When the Option of Eating a Healthy Diet becomes a Necessity

Thyroid - Mayo Clinic

Well, it's official. Getting old sucks! Sigh.

I went to get some routine lab work done in March and my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) levels were a bit high but my T3 and T4 levels were still good. Some follow-up tests revealed that my Thyroperoxidase Ab levels are elevated. All of that basically means that I am likely heading for hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) due to an auto-immune disorder called Hashimoto's Disease. 

Bugger.

This is not all that surprising. My mother has Grave's Disease (an auto immune disorder that leads to hyperthyroidism - an overactive thyroid). I have two first cousins who have Hashimoto's Disease (both on my maternal side). My grandmother and one of her sisters also had thyroid issues. So, I've been getting my TSH levels checked regularly for several years and they've always been good. But no more.

Hypothyroidism symptoms can include: loss of appetite, lack of concentration, difficulty sleeping, reduced motivation, mood swings, a short temper, depression and excessive stress. And yes, I'm ticking a bunch of those boxes already. I was putting it down to the pandemic but... perhaps there is more going on than just the pandemic blues and blahs.

My doctor wanted to put me on synthetic thyroid meds but I wanted to hold off and see a naturopath first. She's already got me eating two Brazil nuts a day (Selenium), making sure I get enough iodine (iodized table salt or seaweed nibbles), Omega 3 oils (algae oil) and a few other things. I'm sure that there's more that the naturopath is going to recommend, now that we've got the Thyroperoxidase Ab results...

In the meantime, I'm going to be picking the brains of my cousins as to what I can do to slow the progression. And... doing a tonne of research on the internet.

As it turns out, diet plays a huge role in controlling Hashimoto flare-ups. Things like gluten, sugar, dairy and processed/refined foods should be eliminated. That includes chocolate.

***crickets chirping***

Noooo... not chocolate! Yup, chocolate... sigh. I know that my cousins are on a pretty strict diet - no gluten and no dairy. But I missed the memo on sugar. And processed/refined foods.

Luckily, our mostly whole food, plant based diet aligns quite nicely with what dietitians recommend for Hashimoto sufferers... Still... some people go for a gluten free diet (no wheat, rye, barley). Others go for a grain free diet (no oats or buckwheat or amaranth or millet). Some go dairy free. Some go sugar free. Some go Paleo.

Others opt instead to focus on eating as healthy and nutrient dense of a diet as possible:

• leafy greens, such as kale and spinach
• fatty fish, including salmon
• a variety of coloured vegetables, such as brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, beets, and red, yellow, and orange peppers
• fruits, including berries, apples, and bananas
• healthful fats, including avocado and walnuts
• lean proteins, including tofu, eggs, nuts, beans, and fish
• fibrous foods, including beans and legumes
  

Healthy vegetables
(Image by congerdesign from Pixabay)

We're holding to that pretty closely, except for the fish and eggs. We also eat a variety of whole grains sooo.. .time will tell if I get to keep those in my diet or not. Right now, I'm more concerned about the sugar. We've been on a bit of a junk food kick lately (chocolate and chips and cookies) which (a) has not done much for my waistline reduction project and (b) does not adhere to our "whole foods" plan. But maybe this thyroid stuff is just the sort of thing that will encourage me to kick refined sugars and processed foods to the curb for good.

Exploring Tofu, Tempeh and Seitan

 If you're going to go whole-food, plant-based... you are likely going to come across three "meat alternatives": tofu, tempeh and seitan. And... just so you don't freak out... it's pronounced say-tan NOT say-ten or say-tun or sayt-in. Seitan is NOT evil personified. A very small but important phonetic difference!

Tofu

Going into this whole-food, plant-based eating thing... we kind of knew that we would eventually need to incorporate tofu into our diet. But... we had had a bad experience with a recipe that called for frying up a slab of tofu (basically half of a tofu block). It was a gross textural experience. Never to be repeated... or so we thought.

But... if you dice up tofu into 1 cm (or so) cubes, dust them with some corn starch and then fry them up... they are quite palatable... especially if you bury them in a curry or stir fry. You could almost think they were just a chunk of well-cooked, tender chicken. Almost...

