Re: Stop Eating Your Friends! (Go Vegan)

by lizardking Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:47 pm

Posted by ricaius on 09/22/2015

Sept 22, 2015 7:03:23 GMT Jimmy said:
Everyone,

Thanks for the education of this thread.

I also wish to join the thanks to this great thread, I’ve found many information I was not aware of.
I’ve been a meat-eater for all my life since a year and a half ago and never had a single doubt about it, until I stumbled on the Gary Yourofsky conference video: that was the moment my mind shifted and began to ask questions and to search for information. The China Study was also another great mind opener.
I tried to change my diet at first, and I have to say it was not so easy to get rid of all the years of meat consumption habit (maybe it’s better to say “addiction”!). Not to mention the people around me (family/friends) that looked at me like I was becoming mad or something: that was a big deterrent at first. I tried to explain the main points to them, but they always come out with the same answers and cliché:

“man eats meat since prehistory”
“man has always hunted”
“we also have canines”
“so do you only eat salad?” (my favorite!)
“where do you get protein?”
“plants are alive, too”
“I’ve always eaten meat, I feel well”
“I eat meat because I like its taste”
“I will never change my mind because of a video on youtube” (this one pops up also with FE topics!)
“you only live once, what do you care? Enjoy yourself!”

Etc etc…a little bit frustrating!
So after a period of transition, I can say now it is at least six months I’ve totally quitted eating animal friends and their products, and thanks also to this thread I’ve refined my understanding and habits. Here I found a place where these views are not ridiculed, but emphasized, it is really an oasis of positivity. I also started a little vegetable garden, not enough for my needs, but at least a way to recover a contact with nature. I feel like I’m doing good to the environment, and the environment gives me its fruits in return. I like to take care of plants!

I’d like to ask a question that was raised in a discussion I had with some meat-eating friends this summer, during a barbecue, with me being the only vegan present. At a certain point, while I was eating my grilled tempeh burger, there was a mosquito that bit me on the arm, and I instinctively killed it with a slap. So one points at me and says, laughing and with a pork rib in his hand: “You murderer! Where’s your compassion now? You just killed an animal!” I didn’t know what to say at first, but then I said I did it for self-defense…

I have to admit I don’t like insects, maybe because they’re so little and unpredictable in their fast movements, that they seem to be on a different level than other bigger animals (at least for the anatomy of the body), and it seems to me that we can’t connect (if u pass me this term) to an insect as we can for example with a dog or a cat, but also with a horse or a dolphin or a parrot. Recently I’m looking at insects in a different way, after all they are also here in this dream with us, I have a sort of renewed respect for them. I like watching bees looking for flowers, ants endlessly moving to build their home, spiders making unbelievable architectures, cheerful butterflies going up and down and waving their colors...but I still have a little problem with the annoying mosquitoes and flies.

So, what do you think, was my slap to that mosquito legit, or am I a merciless killer?

Stop Eating Your Friends! (Go Vegan) - Page 7 Smiley

by lizardking Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:47 pm

Posted by thinkforyourself on 09/23/2015

Sept 22, 2015 1:12:14 GMT hiilikeourbeard said:
understand your lymph system,the effects of acidosis, and food you're supposed to be eating. vegan or not, dead cooked food is not healthy. you have to eat LIVING food that your species is designed for (fruits mainly, then veggies and some herbs.. yes, we are frugivores. fruit eaters. we have hands, simple tools for picking and eating. we're not horses either. everyone always praising vegetables don't really know what they're talking about. we do not have multiple stomachs or a GI track to support any of these things. raw fruit gives you everything you need. maybe some raw veggies for balance, but that's it. it's really that simple. we can eat outside of our species and cook our food all we want, but we're gonna pay with our health, regardless if it's vegan or not. that's why you see so many unhealthy vegans running around. they're still killing their food and eating like cows. bye bye kidneys.

Remember, it is best not to speak in absolutes when it comes to fruit and vegetables. Everyone should eat a good amount of raw fruit and vegetables each day, but too much fruit can be bad, because of the excess acid.

If you are making sure to have a good amount of raw fruit and vegetables, it is also fine to have some cooked ones as well, and naturally fermented pickles actually add nutrients to the food.

by lizardking Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:48 pm

Posted by lizardking on 09/23/2015
www.dollyandoatmeal.com/
www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/
www.goodgirlgonegreen.com/
www.onearabvegan.com/
minimalistbaker.com/
www.olivesfordinner.com/
ohsheglows.com/

by lizardking Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:48 pm

Posted by thinkforyourself on 09/23/2015

Sept 22, 2015 13:57:06 GMT ricaius said:

I’d like to ask a question that was raised in a discussion I had with some meat-eating friends this summer, during a barbecue, with me being the only vegan present. At a certain point, while I was eating my grilled tempeh burger, there was a mosquito that bit me on the arm, and I instinctively killed it with a slap. So one points at me and says, laughing and with a pork rib in his hand: “You murderer! Where’s your compassion now? You just killed an animal!” I didn’t know what to say at first, but then I said I did it for self-defense…

I have to admit I don’t like insects, maybe because they’re so little and unpredictable in their fast movements, that they seem to be on a different level than other bigger animals (at least for the anatomy of the body), and it seems to me that we can’t connect (if u pass me this term) to an insect as we can for example with a dog or a cat, but also with a horse or a dolphin or a parrot. Recently I’m looking at insects in a different way, after all they are also here in this dream with us, I have a sort of renewed respect for them. I like watching bees looking for flowers, ants endlessly moving to build their home, spiders making unbelievable architectures, cheerful butterflies going up and down and waving their colors...but I still have a little problem with the annoying mosquitoes and flies.

So, what do you think, was my slap to that mosquito legit, or am I a merciless killer?

All creatures are here for a reason, and all of them have a role to play. I don't agree with harming any animal, unless you have to. As you pointed out, mosquitos and other insects like wasps can attack you, and if they do, then you have to stop them. I try to remove insects from the house without hurting them whenever possible, but sometimes, like with mosquitos, you have to kill them. It is completely natural to stop something from biting you, and as long as you kill them quickly, I see nothing wrong with it.

The main thing is to respect insects like all other animals, and save them whenever possible. Sometimes it isn't possible though, and in those cases, as long as you kill them quickly, I don't think that you are doing anything wrong. After all, other animals kill each other; it is simply a part of nature. What isn't natural, is farming and breeding animals for food.

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:21 am

Posted by ricaius on 09/23/2015

Sept 22, 2015 15:15:01 GMT thinkforyourself said:
All creatures are here for a reason, and all of them have a role to play. I don't agree with harming any animal, unless you have to. As you pointed out, mosquitos and other insects like wasps can attack you, and if they do, then you have to stop them. I try to remove insects from the house without hurting them whenever possible, but sometimes, like with mosquitos, you have to kill them. It is completely natural to stop something from biting you, and as long as you kill them quickly, I see nothing wrong with it.

