The Dietary Truth
ONLINE BOOKLET VERSION
The science and clinical evidence behind what actually constitutes a healthy diet for humans and what does not.
Learn which foods will prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and more, and which foods elevate risks.
This online booklet will not try to sell you anything, endorse any products or companies, and it is 100% free. The one and only purpose of this booklet/website is to educate you about what the scientific community already knows: what constitutes a healthy diet and what does not – information that has been suppressed, denied, misinterpreted and hushed as much as possible because it’s bad for a lot of existing food manufacturers. It’s high time to put the overwhelming misrepresentation and outright lies to rest and enable everyone, especially those feeding children, to make truly informed choices when it comes to choosing what we eat.
Jump to specific sections: The truth about DAIRY |
The truth about MEAT |
The truth about FISH |
The truth about EGGS |
The HEALTHIEST DIET |
The many BENEFITS |
References |
|
Please note:
The following information contains references to the medical
studies/articles supporting claims made. The studies are by no
means cherry-picked and the evidence for many claims is so
overwhelmingly corroborated we frequently mention multiple sources
for the same statements. If
you wish to review these medical studies/articles as you read the
information, please click on the citations within the text to view
the associated link for each study’s abstract/full version, as available.
Let’s
start with the key components of the typical American diet –
dairy, meat, fish and eggs.
The
truth about DAIRY |
|
BONE
HEALTH AND OSTEOPOROSIS
Milk
has long been promoted as the vital ingredient in healthy bone
development, but the science to back up this claim simply doesn’t
exist. Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition chairman Walter
Willet, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., writes: "Interestingly, many
long-term studies have now examined milk consumption in relation to
risk of fractures. With remarkable consistency, these studies do not
show reduction in fractures with high dairy product consumption. The
hype about milk is basically an effective marketing campaign by the
American Dairy industry1.”
As Dr. John McDougal stated, "[t]he
myth that osteoporosis is caused by calcium deficiency was created to
sell dairy products and calcium supplements. There's no truth to it.
American women are among the biggest consumers of calcium in the
world, and they still have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis
in the world. And eating even more dairy products and calcium
supplements is not going to change that fact." In a study
comparing long-term vegans with their omnivore counterparts, the bone
density for both groups was found to be the same, even with a much
lower calcium and protein intake by the vegans3.
CANCER
RISK AND PARKINSON’S DISEASE Dairy
intake has been shown to increase your risks of cervical4,
colorectal5,
prostate6,
and testicular cancer7,
as well as Parkinson’s Disease8,
because industrial carcinogens build up in animal tissues.
ACNE Got
acne? Try eliminating dairy from your diet – the hormones in
dairy (both organic and inorganic) contribute to acne problems or
even cause them outright.9
10
11
ALUMINUM
POISONING Aluminum
is a known toxin when inside our bodies. One of the ways it ends up
there is through the consumption of cheese. Aluminum has been added
to cheeses to produce a “softer texture” and a more
“desirable slicing quality”. A slice of processed cheese
may contain as much as 50 mg of aluminum.12
ANTIOXIDANT
BLOCKER Dairy
blocks the absorption of berry nutrients consumed at the same time –
which means all the blueberries and strawberries in that milk
smoothie or yogurt parfait are literally going to waste.13
14
EARLY
ONSET OF PUBERTY Dairy
cows are kept constantly pregnant in order to produce a steady supply
of milk. But milk from pregnant cows contains large amounts of
estrogens (sex hormones) which we take in when we consume dairy.
These sex hormones, some of which are carcinogens in their own right,
are suspected to be the major cause of an alarming trend of earlier
onset of puberty among our children15
16.
The problem with early puberty: it shortens lifespan17.
BREAST,
OVARIAN, CORPUS UTERI CANCERS AND MALE REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS The
same elevated levels of sex hormones from pregnant cows also cause
dairy to be of highest concern when it comes to breast cancer,
ovarian cancer and corpus uteri cancer risk18,
as well as the increased risk of male reproductive disorders19.
TESTICULAR
AND PROSTATIC CANCERS Consumption
of milk and dairy products has been linked to the development and
growth of testicular and prostatic cancers, and the mortality rate
associated with each. In particular, cheese consumption is closely
linked with testicular cancer and milk consumption with prostatic
cancer20.
