Friday, September 26, 2014

Vegan Dairy choices

Cheese:

Vegusto
Botanical Cuisine
Cheezly
Kingland
Sheese
Tofutti  (The salmon cream cheese is not vegan)
Peace Love and Vegetables
Kinda Cheese
Biolife - Available at delis. I have listed a good blog with stockist lists.
Daiya - Available at Prahran Convenience and The Cruelty Free Shop (in store and online)
Yoghurt:
Coyo  
Alpine Coconut Yoghurt (These guys also do a goat yoghurt so be careful)
 Pura Veda 

Cream:
Soyatoo  

Plamil
Kingland
Praise 99% Fat Free
Masterfoods Tartare Sauce


Chocolate:
 (just my favourites as there are too many to list!)

Pana Chocolate
Loving Earth 


Condensed Milk:
Olvebra 

There are also vegan soft serve flavours at FrolicCraveIlya and many others, with vegan toppings. Most ice cream shops like TrampolineGelato MessinaFritz GelatoDavey Mac's, and other gelato/sorbet places have vegan sorbet.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Alzheimer's Senility, Dementia: Caused by Meat, Fish, Alcohol, Aluminum, Mercury

Homocysteine, uric acid, animal fat or cholesterol, mercury, lead, and many other metals are some of the many compounds present in meat and fish which harm the brain. Aluminum compounds and alcohol consumption as well cause loss of brain function.

William Shakespeare in "Twelfth Night": "He is a heavy eater of beef. Methinks it doth harm to his wit."

DIET

1. The prime cause of Alzheimer's (senility, dementia) is the homocysteine protein in meat and fish, a protein breaking down the amyloid plaque which lines the arteries of the brain and other parts of the body causing hypoxia or deprivation of oxygen to the brain and other organs.
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12849121 reprinted from Lancet

2. The animal fat, cholesterol, found in animal flesh (meat), fish flesh, eggs, and dairy... also lines the brain and other arteries. Brain and cardiac surgeons must often cut through this white gluey substance to do their operations. Hypoxia, lethal stroke are some results.

3. The uric acid (trioxypurine or pre-urine) in the muscle cells of animals is stronger than caffeine or dioxypurine. Besides its addictive qualities, it crystallizes in needle formation around the joints causing arthritic pain and rigidity. Its crystals line the brain arteries as well.

4. The mercury present in all ocean fishes is a toxin which destroys memory. Some other toxic metal present in ocean fishes include zinc, nickel, chromium, copper, cobalt, cadmium, lead,
magnesium, tin. Arsenic, a poisonous element, is also present in fish. All of these harm brain function as well as do thousands of poisonous chemicals discharged into the ocean from fertilizers, petroleum products, oil spills, medications excreted in urine, etc.
 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924796312000905 "Some metals, such as lead and mercury, easily cross the placenta and damage the fetal brain. Childhood exposure to some metals can result in learning difficulties, memory impairment, damage to the nervous system, and behavioral problems such as aggressiveness and hyperactivity.
At higher doses, heavy metals can cause irreversible brain damage."
 http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/confronting-toxics/heavy-metal/
The link is from Physicians For Social Responsibility.

5. Heavy eaters of meat and fish have less fiber and less vitamin C in their diet.  Vitamin C is a bouncer of brain and other toxins. It also speeds the flow of signals across brain synapses. It is absent in meat, fish and dairy products.

6. The insecticides in nonorganic meat and fish have thousands of toxic side effects harming brain function.

7. Meat takes 3 to 4 hours to digest in the stomach, longer than any other food, while most fruits take the least time to digest. After a lion has sprinted to kill another animal, he lies around for 3 days digesting his food. Meat diverts blood from the brain to the stomach.

8. Thiamin Mononitrate (called B1) is often derived from pig flesh and organ meats,
foods which cause diseases including those of brain function.
 http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Thiamine+mononitrate Companies
such as General Mills include it in flours such as Bisquick.

9. Many medications can destroy the myelin sheath, the protection around nerve cells.
Many cause tardive-dyskinesia, an uncontrollable shaking.
 http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/legal/tardive-dyskinesia/medications.h

10.Many other medications cause brain seizures.
 http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/newsletter/jul09_AEDs

11. Many vaccines contain mercury.

12. Now more than ever the radioactive spills from Fukushima, which accumulate more
daily, as well as those from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, atom bombs dropped on
Nagasaki and Hiroshima, atom and hydrogen bomb testing by the US in Nevada, by
the French in Bikini, by the 9 nuclear weapon nations harm brain function. This
radiation is concentrated in fish flesh in many times the concentration in seawater.

13. Monosodium glutamate MSG is not intrinsic to meat but is put into the muscle flesh of meat to tenderize it. It also breaks down the brain's and other muscle and nerve tissue of humans eating the MSG meat.. it is called the Chinese restaurant headache cause. The FDA allows it in tens of thousands of varieties of canned food and meats under the deceptive label 'natural flavors'.  http://msgtruth.org
 
14. . Prions: the work of Nobel laureate Dr Stanley Prusiner was put on a back burner at Harvard, which is invested in the meat industry. He left and continued his prion research at Stanford. Prions are a cause of Mad Cow or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, cervine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Deer) etc. The USDA has been involved in censoring incidents of Mad Cow in the US. Songiform encephalopathy diseases affect the brain and spinal cord.  http://www.mad-cow.org 7000 articles  http://www.madcowboy.com For many years the US unlike the UK has censored news of Mad Cow,
Mad Pig, Mad Deer, Mad Chicken, Mad Turkey, Mad Fish, Mad Milk etc. in US animals.

15. Stearates are added to some vitamin pills and break down brain and other cell walls
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/23/whole-food
 http://www.nowfoods.com/Products/FAQs/FAQs-on-Magnesium-Stearate.htm

16. It is not just the flesh of fishes but fish oil supplements in polluted vitamin D and other supplements which harm the brain from mercury and other heavy metals.

17. Gelatin and gelcaps are made from the powder of mammal bones and can contain many poisons from Mad Cow and other spongiform encephalopathy diseases to radiation, hormone residue etc.

18. Tryptophan is an amino acid in meat and fish which makes people sleepy, interfering with brain function.
Recapping, vitamin pills can contain magnesium stearate, gelatin, fish oil, and thiamin mononitrate, all of which come from the cadavers of animals or fishes. It is time for all corporations, grocery stores and chains, and restaurants selling food to be required to label items which are vegan or vegetarian

ALCOHOL

1. Even a small amount of alcohol destroys brain cells. A few drinks can cause
slurred speech, falls. Alcoholism causes delirium tremens.

ALUMINUM AND OTHER METALS DESTROY BRAIN CELLS

1. Aluminum compounds in baking powder and as an additive in some flours. Some of these are
sodium aluminium sulfate, sodium aluminum phosphate, and sodium acid pyrophosphate.
2. Aluminum in cookware
3. Aluminum in aluminum foil often used in baking.
4. Aluminum in chemtrails
 http://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/neurologist-warns-aluminum-in-chemtra/
5. Aluminum in deodorants
 http://www.naturalnews.com/027624_deodorant_aluminum.html
6. Workers making the new compact flourescent lightbulbs (CFL's) as well as many other workers are exposed to heavy metals, mercury, radiation.

Despite what fish corporations' puppets say, Fish is not brain food. It's brain destroying food.

Elimination of meat, fish, dairy, alcohol, aluminum sources can gradually heal the brain. Again, Vitamin C is excellent for speeding the flow of nerve signals across brain synapses.

Links amplifying this article are from Physicians For Social Responsibility, GeoengineeringWatch, BrainSpinalCord Dot Org Natural News, Science Direct, Epilepsy etc. MedicalDictionary, etc

Don’t Take the Bait-Fish is Not a Health Food

Here are four facts you may not know about fish:

1. Fish is high in cholesterol.

Touted as a health food, fish has a reputation for being heart-healthy. People who opt for fish to try to protect their hearts might not realize that fish is often high in cholesterol.
While a 3-ounce T-bone steak contains 70 milligrams of cholesterol, three ounces of shrimp contain 161 milligrams. Numerous studies have shown that dietary cholesterol consumption corresponds with an increased risk for artery blockage.
The good news is that by eliminating foods that contain cholesterol, like fish, and opting for naturally cholesterol-free plant foods, people can reduce both their cholesterol levels and their risk of heart disease. Research has shown that every 1 percent reduction in cholesterol can reduce heart disease risk by 2 percent.

