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You are designed for a plant-based diet.
How do I know?
Because nothing protects you from obesity, diabetes, and cancer better than plant foods.
“What you eat” is far more important than “How much” you eat.
You will actually lose more body-fat eating carbs and fats from plants than you would from any other food source.
Plant-based doesn’t have to mean “no-meat”…
But it should always mean that plants are the main dish.
I’m not gonna sugar-coat it…
If we want to stay out of the hospital and keep our bodies vibrant and healthy, we must awaken tothis Truth:
Plants Murder Every Other Food When It Comes To Real Health…
There is a difference between eating fats from cheeseburgers or fats from nuts and seeds.
There is a difference between eating carbs from Snickers or from Peaches.
There is a difference between getting protein from meat or from plants.
I’m about to show you what happens when you make plants the foundation of your diet.
Are you ready?
Fat vs. Plant Fat
Junk Fat, the kind you get from microwavable Fettucini, French fries, and Pizza is a primary contributor to coronary heart disease.1
Junk saturated & trans fats build Bad Cholesterol (LDL-Low Density Lipoproteins).
LDL, in high amounts, leaves tiny particles of plaque inside your arteries.
Over time, these tiny fat particles clump togetherto form fatty atheromas (fat clumps) that get stuck in your arteries, block blood flow, and decrease the amount of oxygen that can flow to your organs.
Heart attack, stroke, & diabetes are eventual results.2
However…
Replacing Junk fats with polyunsaturated plantfats found in seeds and nuts has been shown to significantly decrease the risk for coronary heart disease.3
In fact, research indicates that cholesterol levels have been significantly decreased with a vegetable-and-fruit diet by 33%.
Most cholesterol medications don’t work that well!4
Plant-fat, like that of nuts and seeds, contain plant sterols which help to reduce cholesterol.5 Seeds and nuts act as magnets in the digestive tract, collecting and pulling out unhealthy fats in the bloodstream.
While seeds and nuts are high in fats…NOT ALL OF THEM GET ABSORBED IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. This means you will literally poop out around 20-30% of the calories from nuts.6
Turns out, nuts and seeds are also powerful soldiers against cancer.
The lignans, found everywhere in plants including seeds, are the secret ingredient. In one study, women with breast cancer were followed for 10 years.
The women who were given lignans had a 71% lower breast cancer death rate compared with women who ate few or no lignans in their diet.7
Further, women with breast cancer who had flax seeds cooked into their muffins were able to decrease their cancer cells and kill off some existing tumors.8
Women who ate nuts frequently were found to have lower rates of colon cancer than women who never ate nuts.9
Some studies even say that nuts can help replace low omega-3 fatty acid…and cut down depression, anxiety, and boost the ability to cope with stress.10
Most importantly, when you eat nuts or seeds WITH your vegetables and fruits…
You absorb more protective nutrients from the vegetables and fruits than you would eating fruits or vegetables alone.11
That means you increase your protection against cancer, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes…
Simply by adding nuts!
Here’s what you do:
Choose any one of the following and eat it with a
Romaine Lettuce salad!
Ø 1/3 cup Walnuts
Ø 2/3 OZ Brazil nuts
Ø 2/3 cup Avocado
Carbs vs. Plant Carbs.
Remember when people were all about “low-fat” diets?
They would turn down a cheeseburger, but would go in on a sprite, licorice and skittles.
They never became truly healthy because they simply replaced high-fat foods for Junk (fake) carbs.
Replacing fat with junk carbs increases your triglyceride levels (fat levels) and your LDL Cholesterol (the bad cholesterol)…
You end up boosting your chances for coronary heart disease even more w/ junk carbs than you would’ve if you just stuck with the fat!12
You know Junk Carbs: Skittles, Cereals (Yup, even your precious Captain Crunch), Candies, Cakes, Cookies, Fruit Juices (I don’t care how freshly squeezed), French Fries, White Bread, Anything with White Flour, etc.
Junk Carbs QUICKLY RAISE INSULIN LEVELS.
That’s why they are so bad for you.
Check it out: Whenever we eat Carbs, our body converts the Carbohydrate into Glucose (Sugar). The body primarily runs off this glucose.
