Portfolio Diet: The Solution To Cholesterol

First I would like to say thanks to my wife Kate - and to Maria Micallef from SLM. I must say are both are in the ‘middle of the road’ when it comes to diet, each takes a moderate approach, whereas I am ‘in your face’ sometimes - I say that with a smile.

They have both made me realise that people love a fad or gimmick when to comes to health – or as they call it in TV magazine land ‘weight loss’, so hey, let’s get on board.

So what if there was a combination of foods that was as effective at lowering LDL cholesterol as prescription drugs? Would it be worth adding some new foods to what you eat each day to avoid medication? I have come across a study about a new diet plan known as the Portfolio Diet. It’s really the same plan as I use for all my clients. It shows that various foods, such as nuts, soy protein, oat bran, and plant sterols all can have a cholesterol-lowering effect.

This is what the latest in a series of research studies that Dr. Jenkins from the University of Toronto shows. Studies have previously shown that various foods, such as nuts, soy protein, oat bran, and plant sterols all can have a cholesterol-lowering effect. But what if you combined all these foods together? Dr. Jenkins’ latest research shows that combining all these foods together is as effective as taking a statin drug. The results showed a 30.9% decrease in LDL cholesterol from the statin and a decrease of 28.2% from the portfolio combination of all these foods.

Dr. Jenkins is calling this a dietary portfolio, but it’s becoming known as ‘The Portfolio Diet’. The concept is to add all of these foods, in a type of portfolio plan, like investments, to cover all possibilities for better heart health.

As to my plan - the Transformation Plan - I hate the word diet but I guess let go along with it. My ‘diet’ is not intended to be a weight loss diet, although the concepts for weight loss and lowered cholesterol could certainly be combined, with proper education and guidance by a qualified nutrition expert.

What is the Portfolio Diet?

Just follow these guidelines:

1. Substitute soy foods for meat. Drink soy milk instead of milk and substitute soy protein foods for other meats.

2. Eat as much ‘sticky’ fibre as possible. People in the study took three daily servings of natural psyllium supplements. Oats and barley replace other grains and preferred vegetables include eggplant and okra. In the Transformation Diet I would like to see potato added as well

3. Include plant sterol-enriched margarines. Plant sterols are also available in capsule form as dietary supplements. I am not a great fan but again, fads.

4. A handful of nuts every day. In the study, almonds were eaten and the Almond Board of California offers Portfolio Diet recipes on its website (look at recipes on http://www.almondboard.com/), but any tree nut will reduce cholesterol. Again, you need to pay attention to the amount. One person’s hand full differs from the next.

Here are some examples of a typical day:

Breakfast – Include soy milk in your portfolio diet, oat bran cereal with chopped fruit and almonds, oatmeal bread with sterol-enriched margarine, and some jam.

Lunch – Soy lunch meats, oat bran bread, bean soup, fruit.

Dinner – Stir fry with vegetables, tofu, fruit and almonds.

Snacks – Include nuts, yogurt, and soy milk thickened with a psyllium supplement such as Metamucil.

Has the Portfolio Diet shown to be effective?

Jenkins et al were curious how the Portfolio Diet would work in the real world, so they signed people up who said they wanted to lower their cholesterol levels. They told them what to eat and gave them sample menus -- but they didn't provide any prepared foods.

Dr. Jenkins said that about 30% of the people had a 20% reduction in their LDL cholesterol levels after six months. Another 30% had a 15% reduction in LDL levels, and another third failed to lower their cholesterol levels, believed to be because they were unable to follow the diet as strictly as those with good results. What seemed to be the biggest obstacle for people was eating soy food products. Dr. Jenkins said that most people could eat almonds and substitute plant sterol products for margarine. This is the real world, I guess, and I have shown that the small use of avocado can impact just as much if not even more.

Is the Portfolio Diet for you?

Many people are concerned about heart disease and stroke, especially if they are struggling with weight control and high blood cholesterol levels. However, many people are not comfortable going on prescription medications. Since this is an eating plan that does not eliminate food groups or follow some type of fad, there is no risk to going on this ‘diet’. In fact, it’s not really a ‘diet’ at all, but a way of eating. And no one has to do anything but substitute some of the recommended foods for foods they normally eat today.

So, let’s say you would like to try the diet, but, like many other Australians, are concerned about adding soy foods to your diet. You have never eaten them and don’t even know where to find them! Well, they are actually in your favorite supermarket already! It may be time to experiment, though, because not everyone is going to like all the soy foods that are available. Here is a list of foods to consider:

Soy milk. There are multiple brands and different fat levels. You can buy whole fat, low fat and non fat. You can buy ‘regular’ (no flavoring), or any number of flavors. I have personally found one brand that I like over others and you may have to experiment to find one you like, as well.

