There have been some ruffled feathers in the low-carb community about the recent launch of a new "healthy eating" program at Whole Foods Markets which has been dubbed "Health Starts Here". Some of the recommendations are fine: eat nutrient-dense foods, eat a "colorful variety of plants", and choose foods that are whole and unprocessed, eliminating processed foods and those "void of nutrients". All of that is great advice, in my opinion.So what are the problems with the program? Here's my take on it:
1. Emphasis on Vegetarian/Vegan Diet - Although I understand why some people want to be vegetarians and I provide information about low-carb vegetarian eating, I'm not at all keen on the idea of widely promoting them as being the best way for most people to eat. Whole Foods is clearly going in the direction of saying that everyone should adopt a vegan, or at least vegetarian, diet. I have a few specific concerns about these diets, which I will write about in a later blog, but I'll briefly touch on 2 of them:
a) Well-known issues with vegetarian diets - The Whole Foods Web site summarizing these potential problems on this page, and gives advice about how to get around them. I would only comment that starting out with a diet which has "problems to get around" may raise an alarm or two. (To be fair, very low-carb diets (less than 40 grams per day) have a few similar issues to pay attention to, but the vast majority of people eating low-carb are not in this category, at least for more than a few weeks.)
b) Lesser-known or as-yet unknown issues - Especially with vegan diets (which is what Whole Foods is pushing), we are clearly talking about taking animals (us) who are natural omnivores (eating plants and animals) and turning us into herbivores (eating plants-only). I think we mess with our basic biology at our peril. These days we are continually discovering more chemicals in plants that have positive effects in our bodies - because we are looking for them. For the most part, we aren't looking in the animals we eat, but even now we know about some nutrients important for our health which are absent in plants, or found in very small amounts. Not only do vegan diets tend to be low in nutrients such as choline and niacin, they have zero of those such as Vitamin B12 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). My guess? Since we have evolved to eat animal products, it's a good bet that there lots of different good things in there for us.
2. Referrals to programs which cost money. The materials available at the stores and online give some general eating guidelines. However, to get to specifics they point to two programs, both of which cost money, to find out more about. These are:
a) Eat Right America - This program is based on Joel Fuhrman's book Eat to Live. The link from Whole Foods leads you right to a page where you are encouraged to subscribe to their service for $6 per month. The program is a mainly-vegan program with emphasis on fruits and vegetables which are high in nutrients, with few processed foods, and only one or two servings of whole grains per day. There is some information on the site, including some sample menus.
b) The Engine 2 Diet - This is a vegan diet, but it's very difficult to find out anything else without buying the book or signing up for their 28-day program. There is no specific information about the diet on the Web site. Jolinda Hacketti, About.com's Guide to Vegetarian Food, provides a brief overview of the diet.
3) Emphasis on a Low-Fat Diet - Can we please put this one to rest? So many large-scale studies trying to prove the worth of low-fat diets have come up with nothing. The American Heart Association has stopped recommending them. We need fats in our diet, period, and keeping them "low" is just not helpful.
My Field Trip to Whole Foods
I don't live near enough to a Whole Foods market to shop there regularly, but I did go recently to check out the store and their new program. Here are a couple of my observations:
1. Very well-informed store personnel - As I made my way through the store, I talked to number of different employees about products in the store. I was particularly impressed with the meat counter, where they could tell me where all the meats came from, how the animals were kept, and what their diet was.
2. A surprising amount of sugar, and lots of starch - Naturally, packaged foods such as crackers and baked goods had a lot of sugar, but I was particularly surprised at the difficulty of finding choices without added sugars in their prepared foods, and in the beverage aisle. I get the impression that they have bought the "fat bad, sugar OK" line, and that starches (just long chains of glucose) are particular great.
A Turn-Off to Low-Carbers?
The excellent produce and meats at Whole Foods has been a draw to low-carb eaters. But will the latest push towards veganism, as well as the general "carbs are good" atmosphere turn them off? I can understand people wanted to find alternative places to buy their organic produce, grass-fed meats, etc. But I hope they don't decide to forgo grass-fed meats altogether rather than shop at Whole Foods. I think Whole Foods needs to keep hearing that there is a demand for high-quality meats from animals which have been treated well, as well as other nutritious low-carb food choices
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I have a friend who has been a vegan for several years. SHe and her husband just discovered that they both have high cholesterol and I am thinking, as my cholesterol drops while I eat lots of fat, and low carb that her problem is carbs. If there is no animal fat where else but carbs do you get the calories. I think veganism is about reducing cruelty to animals, not about your own health. It is confusing but I am afraid I gotta go with my health.
Re: Patty, Just to confuse matters more the evidence for the benefit of cholesterol lowering is being more and more widely challenged, not to go into too much detail but has the ubiquitous cholesterol lowering campaign of the last two decades resulted in lowering heart disease rates? One thing I have found almost unbelievable is that when Dr. Uffe Ravnskov, MD PhD looked at the medical literature he found something quite surprising had been documented there. On average people with higher cholesterol live longer. Maybe your vegan friends are just lucky;)
http://healthjournalclub.blogspot.com/
I checked out Whole Foods when I was investigating local stores with low carb or sugar free items recently. I could not find anything there without sugar – a natural product! I guess being natural nullifys the whole poor effect sugar has on the american diet and obesity! And the adictive quality as well. Alcohol is also “natural” is that also good? According to the Whole Foods concept I guess so…I’ll stick to Trader joes for the low carb chocolate and easy to prepare vegetable.s They also have low carb tortillas.
Whole Foods, unfortunately, has drunk the kool-aid on the low fat propoganda, near ly all of their store prepared foods contain sugar in one form or another oar some other form of carbohydrate. Their fixation is “natural” sugars is deeply frustrating and their lack of low carb foods is annoying!
I have also found trouble at Whole foods with added sugars. It seems like all of their prepared foods contain some form of glycemic sweetener, including salads. I think they are big purveyors of the ‘if it’s a “natural sugar” its okay’ i.e. honey, agave syrup, turbinado or organic. I do, however, rely on them for good local and organic produce, as well as a lot of my nut flours, unsweetened coconut and sweeteners like erythritol when I don’t purchase them online. Right now it seems like so many people have different perceptions of what’s healthy, and Whole Foods makes a whole lotta money making people feel like they are eating well, and alleviating ‘food guilt’. I know people who literally think that if it comes from WF, it’s good for you. I call it “Whole-ier than thou Foods”.
Good article!
I stay out of WF, they are just too overpriced. I do once in a bit go to TJ’s, I get my flax seeds & almond meal there. And as for the sweeteners being “natural” well so is arsnic, but I wouldn’t suggest you consume it.
Hugs,
G
“It is often advocated that a vegetarian lifestyle could reduce the burden of CAD [Coronary Artery Disease]. However, in spite of a majority of Indians being vegetarians, the incidence of CAD is highest in this population.” from Clin Chem Lab Med. 2009;47(3):334-8
Thank you for posting the link to the Whole Foods page for Vegetarian/Vegans. I had been a vegetarian for 8 years, vegan for 6 months and felt lousy. I had a lot of health issues with various aches and pains.
I went for a check up and found out that I was borderline diabetic, had high cholesterol and other issues. I went on the Atkins diet and lost 15lbs, my blood sugar went down to normal and I’ll find out about the cholesterol in a few weeks.
I struggle every day with my guilt over animal welfare, but I honestly believe that we were meant to be omnivores.
I rarely come across an author utterly out of touch with reality when it comes to eating. But Ms. Dolson you have done it. You advocate and support so many out and out misconceptions and falsities about nutrition that one has a hard time knowing where to start to clear your mental cloud up. First, humans are designed to be herbivores. We are slow runners and cannot chase down pray, our jaws and teeth resemble plant eaters, not meat eaters. Our GI tract is long, curvy, and slow to digest. This enables us to absorb the many nutrients from plants. Meat eating animals, unlike humans, have strait, shorter, and fast digesting GI tracts. This enables them to eat meat, but not absorb all of the fats and cholesterols as humans do. Thus humans are much better suited to eat plants that animals. That is a fact. Just because we have eaten meat and can eat it, does not mean it is best for the human body. We are presently the sickest nation in the world due to the consumption, and over consumption of animal products. Period. Furthermore, you and your readers state the there is some kind of research out there showing that cholesterol may not be bad for us. This literally flys in the face of current good research. The only wacky group out there promoting this idea is the “Weston Price Foundation.” They are wrong on numerous grounds.
With the exception of B12, all of the nutrients you mentioned are better gotten from plant sources. B12 can be easily gotten from a supplement. My family and I have been vegan for years. We often find it so very amusing when someone like you states that one can’t get the nutrients they need from plants alone. Well lets see Ms. Dolson, since nutrients ONLY come from plants, I don’t see your point??? And meat provides what nutrients? B12 and Iron. Iron is better gotten from leafy green vegetables.
