https://www.insider.com/why-plant-based-diets-are-good-for-overall-health-longevity-2019-8?fbclid=IwAR0lCbMQCEFgIeYvflVk3cw_EHB41-25ksrPj47B_cOs7ORHndgcCxflr5o
A new study of 12,168 people suggests that red meat eaters and people on diets high in refined carbs (white bread, sugar) are more likely to die, and more likely to have heart problems, than people who prefer to eat plants.
It's just the latest nail in the coffin for meaty diets, which are consistently linked to long-term health problems and a higher risk of death.
Plant-heavy diets aren't only about eating your vegetables, though: there's plenty of room for healthy fats like olive oil, protein sources including fish, beans, nuts, and seeds, as well as some cheese and chicken.
Eat your vegetables. It's advice anyone's grandmother might be accused of giving too often.
But a new study is providing fresh evidence that the age-old diet tip is sound.
A 29 year look at the eating habits of 12,168 middle-aged adults in the US published in the Journal of the American Heart Association earlier this month suggests that the plant munchers have a leg up over animal gobblers when it comes to long-term health. "People should eat more vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fruits, legumes and fewer animal-based foods," study author Casey Rebholz said in a release.
In the US study, people who reported eating more vegetables and other plants (about 4 to 5 servings a day), and consuming little to no processed or red meat (less than a serving per day) had an average of 18 to 25% lower risk of death than people who routinely fuel up on meat and other animal products instead. The new study — which relied on individual interviews of both white and black adults over the age of 45 who were heart-disease-free when the study started (in 1987) — also found that plant-eaters tended to have healthier hearts: developing fewer heart attacks and strokes, and dying from heart issues less often than others.
Plants can help our bodies fight off deadly diseases
This is just the latest evidence in a long lineup of data that suggests that meats (especially red meat) and other animal products which are high in saturated fats (like lard) are not the best diet staples for a long, healthy life. Other studies have suggested that cutting back to less than half a serving of red meat per day (defined as beef, lamb, or pork) could prevent about 1 in every 10 deaths. Processed meats, which include hot dogs, sausages, bacon, and lunch meats, are especially dangerous for human health, and clearly linked to more early deaths and more cancer cases too.
But this does not mean people must live on carrot sticks and cucumbers alone to be healthy. Mediterranean plant-based diets, which are some of the best for long-term health, include lots of olive oil, nuts and seeds, oily fish like salmon, and some cheese, yogurt, and chicken. Even potatoes, which were considered one of the less healthy plant foods, were associated with longer lives and healthier hearts in this new study.
While meat does provide bodies with lots of protein, there's no fiber in it at all, whereas veggies are notoriously fiber-rich and full of disease-fighting phytochemicals, too. Meaty diets are also not great for the planet, contributing to climate change more than other eating plans.
"It's bad for the person eating it, but also really bad for our children and our grandchildren," Harvard nutrition researcher Dr. Walter Willett recently told Business Insider of a meat-heavy diet plan. "So that's something I think we should totally, strongly advise against. It's — in fact — irresponsible."
(Earlier this month, scientists calculated that if everyone in the US stopped eating beef completely, the carbon footprint benefit would be equivalent to taking 60,000 cars off the road.)
Even though the study authors controlled for factors like age, race, activity and education level, alcohol consumption and smoking status, it is possible that there are other factors influencing the deadly meat-fueled trend besides what people are eating. Still, simply replacing a little meat with more plants each day can make a difference: lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing inflammation, and prompting fewer cases of hanger from blood sugar dips and spikes. Willett, who's been studying healthy eating for over three decades, doesn't suggest people stop eating meat entirely, though. Instead, he says eaters should prioritize protein sources including nuts, oily fish, and beans, while avoiding sugar and sticking to limited quantities of beef, pork, and sausage. - From Insider August 27, 2019
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1.) VEGAN DIETS REVERSE DISEASES - from Scott's Buddhism & Vegetarian Blog
http://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/vegan-diets-reverse-diseases.html
2.) FOODS & ARTHRITIS - PHYSICIANS COMMITTEE for RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE
http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foods-and-arthritis
3.) VEGAN DIETS: FIGHTING ARTHRITIS & CANCER
http://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/arthritis-alternative-medicine.html
4.) PETA PRIME: Can a Plant-Based Diet Cure Cancer?
