Post a summary/response that is at least one paragraph in length and then comment on someone else's post in order to receive the seminar points. Reply to this post and make sure your name is somewhere in your response to receive credit.
According to the seminar, eating a plant-based, especially one without any animal products (vegan), can reduce risk and/or even treat 14 out of the 15 leading causes of death in the United States. Articles discovering that a vegan/vegetarian was extremely beneficial were published 30 years ago, and we are still trying to solve all our problems with drugs, which cause 100,000 deaths a year from side effects, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. Cancer growth can be slowed by eating a plant based diet because plants have fiber, and when this fiber is broken down by the friendly bacteria in out tummies, it produces this phos- word (phospholied? i can't remember) which slows cancer cell growth. Not only do plant-based diets slow cancer growth, but they can also prevent the growth of large tumors altogether. Cholesterol in animal products 'clogs' up our veins, and finally once our bodies manage to reverse the negative effects in a couple hours, we eat animal products again. Although animal products do provide us with nutrients, they also provide us with cholesterol. Another interesting thing that seems to reappear in a lot of nutrition and health videos I've seen is the idea of the U.S Food and Drug administration putting the nations health after the potential profit to themselves and the government, in addition to their sponsors, such as McDonald's and Crisco, which distribute and sell the products that jeopardize our health most.
This video really opened my eyes to how much of a benefit a vegan or a vegetarian has over someone on a Standard American Diet. Not even exercising strenuously can bridge the health gap between the average american an a vegan. Vegan's can have a 75% decreased relative risk than the average American!
I'm currently contemplating trying out a vegetarian lifestyle for a month, or maybe vegan, but my dad makes really good steak :C
Hey Emma, I was also quite fascinated with the video like you. My mother is trying to introduce a vegan diet for the whole family, and I don't know if I'll like that much. Although the speaker was convincing, he was only using once source for the experiments that we're being done on humans. I am not sure if those experiments could be skewed, and the speaker definitely has bias, and speakers against the FDA. I don't think his solution to the world's problems is probable. Not all Americans are going to switch to a vegan diet, and there needs to be another solution, hopefully not a viral spray on hamburgers. Furthermore, the speaker does not address what problems can arise with the consumprion of plants. Constituting the pesticides that are sprayed on plants can cause Hey Emma, I was also quite fascinated with the video like you. My mother is trying to introduce a vegan diet for the whole family, and I don't know if I'll like that much. Although the speaker was convincing, he was only using once source for the experiments that we're being done on humans. I am not sure if those experiments could be skewed, and the speaker definitely has bias, and speakers against the FDA. I don't think his solution to the world's problems is probable. Not all Americans are going to switch to a vegan diet, and there needs to be another solution, hopefully not a viral spray on hamburgers. Furthermore, the speaker does not address what problems can arise with the consumprion of plants. Consumption of the pesticides that are sprayed on plants can cuse diseases. And if you go the organic route, the plants can be filled with bacteria that pesticides usually kill. It could be a lose lose situation. The whole situations is seems a bit exaggerated and pew have to remember that vegans just have a lower risk compared to meat eaters. It is not as if that if you eat meat you get heart disease, and the statistics given were in the context of completely eliminating risk. I think we could mix a plant and meat diet and be good. Michelle Obama can definitely do that. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Hey Zafir! Yep! I understand that a speaker can easily pick and choose data/statistics and experiments to make their argument look more persuasive, and most likely he did do this because everything he presented pointed towards his argument, making his solution look a little too perfect.
There are problems with the consumption of plants, as there can be with all foods. Food-borne illness can be present in all foods, and actually, according to the CDC, animal-based products account for a larger percentage of illnesses and related deaths than produce (not sure if this estimate includes nuts and other plant-y things in addition to produce). Although plants can carry and transmit a fair amount of illness, animal based products can carry and transmit the same amount, if not more. However, I'm not sure if this estimate includes illnesses caused by pesticides, but pesticide exposure can be reduced by properly washing and preparing produce. Unfortunately, pesticide exposure can never completely avoided due to pesticides soaking into the thin skin of a fruit or vegetable, such as an apple, or peach. Going organic has it's own sets of risks as well, as you pointed out!
@ Zafir Hi Zafir. If you want a more convincing argument or more evidence on why you should go vegan you should watch forks over knives, it's a really interesting documentary following people with chronic diseases such as cancer who are put on a plant based diet.
