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Update on Vegetarian Stroke Risk
"Update on Vegetarian Stroke Risk" Healthy plant-based diets
have been associated with lower all-cause mortality,
up to a 34 percent lower risk of death from any cause over an average
of an eight-year period, just being in the top
versus bottom quarter of healthy plant-based consumption. If sustained, that could translate
into more than four extra years of life. A meta-analysis of a dozen studies
prospectively following more than a half a million people
for up to 25 years similarly found significantly lower
heart disease and overall death rates among those eating more plant-based. No surprise,
a systematic review concluded since plant-based diets
may arrest or even reverse our number one killer—
cardiovascular disease. Those eating wholly plant-based
tend to be significantly slimmer with lower LDL cholesterol, triglycerides,
blood sugars, blood pressures, significantly less inflammation,
and less carotid artery wall thickening (a sign of atherosclerosis measured
via ultrasound in the neck), as good as what you see
in endurance athletes who’ve run an average of 50,000 miles,
which is like twice around the globe. And changes in risk factors
can happen fast, as evidenced by results
from one to three-week ad libitum (eat-all-you-want)
plant-based “kickstart” programs.
For example, the results from the first
few hundred participants of the at-home
15-day Jumpstart program created by the nonprofit Rochester
Lifestyle Medicine Institute were recently published. On a whole food plant-based diet,
obese patients lost an average of 7 pounds without controlling portions
or counting calories or carbs. Diabetics saw their fasting blood sugars
drop 28 points. Those with LDL cholesterol
over 100 experienced a 33-point drop (comparable to some statin drugs), and hypertensive individuals
experienced a 17-point drop in systolic blood pressure,
which is better than drugs, and all within just two weeks! Studies dating back nearly 40 years
show those eating meat-free diets also have improved blood “rheology,”
meaning fluidity or flowability, which may play a role
in cardiovascular protection. Subsequent interventional studies putting
the cross-sectional findings to the test, show that switching people
to a plant-based diet can improve rheology measurements
within three to six weeks. But might the blood of vegetarians flow
a bit too well, though? In 2019, a study of thousands
of British vegetarians called EPIC-Oxford found that they were at higher risk
of hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke.
They had such a lower risk
of heart disease that they still had less
cardiovascular disease overall (and a half dozen studies show no overall
increased risk of stroke mortality), but why the greater stroke incidence? I suggested it might be vitamin B12
deficiency, which can lead to excessive levels
of a stroke- associated metabolite called homocysteine
which is normally detoxified by B12. This is thought to be the reason
why vitamin B12 supplementation can improve artery function
of vegetarians.
Vitamin B12 supplements
or fortified foods are critical for anyone eating plant-based,
but my 12-part video series on vegetarians and stroke risk
triggered by the 2019 publication was all in vain. It turns out vegetarians don’t appear
to have higher stroke risk after all. In response to the EPIC-Oxford results,
researchers around the world scrambled to see if the findings
were merely a fluke. In 2020, UK Biobank, a massive study
following more than 400,000 volunteers, confirmed that vegetarians
had lower cardiovascular disease rates and importantly,
no increased incidence of stroke. And two studies from Taiwan
found vegetarians had significantly
lower risk of stroke. Following tens of thousands
of vegetarians for up to ten years, they only had about half the stroke risk
compared to nonvegetarians (including a 64 percent lower risk
specifically of hemorrhagic stroke).
By 2021, Harvard researchers
had finished and published their analyses of the 200,000+ participants
of the Nurses’ Health Study, the Nurses’ Health Study II, and the Health Professionals
Follow-Up Study. They too found no increased stroke risk
for vegetarians and indeed a decreased risk of stroke among those eating
healthy plant-based diets. A meta-analysis putting all the studies
together found that indeed the EPIC-Oxford data appeared
to be a fluke after all, finding, if anything, a lower risk
of stroke in a subgroup analysis. A 2022 systematic review
concluded that vegetarian and low-animal product diets are associated with a significantly
lower risk of bleeding strokes, a significantly lower risk
of clotting strokes, and a significantly lower risk
of total strokes across the board..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
Should Vegetarians Take Creatine to Normalize Homocysteine?
"Should Vegetarians Take Creatine
to Normalize Homocysteine?" Almost universally, research findings
show a poor vitamin B12 status among vegetarians because they're
not taking vitamin B12 supplements like they should. And this results in
an elevation of homocysteine levels that may explain why vegetarians
were recently found to have higher rates of stroke. Of course, plant-based eating is just
one of many ways to get B12 deficient. I mean, even laughing gas can
do it, in as short as two days, thanks to the recreational use
of whipped cream canister gas.
That's something new I learned today.
Anyways, if you do eat plant-based, giving vegetarians and vegans
even as little as 50 micrograms once a day of cyanocobalamin, the
recommended, most stable form of vitamin B12 supplement,
and their homocysteine levels start up in the elevated
zone, and within 1 to 2 months their homocysteines normalize right
down into the safe zone under 10. Or just 2000 micrograms of
cyanocobalamin once a week, and you get the same beautiful
result, but not always. In this study even 500 micrograms
a day, either as a sublingual chewable or swallowable regular B12 supplement, didn't normalize homocysteine
within a month. Now, presumably if they had kept it up, their levels
would have continued to fall like in the other study. But if you're
plant-based and have been taking your B12 and your homocysteine levels
are still too high, meaning above 10, is there anything else you can do? Now, inadequate folate intake
can also increase homocysteine, but folate comes from
the same root as foliage.
It's found in leaves, concentrated
in greens, as well as beans. But if you're eating beans and
greens, taking your B12, and your homocysteine level is still
too high, then I'd suggest trying, as an experiment, taking
one gram of creatine a day and getting your homocysteine levels
retested in a month to see if it helped. Creatine is a compound formed
naturally in the human body that is primarily involved in energy
production in our muscles and brain. It's also naturally formed in the
bodies of many animals we eat. And so when we eat their
muscles, we also can take in some creatine through our diet. We need about two grams a day,
so those who eat meat may get like one gram from their diet, and
their body makes the rest from scratch. There are rare birth defects where
you're born without the ability to make it, in which case you have to get it
from your diet, but otherwise our bodies make as
much as we need to maintain normal
concentrations in our muscles. When you cut out meat, the
amount of creatine floating around in your bloodstream goes down, but the
amount in your brain remains the same, showing dietary creatine doesn't
influence the levels of brain creatine, because your brain just makes
all the creatine you need.