The main thing is to respect insects like all other animals, and save them whenever possible. Sometimes it isn't possible though, and in those cases, as long as you kill them quickly, I don't think that you are doing anything wrong. After all, other animals kill each other; it is simply a part of nature. What isn't natural, is farming and breeding animals for food.

Thanks for the answer, and well said. I also try not to harm them if I can.

Anyway, although I don’t like flies, I have far more respect for a fly dining on a piece of poop than for a hunter with his foot on the prey and the smile on his face.

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:22 am

Posted by schpankme on 09/30/2015
The Research firm IMS released the Top Ten (10) most prescribed drugs sales, for 2015.

These are just some of the drugs the state of the art Apex Predator, called Hu-man, must purchase and consume
to stay alive. The need for these drugs represent why the business of Socialism and Social Insurance is thriving in
the year 2015.

1) thyroid gland and thyroid cancer drug

Hypothyroidism or “hormone diseases”, Thyroid Deficiency Strikes One in Six.

2) cholesterol-lowering drug

Are you eating more Cholesterol then your body produces naturally?

3) asthma medication

GOT MILK?
Got children on inhalers? -- shame on you.

4) proton pump inhibitor (reduction of gastric acid production)

GOT Meat, Dairy and Oil?

5) asthma medication

GOT MILK?

6) insulin glargine injection (diabetes)

Once the Arteries are coated with Animal Fat and Cholesterol they can no longer absorb the insulin and sugar
bond, and pull it into the trillions of body cells.

7) attention-deficit drug

20% of calories consumed must be from carbohydrates to adequately nourish the brain.
About 80% of your calories should come from Carbohydrates (Cooked Starch and Fruit).

8] antiepileptic drug

Treatment for epileptic seizures
Does your family have a history of mental illness?
GOT Meat, Dairy and Oil, but very little Carbs?

9) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug

GOT COW TIT?
Got lung diseases and blocked airflow?
Are you going to blame this on genetics or the environment?

10) diabetes drug

Have you been Putting Body Parts in your mouth?
Cholesterol and Fat work as a two part epoxy, coating and eventually blocking the Arteries.

Top Sellers

Arthritis drug adalimumab (Humira, Abbott Laboratories) had sales of about $8.3 billion
Antipsychotic medication aripiprazole (Abilify, Otsuka Pharmaceutical) at $8 billion
Hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi, Gilead Sciences) at $7 billion
Cholesterol-lowering drug rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca) at $6 billion
Arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel, Amgen) at almost $6 billion.

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:22 am

Posted by schpankme on 10/07/2015
Are Fruit Flies Destroying Florida’s $700 Billion Dollar Fruit Industry, or just another Scam?

Oriental Fruit Flies - are effecting more than 400 varieties of fruits and vegetables.

How do the Orientals handle this problem?

Stop Eating Your Friends! (Go Vegan) - Page 7 Tongue

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:22 am

Posted by flearthling on 10/08/2015
So I watched "Stop Eating Your Friends!" about a month ago and literally went Vegan overnight. I'll keep this short by simply saying, EVERYTHING is better now, so thanks for that Eric. I'm still in the learning phase so I hesitate to add to this (or any other) thread until I feel that I have valuable info to share, but I happened upon this video and thought it was worth sharing.
Mark Passio has recently been trying to go vegan and makes some great points comparing Carnism to Satanic ideological domination. Now, I'm not too familiar with Mark or his work and I'm not recommending this as 100% spot on nutritional info (like I said Mark is still new to this as well) but he seems to clearly see the ethical implications of veganism.
link

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:23 am

Posted by csp on 10/08/2015

Good video, just listened to it while tapping away at work - he's on point with a lot of issues.

Seems like the sort of person that would investigate FE if thrown at him.

And congratulations of going Vegan, I also did it overnight so to speak and do not regret it one bit.

by lizardking Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:41 pm

We need an extreme movement because what is happening to animals is so extreme. Some misinformed people claim that animal rights activists are terrorists, but these people are simply ignorant of who the real terrorists are - the companies and industries that torture literally billions of animals each year.

- River Phoenix

by Paranoid Gramdroid Tue Jan 26, 2016 4:43 pm

One of my childhood punk legends, Ian MacKaye, talking about vegetarianism.

REAL punks don't eat meat!

by biggambler Wed Jan 27, 2016 10:16 am

Whats a good substitute for parmesan cheese? Cheese is the only animal product I haven't taken out of my diet.

I've tried daiya cheese but it just tastes like crappy mozzarella.

by Thinkforyourself Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:31 pm

biggambler wrote:Whats a good substitute for parmesan cheese? Cheese is the only animal product I haven't taken out of my diet.

I've tried daiya cheese but it just tastes like crappy mozzarella.

Mass produced 'vegan cheeses' are uniformly appalling and packed full of chemicals. Thankfully artisanal producers are currently working on proper vegan cheeses, and in America this soft cheese range is doing well: http://www.kite-hill.com/

This recipe gives you B12 and a decent, although not perfect, replacement: http://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-vegan-parmesan-cheese/

Finally, you could try what the poor Italians who couldn't afford Parmesan have always done: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/19/food/la-fo-calcook-breadcrumbs-20110519

It is also worth pointing out that Parmesan contains meat rennet, so it isn't even vegetarian.

by **Admin** Mon Feb 01, 2016 11:44 am

Thanks so much to Timothy Shieff for just joining IFERS and making these excellent vegan videos!

by csp Mon Feb 01, 2016 1:31 pm

Admin wrote:Thanks so much to Timothy Shieff for just joining IFERS and making these excellent vegan videos!

Good stuff, welcome Tim - love your videos.

by csp Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:09 am

Dr Greger has done a talk at Google, titled the same as his new book - appears to be a rehash of his yearly 'Uprooting the leading causes of death' talk.

by csp Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:10 am

And it also looks like the folks from Cowspiracy are making a new documentary called 'What the Health':

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/what-the-health--4#/

by Guest Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:07 pm

I went vegan 10 years ago when my dad lost all kidney function and I agreed to give him one of mine. The doctors marvelled at how my transplanted kidney effectively restored his health in 24 hrs. I was standing again and walking slowly within hours of having my kidney removed and the nurse said she'd never seen that before. I refused to eat the hospital food and only pretended to swallow whatever pills they gave me because they insisted I take them. I'm guessing they were a combination of gravol and pain killers. I had my girlfriend juice fruits and veggies for me and I walked home after 3 days.

The hardest thing to recover from was the sore back from lying down so much in that damn hospital. A week later I got the stitches removed and enjoyed another week off before going back to work as a construction labourer at the time.