I found this seminar to be intriguing compared to some former seminars that we have had. This seminar had knowledge and advice that benefits all of us. For example, I did not know about Endotoxemia in saturated animal fats. It seems to be a very serious matter that should be researched further. I find it scary that those who eat animal products are in chronic low-grade inflammation. The benefits of switching to a vegan diet seems immense. Those on a vegan diet have lower cholesterol levels, higher ability to fight off cancer cells, lesser risk for heart disease, and can be used to treat as well as prevent conditions like kidney failure.
I agree with Chris in saying that the instant inflammation is pretty scary. Another point that Dr. Greger made later on in the video was the fact that fecal matter was in most poultry products. If that's not gross, I don't know what is. In fact, most of the meats all had something in them that I found gross. The steak having those indestructible toxins in them was creepy, but the fact that our bodies are able to handle them was intriguing. Our bodies handle all of the junk we put into them so I feel as though a careful omnivorous diet with exercise would be enough to stay healthy.
This seminar just ruined my entire view on all meat and animal-based food products. The fact that there are neurotoxins in our meats, poultry is one of the most harmful things to eat, and that there is a bacteria, endotoximia, in the meat that can't be removed easily and can cause inflammation is really scary. Then, there is also kidney, liver, and lung problems that occur from eating meat and the risk of high blood pressure and obesity. Also, the fact that meat industries are allowing this to go on and are preventing this from being cured because it would hurt there profits is truly a matter of concern. If Finland was able to cut back on their consumption of meat and saturated fats then why can't we do it. Now that I won't be able to eat meat any more without cringing, I hope that I will be able to conform to a healthier, vegan lifestyle. Goodbye bacon, burgers, and fried chicken; I'll be switching over to something that's gonna help me fight cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a lot more diseases.
I had a similar reaction to the seminar. Just the fact that the meats I eat on a regular basis are harming my body is a wake-up call. I mean the food choices that seemed acceptable beforehand now all appear unhealthy and liable to result in some disease somewhere down the road. We won't be able to get the results Finland did because Americans are too used to this food. Though some may change their diet when presented with these facts the majority of the population may not even know about this. Also I don't quite remember but did Finland's government step in in order to make things happen? If so how are we going to get our government to do the same thing and even then the chances of people obeying the new dietary restrictions are low.
I agree with Taylor. After watching this video I'm planning to consider to try going vegan. This has also made look at what is being served to us in school. If the school system decided to go with a more plant-based menu, I'm sure that there will be a noted difference in the student body. If done, there might be a reduction in the number of school fights and an increase in test scores. It also might lead to better, more edible food in the cafeteria. But the main benefit will be toward our overall health and well-being.
I totally understand why you're saying that and the thought does make me cringe right now, but I highly doubt any of us would hesitate to eat meat tomorrow. We've been used to eating it for years now and such a drastic change just couldn't happen quickly. Also, the fact that our bodies can handle all the things in our meat is pretty cool. So changing into a vegan would be great for your body, but I feel as though having a meat and vegetable based diet with a good amount of rigorous exercise each day could have close to if not as much as the same effect on the body.
So right from the start I was already interested in this seminar. There were several facts and experiments that Dr. Greger brought up that really made me question what I was eating. For example, the presence of endotoxins in meat products coupled with the ability of saturated fats to shuffle them into our blood stream at an accelerated rate PLUS their resistance to cooking, enzymes or our bodies acids automatically portrayed animal products as the criminal here. Dr. Greger went on to explain how the plant based diet can fight off diseases like cancer because people on the plant based diet witnessed decreased levels of IGf-1 and an increase in their corresponding binding proteins. On the other hand he explained how having a chicken breast nearly triples someones chances of developing lymphoma in comparison to someone of a plant based diet. He also mentioned how being on a plant based diet allowed an increase in the good bacteria in our guts which in a sense is like double dipping in benefits. Regardless of all the benefits from the plant based diet there is little to no chance of convincing the present American population to drop the hamburgers and steaks. We are so used to consuming animal products that it would most likely take years of steady integration of the plant based diet into society for the change to occur. Also I myself do not fully support this plant based diet. I'm sure being an omnivore has it's benefits because there were a few studies where the experimental group simply consumed lower levels of animal products and saw similar but not as drastic results as the vegan group. Overall the seminar was great I just wish Dr. Greger did not push so hard for a completely vegan diet.