The level in vegetarian muscles is
lower, but that doesn't seem to affect performance, as both vegetarians
and meat-eaters respond to creatine supplementation with similar
increases in muscle power output. And if vegetarian muscle
creatine was insufficient, then presumably they would
have seen an even bigger boost. So basically, all that happens
when you eat meat is that your body just doesn't
have to make as much. What does this all have
to do with homocysteine? Okay, in the process of making creatine,
your body produces homocysteine as a waste product. Now
normally this isn't a problem because your body
has two ways to detoxify it using vitamin B6 or using a
combination of vitamins B12 and folate. Now B6 is found in both plant and
animal foods; it's rare to be deficient. But B12 is mainly in animal
foods, and so can be too low in those eating plant-based who don't
supplement or eat B12 fortified foods.
And folate is concentrated in plant
foods, so can be low in those who don't regularly eat greens or
beans or folic-acid fortified grains, and without that escape valve
homocysteine levels can get too high. If, however, you're eating a healthy
plant-based diet and taking your B12 supplement, your homocysteine levels
should be fine, but what if they're not? One might predict that if you started
taking creatine supplements, the level of homocysteine might go
down since you're not going to have to be making so much of it from scratch,
producing homocysteine as a by-product.
But you don't know until you put it
to the test, which we'll cover next..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
How to Reverse Heart Failure with Diet
"How to Reverse Heart Failure with Diet" It is a hopeful sign of the times when
entire issues of cardiology journals are not just dedicated to nutrition,
but to plant-based diets in particular. Dr. Williams, past president of the
American College of Cardiology, starts out with a quote
attributed to Schopenhauer. "All truth passes through three
stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third,
it is accepted as…" like, well, duh. And the truth for the benefits
of plant-based diets, plant-based nutrition
continues to mount. The evidence, we got; the problem
is the inertia, culture, habit, and widespread marketing of
unhealthy foods.
"Our goal must be to get the data out to the medical
community and the public where it can actually change lives…" That's like my personal life's mission
in four words: get the data out. Based on what we already know in the
existing medical literature, plant-based nutrition clearly represents the single
most important yet underutilized opportunity to reverse the pending
obesity and diabetes-induced epidemic of morbidity and mortality,
meaning disease and death. The issue included your typical
heart disease reversal cases: a 77-year old woman with heart disease
so bad she couldn't walk more than a half-block or go up a single flight
of stairs, severe blockages in all three of her main arteries, and referred
to open heart surgery for a bypass. She chose, however, instead to
adopt a whole-food plant-based diet, which included all vegetables, fruits,
whole grains, potatoes, beans, legumes, and nuts. Even though she said she
was trying to eat pretty healthy before, within a single month of going plant-
based her symptoms had nearly resolved.
And forget about a block, she
was able to walk on a treadmill for up to 50 minutes without chest
discomfort or becoming out of breath. Her cholesterol dropped about a hundred
points from around 220 down to 120, with an LDL under 60. But then, a few months later she must
have started missing her chicken, fish, and low-fat dairy, and went back
to her prior eating habits. And within a few weeks, with no change
in her meds or anything, her chest pain was back, and she went on to have
her chest sawed in half after all. Then she continued to eat the same diet
that contributed to cause her disease in the first place and went on to
have further disease progression.
This one, though, has a happier ending.
It started out the same: a 60-year-old man, severe chest pain
after as little as a half-block. Decided to take control of his health
destiny and switched to a whole food plant-based diet from his "healthy" diet
of skinless chicken, fish, low-fat dairy that had been choking off his heart. And within a few weeks, the same
amazing transformation. From not being able to exercise
at all, to walking a mile, to then being able to jog more than
four miles, completely asymptomatic, off all drugs, no surgery,
off to live happily ever after. Now, of course, case reports are
just really glorified anecdotes. I mean, what we need is a randomized
controlled trial to prove heart disease can be reversed with lifestyle
changes alone. And guess what? There was one, published literally
30 years ago, proving angiographic reversal of heart disease
in 82% of the patients, opening up arteries without
drugs, without surgery. So these case reports are just to
remind us that hundreds of thousands of Americans continue
to needlessly die every year from what was proven to be a
reversible condition decades ago. The conventional use of case reports,
though, is to present some novel results in hopes of inspiring trials
to put it to the test.
For example, a case report on a plant-
based diet for congestive heart failure. So not just coronary artery disease, but
the heart muscle itself was so weakened it couldn't efficiently pump blood, only
able to eject about 35% of the blood in the main heart chamber with every
beat, whereas normally the heart can pump out at least half; which is
exactly what his heart was able to do just six weeks after switching to
a whole-food plant-based diet, instead of choosing to get
his chest cracked open. The first report of an improvement
in heart failure following adoption of a plant-based diet, but not the last.
A 54-year-old woman, obese, type 2 diabetic, presenting with
swelling ankles due to her heart failure. She switched from her chicken
and fish to whole plant foods. She started out eating healthier and lost
50 pounds, reversed her diabetes— meaning normal blood sugars on
a normal diet without the use of diabetes medications—and
her heart function normalized, from an abysmal ejection fraction
of just 25% up to normal.
Now since it's not a
randomized controlled trial, all we can say is
that her improvements coincided with her adoption of
a whole food plant-based diet. But given the burden of heart failure
as a leading cause of death, how it usually just gets progressively
worse, and the overall evidence to date, a plant-based diet should be
considered as part of heart failure care. And look, we already know it can
reverse her coronary artery disease, and so any heart failure
benefits would just be a bonus. Now, we just need good strategies
for healthcare practitioners to support patients in plant-based eating. Here are some excellent suggestions
to pause and reflect on. For example, doctors can
use the Plantrician Project's prescription pads and
prescribe a good website or two.
While it is certainly true that
many people would be resistant to fundamental dietary changes, look, it is equally true that
millions of intelligent people motivated to preserve their health
are now taking half-way measures that may provide only modest benefit—
choosing leaner cuts of meat, using reduced-fat dairy products.
