Personal Health | Fiercevegan

Caring For Yourself

Food and nutrition research can be confusing. Some studies claim a food or nutrient is healthy while others say the opposite.

Some experts (almost always those profiting off a supplement or product they are selling) promote diets that are at odds with the data (Dr. Atkins is a prime example).

This creates confusion in the consumer and can lead to a situation where people throw up their hands and say: 'Everything in moderation.'

This is dangerous outcome, especially when the Standard American Diet (or SAD) is leading to the world's highest rates of obesity and chronic diseases like hypertension, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

When we look at the OVERALL BODY OF EVIDENCE around food and nutrition, including Dan Buettner's work in the Blue Zones-Secrets of the World's Healthiest People, the data/science becomes quite clear.

The fact it may also be effective in preventing, treating, and arresting other leading killers seems to make the case for plant-based eating simply overwhelming.

For more information, please check out our research page.

We have many resources listed on this site, but to get you started on learning more about your health, I highly recommend the following:

Films:

Forks Over Knives
What the Health
Gamechangers

Books:

The China Study: The most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted

Websites/Podcasts:

*Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and any of Dr. Barnard's books or talks (*a non-profit organization)
*Nutrition Facts and any of Dr. Gregor's Books or talks (*Dr. Gregor donates all proceeds from his books to non-profits)

Below are a few facts from the medical literature that you might find interesting.

Only one way of eating has ever been proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients: a diet centered around whole plant foods. If that’s all a whole-food, plant-based diet could do—reverse our number-one killer—shouldn’t that be the default diet until proven otherwise?

Cancer

The World Health Organization has classified processed meats including ham, bacon, salami and hotdogs as a Group 1 carcinogen (known to cause cancer) which means that there’s strong evidence that processed meats cause cancer.
Red meat, such as beef, lamb and pork, has been classified as a Group 2A carcinogen by the World Health Association, which means it probably causes cancer.
The largest diet and bladder cancer study found that a 3 percent increase in animal protein consumption was associated with a 15 percent increased risk of bladder cancer, while a 2 percent increase in plant protein intake was associated with a 23 percent decreased cancer risk.
By replacing red meat with a combination of other proteins (legumes, poultry, nuts, fish) women can reduce their risk for breast cancer.
Reviewing data from a large prospective cohort study (over 12,000 people) showed that total dietary fat intake, specifically saturated fat from red meat and dairy products, was associated with increased risk for pancreatic cancer.
Consuming meat 3 or more times per week may also increase the risk of lung cancer by as much as 35%, according to evidence from the meta-analysis of 23 case-control and 11 cohort studies.
The association with processed meat and esophageal cancer is relatively robust.
A study in the International Journal of Cancer reports that intake of dairy products, particularly consumed at early age, is suggested to represent one of the main risk factors for the development of breast cancer.
A meta-analysis published in 2015 showed a modestly elevated risk for not only prostate cancer but also breast and ovarian cancers for those with the highest intake of eggs.
Oxford University researchers have found, in a study of 475,000 people, that eating chicken is associated with a higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, malignant melanoma and prostate cancer in men.
Prostate cancer is among the most prevalent malignancies in men. High intake of dairy products is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, according to a study published in 2020 in the Journal Nutrition and Cancer.
Increased consumption of animal-derived food may have adverse effects on the development of hormone-dependent cancers. Among dietary risk factors, we are most concerned with milk and dairy products, because the milk we drink today is produced from pregnant cows, in which estrogen and progesterone levels are markedly elevated. (Science Direct).
For women who have had breast cancer, just one serving of whole dairy a day can increase her risk of dying from the disease by 49%, and dying from any disease by 64%.
A study done by Kaiser Permanente researchers suggests that full-fat dairy products may be linked to worse survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Kidney Disease
Harvard University researchers followed thousands of healthy women for more than a decade to look for the presence of excess protein in their urine, a sign that kidneys may be starting to fail. The researchers found three dietary components associated with this sign of declining kidney function: animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol. Each is found in only one place: animal products. No association was found between kidney function decline and intake of plant protein or fat.

Approximately 63% of all deaths globally are due to non-communicable chronic diseases and conditions, such as certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes type 2, says the World Health Organization. Poor diets are major contributory factors in all of them.

Obesity and Chronic Disease

Vegans gain significantly less weight as they age compared to omnivores, according to a study published in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology.
According to the Obesity Medicine Association, a vegan diet offers significant health benefits, including weight loss.
In 2006, a review of 87 studies revealed that patients on a plant-based diet have lower rates of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity. In addition, these studies found that those on a vegan diet burned more calories after a meal than non-vegan counterparts.
An article in the Journal Nutrition and Diabetes in 2018 found that a vegan diet was associated with improvements in body composition and reductions in both body weight and insulin resistance.
An article published in the medical literature in 2019 showed 'robust evidence for short- to moderate-term beneficial effect of plant-based diets versus conventional diets on weight status, energy metabolism and systemic inflammation in healthy participants, obese and type-2 diabetes patients'.
People following vegan diets are less likely to develop chronic diseases, compared with other dietary groups, according to a study funded by the NIH/National Cancer Institute. Biomarkers showed that the vegan group had the lowest risk for cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and less inflammation as compared with the other groups (published in 2019 in the Journal Nutrition)
Numerous studies over the last few decades have clearly shown that people whose diets include a large intake of plant foods tend to have a lower risk of chronic disease. Our dietary habits, especially in Western societies, have contributed greatly towards the increase in non-communicable chronic diseases. In regions of the world where plant-based diets are more common, the national or regional rates for these types of diseases are considerably lower, compared to areas where animal-base diets are more prevalent.(Medical News Today).
A study in the British Medical Journal reports that early exposure to cows' milk raises risk of diabetes in high risk children.
One serving of processed meat per day increased the risk of developing diabetes by 51%.

A plant-based diet is more likely to produce good health and to reduce sharply the risk of heart problems, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, gallstones, and kidney disease. ~Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Thyroid

In a 6 year study published in the journal Nutrients, a vegan diet was associated with a lower risk of hypothyroid disease.
Exclusion of all animal foods was associated with half the prevalence of hyperthyroidism compared with omnivorous diets (published data in the Journal of Public Health and Nutrition).

Autoimmune Diseases, Arthritis and Pain

A 2015 study found that people eating a whole-food, plant-based diet significantly decreased their osteoarthritis pain—in just two weeks. By the end of the six-week study, they reported more energy and better physical functioning.
The most pro-inflammatory foods are: 1. Milk proteins (especially casein and lactalbumin) in dairy products – including whey, buttermilk solids, skim milk solids, “calcium caseinate,” “sodium caseinate,” all milk-derived cheeses, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, etc., 2. 'Chicken protein' – including the “light meat” and “dark meat,” as well as egg whites.

Osteoporosis

Animal protein, by acidifying the blood, tends to leach calcium from the bones and lead to its excretion in the urine. Women with higher meat intake (> or = 5 servings per week) have been shown to have a significantly increased risk for forearm fracture compared to women eating meat less than once per week (American Journal of Epidemiology).
Dietary protein increases urinary calcium losses and has been associated with higher rates of hip fracture in cross-cultural studies.
Vegan diet did not have adverse effect on bone loss and fracture. High intakes of animal protein and animal lipid were negatively associated with bone loss (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition).
The Harvard Nurses’ Health study examined whether higher intakes of milk can reduce the risk of osteoporotic fractures. The study observed over 75,000 women for 12 years and concluded that increasing milk consumption did not confer a protective effect against hip or forearm fracture. In fact, the 1997 study found that an increased calcium intake from dairy foods was associated with a higher risk of fracture.
Increases in dairy or total dietary calcium intake did not reliably increase bone mineral density or reduce fracture rate in children or adolescents, leading researchers in the British Medical Journal to suggest that guidelines for calcium intake should be revised. Dairy products do not have a clinically relevant impact on bone health in youth and have several negative effects including contributing to the epidemics of obesity and chronic disease.

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Alzheimer's and Healthy Aging

Following the standard Western Diet with large amounts of meat is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s disease prevalence while high consumption of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and low-fat dairy is linked to a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s. William B. Grant, who authored the study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition states that residents of the United States are at particular risk of Alzheimer's because of our diet, and that “reducing meat consumption could significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as of several cancers, diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, and, likely, chronic kidney disease.

Microbiome and Gut Health

High-fiber vegan diets promote healthful and stable gut bacteria, according to a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition. Increased intake of fiber and other plant components associated with plant-based diets increase the growth of beneficial bacteria that reduce inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk. Fiber also increases short-chain fatty acids linked to improved immunity and improved intestinal function. These conclusions indicate that diet contributes to healthful microbiome diversity more than any other factor, and a plant-based diet is the most effective means to ensure optimal gut health.
Research shows that 16 weeks of a vegan diet can boost the gut microbiome, helping with weight loss and overall health. A healthy microbiome is a diverse microbiome. A plant-based diet is the best way to achieve this.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports that a reduced intake of animal-based foods and a diet based on plants can result in a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) by influencing the gut microbiome pattern to favor beneficial species.

If you are interested in improving your health, a whole-food plant-based diet is for you!