of wanting to eat anything in sight that wasn't tied down! When I was on weight watchers they actually told us that if we went for more than 4 hours without eating something that we were 'setting ourselves up for failure'.

Anyway... the reality is that the body doesn't really have a genuine, biological need for food every 4 hours. Furthermore, the experience of genuine hunger is not an uncomfortable, panicked, or urgent feeling. I no longer fear hunger, because I no longer experience the uncomfortable systems that I used to associate with hunger.

The term 'toxic hunger' isn't a gimmick, rather it is just a term meant to distinguish the symptoms that most people experience as hunger from 'real hunger' which is the bodies signal that it is ready to digest food. It is true that it is felt in the throat, however, most people never get to the point of experiencing this throat hunger because they are busy eating all the time, and constantly digesting food in order to keep the toxic hunger symptoms at bay.

This way of eating isn't only about losing weight, so I don't know how people can accurately brush this information aside while claiming it's just another gimmick. I started eating this way about a year ago to support a relative who had high blood pressure and wanted to control it without medication, after having no success with the diet plan his doctor initially put him on. I was not overweight. Even so, after perhaps about two months of eating according to Dr. Fuhrman's recommendations, I felt like I had been given a new body. I sleep well at night, have plenty of energy during the day, and my mood is better. I very rarely feel ill.
Also, before starting this method of eating I used to feel just plain sick if I didn't get food every few hours. Even though I thought I was eating well (lot's of whole grain, and low/nonfat dairy), I still had this problem. I would get weak, lightheaded, and experience severe and uncomfortable stomach "growling." To avoid this I would have to plan my day around my food, making sure I had plenty of snacks and counting how much protein I was getting. Since starting this nutritarian diet, I don't have any more problems. I don't experience any of those symptoms unless I stray from the diet and have something very lacking in nutrients. Now I can go about my day without stressing about food, because I know I can eat again soon, and that's fine. I don't have to deal with feeling ill because of it.
Not being negetively effected by food is very liberating. Life is significantly less stressful when you truly feel healthy. I wish people who doubt this would read Dr. Fuhrman's books and give it a chance. It's very frustrating to hear about people who are effected by the same (or worse) things that used to bother me, and know that improving their lifestyle would help them, even though no one wants to hear it.
By the way, my relative now has good blood pressure, with no medication.

I'm not angry when knew ideas are presented ;I'm angry when people take a grain of truth and spin it into a lie. You show know evidence to prove your point; the only thing I've noticed is an almost cult like response to someone not being a true believer. You don't explain why you have made up this idea that somehow your throat is involved in the sense of hunger or why your body can't by your assumption do two processes at once.

Were is your evidence; do we need to buy something from you to find the truth and be saved from are ignorant lifestyles! The only evidence you even talk about is that many studies have been done and it's a widely accepted fact wow I'm glad you cleared that up.

There is no doubt that the body can be effected by a poor diet, and if that's all of your evidence for "Toxic Hunger" I doubt you convince me to join your little Nutritarian hive.

Realize that all you have is opinion not fact, and next time state it is such don't try to turn your opinion into fact.

P.S Just because someone looses weight on your diet doesn't make you right. Weight loss is a simple more calories expended than taken in solution.

Sounds like lots of people out there have been burned by diet hype.
I follow the ETL plan because I want to lower my cholesterol and maintain a healthy BP with out medication. I am 58 years old. Most Americans are already taking medication for chronic conditions by this age. If Dr. Fuhrman's plan can help me stay healthy as I get older, I am all for it. I'm sure the ETL plan is not for everyone.
I will soon have a cholesterol test and see what my results are.
I wish all of you the best of health. May you find the solid information you need to stop dieting and start living a truly healthy life. Best of luck.
Maggie

A number of people have suggested that 'toxic hunger' is a gimmicky buzzword invented to sell books, and frankly the assertion strikes me as very odd if you think about it. If I wanted a gimmick to sell a lot of books, I would tell people exactly what they wanted to hear, just like Atkins did. Specifically, Atkins was telling people that it was perfectly okay and healthy for them to continue eating all of the disease-promoting foods that they were already addicted to, with impunity, and without restriction. People like to hear that what they are doing is perfectly fine, and that it is okay to keep doing it. This is clearly a more popular idea than possibly insulting the populace by insinuating that we are a nation of food addicts who have lost touch with what true hunger even feels like because we confuse withdrawal symptoms with the experience of hunger.

