Most of us know people who are following a plant-based diet. They might call themselves flexitarians, vegetarians, plant strong, vegans, or nutritarians. Whatever the label, many of them are at healthy body weights. A recent study compared the body weights of meat eaters,  flexitarians (someone who eats meat once or twice a month but overall vegetarian), vegetarians (consuming dairy and eggs without any meats),and vegans (consuming no animal foods including no dairy or eggs). The weight standards in the study were as follows using BMI (body mass index):

• <25 is ideal weight
• 25-30 is overweight
• >30 is obese

For the five groups in the US, this study found that

• Average meat eaters had a BMI of 28.8 indicating overweight
• Average flexitarians had a BMI of 27.3 indicating overweight
• Full time vegetarians had a BMI of 25.7 indicating overweight
• Vegans had a BMI of 23. 6 indicating ideal body weight

The study notes that adding animal foods to the diet creates a 40 pound difference between meat eaters and vegans in body weight. Pretty significant difference. Also interesting is that even having meat just a few times per month can significantly increase body weight as seen in the difference between the flexitarians and the full time vegetarians.

But do vegans just eat less calories? Do they exercise more? In this study, the vegans were found to exercise less than the meat eaters yet weighed 40 pounds less. Another study found that calories are not significantly different with total plant-based diets compared with meat eaters.

So what is the secret? What factors are in plant foods that keep body weight in a healthy optimal level? What factors in animal foods cause increase weight? A 2009 study shows how 100% plant eaters could have an advantage: soy.

Fat cells were placed in a petri dish and soy isoflavones were added. As the soy concentration increased, the fat in the cells diminished. At 50 mcg of soy, fat uptake in the fat cells were almost completely fat free!

We saw this again in a study where dairy was replaced with soy. Belly fat significantly decreased in those with soy rather than dairy. Another study found that for every 10 g of meat added to the diet, there was corresponding increase in waist measurement.

So what are the isoflavone contents in foods?

• beef or chicken has 4 mcg
• veggie burgers have 4000 mcg
• dairy milk has 6 mcg
• soy milk has 6000 mcg

Here is at least one of the reasons for you know why skinny vegetarians and  plant protein eaters have flat bellies! Soy milk in your coffee anyone? Veggie burger for lunch?

I was asked to do an interview on a recent passing of legislation to ban the sale kids meals that do not meet nutritional standards. I was asked to debate this issue of regulating the food industry with Bob Barr, former senator for Georgia who echoed the familiar rant that this is another way that the government is turning the US into a “nanny state.”

You can see my responses on this video:

Regulating the food industry

But on another note, it is interesting to consider whether regulating the food industry would allegedly prohibit freedom of choice, especially since this freedom never existed (or could exist) in the first place. In thinking about this issue and preparing for it I found this piece by an attorney stating that the issue of free choice in the context of food in any culture is an illusion and doesn’t really exist. Buchanan basically argues that our tastes and preferences for foods are shaped by the cultural norms and those norms are influenced by the interactions between government and the food industry. In fact, it will always be that government will have some say in food choices we have as they do this very day.  Buchanan states:

Therefore, when the government tries to change what people eat, it is not operating on a blank slate. Instead, people already face a busy marketplace of food messages. Thus, a person who objects to the government telling him what to do in this area of his life is, in essence, saying: “Don’t let Big Brother tell me what to eat. I do what the Pillsbury Dough Boy tells me.”

So it is not a question of government becoming more involved in food choices, it is a question of how they are involved. Regulating the food industry is already happening just in a different way. The current way that government is involved is not working. This is evident due to our current obesity and disease rates. Some of these grim statistics:

• One in three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in his or her life
• Overweight children today have the arteries of 45-year-olds
• One in five teens has an abnormal cholesterol level increasing their risk for the number 1 cause of death in the US, a totally preventable death

So if the current interactions between the government and the food industry have set the stage for all this suffering, disease and death, then the ways our government is regulating the food industry need to change.