Hi this is Eboni :-) I loved the video due to the fact that I am very passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. I think that as a society we need become more informed about what we are putting into our bodies. We pile toxin after toxin into our bodies without a second thought, but the continual consumption of unhealthy foods puts a strain on the body. Also, it angers me that instead of fixing the problems with meat production and other issues with food processing, the food industry just tries to mask the issue at hand. Because of the way we raise our farm animals (feeding them unnatural foods, packing them close together, not letting them eat grass, giving them steroids and other concoctions to accelerate their growth), we are becoming sick from eating meat. Not only is the mistreatment of animals making us sick, but also the mass production of synthetic food. We've all looked at the back of a food label and seen a laundry list of ingredients we can't pronounce, but we usually don't dwell on it for too long. If you looked into these ingredients you'd find some disturbing things (a lot of food flavoring is derived from beaver glands and some color or flavoring comes from crushed bugs). If that isnt concerning, new info is surfacing everyday about the disgusting chemicals in fast food (Subway used a chemical fond in yoga mats for their subs, McDonald's used pink slime in their burgers). McDonald's french fries have 20 ingredients, when logically there should be only one...potatoes.Many of the diseases we believe just come of old age (such as Alzheimer's) are linked to the food choices we make. The idea that we can prevent or even reserve chronic diseases like heart disease or cancer with diet is mind blowing. Even things like mood swings, irritability, and feeling sluggish all the time can be a consequence of bad diet. Personally, I was a vegan for a majority of the summer and it was a great experience. I can attest to improved mood and concentration along with a load of other health benefits. I am a vegetarian now but would love to become a vegan permanently but being a vegan is a huge time consumer. You have to make a lot of your own foods and there are definitely limited choices. A lot of people are hesitant to leaving meat behind but a common misconception is that meat is the only source of protein (beans and rice is a complete protein). If this video was interesting to you theres a really great documentary on netflix called forks over knives that inspired me to go vegan!
I'm actually very inspired by your personal experience to potentially trying vegan diets in the future. I also agree that plants give you much more energy (because we then become primary rather than secondary consumers--- saving us that 90% of energy that would've been lost) as I've tried drinking smoothies in the morning comprised solely of fruits and vegetables, and I've found that I'm able to work a lot more efficiently and feel more awake. I also hate that the food industry is not honest about what we are putting in our body. I wonder though if having a vegan diet would help if those vegetables and fruits you consume are filled with pesticides and chemicals while also being genetically modified. What are your thoughts?
Hi Jenny Genetically modified meats are a lot more harmful to your body although pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables are bad for you too. The best bet is to buy fruits that are known to be heavily modified (like corn) organic.
Hey Eboni, Your personal story is very inspiring, and I will make it a point to watch that documentary you mentioned! I agree that we need to either stop what we are doing with animal products or promote a vegan lifestyle to combat obesity and solve one the first world society's most pressing issues. We ignore many heart problems and blame them on old age, but they are actually just preventable conditions that we misconstrue as normalities to hide from the fact that we have brought them on ourselves.
Because I've always been interested in health & nutrition and the speaker was very engaging, so I found this seminar very interesting to watch. I thought that what he said made sense-- after all, vegans and vegetarians have always been considered 'healthier' than omnivores. It was shocking to find out, however, that poultry is not the "health food" that many of us have included in our diets, and can increase our risk for lymphoma by 3 times as much. It was also very interesting to learn that exercise cannot makeup for a horrible diet--this is something that I recognized to an extent, but it was cool to see it there in actual statistics and facts. My dad is a great example of a person with not-the-best-diet who is still extremely fit because he enjoys playing sports, but he is still much more at risk for certain diseases such as cancer than someone with a vegan diet and a relatively low-key lifestyle. I also was wondering about the use of egg whites, which contains little cholesterol. He said in his presentation, however, that it is both animal fats and proteins that have shown this risk. I also thought it was interesting how he said that the correlation between a vegan diet and mood was could not be attributed to causation until it was tested with statistics. It was fascinating to see that plants contain dopamine and other neurotransmitters and can assist in reducing depression and improving behaviors in teens. I was horrified that poultry was the most common animal that was infected with fecal matter. The FDA allowing the complacency of the meat industry makes me a little bit frustrated as ideally they should be acting the best interest of the consumer, and I believe that consumers should take a stand. It's a little bit unrealistic however to expect a huge trend in vegan diets in the near future. Although fresh produce doesn't have to be expensive, the amount of pesticides and chemicals as well as how genetically modified a product is arguably just as unhealthy as a non-vegan diet. An organic fresh produce diet, however, can be incredibly expensive to sustain and support. I believe this is why the US FDA does not push for these diets more aggressively--- the standard American diet with high-fructose corn syrup and meats raised with hormones and corn is just much more cost effective and easier to maintain.
Hi Jenny! I was also really surprised to hear that poultry was actually the worst meat for you. I think that a balance between healthy eating and exercise is the way to go and that although we probably cannot realistically become full out vegan, that we should lower meat intake. It was very interesting to see the depression statistics and how the plant based diet improved mood and behavior and I wonder if this could be effective in treating social disabilities. My friends in APES have harped and harped on the meat industry and how disgusting they are. I do understand the socioeconomic costs of altering meat production, but I think that in the coming years it will be the public's choice about whether they want to pay more to support a better system. I liked your point on the costs of such a diet and how pesticides are just as harmful as meat.
Hi this is Henry, I found this seminar very intriguing and thought provoking, demonstrating with facts how the consumption of animal products contributes to heart diseases. The speaker eloquently explained his case with a constant stream of facts and statistics. Some of his claims seemed to be heavily one sided, and his remarks sounded a bit elitist towards people who eat animal products (i.e. most people reading this), and he talked a bit as if vegans and him were above people who consume meat. That isn't to say there isn't factual data to somewhat justify his view, but he seemed to view us as inferiors of some sort. Just something I noticed. As for the topic of the video, it is a pressing issue that will only become more prevalent over time, and should have more research put into it to turn out solutions to society's obesity problems. Alternative food sources should be found that can gain popular interest yet fulfill the nutritional hola that is present in our culture's diet. Improved processing of food to remove toxins and negative substances to leave only the protein that is needed, yet still retains the taste to an extent to make people want to eat it, is something that should and probably can be done, the only question is how long and how much resources will it take for this idea to become a reality.
Hey Henry! I totally agree with you that the presentation seemed heavily biased toward an entirely vegan diet. It would have been interesting to hear a pro-meat person's argument, or even just a moderate individual. I also agree that finding a way to remove the bacterial toxins could be a good solution. It's pretty incredible that they can't be destroyed by cooking or stomach acid! The whole endotoxin topic was interesting to me. I just thought our bodies were harmed by animal fats and not by bacteria found within the fats!
WOW! This was such an interesting video! It was surprising to learn that the top 16 (minus one) leading causes of death in the US could all be caused by consuming meat. One part that really stood out to me was that cancers can be prevented by a vegetarian/vegan diet. The fact that only 50g of chicken can triple your risk of lymphoma was shocking. Also, blood of people on a vegan diet was 8 times better at stopping cancer cells than blood of people eating a normal American diet. Another surprising fact I learned was that meat consumption is correlated to increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease; vegetarians were over 2 times less likely to develop dementia than people who eat meat. I really thought the case study about Finland was great! It was a good example of the potential of a country to change the way it eats. I thought it was incredible that deaths by heart disease dropped by 80%! Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar. However, I do not think that going full-vegan is very easily done or very feasible. Aren’t there certain proteins that are necessary to humans that are obtained through meat? It’d be difficult for people to eat a well-balanced diet with all necessary nutrients by only consuming fruits and vegetables. This could lead to other health problems. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t change our diets though! I think it’d be very beneficial to cut out most of the meats that we consume based on all the information I learned from this video. Maybe I’ll try going vegetarian for a few weeks.
