From the article:
"Eating leafy greens may help slow mental decline. Older men and women who ate the most lettuce, spinach, kale and collard greens scored the equivalent of 11 years younger on cognitive tests than those who ate little or none."
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/well/mind/a-salad-a-day-may-be-good-for-brain-health.html
There are other studies showing a diet based on fruits and vegetables is an effective treatment for depression.
I believe as the plant based "revolution" progresses whole plant foods will be shown to be a more effective treatment for depression than antidepressant medications (preliminary evidence is rolling in). Big pharma ain't gonna like that...they make a lot of money on depression meds. Grease food diets are SO profitable for so many industries. No wonder things are getting worse, all you see on TV is ads for fast food and meds.
Stop...watching...TV
We already have conclusive evidence regular physical activity is a more effective treatment for depression than medications.
What was it Spock on Star Trek used to say..."live long and prosper"? Isn't that pretty much the same as "live long and be happy"?
Eat plants, move your body.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Starch makes you fat?
I come across this misconception all the time, even from well meaning health oriented vegans (the ones who avoid vegan junk foods). There is a simple explanation:
If it was as simple as starch turns into fat McDougall, Barnard, Fuhrman, Campbell and tens of thousands of lesser known WFPB SOS free people would be fat. But they are not, they are lean.
WFPB SOS free: whole food, plant based, with vanishingly low levels of added sugars oils and salt.
The key to understanding why this is so:
"The true cause of the pre-condition known as insulin resistance is high levels of fat in the diet".
If you harbor this precondition, then, yes, carbs (good ones or bad ones) will trigger blood sugar instability, fat storage, and ultimately any of the variety of the so-called metabolic diseases. This is why paleos have to limit (any kind of) carb consumption to nil.
How does one prevent or reverse the precondition of insulin resistance? By keeping total dietary calories from fat (any kind of fats, good ones or bad ones) to 10 to 15% (on an average basis). Then insulin resistance becomes insulin sensitivity, and one can consume a high amount of total calories from good carbs, which as we know are the foods with the highest nutrient to calorie ratios. These are the foods that are "nutrient dense" as opposed to "calorie dense".
Nutrient dense foods make us lean and healthy, calorie dense foods make us fat and sick (it's that simple). And one can eat nutrient dense meals until one is completely full, every time, and one will still become lean over time, it is unavoidable. Imagine that.
We do not want to "spend" our daily allotment of calories frivolously. We want to only consume good carbs, good fats, and good proteins. There is no room for "empty calories" if you want to become lean and healthy.
And if we are not insulin resistant any longer we can begin to consume the most nutritionally dense food groups, which are fruits and vegetables, ie the "good carbs".
It's not a "diet", it's a lifestyle choice that will make and keep us lean and healthy. It is the opposite of the (mostly unconscious) lifestyle choice that is making us fat and sick, the calorically dense diet, which by definition is nutrient deficient (overfed and undernourished).
Calorically dense foods in the diet crowds out the foods that are nutritionally dense. One is "always hungry" in that condition, and is pushed to eat too many calories in a continuing (but vain) attempt to get the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytochemicals necessary for good health.
Due to insufficient nutrition, a gradual collapse of health ensues, culminating somewhere in middle age for most people, when symptoms of poor health begin to surface.
BTW one cannot eat crap and take supplements and be OK, that does not work. If it did the "fortified" crap big food sells us would make us all healthy, when in fact it's a significant contributor to the general health collapse we see in "developed" world populations.
How ironic is it "developed" countries have the highest disease rates?
"Nutrient density" is the primary reason a WFPB SOS free approach is more efficient in reversing metabolic disorder diseases than any other approach.
And so-called "high raw" (fresh foods) versions of WFPB SOS free are the most efficient of all.
Consider the average medical doctor, unfortunately, untrained in "real" nutrition, and completely clueless. They should all be compelled to wear a prominent warning label on the breast pocket of their lab coats - "nutritionally clueless: proceed with caution".
It all boils down to a very simple formula: base your diet on fruits and vegetables, the fresher the better. You may also find, as many do (myself included), that big meals of fruits in the morning or midday, and vegetables in the evening, is very satisfying and insures we get plenty of both food groups.