Most of these people have neither the time nor the training to actually see
what the science shows themselves. Don't they deserve honest, forthright
advice when their lives are at stake? Those who wish to ignore that advice,
or implement it only partially, are certainly at liberty to do so. I mean, you want to go smoke
cigarettes, go bungie jumping? It's your body, your choice.
It's up to each of us to make our own decisions as to
what to eat and how to live.
But we should make these choices
consciously, educating ourselves about the predictable
consequences of our actions..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
GUESS THE VEGAN BODYBUILDER | ft. Behzinga & TheBurntChip
I'm Bazinga and I'm chip and today we're playing Guess the vegan bodybuilder behind us we have seven bodybuilders all claiming to be plant-based poses but only two of them are telling the truth round by round is our job to eliminate the total cheaters from the tofu eaters and by the end we should have identified the real ones and if we don't the fakers will be taking home this gym shark gift card loaded with cash this is real once let's meet the contestants oh my God oh my God oh my God no don't dress this vegetables oh yeah I get it yeah the green thing nice that's nice you got back I'm front hi everyone what's your name how are we doing guys uh I'm Pete I'm 26 I'm from Glasgow and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm Nelly I'm Swansea 2 from London and I'm a vegan bodybuilder yeah she's got a vegan boys I'm James I'm 31 I'm from Nottingham and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm doxy I'm 25 and I'm from London and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm Alex I'm 26 I'm from North Wales and I'm the vegan of course yes hi guys I'm Tatiana I'm from London I'm 31 and I'm a vegan bodybuilder how's it going I'm Aaron I'm from rugby and I'm 25 and I'm vegan bodybuilder vegans they're all big as well that's what happens when you take touching grass too literally I'm just trying to look at like who looks the weakest because vegans naturally are quite weak you're looking at the weeds weak-minded individuals the least press-ups probably what um I don't know you know I'm not talking about you know what you're not wrong right first impressions though I like you then I'm thinking Nelly man she had the vegan voice oh the vegan voice the guy with his knob out I'm keeping yeah because he's a weird block and he's brought a whole lot of meat to this party we've got to get someone else yeah but it's a problem because I've never eaten a vegetable in my life you all look so nice you do vegans oh damn man this is tough you're all looking at me in the eyes stop God I'm thinking Nellie's a vegan she doesn't want to speak because what you said I'm thinking Nelly's a vegan he's very big he's very big vegetables you could say similar physique you know what I'm thinking he's a vegan yeah double earrings double earrings that's so fast that's so vegan yeah maybe the lady here you haven't said anything yet yeah yeah oh come on I can send you a couple of links with really good vegan recipes even the salmon looks like real Salt some I don't like it when they do that though why why not why oh here we go is she doing too much though I did say she was the vegan voice vegan boys she had to defend her kind yeah she's vegan what do you think she is she is 100 because she's on the front lines yeah she's doing it ready I reckon the lady the lady please I don't want the recipes thanks yeah thank you very much thank you it's quite a vegan War now look at it I did not expect to be the first one I was really hoping to be maybe the second the third maybe the winner because I'm quite clean I can show you my abs I wasn't really talkative maybe I should have tried to talk about those recipes or that Applewood cheese that is really famous anyway all right round two it's time to get to know these contestants a little bit better we've got one question for each of them let's do that how much protein is in tofu man number one well per I think it's like basically per 100 grams it's like eight grams of protein that's because when I base when I started that journey I thought the same thing you're gonna get no protein on a vegan diet yes you do have to Google it but that was back in the day and actually tofu is a great source there's a lot you can do with it right you could mix it with sweet potatoes bit of brown rice guacamole on it yes vegetable day which one to use really cares about the animals there's got to be one in the lineup smell that you said that that's just I don't think you give a [ __ ] about attention even you said it earlier four or five chicken chicken oh yeah yeah and he's definitely you haven't heard my story yet I used to be a rugby player and I did a season out in New Zealand and I had to get a part-time job and I worked in an abattoir so a meat factory I had to push lumcoxes carry literally dead cowl head cow heads pretty much and safe to say it put me off the meat quite a bit really yeah and when I I didn't convert straight away but as time went on you know a bit the PTSD from it I was kind of like do you know what I think uh I think I'm gonna give up McDonald's couldn't sleep I'll try and stay away from that you know I'd expect bigger quads for a rugby though oh wow what's your favorite food item food item yeah right into this great thing okay favorite food item I'm gonna say soy soy just for the fact that it's so versatile yeah a lot of imitation products imitation meats and that kind of thing I'm a bit guilty of that yeah it's sauce right [Laughter] I don't know I don't think that's possible with um tofu yeah you don't you don't think it's inside that that is steaks a lot of them your thick set yeah yeah what's your favorite steak wouldn't know oh [Music] I feel like this Geezer here yeah he's just Googled like oh vegan ingredients I've gone oh yeah I think saw is really helpful like you can use it so much I'm I'm gonna go with you yeah yeah all right you'll let me do that sorry boss man you're good thank you very much you've screwed us he was definitely vegan you know what it's just fashion it was there's obviously like a you know stereotype vegan how they dress and stuff like that so uh yeah round three it's time to really test your vegan might we have something that might make you think otherwise we have 100 pounds in crisp notes hey vegans I got something for you not on the silver platter oh look at that smell it go and get with it it's a cold Big Mac he's pretending to be scared of it oh you like to look at that don't you no you you're loving that what about a Chris floats give me the money yeah that's fine oh okay look at that oh it's a Treasures no no no listen that's that's not a milk plant that's not a macron I can smell that's not the mukwon we've got my cash that's disgusting back in the day yes but not though oh flashbacks he's having flashbacks everyone no no I want that number catch cash is good but it's do what you want with it you could spend it on steak listen I'm gonna pop the cash just there okay and if you want it you know what to do unless I'm more than 100 pounds five four three two if you want it go on one all right I'm surprised that no one didn't especially after doing that we're taking you that's getting you a steak and then you just get to watch the others be idiots yeah wow and now you're posting with an aubergine yeah looking looking real foolish yeah so we've tested their veganism now it's time to test the bodybuilding part each one of you is gonna have to do a pose with a vegetable I want to see your bodybuilding poses let's go I'm not getting paid enough you want the watermelon that's what it is I've got avocado it was a large Apple yeah we please have your bodybuilder poses with your vegetables let's see it you're understanding more room yeah wow wow wow could you ask me that's crazy yeah he does look like Wolverine he's sweating a lot he's right he's trying to convince me there with him I've noticed them up yeah Aaron blocking right first of all sweating a lot because we put him under pressure he can't handle the staring him down but there's something even weirder about him all right blog's wearing two watches is he he's wearing one like Rolex and one Apple watch foreign she got love for the couch right it's time for two years to go my son feels like big brother nah I really like this this is fun I've got someone in my mind yeah a dance blog dodgy Geezer real dodgy energy what was that Aaron you got two watches on YouTube what time is it it's nice to [ __ ] off you are not a vegan yeah sorry but it's not good God take a look one's actually a whoop you know tracking my sleep tracking my performance and then the other one I actually like to know the time so that's why one more we got one more it's in here carrot boy foreign I think you're a fraud [Music] to be honest after tasting that carrot I'm kind of glad to go I need to wash my mouth out because that was disgusting all right it's time for round four interrogation round we get to ask 45 seconds worth of questions to each contestant Alex I'm gonna be honest this is the first time I'm looking at your actual face [ __ ] right are we starting the questions yeah you are in prep currently right you said what are your current meals per day what are you having and what are they for prep 185 protein 600 carb on a train a day 65.