Finally, I work with a group of physician around the country who do not prescribe drugs, but are curing common lifestyle diseases by switching their clients to a vegan diet alone. I suggest you read, “The China Study,” by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. This represents the largest study ever done on nutrition and diseases. It spanned over 30 years, was funded to the tune of $1Billion dollars, is still ongoing, and developed over 94 thousand correlation’s, 8000 of which were statistically significant. The number one and overwhelming finding from this study was that animal protein is the number one most powerful promoter of cancer. Want to increase your risk of all types of cancer, eat animal protein.
Our diets should be 80% starches, 10% fat, and 10% protein (from a plant source). Your low carb recommendation is just confusing to the average person and contributes to the mass ignorance in the country about what is healthiest for humans to consume. Before you advocate nonsense and attack a company that is following sound dietary research, do your own research. I have a radio show each week on Wednesdays that you can hear and see me over the internet at http://www.bounceradio.net/talkradio, from 10am to 12noon – PST. You are welcome to come on the show sometime and debate with me this issue.
If you want to give the best advice possible, tell your readers to run, not walk, to the nearest grocery store and start eating more fruits and vegetables. Your friends who apparently went vegan and had high cholesterol were what we call junk food vegans, eating too much oils and fats. Fats are bad and will always be bad. I would love to discuss this issue to with you sometime. Come on my show and we will. Please excuse any typos in this blog, I am tire and not willing to proof my work.
Hi, Don -
I was a vegetarian for 11 years, and I used to believe all that “we were meant to be herbivores” stuff, and even gave a couple of talks about it in the 80’s. Since then, I have looked into it more and am absolutely positive that I was wrong, just as I was wrong about the benefits of a low-fat diet. (Our GI tract, when compared to our overall size, is smack dab between the length of that of an herbivore and that of a carnivore, BTW.)
There are indeed people who apparently do well on very high-carb diets. But the very definition of diabetes (and all its precursors) is that it is a disorder of glucose metabolism. All carbohydrates break down into sugars, and people who have difficulties with glucose won’t do well in the the long run on a high-carb diet. I believe that this disorder is responsible for a lot of the obesity in this country. (I think it’s clear that the incipient diabetes causes obesity, not primarily the other way around.)
I just heard an interview on Jimmy Moore’s podcast with a woman who feels that eating vegan wrecked her health. She wrote a book called The Vegetarian Myth. I didn’t agree with everything she said in that interview, but you might want to check out the book.
You might enjoy reading about the science regarding what our ancestors ate. The work of Loren Cordain is a place to start. We simple would not be having this conversation right now if our ancestors had been herbivores. You might also like Richard Wrangham’s book, which not precisely about diet, but about the role of cooking in our evolution. I found it fascinating.
About the China Study, check out:
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/China-Study.html
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Campbell-Masterjohn.html
I’ll check out your show.
Laura
Thanks for your advice Laura, but rather than listen to a clinical psychologist who still thinks terms like “carb” have any real meaning, I think I would prefer to take my nutritional cues from a respected group of nutritionists, like the American Dietetic Association. The ADA states that “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”
This article has so many errors that I can’t address them all. The author seems to be really uninformed. But in response to those who are suggesting that high cholesterol is caused by Vegan diets or that a vegan diet isn’t healthy, the American Dietetic Association heartily recommends a vegetarian/vegan diet (and most of the medical associations in the US agree): From the ADA website:
“Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits…and have been reported to have lower body mass indices than non-vegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.”
I may not be an expert on the low carb diet or any other diet but what I am fairly sure of is that one diet will not work for every person on the planet. Just like every four legged animal does not have the exact same diet that is right for them.
You have to find what is right for yourself, whether it is low carb or any other diet. I think there are too many variables within each persons genetic makeup to make it cut and dry to say this is right and all else is wrong.
Like so many things, you have to work and be open minded to find what works for you.
For me I have found I simply feel and function better when I eat low carb. I don’t expect every person to say the same.
I think I made it clear that I understand very well the personal choice to be a vegetarian or vegan. I do support that choice. Making it a general recommendation is something else entirely, which is what I’m objecting to in the case of Whole Foods.
I am very glad that I didn’t wait the 10-15 years it took for the nutritional establishment to say that trans fats are bad. I stopped eating them when the science became clear. My guess is that in the next 10-15 years, the list of what it will take to plan a healthy vegetarian diet will grow – but that is clearly in the realm of my personal speculation. In the mean time, I’m not telling anyone that they should or shouldn’t eat meat (unlike Whole Foods). I’m simply voicing my concern.
Anyone who thinks that getting their nutritional advice from the USDA and nutritional establishment is the be-all and end-all should read Gary Taubes’ book Good Calories, Bad Calories.
I shop Whole Foods all the time. Both my husband and I are low carb eaters. The issue with sugar or some other high-glycemic sweetener in their in-house prepared foods is very frustrating, because it’s unnecessary to the food. I feel this is some sort of childish orientation to sweet. I wish they would revisit this issue themselves since they are concerned with health. A lot of people have issues with blood sugar, low carb dieters or not. This is not healthy for anybody.
WOW! You vegans and vegetarians sure are combative! Maybe you’re hungry!
Some of us cannot digest beans or have an allergy to them…like me.
I tried vegan and vegetarian and had NO energy and got sick and had severe digestive issues. Then I found out I wasn’t digesting my food because of the beans and I wasn’t able to absorb nutrients because I couldn’t digest my food.
I ultimately went back to eating meat as a side/condiment, with plenty of organic veggies and fruits and as much whole grain as my digestion can tolerate.
I’ve come to the educated conclusion that moderation in all things is the best way to eat.
We DO have canine teeth that are for ripping meat, but those of us who are civilized, use a knife to cut it.
Even sugar and fats are necessary for the assimilation of nutrients from our foods.
THE KEY IS MODERATION!
Eat organic whole foods that you prepare at home without preservatives and chemicals, and you’ll be healthier and happier than the pale, sallow militant vegetarians and vegans.
If you avoid meat because you saw the movie Food Inc…which I highly recommend seeing….remember that Monsanto owns the soy seeds now and they are 90% GMO… and GMO foods have not been tested enough to know the long range effects on humans…and have been banned in many countries.
If you can get free range chicken and grass fed beef from a good organic farm, and you eat produce that hasn’t absorbed the pesticides and hormones from the tainted fertilizers, then you’re on the right track.
You don’t have to eat sugar by the pound, but don’t totally avoid it either….sugar gets a bad rap, but the artificial sweeteners are sooooo much worse for you! Stevia is even banned in many countries.
Stop being so militant about the way other people eat, and just eat everything in moderation and you’ll be healthy.
If you vegans and vegetarians are happy with your health and your diet, then congratulations and all the best to you…but stop trying to convert everyone. Some of us do better with a little meat in our diet and it isn’t your right to tell us that we’re horrible people for eating it.
I’ve seen the aura around people, animals, and PLANTS…so anything living has a consciousness and you shouldn’t try to guilt anyone into eating ONLY produce.
Back off and have a little natural protein and some natural B12 to calm your nervous system.
Oh and by the way…I forgot to mention….
high cholesterol can be and most often is….HEREDITARY!
Bottom line: eat everything in moderation and get regular exercise and adopt regular sleep patterns and you’ll be on the right track. You can’t fight hereditary issues by going radical anyway.
Don, you need to look at heart disease in India see my previous comment #7. In India with a large vegan population they have the highest rate of heart disease.
Dear Blissful. I am amazed you are comparing your teeth to that of a lion, tiger or bear. I see absolutely NO resemblance. I do see much more of a resemblance with our teeth and that of apes and monkeys. Oh, yes, they are plant eaters and do just fine. This just might be a simple case of needing new glasses. You would infact be better served by looking at the research done by Dr. Milton Mills on this matter.
The idea of moderation is wrong. Based on the studies and 20+ years of success by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, author of “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease,” he has shown that those who practice a philosophy of “moderation” continue to have progressive heart disease, just at a slower rate. Additionally, this is a wrong approach in the sense that your moderation is not another s. So clearly what the science says is that absolutely giving up animal products, fats, and oils, does improve health almost 100% of the time. Though you personally may FEEL different. What is important here is what the science says, and not your personal philosophy.