2. Most of the fat in fish is not heart-healthy fat.

While fish does contain omega-3 fats, most of the fat in fish is not heart healthy. Between 15 and 30 percent of the fat in fish is actually saturated fat, which stimulates the liver to produce more cholesterol. High-fat foods are associated with poor heart health outcomes.
Fish is often celebrated for being low in fat, but this is often not the case: 52 percent of the calories in Chinook salmon come from fat. Plant foods, on the other hand, are often naturally low in fat. Only 2 percent of the calories in rice and 4 percent of the calories in beans come from fat. Research has shown that diets low in fat are best for preventing heart disease.
In 1990, Dean Ornish, M.D., demonstrated that a low-fat vegetarian diet is capable of reversing heart disease. He put patients with heart disease on a low-fat, plant-based diet, and in one year, 82 percent showed a measurable reversal of their coronary artery blockages.

3. Supplementing with fish oil may do more harm than good.

In recent years, fish oil has been hailed as a miracle cure for everything from heart disease to dementia. Many people supplement with fish oil to increase their intake of omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for maintaining cellular function. Unfortunately, studies have shown that most of the health claims associated with fish oil may be unfounded.
A comprehensive Journal of the American Medical Association analysis involving 20 studies and more than 68,000 patients showed no link between fish oil and heart health. Similarly, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that patients who supplemented with fish oil did not reduce their risk of heart disease.
Additionally, recent reports indicate no association between fish oil supplementation and the prevention or improvement of dementia symptoms. Research has even shown that omega-3 supplements may increase diabetes and prostate cancer risk. Fortunately, many plant foods contain alpha-linolenic acid or ALA, which is the only essential omega-3 fatty acid. Excellent sources of ALA include walnuts, soybeans, leafy greens, flaxseed, avocado, and broccoli.
By eating a diet rich in these foods, people can reap all the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids without any of the side effects associated with fish consumption. Research has even shown that women who follow vegan diets have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood than those who consume diets rich in fish, meat, and dairy.

4. Fish are full of pollutants.

Because fish and shellfish live in increasingly polluted environments, toxins from the water accumulate in their bodies. Studies have shown that most of the fish throughout the world contain dangerously high levels of mercury.
Exposure to mercury, which is a toxic metal, has serious health consequences, including increased risk for cancer, heart disease, and even death. A recent study revealed a link between mercury exposure and diabetes. Among nearly 3,000 participants, those who consumed the most mercury over an 18-year period had a 65 percent greater risk for developing diabetes.
Fish also contain unsafe levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, which are dangerous chemicals that have been linked to neurological problems and birth defects in babies who have been exposed. A plant-based diet automatically reduces exposure to these toxins.

Can We End Alzheimer’s?

Alzheimer’s disease is the fastest growing health threat in the United States, according to a new landmark report from researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The numbers are staggering. A 2013 study in the journal Neurology found that the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease will jump from 4.7 million to 13.8 million by 2050. Associated health care costs will skyrocket from $200 billion to more than $1 trillion by 2050, increasing the cost of Medicaid and Medicare by 500 percent.
The disease is incurable. But research is at a critical turning point and shows that diet and exercise can play crucial roles in reducing the odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Fighting Debilitating Memory Loss

The latest scientific findings show that diet and lifestyle changes can create a barrier against cognitive decline.
Researchers from the Chicago Health and Aging Project analyzed the diets of thousands of people over years. The findings are groundbreaking: Saturated “bad” fat—found in milk, cheese, and meat—is strongly linked to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, increasing risk more than threefold. Trans fats increase risk fivefold. Avoiding these fats can cut risk dramatically.
Foods rich in vitamin E, such as broccoli, walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds, also reduced dementia risk by as much as 70 percent. Other studies show that foods overly rich in iron or copper can promote cognitive loss, while folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 may help protect the memory.
This brain-healthy diet is almost identical to the diet that helps prevent stroke, heart disease, obesity, and other chronic diseases: a low-fat diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Combining this with physical and mental exercise, and avoiding harmful toxins such as aluminum in supplements or cookware, can maximize protection for the brain.

Power Foods for the Brain’s Brain-Boosting Diet

Power Foods for the BrainPower Foods for the Brain, the latest book by Physicians Committee president and nutrition researcher Neal Barnard, M.D., presents this latest, compelling research on nutrition’s surprising effects on the brain. Dr. Barnard lays out a three-step plan to protect the mind and strengthen the memory: Put power foods to work, strengthen your brain, and defeat memory threats. The book also includes 75 power-food recipes, sample mental stimulation exercises, guides to choosing aluminum-free foods and medicines, and a guide to physical exercise.
Learn more about brain health and purchase Power Foods for the Brain at PCRM.org/Brain.

Brain Threats

  • Saturated fats, found in meats, dairy products, and eggs appear to encourage the production of beta-amyloid plaques within the brain. The Chicago Health and Aging Study reported in the Archives of Neurology in 2003 that people consuming the most saturated fat had more than triple the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, compared with people who generally avoided these foods.
  • Trans fats, found in doughnuts and snack pastries, have been shown to increase Alzheimer’s risk more than fivefold. These “bad fats” raise cholesterol levels and apparently increase production of the beta-amyloid protein that collects in plaques in the brain as Alzheimer’s disease begins.
  • Excess iron can build up in the brain, sparking the production of damaging free radicals. Sources of excess iron include cast-iron cookware, meats, and iron supplements.
  • Excess copper impairs cognition—even in mid-adulthood—and ends up in the plaques of Alzheimer’s disease. It comes from copper pipes and nutritional supplements.
  • Aluminum has been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, so it pays to err on the side of caution. Avoid uncoated aluminum cookware and read labels when buying baking powder, antacids, and processed foods.

Brain-Protecting Foods

  • Nuts and seeds are rich in vitamin E, which has been shown to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Especially good sources are almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pecans, pistachios, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and flaxseed. Just 1 ounce—a small handful—each day is plenty.
  • Blueberries and grapes get their deep colors from anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants shown to improve learning and recall in studies at the University of Cincinnati.
  • Sweet potatoes are the dietary staple of Okinawans, the longest-lived people on Earth, who are also known for maintaining mental clarity into old age. Sweet potatoes are extremely rich in beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant.
  • Green leafy vegetables provide iron in a form that is more absorbable when the body needs more and less absorbable when you already have plenty, protecting you from iron overload which can harm the brain. Green vegetables are also loaded with folate, an important brain-protecting B-vitamin.
  •  Beans and chickpeas have vitamin B6 and folate, as well as protein and calcium, with no saturated fat or trans fat.
  • Vitamin B12 is essential for healthy nerves and brain cells. While many people have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from foods, B12 in supplements is highly absorbable. Together, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 eliminate homocysteine, which can build up in the bloodstream—rather like factory waste—and damage the brain.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

But, Isn't Olive Oil Healthy?

