This article has been published under permission of the author. The original appears here. As a dietitian working in the area of vegan nutrition, I see no shortage of outrageous claims about vegan diets. They come from both sides of the debate. Advocates for veganism sometimes ascribe unsubstantiated benefits to vegan diets while downplaying concerns about meeting nutrient needs. On the READ ON
A few years ago an Oklahoma chicken farmer called to say that the chickens he was raising for the company he worked for were “all rotting in their insides.” He asked what it could be. I said it sounds like necrotic enteritis – one of the many diseases in chickens raised for human consumption. [1] Whenever I hear a health care professional telling people with type 2 diabetes or who are worried READ ON
The Paleolithic Era began approximately 2.5 million years ago and ended with the advent of modern agriculture about 10,000 years ago. Food sources of this era included animals and plants that were part of the local environments in which people lived. Animals slaughtered for food were hunted — not confined and/or bred for this purpose. The plants people ate were gathered, and not produced by READ ON
Consider the following hypothetical proposition. Suppose there were a magic pill that, if everyone took it, would prevent millions of stray dogs and cats from being rounded up, locked in lonely stalls, and dying terrified and confused on a cold, steel euthanizing table. If everyone took this magic pill, there would effectively be no more stray cats or dogs, and no more kill shelters. If only some READ ON
Two years after going vegan, Germany's Strongest Man, Patrik Baboumian, demonstrated that a plant-based diet had not diminished his phenomenal strength or physical performance. In fall of 2013, Baboumian set a world record for heaviest weight carried a distance of 10 meters, shouldering a yoke weighing more than 1200 pounds (550 kg). Baboumian said, "It's a bit stupid to do things like that, it READ ON
Soy has long been recognized as a nutrient-dense food and as an excellent source of protein by respected dietitians and clinical nutritionists. (1) The soybean contains all of the essential amino acids, as well as an impressive list of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Micronutrients in rich supply in soy include: calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, vitamins B1, B2, READ ON
Vegan bodybuilder Frank Medrano joins a growing number of athletes and bodybuilders whose phenomenal fitness and peak physical performance are powered exclusively by plants. As the general public is increasingly confronted with the inherent cruelty of all animal farming, and armed with the knowledge that we can live healthy lives without exploiting animals for food, more and more people are making READ ON
Nearly all of what I treat in the Emergency Department is diet related. We have eaten ourselves into a state of sickness, and it is fueled by misinformation. This is nowhere more clear than in the endlessly circulated protein myth; most of us have been indoctrinated into a belief system which holds the misconception that our only sources of protein are animal-derived. Although animal flesh, eggs READ ON
I don't talk a lot about how I struggled to give up cheese when I went vegan years ago; I don't want people to think that living dairy-free is so difficult that they put it off or, worse, never even try. For many people, ditching dairy is only moderately difficult; for others, it isn't hard at all. But for some it's a real obstacle; one of the most consistent objections to veganism I encounter is READ ON
[Updated 9/15/2016] In the recently revised Australian Dietary Guidelines (p. 35), Australia's top health experts now agree with leading health advisory boards in the U.S., U.K. and Canada that well-planned vegan diets are a safe, healthy and viable option for all age groups. Government health experts worldwide are finally catching up with the large body of scientific evidence demonstrating READ ON
First, a few disclaimers. I am not a nutritionist. I am not gluten-intolerant. I am not, according to the University of Chicago Hospital, part of the roughly 1% of the population that has Celiac Disease. I fully understand that wheat processed into highly-refined products like white flour are empty calories no better for us than any other source of simple carbohydrates. But what’s happening in READ ON
This video from Dr. John McDougall provides a clear explanation of how and why dairy products are thought to trigger type 1 diabetes in children and young adults, in addition to allergies, asthma, and other autoimmune diseases. Mothers' milk is species specific: the composition of each animal’s milk has evolved over millions of years to perfectly meet the unique nutritional needs of the young READ ON
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the oldest and foremost authority on diet and nutrition in the U.S.) and the American Academy of Pediatrics both endorse appropriately planned vegan diets for children — even infants and toddlers. Nearly twenty-five years ago, Dr. Benjamin Spock, one of the most influential pediatricians of all time, made a radical revision to the seventh edition of his READ ON
Much has been written in the last several years about the addictive qualities of dairy products due to a certain protein found in great abundance in cow's milk: casein. Perhaps it was Dr. T. Colin Campbell's seminal work, The China Study, that was the catalyst for this new understanding of dairy addiction. In her new book, Main Street Vegan, 28-year vegan author Victoria Moran includes a READ ON
Boston, MA -- A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers has found that red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. The results also showed that substituting other healthy protein sources, such as nuts, and legumes, was associated with a lower risk of mortality. They unfortunately also include fish and poultry READ ON
The question of what we are really meant to eat is a loaded one with lots of different opinions. Our friend Jim Glackin recently took a great stab at answering this question in a discussion thread on facebook where, among other tactics, someone played the "Paleo" card on why it is natural for us to eat meat. We've decided to republish Jim's response here. "The thing about humans is that we are READ ON
In the last 24 hours, I've had an earful of reasons why people eat meat. Most of the reasoning centers around health. Many say when they tried to be vegetarian their health declined. Others say eating animals is part of the "circle of life." Still others believe that some animals were somehow born into this world to serve us as food. Having come out of Melanie Joy's vegan empowerment workshop last READ ON
Faith came to us via LinkedIn when we discovered her in a group discussion there and learned about her fascinating story and transformation from a woman who lived and ate the standard American diet to a plant based nutrition coach. The following is our interview with this remarkable woman. Where does your interest in nutrition come from? In the summer of 2007 I read Barbara Kingsolver's, READ ON
Nutrition experts at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in conjunction with colleagues at Harvard Health Publications have unveiled the Healthy Eating Plate, a visual guide that provides a blueprint for eating a healthy meal. Like the U.S. government’s MyPlate, the Healthy Eating Plate is simple and easy to understand—and it addresses important deficiencies in the MyPlate READ ON
Ever heard someone say they're addicted to cheese? Well, they may be right. Some doctors and nutritionists believe that cheese has actual addictive properties that contribute to our craving for it. All mammalian milk contains opiate compounds called casomorphins (1) which help to strengthen the bond between mother and baby. And of all dairy products, cheese has the highest concentration of these READ ON