Ordinarily, Insulin is produced by the pancreas and moves glucose (sugar) into the body’s cells which gives the cells energy.
High levels of glucose cause the body to produce high levels of insulin to move sugar from the bloodstream to the cells.
And get this: Glucose is either used for energy or stored as fat if it’s not needed.13
So when you eat those skittles, you are introducing more glucose (sugar/energy) than the body can use at any one time.
Unless you are RIDICULOUSLY ACTIVE…your body has no choice BUT to store the extra-energy as FAT.
Since insulin also promotes lipogenesis (fat-storage)
The body cannot store fat and break it down at the same time.14
So whenever we put those Junk Carbs in our bodies, we store fat at a faster pace AND have difficulty breaking it down.
When we eat dangerous Junk Carbs, we again increase the chances for heart disease.
Women with high intake of Junk Carbs are more than 2X more likely to get heart disease than who ate slow digesting carbs like fruit.15
But wait! It gets crazier…
Insulin is also responsible for triggering angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels to feed fat & tumors).
As the body stores more and more food, the growing fat (or tumor) cells need to be supplied with blood in order to survive.
This is angiogenesis.
The more fat you store, the more blood vessels you have to grow in order to feed the fat.
Fat demands to be fed.
So maybe you’re thinking “That’s why I keep my Carbs low!”
Actually, Good carbohydrates are the preferred energy source for the body as they easily convert to glucose.16
Protein and Fat need to be broken down multiple times in order to convert to Glucose.
Carbs do not.
If Junk Carbs are Carbs you get from cookies, cakes, & even white rice, then Plant-Carbs are carbs you get from… Plants!
Wild Rice, Fruits, & Beans.
These foods spend more time breaking down inside of your digestive track.
The reason…
Fiber.
Fiber IS a Carbohydrate itself.
But…
Fiber resists digestion and passes right through the body without contributing to lipogenesis (fat storage).
Fiber also helps you feel full.
You can spot a Good Carbohydrate by the amount of Fiber in it.
For example, Blueberries have nearly 4 grams of Fiber per cup. Beans have 7-8 Grams of Fiber per cup.
Fiber enables the body to slow down the absorption of glucose (sugar), limits how high your blood sugar raises, and keeps insulin levels in the smooth.
Fiber is consistently related to freedom from cancer and heart-disease. 17
If you are ever uncertain about the difference between a Junk Carb and a Plant Carb.
Ask yourself one question:
Is this a plant & does it have Fiber?
If the answer to that question is “Yes”, you’re good.
So how much Fiber do you need in a day?
My answer: Don’t worry about it, just make sure you are getting at least three of the following EVERY DAY. (By the way: For a meal plan more specifically tailored to you, I got you here).
Ø 2 medium Apples
Ø 2 cup BLUEBERRIES
Ø 3 red plums
Ø 2 Medium Peach
Ø 1 Medium pear
Ø ½ cup (pitted) prunes
Ø 2 cup (cubes) cantaloupe
Ø 2 Cup (Cubes) honeydew
Ø 1 cup (Cubes) mango
Ø 2 small orange
Ø 1 banana
Ø 2 cup (boiled) chickpeas
Ø 2 cup grapes
Ø 2 cup (sliced) STRAWBERRIES
Ø 2 cup Black berries
Ø 2 Cup raspberries
Ø 2 cup red cherries
1 cup Cooked wild rice
When you concern yourself with the quality of carbohydrates over the quantity,
You find that you easily prevent the body from
storing fat by stabilizing insulin levels.18
For example, Berries are high in Carbs…
There’s about 21 grams of carbs in every cup of blueberries.
But…
Berries and other carb-rich plant foods help to BREAKDOWN FAT & KILL CANCEROUS CELLS…
The Anthocyanins of Berries (including Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries) Suppress the generation of new fatty acids by the liver and breakdown stored fat on the body.19
POLYPHENOLS, the phytochemicals found in berries, work to reduce fat-storing hormones.
And…
Did you know that the bacteria (microbes) living inour stomachs can help us control fat on our bodies?
Polyphenols reduce Bacteroides that promote lipogenesis (fat storage) and increase Prevotella, the bacteria that keeps your fat levels at bay.20
Also, berries are the only foods shown to prevent dementia.21
In women, ages 25-42, three or more servings of blueberries or strawberries were linked with a 34% reduction in their risk of heart disease.22
One study found that just 1 cup of berries a week can decrease risk of hypertension by 10%.23
Here’s what you do:
When you prepare a salad with those nuts every day, have a cup or two of berries to go along with it.
Why choose junk when you have so many delicious options.
Sadly, junk carbs aren’t the only thing we need to stay away from.
It hurts to say this: But the only thing worse than eating lots of Junk Carbs…
Is eating Junk Carbs with lots of high-protein meats.
This deadly combination has been shown to spike insulin more dramatically than Junk Carbs alone.24
Yeah, it’s time to talk about protein.
Protein vs. Plant-Protein
I’m not saying you have to give up meat.
I’m saying we should understand meat.
We can’t fully understand meat protein until we talk about…
The “Type 1 Insulin-like Growth Factor”, or IGF-1 Hormone.
IGF-1 is a growth hormone that skyrockets whenever we eat animal meat.
IGF-1 was great for us when we were a fetus in the womb and in childhood…
But in adulthood- chronically high IGF-1 can turn on us, growing our cells beyond what is normal.
Cancer is the result.
High IGF-1 levels increase the risk of prostate, colon and breast cancer.25
Research indicates that low meat diets reduce IGF-1 levels, heart-disease, risk for diabetes, AND cancer risk in people 65 years old and younger.26
This same study found that people who ate high amounts of plant protein did not raise IGF-1 levels and did not risk diabetes, heart disease, or cancer.
Additional data says that reducing IGF-1 levels simultaneously reduces oxidative stress and inflammation and boosts lifespan.27
So do we just throw out all protein?
Nah.
The answer is to slowly replace some Meat-Protein with Plant-protein.
Why?
Because protein-rich plant foods, like beans, nuts and seeds don’t raise IGF-1 levels.
High-protein plant foods protect against inflammation rather than cause it, & protect the body from prostate, colon, & breast cancer.28
Research conducted in over 157 countries found that cancer rates were highest when meat consumption was highest.
However, when people ate fewer than 10% of calories from meat, cancer rates dropped significantly.29
Don’t get me wrong, if you only care about burning fat and building muscle, then yeah,You can cut out refined carbs and increase your meat consumption. That will work.
BUT…
Studies have shown that low-carbohydrate, high meat diets increase mortality rates including Cardiovascular disease and cancer.30
According to recent evidence, high meat, low-carb diets actually CAUSE strokes AND ischemic heart disease.31
Need more evidence?
40,000 Swedish women ages 30-49 were followed for 15.7 years.
Just a 1/10th increase in Meat protein and a 1/10 decrease in Carbs SIGNIFICANTLY raised their risks for periperheral arterial disease and ischemic stroke.32
In a study of over 150,000 people, just half a serving more of red meat every day increased their risks of weight gain and Type 2 diabetes by 48%.33
This is a big deal.
All I am suggesting is that you slow down your meat consumption and try to replace it with plant-protein.
You can still build muscle eating predominantly vegetable materials (Beans, quinoa, nuts, & seeds have all essential amino acids).
*If you cut out meat completely, I would recommend some B-12, Zinc, Iodine, Omega-3 supplements, and some Vitamin D (if you don’t get a lot of sunlight). These are micro-nutrients that plants lack.*
Don’t forget that even vegetables have protein in them.
You will get between 39-67 grams of protein just by eating 4-6 items from this list:
o 2 cup boiled kale
o 2 cup boiled chickpeas
*Only eat once a day
o 2 cup boiled turnip greens
2 Large Salads Raw (17G TOTAL) Include:
Ø 1/2 Head Romaine Lettuce
Ø 1 large white mushroom
Ø 1/2 cucumber (sliced)
Ø 1/2 sliced tomato
Ø 1/2 Large zucchini sliced
2 cup watercress (Boiled)
2 Cup Boiled Wild Rice (Boiled)
*Only eat once in a day
Daily protein intake: 39-67 Grams or 156-268 calories
This is how you feed muscles, improve heart
health, protect yourself against cancer, AND burn
fat.
Don’t say it’s impossible.
Vegan Bodybuilders do it all the time…
Eating well does not have to be hard.
Keep it simple.
Just do your best to make plants the MAIN DISH of every meal.
Your Body will change, your mind will change.
This is a gift you can start giving yourself today.
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Hi, I’m Shawn, a Health researcher and writer deeply dedicated to the personal enhancement of Black Bodies, Black Minds, and Black Bank Accounts. I’m also the Founder of Black Health HQ. I created Black Health HQ to be a research driven platform for the development of Black physical, mental and financial health. Black Health HQ works toward the extreme well-being of Black people, offering free content along with services and products to assist you on your journey to maximum Black Living. Together, I believe we can build a vibrant and thriving Black community by strengthening what is most precious: our health and wealth.
Notes
- Anwar T. Merchant, Linda E. Kelemen, Lawrence de Koning, Eva Lonn, Vlad Vuksan, Ruby Jacobs, Bonnie Davis, Koon K. Teo, Salim Yusuf, and Sonia S. Anand. “Interrelation of saturated fat, trans fat, alcohol intake, and subclinical atherosclerosis.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 87, no. 1 (2008): 168-174.
- Joel Furhman. “Eat to Live.”Little Brown & Co., New York (2003).
- Dariush Mozaffarian, Renata Micha, and Sarah Wallace. “Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.”PLoS medicine 7, no. 3 (2010): e1000252.
- Joel Furhman. “Eat to Live.”Little Brown & Co., New York (2003):178. Jenkins, David JA, Cyril WC Kendall, David G. Popovich, Edward Vidgen, Christine C. Mehling, Vladimir Vuksan, Thomas PP Ransom et al. “Effect of a very-high-fiber vegetable, fruit, and nut diet on serum lipids and colonic function.” Metabolism 50, no. 4 (2001): 494-503.
- Myriam Richelle, Marc Enslen, Corinne Hager, Michel Groux, Isabelle Tavazzi, Jean-Philippe Godin, Alvin Berger et al. “Both free and esterified plant sterols reduce cholesterol absorption and the bioavailability of β-carotene and α-tocopherol in normocholesterolemic humans.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 80, no. 1 (2004): 171-177.
- Richard D. Mattes, Penny M. Kris-Etherton, and Gary D. Foster. “Impact of peanuts and tree nuts on body weight and healthy weight loss in adults.”The Journal of nutrition 138, no. 9 (2008): 1741S-1745S.
- Susan E. McCann, Lilian U. Thompson, Jing Nie, Joan Dorn, Maurizio Trevisan, Peter G. Shields, Christine B. Ambrosone et al. “Dietary lignan intakes in relation to survival among women with breast cancer: the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) Study.”Breast cancer research and treatment 122, no. 1 (2010): 229-235.
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014.Thompson, Lilian U., Jian Min Chen, Tong Li, Kathrin Strasser-Weippl, and Paul E. Goss. “Dietary flaxseed alters tumor biological markers in postmenopausal breast cancer.” Clinical cancer research 11, no. 10 (2005): 3828-3835.
- Mazda Jenab, Pietro Ferrari, Nadia Slimani, Teresa Norat, Corinne Casagrande, Kim Overad, Anja Olsen et al. “Association of nut and seed intake with colorectal cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.”Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers13, no. 10 (2004): 1595-1603.
- Michel Lucas, Fariba Mirzaei, Eilis J. O’Reilly, An Pan, Walter C. Willett, Ichiro Kawachi, Karestan Koenen, and Alberto Ascherio. “Dietary intake of n− 3 and n− 6 fatty acids and the risk of clinical depression in women: a 10-y prospective follow-up study.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 93, no. 6 (2011): 1337-1343.
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:118
- Patty W. Siri-Tarino, Qi Sun, Frank B. Hu, and Ronald M. Krauss. “Saturated fatty acids and risk of coronary heart disease: modulation by replacement nutrients.”Current atherosclerosis reports 12, no. 6 (2010): 384-390.
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:129
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:130
- Sabina Sieri, Vittorio Krogh, Franco Berrino, Alberto Evangelista, Claudia Agnoli, Furio Brighenti, Nicoletta Pellegrini et al. “Dietary glycemic load and index and risk of coronary heart disease in a large italian cohort: the EPICOR study.”Archives of Internal Medicine 170, no. 7 (2010): 640-647.
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:129.
- Kieran M. Tuohy, Lorenza Conterno, Mattia Gasperotti, and Roberto Viola. “Up-regulating the human intestinal microbiome using whole plant foods, polyphenols, and/or fiber.”Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 60, no. 36 (2012): 8776-8782.)
- Joel Fuhrman.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:134
- Chang, Jia-Jen, Man-Jung Hsu, Hui-Pei Huang, Dai-Jung Chung, Yun-Ching Chang, and Chau-Jong Wang. “Mulberry Anthocyanins Inhibit Oleic Acid Induced Lipid Accumulation by Reduction of Lipogenesis and Promotion of Hepatic Lipid Clearance.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 61, no. 25 (2013): 6069.
- Ian B. Jeffery, and Paul W. O’Toole. “Diet-microbiota interactions and their implications for healthy living.”Nutrients 5, no. 1 (2013): 234-252.
- Elizabeth E. Devore, Jae Hee Kang, Monique Breteler, and Francine Grodstein. “Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline.”Annals of neurology 72, no. 1 (2012): 135-143.
- Aedín Cassidy, Kenneth J. Mukamal, Lydia Liu, Mary Franz, A. Heather Eliassen, and Eric B. Rimm. “A high anthocyanin intake is associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction in young and middle-aged women.”Circulation127, no. 2 (2013): 188.
- Aedín Cassidy, Éilis J. O’Reilly, Colin Kay, Laura Sampson, Mary Franz, J. P. Forman, Gary Curhan, and Eric B. Rimm. “Habitual intake of flavonoid subclasses and incident hypertension in adults.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 93, no. 2 (2011): 338-347.
- H. Holt, J. C. Miller, and Peter Petocz. “An insulin index of foods: the insulin demand generated by 1000-kJ portions of common foods.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 66, no. 5 (1997): 1264-1276.
- Fuhrman, Joel.The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life. Hay House UK, 2014:44
- Morgan E. Levine, Jorge A. Suarez, Sebastian Brandhorst, Priya Balasubramanian, Chia-Wei Cheng, Federica Madia, Luigi Fontana et al. “Low protein intake is associated with a major reduction in IGF-1, cancer, and overall mortality in the 65 and younger but not older population.” Cell metabolism 19, no. 3 (2014): 407-417.
- Andrzej Bartke. “Minireview: role of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor system in mammalian aging.”Endocrinology 146, no. 9 (2005): 3718-3723.
- Morgan E. Levine, Jorge A. Suarez, Sebastian Brandhorst, Priya Balasubramanian, Chia-Wei Cheng, Federica Madia, Luigi Fontana et al. “Low protein intake is associated with a major reduction in IGF-1, cancer, and overall mortality in the 65 and younger but not older population.”Cell metabolism 19, no. 3 (2014): 407-417
- William B. Grant, “A multicountry ecological study of cancer incidence rates in 2008 with respect to various risk-modifying factors.” Nutrients 6, no. 1 (2013): 163-189.
- Teresa T. Fung, Rob M. van Dam, Susan E. Hankinson, Meir Stampfer, Walter C. Willett, and Frank B. Hu. “Low-carbohydrate diets and all-cause and cause-specific mortalitytwo cohort studies.”Annals of internal medicine153, no. 5 (2010): 289-298.
- Sarah Rosner Preis, Meir J. Stampfer, Donna Spiegelman, Walter C. Willett, and Eric B. Rimm. “Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men.”The American journal of clinical nutrition 92, no. 5 (2010): 1265-1272.
- Pagona Lagiou, Sven Sandin, Marie Lof, Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Hans-Olov Adami, and Elisabete Weiderpass. “Low carbohydrate-high protein diet and incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Swedish women: prospective cohort study.”Bmj 344 (2012): e4026.
- Pan, An, Qi Sun, Adam M. Bernstein, JoAnn E. Manson, Walter C. Willett, and Frank B. Hu. “Changes in red meat consumption and subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: three cohorts of US men and women.”JAMA internal medicine 173, no. 14 (2013): 1328-1335.