Yeah um what recipes I don't it's all on on my fridge yeah it's all in the fridge yes yeah what protein sources you get in then what ones are you picking it's mostly quinoa quinoa we're doing a lot of vegan protein powder because that's a lot of food it's pretty good on the stomach actually like normal whey protein is really bad for your stomach digestion is horrible whereas vegan protein is really good for that so I'm fine with all that okay well I didn't understand a word of that but he said it's on his fridge yeah I know that your Macros might be on your fridge but yeah you'll have a magnet on your fridge try Amsterdam or something you don't yeah with the list on it underneath it got small bar phones and I know what that's the rice chicken broccoli rice chicken broccoli then is it fishing or ask yeah okay fish and another rice cake 12 o'clock I'll have fish and a rice cake vegan snacks what are your favorite vegan snacks I'm talking about Pringle flavors what Pringle flavors are vegan what do you mean Pringle flavors I do not eat them no I make my own kind of snacks all right okay what snacks do you make it so it is kale like you spray a little bit of olive oil in it put in well put an oven or airfryer and then literally crisp want kale crisp yeah no you can season it you could put paprika on it you can literally put salt whatever you want you can literally what's your lifting competition on stage was it all vegan bodybuilders no no they're all natural but I did a wellness category but all natural bodybuilders yeah you shouldn't be vegan was you the only vegan up there or I don't know I didn't ask you said you were the only one they only now I didn't say I was the only one tournament okay all right Nelly you're not next do you have a Twitter account called the vegan voice do you do you hunt people in the streets do you beat people up in steak restaurants no no no do you have any non-vegan friends yeah yeah do you preach I don't pressure other people to be vegan it's my choice but my friends if they eat meat that's their business oh she said this before I'm gonna go and smash a chicken after this does that make your set chicken it's gonna be awesome I don't know [ __ ] what's your favorite broccoli what does that you got long stem or florets what out of those two yeah when you go to Nando's what do you get beside your chicken the wrap oh wow chicken wrap chicken wrap yes vegan the vegan rice I'm I'm stuck now we gotta get rid of one I don't think it's possible to be this size as a vegan you're smashing the chicken rice broccoli smells and I think it's just I think there's seven chicken rice broccolis a day that's why things happening yeah he dry ages his meat and everything yeah vegetables you wouldn't be some hairy and they're not even sure you end up looking like that yeah we've got to get rid of one and I think we have I think we've made it wrong to us but I think we sent both of them yeah I think my vegans are just watch it now no no you know what the vegan boys the vegan bodybuilding thing where she was like yeah I think cockman has to go I think I have a name man oh Jesus what was it Alex you knew it Alex Alex the arrow yeah I think uh that's not a vegan man right there I think that I think your time's up okay I think your time's up it's been a pleasure though yeah let's have a little look at that as it goes yeah baby yeah baby all right eyes on me man so that's it YouTube congratulations you two of the vegans right away from a science perspective to be honest like I don't know any vegans who are not to blow me on trumpet but as big as me so do I actually eat uh yeah a lot a lot of chicken all right it's time to bring in all the contestants and find out who the real vegans are chicken rice you're having a good time over there right chippo how do you think we've done I think we've got one yeah I think we've got one right it's that time everybody's been waiting for yes but the real vegans please step forward oh my God I knew it the vegan voice we got one we'll take that I'll take one right there damn man I tell you I can sniff a vegan out anywhere yeah yeah [Music] I got caught up in the morning so here we have it the two vegans are on my right well done you guys you fooled us it was unbelievable so here is your prize thank you very much for watching Jim Sharp real ones it's been an absolute pleasure subscribe to the channel like this video and see you next time hi is this the uh vegan hotline can I please have some uh hummus with some leaves God that's [ __ ] horrible
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
Plant-Based Bodybuilding
"Plant-Based Bodybuilding" We know excess cellular growth isn’t
so good when we’re fully grown adults, since budding tumors may end up being
the main beneficiaries of higher levels of circulating growth hormones. But in some circumstances, a little
extra growth is sought after, particularly for men in this
culture — though not exclusively. The growth hormone IGF-1 is the
reason some dogs look like this, and others like this. What about those who strive
to be the big dog? Yes, lower circulating levels of IGF-1
in vegans lowers cancer risk, but might that interfere with their
accumulation of muscle mass? There certainly are lots of
plant-based body builders, but maybe they’re the exception.
