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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Almost everybody understands that whole, plant-based foods like vegetables and fruits are beneficial for health. And you know intuitively that living foods–such as sprouts–are even healthier. Yet you still draw a blank when it comes to preparing a healthy meal in a hurry.

Hummous–originally made with chickpeas or garbanzo beans–was one of my favorite foods long before I became vegan, and before Veganomicon author Isa Chandra Moskowitz poetically proclaimed the Middle-Eastern bean dip as being “like air for vegans”.

Recently, I’ve been making hummous with sprouted lentils and chickpeas instead of cooked, and while it tastes different–with a crispy-fresh bite, as you might expect–it’s still exotically delicious. Raw or cooked, hummous is easy to make, inexpensive, and keeps several days in the refrigerator, so you can make a big batch on the weekend and eat it all week long, as a dip or in sandwiches.

Unfortunately, most store-bought hummous is full of oil, salt, and other preservatives. With little to no oil, this recipe is low-calorie and nutrient dense. Lentils are one the best sources of protein, and one cup of raw lentils provides 26g of protein vs 18g for cooked lentils.

If you’ve made hummous with canned (pre-cooked) beans, this recipe may take slightly longer, but there’s no comparison in freshness and nutrition. (more…)

Being on a whole foods plant-based diet for several years, I never appreciated the transformative power of drinking green smoothies–until I met the Green Smoothie Girl in person.

Robyn Openshaw’s lecture “Ten Minutes a Day to Spectacular Health” for Vegetarian Society of Hawaii in March so inspired me, I haven’t needed my eyeglasses for the first time in 30 years.

Robyn’s philosophy is for people to spend as little time as possible to achieve the most dramatic health impact. “I’ve learned from traveling around and getting thousands of emails,” she explains “people want to eat right, but they don’t know how anymore. Because ours is the first generation who did not learn home cooking from our mothers and grandmothers.”

Robyn’s goal is that everyone who hears her lecture will begin drinking a quart of green smoothies each day, “to get a massive amount of the lowest calorie, highest micronutrient foods as painlessly as possible, and inexpensively.”

The concept is based on the work of Dr. Joel Fuhrman, whose Nutritarian Food Pyramid defines the healthiest diet as one consisting of foods with qualities of maximum nutrients and minimum calories (H=N/C) and says “your future health can be predicted by the micronutrient per calorie density of your diet”

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If you’re here, you’ve probably got some worries–about diet, at least. Perhaps you’ve also got bigger worries that have prevented you from thinking about what you eat.

Many people considering a whole foods plant based diet have done so out of concern for their own health or that of a loved one.

My own worries about getting cancer (statistics show almost 40-50% of Americans will) were greatly relieved by taking major action: quitting all animal products and adopting a whole foods plant based lifestyle.

While it may seem difficult to eat healthfully yourself, there is often more stress and worry involved if you’re taking care of others. Particularly when healthy food is automatically equated with bad taste.

Fact is, many people think their diet is already healthy enough and–though they may not admit it–accept the chances they may suffer from cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other preventable diseases rather than give up their favorite foods.

Recently, when worried by my decision to return to the U.S. after over 20 years in Japan, a friend suggested I read the Dale Carnegie classic, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.” I had read the book twice 25 years ago–once as a student and again as a graduate assistant for Dale Carnegie Training–but you wouldn’t have known it.

There is a saying that “To know something and not to do it, is not to know.” Similarly, having read and forgotten something is the same as not having read it. (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…)

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…)