Dr. Fuhrman has stated on numerous occasions that he did not write Eat to Live in order to sell lots of books, and has been surprised with just how well it has done. Doctors are often hesitant to even suggest lifestyle changes to their patients because they don't believe that patients will actually carry out any meaningful changes, and it is easier for them to just write a prescription. Dr. Fuhrman, on the other hand, is trying to present information on how Optimal Nutrition can be used to prevent and reverse chronic disease, and promote ideal weight and a long healthy life. He presents the best nutritional information available, based on extensive study of the literature, and not according to whether or not he thinks the general population would 'buy' his diet-style. He believes that most people will not be willing to make drastic changes, however, he also believes that everyone ought to at least have an opportunity for exposure to information about what is optimal. Whether or not they choose to make lifestyle changes is their own option, however, it is important to him to put the information out there so that people can make an informed decision.

I have to say this has been a great discussion. Here are a couple of comments/observations based on the original post and some of the responses.

I think the dietary suggestions are great, but I would prefer to see some evidence of such a proposed theory or at least a disclosure that it is a theory.

To those who support the post/book/ideas presented: Being skeptical does not necessarily stem from being burned by other diets. Those asking for evidence have been treated as though they are closed-minded. There is a fine line between skepticism and closed mindedness, but there is an equally fine line between open-mindedness and gulibility.

I haven't read Dr. Fuhrman's book but now plan to. Please note that this should not exclude people from making challenging comments about post. I think those who have come forth asking for some evidence just goes to show the formidable critical thinking skills that the readers of this blog possess.

I have no problems with going against conventional wisdom so long is there is physiological plausibility and physical possibility of such claims.

One day this theory may prove to be be valid. Then, the supporters can come back and say "I told you so". In the meantime, I think some healthy skepticism is warranted.

I read Eat to Live and have been following it about 90% for over a year. A lot of minor health problems have gone away that I thought were just a part of life-acne, menstrual cramps, severe allergies. It is nice to see one doctor out there that is more concerned with honesty than being popular.

For those in this thread who are saying they want evidence, may I suggest you could get Dr. Fuhrman's book at the library, photocopy the pages of the hundreds or thousands of references from refereed scientific journals provided at the back and spend the next couple years reading the references. The references are there for you in excrutiating detail.

Efes

"Removing toxic hunger and getting back in touch with true hunger makes eating more pleasurable and we are able to maintain our ideal weight without dieting."

"When we eat a high nutrient diet, rich in colorful vegetables and fruits, you will better meet the nutrient needs of our body-"

-quoted from original article

These two statements seem contradictory to me. Focusing on getting the right amounts of specific foods is a diet to me. Eating shouldn't be such hard work (although I do believe nutrients are important). Is there any way to reduce toxic hunger by eating these suggested foods and foods that we already like which are not on his list (in moderation)?

Also, my personal skepticism about this article was the use of terms like "most people" (sounds like the author may feel some sort of superiority over the general population and forms generalizations about it) and indicating that eating in response to toxic hunger is one of the main contributors to obesity. I believe this is an opinion and overeating is a very complex issue.

I read Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat To Live several years ago and have been practicing this lifestyle since because it offers me excellent health.

I lost 70 pounds in 6 months, resolved some health concerns and haven't looked back to the Standard American Diet (SAD) since. This diet has truly saved my sanity; when I do get hungry I am not in a hurry to eat nor do I feel I have to eat immediately or die! I am a believer in “Toxic Hunger” which to me is a very descriptive title.

I find this style of eating free of angst. I eat a nourishing meal when I am hungry and don't think about food in between and I no longer have cravings. Before Eat To Live I was a non-stop eater, always planning and looking forward to eating my next meal, always thinking about food and tortured with guilt of what I should be eating versus what I wanted to be eating. I fought cravings and I fought with myself, mentally, all of the time. I am so happy to say I am free from all of that now and I believe it is because I do not have toxic hunger.

Best of all, I have kept my weight off for almost three years and I am healthier than I have ever been in my whole life.

