Flora and Vine Wellness

Is a “Plant-Based Diet” the Answer?

floraandvinewellness October 17, 2018

green and red healthy food

Alongside the hype of the Ketogenic Diet is the opposite group of people who follow the Plant-Based Diet. Some people are plant based, simply trying to make vegetables the largest part of their meals, but others actually follow a Vegan diet and believe that animal protein shortens our lives with heart issues and gives us cancer. Obviously, there are those who are Vegan for other reasons, but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on the latter.

Now, does animal protein actually increase your risk of cancer? In a study done by researchers in Nanjing, China a couple of years ago, rats were fed high protein diets (45% protein), and other rats were fed a moderate protein diet (20% protein). Risk factors of colon cancer did increase (1). However, let us look at the actual ingredients of the diets. The fat in the diet was from canola oil. Protein was casein. The carbohydrates were wheat starch, sucrose, and amylodextrin (glucose). Fiber was cellulose. Calcium has protective properties from cancer progression caused by casein, so without calcium, the result is understandable. Also, no fermentable fiber sources were available for the gut to transform to butyrate to support the gut. Basically, the rats were fed canola oil, wheat starch, and protein powder, thus the occurrence of colon cancer increased. Not surprising.

The other argument is that animal protein causes insulin resistance. Between 50-150 grams of protein ingested per meal was found to not increase glucose concentration (2). However, when 50 grams of protein were given in the form of casein, the glucose concentration was slightly increased (2). The idea behind this argument is likely the fact that 50-80 grams of glucose (dependent upon the source) can be derived from 100 grams of protein (2). However, studies have found that it simply doesn’t work out that way in reality. Animal protein does not cause insulin resistance. In fact, higher fat and protein diets are more effective with Type 2 diabetics in optimizing insulin sensitivity than higher carbohydrate diets.

Years ago, before I started my Master’s program in nutrition, I read The China Study and thought I might just go full Vegan. The charts and stories make great points. Surface-level, at least. When you look further into the study you will find that the numbers suggest animal protein actually protects against cancer… until cancer is diagnosed at which point it should likely be limited. The author also uses selective references. He forgot to mention an entire village of people in China whose diet was made up of 45% fat with 134 grams of animal protein daily and the ingestion of vegetables was rare (3). These people in the village of Tuoli had lower rates of cancer and heart disease than other heavily vegan counties.

Then there is the popular documentary Forks Over Knives. This documentary got wrong what all the others got wrong about animal protein. Throughout the documentary, a diet high in animal protein is never spoken about. They are simply discussing the problems of the Standard American Diet, which, is no doubt pretty bad. However, the SAD is far different from the many people who follow a high fat, moderate protein diet that is plentiful in vegetables. The documentary also states that cholesterol from animal products causes high cholesterol. Cholesterol in meat actually causes a negligible effect on total cholesterol in the blood. 1 study even found this to be true after feeding people 640 mg of cholesterol each day- that is 300-500 mg MORE than the average American diet (4)! What is the takeaway? Processed food that is the staple in the SAD causes heart problems, not animal protein.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating a truly Plant-Based Diet. What would that look like? At least half of your plate should be non-starch vegetables, with 1/8 to 1/4 of the plate some sort of unrefined protein, and the rest nuts, seeds, starchy vegetables if needed, and even sprouted grains or other fermented vegetables. It is far better to eat a plant-based diet where you don’t include refined grains and other processed “vegan food” that replaces animal protein.

Don’t plants have protein? 8 spears of asparagus has 3 grams of protein. 1 oz of pumpkin seeds has 1.4 grams of protein. 1 cup of cooked cauliflower has 2.25. 1 cup of cooked spinach (that is ONE POUND of fresh spinach!) has 5.35 grams, and 1 cup of chopped broccoli has 5.7 grams of protein. So, in order to get the average person’s needs for protein, which is about half of one’s bodyweight, each day a person would have to eat 6 lbs of fresh spinach, 4 cups of cauliflower, 32 spears of asparagus, 2 cups of broccoli, and 4 oz of pumpkin seeds. OR, one could eat 4 oz of fish, 2 eggs, 1 cup of cooked spinach, 1 cup of cauliflower, 8 spears of of asparagus, 1 cup of broccoli, and 1 oz of nuts or seeds.

70ish grams of protein per day… but why? Protein deficiency can cause a person to age 4-5 times faster and can lead to cataracts, heart problems, kyphosis, muscle atrophy, low energy, poor concentration, mood swings, muscle and joint pain, diabetes, low immunity, and high cholesterol (5). And for athletes, protein needs increase.

Why isn’t tofu mentioned? Unfermented soy products cause all kinds of issues. Babies who are fed soy formula drink a total of 5 birth control pills worth of estrogen per day. Soy contains phytic acid that cannot be neutralized by soaking, sprouting, or cooking, but only through fermentation (which is why soy sauce and tempeh are more acceptable forms). Soy contains goitrogens which block thyroid hormone synthesis and interferes with iodine metabolism- meaning soy wrecks havoc on your thyroid. Phytoestrogens/Isoflavones resemble human estrogen and disrupts your own estrogen production. One of the problems of low estrogen as the offset is the decreased ability to break down carbohydrates which increases insulin resistance.

The main deficiencies of a vegan/ plant-based diet are zinc and b12. Where does zinc come from? Oysters contain 5.3 mg each, crab has 6.5 mg/3 oz, eggs have .6 mg each. Mushrooms have .4 mg/ cup, and chickpeas at .6 mg/.25 cup. Among plant food, only seaweed is the acceptable source of B12. Others contain B12 analogues that block the absorption of B12.

Basically, an unprocessed “Plant-Based Diet” would be the answer to all of our health issues if animal protein wasn’t treated as evil. There is a difference between a High Fat/ Protein diet and the Standard American Diet. Eat more plants. Eat a diet high in healthy fats and moderate protein. Make sure your food is FOOD. Food is an ingredient… food does not have ingredients.

References:

C. Mu, Y. Yang, Z. Luo, L. Guan, W. Zhu (2016). The Colonic Microbiome. US National Library of Medicine.
MC Gannon, JA Nuttall, G Damberg, V Gupta, FQ Nuttall (2001). Effect of Protein Ingestion. Endocrine Society.
Denise Minger (2011). One Year Later. Rescuing Good Health From Bad Science.
Ancel Keys, Joseph Anderson, Francisco Grande (1965). Serum Cholesterol Response. Metabolism.
Jan Van Deursen (2017). Age-related decline. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

All content on this website, including medical research and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health.

Lifestyle

Sexual Healing

floraandvinewellness September 27, 2018

Photo courtesy of Gareth McConnell

Hippies get a lot right about life. They don’t obsess over bathing (great for immunity!), stress little, eat real food, and have sex often. If the rest of us practiced these habits, we’d all likely be quite a bit healthier with less visits to the doctor.

Wait, what about sex?

Do you have a hormonal imbalance? Have sex. With regular sexual activity, testosterone and estrogen increase.

Do you suffer from Adrenal Fatigue? Have sex. The increase in oxytocin not only acts as a pain reliever, but it lowers cortisol… meaning you might also get a better night of sleep!

Do you get sick often? Have more sex. DHEA rises with each orgasm which translates to enhanced immunity, as well as improved cognition and skin health! In a study published in New Scientist, sexual activity 1-2 times per week was found to increase levels of IgA by 30% (1). IgA is our first line of defense against infectious agents such as the common cold and Flu.

Are you a man and worried about heart disease? Have sex often. As published in the American Journal of Cardiology, men reduce their risk of heart disease when they have sex at least 2 times per week (2).

Do you suffer from migraines or frequent headaches? Instead of reaching for your pills, have sex. Sex triggers the release of endorphins which reduces or eliminates pain. In a study done at the University of Munster, 60% of individuals with migraines reported improvement after sex (3).

