Entrepreneur, author, founder, and physician Dr. Josh Axe identifies a few of the health trends that are most dangerous for business people, talks about managing your stress the healthy way and some of the cultural and religious differences in health, and addresses one of the most pressing questions of our times… IS Caesar salad the enemy?

Doctor Josh Axe. He is on a mission to transform the

health of millions all across America. And in 2008 he founded

Exodus Health Center, and it very quickly grew to be one of

the largest wellness clinics in the United States. And now he's

a syndicated radio host. He has one of the top natural health

websites in the world. It's DrAxe.com, all this his work

kind of combines the power of advanced nutrition with recipes

super foods and cleansing to sort of help reach people or

help people reach their optimum level of health. So Dr. Josh

Axe, welcome to the show. Thanks for being here.

Dr. Josh Axe: Excited to be here.

What do you think are some of the the most dangerous trends

that you're seeing in health, particularly as business people,

that we might have to be aware of?

Dr. Josh Axe: Sure, well, you know, there are a lot of a lot

of both good trends and bad trends out there. I would say

when it comes to sort of bad trends, you know, a lot of these

things have happened for a long period of time, and that's just

sort of sitting at your desk all day long. And the other thing

would be, obviously, just poor diet choices. And I would say

one that one of the things that would goes along with that is a

lot of these energy shots today. You know, I think a lot of times

we think, okay, I want that quick fix. I want that little

boost of energy. And so even things like five hour energy

today, and there's things much, much worse than that. But you

know, whether you're stopping in a gas station or a convenience

store just going to your regular restaurant, they have these

little things everywhere. And you know, doing these large

amounts of especially, I know coffee too, over the past 20

years, has become the meeting place for so many business you

know, small business meetings and things along those lines.

But you know all of that excess caffeine and all of the

stimulants over time, your body becomes dependent upon them, and

it really isn't, isn't good for your body. So on the flip end of

that, I think eating a diet that's higher in especially

vegetable juices. And so for me, I one of the things I've taught

my patients for years is, hey, let's not overdo the coffee. Not

that a cup of coffee a day for most people in the morning isn't

going to be a big issue. In fact, I think it's. It can be

healthy and fine for some people, but, you know, I get the

same buzz, and even a different type of buzz, and improved

health benefits from doing vegetable juice. And the great

thing about vegetable juices is they sell these Now oftentimes

where they do a process called Cold pressurization instead of

pasteurization, which is better. And so you can pick these up at

Whole Foods. Even sometimes, Starbucks will have some of

these juices. You know, I think that that's actually a great

option, is to do some veggie juice, because veggie juice is

getting like a high, concentrated dose of fruits and

vegetables. Actually. In fact, one glass of veggie juice can be

the equivalent of eating five to six servings, at least, of

vegetables. And so it is kind of like a day's worth of vegetables

in one single glass. A lot of these naked juices and odwalia

juices. The problem is, is that it's pure fruit juice, and

sometimes they're even putting fruit juice concentrates in

there. And so the great thing about vegetable juice is that

it's going to be much lower in sugar, much higher in nutrients.

And, you know, and not to say that a little bit of sugar, that

there's no issue with a little bit of sugar, if you're getting

some sugar from carrots and beets and a veggie juice, or

even a little bit of grapefruit juice or lemons or things like

that. A little bit of sugar isn't that bad. But the problem

with most of these, again, the naked juices, is they're pretty

much pure fruit juice and just really a lot of sugar.

So talk to me about the five hour energy shots.