So this seminar was really interesting. Both of my parents are nutritionists so it was interesting to hear the speaker's viewpoint as compared to those I have heard basically my whole if at the dinner table. I thought that he was very convincing and made some great points about the toxins that an animal based diet can put into our bodies. The vegan ideal is a very good way of life to strive for and has (obviously as he has shown) many health benefits. I cannot help, however, to be a little skeptical about his data and his method of championing a society of herbivores. It seemed to me that most of his data came from the same sources and may have been skewed to provide evidence for his extremist stance. In addition, he poses two choices: to be vegetarian/ a meat-eater and at risk, or to be vegan and much more healthy. The vegan ideal may be as beneficial as he states, however it is not realistic. He makes fun of doctors tendency to coddle the American public, saying that we will not change our dietary ways. It IS kind of true though. How many people would choose the hard and less satisfying (most of the time) vegan lifestyle when snack chips and cheap processed food are both readily available and more cost efficient? In addition, many people would be resistant to change, and would not believe it to be worth their while. Many vegans in today's world are uninformed about how to properly maintain the vegan diet and their heath suffers from lack of proper supplementation through substitution. We have all seen the skinny celebrities with the stringy hair and bad skin. I feel that releasing such a powerful call to action on the, for the most part, widely uninformed public could cause a whole new slew of health problems as they try to tackle the difficult diet. Getting protein intake at sufficient levels would be pretty hard without meat as well, unless one reallyyyy likes nuts and stuff. The seminar definitely convinced me to change my eating habits, however, not to the point where I am full out vegetarian or vegan.
I'd like to start off by saying that this presentation by Dr. Greger was packed with facts and was almost overwhelming. After the first few causes of death that he went through, the point of his presentation was clear: VEGAN DIETS R DA BEST. Dr. Greger did make a lot of strong, convincing points such as the "clearance" of cancer cells from the body due to a vegan diet vs. omnivorous diets vs. omnivorous + exercise. He stated that a vegan diet with no exercise triggers more cancerous cell apoptosis than the other two. Obviously, a full-on vegan diet would be more healthy and beneficial to the human body due its naturalness. I did notice that as he went down the list of top causes of death, he gave a little less new information each time. The presentation seemed to become repetitive. On the other hand, he gave in-depth explanations for every new point he brought up. My response to his presentation is that a vegan diet is more healthy, but a better way to convince people to go vegan is to show a non-biased point of view for the other side. The only thing he said about the meat farmers was that they blame the problems with meat on the consumers. Maybe this is true, but both sides should get a say. Another thing that a lot of other people have commented on is the difficulty to go vegan. It can be hard and expensive to get ALL nutritional needs in only using a vegan diet. Plus, a person has to not care what their food tastes like because Dr. Greger mentioned that kale was extremely nutritional and beneficial, but kale is nasty. The vegan diet seems like a very good way to rid yourself of many health-risks, but at the same time is difficult and not very appealing. Will I be going vegan? No. I may try to watch the amount of meat I eat at each meal but meals and meat are just two things that go together. My last point I want to make is that dieting is not the only way to lower health risks. Exercise has been proven to be pretty effective and as long as a person doesn't go overboard at meal-time, I don't feel as though a vegan diet is necessary.
I liked this guy's attitude while explaining everything. He made everything sound less complicated and explained everything very well. The idea of living a completely vegan lifestyle just isn't practical since 9/10 people just refuse to go through a difficult change which just doesn't taste or satisfy as well as meat. Sure a doctor's responsibility should be to inform his patient whether or not he or she should make different lifestyle choices, but the view of how we Americans just can't give up our meat diets is quite accurate. I'd compare it to curing a person of alcoholism. It takes a lot to get people to change their ways. Watching this made me want to include more vegetables in my diet, but I doubt I could give up on meats all together, As he showed on the study with rigorous exercise versus a vegan diet and light exercise, exercising can increase your chances of cancer protection quite a bit.
I agree, because it would be hard to just change someone's diet, all of a sudden, and that combined with the unwillingness to change that so many Americans exhibit; makes it very unlikely that there will be societal changes regarding our diets. I also agree that cutting down on meat and increasing exercise, would also sufficient enough in making our bodies inhospitable to cancer cells.
Dr. Greger made many valid points and shared many convincing facts that show that just changing your diet can save you from 15 of 16 of the leading causes of death. Also, most of the leading causes of death are almost completely avoidable if you use a plant-based diet instead of meat-based. I thought it was fascinating that vegan bodybuilders had more testosterone than meat-eating bodybuilders, since you would think that you would get more protein out of meat than a plant-based vegan diet. But, overall, I think it would be difficult to shift the US from a meat-consuming country to a plant-based diet country because if you think about the fact, most Americans do not like change, despite being a "free, diplomatic country," it would be difficult to make them accept this even though it would help them. So I think it would be difficult to get everyone to buy in, even with Dr. Greger's valid points.
Hi! This is Emma DeJarnette.
ReplyDeleteThis video was actually fairly interesting.
According to the seminar, eating a plant-based, especially one without any animal products (vegan), can reduce risk and/or even treat 14 out of the 15 leading causes of death in the United States. Articles discovering that a vegan/vegetarian was extremely beneficial were published 30 years ago, and we are still trying to solve all our problems with drugs, which cause 100,000 deaths a year from side effects, making it the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.
Cancer growth can be slowed by eating a plant based diet because plants have fiber, and when this fiber is broken down by the friendly bacteria in out tummies, it produces this phos- word (phospholied? i can't remember) which slows cancer cell growth. Not only do plant-based diets slow cancer growth, but they can also prevent the growth of large tumors altogether.
Cholesterol in animal products 'clogs' up our veins, and finally once our bodies manage to reverse the negative effects in a couple hours, we eat animal products again. Although animal products do provide us with nutrients, they also provide us with cholesterol.
Another interesting thing that seems to reappear in a lot of nutrition and health videos I've seen is the idea of the U.S Food and Drug administration putting the nations health after the potential profit to themselves and the government, in addition to their sponsors, such as McDonald's and Crisco, which distribute and sell the products that jeopardize our health most.
This video really opened my eyes to how much of a benefit a vegan or a vegetarian has over someone on a Standard American Diet. Not even exercising strenuously can bridge the health gap between the average american an a vegan. Vegan's can have a 75% decreased relative risk than the average American!
I'm currently contemplating trying out a vegetarian lifestyle for a month, or maybe vegan, but my dad makes really good steak :C
Hey Emma, I was also quite fascinated with the video like you. My mother is trying to introduce a vegan diet for the whole family, and I don't know if I'll like that much. Although the speaker was convincing, he was only using once source for the experiments that we're being done on humans. I am not sure if those experiments could be skewed, and the speaker definitely has bias, and speakers against the FDA. I don't think his solution to the world's problems is probable. Not all Americans are going to switch to a vegan diet, and there needs to be another solution, hopefully not a viral spray on hamburgers. Furthermore, the speaker does not address what problems can arise with the consumprion of plants. Constituting the pesticides that are sprayed on plants can cause Hey Emma, I was also quite fascinated with the video like you. My mother is trying to introduce a vegan diet for the whole family, and I don't know if I'll like that much. Although the speaker was convincing, he was only using once source for the experiments that we're being done on humans. I am not sure if those experiments could be skewed, and the speaker definitely has bias, and speakers against the FDA. I don't think his solution to the world's problems is probable. Not all Americans are going to switch to a vegan diet, and there needs to be another solution, hopefully not a viral spray on hamburgers. Furthermore, the speaker does not address what problems can arise with the consumprion of plants. Consumption of the pesticides that are sprayed on plants can cuse diseases. And if you go the organic route, the plants can be filled with bacteria that pesticides usually kill. It could be a lose lose situation. The whole situations is seems a bit exaggerated and pew have to remember that vegans just have a lower risk compared to meat eaters. It is not as if that if you eat meat you get heart disease, and the statistics given were in the context of completely eliminating risk. I think we could mix a plant and meat diet and be good. Michelle Obama can definitely do that. Baby steps. Baby steps.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHey Zafir!
DeleteYep! I understand that a speaker can easily pick and choose data/statistics and experiments to make their argument look more persuasive, and most likely he did do this because everything he presented pointed towards his argument, making his solution look a little too perfect.
There are problems with the consumption of plants, as there can be with all foods. Food-borne illness can be present in all foods, and actually, according to the CDC, animal-based products account for a larger percentage of illnesses and related deaths than produce (not sure if this estimate includes nuts and other plant-y things in addition to produce). Although plants can carry and transmit a fair amount of illness, animal based products can carry and transmit the same amount, if not more. However, I'm not sure if this estimate includes illnesses caused by pesticides, but pesticide exposure can be reduced by properly washing and preparing produce. Unfortunately, pesticide exposure can never completely avoided due to pesticides soaking into the thin skin of a fruit or vegetable, such as an apple, or peach. Going organic has it's own sets of risks as well, as you pointed out!
http://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/images/food-Illnesses-deaths.jpg
I agree with you that the U.S will not suddenly abandon meat altogether and that balancing a plant and meat diet is good idea. Moderation!