But, Isn't Olive Oil Healthy?
By Matthew Lederman and Alona Pulde
The debate over olive oil is a popular one, and considering the mass advertising for the health benefits of olive oil and the Mediterranean Diet, it is no wonder that this is so. But is olive oil a health food? Doesn't it provide us with our essential fatty acids? Isn't it loaded with polyphenols? Does it really protect us against Heart Disease? Let us examine the evidence and decide for ourselves.
In order to understand the claim that the Mediterranean Diet is healthy, we must understand what that assertion is based on. The data for this claim was collected over 50 years ago and based on observations made of the people living on the island of Crete. What were these observations? That these people were eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains and were supplementing their diet with olive oil and occasional animal products (particularly fish). In addition, they were physically active (lots of walking and working in the fields).
So, is it any wonder that they were reported to be healthier than the average sedentary American living on the Standard American Diet? No, not really. But, what did we take from this study? Certainly not that we should get off the couch and start moving or that the basis of our diet needed to change, and that we needed to incorporate more of these whole foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains). Instead, we decided that of all the good things in this lifestlye, we would hone in on the one part of the Mediterranean Diet that is 100% fat and devoid of virtually all nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, fiber, protein, etc) -- olive oil.
Alona PuldeSo, we began to add olive oil to everything because if a little is "good," then a lot must be better. Why is this a problem? Because, on many levels it is misinformation. First, even if a little of something was good, that in no way correlates to a lot of that something being better. Take as an example exposure to sunlight. Getting a little bit of sun helps our skin activate Vitamin D (a vital component in many processes occurring in our bodies); getting a lot of sun gives us a sunburn; and getting a whole lot of sun can give us cancer.
But even more important is the fact that the addition of olive oil to our already saturated-with-fat diet is in fact detrimental to our health. The American Heart Association recommends limiting our fat intake to 25-35% of our total caloric intake. (AHA Website "Know your fats.") The average American diet is 45% fat. If we do the math, we can see that what we really need to be doing is cutting out fat, NOT adding more!
How do we do this? One, by greatly limiting or altogether eliminating oil from our diet. Oil is THE most calorie dense food available to us. To get a better idea, let us look at some foods and their calories per pound:
FOOD CALORIES PER POUND
FoodCalories Per Pound
Lettuce100
Apples200
Sweet Potato400
Brown Rice500
Black Beans600
Olives (in water)600
Avocado750
Chocolate2200
Nuts2800
Oil4000
We can see in the above table that pound for pound oil has more calories than ANY of the other foods. Why is this? Because oil is processed to strip away almost all of the vitamins (except some Vitamin E and Vitamin K), minerals, and other nutrients from the whole food (e.g. olives for olive oil, soybeans for soybean oil, flax for flax oil) leaving us with 100% fat. And fat, has the most calories per gram of any other food component. Compare one gram of fat at 9 calories to one gram of protein or carbohydrate each at 4 calories per gram.
What does this mean? It means that fat has two times more calories than the same amount of either protein or carbohydrates. Not to mention, that fat is much more easily stored as fat than either protein or carbohydrates. So, by adding oil to our diets we not only greatly increase the number of calories we consume BUT any of these extra fat calories will go directly to our waists, hips, thighs, or butts. To drive this point home, let us use a few examples:
  1. Vegetables sautéed in soy sauce (1 tablespoon) = 189 calories, 1% fat, BUT the same vegetables sautéed in olive oil (1 tablespoon) = 308 calories, 21% fat. Adding oil here almost doubles the total calories, not to mention increases your total percentage of fat from calories.
  2. A baked potato has 161 calories, 0% fat while the same amount of French Fries (fried in oil) has 550 calories, 43% fat. In this case, frying with oil has over 3 times the calories and 43 times the percentage of fat!
The examples are endless, but the message in each case is the same - adding oil significantly increases the caloric make-up of our food as well as the total percentage of fat in our food.
What if we were able to reduce our oil intake to meet the 25 to 35% recommendation? That would certainly be a start, but the percentage of fat is not the only thing wrong with oil. We already mentioned that oil, being liquid fat, is devoid of practically all nutrients (except Vitamin E and Vitamin K). In addition, ALL oils promote heart disease. A study reported in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) looked at the effect of oils on atherosclerotic (plaque build-up) lesions in the arteries of the heart. They found that ALL OILS - saturated, monounsaturated (olive oil) and polyunsaturated (flax oil) - were associated with an INCREASE in the plaque build up that clogs our arteries and leads to heart attacks. (JAMA 263:1646, 1990) Of note, the study found that these lesions DID NOT stop growing when monounsaturated fats (olive oil) were substituted for saturated fats (butter, lard, coconut oil).
Matthew LedermanOil also causes our red blood cells to clump together, limiting their ability to absorb and deliver oxygen to our cells. This clumping then leads to a slowing down of our blood flow. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that our blood flow decreases by over 30% for the four hours following a fatty meal. (Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2000;36:1455-60;Vogel RA, et.al. American Journal of Cardiology. 1997;79:350-354. ) With this decrease in perfusion, is it any wonder that so many of us "crash" after a meal? Finally, oil suppresses our immune system, thus promoting the growth of cancer cells and making us vulnerable to infections.
But, doesn't olive oil provides us with our essential fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6)? Actually, olive oil is composed mostly of monounsaturated fats that are not essential. In fact, to get enough omega-3 from olive oil, you would need to drink 8 ounces, or one cup, that contains 1900 calories and 30g of saturated fat! A healthier way to obtain your essentially fatty acids would be to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds (not the oil) daily.
What about the polyphenols in olive oil, isn't that healthy? Polyphenols are antioxidants found in plant foods with many reported heath benefits. The key here is that these substances are found in plants, meaning they can be found in fruits and vegetables, foods with more nutrients, less calories, and less fat compared to oil. As a matter of fact, in 12 calories of leaf lettuce (about 4 lettuce leaves) there are as many polyphenols (30mg) as in 120 calories (1 tablespoon) of olive oil.
The take home message is that NO oil is good oil, and olive oil is no exception. As a final analogy, think of a pipe through which water should run. Imagine the fluidity of the water as it flows through the pipe. Now, imagine pouring oil into that same pipe. The oil is much thicker, much more viscous than the water. Finally, imagine those pipes are your blood vessels (arteries, veins, etc) where the blood should run much like water - smooth and flowing, but instead, for so many of us that incorporate oil into our diets, it flows more like that oil -- slow and sluggish. Considering that these "pipes" not only deliver your entire body with nutrients from your food, but also supply you with the oxygen you need to thrive and survive. What would you prefer to have running through them?

Saturday, September 06, 2014

The problem with "diets"


The problem with "diets" is that they are designed to be a temporary adjustment in eating pattern with a goal of changing the number on the scale. What gets lost along the way are long-term implications (health, sustainability, lifestyle) and willpower because of so-called "failed attempts," frustration, and disappointment. With the media flipping around on which macronutrient to remove next (e.g. carbs or fat), it confuses the masses and leads to spinning in circles, chasing the proverbial tail.
Low carb diets are not healthful, sustainable, or effective in the long-term, regardless of the new hype...yet again.
Here are 3 reasons the theory is ridiculous:
1. Carbohydrates are a macronutrient, not a food group. There are carbs in all whole plant foods as well as in refined processed junk foods. Comparing quinoa to a candy bar is destructive, dangerous, and nonsensical.
2. Carbohydrates in whole foods come packaged with the most important nutrients necessary to survive and thrive....phyochemicals and fibers. Our brains can only use carbs as fuel and carb-rich foods provide immediate and lasting energy for the body.
3. Avoiding fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains to minimize carb consumption leaves animal foods and highly processed low carb junk food in the pool as a foundation for the diet. These foods are unquestionably known to promote disease, whereas whole plant foods are known to protect against disease.
The key to permanent weight loss AND long-term health is a *lifestyle* filled with wholesome, intact plant foods, and the avoidance of animal products and processed foods.
*Resources:
--->Dr. David Katz's Diet Research, Stuck in the Stone Age: http://linkd.in/1qfVkEq
--->Marion Nestle's The Diet Wars: Same Old, Same Old: http://bit.ly/1lKCiGd
--->Andy Bellatti's Small Bites Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb: The Winner is Neither: http://bit.ly/YhfEuz
--->Carbs: http://bit.ly/1u3k8Rf
--->JAMA's A Call for The End of The Diet Debates: http://bit.ly/WgFflJ
--->Comparison of Named Diet Programs Finds Little Difference in Weight Loss Outcomes: http://bit.ly/1rObFCG
--->The Truth About Weight Loss From a Weight Loss Researcher: http://bit.ly/1jUz8YB
--->NutritionFacts.org's From Table to Able: http://bit.ly/1unz6Ri and on low-carb diets: http://bit.ly/1rwih6r
--->The Multiple Variables of Weight Loss: http://on.fb.me/1nycKaL
--->Losing Weight On A Vegan Diet: http://bit.ly/1kxibtl
The problem with "diets" is that they are designed to be a temporary adjustment in eating pattern with a goal of changing the number on the scale. What gets lost along the way are long-term implications (health, sustainability, lifestyle) and willpower because of so-called "failed attempts," frustration, and disappointment. With the media flipping around on which macronutrient to remove next (e.g. carbs or fat), it confuses the masses and leads to spinning in circles, chasing the proverbial tail.

