Hippocrates said, “Let your food be your medicine.”  Of course that was in the 4th century and you couldn’t just pop into your neighborhood store for a bottle of Advil. Back in those days, people wore handmade sandals, snake charmers played polkas for pythons and carpets still flew of their own accord. But… modern science is beginning to reach the same conclusion that Hippocrates did.

Wandering the ancient dusty streets you might well encounter a spice merchant selling the queen of spice, Cardamom.  A staple of the ancient pharmacy it can help with stomach problems, prevent blood clots, lower blood pressure and even ward off cancer. The Mayo Clinic found that ingesting Cardamom encourages your digestive system to work more efficiently, thus allowing you to absorb more nutrients. It used to be used to treat tuberculosis, cleanse the kidneys and to increase circulation to the lungs. I use cardomom in my coffee just because I like the flavor it imparts.

The Kingly counterpart to Cardomom is found almost every tabletop. It is Black pepper and comes from the fruit of the peppercorn plant. Even today it is the most traded spice on earth.  Peppercorns, native to southern India, were once such a prized commodity, they were referred to as “black gold,” (before petroleum stole that title) and were used as a form of currency.  Just imagine buying a goat for a pocket full of black pepper!  Peppercorns have been known for ages to treat a variety of illnesses, such as food poisoning, cholera and dysentery.  But modern scientists and nutritionists continue to find ways in which black pepper can enhance your health.  Black pepper stimulates your stomach to increase hydrochloric acid production, which in turn improves digestion.  It has been shown to have antioxidant and antibacterial effects, while the outer layer of the peppercorn helps breakdown fat cells.  Black pepper has also been used as a decongestant.  I like my food spicy, and enough black pepper  surely clears my sinuses.

My personal favorite in the spice world is to be found in my tea each and every day. Its intense color keeps my fingers a golden yellow while leaving spots as bright as sunshine on my cutting board.  You would be likely to find this wrinkled little root in any ancient market in Asia (Or Hiller’s, of course).  Naturally, I am speaking of Turmeric which Eastern medicine has known to treat infections and inflammation, as well as clearing the mind and lungs. Recent research has even further elevated the salubriousness of  turmeric.  It has been shown to inhibit and treat several forms of cancer to reduce arthritis pain, lower cholesterol levels and most amazing of all it may delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Perhaps turmeric is why, in the olden days, the aged members of society were revered for their wisdom and knowledge, instead of their bumbling forgetfulness.

So next time you feel like reaching for some pills, open your spice cupboard and see what the wealth of nature has for your health.  You might end up finding something much tastier than a tums.

A quiet revolution has been occurring in our country of late. Citizens are rebelling against processed foods and choosing to consume more natural and simpler fare that has been less touched by modern science. The general term for it is clean eating and it includes many basic food principles followed by our ancestors. One of the current hot topics is the inclusion of genetically modified organisms or GMO’s in our food. The use of genetic modification to seek desired characteristics in plants and animals began in 1972. It has now reached epic proportions and so has the controversy around it.

In truth, this debate has been getting louder and louder in recent years. The shouts at times, are deafening with one side claiming that GMO’s are bad for us and for the environment, and the other side arguing that to feed the world we must make food more plentiful and disease resistant.

What are the benefits to permitting GMO’s? For one, GMO plants are now resistant to pests. Monsanto created alfalfa seeds that create their own insecticide. A genetically engineered papaya from Hawaii is resistant to virus damage. Soy is the most prolifically engineered crop. It has been altered to be disease resistant, to increase production per acre and to contain higher levels of healthy fatty acids. Other plants have been bred to stand up better to harsh climates, or to become drought resistant. One can see why these alterations could be highly beneficial to the producers.

How common are GMO’s in the US? The answer is very and becoming more so all the time. Here are the percentages of some common crops that are genetically modified:

Canola (90%)

Corn (88%)

Cotton (90%)

Papaya (Most of Hawaiian crops)

Soy (94%)

Sugar beets (95%)

Zucchini and yellow summer squash (approx. 25,000 acres).

Soon… salmon, chicken and beef will be added to this list

For many consumers the prospect of consuming GMO food is frightening and maybe especially so because we don’t know which foods are GMO. The US has taken the position thus far that they need not be identified on the label .

Hiller’s has decided to give our customers a choice. Henceforth, we will label the Non-GMO products in our stores. I think you’ll be surprised how many products are genetically modified so we are also on a quest to find and offer more Non-GMO’s. Personally, I think we all have a right to decide for ourselves. So, if you want to live a Non-GMO lifestyle or just to be an informed consumer it should be easier now.

Our Ruth Mossok Johnston

When she was five, a hospitalized Ruth Mossok refused to eat the “institutional” meals served her, so her father would bring three meals daily from her favorite restaurants. Her visiting mom, meanwhile, would nibble from Ruth’s untouched trays (which Ruth found hilarious).

So began the career of  food diva Ruth Mossok Johnston, Hiller’s new Prepared Food Director.  Ruth is an interesting, fabulously talented, highly creative woman who provides our customers with all manner of healthful and truly scrumptious dishes, using the freshest of ingredients. She’s always ahead of the food-trend curve because she loves food and everything about it.

Ruth is the author of cookbooks — including the acclaimed “The Art of Cooking Morels” — and is a food journalist and culinary consultant. She has contributed to the Detroit Free Press, Jewish News, Food.com and Christian Science Monitor, among others.

But let me tell you more about what shaped her. For example, as a youngster Ruth had an abnormal sensitivity to tastes and odors, so she balked at dining in the school cafeteria. A couple of days a week her parents would fork over lunch money and, at eight years old, she’d head to the burger joint down the street and nosh at the counter. “That was my precursor to becoming a restaurant critic,” she says, which she was for some time.

Previously, Ruth was the Editorial Director for Glencoe/McGraw Hill, heading the division of Family and Consumer Science, which includes all books on food, nutrition, culinary arts, clothing and interior design. The Eastern Michigan University and University of Michigan graduate has taken several master classes with renowned chefs, and was even the marketing coordinator for a Napa Valley wine program.

At Hiller’s, she oversees prepared foods for all of our stores, develops all recipes and product food styling, teaches classes, plans menus, writes ads, cooks for special events, and manages staff at all locations.

We love that we have Ruth Mossok Johnston. And we know you will, too.

Come check out her creations in our prepared foods sections.

Forgive the reference to the legendary and beloved comedian and actor who made it big in Detroit in the 1950s.

I loved and miss Soupy and I couldn’t resist the lead-in to tell you about Hiller’s luscious new soups.

Evidence of existence of soup can be found as far back as 6,000 B.C.; but soup didn’t become commonplace until the waterproof container was invented.

Basically there are two kinds of soup: clear and thick. The former can be classified as consommé or bouillon, while thick soups are bisques, purees and chowders.

Soup, of course, is universal. My favorite is borscht, made from beets or cabbage although I much prefer the beet variety. There are also some exotic ones, like bajajou, a soup of Slovakian origin made with boiled beef intestines; callaloo, a thick, creamy soup made with okra and often crab meat, from Trinidad and Tobago; and bird’s nest soup, a delicacy in Chinese cuisine.

But… soup takes time to prepare, a lot of love, and tender care. And, for most of us, time is at a premium. That’s why we are so proud of our newest line of soups at Hiller’s — the kind of product that you could serve your family, or guests at an elegant party. They’re top restaurant quality and the discovery of Ruth Mossok Johnston, our brilliant Prepared Food Director. Ruth has them made exclusively for us!

Our new soups are made from the finest ingredients. They range from traditional to adventuresome, and include gluten-free, organic, vegetarian, wheat-free, and low-sodium.

Here are some of our new soups:
Spiced Pumpkin Bisque – a fall classic, creamy and sweet pumpkin puree blended with a light cream, sweet potatoes, and a delicate medley of herbs and spices.

Spinach and Feta Chowder – a Greek classic transformed into a delicious vegetarian and gluten-free soup. Luscious and hearty, with a blend of spinach, feta cheese, light cream, potatoes, onions and mushrooms, plus a subtle blend of herbs and spices.

Organic Tomato Bisque – a vegetarian favorite. Gluten-free and made from organic ingredients: ripe tomatoes, milk, a touch of butter and spices. Flavorful and smooth!

Vegetarian Lentil – Loaded with protein, hearty and delicious – great all year round!

Chicken Tortilla Soup – Ethnic flavors and gluten-free. This soup has pieces of tender chicken, flavorful roasted corn, diced tomatoes, a bit of Monterey Jack Cheese and jalapeño peppers. Crisp corn tortilla chips give body to this unique soup.

