The Perfect Formula Diet awards for plant-based happenings in 2011. The "top 10" list with 11 awards for an important year for the plant-based world.

Actually Eleven of the Top Good, Bad, and So-What Legacies of 2011

As 2011 speeds to its end, it’s time to reflect on the top events, organizations, trends, and people that will have a lasting impact on American food choices. The Perfect Formula Diet (PFD) 2011 awards point the way to making 2012 a better year for you and the planet.

THE BEST FOOD OF THE YEAR:

Kale – Kale was all over the media in 2011. This vegetable is universally recognized as dense with minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals (beneficial nutrients found only in plants), and fiber – all with barely any calories. WebMD calls kale “the queen of greens” and notes it is growing in popularity.

A recent Huffington Post blogger calls kale “the new beef.” This is way too kind to the beef industry. However, the point is that you can get all the nutrients in animal foods by eating kale, in a way that is infinitely healthier for you and the planet. Kale comes in many varieties and colors, with flat or curly leaves. You can enjoy kale raw or include it in just about anything you cook. Find this easy-to-grow powerhouse in farmers markets and supermarkets all over the country.

MOST FUN WAY TO CONSUME THE BEST FOOD OF THE YEAR:

Green smoothies– In recent years, green smoothies are leading the trend to have lots of fun with healthy foods. While green

A green smoothie is great for any meal or for a snack

smoothies gained popularity several years ago, this drink shows every sign of attaining mainstream acceptance in 2011.

Green smoothies incorporate green leafy veggies (such as kale, spinach, or collard greens) in a blend with sweeter fruits that provides much of the flavor. However, the veggie leaves provide the color, making the drink green.

You can find endless recipes to experiment with until you find the smoothies you most enjoy. A recent google search of “green smoothie kale” yielded 343,000 results. If this is overwhelming, start with the site fatfreevegan.com for some great ideas. Expand from there with other plant-based recipe sites and cook books.

THE MOST DANGEROUS “HEALTH” FOOD OF THE YEAR:

“Wild-caught” salmon – Unless you were living in a tree with no media access in 2011, you could not escape the advice to eat more fish. “Wild caught” salmon is the most highly recommended. When you hear something a million times it must be true, right? Not!

In fact, industry and government are putting out severely skewed and dangerously incomplete “information,” then the popular media parrots the advice that people want to hear. Physicians are too busy to sort through all the thousands of published studies on fish, and fall victim to the fishy hype along with their patients.

Salmon, along with just about all fish, are full of saturated fat, cholesterol, persistent organic pollutants and many other health-

Grind your flax seeds and eat two tablespoons a day sprinkled on your food for a safe, healthy source of omega-3s. You can even add to your green smoothie. Skip the salmon, wild-caught or otherwise (you never know, since fish are often labeled inaccurately).

killing contaminants, mercury, nasty bacteria, and worm larvae, to name some of the threats to your health from this misrepresented food. For more information, check out this post on ten reasons that seafood is neither safe nor appetizing. Omega-3 fatty acids are important, but the best food to get them from is ground flax seeds.

MEDICAL HYPE OF THE YEAR:

Lipitor Goes Generic – Lipitor, the top-selling drug in the world, had 2010 global sales of $10.7 billion, with $7.9 billion of that figure coming from US consumers. Such income buys a lot of advertising, which is exactly where Pfizer has thrown a sizable chunk of its revenues. The media swarmed all over the story of Lipitor being available as a generic on November 30, 2011.

All this hype left consumers with two ideas. One was at least a small seed of doubt that the generic would have the same activity as the brand name. Yet under strict rules from the FDA, generics and name brands must have the same active ingredient. Generics are well accepted and there is no evidence that the generic forms of Lipitor would not have the exact same biological activity as the name brand. Yet Pfizer has created a $4 copay card for Lipitor, with the effect of confusing both patients and pharmacists.

Second, all this hype makes Lipitor seem desirable and important. Yet clogged blood vessels can be cleared and cholesterol

Real health comes from whole plant foods, not from manmade pills.

plummeted to levels well under what drugs commonly achieve using only a whole foods, plant-based diet. Expensive medications with dangerous side effects are totally unnecessary and serve only to distract doctors and patients from the easy, costless dietary solution.

NUTRITION YAWNER OF THE YEAR:

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 – Wait, you think, this is a 2011 list. Yes, but these Dietary Guidelines are such a yawner that when the 2010 update was not released until 2011, no one really cared. The 2010 Guidelines are mired in animal foods just as previous versions were. Americans are instructed to eat foods that make them fat and sick. Dairy and fish are prominently featured. Although this year includes a vegan adaptation of the guidelines, the USDA version of a vegan diet has so many dangerous issues that anyone trying to follow it will almost certainly give up.

Instead of relying on science for direction and clear language for communication, the Guidelines are a testament to the power of multi-billion dollar corporations (that also happen to be huge political donors). Even the industries that most threaten the health of Americans must be protected and promoted. Same old, same old, same old useless, confusing, hazardous advice and obscure language from our friendly government agency.

NUTRITION INSPIRATIONAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR:

Meals For Health – With bold vision, the nonprofit EarthSave partnered with the Sacramento Food Bank to show that low-income people will enthusiastically adopt a whole foods, plant-based diet. Leading plant-based physicians, dietitians, and educators shared their time to make the project successful. The Whole Foods Sacramento store donated piles of healthy foods. The results are astounding.

Most inspiring, the people in the program opened their hearts and minds to the food and the message of plant-based eating. Their stories of total recovery from illness, often after decades of suffering and mountains of medications, can move you to tears. All the participants wanted to stay on their new eating plan after the initial 30-day pilot. Does this sound like a lifestyle of deprivation?

NUTRITION SUSPENSE OF THE YEAR:

Results of the Whole Foods Immersion Program for Team Members – Since 2010, Whole Foods has been offering its employees (team members) an unbeatable health opportunity. After passing an application process, those with serious chronic medical conditions have a choice of attending one of three immersion programs to learn to thrive on a whole foods, plant-based diet. We can surmise this program has been successful and cost-effective, based on the fact that Whole Foods continues to offer it.

Yet data have yet to be publically released. The results could transform employer-sponsored wellness programs and help millions of American workers. Whole Foods, let’s get this information out there! Hopefully 2012 will be the year the suspense ends, and the data will be a story of the year no doubt.

This is avoidable. Make yourself heart attack proof with food and you can skip the heart surgery.

TV SPECIAL OF THE YEAR:

The Last Heart Attack – In a groundbreaking move for mainstream TV documentaries, CNN aired the documentary The Last Heart Attack. In this one hour report, Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with former President Clinton about his remarkable health transformation after starting a whole foods, plant-based diet. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn relates the secret of becoming heart-attack-proof. Two contrasting reality patients share their stories of easy success via diet and scary complications via surgery.

Other TV shows brought plant-based nutrition and health information to the public as well, making 2011 a noteworthy year in making animal-free diets understandable and accessible.

WILDLIFE DEFENDER OF THE YEAR:

Sea Shepherd – No 2011 legacy list would be complete without recognition of the deteriorating life support system of our planet. To discuss major 2011 victories, disappointments, and disasters in environmental issues would be a list of its own. In every catastrophe in this area, wildlife suffers first and most, from palm oil plantations that are killing orangutans, to polar bears starving and drowning from climate change, to frogs chemically castrated by persistent organic pollutants.