Getting those stitches removed was the last time I ever visited a doctor or anything of the sort. I was lucky to get out so cleanly. Making my health and survival my own responsibility continues to be a huge advantage for me. I don't go fishing for disease at the doctor's office and kneel at the altar of death any longer.

by Paranoid Gramdroid Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:29 pm

Vegan approved, cruelty-free cleaning products (UK)

http://www.biodegradable.biz/

I've been using cleaning products from the above company for a month now and my house is just as clean as ever. Not only are they cruelty-free, they are also much less damaging to the environment when you flush them down the sink. Highly recommended.

by Thinkforyourself Thu Feb 18, 2016 5:46 pm

The article below is from an article in the Independent newspaper today, speaking about the benefits of going vegan:

Nearly a third of Britons have reduced their meat consumption over the last year, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.

Pollsters found 29 per cent of people had reduced their consumption of meat in the last year, nine per cent said they were considering reducing their meat intake or cutting it out entirely, and about three per cent were already vegetarian or vegan.

Vowing to ditch steaks and burgers in favour of a vegetarian lifestyle may have crossed your mind for ethical reasons or because of concerns about red meat and health.

1. You lose weight

So, what actually happens to your body when you stop eating meat?
A team at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington in the US recently tried pinpoint how much weight a person loses if they switch from being an omnivore to a vegetarian.

The research, which reviewed previous studies and was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, showed particpants who cut meat out of their diets lost around 10lbs on average without monitoring their calorie intake or increasing the amount they exercised.

“The take-home message is that a plant-based diet can help you lose weight without counting calories and without ramping up your exercise routine,” Neal Barnard, M.D., lead author of the study and an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University, said at the time.

2. Your gut bacteria will change

The saying goes you are what you eat, and that relates to your digestive system as much as any other part of your body.

A 2014 study exploring the difference between the gut bacteria found in omnivores, vegans and vegetarians found differences in all three.

However, the biggest variation was between omnivorese and vegans – who don’t consume any animal products whatsoever.

Researchers at City University of New York found that vegans had more protective species of gut bacteria.

3. Your risk of developing cancer could drop...

A recent World Health Organisation report classed processed meat as carcinogenic, and so products such as bacon and salami found themselves categorised alongside formaldehyde, gamma radiation and cigarettes. Red meat was also labelled as “probably” having cancer causing properties.

Eating just a 50g portion of processed meat – or two rashers of bacon a day - increases the risk of bowel cancer by 18 per cent, the experts concluded.

4. ...as well as your chance of having heart disease

Scientists recently found that red meat is linked to heart disease. A study be Lerner Research Institute in the US showed that carnitine, a nutrient found in the food, sets of gut microbe reactions which contribute to the development of heart disease.

“This adds to the growing body of data reinforcing a connection between red meat, carnitine ingestion and heart disease development,” said lead author Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, Vice Chair of Translational Research for the Lerner Research Institute and Section Head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation, according to a report by the Cleveland Health Clinic.

by lizardking Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:16 pm

It's About Time The Olive Oil Myth Was Laid To Rest

Olive oil has been hailed as the healthy oil for far too long and it’s about time science triumphed over the almighty media on this relentless myth. Most people have been taught at some point or read somewhere that olive oil is a healthy oil to be consumed with fervor. It’s a key component to the Mediterranean diet, which itself has been touted as a heart healthy diet. However, the evidence for these claims just do not stack up and for many people striving to lose weight, it is sabotage city.

This is the reality: just like all other oils, olive oil is 100 percent fat, lacks a significant nutrient load, contains a whopping 120 calories per tablespoon, that’s fattening.

Stop Eating Your Friends! (Go Vegan) - Page 7 Olive%20oil%20trix0r%20text

Some have proposed that extra virgin olive oil is heart healthy because it is rich in polyphenols. Polyphenols have antioxidant characteristics and studies show that they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, all plant foods are rich in polyphenols and most deliver much more polyphenols (and far fewer calories) than olive oil. If you rely on olive oil for your polyphenols, good luck getting enough. You’d need to consume 5 tablespoons of olive oil, the equivalent of 600 calories, just to get 150 mg of polyphenols, the same amount in 55 calories of lettuce, not to mention hundreds of other nutrients and documented benefit in greens. Study after study links the consumption of leafy greens with healthier, longer, disease-free lives. Probably because they are loaded with all sorts of nutritious compounds, among them vitamins, minerals, fiber, polyphenols, and various carotenoids. In comparison, olive oil, has little or none of these.1 In fact, phytosterols and vitamin E are a few of the slim pickings of nutrients found in olive oil that I decided to do a bit more digging on. Compared to the amount of phytosterols and vitamin E in other foods, olive oil really doesn’t contain that much, as represented in the following chart:

Nutrients per 120 calories	Olive Oil	Broccoli, raw	Spinach, raw	Sunflower seeds, raw
Phytosterols	30 mg	174 mg	46 mg	110 mg
Vitamin E	1.94 mg	2.7 mg	10.2 mg	6.8 mg

It is also a myth that olive oil lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Study design is key. Studies linking olive oil consumption to lower cholesterol levels are flawed. Olive oil appears to lower bad cholesterol in most studies because the participants replace animal fats like butter, cheese, and fatty meats with olive oil. Animal fats are composed of saturated fats, which are the most dangerous types of fat. Consumption of saturated fats raises cholesterol levels and elevates the risk of heart disease and cancer. Replacing animal fat with cardboard would lower anyone’s LDL cholesterol levels. The addition of olive oil is not what lowers bad cholesterol levels; it is the removal of artery-clogging saturated fat. This is a shame for the average consumer who is led to believe that olive oil is heart healthy and it doesn’t help that we see olive oil bottles labeled as “Heart Healthy” in grocery stores. Yet, even the Food and Drug Administration has stated:

“Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.”

We truly are victims of the media. In conclusion, get your healthy fats from whole food sources and not low nutrient oils- olive oil included. The Mediterranean diet might be healthy when compared to other diets, but this is because of the intake of fruits, vegetables, and nuts in that diet compared to the dangerous SAD diet, rather than any supposed benefits of olive oil.

by lizardking Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:19 pm

The Truth About Olive Oil

Pritikin Longevity Center abridged article (not affiliated with The Vegetarian Site)

Rarely does the media miss a chance to report that olive oil is a “good” fat. A recent 2006 study praised olive oil as heart-healthy – and extra virgin olive oil as especially healthy (1). The problem, though, is that many journalists do not fully dissect the scientific studies on which they’re reporting. Facts get distorted. Qualifiers disappear. Headlines turn sensational. And so does the truth about olive oil. In this article, Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center, Jeffrey Novick, MS, RD, responds to the hype about olive oil to help us better understand what’s true about this so-called “healthy” fat – and what’s not.

The Hype: Olive oil will protect you from a heart attack. The Truth: Olive oil is not heart-healthy. Yes, foods rich in monounsaturated fats like olive oil are healthier than foods full of saturated and trans fats, but just because something is “healthier” does not mean it is good for you.