To look like this, does one
have to risk looking like this? True or false: Lower IGF-1 levels
in vegans likely interferes with muscle accumulation. Is this fact, or is this fiction? Well, there’s a couple ways
you attack that question. For example, what’s the skeletal
muscle mass like in acromegaly? People afflicted with giantism — where
they have an IGF overload in the body. If IGF bulks up muscle, you’d think
they’d be musclebound; but no, they don’t have any more muscle,
on average, than anyone else. What if you inject people with IGF-1? They injected women for a year, and
found no increase in lean body mass or grip, bench or leg press strength. What about men? Basically, same thing. They had about a dozen 22-year-olds
flex for 15 weeks under different hormonal milieus, and concluded that
elevations in ostensibly anabolic hormones, like IGF-1,
with resistance exercise, enhances neither training-induced
muscle bulk, nor strength. "Thus it seems that outside of
[genetically engineered mice or a cell culture dish or other
animal models] that the search for the true role of the growth
potential for IGF-1 in adult muscle hypertrophy is a vain one." So, although it’s never been
directly tested, probably fiction.
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
Plant-based Atkins diet
“Plant-Based Atkins Diet” This was a pretty dramatic case report,
but it was just one person. Recently, researchers at Harvard
decided to look at 100,000 people: “Low-Carb Diets and All-Cause
and Cause-Specific Mortality.” They found that low-carb diets
were associated with higher all-cause mortality,
higher cardiovascular disease mortality, and higher cancer mortality. The final nail in Atkins’ coffin. Men and women on low-carb diets
lead significantly shorter lives; more cancer deaths, more heart attacks. Sure, you may lose some weight,
but the only way we may be able to enjoy it is with a skinnier casket.
But wait! In 2009, some enterprising researchers
came up with a plant-based, low-carb diet; the so-called “Eco-Atkins” diet. They figured that maybe the problem with
the Atkins diet wasn’t that it was high-fat, high-protein, but that it was
high-animal fat, -animal protein. So they constructed a
vegan version of the Atkins diet. How is that possible? Well, lots of mock meats, seitan,
soy burgers, veggie bacon, veggie cold cuts, veggie sausage,
tofu, lot of nuts, avocado, etc. How did they do? Pretty good, actually. Instead of their bad cholesterol going up,
like it does on a meat-based Atkins, after just two weeks on the
plant-based, low-carb diet, their LDL was down more than 20%.
Now the whole study only
lasted a month, though, so you couldn’t really
make any generalizations. But it was intriguing enough that
when the data was run at Harvard, they picked out the people
eating plant-based, low-carb diets to see if they suffered
the same low-carb fate. That’s the nice thing about doing dietary
studies on 100,000 people at a time: you can find people eating
just about anything. What do you think they found? This line represents the
mortality rate of the typical diet. And this is what they found
for people following more of an Atkins-style low-carb diet:
significantly higher risk of death. But what do you think they found
for those following a plant-based, low-carb diet? Do they suffer the same crazy
mortality as the Atkins people? Or maybe they didn’t do that bad, but still had more mortality
than those eating regular diets? Or did they have the same,
or lower mortality? They had lower mortality. They concluded: “A low-carbohydrate diet
based on animal sources was associated with higher all-cause mortality
in both men and women, whereas a vegetable-based
low-carbohydrate diet was associated with lower all-cause and
cardiovascular disease mortality rates.” So it appears, what matters really isn’t
the ratio of fat to carbs to protein, but rather, the source— whether they’re coming
from plants or animals.
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
GUESS THE VEGAN BODYBUILDER | ft. Behzinga & TheBurntChip
I'm Bazinga and I'm chip and today we're playing Guess the vegan bodybuilder behind us we have seven bodybuilders all claiming to be plant-based poses but only two of them are telling the truth round by round is our job to eliminate the total cheaters from the tofu eaters and by the end we should have identified the real ones and if we don't the fakers will be taking home this gym shark gift card loaded with cash this is real once let's meet the contestants oh my God oh my God oh my God no don't dress this vegetables oh yeah I get it yeah the green thing nice that's nice you got back I'm front hi everyone what's your name how are we doing guys uh I'm Pete I'm 26 I'm from Glasgow and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm Nelly I'm Swansea 2 from London and I'm a vegan bodybuilder yeah she's got a vegan boys I'm James I'm 31 I'm from Nottingham and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm doxy I'm 25 and I'm from London and I'm a vegan bodybuilder I'm Alex I'm 26 I'm from North Wales and I'm the vegan of course yes hi guys I'm Tatiana I'm from London I'm 31 and I'm a vegan bodybuilder how's it going I'm Aaron I'm from rugby and I'm 25 and I'm vegan bodybuilder vegans they're all big as well that's what happens when you take touching grass too literally I'm just trying to look at like who looks the weakest because vegans naturally are quite weak you're looking at the weeds weak-minded individuals the least press-ups probably what um I don't know you know I'm not talking about you know what you're not wrong right first impressions though I like you then I'm thinking Nelly man she had the vegan voice oh the vegan voice the guy with his knob out I'm keeping yeah because he's a weird block and he's brought a whole lot of meat to this party we've got to get someone else yeah but it's a problem because I've never eaten a vegetable in my life you all look so nice you do vegans oh damn man this is tough you're all looking at me in the eyes stop God I'm thinking Nellie's a vegan she doesn't want to speak because what you said I'm thinking Nelly's a vegan he's very big he's very big vegetables you could say similar physique you know what I'm thinking he's a vegan yeah double earrings double earrings that's so fast that's so vegan yeah maybe the lady here you haven't said anything yet yeah yeah oh come on I can send you a couple of links with really good vegan recipes even the salmon looks like real Salt some I don't like it when they do that though why why not why oh here we go is she doing too much though I did say she was the vegan voice vegan boys she had to defend her kind yeah she's vegan what do you think she is she is 100 because she's on the front lines yeah she's doing it ready I reckon the lady the lady please I don't want the recipes thanks yeah thank you very much thank you it's quite a vegan War now look at it I did not expect to be the first one I was really hoping to be maybe the second the third maybe the winner because I'm quite clean I can show you my abs I wasn't really talkative maybe I should have tried to talk about those recipes or that Applewood cheese that is really famous anyway all right round two it's time to get to know these contestants a little bit better we've got one question for each of them let's do that how much protein is in tofu man number one well per I think it's like basically per 100 grams it's like eight grams of protein that's because when I base when I started that journey I thought the same thing you're gonna get no protein on a vegan diet yes you do have to Google it but that was back in the day and actually tofu is a