Finally, I am not angry or upset. But I am not going to allow misinformation to be spread unchallenged. Especially, when those who are spreading the non-science dietary recommendations are non-scientists or not up to speed on what the research says. This is exactly why we have a national health epidemic in this country. It is time that the truth get out there, and we give people the opportunity to make decisions based on truth, and NOT what the dairy, meat, poultry, and pork industries what you to believe. I, and other vegans, are not trying to convert people. We are trying to save lives. Many however, are not concerned with their health as much as others. That is cool. Having meat, chicken, pork, dairy and other animal products shoved down my throat for years was what, normal and to be accepted??? So how does it feel to have veggies shoved down yours. Obviously not good and you feel offended. Sorry. I can’t be responsible for you being happy or feeling guilty about whatever it is you do in life. I can only be responsible for helping educate people and offsetting the lies told by everyone advocation the consumption of eating animals as being normal, good, and healthy. All of which couldn’t be more utterly WRONG! If you ever choose to stop eating dead animals and animal secretions for the health of it, you will soon find that not only do you feel better physically, but feel better emotionally because you did not have to harm or kill an animal to live healthy and long. Remember, compassion is cool and sexy, and for that matter, so is a hard penis. haha. So eat your veggies.
David, the U.S. has the highest heart disease rate in the world. I will research your paper however. I am sure there are other factors in this study that you are not understanding. Again, in any population study around the world that has ever been done, the results are always the same. The less fat and cholesterol one consumes the less the risk of heart disease. Now, having said that, if one replaces animal products with oils and other fats, then they are no better off than a meat eater in some sense. Particularly when discussing heart disease. One can easily be a junk food vegan. I will agree that many many people who are vegan have high cholesterol. This is not because they eat too much spinach, but because they eat to much fat and cholesterol.
Hereditary can play a role in high cholesterol as well. I will say, that heredity often comes down to one simple factor, “Mommas Cooking/” Meaning, if Mamma cooked in such a way that lead to her having heart disease, and you ate like mamma did, then you are likely to have the same problem is momma. This is called, “lifestyle.” Having said that, when Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn changes a persons diet to vegan with, with the inclusion of 10% fat at maximum, and they still have high cholesterol, then and only then will he recommend a small amount of a statin drug to further lower the total cholesterol to get it under 150. But only in very few cases is this necessary. Mostly, our cholesterol levels can be effected by dietary changes alone.
Don here is a link debunking the “China Study” http://tinyurl.com/c8j52l
Don
For one thing, you are wrong about moderation. Yes, some people have less education about what moderation really is, but let’s face it, we can’t all be geniuses like you…?….and those people who don’t care what they eat will continue to eat fast food and die young.
YOU can’t educate everyone anymore than I can.
As for the state of your penis, I really couldn’t care less… and it’s obvious that it has no place in this discussion!
The fact that you brought it up seems to indicate that you have a problem in that area, and feel the need to have to beat your chest and display your animal instincts and use testosterone to make an intellectual point. I would suggest therapy for that.
Personally, my mom couldn’t cook and I can cook. I cook and eat healthy whole foods and I’m not a slave to the meat industry and I do support my local farmer’s market. Until I moved to a rural area where the deer and javelina eat our garden, we grew our own veggies and ate them alive and full of vital nutrients.
I’m not vegan, but I do keep my fat intake to around 15%….so you don’t have to preach to me about it. And I defy you to PROVE WITH STATISTICS that the human body doesn’t require ANY fat to enable it to PROPERLY assimilate vitamins, minerals or nutrients in general.
There’s no fat in spinach and you, unlike Popeye, cannot subsist on that alone! Too much iron can damage the intestines. Too much potassium can damage the heart. TOO MUCH of anything is harmful in the end because it upsets the natural balance for which we should all strive to achieve.
I’ve been studying nutrition for about 40 years and watched thousands of diet fads peak and fade….and I’ve seen the information change drastically from what it was in the 60s…and it will continue to change long after you and I have died of heart attack, stroke, cancer or being hit by a bus.
I have a great deal of compassion toward animals and have 5 shelter rescues and I support my local shelter by working hard for 3 months of the year to raise funds to support the shelter. I also have deep compassion for the animals that are being pushed from their homes as ours encroach upon their territory. I feel for the factory farmed animals that are living miserably painful lives at the hands of our big food industry. I can’t stop that though… and by attacking meat-eaters, you won’t gain many supporters…. if that’s your goal.
I spent summers on a farm as a child in the 50s and I learned about the food chain, and now natural it is. It’s even supported in the Bible if you want to go and look it up. Personally, I think the Bible is just a compilation of old tales that have been over-translated, over-interpretated and have lost validity over the centuries, so I don’t lean on it to support the knowledge I have gained by educating myself with the facts that current research offers.
