Introduction: This is a guest post written by Nat (a.k.a Buzz), Keren’s significant other and a self-professed non-foodie who got dragged into the plantbased lifestyle a couple years ago. Though he’s not a vegan, he now eats mainly plantbased and loves sharing his experience on eating plantbased foods.

How Food Should Make You Feel

I’m not particularly interested in food per se. I don’t take photographs of everything I eat. I abhor trying new dishes and am perfectly happy to eat the same dish of the plainest ingredients imaginable three times every single day, and yet I still need food, just like you and everybody else. Whether you view food as a religion to be celebrated or as a mundane chore such as filling up the car with petrol or as a precursor to getting lucky on a date, we all still need to eat, and the stomachs of the dainty connoisseur and the Neanderthal rumble equally as loudly when we go without.

While I don’t profess to have any special knowledge of the flavours, nutritional value or health benefits of the food I eat, I do know how it makes me feel. I’m not talking about whether I feel enlightened, virtuous for sparing the lives of our furry friends or any such abstract notions. I’m talking about how the food feels when at rest in my stomach. And just because it might look or smell delicious prior to consumption or taste nice when gobbling it down doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll feel good afterwards. We all know the feeling of having had something excessively sweet, salty or fried which, no matter how appetising or tasty it was in the first place, leaves you feeling a little bit sick or bloated after you have it.

Food, as far as I’m concerned, should make you feel good before, during and after consumption. When I have a pizza, for example, it certainly makes my mouth water when I’m waiting for it to be ready, it smells nice when I lift it to my mouth, it tastes delicious when I’m eating it, but after I have it, when the meal ends, how do I feel? I feel thick, bloated and anything but full of energy and gusto and it takes me hours to get back to normal. That can hardly be the rightful purpose of food. What good was the meal if it doesn’t leave you feeling better after than before you sat down to begin eating? I don’t think anyone feels as ready and capable after a pizza than before.

In contrast, when I have a big plate of steamed vegetables, a couple of tomatoes, a piece of kiwi fruit and a few other green-themed odds and ends, no matter how much I have to eat (and it’s really hard to consume ‘too much’ of those ingredients), no matter the circumstances, I always feel refreshed, I feel strong and healthy and I’m ready to get going and do something useful straight afterwards. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed away from the table after a vegetable-themed orgy and complained that I’ve had too much to eat or that I’m not feeling at my best. It’s only when there’s a foreign invader among the array of vegetables, such as a pizza, a sausage roll or a sugary cake, that my stomach gets tripped up and malfunctions

I won’t delve into specifics such as nutritional content, counting calories, grams of protein or simple and complex sugars. That’s for others more knowledgeable than me to canvass. The real litmus test for food ignoramuses such as myself is simple: how does it feel after you eat it? If it doesn’t feel good, then it’s not good for you, period. It doesn’t matter what it is, really, because the point of food, the whole purpose, should be to refuel and recharge you, not make you feel fat, bloated or sleepy. So ask yourself when you eat so-and-so, “how does it make me feel?” and use that as a starting point.

I love beef burgers, but they make me feel fat and tired. I’d push my mother over in the race for a tasty Hawaiian pizza, but afterwards I won’t be in any condition to push anyone around. Milkshakes are Heaven’s gift but the last time I had one I fell asleep at ten o’clock in the morning. I can go on and on, but I’m sure you all can use your own experiences to fill in the gaps.

So what foods make me feel good? What recharges me and leaves me in fighting shape and what renders me hors d’ combat?

The short answer is that anything green or plant-based sits very comfortably in my stomach after consumption. My girlfriend suffers from an incurable condition which compels her to fill herself, and myself, with the greenest gunk imaginable. And you know what? Regardless of how it looks before and tastes during (and it does taste very nice), it feels good afterwards. It feels better than anything else I have to eat. Oftentimes when I have a big plate of vegetables and assorted odds and ends (certainly as large a plate as a plate containing a burger and fries), even when I’ve had more than enough to eat, my stomach’s still got a slight rumble which I interpret as the sign of a beast temporarily satisfied but not in a food-induced coma. And I think that’s how food should make you feel. It should fill you up but not stuff you silly. It should refresh you but not wear you down. It should look good, taste good and feel good afterwards.