great source there's a lot you can do with it right you could mix it with sweet potatoes bit of brown rice guacamole on it yes vegetable day which one to use really cares about the animals there's got to be one in the lineup smell that you said that that's just I don't think you give a [ __ ] about attention even you said it earlier four or five chicken chicken oh yeah yeah and he's definitely you haven't heard my story yet I used to be a rugby player and I did a season out in New Zealand and I had to get a part-time job and I worked in an abattoir so a meat factory I had to push lumcoxes carry literally dead cowl head cow heads pretty much and safe to say it put me off the meat quite a bit really yeah and when I I didn't convert straight away but as time went on you know a bit the PTSD from it I was kind of like do you know what I think uh I think I'm gonna give up McDonald's couldn't sleep I'll try and stay away from that you know I'd expect bigger quads for a rugby though oh wow what's your favorite food item food item yeah right into this great thing okay favorite food item I'm gonna say soy soy just for the fact that it's so versatile yeah a lot of imitation products imitation meats and that kind of thing I'm a bit guilty of that yeah it's sauce right [Laughter] I don't know I don't think that's possible with um tofu yeah you don't you don't think it's inside that that is steaks a lot of them your thick set yeah yeah what's your favorite steak wouldn't know oh [Music] I feel like this Geezer here yeah he's just Googled like oh vegan ingredients I've gone oh yeah I think saw is really helpful like you can use it so much I'm I'm gonna go with you yeah yeah all right you'll let me do that sorry boss man you're good thank you very much you've screwed us he was definitely vegan you know what it's just fashion it was there's obviously like a you know stereotype vegan how they dress and stuff like that so uh yeah round three it's time to really test your vegan might we have something that might make you think otherwise we have 100 pounds in crisp notes hey vegans I got something for you not on the silver platter oh look at that smell it go and get with it it's a cold Big Mac he's pretending to be scared of it oh you like to look at that don't you no you you're loving that what about a Chris floats give me the money yeah that's fine oh okay look at that oh it's a Treasures no no no listen that's that's not a milk plant that's not a macron I can smell that's not the mukwon we've got my cash that's disgusting back in the day yes but not though oh flashbacks he's having flashbacks everyone no no I want that number catch cash is good but it's do what you want with it you could spend it on steak listen I'm gonna pop the cash just there okay and if you want it you know what to do unless I'm more than 100 pounds five four three two if you want it go on one all right I'm surprised that no one didn't especially after doing that we're taking you that's getting you a steak and then you just get to watch the others be idiots yeah wow and now you're posting with an aubergine yeah looking looking real foolish yeah so we've tested their veganism now it's time to test the bodybuilding part each one of you is gonna have to do a pose with a vegetable I want to see your bodybuilding poses let's go I'm not getting paid enough you want the watermelon that's what it is I've got avocado it was a large Apple yeah we please have your bodybuilder poses with your vegetables let's see it you're understanding more room yeah wow wow wow could you ask me that's crazy yeah he does look like Wolverine he's sweating a lot he's right he's trying to convince me there with him I've noticed them up yeah Aaron blocking right first of all sweating a lot because we put him under pressure he can't handle the staring him down but there's something even weirder about him all right blog's wearing two watches is he he's wearing one like Rolex and one Apple watch foreign she got love for the couch right it's time for two years to go my son feels like big brother nah I really like this this is fun I've got someone in my mind yeah a dance blog dodgy Geezer real dodgy energy what was that Aaron you got two watches on YouTube what time is it it's nice to [ __ ] off you are not a vegan yeah sorry but it's not good God take a look one's actually a whoop you know tracking my sleep tracking my performance and then the other one I actually like to know the time so that's why one more we got one more it's in here carrot boy foreign I think you're a fraud [Music] to be honest after tasting that carrot I'm kind of glad to go I need to wash my mouth out because that was disgusting all right it's time for round four interrogation round we get to ask 45 seconds worth of questions to each contestant Alex I'm gonna be honest this is the first time I'm looking at your actual face [ __ ] right are we starting the questions yeah you are in prep currently right you said what are your current meals per day what are you having and what are they for prep 185 protein 600 carb on a train a day 65.
Yeah um what recipes I don't it's all on on my fridge yeah it's all in the fridge yes yeah what protein sources you get in then what ones are you picking it's mostly quinoa quinoa we're doing a lot of vegan protein powder because that's a lot of food it's pretty good on the stomach actually like normal whey protein is really bad for your stomach digestion is horrible whereas vegan protein is really good for that so I'm fine with all that okay well I didn't understand a word of that but he said it's on his fridge yeah I know that your Macros might be on your fridge but yeah you'll have a magnet on your fridge try Amsterdam or something you don't yeah with the list on it underneath it got small bar phones and I know what that's the rice chicken broccoli rice chicken broccoli then is it fishing or ask yeah okay fish and another rice cake 12 o'clock I'll have fish and a rice cake vegan snacks what are your favorite vegan snacks I'm talking about Pringle flavors what Pringle flavors are vegan what do you mean Pringle flavors I do not eat them no I make my own kind of snacks all right okay what snacks do you make it so it is kale like you spray a little bit of olive oil in it put in well put an oven or airfryer and then literally crisp want kale crisp yeah no you can season it you could put paprika on it you can literally put salt whatever you want you can literally what's your lifting competition on stage was it all vegan bodybuilders no no they're all natural but I did a wellness category but all natural bodybuilders yeah you shouldn't be vegan was you the only vegan up there or I don't know I didn't ask you said you were the only one they only now I didn't say I was the only one tournament okay all right Nelly you're not next do you have a Twitter account called the vegan voice do you do you hunt people in the streets do you beat people up in steak restaurants no no no do you have any non-vegan friends yeah yeah do you preach I don't pressure other people to be vegan it's my choice but my friends if they eat meat that's their business oh she said this before I'm gonna go and smash a chicken after this does that make your set chicken it's gonna be awesome I don't know [ __ ] what's your favorite broccoli what does that you got long stem or florets what out of those two yeah when you go to Nando's what do you get beside your chicken the wrap oh wow chicken wrap chicken wrap yes vegan the vegan rice I'm I'm stuck now we gotta get rid of one I don't think it's possible to be this size as a vegan you're smashing the chicken rice broccoli smells and I think it's just