Plant Vs. Animal Protein, Lung Damage smoking Marijuana and Gut Health

 

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.

Replacing just 3 percent of calories of animal protein with plant protein was associated with a 10% reduction in risk of death – an extra year of life with just 3 percent! Egg protein was the worst -swapping 3% of egg whites for plant protein was associated with more than 20% reduction in overall mortality. It is not about adding years to your life but life to your years, which is where the concept of "healthy aging" comes from. Healthy aging is “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age.”  A higher intake of vegetable protein yields fewer deficits in functional impairment, health and vitality, mental health, and the use of health services. A whole food, plant-based diet provides the best opportunities for healthy aging! Make it a marvelous Meatless Monday and plantify your plates!

Yesterday we talked about the best way to have healthy aging – through a whole food, plant-based diet. Some may call that a vegan diet and it is true to a certain extent. The term “vegan” defines what a person does not eat – nothing from an animal. But it does not mean the person is eating anything “whole food” – in fact, a vegan can have a terribly unhealthy diet. A whole food, plant-based diet describes everything we DO eat - foods that aid in the prevention and reversal of leading chronic diseases as well as eliminating harmful cancer-causing carcinogens and aging toxins from entering our bloodstream. It is all about eating the great things God gave us without adding anything or taking anything away, so we can live longer and live stronger on this terrific Tuesday!

Super interesting research is coming out on the levels of damage to the lungs for those who smoke tobacco and marijuana. The level of damage is comparable for the two, which is remarkable since the tobacco smokers were smoking twenty-five cigarettes a day and the marijuana users were smoking twenty per WEEK. How is that possible? It may be the way they are smoked – marijuana smokers inhale more deeply and hold in the smoke four times longer than cigarette smokers which results in more tar deposits in the lungs. Marijuana is loosely packed and unfiltered – resulting in hotter and “smokier” smoke. So just a few a week can cause striking evidence of airway injury. Yes, smoking marijuana once a day is the same as smoking five cigarettes a day. Neither is part of a healthy lifestyle. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Whether fighting off a cold or protecting ourselves against autoimmune conditions, which are unfortunately on the rise, we want to strengthen our immunity. There are supplements and the occasional “super-food” that promise to give us super immunity, but we do not hear often enough that our immunity is powered by our gut. Yes, 70% of our immune cells are in the gut, and they are in constant communication, trying to protect us. Research is now showing that people who contracted COVID had decreased levels of beneficial bacteria in their gut. One of the best ways we can support it is by eating a diverse diet that is plant-based. What foods are best for our gut? First, try to get thirty different whole foods per week. Second, they are strengthened by some key nutrients that nourish our immune systems – Vitamins A, D, C, E B6, and B12 and several minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals. Walnuts, garlic, sun-exposed mushrooms, firm tofu, carrots, oranges, chia seeds, broccoli, and turmeric are the best. When left on the windowsill for some sun, mushrooms increase their vitamin D! Live longer and live stronger by boosting your gut health!

It's Fix it Friday and we've got a new, great cookbook called "Engine 2 Cookbook" - you may have heard about the Austin, Texas firefighters who plantified their plates and got stronger!  Now there is an Engine 2 plant-strong food line at Whole Foods Market stores, an Engine 2 weekend retreat, and a 7-day immersion program in Sedona, Arizona. Get the cookbook! Here is a fast wonderful side dish of Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with three ingredients.

 Cut the core out of a head of cauliflower, then cut it into long, flat slices. Place them flat on a lined pan and drizzle the slices with balsamic vinegar or spray with liquid aminos, followed by a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. Bake for 25 or 30 minutes until the cauliflower is browned and crispy. Liquid aminos are like soy sauce and nutritional yeast looks like flaked cheese - you can find them at almost all grocery stores! Have a great Fix it Friday!

 Here is your blast from the past!

This week we are recognizing National Mental Health Awareness Week. We know that we can be in excellent physical shape, but it does not mean we are healthy - our mental health is just as important, and it is what God earnestly desires for each of us. Our mental state also AFFECTS our physical well-being - the happier and more optimistic we are, the better we fight off diseases, and we know that stress and emotions have profound effects on our physical health. Research shows that eating less meat is not only good for us physically, but is also good for us emotionally as well.  Those eating plant-based diets experienced significantly fewer negative emotions than those who eat meat. So, on this meatless Monday, start a 10-day, 21-day, or 40-day "fast" of no meat and see if you feel better and more robust, to live longer and give more for Him!

