Can Cellulite Be Treated with Diet?
Two theories about the buildup of subcutaneous fat, involving the chemical spermine and the hormone adiponectin, suggest a plant-based diet may help with cellulite.
Two theories about the buildup of subcutaneous fat, involving the chemical spermine and the hormone adiponectin, suggest a plant-based diet may help with cellulite.
What happens when men with prostate cancer and prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) are placed on a relatively low-fat diet, supplemented with ground flax seeds?
Plant-based diets in general, and certain plant foods in particular, may be used to successfully treat Parkinson’s disease—in part, by boosting L-DOPA levels.
The early onset of puberty in girls associated with animal protein consumption may be due to endocrine-disrupting chemical pollutants in the meat supply.
People eating conventional diets may ingest a trillion microparticles of the food-whitening additive, titanium dioxide, every day. What implication might this have for inflammation in the gut?
The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the vapors released from cooking meat may be hazardous for fetal development, and increase the risk of cancer.
The boost in detoxifying enzymes triggered by cruciferous vegetable consumption may last for weeks!
Garlic and flavonoid phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains appear to protect against DNA damage induced by mutagenic chemicals found in cooked meat.
Using the cooked meat carcinogen PhIP to turn normal breast cells cancerous, researchers explore the use of green tea to interrupt this malignant transformation.
Even vegetarians could potentially be exposed to the carcinogens typically formed by cooking meat through eggs, cheese, creatine sports supplements, and cigarette smoke.
Those who eat meat risk food poisoning from undercooked meat, but also exposure to cooked meat carcinogens in well-cooked meat. By boiling meat, non-vegetarians can mediate their risk of both.
The cooked meat carcinogen PhIP—found in fried bacon, fish, and chicken—may not only trigger cancer and promote tumor growth, but also increase its metastatic potential, by increasing its invasiveness.
DNA-damaging chemicals, formed when meat is cooked, stimulate breast cancer cells almost as much as pure estrogen, and can infiltrate the ducts where most breast cancers arise.
The foreign meat molecule Neu5Gc builds up in human tumors and atherosclerotic plaques, and may play an inflammatory role in the progression of both diseases.
Plant-based diets may be protective against multiple sclerosis because IGF-1 can prevent our immune system from eliminating autoimmune cells.
Why is the intake of animal protein associated with heart disease—even independent of saturated fat—and the intake of plant protein protective?
Standard rifle bullets disperse tiny lead fragments throughout the flesh of wild game, raising public health concerns about lead poisoning in those who consume venison, based on a study of white-tailed deer shot by hunters.
Since chronic inflammation underlines many disease processes, and saturated fat appears to facilitate the endotoxic inflammatory reaction to animal products, researchers have looked to wild animals for less unhealthy meat options.
An evolutionary argument for a plant-based diet is presented, in contrast to “Paleo” fad diets.
To maintain the low IGF-1 levels associated with a plant-based diet, one should probably eat no more than 3-5 servings of soy foods a day.
Vegans consuming 7 to 18 servings of soy foods a day may end up with circulating IGF-1 levels comparable to those who eat meat.
While animal proteins increase levels of the cancer-promoting growth hormone IGF-1, and most plant proteins bring levels down, “high quality” plant proteins, such as soy, may not significantly affect levels in either direction. This, however, may depend on the quantity consumed.
The reason animal proteins trigger the release of the cancer-promoting growth hormone IGF-1 more than plant proteins may be because the relative ratios of amino acids in animal proteins more closely resembles our own.
Animal protein consumption triggers the release of the cancer-promoting growth hormone IGF-1.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH—an enlarged prostate gland—affects 80% of older men, but like many other Western chronic diseases, it appears to be a consequence of our diet.
Meat consumption is not only associated with weight gain, but specifically abdominal obesity, which is the most metabolically concerning.
The secret to naturally boosting serotonin levels in the brain may include eating foods such as pumpkin seeds, with a high tryptophan-to-total protein ratio. This may help explain why studies show that those eating plant-based diets have superior mood states.
Contrary to popular belief, the consumption of animal foods may actually decrease tryptophan levels in the brain. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, can boost transport across the blood-brain barrier, which has been used to explain premenstrual cravings.
Death in America is largely a foodborne illness. Focusing on studies published just over the last year in peer-reviewed scientific medical journals, Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse many of the top 15 killers in the United States.
Not only do plant-based diets appear to prevent kidney function decline, they may also be used to treat kidney failure. Even at the same protein loads, the body is able to better handle phosphorus excretion from plant-based diets, reducing the risk of metastatic calcification.
Given how vascular our kidneys are, it should comes as no surprise that animal protein, animal fat, and cholesterol are associated with declining kidney function (microalbuminurea—loss of protein in the urine), which can be an early warning sign not only for kidney failure, but also for heart disease and a shortened lifespan.
A single meal of meats, eggs, and dairy can cause a spike of inflammation within hours that can stiffen one’s arteries. Originally, this was thought to be the result of saturated animal fat causing our gut lining to leak bacterial toxins into our bloodstream, leading to endotoxemia.
Meat (including fish), cheese, and animal protein intake in general have been associated with an increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the meantime, plant-based diets may not only help prevent such conditions, but treat them as well, resulting in the longest recorded remission rates for Crohn’s disease.
By preventing the buildup of cholesterol in our bloodstream, we can prevent atherosclerosis in our coronary arteries—the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This involves increasing our intake of fiber-containing plant foods, and decreasing our intake of trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol found in junk food and animal products.
Dairy is considered a major cause of the acne epidemic, and other more serious chronic diseases in the Western world, due to the “abuse” of the mammalian postnatal signaling system by widespread cow milk consumption.
Opiate-like casomorphins liberated from the cow’s milk protein, casein, are accused of participating in the cause of such conditions as autism, crib death, type I diabetes, postpartum psychosis, circulatory disorders, and food allergies.
The opiate-like effects of the casomorphin in cow’s milk may have a depressive effect on the respiratory center of infants, and lead to “milk apnea,” in which babies temporarily stop breathing, and are placed at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (crib death).
Monday, March 12, 2012: The Harvard Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study concluded that red meat consumption was associated with living a significantly shorter life—increased cancer mortality, increased heart disease mortality, and increased overall mortality.
Since foods are effectively a package deal, what’s the best way to get vitamin B12 (cobalamin)?
Harvard study found that men and women eating low carb diets live significantly shorter lives, but what about the “eco-Atkins diet,” a plant-based, low carbohydrate diet?