Several human studies have questioned olive oil’s heart-health claims. When researchers from the University of Crete recently compared residents of Crete who had heart disease with residents free of the disease, they found that the residents with heart disease ate a diet with “significantly higher daily intakes” of monounsaturated fats (principally olive oil) as well as all fats.(2)

Data from the Nurses Health Study, an on-going study from Harvard Medical School analyzing the habits and health of nearly 90,000 female nurses, found that those who consumed olive oil were only marginally healthier than those eating a typical high-in-saturated-fat American diet.

Another study investigated how well subjects’ arteries were dilating to accommodate blood flow after they had eaten several meals. Each meal emphasized a different component of the Mediterranean diet. After the meal rich in olive oil, dilation in the arteries was impaired.(3) The meal caused severe constrictions, which can injure the endothelium, the inner lining of arteries, contributing to heart disease. No such problems occurred with the other meals. “The beneficial components of the Mediterranean diet,” concluded Robert Vogel, MD, and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, “appear to be antioxidant-rich foods…” These foods, he continued, “appear to provide some protection against the direct impairment in endothelial function produced by high-fat foods, including olive oil.” So if you’re not eating fruits and veggies, you’re not getting protection. If you’re pouring olive oil on an already bad diet – one devoid of protectors and full of destroyers like cheeseburgers – you’ve only made that diet worse.

Research recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology also found that “dilation was worse” after 24 people, 12 healthy and 12 with high cholesterol levels, consumed olive oil. Five teaspoons of olive oil swallowed after salami-and-cheese meals did not help the arteries relax and expand.(4) According to Dr. Robert Vogel, this research and other data indicate that olive oil is not heart protective.

Finally, and most fundamentally, pouring a lot of olive oil means you’re consuming a lot of fat. And eating a lot of any kind of fat, including “healthier” ones, means you’re eating a lot of calories, which leads to excess weight, which leads to increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, many forms of cancer, and yes, heart disease.

The Hype: Extra virgin olive oil is especially heart-healthy because it’s rich in polyphenols. The Truth: All plant foods are rich in polyphenols, and many deliver far more polyphenols (and far fewer calories) than olive oil.

Let’s take a look at this new study on extra virgin olive oil: Researchers from Italy and other European countries directed 200 healthy men to use three different olive oils for three weeks a piece. One was an extra virgin olive oil high in antioxidant plant compounds called polyphenols; the other two were more heavily processed “non-virgin” varieties with moderate to low polyphenol levels. At the end of the study, the scientists found that the virgin olive oil showed better heart-health effects – higher HDL “good” levels as well as greater declines in markers that may indicate oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a process that inflames the arteries and heightens the risk of plaque rupture and heart attacks. The researchers credited the virgin oil’s high polyphenol content for the better results. But the problem is: If you’re relying on olive oil for your polyphenols, you’ve got to eat a lot of calories to get a decent amount of polyphenols, and eating lots of calories is just what Americans, with our epidemic rates of obesity, do not need. A hefty 120 waist-expanding calories of olive oil delivers 30mg of phytosterols, a group of polyphenols. By contrast, a mere 11 calories of green leafy lettuce gets you the same number of polyphenols – 30mg, and so much more: Keep in mind what mountains of research over the past several decades have told us. Consistently, the foods linked with healthier, longer, disease-free lives are foods rich in all kinds of nutrients – vitamins, minerals, fiber, polyphenols, beta carotene, and so on. Yes, foods like leafy greens. Olive oil, by comparison, tallies up a whole lot of zeros when it comes to most nutrients.

The Hype: Olive oil will lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol. The Truth: Olive oil, in and of itself, does not lower LDL cholesterol. In just about every study showing that people lowered their LDL cholesterol levels after starting to use olive oil, including this latest study on extra virgin olive oil, the people used olive oil in place of other dietary fats, often saturated fats like butter, cheese, and fatty meats. Of course LDL is going to go down. You’ve gotten rid of the LDL-raising fats.

The point is: It’s not the addition of olive oil that’s improving LDL cholesterol levels. It’s the subtraction of artery-clogging fats like saturated fats and trans fats. That’s precisely what the official health claim allowed by the Food and Drug Administration states. Here are the claim’s exact words: “Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about 2 tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.” Unfortunately, what we usually hear in the media and see on olive oil bottles are only the words “heart healthy.”

The Hype: The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy diet, and it’s rich in olive oil, so olive oil must be heart-healthy. The Truth: The people on this planet with the longest life expectancy and the least heart disease do not eat diets rich in olive oil. They do eat a diet rich in whole, natural foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans. Yes, in the 1950s Ancel Keys and fellow scientists observed that people living in the Mediterranean, especially on the isle of Crete, were lean and heart disease-free. And true, their diet consisted of olive oil, but it also had an abundance of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, coarse whole-grain breads, beans, and fish. And they walked about nine miles daily, often behind an ox and plow. But much has changed on Crete – and throughout the Mediterranean – since then. Today, the people of Crete still eat a lot of olive oil, but their intake of whole, natural foods has gone way down, as has their physical activity. The island’s new staples are meat, cheese, and television. Today, more than 60% of Crete’s adult population and an alarming 50% of its children are overweight. And has maintaining an olive oil-rich diet saved them from disease? Not at all. In recent years, rates of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension have skyrocketed. The point here is that olive oil is not the magic bullet that made populations along the Mediterranean in the 1950s so healthy. Olive oil was simply a bellweather, or marker, for other features of the Mediterranean diet, like plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and exercise, that were in fact healthful.

The Hype: Olive oil raises “good” HDL cholesterol. The Truth: Many people with high HDLs have diseased arteries, and many with low HDLs have very clean arteries. One of the “heart healthy” effects of extra virgin olive oil, wrote the authors of the recent study on olive oil varieties, is that it raised levels of HDL good cholesterol more than the non-virgin oils. But HDL is just one number in a risk group of many, and it’s not the most important one. LDL is. Ultimately, we should focus on the big picture – on all the numbers that contribute to heart health. And the fact is: the populations who have the lowest incidences of heart disease in the world, the people living in Okinawa and in other rural regions of Japan, have very low levels of HDL – in the 20s.

The Hype: Certainly, monounsaturated fats are better than saturated fats. The Truth: “Better than” is not “good in and of itself.” The human body has no essential need to consume monounsaturated fat. The only fat our body has an essential need to consume is omega 6 and omega 3 fat. People worry about getting enough omega 3. Olive oil is a poor source of omega 3. You’d have to drink seven ounces of olive oil to get sufficient omega 3. Seven ounces of olive oil is 1,800 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat (yes, a percentage of the fat that makes up olive oil is saturated.) Is olive oil better than butter? Yes. But is it good in and of itself? No.

REFERENCES: (1) Annals of Internal Medicine, 2006; 145: 333. (2) British Journal of Nutrition, 2004; 91: 1013. (3) Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2000; 36: 1455. (4) Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2006; 48: 1666.

by lizardking Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:29 pm

The Case Against Eating Fish

There are standard questions that vegetarians are often asked. Perhaps the most frequent one is, “HOW DO YOU GET ENOUGH PROTEIN?” Another common question is, “DO YOU EAT FISH?”