Low carb diets are not healthful, sustainable, or effective in the long-term, regardless of the new hype...yet again.

Here are 3 reasons the theory is ridiculous:

1. Carbohydrates are a macronutrient, not a food group. There are carbs in all whole plant foods as well as in refined processed junk foods. Comparing quinoa to a candy bar is destructive, dangerous, and nonsensical.
2. Carbohydrates in whole foods come packaged with the most important nutrients necessary to survive and thrive....phyochemicals and fibers. Our brains can only use carbs as fuel and carb-rich foods provide immediate and lasting energy for the body.
3. Avoiding fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains to minimize carb consumption leaves animal foods and highly processed low carb junk food in the pool as a foundation for the diet. These foods are unquestionably known to promote disease, whereas whole plant foods are known to protect against disease.

The key to permanent weight loss AND long-term health is a *lifestyle* filled with wholesome, intact plant foods, and the avoidance of animal products and processed foods.

*Resources:
--->Dr. David Katz's Diet Research, Stuck in the Stone Age: http://linkd.in/1qfVkEq
--->Marion Nestle's The Diet Wars: Same Old, Same Old: http://bit.ly/1lKCiGd
--->Andy Bellatti's Small Bites Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb: The Winner is Neither: http://bit.ly/YhfEuz
--->Carbs: http://bit.ly/1u3k8Rf
--->JAMA's A Call for The End of The Diet Debates: http://bit.ly/WgFflJ
--->Comparison of Named Diet Programs Finds Little Difference in Weight Loss Outcomes: http://bit.ly/1rObFCG
--->The Truth About Weight Loss From a Weight Loss Researcher: http://bit.ly/1jUz8YB
--->NutritionFacts.org's From Table to Able: http://bit.ly/1unz6Ri and on low-carb diets: http://bit.ly/1rwih6r
--->The Multiple Variables of Weight Loss: http://on.fb.me/1nycKaL
--->Losing Weight On A Vegan Diet: http://bit.ly/1kxibtl



Wednesday, September 03, 2014

100 Scientific Reasons to NOT Eat Meat

100 Scientific Reasons to NOT Eat Meat

Meat is Bad
Is meat healthy?
Well, you should ask yourself one question: what does the science say?
Science…not marketing or hype.
For example, do you believe that a pomegranate has more and/or superior antioxidants than, say, an apple? If you said yes, then you are a victim of hype.
And this hype was from twisting the truth of a scientific study…
As mentioned in Wikipedia:
Despite limited research data, manufacturers and marketers of pomegranate juice have liberally used evolving research results for product promotion, especially for putative antioxidant health benefits. In February 2010, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to one such manufacturer, POM Wonderful, for using published literature to make illegal claims of unproven antioxidant and anti-disease benefits.
Source: “Pom Wonderful Warning Letter”. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
Source: “Understanding Front-of-Package Violations: Why Warning Letters Are Sent to Industry”. Retrieved 2011-03-24.
Don’t buy into the hype. Unfortunately, a lot of magazines and blogs will hype a headline and people will regurgitate it without even reading the article. If you want the science behind something you have to look at the studies, plain and simple. Not the advertising.
Also, please note, I am including all animal products and byproducts (e.g. beef, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs, and cheese) when I say meat. Although the studies’ usage of the term varies.
So let us look at the science and find out the…

