Plant Based Diet Thread

[Nobody]

[warthog1]

Basically a waste of money then. Thanks.

[Nobody]

Yeah I don't buy organic other than peppermint tea. Even that isn't certified, so who knows. It's all too expensive for me. I really can't see the value in AU where the prices are typically twice to four times conventional prices.

Below is a more positive, but still unconvincing take.
https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/organic-foods/

I do soak my cruciferous veg in an bucket of water with about 30g/L of sodium bi-carb. I find the water doesn't absorb much more than that easily. I soak it for about 20 to 30 mins. Then I rinse and soak with plain water for another 10 mins. Who knows how much that is doing, but it's similar to recommendations I've read for washing in regard to pesticide residues.

Veg that can be peeled, is peeled. But I don't kid myself that it's doing much in regard to pesticides. It may be doing more in regard to bugs/bacteria etc. But even then it may not be doing much. If I didn't peel, I'd still be washing which also takes work and time.

[cavebear2]

A few years ago my GP incorrectly diagnosed me with IBS. What followed was 18 months of exclusion in attempting to achieve a low FODMAP diet. Last year I visited a Gastroenterologist who then checked my bowel via a Colonoscopy. He described my bowel and 'long, complicated and tortuous' and tipped the FODMAP exclusion of high fructose fruit (stone fruit) out the door. I would find great benefit eating as much fructose as I liked as it would activate my bowel. My life has changed from a vicious cycle of constipation and diarrhoea to one where I am comfortable and can sleep like a normal human being. As such I eat any fruit that I feel like. Given that I am very active and generally ride 400-500km per week (493,000km in 19.5 years) I seem to have no problem with processing the sugars. I have always been a vegetable-aholic and eat way more vege than the average person, especially salads.

At the moment I am devouring huge quantities of green leafy vegetables and red meat, all instinctive eating driven by my incredibly low haemoglobin level which plunged from 129 to 85 in 2 days after a massive hematoma formed in my shoulder/back. Yesterday I had an Iron transfusion to aid my recovery and already feel a bit better. I had to wait 10 days for this from the date that the Hematoma formed (which was incredibly painful, caused me to faint, vomit and sent my Systolic blood pressure to around 50. (I was told this as I was near to a total melt down in ED before being bought back from the brink by some serious drugs)

Normally I eat very little red meat except kangaroo which is incredibly low in fat. Recently the floods in WA have ceased deliveries of kangaroo from the ES so I have been pigging out on lots of red meats including lamb and beef. Normally I rarely eat these, preferring chicken, pork, fish and kangaroo as my bowel can more easily digest these. I've always had low cholesterol, a gift from my Mother's genes. I've never been convinced of the benefits of organic food/bang for buck. Thanks for posting that video!
I've always thought that I could survive on a plant based diet as I really enjoy the vast majority of vegetables, however in my case I have no particular need to do so and eat mostly low fat meat and drink large quantities of Hi-Lo milk. At the moment I am also drinking more fruit juice than normal as the vitamin C helps absorb Fe better from the iron rich foods which I am temporarily targeting. This also helps my bowel to stay active!

BTW. a friend of mine who is a Botanist doubts the efficacy of leaching cruciferous vegetables with NaHCO₃.

[Nobody]

I found the video below somewhat enlightening. The more informative section is from about 10 minutes on.



It appears that he has a conscience problem with his occupation and the damage it's doing to people's health. Hence the path he appears to be going down now. Knowing what I know now, I couldn't be part of most food production industries, the medical industry, or the pharmacutical industry. There are probably a bunch of others like restaurant/take aways too - which incidently is my extended family's business. I also spent some time growing up an a fat lamb farm. Many farming industries I couldn't be involved with. Not only because of the animals' treatment, but the harm their end products do to people. Fortunately for me, my employment is unrelated to food and diet - much to the disappointment of my father who wanted me to be a famer - so I can speak freely.

Also I don't agree with his ideology that health foods have to compete with processed foods on taste. That may be beneficial for the initial move away from a poor diet with stepping stone foods etc. But it won't give the best health results over the long term. Better to allow one's taste to adjust to blander natural foods over time and get healthier faster.

[Nobody]

Resin type coatings on fruit & veg. Too early to say what health detriments may appear in the future from this, if any. Probably best to avoid for optimum health if you're going to eat the skin. Like almost all artificial/processed products, I can't see it being good for the microbiome.

[Nobody]

Lately I've been toing and froing with posting a number of videos or articles on subjects like the intake of total fat, oils, omega 6:3 ratio, fruit, sodium, EPA/DHA supplementation etc. All the harder stuff to quantify for optimum health that many of the experts disagree on.

This latest video touches on a few of those subjects. I want to highlight from 10:22 about fruit and in particular Brenda Davis' reply at the end. Pam Popper also agrees with Brenda's assertion about finding no harm in any studies on fruit. So Clement could be wrong or have a business agenda with making a point of difference between himself and everyone else. Clement may turn out to be correct in the end, but to me it's looking less likely. If fruit really is harmful, then why does he offer fruit at his business Hippocrates twice a week? Surely if it was that harmful he would never offer it. My current leaning is to back the science over Clement.