Nutrient-dense eating habits adopted by two women:

Here is a letter sent to me from a client who struggled with weight gain, high cholesterol, and sugar craving:

“I wanted to thank you so much for helping me with my eating habits.  I’ve realized that you truly are what you eat.

• My cholesterol has gone from 235 (HDL:69, LDL: 142) to 173 (HDL:58, LDL:84)!!!

• I’ve also lost 20 pounds since coming home in April, and

• I feel so healthy

I have to say, my sugar cravings are incredibly intense during my premenstrual time, and I’ve decided to not be so hard on myself and let myself eat desserts then. Once that time is over, I’m back on track, eating a small serving of dark chocolate every day as my treat and of course lots of the nutrient-dense foods we discussed.   I’m also at my healthiest weight since high school. Thanks again so much!

I also received this letter from a student that I helped during her first year in the nutrition program at her school:

“Growing up, I was slim and never had any health problems. During my freshman year in college, I decided to eliminate all animal products from my diet, however, I was still eating a lot of junk food and I just wasn’t healthy. Through my sophomore year, I continued to eat a diet filled with processed foods and continued to gain weight. It was not until my junior year of college that I had had enough. I applied Trulie’s idea of a nutrient dense diet to my life and things quickly began to change.

I Discovered Nutrient-Dense Eating:

• My weight went down
• My skin was clear and glowing
• I had energy after feeling sluggish for many years
• My horrible life-long allergies were completely non-existent

Now, as a nutrition student at Georgia State University, I am constantly trying to learn new things relating to health. Trulie has been extremely helpful and I have actually learned more from her than what they teach in school. Using what I’ve learned from her, I have reached optimum health.

• I can be busy from early morning until late at night and never run out of energy.
• I am always getting compliments on how healthy I look and people keep asking what my secret it. They never believe me when I tell them it’s from a nutrient-dense diet.

Interestingly enough, I learned that Trulie has a story very similar to mine. I really appreciate all the help Trulie has given me and would recommend her to anyone wanting to make a positive impact on their own health.”

Why is it that people in other countries maintain an ideal weight from their early adulthood years until their death? Americans consistently gain weight from their younger years on creating an obese nation.  This weight gain is now happening at even younger ages. In some other countries where overweight and obesity is not a problem, people experience true hunger.

Is your hunger true or toxic?

True hunger is a sensation that is felt after eating a healthy plant-based diet and not constantly consuming rich and low-nutrient foods. Americans have learned to love high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and have continued to feed themselves even though they are not hungry.

Do you eat when you’re not truly hungry?

Americans have lost touch with what it feels like to be truly hungry and instead have depended on sudden urges, recreational eating, and visually appealing foods to make that decision for them. Some of these eating opportunities can include:

• Free samples at a grocery store
• Display cases full of sugar-filled pastries at your favorite coffee shop
• Attending a special occasion party or celebration where everyone is eating
• Being asked to try out a new recipe a friend made

Hunger can also be mistaken by the nauseated, achy feeling they get only a few hours after eating. But these symptoms are actually related to toxic hunger.

What is toxic hunger?

Dr. Fuhrman explains toxic hunger symptoms as:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Weakness
• Mental Confusion
• Abdominal and esophageal spasm
• Fluttering and cramping

Toxic hunger is not really hunger at all. It is the detoxification of our bodies’ tissues to eliminate all the toxins we have put in it. Shortly after eating a meal full of rich, nutrient-lacking foods, people experiencing toxic hunger will feel weak and shaky and will solve this problem the only way they know how: eating more rich foods. Think of toxic hunger as a withdrawal symptom from low-nutrient foods. One’s body becomes addicted and will not feel better until more unhealthy foods are consumed.

What is true hunger?

Unfortunately, most people do not regularly experience true hunger. If Americans started to eat more nutrient rich foods (beans, greens, fruits, nuts, and seeds), they would begin to feel true hunger, along with all the things that come with it such as no discomfort hours after eating, pleasure consuming healthier foods, and most importantly, maintaining a healthy weight.