Of course one does not have to work very hard to make fresh fruits delicious, but vegetables can benefit from creativity in the kitchen. To begin, keep it simple: a lot of big salads for dinner. Yes, you can put some starchy vegetables in them in order to get sufficient calories: root veggies and legumes. Add a bit of avocado and a nut/seed based dressing (I'm partial to tahini), and you will get enough calories in a day to avoid getting too thin!
And we don't want to get too thin do we? ;-)
You're going to look great, even better, you're going to feel great.
If it was as simple as starch turns into fat McDougall, Barnard, Fuhrman, Campbell and tens of thousands of lesser known WFPB SOS free people would be fat. But they are not, they are lean.
WFPB SOS free: whole food, plant based, with vanishingly low levels of added sugars oils and salt.
The key to understanding why this is so:
"The true cause of the pre-condition known as insulin resistance is high levels of fat in the diet".
If you harbor this precondition, then, yes, carbs (good ones or bad ones) will trigger blood sugar instability, fat storage, and ultimately any of the variety of the so-called metabolic diseases. This is why paleos have to limit (any kind of) carb consumption to nil.
How does one prevent or reverse the precondition of insulin resistance? By keeping total dietary calories from fat (any kind of fats, good ones or bad ones) to 10 to 15% (on an average basis). Then insulin resistance becomes insulin sensitivity, and one can consume a high amount of total calories from good carbs, which as we know are the foods with the highest nutrient to calorie ratios. These are the foods that are "nutrient dense" as opposed to "calorie dense".
Nutrient dense foods make us lean and healthy, calorie dense foods make us fat and sick (it's that simple). And one can eat nutrient dense meals until one is completely full, every time, and one will still become lean over time, it is unavoidable. Imagine that.
We do not want to "spend" our daily allotment of calories frivolously. We want to only consume good carbs, good fats, and good proteins. There is no room for "empty calories" if you want to become lean and healthy.
And if we are not insulin resistant any longer we can begin to consume the most nutritionally dense food groups, which are fruits and vegetables, ie the "good carbs".
It's not a "diet", it's a lifestyle choice that will make and keep us lean and healthy. It is the opposite of the (mostly unconscious) lifestyle choice that is making us fat and sick, the calorically dense diet, which by definition is nutrient deficient (overfed and undernourished).
Calorically dense foods in the diet crowds out the foods that are nutritionally dense. One is "always hungry" in that condition, and is pushed to eat too many calories in a continuing (but vain) attempt to get the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytochemicals necessary for good health.
Due to insufficient nutrition, a gradual collapse of health ensues, culminating somewhere in middle age for most people, when symptoms of poor health begin to surface.
BTW one cannot eat crap and take supplements and be OK, that does not work. If it did the "fortified" crap big food sells us would make us all healthy, when in fact it's a significant contributor to the general health collapse we see in "developed" world populations.
How ironic is it "developed" countries have the highest disease rates?
"Nutrient density" is the primary reason a WFPB SOS free approach is more efficient in reversing metabolic disorder diseases than any other approach.
And so-called "high raw" (fresh foods) versions of WFPB SOS free are the most efficient of all.
Consider the average medical doctor, unfortunately, untrained in "real" nutrition, and completely clueless. They should all be compelled to wear a prominent warning label on the breast pocket of their lab coats - "nutritionally clueless: proceed with caution".
It all boils down to a very simple formula: base your diet on fruits and vegetables, the fresher the better. You may also find, as many do (myself included), that big meals of fruits in the morning or midday, and vegetables in the evening, is very satisfying and insures we get plenty of both food groups.
Of course one does not have to work very hard to make fresh fruits delicious, but vegetables can benefit from creativity in the kitchen. To begin, keep it simple: a lot of big salads for dinner. Yes, you can put some starchy vegetables in them in order to get sufficient calories: root veggies and legumes. Add a bit of avocado and a nut/seed based dressing (I'm partial to tahini), and you will get enough calories in a day to avoid getting too thin!
And we don't want to get too thin do we? ;-)
You're going to look great, even better, you're going to feel great.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Dr. Kristi Funk, author of "Breasts: The Owners Manual"
As Dr. Funk, a breast cancer surgeon, was researching the scientific literature for her book she had a profound awakening. Here she is telling that story in a very interesting interview:
Link to the book on Amazon:
Breasts: The Owner's Manual: Every Woman's Guide
Link to the book on Amazon:
Breasts: The Owner's Manual: Every Woman's Guide
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Vipassana Meditation Is...Reality Meditation?
Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind, among others, credits the creation of these works to Vipassana Meditation. Here he is in a 9 minute clip speaking on Vipassana, Reality, Suffering, & Consciousness.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Dr. Fuhrman gives a Pep Talk
I like Joel Fuhrman. He's enthusiastic, has decades of experience treating thousands of patients using an approach that balances a whole food plant based diet with conservative supplementation where needed. It seems to me it is also an approach that is closer to what we grew up with, and so perhaps an easier transition. He has tasty and easy recipes too, check out his Thai peanut sauce stir fry at 1:30 in this video:
Friday, March 8, 2019
What can you do with one kettlebell?
Kettlebells are a physical conditioning tool that evolved out of the Russian military, supposedly soldiers used cannonballs to play with and get a little activity, and eventually added a handle, and et voila.
The beauty of kettlebells is simple and compelling: with one compact object you can replicate the majority of functions of an entire gym, and that one compact object can address whole body functional conditioning. Kettlebells are thought by many fitness experts as being the single best activity for improving health. Of course there are many activities that are thought to be "the single best", walking is high on everyone's list. Adding "strength training" takes activity to a higher level.
Because kettlebells are a dynamic activity they address all the beneficial aspects of physical activity: strength, endurance, balance, and agility. Quality of sleep will improve also, and it is so important to our health to get good sleep.
And while I'm on the topic of health (traveling the health highway), if you have improved your diet to one that is less toxic, the acceleration effect in better health with physical activity cannot be overstated...as my mentor Doug Graham frequently says "you can be fit without being healthy, but you cannot be healthy without being fit".
As with any physical activity (body in motion under load) proper form is important. Injury from kettlebell activity is unlikely if one learns form and begins with the lightest kettlebell. Most of the moves themselves are not complicated or difficult to understand, but stick with that one until you know the movement, and it feels easy.
The best "bang for the buck" kettlebells I'm aware of are "Amazon Basics". The problem with a lot of the kettlebells I've used is the handle is not wide enough to hold with both hands comfortably. Even a simple device has to be designed correctly, these from Amazon are perfect and inexpensive.
As you increase strength and function you can increase weight. To begin start with 10 lbs, then double it as you get more fit, to 20, then 40, and finally, if you are a larger frame person, a 60. Amazon Basics Kettlebells
And here's a short video with a complete set of different moves suited for beginners, or anyone. And these few moves done with consistency are all you really need. There are dozens of "how to" videos out there on each specific move, it's not a bad idea to look at some of them in the beginning.
The beauty of kettlebells is simple and compelling: with one compact object you can replicate the majority of functions of an entire gym, and that one compact object can address whole body functional conditioning. Kettlebells are thought by many fitness experts as being the single best activity for improving health. Of course there are many activities that are thought to be "the single best", walking is high on everyone's list. Adding "strength training" takes activity to a higher level.
Because kettlebells are a dynamic activity they address all the beneficial aspects of physical activity: strength, endurance, balance, and agility. Quality of sleep will improve also, and it is so important to our health to get good sleep.
And while I'm on the topic of health (traveling the health highway), if you have improved your diet to one that is less toxic, the acceleration effect in better health with physical activity cannot be overstated...as my mentor Doug Graham frequently says "you can be fit without being healthy, but you cannot be healthy without being fit".
As with any physical activity (body in motion under load) proper form is important. Injury from kettlebell activity is unlikely if one learns form and begins with the lightest kettlebell. Most of the moves themselves are not complicated or difficult to understand, but stick with that one until you know the movement, and it feels easy.
The best "bang for the buck" kettlebells I'm aware of are "Amazon Basics". The problem with a lot of the kettlebells I've used is the handle is not wide enough to hold with both hands comfortably. Even a simple device has to be designed correctly, these from Amazon are perfect and inexpensive.
As you increase strength and function you can increase weight. To begin start with 10 lbs, then double it as you get more fit, to 20, then 40, and finally, if you are a larger frame person, a 60. Amazon Basics Kettlebells
And here's a short video with a complete set of different moves suited for beginners, or anyone. And these few moves done with consistency are all you really need. There are dozens of "how to" videos out there on each specific move, it's not a bad idea to look at some of them in the beginning.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
number of world class vegan athletes is rising
A recent example of this trend is professional rock climber Alex Honnold, subject of Free Solo (Oscar winner for documentary this year). Now I may be biased a little (ya think?:), but it seems to me we are in the early stages of this trend, what I was calling the tipping point in this blog about a year ago.
