Low Fat Diet

A place to discuss health and fitness, including healthy diets, etc.
Dharma Flower
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Re: Low Fat Diet

Post by Dharma Flower »

Cianan wrote: “Overall, the low-carb group lost more weight and had much greater improvements in several important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”
While people might lose weight in the short-term from a ketogenic diet, I already have high blood pressure, and I am worried about someday dying of heart disease:
It is known Robert Atkins did indeed weather a heart attack during his lifetime. In April 2002, the diet guru issued a statement saying he was recovering from cardiac arrest related to a heart infection he had suffered from “for a few years.” He said it was “in no way related to diet.”

However, revelations in February 2004 from the city medical examiner’s report let slip the information that Atkins had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension, before his death. The report was given to the Journal by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates vegetarianism. Because the medical examiner’s office is claiming this information was circulated in error, it may not be possible at this time to determine if what was in that report referred to events that immediately preceded (and therefore might have caused) the doctor’s death, or if they were in reference to damage done over the course of a lifetime. (The report had been sent to a doctor in Nebraska who requested it. It was later discovered the person it was sent to was not “the treating physician” and so should not have had access to the report.) At present, the medical examiner’s office will only say Atkins died of a head injury from the fall. “I can’t comment on people’s previous conditions. It’s against the law,” said spokeswoman Ellen Borakove.

It needs be kept in mind that even if the medical examiner’s office does become more forthcoming, it still may not be able to answer the question of whether a heart attack brought about the demise of Dr. Atkins. An autopsy was not performed on him because of family objections to the procedure. Consequently, the medical examiner conducted only an external exam and a review of Atkins’ hospital records.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/doctor/atkins.asp

I am concerned about other health problems as well:
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Dharma Flower
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Other than a few weeks or months in high school, vegetarianism is a new thing for me. The reason why I recently started trying it in the first place is because the Buddha taught it:
Certain Mahayana sutras do present the Buddha as very vigorously and unreservedly denouncing the eating of meat, mainly on the grounds that such an act is linked to the spreading of fear amongst sentient beings (who can allegedly sense the odour of death that lingers about the meat-eater and who consequently fear for their own lives) and violates the bodhisattva's fundamental cultivation of compassion. Moreover, according to the Buddha in the Angulimaliya Sutra, since all beings share the same "Dhatu" (spiritual Principle or Essence) and are intimately related to one another, killing and eating other sentient creatures is tantamount to a form of self-killing and cannibalism. The sutras which inveigh against meat-eating include the Nirvana Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, the Brahmajala Sutra, the Angulimaliya Sutra, the Mahamegha Sutra, and the Lankavatara Sutra, as well as the Buddha's comments on the negative karmic effects of meat consumption in the Karma Sutra. In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, which presents itself as the final elucidatory and definitive Mahayana teachings of the Buddha on the very eve of his death, the Buddha states that "the eating of meat extinguishes the seed of Great Kindness", adding that all and every kind of meat and fish consumption (even of animals found already dead) is prohibited by him. He specifically rejects the idea that monks who go out begging and receive meat from a donor should eat it: ". . . it should be rejected . . . I say that even meat, fish, game, dried hooves and scraps of meat left over by others constitutes an infraction . . . I teach the harm arising from meat-eating." The Buddha also predicts in this sutra that later monks will "hold spurious writings to be the authentic Dharma" and will concoct their own sutras and falsely claim that the Buddha allows the eating of meat, whereas he says he does not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_ ... ayana_view
I don't think the Buddha would have taught vegetarianism if he believed or knew it to be disadvantageous to our health.
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Cianan
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Re: Low Fat Diet

Post by Cianan »

Dharma Flower wrote:
Cianan wrote: “Overall, the low-carb group lost more weight and had much greater improvements in several important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”
While people might lose weight in the short-term from a ketogenic diet, I already have high blood pressure, and I am worried about someday dying of heart disease:
It is known Robert Atkins did indeed weather a heart attack during his lifetime. In April 2002, the diet guru issued a statement saying he was recovering from cardiac arrest related to a heart infection he had suffered from “for a few years.” He said it was “in no way related to diet.”