The 2011 PFD Award for Wildlife Defender of the Year goes to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Led by the awesome Captain Paul Watson, this group sends a courageous crew to the Antarctic every year to stop the Japanese whaling fleet from slaughtering whales

The Sea Shepherd crew risks their lives protecting helpless whales in Antarctica. And these tough men and women are powered by a vegan diet.

in the name of “science,” but actually to make money from selling whale meat.

The unstoppable Sea Shepherd crew risks life, limb, and freedom to protect the helpless whales. What’s more, their ships serve vegan food to the hungry defenders. No “some animals count and others don’t” in this fleet.

CALL-TO-ACTION OF THE YEAR:

Forks Over Knives – This feature film examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that disable and kill people in developed countries can be controlled, or even reversed, with a whole foods, plant-based diet. Roger Ebert calls the movie “A film that can save your life.”

The film has awesome graphics that make the science understandable and compelling. Articulate reality patients share their personal journeys with warmth and humor. These patients easily ditched a laundry list of medical problems, including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and

Forks Over Knives will show you a new world of health and enjoyable eating

obesity simply by changing what they eat.

You can view this movie’s hard hitting call-to-action on DVD, Blu-ray, at a house party, or by streaming the video.

CHANGEMAKERS OF THE YEAR:

The Plant-Based Community – The plant-based community is growing daily, with every member playing a role in promoting healthy eating. The plant-based medical professionals and researchers lead the way through science and patient treatment. To name just a few: Drs. T. Colin Campbell, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal Barnard, Joel Fuhrman, John McDougall, Pam Popper, Terry Mason, Michael Greger, Alona Pulde, Matt Lederman, Michael Klaper, Don Forrester, Baxter Montgomery, and many other pioneers too numerous to list.

Authors of books on plant-based nutrition replace dangerous nutrition myths with must-know facts. Plant-based dietitians are a force for change. Vegan celebrities and athletes show it is cool to eat animal-free. Don’t forget the authors of plant-based cookbooks, the instructors of vegan cooking classes, and chefs in vegan restaurants who make the science jump from page to delicious plate.

Here’s to anyone with a vegan business, radio show, magazine, TV series, film, DVD, podcast, Facebook postings, tweets, conference, web site, or blog. People who give out samples of vegan food or host an animal-free meal, run a vegetarian society, walk to raise money for farmed animals, operate a farmed animal sanctuary, or volunteer or work for a vegan nonprofit. Undercover investigators, who risk their lives to bring the truth about factory farming to the public. Looking at the future, let’s honor the folks who work tirelessly to educate kids on plant-based nutrition and bring them healthy school lunches.

Kudos to the community members of all ages and in every location who quietly eat plant-based every day and serve as role models for how easy and enjoyable this can be. Together, we weave a tapestry of change and joy. Every person is essential.

The plant-based community is open, and you are welcome to join. Let’s make 2012 a healthier year for people, animals, and the planet. It starts with your choice of what to eat every day.

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to learn why people love a plant-based diet.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on whole foods, plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on a whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease as well as get you to your perfect weight. Janice is already looking forward to the 2012 awards.

Mint leaves and fruit are an excellent combination.

Enjoy the Refreshing Herb Mint During the Holidays – And Year Round

You may think of mint as a common herb that you casually use for its flavor and aroma. Minty candy canes symbolize the winter holiday season. Iced mint tea is refreshing in the summer heat.

People around the world cultivate mint or enjoy leaves from the plant growing wild. There are about 100 varieties of plants in the mint family. This herb is hardy and may even take over your garden if you start a small patch without containing the roots. .

When you understand how powerful and versatile mint is, you can use it deliberately to ward off disease and even speed recovery from illness. Here are ten great things that mint can do for your health and satisfaction.

ONE. Numerous phytochemicals in mint are powerful anti-oxidants that obliterate the free radicals that menace your cells. Damaged cells can then lead to malfunctioning organ systems. Mint is effective in interrupting this process, thus staving off illness and perhaps even slowing the rate of aging.

TWO. Mint has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Again this is related to the phytochemicals. Chronic inflammation is at the root of most chronic illness, so the action of mint to balance the inflammation that results from any threat to your body can be beneficial.

THREE. If you are looking for an ally to fight cancer, mint protects you cells from mutation and enhances the DNA repair process. In

Candy canes are minty, but save them for an occasional treat during the holidays. Mint candy is not the best way to consume mint.

addition, peppermint oil is steam-distilled from mint leaves. This safe process avoids the toxic hexane used to extract most vegetable oils. So mint oil does not pollute you or the environment with cancer-causing chemicals.

FOUR. Mint helps prevent infections of many types. Researchers have demonstrated mint kills harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeast that want to set up residence in your body.

FIVE. For centuries, folk medicine used mint to calm the digestive system. Now science supports this, with studies showing mint prevents spasms and pain in your digestive system. Great if you just stuffed yourself with a too-big meal. Medical researchers have even found peppermint oil can reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

SIX. Mint may function to counter allergic reactions. Although this has not been thoroughly studied, it may be helpful to consume mint if you are suffering from allergies.

SEVEN. Topical application of mint oil has been found to reduce pain from injury and headaches.

Mint is easy to grow - watch out or it can take over your garden.

EIGHT. If you are prone to travel sickness, try mint. This is still another reason mint can be helpful over the holidays or during summer vacation, when you are likely out and about more than usual.

NINE. Mint is refreshing, cooling, soothing, and delicious – all at the same time. It’s bright taste and alluring aroma will perk up any meal, drink, or snack. You will certainly be willing to use less salt when you flavor food with mint, as the mixture of mint and salt is not very appetizing. Since most people consume way too much salt, this is a good thing.

TEN. Mint is inexpensive and available in any supermarket or natural food store. You don’t need a prescription to buy it. The label is not filled with scary side effects.

When you combine all the protective actions of mint, the net effect is powerful enough to even guard cells and organ systems against the worst effects of radiation!

Supplements cannot mimic the health-enhancing effects of mint. All varieties of this herb contain a similar beneficial cocktail of vitamins and phytochemicals. The relative proportion of these substances varies based on the variety of the herb and where, when, and how it was grown. In every case, the effectiveness of the whole exceeds the sum of the parts.

Don’t be shy about sampling new recipes with fresh mint leaves, dried mint, or mint extract. You can liven all kinds of dishes with the distinctive flavor of this herb. Try mint in smoothies, fruit salads, green salads, whole grain dishes, sauces, soups, and teas. You can even add a few mint leaves or a drop of mint extract to water or sparkling water for an excellent drink.

Generally, you’ll benefit most by incorporating mint with healthy foods – vegetables, fruits, potatoes, beans, and whole grains. The

You can order mint tea in just about any restaurant or coffee shop. An assortment of brands can be found in just about any supermarket or natural foods store.

marriage of mint and dark chocolate flavors was truly made in heaven though. Minimize mint candy to an occasional treat, but you don’t have to give it up entirely.

The Perfect Formula Diet emphasizes herbs and spices as an essential part of a whole foods, plant-based diet. Mint is an inexpensive, readily available, delicious, and health-promoting herb you can savor throughout the year.

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to read more about some other healthy foods – try mushrooms, flax seeds, or cranberries. In fact, the news about whole plant foods is always good.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on whole foods, plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of  Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on a whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease as well as get you to your perfect weight. Janice loves a cup of mint tea after a meal and dark chocolate flavored with mint as a special treat.

Wayo traveled across Europe and worked with top chefs and macrobiotic teachers to learn to prepare delicious, healing meals

Casa de Luz Will Be an Educational, Healing Community Dining Room

Eating out can be challenging on a whole foods, plant-based diet. Of course you can find vegan food in most restaurants, but it may well be too salty, oily, high calorie, low nutrient, and unsatisfying. This is not unique to eating plant-based. So many restaurants cater to tastes that have been warped by industrialized fast food, unhealthy school cafeterias, microwaved dinners, and packaged junk snacks.

In this landscape of undesirable choices, Casa de Luz will be a notable example of how much better we can be fed. I was excited to learn that Casa de Luz, a 20 year presence in the Austin dining out scene, will be opening in San Diego. Their dining room, in a converted Salvation Army building in the North Park area, will also feature a cooking school so you can learn to make appetizing, healthy meals at home.

I was lucky to have a chance to sample the Casa de Luz food experience at a recent Meet Up. The food is deceptively simple.

I love the Casa de Luz logo

In fact, while using whole organic ingredients, our chef created an outstanding meal that I still think of with longing. The tastes are delicious, satisfying, complex, and memorable.

Far from  being a restaurant, Casa de Luz in San Diego will be a dining room. Customers will sit at large round tables so they can chat with fellow diners while watching the staff chop vegetables and create savory meals in the large, open kitchen. Just observing will be a learning experience. The idea is that experiential learning is a powerful way for people to change and incorporate this healthy way of living – more powerful than a simple class would be.

Eduardo (Wayo) Longoria III, the founder of Casa de Luz in San Diego, is the son of the Austin dining room and holistic center founder. I was fortunate to talk with Wayo and learn more about why he’s starting the San Diego center and his long-term goals, which include healing both for his own serious diagnosis and for the community. Just as important, Wayo is passionate about the rich possibilities of the enjoyment of whole foods. He loves this way of eating, far more than previous routine diet choices.

Wayo’s family has been in the food business since he was a child. His Dad, originally from Nuevo Laredo, had a company called Healthy Snacks. These were packaged snacks that were less bad than the regular movie concession stand variety.  Wayo’s Dad sold the products on the honor system. People were not ready for this kind of payment and the company went out of business.

In the meantime, though, Wayo was literally a kid in a candy store – he would go to the warehouse full of these products and grab them by the handful. He was athletic and did not gain weight, but on the inside he was suffering the consequences of

Wayo was inspired by his Dad's successful Casa de Luz in Austin

empty calorie choices.

Wayo had a stint at boarding school, where he also ate junk food in enormous amounts. Later he learned the restaurant business working at his family’s Burger King and Papa Johns franchises.

Wayo decided to branch out on his own and opened a seafood restaurant in Monterey, Mexico. At that point he was consuming seafood every day, for just about every meal. Instead of ending up a model of health, as the fish hype would lead you to believe, he got mercury poisoning and had to get chelation to get this destructive metal out of his body.

After getting through mercury poisoning, Wayo had an even more devastating diagnosis. He had started suffering with vertigo and numbness. He learned he had multiple sclerosis, a life-changing autoimmune disease that can lead to progressive neurological damage and sometimes even total disability.

Determined to beat his illness and get healthy, Wayo joined his family in Austin to research natural methods of combating multiple sclerosis He discovered macrobiotics at the Austin Casa de Luz. Macrobiotics is a balanced yin-yang approach to eating that mostly relies on seasonal  whole plant foods, especially grains, beans, and vegetables. Macrobiotics is well-known as a healing diet for catastrophic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, and Wayo was optimistic it would help his multiple sclerosis.

A journey to Europe to study macrobiotic cafes and work with macrobiotic chefs soon followed. Wayo learned the various schools of macrobiotic cooking and how to cook the most enjoyable foods in Amsterdam, Italy, and France. During this time

Wayo (second from right) and some friends celebrate a yummy creation at a macrobiotic center in France

he kept meticulous track of his multiple sclerosis flare-ups. He noticed these disease remissions got less frequent and milder. One year in Europe he had no flare-ups at all, despite being on no medications. He found Europeans to be accepting of healthy choices in eating out. “I felt part of a larger community there, not isolated” Wayo notes.

Still, since his Mom and cousins live in San Diego, Wayo decided to return there and start his own dining room founded on whole foods and the model his Dad is successfully following at the Casa de Luz in Austin. The Austin Casa de Luz has a loyal following of regulars based on delicious food that just happens to be healthy.

All the food will be tasty, organic, unprocessed, and nourishing. Diners will start their meals getting their own soup and salad, then runners will bring carefully designed plates of tasty food. The flavor of real unprocessed food grows on you the more you eat it. There is no menu to choose from, but you can check the restaurant’s site before going to see the food that will be served that day. If you want an add-on to the meal, there will be desserts, a juice bar, tea bar, wine, and beer, or you can buy another half plate of the main meal.

Wayo at the groundbreaking for Casa de Luz in San Diego. This dining room breaks new ground in more ways than one, showing how organic, healing food is inseparable from a memorable, satisfying, delicious meal.

Artesanos, the cooking school, means “artisans” and is carefully named. Wayo explains that cooking is creating art work. “You are hand crafting your body. What you put in your mouth becomes you. If you eat wrong, you won’t be a masterpiece.” The cooking school is affiliated with the University of California, San Diego Center for Integrative Medicine. This innovative medical provider with sponsor some of the cooking classes for their patients, along with other alternate approaches to healing, such as acupuncture and meditation.

The parent company of Casa de Luz in San Diego is Commitment to Health, LLC. Everyone who works in the dining room will commit to their own health. Wayo finds potential employees are very open to this. While they can eat any way they want, they need to commit to eating healthier and making progress toward a whole foods, plant based diet.

Casa de Luz will open in San Diego most likely at end of November or early December 2011. Check their Facebook page for progress. Wayo is working on the final construction and hiring of the rest of the staff. He is so excited that he is once again like a kid in a candy store, but this time the “candy” is healthy, organic, and truly delicious for the educated palate. Casa de Luz will be a destination center for anyone interested in enjoyably nourishing their body while enjoying the best food on earth.

Most importantly, diners will learn they do not have to choose between taste and health. In fact, for the quality of food that the dining room will serve, taste and health complement each other. I hope Wayo clones Casa de Luz to many more cities.

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to read Twelve Ways to Make Cooking Fun and Easy.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on whole foods, plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease as well as get you to your perfect weight. Janice expects Casa de Luz will quickly become her favorite San Diego dining room.

Flax seeds are tiny, but contribute much to a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Why Consuming Fish for Omega-3s Is Like Eating Radioactive Vegetables

You can’t eat a single nutrient in isolation. This includes overhyped omega-3 fatty acids. Whether you get these nutrients from food or pills, they’re part of a package.

Here’s an illustration. Just imagine for a moment you want to get more fiber into your diet and decide vegetables are the way to do this. So you buy some veggies, but they were grown near Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and have low levels of radioactivity. Not enough to kill you right away, but enough to raise your cancer risk through the rest of your life. How likely are you going to be to want those veggies? Because the fiber and everything else good in the veggies is there, but the radioactivity pollutes the whole package. You can’t have one without the other.

Essential fatty acids give you a similar choice. Do you want your omega-3s packaged with dangerous components that make you sick? Especially when you can get them in packages with lots of other substances that boost your health?

Fish and fish oil, which cleverly written ads and even many nutrition “experts” push for their omega-3s, come most often come packaged with a load of undesirable components:

• Mercury
• Toxic persistent organic pollutants
• Cholesterol
• Saturated fat
• Parasites
• Microbes that cause food poisoning
• Drugs used on fish farms
• Destruction of the marine ecosystem that supports life on our planet.
  

  Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are destroying marine ecosystems, killing millions of dolphins, whales, turtles, sea birds, and seals, not to mention trillions of fish. You can refuse to participate in this process by eating flax seeds instead of fish.

Lab analysis proves that even factory distillation leaves many pollutants behind in fish oil. So although the omega-3s are present, so are a lot of things you don’t want, but have to accept if you choose this package. Remember, plants are the base of the food chain, so there is no desirable nutrient in fish that did not originate in far more nutritious plants.

Flax seeds are a way better option, a package of gifts you want. Keep in mind you need to grind flax seed to get its nutritional benefits. The seed has a very hard shell. If you don’t grind it before eating, it will go through your digestive system intact and you get no benefit.The best way to grind flax is in a coffee grinder. Grind enough for a week or two and keep it refrigerated, or buy it already ground. Eat two tablespoons a day sprinkled on cereal, oatmeal, salads, wraps, grains, or mixed in smoothies.

Here are five ways these tiny powerhouses nourish your needs.

First, flax seeds are high in omega-3s. The only two essential fats you need from food are omega-3s and omega-6s. These fats are part of your cell membranes. They help regulate cholesterol metabolism, also providing the building blocks for hormone-like substances that are critical in regulating various bodily functions such as blood

Flax seeds come with a very pretty package of healh gifts. The same cannot be said of fish and fish oil.

pressure, blood clotting, and immunity.

Omega-6s are like the gas pedal in a car and omega-3s are like the brakes in terms of inflammation. You need both to keep cruising down the road at an ideal speed. However, to suggest that inflammation can be turned off by omega-3s, like turning off a light with a light switch, is inaccurate and way oversimplifies the incredible complexities of your body.

In thinking of these fatty acids, the primary question is balance, not deficiency. Wild plants have about equal amounts of omega-3s and omega-6’s. However, farmed or domesticated plants, for the most part, have far more omega 6’s than 3’s.

Flax seeds in an exception to this general rule and are a bountiful source of omega-3s. The main myth you will hear is that your body cannot transform the “short-chain” omega-3s in flax into the “long-chain” omega-3s that are also required.

The myth that humans cannot make long chain omega-3’s we need fails miserably. Research does not support this idea. For example, a recent European study of over 14,000 adults contrasted the levels of long-chain omega-3s in the blood of fish eaters, meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. The fish eaters consumed way more long chain omega-3s than the other groups did. However, the amounts of these long-chain fatty acids measured in the blood varied little among the groups. In other words, the people who ate the least

Processed vegetable oils are generally high in omega-6s. These interfere with your body's natural ability to convert short chain omega-3s to long chain omega-3s. Why? Both types of omegas use the same enzyme to accomplish the transformation. Eat whole foods and avoid processed oils, whether in a jar or a tub of margarine.

long-chain omega-3s were most efficient at converting the short chain (such as found in flax seeds) to these long chain forms.

The assertion people can’t make long-chain omega-3s fails any common sense test. Since our ancestors thrived for millions of years without omega-3 supplements or regularly (if ever, in most cases) eating fish, this concern is a bit nonsensical.

However, there is a core of truth. The same enzymes that help your body form long-chain omega-3s also help your body make long-chain omega-6s. How do you know you have the enzymes that enable these conversions? Let’s start with the fact you are alive. You could not survive without these enzymes. However, if you eat lots more omega-6’s than you do omega-3’s, the 6’s can swamp out the 3’s. This is most likely to happen if you consume vegetable oils, which are concentrated omega-6 sources. Stick to whole plant foods without added oils.

Second, flax seeds are high in fiber, which fish and fish oil totally lack. Fiber helps sweep toxins and excess hormones from your body. If you have any issues with constipation, see how well flax seeds can get rid of this issue for you. Research also indicates that fiber lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, and decreases insulin resistance.

Third, flax seed is a whole food with many protective phytochemicals (beneficial nutrients found only in plants). Lignans, a phytochemical found in substantially higher amounts in flax seeds than in almost any other plant, have been shown to have potent anti-tumor effects for prostate, breast, and colon cancers. For example, one study found that lignans significantly reduced the growth rate of prostate cancer, possibly by depriving tumors of their blood supply and causing the cancer cells to self-destruct.

Studies indicate that lignans may also lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. This phytochemical reduces cholesterol and systemic inflammation.

Fourth, flax seeds are amazingly affordable. In fact, your daily two tablespoons should cost you about 7 or 8 cents if you buy whole flax

You can buy several days worth of flax seed for these many pennies. No one is getting rich. Hence no ads, no hype. Only value for you.

seed and grind it yourself. If you buy it already ground, you’ll pay a few pennies more. Contrast this with the cost of fish, fish oil, or drugs. If a medication were this powerful, you can bet no drug company would sell it for a few cents. Flax seeds are jewels that just about anyone can afford. So much for the notion that health has to be expensive.

Fifth, flax seeds are widely available and convenient. As more people are learning about their benefits, flax seeds are soaring in popularity. You can find them in any natural foods store and even many supermarkets. Order online if you cannot find them locally.

Flax seeds, although unique and powerful, will not in themselves overcome the health consequences of a diet based on animal and manufactured foods. Instead, see flax seeds as a desirable part of a whole foods, plant-based diet.

If you want to learn more about omega-3s, you might enjoy the post Seven Reasons Omega-3s From Plants Clobber Fish and Fish Oil. To learn 10 reasons fish is not healthy to eat, check out the post Fish Contains Worm Larvae.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on whole foods, plant-based diet that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease.

Chef AJ in the kitchen, testing and putting together whole foods, plant-based recipes

Chef AJ Says To Eat Dessert First – As Long as It’s Healthy

Chef AJ’s book Unprocessed is will show you that the healthiest food is also the tastiest. The author observes “Your diet can be your undoing or your salvation. The difference is the difference between processed and unprocessed food.”

She is talking to you, whether you eat animal foods now or are already 100% plant-based. “A lousy, junky vegan diet, full of oil and sweeteners and fake meats and highly processed grains” saves animal lives, but will not make you into a walking role model of health who others to want to follow. A whole foods, plant-based diet is key to being the inspiring statistic we know can be achieved in research studies on vegan health.

Unprocessed has over 100 recipes, both raw and cooked, that make whole plant foods a delight. When Chef AJ says unprocessed, she means it. All recipes are free of refined sugar, factory-made oils, and added salt. She manages to work kale into an amazing range of dishes you’d never expect to be rich in leafy greens.