Edamame. These are frozen whole soybeans that are harvested when still green. They can be found in most health food stores, such as Trader Joes or Whole Foods Market, in the frozen food section, usually next to the lima beans. These can be found shelled or in the shell. You can add them to soups or stews or eat them by themselves. I like to eat them as my protein for breakfast.

Tofu. Tofu is a soft, cheese-like food made my curdling soymilk. The curds are then pressed into a solid block. There are different levels of firmness; silken, soft and firm. Silken is a creamy, custard-like product that works well with pureed or blended dishes. Soft tofu is best used in recipes that call for blended tofu, or in soups. The firm tofu is more dense and solid and holds up well in stir fry dishes, even on the grill. The firm tofu is higher in protein, fat and calcium than the other forms, but since this is a plant fat, this should not be an issue. For recipe ideas, see this link from the Indiana Soybean Board; http://www.soyfoods.com/soyfoodsdescriptions/tofu.html

Textured Vegetable (or Soy) Protein Products. This is the soy food product that many soy burgers and other ‘meat substitute’ products contain. The best way to determine if these foods are for you are to experiment with a few options.

Miso. Miso is a rich, salty paste condiment that characterizes the essence of Japanese cooking. Traditionally, miso is made by combining with a grain, salt, and a mould culture and then aged in cedar vats for one to three years. Readers may recognize the name because this is a popular soup.

Soy nuts. Soy nuts are whole soybeans that have been soaked then baked. They can be found in snack isles and manufacturers now include soynuts in any number of coatings, including chocolate.

Tempeh. This is a traditional Indonesian food that is most commonly found in Asian stores. It is a chunky, tender soybean cake. It can be marinated and grilled or added to soups, casseroles, or even chili.

It can be very easy for some people to add nuts to their diet. In fact, it may be harder to not add too MANY nuts! It may also be ‘doable’ to add more sticky fibre to your diet, also, with a little planning. However, it may be a greater challenge to find soy foods that can be enjoyably substituted for meats you are used to eating. However, if your health depends on it, and you refuse medications, this may be a great thing to try, especially since there are no risks involved with adding these foods to your diet. Just remember that these are foods to be substituted, not added, to the diet. Since calories do also still count, adding extras to your current diet could result in weight gain, leading to new concerns.

With the Transformation Diet I can help you overcome the confusion and frustration you may feel when trying to add healthy eating and fitness into your busy life. I can offer a weekly skype session over a 12-week series. I also see clients in my city office located in Macquarie St which covers all aspects of health each week, also over a 12 week series. I am a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Life Coach. So as far as I am concerned this is not a fad or a gimmick its real and it works.

Portfolio Diet: The Solution To Cholesterol

First I like to say thanks to my wife Kate and also after sitting down with Maria Micallef from SLM. I must say are both into the middle of the road when it comes to diet as whereby I am in your face sometimes I say that with a smile.

They have both made me come to the conclusion and the realization people love a fad gimmick when to comes to health or out the in TV land or magazine land they like to call it weight loss so hey let’s get on board so to speak.

So what if there was a combination of foods that was as effective at lowering LDL cholesterol as prescription drugs? Would it be worth adding some new foods to what you eat each day to avoid medication? I have come across a study about a new diet plan known as the portfolio diet it’s really the same plain as I use for all my clients it shows that various foods, such as nuts, soy protein, oat bran, and plant sterols all can have a cholesterol-lowering effect.

This is what the latest in a series of research studies Dr. Jenkins from the University of Toronto shows. Studies have previously shown that various foods, such as nuts, soy protein, oat bran, and plant sterols all can have a cholesterol-lowering effect. But what if you combined all these foods together? Dr. Jenkins’ latest research shows that combining all these foods together is as effective as taking a stating drug. The results showed a 30.9% decrease in LDL cholesterol from the statin and a decrease of 28.2% from the portfolio combination of all these foods.

Dr. Jenkins is calling this a dietary portfolio, but it’s becoming known as ‘The Portfolio Diet’. The concept is to add all of these foods, in a type of portfolio plan, like investments, to cover all possibilities for better heart health. As to the transformation plain I hate the word diet but I guess let go along with it my diet (HATE) is not a weight loss diet, however, although the concepts for weight loss and lowered cholesterol could certainly be combined, with proper education and guidance by a qualified nutrition expert.

What is the Portfolio Diet?