[Nobody]

"Environment wins", the immediate food environment of the home and the difficult conversations that may need to be had if one has a more addictive personality.



In many households the conversation is going to be too difficult, or agreements won't be reached. In those cases individuals may have to try making a virtual food ownership separation in their mind. To that extent I do my own food shopping, prepare my own food, have my own food storage place, and have a different fridge.

[Nobody]

I'm posting this video because of how it ends.

As usual, scientists like to get reductionist and try to figure out a specific chemical that causes a benefit, rather than taking a more holistic view of the whole plant food. All I want to know is the benefits of specific vegetables and the dose required for inclusion into my diet. As usual, most benefits are obtained by including a range of vegetables in one's diet.

[Nobody]

A reminder that LDL-C matters, triglycerides matter and HDL generally doesn't matter.

[Nobody]

For those who have a environment not conducive to eating healthy because of loved ones.



Not my concern since I act independently to my family. Which is also another way to deal with it. However it required a separate fridge, food storage, and more work.

[Nobody]

The dangers of excess vitamin D supplementation. From 05:50 to about 08:40.



I admit to taking some during the colder months, but 2000 IU and sporadically. I just don't want my levels to get too low. I agree that vitamin D - like many supplements - is usually more dangerous than helpful. I mainly take B12 and iodine these days. But not a lot and not every day. B12 is essential for eating plant only. Iodine because I tested lower in TSH many years ago when not taking it.

Just had a blood test for vitamin D yesterday, so I'll see what that looks like before revising. Most likely I'll choose to keep it lower in the acceptable range. Testing mid spring is probably the best time to know how low one's levels can get.

I'd prefer to keep my vit-D up with sun exposure. Not only for vit-D, but for general immune health. But probably not realistic for a person with a full time job in Sydney (as in s southern city) with only a half hour lunch break.

[Nobody]

This is worth a look. It turns out sugar is the main (only?) problem.



One aspect I noticed since going to whole food is the lack of decay of my already heavily compromised teeth. Generally the only dental work I need these days are reworks of existing fillings. Having said that, a lot of fruit will make by teeth/gums sensitive. Also as I'm getting older and my gums are receding, I find it benificial to interdental brush then rinse after every meal. But I neither floss nor brush my teeth a lot.

[am50em]

I have found using a water flosser to ne the best thing in my terth cleaning routine.

[Nobody]

I have found using a water flosser to ne the best thing in my terth cleaning routine.

Thanks for posting.

Yes I agree, More benefit than general brushing since most cavities occur between teeth. To my knowledge water flossers can replace both floss and interdental brushes. I haven't tried one yet. Interdental brushing is likely more inconspicuous at work at my desk though.

[am50em]

I tried the brushes but water flossing much better. It is messy so its only at home.

[warthog1]

Interdental brushing is likely more inconspicuous at work at my desk though.

I reckon it could be.

[Nobody]

An unusual video and long at almost 25 minutes. Watch if you want to know more about the still ongoing Framingham study. For those who know about the study, it means that salt is still associated with high blood pressure. That total cholesterol over 4.1 mmol/L is actually associated with atherosclerosis. And therefore foods like meat and high fat processed foods are still bad for us. No surprises there.

However the most interesting part about the study is that it showed that being overweight and obese is mainly contageous. Not in the way that it's some kind of virus. But you get it from the influences of your circle of friends and family. In that your social norms of diet, activities and even your perception of normal body weight slowly change over time through these influences. So if you want to have a truely healthy body weight, you need to shield yourself from these influences. Difficult to do or even detect when you're immersed in them. I shield myself from them by valuing my purpose to get healthier over my need to fit in. So the general choice is be unpopular and healthy, or popular and unhealthy.

[Nobody]

Got my blood test on the 7th May. It's getting to the point where I can predict some of the outcomes.

As I went 100% raw about 2 weeks before the test, I new my liver marker ALT would drop. I just didn't know how much. It went from 47 to 22 (range 5 - 40). Much better but still room for improvement.

As I was eating a lot of green leafy veg, I knew my ferritin iron level would climb, but I didn't expect it to more than triple. Ferritin now 110. So the specialist has got me back to 6 monthly visits instead of annually and 3 monthly blood tests.

Predictably white cell count went down to 4.5 from 6.3 (range 4 - 11) which happens when I eat 100% raw. Sometimes as low as 4.1. I've generally found in the distant past that if I ate omnivore it was about 9 range, cooked vegan about 6 or 7 ranges and 100% raw 4 range. So something is going on with my immune system's reaction to the food I eat. Which is the premise the raw food promoters cite to say why raw is better for the immune system and so suits those who are sick.

Vitamin D was a surprise as it was 110 (range 50 - 140). I rarely supplement, not even weekly lately and then only about 2000 IU. But I do make a point of trying to get some sun when I can as it helps the immune system independent of vit-D levels. I've also heard that the leaner people are, generally the better they hang on to vit-D levels. There is something about being overweight which drops vit-D levels, according to Pam Popper anyway.

I'm hopeful that my next blood tests in 3 months time will show further improvement, since I'm not planning to go back to cooked food. It's not easy on my digestion, but I've finally got to a point where I can live with it.