Many people, including some who call themselves vegetarians, think fish are less capable of suffering than mammals and birds. These would-be vegetarians may avoid eating mammals and birds while continuing to eat fish, sometimes arguing that the problems associated with the production and consumption of other animal products don’t apply to fish. After all, they reason: fish aren’t raised in the cruel confinement of factory farms; unlike the raising of “livestock,” fishing doesn’t cause soil erosion and depletion, require deforestation to create pasture land and land on which to grow feed crops, or require huge amounts of pesticides and irrigation water; also, fish flesh is generally lower in fat than other animal-derived foods and is a healthy food. All of these assumptions are either wrong or problematic.

Let us consider typical vegetarian arguments that address treatment of animals, health risks, and environmental sustainability, as they apply to fish “production” and consumption. Even though by definition fish (and other aquatic animals) have never been considered part of a vegetarian diet, the reasons to avoid their consumption as you will see are compelling.

Compassion for Animals

Fishers and animal rights advocates have long debated whether or not fish can feel pain. Among the overwhelming evidence that fish can suffer is a recent report by a team of marine biologists at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute. The report was published by the Royal Society, one of Britain’s leading scientific institutes. The researchers found that rainbow trout possess pain receptors and react to a harmful substance (in this case, acetic acid) with “profound behavioral and physiological changes . . . over a prolonged period, comparable to those observed in higher mammals.” The researchers concluded that their findings “fulfill the criteria for animal pain.” Their conclusion is also consistent with common sense: fish, like other animals, need to be able to feel pain in order to survive.

Methods of catching and killing fish are clearly abusive. When fish are hauled up from a considerable depth, the sudden change in pressure on their bodies causes painful decompression that often causes their gills to collapse and their eyes to pop out. As soon as fish are removed from water, they begin to suffocate.

Hooked fish struggle because of pain and fear. As described by Tom Hopkins, professor of marine science at the University of Alabama, getting hooked on a line is “like dentistry without Novocain, drilling into exposed nerves.”

Fish who are “farmed” rather than caught experience more-prolonged suffering. Today in the United States, (to maximize profit,) most “farmed” trout, salmon, catfish, and other fish are raised in the same sort of intensive crowding found in commercial chicken and pig operations. Like the chicken-flesh industry, fish “farming” involves large-scale, highly mechanized production. Thousands of fish are crammed into ponds, troughs, or sea-floating cages, so that fish farmers can raise the greatest possible number of fish per cubic foot of water. In most cases, each fish is allotted a space scarcely larger than their body.

Farmed fish are fed pellets designed for unnaturally rapid weight gain. Under these abnormal intensely crowded conditions, fish suffer from stress, infections, parasites, oxygen depletion, and gas bubble disease (similar to “the bends” in humans). In an effort to prevent the spread of disease among the fish, producers give them large amounts of antibiotics. Even so, many fish die before slaughter. For economic reasons and to reduce fish feces, most farmed fish are starved for days or weeks before they are slaughtered.

Fish are not the only animals to suffer because of people’s appetite for their flesh. Egrets, hawks, and other birds who eat fish commonly are shot or poisoned to prevent them from eating the captives of these large open pools. Also, many sea turtles, dolphins, sea birds, and invertebrates suffer horrible deaths in commercial fishing nets.

Health Considerations

Many people who eat fish erroneously believe that it’s a healthful food. In a 1997 survey commissioned by the National Fisheries Institute, more than half of the 10,000 surveyed households cited health benefits among their primary reasons for eating fish.

What are the actual health effects of consuming fish?

Fish flesh contains omega-3 fatty acids which appear to be heart-protective. However, there are healthier plant based sources of these acids, especially flax seeds, and, in lesser amounts, canola, soybean, walnuts, tofu, pumpkin, and wheat germ. Further, these plant foods provide health-promoting fiber and antioxidants. And they don’t contain the toxic heavy metals and carcinogens found in fish flesh.

In any case, the possible benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are largely limited to people at risk of heart disease, and for pregnant and breast feeding women. The largest study of cholesterol levels, carried out in Framingham, Massachusetts, showed that people with cholesterol levels below 150 have virtually no such risk. Because people on well-planned vegan diets generally have cholesterol levels below 150, the best way to maintain cardiac health is to follow such a diet, thereby ensuring that artery blockages don't occur in the first place.

As a result of human pollution of aquatic environments, eating fish flesh has become a major health hazard. Industrial and municipal wastes and the agricultural chemicals flushed into the world's waters are absorbed by the fish who live there. Big fish, such as tuna and salmon, eat smaller fish. So, in general, the bigger the fish, the greater the accumulation of toxic chemicals throughout their flesh. Pollutants that concentrate in fish include pesticides; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic; dioxins; and radioactive substances such as strontium 90. Because of biological magnification during movement up the food chain, pollutants can reach levels as high as 9 million times that of the water in which they live. These pollutants have been linked to many health problems, including impaired behavioral development in children. Nursing infants consume half of their mother's load of PCBs, dioxin, DDT, and other toxic chemicals. These toxins have been linked to cancers, nervous system disorders, fetal damage, and many other damaging health effects. Dr. Neal Barnard, director of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), describes fish as "a mixture of fat and protein, seasoned with toxic chemicals."

Higher mercury levels in mothers who eat significant amounts of fish have been associated with birth defects, mental retardation, seizures, cerebral palsy, and developmental disabilities in their children. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis released in 2004 indicated that about 630,000 of the 4 million children born annually in the U.S. are at risk of impaired motor function, learning capacity, memory, and vision - due to high levels of mercury in their bloodstreams.

The Food and Drug Administration and the EPA have advised that groups most sensitive to mercury - women of childbearing age and young children – should not eat swordfish, king mackerel, or shark because they're high in mercury. Removing fish from the diet eliminates half of all mercury exposure and reduces one’s intake of other toxins.

“Farmed” salmon contains even more contaminants than flesh from wild-caught salmon. As reported in Science, an analysis of over two tons of flesh from salmon “farmed” in different countries indicated toxic levels of PCBs, dioxins, and banned insecticides such as toxaphene. The risks are so great that the EPA’s guidelines suggest that no one should eat flesh from “farmed” salmon more than once a month. The authors of the Science report warn that girls and young women should eat even less because pregnant women can pass on fish-flesh contaminants to their fetuses, impairing mental development and immune-system function. Two studies published in 2003 in the journal Chemosphere also reported elevated levels of PCBs, and certain chemicals, including flame retardant, in flesh from “farmed” salmon. Most salmon in U.S. markets today are farmed.

It’s easy to understand how industrial toxins accumulate in the flesh of ocean-dwelling fish, but how did farmed salmon get so contaminated? Most farmed salmon are fed pellets made from fish hauled up from the polluted sea floor. It takes 3 to 4 pounds of wild fish to produce just one pound of "farmed" fish.