Maine Lobster Bisque – A perfect blend of sweet lobster meat simmered in rich cream and sherry makes for exceptionally thick and rich bisque.  New Englanders would travel to Michigan for this one!

Even by Hiller’s standards our new soups are  extraordinary ….

I have known only one man, just one man who, if you canvassed everyone he ever knew, not one would say a bad thing about him.

And that man was my uncle, Dr. Jerome Horwitz.

I’ve been thinking a lot about him, since his recent death at 93. He was such a gentle, brilliant soul, that I’d like to share a little bit about him.

What he’s most known for is creating the compound AZT, which became the first successful drug treatment for  AIDS. That happened in a serendipitous way. In the mid 1960s, while designing cancer treatments at Wayne State University, he developed a class of compounds he hoped would stanch the growth of cancer cells. It didn’t work. Disheartened, he stashed the formula for his discovery on a shelf. Many scientists at that time believed that a virus caused cancer and AZT was  designed by Jerome to attack and kill viruses in a stealthy way.

Two decades later, as HIV spread, our government was desperate for some kind of treatment. Ultimately, his creation was rediscovered and AZT became the very first drug that was an effective treatment for the AIDS virus. What was so astonishing was that Jerome had designed a unique approach for combating disease, even if it hadn’t worked to fight the one it was aimed at. While his peers were directly targeting malignancies, his idea was to trick cellular machinery. That approach led to a whole class of anti-viral drugs now used to treat herpes and hepatitis, in addition to HIV.

Not that he reaped one cent from his life-extending creation, even as drug companies prospered. Because he had deemed AZT a failure, he never bothered to patent it. But he was never in science for money anyway. As his wife, my Aunt Sharon half-jokingly says, he mostly had hoped to avoid his father’s business: selling chickens. But in truth my uncle worked for the good of science and of us all.

Jerome was my mom’s older brother and she absolutely adored him. I remember him visiting us when he was a University of Michigan doctoral student (he got his chemistry undergrad and master’s at the University of Detroit). He’d ride up on an old Indian motorcycle and my mom would literally run to greet and hug him.

Jerome was never consumed by work only. He had a perfect balance to his life: he had religion, his family and his science. He was a cantor in his synagogue, and he had a gorgeous voice. His tenor had an operatic quality. In addition, he was a quite an orator, not to mention a skilled writer. Really, there was nothing he didn’t do well.

He truly loved his family, his wife Sharon and his daughters Carol and Suzy. But I think his greatest joy was his five grandchildren. He was a mentor , a friend and a perfect grandfather to them all. What I really admired was that he was careful to organize his life such that his passions received equal attention. He found time for all the things that were important to him.

And of course that included his work. Jerome was born in Detroit and after his schooling he taught at Northwestern University then at Wayne State. He spent his career at the Michigan Cancer Foundation, which became Karmanos. As Head of Research, Jerome was a member of the founding group. Earlier in his career he’d worked in the field of rocket fuel science. One of his final projects was developing drugs for tracking tumors.

You know, whenever I picture him, he’s smiling. He was a very charming raconteur with an almost puckish sense of humor, and really had the biggest cheshire grin. There wasn’t a bit of pomposity about him. He was cute and fun to be with. He had this great belly laugh.

One of my sons is a physician and another one is in medical school. I’m sure Jerome influenced them. He’d had an impact on our entire family. That’s the kind of man he was. He had friends in every area, in science, synagogue. He was an unusual man who cut a very, very wide swath through life.

So, bravo, uncle Jerome. A stellar life, lived long and well. I’ll carry you with me forever.

“All great men are gifted with intuition. They know without reasoning or analysis, what they need to know. ” –  AlexisCarrel

Beer was traditionally considered a working man’s beverage. Names like Pabst, Stroh’s and Miller were found on tap in working-class pubs and in copious piles in grocery stores. Beer was tasteless alcoholic pablum and “the more the better” was the mantra of giant breweries, and it still is.

Things began to change a few years ago. Around the country small breweries began to sprout. They produced a carefully crafted product which has come to be known as craft beer. In many ways these little breweries resembled the fine small wineries that for hundreds of years have touted exclusivity as one of their virtues.

Although big brands still dominate beer sales globally, some 250 craft breweries opened in 2011, making the nearly 2,000 in operation the most since the 1880s.