However, revelations in February 2004 from the city medical examiner’s report let slip the information that Atkins had suffered a heart attack, congestive heart failure, and hypertension, before his death. The report was given to the Journal by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group that advocates vegetarianism. Because the medical examiner’s office is claiming this information was circulated in error, it may not be possible at this time to determine if what was in that report referred to events that immediately preceded (and therefore might have caused) the doctor’s death, or if they were in reference to damage done over the course of a lifetime. (The report had been sent to a doctor in Nebraska who requested it. It was later discovered the person it was sent to was not “the treating physician” and so should not have had access to the report.) At present, the medical examiner’s office will only say Atkins died of a head injury from the fall. “I can’t comment on people’s previous conditions. It’s against the law,” said spokeswoman Ellen Borakove.

It needs be kept in mind that even if the medical examiner’s office does become more forthcoming, it still may not be able to answer the question of whether a heart attack brought about the demise of Dr. Atkins. An autopsy was not performed on him because of family objections to the procedure. Consequently, the medical examiner conducted only an external exam and a review of Atkins’ hospital records.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/doctor/atkins.asp

I am concerned about other health problems as well:
[Mod note: quotes and links to commercial websites removed.]
Who told you the ketogenic diet only makes you lose some weight short-term? Ketosis reprograms your body and cells into a lean, fat-burner. The ketogenic diet doesn't not work long-term in practice: countless long-term ketogenic dieters experience biomarkers that excell those normal among people who burn sugar. The evidence from new, genuine research overwhelmingly indicates that it is carbohydrates causing heart disease.

Mainstream media continues to decry high-fat diets as “unscientific” and “uncertain,” but the irony is that mainstream dietary science wears no clothes. The “scientific” narrative of nutrition has been in the pockets of food industry giants. There never was any scientific data to condemn fats as the culprit—just money. Diabetes and heart disease rates have soared since people stopped eating saturated fat foods like butter. The density of valuable nutrition in butter is simply astounding.

I noticed that you also cited the China Study as an inspiration for your diet, but its studies and data do not add up at all, and the conclusions drawn tend toward complete fallacy. I invite you to look at analyses that have been done.

I wish I could experience a high-quality ketogenic diet for another a million times over. It’s not a gimmick I've experienced these past two years. I‘m in the best shape of my life and enjoying how much fats (ketones) outperform sugar as brain fuel.
Dharma Flower
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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I am switching to a vegetarian diet because that's what the Buddha taught, and because there's a great deal of medical science in support of it. Others will have to make their own choices, and I have no intent on changing other people's minds. I am still preparing foods containing animal products for my wife and children. This is my personal lifestyle decision.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

Post by Dharma Flower »

If a doctor took a sample of fat from your body, testing could show what kind of fatty foods you eat. For example, if your diet were high in fish fat, then the fat sample in your body would show an abundance of omega-3 oils.

This is where the saying comes from that the fat you eat is the fat you wear. As far as I know, no one has ever died of heart disease from eating corn and sweet potatoes. People need to decide for themselves what diet is best for them.
A study of the regions of the world known as blue zones, where people commonly live active lives past 100 years of age, speculated that longevity is related to a healthy social and family life, not smoking, eating a plant-based diet, frequent consumption of legumes and nuts, and engaging in regular physical activity.[13] In a cohort study, the combination of a plant based diet, normal BMI, and not smoking accounted for differences up to 15 years in life expectancy.[14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity ... al_factors
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justsit
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Dharma Flower wrote:I am switching to a vegetarian diet because that's what the Buddha taught, and because there's a great deal of medical science in support of it. Others will have to make their own choices, and I have no intent on changing other people's minds. I am still preparing foods containing animal products for my wife and children. This is my personal lifestyle decision.
No one here is criticizing your choice of a vegetarian diet.

However, the choice of which foods you say you will eat is problematic. An all carb or high carb diet - corn, potatoes, etc. - is not healthy and will end up causing disease. Whether you are vegetarian or not, a balanced diet including protein, carbs, and fats is necessary for health.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Dharma Flower wrote:If a doctor took a sample of fat from your body, testing could show what kind of fatty foods you eat. For example, if your diet were high in fish fat, then the fat sample in your body would show an abundance of omega-3 oils.

This is where the saying comes from that the fat you eat is the fat you wear. As far as I know, no one has ever died of heart disease from eating corn and sweet potatoes. People need to decide for themselves what diet is best for them.
A study of the regions of the world known as blue zones, where people commonly live active lives past 100 years of age, speculated that longevity is related to a healthy social and family life, not smoking, eating a plant-based diet, frequent consumption of legumes and nuts, and engaging in regular physical activity.[13] In a cohort study, the combination of a plant based diet, normal BMI, and not smoking accounted for differences up to 15 years in life expectancy.[14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity ... al_factors

What??!!!

Yes, indeed, a plant -based diet is healthy, or can be. If most of what you eat is starchy carbs though, or mostly, that is a poverty diet and is known to not be good for you, especially if you are already living a sedentary lifestyle. You also just posted health information that backs up what other people are saying, more than it backs up your arguments.

On the other hand, even the ND's I know who advocate basically being vegetarian will grudgingly admit that being pescatarian is quite healthy.

BTW, fats are something needed for (among other things) the development and function of your nervous system, it's of course possible to get non-animal version, but your weird aversion to fats is nonsense.
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Dharma Flower
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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As one can see, insulin resistance is caused by a diet heavy in animal products. Starchy vegetables are not the problem:
NB: Diets are changing, not just in the U.S., but worldwide. Diabetes seems to follow the spread of meaty, high-fat, high-calorie diets. In Japan, for example, the traditional rice-based diet kept the population generally healthy and thin for many centuries. Up until 1980, only 1-5% of Japanese adults over age 40 had diabetes. Starting around that time, however, the rapid westernization of the diet meant that meat, milk, cheese, and sodas became fashionable. Waistlines expanded, and, by 1990, diabetes prevalence in Japan had climbed to 11-12%.

The same sort of trend has occurred in the U.S. Over the last century, per capita meat consumption increased from about 150 pounds per year (which was already very high, compared with other countries) in the early 1900s to over 200 pounds today. In other words, the average American now eats 50 pounds more meat every year, compared with a century ago. In the same interval, cheese intake soared from less than 4 pounds per person per year to about 32 pounds today. Sugar intake has gone up, too, by about 30 pounds per person per year. Where are we putting all that extra meat, cheese, and sugar? It contributes to body fat, of course, and diabetes follows. Today, about 13% of the U.S. adult population has type 2 diabetes, although many of them are not yet aware they have it...

KF: What about the claim that a vegetarian diet has too many starches, which raises blood sugar?

NB: Starchy foods, such as whole grains, beans, and vegetables, are healthful foods, and the body is designed to use the glucose that they hold. In type 2 diabetes, the body has lost some of this ability. But the answer is not to avoid starches, but to restore the body’s ability to use them. After all, cultures whose diets are traditionally high in carbohydrate—Japan, China, Latin America, etc.—have had very low diabetes rates until meat, cheese, and other fatty foods displace their healthy carbohydrate-rich diets; only then does diabetes becomes more common.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-fre ... 12219.html
As someone who is pre-diabetic, medical science shows that the best dietary choice I can make is a diet of whole plant foods.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Contrary to the Paleo Diet, starch granules have been found in the teeth of prehistoric humans such as Neanderthals:

http://insider.si.edu/2011/01/starch-gr ... iciencies/

https://www.livescience.com/46836-prehi ... -diet.html

It's worth noting that all the prominent promoters of a low-carb, high-fat diet are overweight, despite following their own programs:
Loren Cordain, Author: "The Paleo Diet". Recommends you eat 55% meat.

Sally Fallon, Author: "Eat Fat, Lose Fat" - President Weston A. Price Foundation. Recommends meat, dairy, fish and vegetable fats.