Just follow these guidelines:

1. Substitute soy foods for meat. Drink soy milk instead of milk and substitute soy protein foods for other meats.

2. Eat as much ‘sticky’ fiber as possible. People in the study took three daily servings of natural psyllium supplements. Oats and barley replace other grains and preferred vegetables include eggplant and okra. In the Transformation diet I would like to see potato added as well

3. Include plant sterol-enriched margarines, such as benecol and Take Control. Plant sterols are also available in capsule form as dietary supplements. I am not a great fan but again fades

4. A handful of nuts every day. In the study, almonds were eaten and the Almond Board of California offers portfolio diet recipes on its website (look at recipes on http://www.almondboard.com/), but any tree nut will reduce cholesterol. Again too you need to pay attention to the amount. One man’s hand full differs from the next.

Here are some examples of a typical day:

Breakfast – Include soy milk in your portfolio diet, oat bran cereal with chopped fruit and almonds, oatmeal bread with sterol-enriched margarine, and some jam.

Lunch – Soy lunchmeats, oat bran bread, bean soup, fruit.

Dinner – Stir fry with vegetables, tofu, fruit and almonds.

Snacks – Include nuts, yogurt, and soy milk thickened with a psyllium supplement such as Metamucil.

Has the portfolio diet shown to be effective?

Jenkins et al were curious how the portfolio diet would work in the real world, so they signed people up who said they wanted to lower their cholesterol levels. They told them what to eat and gave them sample menus -- but they didn't provide any prepared foods.

Dr. Jenkins said that about 30% of the people had a 20% reduction in their LDL cholesterol levels after six months. Another 30% had a 15% reduction in LDL levels, and another third failed to lower their cholesterol levels, believed to be because they were unable to follow the diet as strictly as those with good results. What seemed to be the biggest obstacle for people was eating soy food products. Dr. Jenkins said that most people could eat almonds and substitute plant sterol products for margarine. This is the real world I guess I have shown that the small use of avocado can impact just as much if not even more.

Is the portfolio diet for you?

Many people are concerned about heart disease and stroke, especially if they are struggling with weight control and high blood cholesterol levels. However, many people are not comfortable going on prescription medications. Since this is an eating plan that does not eliminate food groups or follow some type of fad, there is no risk to going on this ‘diet’. In fact, it’s not really a ‘diet’ at all, but a way of eating. And no one has to do anything but substitute some of the recommended foods for foods they normally eat today.

So, let’s say you would like to try the diet, but, like many other Australian, are concerned about adding soy foods to your diet. You have never eaten them and don’t even know where to find them! Well, they are actually in your favorite supermarket already! It may be time to experiment, though, because not everyone is going to like all the soy foods that are available. Here is a list of foods to consider:

Soy milk. There are multiple brands and different fat levels. You can buy whole fat, low fat and non fat. You can buy ‘regular’ (no flavoring), or any number of flavors. I have personally found one brand that I like over others and you may have to experiment to find one you like, as well.

Edemame. These are frozen whole soybeans that are harvested when still green. They can be found in most health food stores, such as Trader Joes or Whole Foods Market, in the frozen food section, usually next to the lima beans. These can be found shelled or in the shell. You can add them to soups or stews or eat them by themselves. I like to eat them as my protein for breakfast.

Tofu. Also known as ‘bean curd’, tofu is a soft, cheese-like food made my curdling soymilk. The curds are then pressed into a solid block. There are different levels of firmness; silken, soft and firm. Silken is a creamy, custard-like product that works well with pureed or blended dishes. Soft tofu is best used in recipes that call for blended tofu, or in soups. The firm tofu is more dense and solid and holds up well in stir fry dishes, even on the grill. The firm tofu is higher in protein, fat and calcium than the other forms, but since this is a plant fat, this should not be an issue. For recipe ideas, see this link from the Indiana Soybean Board; http://www.soyfoods.com/soyfoodsdescriptions/tofu.html

Textured Vegetable (or Soy) Protein Products. This is the soy food product that many soy burgers and other ‘meat substitute’ products contain. The best way to determine if these foods are for you are to experiment with a few options.

Miso. Miso is a rich, salty paste condiment that characterizes the essence of Japanese cooking. Traditionally, miso is made by combining with a grain, salt, and a mold culture and then aged in cedar vats for one to three years. Readers may recognize the name because this is a popular soup.

Soy nuts. Soy nuts are whole soybeans that have been soaked then baked. They can be found in snack isles and manufacturers now include soynuts in any number of coatings, including chocolate.