Are you concerned with prostate cancer? Have a lot of sex. The National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD published a study showing men who ejaculated 21 times per month cut their chance of prostate cancer by over 30% (4).

Do you have issues with ovulating to get pregnant? Have more sex! Obviously if you want to get pregnant, you should have sex. But, an interesting study found that women who were sexually active actually increased their estrogen and luteal progesterone by having sex (5). Not only only did they boost the necessary hormones, but sporadic anovulation was rare (5).

There it is. Science proves that sex is good for our health, as if we needed science to tell us to have sex. But the getting into bed with your partner to have sex part is actually the difficult part for most people. I would feel like I’m sharing this information needlessly if I were to leave out a helpful hint on how to put it to use.

The majority of people who come to me with the desire to lose weight state their partner as one of their biggest reasons for wanting to shed weight. They want to lose weight so their partners will find them desirable and want to have sex with them. Now, I am not a marriage counselor by any stretch of the imagination, so I will simply repeat what I found written beautifully in my favorite marriage book. Paul David Tripp wrote in What Did You Expect,

The Sexual relationship is a barometer. The character and quality of the marriage relationship will determine the character and quality of their sexual union. You don’t leave disappointment and division at the bedside. You don’t escape misunderstanding and hurt simply because you are in another’s arms. Because, in this most intimate of human relationships, you are actually physically disrobed in the arms of another to whom you are offering your physical self, most if not all of the layers of self-protection are gone. You are in a place of exposure and vulnerability. This is what makes the sexual relationship so beautiful. You can be exposed and vulnerable in the arms of your lover and be unafraid, because you know he or she will care for you, and you know the result will be mutual satisfaction (6).

Basically, a weight loss goal is great. Having sex is important. However, the two aren’t as related as many might think. Have a great relationship, engage in sexual healing, and be healthier and happier!

References:

Diane Urbani (1999). Sex Can Boost The Immune System. New Scientist.
Susan Hall, Rebecca Shackleton, Raymond Rosen, Andre Aravjo (2010). Sexual Activity. American Journal of Cardiology.
Anke Hambach, Stefan Evers, Oliver Summ (2013). The Impact of Sexual Activity on Idiopathic Headaches. Cephalagia.
Michael Leitzmann, Elizabeth Platz, Meir Stampfer (2004). Ejaculation Frequency. JAMA.
Ankita Prasad, Sunni Mumford, Germaine Buck Louis, Katherine Ahrens, Lindsey Sjaarda, Karen Schiep (2014). Sexual Activity. US National Library of Medicine.
Paul David Tripp (2010). What Did You Expect? Illinois: Crossway.

Health

Ear Infections- The Billion Dollar Issue (or non-issue?)

floraandvinewellness September 11, 2018

otitis-media-21914587

When we middle-aged adults were children, everyone seemed to be getting tonsillectomies. The use of those procedures and whether they were necessary or helped at all is hardly debatable… in most cases, they were only money makers (9). The popularity of the tonsillectomy faded out as the myringotomy surgery increased in occurrence, in direct correlation (1). However, having tubes put in actually increases the likelihood that those children will have more issues with acute otitis media (ear infections) (1). Still, the surgery is performed on 1 million American children per year while only 42% of the children in 1994 were actually found to possibly benefit from it. Antibiotics and surgery for ear infections in children bring in $4-$8 billion per year.