William Davis, MD. Author: "The Wheat Belly" - Recommends no wheat, but lots of meat, dairy and oil.

Barry Sears, PhD, Author: "The Zone Diet". Recommends: meat, fish, and olive oil (restricts carbs).

Robert Atkins, MD. Author: "The Atkins Diet." Recommends bacon, brie and butter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVxA6yipv4
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Cianan wrote: I wish I could experience a high-quality ketogenic diet for another a million times over. It’s not a gimmick I've experienced these past two years. I‘m in the best shape of my life and enjoying how much fats (ketones) outperform sugar as brain fuel.
It's interesting that you mention the brain, since a high-fat diet has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease in multiple studies:
The 3 prospective dietary studies conducted in Chicago,[20] New York,[21] and Rotterdam[22] also examined the relation of dietary fat intake to the development of Alzheimer's disease. The Chicago study reported the strongest evidence of an association. High intake of saturated fat doubled the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and even moderate intake of trans fat increased the risk by 2 to 3 times.[20] By contrast, higher intake of both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats was associated with lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/466037_2
A new study published in PLOS Medicine's Special Issue on Dementia has found that the metabolism of omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids in the brain are associated with the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, which causes impaired memory, executive function and language. It accounts for 60 -- 80% of total dementia cases worldwide, with over 46 million people suffering from the disease worldwide. The number of patients is estimated to rise to 131.5 million by 2050.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 092355.htm
Most of the negative medical information regarding carbohydrates that I've seen is in regard to refined carbohydrates like table sugar, corn syrup, white flower, etc., not whole plant foods like potatoes and corn.

A diet high in animal products has been linked to numerous illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. A diet high in animal protein has even been linked to a higher risk of cancer:
The findings were intriguing: People from ages 50-65 who ate high-protein diets were four times more likely to die of cancer – this is in the ballpark of smoking risk, say the authors – compared to people who ate low-protein diets. Even those who ate moderate-protein diets were three times as likely to die from cancer. And people who ate high-protein diets were 75% more likely to die from any cause, including three times as likely to die from diabetes. The team calculated that reducing protein intake from moderate to low would reduce the risk of death by 21%.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalt ... b39dbc58b7
I didn't know until recently that so many illnesses, other than just heart disease, were linked to a diet high in animal products. And I didn't learn until recently about the benefits to one's diet that are provided by unrefined starches.

In the Mahayana sutras, the Buddha taught that we should eat a vegetarian diet, and I've seen so much evidence lately showing the benefits of such a diet. We just need to inform ourselves and make our own decisions, and hope whatever choice we make is best for our health.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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Cianan wrote: Who told you the ketogenic diet only makes you lose some weight short-term?
According to the following Canadian healthy study, those eating a high-fat, low-carb diet had the highest incidence of being overweight or obese:
The Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 2.2 is a cross-sectional survey of Canadians conducted in 2004–2005. There were 4,451 participants aged 18 years and older with anthropometric and dietary data and no comorbid conditions in this analysis...

Consuming a low-carbohydrate (approximately <47% energy) diet is associated with greater likelihood of being overweight or obese among healthy, free-living adults. Lowest risk may be obtained by consuming 47% to 64% energy from carbohydrates...

Carbohydrate intake was inversely associated with risk of overweight or obesity in this sample of free-living, healthy Canadians. Lowest risk of overweight or obesity was found among those consuming between 190 to 310 g/day carbohydrates (equal to between 47% and 64% calories from carbohydrate). Individuals with higher carbohydrate intake ate more fruits and vegetables and fiber, and less saturated fat, and a higher percentage reported being physically active, than those consuming less carbohydrate. Thus, this population may benefit by consuming whole grain instead of refined grain, more fiber, less saturated fat, fewer calories, and by remaining physically active.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093919/
There are numerous studies which come to similar conclusions.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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It also cannot be stressed enough that parts of the world like in Asia or in Latin America, where it's common to eat a low-fat, starch-based diet, often have much lower rates of obesity and its associated health problems than those who follow the typical American diet. These statistics should not be surprising.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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I would like to share something that might help people better understand why I am so insistent that I need to eat a plant-based diet.