That’s heady stuff, pun intended, although many, in truth, eschew the froth…

Why the increase in popularity? Well, first a little context. The  terms “craft beer” and “microbrew” are widely thought to be the same thing, but that’s not so. The latter breweries produce less than 15,000 barrels of suds annually, while craft potables can be made be made by breweries much larger (but still tiny compared to major mainstream breweries).

The American Beverage Association dictates that a craft brewery must be “small,” “independent” and “traditional.” Annual production cannot exceed two million barrels, a barrel being 31 gallons. No more than 25 percent of a craft brewery can be owned by a big brewery like one of the Big Three: Anheuser-Busch, Miller or Coors.

Bigger breweries like those often use what the ABA calls adjuncts such as corn or rice to lighten the body and flavor of beer, and heighten mass appeal, whereas craft beers are more like wine with their complexities and distinct tastes. More and more, today’s beer drinkers are learning the intricacies of taste and ingredients in the same way that oenophiles know their grapes and terra. Craft beer “tastings” are everywhere and my inbox is filled with requests for exotic beers like Utopious made by Samuel Adams Brewery. It sells for $200 per bottle if you can find it. Hiller’s received three bottle of it last year!

So there are many reasons why the craft beer is industry is growing so robustly. For one thing, some speculate, the buy local movement makes such beers more attractive. And, palates are increasingly discerning, more nuanced. Well-educated consumers have come to expect choices and local flavors in all consumables, beer included.

There are thousands of craft beer labels – and hundreds sold by Hiller’s – including popular stuff like Brooklyn Sorachi Ace (New York), Stone Vertical Epic (California), Victory Summer Love (Pennsylvania) and Allagash Coolship (Maine). We also have plenty of Michigan brands like Huma Lupa Licious, Diabolical IPA and Purple Gang Pilsner (could anyone outside Michigan have a Purple Gang label? Methinks not).

Also, chefs are increasingly promoting beer pairings with food and cooking more with beer. Craft beer makes a great-tasting ingredient in many recipes, one which calls for a hefty dose of Sly Fox Brewing Company’s Route 113 IPA in a delicious wild striped bass ceviche. Another one spices up a grilled Romaine with stout-bacon vinaigrette. Still another adds an IPA to risotto.

Simply put, craft beers are heavy on the brew master’s passion, love of experimentation and personal influence. Craft brewing is all about pushing boundaries and respect for beer in all of its iterations. Not to say that bigger companies have no warmth of mind or feeling, but you get the idea. What’s great about craft brewing is its emphasis on maximum flavor, as opposed to brewing for the widest audience possible.

At Hiller’s we’re proud to offer hundreds of craft beers and more arrive every day.

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”

I’d like to tell you a few things about Hiller’s meat Department because I’m very proud of it. I truly mean it when I say that few stores go out of their way, as do we, to provide you with so many choices and such quality. Our service in that department is also nonpareil Maybe that’s because it is a Service department not just a wrapped meat case that looks like a coffin.

For one thing, our meat is just meat.  Unlike others whose meat is full of pumped-in tenderizers, salt or flushed with nitrogen gas our meat is not. To compound matters, you are paying for those nasty additions; the water-based solution usually amounts to a tenth of package weight.

What’s more, if you can see excess water pooled in a package, expect meat that is less juicy and more at risk of being dry tasteless and chewy.

We also offer brands like Bell & Evans all-natural chicken – the nation’s oldest branded poulty, by the way – which contain no antibiotics or hormones. Same with Creekstone Beef, an all-natural beef that sets the standards for humane treatment and purity . As you may know, hormones increase animals’ meat yield, but could compromise consumers’ health, some studies say. Producers have fed growth-promoting antibiotics to animals for years, and some scientists have broached concerns that such use leads to human health risks. You won’t find them in any meat we sell.

Another thing we do that I’m especially proud of is to choose our own cattle . That lets us see with our own eyes the health and conformation.whole.  That way, we can better control quality. The cattle are bought locally and delivered to our stores in quarters, see. From those portions, our expert meat cutters produce the myriad cuts of meat and ground beef you see in our counters. Did you know that? We think it’s important.

You’ll also never see at Hiller’s those large recalls of ground meats. That’s because we grind on site, and from the meat we purchased whole. Shoot, even our frozen patties are produced – daily – in store. Sausages, too. Our self-service packages also come from our own meats. It’s all cleaner and more natural, and yes, better quality.

And did you know we are  happily Old School when it comes to butcher service? That’s right, we have full-service butcher counters in all our stores. It’s been this way for decades, in keeping with our tradition. This is our hallmark — personal customer service.

Just a note on meat quality: it’s defined by the meat-to-fat ratio and palatability of meat. That’s further defined by meat appearance, juiciness, tenderness and flavor. We shoot for the highest quality possible. Meat should have a normal color that is uniform throughout. Some red-meat cuts should have marbling  throughout, marbling being those small streaks of fat, indicating tenderness, juiciness and flavor.

We’ve got all kinds of primo meats, such as Japanese hand-rubbed Wagyu and Kobe beef, and Kurobuta Berkshire pork; USDA prime steaks, like the kind the best steakhouses sell; and Prairie Grove Farms Pork, the nation’s only U.S.-certified, all-natural pork producer. That’s the stuff that’s made onsite into Hiller’s signature sausage and peamealed bacon. We also feature Montana Ranch beef produced from grass-fed cattle and rich in Omega-3s and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), said to contain anti-cancer properties; Hiller’s USDA Choice Beef, including Angus and other hand-picked Midwestern beef; and our signature  Creekstone all-natural free-range beef, my personal favorite..

And remember that controversy about that gross, so-called pink slime, nickname for the mechanically processed meat product officially known as lean finely textured beef and boneless lean beef trimmings? No worries if you shop at Hiller’s. We don’t abide that junk, even if it would save us money.

As always, our value is putting you first.

Hiller’s, the way it should be.

Well apples are sweet and peaches are good
Rabbits so very very fine
But give me, oh give me
Oh, how I wish you would
Some of that watermelon smiling on the vine
– Watermelon Song,  Dave Matthews Band

I know watermelons. I’ve researched them and eaten about a thousand. When summer is scorching hot and little else tastes good I’m cracking one open – what a sweet sound – and taking in all that ruby, perfumed, black-speckled flesh. It’s an orgy for the senses that never gets old.

And that’s even before the tasting.

Indeed, nothing quite says summer like watermelon, charmingly called “letters from home” by some Southerners. Nothing quite satisfies like that honey-crisp bite … on a sultry afternoon.

When I was a boy I would, if I had a big enough piece, enjoy carving caverns in the sugary “meat” with my fingers or tongue and, when my mom wasn’t looking, lifting it to my lips to sip the pools of pink nectar, producing as evidence a streaked T-shirt and juice running down my neck.

Back then, of course, I didn’t know about health stuff. The damned thing was merely scrumptious, and lots of fun to play with.

As it turns out, watermelons are wonderfully healthful. Sure, they are 92 percent water, but they have lots of vitamins A, C, B6 and potassium, contributing to eye health, boosting immunity and, among other things, maintaining nerve function. And did you know they are first for lycopene ? That’s the stuff found in tomatoes that us guys are supposed to eat to keep our prostate healthy

Watermelons go way back, 5,000 years, in fact, first popping up in Egypt. Early explorers here used them as canteens. And it’s no shock to me that watermelons are the most-consumed melons in the United States, with Florida and Texas turning out the domestic brunt.

Watermelons basically need three things to grow: sun and water, and bees for pollination. They’re ready for hand picking in about three months.

By the way, please give me a melon with seeds. Those other ones, which Hillers also carries, are a relatively modern creation. And spitting out the seeds is half the fun, right?  I just think the old kind taste better. But if you want to know, seedless melons are actually sterile hybrids made by crossing male and female pollen and flowers. Sort of like mules, produced by crossing a horse and donkey.

Let’s get back to the tasting. Simple is best, but I also enjoy watermelons in a variety of ways, including cubed on spears, with basil and cherry tomatoes. They also make a nice shake: blend up some melon pieces, non-fat lemon yogurt, strawberries, bananas and voila! A yummy, nutritious potation. Something a bit more, ah, adult? How about a special mojito? Mix a little fresh mint, watermelon puree, cherry syrup, pinch of sugar, lime juice and lots of rum. That’s good.

There’s more. Weary of the same old salsa? Do something different: melon, green peppers, lime juice, cilantro, green onion and jalepeno. Your friends will be impressed. Watermelon for breakfast? Why not? Make a Watermelon Benedict, subbing the egg, bread and meat for rounds of granola, melon and kiwi. Pressed for time? nothing like greens tossed with watermelon, onion, olive oil and feta. Way good, I’m telling ya.

But first you gotta pick a good one. Go for firmness and symmetry, avoiding cuts, dents or bruises. The melon should be on the heavy side, and its belly a creamy yellow (from where it sat on the ground and sun ripened). Then make sure to wash it before cutting.

Hiller’s has a variety of luscious watermelons, including the “personal” size and even my favorite the Black Diamonds.

And now, how about a joke: A watermelon farmer grew disturbed by some kids who would sneak into his patch for his melons. After some thought, he came up with an idea that he thought would scare the kids away.

He made up a sign and posted it in the field. The next day, the kids show up and see the sign which read, “Warning! One of the watermelons in this field has been injected with cyanide.”

The kids ran off, made their own sign and posted it next to the farmer’s sign. When the farmer returned, he surveyed the field. No watermelons were missing, but there was a sign next to his. It read: “Now there are two!”

Have a healthful and delicious summer.

“I was standing on the corner with the low-down blues
Great big hole in the bottom of my shoes
Baby let me be your salty dog.”

- Salty Dog Blues, sung by Jerry Garcia with the Black Mountain Boys

Sometimes a person can only be talked at – okay, nagged – so much before ennui sets in and eyes glaze over, even when it’s for their own benefit. After a while, it all sounds like the grownups in those Charlie Brown shows.

So I think it’s a great idea that renowned wellness, weight loss and disease prevention specialist Dr. Tom Rifai, aka Dr. Tom, regularly brings his weight control patients straight to Hiller’s store aisles to point out, in living color, beneficial food options. He’s serious; these are three-hour stints.

Indeed, the group educational tours are a crucial part of his program at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, where he is medical director of metabolic nutrition and weight management.

And naturally, I’m flattered that he’s taken a yen to Hiller’s, particularly our Orchard Lake store. He says he likes it that we go out of our way to identify sodium-friendly foods wherever possible, especially since it’s harder to control salt than calories, which a lot of folks don’t know. We have low-salt labels and signage throughout our stores.

“When you take people on shopping tours, the whole philosophy is reality meets science,” he says. “We teach how to find diamonds in the rough. You’re not going to find a no-salt aisle, but you’re going to find diamonds. And Hiller’s has the most in town. Every aisle offers lots of low and no salt options .”

“Things in packages are not all bad, but I’m not going to tell you that all cans and all packages are good. But look at sardines – Hiller’s has the best selection anywhere – sustainable, high in omega 3’s – and Jim Hiller’s encouraged me to find out how much salt was in his fresh meat and chicken. And I’ll tell you the results were darned good.”

See, blood pressure meds only partly reduce risk of stroke and vascular damage, I’ve learned. Salt has a separate, direct effect, and can cause things like osteoporosis, kidney stones, asthma and stomach cancer.

The tours themselves are part of what’s called Lifestyle University. His program is for motivated patients interested in changing their lifestyles, losing body fat (while maintaining healthful muscle mass), and better managing or preventing diseases like hypertension, diabetes and fatty liver.

Here’s the deal: Only a woeful 2 percent of Americans have controlled blood pressure (without meds), sugar and cholesterol, eat healthy, stay physically active, don’t smoke and have a “normal” body mass index. The good news is that you only need six of the seven to achieve all the longevity benefits. But I know, we can do better than 2 percent!

What’s more, Dr. Tom, who also helps create healthful dishes for the restaurant chain Andiamo, said there’s such a thing as normal-weight obesity: thin on the outside, fat on the inside. “I hear young women say, ‘I’m only concerned about my figure.’ But what about the structure holding up your figure?” he asked. Fact is, up to 20 percent of overweight people are metabolically normal, I’ve learned. Up to 40 percent of folks who are at normal weight are at risk of major disease. Who knew?

So, there’s a lot of misunderstanding where weight is concerned. The biggest problem, he said, is when fat starts to gain in the liver, one of the first spots for insulin resistance, and where many people don’t detect it. So body composition and lifestyle are more of the issue than total weight. If you’re going to make changes, it’s vital that the family is involved.

“If you’re sitting around all the time and then the kids want Frosted Flakes, that’s not going to work. If the house doesn’t change, I can’t teach you willpower.”