Anyone with children knows ear infections and the misery they bring is real. Caring for a child who is normally happy and active and suffering with an ear infection is heartbreaking. Can they be prevented all together? Ear infections are normally preceded by upper respiratory infections, so if we can decrease buildup by limiting dairy which increases mucous, we can decrease the blockage that aides the infection. Early bottle-feeding correlates to recurrent ear infections as well (2). Just because your child is bottle-fed instead of breastfed however, does not mean your child is out of luck. More on that in a bit. Food allergy is the major cause of ear infection, and by removing the found allergy, there was a 90% reduction in the incidence of ear infection (3). The most common offenders are dairy, eggs, wheat, corn, peanuts, oranges, and chocolate, not to mention being exposed to smoke. This correlation between food allergy and ear infection is supported by the increase of otitis media and its correlation with the increase of eczema and asthma in school- age years, which are also related to food allergies (6). Now for formula-fed infants, those on probiotics had a 22% incidence of ear infection while those on a placebo had a 50% incidence (4). The specific strain that has been found to be most effective with prevention is Streptococcus Salivarius K12. Xylitol also reduced infection by 40% (5).

Now, how can we really help our children who are miserable with an ear infection without causing any more problems? Although studies have shown no significant difference between treating children with conventional medicine and placebo in terms of amount of time to relieve symptoms, children treated with antibiotics have recurring infections more often (7). Why is this? Antibiotics mess with our flora. To be healthy, we should constantly be building our good bacteria by eating a variety of foods and playing outside. Building good bacteria and taking antibiotics are contradictory. Botanical ear drops, such as one with mullein and garlic, is found to be just as effective as antibiotics at relieving pain (8). A warm compress behind the ear also helps with drainage, and therefore pain. Also, the ear canal should be kept dry, so no swimming until the child has found relief.

Ultimately, enhancing our children’s immune system with healing foods and aiding in relief naturally without suppressing their immune system with unnecessary medication or surgical procedures should be our goal.

References:

1. Kleinman LC, Kosecoff J, Dubois PW (1994). The Medical Appropriateness of Tympanostomy Tubes. The Journal of the American Medical Association.

2. Saarinen UM (1982). Prolonged Breastfeeding as prophylaxis for recurrent otitis media. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica.

3. Ramakrishnen JB (2010). The role of food allergy. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology.

4. Samuli Routava, Seppo Salminem, and Erika Isolauri (2008). Specific probiotics in
reducing the risk in infancy. British Journal of Nutrition.

5. Uhari M, Mantysaari K, Niemela M (1996). A meta-analytic review. Clinical Infectious
Diseases.

6. MacIntyre EA, Chen CM, Herbarth ) (2010). Early-life Otitis Media. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

7. Del Castillo F, Baquero-Artigao F, Garcia-Perea A (1998). Influence of Recent Antibiotic Therapy. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

8. Sarrell Em, Mandelberg A, Cohen HA (2001). Efficacy of Naturopathic Extracts. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

9. Murray MT, Pizzorno J (2012). Ear Infection. The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.

diet

Ketosis, The New Therapy?

floraandvinewellness August 28, 2018

Let’s start this blog off with what seems to be the trendiest diet lately. It’s interesting, though, that the ketogenic diet might also be the most misunderstood. For instance, the above food pyramid was the only ketogenic food pyramid that was actually correct of the ones I found online. Others had water in the smallest triangle at the top, and some with protein in the largest portion at the bottom. Without enough water, besides the fact that your entire system won’t work properly, you can develop kidney stones (and eventually kidney failure) which are far from fun. Protein is basically turned into sugar, so an excess of protein on a ketogenic diet will keep one’s body from turning to ketosis. And vegetables are very important to remember on a ketogenic diet. You certainly do not want to have such acidity or renal failure. Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, collard greens, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli and asparagus are incredibly important for fiber, vitamin C, folate, and so much more. Apart from vegetables, eating a diet high in Vitamin A in order to support your thyroid is also important, and that can be found in tomatoes since sweet potatoes are so high in carbohydrates. Also to support the thyroid, be sure to have iodine (think iodized salt or seaweed) and selenium (brazil nuts) included in your diet. As for sources of fat, clarified butter (ghee), coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, and nuts are the healthiest. Studies have shown that PUFAs (Polyunsaturated fatty acids) have been shown to lower thyroid function during a ketogenic diet.

So now that we know what the ketogenic diet is and what it is not, what is it good for? The answer spans many diseases, ailments, and functions. Listed are only a few.