I used to have an addiction to smoking pot. I would delude myself into thinking that I could only smoke it on the weekend or on special occasions, but every single time, I would end up getting high at every opportunity, every day that I had pot available to me.

Because of this pattern, I came to the realization that I was addicted to pot, but it took six months after this realization before I quit smoking pot entirely, because I just wasn't ready yet to give it up.

I knew I had a problem, and that I couldn't just get high in moderation, but I couldn't quit until I was ready to quit it entirely. It was all or nothing. This was about eight years ago.

Once I quit smoking pot entirely, after enough time passed, the cravings went away entirely and I experienced for myself how much better my life was without it.

About a year ago, my parents were visiting from out of town, and my dad ordered some really delicious pizzas when my wife and I were visiting their hotel room.

On the television came on a PBS special featuring Dr. Joel Fuhrman on the benefits of eating a plant-based diet and the long-term health dangers of eating a diet based on animal products.

I knew, right then and there, that Dr. Fuhrman was telling the truth about the health problems associated with the consumption of animal products, but I wasn't ready to stop.

I couldn't just cut back or moderate my consumption of animal products and other high-fat foods. It had to be all or nothing, and I knew at the time that I wasn't ready to stop.

If I was able to eat animal products and other unhealthy foods just once in a while, maybe that would be okay, but I know myself too well. Moderation doesn't work for me.

The benefit of a plant-based diet, besides the reduced risk of many health problems, is that you don't need to worry about moderating your food consumption. You can simply eat as many whole plant foods as it takes to feel full, and not worry about whether or not that will cause you to gain weight or have health problems. That's very refreshing for someone with an addictive personality.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

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One of the biggest myths of the dairy industry is that milk prevents osteoporosis, when the opposite has been shown to be the case:
If dairy products are consumed in a diet high in animal protein, any potential benefit for increased bone density would be undermined. That's because animal protein, including that from dairy products, may leach more calcium from the bones than is ingested, said Campbell, professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell and director of the Cornell-China-Oxford Project, the most comprehensive project on diet and disease ever conducted.

"This phenomenon could explain why Americans, who ingest much higher levels of calcium, have much higher rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures compared with many Chinese and other Asians who consume few dairy products and ingest low amounts of calcium," Campbell said. Hip fractures in the United States, for example, are approximately five times more frequent than in China...

Analyses of these data suggest that increased levels of animal-based proteins, including protein from dairy products, "almost certainly contribute to a significant loss of bone calcium while vegetable-based diets clearly protect against bone loss," Campbell reported...

This view is consistent with evidence comparing bone fracture rates among different countries, which shows that countries having the highest calcium intakes also have the highest fracture rates. It is also consistent with other studies on nutritionally rich "Western" diets and "Western" diseases showing that low-calcium, vegetarian diets are associated with increased bone density; that casein, milk's principal protein, is a well-established contributor to high blood cholesterol in the Western world; and that casein significantly enhances the development of tumor growth in experimental animals.
http://news.cornell.edu/stories/1996/11 ... rosis-risk
It has never been refuted that an overconsumption of animal protein, including from dairy products, leads to a loss of bone density.
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Re: Low Fat Diet

Post by Dharma Flower »

Given the things I've shared in this thread, it would be irresponsible of me to forget pointing out that I am not a provider of medical advice whatsoever. http://www.Plantbaseddocs.com can help you find a licensed doctor or nutritionist in your area to support a plant-based lifestyle. I am unqualified to make dietary recommendations.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Low Fat Diet

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

Dharma Flower wrote:Given the things I've shared in this thread, it would be irresponsible of me to forget pointing out that I am not a provider of medical advice whatsoever. http://www.Plantbaseddocs.com can help you find a licensed doctor or nutritionist in your area to support a plant-based lifestyle. I am unqualified to make dietary recommendations.

Then maybe you should stop doing so?

Yes, I think it's time for a break.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

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Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

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