I write columns in The Jerusalem Post I have been writing about various health and wellness topics for several years. A few months ago, I wrote a column about the benefits of getting protein from plant-based sources rather than animal-based sources. I make no secret of my preference for a predominantly plant-based diet to prevent and even reverse chronic diseases.
As a reminder, I pointed out that using animal products as a protein source is associated with many problems such as saturated fat and cholesterol, as well as other health issues, while plant-based proteins are free of these. I am grateful for the many comments this article has generated – it’s good to know that many out there read my articles.
When I wrote this column, I didn’t anticipate the amount of negative comments I received and the angry tone of some of them. So let’s get a few things straight. Veganism is not necessarily healthy, I am not a vegan and I want to address some of the comments I have received so we can all benefit from them.
Being vegan means you avoid meat, chicken, fish, eggs, or dairy. It’s not necessarily a sign of a healthy diet. Some people can eat a whole foods, mostly plant-based diet like I do, but they can drink Coca-Cola and eat Oreo cookies, donuts, and dairy-free ice cream—an unhealthy diet—and still be called vegan. Let’s dig a little deeper.
There are different versions of being vegan. Vegetarians eat dairy and eggs, pescatarians add fish to the mix; some eat dairy, some don’t. Why go this route?
There are three main reasons why people become vegan. Many choose veganism for health reasons. They generally eat a whole-food, plant-based diet that is low in oil, sugar and salt.
Some of them are what we call ethical vegans. An ethical vegan is someone who not only excludes animal products from their diet, but also tries to avoid the use of animals, animal products, and products tested on animals whenever possible.
And then there are the environmental vegans. These are people who want to develop a sustainable diet that avoids the negative environmental impacts of meat and dairy production.
FOR THOSE who choose veganism to prevent animal cruelty and want cleaner air to breathe and cleaner water to drink, I have nothing wrong with them. Who doesn’t want to treat animals well and breathe cleaner air? Those aren’t necessarily my priorities when I advocate for a mostly plant-based diet, but there is nothing environmental and ethical vegans say that is even remotely wrong. So what was all of these comments about?
Someone has accused me of being part of a conspiracy to make “the entire universe” vegan. No, there is no such conspiracy, and that is not my personal goal either. My interest is to present the overwhelming evidence based on thousands of studies that prove that eating real, whole foods, primarily plant-based foods, and eliminating highly processed foods from your diet will not only extend your life, but will also bring you good health and quality of life.
There was another comment from someone who said that I might be right, but he would rather die sooner or get sick than give up his meat.
Okay, that’s your decision. Try to think beyond tomorrow. I appreciate the short-term pleasure these foods can give you, but try to think about the long-term impact. Here’s a suggestion: Why not just eat a little meat, chicken, and fish occasionally, and eat more plants more often? You don’t have to eat a 100% whole-food plant-based diet to benefit.
Let’s take this idea a little further – don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. In the past, we’ve mentioned the Blue Zones, those five places on the planet that have been thoroughly studied because their populations live past 100 years and experience those years as thriving people. They eat a predominantly plant-based diet, but have very small amounts of meat or fish in their diets, and sometimes even a tiny bit of dairy.
WE KNOW that even a diet that is 85% whole plant foods can be very beneficial to your health. The problem is that the Western diet today is 63% processed foods, 25% animal products, 6% processed plants, and only 6% whole plants (The Plantrician Project and Dr. Scott Stoll, MD). Unless you really need to reverse chronic or autoimmune disease, it’s more about just changing the ratio of your food choices, not giving up those foods altogether.
Then there was the old and now hackneyed argument that animal proteins contain exactly the amount of amino acids our bodies need and that we cannot get them from plants. Please read my previous article again (“To tell the truth”, (The Jerusalem Post). The point was that this is not what the latest research shows. The amino acid argument is wrong and outdated.
I’d like to add one more point to what I wrote last time. There is now research showing that some amino acids are more pro-inflammatory than others, most notably methionine. While it is quite common in animal products, it is much less common in plants compared to other amino acids. This seems to be the way nature intended it – that we eat more plants and fewer animals to minimize inflammation.
The data is incredibly consistent and the conclusion obvious. The approach? Simply increase your fruit, vegetable, whole grains and legume consumption and reduce animal proteins. The more you change this ratio, the better your health will be. Most of my clients who are very successful at sustained weight loss, disease prevention and even disease reversal eat diets that consist of small amounts of meat, chicken, fish and eggs that supplement a large amount of plant foods. However, we avoid oils, sodium and sugar.
I hope I have made my position clear and the best diet for your health. It is healthy, delicious and because the calorie density of plant foods is so low, you can eat a lot of them without gaining weight or having health problems. I am not vegan; I eat a healthy, whole-food plant-based diet, enjoy my food, feel satisfied when I eat, and benefit greatly from my diet. It “adds hours to my day, days to my year, and years to my life.”
The author is a health and wellness coach and personal trainer with over 25 years of professional experience and was recently appointed to the council of the True Health Initiative. He is the Director of the Wellness Clinic and can be reached at [email protected].