Tempeh. This is a traditional Indonesian food that is most commonly found in Asian stores. It is a chunky, tender soybean cake. It can be marinated and grilled or added to soups, casseroles, or even chili.

It can be very easy for some people to add nuts to their diet. In fact, it may be harder to not add too MANY nuts! It may also be ‘doable’ to add more sticky fiber to your diet, also, with a little planning. However, it may be a greater challenge to find soy foods that can be enjoyably substituted for meats you are used to eating. However, if your health depends on it, and you refuse medications, this may be a great thing to try, especially since there are no risks involved with adding these foods to your diet. Just remember that these are foods to be substituted, not added, to the diet. Since calories do also still count, adding extras to your current diet could result in weight gain, leading to new concerns.

With the transformation diet I can help you overcome your confusion and distress that you may feel when trying to add healthy eating and fitness into your busy life. I can offer a weekly skype session over 12 week series. I also see clients in my city office located in Macquarie St which covers all aspects of health each week also over a 12 week series. I am a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Life Coach. So as far as I am concerned this is not a fad or a gimmick its real and it works .

The Paleolithic Diet

Dear Friends, Over the last couple of months I have run into people who always raise the Paleolithic diet This month’s e-news is a part of a continuation of articles providing some perspective on hot topics in nutrition currently circulating in the media. For the month of May we will be covering the Paleolithic Diet. In recent years there has been significant consumer interest in optimal diet and lifestyle; particularly with curiosity surrounding the role of nutrition in ideal health outcomes. As readers search for dietary excellence, they are faced with a multitude of nutritional concepts that all claim to have 'the secret' to optimal health and vitality. One of the more popular diets in the media is the Paleolithic diet, that our long ago ancestor's ate, before the industrial revolution and well before pocket societies were established. This diet has received much attention as of late, following the release of Dr. Loren Cordain's book 'The Paleo Diet.' As a society we are dying of diseases of affluence and modernization. Therefore, The Paleo concept in nutrition would make perfect sense to its followers. In an attempt to reclaim our health, it would seem logical to review the evolution of diet. However, many readers use Dr. Cordain's book as their justification to consume a high meat, high fat diet, despite a mountain of evidence indicating that meat dominate diets are actually the problem and result in premature aging and disease. Here are some points to consider; · Paleolithic people were cave dwellers who ate for survival and out necessity, not because they had a profound understanding of nutritional excellence. They would consume anything that contained useable calories to avoid starvation. There is a difference between eating for survival and eating for health longevity. Hunter/gatherers did not live long, healthier lives - they died of exposure, starvation, being eaten by animals, infections and natural disasters. · These stone age peoples were not the carnivores that the proponents claim. The reason for this is; hunting and killing animals is not easy and those humans were bipedal beings who were considerably slower than the animals that they were seeking to eat and they had no technology to assist in hunting and killing prey (they had no means of storing food for any period of time either). Visualise yourself chasing down a beast with your bare feet/hands and flat blunt teeth- this would actually be quite amusing! · Many people have come to the conclusion that these beings predominately lived on animal flesh because the bones of animals were discovered near campsites. The remains of plants do not survive in same way that bones do. It would be more plausible that, our ancestors, out of necessity, ate locally growing wild plants and moved about to locate them. They killed and ate animals when they could, but these opportunities were few and far between. This is somewhat irrelevant in that we are not hunter/gatherers or cave dwellers anymore and humans are not dying of infectious disease or starvation, but of disease's of dietary excess, body pollution and poor lifestyle choices. Cave dwellers didn't live long enough to experience degenerative disease. There is no successful population that lives or has lived on a meat based diet. In John Robbins book Healthy at 100,1 he presents the research on the worlds longest living and healthiest peoples such as, the Hunzan's, Abkhasians , Okinawans and Vilcabamban's. The average individual in these cultures lives to 110 years of age, happy, vibrant, active and coherent. They consume low fat plant based diets, with little or no meat. Conversely, Dr. Joel Fuhrman presents cultures contrast to those outlined in Healthy at 100. The Inuit Greenlanders have the worst longevity statistics in North America and this can be due to their high consumption of meat and low consumption of fresh whole foods. Legitimate research shows that these people have higher rates of cancer and die 10 years younger than the average general population of Canada. We do not want to duplicate the life spans of Canadians or that of societies living considerably shorter lives than them." The Masai in Kenya are a tribe that hunt and eat a diet rich in meats and wild game and they have the worst life expectancy in the modern world. The average lifespan for a Masai women is 49 and for men it is 45 and if they reach the age of 60 they are considered to be very old. Adult mortality rates figures on the Masai, show that they have 50% chance of dying before the age of 59. Although the Masai's short life spans is linked to their harsh living conditions, their diets high in meat and low in fresh whole foods still take their toll. Dr. George Mann, who once was an advocate of the Masai diet, went extremely quiet several decades ago when he conducted autopsies on 50 Masai men in their 40's who had the atherosclerosis of men in their 90's. If these men hadn't died so young, they would have had the same degenerative conditions as us in Western countries. Throughout history humans have migrated all over the planet, at times enduring scarcity and famine, conversely experiencing much abundance. Just because humans consumed a particular diet (due to availability or lack thereof) does not mean that following these dietary patterns is optimal or consistent with health longevity. Scientists have now been able to conclusively determine the best diet for ideal health by measuring the diet/lifestyle versus the disease rates of various populations world wide. We now know that greatly increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, raw nuts, seeds and whole grains (and greatly decreasing the consumption of animal products) offers profound increased longevity potential. This is due in part to a broad symphony of life-extending phytochemical nutrients that a vegetable-based diet contains. It is important to note that some of the healthiest cultures around the world consume small amounts animal foods and always have (2-3 serves per week), but the majority of total weekly calories consist of wide variety of unrefined plant based material, with organic animal foods used as condiments.

