Vegan Diet Guy

Many people aspiring for a healthier diet are surprised to learn there are just as many varieties of vegan diets as there are non plant-based diets–and not all of them are health promoting. The biggest differences among vegan diets are what foods are permissible, how they are prepared, and the balance of macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

After trying a raw food diet on and off for the past year, I decided to visit the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, AZ, to experience the diet and lifestyle developed by Dr. Gabriel Cousens.

The biggest idea in Cousens’ “Conscious Eating” is that everyone requires a unique diet based on body constitution and ayurvedic dosha, and that all of these needs can be met with an organic plant-based diet consisting of 80 percent raw and living foods.

Cousens has just released a new edition of “There is a Cure for Diabetes”, in which he describes a chronic diabetes degenerative syndrome (CDDS) that begins with glucose spiking (blood sugar rising above 100), to pre-diabetes, to full-blown diabetes. The book also includes 120 additional case studies, in which 61 percent of non-insulin dependent diabetics are off all medication and healed (defined as fasting blood sugar under 100) in just 3 weeks.

A major difference in Cousens’ approach from the cooked Whole Foods Plant-Based diet is that Cousens believes our carbohydrate requirements are practically zero.

“Weight gain is about excess carbohydrates, not excess fat–paradoxically,” Cousens says. “Fat doesn’t come from fat. It comes from carbohydrates,” he says, adding “carbohydrates from green vegetables are not part of the carbohydrate problem.”

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Here’s a book that explains why some people really can just eat one potato chip, while others like me can’t stop until the whole bag is gone. And a whole lot more, as you might expect in a book as thick as “Conscious Eating” by Dr. Gabriel Cousens.

In my 8 years since giving up meat, I’ve experienced the spectrum of vegetarian diets, from ovo-lacto vegetarian to “junk food vegan”–avoiding animal products but consuming processed foods and “empty calories”–to diets that emphasize whole grains, beans and legumes to those consisting exclusively of organic living (uncooked) fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Until I read “Conscious Eating”, I didn’t understand why so many people have difficulty realizing the full benefits of a plant-based diet for optimal health–which includes physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of health.

Cousens–a medical doctor, psychiatrist, homeopathic and ayurvedic practioner, among his many other credentials– makes the point that everyone is unique and requires a diet customized for her physiological type. He also demonstrates this can be accomplished by tweaking nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) within a predominantly raw plant based diet.

It seems obvious to me now that everyone is different, and specifically, “biochemically individual,” which means you have a genetic need for certain types of foods (and nutrients) and you also respond differently (sometimes in opposite way) than other people to the same foods and nutrients.

And while one type may need more protein, nobody needs to eat meat (what Cousens calls “flesh foods)” to obtain it.

Conscious Eating makes it clear why one diet won’t work well for everyone, in fact, why popular diets (including the non-vegan “Zone Diet”, by Dr. Barry Sears) work for usually only one-third to one-half of the people who follow it.

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Often-cited as a shortcoming of a plant-based diet is deficiency of Vitamin B12, an essential nutrient made by bacteria in the intestines of animals (including humans). For many omnivores, this is reason enough to continue eating animal products.

You may be surprised that the most common cause of B12 deficiency is not lack of B12 containing-foods but intestinal disease, and the prevalence of B12 deficiency among vegans is not much different than in the overall population. Some estimate 15% of people or more are deficient in B12, and with deficiency increasing with age, the Institute of Medicine recommends everyone over age 50 supplement with B12.

I discovered I had B12 deficiency prior to becoming vegan when I visited a brain specialist at age 40 with symptoms including fatigue, loss of memory and attention deficit. My general practitioner had diagnosed me with pernicious anemia, but had never ordered tests for B12. All the more reason everyone has to take responsibility for his or her own health!

The brain doctor gave me samples of a popular medication for Alzheimers–which I’m happy to say I didn’t try–after reading about its alarming short and long-term side effects. After my blood tests results showed I was dangerously low in B12 (prolonged deficiency could lead to permanent nerve damage), I had a series of intramuscular B12 injections to restore my B12 to a normal level, and continued to supplement with monthly injections.

The reason oral B12 supplementation would not work is the same reason my B12 levels were low in the first place: I lack “intrinsic factor”, a co-enzyme produced in a normal stomach necessary for the B12 contained in foods (predominantly those that are animal-based) to be absorbed in the lower intestine.

Follow up blood testing after regular B12 supplementation confirmed my B12 remained within normal ranges. I also found my thinking, attention, memory, etc. clearer than it had ever been. B12 is the only nutritional supplement I take, as I rely on whole foods for everything else. For example, 1-2 Brazils Nuts satisfies your daily requirement of selenium, magnesium and zinc.

While there are a few reliable plant-based sources of B12 (i.e. seaweeds and probiotics), most vegans are advised to take a supplement, or eat B12 fortified foods such as Vegetarian Formula Nutritional Yeast.

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If you want things to change for you, you’ve got to change your thinking. Those are the words that started my mission 1.5 years ago to design a life filled with adventure and learning.

2012 was the year I left the familiarity of Tokyo, returning to the U.S. where I had spent little more than 2 weeks a year for the past 21 years. Reverse culture shock was no longer just an expression, but daily reality.

Honolulu Marathon in December was one thing I promised myself to accomplish this year.  The only thing that spurred my regular 3 day/week training runs was the fact I had signed up way back in January. My fourth marathon, I finished 12 seconds slower than last year.

While slightly disappointed at first, I’m more determined than ever to break my personal record next year. To run faster and injury-free, I have begun a concerted effort to alter my running form, to land on the forefoot rather than the heel.

Besides marathon training, 2012 often felt like an unproductive year, with waiting and more waiting that tried my patience. Looking back, I experienced and learned much, and was blessed with some incredible people.

First there was the welcoming environment of the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii, where I met Robin Openshaw (Green Smoothie Girl), Dr. Michael Greger (my idol) and more recently the renowned Dr. John McDougall.

At Honolulu Marathon Clinic and Waikiki Toastmasters clubs, I found more warm people to help an unfamiliar place feel more like home.

Next, back to “the mainland” (as Hawaii residents call the US) for raw chef training at Matthew Kenney Academy (OKC), which completely challenged my belief that food could be nutritious and delicious and beautiful.

Following that was my raw chef internship at Creative Health Institute in Michigan, where I got to know first-hand Dr. Ann Wigmore’s philosophy and benefits of wheatgrass, sprouts and fermented foods. I barely heard of “Dr. Ann” before this year, and didn’t even recognize a connection to my whole foods plant-based diet. In fact, I believed raw and living foodists were a bit whacko!

I can honestly say I have never felt a higher energy vibration–mentally “clear” and physically “clean”–than when drinking several shots of fresh wheatgrass juice each day while at CHI. Stories of healing by guests with chronic illnesses, and fellow interns were also an inspiration. I strongly encourage anyone considering this type of diet detoxification program, because it gives you the means (dietary restriction) and motivation (feeling dramatically better) to switch to a whole-foods plant based diet.

Wheat Grass Juice has many miraculous powers including:

• Lowers blood pressure
• Helps digestion
• Helps constipation and promotes regularity
• Slows graying of hair (yes!!)
• Suppresses appetite
• Reduces fatigue (=full of energy!!)

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It’s no secret, the 65 year-old Dr. John McDougall said, that food is the reason he’s now a better windsurfer than he was 35 years ago, when he attended medical school and did his residency in Hawaii.

The purpose of McDougall’s lecture for the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii last week was to enlist vegans in a common goal: “to build a future we can all live with–and stop battling among ourselves”. This is the topic of his new book, The Starch Solution.

I have believed it was confusing for everyone,” McDougall noted, citing different terms for vegan diets such as “Plant Strong”, “Plant Power,” “Engine 2″, etc. “These are minor differences,” he noted, “compared to the big companies that are profiting by destroying human health and millions of animals in the process.”

In his empassioned presentation, McDougall spoke of the long history of the plant-based diet, which–despite claims to the contrary by Loren Cordain, author of The Paleo Diet–is nothing new. The controversy began with low carb supporter Robert Atkins challenged high carb Nathan Pritikin, McDougall explained. He then refuted the Paleo diet claims with scientific evidence that our ancestors were subsisting on predominantly plants (potatoes and grains like rice, corn, wheat, buckwheat, and quinoa).

Scientific documentation of what people have eaten over the past thirteen thousand years convincingly supports that starch, not animals, is the traditional diet of people.

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Friends and relatives often question “can you eat x or y” on your vegan diet? Many people can barely comprehend not eating meat and fish, let alone dairy products, eggs, and honey–of all things.

Fewer people understand what a vegan diet has to do with avoiding processed foods–such as white rice, white pasta, white bread, and sugar–or even vegetable oils.

These measures are the guidelines of a whole-foods plant-based vegan diet, such as that endorsed by Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 Diet, and displayed in Del Sroufe’s Forks Over Knives cookbook, containing healthy vegan recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Julieanna Hever, and others.

Bottom line is, while many processed foods may be technically vegan or “accidentally vegan” as PETA refers to products with no animal-based ingredients, they are unlikely to be “accidentally healthy”.

And while you may relax your standards on a rare occasion–when dining out or visiting friends–you’ll surely feel better long-term by keeping tempting vegan junk foods out of your grocery cart, and out of your house.

When analyzing packaged foods, I often refer to nutritionist/dietitian Jeff Novick’s rules and guidelines for  telling the difference between a health food vs what’s really healthy for you:

Rule #1-Never believe anything on the front of the package…ever!

Rule #2-Always read the Nutrition Facts Label and the Ingredients List.

Novick gives guidelines for fat, sodium, white sugars and refined sugars, and refined carbohydrates–4 things commonly abused in the United States.

Fat

Daily fat requirement–in order to avoid essential fatty acid deficiency–is only 3 to 5%, while the typical American intake is 35%!

Calculate fat % by dividing calories from fat by the # of calories

Sodium

Daily sodium requirement is 500mg/day; aim for no more than 1 calorie: 1mg of sodium

Sugars

Novick says that–since the Nutrition Facts panel lists “total sugars” only–you cannot determine natural sugars (such as in fruit) versus added sugars. Therefore, refer to the ingredients listing in order to avoid all added sugars (at least, he says, sugars should not be among the first 3 to 5 ingredients)

Carbohydrates

The “Nutrition Facts” panel does not tell the reader anything interesting about carbohydrates, Novick says. Therefore, refer to the ingredients list, and SEEK OUT the desirable terms “whole” or “sprouted” and AVOID the words “wheat”,” white”, “durum”, “semolina”, “bleached”, “unbleached”, “artichoke” and “enriched flour”.

Fiber

Aim for products that carry >3g of fiber per 100 calories

To apply Novick’s technique, let’s take a package of Nabisco Newtons Fruit Thins stashed in a typical SAD household. The box touts “8g of whole grain per serving”, “made with real fruit”, “blueberry brown sugar”, and “natural flavor”.

Sounds so wholesome, someone might even mistake them for a “health food”! OK, I admit it: I finished off the bag, without thinking…

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I’ve learned so much about raw and living foods in the past few months that I don’t know where to begin telling you. After re-learning to cook when I adopted a vegan diet seven years ago, a raw diet feels like you’re starting over yet again. Only with raw foods, it’s not called “cooking”–it’s called “food production”!

Although students prepare almond milk numerous times during 4-weeks at Matthew Kenney Academy, it was especially satisfying to make almond milk while at my mother’s home recently, using a regular old blender (no Vitamix required) and a makeshift nut-milk bag (paint strainer) purchased at Home Depot.

Being able to make staple foods usually bought from a store will give you a great sense of self-reliance, and preparing nutritious almond milk is quick and easy (especially so if you’re a cow). Raw almonds provide a rich source of vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous, iron and magnesium.

Simple Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds

3-4 cups filtered water

Instructions:

Soak almonds in water overnight (8-12 hours)

Drain and rinse almonds, then throw in blender

Add water, and blend at highest level until smooth (may take 2-3 minutes, but don’t allow milk to become hot)

Pour milk through your nut milk bag over a bowl

Squeeze nutmilk bag to remove all milk from almond pulp

Retain pulp for future use (dehydrate or freeze), and rinse your nutmilk bag

Transfer milk to a quart mason jar and refrigerate (keeps up to 1 week)

You may want to sweeten your almond milk to taste with dates or agave, flavor it with vanilla, and add a little lecithin to keep it from separating (or you can just shake before using).  (more…)

If your normally healthy diet goes out the window when traveling, you’re not alone.

Regardless of the type of diet you follow, temptation begins the instant you leave home. While the airlines have practically eliminated free snacks and in-flight meals, the airport, timezone changes, the waiting, lack of routine and accountability–especially when traveling alone–can all wreck your discipline.

When I heard the upscale Embassy Suites Waikiki offered a nightly evening manager’s reception, I pictured eating green salads, antipastos, and raw vegetables I had often found in Hilton’s Asian properties.

It took me 2 days to realize the happy hour’s “rotating menu of snacks” alternated between a variety of salty junk foods (peanuts, pretzels, party mix and chips), which–try as I might–I couldn’t resist shoveling onto my plate. What’s worse, I still ate a normal dinner afterward, in order to feel satisfied.

I had to make sure this situation would not continue, or I would certainly be in store for big weight gain during my vacation.

How does a traveler stay healthy, when it seems so much is out of your hands??

• First of all–it may sound obvious–but don’t select a vacation destination just because of its unbridled eating opportunities. Your subconscious mind is more powerful than you think.
• If you have a choice of hotels, check around ahead of time and choose one that offers fresh foods containing plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. (more…)

After dabbling as a self-schooled chef since the age of six, I finally decided to take the plunge and attend Matthew Kenney Academy’s raw culinary training program in Oklahoma City. I’ve only prepared a few raw dishes of any complexity before, such as raw bread and raw lasagna, so everyday brings much new knowledge and experiences.

Ultimately, I chose the Matthew Kenney program as it was the only classically structured culinary education available using almost entirely plant-based ingredients. The program is not completely vegan, since it employs products from bees (honey and bee pollen) in its recipes, such as the Blueberry Bee Smoothie pictured above.

Today was Day 4 of the Level 1 class, and we’ve already learned so much: Not just several incredibly delicious recipes (juices and smoothies among the simplest), but professional knife skills, plating skills, flavor combinations, and recipe substitution and development.

I’m also learning firsthand about the differences between cooking at home vs professionally: dishes must be pleasing to the eye and the palate–not just nutritious and healthy–for a restaurant to prosper.

I invite you to stop by again to join me on my culinary learning journey!

Years before becoming vegan, I used to love omelettes and especially the hotel omelette bars that can make even stressful business trips feel like a vacation-if only for a few brief moments.

But during my most recent stay at Waikiki’s Embassy Suites, the promotional copy on the room-key card was taunting me:

“How do you like your eggs? Free or complimentary? Complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast every morning.”

Part of following a whole foods plant-based diet means resisting most of the food that’s out there, often “free” for the taking, such as the all-you-can eat breakfast buffets included with your hotel room.

Not that I miss eating eggs at all, but since becoming vegan I felt that by forgoing the omelette bar I was missing out on something I paid for. And who doesn’t appreciate the luxurious feeling of someone preparing something just the way you like it?

While on my high-protein kick in my 20s and early 30s, I would order 3-egg western omelettes. As I grew concerned with high cholesterol, I began to request the omelette chef discard a yolk, then 2, and eventually ordered egg-white omelettes–believing that was healthy–even though I still added lots of cheese.

Although I’ve cooked all varieties of eggless omelettes and other comfort foods at home, it wasn’t until the 2nd day of my most recent hotel stay it occurred to me to visit the omelette bar for a no-egg omelette. What could it hurt?

I helped myself to the vegetables–mushrooms, onions, chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, and lots of baby spinach–from beside the omelette station,  then brought some cubed tofu from the salad bar, and handed them to the omelette chef. (more…)