Striving for a nutritionally optimal diet is the cornerstone of good health. It can be hard to cut through the hype of diet fads and nutrition anecdotes and dubious research to determine just what an excellent diet is. Dr. Joel Fuhrman came up with a strategy to make it simple and name to those who follow it.  Have you heard of Nutritarians? Here he explains:

Simply put, a nutritarian is a person who strives for more micronutrients per calorie in their diet-style. A nutritarian understands that food has powerful disease-protecting and therapeutic effects and seeks to consume a broad array of micronutrients via their food choices. It is not sufficient to merely avoid fats, consume foods with a low glycemic index, lower the intake of animal products, or eat a diet of mostly raw foods. A truly healthy diet must be micronutrient rich and the micronutrient richness must be adjusted to meet individual needs. The foods with the highest micronutrient per calorie scores are green vegetables, colorful vegetables, and fresh fruits. For optimal health and to combat disease, it is necessary to consume enough of these foods that deliver the highest concentration of nutrients.

A nutritarian is a person whose food choices are influenced by nutritional quality.

You can read more about what it means to be a nutritarian here. If you would consider yourself one who follows these nutrition principles and would like to meet a group of like-minded people or would just like to learn more, check out this Meet-Up Group in Atlanta. Now you have heard of Nutritarians.

Looking for the best body measurement tools for weight loss? Ideally, you would use a scale and some sort of tape measure. A tape measure is helpful for when the scale is not budging but it should be. Measuring waist and hips will show progress when the scale does not. A scale is helpful as a body measurement tool for weight loss because research shows that those who step on a scale on a daily basis have their goal in their mind for the rest of day. Out of sight out of mind? When it comes to body weight, yes!

Here are a few recommendations for the best body measurement tools for weight loss:

I did nutritional counseling with a man after his heart attack.  Here is his story based on his meetings with me and the additional research and reading he did:

As many of you know on January 3, 2006 I suffered atherosclerosis…the medical term for a heart attack.  About 50% of people die from this condition when it occurs.  I was one of the lucky ones.

Looking for answers

I began to believe that nutrition has a huge influence on heart disease, but who and what do you believe?  About a year ago I wanted to lose a couple of pounds so I went on the Nutri-Systems Diet.  It worked.  I lost the weight in a month.  Then I began to research foods cooked in a micro-wave, processed foods, refined foods and how they can harm your body.  WHAT?  I lost the weight.

• Do I need more fiber?
• More fruit?
• More vegetables?
• Do carbs make me fat?
• Is organic really better?
• I heard bagels are good…I heard they aren’t.  Too much starch?  I was frustrated.

Finding a nutrition professional

I didn’t know where to turn so I researched it further and found the best nutritionist/dietician I could find.  Someone I could ask anything about food and nutrition.  I had a lot of questions.  Still do.  She [Trulie] has worked with the Physicians Committee for Research Medicine in Washington, DC and was research coordinator for a revolutionary program for reversing diabetes.  The first thing she told me was that heart disease can be reversed.  I was sold.

I asked her why she chose this line of work and she said she was overweight (hard to believe now) and didn’t feel good—so she did something about it.  In our meetings she broke down

1. macro-nutrients (protein, carbs and fat) and
2. micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals).

Optimal health comes from a diet loaded with 14 different vitamins, 25 minerals and 10,000 phytochemicals.  The phytochemicals have a profound influence on humans cell function.  Our body cells can only heal, repair and detoxify with foods rich in micro-nutrients.  We hear a lot these days about free radicals which attack our cells and cause disease.  I believe now through my limited research, reading and questions that chronic diseases are largely the result of infinitely complex assaults on our bodies resulting from bad food.

Protect health with a powerful diet

I know the last sentence in the above paragraph is hard to comprehend, but I am beginning to believe that certain foods are just a lot better for us than others.  My new encyclopedia of health then gave me a reading assignment.  She handed me a book called The China Study (I highly recommend you read it) and told me to read the chapter (Broken Hearts) on heart disease.  I liked that information so much that I bought my own book and read it cover to cover.  It was fascinating.  The writer, Dr. T. Colin Campbell questions the status quo.  Many years ago as a scientist and nutrition expert he worked for the government and later became involved in a study to understand why people in parts of China and other countries did not get heart disease and cancer.  Most believed it must be genetics, but when they moved to America and ate the western diet they got just as sick as us.  The study found that the Chinese ate

• less animal-based foods and
• more plant-based foods.  More fruits, vegetables and grains!  Foods high in micro-nutrients with great anti-oxidant power.