Tuesday's power of the plate tip is how to fight the "blues" with "greens". Yes, it is National Mental Health Awareness Week and studies show that higher consumption of vegetables can cut the odds of developing depression by as much as 62 percent! Many plant foods contain phytonutrients (fight-o-nutrients - they fight for us!) and they naturally inhibit an enzyme called MAO - those who have depression appear to have elevated levels of MAO in their brains. Research also shows that the more fruits and vegetables we eat, the happier, calmer, and more energetic we feel...for days! So, power up your plate with fruits and veggies, and have a terrific Tuesday!

 

Wednesday's holistic health habit is more about mental health since it is Mental Health Awareness Week. We have talked so far about the power of food to help our mood, but there is also a link between exercise and mental health. Those who exercise regularly have a 25 percent lower rate of depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. The best exercise for our moods is outdoors, with a friend, with nature, with our dogs, playing games, riding bikes...all those things bump the happiness quotient more than lifting weights at the gym. So, get outside each day and have a WONDERFUL Wednesday everyone!

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and today is National Depression Screening Day. It is important to focus on that "awareness" piece. How can we be more aware, not only of our own mental health status but of those around us? These are challenging times, to say the least. Burn-out at work, being overwhelmed as parents and spouses, and stress in our lives is all too common. There are things we can do to take action to support ourselves and those around us.

  These tips can help:

 1.  prioritize being PRESENT - all that noise in our minds can stress us, so breathe in the moments, right now.

 2.  reflect before you react - for every action there is a reaction, and everything in between is our choice - choose to pause and think through why you are feeling the way you do, and how to best cope with it.

 3.  Talk about tough feelings - speak up, speak out, and find help and resources that are so abundant in our churches and communities. And we can be that person who listens when others are struggling. God put us here for each other!

We have talked several times over the months about free radicals - those very unstable molecules that cause tissue damage and contribute to aging - they also may plan an important role in various mental health disorders. And of course, the best way to extinguish those free radicals is by eating foods high in antioxidants - you got it - fruits and vegetables. And here is an important key - we cannot just take antioxidant pills or rely on those fortified drinks - FOOD sources of antioxidants are linked to better mood but taking the supplements does not work. Food IS mood so choose those highest in antioxidants which are blueberries, raspberries, kale, pecans, strawberries, artichokes, and greens. Plantify your plate and have a fantastic Friday!

 Reference:  How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Gregor

Living Longer by the "Food Rules"

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.

 Here are some interesting stats on behaviors that shorten our lives:

 Diets high in processed meats – bacon, ham, hot dogs, lunch meat, and sausage – may kill more than 100,000 people a year due to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

 Eating a single daily serving takes about 2 years off your life – meaning it ages you two years.

 Being eleven pounds overweight reduces our lifespan as much as smoking two cigarettes a day…. or drinking two beers.

One burger takes 30 minutes off your life, the same as two cigarettes. If you would not smoke two cigarettes after lunch, maybe you could choose a bean burrito instead of a burger, right?

 Of course, there are also life-extending behaviors.

 For example, every time you exercise 20 minutes in a day, you add an hour to your life! Also, eating five or more servings of fruit and veggies a day can add an average of four years to your lifespan for men and three for women. Have a marvelous Meatless Monday!

 Fiber – such an exciting topic – helps our good gut bacteria release compounds that exert broad anti-inflammatory activities. Shockingly, thousands of patients were followed and a diet with even the minimum recommended fiber intake showed a lower risk of developing moderate or severe knee pain! In fact, fiber intake lowered the risk of having osteoarthritis in the first place. Those who consumed the most fiber reduced their risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 23%, risk of death from cancer by 17%, and a 23% lower mortality from ALL causes. Plantify your plates with these high-fiber foods: beans, broccoli, berries, whole grains, apples, dried fruits, and nuts… and have a terrific Tuesday!

 A study in Europe found that the cancer risk associated with the consumption of meats is so high that we may not want to give it to children more than five times a month! In addition to purely nutritional reasons, toxins may be part of the problem. In the US, flame-retardant chemicals have contaminated our meat (chicken in particular) to the point that it has 10 to 20 times more than chicken in Japan and other countries. Those eating plant-based diets may have about one-third the levels of dioxins compared to others.

 When diets were changed to exclude meat and eggs, study subjects saw a significant drop in toxic heavy metals. And organic meat is no better for us than conventional meat – the difference between them when it came to carcinogenic contaminants was minimal. Eating less meat, and reducing your toxin load, will help you live longer and live stronger! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 Remarkably interesting research is coming out on non-caloric sweeteners. Those who used aspartame, stevia, and monk fruit took in sixteen fewer teaspoons of sugar daily, but their average blood sugars were the same. Those who drank a Diet Coke ate more at their next meal than those who drank regular Coke. When it comes to calorie intake, blood sugar levels, and insulin spikes, they are equally as bad as sugar. The sweetness comes best when it comes from nature’s candy – fruit!

 

 It is Fix it Friday and fall has fallen, so let us do a Fall Harvest Vegetable Chowder!

Ingredients:

 ·         1 medium peeled and diced yellow onion

 ·         3 large, diced celery stalks

 ·         2 diced medium carrots

 ·         6 cups of vegetable broth - in the soup section at the store

 ·         2 diced small zucchini

 ·         2 diced small, sweet potatoes

 ·         4 bay leaves

 ·         2 T thyme

 ·         Kernels from 4 ears of sweet corn 

 ·         4 cups packed spinach leaves 

 Place the onion, celery, carrots, and 1/2 cup of vegetable stock in a large pot and sauté over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes until the onion is clear.

 Add the zucchini, sweet potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and remaining broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

 Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

 Add half the corn and cook for 10 minutes then remove the bay leaves.

 Allow it to cool then puree it in a blender.

 Put it back in the pot with the remaining corn and spinach leaves and cook for 5 more minutes.

 Stir well and serve hot on this Fix it Friday and get more recipes from the Forks over Knives Cookbook!

 And a blast from the past!

 We can all agree that knowing what to eat has gotten really complicated when it is such a basic activity for us and can be simplified. In his new book, “Food Rules", Michael Pollan found that the deeper he went into studying nutrition the simpler it became.  No matter what approach is promoted, there are two facts linking health and diet, which no one disputes. First, those who eat a Western diet, generally defined as our standard American diet, with lots of processed foods, meat, added fat, sugar, and refined grains, invariably lead to the diseases we have talked about so many times. This diet IS the problem. Second, those who eat non-Western, more traditional diets do not suffer from these diseases. Wonderfully, switching from our standard American diet to a healthier one brings dramatic improvements in our health   SO on this meatless Monday, crowd out the meat, those processed foods, fat, sugar, and refined grains with whole, real foods!

 We mentioned the new book, "Food Rules" yesterday, and how complicated eating has become. The author boils it down to too many simple "rules" though:  Eat real food.... do not eat too much....and eat mostly plants. Eat real food means avoiding processed foods - the processing removes nutrients and adds toxins, and many are packaged in plastic, which is another toxin. 17,000 new food products show up in the supermarket each year! The author calls them "edible food-like substances". They are processed in ways to get us to buy and eat more - mostly through sugar, fat, or salt. So, when you pick up one of those products, ask yourself if your great-grandmother would recognize it? If not, it is best to skip it. Do not eat breakfast cereals, and do not let your kids eat them if they change the color of the milk. More all week and have a terrific Tuesday everyone!

 Today we have more food "rules" from Michael Pollan's book by the same name:  avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry, which have some form of sugar or sweetener listed in the top three ingredients, which have more than five ingredients, or that have ingredients a third grader cannot pronounce. It is also good to avoid products that have the words lite, low-fat, or nonfat - we have gotten fat on nonfat foods! Since they were introduced in the 70s, we have been eating more than five hundred additional calories per day, most in the form of sugar, and the average man is seventeen pounds heavier, and the average woman is nineteen pounds heavier than in the 70s. All these things NOT to do - tomorrow we will talk about what TO do - have a wonderful Wednesday!

 All week we have been talking about food rules, and a lot of things to avoid - today it is what to seek. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket - it is where the fresh foods are...or opt for the farmer's market instead. Eat foods that have short shelf lives because they are likely not filled with preservatives. Eat foods that have been cooked by humans, and the best kitchens may be your own. If it CAME from a plant, great. If it was MADE in a plant, not great. Eat plants - especially leaves, because some whole foods are better for us than others, and greens are at the top of the list. Eating what stands on one leg (like a mushroom) is better than eating what stands on two legs (like chickens and turkeys), which is better than eating what stands on four legs (like cows and pigs). and of course, eat your colors, with as many colors as possible. Power up your plates with these wonderful foods to live longer and stronger.

 Here are some more tips from the author who wrote the rules for food. He recommends buying a freezer if you have space - so many foods are thrown away that can easily be frozen and used in smoothies, and you can stock up on things from the farmers market when foods are in their high seasons. Also do not be afraid to try wild things - two of the most nutritious plants in the world are weeds! They are called lambs quarters and purslane and they are wild greens. He also recommends fermented foods we have discussed before - sauerkraut, soy sauce, kimchi, and tempeh - those probiotics help our guts and help our immune systems. Lastly, that 80% rule of eating less, stopping before we are full, snacking less, eating slower, and simply eating less can have tremendous benefits. Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

 Resource:  Food Rules, An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan