Health and Longevity Blog

Wanting to be healthy is a desire we all share.  Do you ever witness the miracle of nutrition firsthand?  Some people experience it when they lose a considerable amount of weight, some when they conquer a disease, and some when they get their energy and desire to live and create.  Whatever brings you the most happiness in being healthy, one thing is for sure, it is that nutrition plays a very important role in sustaining your health.   Unfortunately, most of the people don’t know a thing about the right nutrition.  Even worseI learned it from my own experience working with many clients; most of the people think that their nutritional habits are pretty healthy, even if they are not.

So, what are the right nutritional habits? If I would have to describe it in one sentence: eating whole food plant-based diets is the best thing you can do for yourself.  I know that many people would not be happy to hear that. We are grown in a society that promotes animal-based protein and highly refined carbohydrate eating styles. It is interesting that the famous food pyramid that we learned about in schools were designed originally for the US Department of Agriculture. I’ve heard it was meant to make pigs bigger. I don’t have written resources to prove it, but when I look around I start to believe it. So do we really eat well, or do we just like to believe so? After all, how do we know what the best food for us is? There is so much controversial information out there that can even make a very health-conscious person confused.  One day you hear that eggs are bad for you, the next day that they are good.  One day broccoli is the best food to eat, the next day it might to be poisonous.  There are still a lot of controversies about vitamin E.  How do the same scientists come up with such different information? What is the true answer?  

Sometimes scientific research can be interpreted differently. Dr. Campbell,  a widely recognized brilliant scholar, a dedicated researcher, and a great humanitarian says “ that science is not always the honest search for truth that so many believe it to be. It far too often involves money, power, ego and protection of personal interests above the common good. ” There are not so many reliable studies on nutrition, because it is time-consuming and expensive. To find a correlation between certain diseases and certain types of food, it requires close observation for long periods of time. Dr. Campbell is one of the first people that dedicated most of his life doing this type of research. His famous book “The China Study” is one of my favorites. It is full of scientific data supporting the relationship amongst high animal protein and fat consumption to high rates of cancer, heart diseases, autoimmune system diseases, obesity and other type of health problems.  In general, this extensive study shows that the risk of getting the disease mentioned above significantly increases if the consumption of animal based proteins gets higher than 10%.  This study also shows that diets high in plant-based whole foods are related to a lower percentage of the same diseases. If you’re really serious about your health, I would strongly recommend that you read this book.

One important point I want to address in this article is that many people who turn into vegetarians and vegans go from one extreme to another.  Instead of eating plant-base whole foods they turn to highly refined starchy foods such as pasta, spaghetti, white bread, pizza, and other products made from wheat flour, which is as bad for one’s health as much as high animal protein diets. Many vegetarians also have a tendency to consume more dairy products, which also contain casein, a type of protein that is also related to a higher rate of the diseases mentioned earlier.

What is a plant-based whole food diet? It is a diet that consists of the consumption of plant based woods, such as: vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, herbs and berries. I don’t like to call it a diet. It is a life style that a person adopts for certain reasons.  I, personally, became a vegetarian for moral reasons. Many people change their lifestyle for health related reasons, such as serious illnesses or chronic diseases.  Being a vegetarian I often hear comments from my “carnivore” friends that it is not healthy to live without meat.

Doesn’t it make sense that eating meat from an early age can be quite an addictive habit? Many times you need to have that piece of meat on the plate more for your emotional satisfaction, than your physical hunger. After all, there are lots of sources of protein in plants. 

However, my goal here is not to convince you to become a vegetarian or vegan, but to give you information about what would be an optimal nutrition pattern for you to stay healthy, young and active as long as possible. Some famous person (unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of this person) once said “ If I knew that I would live that long, I would have taken better care of my health.”

I know some healthy-minded people who cannot give up meat completely.  I also know people who thought that they would never be able to live without  meat products (I was one of them myself), but after giving it up I found out that it is not only possible , but it also feels great.  I have more energy, better mental clarity, and the depression I used to have before is gone. I love the fact that I am able to enjoy life everyday and get more work done. I know that most of improvements in my life came from changing my nutritional habits.

I would like to acknowledge that everyone is different, so find out what is best for you. Try to go without meat, chicken and eggs for a month. See what it is feels like for you.  Believe that you are not going to die without these products. Many of my friends are vegetarians and they all look great, they are energetic, happy and loving people. They just love life. So those are “the side effects” you might get from giving up animal proteins. If you don’t believe me just visit the Raw Food café, a vegetarian restaurant in your area, or at least go to a Whole Foods store, and see what people look like who go there. Then go to Burger King, or any other fast food place and notice the difference. 

You have the power to take charge of your health.  Learn what is good for you and what is not. Give yourself a one month trial, and eat only plant-based whole foods.  You might like the diet or not, but at least you will know that it is possible. You will give your body time to discover what it really desires.

If you decided to try a one month animal protein-free diet, be sure that you don’t replace your addiction with another unhealthy addiction. I am talking about refined carbohydrates, such as: white bread, pasta, spaghetti, pizza, any type of pastries, and anything that has white flour in it. Do NOT drink soft drinks. It is yet another bad addiction. If you are in doubt about whether or not a food is good to eat, think WHOLE food.  Whole food means, food the way nature intended it, with no packages, no artificial flavoring and/or coloring, no MSG, and no artificial sweeteners. You can find great raw vegan recipes and books at www.LifeWizSupplements.com .  
Remember : “You can do it , if you choose to.” 

Dr. Campbell writes in his book The China Study that there are five main challenges you are likely to face:

In the first week, you may have some stomach upset as your digestive system adjusts. This is natural; it is nothing to worry about and doesn’t usually last long.

You’ll need to put some time into this. Don’t begrudge this time—heart disease and cancer take time too. Specifically, you’ll need to learn some new recipes, be willing to try new dishes, discover new restaurants. You’ll need to pay attention to your tastes and come up with meals that you really enjoy.

You’ll need to adjust psychologically. No matter how full the plate is, many of us were trained to think that without meat, it’s not a real meal- especially at dinner. You’ll need to overcome this prejudice.

You may not be able to go the same restaurants you used to go to, and if you can, you certainly won’t  be able to order the same things. This takes some adjustment.

Your friends, family and colleagues may not be supportive. For whatever reasons, many  people will find it threatening that you  are now vegetarian or vegan. Perhaps it’s because, deep down, they know their diet  isn’t very healthy and find it threatening that someone else is able to give up unhealthy eating habits when they cannot.

Dr. Campbell also offers a few pieces of advice for the first month of your new eating habit.

He mentions that:

In long term, plant-based eating is cheaper than an animal-based diet, but as you learn you may spend a little extra money trying things. Do it. It‘s worth it.

Eat well. If you eat out, try lots of restaurants o find some great vegan dishes. Often, ethnic restaurants not only offer the most options for plant-based meals, but the unique tastes are exquisite. Lear what is out there.

Eat enough. One of your health goals may be to lose weight. That’s fine, and on a plant-based diet you almost certainly will. But don’t hold back- whatever you do, don’t go hungry.

Eat a variety. Mixing it up is important both for getting all the necessary nutrients and for maintaining your interest in the diet.

Now, if you are still not ready to try one month of a nourishing whole food plant-based diet, at least try to cut your meat consumption down. Eat meat no more than two times a week. Eliminate all the soft drinks and simple carbohydrates from your diet. If you still think that you need more proteins, eat plant-base proteins, such as: garbanzo beans, kidney beans, lima beans, lentils, almonds, pistachio, walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts peanuts, oats steel cut, millet, ray meal, and buckwheat.  Try different types of salads.  Drink more water during the day, but NOT with your meals; it will compromise your digestion.

Overall, “if you want to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, and then take cholesterol-lowering medication, that’s your right. But if you want to truly take charge of your health: change your eating habits, read The China Study, and do it soon!” (John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America)

For some delicious raw food recipes click here.

Be well,

Natalia Belokonova

Resources: Dr. Campbell, The China Study

Tags: health, healthy food, nutrition

This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 12:23 am and is filed under Natural Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.