Press Releases:
Dr. Crandall Weighs in on Competing Diets
Lose Weight by Following the Diet of Jesus
Palm Beach, FL. July 25, 2008: When it comes to diets is there really one that is best? Is there really a diet that is most Biblical? Dr. Chauncey Crandall, of the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic believes there is.
Crandall, a man of faith and science, has revolutionized his practice by providing prayer for his patients. However, Crandall points out, “I believe in the power of prayer for health and healing, but I also believe in the practical means of better decision making when it comes to eating.”
A recent study coming out of the heart of the holy land is confirming what Dr. Crandall has been prescribing for years - walking in the path of Jesus includes not only prayer but healthy eating habits as well. The Nuclear Research Center out of Dimona, Israel has just released the results from a two-year study between 2005 and 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study compared three types of diet plans: A low-fat diet, a Mediterranean diet, and a low-carbohydrate diet based on the Atkins Diet. A breakdown of food for each diet is as follows:
* Low-fat diets focus on consuming low-fat grains, vegetables, fruits, while restricting fats that come from sweets and snacks. Calories are not strictly counted.
* Mediterranean diets are rich in vegetables and low in red meat with an emphasis on poultry and fish replacing beef and lamb. Calorie intake is limited to 1,800 calories for men, 1,500 for women.
* Low-Carb diets allow for all meats, eggs, and cheese, but do not allow for the use of sugar, flour, high fructose corn-syrup, or Trans fats. Calorie intake is also limited to 1,800 calories for men, 1,500 for women.
The study followed a total of 322 dieters, 277 men and 45 women who had to follow one of the three diets. The dieters, who were all obese, ate their lunch at the research cafeteria where cooks prepared meals that were color-coded according to one of the three diets. This directed the participants on what they could eat for the day.
Over a period of five months the participants who were on either the low-fat or Mediterranean diet lost about 10 pounds compared with the low-carbohydrate dieters who lost close to 14 pounds. However, the study was continued through the end of two years where dieters on the Mediterranean diet and low-carbohydrate diet ended up dropping 10 pounds, compared with those on the low-fat diet, losing only 6 pounds.
“What we’re consistently seeing is that a moderate-fat, calorie restricted diet is not only more effective in the long run in terms of weight loss, but it also yields the greatest health benefits, such as improved blood pressure and cholesterol,” said Crandall.
Crandall also points to the results of The Hale Project, a 10-year study out of Europe, which looked at a variety of diets for the elderly, the first study of its kind. In fact, it found that a low-carb, Mediterranean diet reduced the cause of death by about 50% in elderly participants.
Studies have shown that some form of a Mediterranean and low-carb diet works well to reduce the same amount of weight, however; the Mediterranean diet seems to be a healthier approach in the long run. This corresponds with the eating habits Crandall sees as part of Jesus’ day – bread, fish, vegetables, nuts, oil, and small portions of meat.
“While I am not advocating strict religious asceticism, I think its time we Christians take seriously the likely eating habits of Jesus. After all, we are commanded to glorify God in our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20). Christians should be the healthiest of people. The fact is, in most cases we are the complete opposite,” said Crandall.
When it comes to choosing a diet, it seems that Jesus might be the best dietician to turn to. The Mediterranean diet of his day hasn’t changed much in 2,000 years. Ongoing research continues to show improvements in overall weight loss and heart health when we eat like Jesus ate.
-Staff Writer.
Train up a Child in the Way They Should Play
Being proactive early may prevent later health problems.
Palm Beach, July 18, 2008: When walking into the waiting room of a cardiovascular clinic, one expects to find patients that are predominately elderly. What you don’t expect to find is a number of patients in their mid-twenties to early-forties. Dr. Chauncey Crandall, Chief of Cardiology at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic, noticed the increase in younger patients and began to ask why. Apparently, he was not the only one.
A new study published July 16, 2008 in the Journal of the American Medical Association may have found the cause to the increasing problem. A research team, headed by Dr. Philip R. Nader, a pediatrician and professor emeritus at the University of California at San Diego, believes the problem is due to a lack of activity beginning at an early age.
The research team tracked approximately 1,000 children from four different age groups: 9, 11, 12 and 15. Children from around the country were tested using a monitoring device that measured movement. The results were striking. The findings revealed a drastic decline in recommended activity level amongst teenagers. By the age of 15 only 31 percent were physically active enough. This is according to The Department of Health and Human Service’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans which suggests that children and adolescents get a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity, seven days a week.
Reasons for the inactivity are clear: The popular rise of gaming systems, social web networks, and hundreds of TV channels have kept children corralled on America’s couches. This has negatively affected the health conditions of many of our youth today. Statistics show that children are overweight and obese due to their activity level being drastically low. The ongoing affect is that more kids are growing into unhealthy young adults causing early signs of heart problems.
Crandall noted, “What we’re seeing is that these younger patients grew up during the rise of the technological age and developed inactive habits, now spending most of their time in front of a computer or TV.”
So what’s the solution? “It must start early,” says Crandall. “Parents must remember that their task is to train up their children and that includes developing healthy ways for them to play.” Crandall recommends the following steps for parents who may find themselves and/or children suffering from inactivity:
* Use time on the computer or TV as a reward for at least 90 minutes of physical activity.
* Find weekly home projects or family outings to get everyone involved in.
* Encourage daily participation in extra-curricular activities or exercise programs.
-Staff Writer
The Power of Words and the Wonder of Weight Loss
Dieters may be more successful by putting pen to paper.
Palm Beach, July 11, 2008: Praying to lose weight? Dr. Chauncey Crandall of the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic may provide some help in answering those prayers. According to Crandall, with a little discipline, dieters can see dramatic results simply by implementing three daily disciplines. Crandall is urging his patients to drop the pounds by picking up a pen and paper. “I’m asking my patients who want to lose weight to take their goals serious…and this means physical and spiritual discipline.”
His prescription includes keeping a daily log of 1) what you eat, combined with 2) a daily Bible verse, 3) and a personal prayer. “This is more than a calorie counter or diet tracker, this is putting the power of the inspired Word and personal prayer to use in the area of health,” Crandall said.
This is coming off of a recent study done by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon, where colleagues from several other nutrition and research institutions across the US, tracked the weight of approximately 1,700 obese or overweight adults. The concluding report found that when patients keep a food diary they double their weight loss. The full report is published in the August issue of American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
It seems diaries are no longer just the place for personal thoughts. Journaling what you eat helps generate significant weight loss. However, Crandall is sure to note that “the recipe for success is not just finding the right diet and recording your food intake. The secret is combining those ingredients with a daily dose of a relevant Bible verse and personal prayer.” He reported that a lot of people after trying this found themselves not eating something either because they were reminded of their daily verse or personal prayers they had written down for the day.
Still, Crandall suggests that an individual food diary of this kind may not be enough. “I recommend my patients joining a community that will help develop daily accountability and encouragement.” Also, Web sites such as www.fitday.com, www.nutritiondata.com, and www.mypyramidtracker.gov can help patients record their food and physical activity online for free. In a word, this type of weight-loss intervention is not just good for the body; it’s a process that Crandall believes is good for the soul. - Staff Writer
Healing Hearts, One Prayer at a Time
How a practicing Faith has influenced a Medical practice
Palm Beach, July 03, 2008: Doctors ask their patients all sorts of questions in the attempt to diagnose diseases and various problems. The question you never expect to hear, however, is “may I pray for you?” But over the past several years, this question has pushed Dr. Chauncey Crandall to see how conventional medicine can be married with extraordinary prayer. Offering prayer has revolutionized his cardiology practice in treating people spiritually as well as scientifically.
Dr. Crandall believes in conventional medicine; he just doesn’t believe it’s our only source of hope. "When a patient comes into my clinic they know that they will be treated holistically –mind, body, and spirit. We approach both the physical heart and spiritual heart with medicine and prayer.”
His spiritual prescription of prayer has flown in the face of the standard medical approach but Crandall doesn’t see it that way. “We take an oath when we become physicians -to do no harm and to do everything we can to get the patient well. For me, not offering prayer is only meeting half of that oath.”
At 54, Crandall has nothing to lose. He’s already lost what most parents fear losing the most, a child. After losing one of his boys to leukemia in 2003, Dr. Crandall is not afraid of public or peer criticism. “It’s not about pleasing everyone ,” he said. “It’s about treating everyone the best I know how. I’ve experienced the loss of a loved one and I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through.”
So far the results of his unorthodox treatment have silenced most skeptics. Through the means of simple prayer, Crandall has seen tumors vanish, hearts restored, unknown diseases disappear, and even a man who was declared dead return to life after Crandall applied prayer with the conventional means of medicine. 53 year-old Jeff Markin, a South Florida man, was pronounced dead in an emergency room in 2006 after going nearly one hour without a heartbeat. Crandall told the Miami Fox affiliate, WSVN, that he pleaded with God for Markin's soul as his body was being prepared for the morgue. Markin later told WSVN that he entered a state of consciousness in which he felt he was at his own funeral before he came back to life.
"A Spirit-filled believer who knows his authority in Christ can see dramatic results through the power of prayer," Crandall said. "We don't have physicians that pray the way they used to."
Hearing of these accounts led Fox National News’ Correspondent Lauren Green to fly in from New York to include Crandall in their 2007 Christmas special called Miracles: Fact, Fiction, or Faith . Moreover, the results have encouraged Crandall to write his first book titled, “Confessions of a Christian Physician.” He is currently working with a publisher and expects the book to be on shelves in the spring of 2009. “My goal for all people, from patient to physician, is to see how applying the practice and prescription of Christ works to heal hearts and change lives.”
When asked why every patient isn’t healed by prayer, Crandall noted, “A soldier’s job is to follow orders and take the hill. The order of my captain is to pray, but that doesn’t mean I expect every battle to go the way I want. I administer the treatment and leave the results up to God.” Crandall continues to run his cardiology practice at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in the strength of medicine and the power of God, seeking to heal hearts, one prayer at a time. -Staff Writer