Dr. Josh Axe: Now, there are things worse than five hour

energy, in fact, when we first all of these energy drinks got

in the market, I've written several articles on especially

things like Red Bull, and there were other ones out there that I

think were even they were even pulled off the market because of

it was causing heart issues in people. In fact, some people

were having heart failure and heart issues from drinking all

of these energy drinks, five hour energy came along. They've

done a great job. The good thing about them is they do have

better ingredients in theirs, which I think is a bonus. But

still, a lot of these things are stimulants, and it depends on

the person as well. For some people, if somebody is getting

plenty of rest, somebody has a personality that's very calm and

that's their natural state, they may actually do better with a

five hour energy and not have as many long term issues. But

again, even if it's natural, doing stimulants, relying on a

stimulant for your body all of the time typically isn't the

best. But I would say, if somebody has an issue, let's

say, like adrenal fatigue, caffeine and stimulants can

actually really wear on your adrenal glands over time and

again. This isn't for everybody. That's what's kind of hard about

answering questions sometimes, is five hour energy. For some

people, their bodies might do fine with it, and for other

people, long term, it's really going to cause some potential

issues. Use, especially with the adrenal glands, kidneys and

those types of things.

So veggie juice, though, that's the that's the safe play.

Dr. Josh Axe: It's the safe play. You know, people use it.

And you know, everything from Gershon therapy and the

treatment of cancer to naturally boosting energy to cleansing to

detox. In fact, if somebody is looking for an energy boost, the

ultimate vegetable is beets beet juice. They're actually studies

now on triathletes and on athletes and increasing their

endurance time, their stamina, their overall strength. It

actually contains something in it called nitric oxide. I think

this is interesting that many of us are aware of Lance Armstrong

and being banned from cycling and and a lot of professional

cyclists today, including what Lance Armstrong was busted for,

is got busted for something called blood doping, and that's

where he's actually oxygenating his red blood cells. And the

amazing thing is, is if you're consuming beet juice, you're not

doing it to the degree they were doing it, but you're doing it in

a completely natural and healthy way. In fact, beet juice

increase nitric oxide naturally in your body. So it's great for

people for improving their heart health, but it is incredible for

naturally increasing your stamina, energy and endurance.

And so again, if you want a natural energy boost, beetroot

juice or beet juice is is fantastic.

So what do you think are some other misconceptions, like

foods that people have where you go, Hey, I think I'm eating

healthy, but really, as it turns out, it's I'm not eating healthy

at all.

Dr. Josh Axe: Yeah, well, I actually have an article on my

on my health website, that really gets into the health

foods that people think are healthy and that really aren't

healthy at all. And so all I can go ahead and walk everybody

through what some of these, what some of these foods are. But for

starters, you know, one of the biggest ones, and I kind of

mentioned this earlier, but there's no doubt, the fruit

juice. So many people think it's healthy. It's it's definitely

not. It's just it's so much concentrated sugar. Now, eating

fruit by itself, or eating fruit in a smoothie, fine, when you go

to the grocery store, we're buying pasteurized orange juice

or or, you know, or the kids apple juice. Now, if you're

actually doing fresh pressed juice from fruits, some people

are going to do great with that. Other people it may be too much

sugar, but if that's really the only extra sugar you're getting

during the day, it's not going to be issues. If you just got

done with a really hard workout, or you're about to work out,

it's not going to be an issue either, because your body is

going to burn up all of that sugar. So again, doing fruit

juice around the workout, not as much of an issue, either. But

let's say somebody has sensitive blood sugar, of course, a

diabetic, or just your average person today, who's even just a

few pounds overweight. In that case, no doing fruit juice, even

fresh, fresh pressed juice. Now, again, it's different. If it's

okay, you've got quite a few vegetables in there as well. And

then you're doing like you're juicing one apple as part of

your juice mixture. Again, not really much of an issue there as

well. I think that's completely fine for just about everybody,

unless, again, somebody is in a semi diabetic or diabetic state.

But yeah, again, it really, it really depends on the person.

But just to give you an example, if you are doing a big, let's

say a 20 ounce, a big thing, and it's almost mostly juice, you're

getting probably 60 to 70 grams of sugar in a 32 I think about

that, a 16 ounce soda. You know, there's typically 40 grams of

sugar when fruit juice, it's pretty close. I mean, you're

going to have 60 to probably almost 80 grams of sugar. Well,

it just depends. But either way, it's a lot of sugar in one

sitting, without any fiber, and so it's just something to be

conscious of. And again, if you're working out your your

body will burn it up. And in that case, it's probably not a

concern.

