Health
Why I’m Still Vegan After 4 Years
Why I’m Still Vegan After 4 Years
#whyimstillvegan
This is not an exhaustive list. Vegans also donβt support the use of animals for entertainment (marine parks, zoos,…), for clothing (wool, down, fur, leather,…), and for beauty and household products (animal testing). This video focuses mostly on the use of animals for food. We have the opportunity to vote with our dollar 3 times a day.
Other Videos You May Like:
– 101 Reasons to Go Vegan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnQb58BoBQw
– The Best Speech You’ll Ever Hear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4
References:
– Health and Leading Causes of Death: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gEiweaAVQ
– Cowspiracy: http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/
– Meat Carcinogen: https://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/
– Environment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSjE8xw_-Dg&t=538s
– Troubled Waters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YACTNvuijQY&t=570s
– Blue Zones Longevity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv0_y1FVW0c
– Animal Kill Counter: http://www.adaptt.org/about/the-kill-counter.html
Music:
Music by Whitesand β
Beautiful Piano Music – Your Voice
Whitesand – Eternity (Epic Beautiful Dramatic Emotional Instrumental), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5c83Uixoj8
The Best Diet for Crohn’s Disease Treatment
"The Best Diet for Crohn's
Disease Treatment" Important to our understanding
and prevention of the global increase in inflammatory bowel disease, we know
that dietary fiber appears to reduce risk, whereas dietary fat, animal protein,
and sugar may increase risk. "Despite the recognition of the
westernization of lifestyle as a major driver of the growing incidence
of inflammatory bowel disease, no countermeasures against such lifestyle
changes have been recommended, except that patients with Crohn's
disease shouldn't smoke." Look, we know consuming
whole, plant-based foods is synonymous with an
anti-inflammatory diet. Here's a list of foods
with inflammatory effects; here's a list of foods with
anti-inflammatory effects. So how about putting a
plant-based diet to the test? Just cutting down on red and
processed meat didn't work, but what about cutting
down on all meat? A 25-year-old guy diagnosed
with Crohn's disease, but failed to enter clinical remission
despite standard medical therapy.
But after switching to a diet based
exclusively on grains, legumesβ like beans, split peas, chickpeas,
and lentilsβvegetables, and fruits, he entered clinical remission,
without the need for medication and showed no signs of Crohn's
disease on follow-up colonoscopy. It's worth delving into
some of the details. The conventional treatment they started
him on is infliximab, sold as REMICADE, which can cause a stroke, and may
increase your chances of getting lymphoma and other cancersβbut
it's a bargain for only $35,000 a year. And it may not even work
in 35 to 40% of patients, and that seemed to be the case
here, so they upped the dose after 37 weeks, and still suffering
after two years on the drugβ until he tried completely eliminating
animal products and processed foods from his dietβfinally experiencing
a complete resolution of his symptoms. Prior to this, his diet had
been a typical American diet. But having experienced complete
clinical remission for the first time since his diagnosis, he decided
to switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet permanently, severely
reducing his intake of processed food and limiting animal products
to one serving, or less, per week.
And whenever his diet started to slip,
symptoms started coming back. But he could always wipe
them out by eating healthier. After six months of implementing
these changes in diet and lifestyle, including stress relief and exercise,
a follow-up demonstrated complete mucosal healing of the gut lining with
no visible evidence of Crohn's disease. We know a diet consisting of whole
grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables has been shown to be helpful in the
prevention and treatment of heart disease, obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, gallbladder disease, rheumatoid arthritis,
and many cancers. Although further research is required,
this case report suggests that Crohn's disease might be
added to this list of conditions. But that further research
has already been done! About 20 patients with Crohn's disease
were placed on a semi-vegetarian diet, meaning no more than a half-
serving of fish once a week and a half-serving of meat
once every two weeks, and achieved 100% remission rate
at one year, and 90% at two years. Some strayed from the diet though.
Let's see what happened to them.
After a year, half had relapsed, and at
year two only 20% remained in remission. But those that stuck with
it had remarkable success. It was a small study with
no formal control group, but represents the best reported
result in Crohn's relapse prevention published in the medical
literature to date. Nowadays, Crohn's patients are often
treated with so-called biologic drugs, expensive injected antibodies that
suppress your immune system and have effectively induced
and maintained remission in Crohn's disease,
but not in everyone. The current remission rate in Crohn's
with early use of REMICADE: 64%. So 30 to 40% of patients are likely to
experience a disabling disease course even after treatment.
So what
about adding a plant-based diet? Remission rates jumped up to 100%
for those who didn't have to drop out due to drug side effects. Even
if you exclude the milder cases, 100% of those with serious, even severe
fulminant disease achieved remission. But if you look at gold standard
systematic reviews, they conclude that the effects of dietary interventions
on inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn's disease and ulcerative
colitis, are uncertain. This is because only randomized
controlled trials were considered. Totally understandable, as that's
the most rigorous study design. Nevertheless, people with inflammatory
bowel disease deserve advice based on the 'best available evidence'
rather than no advice at all. And switching to a plant-based diet
has been shown to achieve far better outcomes than those
reported on conventional treatments in both active and quiescent stages
in both Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. For example, here's one-year
remission rates in Crohn's disease: 100% compared to budesonide, an
immunosuppressant corticosteroid drug; a half elemental diet, meaning
like at-home tube feedings; the $35,000 a year drug REMICADE;
or the $75,000 a year drug Humira. Safer, cheaper, and more effective? Maybe we should recommend plant-based
diets for inflammatory bowel disease.