"Farmed" fish also are fed dyes to give their flesh a pink color, as well as massive amounts of antibiotics to stave off bacterial diseases and sea lice. Farmed salmon are fed more antibiotics, per pound, than any other animals reared for slaughter. This contributes to increasing numbers of drug resistant bacteria, making it more difficult to treat some human diseases.

In a six-month investigation, Consumers Union found that nearly half the fish tested from markets in New York City, Chicago, and Santa Cruz, California were contaminated by bacteria from human or nonhuman feces. In addition, fish often contain disease-causing worms and parasites.

Even when carefully handled and continually refrigerated, dead fish rapidly rots. Fish often stay on trawlers for long periods before being brought to markets.

Fish flesh contains large amounts of protein. While most people think this is positive, the average American consumes excess protein, which has been linked to a number of health problems, including kidney stones and osteoporosis. Unlike fats and carbohydrates, protein can't be stored by the human body. Any consumed protein that exceeds the amount that can be used on a given day is broken down and excreted. After someone eats concentrated protein, such as a salmon steak or fish fillet, their blood must be cleansed of protein wastes, such as urea, ammonia, and amino acid fragments. Since cleansing requires calcium, the excess protein from fish causes the loss of calcium through the urine. Continued year after year, this calcium loss may result in thin bones that easily fracture: osteoporosis, a condition that affects 15 million Americans. Due to lower acid production, vegetable protein generally causes much less calcium loss.

Fish contain none of the protective phytochemicals found only in plant-derived foods. Also, fish flesh has no fiber and virtually no complex carbohydrates. Lack of fiber may contribute to a number of diseases related to digestion, such as diverticulosis and colon cancer.

While fish is generally lower in fat than other animal-derived foods, not all fish is low in fat. Fifty-two percent of the calories in salmon flesh are from fat. In the case of many fish, such as catfish, swordfish, and sea trout, almost one-third of the calories are from fat. While fish fat is generally unsaturated and therefore doesn't increase cholesterol in the blood of consumers, it does contribute to the build-up of toxins. Studies show that diets heavy in fish do not reverse arterial blockages. In fact, blockages often continue to worsen in patients who regularly eat fish.

Environmental Impact

Another very serious, and escalating, problem is the impact that fishing and fish "farming" have on the environment. Modern commercial trawlers are the size of a football field, with huge nets (sometimes miles long) that scoop up everything in their path. They can take in 800,000 pounds of fish in just one netting. Trawlers scrape up ocean bottoms, destroying coral reefs. Half of the fish and other sea creatures (including some protected species) obtained through commercial fishing are fed to animals reared for food, including "farmed" fish. Each year, about 30 million tons of aquatic animals - maimed, dying, or already dead - are simply tossed back into the ocean.

Commercial fishing fleets are rapidly destroying aquatic ecosystems. As a result, the number of large predatory fish has dramatically declined over the last 50 years. Once-huge populations of tuna, swordfish, and cod have dwindled to mere remnants. Dalhousie University biologist Ransom Myers has stated, "Unless we seriously control industrial fishing worldwide, many of the species will go extinct." The ocean's biodiversity rivals that of tropical rainforests. In effect, humans are clear-cutting these environments. Waters that once teemed with life are now so barren that they've been compared to a dust bowl.

Plummeting fish populations have ripple effects throughout the marine ecosystem. Predator-prey relationships have been disrupted. For example, a decline in pollack in western Alaska has caused a 90 percent decline in Steller's sea lions, who are now listed as endangered. Because of the decrease in sea lions, who are orcas' primary prey, orcas have been eating more sea otters. As a result, sea otters have declined by 90 percent since 1990.

As vessels scour increasingly fished-out waters, international confrontations are increasing. Russians have attacked Japanese vessels in the Northwest Pacific. Scottish fishers have attacked a Russian trawler. Norwegian patrols cut the nets of three Icelandic ships in the Arctic, and the crews exchanged shots. The United Nations has reported a sharp increase in piracy and armed robbery directed toward ships, many of them fishing vessels.

"Aquaculture," too, has a significant negative impact on the environment. First, native fish are displaced as introduced fish invade spawning grounds and compete for food. Interbreeding pollutes the genetic pool. According to the National Fisheries Research Center, "aquaculture" has contributed to 68 percent of fish extinctions worldwide.

Fish "farming" also depletes natural resources. Modern commercial fishing is extremely energy-intensive. It requires as much as twenty calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of energy from fish. Moreover, where fish are grown in artificial ponds, vast amounts of water are required to replenish oxygen and remove wastes. Rearing a ton of fish for slaughter requires eight tons of water. Producing one pound of flesh from captive fish requires three to four pounds of flesh from wild fish, so people who eat farmed fish contribute to the decimation of free-living fish populations.

"Aquaculture" also results in enormous pollution. The intense accumulation of wastes from fish farms can pollute the local marine environment and spread illnesses. Researchers at the University of Stockholm have found that pollution from fish farms can extend to an area much larger than the farm itself. In Scotland, for example, caged salmon contaminate coastal waters with untreated waste equivalent to that produced by 8 million people.

Because it requires massive water use, "aquaculture" routinely is conducted on coastal land that is the prime breeding and spawning ground for many free-living fish. Much coastal land has been cleared of forests, swamps, and rice patties to make room for fish "farms."

Antibiotics given to farmed fish harm nearby seas and oceans. When farmed fish, laden with antibiotics, escape and breed with free-living fish, aquatic ecosystems may be thrown out of balance because of the mating of wild and farmed fish. Escaped fish raised in intensive confinement may spread disease to free populations of fish.

The "production" and consumption of fish flesh causes great suffering to fish and other animals, harms human health, threatens aquatic biodiversity, wastes natural resources, and invites international conflicts. A shift away from eating fish is both a societal and moral imperative.

Many thanks to Joan Dunayer, Jay Lavine, M.D., Michael Greger, M.D., and Dawn Carr for their valuable suggestions regarding this article.

by **Admin** Sat Feb 20, 2016 7:52 am

You hit it out of the park again Tim, keep it up!

by lizardking Sat Feb 20, 2016 6:00 pm

Nutrition Questions

http://www.forksoverknives.com/nutrition-questions/

Matthew Lederman, MD and Alona Pulde, MD
Alona Pulde, MD, is a family practitioner and Matthew Lederman, MD, is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician. Both specialize in nutrition and lifestyle medicine. They appeared in Forks Over Knives and are authors of The Forks Over Knives Plan and Keep It Simple, Keep It Whole. Drs. Pulde and Lederman joined Whole Foods Market in 2010 where they serve as health and wellness medical experts.

Our Experts Address Common Concerns

Will I get enough protein?

You are not alone if you are asking, “Where will I get my protein?” People believe this single nutrient is so important and difficult to get that we must actively pursue foods that contain high amounts of it, even when those foods, such as meat and dairy, in so many ways compromise our health.