Wow.

Dr. Josh Axe: Yeah, well, I have a whole, a whole thing here, of

several things, and we don't have to spend a lot of times on

these, but one of the things that surprises some people is

there is a lot of farm fish today, and especially if

anybody's buying tilapia or just regular salmon, most a lot of it

is farm now. Again, if it says wild caught, well, great. It's

wild caught. That fish is fantastic for fruit, for your

health. But you know, a lot of these farm fish today, they

contain what are called PCBs. They also contain dioxins and

these are toxins that shouldn't be in there. And also, you know,

one of the things that salmon is touted for is it's omega three

fatty acids, and it's a specific ratio of omega three to omega

six fats. And omega three fats are anti inflammatory, and most,

almost everybody, has heard of omega three fats at this point,

and they're great for your health. But if a if a fish has

been farmed, it's omega three fats are typically 10 times

lower than in wild caught fish. And so you know, if somebody is

buying fish, wild caught is 10 times superior nutrients

oftentimes, or at least an Omega three fat ratio, and then

oftentimes, and then also it's completely free of toxin. So

that's a much better option as well. And I would say, just a

few other foods to consider and keep out of your diet. Another

big one is canola oil. Many people think canola oil is

healthy. The problem is, 90% of canola oil today is either it's

genetically modified and it's partially hydrogenated so in

most cases. It's just as bad as any other vegetable oil. And

then I would say artificial sweeteners. This is something a

lot of people are still using. It surprises me, even in the

business world, and they think, Oh, I'm gonna do, you know, a

Coke Zero, or some sort of diet soda. And you know, Splenda

breaks down into chlorine in the body, and those high levels of

chlorine basically suffocate your cells. They lead to other

illnesses over time, and they actually one of the biggest

problems is artificial sweeteners, whether it be

aspartame or splendor, also known as sucralose, is they kill

off probiotics in your gut. And that's one of the big thing, and

there's actually several studies on this, is that they kill off

that good gut flora, which 80% of your immune system is located

in your gut. So if you're consuming artificial sweeteners,

it can decrease nutrient absorption. It can cause a

condition called leaky gut over time, even increasing your risk

of allergies, food sensitivities, other health

issues and so again, artificial sweeteners is probably one of

those other things I still see a lot of people doing, but it's

definitely pretty, pretty destructive to everyone's

health.

You know, one of the other things that I always wonder

about is Caesar salad. You know, it's like...

Dr. Josh Axe: Well, it depends. You know, of course, romaine

lettuce is a great bitter lettuce. It's good for your good

for your liver, your gallbladder and some of your other organs.

But, yeah, the problem is, is some of these salads today have

more dressing than they do lettuce and vegetables, and so,

you know, if you're doing, let's say you're doing a small amount,

let's say a tablespoon of a natural Caesar that's made with,

let's say cashews or macadamia or something like that. Let's

say more of a natural substance, you know, a vegan based recipe.

I think that's okay, you know, to do a couple tablespoons of

that. But yeah, traditional Caesar today is loaded with

soybean oil. And we know soy is a major issue today in terms of

increasing estrogen in men, increasing the risk of cancer in

women. And so they have what are called phytoestrogens. So again,

most of them have soybean oil and cotton seed oil, which are

it's a genetically modified oil, really high in calories as well.

But again, the other, the bigger issue is that it's a

hydrogenated oil. And so yeah, I agree with you most. If you're

going to just go to a regular restaurant and buy a regular

Caesar salad, it is not good for your health. It's yeah, and I

think, you know, a great replacement is doing, you know,

olive oil and balsamic vinegar or something along those lines,

or even buying a natural in fact, there, if you go to a

place like Whole Foods, if that's in your area, you can

probably find a more natural Caesar. And you still want to

use that in moderation, but that's, that's at least a better

option.

So I want to talk about some stress level stuff. What

are some things we can do to kind of manage the stress level

a little bit?