100 Scientific Reasons to Not Eat Meat*

1.) Neu5Gc is found only in animal meat. Neu5Gc appears to have a strong link to cancer and heart disease.
Notes: Neu5Gc is not produced by the human body or our great ape ancestors (probably due to a common mutation). But Neu5Gc is almost always found in human tumors. The inflammation it causes seems to feed tumors and harden arteries.
Source: Diversity in specificity, abundance, and composition of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in normal humans: potential implications for disease. Glycobiology. 2008 Oct;18(10):818-30.
2.) Top 15 foods for advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are all meat sourced with roasted BBQ chicken skin and fried bacon being the top.
Notes: AGEs are gerontotoxins (aka aging toxins). AGEs cause proteins to cross together causing stiffness, oxidation stress, and inflammation in muscles, brain tissue, eyes, heart, bone, red blood cells, and kidneys. Thought to contribute to muscle loss as we age.
Source: Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12.
Source: Does accumulation of advanced glycation end products contribute to the aging phenotype? J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Sep;65(9):963-75. Epub 2010 May 17.
3.) Arachidonic acid (naturally found in animal foods) is linked to brain inflammation, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Notes: Arachidonic acid is used by our bodies to create inflammation. Our bodies produce all the arachidonic acid we need unlike other animals (e.g. cats) who produce little to none because their bodies expect to get theirs from their diet (meat). Excess arachidonic acid means excess inflammation.
Source: Preliminary evidence that vegetarian diet improves mood. American Public Health Association annual conference, November 7-11, 2009. Philadelphia, PA.
4.) Chicken and eggs are the top sources of arachidonic acid.
Notes: Humans already produce the natural levels needed for our bodily functions.
Source: National Cancer Institute. 2010. Sources of Selected Fatty Acids among the US Population, 2005–06.
5.) A single meal of high-fat animal products has been shown to spike inflammation within hours that can stiffen one’s arteries.
Notes: Possible explanations could be the saturated fat or endotoxemia (see points 7, 8, and 9 below). Wild animal meat also causes inflammation. See point 10 below.
Source: Effect of a single high-fat meal on endothelial function in healthy subjects. Am J Cardiol. 1997 Feb 1; 79(3):350-4.
6.) High-fat animal products consumed will cause inflammation within the lungs.
Notes: Same study as above.
Source: Effect of a single high-fat meal on endothelial function in healthy subjects. Am J Cardiol. 1997 Feb 1; 79(3):350-4.
7.) Significant levels of bacterial toxins are found in animal products that cause endotoxemia (bacterial toxins in the bloodstream) within hours of eating.
Notes: 40 different types of common foods were tested.
Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
8.) Bacteria endotoxins from animal products have been shown to survive high heat cooking for long periods, acid (like our stomachs), and digestive enzymes.
Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
9.) Endotoxins have a strong affinity for the fat transport system in our digestive tract.
Notes: Since our body is using our fat transport system to let in all the saturated fat (which our body loves to absorb) from the animal products the endotoxins can slip right in.
Source: The capacity of foodstuffs to induce innate immune activation of human monocytes in vitro is dependent on food content of stimulants of Toll-like receptors 2 and 4. Br J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 105(1):15-23.
10.) Even wild, grass consuming animals cause inflammation in our bodies.
Notes: Inflammation was less than domestic animals. It is believe that the lower fat percentage for wild animals explains this.
Source: Differences in postprandial inflammatory responses to a ‘modern’ v. traditional meat meal: a preliminary study. Br J Nutr. 2010 Sep;104(5):724-8.
11.) Dietary fat of animal origin is linked to pancreatic cancer.
Source: Dietary fatty acids and pancreatic cancer in the NIH-AARP diet and health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Jul 15;101(14):1001-11.
12.) The chicken has been linked to urinary tract infections.
Source: Chicken as reservoir for extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli in humans, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012 Mar;18(3):415-21.
Source: Is Escherichia coli urinary tract infection a zoonosis? Proof of direct link with production animals and meat. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2012 Jun;31(6):1121-9.
13.) Feeding of cow brains to fish is still legal in the United States (brain cows being fed to cows and other livestock used to be legal and practiced a few years ago) and german scientists have shown fish can acquire mad cow disease.
Notes: Please provide any information if the feeding of cow brains to fish is no longer practiced or legal in the United States.
Source: Evaluation of the possible transmission of BSE and scrapie to gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). PLoS One, 4(7):e6175, 2009.
Source:Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and aquaculture. J Alzheimers Dis, 17(2):277-279, 2009.
Source:Food and Drug Administration, HHS § 589.2001
14.) Cholesterol has been shown to feed and promote the growth of cancer.
Source: Cholesterol and breast cancer development. Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 2012 12 (6):677–682.
15.) Half an egg a day or more is shown to double the odds of mouth, throat, esophageal, prostate, and bladder cancer; triple the odds of colon and breast cancer.
Notes: May be explained by the dixons present. While banned, levels are still present in our food and seem to be worst in animal products.
Source: Egg consumption and the risk of cancer: a multisite case-control study in Uruguay.
16.) The obesogen (chemicals that signal cells to turn into fat cells) organotin has been found in large amounts in fish.
Source: Environmental obesogens: Organotins and endocrine disruption via nuclear receptor signaling. Endocrinology, 147(6 – Suppl):-50, 2006.
Source: Dietary intake of organotin compounds in Finland: a market-basket study.
17.) Meat has little to no antioxidants. Most can’t beat iceberg lettuce.
Notes: One animal source of food did have an extremely high amount of antioxidants: human breast milk.
Source: The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010 Jan 22;9:3.
18.) High levels of PCB (industrial toxin) in fish oil, fish, and eggs (94% of eggs tested).
Source: European Food Safety Authority; Results of the monitoring of non dioxin-like PCBs in food and feed. EFSA Journal 2010; 8(7):1701. [35 pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1701.
19.) Harvard studies of 37,698 men and 83,644 women, over 22 and 30 years, respectively, found red meat to increase total mortality rates and cancer mortality rates.
Notes: Results were after controlling for age, weight, alcohol, exercise, smoking, family history, calorie intake, and intake of whole plant foods. Nuts were found to be protective when taken as an alternative protein source.
Source: Red Meat Consumption and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies. Arch Intern Med. 2012;0(2012):201122871-9.
20.) Nitrites in processed meat form nitrosamines (carcinogens also found in cigarette smoke) and are associated with the two leading pediatric cancers, brain tumors and childhood leukemia.
Notes: Hot dogs have some of the highest levels. Pregnant women should probably avoid hot dogs.
Source: A meta-analysis of maternal cured meat consumption during pregnancy and the risk of childhood brain tumors. Neuroepidemiology. 2004 Jan-Apr;23(1-2):78-84.
Source:Nitrites, nitrosamines, and cancer. Lancet. 1968 May 18;1(7551):1071-2.
21.) 47% of U.S. retail meat tested is contaminated with staph (Staphylococcus) bacteria. Multidrug resistant strains were common.
Notes: Turkey was the most common with 77% and chicken and pork with 41% and 42%, respectively. A superbug version (methicillin resistant) was also found of MRSA that can jump from pig to human.
Source: Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in US Meat and Poultry. Clin Infect Dis. 2011 May;52(10):1227-30.
Source: Infectious disease. From pigs to people: the emergence of a new superbug.
22.) Eating meat just a few times a month greatly increases the chances of abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Notes: Once an abdominal aortic aneurysm begins to tear you have less than a 15% survival rate.
Source: Analysis of risk factors for abdominal aortic aneurysm in a cohort of more than 3 million individuals. J Vasc Surg. 2010 Sep;52(3):539-48.
23.) Our liver can only detox about 50% of the heterocyclic amines (carcinogens) formed from cooked chicken. Not the originally thought 99% which other animals can.
Notes: The animal that can detox 99% is the lab rat. Thus, the prior incorrect conclusion.
Source: Biomonitoring of urinary metabolites of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (phip) following human consumption of cooked chicken. Food Chem. Toxicol., 46(9):3200-3205, 2008.
24.) One of the longest running studies showed meat consumption to increase allergies. This included asthma, bee stings, drug allergies, and hayfever.
Notes: Meat (including fish) consumed by pregnant woman can cause their children to have allergies.
Source: Knutsen SF. Lifestyle and the use of health services. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994 May;59(5 Suppl):1171S-1175S.
Source: Maternal meat and fat consumption during pregnancy and suspected atopic eczema in Japanese infants aged 3-4 months: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2010 Feb;21(1 Pt 1):38-46. Epub 2009 Jun 23.
25.) Putrescine has been determined to be a carcinogenic. Putrescine is found in food even when not spoiled. Highest level in canned tuna.
Source: Toxicological Effects of Dietary Biogenic Amines. Current Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 6, Number 2, May 2010 , pp. 145-156(12)
Source: Significance of biogenic amines to food safety and human health. Food Research International, Volume 29, Issue 7, October 1996, Pages 675-690.
26.) 100% of human Yersinia enterocolitica outbreak over the last decade was caused by pork.
Notes: Y. enterocolitica usually causes bloody diarrhea and can have very harmful long-term effects if left untreated. Half of American pig herds were found to be infected.
Source: Ranking the disease burden of 14 pathogens in food sources in the United States using attribution data from outbreak investigations and expert elicitation. J. Food Prot. 75, 1278 – 1291 (2012).
Source:Prevalence of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica strains in pigs in the United States. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 7117 – 7121 (2005).
27.) Processed meat is greatly associated with stomach, colon, rectum, pancreatic, lung, prostate, testicular, kidney, and bladder cancer.
Source: Canadian Cancer Registries Epidemiology Research Group. Salt, processed meat and the risk of cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2011 Mar;20(2):132-9.
28.) Even small amounts of meat consumption less than once a week is linked to degenerative arthritis.
Source: Associations between meat consumption and the prevalence of degenerative arthritis and soft tissue disorders in the Adventist health study, California U.S.A. J Nutr Health Aging, 10(1):7-14, 2006.
29.) After breast cancer diagnosis, increase in saturated fat consumption increased mortality from breast cancer by 41%.
Notes: Top 5 saturated fat sources include cheese, pizza, pastries, ice cream, and chicken (notice beef is not in the top 5).
Source: Post-diagnosis dietary factors and survival after invasive breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2011 Jul;128(1):229-36.
Source: National Cancer Institute. 2010. Top Food Sources of Saturated Fat among US Population.
30.) Poultry consumption is associated with an increase in lymphoma (blood cancer).
Source: Consumption of meat and dairy and lymphoma risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Int J Cancer. 2011 Feb 1;128(3):623-34.
31.) Chicken handling significantly increased risk of dying from penile (penis) cancer, thought to be due to exposure to cancer causing viruses in poultry.
Source: Cancer mortality in poultry slaughtering/processing plant workers belonging to a union pension fund. Environ Res. 2010 Aug;110(6):588-94.
32.) 14% of retail eggs contain viruses of the leukosis/sarcoma group.
Notes: These viruses are one of the most potent cancer causing viruses in chicken. Virus exposure to humans seems to increased the risk of dying from several different cancers.
Source: Detection of exogenous and endogenous avian leukosis virus in commercial chicken eggs using reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction assay. Avian Pathology (1999) 28, 385±392