I’m not a radical, which you are quickly proving is not the case with you.
Just chill a little…have a little piece of turkey and let that natural tryptophan stimulate your seratonin levels and calm you down a bit!
Thank for posting your thoughts. Having switched to
low carb lifestyle I have seen dramatic life changing results not only loss of weight but much improved health overall. The incentive for this change came as a result of having a heart attack and my cardiologist recommended South Beach diet as a starting point. I can not imagine ever leaving the low carb lifestyle. I have been greatly disappointed with Whole Foods offerings and share your observations regarding hi carb vegetarian eating. I am greatful for your low carb forum as it continues to be an inspiration and good resource for my continuing adventure.
I don’t think we need to worry that Whole Foods will ever stop selling meat as they are much too interested in the bottom line to ever go that direction. At least not in my lifetime. I am a regular shopper there and they are somewhat the same as many supermarkets. If you shop the perimeter, you’re going to get healthier foods, in general. Of course, the one I go to also has the bakery on the perimeter but all the processed foods, including expensive junk foods like chips as well as the high end soaps, cosmetics, vitamins and processed food products are in the middle of the store. As with all the information out there, each person needs to weigh the evidence and figure out what’s right for them, whether carnivore, vegetarian, vegan,or whatever!
Oh David, your lively attitude towards me is amusing. I have not time to continue your 40 years of misguided education on nutrition, mainly in light of the fact that you are a closed book. But I did want to make a few points on your last blog.
1- Advising “Moderation” is dangerous since everyone has their own idea what that means. I have already said this. Furthermore, science does not study “moderation” it studies what happens the subject A when stimulus X is applied. In the case of animal consumption the answer is clear – the rates of cancer and heart disease increases. You can call me wrong if it makes you feel better, but as a matter of fact, my position is safer, your’s is potential more dangerous.
2- Actually thanks for caring less about my penis, nice to know I am not going to be hit on by you. But really, you apparently missed the whole point. Surprising, since you have researched diet for over 40 years. Let me spell it out slowly for you. What we now know is that erectile disfunction is an early sign of heart disease. Those who get this problem are predominantly….you guessed it, meat eaters. Or of course high fat and cholesterol consuming people are included. You obviously missed that nutrition lesson, or you would have recognized the point. No biggy, I’m a forgiving Vegan.
3- Congrats on you being a better cook than your mom.
4- You stated, “And I defy you to PROVE WITH STATISTICS that the human body doesn’t require ANY fat to enable it to PROPERLY assimilate vitamins, minerals or nutrients in general.” Not once in any of my posts did I state that the human body does not require fat. The human body does need to intake fat. The amount required for optimal functioning is somewhere between 10% and 15%. Anyway, I think you just imagined that I stated this and wanted to hear yourself type. Please I don’t mind a discussion with you, but don’t make things up.
5- I do agree that dietary fads have come and gone. One does not need 40 years of nutritional research to know this fact. Having said that we do now know what type of diet is best for us, and what foods are responsible for disease. Again, a high starch plant based diet is the most healthy, while the more animal products one consumes the more likely they are to develop degenerative lifestyle diseases. My advice to you is to stick closer to what the science says and not what the latest fads advocates. Well only if that applies to you. I will agree that in science everything can change over time. But I suspect that the main part of change in the area of further clarification of what we know. In other words, I seriously doubt that in 20 years they will discover that we need to eat lots of fat and cholesterol or that broccoli is bad for us. If this were the case, population studies would give some kind of indication in this direction now. They don’t. My advice to you is to eat more veggies.
6- About your compassion for animals. Well, you might have some compassion for certain animals, but you certainly don’t have enough towards the ones you are choosing to eat. Working to raise money for a shelter doesn’t change this fact. In fact, it makes it more bizarre.
7- Funny you bring up the bible. I am not a bible goer, however I do remember something about the garden of eden. You know, that perfect place. As I recount that story, they weren’t eating the animals. Rather, they were living among them peacefully. Don’t worry, God won’t hold it against you if you show more compassion towards the animals you think taste good.
Now Blissful, go in peace and let other beautiful creatures who are sharing this planet enjoy their lives as well. In fact, try being more like your name would imply, Blissful. You stated that I should “chill a little.” And that I should have some turkey so that I can enjoy the effects of tryptophan stimulating my seratonin levels. Let me get this straight. You are the one who kills things for food, and think I should kill a turkey so that I can have the pleasure of consuming tryptophan from the dead rotting meat? And that in doing all of that, I would apparently be more peaceful, Blissful, like your cool self? Hahahaha. Well, I think you have things all backwards “Blissful.” I actually support life and don’t feel the need to kill animals to satisfy my appetite. YOU on the other hand do support this cruel ritual since you eat dead animals. I might suggest that you chill out and be more like me….truly blissful.
Finally to David.
Oops, in all my excitement I blogged to the wrong person. Blog #25 was meant for my friend “Blissful.”
Don
I didn’t even bother to finish reading your ramblings after you got insulting and your ego took over when you said that because you said so, IT IS SO!
It’s obvious to me where you store your brain…since you keep having to bring your penis into a discussion about FOOD!
Obviously no one is going to be educated by our discussion as it is no longer a debate about FOOD but a showcase for your penis.
I hope you 2 are happy together because as a woman, I can’t imagine any woman wanting to meet you.
Speaking of “moderation”, I’m going to have to start deleting comments if people are going to be insulting. There is no need to bring private body parts or people’s mothers into this discussion. Please just state your case and stop flinging veiled or unveiled insults.
Blissful, again, you are either not reading anything I say or for some reason stuck on my penis. I am NOT tauting my penis in any way. I am simply relying some information, medical information, about early heart disease and how it rears it ugly head. Not only can one get erectile dysfunction, but hearing loss, vision loss, etc. All because of a diet too rich in animal products, fats, and cholesterol. So my advice to you, and anyone else, is if they want to stay healthy in every way, it is best to eliminate, or at least reduce, your consumption of animal products. No Blissful, this is not a discussion showcasing any part of my body. It is exposing however the truth about animal products and the harmful effects they can have over time.
It is also about exposing the mistruths put out there by Chris Masterjohn from the Weston Price Foundation telling people it is ok to eat lots of fats and cholesterol.
As for women wanting to meet me….hum. Well, I do just fine as a compassionate person who prefers to take a stand for animals and eat veggies. I am just an average guy with a powerful message. Sorry for any personal insulting. Though it is hard to defend your position when what you eat is destroying our planet, consuming most of our water, polluting our planet more than any other industry, and making people sick. Try 30 days animal free and I bet you feel lots better.
My reading skills are just fine thanks….and so is my memory.
If you CAN recall, I mentioned in my first post, #16, that I tried the vegan diet for several months and got sick. NOT everyone can be healthy without some meat.
I don’t kill animals. They will be killed for food whether I eat it or not and there’s nothing ‘bizarre’ about having pets and still eating meat.
The ailments you mention may arise from eating ‘a diet too rich in animal products, fats, and cholesterol.’
I don’t defend excess or anyone eating as you say ‘lots of fat’ and I don’t defend obesity or junk food.
I also don’t support Monsanto owning the rights to the seeds of soybeans in this country and I don’t like that 90% of the soy is GMO and smaller organic farms are being sued by the big food industry til they drop.
I loathe the way food animals are mistreated by our big food suppliers and I’m ashamed of our government for condoning it and turning their heads away at the injustice while they hold their hands out for the payoffs.
We have a sick country.
You are wrong ….and giving misinformation ….when you say that we do not require any fat in our diet.
Your body needs fats in order to absorb the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, & K)
Every single cell in your body needs fats to be able to form a properly functioning cell membrane.
If we didn’t need fats, we wouldn’t have been created with a liver.
Just take a look at the food pyramid….there’s cheese and milk and meat in it!
The bottom line is health….good health.
Moderation is important, and if someone doesn’t know how to be moderate then they will pay for it…whether they eat meat or not. Being radical is not moderate.
Some people CANNOT be healthy eating only greens and beans…. for various reasons. We are all individuals and we have different requirements and ailments related to heredity and not just diet.
If you want to convert people to your thinking, you might keep in mind that you’ll catch more flies with sugar than you will with vinegar and personal attacks.
Yes, you are an average guy, but your message is factually skewed and falling on deaf ears due to the way you present it.
Don’t bother replying to this….I have no desire to waste any more time.
Blissful, once again. I have never said you don’t need fat, or that humans shouldn’t get it. Read my blog #25, part 4. I already explained my position. We do need fat, but certainly not the amount we are getting. We can get enough fat from ground up flax seed every morning in a shake or on your cereal. People are more concerned about getting fat than getting enough nutrients.
I would rely on the food pyramid either. Almost everyone who sits on the Food and Nutrition Board, those who design the pyramid, are representatives from the food industry. The fact that dairy on on the pyramid doesn’t mean we need it. It means that they have successfully integrated their product into the government food pyramid. Really, the food pyramid represents a great marketing scheme by industry, more concerned about selling their products than your health.
And as for extreme. Vegan is not extreme. But I will tell you what is. Having your foot lopped off due to Diabetes, or going blind due to diabetes. Open heart surgery is extreme. Having a stint put into your arteries is extreme. Being a a handful of medications is extreme. Now, let me tell you the easy, simple and sissy way out of all of that…switch to a vegan style diet. Sound simple enough? You see, to me eating fruits and vegetables isn’t extreme, but the simple solution to all of the degenerative disease that people are getting when they eat the standard American diet for years.
As for trying to convert people. You bet I am. I have infact committed my life to it. Mainly because I care for people and want everyone to live a long healthy life. For those of you who are annoyed…well tough. For everyone of you people who find my message annoying, there are others who finds it saves their life. Worth it for me.
Now, go and eat more veggies.
Remember, change your diet, change your life, and change the world.
You sure have tenacity Blissful.
uhh…this post is in reference to the original article, which seems to have gotten a little lost here. just wanted to say that as an employee for whole foods market, we never want to dictate what people should or shouldn’t eat, otherwise we wouldn’t sell a variety of products. the only thing left out of our product choices are artificial preservatives, colors, flavors and sweeteners. which is a very good thing. no yellow #5 here! no high fructose corn syrup! animals we sell are raised on antibiotic-free, vegetarian diets.
all i’m saying is that we don’t try to tell people what or how to eat – we just want to provide information on the nutritional benefits of our foods. everything in this new campaign (health starts here) is scored based on nutrient density, and everything is on the same scale from 1-1000. we didn’t make it up, we’re just sharing it so people can make their own choices. which is nice, we just like good food here and we want people to enjoy mealtime based on their own needs and not others’.
thank you for complimenting our team members in your article. we like working here and we’re glad it shows!
Everyone, take a deep breath and relax. What diet is best for you depends on your health status. If you have metabolic syndrome or type II diabetes, then a low-carb diet is best for those conditions. If you don’t have either of those problems, eat whatever is considered a balanced diet, whether it is omniverous, vegetarian or vegan. But, for a person who has metabolic syndrome, those “balanced” diets lack the positive effects that a low-carb diet has.
Don,
As a low carb eater, I eat more veggies than most other people, maybe not as many as you, but I’ll bet I come pretty close as ALL the carbs I eat are from veggies (other than the 3 I get from my 2 eggs & 1 slice of cheese in my breakfast).
I can’t handle grains or fruit, not and get the blood glucose control I demand. I want to be at non diabetic levels, and have achieved that with low carb. The ADA diet will definitely get you on meds & insulin, eating low carb will keep you off them. If you have no health issues, eat what you want. But to keep my beta cells from being overworked I’ll stick to low carb. It works and it’s healthy for us type 2 diabetics.
Hugs,
G
I’m stepping lightly into this conversation! In Oklahoma, we have a great source of organic and locally produced products. I am a member of the Oklahoma Food Co-op. It’s on a membership basis and there are lots of items to choose from, especially if you want organic and grass-fed. I really enjoy this blog and I have been low-carbing for two years. Like anything out there, different strokes for different folks. Thanks!
The american diatetic association along with the american diabetes assoc and the american heart association has given decades outdated info for years and has KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN AIDS… so the samrt suggestion is to stop accepting ridicously outdated information from lazy headed groups with agendas and look for yourself at the evidence.
Our bodies do not do their best on high carb, low fat, low protein diets and NO reputable study has EVER shown that they do.
If animals were not cute while young…this issue would NevER have EVER arisen..because the entire vegan issue is as bogus as any other emotional decision made by a six year old in love with the cute cow standing out in the field…Now just keep throwing out stupid arguments and go eat your popped rice cereal.
This is a terrible article that presents no facts at all. There is already a lot of confusion about what to eat and how to eat, most of it opinion and much of it wrong. This did not help me sort it out. It seemed more targeted at Whole Foods bashing than presenting any useful information.