OT: Are Carefully-supplemented Vegan Diets Perfectly Healthy?

Hoping I can make it a few hours longer after posting before this thread is closed(I think I might have set a new record with my last thread ;) ), This is certainly OT to PCa(except for the saying "healthy diet is also good for prostate), but since we have been discussing "what are we eating" in more than one thread, I just read this which relates to that subject and was, at the least, interesting for me. I don't know if this doctor is correct or not, but she certainly has an outlook not shared by most of our doctors and dieticians. Actually, the real subject of this particular article by her is mainly dealing with mental health vs diet. It discusses in detail various nutrients we need in relationship the the brain and nervous system, and what foods we get those nutrients from. It is not a short article, but I will just quote the closing paragraphs:
www.diagnosisdiet.com/micronutrients-mental-health/?utm_source=Diagnosis+Diet+Website+Subscribers&utm_campaign=4435b2d32a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9c1de9d3bb-4435b2d32a-78668465

Somebody said...

Are Carefully-supplemented Vegan Diets Perfectly Healthy?

I don’t think anyone knows the answer to this question. My personal take on supplements is that the human body is best-adapted to obtaining nutrients from whole foods, and we are probably healthiest when we use that strategy. We may not be well-adapted to processing isolated nutrients in pill form once a day, but supplements are a critically important strategy for those who choose plant-based diets, don’t have access to high-quality animal foods (much of the developing world), or have health issues that interfere with normal digestion and absorption of nutrients from whole foods. I will be addressing the issue of supplementation in more detail in future posts.

The Bottom Line: The Brain Needs Meat

There are many valid, respectable, understandable reasons to choose a vegan diet, but as far as I can tell, better health is not one of them. That being said, given everything I have learned about how plants operate within the human body, the only meat-eaters who may be able to claim a “healthier than thou” stance in comparison to plant-eaters are the ones who don’t eat any plants at all. But this is not a contest—it is a search for understanding. My study of nutrition has convinced me that red meat, poultry and seafood are the most nutritious foods for the human brain (and body). So, if you’re only avoiding meat because you think you’ll be healthier without it, I am here to tell you that I find no evidence that eating meat is risky. In fact, everything I’ve read indicates that NOT eating meat is risky. So, enjoy that juicy, nutrient-dense, antinutrient-free steak, duck, salmon or oyster. Doctor’s orders😊

Veganism was created by space aliens. It's purpose is to weaken us before their planed invasion in 2021 when they plan to take all cows, pigs and chickens on earth with them to their home planet.

alephnull said...
Former Vegetarian here, not Vegan. I was a vegetarian for 22 years and my understanding is that you can get everything from a vegetarian diet EXCEPT one thing. That is if you eat it in the proper proportions and quantities.

But that one thing is B12, is not found in plant products.
"Some substantial sources of B12 include animal products (shellfish, meat), fortified food products, and dietary supplements." per Wikipedia

You could I guess eat mass quantities of bacteria but then you aren't a Vegan anymore.

I'm not the one to argue vegan(or vegetarian) vs meat, even if I am not vegan. I can see good arguments for both. I just thought this was a fun article, in the way it makes such an "in your face" and aggressive claim for the opposite of vegan when it comes to health. Specifically brain health in this particular article.

However, about "EXCEPT one thing", for sure B12 is one. But what about K2, A and EPA/DHA? I know you are supposed to be able to get the last 2 by conversion from their plant versions, but it is argued by some(for ex: this article) that process is extremely inefficient and leads to deficiencies. But what about K2, is there a non-animal source for that? ( although, I think certain fermented vegetables can provide it, like Natto)

My son kids me because I am vegetarian for a couple of decades or so. He said do you know it takes many acres of grass to grow one cow, which is very tough on the environment? What is he doing to protect the environment? He eats the cow!

Subdenis,

"He eats the cow". ....... Laughed until it hurt ..... thanks, you made my day!

I choose to remain a second hand vegan.....the cow eats the grass and I eat the cow.

Intheshop nailed it!

JNF said...
I choose to remain a second hand vegan.....the cow eats the grass and I eat the cow.

There ya' go! Just grilled some pork steaks last night .

As a young mom, I donated breast milk to the breast milk bank. While they were screening me for disease (HIV, TB, Hepatitis, etc) before accepting my donations, they also confirmed that I was not a vegan. I asked them why they needed to know that...apparently they are unable to accept donated milk from vegan mothers because their milk is severely deficient in Vitamin B12. I found that pretty fascinating...and everything I've read since has confirmed that there's really no way to get enough B12 without some animal based food or supplement.

We've been trying to focus on eating more vegetables rather than specifically eating less meat. Filling the plate with veggies so there's less room for meat, if you will...but I don't think we'll ever give it up....

Hope,
My post was jokish but also meant to have a ring of truth. As a philosophical/ethical pursuit, I respect the Vegan diet. As a healthy diet, not so much. JNF's post nicely summed up my thoughts. I would add that our sense of taste places a premium on sweet and fatty tasting foods, probably because they were rare and nutritionally valuable commodities way back then. Since those types of foods are commonly available now, people can get into trouble by over indulging. As has been said several times, variety and moderation.

When my husband was diagnosed I researched all information like crazy. Diet came up fairly often. My husband was the poster boy for a PCa feeding diet. He drank milk by the gallon, ate cheese by the wheel, consumed fatty salami, beef, bacon, eggs by the carton, and sweets by the pound. One of the first websites I found was Michael Milken's. That led me to the John's Hopkins Brady Urological Institure's article Evolution and Prostate Cancer. The article points out that man is the only mammal with seminal vesicles that eats meat. All other mammals that eat meat do not have seminal vesicles. The mammals with seminal vesicles are herbivores.

My husband drastically changed his diet. He lost 35 lbs. For our entire 44 years of marriage he had such oily skin and hair I threw our sheets, towels and his shirts out on a regular basis as they were so discolored. He had noticeable rosacea. Within four weeks of cutting out dairy, red meat and sugar, his skin was dry and the rosacea was completely gone. He had more energy and took an interest in creating his own recipes. We are moving to even more plant based menus after reading How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Easselstyn as the ADT is affecting my husband's heart health. We are not fanatics particularly and will deviate from some of the dietary restrictions when eating out, but at home we are pretty faithful to this method of eating. Both of us have benefitted as we have better blood test results. I guess we all do what works for us when it comes to what we eat. This seems to be helping us.
Chris

Whether a person wants to be vegan or not is an individual choice but one can't go far wrong by drastically increasing the percentage of vegetables and fruit in their diet. There appears to be a correlation between the amount of red meat and dairy consumed and prostate cancer.

I suspect the Japanese have about the right mix - large amount of vegetables, little or no dairy, low sugar, soy products, seafood and occasional (rather than daily) meat.

Billybob says . . . I knew some one who was not vegan, but ate real low fat,
and his total cholesterol was also real low, but his HDL was low and caused
part of that low total, plus his triglycerides were a bit high.


Billybob, my current anti-cancer diet (vegan plus seafood) has done
exceptionally well with blood lipids.

Current values compared to last readings prior to diet.

Total cholesterol 158/249, HDL 58/39, LDL 90/169 Trig. 51/205;
Ratio of HDL/Total, for the last 4 years has been 2.71, 2.73, 2.73, 2.72;
Triglycerides for the same four years are 53, 51, 59, 51.

The diet has been very consistent.

Cashless