Source: Cancer mortality in poultry slaughtering/processing plant workers belonging to a union pension fund. Environ Res. 2010 Aug;110(6):588-94.
33.) Besides cancer, poultry workers suffer more from a range of diseases (e.g. thyroid conditions, schizophrenia, autoimmune neurological disorders, peritonitis, and disease of the kidneys).
Source: Mortality in the Baltimore union poultry cohort: non-malignant diseases. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2010 Jun;83(5):543-52.
34.) Cured meat seems to increase the chance of getting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Notes: COPD is generally defined as lung diseases (e.g. emphysema). As of 2012, COPD is the third most common killer in the United States.
Source: Consumption of cured meats and prospective risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):1002-8.
35.) Increased meat consumption increases the risk of developing cataracts.
Source: Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May;93(5):1128-35.
36.) Bacteria-eating viruses (bacteriophages) have been approved as meat additives.
Source: Bacteria-eating virus approved as food additive. FDA Consum. 2007 Jan-Feb; 41(1):20-2.
37.) Meat contaminated with fecal food-poisoning bacteria (e.g. salmonella) can legally be sold.
Source: Public knowledge and beliefs about diarrheal disease. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2011 Jan; 8(1):165-7.
38.) Meat, fish, cheese, and general animal protein intake have been associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Source: Animal protein intake and risk of inflammatory bowel disease: The E3N prospective study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2010 Oct; 105(10):2195-201.
39.) One of the largest studies ever links meat consumption with increased overall death, death by cancer, and death by cardiovascular disease.
Notes: Study followed 500,000 people over 10 years.
Source: Meat intake and mortality: a prospective study of over half a million people. Arch Intern Med. 2009 March 23; 169(6): 562–571.
40.) High intake of meat, dairy, and butter have been shown to promote skin wrinkling.
Notes: For those curious, prunes, apples, and tea (especially green) appeared to be the most protective and reduced wrinkling and scaling the most.
Source: Skin wrinkling: can food make a difference? J Am Coll Nutr. 2001 Feb;20(1):71-80.
41.) Abdominal fat has been linked to meat, egg, and milk consumption. Poultry seems to be the worst offender.
Source: Will all Americans become overweight or obese? Estimating the progression and cost of the US obesity epidemic. Obesity (Silver Spring), 16(10):2323-2330, 2008.
42.) Heterocyclic Amines (normally only found in cooked meat) have also been found in cheese and eggs.
Source: Formation and biochemistry of carcinogenic heterocyclic aromatic amines in cooked meats. Toxicol Lett. 2007 Feb 5;168(3):219-27. Epub 2006 Nov 16.
43.) Kidney failure is linked to meat.
Notes: Meat consumption was shown to cause human proteins to be urinated out (microalbuminuria). Something that should never happen.
Source: Associations of diet with albuminuria and kidney function decline. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010 May; 5(5):836-43.
44.) New, lower target cholesterol levels are not obtainable when meat is consumed.
Source: High marks for below-average cholesterol. For the best protection against clogged arteries and heart disease, average cholesterol no longer makes the grade–lower is better. Harv Heart Lett. 2006 Feb;16(6):4-5.
45.) Iron found in meat passes through the digestive system without regulation.
Notes: Iron is a pro-oxidant, which can cause oxidative stress and DNA damage. Too much iron can cause colon cancer, cardiovascular disease, infection, and inflammatory conditions. Body has no means to get rid of excess iron through a regulatory system.
Source: Mechanisms of heme iron absorption: current questions and controversies. World J Gastroenterol. 2008 Jul 14; 14(26):4101-10.
46.) Animal foods (including turkey) shown to decrease tryptophan in the brain.
Notes: Tryptophan rich animal foods like turkey will increase the tryptophan levels in the blood, but this in turns decreases it in the brain. Plant based foods high in tryptophan, when compared to other amino acids, and carbohydrates (like seeds) work best to elevate mood and tryptophan in the brain.
Source: Protein-source tryptophan as an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder: a pilot study. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Sep;85(9):928-32.
47.) Propionate. Meat has no fiber to support healthy bacteria in our guts. That means our bacteria cannot produce propionate which is used to regulate cholesterol and either help us feel satisfied or possibly regulate generation of new fat cells.
Source: Propionate. Anti-obesity and satiety enhancing factor? Appetite. 2011 Apr;56(2):511-5.
48.) Refined grains, eggs, and poultry shown to cause prostate enlargement the most.
Source: Food groups and risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Urology. 2006 Jan;67(1):73-9.
49.) Even when meat consumption is reduced to only fish and eggs, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) remained relatively the same.
Notes: IGF-1 has been shown to promote cancer growth.
Source: The associations of diet with serum insulin-like growth factor I and its main binding proteins in 292 women meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Nov;11(11):1441-8.
50.) Arsenic, lead, mercury, lead, cadmium, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and veterinary drugs have been found contaminating animal products.
Source: Chemical safety of meat and meat products. Meat Sci. 2010 Sep;86(1):38-48.
51.) Fire retardant chemicals (PBDE) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) found heavily in meats.
Notes: For PBDEs, fish was the worst offender, followed by turkey, and the third worst being chicken. PCNs have a dixion-like effect on the body. The animal with the highest levels was fish. Second was chicken.
Source: Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) levels in an expanded market basket survey of U.S. food and estimated PBDE dietary intake by age and sex. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Oct;114(10):1515-20.
Source:Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in U.S. Meat and poultry from two statistically designed surveys showing trends and levels from 2002 to 2008. Agric Food Chem. 2011 May 25;59(10):5428-34.
52.) Consumption of meat, fish, and dairy products associated with mothers passing on DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) to their unborn child even decades after the pesticide being banned.
Source: Organochlorine pesticides in umbilical cord blood serum of women from Southern Spain and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Food Chem Toxicol. 2010 May;48(5):1311-5.
53.) Perfluorochemicals (linked to thyroid disease) exposure comes from meat, fish, and eggs.
Source: Perfluorochemicals in meat, eggs and indoor dust in China: assessment of sources and pathways of human exposure to perfluorochemicals. Environ Sci Technol. 2010 May 1;44(9):3572-9.
54.) 30 year follow up of multiple sclerosis patients showed 95% of those who stopped consuming saturated fat had no progression of the disease.
Notes: A 50 year follow up showed those 95% who started to consume animal fat again instantly had the disease return. The conclusion of the study said MS is mostly likely caused from saturated animal fat.
Source: Effect of low saturated fat diet in early and late cases of multiple sclerosis. Lancet 1990 336(8706):37 – 39.
Source: Review of MS patient survival on a Swank low saturated fat diet. Nutrition 2003 19(2):161 – 162.
55.) Increase dairy intake can double your risk of heart attack.
Source:Plasma and erythrocyte biomarkers of dairy fat intake and risk of ischemic heart disease. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(4):929, 2007.
56.) Almost 80% of all antimicrobials (antibiotics) produced are used on and feed to livestock.
Source: 2009 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2010.
57.) Elderly people given milk as children have triple the risk of colorectal cancer.
Source: Childhood dairy intake and adult cancer risk: 65-y follow-up of the boyd orr cohort. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(6):1722, 2007.
58.) All types of meat (no matter how it is cooked) increases cancer of the uterus.
Notes: Poultry and fish increased the risk the most.
Source: Animal food intake and cooking methods in relation to endometrial cancer risk in shanghai. Br. J. Cancer, 95(11):15861592, 2006.
59.) Only purines (meats) and fructose increases uric acid levels in our bodies.
Notes: Uric acid increases gout, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.
Source: The role of uric acid as an endogenous danger signal in immunity and inflammation. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2011 Apr;13(2):160-6.
60.) PhIP (a type of heterocyclic amines carcinogen in cooked meats) not only damages DNA, but also activates estrogen receptors (almost as strong as the hormone estrogen itself) on breast cancer cells and promotes its growth.
Notes: PhIP has been found in mother’s breast milk. Meaning PhIP from cooked meat does make its way to the breast tissues.
Source: The cooked food derived carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b] pyridine is a potent oestrogen: A mechanistic basis for its tissue-specific carcinogenicity. Carcinogenesis 2004 25(12):2509 – 2517
61.) PhIP stimulates breast cancer cells to invade healthy cells more so than the hormone estrogen itself. Even when PhIP is at low concentrations.
Notes: PhIP is most common in chicken, beef, and fish.
Source: The cooked meat-derived mammary carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine promotes invasive behaviour of breast cancer cells. Toxicology 2011 279(1 – 3):139 – 145
62.) Meat fumes from cooked meat may be hazardous for fetal development and increase the risk of cancer.
Notes: Simply being around the vapors (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs for short) was associated with a birth weight decrease and head shrinkage.
Source: Impact of barbecued meat consumed in pregnancy on birth outcomes accounting for personal prenatal exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Birth cohort study in Poland. Nutrition. 2012 Apr;28(4):372-7.
63.) A diet high in protein, particularly animal protein, has been associated with relapse of inflammatory bowel disease and a higher risk of inflammatory bowel disease.
Source: Diet and risk of inflammatory bowel disease. Dig Liver Dis 2012 44(3):185 – 194
64.) Microparticles (titanium dioxide and aluminum silicate), common additive in pastries and processed food, consumed with endotoxins cause an inflammatory response in the gut wall 6x greater compared to endotoxins alone.
Notes: Most people are digesting a trillion particles of titanium dioxide a day. Researchers found these microparticles in all 18 diseased colons (colon cancer or inflammatory bowel) used for a study. No microparticles were found in the healthy colons studied. Titanium dioxide is used to make things white. Thus white powdered donuts tend to have the most titanium dioxide out of all foods.
Source: Immune potentiation of ultrafine dietary particles in normal subjects and patients with inflammatory bowel disease. J. Autoimmun. 2000 14(1):99 – 105
65.) Meat consumption linked to premature puberty in boys and girls.
Notes: Premature purberty has been linked to increased risk of developing breast cancer in girls and abdominal fat and heart disease in boys.
Source: Internal exposure to pollutants and sexual maturation in Flemish adolescents. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 2011 21(3):224 – 233
66.) After consuming animal products human adiponectin levels drop. Hormone adiponectin appears to be protective against cellulite.
Source: Adiponectin expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue is reduced in women with cellulite. Int. J. Dermatol. 2011 50(4):412 – 416
Source: Meal modulation of circulating interleukin 18 and adiponectin concentrations in healthy subjects and in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2003 78(6):1135 – 1140
67.) Animal consumption linked to breast pain.
Notes: Prolactin has been shown to cause breast pain. When vegans and vegetarians in South Africa (who have lower levels of prolactin and breast pain compared to women in western civilization) were fed meat, their prolactin levels went up to match western women. Two separate studies showed significant reduction in cyclical breast pain when meat was removed from the diet.
Source: Diet, lifestyle, and menstrual activity. Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 Jun;33(6):1192-8.
Source: Diet and prolactin release. Lancet. 1976 Oct 9;2(7989):806-7.
Source: Serum prolactin and oestradiol levels in women with cyclical mastalgia. Horm Metab Res. 1981 Dec;13(12):700-2.
68.) Amino acid L-carnitine (found heavily in red meat and popular energy drinks) has been found to cause heart disease.
Notes: While our bodies produce L-carnitine, the problem comes when our gut bacteria comes in contact with it and produces a toxic substance called trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). This substance has been found circulating in our blood after L-carnitine consumption. TMAO also appears to be linked to cancer.
Source: Intestinal microbiota metabolism of l-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis. Nat Med. 2013 Apr 7.
69.) Chickens consumption and handling linked to bladder infections.
Notes: When handling frozen chicken the UTI bacteria causing strains end up in that person’s rectum. Even when the chicken is well cooked before consumption. This is because the jump happens before it is cooked. The strains are usually antibacterial resistant.
Source: Chicken as reservoir for extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli in humans, Canada. Emerging Infect. Dis. 2012 18(3):415 – 421
70.) Thorough cleaning with bleach right after every use has been found to be the only method to significantly reduce chicken pathogens in kitchens. However, pathogens were still detectable on some kitchen items.
Notes: All items used were washed in beach and surfaces were sprayed and wiped. Washcloth was soaked in bleach. Bleach was allowed to sit on surfaces for 5 minutes before test results were taken. Pathogens were still found on utensils, counters, and washcloth.
Source: The effectiveness of hygiene procedures for prevention of cross-contamination from chicken carcases in the domestic kitchen. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 1999 29(5):354 – 358
71.) A 5% increase of calories from saturated fat (at the expense of calories from carbohydrates) can result in a 38% lower sperm count.
Source: Dietary fat and semen quality among men attending a fertility clinic. Hum. Reprod. 2012 27(5):1466 – 1474
72.) Xenoestrogens (human made chemicals with estrogenic effects) have been found the most in fish.
Source: Role of environmental estrogens in the deterioration of male factor fertility. Fertil Steril. 2002 Dec;78(6):1187-94.
73.) Fish eaters have been shown to have only a fraction of the sperm count of vegans.
Source: Role of environmental estrogens in the deterioration of male factor fertility. Fertil Steril. 2002 Dec;78(6):1187-94.
74.) The American Heart Association took legal action through the FDA (which was upheld by the Supreme Court) to have the egg industry cease and desist promoting eggs as having no harmful effects on your health.
Notes: Not a scientific fact, but interesting nonetheless. The notable statement by the egg industry was an advertising campaign that stated there is no scientific evidence that eggs cause heart disease. After the courts reviewed the evidence, they found the statement to be clearly false and misleading.
Source: Dietary cholesterol, serum cholesterol, and risks of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular diseases. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1998 67(3):488 – 492
75.) One egg contains almost 2/3 of the cholesterol limit suggested by the American Heart Association for healthy people.
Source: AHA Website
76.) Meat handlers have a much high mortality rate of cancer.
Notes: Most of the highest rates were found with the workers handling the final product.
Source: Cancer mortality in workers employed in cattle, pigs, and sheep slaughtering and processing plants. Environ Int 2011 37(5):950 – 959.
77.) Growing up on an animal farm increases the chance of blood cancers (poultry farms were the worst).
Notes: Growing up on farms only growing crops showed no increased chance of blood cancers.
Source: Farming, growing up on a farm, and haematological cancer mortality. Occup Environ Med 2012 69(2):126 – 132.
78.) Eating meat may cause cellular cannibalism (auto-immune polyradiculoneuropathy) and thus explaining autoimmune attack (rheumatoid arthritis).
Notes: By consuming organisms in our own kingdom, our immune system may be identifying our own flesh as foreign objects. Auto-immune polyradiculoneuropathy has never been found to be caused by plant consumption.
Source: Meat-induced joint attacks, or meat attacks the joint: rheumatism versus allergy. Nutr Clin Pract. 2010 Feb;25(1):90-1.
Source: Auto-immune polyradiculoneuropathy and a novel IgG biomarker in workers exposed to aerosolized porcine brain. J. Peripher. Nerv. Syst. 2011 16 (Suppl 1):34 – 37
79.) Methionine (an amino acid) is required for many cancers and tumors to stay alive and grow. Methionine is found virtually only in animal products (with eggs, fish, and chicken being the worst).
Source: The effect of replacement of methionine by homocystine on survival of malignant and normal adult mammalian cells in culture. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1974 71(4):1133 – 1136.
80.) Meat is acidic which causes higher risk of kidney stones and lower urine acid clearance.
Source: Diet-induced metabolic acidosis. Clin Nutr 2011 30(4):416 – 421.
81.) Choline, a substance very high in eggs, can cause trimethylamine (the smell of rotten fish) to your breath, urine, sweat, and vagina.
Source: Smelling like dead fish: A case of trimethylaminuria in an adolescent. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2006 45(9):864 – 866.
82.) Choline is converted to TMAO which, as already stated, is linked to heart disease and cancer.
Source: Intestinal microbiota metabolism of l-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis. Nat Med. 2013 Apr 7.
83.) Choline is associated with prostate cancer progression and death.
Source: Choline intake and risk of lethal prostate cancer: Incidence and survival. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2012 96(4):855 – 863.
84.) Pork tapeworm brain infection is the most common parasitic disease in the brain for people and is on the rise for humans in the United States.
Notes: Referred to as neurocysticercosis in the study.
Source:Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of neurocysticercosis. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 2011 11(6):529 – 535.
85.) Meat eaters have a lower resting metabolism compared to vegans and vegetarians.
Source: Sympathetic nervous system activity and resting metabolic rate in vegetarians. Metab. Clin. Exp. 1994 43(5):621 – 625.
86.) Phosphorus preservatives are being injected into meat. These phosphorus preservatives may damage blood vessels, accelerate the aging process, and contribute to osteoporosis.
Notes: Higher phosphate levels are associated with significantly lower life span.
Source: Phosphate additives in food–a health risk. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2012 109(4):49 – 55.
Source: The prevalence of phosphorus-containing food additives in top-selling foods in grocery stores. J Ren Nutr. 2013 23(4):265-270.
87.) Phosphorus preservatives injected into poultry dramatically increase the growth of food poisoning Campylobacter bacteria.
Notes: Campylobacter is recognized as the main cause of bacterial foodborne disease in many developed countries.
Source:Effects of polyphosphate additives on Campylobacter survival in processed chicken exudates. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2010 76(8):2419 – 2424
88.) Chicken nuggets from 2 national food chains found actual chicken meat was not the predominant ingredient as fat was found in greater quantities along with epithelium, bone, nerve (brain and spine), and connective tissue.
Source: The autopsy of chicken nuggets reads chicken little. Am J Med. 2013 126(11):1018-1019.
89.) Even when looking at endurance athletes, meat eaters’ arteries are thicker (from atherosclerosis plaque) than your average vegan.
Source:Homocysteine, circulating vascular cell adhesion molecule and carotid atherosclerosis in postmenopausal vegetarian women and omnivores. Atherosclerosis 2006 184(2):356 – 362.
Source:Long-term low-calorie low-protein vegan diet and endurance exercise are associated with low cardiometabolic risk. Rejuvenation Res. 2007 10(2):225 – 234.
90.) Mercury and PCB exposure, due to fish consumption, shown to harm fetus brain development.
Source:Functional MRI approach to developmental methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyl neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicology 2011 32(6):975 – 980.
91.) Mercury in fish shown to outweigh benefits of omega-3s when it comes to brain development (specifically IQ).
Source: Fish consumption during child bearing age: a quantitative risk-benefit analysis on neurodevelopment. Food Chem Toxicol. 2013 54:30-34.
92.) Due to mercury “sticking” to our bodies, most women planning on getting pregnant need to avoid mercury containing foods 1 year before.
Notes: Half-life of mercury is about 2 months. That means after 2 months the mercury amount present is cut in half.
Source:Fish consumption during child bearing age: A quantitative risk-benefit analysis on neurodevelopment. Food Chem. Toxicol. 2013 54(NA):30 – 34.
93.) Pregnant women eating fish once a week give their infants more mercury than if they were injected with six mercury containing vaccines.
Source: Speciation of methyl- and ethyl-mercury in hair of breastfed infants acutely exposed to thimerosal-containing vaccines. Clin. Chim. Acta. 2011 412(17 – 18):1563 – 1566.
94.) Some chemicals (dioxins, PCB, and DDE) found in fish have half lives as high as 10 years.
Notes: A 10 year half life means after 10 years only half of those chemicals are gone from your body. So it would take a lifetime to get even close to 1 percent of your present levels.
Source: Elimination half-lives of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in children. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008 42(18):6991 – 6996.
95.) Gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy which causes abnormal fetal growth, birth defects, and infant mortality) risk is increased when meat is consumed before pregnancy.
Notes: Bacon, processed meats, and eggs seem to do the worst damage.
Source: A prospective study of dietary patterns, meat intake and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetologia. 2006 49(11):2604 – 2613.
Source:Risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in relation to maternal egg and cholesterol intake. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2011 173(6):649 – 658.
96.) Cow’s milk contains estrogen and other hormones (naturally) which promote the conversion of precancerous cell to invasive cancer and enhance the progression of cancer cells.
Notes: Organic milk was used in the study.
Source: Milk stimulates growth of prostate cancer cells in culture. Nutr Cancer. 2011 63(8):1361 – 1366.
97.) Just how smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, milk consumption is a risk factor for prostate cancer
Notes: This is from a meta-analysis (a summation of all studies to date found on milk consumption and prostate cancer) on case-control studies (looking at what people with and without prostate cancer had consumed in their past) and another meta-analysis on cohort type studies (following people throughout the years, what they consumed, and who got prostate cancer).
Source: Milk consumption is a risk factor for prostate cancer: Meta-analysis of case-control studies. Nutr Cancer. 2004 48(1):22 – 27.
Source: Milk consumption is a risk factor for prostate cancer in Western countries: Evidence from cohort studies. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2007 16(3):467 – 476.
98.) “Meat glue” enzyme, transglutaminase, has potential food safety and allergy implications.
Notes: The enzyme functions as an auto-antigen and will give problems to those who are gluten intolerant. Bacteria from other parts of the animal (like E. coli O157:H7) can be found along the glue line.
Source: Transglutaminase, gluten and celiac disease: Food for thought. Nat. Med. 1997 3(7):725 – 726.
Source:Escherichia coli O157: H7 risk assessment for production and cooking of restructured beef steaks. Report of progress (Kansas State University. Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service); 873 2010.
99.) Study found 70% of purchased chicken breasts for the study contained cancer causing form of arsenic beyond the safety thresholds of the FDA.
Source: Roxarsone, inorganic arsenic, and other arsenic species in chicken: A U.S.-Based market basket sample. Environ Health Perspect. 2013 121(7):818 – 824.
100.) Amino acid leucine has the greatest effect on increasing mTORC1 (believed to accelerate the aging process). Meat products have the most leucine.
Notes: Calorie restriction is known to down-regulate mTORC1. However, protein restriction, especially the amino acid leucine, has been found to be just as effective.
Source: Amino acid sensing and regulation of mTORC1. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2012 23(6):621 – 625.
Source:Nutrient control of TORC1, a cell-cycle regulator. Trends Cell Biol. 2009 19(6):260 – 267.