April Health News

I was with a client the other day and she presented an article that was written in one of Sydney leading news paper about the food pyramid she then went on to say Gee how corrupt the system is in developing it –She then went onto ask me do I ever just feel like giving up? Doesn't this seem overwhelming? Sometimes I get so tired of talking to people about diet and health who don't want to listen - do you really think we can change this system?
I informed her that I absolutely understand her frustration and once in a while I feel overwhelmed by the whole system too - but I only allow myself to feel that way for a nanosecond. Quitting in frustration is the way to make sure that the "other side" wins and let them have their way. I refuse to do that.
I also stay motivated by the successes we are having. I think plant-based nutrition is gaining momentum and while there are still lots of people we have to convince and lots of resistance from the medical field, people are finding out that about the power of diet to change their health. There are people who are receptive to our message - we have to stay focused on them rather than those who are not interested. The availability of information, particularly through the internet, has begun to chip (no pun intended) away at the monopoly that has been enjoyed for many years by drug companies and medical professionals. They should be concerned - we are gaining on them!
Malcolm Gladwell says in his book The Tipping Point that one infected person can start an epidemic of the flu. How about mobilizing one million plant-eaters to start an epidemic of health? That's my plan, and every day our community gets closer to that goal.
Why are there animal products in Transformation food pyramid?? This is NOT correct-there should be NO "animal foods" at all in it; 2-3 times a week is 2-3 time too many! This is the cause of disease!

Should I Eat Animal Foods?

A strong case can be made for eliminating dairy foods from everyone's diet. Cow's milk products have been linked to many conditions, including juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic ear infections, and prostate cancer.
There are no cultures that eat a totally plant-based diet. Some healthy, hardy populations include some animal foods in their diets; however the amounts are quite small as a percentage of calories. But the consumption of animal foods is not required in order to achieve and maintain optimal health. Human nutrition needs can be easily met with a well-structured plant-based diet.
If you do choose to consume animal foods, restrict consumption to small portions only 2-3 times per week, and make sure that the animal foods you do eat are organic (the steroids, hormones and antibiotics administered to conventionally-grown livestock are extremely detrimental to health) or wild-caught if you are eating fish.
There is no question that the fastest and most positive changes in health and weight take place when one eliminates animal foods, and that a totally plant-based diet is the best protection against disease. In fact, there are no nutrients in animal foods which cannot be consumed in plant foods, with the possible exception of vitamin B12. Additionally, the consumption of whole plant foods does not involve the risks associated with the consumption of animal foods.

About Transformation Philosophy

Some people are surprised that the Transformation diet allows for the consumption of some animal foods, and this has generated controversy in some circles.
Transformation's inclusion of animal foods is accompanied by several qualifiers. Our plan allows for those who are not sick, or are only mildly sick (10 KG overweight, with no other health concerns, for example) to continue to eat animal foods. The most recent version of our food guide places animal foods toward the top, accompanied by the term "optional," which means that animal foods are not a necessary part of the diet or a requirement for optimal health. We instruct that only organic animal foods and wild fish should be consumed; that cow's milk products should be eliminated; and that kilojoules from animal foods should not exceed 10% of overall kilojoules. In other words, our clients consume animal foods two to three times per week, while eating plant-based fare the rest of the time.
We strongly recommend that people who are suffering from coronary artery disease, type-2 diabetes, and other serious conditions, convert to a low-fat vegan diet, and we provide ample published scientific evidence showing that doing so gives them the best chance to experience significant health improvement.
There are several reasons why we continue to allow small amounts of organic animal food as part of our main dietary plan for most people. The first is that there is no evidence that a vegan diet is required in order for the maintenance of optimal health. In fact, studies of populations with very low disease rates, such as the rural Chinese and northern Africans, have shown that these people do eat small amounts of animal foods. Their eating patterns are based on economics, since plant foods are cheaper and these populations are not generally wealthy, but the fact remains that they are not vegan.