http://prime.peta.org/2009/12/can-a-plant-based-diet-cure-cancer
5.) VEGAN DIETS FIGHT CANCER! - from the Huffington Post with Kathy Freston http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegan-diet-cancer_b_2250052.html
6.) CLEVELAND HEARTLAB:The evidence for the heart-healthy effects of vegan, vegetarian, and plant-based diets in general just keeps getting stronger. New studies suggest that adopting the principals of plant-based diets could be a smart way to start the New Year.
http://www.clevelandheartlab.com/blog/vegan-plant-based-diets-heart-disease/
7.) THE PLANT - POWERED DIET - scientific reasons to adopt a plant-based diet
http://www.scottsbuddhistiveg.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-plant-based-diet-scientific-reasons.html
8.) PALEO DIET: DEAD LIKE a CAVEMAN
http://www.scottsbuddhistiveg.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-end-of-dieting-in-progress-by-dr.html
9.) KILLING ANIMALS is BAD KARMA
https://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/according-to-eastern-philosophy-humans.html
pg. 59) American Cancer Society Dietary Guidelines
To keep pace with the scientific evidence, the American Cancer Society issued new general nutrition guidelines in 1996 that are consistent with the USDA's food guide pyramid:
* Choose most of your foods from plant sources.
* Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
* Eat several servings from other plant sources (breads, cereals, grains, rice, pasta, beans) each day.
* Limit intake of high-fat foods, particularly from animal sources (saturated fat).
* Limit meats, especially high-fat meats.
*Be physically active; achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
* Be moderately active for 30 minutes or more on most days.
*Limit alcoholic beverages.
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pg. 61) Vegetables fruits, and whole grains contain essential vitamins and minerals as well as hundreds of phytochemicals that may protect against cancer and other chronic diseases such as heart disease.
* Over 200 studies worldwide clearly show that a plant-rich diet lowers the risk for numerous cancers. The key to this protection may be the way nutrients and phytochemicals in foods work together against cancer.
* Avoid or reduce your consumption of fats (especially animal fats), red meat, (beef, pork, and lamb), grilled or overcooked meats, pickled and salt-cured meats, and those in which aflatoxins are present.
*The evidence against food additives and pesticides is not strong - most experts think there's no convincing evidence that these substances are harmful when consumed in amounts typically found in foods. However, an option is to eat organically grown produce.
* Evidence suggests that a diet high in fats may be linked to increased risk of several cancers, including those of the breast, ovary, prostrate, colon, and lungs. Red meats are linked to an increased risk of colon and prostate cancer, and possibly breast and pancreatic cancer. Polyunsaturated or monosaturated fats should be substituted for saturated fats in the diet. Monosaturated fats may offer some advantages. For example, they are less likely to produce free radicals than polyunsaturated fats. Additionally, monosaturated fats such as olive oil may actually have a protective effect against breast cancer and possibly other cancer.
* Emphasizing foods low in fat and high in fiber can significantly reduce your risk of cancer. The USDA Nutrition Facts food label and food guide pyramid are valuable tools that make it easier than ever before to select health-smart foods.
pg.67) Observational studies suggest that foods high in vitamin E, beta-carotene and vitamin C provide strong preventive effects against a wide variety of cancers.The much fewer studies of single nutrients in supplement form have not shown the same across-the-board benefit, but some of them have shown protective effects against specific cancers.