STEROID
HORMONES
Besides
acne21,
growth hormones innately present in all milk (whether organic or not)
for the purpose of quickly growing a calf into an adult cow have also
been linked to breast and prostatic cancers22.
The study states that “the evidence assembled here suggests
that dairy-sourced hormones, not being subject to any innate feedback
inhibition, may be the source of the androgenic and mitogenic
progestins that drive acne, prostate and breast cancer. This is the
most promising unitary hypothesis available to explain the etiology
of diverse diseases that blemish, scar, shorten and take the lives of
millions23.”
DAIRY
SUMMARY Dairy
is the number one source of saturated fat in western diets. It’s
one of the top allergens, loaded with growth hormones, cholesterol,
pus and manure, and unless it’s organic, pesticides and
antibiotics to boot. It’s a major cause of acne and a plethora
of various cancers and diseases. Instead of preventing osteoporosis
and building healthy bones, it is wreaking havoc on our
children’s hormones.
The
truth about MEAT |
|
BLADDER,
BREAST, PANCREATIC, ENDOMETRIAL, OVARIAN, LUNG, THROAT, STOMACH AND
ESOPHAGEAL CANCERS
Meat
intake significantly increases your risks of bladder, breast,
pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, lung, throat, stomach, and
esophageal cancers. In most cases, the higher the consumption of
meat, the higher the cancer risks.24
25
26
27
28
FLAME
RETARDANTS IN BREAST MILK
Nursing
women in the US have the highest levels of flame retardants (PBDEs)
in their breast milk. (Flame retardants are toxic carcinogens which
have been banned in much of Europe already). The source of these
toxins are animal products in the women's diet, with chicken being
the primary contributor. Chicken is so contaminated it dwarfs all
other sources, but fish, bacon, beef and dairy contain
significant amounts as well. The good news is that PBDE does leave
the body over time but consumption of animal products must be stopped
to prevent replenishment of the toxin.29
The effect on infants consuming such large amounts of PDBEs is
alarming, since numerous studies show PBDEs to be toxic at low
levels, particularly for the fetus, infant and young child.30
31
HETEROCYCLIC
AMINES (HCAs) IN COOKED MEAT “Grilled
chicken has long been touted as the healthy choice for consumers, yet
this could not be further from the truth. PhIP, a type of
heterocyclic amine (HCA), is a well-known carcinogen identified by
The National Institutes of Health. Independent tests found the
chemical PhIP in 100 grilled chicken samples from seven restaurant
chains.” Unfortunately it’s not only grilling: “[a]ny
method of cooking animal tissue can create HCAs. Meat naturally
contains amino acids and a protein called creatine. When heated, the
combination of amino acids and creatine form HCAs. Since there are no
safe levels of exposure to this carcinogen, it is recommended to
avoid the consumption of meats for cancer prevention and survival.”32
33
34
ASTHMA
AND GRILLED/SMOKED MEATS Asthma
and other respiratory diseases are on the rise and they have been
linked to high exposures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
PAH exposure occurs mainly through second hand smoke, and grilled and
smoked meat consumption. Chicken, followed by salmon, contains the
highest amounts of PAHs.35
ESSENTIAL
TREMOR This
common affliction of the elderly, presenting as involuntary trembling
of usually the hands and head, has now been traced to its source:
meat consumption.36
INFERTILITY
IN WOMEN
A
single serving of meat a day will increase a woman’s risk of
ovulatory infertility by about 32% on average, with poultry
contributing the highest risk.37
AGING
ACCELERATION
The
end of each chromosome in our bodies is called a telomere and its
function is to control the process of cell aging. As cells age,
their telomeres shorten. When the telomere is gone, the cell dies.
So as the telomeres shorten, we age at the cellular level.
Scientists are looking into ways to slow telomere shortening and thus
slow down the aging process. They’ve identified certain things
which will accelerate telomere shortening and decrease lifespan:
smoking is the worst offender; processed meats (with fish consumption
in second place) are right behind38.