I think there's seven chicken rice broccolis a day that's why things happening yeah he dry ages his meat and everything yeah vegetables you wouldn't be some hairy and they're not even sure you end up looking like that yeah we've got to get rid of one and I think we have I think we've made it wrong to us but I think we sent both of them yeah I think my vegans are just watch it now no no you know what the vegan boys the vegan bodybuilding thing where she was like yeah I think cockman has to go I think I have a name man oh Jesus what was it Alex you knew it Alex Alex the arrow yeah I think uh that's not a vegan man right there I think that I think your time's up okay I think your time's up it's been a pleasure though yeah let's have a little look at that as it goes yeah baby yeah baby all right eyes on me man so that's it YouTube congratulations you two of the vegans right away from a science perspective to be honest like I don't know any vegans who are not to blow me on trumpet but as big as me so do I actually eat uh yeah a lot a lot of chicken all right it's time to bring in all the contestants and find out who the real vegans are chicken rice you're having a good time over there right chippo how do you think we've done I think we've got one yeah I think we've got one right it's that time everybody's been waiting for yes but the real vegans please step forward oh my God I knew it the vegan voice we got one we'll take that I'll take one right there damn man I tell you I can sniff a vegan out anywhere yeah yeah [Music] I got caught up in the morning so here we have it the two vegans are on my right well done you guys you fooled us it was unbelievable so here is your prize thank you very much for watching Jim Sharp real ones it's been an absolute pleasure subscribe to the channel like this video and see you next time hi is this the uh vegan hotline can I please have some uh hummus with some leaves God that's [ __ ] horrible
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
Comparing Vegetarian and Vegan Athletic Performance, Endurance, and Strength
"Comparing Vegetarian and Vegan Athletic
Performance, Endurance, and Strength" Few studies have investigated
the impact of a plant-based diet on athletic performance, but
the majority of the studies that have been done show no differences
in endurance, performance, or strength. So, while plant-based diets
do not seem to provide advantages or disadvantages
on exercise performance, what plant-based diets can do
is reduce the risk of chronic disease. This is a point
I made in my video Why All Athletes Should
Eat Plant-Based Diets, because surprisingly,
endurance athletes may have more advanced atherosclerosis
and more heart muscle damage, compared with sedentary individuals.
So, it’s even more important
they eat healthy. But due to the favorable impact
on health, it could be assumed that performance
would also be influenced by plant-based diets. Let’s take a closer look
at the available evidence. This is the most commonly cited review. Studies connecting vegetarian diets
to improved health are well-established; however, the evidence for this phenomenon
to be transferred to improved physical performance
in athletes is less clear, finding no differences
—at least acutely— between a vegetarian-based diet
and an omnivorous diet in muscular power, muscular strength,
short burst, or endurance performance.
The intervention studies in this review,
however, only lasted days or weeks. So, being a vegetarian for four days
may not tip the balance, or even a few months, but that’s
a considerable limitation. These are people
who have been eating meat their whole lives and subsequently adopt
a vegetarian diet only for the duration of the study,
rather than comparing participants who have adhered to a vegetarian
or meat-containing diet long-term. This study compared exercise capacity
of vegan, vegetarian, and meat-eating recreational
runners and found similar maximum power output
among all three groups, suggesting there’s no significant difference
in maximum exercise capacity. But that’s at the same training frequency,
time, and distance. Perhaps plant-based diets
might enhance recovery and allow such athletes
to train longer and harder? A number of studies have come out
since this review was published in 2016.
What’s the update? Well, this study compared
the cardiorespiratory fitness and peak torque strength differences
between vegetarian and omnivore endurance athletes. Most of the vegetarians
were actually vegans and most or at least two years and… results from this study indicate that vegetarian endurance athletes’
cardiorespiratory fitness was greater than that for their
omnivorous counterparts.
They had a greater VO2 max, meaning a greater maximal oxygen uptake, greater aerobic capacity
as measured on a progressive, graded, maximal treadmill test
to exhaustion, though peak torque, peak strength
based on leg extensions didn’t differ between diet groups. Bottom line: these data suggest
that vegetarian diets do not compromise
performance outcomes and may facilitate
aerobic capacity in athletes. In this 2020 study, all the plant-
based participants were eating vegan for an average of four years.
So, they were essentially comparing
those who ate meat for 21 years versus those who ate
meat for 25 years. But after four years
eating plants, you might expect to see
some sort of difference. Yet, no significant differences
were noted for upper and lower body muscle strength,
like in the last new study. Both groups of athletes were comparable
for total body weight and lean body mass, though age
was significantly higher in vegans compared with omnivores; so, that put them
at a little disadvantage. Yet still, there it is again. Significantly better aerobic capacity. Then, they had them pedal
until exhaustion, and the vegan group lasted
about 25 percent longer— 12 minutes as opposed to
9 minutes. Is that just because their
aerobic capacity is so high? No, even after controlling
for VO2 max levels, there was still a significant endurance advantage
in the vegans. The researchers conclude
that in the very least, a strictly plant-based diet
doesn’t seem to be detrimental to endurance
and muscle strength, and endurance might
actually be better in vegans, contrary to popular belief..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
10 Rules to Make Living with a Vegan Easier (when you’re not one yourself)
I want to talk to you guys quickly about
strategies for living a vegan when you're not necessarily a vegan yourself. So the first thing is totally counter-intuitive, but making your house vegan has actually been the easiest thing for us. Then we don't have to have any discussions on if something belongs there of if it doesn't belong there. So just veganize the house. The next thing is getting getting creative. I love cooking. I think of myself as a good cook. But this was a whole different genre for me. It almost felt like I was going to cooking school, learning to cook vegan and get creative with my recipes. With that finding stuff that you love. You don't have to eat garbage when you're vegan. You can eat really delicious foods. So I found some recipes that I make every week that I love that Lenny loves, every week.
The other thing is really enjoying family time. Family time is where I don't have to stay vegan. But because Lenny and I kind of represent this vegan lifestyle, we always bring something vegan to share to a family potluck or holiday that way we can introduce more people to a plant-based lifestyle and you can find me at the cheese platter. Another thing that really helps is finding restaurants that cater to both vegan and non-vegan lifestyles.
