A Rebuttal to The Dangerous Cults of Veganism and PETA Dec. 7, 2019, by Max Allen
There are three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbs. Animal meat contains protein and fat. The number one source for fuel for our bodies is carbohydrates. Unprocessed carbohydrates may make up 20 to 80% of the calories in whole grains, beans, and other legumes and fruits and vegetables. Eating this releases a slow and steady release of glucose to the brain, muscles and vital organs. When you digest carbs they break down into glucose and through the bloodstream providing energy for the cells. That’s why runners and other athletes load up on carbs right before an event.
What about fats—don’t we need fat in our diet? Meat, eggs, and dairy contain saturated fats and trans fats in which arteries become inflamed. This can lead to heart disease and increases insulin resistance leading to Diabetes. A plant-based diet relies on natural sources of fat that don’t cause inflammation of the arteries such as chia seeds and flax seeds, both good sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, small amounts of avocado and small amounts of nuts and seeds.
Protein is the third macronutrient. It’s a myth that you need a lot of protein to be fit and healthy. Another big myth is that plants don’t have enough protein to adequately care for our diet. Both of these myths are wrong as attested by millions of long term whole food plant-based eaters and athletes.
I was introduced to the works of John McDougall, MD, T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and Caldwell Esselstyn, MD among others. Patients were not only losing weight but getting rid of their medications as they reversed their heart disease, cured their diabetes, and reduced their blood pressure and cholesterol. I caution you to not go off any of your medications without consulting your family physician. Get a physical and talk to your doctor before attempting this lifestyle. Not all doctors are educated in nutrition so you may get some backlash, but ask if you can get a cholesterol panel from your doctor, you can compare it to a cholesterol panel later.
“Other disease positively affected by a whole food plant-based no oil program, or what we refer to as WFPBNO lifestyle, included things like, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, diverticular disease, gallstones, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and kidney disease. People reported improvement in things like osteoporosis, arthritis, headaches, acne, asthma, sexual dysfunction, reflux, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, dementia, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, infertility, insomnia, and sleep apnea. They even find themselves experiencing fewer or less intense colds, viruses, and allergies.” *quote from The Forks Over Knives Plan by Aloha Pulde, MD and Matthew Lederman, MD
Let’s get started: we are going to avoid meats, dairy including cheese, added oils, and most processed foods. Focus on fruits and vegetables, whole grains (avoid white flour) nuts and seeds and beans, peas, lentils, tofu, and tempeh. Watch out for added sweetness and sodium.
Clean out your pantry and fridge. We will be doing an accountability call going through this process together but what you will be ditching are things like meat, eggs, dairy, including cheese, yogurt and ice cream, anything with oil in the ingredients, white flour and all types of sugars.