CJ

Hi:
Dr. David Bullock here again. I was looking over this thread and thought I might help some (I hope) by commenting briefly on a multitude of separate comments from multiple people, so here goes:
1) I think Dr. Fuhrman wrote his blurb just to be a helpful little summary of a bunch of facts and his discoveries. I'm amazed that so many people jumped on him like a "red headed step child," (as the saying goes), for not backing it up with a lot of scientific findings. If you go to WebMD.com you'll find most of their articles only have one or two references to what they're talking about in their articles, and frequently introduce topics that are seen as new information being given to a lay person audience. I've never seen such antagonistic responses to their articles which are seen by hundreds of thousands of people, and which sometimes contain scientific inaccuracies, or misinformation.
2) Asking Dr. Fuhrman to document every line of a short article done for your benefit is asking someone who's doing you a favor to do a lot more work because you don't want to do the research yourself.
3) Dr. Fuhrman stated in the article that he called this condition toxic hunger. This means that most people by definition are not familiar with the term, so therefore he explained it. Since he coined the term, there cannot be any "research" on it as of yet, as most doctors and scientists have not only not heard the term, they are still also living under the misapprehension that these toxic symptoms are real hunger. As more of them hear about it, and realize it makes sense, there will eventually be research on this topic.
4) It occurs to me that if Albert Einstein came up with the theory of E = mc2 (squared) and wrote it in a short article on this blog that some of the people here would be saying he was just a big bag of hot air, and where is his proof? He would have to try to patiently explain that it is very complicated mathematics and that he worked on it for 10 years to come up with the formula, and that he couldn't possibly explain it in full in a few paragraphs, that you guys would have to go out to the mathematical journals and read his articles, and read the articles challenging him, and read the math proofs that showed he was right. I would hope you wouldn't bad mouth him because he didn't try to show the proofs here in a few paragraphs.
5) Another way of looking at this is: Dr. Fuhrman is like the guy who comes back from a long trek down the Amazon river basin, and shows you a new vegetable or nut he has discovered. Do you ask him more about it, and join in to explore the attributes of it, or do you attack him and say he's made it up, that there's no proof in the literature that such a vegetable or nut exists, so he must have faked the new look of it in order to sell more books about his trip down the Amazon?
6) As to Methuselah, who will never live nearly that long unless he changes his apparent dietary habits (inferred by his comment): The high quality fats you are looking for are to be found in Walnuts and avocado, which both have far more phytonutrients in them than meats, and the high quality protein you want and need is found in the Kale, spinach and other greens he mentioned. You are probably not aware that most leafy greens are fully 50% protein ! ! I am not saying that to offend you, as I was unaware of it also until I learned it from Dr. Fuhrman! And this was after medical school and being trained by nutritionists.
BTW, the reason plant proteins are high quality is that in addition to being high in protein, and phytonutrients, they also come with built in chemical bases that help neutralize the acids that are released as proteins are broken down. Since meat protein has no basic buffers, when it is broken down, your body gets a big rush of amino acids (which are called acids because they are), and your body to protect itself from this flood of acid, pulls phosphate out of your bones to neutralize the acid (look it up - phosphate is a base - the opposite of an acid). Unfortunately, when your body pulls out the phosphate, it must also pull out calcium, and thus high protein diets cause osteoporosis unless they are buffered. So, as your mother said, "Eat your veggies!" because their bases will keep you from dissolving your bones.
7) About the aspect of getting "hungry" every few hours that most people on this blog seem to be saying they do, and that because it seems natural to them, it must be natural. I used to think the same way. Then after eating the Eat to Live lifestyle for several months, my wife and I both had a very busy day wherein we found ourselves at the end of the day, having gone without food for 11 hours since our last meal. We were both surprised and amazed to find that we were not actually hungry, and that we did not feel weak, nor shaky, nor hypoglycemic etc. We did then eat dinner, but since have noticed this repeatedly (not going 11 hours necessarily, but for much longer than 3 or 4 hours)
I have also noted that even when eating healthily, there have been times when I got too little sleep the night before, and I'd drink a coca-cola for the caffeine to wake me up. I then most pointedly noticed about 3 hours later, I'd not only feel sleepy again as the caffeine wore off, but I'd also have my stomach growl, and feel "hungry," in the way I used to.
8) One person made the remark that anecdotal stories do not constitute evidence. This is "sort of" true. However, where do you think people get the ideas from to go do the next study? After a lot of individual stories come to the attention of a researcher he gets the idea that maybe that theory is worth testing or running a research study on.