Transformation dietary recommendations are based on what the best science shows to be the best diet for humans, not on my personal preferences or habits, or anyone's or any group's political agenda or point of view. We simply cannot back up the statement that a vegan diet is required in order for a person in generally good health to remain that way.
One area in which almost everyone agrees (including some of my critics on this issue), is that we must get the message about how diet can affect health outcomes to more people, specifically to more mainstream audiences. I agree, but if we are going to do this, we have to deliver a message that is defensible, and that people are willing to listen to. Transformation has been incredibly successful precisely because we have reached the "not yet sick" and "mildly sick" with our message, in addition to people who are very sick. Hundreds of these types of people have made huge changes in their diet, the most significant of which are the reduction of animal foods and an increase in plant food consumption.
Many if not most of these people would not have even listened if we had started with our most strict dietary recommendations (the ones we reserve for the sickest people). I do not consider it a good outcome to send a 31-year-old person eating some version of the Standard Australian Diet back into the world to continue doing so until he is really sick and then willing to agree to any form of restriction in order to recover. I want to get that person to start changing his or her habits before disaster strikes, and to do so, I must put forth a plausible and defensible plan.
The reality is that many of our clients, once they get started, end up making much more sweeping changes than they originally intended to make. Our files are filled with "accidental vegans" - people who just drifted in that direction and eventually decided that this diet and lifestyle was for them, or became more knowledgeable about issues like factory farming and changed their habits accordingly. We have found that if you can get someone to take a step in the right direction, you can generally get them to take more steps. They key is to get them walking down the path to better health in the first place, an option that does not exist if we scare significant portions of the population off during our initial interaction.
Now, at the risk of offending some people, I'm going to discuss another important point concerning people who do not eat animal foods and think that we should promote a diet free of all animal foods. The reason why people check out organizations like Transformation is that they are interested in improving their health. Unfortunately, many of the vegans in Australia are not doing a very good job of modeling health for the rest of the population. It is true that they have eliminated animal foods, but many vegans are still eating a horrible diet with too much fat and the inclusion of lots of processed foods. Many of them are overweight and unhealthy; we deal with this population consistently. I do not recall the last time I attended a vegetarian or vegan event where I did not encounter a significant number of people who were overweight or unhealthy-looking. This certainly does not entice people into wanting to become vegan; in fact it screams to them than that a vegan diet is not a healthy one.
Many of our clients who continue to eat small amounts of animal foods are lean, active, have healthy biomarkers and they look great. I'll compare these clients with unhealthy vegans (who are, unfortunately, quite common), and they come out ahead every time.
It is possible to be a responsible meat eater. It is possible to reduce your carbon foot print significantly by restricting animal foods in the way our general plan prescribes. If we could get all Australian to do this, we would dry up demand for animal foods produced on factory farms, and we would significantly reduce the incidence of heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative conditions. This, in turn, would ratchet down health care costs dramatically since most health care dollars are spent taking care of people suffering from diseases caused by poor diet and lifestyle choices.
I'm starting with the assumption that we all agree that our objectives are to improve public health, reduce health care costs, eliminate factory farms, and reduce the negative environmental impact resulting from our current eating habits. If that's the case, let's agree to meet members of the public where they are and make it attractive for them to join us.

Yours in Health

SK

I call this broken hearts

Put your hand on your chest and feel your heart beat. Now put your hand where you can feel your pulse. That pulse is the signature of your being. Your heart , creating that pulse, is working for you every minute of the day, every day of the year, every year of your entire life. If you live an average lifetime , your heart will beat about 3 billion times.

Now take a moment to realize that during the time it takes you to read the above an artery in the heart of roughly one Australian clogged up, cut of blood flow and started a rapid process of tissue and cell death. This process is better known as a heart attack. By the time you finish reading this blog four Australians will have had heart attack, and another four will have fallen prey to a stroke or heart failure Over the next twenty four hours 3,000 Australians heart attack this is roughly the same number of people who perished on 911.

The heart is the centerpiece of life and more often than not in Australia it is the centerpiece of death. Malfunction of the heart and/or circulation system will kill 30% of Australians more than those killed by any other injury or ailment, including cancer. Heart disease has been our number one cause of death for almost one hundred years. This disease does not recognize gender or race boundaries, all affected. If you were to ask women what disease poses the greatest risk to them heart disease or breast cancer, many would undoubtedly say breast cancer. But they would be wrong. Women death rates from heart disease is eight times higher than death rates from breast cancer. If this is an Australian game it is rugby an Australian dessert Pavlova . if there is an Australian disease its heart disease.

So why all the Animal Protein?

That’s for next week.

If you do not want to be a stat email me back and learn how not to be one.

Protein: Facts & Fallacies

Protein: Facts & Fallacies

Enter any fitness center today and ask the first gym enthusiast you see, "what should I eat to build lean muscle?" Nine times out of ten, they will say protein. "Eat loads of protein mate"....... Stimulants, amino's, shakes and sports drinks that look like techno colored cocktails are all the go, but the main mantra is protein.

Supplement stores are packed to the roof with tubs that resemble garbage bins full of whey protein; a cheap byproduct of dairy. Slap a 20 inch bicep on the label, a cheesy slogan that says "GET MASSIVE GET RIPPED," throw in an extra 500 grams FREE and that's all it takes to influence the impressionable and sometimes ignorant consumer dollar.

Nutrition is a complicated subject. Due to the lack of formal training available on nutrition science within the fitness industry, it makes this environment a marketers paradise!

There is a kernel of truth to the whole protein campaign, that is, protein is a building block and it is essential to health. Although how much is necessary for optimal functioning has truly been blown out of proportion, way out. Gym goers today religiously weigh their protein portions daily, gram for gram with a rigid belief that maximizing protein intake will truly make the difference in physical appearance and performance.

However, do we really need to stuff ourselves full of protein to achieve peak performance? Thousands of professional sports stars know the importance of balanced nutrition in health and performance. Olympic champion Carl Lewis crowned his career with his best long jump in two years to win a record-tying ninth gold medal. Lewis, of course, is a longtime plant based eater, for sometime Leroy Burrell and Carl Lewis traded titles back and forth when they were being hailed as the fastest sprinters in the world - both thrived on low protein plant based diets. Dr. Benjamin Spock

Carl Lewis said: "Your body is your temple. If you nourish it properly, it will be good to you and you will increase its longevity."

A large majority of fitness trainers, especially body builders are convinced that protein is the secret to building a muscular physique. A training program and consuming sufficient calories builds bigger muscles, not protein consumption. Anyone exercising or strength training will need more protein, but only as a percentage of total calories, as all nutritional requirements increase, not just protein!
"I have not seen one paper demonstrating that if I take a 'super dooper, max power, protein shake,' that an individual will put on an extra kilo of muscle. If you want to put on an extra kilo of lean muscle, eat 2500 extra calories than you need in one week, have a real good training program and the rest is up to genetics." Jack Medina, Exercise Physiologist/ Olympic Coach

Can we be getting too much of a good thing? The old paradigm, if a little bit is good, then a lot must be even better, couldn't be further from the truth. Take a peek behind the veil of tricky marketing campaigns that use sports stars, among other clever tactics that sell and you will find that human protein needs are actually quiet low and excess protein has disastrous consequences to long-term health.

'Facts'

Protein is used to build healthy cells, tissue and organs, immune cells such as antibodies, enzymes and hormones. Protein isn't a very efficient fuel source and is better used as a building block. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that human protein needs are only 2.5% of total calories and set the standard at 5% to ensure that people safely consume enough.
There are 22 amino acids, 8 are essential, meaning that you need to acquire them through your diet because your body can't synthesize them on its own. The 8 essential amino acids can all be found in animal based protein. Most plants do not contain all eight, however, protein is abundant in plant-foods and all the essential amino acids are obtained while an individual is eating varied diet surrounding complex carbohydrates. Plants contain a perfect mixture of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals), delivered in sink with our bodies energy needs.

The fact that animal foods contain all 8 essential amino acids has formed popular belief that plants are an inferior source of protein. This is not true. Unlike animal foods, acquiring nutrients through vegetation not only delivers adequate protein for optimal functioning and health, but also delivers thousands of other essential nutrients and non-caloric food factors. Whole plant foods provide more bang for your nutrient buck! It is an absolute fallacy that one needs to eat large quantities of animal based protein or practice food combining to achieve protein completeness at each meal.

"On average 25% of calories in vegetables are from protein. A banana is about 3.5 % protein, about the same as mothers milk. Fruit and starchy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, corn, carrots and butternut squash are predominately carbohydrates but also contain some fat and protein. Green vegetables are about half protein, quarter carbohydrate, and a quarter fat. Legumes and beans are about half carbohydrate, a quarter protein, and a quarter fat" Eat to Live Dr. Joel Fuhrman MD

"An individual would have to be suffering from a calorie deficiency to not be getting enough protein, meaning, they are not eating any food, such as those people starving in third world countries."
Dr. Pam Popper PhD ND

So, why do the advertising messages fail to tell us this? You don't need to be clever to work it out. "Money." People, while remaining uncertain about their best health practices, will continue to present a big market for pills, potions, supplements and gadgets that make some people financially rich, but most people health poor.

Today people consume far too many daily calories from protein and the majority of those calories are of animal origin. Because protein isn't a very efficient fuel, excess protein must be eliminated from the body. The organs for excretion for animal protein are the liver and kidneys and this continual elimination of waste prematurely ages these organs.

Professor W. G. Robertson from the Medical Research Council in Leeds England, is one of the worlds foremost experts on dietary kidney stones. Dr. Robertson's and his team started to investigate the relationship between food and kidney stones with some depth over 30 years ago and to-date have published over 100 papers since the 1960's. Robertson's work illustrates a clear relationship between animal protein consumption and kidney stone formation, especially when animal protein exceeds 21g per person, per day. Although his team have developed a model for identifying over 6 risk factors for kidney stone formation, animal protein remains the major culprit.1,2

Other studies have clearly demonstrated that low protein diets delay the end stage of renal failure.3 Research conducted in Asia has shown that when animal protein exceeds 10% of total weekly calories, the rates of heart disease and cancer run parallel with increased protein intake.4 Well designed animal experiments also confirm animal protein to be a powerful cancer promoter at levels consistent with the average daily intake in the West. 5,6

Protein is essential to health, however, it must be eaten in natures balance with all other nutrients. Consuming a balanced diet that comprises primarily of complex carbohydrates, small amounts of organic lean meats (if you choose to include them) will provide all the protein one needs to play, perform and be healthy. If an individual chooses to run the gauntlet by fueling their body with lopsided nutrition, strong evidence suggests your dietary preferences will wear you down prematurely. Cultures who eat low protein, vegetable based diets do not succumb to cancer, heart disease, renal failure or many other diseases of affluence.7,8,9,10,11

References:

1. Robertson WG, Peacock M, Heyburn PJ, et al. "Risk factors in calcium stone disease of the urinary tract." Brit J. Urology 50 (1978):449-431

2. Robertson WG, Epidemiological risk factors in calcium stone disease." Scand. J. Urol. Nephrol. Suppl. 53 (1980)15-30

3. Fouque, D., P. Wang, M. Laville, and J.P. Boissel. 2000. Low protein diets delay end-stage renal disease in non-diabetic adults with chronic renal failure. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant 15 (12): 1986-92.

4. Campbell TC, Chen J, Brun T, et al. "China: from diseases of poverty to diseases of affluence. Policy implications of the epidemiological transition." Ecol. Food Nutr. 27 (1992): 133-144.

5. Appleton BS, and Campbell TC. "Inhibition of Aflatoxin-initiated preneoplastic liver and Aflatoxin by low dietary protein."Nutr. Cancer 3 (1982) 200-206

6. Dunaif GE, and Campbell TC. "Relative contribution of dietary protein level and Aflatoxin B dose in generation of presumptive preneoplastic foci in rat liver." J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 78 (1987): 365-369

7. Li J-Y, Liu B-Q, Li G-Y, et al. "Atlas of cancer mortality in the People's Republic of China. An aid for cancer control and research." Int. Epid. 10 (1981): 127-133

8. Connor WE, Cerqueira MT, Connor RW, et al. The plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and diet of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. Am J Clin Nutr 1978;31:1131-42.

9.Sinnett PF, Whyte HM. Epidemiological studies in a total highland population, Tukisenta, New Guinea. Cardiovascular disease and relevant clinical, electrocardiographic, radiological and biochemical findings. J Chron Diseases 1973; 26:265.

10. Campbell TC, Parpia B, Chen J. Diet, lifestyle, and the etiology of coronary artery disease: The Cornell China Study. Am J Card 1998;82(10B):18T-21T.

11. Miller K. Lipid values in Kalahari Bushman. Arch Intern Med 1968; 121:414.




Sincerely,

Sean Kirsten
Transformation creating Life Styles that work