ARSENIC
It
is an FDA-approved practice to add arsenic to animal feed in order to
increase the animals’ growth rate, because the arsenic kills
the large numbers of parasites living within chickens, so the birds
retain more calories. Unfortunately, the large doses of the toxin
are preserved in the meat sold for consumption. Stated by
manufacturers as an added benefit, the arsenic turns the chicken
carcasses a pinkish color which is reportedly preferred by
consumers.39
HEPATITIS
E
Pigs
have been identified as the reservoirs of the hepatitis E virus,
along with boars, deer and shellfish. Upon this discovery, pork sold
in grocery stores was tested and found to contain the virus as well,
identifying another route of HEV infection in humans.40
MRSA,
E. COLI AND RAW MEAT
MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is another
deadly virus strain which has now been found in raw meat sold in
grocery stores41,
as well as a specific strain of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli which
has been identified as a cause of urinary tract infections. In the
study of the E. coli, the most contaminated of the various meats was
chicken, which tested positive in 92% of the samples.42
RESIDUAL
VETERINARY DRUGS, PESTICIDES AND HEAVY METALS
“One
of the public food safety issues facing the United States is the
contamination of meat with residual veterinary drugs, pesticides, and
heavy metals. ‘Residue’ of this sort finds its way into
the food supply when producers bring animals to slaughter plants
while they have these residual contaminants in their system. When the
animals are slaughtered, traces of the drugs or pesticides contained
in these animals’ meat is shipped to meat processors and retail
supermarkets, and eventually purchased by consumers.”
“[I]n
2008, when Mexican
authorities rejected a shipment of U.S. beef because it contained
copper in excess of Mexico’s tolerances, FSIS had no basis to
stop distribution of this meat in the United States since
the FDA has set no tolerance for copper.“43
There
are no safety thresholds established for most pesticides, drugs and
metals in our food supply,
so even if alarming levels are found (though inspections are rare),
there is no basis to stop distribution of such contaminated foods.
Of all animal products, veal is likely to contain the highest levels
of drug residues.
ALZHEIMER’S
DISEASE AND COPPER
A
hundred years ago, there was no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease
in our population. Today's undeveloped world has yet to learn of it.
But in America, it affects 10% of 60 year old's, 20% of 70 year
old's and 30% of 80 year old's. Scientists have finally identified
copper toxicity as the likely culprit behind this debilitating
disease. The three top sources of copper intake are copper water
pipes, copper supplements in our multivitamins, and meat
consumption44.
DIABETES
Eating
meat even just once a week increases the risk of diabetes by as much
as 74%.45
BREAST
CANCER
“Meat
[i]s the factor contributing most greatly to the incidence of breast
cancer.”46
47
HORMONAL
STEROIDS AND HORMONE-RELATED CANCERS
“In
the USA, steroid implantation was carried out in 97% of beef cattle
in 1999.”
“[T]he
increasing consumption of estrogen-rich beef following steroid
implantation might facilitate estrogen accumulation in the human body
and could be related to the incidence of hormone-dependent cancers.”
This study in Japan found that the hormone-dependent cancers have
been increasing parallel to their increase in beef consumption:
“During the past quarter century, hormone-dependent cancers
have risen fivefold: 4 times in breast and ovarian cancer, 8 times in
endometrial cancer, and 10 times in prostate cancer. Meanwhile,
popularization of the Western diet has resulted in a fivefold
multiplication of beef consumption in Japan.”48 Japan isn’t the only nation facing increasing cancer risks (as
well as heart disease and diabetes) as its population increases its
intake of animal products – India, China and other nations are
all seeing the same phenomenon.49
ANABOLICS
(GROWTH PROMOTING STEROIDS)
“In
contrast to the use of hormonal doping agents in sports to enhance
the performance of athletes, in the
livestock industry hormonal growth promoters ("anabolics")
are used to increase the production of muscle meat.
This leads to international disputes about the safety of meat
originating from animals treated with such anabolics.50”
Those growth hormones are stored mainly in the meat51
of the injected animal and are passed on to the consumer. So
athletes who eat pork (and likely other steroid-containing meats) can
actually test positive for anabolics and so be falsely accused of
using steroids52.