Dr. Josh Axe: You know, for stress, here's what I think a

lot of people don't realize, is that, and I know that you do

realize this, but stress is healthy if it's taken in doses.

You know, I my wife and I work out all the time, and but we

always take at least one day a week off, and typically two. And

the reason is, is when we work out, we work out hard, it's when

we don't schedule in times of rest that you're gonna have an

issue. And so again, you can work as hard. I mean, in most

cases, you can work really, really hard, be into things, and

give it your all, but you have to take at least one day a week

off, and you at least in you have to schedule things

throughout your day that get your mind off things and allow

your body to rest. And so you know your mind, in a way, is a

muscle. It has to work if you never rest it. It's just like,

you know if you're trying to work your you know your biceps

over time, if you give it too much of a load, day after day

after day, you're left in these heavy dumbbells, eventually

you're going to tear it, you're going to injure it. And the same

thing can happen with our with our with our minds and our

emotions if we overdo it. And so one of the things I've had my

patients do over the years is get out a sheet of paper, have

them write down on the left side everything that is stressing

them out, and their work hours and kind of all, you know, we

kind of brainstorm and write out all those things on the right

shot side of the sheet of paper. I have them write down all of

the things they love to do, things that bring them joy,

things that help take their mind off, things and and whether that

be going for a walk or going to the mall or watching a movie by

themselves, whatever it is, we kind of write down all those

things that they love to do. And so we go down the left side, and

we start figuring out, okay, how do we better deal with this

situation? What can you get out of your life? Because a lot of

times we have too many things we're doing, and what things

that you can say no to? And then on the right side, we start

scheduling those things in, because a lot of us have a work

schedule. We have scheduled in to bring kids to soccer

practice, or whatever it is. You really need to schedule in times

of rest, times of joy, you know, in times to live life and and I

see this in a lot of people, in business professionals, this is

something where I understand, I'm type A, I will go out there

and I, I'll put in an 80 hour week. Week or I would if I

didn't have scheduled in times of rest. And understanding this,

in fact, there's a great book that really hits on this topic.

It's called the powerful engagement. It's a it's a great

business book that everyone might enjoy. But they really

talk about this, and they actually have done studies on

business executives, and they found they were much more

effective when they schedule it in times of rest, and that might

look like you once a day, taking a 30 minute walk in the

afternoon and kind of letting your brain recharge and get

refreshed. Even something as simple as that makes a big

difference. Even, you know, taking your time and working out

in the middle of the day, even if it's just 30 minutes that it

allows to reset your brain. In fact, in the book, they really

talk about it takes 20 minutes of not thinking about and

concentrating on something for your brain to reset. And if you

can take 20 to 30 minutes completely away from thinking

and being engaged, it really allows your body to sort of

reset there. So anyways, I think in terms of stress, you know,

that's an important thing to consider, and I talked about the

business side, it's a similar thing, though, with parents,

whether you're a business exec you're not. I know a lot of moms

out there, sure, they're with kids all day, and they probably

get zero alone time in an average week. And so one of the

things I work with those moms are doing is getting three hours

by themselves a week, and so they can walk through the mall

or do lunch with the best friend or whatever it might be. But

this is really, I think it's important for everyone to try

and do you know, I know everyone has a different spiritual

beliefs, but this is a, this is something, you know, taking a

Sabbath or a day off. Just gonna say that from from the beginning

of time. And if you look in other cultures, both in Asian

culture, European culture, there is a very long time in the

middle of day where people are resting. So, you know, in

Europe, lunch is definitely longer, typically an hour and a

half to two hours, in some cases, in Asia, again, it's, you

know, there's times for tea and those sort of things in the

middle of the day. And so a lot of times, I know business execs

in the US are working from 6am to 10pm I mean, that's that can

be common.

Well there is a lot here, as you can tell my friends.

We're a fan of your mission, so you're doing a good thing. So

keep at it, my friend.

Dr. Josh Axe: Thanks for having me. I love your podcast. Love

your mission, what you're doing, and I just really appreciate you

having me on your show.