9) carbs Someone mentioned that carbs may be related to the toxic hunger idea. Please keep in mind that 99% of studies done in this country done on "carbs" are done only on people eating the lousy toxic carbs in the crappy American diet. In other words, white or wheat bread, pasta, donuts, pizza (crusts), rolls etc. all of which break down very rapidly into very simple sugars in the gut, shoot up our blood sugar levels, cause a big surge of insulin to bring the levels down, then cause a "crash" in blood sugar levels making us feel like crap. Dr. Fuhrman's lifestyle changes relate to eating the more complex carbohydrates that take many hours to digest, release sugars more smoothly over a longer period of time, and contain tens of thousands of additional nutrients that are not found AT ALL in meats and fish and eggs and milk products.
10) Dr. Parker, I'm sorry you seem to have jumped to the conclusion that "toxic hunger" is some sort of marketing ploy. As my wife stated earlier, if he were trying to cynically increase sales, then he would come up with something that would appeal to people, not turn them off. I've met Dr. Fuhrman, and I don't think I know anyone who seems to be more genuinely interested in helping people, and wanting to get his message out to save lives, not to get rich.
And as I said above, you're right, there is very likely no research yet on this topic, as it is something he has either discovered or rediscovered himself, and has given a label to so we can talk about it. Meanwhile he has much bigger "fish to fry" than toxic hunger, with trying to get the word out that most of the major food producers are giving us so much unhealthy junk to eat that that is why so many Americans are dying of heart attacks, and cancer, and why the percentages of Americans who are diabetic is rising at such an astounding rate!
11) Natalie: I would highly recommend you quit eating peanut butter, and switch to eating Almond butter, or Cashew butter. Either of them is much healthier for you (more good nutrients in them), and they won't have hydrogenated oils in them which are worse than saturated fats for your arteries.
12) to "nodietneeded" your second question I answered before when talking about the liver and its functions, your first question - about what intracellular wastes build up: Probably the easiest answer is a group of substances called AGE's of Advanced Glycation Endproducts. These toxins form when we have high levels of glucose in the blood stream and they are getting altered chemically so as to become more "sticky," similarly to how LDL cholesterol becomes sticky and attaches to artery walls causing arteriosclerosis and leading to heart attacks. The AGE's "stick" to various molecules in the cell and generally gum up the works. Some of them attach to red blood cells and stay stuck to their walls, which leads to us being able to the the HbA1c blood test which is done on diabetics and which shows what their average blood sugar has been over the last 3 months. Bottom line: you don't want them!
13) One person slams the book "The China Study" by saying Dr. Campbell is a "vegan activist," much like some people label others as liberals or right wingers, to make him sound bad. Actually the truth is 180 degrees the opposite of what was said in the post. The post alleged Dr. Campbell due to his agenda as a vegan tried to manipulate the facts in that direction. If you read more about him, he came from a beef raising family, and wanted to spread eating beef for dinner all over the world. What happened was the science was so strong it convinced him against his will to admit that beef was killing people (heart attacks, cancer etc.) rather than giving them better lives. So he became converted to the vegan lifestyle reluctantly by being dragged there by the facts, and he has NOT therefore attempted to manipulate any data.
14) to Briana: You might want to try going back on Dr. Fuhrman’s “diet,” but this time, eat more nuts and seeds so you get the fat you need, and make sure if you’re eating grains that they are not the junk my wife and I used to eat. We used to get convenience foods made by Dr. McDougall, and after reading Eat to Live, and then checking the labels, we discovered that they were all VERY high in sodium. We threw away between $100 and $200 in prepackaged foods rather than continue to keep our BP’s up, and cause osteoporosis (or at least contribute to it) also. If you regained weight rapidly, it was probably water weight which you had lost due to having been on a low sodium diet and not retaining excess water. Also, one more thing, maybe you didn’t eat enough beans. Sorry, just speculating, but I can’t imagine how you could have been hungry all the time as you said. I remember the first time we went to a fully Dr. Fuhrman diet. Claudia brought me a HUGE salad which filled a large dinner plate. It had Romaine lettuce, carrot slices, walnuts etc with delicious raspberry dressing on it. I ate it up, was pretty full (being the biggest salad I’d ever eaten), and kicked back to play with the remote control and see what was on TV.
Next thing I knew, Claudia was holding another dinner plate under my nose saying: “here.” I said what’s this? She said it’s dinner. I said I thought I’d just finished dinner. She said: “No silly, that was just the salad!” So I ate another large plate of food which this time I believe had brown rice, broccoli, beans and several more things on it. After that I was definitely not able to say I was hungry!!
15) Atkins was brought up a couple of times. My wife & I have know about 6 people on the Atkins diet. 3 of them have had to have their gallbladders removed due to reactions to the high fat diet, and one has had a TIA from it.