EARLY
ONSET OF PUBERTY Like
dairy, eating meat may also affect prepubescent children’s
production of male sex hormones in both boys and girls, resulting in
an earlier onset of puberty and its accompanying shorter life
expectancy.53
MEAT
IN HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS
Most
people assume that hot dogs and hamburgers consist mostly of meat.
Actually, fast-food burgers typically contain around 12% actual meat54
and hot dogs less than 10%55.
Some other things found in both are bones, cartilage and various
other tissues, as well as the occasional parasite.
E.
COLI, SALMONELLA AND AMMONIA
A
problem with the majority of meat produced in America today is how to
kill the fecal matter’s passengers, the deadly E. Coli and
Salmonella bacteria (strangely, the fecal matter itself is not a
concern). A company called Beef Products had a novel idea a few
years ago and they began injecting the meat and washing it with
ammonia, killing most of the bacteria. The only problem was that to
effectively kill the bacteria, the level of ammonia in the meat was
so high it smelled bad and sickened a number of school children. So
the company began lowering the ammonia in the product, unavoidably
leaving higher percentages of bacteria still alive, leading to deadly
outbreaks and extensive food recalls. This problem has yet to be
satisfactorily resolved.56
MEAT
SUMMARY
Like
dairy, meat consumption sharply raises risks for a staggering amount
of cancers, provides a steady source of inorganic anabolics, and does
further damage to our children’s hormonal clocks. In addition,
it pollutes women’s breast milk with flame retardants, causes
or contributes to the incidence of asthma, Alzheimer’s,
infertility, essential tremor, aging acceleration, and diabetes. It
is frequently infested with various deadly parasites and bacteria,
not to mention fecal matter, and when it comes to fast food, little
actual meat. Instead it may harbor certain veterinary drugs,
pesticides and heavy metals, which are not even screened by the FDA,
since it hasn’t established any thresholds for most toxins in
our food supply. Whenever you see another advertisement for “lean”
chicken, know that according to the USDA, one serving of chicken in
1895 had only 16.2
kcal/100 g of fat. In 2004, the same serving of chicken had 208.8
kcal/100 g of fat.
“The beef
industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of
this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents
combined. If beef is your idea of ‘real food for real people’
you'd better live real close to a real good hospital.” - Neal
Barnard, M.D.
The
truth about FISH |
|
PREGNANT
WOMEN
“Methyl
mercury is a developmental neurotoxicant. Exposure results
principally from consumption by pregnant women of seafood
contaminated by mercury from anthropogenic (70%) and natural (30%)
sources.” Between 316,588 and 637,233 children born each year
in America have cord blood mercury levels greater than 5.8 μg/L, a
level at which IQ loss occurs. With the levels of mercury in a
single serving of most fish easily exceeding daily recommendations, no
amount of fish is safe for pregnant women.57
Besides
mercury, fish contain a slew of other chemical toxins which build up
in their tissue. “Increasing evidence suggests that maternal
exposure to toxic chemicals compounds may be associated with various
congenital defects.58”
MERCURY
Unborn
babies aren’t the only ones at risk from mercury poisoning.
Anyone consuming fish is taking in large doses of the toxic metal,
which even at low levels, can negatively affect your behavior59 – eat enough fish and you may go completely crazy60.
Some parents have expressed concern about the mercury content in
vaccinations; for some perspective, a
single serving of canned tuna (about half a can) has the equivalent
amount of mercury as 100 vaccine injections61.
DIOXINS,
ARSENIC, PCB’S, PARASITIC WORMS AND DRUGS
Fish
contain the highest amount of dioxins of all meat types, including
DDT which still exists in primarily animal food sources62.
(Dioxins are some of the most toxic chemicals known to science.)
You can even tell how much fish and seafood a person has been eating
by checking their blood for the amount of arsenic it contains63.
To get an even more accurate measure, you would check for dioxins,
PCBs, and mercury64.
You can even check the mercury content of someone’s hair to
see their seafood and fish intake65.
Fish also contain various parasitic worms, including deadly brain
parasites, as well as a slew of pharmacological drugs which are
washed into our rivers66.
