Saturday 22nd July
There is so much information out there about the benefits of a WFPB diet, it's hard to keep up. A lot of it comes from my Twitter feed, some from the websites I've subscribed to, and a lot of it I come across by searching for it.
Often I hear of someone with a health problem and I wonder if a plant based diet would help - so I search online, e.g.. vegan diet and diabetes (say) - and I find there are a plethora of articles on the subject.
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19th June 2017
2nd June 2017
I'm a member of an informal discussion group, meeting monthly. Whoever hosts decides the topic to be discussed.
Yesterday we met at mine - and I chose veganism, with an emphasis on health, but necessarily touching on animal welfare and global warming.
Over the last few weeks, I've been sending them links and references on the subject, including the film Cowspiracy.
I began the session intending to show them the first 10 minutes of Michael Greger's 'How not to die' video. I thought I'd better cut it short when Michael Greger had finished with the subject of halting and reversing CAD, but the group wanted to carry on watching. We watched a further 10 minutes, on the subject of cancer, then we had a discussion on what we'd seen and heard. They were very receptive, much to my surprise. I was helped by one of the group who had been reading my copy of 'How not to die', and several times read pertinent passages from it. He made a particular point of telling the group that the science was sound - there were 135 pages of references at the end of the book.
After an hour or so, I gave them coffee, plus a selection of about a dozen vegan goodies which I'd prepared - Fry's polony; 2 types of hard cheese (including Vegusto); cream cheese; homemade pizza and breadsticks; my Thai chilli non carne; nutritional yeast; seitan; Mrs Crimble's stem ginger cake; Booja Booja chocolate ice cream; and some dark chocolate. My message was that you don't have to be deprived on a vegan diet.
Then we had a further half an hour of discussion - I was asked to relate my own story, so I told them how and why I became vegan, including the positive effects this had on my own health - and we wrapped it up.
Outcomes:
One of the group took us all by surprise by saying that he intended to give a vegan diet a go for a fortnight! He very much related to my story of how my sinuses had dried up after giving up dairy - he not only had a constant nasal drip, but he had asthma as well. So we'll see how well he does.
The friend who'd borrowed my copy of the book, and another friend were concerned that their main stumbling block would be how their wives would react. I said that if they bought some vegan goodies, the mere fact that they were in the house would make it easier to begin the process of transitioning. Something I'm working on myself.
Another member of the group emailed me to say, "Brilliant morning. Lots to consider now for a life change." After the discussion, he'd confided in me that he hadn't been looking forward to the morning, expecting simply a boring chat about veganism!
So, 4 out of 5 ain't bad! It's certainly the best reaction to my spreading the word that I've had in 14 years!
There is so much information out there about the benefits of a WFPB diet, it's hard to keep up. A lot of it comes from my Twitter feed, some from the websites I've subscribed to, and a lot of it I come across by searching for it.
Often I hear of someone with a health problem and I wonder if a plant based diet would help - so I search online, e.g.. vegan diet and diabetes (say) - and I find there are a plethora of articles on the subject.
[More]
19th June 2017
Over the walking weekend, I expressed the view that if I had come across some info I thought would be useful to others, I should share it - to which there was general agreement. You don’t have to click on the links I send, after all.
So, here’s a TED talk with a refreshing take on a plant based diet.
Another TED talk by Dr John McDougall, a physician who sees his patients get better - with just a lifestyle change:
In response to last week’s email I’ve had a couple of requests for links to advice on specific conditions - namely diabetes and prostate cancer.
Check out the links below the videos - and have a look at the comments sections, there is an amazing community of helpful individuals on there answering each and every question.
Along with Drs McDougall and Greger extolling the benefits of a plant based diet - here’s Dr Neal Barnard:
And another great, science based website:
The general consensus seems to be that a high IGF-1 level contributes significantly to the growth of cancer and a WFPB diet helps to keep this low. But don’t forget, Intermittent Fasting is also effective in this regard.
Cheers, Paul
This is a follow-up to the email I sent out prior to the last weekend - which was hugely enjoyable, as it always is. I come away from these get-togethers hugely uplifted, and I can’t wait until the next one.
Thanks to those of you who came to my presentation. (Hope nobody missed my breadmaking too much! 😄) For all those who missed it, the feedback I got was very positive and people found the information it contained very relevant.
