So, the past week or so I've been watching some videos of doctors promoting a low-carb diet instead of just watching movies :') (I tend to get obsessed with subjects I'm interested in, woops)
Anyhow, tonight I'm watching
one promoting a vegan diet instead.
What I'm thinking now: Everyone just takes studies that are relevant to their diet in a positive way & ignores the rest of the facts. If I want to learn as much as possible, I should also listen to and learn from people who say the complete opposite (if they have studies backing them up). Right?
"There are three sides to every story. Yours, theirs, and the truth"
So... What should I believe?
What the guy says basically: (cause it's a long video)
- Vegans/Vegetarians have a lower BMI, lower cholesterol but a better LDL/HDL ratio, live longer
- But you have to take vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, omega 3, zinc; add extra vitamin C to your diet to absorb the iron from plant sources
- Some studies show a link between soy consumption and breast cancer, some don't
- Some studies show a link between soy and reduced cognition, some show a link between soy and increased cognition, clinical trials find soy to be helpful for cognition
- Soy is safe for the thyroid
- Most men don't suffer with feminizing characteristics because of soy (w the estrogen I guess)
- No problems with soy & sperm quality
- Meat eaters get 34% of their calories from fat, vegans get 30% from fat (on average) -- meat eaters get 12% of their calories from saturated fat, vegans 5% -- vegans have a lower cholesterol than meat eaters -- vegans eat less calories
- Vegans on a low fat diet may start craving fat so he doesn't recommend a very low fat diet
Presentation 2 (vegan activist - tbh I don't think much of this is based on any science at all)
- We're no omnivores but herbivores, we're not fast enough to catch prey, we don't eat meat raw, our saliva is made to digest carbohydrate enzymes, we don't have claws, our intestines are too long...
- If we were genuine meat eaters, we wouldn't ever clog our arteries from all the meat
- All the nutrients we need are found in nature, not animal sources. Foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, cannot harm you. We don't get sick from broccoli etc.
- Most of the cancers, kidney disease, obesity, diabetes, heart diseases, strokes, asthma are caused by cholesterol, saturated fat, trans fats*, animal protein. (and smoking, etc. )
- You can eliminate cholesterol completely from your body, if you get it from an outside source, it's bad cholesterol.
- Every study shows that people who eat the most animal protein have the highest rates of osteoporosis, which causes bone fractures and cancers
- There are more studies showing a vegan diet is healthier, but you should throw all those studies out and pay attention to the meat, cheese, eggs & milk society. He knows a lot of people with cancer, heart disease, etc. Those people all eat meat, cheese, eggs & dairy.
- Everyone's hooked on cheese, like it's weed, crack, xtc, ...
- Meat consumption prevents calcium absorption because animal protein makes your blood too acidic
- "If people ate a fricken' apple or a pear once in a while, no one would need help taking a ****"
- There's hormones and pus in your milk
I tried a vegan diet a couple of years ago (for 3 months). I replaced dairy with soy milk and rice milk and meat products with fake meats (double portions with each meal) and hummus. I also had B12 supplements.
I lost about 8 kg (17lbs), got depressed for the first time in my life, got bronchitis 2 (or 3) times, felt lightheaded etc. so even if it makes you live longer, I wouldn't eat this way again. (Vegetarian meals are delicious though)
Anyhow, I'd be surprised if anyone read the whole thing, but what's your opinion?
*I have to look up the part where he said that, maybe I got it wrong, or maybe I remembered it wrong, but aren't most of the trans fats from hydrogenated vegetable oils?