DHA
AND FISH OIL
Some
people consume fish for the cardiovascular benefit of DHA in the
meat. However, the negative impact of the mercury consumed along
with the DHA will cancel out any benefits because mercury is
detrimental to the heart (as well as the brain and other organs). To
get the DHA without the mercury, skip the middleman: fish obtain DHA
by eating golden algae. There are multiple DHA supplements made from
golden algae which are entirely mercury free yet deliver the
identical benefits. Those consuming fish oil for inflammation
reduction should know that studies have proven it does not reduce
inflammation, and in fact may increase it due to the toxins in the
oil (whether the oil is distilled or not)67.
The algae-derived DHA does not contain these toxins.
FISH
SUMMARY
Our
waters have become our sewers and the fish swimming in them might as
well glow based on their toxicity. They contain dioxins, heavy
metals, parasites, drugs, and loads of mercury. Pregnant women
especially should safeguard their babies by avoiding any and all fish
and seafood.
The
truth about EGGS |
|
ESTROGEN
Eggs
are by far the biggest source of estrogen in the western diet. They
contain a specific type of estrogen called estradiol which is a known
carcinogen.68
FAT
AND CHOLESTEROL
Egg
yolks contain a large amount of fat (27% of which is saturated and
contains cholesterol), over half the calories of the entire egg.
DIABETES
“[H]igh
levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased
risk of type 2 diabetes.69”
ALLERGY
Allergy
to eggs among infants is the most common food allergy, though it is
usually outgrown in childhood.70
ANTIOBITIOC
RESISTANCE
“[A]ntibiotic
resistance in humans appears to be directly related to the
antibiotic's use in eggs.”71
SALMONELLA
Eggs
are frequently contaminated with different strains of Salmonella.
Some contamination occurs while the egg is being laid and comes in
contact with fecal matter; other exposure is through weaknesses in
the shell or inherent illness within the laying hen.72
MOUTH,
THROAT, ESOPHAGEAL, COLON, RECTAL, LUNG, BREAST, BLADDER, AND
PROSTATE CANCER, AS WELL AS ALL CANCERS COMBINED
People
consuming just ½
an egg a day
or more have about twice the risk of getting mouth, throat,
esophageal and other types of upper aerodigestive tract cancers,
three times the risk of colon cancer, twice the risk of rectal and
lung cancer, three times the risk of breast cancer, and twice the
risk of bladder, prostate, and all cancers combined.73
EGG
SUMMARY
As
benign as they seem, eggs contain the basic material to create baby
chicks, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they harbor
extremely large amounts of hormones, fat and cholesterol. The laying
hens are kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions to produce
enough eggs to keep up with demand, and requiring heavy doses of
antibiotics to survive, leading to antibiotic resistance.
Nonetheless, some bacteria do survive and Salmonella strains
frequently contaminate eggs and sicken consumers. The cancer risks
rising across the board by consuming just half an egg a day are
mind-blowing and the link to diabetes is another reason to stay away.
Now
that we’ve covered what foods to avoid, what else is there?
The diet for which the human body was built...
The HEALTHIEST
DIET |
|
“Choose
a diet that is predominantly plant-based, rich in a variety of
fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans with minimally processed starchy
foods”
- AICR/WCRF Expert Report: Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of
Cancer
The
above quote is by the world’s foremost experts on human
nutrition, and cancer and disease prevention, and after countless,
ongoing medical trial and study reviews, this has remained their
position for over 20 years.
THE
HEALTHIEST DIET IN DETAIL
So
the healthiest diet is a whole food plant-based diet rich in fruits,
veggies, nuts and beans, with a reliable source of vitamin B12.
Here is exactly what this means:
|
Whole
foods: Avoid
processed foods as much as possible and try to eat foods close to
their natural state. Processing removes vital nutrients from the
food and frequently introduces preservatives and other foreign
substances. So replace conventional pasta with whole grain pasta;
white bread with whole wheat bread; white rice with brown, black,
or red rice; garlic salt with garlic cloves; canned fruit with
fresh or frozen; and so on.
Plant-based:
Avoid
all types of meat, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurts, etc.), fish, and
eggs. Replace them with legumes (beans, lentils, etc.), nuts, soy
(or almond or rice) milk and yogurt, tempeh, seitan (wheat-protein
made out of flour) and tofu.