Multiple Sclerosis: The ketogenic diet has a favorable effect on mitochondrial function. In Ketosis, levels of reactive oxygen species is reduced and ATP availability is increased. Oxidative stress is reduced, but histone deacytylases are inhibited and Nrf2 Pathway is activated and ATP production is enhanced and increases mitochodrial biogensis, which then enhances CA1 hippocampal synaptic plasticity and stabilizes neuronal excitability (1). This can also be why ketosis is beneficial for epileptic patients, alzheimers sufferers, and ALS.

Cancer: Studies have shown the ketogenic diet to decrease brain tumor growth by up to 65%. Normal cells can metabolize both glucose and ketones for fuel. In contrast, brain tumor cells need glucose to survive and grow (2). Basically, by being in ketosis, one can possibly starve cancer cells. Side note: A documentary called The Science of Fasting directed by Silvie Gilman and Thierry de Lestrade, which can be found on Amazon Prime is interesting for those of you looking into increasing your success rate with beating cancer cells.

Type 2 Diabetes: The ketogenic diet is far more successful with Type 2 Diabetes than the standard low-glycemic reduced calorie diet commonly given to patients. In comparison, 95% of those on the ketogenic diet reduced or eliminated their medication as opposed to only 62% of those on the low-glycemic reduced calorie diet. Enhancing insulin sensitivity is also why the ketogenic diet is beneficial for those with PCOS attempting to conceive and/or breastfeed (obviously strict attention must be paid to getting the right nutrients such as Folate, Calcium among many others in order to nourish a healthy baby). And in case anyone was wondering, HDL cholesterol (that’s the good stuff!) was increased by 5.6 in the ketogenic group as opposed to 0 in the other (3).

Endurance Athletes: Studies have all pointed to increased time to exhaustion in athletes who eat a high fat (70%), low carbohydrate diet (5%). Not only have the athletes shown the ability to sustain their exercise time, but their high intensity training was not effected (5).

But can it destroy your thyroid? Studies that have claimed that high fat low carb diets will lower the function of your thyroid are mostly based on injecting mice with PUFAs. Linoleic Acid is a polyunsaturated Omega 6 fatty acid (PUFA). Food that is highest in PUFAs or Linoleic Acid is vegetable oil which includes corn oil, safflower oil, and soybean oil. When studies were conducted on mice fed Linoleic Acid versus mice fed lard (saturated fat), it was found that the T4 to T3 turnover rate was lower in the first group as well as the metobolic response to T3 in the first group (4). There is a huge difference in which types of fat we eat, which is why I cringe when I hear someone say vegetable oil ranks higher in health than bacon grease. And I mean, common sense guys… would you prefer corn or bacon? Kidding. All jokes aside, it is important to choose your fats wisely.

The ketogenic diet is definitely not for everyone. Type 1 Diabetics who need to look out for ketoacidosis should steer clear from a diet that is meant to put you into ketosis (which is far from ketoacidosis for the average person). People who have renal failure or any kidney issues should also look to a more easily alkalizing diet.

References:

GT Plant, M Steroni. (2015). The Therapeutic Potential of Ketogenic Diet. Multiple Sclerosis International. http://www.hidawi.com/journals/msi/2015/681289
JG Mantis, William T Markis, Purna Mukherjee, Thomas N Seyfried, Michael A Kiebish, Weihua Zhou (2007). The Calorically Restricted Ketogenic Diet. Nutrition and Metabolism. https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com
Eric Westman, William S Yancy Jr, John C Mavropoulos, Megan Marquart, Jennifer R McDuffie (2008). The effect of a low carb ketogenic diet. Nutrition and Metabolism. https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com
Reed EB, Tarver H (1975). The Influence of Diet on the Lipogenic Response. US National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Estelle V Lambert, David P Speechly, Steven C Dennis, Timothy D Noakes (1994). Enhanced endurance in trained cyclists. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. https://link.springer.com