However, be aware that the chef makes liberal use of nuts, seeds, and avocadoes. The weight of research indicates that moderate consumption of nuts is healthy. However, if you are on a truly low-fat diet, many of the recipes will not meet your needs.

Dates are one of Chef AJ’s signature ingredients. She tells you how to make date paste and date syrup. Most of her desserts and even some of the dishes for meals contain liberal amounts of these sweet dried fruits.

Dates are as healthy as they are sweet. Chef AJ makes good use of this fruit instead of refined sugar.

Since dates have a reputation of being concentrated sugar, I decided to investigate what research has uncovered on this fruit’s effects on your body. Here’s what I found:

• Humans have eaten dates for 6,000 years. There are more than 2,000 varieties of fresh dates. People in the Middle East routinely consume 10 to 30 dates every day, obtaining minerals, vitamins, protein, phytochemicals (beneficial plant-based nutrients) and lots of fiber.
• Eating six date fruits every day for the last four weeks of pregnancy was associated with reduced need to induce labor and shorter labor in a study of 114 women.
• In a lab study, date syrup was a strong antioxidant and killed a range of microbes (including a couple types of staph). The syrup also reduced the viability of human cancer cells.
• A pilot study in Israel found that, in healthy subjects, eating six to seven dates a day led to stable weight, cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar levels. Study participants did benefit from lower triglycerides. One of the date varieties in the study was a potent antioxidant as well, helping lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, much of the antioxidant activity was from the unique sugars in dates.

Chef AJ tells you how to make superb smoothies

With these findings in mind, you can enjoy the date-rich recipes guilt-free, even feeling a tinge of virtue.

The variety of incredible tastes in Unprocessed will delight you. I’ve been privileged to eat some of Chef AJ’s

Unprocessed gives you Chef AJ's moving life story and more than 100 of her creative recipes

memorable creations at various veg events. The flavors definitely leave you wanting more, and now you can make these unfussy masterpieces at home. Be the star of your next potluck by bringing one of the Unprocessed dishes. Have your family and friends begging to have you cook for them. Tired of cooking? Share one of the simple recipes with friends and let them have fun making dinner for the group.

In the early book chapters, Chef AJ shares intimate, painful events in her life that explain her passion for unprocessed foods. You end up feeling like you know her, that she is your friend, because she has trusted you with her experiences and genuinely cares about your well-being. She wants you to find the same excellent health and pleasure she now experiences.

Chef AJ is a well-know spokeswoman for the rewards of a whole foods, plant-based diet. If you live in or visit Southern California, you can also try her cooking classes or catch her at an event, such as the annual Healthy Taste of LA. Until then, Unprocessed will definitely get you thinking and cooking.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on sustainable food choices that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease.

The pineapple is an attractive fruit growing on a four foot high plant. Don't you just want to grab it and bring it home?

A Special Enzyme in This Unique Food Has Profound Health Benefits

Although only four feet high, the pineapple plant grows a powerful fruit. This tropical plant, native to South America but now found in warm places around the world, blooms with red or purple flowers. The many small flowers meld together as they produce fruit. So a large pineapple is really a fusion of many smaller berries around a central stalk.

Bromelain is an enzyme that distinguishes pineapples from all other fruits. This enzyme, which your body can absorb intact, has unique and powerful effects to support your health. Pineapple is a special piece of the puzzle in putting together your ideal whole foods, plant-based diet.

To reap the advantages of bromelain, be sure to eat pineapple raw. Cooking or canning destroys this enzyme. An electric knife makes cutting whole pineapple a breeze, or you can buy fresh fruit that is already cut into chunks.

For more bromelain, eat the whole pineapple (minus the skin and leaves). The tougher circle of cells at the center of these fruits (which is actually the central stalk or stem) has more concentrated bromelain than the surrounding tender fruit has.

You can cut the stalk into small pieces or put it into a smoothie where it will be ground up. If you just eat the soft part of the fruit, don’t worry though. You will still be getting bromelain and other wonderful nutrients.

Here are six top reasons to eat more fresh pineapple:

First, bromelain is well-known for its ability to prevent and speed the healing of bruises. These black and blue marks occur when small blood vessels (called capillaries) in your skin are ruptured and blood pools in the tissue under the skin’s surface. Some cosmetic surgeons even recommend this enzyme to reduce bruising after cosmetic procedures. Bromelain inhibits the formation of the blood clots that can block blood circulation.

Second, bromelain has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects that counter a range of chronic diseases and infections.

To get the most bromelain, consume the entire pineapple slice (minus the skin and leaves). Bromelain is most concentrated in the central core of the fruit, which is really the stalk of the plant.

Bromelain has been used to reduce inflammation in arthritis, sinusitis, inflammatory bowel disease, sports injuries, trauma, burns, prostatitis, and swelling after surgery. This enzyme may aid in reducing the effects of toxic organisms in your intestines as well as help antibiotics to work more effectively when you need to take them.

Third, bromelain works to destroy cancer cells. In fact, bromelain is already used by some clinicians as part of the chemotherapy process. A 2011 study in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Carcinogenesis found that bromelain was effective in suppressing the growth of two kinds of human cancer cells, including melanoma cells. A 2010 study in the journal BioFactors showed that bromelain delayed growth and eventually induced the death of human breast cancer cells.

Fourth, pineapple is brimming with nutrients in addition to bromelin. Pineapple is not just a bromelain delivery mechanism. This whole food is dense with fiber, vitamin C, and phytochemicals, beneficial nutrients found only in plants. These antioxidants fight the free radicals that can damage your cells and cause disease.

Fifth, because pineapple is a tropical fruit that grows on several continents, you can buy it year-round. If your favorite fruits are out-of-season, try eating pineapple instead.

Sixth, pineapple is a miraculously delicious fruit, juicy, tart, and sweet all at the same time. You can eat this flavorful fruit plain,

A large bowl of freshly cut pineapple is a treat beyond compare.

and never miss the addition of any other flavor. Pineapple is also a favorite fruit salad addition, and can even be cooked as part of a main course – for example, added to a sweet and sour dish. The only disadvantage of cooking is the destruction of bromelain. But if you eat a lot of pineapple, eating some cooked occasionally won’t hurt.

Given the health benefits of bromelain, you may be wondering if taking this enzyme as a supplement (bromelain pills are readily available) is not superior to just eating fresh pineapple. This is an example of the dangerous food myth “if a little is good, more is better.”

Whether bromelain pills might have medicinal value for serious illness, such as cancer, remains to be investigated. If you are seriously ill, ask your physician about whether bromelain supplements might be helpful. If you are taking blood thinners, be sure to consult with your physician before taking bromelain supplements, which also help prevent blood clot formation and could interact with your blood thinner.

For healthy people eating pineapple for its general beneficial effects and flavor, it’s possible that a concentrated mega-dose of bromelain in a supplement has detrimental side effects. Your body was not designed to handle unnatural concentrations of any nutrient, beyond what nature puts into whole foods. So take home that gorgeous pineapple you were admiring in the store and enjoy all its benefits and goodness.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on sustainable food choices that can prevent, and even reverse, most chronic disease.

Galia and David Myron enjoy drinks out of fresh coconuts. Plant-based can be so enjoyable!