I hope by now you’ve managed to see the video I linked to - I sent it out very close to the weekend, so there wouldn’t have been time for you to watch it all, I’m guessing.
There were 3 parts to my presentation:
The message contained in both the ‘How not to die’ video and the book with the same title. (BTW, Keith Walker was so impressed by the video that he printed off 2 copies of 14 pages of the transcript! And I was so impressed by the book that I have bought 3 copies - 1 for myself and one each for my kids). The message can be summed up in a very few sentences - human beings make our own cholesterol, so the cholesterol contained in meat and animal products finds its way into our arteries and blood vessels, attacking the lining and allowing plaque to build up. The plaque eventually closes off the arteries and heart disease results. However, the good news is that damage to the arterial system can be reversed:
This is what Dr Greger calls the best kept secret in medicine - as soon as you stop damaging the body, it starts to repair itself!So if you switch over to a plant-based diet, the body starts to clear away the plaque from inside the blood vessels. Immediately!
Part 2:
Given the age of our demographic, I thought it important to concentrate as well on Alzheimer’s - probably the disease we most fear. One of Dr Greger’s videos on his Nutrition Facts website concerns reversing mild cognitive decline by 30 minutes of brisk exercise a day:
That’s one side of the fight against dementia - the other is a plant-based diet. This is because the blood vessels in the brain are affected just as the coronary arteries are - so the blood supply to the brain is diminished. Exercise sends the blood pumping through the brain, clearing the arteries to the brain allows the blood to flow freely.
Part 3:
Intermittent Fasting (IF). One of the reasons a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet is so healthy is that it lowers IGF-1, which causes cancer. IF also lowers IGF-1, so the two work hand in hand. IF also put the body under mild stress, so the cells rejuvenate themselves. I lost 24lbs over 8 months when I began IFing, and I’ve maintained a steady 9st 3 for the past over 4 years. Now I simply fast for 24 hours once a week.
Here’s my story:
So there you have it, folks. But, I urge you, don’t just take my word for it, do your own research. I think both a WFPB diet and IF are firmly grounded in science, but if you can come up with contrary evidence, I’d love to see it.
I'm a member of an informal discussion group, meeting monthly. Whoever hosts decides the topic to be discussed.
Yesterday we met at mine - and I chose veganism, with an emphasis on health, but necessarily touching on animal welfare and global warming.
Over the last few weeks, I've been sending them links and references on the subject, including the film Cowspiracy.
I began the session intending to show them the first 10 minutes of Michael Greger's 'How not to die' video. I thought I'd better cut it short when Michael Greger had finished with the subject of halting and reversing CAD, but the group wanted to carry on watching. We watched a further 10 minutes, on the subject of cancer, then we had a discussion on what we'd seen and heard. They were very receptive, much to my surprise. I was helped by one of the group who had been reading my copy of 'How not to die', and several times read pertinent passages from it. He made a particular point of telling the group that the science was sound - there were 135 pages of references at the end of the book.
After an hour or so, I gave them coffee, plus a selection of about a dozen vegan goodies which I'd prepared - Fry's polony; 2 types of hard cheese (including Vegusto); cream cheese; homemade pizza and breadsticks; my Thai chilli non carne; nutritional yeast; seitan; Mrs Crimble's stem ginger cake; Booja Booja chocolate ice cream; and some dark chocolate. My message was that you don't have to be deprived on a vegan diet.
Then we had a further half an hour of discussion - I was asked to relate my own story, so I told them how and why I became vegan, including the positive effects this had on my own health - and we wrapped it up.
Outcomes:
One of the group took us all by surprise by saying that he intended to give a vegan diet a go for a fortnight! He very much related to my story of how my sinuses had dried up after giving up dairy - he not only had a constant nasal drip, but he had asthma as well. So we'll see how well he does.
The friend who'd borrowed my copy of the book, and another friend were concerned that their main stumbling block would be how their wives would react. I said that if they bought some vegan goodies, the mere fact that they were in the house would make it easier to begin the process of transitioning. Something I'm working on myself.
Another member of the group emailed me to say, "Brilliant morning. Lots to consider now for a life change." After the discussion, he'd confided in me that he hadn't been looking forward to the morning, expecting simply a boring chat about veganism!
So, 4 out of 5 ain't bad! It's certainly the best reaction to my spreading the word that I've had in 14 years!
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