We have been led to believe that primarily animal-based foods contain sufficient protein and, furthermore, that we need to eat those foods to avoid becoming protein deficient. The reality is that protein deficiency is almost exclusively seen in people suffering from a calorie deficiency. In these cases, there will be an overall nutrient deficiency, not just protein deficiency, and when this happens the concern should be getting more calories and all nutrients—not just more protein.

As for how much protein you need, the answer is the amount that a diet of whole, plant-based foods provides you. All whole, plant-based foods have protein. We know from our extensive review of the research and our experience in our practice that people thrive on a plant-based diet without ever going out of their way to find “sources” of protein. Indeed, it’s not a mystery that we’ve evolved over millions of years without ever aiming for a “source” of this or any other nutrient. Yet the mistaken notion that we need to go out of our way to consume certain individual nutrients is pervasive, and protein is the nutrient most commonly identified as one you must target to ensure you get enough. But we’re not interested in trying to achieve arbitrary targets; we’re interested in achieving good health. And the best way to achieve good health is by targeting whole plant foods, not numbers of grams of protein.

When you eat a diet based on fruit, vegetables, tubers, whole grains, and legumes about 10% of your total calorie intake will be from protein. We list this percentage only to demonstrate how the diet contains a sufficient amount of this nutrient—not as any kind of target. In fact, you should not worry about how much protein you’re getting any more than you should worry about the perfect number of breaths you should take in a day. And, if you’re worried that 10% isn’t adequate, note that there’s evidence that consuming too much protein is harmful—especially when it comes from animal sources.

(Read more: Do Vegetarians and Vegans Eat Enough Protein?)

Don’t I need to consume dairy to ensure I get enough calcium?

Many believe that it’s important to get enough calcium from certain foods, especially milk and other dairy products, which they perceive to be excellent “sources” of it. It’s easy to interpret this message—that constant vigilance is necessary to make sure we’re getting our calcium—as an implicit warning that we might not otherwise get enough.

Just as with protein it is not difficult to get enough calcium—you just need to eat whole, plant-based foods. Calcium, like iron, magnesium, and copper, is a mineral. It is found in the soil, where it is absorbed into the roots of plants. Animals get their calcium by consuming the mineral-abundant plants and metabolizing that calcium into their bodies. Surprised? That’s because we’ve been so conditioned to think that calcium comes primarily from milk and dairy products that few of us realize it actually comes from the earth and is abundant in all whole foods.

For strong bones and calcium, how much of the nutrient you get isn’t as important as where you get it—and how you lose it. There are two major contributing factors to the leaching of calcium from bones, which leads to their weakening and may increase the risk for osteoporosis: First, consuming a highly acidic diet. Our bodies are alkaline. It is vital that the acidity level of your diet is not so high that your bones must leach calcium to keep your body’s alkaline levels balanced. The levels of acidic compounds are lower in plant foods so they won’t draw the calcium from your bones the way animal foods will. Eating a whole-food, plant-based diet gives your body the acid/alkaline balance it needs for optimal bone health. Second, consuming a high-sodium diet. The diet we recommend is naturally low-sodium, as it relies very little on processed foods, which tend to be very high in salt.

Once a certain threshold for calcium has been met—which you will do eating a whole-food, plant-based diet—the formula for strong bones relies on two other factors entirely: First, that you get sufficient vitamin D from exposure to the sun. Vitamin D is a key factor in calcium absorption, and the sun is the best way for us to meet our requirement. The key is getting sufficient sun exposure on our bare skin without getting burned. (The vitamin D in milk is added to it; we do not recommend getting vitamin D from milk or other fortified foods in which the vitamin does not naturally occur.) Second, that you practice strength training and impact exercise. When you lift weights or do resistance exercises you not only build muscle, you stress your bones—this makes them stronger. Walking, jogging, and running are examples of impact exercises that will also help with bone strength.

As with protein, many organizations will suggest that you need to consume a specific amount of calcium per day for strong bones. We do not make any such recommendations because we know that good bone health has nothing to do with hitting an arbitrary number for calcium intake. Furthermore, we fervently believe that when people are instructed to achieve these subjective targets, it creates a skewed notion of what is good nutrition and leads people to make poor food choices—as is the case with dairy.

(Read more: Getting Clarity About Calcium)

Isn’t fish healthy? Why is it not recommended?

We are always surprised by how many people continue to think that fish is beneficial and important to include in the diet, even long after they become convinced that mammals are not health foods. Much of this perception stems from periodic reports that some study or another has found that fish is “heart healthy” or “good for our brains.” In our review of these studies, time and again we find data is misinterpreted and faulty conclusions are drawn from otherwise reasonable research. Unfortunately, such misinterpretations have occurred so frequently that a false narrative has developed.

The practice of misinterpreting data is not unusual. The frequently referenced studies of Okinawan and Mediterranean populations have followed this pattern. The benefits of a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains frequently get credited to small amounts of fish in the diet (just like they are often credited to olive oil and wine). In the case of the famous Okinawan Centenarian Study, for example, only 1% of calories of the calories consumed by the residents came from fish; the vast majority of the diet—69%—came from sweet potatoes!1 Yet the perception from this very study is that Okinawans are healthy from a fish-heavy diet.

What is happening here? We have meaningful long-term studies presented by the researchers with care, which are then pored over by individuals or organizations who cherry-pick data, often to reinforce a specific agenda. The big picture is ignored in favor of subjective claims and reporting, and the public receives false takeaway messages like “Eat more fish!”

As our friend and teacher Dr. John McDougall likes to say, “A muscle is a muscle, whether it comes from a chicken, cow, or fish.” In other words, the nutrient profile of all animal products—i.e., high in fat, acid, and cholesterol, and low in fiber and carbohydrates—is as true for fish as it is for beef and other meats. In fact, although fish is often marketed as a wise, “heart-healthy” food choice, it has as much cholesterol as beef, chicken, and pork. And when we look at studies of populations and what they eat, we should examine the entire big picture. In doing so, we see the message is consistent: “Eat more plants!”

(Read more: Four Major Problems With Fish)

Will I get enough omega-3s?

Some fats are necessary in our diet. Consuming oil, fish and processed foods as a means to get these, however, is unnecessary, and even harmful. Every whole plant food has fat, and there’s no evidence that we need any more fat than what occurs naturally in a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. Just as is the case with protein and calcium, we should not target specific foods to get enough of a particular kind of fat.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids appear to be involved in a variety of important bodily functions, including cell membrane stabilization, nervous system function, immune system function, and blood clotting, as well as impacting triglyceride levels, blood pressure, inflammation, cancer, and heart disease. Although they are both essential (meaning you need to consume them), you have probably heard a lot more often that you need to seek out omega-3. This is not because it is more essential than omega-6. Instead, it is because, in general, these two essential fatty acids should be consumed in a healthy ratio to each other. Studies are not clear exactly what that ratio should be, but we do know that the Standard American Diet is significantly skewed in such a way that we get an excess of omega-6. This excess consumption of omega-6 impairs the absorption of omega-3.1 The answer, however, is not simply that you need to eat more omega-3 fats. The answer is to eliminate or minimize processed and animal-based foods and instead eat a whole-food, plant-based diet, which we know in most cases restores a healthy omega-6 to omega-3 balance and, more important, leads to positive health outcomes. And isn’t that what we care about most?