If your priority is performance, as mine is, if you couldn’t care less about how a dish looks on Instagram, if you just want to get something which tastes nice and leaves you feeling strong, heathy and capable, afterwards, then be honest with yourself about which dishes achieve the desired effect.

The more greens I get, the better I feel. Red meat doesn’t work for me anymore. Bread needs to be approached with caution. Sugar and dairy products are fatal to the touch. Some trial and error will lead you to some very simple conclusions. I want to eat well and feel good, and I don’t care what it is I’m eating as long as it meets that criteria. And the conclusion I’ve reached is that the less meat, dairy and sugar I eat, the better I feel. And isn’t that the important thing- how I feel? It doesn’t matter what I’m eating as long as I’m feeling at my best.

Ask yourself what makes you feel your best. Forget about the clichés and stereotypes that you need bucket loads of meat and milk to get your protein. Focus on results. And which foods give you the best results? Focus on those foods, no matter what colour they are.

What is our biggest killer?

What is the biggest killer in our society? Is it suicide, substance abuse, violent attacks, or car accidents? These issues often receive major media coverage and sympathy, and rightly so. However they don’t kill the most people.

If we look at English-speaking countries like the country I live in, Australia, the largest single cause of death is the same – heart disease, or cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Consider these grim statistics:

Australia (data source: The Australian Heart Foundation):

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Australia, killing one Australian every 12 minutes, and claiming the lives of 45,600 Australians (31% of all deaths)
• CVD prevents 1.4 million people from living a full life because of disability caused by the disease
• Lower socio-economic groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those living in remote areas had the highest rate of hospitalization and death resulting from CVD in Australia

United States (data source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

• About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year – 1 in every 4 deaths
• Every year about 715,000 Americans have a heart attack
• Coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year in health-related costs

United Kingdom (data source: British Heart Foundation):

• Coronary heart disease is the UK’s biggest killer, causing almost 74,000 deaths each year – that’s about 200 people dying every day.
• More than a quarter of the deaths from heart disease occur in people who are younger than 75 and experts say the majority are preventable
• About 1 in 3 adults in England and Scotland have high blood pressure, and nearly half of them are not receiving treatment for this

Heart disease – a global disaster

It is not only affluent English-speaking countries that have high rates of heart disease though. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), heart disease is a global problem. Of the top 10 leading causes of death worldwide, the number 1 is – you guessed it – cardiovascular disease.

Interestingly, when you compare the leading cause of deaths for low income countries to that of middle income, and especially high income countries, heart disease is more prevalent with a higher income . For low-income countries, Ischaemic heart disease (a disease characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart) ranks at number 4, accounting for 6.1% of deaths. By contrast, for high-income countries, Ischaemic heart disease ranks at number 1, accounting for 15.6% of deaths. This implies a relationship between diet and lifestyle of wealthier countries contributing to an increase in heart disease. Which leads us to the key lifestyle factors to help prevent heart disease.

7 Tips To Help Prevent Heart Disease

1. Smoking – if you haven’t already, quit now!
2. Body weight – if you’re overweight, stop overeating and start eating healthfully!
3. Diet – follow a heart-healthy diet (see below)
4. Use of sodium – reduce your intake, avoid salty foods and condiments
5. Exercise – start exercising for at least half an hour every day
6. Alcohol – minimize or quit consumption
7. Stress control – do something to reduce your stress

Heart-healthy diet

A heart-healthy diet is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and trans-fats, low in salt & sugar, and high in fibre-rich whole-grains (such as oats and barley), unsalted nuts (such as almonds and walnuts), legumes, soy products, beans, vegetables and fruit. Use fats sparingly, and include those found in whole foods such as raw seeds, nuts and avocado.

Of the 63% of deaths worldwide due to chronic diseases and conditions in 2008, poor diets were a major contributory factor according to the World Health Organization.

The national or regional rates for main types of diseases such as certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes type 2, are considerably lower where plant-based diets are more common, compared to areas where animal-based diets are more prevalent.

Why plant-based diets are good at preventing disease

Mounting medical evidence shows that a plant-based diet supports longevity and good health. A balanced, varied whole-food plant-based diet protects health because:

• It’s high in fibre.
• It provides adequate protein for growth and repair.
• It’s high in antioxidants that are critical to neutralizing free radicals that cause aging and chronic disease, including cancer.
• It’s high in vitamins and minerals.
• It’s low insaturated fat that promotes heart disease.

Plant foods have a much lower concentration of calories than animal protein overall, which allows for more food volume without excessive weight gain.

Medical studies show the power of plant food

Numerous studies over the last few decades have shown that people whose diets include a large intake of plant foods tend to have a lower risk of chronic disease. The reasons are many.

• Plant-based foods are naturally rich in antioxidants, which help eliminate free radicals that damage cells and cause chronic inflammation.
• Some people have genetic predisposition towards disease, such as chromosome 9p21, which has been identified as a major predictor of heart disease.  Scientists from McMaster and McGill universities, both in Canada, have found that while people with this gene variant naturally have a higher risk of heart diseases; this risk is significantly reduced if they eat lots of raw vegetable and fruits.
• Plant based diets can also protect against the formation of blood vessels that feed cancerous tumors (angiogenesis). The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), published a report in February 2011 explaining how many cancers can be delayed or even prevented through a balance of regular physical activity and a plant-based diet.
• Dean Ornish’s research showed that eating a very low-fat, plant-based, vegetarian diet and other lifestyle changes could, in fact, reverse heart disease. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn also succeeded in arresting and reversing heart disease in patients who were seriously ill.
• The Adventist Health Study-2 found that vegetarians had a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Eating red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) is associated with increased rates of cancer and heart disease.
• The American Cancer Society recommends eating a healthy diet for the prevention of cancer “with an emphasis on plant foods.”
• There is compelling new research indicating that eating meat causes the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract to produce a compound that may increase the risk of atherosclerosis (clogged arteries).

Study shows vegetarians live longer

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that people who follow a vegetarian diet can enjoy an almost 12 per cent lower mortality rate than their meat loving counterparts.

Dr. Michael Orlich of the Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, the lead author of the study report, noted that vegetarian diets have clear beneficial effects in the prevention of chronic diseases and the improvement of longevity in humans.

More than 70,000 Seventh-Day Adventist participants were interviewed by researchers in this study. Those who identified as vegetarians were categorized included vegans (eating nothing but plant foods), lacto-ovo vegetarians (eating plant-foods as well as dairy products and eggs), and semi-vegetarians (eating mostly plant-foods but also some animal products like fish and poultry).

Over a six-year period researchers followed the study group to determine differences in mortality. They found that over a one year period five to six per 1,000 vegetarians had died compared to seven per 1,000 meat eaters. Importantly, this study yet again confirms that people who eat mostly plant-based foods are less likely to develop chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer.

“Vegetarian diets are associated with lower all-cause mortality and with some reductions in cause-specific mortality,” the authors concluded.

According to an article published in the Melbourne ‘Age’, nutritionist and health author Dr Rebecca Harwin says that the consumption of meat increases inflammation in the body and is the cause behind many of our modern day diseases.

“The chance of falling victim to one of our major killers such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes can be increased for meat eaters due to their exposure to hormonal disrupting toxins and potentially harmful bacteria,” she says. “Increased consumption of processed meats and fatty red meat can largely be to blame.”

On the flip side, the Age article continues, a vegetarian diet consisting of a variety of fruit and vegetables boosts valuable antioxidant levels; which assist in combating inflammation. Add to this a higher intake of complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre and other vitamins and minerals and it is easy to understand the results from this study.

Prevent cancer with diet

As Dr Joel Fuhrman advises, a hormone called IGF-1, (insulin-like growth factor 1) promotes the ageing process, and the growth, proliferation and spread of cancer cells. Elevated IGF-1 levels are linked to increased risk of several cancers. On the positive side, reduced IGF-1 in adulthood is associated with reduced oxidative stress, decreased inflammation, enhanced insulin sensitivity and longer lifespan.⁴

As Dr Fuhrman says:

“Since the primary dietary factor that determines IGF-1 levels is animal protein, the excessive meat, fowl, seafood, and dairy intake common in our society elevates circulating IGF-1. Refined carbohydrates, like white flour, white rice, and sugars can also raise IGF-1 levels, because they cause rapid increases in insulin levels, leading to increases in IGF-1 signalling.”