The self-described plant-based omnivore who works out regularly knows whereof he speaks. At 19, Rifai, at 5’6, weighed 200 pounds. Sure, he was lifting weights, but scarfed Whoppers and pizzas, too. His dad was diabetic and on insulin by 44, and young Tom was on that path. By the time he was a medical student, he’d gotten his health act together.

If we do nothing else, according to Dr Tom, we should control caloric, salt and saturated fat intake. And get off our collective rear ends!

Check him out at DrTomRifai.com, or at Facebook.com/DrTomMD.

Hiller’s is proud to have Dr. Rifai on our team. Let’s get and stay healthy, people.

What does this blog have to do with Jim Hiller or Hiller’s? Everything, because as Winston Churchill said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”

She was just a kid, her dad near death from lung cancer. She read something, somewhere, about a promising new drug treatment. What does this 15-year-old do? Oh, only make a call and beseech a local researcher to give her leftover medicine from the clinical trial.

“We were poor so we couldn’t afford anyone to administer the drugs,” she explained. “So I got the pharmacist to teach me how to do it, according to instructions from the researchers.

“I would look in the white of dad’s eyes, look inside to see if they were pale or not, to see if he was anemic. So I sort of practiced medicine at 15, and he lived six months longer than he was supposed to. And that was meaningful, because if you’re going to lose your dad at 15, six months is a long time.”

And thus began the astounding career of Argentine-born Sofia Merajver MD, PhD whose chief effort, and I say “chief” because she dons more hats than anyone I have known, is working fervently to determine why some breast cancer cells are so aggressive in their propensity to spread. Such cancers are difficult to treat and generally have poor prognoses.

So this is deadly serious business. Our country has one of the world’s highest incidences of breast cancer — 230,000 annually. Some 2.5 million are affected globally, and most of those women have no access to treatment at all. That’s where the University of Michigan’s Center for Global Health comes in. Dr Merajver directs it.

“How do we take care of people in an area where there are three oncologists for 25 million people? How can we design cancer programs for people who make $2 a day? We have to create answers,” said Merajver who, in addition to being a physician, has a doctorate in physics. She also is a U-M professor of internal medicine and epidemiology, scientific director of the Breast Oncology Program of the Comprehensive Cancer center, and director of the U-M Breast and Ovarian Cancer Risk Evaluation Program.

The latter two inspire much of her lab work, which has included an important discovery that genes called RhoC and p38gamma foster the movement of breast cancer cells and their invasion into tissues and blood and lymphatic vessels. “We believe this will have important implications for the future with regard to developing medicines that prevent this kind of motion,” she explained.

“We have developed a very strong drug candidate in the lab, and would like to move it along in further studies and to see it through as soon as possible to human studies.” All very expensive, of course.

But lives are in the balance, many in regions like North Africa, where a very aggressive form of the cancer, called inflammatory breast cancer, accounts for more than 10% of all breast cancer cases. There has been progress in so-called high income countries like the US – overall breast cancer mortality has decreased 2 percent a year for the last 20 years – but much more work is needed, especially at a global scale in low resource areas

“The cancers we are curing now are a fantastic achievement, but in doing so we have also learned the depths and complexity of the enemy, and how much we need to understand about the cancers we are not curing,” she said. “We’re working hard to know the major causal players.”

Merajver has a great team. She’s trained over 100 scientists, more than 60 post-doctoral scientists and hundreds of under-grads, who are working all over the world. “Look, if you spend all the money on what’s in front of you without training a new generation, you’re not really getting it,” she said. “If we’re so short sighted to think we can solve all the problems in our lifetime, that’s the biggest mistake we can possibly make,” she said.

Not that she’s not trying. And she’s up to it. This is a woman who lost not just her dad, but her mother, too, at a very young age. She has three children, one with a profound disability. And when she can, she’s off to countries with scarce resources, where she tries and has succeeded many times to better the lives of women with the disease.

She wouldn’t have it another way.

“God has given me a few extra hours a day beyond the 24,” she said, chuckling. “I am obviously willing to have a lifestyle that entails that my work is a very huge part of what I do, every day and night.

“But this really is a privileged existence. To be paid for having ideas, and curing people … it’s just a huge, huge, huge honor. There’s nothing that compares to the opportunity to save lives.”

I believe that there is a near sacred obligation to support Dr. Merajver’s work. More about that later, but I personally and Hiller’s corporately is gearing up to prove Winston Churchill was correct.