We kind of actually like tofu now... but there are a few caveats... get the Extra-Firm Tofu... unless you are planning to make a dessert. Some people say you need to get a tofu press and squeeze out all of the extra moisture but... we just pat ours dry with a paper towel and run with it. Adding the dusting of corn starch also tends to help reduce the moisture. And... you can now buy pre-pressed tofu - the ones I've seen look like four smaller squares of tofu shrink-wrapped in plastic with no liquid bath. Drying out the tofu basically ensures that it will crisp up nicely in the frying pan instead of just turn into a sad, soft disaster.

We eat tofu at least once a week... sometimes twice if we have leftovers.

Tempeh

We discovered tempeh thanks to a FreshPrep (a meal service) recipe - General Tso Style Tempeh. I was a bit skeptical about this recipe once I opened the package of tempeh. What were the black flecks in there? Apparently just a normal part of the aging process of this fermented soy bean cake. Basically... good mold.

Ick.

But... I soldiered on with the recipe and didn't show my partner the uncooked tempeh... or the black flecks. Sometimes too much information can be a bad thing!

The final product was... absolutely amazing. We ate it gingerly at first... with our lips pulled back... nibbling tentatively at the chunks of tempeh. But... oh my god... it was super yummy!! The texture was more substantial than tofu and made for a more interesting eating experience. We gave that recipe 10+ out of 10!

I have since made the recipe again, on my own... FreshPrep helpfully includes all the measurements of the various ingredients in their recipes. The stumbling block was finding the tempeh. I had seen some nestled next to the tofu in our local grocery store's produce section. But when I wanted to buy it... there was none. What was there was flavoured tempeh in various processed forms... bacon tempeh, etc. Not what I was looking for. Another grocery chain also had none... nor did Superstore. But... I struck pay dirt when I visited the local health food store. They had four different varieties of tempeh cakes! Some in the cooler and some in the freezer. Yay!

I made the General Tso Style Tempeh recipe and... it was as scrumptious as the original. I delved into the internet and dug up several other tempeh recipes for us to try. I can see this being another one of our weekly staples... now that I know where to buy it... and that it can be frozen!

Seitan

We now come to the great unknown... seitan. What the heck is this stuff? It is made from vital wheat gluten... so if you suffer from celiac disease or are gluten intolerant... this is not for you. But... for those of us who can eat wheat gluten, it could be a serious game changer. Vital wheat gluten is 75-80% protein... so you can see why seitan would make a great meat-alternative.

Buying seitan in the store (if you can find it... and I haven't found it yet...) means you are paying a premium price. It is, apparently, not cheap. You'll also find things like Tofurky sausages which have vital wheat gluten as one of their primary ingredients... also not what I am looking for. We don't want to trade one type of processed food for another... if we can help it.

While seitan might be ridiculously expensive to buy... it turns out that it is quite easy to make... or so the internet says (here's one recipe). You just buy some powdered vital wheat gluten... mix it up with some water.... knead the resulting dough... simmer it in some sort of broth (for flavour)... and.. voila... seitan fit for a queen.

Seitan is the thing that is apparently most meat-like in texture and flavour (depending on your seasoning) and mouth-feel. I seriously want to try this stuff and just need to hunt down some vital wheat gluten. We could make beef style seitan... or chicken style seitan... mmm... shish-kabobs!

The thing I like about home-made seitan is... you know exactly what goes into the flavouring... be it soy sauce or miso or mushrooms or whatever. And, if you make too much... the remainder can be frozen. What's not to like?

Sooo... on my next foray to the health food store... I am going to have a look and see if pre-made seitan exists and... if I can find some vital wheat gluten... Down the baking aisle I think...

Stay tuned for our experiment with seitan! (Ya just really gotta watch how you pronounce that...)

But... do you get enough protein?

Powerful Protein

One of the biggest questions/worries/comments I get as a non-consumer of animal protein is... "Where do you get your protein? Do you get enough protein?" It's an old argument and one that isn't entirely accurate. You see... most North Americans get more than enough protein... but there is no need to hit 100 grams of protein/day. Actually... 50 grams of protein/day is enough for the average woman and 60 grams of protein/day for the average man. If you're an ultra-marathoner, you might need more... but that's not me...