So what is a healthy diet to help prevent cancer? Well, it’s no surprise to me that it includes the following recommendations:

• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, soy, legumes, whole grains, beans
• Maintain a healthy weight and lose excess fat if overweight
• Exercise regularly – at least 30 minutes per day
• Reduce consumption of red meat (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
• Avoid or minimize alcohol consumption
• Limit consumption of salt and salty foods
• Avoid sugary drinks – drink water instead
• Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer

Source: World Cancer Research Fund

Sound familiar? A healthy, varied plant-based diet, in conjunction with other positive lifestyle practices, is best to protect against both cancer and heart disease.

NOTE: *Please see your doctor for advice or treatment for cancer or any other illness.

Nuts, vegetable protein and vegetable fat all help to lower cancer risk

I knew that there was a reason my 3 daughters (and son) love peanut butter and jam (jelly if you’re American) on toast!

A study published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment in September 2013 shows that girls who ate peanut butter or nuts regularly from the ages of 9 to 15 were less likely to develop benign or non-cancerous breast disease by the time they were 30 years old.

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine and the Harvard Medical School followed over 9,000 American girls through their pre-teen and teen years to see if any had been diagnosed with benign breast disease (BBD); a risk factor for breast cancer. The researchers found that girls who ate peanut butter twice a week were 39 percent less likely to be diagnosed with BBD.

Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, a professor of oncology at Georgetown University, said that a number of earlier studies on diet and breast cancer risk have determined “that what a girl eats during childhood can have a permanent protective effect on her breast cancer risk later on.”

Researchers investigated whether vegetable protein and fat, derived from diets reported during pre-adolescence and adolescence, are associated with a lower risk for BBD in young women. This study found a lower risk for benign breast disease (BBD) is linked not just to peanut butter, but also to higher intakes of vegetable fat and nuts during high school. The greatest sources of vegetable fat and protein in these girls’ diets were peanut butter, peanuts, nuts, beans, lentils, soybeans, and corn. A daily serving of any one of these was associated with lower risk of contracting breast cancer.

“These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women,” said senior author Graham Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Eating nuts to lower cholesterol and risk of heart disease

It is no surprise that eating nuts also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. Nuts have lots of protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants. And many studies have shown that nuts have powerful cholesterol-lowering effects.

According to a statement by the US FDA, “Eating a diet that includes one ounce of nuts daily can reduce your risk of heart disease.”

As long as you don’t have a nut allergy, raw, unsalted seeds, nuts and nut butters (in small quantities, eaten with healthy meals) should form a staple part of your heart-healthy diet.

6 ways to prevent cancer

Researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recently published six dietary guidelines for cancer prevention in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

The six dietary recommendations to reduce risk of several types of cancer are:

1. Limit or avoid dairy products to reduce risk of prostate cancer.

One glass of milk each day increases risk of prostate cancer by 10 percent. Consuming two glasses of milk each day increases risk of prostate cancer by 60 percent.

2. Limit or avoid alcohol to reduce cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, skin, and breast.

One drink per week increases risk of mouth, pharynx, and larynx cancers by 24 percent. Two to three drinks per day increase risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

3. Avoid red and processed meat to reduce risk of cancers of the colon and rectum.

Each 50-gram daily serving of processed meat, equivalent to two slices of bacon or one sausage link, increases risk of colorectal cancer by 21 percent.

4. Avoid grilled, fried, and broiled meats to reduce risk of cancers of the colon, rectum, breast, prostate, kidney, and pancreas.

Certain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are associated with cancer of the colon and rectum. HCAs form in cooked skeletal muscle, increasing with higher cooking times and higher temperatures. When ingested, HCAs can disrupt DNA synthesis.

5. Consume natural soy products, such as edamame, to reduce risk of breast cancer.

A global study shows women who consume 11 grams of soy protein each day reduce risk for both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer by about 30 percent.

6. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to reduce several forms of cancer.

The fiber and phytochemicals available in fruits and vegetables, especially leafy greens, help reduce overall cancer risk—while a Western diet (high amounts of meat and fat with minimal amounts of fruits and vegetables) doubles the risk.

Thanks to PCRM for this list.

The point with following a plant-based diet is not just a longer life, but one marked by less obesity, less disease, and more enjoyment of all the things in life that are not just good, but good for you.

Tom Perry