Of the nutrients in supplement form, vitamin E, selenium, and multivitamin formulations appear to be the most effective cancer preventives. Other vitamins and minerals believed to possess some degree of cancer-preventive effects include folic acid, vitamin D, calcium, and molybdenum.
pg.68) Vitamin E: Helpful Both As a Supplement and in Food
Vitamin E (tocopherol), a potent fat-soluble antioxidant, shows the strongest cancer-preventive among the supplemental nutrients. Scientists think vitamin E may defend cell membranes and DNA against damage caused by oxygen free radicals. Vitamin E also appears to bolster the immune system, which may play a significant role in cancer prevention. Vitamin E and other antioxidants such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, and selenium appear to work as a team.
What is the Scientific Evidence for Vitamin E?
Vitamin E in supplement form appears to significantly lower the risk of prostate cancer, as well as protect against cancers of the colon, mouth, and throat. Consumption of vitamin-E rich foods is associated with a lower risk for cancers of the colon, stomach, mouth, throat, esophagus (food tube) liver, and breast.
pg.) 69 Positive results for various cancers have been found for dietary vitamin E. In Finland, a study of 36,265 adults found that a diet low in vitamin E increased the overall cancer risk by 50%.
Positive results have also been found for vitamin E in supplemental form. In a study of 11,178 elderly individuals (the group at highest cancer risk), those who reported taking vitamin E had a 59% reduction in cancer deaths. After adjustments for alcohol use, smoking history, aspirin use, and other medical conditions, the results still stood.
pg. 70) Prostate Cancer
Results from the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC), a major chemoprevention intervention trial, showed that vitamin E in supplement form exhibited a significant preventive effect against prostate cancer in men who smoked.
The trial followed more than 29,000 male smokers in Finland who took supplements of either 50 mg of synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol), 20 mg beta-carotene, both, or a placebo (inactive pill) daily for 5 to 8 years. This study is exciting because it is an intervention trial in which participants took vitamin E supplements under controlled conditions.
Those taking 50 mg of dl-alpha-tocopherol (about 55 IU of synthetic vitamin E) daily for 5 to 8 years had a 32% lower incidence of prostate cancer and 41% fewer prostate cancer deaths. Surprisingly, positive results came soon after the start of supplementation. Prostate cancer grows very slowly, and this suggests that vitamin E might block the progression of the disease to a more dangerous stage. It's possible that vitamin E supplementation may work even better in nonsmokers, but we don't know this for sure.
pg. 71) Colon Cancer
The ATBC study also found that vitamin E supplementation reduced the risk of colon cancer by 16%. Again, the ATBC study was a controlled intervention trial, the type of study that yields the most dependable results.
Another supplemental study, though not an intervention trial, found vitamin E even more effective. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle determined that supplemental vitamin E (200 IU or more daily) cut colon cancer risk by 57% compared to those not taking vitamins. Interestingly, a daily multivitamin supplement lowered the risk by almost as much - 51%. The risk was also lowered in people taking supplements of vitamins A, C, folic acid, and calcium, but not as much.
An analysis of the Iowa Women's Study Cohort found that foods high in vitamin E significantly reduced the risk of colon cancer in women under age 65. This effort was part of a larger study of breast cancer funded by the National Cancer Institute. The study of 35,215 women ages 55 to 69 found that those with the highest dietary intake of vitamin E had the greatest protection. The protective effect was marginal for those over age 65. Results broke down like this: Women ages 55 to 59 showed the greatest benefit - an 84% lower risk; women ages 60 to 64 had a 63% lower risk; and women; and women ages 65 to 69 had a 7% lower risk. Women under age 55 were not studied.
Dosage
pg. 73) The recommended daily value for vitamin E is 30 IU. The optimal dose of vitamin E for cancer prevention has not been determined, but a recent study analysis found that 50 mg of synthetic vitamin E (about 55 IU) daily for 5 to 8 years reduced the incidence of prostate cancer by 32% and colon cancer by 16%.
pg. 74) Food sources, listed in general order of higher to lower vitamin E content, include wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, hazelnuts, safflower oil, peanuts, cod-liver oil, peanut butter, corn oil, corn oil margarine, lobster, salmon, soybean oil, and pecans. Unlike with vitamin C and beta-carotene, it is more difficult to get large amounts of vitamin E from your diet (most people get 3 to 15 IU daily from the diet). Except for wheat germ oil (about 36 IU per tablespoon).
Safety Issues
Vitamin E has an excellent safety record. Relatively large doses of vitamin E have been taken for extended periods without apparent harm. Most adults tolerate doses of up to 1,000 IU daily without adverse effects.
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What is the scientific Evidence for Selenium?
pg. 77) Selenium in supplemental form has been associated with a lower risk of cancers of the prostate, colorectal, and lung, as well as a substantial reduction in cancer deaths. Dietary sources of selenium are associated with a lower risk for cancers of the esophagus and stomach.
After reviewing the cancer research on selenium, the Food and Nutrition Board's Committee on Diet and Health stated that "Low selenium intakes or decreased selenium concentrations in the blood are associated with increased risk of cancer in humans." The National Research Council said, "A large accumulation of evidence indicates that supplementation of the diet or drinking water with selenium protects against tumors induced by a wide variety of chemical carcinogens."
Cancers of Prostate, Lung, Colon, and Rectum
pg. 78) Selenium shows promise in preventing prostate, lung, colon, and rectal cancers. In a large intervention trial, people who took supplemental selenium had a 37% decrease in prostate, colorectal, and lung cancers as well as a 50% reduction in cancer deaths. That was the unexpected discovery of this 10-year trial on prevention of skin cancer, as reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Breast Cancer
pg.79) In studies involving women, the Nurses' Health Study analyzed toenail clippings (reflecting selenium intake) collected from 62,641 female nurses and found no link between selenium intake and cancer. Similarly, a 3.3 year prospective Dutch study of 62,573 women found no associations between dietary selenium and breast cancer.
What do these results mean? One possible interpretation is that selenium is not as important in women as in men. Another may be that the benefits of selenium depend on taking amounts greater than nutritional doses.
Dosage
The recommended daily value for selenium is 70 mcg in men and 50 to 55 mcg in women. It is not difficult to obtain this level from the diet, and most multivitamin-mineral supplements contain selenium. A cancer-preventive dosage is undetermined, but the usual recommended supplemental dose is 50 to 200 mcg daily. In children this may be reduced to 1.6 mcg per pound of body weight.
Grains are an excellent food source of selenium. Food sources, in order of higher to lower selenium content (111 mcg to 39 mcg per 100 gram serving) are wheat germ, Brazil nuts, oats, whole-wheat bread, bran, barley, orange juice, turnips, garlic, brown rice. The amount in foods varies according to selenium content of the soil from which they come.
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1.) FOODS & ARTHRITIS - PHYSICIANS COMMITTEE for RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE
http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foods-and-arthritis
2.) VEGAN DIETS: FIGHTING ARTHRITIS & CANCER
http://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/arthritis-alternative-medicine.html
3.) PETA PRIME: Can a Plant-Based Diet Cure Cancer?
http://prime.peta.org/2009/12/can-a-plant-based-diet-cure-cancer
4.) VEGAN DIETS FIGHT CANCER! - from the Huffington Post with Kathy Freston http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegan-diet-cancer_b_2250052.html
5.) VEGAN DIETS REVERSE DISEASES - from Scott's Buddhism & Vegetarian Blog
http://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/vegan-diets-reverse-diseases.html
6.) A NEW 29-YEAR STUDYof 12,168 PEOPLE: Latest Nail in the Coffin for Meaty Diets
https://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-new-study-of-12168-people-suggests.html
7.) THE PLANT - POWERED DIET - scientific reasons to adopt a plant-based diet
http://www.scottsbuddhistiveg.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-plant-based-diet-scientific-reasons.html
8.) PALEO DIET: DEAD LIKE a CAVEMAN
http://www.scottsbuddhistiveg.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-end-of-dieting-in-progress-by-dr.html
9.) KILLING ANIMALS is BAD KARMA
https://scottsbuddhismveg.blogspot.com/2017/09/according-to-eastern-philosophy-humans.html