Rich
in fruits and veggies: The
recommended minimum of daily fruit and vegetable servings for
adults is NINE
(9),
and for children under 6 years of age, it is FIVE
(5).
For your fruits, choose plentifully from berries (strawberries,
blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, acai
berries, etc.) and don’t shy away from apples, black plums,
and kiwis. For your vegetables, choose dark leafy greens as much
as possible (kale, swiss chard, mustard/turnip/collard greens,
spinach, boy choy, etc.), as well as broccoli, Brussel sprouts,
cabbage, and sweet potatoes, and be sure to add garlic, onions and
leeks wherever you can. Minimize the use of white potatoes, they
offer little nutrition. For both fruits and veggies, eating a
good variety is best.
Nuts:
Eat
a handful of nuts every day; they are an excellent source of
protein, healthy fats and many other benefits such as omega 3’s.
The
most nutritious nuts are pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and
pistachios, but again, variety is best.
Beans
(legumes): Beans
are a great source of protein, as well as other nutrients which
vary by variety. Lentils are also included among legumes (and
happen to be bursting with healthy nutrients), as well as peas,
soy beans and
soy-based products such as tofu and tempeh. Some of the most
nutritious beans include black, kidney, adzuki, soy and pinto
varieties. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), the main ingredient in
hummus, are a favorite of children due to their mild flavor and a
good source of zinc.
B12
supplement: A vegan diet requires a reliable source of vitamin
B12.
We were most likely able to obtain this vitamin from the bacteria
in our drinking water before our water sources became chlorinated
for safety, effectively also killing the beneficial bacteria
present. Nowadays B12 can be obtained by consuming products
fortified with B12 (fortified soy milks, fortified cereals, etc.)
and/or a B12 supplement. Because B12 requires a particular dosing
regimen (only
a small amount is absorbed at any one time),
please see
the B12 AND BEYOND page for proper dosing regimens
by age and frequency of intake (daily vs. twice a day vs. twice a
week). The website also has recommendations for other vital
nutrients, including vitamin D and calcium. |
PLANNING
A MEAL AND THE POWER PLATE When
it comes to planning main meals, the easiest way to fill your plate
with a balanced meal is to follow a simple rule: whole
grains and/or legumes paired with plenty of veggies and/or fruits.
Examples of this would be:
Of
course, not all meals need to follow this layout; for simple snacks
or small meals, hummus and crackers, veggies, fresh/dried fruits,
nuts, etc. are just perfect. But for your main meal(s) of the day,
this approach will balance out your meals best, assuring a good
source of protein, calories, vital nutrients and antioxidants.
ADDITIONAL
TIPS TO MAXIMIZE HEALTH
Following
a whole food plant-based diet certainly has its benefits:
The
many BENEFITS |
|
"Vegetarians
have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of
any group in the country... a fraction of our heart attack rate and
they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate."
William Castelli, M.D., Director, Framingham Heart Study, the
longest-running epidemiological study in medical history
PROTECTION
FROM CANCERS, STROKE, OBESITY, DIABETES, AND MORE… A
plant-based diet reduces the risk of (probably all) cancers by
significant amounts – among the ones studied are breast74
75,
endometrial76
77,
colorectal78,
prostate79,
ovarian80,
intestinal, lung, bladder81,
pancreatic82,
throat, stomach, esophageal, and lymphatic83
cancer.84
A plant-based also protects from stroke, heart disease, diabetes,
obesity, emphysema, dementia, cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis85,
constipation, diverticulosis86,
and many other ailments. Vegetarian children even tend to have
higher IQ’s and mental age than their omnivore counterparts.
87 Here
is the official position of the American Dietetic Association: “The
results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is
associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease.
Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of
hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore,
vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall
cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of
chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and
cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals.”88
PLANT-BASED
DIET AS THE CANCER AND DIABETES PREVENTATIVE
Diet
is the number one cause of cancer89.
Only 5-10% of cancer risk is genetic, the rest is environmental –
of which about 50% is diet.90
Type 2 diabetes can also be prevented by a vegan diet; a vegan diet
actually produces better results than an omnivore diabetic diet, even
with less exercise.
91
92
PLANT-BASED
DIET AS THE CANCER AND DIABETES TREATMENT
Cancers
take years to develop and many of us have small tumors growing within
us now. For example, breast cancer can begin literally decades
before it’s even diagnosed on a mammogram. A plant-based diet
can SLOW
or
REVERSE
cancer: an astonishing example was a study done which had a group of
breast-cancer positive women eating a plant-based diet for two weeks.
After two weeks, their blood was drawn and the level of all growth
hormones had dropped dramatically. In addition, the researchers
dripped blood after the two-week period onto a Petri dish containing
live breast cancer cells. The blood sample reduced the cancer in the
Petri dish by 20% (after just two weeks on a plant based diet). The
blood
of people on a plant-based diet is simply inhospitable to cancer.93
Type 2 diabetes and heart disease has also been shown to be
well-managed and actually improved by following a vegan diet.94
95
96
MISCELLANEOUS
BENEFITS
The
abundant calcium found in dark leafy greens is absorbed about twice
as well as the calcium in cow’s milk and it contains many
other vitamins and minerals that milk does not – folate,
vitamin K, fiber, iron, and antioxidants.
- Grilled
foods of plant origin do not contain PAH carcinogens because PAH
formation requires animal muscle tissue.
- Plant-derived
protein does not cause infertility.
- Slowing
down the cellular aging process requires eating a whole foods
plant-based diet and exercising moderately.97
- Soy
helps prevent human fat cells from taking up fat in the first place
– meaning, you can eat the same amount of calories on a
plant-based diet as on an omnivorous diet, yet you are more likely
to lose weight than gain weight.98
- Vegetarians
are slimmer because their metabolisms have a higher rate of fat
burn-off (as opposed to storage) than omnivores.99
- Specific
vegetables target specific cancer cells, so eating a variety of
veggies is the best preventative measure. Some vegetables are
incredibly effective against many types of cancers: garlic, leek,
green onion and Brussel sprouts are some of the most potent.100
- The
earlier young girls begin eating soy, the greater the protection
from breast cancer.101
- Soy
does not only decrease the risk of breast cancer, it also decreases
the risk of breast cancer recurrence.102
- In
a study of preschool children’s diets and their mothers’
perception of their quality, almost 83% of mothers overestimated the
quality of their child’s diet. Of the children, 18.3% had a
“poor” diet, 81.5% had a diet which “needed
improvement” and only 0.2% had a “good” diet.103
- For
the many non-dietary benefits of a plant-based diet, such as an
immense reduction in your carbon footprint, water conservation,
ending animal cruelty, conserving the planet’s food-producing
soil, cleaning up our environment, reducing our reliance on fossil
fuels, reducing national medical expenses, saving countless land-
and ocean-dwelling species from extinction, and many more, please
see the ECO-FRIENDLY DIET page.
LASTLY,
THE
MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION WHEN FACED WITH THE FACTS: CAN’T
WE JUST CONTINUE TO CONSUME ANIMAL PRODUCTS BUT SIMPLY ADD LOTS OF
FRUITS AND VEGGIES TO OUR MEAT-BASED DIET?
When
it comes to cancer risk particularly, one cannot eat a modern western
diet, add in a few fruits and veggies, and expect the same results as
if one were eating a plant-based diet. Those few fruits and veggies,
though they will help if eaten in large quantities, are not enough to
make up for the rest of the daily menu when it comes to cancer. The
only way to drop cancer risks dramatically is to stop ingesting
animal products.104 And the same goes for heart disease; there just isn’t a way to
negate all the artery-clogging animal fat coming into the body.
However, every reduction of animal products will help reduce your
risk; so if you find that eliminating all meat, dairy and eggs is too
difficult, then simply minimize such intake as much as you can.
For more
information, research updates, many excellent additional resources,
free recipes, help for parents of picky eaters and those feeding
babies, plant-based equivalents for common food items, and dispelled
myths, please browse through our additional pages featured on your left hand panel at the top of the page.
MEDICAL
DISCLAIMER: Information
provided in this booklet and on the accompanying website at
www.DietaryTruth.com is for informational purposes only; it is not
intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The
information provided is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any
health
concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care
professional for all your medical needs.
REFERENCES
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