I go to a lot of just vegan restaurants with Lenny. It's nice sometimes to go out and get to eat something that I normally wouldn't at home. So finding restaurants that serve both is really helpful. Another thing that I find helpful is having car snacks. I keep things like milk chocolate trail mix in the car. That way, if I've been feeling like I'm stuck at home all day in my vegan lifestyle I can get in the car and shove some M&M's in my mouth and feel better.
If it makes you feel any better, my foot hurts. It doesn't. Why would that make me feel better? Has your foot hurt for 9 months? Did it make you gain 30 pounds? Do you have to shove your foot
plus your calf out of your pee hole? I am a huge proponent, no matter what kind of lifestyle you're living, of meal planning. But with a vegan lifestyle you really have to meal plan. You have to make sure that you're getting enough protein that you're getting enough nutrients that you're keeping your husband full.
I meal plan pretty specifically every week to make sure that we have lunches and dinners covered for the week. And I think that people don't really recognize especially if they're new to the vegan lifestyle that you can still have comfort food. You don't have to eat salad every day if you're vegan. If you're living plant-based you can still have mac and cheese and you can still have burger night. You just substitute out some of the ingredients.
But there are nights where we just want to grub and we'll make something that isn't necessarily considered good for us. Chicken nuggets or something like that but we just do the plant-based form of them. And the trick there is to put all the normal toppings that you normally would, and then it's absolutely delicious. You can trick a lot of carnivores
into eating a Beyond Burger. Something I've found to be helpful when you're living with a vegan and you're not a vegan is a little self-loathing. This is my type humor anyway, but I kind of tease both Lenny and I when people ask me about the way that we live. I'll jab a little joke at him, I'll jab a little joke at me and that makes people a bit more comfortable.
We don't preach to people that they need to be plant-based, especially me, that would be extremely hypocritical
considering I'm not a full time vegan. But a little bit of joking helps kind of everyone feel comfortable with the situation. And the last one and maybe
the most important one is just to let it go. I have to just let it go and understand that 95 percent of my diet now is plant-based. We eat a lot of our meals at home,
and our home is vegan. But that letting go, I recognize that
I feel better than I've ever felt. Honestly I look better than I've ever looked,
and I feel great. And so yes my partner has made a choice to be a vegan but it's really been a good choice for both of us.
This lifestyle might not be for everyone. I feel like it's been a really good choice for Lenny and I. If you like videos like this please subscribe to our channel. Hit the thumbs up if you like this video. Put in the comments what you think might help live with a vegan. Help you live with a vegan. And we'll see you in the next one. Thanks guys..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
Are Vegans at Risk for Iodine Deficiency?
"Are Vegans at Risk
for Iodine Deficiency?" Adequate dietary iodine is required
for normal thyroid function. In fact, the two thyroid hormones
are named after how many iodine atoms they
contain: T3 and T4. Now, given that iodine is extensively
stored in the thyroid gland itself, it's not something you
have to get every day, but your overall diet needs
to have some good source. Unfortunately, the common sources
aren't particularly health-promoting: iodized salt, [and] dairy foods because iodine-based cleansers
like betadine are used to sanitize the udders, which results in some
iodine leaching into the milk.
They also add iodine to cattle feed, and some commercial breads have
iodine-containing food additives. So if you put people on a paleo-type
diet and cut out dairy and table salt, they can develop an iodine deficiency,
even though they double their seafood intake, which
can also be a source. What about those switching to diets
centered around whole plant foods? They're also cutting down
on ice cream and Wonder Bread, and if they're not eating anything from
the sea—seaweed, sea vegetables— they can run into the same problem. Her parents reported striving to
feed her only the healthiest foods. The 3-year-old only got plant-based,
unsalted, unprocessed foods with no vitamin supplementation.
Now that could have been deadly.
With no vitamin B12, those on strictly
plant-based diets can develop irreversible nerve damage, but
in this case, a goiter arose first due to inadequate iodine intake. Here's another case of veganism
as a cause of iodine deficient hypothyroidism in a toddler after
weaning. Now before weaning, he was fine because his mother
kept taking her prenatal vitamins, which luckily contained iodine. Most vegetarians and vegans are
apparently unaware of the importance of iodine in pregnancy, just as clueless
as their omnivorous counterparts. The American Thyroid Association and
the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that women even
just planning on getting pregnant should ingest a daily supplement that
contains 150 micrograms of iodine, yet only 60% of prenatal vitamins marketed
in the US contain this essential mineral. So, in spite of the recommendations,
about 40% lack it. Therefore, it's extremely important that pregnant and
breastfeeding women read the labels to ensure they're receiving
an adequate amount. Women of reproductive age have
an average iodine level of 110, which is fine for nonpregnant
individuals, but we'd really like to see at least
150 in pregnancy. It's basically a 24-hour urine test,
in which iodine sufficiency is defined as 100 mcg/liter of pee in nonpregnant
adults, which your average vegan fails to reach in the largest study
done to date, out of Boston.
The recommended average daily
intake is 150 mcg/day for most people, which you can get in like a
cup and a half of cow's milk. Sadly, plant-based milks are
typically not fortified with iodine, averaging only about 3 mcg/cup.
In the largest systematic study to date, although many plant-based milks are
fortified with calcium, they only found just 3 of 47 fortified with iodine. Those that were had as much as cow's
milk, but those that weren't fell short. Plant-based milk companies brag about
enriching their milks with calcium, and often vitamin B12, D, and vitamin A,
but only rarely are attempts made to match the iodine content. The only reason cow's milk has as
much as it does is that they enrich the feed, or it comes
dripping off their udders. So why don't plant-milk
companies add iodine, too? I was told by a food scientist at
Silk that my carrageenan video played a role in them
switching to another thickener. Hopefully, they'll see this video
and consider adding iodine, too, or some company will snatch at
the market advantage opportunity.
The researchers conclude that individuals
who consume plant-based milks not fortified with iodine may be
at risk for iodine deficiency, unless they consume alternative
dietary iodine sources, the healthiest of which is sea
vegetables, which we'll cover next..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