 So... where do I get my protein? Let's look at an average meal plan:

Breakfast (standard)

• oatmeal (rolled oats) (1/2 cup dry) - 6 grams of protein
  
• walnuts (1 oz) - 6 grams of protein
• berries ( 1 cup) - 1 gram of protein
• cinnamon (1 tsp) - 0.1 grams of protein
• hemp hearts (1 Tbsp) - 4 grams of protein
• ground flax seed (1 Tbsp) - 1.3 grams of protein
• soy milk (1 cup) - 7 grams of protein
  
• baked beans (1/2 cup) - 6 grams of protein
  
• nutritional yeast (2 Tbsp) - 11 grams of protein

Let's see... 6+6+1+0.1+4+1.3+7+6+11= 42.4 grams of protein... just for breakfast.

Just to compare... scrambled eggs (3 eggs) and bacon (6 slices) have 13 grams of protein (and 0 grams fibre). Add two pancakes for another 5 grams of protein (and 0 grams of fibre). And a glass of 2% milk for 8 grams of protein (and 0 grams of fibre). We're even! Yay! But then... we'd have to talk sugars and saturated fats and... well... I don't think we want to go there today. You get the picture I think... Gram for gram... I can meet the protein requirements. And no... we don't supplement with protein powders... we don't need them. If ever we become marathoners... we'll supplement with protein powders...

Oh... and in case you're wondering... you've likely heard that animal proteins are considered "complete" proteins which means they have all the amino acids that we need. A one stop shop, so to speak. The terms "complete" and "incomplete "are a bit misleading though. Plant-based foods also contain all of the amino acids we require, just in slightly different proportions. All that means is that we need to eat a mixture of plant-based foods (not just rice and beans)... a varied diet... some legumes, some whole grains, some soy products, some nuts.

And no... soy products do not mess with your estrogen... that's another fallacy. Eating three servings of soy products/day (every day) is perfectly fine.

Another interesting tidbit... our bodies can only absorb 25 to 40 grams of protein at one sitting... so it's important to spread out our protein consumption. If we eat too much protein (like half a chicken - 80 grams of protein)... it gets stored as fat... and the excess amino acids get excreted...

Anyhow... back to my average daily meal plan...

Lunch (an example - the salad is standard... the "main" dish varies)

• salad
• dark leafy greens (2 cups) - 6 grams of protein
• tomatoes (100 grams) - 1 gram of protein
• cucumber (50 grams) - 0.4 grams of protein
• radishes (2 medium) - 0.2 grams of protein
• grapes (1/2 cup) - 0.2 grams of protein
• kohlrabi (1/4 cup) - 1 gram of protein
• red lentil curry on top of farro
• red lentils (1/2 cup cooked) - 9 grams of protein (protein powerhouse!)
• onions & tomatoes in curry - 0.5 grams (guesstimate)
• farro (1/2 cup cooked) - 4 grams of protein (better than rice - same as quinoa)

Let's tally up lunch - 6+1+0.4+0.2+0.2+1+9+0.5+4= 22.3 grams of protein

So... let's see... that's... 64.7 grams of protein for breakfast and lunch. Boom... mic drop.

Protein for an herbivore ain't a problem if... IF... you eat a whole food, plant based diet. Toss in a bunch of white bread and pizza dough and potatoes instead of the oatmeal, soy milk, beans, nutritional yeast, dark leafy greens, lentils and farro and... the protein falls through the floor.

Fabulous Fibre

The bigger issue is Fibre... Our daily fibre requirement is in the neighbourhood of 30 grams/day... from food... not from supplements. The average North American gets 15 grams of fibre per day... and over 97% of Americans do NOT get enough fibre.

Let's bee clear... meat/fish/dairy/eggs have a great big whopping 0 for fibre. We're not talking about muscle fibres... those are not dietary fibre.

Fibre comes from plants... it's what allows plants to defy gravity and hold their shape. And our gut biomes love fibre, both the soluble and the insoluble types, and if you want anything... you want to keep your little gut biome happy...

Sooo... how does my breakfast and lunch stack up in the fibre department?

Breakfast (standard)

• oatmeal (rolled oats) (1/2 cup dry) - 4 grams of fibre
  
• walnuts (1 oz) - 2 grams of fibre
• berries ( 1 cup) - 3.6 grams of fibre
• cinnamon (1 tsp) - 1.4 grams of fibre
• hemp seed (1 Tbsp) - 0.4 grams of fibre
• ground flax seed (1 Tbsp) - 1.9 grams of fibre
  
• soy milk (1 cup) 1.5 grams of fibre
  
• baked beans (1/2 cup) - 7 grams of fibre
• nutritional yeast (2 Tbsp) - 2.5 grams of fibre

Let's see... 4+2+3.6+1.4+0.4+1.9+1.5+7+2.5= 24.3 grams of fibre... just for breakfast.

Lunch (an example - the salad is standard... the "main" dish varies)

• salad
• dark leafy greens (2 cups) - 6 grams of fibre
• tomatoes (100 grams) - 1.5 grams of fibre
  
• cucumber (50 grams) - 0.2 grams of fibre
• radishes (2 medium) - 0.1 grams of fibre
  
• grapes (1/2 cup) - 0.2 grams of fibre
• kohlrabi (1/4 cup) - 2 grams of fibre
• red lentil curry on top of farro
• red lentils (1/2 cup) - 8 grams of fibre
  
• onions & tomatoes in curry - 0.5 grams of fibre (guesstimate)
• farro (1/2 cup) - 2.5 grams of fibre

Let's tally up lunch - 6+1.5+0.2+0.1+0.2+2+8+0.5+2.5=21 grams of fibre

So... that's 44.3 grams of fibre for breakfast and lunch.

And yes... we do eat our main meal at lunchtime. It dovetails better with the body's circadian rhythm. There's nothing worse than eating in the evening... particularly within four hours of bedtime.

So... what do we have for our evening meal? That varies. Some evenings, I'm just not hungry so I don't eat anything. Some evenings I'll have a few tablespoons of hummus with some veggie sticks (peppers, carrots, cukes, kohlrabi). Some evenings I'll have some peanut butter and mashed berries on top of a slice of pumpernickel style bread. All of which boosts my protein and fibre intake even more.

Sooo... a whole food, plant based diet more than ticks the boxes for protein and fibre. Still not convinced... look at a cow or a bison or a horse or a rhino or an elephant and ask yourself... these strong, muscular herbivores... where do they get their protein from?

Trying Tofu

Tofu. Ick.

No, seriously, I hate tofu. I hate the texture of it. I hate the idea of it... soft, tasteless, dissolve in your mouth ickiness.

I am not a big fan of tofu.

I know I've eaten it because I've had lots of Thai food that has snuck tofu in under the radar. "Wait... was that a piece of chicken... that didn't feel like chicken... ick!". I never got to the point of doing a seek pick-out mission in my Pad Thai... not like I would do with mushrooms. I just tried to pretend it wasn't there...

And, going whole-food, plant-based... well... you know tofu and I were due to have a show-down. I know it's a great source of protein but I had also heard all sorts of horror stories about it mucks with your hormones and causes breast cancer. So... I kept a wide berth around tofu. We could just eat legumes... yes... lots and lots of legumes.

Last fall, we tried a meal delivery service and... one of their meals was sesame-crusted tofu. We thought... let's give it a try... it can't be that bad.

Just take a hunk of tofu, cut it in half horizontally... coat it with sesame seeds and fry it up. Easy... and it looked tasty on the picture (at left). Right?? Looks good, doesn't it! But... photos can lie...

As we tried our first bite of pillowy tofu... both of us looked at each other. "Umm... not the greatest... let's try another few bites." After two bites, my partner couldn't take it anymore. I think I made it halfway through my slab of tofu but... eventually even I had to admit defeat. We looked at the poor, sad tofu... then at each other and both agreed... "Let's go get take-out burgers". That was our one and only fail with that particular meal delivery service.

Fast forward nine months and we are trying another meal delivery service... one that offers animal-protein-free options (i.e. vegan). And... as part of that... they use a lot of tofu. We were a bit skeptical but... a friend of ours who eats plant-based had said that the trick with tofu is to cut it into cubes and then stir-fry it... make it nice and golden and crispy. This new meal delivery service seemed to use that method. So... we sucked up our courage and tried again.

The first meal we had from this new meal delivery service was a teriyaki stir fry with tofu... and... cue the music... it was amazing. We both licked our plates. What the heck?? It was easy to cook... and... it was yummy and, since it used extra-firm tofu, we could almost convince ourselves that it was a piece of well-cooked chicken. (see pic below) Yum!

We dove into tofu recipes with both feet and have tried different options... some from the meal delivery service and some from home.

Last week we made a Yellow Thai Coconut Curry with potatoes, carrots and tofu. It is one of our favourite meals from Thai restaurants and we thought... we'll try it at home, except, instead of chicken, we'll make it with tofu. It was seriously scrumptious.

Now... I know what you're thinking. Our massage therapist expressed the same concerns... tofu is bad. It mucks with your hormones and causes breast cancer.

No.

You would need to eat boat loads of tofu and drink tanker trunks full of soy milk to get those sorts of problems. In moderation (like all things), one or two servings of soy products (soy milk, tofu, edamame beans, etc) per day is beneficial. And, like most things, try and get soy in the least processed form... the more processed it is... the worse it can be (like all foods).

When I met with a dietician last fall, she recommended soy products for menopausal hot flashes. I asked her about the "dangers" of soy products and she told me what I just told you. For those interested, Runner's World has a nice overview of the whole soy debate. There are other articles out there but I liked this one because it was fairly comprehensive and accurate.

Now... the one thing with stir-frying tofu is... it has to be fried in oil... which isn't great so... we are going to pull back the reins of this method of consuming soy and restrict ourselves to once or twice a week. We still have our excellent stable to legume recipes and are going to treat stir-fried tofu recipes (like Yellow Thai Coconut Curry and Pad Thai) as treats... Sigh...

Film - Vegan 2019

Why go plant-based and animal protein free? So many reasons... some of which you may know... and some of which you may not. The film Vegan 2019 (on YouTube) offers a 51 minute summary of why...

The first bit looks at meat-substitute products like Beyond Meat and Impossible Meat which are going after the > 1 trillion dollar meat industry. There is quite a bit about how meat-free options are exploding into the market - from fast-food to corner stores to grocery stores to restaurants. The thing that kept coming to me is this... processed food... be it vegan or not... is not good for you. And... watch long enough and the film brings that forward as well. While processed vegan might be less harmful than processed non-vegan... it still can be harmful.

And then the film touches on the shift in dietary and nutritional recommendations, specifically mentioning Canada's new food guide which eliminated dairy and focused on plant-based foods. Despite the move toward veganism, there is push-back from carnivores (calling vegans fascists). But, even that push-back has made us aware of where our meat comes from, and the price that is paid, not just be animals, but by the earth, to feed our meat addiction.

The film even has several clips about Great Thunberg and her fight against the climate crisis. She is passionate about this... and the point that is brought forward is that the time for talking and discussing is done. It's time for action.

The 2019 film, The Game Changers, opened the floodgates for all sorts of athletes, body builders, actors, musicians and other celebrities coming out as vegans. And, not surprisingly, there was push-back from livestock producers, trying to promote their meat as healthy (grass-fed beef). And yet... grass-feed beef has an even bigger environmental impact than factory farming. Producers also tried to challenge some of the language used... arguing that the veg industry should not be able to use the words like "burger" and "milk". In Australia, the meat industry even tried to make a case for not using the word "slaughter" with regards to animals. Instead, they wanted to just used the word "process"... that animals are processed into food products. Riiiighhhhttt... And all of that just made the meat industry look desperate.

And let's be really clear here... getting enough protein is NOT the issue. Herbivores get lots of protein from the plants that they eat. And so can we. Ever seen the muscles on a rhino? They didn't get those by eating meat... but by eating plants. The bigger issue for the average North American is getting enough fibre. And fibre ONLY comes from plants... none from meat. And no... muscle fibre is NOT the fibre we are talking about.

The USDA dietary guidelines committee met to discuss the US food guidelines for 2020 and... the meat industry fought back... and all that does is lead to confusion. And then... in Europe... NFI developed a personalized diet which helped patients integrate plant-based nutrition and reversed Type 2 diabetes.

The film then looks at Fair Oak Farms which was like the Disneyland of agricultural farming. The film saw millions of people tour the farm and then... in 2019... abuse at the farm was exposed by an undercover animal rights group. Livestock farming is not a happy Disneyland experience... they are horrific, abusive places where sentient beings are tortured and slaughtered.

The year 2019 was also a huge year for fires, not only in Australia, but also in Brazil. Deforestation is a major problem and all of it to create farms to raise cows for people to eat. Many of the fires in the Amazon are set deliberately by cattle farmers... The thing to recall is... we are all in a burning building. 

Can we change fast enough though?

I found this film to be pretty good, even if there were short ads every 10 minutes. The world is changing and this gave me hope that we can make a difference, each one of us. The future is plant-based whole-foods... and, having been a rabid carnivore, I am continually surprised at how easy the transition was... if I can do it... anyone can do it...

The Great 2020 Meat Give-away

We gave away all of the meat in our freezer yesterday. We had been holding onto it during the height of Covid-19, just in case, you know, the entire society collapsed and we ran out of beans and needed to trade meat for canned tomatoes, or something. But... the meat is getting a bit old in there now (+6 months) soooo... it's time to let it go.

I never thought it would come to this. We have been holding to a whole food plant based eating plan (not a diet) for the last 6 months and... it's been going remarkably well. Far better than I had expected. As a dyed in the wool carnivore... I didn't expect it to be this easy but... it has been. Oh sure, we have our slip-ups... like milk chocolate. Trying to avoid all animal protein products can be a bit of a challenge - and yes, that includes, eggs, dairy and fish. For example, we are currently using up the last mayonnaise jar in our fridge. It seemed a waste to just toss it... and so we use it up. But we won't buy any more egg-based mayonnaise once this jar is done. But we haven't  slipped up elsewhere - no meat, no fish, no cheese, no milk, no yogurt. We're still alive and it seems unlikely we are going to return to the carnivore/omnivore camp soo... it was time to let go of the meat.

We asked a senior couple if they would like to have our meat and they leapt at the opportunity. So yesterday, they cam over with a small cooler... not quite big enough for what we had in the little freezer. Luckily, they were headed straight home after their shopping bonanza so a rubbermaid tote with blankets served as a substitute cooler. What did they leave with?

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 double rack of baby back ribs
• 1 salmon
• 2 fillet of sole
• 10 zip-loc bags with two chicken breasts in each bag
• 6 packages of sausages
• 2 packages of bacon
• 4 burger patties
• 1/2 bag of prawns
• 2 shoulder blade roasts
• 4 pork tenderloin

And, voila, our little freezer was almost empty! Which is a good thing because... it's raspberry season.... and blackberry season isn't far behind. In a good year, we can have quite a haul of frozen berries in our freezer... Not to mention the fall harvest of apples cooked into apple sauce. Oh sure, we could can the apple sauce but sometimes... it's just easier to freeze it.

Soo... win-win situation - our meat went to a good home and we now have freezer space for food items more suited to our plant based palate.

The Price of Animal Protein

Environmental Impact of the Livestock Industry

Livestock farming produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector (planes, train, ships, cars).

When I read that in a scientific report, I was stunned. The biggest difference I could make in helping the planet was not by trading in our fossil fuel vehicle for an electrical vehicle. No, the biggest difference would be cutting out animal protein - not just meat, but dairy and eggs as well.

I struggled with that. As a carnivore, I've been in a constant state of negotiation the last few months. Maybe we could cut out meat and keep dairy and eggs? Maybe?

The thing is... it's not just the greenhouse gas emissions... it's the amount of water used, it's the pollution generated and... it's the health impacts on humans as well.

• 30% of the planet's ice-free surface is used for livestock production - that includes all the land used to raise feed crops for livestock.
• 75% of the world's agricultural land is devoted to livestock production
• 40% of the planet's fresh water is used in livestock production. One kilogram of beef requires 15,000 litres of water. That one hamburger from A&W used 2000 litres of water.
• The average American eats 240 lbs of meat/year. The average Bangladeshi eats 4 lbs of meat/year. The global average is 80 lbs/year.
• All of those resources produce only 18% of the calories that we eat

This is huge... but I could try and argue that we need protein soooo... it's a necessary evil? Nope... that one is shot out of the water as well. Most of us exceed the daily recommended allowance of protein. In fact, only 3% of Americans have a protein-deficiency. Most of us get more than enough... in fact... most of us get more than enough JUST from eating the plant-based foods in our diet. Yup, plants contain protein... and if we eat a moderately balanced diet... even without animal protein... a protein deficiency is not the problem.

Meat is the new Tobacco

The real kicker for me was to learn this little tidbit which often gets buried under a bunch of misinformation from American lobby groups (cattlemen's association, dairy farmers, egg producers...). Ready?

Eating animal protein has been linked to higher incidence of:

• heart disease (clogged arteries)
• diabetes (surprise... sugar is not the primary culprit)
• cancer (including breast, colorectal and prostate)
• osteoporosis (go figure)
• infertility (erectile dysfunction is one of the biggest indicators of heart disease)
• obesity (wow)

And it's not just because some meat is high in saturated fat. Oh no... it's the actual animal protein and the heme iron contained in animal protein. So "lean" meat like chicken doesn't sidestep this argument... nor do dairy or egg products. Basically, eating animal protein (from whatever source) increases inflammation and cholesterol in the body. And processed meat is exceedingly bad (bacon, hotdogs, salami, ham, etc. - sigh, good-bye salami).

That woke me up because I'm dealing with high cholesterol. I was cutting out red meat because it was high in saturated fat. And watching what oil we used for cooking. But... if I really want to get a grip on it... I'm going to have to step up my game. Cause there is no way I want to go on a statin... they've got serious issues.

And so... I say goodbye to animal proteins. I had planned to "eat the freezer" and clear out the chicken, ribs and sausages that we had purchased before our light bulb moment. But at this point... I really don't think that's in my best interests. So we are going to canvas our friends and see if they want to have any of our disease-generating animal protein.

My LDL over the last 5 years - vertical axis is:
Low - Mean - High - scary zone

At the end of September, my cholesterol numbers were as follows:

• Total Cholesterol - 7.1 (normal is 2.00 to 5.19)
• LDL Cholesterol - 4.98 (normal is 1.50-3.40 - this is the bad cholesterol)
• HDL Cholesterol - 1.48 (normal is > 1.19 - this is the good cholesterol)
• Trigylcerides - 1.40 (normal is < 2.21)

I'm going to get tested again at the end of February because... you see... their is some good news and hope in all of this. The human body is an amazing thing and... people have reduced their cholesterol significantly after just one week on a whole-food plant-based diet. I'm going to give it a bit longer than that... just to add some buffer.

Canada's latest food guide - looks different, eh?

I told my doctor that we are moving towards a plant-based diet and reducing/eliminating meat consumption and he rolled his eyes at that. He argues that the only diet shown to have a benefit is the Mediterranean diet. That's fine... but I also spoke with my nutritionist at the hospital and she heartily supports the plant-based diet. Given that most doctors get less than 8 hours of nutrition education... I think I'll go with the nutritionist on this one.


I'm kind of amazed at the realisation that eliminating animal protein from our diet can benefit:

• our health - heart disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, etc
• the planet's health - land degradation, water, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions
• animals - at least 480 lbs (240 lbs x 2) worth out of the 50 billion animals killed every year
• our pocketbook - meat is darn expensive... especially the healthier cuts

That seems like a triple WIN to me... I realize that we are just two people but... that is two Small Steps in a different direction. Our capitalist society runs on supply and demand... Usually, the marketing boffins convince us that we need to increase our demand of whatever thing they are supplying/selling... But what if we actually made a different choice and reduced our demand. Theoretically this is a two-way street and we can make a difference... Remember...

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)

And... stay tuned for my updated blood work at the end of the month.


P.S. While our whole-foods (NOT processed), plant-based diet may look vegan, I'm not calling it vegan. There is a lot of stuff that is attached to that word... do we have leather shoes, belts, notebooks, couches? And there are a lot of people out there happy to act as the Vegan Police and point out all sorts of offenses and slip-ups...

P.P.S. What about iron, vitamin B12, Omega-3 and other possible nutritional deficiencies? Stay-tuned for another blog post. I will leave you with this tidbit... Remember that only 3% of Americans have a protein deficiency? Well 97% of Americans have a fiber deficiency... and fiber is only found in plants... and is essential for our little gut biome... but that too is another blog post!