If 1 to 3 percent of your calories come from the essential fats, you’ll be in great shape. Adequate omega-3 intake specifically is 1.1 g for adult women and 1.6 g for adult men.2 That’s 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 teaspoon per day. If you meet all your caloric needs with a low-fat, whole-foods diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, you will easily consume enough essential fatty acids and those fatty acids will be in good balance to each other. Note that while walnuts and flax- and chia seeds are whole plant foods with higher concentrations of essential fatty acids, there’s no evidence that you actually need to eat these foods to get the proper amount of any kind of fat. Most whole plant foods have small amounts of essential fats. Over the course of a day full of these foods you will achieve the needed amounts—which aren’t that much to begin with. In fact, it is significantly more important to worry about not consuming excess fat than it is to worry about consuming sufficient omega-3.

Why should I avoid oil? Isn’t oil healthy?

We are baffled that certain oils are presented as “health” foods. Olive oil is not a health food. Neither is coconut, grape seed, flaxseed, or any other oil you’ve heard you must endeavor to add to your diet because it’s good for you. Sure, if you replace some or all of the butter in your diet with vegetable oil, some of your cholesterol numbers may look a little bit better, but that’s not at all the same as doing well. Oil is a bad idea because it is highly refined and its nutritional package is inadequate.

How is it that we know that processed sugars are junk foods, yet we’ve allowed ourselves to be convinced that certain oils are somehow good for us? Oil follows essentially the same model as processed sugar, which is also pressed from plants. Think about what oil is: fat—and nothing but fat. All the nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water, have been thrown away. Oil of any kind has more calories per gram than any other food we know. And without any fiber or water in it, oil lacks the bulk to convey to your senses how many calories you have eaten; this virtually guarantees you will consume more calories at the meal than you need. So we ask you: Why would you waste calories on something that has no nutrients in it other than fat? And why would anyone believe that highly concentrated fat is healthy?

So let’s look at where the “good oil” hype came from. Its origins lay in data collected in the 1960s that showed the people on the island of Crete. At the time these people had the lowest all-cause mortality rates over twenty years when compared to people in other Mediterranean countries. A main contributing factor was their diet, which included some animal products and a little bit of olive oil, but otherwise consisted primarily of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.1 In the years since then, unfortunately, the phrase “Mediterranean diet” has become synonymous primarily with olive oil. What subsequent researchers—and marketers—took from those early studies was that olive oil was the Holy Grail. But it never was.

All oils have a negative impact on blood vessels and promote heart disease.2 Furthermore, they may also lead to increased bleeding through thinning of the blood; negative effects on lung function and oxygen exchange; suppression of certain immune system functions; and increased risk of cancer.3 Not to mention that excess calories from fat get stored as fat, no matter what type of fat calories you consume.

(Read more: Is Coconut Oil Healthy or Hazardous?)

(Read more: Why Olive Oil Isn’t a Health Food)

Do I need to take supplements?

The relationship between whole food and the human body is very intricate and has come about as a result of millions of years of evolution. There are countless nutrients and substances in food that lead to thousands of metabolic reactions when they are consumed. As T. Colin Campbell, PhD, describes it, when it comes to nutrition, the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. The nutrients in whole food work together much like a symphony; extract and consume those nutrients apart from the whole, and all bets are off as to their effects.

The complex, harmonious relationship between our bodies and the whole food we eat might explain why the hardworking supplement industry has not been able to produce beneficial products, despite decades of effort and billions of dollars. Consequently, we do not recommend our patients take supplements—with the notable and important exception of vitamin B12— unless a specific deficiency arises that cannot be corrected with whole, plant-based foods. Putting aside the bluster of consumer marketing, the research on multivitamin supplements is consistent: They do not demonstrate benefit and may cause harm.1 A review of twenty-four randomized controlled trials showed “no consistent evidence that the included [vitamin and mineral] supplements affected CVD [cardiovascular disease], cancer, or all-cause mortality in healthy individuals.”2 Single-vitamin supplements have shown similar negative results. In fact, the harm caused by some of them is dramatic. For example, vitamin A, beta-carotene, and vitamin E—while all healthy when consumed in food—have been shown to significantly increase death when consumed as supplements.3

The problems with supplements shouldn’t come as a surprise. The fact that we need a particular nutrient doesn’t mean we need a megadose of it, nor should we consume it in isolation from all the other nutrients and substances it’s designed to work with. It may run counter to what we’ve been taught, but when we think about nutrition, we should think about getting the right amount of nutrients; this means obtaining neither too little nor too much of them—and being sure they are packaged in the right proportions. We should not think for a moment that we are “playing it safe” by taking supplements; the only true way to play it safe is to not take those supplements—and to look instead to whole, plant-based foods for the nutrition we need.

Do I need to take a vitamin B12 supplement?

Vitamin B12 is important for the development and protection of nerve cells and red blood cells and helps in the production of DNA. Insufficient B12 can lead to many health issues, including weakness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, increased irritability, gastrointestinal distress, anemia, and nervous system dysfunction. B12 is the one nutrient that cannot be obtained sufficiently from today’s plant-based diet. This is not because we need to eat animal products to obtain it. In fact, animal products themselves don’t always contain enough B12.1 The reason for this is that neither plants nor animals naturally synthesize B12. It is made from bacteria. Animals consume dirt, which is full of bacteria, through the unwashed plants and non-chlorinated water they consume. B12 accumulates in the animals’ tissues, which becomes a source of the vitamin for humans when we eat the animal.

We humans, on the other hand, rarely eat anything unwashed. In our quest to be clean, we remove the dirt that contains B12-producing bacteria from our foods. This sanitary approach certainly has its benefits, as it has decreased our exposure to parasites and other pathogens. As a result, we believe that when you eat a whole-food, plant-based diet, taking a B12supplement is the best way to ensure adequate amounts of the nutrient. There is enough research about supplementing B12that, when taken appropriately, we trust it is beneficial.

What about organic, grass-fed animal products?

The nutrient makeup of animal foods (for example, high in fat and cholesterol; low in fiber and antioxidants) is the main reason why consuming these foods will increase your chances of getting chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This nutrient profile exists whether animal foods are organic or not, or whether they are grass-fed or not. Replacing animal foods with whole plant-based foods is a significant change that will greatly improve your chances of achieving good health, whereas the change between organic and conventional animal foods is relatively small and therefore unlikely to make much of a difference.

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