My dietician provided me with beneficial information to share.   It became obvious that the best foods for me are a heavy dose of many fruits and vegetables.  The more the variety the better.  I knew I wouldn’t eat 5 or 6 fruits a day, but my nutritionist showed me how to blend a great tasting smoothie with 6-8 fruits, flaxseed and other high anti-oxidant nutrients.  I am eating many more vegetables and better grains.  My cholesterol is extremely low and I am feeling great.

Our health is a choice

In closing I believe we can do better than pills and surgery.  We can go directly to the bottom line.  We can reduce our cholesterol and when that is done you cannot deposit fat and cholesterol into your arteries.  PERIOD.  It happens through nutrition.  My research has of course concentrated on heart disease, but every year that passes, there is more proof that a plant-based diet has similar effects on chronic diseases.  It is now believed that at least half of all senile mental impairment is caused by vascular injury to the brain.  Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

You can see the Food Genie video and vote here.

Thanks for checking it out!

I am sure there were many groans when the news of this study came out. The bad news was that 60 minutes of exercise is needed to prevent weight gain as they get older. The good news is that exercise effects are wide reaching and benefit many areas of health other than body weight. Also, weight gain is not inevitable in aging.  The bad news was even more time is needed to get those exercise effects. As if most women don’t have enough on their to do list (me included)!

Exercise effects

I would like to point out two important considerations with this study about exercise effects.

1. This was for moderate exercise (walking). If you step up the intensity (i.e. running instead of walking) only 30 minutes are needed. Exercise effects on weight control are experienced with a shorter amount of time too, if you do it faster.

2. Also, this was found for women on a “normal” American diet. Unfortunately for Americans, “normal” is not a good thing. This diet is typically higher in fat, calories, animal foods and processed foods. The weight control exercise effects will not help you if you drink many of your calories in the form of sugary drinks, load up on fried foods,  high fat dairy or  meats, or get a hefty dose of refined flours everyday.

However, what if you have an abnormal diet? Abnormal by American standards anyway? You know, a diet with a good amount of fruits and vegetables in it? Will you experience greater exercise effects over your waistline as you age? Research shows that to be true. Bottom line, there are two important factors to prevent adult weight gain:

1. diet
2. exercise

Do exercise effects have a greater influence than diet over body weight in aging? Should it be prioritized over diet? If you don’t have 60 minutes is all hope lost? Not necessarily. You have more options than just one.

I had amaranth for breakfast, a tiny seed grain with a plethora of minerals.  This grain dates back to the time of the Aztec Indians. In fact, ounce for ounce, it has twice the calcium of cow’s milk. It has a sweet corn flavor and becomes  a sticky, gummy hot cereal after cooking. The consistency  is like a thicker, more textured Cream of Wheat. The flavor is stronger and sweeter than oatmeal. It is very easily digested so good for people with

• allergies and
• gluten intolerances or
• other digestive issues like Crohn’s  disease or irritable bowel syndrome.

Cooking Amaranth

I cooked 1 cup of it in 1 1/2 cups water in my pressure cooker for about 4 minutes high pressure than 6 minutes with the heat off (and the lid on) to total about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a pressure cooker (why not? It’s so much faster!!), cook  1 cup of grain (no need to rinse or soak) with 2 1/2 cups of water or broth for 20-25 minutes.

Plain or Flavored Amaranth

I cooked it plain but I already know I love it. It can also be made like grits with garlic, onion, herbs, or other vegetables added and served as side dish. Or cooked in fruit juice with dried fruits for a sweeter dish.

Check out how nutrient rich amaranth is when compared with oatmeal. Like oatmeal, it is about 15% protein. I included those nutrients with significant differences: