This Modern Fad Is Making You Sick

The AHA! Team — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:26:47 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – The government declared war on fat almost 50 years ago. And as a result, we got slower, sicker, and fatter. In fact, the results of this big fat lie “led to some pretty disastrous consequences…that caused Americans to get fatter.” Those are the words of one of the most famous nutritionists in the world. Dr. Walter Willett, Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was one of the first mainstream physicians to admit that the campaign to eliminate fat in the diet was a big mistake. But lately, he’s shifted gears. And today, he’s declared war on meat. I couldn’t disagree more… We come from hunter-gatherers who evolved over millennia to thrive on meat. We have canine fangs like dogs and wolves. These teeth are meant to rip and tear flesh from animals. Being a vegetarian is a modern fad. It was the brainchild of Reverend Sylvester Graham. He believed that all of America’s moral failings could be traced back to an “unholy diet.” So he created a strict meat-free meal plan that would “cure” the country of its “immoral urger.” He preached a gospel of fruits, vegetables, and whole-wheat crackers that would eventually bear his name. But Graham and his followers got it wrong. Big time. They didn’t understand that humans are born meat eaters. And that being vegetarian takes a real toll on your health. When vegetarians give up meat, they force themselves to get the bulk of their calories from wheat or other grain products. So they wind up eating more bread, pasta, cereals, and other processed foods. Being vegetarian takes a real toll on your health In other words, they eat a lot of junk. Sound familiar? It’s the same thing that happened with the war on fat. For more than 20 years, I’ve seen firsthand the health problems of vegetarians in my practice. I’ve found that vegetarians: Have low energy and feel frail Get sick more often and age faster Have poor digestion and weaker bones Can’t produce growth hormones, testosterone, and thyroid hormone Have low sperm counts and more fertility problems And despite what Dr. Walter Willett declares, vegetarians don’t live longer… An important study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at data from two studies of more than 60,000 people in the U.K. It found no difference in mortality rates between vegetarians and meat eaters.1 And despite what you hear from the mainstream media, studies show vegetarian diets don’t lower the risk of heart disease2 or cancer.3 But a plant-only vegan diet does cause genetic mutations that increase the risks for both heart disease and cancer.4 The latest research shows that eating a plant-based diet also makes you depressed,5 increases your risk of broken bones,6 and decreases phospholipids.7 Phospholipids are vital for a healthy brain. You see when you don’t eat meat, it’s impossible to get many of the essential nutrients you need every day. If you were – or still are – eating a plant-based diet, you’re missing out on a number of key nutrients. Here’s how to get a few of them back: Supplement with B12. This vitamin, so vital to humans, is only found in meat. While some vegetarians claim that B12 can be found in algae, tempeh (a soy product sometimes used as a meat substitute), or even brewer’s yeast, these are false assumptions. I recommend at least 100 mcg per day. But I advise many of my patients to take as much as 2,000 mcg, especially if they are vegetarians. Replenish your zinc. Most vegetarians have a zinc deficiency. This is a problem. You can’t have a well-functioning immune system without this antioxidant. It also reduces your risk of metabolic syndrome, age-related macular degeneration, osteoporosis, and memory loss. I recommend taking 30 mg a day. CoQ10: CoQ10 is only found in animal products. You’ll find high concentrations of this heart- and brain-critical nutrient in organ meats. But you’ll also get it from the meat itself. CoQ10 supplies your cells with ATP, the energy required by every cell in your body for metabolism, energy production, and life itself. I recommend at least 50 mg of ubiquinol CoQ10 every day. This form is eight times more absorbable than conventional CoQ10. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: 1. Appleby P, et al. “Mortality in vegetarians and comparable nonvegetarians in the United Kingdom.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Jan;103(1):218-30. 2. Kaiser J, et al. “A systematic review of the association between vegan diets and risk of cardiovascular disease.” J Nutr. 2021 Jun 1;151(6):1539-1552. 3. “Does being a vegetarian lower your risk of cancer?” https://www.wcrf.org. 2020. Accessed on May 24, 2023. 4. Caspermeyer J. “Are we what we eat? Evidence of a vegetarian diet permanently shaping the human genome to change individual risk of cancer and heart disease.” Mol Biol Evol. 2016 Jul;33(7):1887-8. 5. Kohl I, et al. “Association between meatless diet and depressive episodes: A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the longitudinal study of adult health.” J Affect Disord. 2023 Jan 1;320:48-56. 6. Webster J, et al. “Risk of hip fracture in meat-eaters, pescatarians, and vegetarians: results from the UK Women’s Cohort Study .” BMC Med. 2022 Aug 11;20(1):275. 7. Menzel J, et al. “Dietary and plasma phospholipid profiles in vegans and omnivores—results from the RBVD study.” Nutrients. 2022 Jul; 14(14):2900. To read the original article click here.

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Lower Your Overall Cancer Risk by Making THIS Simple Diet Change

AHA Publisher — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 07:00:56 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – Vegetarian and vegan lifestyles have grown increasingly popular as people tout the associated health benefits. Still, regardless of the data, many people can’t turn away from their carnivorous nature. The numbers don’t lie, though. There does seem to be some merit to eating plant-based foods. Lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some cancers are just a few of the perks. But even that isn’t enough to convince many to make a move to eating less meat. The question is, should they have to? When it comes to meat consumption, do you really have to totally eliminate it to reap the benefits of a “meat-free” diet? Not necessarily, according to a recent UK study. It seems that even scaling back your meat consumption can be quite good for you. Eating Less Meat Means Lower Cancer Risk, New Study Finds Researchers from the University of Oxford, UK, looked into the relationship between a person’s risk of cancer and diet. The study involved collecting data from 472,337 British adults recruited from 2006 through 2010 to the UK Biobank and analyzing it to identify the correlation, if any. The participants were between the ages of 40 and 70 and were cancer-free at the time they were recruited. The participants were then split into four groups according to information gleaned from dietary questions they answered when they were recruited: Regular meat eaters – 247,571 Low meat eaters – 205,385 Fish eaters – 10,696 Vegetarians – 8,685 Diet-Cancer Connection: Researchers Reveal Impressive Results The study had some pretty impressive results. Regarding the overall cancer risk, compared to the participants who consumed meat more than five times a week, it showed: 2% decreased cancer risk in those who consumed meat five times a week or less 10% decreased cancer risk in those who ate fish and no meat 14% decreased cancer risk in those who were vegetarians or vegans They also examined the incidence of specific cancers and correlated them to participants’ diets. Compared to the group that consumed meat more than five times a week: 9% decreased risk of colorectal cancer in the group that consumed meat five times or less a week 18% decreased risk of breast cancer in the group that adhered to a vegetarian diet (although this could be attributed to the lower BMI that is consistent with most vegetarian women) 20% decreased risk of prostate cancer in men in the group that consumed fish and no meat 31% decreased risk of prostate cancer in men in the group that adhered to a vegetarian diet Here Is How to Modify Your Diet to Lower Your Risk of Cancer Reducing your meat consumption can have many health benefits. And the good news is that you don’t have to cut it out completely. Try these tips for reducing your meat intake. Eat fish at least twice a week. Make meat your side dish instead of the main course. Use more turkey and chicken. Eat beans cooked in chicken stock and flavored with turkey or chicken sausage. Give tofu a try. Add whole grains to your diet. One thing should be made very clear: the researchers probably did not look at the quality of the meat consumed. Simply put, most commercially produced meat products are loaded with unwanted chemicals … including synthetic hormones and antibiotics. This kind of meat is highly toxic and increases the risk of many dis-eases. Look at what you are eating daily and find ways to cut back on the meat while bulking up on the organic veggies and fruits. If you do consume meat (or fish) … be sure it’s 100% grass-fed or wild. Remember, quality does matter! After all, we’re talking about taking better care of your health. And, you’re worth it. Sources for this article include: ScienceDaily.com BMCMedicine.BioMedCentral.com To read the original article click here.

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This Modern Fad Is Making You Sick

Lower Your Overall Cancer Risk by Making THIS Simple Diet Change