It would seem clear that treatment
based on treating the cause of the disease is optimal. Spreading the word about healthier
diets could help halt the scourge of inflammatory bowel, but how
are people going to hear about this amazing research without some
kind of public education campaign? That's what NutritionFacts.org
is all about..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
The Best Diet for Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism
"The Best Diet for Hypothyroidism
and Hyperthyroidism" There are several autoimmune diseases
that affect the thyroid gland, the most common being Graves' disease
and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Graves' disease results in hyperthyroidism,
an overactive thyroid gland. Though slaughterhouses are
supposed to remove thyroid glands, should some neck meat slip in,
you can suffer a similar syndrome called hamburger thyrotoxicosis. But that's not from your body making
too much thyroid hormone; that's from your body eating
too much thyroid hormone. Graves' disease is much more common,
and meat-free diets may be able to help with both, as plant-based diets
may be associated with a low prevalence
of autoimmune disease in general, as observed, for example,
in rural sub-Saharan Africa.
Maybe it's because plants
are packed with antioxidants, which are possible protective factors
against autoimmune diseases. Maybe it's because plants are packed
with anti-inflammatory compounds. After all, a whole food plant-based diet
is basically synonymous with an anti-inflammatory diet. But you
don't know until you put it to the test. It turns out the exclusion of all
animal foods was associated with half the prevalence of hyperthyroidism
compared with omnivorous diets. Lacto-ovo vegetarian and
fish-only diets were associated with intermediate protection, but
a 52% lower odds of hyperthyroidism among those eating strictly
plant-based diets. This apparent protection may be due
to the exclusion of animal foods, the benefits of plant foods, or both. Animal foods, like meat, eggs,
and dairy products, may contain high estrogen concentrations,
for example, which have been linked to
autoimmunity in preclinical studies. Or the decrease in animal protein
may downregulate IGF-1, which is not just a cancer-
promoting growth hormone, but may play a role in
autoimmune diseases as well. Or it could be the good stuff in
plants that may protect cells, like the polyphenol phytochemicals,
such as flavonoids found in plant foods.
Maybe it's the environmental toxins
that build up in the food chain. For example, fish contaminated with
industrial pollutants, like PCBs, are associated with increased
frequency of thyroid disorders. Okay, what about the other autoimmune
thyroid disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which, assuming you're getting
enough iodine, is the primary cause of hypothyroidism, an underactive
thyroid gland. Graves' disease wasn't the only autoimmune disorder
that was rare or virtually unknown among those living in rural sub-Saharan
Africa, eating near-vegan diets. They also appeared to have less
Hashimoto's. There's evidence that those with Hashimoto's have
compromised antioxidant status, but we don't know if
it's cause or effect. But if you look at the dietary factors
associated with blood levels of autoimmune anti-thyroid antibodies,
animal fats seem to be associated with higher levels, whereas vegetables and other plant
foods are associated with lower levels.
So again, anti-inflammatory
diets may be useful. No surprise, as Hashimoto's
is an inflammatory disease. That's what thyroiditis means:
inflammation of the thyroid gland. Another possibility is the reduction
in methionine intake, an amino acid concentrated in animal protein, thought
to be one reason why the consumption of whole plant foods is likely to have
a favorable influence on longevity, through decreasing the risk of cancer,
heart disease, and diabetes. And methionine restriction improves
thyroid function in mice, but it has yet to be put to the test
for Hashimoto's in humans. If you compare the poop of patients
with Hashimoto's to controls, the condition appears to be
related to a clear reduction in the concentration of Prevotella
species. Prevotella are good fiber-eating bugs known to enhance
anti-inflammatory activities. Decreased Prevotella levels
are also something you see in other autoimmune conditions, such as
multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. How do you get more Prevotella?
Eat more plants.
But put a vegetarian on a diet
of meat, eggs, and dairy, and within as few as four days
you can drive down levels. So one would expect those eating plant-
based diets to have less Hashimoto's, but in a previous video I expressed
concern about insufficient iodine intake, which could also lead to hypothyroidism. So, which is it?
Let's find out. Vegan diets tended to be
associated with lower, not higher, risk of hypothyroid disease.
Why the word "tended"? Because the associated protection against
hypothyroidism incidence and prevalence studies did not reach
statistical significance. It wasn't just because they were slimmer. The lower risk existed even after controlling for body weight, so
they think maybe it's because animal products may induce inflammation. The question I have, though, is: if
someone who already has Hashimoto's, I mean, what happens
if you change their diet? That's exactly what I'll explore next..
Video Transcript – As found on YouTube
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 killerβ
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 whoβve 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 βkickstartβ 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 βrheology,β
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 donβt 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 Nursesβ Health Study, the Nursesβ 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