Preventing Colon Cancer & The Better Bagel

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, a good Sunday evening to everybody. Doctor Joe Galotti,
you're tuned into your Health First every Sunday between seven
and eight pm. We're here with a single minded mission
of raising your Health IQ and creating greater awareness for
all of you to understand the ins and the outs

(00:20):
of health care and how to stay healthy. Every Sunday.
Don't forget at seven o'clock. Now, we've been on the
road out of town for the past few weeks. I
was in a I was on a safari, a photographic
safari in Tanzania, so you had to listen to some

(00:41):
of the past episodes of your Health First the past
few Sundays. But we're here back in person on American
soil this Sunday, and again this is the Memorial Day weekend,
and I do think that we all need to take
a pause, be thankful for the country we live in,

(01:03):
be thankful for the freedoms, be thankful for our way
of life, and realize that this was something that we
had to defend and fight for and people lost their lives,
and this is the weekend that we remember those even
though we should remember them every single day of the week.

(01:23):
We have to remember those men and women over the
years that have protected all of us through various conflicts,
and the conflicts are real. We are, you know, every
single day, exposed to threats to our freedom and our
way of life. And many parts of the world may

(01:46):
not necessarily like the way we are free here, but
keep in mind that we cannot take this freedom for granted.
And people lost their lives. And it's a day to
fly the flag or a weekend to fly the flag
and be mindful of everybody that fought to save our country.

(02:07):
So to get some basic business out of the way,
our website doctor Joegalotti dot com, d R J O
E G A L A t I dot com and
when you go there that is basically the main portal
to communicate with me. There is a tab there to

(02:27):
reach out, send me a message. You could sign up
for a newsletter that goes out every Saturday morning across
the country to thousands of people. And again the newsletter
is a mechanism. It's a tool to share health and wellness, nutrition, food, exercise,
latest things in the news which we will be talking
about a little later, and a way to have a

(02:51):
dialogue and for those that are interested in their own
health and wellness. You may be fifty years old and
you've been recently diagnosed with high blood pressure or pre diabetes,
or problems with arthritis or chronic lung disease, or you're overweight,
and you need to make some personal choices, personal decisions.

(03:18):
Our newsletter every week tries to share with you some
of the latest information tips resources for you. So make
sure you go to the doctor Joeglotti dot com. Signer
for the newsletter's right there, and of course all of
our social media Facebook, Instagram, the YouTube page has a

(03:38):
lot of information and our practice website Liver Specialists of Texas,
so when we're out on the radio, as many of
you know, we take care of patients with liver disease
digestive disorders. That website is Texas Liver dot com. But
again you don't have to remember all this, it's all
on the doctor Joe Galotti web page. All right. So

(04:02):
this is one of those weeks where it's a little
laid back, just getting back into the groove with regular
programming for the rest of the summer. But I do
want to tell you, as many of you know, photography
has been a passion of mine and interest of mine
since I was a young child, and I tell people

(04:24):
that it was second grade. I was in second grade
and I actually won a camera, and that really got
me started in being interested in photography. And it helped
an awful lot that my uncle, one of my uncles,
Uncle Larry, was a professional photographer in New York City,

(04:47):
and so I was always around photographic equipment, flash bulbs,
all of the batteries and the chords and all of
the gadgets, as we say. And when when I was
a kid growing up, if we had a birthday party,
it was fourth of July, it was a Memorial Day weekend,
Uncle Larry would be over the house with one of

(05:08):
his cameras. Maybe it was a rolla flex, maybe it
was a the Press, one of his press cameras, those
big things that you'd see in the old movies, and
he would be taking pictures. Right, everybody takes pictures at
a barbecue, birthday party, whatever it may be. But the
difference was the next day or two days later, we'd

(05:31):
have twenty five eight by ten black and white glossies
on our kitchen table of your birthday party, or of
fourth of July, or of Labor Day, whatever it was.
And so at an early age, I was really fascinated
more I would say enthralled by these beautiful black and

(05:51):
white eight by ten glosses that were on our kitchen
table and looking at the detail, the expressions, and so
I just became really hooked on photography. But anyway, the
opportunity to go on a safari, now, I would not
say I have done a lot of photography work in

(06:12):
the wildlife space. I've done a lot of landscape and
travel photography in portrait work, but wildlife is a whole
different can of can of worms. And so in Tanzania,
we were being guided by a professional, very well known
wildlife photographer's name was Greg Dutoit, and it was a

(06:35):
real honor to be with him, for him to really
show how to move around these animals, to get the
right light, right time of the day, the right setting
on the camera was really marvelous. So in the weeks
to come, I will be sharing with you some of
the wildlife photography. But really traveling to Tanzania, it was

(06:56):
the first time I was really on the African continent.
And first of all, it's beautiful. That part of the
world is just amazing. The wildlife we spent probably more
time in the Serengetti, which is just open grasslands and
plains and just marvelous. And the amount of animals, millions

(07:20):
of wilderbeast on the famous migration that takes place this
time of the year. To witness that is absolutely unbelievable,
very humbling to look back and say, where do I
fit in in the grand scheme of the world of humanity? Uh,

(07:41):
and you realize that we are all quite small in
that regard. But it was absolutely beautiful. The people in
Tanzania were absolutely marvelous. They are kind, very much service
oriented to want to in those that were serving food

(08:05):
or helping us out. They wanted to go above and beyond.
If you wanted more food, they would get it for you.
They wanted to please you, and so it made for
an absolutely marvelous experience. The natural wonders absolutely mind blowing,
the people terrific. The camaraderie working with everybody was just

(08:28):
really fantastic. And so I wrote this in the newsletter
that came out yesterday on Saturday, that getting away off
the grid. And I'll tell you I was off the grid.
I was five hours from nowhere, in the middle of
the Serengeti. But you have to get away. So for

(08:51):
all of you tonight, you may be planning summer vacations,
make sure in your time away, whether you're going down
the road, you're staying at home in your backyard with
your pool and your kids, you're going to grandma's house,
or you're taking a trip somewhere interstate or out of

(09:12):
the country, make sure you find a little bit of
time carved out to relax and recharge the batteries. You
have to. We are bombarded by social media, phones, ringing, beeping, buzzing,
which will eventually drive us crazy, and we just need

(09:33):
to get in your own head and relax. The health
implication is something that you cannot dispute. There has been
research over the past fifty years about the mind body
connection and the negative impact of stress, and so do
take that time, even if it's just one week or
a few days off, depending on your schedule and lifestyle

(09:56):
and your cans and cannots, make sure you try really
to get away and relax. All right, We're going to
take a quick break. Doctor Joeglotti dot com is our website.
I am doctor Joe Golotti. Every Sunday between seven and APM.
This is your health first. Stay tuned. We're actually what

(10:17):
I have on tap here. We're going to be talking
about colon cancer, some new testing for colon cancer. It
might be good, it might be bad. Stay tuned, but
I'll be right back. Yes, indeed, we are family. You
are my Sunday Night Radio family doctor Joe Galotti. We're
here Sunday evening between seven and a PM bringing you

(10:39):
what I'd like to think is the best health and
wellness information. It is properly filtered. There is no slick
sales talk here. We're not giving away anything. We're not
selling anything other than unadulterated good health and wellness information.
That is what you get from your health first. We

(11:01):
want you to put your health first so many times,
and I say this, and I would believe if you
walk away with anything anything from this program, whether you're
listening for two minutes or ten years. By the way,
we've been on the air for twenty one years, it

(11:23):
is that the majority we're talking better than eighty percent,
eighty five percent of all the chronic disease. And so
look around at yourself, look around at your friends, your family,
your parents, coworkers, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, cirrhosis, kidney disease, depression, arthritis,

(11:49):
mental health. These are all chronic diseases that we have
control over and can be prevented with a lifestyle midification.
You're drinking too much alcohol, you're eating too much drive through,
You're not getting enough sleep, you're not exercising, you're eating
processed foods, you're eating too many carbs, you're not eating

(12:11):
fruits and vegetables. Okay, so these are the things that
you have to take personal inventory on, and really, at
the end of the day, it is personal responsibility. This
is nobody is going to jump through the radio or
the TV and tell you how to do it, or

(12:32):
or make you prisoner. You have to do it yourself.
And really the alternative is you have to look at
this and say, misery is optional. Do I want to
be on a fistful of medications? Do I want to
spend the majority of my time on the phone with doctors,
going to doctor's office visits, going for lab work, going

(12:54):
for scans. The answer is no, you don't want to
do this, But unfortunately we fall victim to all this.
All right, So in that regard, what I want to
do in the last few minutes here before we take
a break from the news, traffic, and weather, is colon cancer. Now,
colon cancer is one of the leading cancers. It is

(13:14):
the leading cause of cancer. A lot of people don't
realize it. And so with that in fact, keep in
mind that colon cancer is one of the true preventable cancers,
preventable cancers that we all face. The average risk person

(13:35):
should start getting screened for colon cancer at age forty
five years old. Even if you feel well, you have
normal bowel movements, you don't have any pain, you don't
see blood in your stool, you need to get screened
at age forty five, typically with a colonoscopy. Now, there
is a new blood test that has hit the news.
It's made by Guardan Health and it is a blood test.

(13:59):
Now for them those of you that don't want to
deal with a colonoscopy, taking the ballot prep and all
that other stuff, this may be an option for you
because a third of American adults are not getting screened
in any which way. So we somehow have to address this.
The Guardant blood test can screen for colon cancer. Now

(14:21):
you may say, well, that's a good thing. Well, it
is good, and some of the people that were on
the FDA board said it's better than nothing, and I
would agree with it. But it is not going to
identify polyps. Polyps are non cancerous, but they have the
potential to turn to cancer. This blood test is geared

(14:42):
to identify somebody that has early stage cancer. So you're
getting screening is to prevent a disease. Here we're using
the term screening to identify the early stages of cancer. Again,
not doing anything. This is better than nothing, but keep

(15:03):
in mind that this blood test is going to identify
those that have early stage cancer already. Well, that doesn't
sound too too darn good, so it is something. I
want you to be aware that this is not a
replacement for colonoscopy. This is not a replacement for taking
care of yourself, but it will pick up early stage

(15:23):
colon cancer and people that already have it. So again,
I'll post information on this on our Facebook page, but
you have to go to doctor Joegalotti dot com to
get it. And so that's it. Forty five years old,
you need to talk to your doctor about getting screened
for colon cancer with a colonoscopy. All right, We're going

(15:44):
to take a quick break, doctor Joe Galotti. Don't forget
go to doctor Joegalotti dot com. Stay tuned. We'll be
back in a minute. Welcome back, everybody. Final segment for
this Memorial Day weekend edition of Your Health. First, I'm
doctor Joe Galotti. Our website doctor Joegalotti dot com, Doctor
Joeglotti dot com. Sign up for our newsletter, send me

(16:08):
a message, take a look at all of our social
media information there, including YouTube, Instagram, follow us along and
don't miss a beat. And of course, if you have
any liver or digestive issues, our practice website Liver Specialist
of Texas, you can connect with us there through the website,

(16:30):
there's a link for Texasliver dot com. So we've been
talking about bagels, and actually during the break, I received
a text message from somebody saying, do you think you're
being a little rude talking about New Yorkers versus the
rest of the world. Well, first of all, I am
a native New Yorker. At number two, it is all

(16:51):
done in tongue and cheek. Please please understand that that
I'm not disrespectful to anybody, but just a bit of
good old fashioned tongue in cheek conversation here regarding the
almighty bagel. All right, so what we started off with
was the better bagel. It's a frozen bagel, I would say,

(17:14):
a manufactured frozen bagel that you could get in the
frozen section of your local grocery store. I happen to
get mine at Whole Food. And what they're saying is
that this is a better bagel, this is a better
food to eat. Now, the small print is it still
has forty grams of carbohydrate. But the way that they

(17:34):
make it look better is by adding fiber. And when
you calculate the net carbohydrate, it is the total carbs
minus fiber. And that's what they do here, So they
add in a lot of fiber to the product. Now
I have in front of me the nutritional assessment of

(17:55):
the Manhattan Bagel Company in New York City. And just
to compare a few things here, Number one, our better bagel,
the frozen bagel is one hundred and sixty calories per bagel.
The Manhattan bagel is three hundred calories. Now what I
would say, I researched this out. Most typical plane New

(18:19):
York City bagels are anywhere between three hundred to three
hundred and twenty calories, So right off the bat, you're
getting less calories, all right, So maybe this is a
better bagel if you're just looking at calories. Now, as
far as sodium goes, I'm going to jump around sodium.

(18:43):
This better bagel. The frozen bagel is six hundred and
fifty milligrams of sodium. The classic New York Manhattan bagel
has six hundred and ten, so it is in the
same ballpark. And I would say most bagels are going
to be on the higher side. A lot of bread
products to get you any sort of taste, because you

(19:05):
figure plain white flowers pretty tasteless. The only way it's
going to taste good is by adding salt. Okay, So
keep in mind that you're the bagel in general is
going to be on the higher side of sodium. So
six point fifty in the frozen bagel versus about six
ten on the plain real New York bagel is pretty close.

(19:29):
Now on the carbohydrates, okay, because that's that's one of
the selling points here. The frozen bagel has forty grams
of total carbohydrate. The New York bagel has sixty, So
it's it's starting off with more carbohydrates, and the different

(19:54):
varieties of New York Manhattan bagels range in carbohydrates from
a low of forty and in this particular diagram, it
is the thin bagel, so it's probably just a smaller
bagel has about forty grams of carbs, but your typical

(20:14):
New York bagel has anywhere from sixty five to sixty
grams of carbs, so it is the New York bagel
is a little bit higher in carbohydrates. The fiber there
is essentially no fiber in a bagel, two grams of fiber,
where the better bagel is giving you thirty five grams

(20:36):
of fiber, but it is being added in by adding
a gave fiber, which is probably giving you a little
bit of taste as well. So all in all, just
on the surface, this is a better bagel. Does it
taste better than a New York bagel? Probably not. I

(20:59):
could tell you it doesn't. I mean, I've eaten. My
wife thought it was pretty bland and tasteless. But you know,
you have an oral craving to eat something and toast
it now, and you know it's funny. I remember, as
a young resident in New York City that I met
a dietitian really really early on in my career, and

(21:23):
she was talking to the residents about foods for our
patients and whatnot, and she had said the one food,
and again this is coming from New York City, one
food never to eat or the worst food to eat
is a bagel. You could certainly make an argument about
that that there are things worse than a bagel to
have in the morning, but keep in mind that you're

(21:46):
going to be getting a lot of carbs, a lot
of sodium. Calorie wise, about three hundred not the worst thing. Now,
if you decide that you want to add some sour
cream cheese to this, so Philadelphia cream cheese, which is
really pretty much the standard cream cheese you're going to
get in New York one serving. According to Philadelphia cream Cheese,

(22:12):
one serving is one ounce. I would say that if
you go anywhere in New York and you get one
ounce of cream cheese, you're going to send it back
and say you're skimping on me. So let's just say
two ounces of cream cheese. Okay, this is full fat,
full fair cream cheese. With two ounces, you're going to

(22:36):
get an additional two hundred calories. You're only going to
get another four grams of protein. You're going to get
twenty grams of fat and just a miniscule amount of sugar.
So by adding the cream cheese, you're going to get
a lot of fat, two hundred more calories. So maybe

(22:56):
you're already up to If the bagel is three, you're
looking at at least five to six hundred calories for
your breakfast. Okay, now let's put this all in perspective.
I don't think that we should banish the bagel to

(23:20):
food purgatory food. Hell. I would think, like anything in life,
it is moderation. If you are having a cream cheese
bagel every single day, slathered up with cream cheese, butter cheese,

(23:45):
put two or three eggs on top of it, you're
looking for trouble unless you're a marathon runner or you
swim a mile a day. So I think if on
Sunday morning you want a bagel and indulge in a
little sour cream cheese, I think it's okay to do

(24:09):
as long as you are getting enough dietary fiber in
your diet. You're not eating hamburgers all day long. You
are not eating two slices of apple pie for dessert
every evening. You're not eating pop tarts for breakfast. I
think you're okay. So yes, Indeed, the better bagel, the

(24:32):
frozen bagel that is claiming a lot of health benefits here,
I think they're legit. You are getting added protein, but
getting it through way protein addit is agave fiber. It
may not be as good as eating an apple, fruit, nuts, beans, etc.

(24:58):
But if you're trying to be a good player in
the nutritional game here, it's probably not bad. Again, a
steady diet of the better bagel, you know, if you
have one on a Saturday or a Sunday morning and
you indulge, you're reading the newspaper, you're watching the news
shows on Sunday, go ahead and do it. But I

(25:18):
think you have to put this all in perspective that
you're not going to get healthier, You're not going to
not have a heart attack, you are not going to
not develop diabetes because this is the only thing you're doing.
It has to be part of a more comprehensive health
and well in the nutrition exercise plan. All right, So

(25:43):
that is it for this installment of your health First
I'm doctor Joe Galotti. Always always a pleasure being here
sharing part of the weekend with you. And don't forget
doctor Joegalotti dot com is our website, soner for the
newsletter and all that we have to offer. Be well,
God bless America and will see you next Sunday evening