So Should I Stop Eating Meat?

Given the science, I think you should at the very least reduce. Dr. Greger of NutritionFacts.org gives the suggests of instead of having meat as a main entry have it as a side entry, have a meatless monday to help your body clear the garbage, and replace the animal protein part of the meal with a vegan protein source when you can.
Also, make sure to increase your whole food consumption. A lot of plant foods (e.g. garlic, green tea, and greens) have been shown to be protective against these harmful side effects from meat.
But the best thing you can do is go vegan.
Trust me, you won’t die from a lack of protein. You get plenty of it through plant sources. A silverback gorilla doesn’t eat animal products. And I’m sure he is a lot stronger than you.
Can’t I just go vegetarian? Eggs are very bad for you. Fish are soaked like a sponge in man made chemicals and mercury. Cheese is the highest source of saturated fat. And considering chicken has much more pollution and cancer causing viruses than beef, I think you would be better just eating red meat once in a while. Just be sure to watch your L-carnitine levels (i.e. no more drinking energy drinks that have it). But what is even better, and simpler in my opinion, is to just cut out all animal products.

Vegan Recipes can Taste AMAZING!

There are plenty of great tasting recipes. You don’t have to give up great tasting food.


All Vegan Food Below!

Vegan Recipes
(Yes, the bacon in the burrito is vegan ;) )

Tips for Those Who Choose to Become Vegan

B12 supplementation is a MUST. Before your paleo friends throw it in your face that this is proof we shouldn’t be vegan, keep in mind about 1 in 6 meat eaters are B12 deficient. B12 comes from bacteria in the ground and from bacteria in animal feces. Livestock is just so unclean that they are a decent source of B12. So unless you plan on being like your dog or a gorilla and eat dirt, bugs, and/or your own feces, I would just supplement with B12
Take zinc If you are a male. We lose zinc through exercise and, if you are a guy, through sex. So guys are more likely to be zinc deficient than women. Zinc is needed for collagen production and creating male sex hormones (like testosterone). It is zinc (not animal protein) that makes people feel stronger and more sexual when they stop being vegan. But if you take the zinc, then you don’t need to eat the animal protein.
Supplement with an algae based omega-3. By eating on the lowest part of the food chain, you avoid most or all of the problems of eating from the sea (mercury, dioxins, etc.) and still get the “famous” DHA form of omega-3.
Stay away from processed food as much as possible. Whole foods are always better. Salad dressings and oils are processed foods by the way.
If you cheat, limit the cheese. If you are like me, the hardest thing to give up is cheese and you are probably thinking it is not that bad. But cheese has a TON of saturated fat. When I first became vegan I would cheat by melting some cheese in the microwave on some chips for nachos. If you do this, try to use a smaller plate and cover it with healthy, whole foods (e.g. beans, peppers, etc.)
Simple meal plan. Don’t waste a lot of time trying to get the “perfect” variety of whole foods. Here is a simple guide to help you get started:
-Breakfast: Oatmeal in the morning (with fruits, flaxseed, cocoa powder, etc.)
-Lunch: Salad (dark greens only and different colorful vegetables, add nuts for taste), frozen vegetables, and vegetable (or lentil) soup for lunch
-Dinner:Brown rice (or quinoa) and beans for dinner. Add a lot of spices for taste and health.
-Snacks: Fruit as snacks throughout the day.
Find out what works for you, first. Start doing your own meal plan for a few weeks before starting on some guru’s vegan guide.
By the way, lots of older men that become vegan notice their “members” coming back to life. Sounds like to me being vegan will help you be a badass lover in bed.

Here are the links to the authors’ books:
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D.
Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman M.D.
The Starch Solution by John McDougall M.D.
Solving America’s Healthcare Crisis by Dr. Pamela Popper
21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart by Neal Barnard M.D.
Look at point 41 above, meat consumption has been linked to increased weight, especially around the midsection.