Incidentally, Atkins' widow asked people to lay off of criticizing him since he's dead, but that "truce" could only hold true if she'd stop trying to make millions off his lies, and off the death he has promoted on the American people.
16) Merry: Please go to the library, look in the back of Dr. Fuhrman’s book, and you’ll find hundreds (more really) of references. Most of them are from exactly what everyone here seems to be asking for: peer reviewed journals. To read them and understand them you’ll likely need to have a very strong scientific background, and you’ll likely need to go to a nearby medical school to be able to read them. The reason for this is that each different journal costs from $100 to $295 per year for a subscription, so you can rapidly go broke trying to get copies yourself.
I personally reviewed several of the references he used, in the topics that at the time sounded most dubious to me. I already subscribed to the New England Journal of Medicine, so I could readily check those out, but I saw a lot were from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. I went out of my way (and out of my money) to subscribe to that journal to check out what he was saying. I found that not only was he accurately describing what the article’s findings were, but that in fact, in some cases his summary in his book was MORE accurate than the authors of the study had summarized it in their abstract ! ! !
16) Merry: Please go to the library, look in the back of Dr. Fuhrman’s book, and you’ll find hundreds (more really) of references. Most of them are from exactly what everyone here seems to be asking for: peer reviewed journals. To read them and understand them you’ll likely need to have a very strong scientific background, and you’ll likely need to go to a nearby medical school to be able to read them. The reason for this is that each different journal costs from $100 to $295 per year for a subscription, so you can rapidly go broke trying to get copies yourself.
I personally reviewed several of the references he used, in the topics that at the time sounded most dubious to me. I already subscribed to the New England Journal of Medicine, so I could readily check those out, but I saw a lot were from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. I went out of my way (and out of my money) to subscribe to that journal to check out what he was saying. I found that not only was he accurately describing what the article’s findings were, but that in fact, in some cases his summary in his book was MORE accurate than the authors of the study had summarized it in their abstract ! ! !
17) to Mike H: I don’t think I’ll be back to this blog in several years when the research is in, so I’ll just have to say it now, in regards to Dr. Fuhrman’s being correct about toxic hunger: I told you so!
18) to Briana: Why do you keep coming back to this “prove it to me,” attitude? Toxic hunger is Dr. Fuhrman’s way of describing our misunderstanding of how our bodies work. There is no research on this, as very few people have heard of it as of yet. You are among the first several thousand or tens of thousands to hear of this (among hundreds of millions in this country alone who haven’t heard of it). When could anyone have had time to do “research” on a new term which was proposed by Dr. Fuhrman?
I think I can answer another part of your question. Why would hunger be felt in the throat? Because the Vagus nerve (which innervates most of the top half of the digestive system) travels deep down the sides of the neck next to the esophagus, and behind the throat, and because the Ninth Cranial nerve, which innervates the tastebuds (in the back 1/3rd of the tongue) is in the tongue; and the tongue extends WAY farther back and down the throat than most lay persons are aware of. Believe me, I was shocked in medical school to see that about two thirds of the tongue is behind and below what we normally think of as the end of the tongue!
The Ninth Cranial nerve also carries some sensation from the back of the throat, the pharynx, and the soft palate, all of these being located in the general area called the “throat.” Also, Cranial Nerve Seven which gives us taste sensations on the front two thirds of our tongues, exits (to the brain) back through the back of the throat along with the lingual nerves (tongue nerves).
19) Just to prove the point, at this moment of writing (I’m up WAY too late) it’s been about 9 and a half hours since I ate, and I feel the first twinges of hunger. I feel the sensation of a tendency to produce a little more saliva than normal, and I realize that if I were to eat now, food would taste better as my body is starting to “lean towards” considering the need for food. However, I am not feeling weak (although I am tired from being up too late), nor am I feeling “hypoglycemic,” nor irritable nor dizzy nor lightheaded etc. any and all of which I could or would have felt when eating as I used to, or when I was drinking cokes etc.
20) One last remark, then bed at last! Hypoglycemia is not usually REAL hypoglycemia. Most of the American public eats a rotten diet way high in sugars or simple carbohydrates, and frequently walks around with what some might describe as a borderline diabetic sugar level. Many of these people are so used to having blood sugars that are in the 120’s to 150’s that when their sugar level drops to a normal of 70, they feel weak and shaky, Why? Not because they are truly short of sugar supplies, but because they are RELATIVELY short of sugar. Their bodies are acclimated to a certain level, and thus (having in effect, reset their sugar thermostat) react as if they are short on sugar when they are merely relatively short on sugar compared to the levels they are used to .

Best Wishes for good health and Eat To Live for Optimal Health
David Bullock, D.O.