Galia Myron Tracks Generations As Whole Food, Plant-Based Diets Flourish

Want to know more about the health, food habits, values, preferences, or sex lives of Generations X, Y, or Z? How about Baby Boomers or Matures, women vs. men, or green trends? Galia Myron, publisher of the richly comprehensive site demodirt.com, reports on every aspect of demographics as she both follows and observes a vegan path. She especially enjoys covering trends on plant-based diets, animal rights, environmental issues, and health.

Galia observes that, a few years ago, the fastest growing vegan group was boomer men who were motivated by health considerations. Now she finds more young people choosing animal-free diets for ethical reasons. Marketers are also waking up to vegans as a savvy consumer group and offering products to satisfy animal-free standards.

In corporate America, vegans are modeling their eating choices in low-key ways, showing vegans are not a fringe or marginal group. Their co-workers accommodate these choices in selecting a restaurant for business meetings. While discussing the agenda of the day, business associates of vegans get to observe how easy it is to follow a plant-based diet and have their stereotypes of vegans deflated.

“Veganism is becoming more mainstream across generations, race, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status,” Galia observes. “People are not puzzled when someone says they are vegan. It’s harder for animal industries to hide their cruelty when people can see it on the Internet right away. This is a really good time for veganism, animal rights, and compassion. People of all ages and both sexes can see the benefits.”

One thing people of all generations have in common is that they can all benefit from a whole foods, plant-based diet. This means more healthy years sharing joys with family and friends.

I asked Galia how she became vegan and her experiences with her dietary choice. At age 11, Galia decided to become vegetarian. With a vegetarian mom and meat-eating dad, she thought through her food choices on her own. “I saw chicken on a bone as disgusting, as a corpse. Then I realized hamburger was no different,” Galia tells me. After continuing to consume dairy and eggs through childhood and adolescence, Galia abandoned dairy after reading Skinny Bitch.

By then she was engaged, and her fiancé was transitioning to a vegetarian diet. Galia learned about the cruelty of the egg industry from Farm Sanctuary, and stopped buying and eating eggs that same day. Her fiancé – now husband – decided to join her in a 100% plant-based diet. Their main motivation was and remains ethical. Animal suffering is simply wrong, and they refused to contribute to it.

Health benefits also followed Galia’s transition to a whole foods, plant-based diet. After she gave up dairy, she experienced an immediate energy surge. Then she lost eight pounds in just two weeks. Over twenty more pounds dropped off after that.

Even better, Galia’s chronic acne vanished after she stopped eating dairy (although first it flared up before going away). Her PMS also became shorter and less troubling. “Even my husband noticed,” Galia happily relates. Menstrual cramps became less intense.

Galia loves to cook. She prefers unprocessed, fresh foods she prepares herself. “I eat several times a day, like the not-meals you write about,” Galia relates. She makes hummus, red potatoes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and salads plus many other dishes.

I’m tempted to fly to her house when she tells me how she makes homemade frozen dessert with coconut milk and silken tofu. “I’m sure my diet is more diverse than most people’s, with so many ethnic choices,” she states. She has also discovered a local restaurant that caters vegan party foods that everyone, including omnivores, loves.

Galia and her husband are raising their six-month old daughter, Mirella, on a vegan diet. The baby is and always has been a perfect

Little Mirella Myron is lucky she will experience all the benefits of a whole foods, plant-based diet from day one.

weight. The pediatrician has no concerns for her health. The baby has never had an ear infection, and Galia expects a bare minimum of childhood illnesses. The routine bouts of ear infections so many kids experience just don’t have to happen.

I question whether Galia anticipates social challenges as Mirella gets old enough to attend birthday parties and hang out with her friends. Galia points out that allergies are becoming more and more common with kids and other parents have to be mindful and flexible anyway about what they serve to their child’s friends. Being vegan is just another dietary boundary to respect and be open to. She is happy to bring vegan cupcakes and other treats to parties. Galia is matter-of-fact about these social issues and absolutely does not see them as a barrier to her family’s choices.

What values, challenges, and accomplishments will define Mirella’s generation? Galia will be tracking and reporting on this on a daily basis. To the extent she can influence choices and serve as a role model, it will be a vegan path.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet: How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Now With Six Kinds of Whole Foods. This easy-to-follow eating plan is built on sustainable food choices that can prevent, or even reverse, most chronic disease.

Whole foods are dense with calcium because plants need this mineral to survive.

Calcium Supplements May Also Make Your Body Too Alkaline

Whole plant foods contain thousands of beneficial substances, including amino acids, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and phytochemicals, health-promoting nutrients found only in plants. These nourishing elements work together to form a vital tapestry supporting vibrant health.

Yet the media and commonplace nutritional advice focus on only a few isolated food components. Calcium is one of the most overhyped nutrients, largely because of the clout of the dairy industry. The myth is that osteoporosis is basically a calcium deficiency, and consuming lots of dairy products and calcium supplements will keep bones strong. This strategy pervades the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This USDA report recommends the unreal amount of three cups of dairy or soy milk a day for anyone age 9 or older.

Supplement manufacturers benefit as well from concern about not getting enough calcium. Bottles of calcium pills, either as an isolated mineral or combined with other minerals or vitamin D, line store shelves with a dazzling array of choices.

Nowhere in the constant repetitive message of “calcium, calcium, calcium” will you hear about the hazards of consuming too much of this mineral. Here are three of the top concerns:

• Your body could become too alkaline

• Your risk of kidney stones increases

• Your artery walls can become stiff and inflexible

Decreased kidney function (common in older adults) and certain popular prescription drugs lower the body’s ability to get rid of excess calcium and raise the risk of toxic excess. Yet older women are the ones most consistently hounded to consume lots of calcium.

Let’s look at the facts, not the hype.

You don’t want to be too alkaline. Your body very closely regulates its acidity, which is measured by a number called “pH.”

You can be healthy, or even just survive, in a remarkably narrow range of acid vs. alkaline

Liquids that have a pH of 7 are neutral. Those with lower numbers are considered acidic and those with a pH over 7 are alkaline.

Your body’s preferred pH is 7.4, and survival does not allow much leeway. The full pH scale for all liquids runs from zero to 14. For people, a pH of less than 7.35 or more than 7.45 can lead to health problems. This is a swing of less than 1% of the full pH range. In other words, you cannot be in optimal health in 99% of the possible pH range found in nature.

A pH of less than 6.8 or more than 7.8 is deadly. This is a variation of 7% of the full pH range. In other words, you can’t even survive in 93% of the possible pH range found in nature.

Your lungs and kidneys are the primary defenses to keep your pH in the optimal zone, with bones and intestines also important. However, your body’s ability to buffer a pH that is too high or too low can be overwhelmed. Symptoms of being too alkaline include heart dysrhythmias, lightheadedness, confusion, irritability, headache, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting, seizures, and altered breathing. Many causes can trigger this condition, with diet being only one of them.

Barring other problems, your body is designed to keep pH right where it should be when you eat whole plant foods. The issues start when you consume unnatural concentrations of substances that would be healthy in smaller doses but are harmful when you eat too much. Calcium pills, which tend to make the body more alkaline, are an example.

A 2010 study highlighted this issue, especially as it affects pregnant and postmenopausal women with a condition called calcium-alkali syndrome. Usually triggered in recent times by consuming too much supplemental calcium, patients have excess calcium in their blood, overly alkaline body chemistry, and kidney problems. If not corrected, kidney failure can result.

A 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report considers how much calcium people should consume, and what happens when they get too much. This IOM report cites the study above as a compelling reason to avoid excessive calcium intake.

Triggering kidney stones is painful. According to the IOM report, 12% of men and 6% of women will develop kidney stones. Along with pain, these stones carry the risk of infection and damaged kidney function. High blood calcium levels and calcium supplements contribute to the likelihood of developing kidney stones.

Arteries should not be stiff and brittle. Your artery walls are designed to flexibly expand and contract as your heart pumps. In developed countries where people eat a diet based on animal and processed foods, artery walls become choked. Plaque, a protein coating over a core of fats and dead cells, builds up as a result of a chronic inflammatory process that damages blood vessel walls. Plaque keeps blood from flowing freely, raises blood pressure, and makes you more prone to heart attack and stroke.

High levels of calcium in the blood can make this situation even worse. Under normal circumstances, your body stores calcium it does not immediately need in small cubbyholes in your bones. However, if you are ingesting too much calcium, this mineral can be deposited in plaque and soft tissues in your body. Calcium deposited in plaque makes blood vessel walls brittle and stiff. These unnaturally rigid blood vessels can’t work properly. They are susceptible to tears that lead to internal bleeding.

A 2010 study pulled together 11 other published clinical trials to pool data on 12,000 people. Those taking calcium supplements had a 31% increased risk of a heart attack. The researchers conclude that “treatment of 1000 people with calcium for five years would cause an additional 14 myocardial infarctions [heart attacks], 10 strokes, and 13 deaths, and prevent 26 fractures.”

Have you ever snapped a stick of chalk? If so, you know how brittle it is. Chalk is almost pure calcium.

So how do you keep your bones strong?

You want your bones to be durable and resist breaking. You really don’t care how thick they are. The popular myth is that calcium makes bones stronger.

However think about chalk, which is almost pure calcium. Imagine taking a stick of chalk and holding one end in each hand. Now snap your hands up and apart with little force. What are you left with? Two pieces of chalk, the broken remnant of the original stick. This shows calcium is brittle, not a property most people want to see in their bones.

A 2010 editorial in the prestigious British Medical Journal states “Bone mineral density, which is often used as a measure of treatment success, is a surrogate measure for real clinical benefit.” The authors go on to observe “Calcium supplements, given alone, improve bone mineral density, but they are ineffective in reducing the risk of fractures and might even increase risk, they might increase the risk of cardiovascular events, and they do not reduce mortality. They seem to be unnecessary in adults with an adequate diet.”

You don’t need dairy products either for sufficient calcium. Cows cannot make calcium any more than they can make gold. Both calcium and gold are minerals that come from the earth. While gold is rare, calcium is common and absolutely necessary for the health of plants. Cows get the calcium in their milk and bones when they eat plants, and you can get your calcium in exactly the same way.

If you eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, you might not really need much calcium anyway. Your body gets skilled at absorbing, conserving, and recycling calcium when you don’t eat excessive amounts of it. Researchers compared a group of 105 Buddhist nuns on an animal-free diet with 105 similar women in their communities. While the nuns consumed 330 mg of calcium per day on average, and had been on an animal-free diet for an average of 33 years, these women suffered no ill effects on their bone health.

A whole foods, plant-based diet balances inflammation, countering the systemic chronic inflammation that can weaken bone structure as well as damage blood vessel walls. Weight-bearing exercise has consistently been shown to build bone strength. Practices that improve balance can help avert bone-breaking falls, as can common sense safety measures around the house and while traveling. Spend the money you save by giving up calcium supplements on something worthwhile that will improve your health. How about a new pair of walking shoes or a safety bar for your shower?

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

For high levels of radiation, stay away. Essential workers must be suited up for protection. You can't avoid low levels of radiation. Suit up with whole foods.

Diet Helps Shield You from Radiation and Cancer

The struggle to contain radioactive releases at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has focused the world’s attention on the hazards of radiation. However, even without such incidents, you are subject to harmful radiation every day.

Low-level background radiation bathes the earth. Cosmic rays are penetrating subatomic particles. According to NASA, about 100 of these particles bombard every square meter of the planet at sea level every second – and will pass through you if you are in their path. The number of powerful cosmic rays increases rapidly with altitude.

Additional radiation originates from radioactive materials at the earth’s surface. The amount varies by location. Finally, tiny amounts of radioactive forms of potassium, carbon, and other materials that make up your body get into your cells through food or other means.

The good news is that life evolved with this background radiation. Effective repair mechanisms offer protection from radiation within each cell. Every second your body is fixing the damage.

For the average American, radiation from manmade sources roughly doubles annual exposure from the natural background level. The biggest contributor to routine radiation is diagnostic medical imaging tests. The President’s Cancer Panel concluded that Americans receive 48% of their total radiation exposure from medical imaging and other medical sources, as opposed to only 15%

Medical workers and patients need to guard against the radiation in medical imaging.

in the early 1980s. CT scans alone account for 24% of the total.

What is the risk from this doubling of natural radiation dosages? The answer is that no one knows The amount received is still orders of magnitude below that needed to trigger deadly acute radiation syndrome.

The answer is elusive because of the lag, which is often decades, between when a cancer begins and when it is diagnosed. By the time cancer is causing obvious symptoms, it’s often too late to pinpoint what factor or combination of factors caused it initially and kept it growing over the years. So scientists rely on statistical data rather than cause and effect studies.

Research indicates that even low levels of radiation increase the risk of cancer. Other hazards of radioactivity include genetic damage, which can be passed on even to the next generation, and decreased fertility.

Clearly, minimizing exposure to radiation is desirable. So is enhancing your body’s ability to repair damage caused by low-level radiation.

Luckily, whole plant foods offer a simple, effective, low-cost means to safeguard your health from both manmade and natural low-level radiation. Here are five ways they help, both by preventing radiation exposure and by speeding repair when powerful radioactive waves or particles penetrate your cells.

One. Roughly half of average radiation exposure is entirely avoidable. All you need to do is be healthy enough to not require diagnostic medical imaging studies. A whole foods, plant-based diet is an effective strategy to drastically reduce your risk of chronic illness that might lead a physician to recommend these tests.

For “preventive” imaging that uses x-rays, do careful research and weigh the pros and cons of each procedure. Be sure to ask your doctor if any test she recommends involves radiation. Understand how important it is to get it and what the alternatives are. This is especially true for children, who are more susceptible to radiation than adults are. A 2010 study of the insurance records of 355,088 children showed the average U.S. child had nearly eight diagnostic imaging procedures by age 18.

Two. The amount of radiation required for a medical test rises the more tissue the radiation must penetrate to form an image. Four to ten times as much radiation may be needed to complete a diagnostic test in an obese patient, as compared to a patient in a healthy weight range. A whole foods, plant-based diet is the path to permanent, hunger-free weight loss. So if you do need a diagnostic test, you will minimize the radiation damage by being at a lean weight.

Three. Dairy products are a major food source of radioactive elements in areas that have been contaminated by fallout from a nuclear incident. Other animal foods also concentrate the radioactivity in the plants used for feed. For example, after the Chernobyl disaster, the Swedish government carefully monitored radioactivity from plant and animal foods from contaminated areas. While most animal foods, including meat, dairy, and fish had higher levels of radioactive substances, most grains,

High energy cosmic radiation can damage your cells.

vegetables, potatoes, and fruit were below the safe limits.

Four. Radiation causes significant cellular damage by knocking into subatomic particles and forming free radicals. These are high energy, electrically charged particles that play havoc with the cell and can lead to cancer, among other illnesses.

Vitamins and phytochemicals (beneficial nutrients found only in plants) are powerful antioxidants, one of your body’s primary defenses against free radicals. Whole plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, beans, potatoes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices, have an arsenal of nutrients to counter free radicals.

A study of 36,228 atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrates that plant power helps even in extreme circumstances. Survivors who ate fruits and vegetables daily had 13% less risk of dying from cancer over a twenty year period than those who consumed these foods less than once a week.

Five. Radiation also causes direct genetic damage at the cellular level. This can both cause cancer (if the damaged cell reproduces)

Atomic bomb survivors and airline pilots have been shown to be protected against radiation by colorful whole foods.

and harm the next generation when altered genes are passed on.

A 2009 study of airline pilots demonstrates the protective power of plant-based vitamins and phytochemicals. Recall that cosmic rays, an intense form of background radiation, increase significantly with altitude. Thus pilots are routinely subject to substantially higher radiation levels than the average person. Researchers chose a few vitamins and phytochemicals to study, and found that high amounts of these substances from food protected against genetic damage in a group of 83 pilots. While most nutrients were effective on their own, the best protection came from eating a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables with all the nutrients studied plus many more. Manufactured nutritional supplements were not effective – only food was.

Now you can add protection against the harmful effects of radiation to the long list of reasons to thrive on a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Intrigued? Now you can use our Whole Foods Blog Finder to target informative, fun postings on plant-based nutrition. Quick information at no cost!

Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.

New Survey Shows Vegans are Happy and Thriving

In our over-stressed and rushed world, is there a simple secret to inner peace? Amid the wasteland of fast food and supermarkets crammed with thousands of processed choices, is there a straight line to health? Surrounded by pavement and parking lots, how can you feel a direct connection to the majesty of nature?

2,068 vegans took a moment to share the answers in the survey Vegan From the Inside. Respondents completed questions on what it’s like for them to be on an animal-free diet, plus wrote in over 100 pages of comments. People from around the world participated; about three-quarters from the United States, and the rest from Canada, Australia, the UK, and many other countries. All had been on a 100% plant-based diet for at least 3 months, with 10% vegan for more than a decade.

You can read the press release and complete survey report with all the numbers on the survey’s website. You can even download charts to use in your own writing or research.

This first-of-its-kind project paints a complex picture of what it’s like to be vegan – and it’s a picture that in no way matches the misconceptions and stereotypes in mainstream media. Here’s a quick list of the six myths that the survey demolishes, replaced by just the facts.

MYTH ONE. Vegans are pale, weak, and unhealthy because their diet lacks protein and other vital nutrients. Fact: fully 68.6% of

Most respondents felt more energetic after choosing a 100% plant-based diet

respondents got healthier after starting an animal-free diet. Only 1.6% said their health got worse. Over half noted their energy level improved after they became vegan, while 44% got more physically active.

MYTH TWO. A vegan diet is not a good weight-loss choice because of all those darn “carbs.” Fact: four out of ten respondents lost weight they wanted to lose after going plant-based, and almost that many started at their ideal weight and stayed there. How many gained weight? A puny 5%.

MYTH THREE. A vegan diet is boring. Fact: 96.7% of respondents enjoy their food on a vegan diet. 94.4% intend to stay on a 100% plant-based diet for the rest of their life. These numbers tell a story that can change the world.

MYTH FOUR. A vegan diet is all about deprivation and lower quality of life.

Fact: in addition to the almost total satisfaction expressed with being vegan, respondents found much else to enhance their lives as a result of their eating choice. Rewards included enjoying cooking more (73.4%), making a difference for animals (90.8%) and the environment (86.3%), feeling closer to animals and nature (70.5%), helping others by being a good role model

People say they feel closer to animals and nature when they choose a vegan diet

(69.6%), and feeling more spiritual (41.6%). Not bad just for a simple change in diet.

MYTH FIVE. A vegan diet requires a high level of discipline and is difficult to stick to in the long-run. Fact: the longer you stay on a plant-based diet, the easier it becomes. Although the initial transition can be demanding, 61.2% experience remaining on a vegan diet long-term is effortless. Only 3.2% feel it takes a lot of work.

MYTH SIX. Vegans can’t enjoy eating out or other social get-togethers. Fact: While this is the area of greatest challenge, most respondents have developed strategies to get what they need. 60.2% answer eating out is less convenient, yet this falls into the annoyance category. In the write-in comments, no one seems especially upset about dealing with restaurants.

Coping with friends and family is more of an emotional issue, though. The most common reactions respondents experience when someone learns they are vegan are curiosity, surprise, and a willingness to accommodate. Nonetheless, some reactions are more negative. When faced with lack of understanding from family, friends, and potential dates, vegans feel a range of emotions from sadness to anxiety to a determination to show how great vegan food can be.

Taken as a whole, the survey confirms vegans are happy, healthy, energetic, and committed to their eating choices. The following comments from respondents show what a difference an animal-free diet can make:

Becoming vegan is the single most important choice I’ve made for my health and well-being as well as for animals and the planet.

Going vegan is the best thing I ever did, I feel so much healthier and happy. I have learned to really enjoy the wonderful tastes of food instead of smothering meat in heavy gravies, sauces, or lots of condiments.

My only regret is that it took me so long to learn about the overwhelming reasons to go vegan, and I hope it won’t take my younger family members that long.

Becoming vegan was the best choice I could have ever made. It’s made such a difference in so many different areas in my life. It saddens me that more are not open to learning more about the positive benefits.

Preventing cancer is important to me and one reason I became vegan. The taste of meat had gotten less interesting to me and I have found meat and dairy substitutes that are satisfying, so it was a very easy transition. I had also taken a series of cooking classes. I couldn’t have done it without those. I feel much better about animals not dying for my dinner.

I only wish that I had discovered the benefits of a vegan lifestyle sooner.

Going vegan was easily the most exciting, enlightening and rational thing I have ever done. It is also frustrating at times and alienating and irritating…but I would not change back for anything.

Being vegan is easy, I would never go back to a vegetarian diet. Eating out at times can be difficult but it’s not a huge problem

I love eating delicious food and I’ve been vegan a little over 4 years… it saddens me when people act like food can’t be good without animal products. Few people on the planet enjoy a delicious meal as much as I do!

If you are thinking about trying a 100% plant-based diet, maybe these facts and feelings will make it easier for you to take that step. If you are like these 2.068 people, it may well be the best decision you ever make.

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Blog posting by Janice Stanger, Ph.D. Janice authored The Perfect Formula Diet, the smart person’s nutrition book built on sustainable food choices. Enjoy six kinds of whole foods for permanent, hunger-free weight loss and health.