So what's the big deal? Well at the very least it demonstrates meat is not needed in the diet for even highest possible levels of performance. And we're not just talking physical performance, we're also talking about the levels of focus, determination, skill and intelligence needed to rise to world class athletic performance.
We've long thought we needed meat to be strong and healthy. If that is not true, what are the mechanisms that might prove it?
Nutrition: on a per calorie basis, nutrition (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) in a well designed whole food plant diet is higher than the same calories from good quality animal foods.
Conversion Efficiency: this is what MPG for a car is to a human, lets call it MPC (miles per calorie). The average adult probably needs about 2500 calories per day...how much work can be performed on those calories? Digestion of foods burns a lot of calories. On a per calorie basis quality whole plant foods require less "work" to convert to energy than do animal products. In an empty stomach, fruit digests the most quickly, vegetables are next, and meat takes longest. Complex meals with several types of food also makes digestion longer and less efficient.
Recovery From Training: athletes who go vegan tend to worry performance is going to suffer in a variety of ways. The first thing they are typically surprised with is how much more quickly they recover from heavy training. This gives the option to train the same with less pain, or train more as capacity for training increases. Other things equal, training more = better performance.
What might explain faster recovery? Less toxic input from plants than animals. Energy previously expended on detoxification can be diverted to tissue repair and building new muscle, speeding recovery.
If we are in the early stages of a new trend "competitive edge" will be a significant factor. As athletes see their teammates and competitors increase performance with a whole plant food diet, they will want that "edge" also.
At world class levels athletic performance tends to be pretty stable. An athlete's "personal best" will be difficult for him/her to surpass. Use of stimulants and steroids (performance enhancing drugs) can push a mature athlete thru previous limits. These have the downside of decreasing lifespan however (not to mention heavy fines and being barred from competition). Many world class athletes have reported similar performance increases by going to (totally legal:) plant based diets, with the upside of increased lifespan.
If we are at the early stages of a trend, it can only continue going up, flatten, or reverse and go down again.
We will see what happens.
So what's the big deal? Well at the very least it demonstrates meat is not needed in the diet for even highest possible levels of performance. And we're not just talking physical performance, we're also talking about the levels of focus, determination, skill and intelligence needed to rise to world class athletic performance.
We've long thought we needed meat to be strong and healthy. If that is not true, what are the mechanisms that might prove it?
Nutrition: on a per calorie basis, nutrition (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants) in a well designed whole food plant diet is higher than the same calories from good quality animal foods.
Conversion Efficiency: this is what MPG for a car is to a human, lets call it MPC (miles per calorie). The average adult probably needs about 2500 calories per day...how much work can be performed on those calories? Digestion of foods burns a lot of calories. On a per calorie basis quality whole plant foods require less "work" to convert to energy than do animal products. In an empty stomach, fruit digests the most quickly, vegetables are next, and meat takes longest. Complex meals with several types of food also makes digestion longer and less efficient.
Recovery From Training: athletes who go vegan tend to worry performance is going to suffer in a variety of ways. The first thing they are typically surprised with is how much more quickly they recover from heavy training. This gives the option to train the same with less pain, or train more as capacity for training increases. Other things equal, training more = better performance.
What might explain faster recovery? Less toxic input from plants than animals. Energy previously expended on detoxification can be diverted to tissue repair and building new muscle, speeding recovery.
If we are in the early stages of a new trend "competitive edge" will be a significant factor. As athletes see their teammates and competitors increase performance with a whole plant food diet, they will want that "edge" also.
At world class levels athletic performance tends to be pretty stable. An athlete's "personal best" will be difficult for him/her to surpass. Use of stimulants and steroids (performance enhancing drugs) can push a mature athlete thru previous limits. These have the downside of decreasing lifespan however (not to mention heavy fines and being barred from competition). Many world class athletes have reported similar performance increases by going to (totally legal:) plant based diets, with the upside of increased lifespan.
If we are at the early stages of a trend, it can only continue going up, flatten, or reverse and go down again.
We will see what happens.
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