President Eisenhower believed that if a nation became Communist, nearby countries would probably do so, too. To explain this, he coined the phrase "the domino theory," and the belief took hold.

This belief led to an action that created as much political unrest in the United States as anything since the abolition of slavery: participation in the Vietnam War.For years, I've argued that a form of the domino theory applies to eating, which is why I've never believed a once-a-week "cheat day" helps a dieter remain on a diet. Too often, the cheat day eventually becomes two, which becomes three, and soon the diet is a fading memory.I call the food version of this phenomenon the domino effect and, like countries becoming Communist, has far-ranging effects. Studies of both healthy and unhealthy foods in the last few years have made this apparent.For instance, Boston University research has found that the unhealthy practice of eating high-calorie foods in excess does more than increase fat cell production. It also harms brown fat, the type of adipose fat that, unlike typical white body fat, is seen as good to have, for it generates body heat and burns calories.Verification of the existence of brown fat in adults occurred fairly recently. Prior to this, we believed babies and possibly slim adults possessed it, but research performed in England and published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism using magnetic resonance imaging confirmed its existence in adults. Now, the Boston University research has determined that overeating high-calorie foods sends the wrong signals to brown fat, which creates a type of domino effect that ultimately kills its ability to burn fatty acids to produce heat.In essence then, the overeating of high-calorie foods changes "good" body fat to "bad" body fat, which is bad for you, especially if you're trying to maintain a certain weight or lose some.And just like tipping one domino and watching the others aligned fall, the brown-fat-to-white-fat change affects more than body weight and body fat composition.With the increase in both, comes an increase in the incidence of diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, developing risk factors of heart disease independent of overeating high-calorie foods, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, can keep brown fat from burning white fat.But not all examples of the domino effect in the health and fitness field are related to diet. You can, for instance, increase the percentage of brown fat in your body by regular moderate-to-intense exercise.And not all the food-related examples of the domino effect are negative.For years, I've advocated supplementing your diet with whey protein powder. Mixing two servings of it with a serving of skim milk, for example, creates a quick and easy breakfast chocked full of protein and some carbs, mostly from the skim milk. Use a blender, add a serving of fibrous fruit, like strawberries or blueberries, and half a banana, and even big, muscular guys should feel energized for hours after drinking the concoction.But the goodness of whey protein goes way beyond that.When used as a supplement in studies where weightlifting and weight loss or weight maintenance was the goal, the use of whey protein was found to decrease body weight while increasing muscle mass.Talk about the holy grail of dieting.Losing weight has no value if you lose a fair amount of muscle mass. That's because along with with the loss of muscle mass always comes a reduced need for calories.As a result, a diet that causes more than the typical amount of muscle loss tends to be the one that causes you to be 10 or 12 or 15 pounds heavier than you were before the diet a year or two after.But in research published in the March/April issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, a meta-analysis of 14 prior studies found an average weight loss of 9.2 pounds where subjects used whey protein. Furthermore, when analyzing the studies where subjects attempted to increase muscle mass, those supplementing with whey protein added an average of 4.9 pounds.Put the two results together and you have a body transformation that would rival the most impressive before-and-after pictures you've ever seen in any health-related advertisement.Researchers believe a key to whey protein ingestion aiding weight loss comes from the lactoferrin found in it, a peptide that improves insulin sensitivity, blood sugar control, and seemingly inhibits new fat cell production.Other studies have shown ingesting the lactoferrin found effectively fights viruses and cancers by strengthening the body's immune system. While one study using animals found lactoferrin to be an effective anticancer agent, another performed on humans determined that lactoferrin suppressed the growth of pancreatic cancer cells. Lactoferrin also seems to regulate the intestinal tract and reduce the inflammation created by bowel diseases.In short, using whey protein powder does far more good for you than providing the high-quality protein so essential in formulating a filling breakfast.