Thanks for replying!
-Emma
@ Zafir
DeleteHi Zafir. If you want a more convincing argument or more evidence on why you should go vegan you should watch forks over knives, it's a really interesting documentary following people with chronic diseases such as cancer who are put on a plant based diet.
Christopher Thomas
ReplyDeleteI found this seminar to be intriguing compared to some former seminars that we have had. This seminar had knowledge and advice that benefits all of us. For example, I did not know about Endotoxemia in saturated animal fats. It seems to be a very serious matter that should be researched further. I find it scary that those who eat animal products are in chronic low-grade inflammation. The benefits of switching to a vegan diet seems immense. Those on a vegan diet have lower cholesterol levels, higher ability to fight off cancer cells, lesser risk for heart disease, and can be used to treat as well as prevent conditions like kidney failure.
Joshua F
DeleteI agree with Chris in saying that the instant inflammation is pretty scary. Another point that Dr. Greger made later on in the video was the fact that fecal matter was in most poultry products. If that's not gross, I don't know what is. In fact, most of the meats all had something in them that I found gross. The steak having those indestructible toxins in them was creepy, but the fact that our bodies are able to handle them was intriguing. Our bodies handle all of the junk we put into them so I feel as though a careful omnivorous diet with exercise would be enough to stay healthy.
Taylor Burton
ReplyDeleteThis seminar just ruined my entire view on all meat and animal-based food products. The fact that there are neurotoxins in our meats, poultry is one of the most harmful things to eat, and that there is a bacteria, endotoximia, in the meat that can't be removed easily and can cause inflammation is really scary. Then, there is also kidney, liver, and lung problems that occur from eating meat and the risk of high blood pressure and obesity. Also, the fact that meat industries are allowing this to go on and are preventing this from being cured because it would hurt there profits is truly a matter of concern. If Finland was able to cut back on their consumption of meat and saturated fats then why can't we do it. Now that I won't be able to eat meat any more without cringing, I hope that I will be able to conform to a healthier, vegan lifestyle. Goodbye bacon, burgers, and fried chicken; I'll be switching over to something that's gonna help me fight cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a lot more diseases.
@Taylor
DeleteI had a similar reaction to the seminar. Just the fact that the meats I eat on a regular basis are harming my body is a wake-up call. I mean the food choices that seemed acceptable beforehand now all appear unhealthy and liable to result in some disease somewhere down the road. We won't be able to get the results Finland did because Americans are too used to this food. Though some may change their diet when presented with these facts the majority of the population may not even know about this. Also I don't quite remember but did Finland's government step in in order to make things happen? If so how are we going to get our government to do the same thing and even then the chances of people obeying the new dietary restrictions are low.
@Taylor
DeleteI agree with Taylor. After watching this video I'm planning to consider to try going vegan. This has also made look at what is being served to us in school. If the school system decided to go with a more plant-based menu, I'm sure that there will be a noted difference in the student body. If done, there might be a reduction in the number of school fights and an increase in test scores. It also might lead to better, more edible food in the cafeteria. But the main benefit will be toward our overall health and well-being.
I totally understand why you're saying that and the thought does make me cringe right now, but I highly doubt any of us would hesitate to eat meat tomorrow. We've been used to eating it for years now and such a drastic change just couldn't happen quickly. Also, the fact that our bodies can handle all the things in our meat is pretty cool. So changing into a vegan would be great for your body, but I feel as though having a meat and vegetable based diet with a good amount of rigorous exercise each day could have close to if not as much as the same effect on the body.
DeleteSo right from the start I was already interested in this seminar. There were several facts and experiments that Dr. Greger brought up that really made me question what I was eating. For example, the presence of endotoxins in meat products coupled with the ability of saturated fats to shuffle them into our blood stream at an accelerated rate PLUS their resistance to cooking, enzymes or our bodies acids automatically portrayed animal products as the criminal here. Dr. Greger went on to explain how the plant based diet can fight off diseases like cancer because people on the plant based diet witnessed decreased levels of IGf-1 and an increase in their corresponding binding proteins. On the other hand he explained how having a chicken breast nearly triples someones chances of developing lymphoma in comparison to someone of a plant based diet. He also mentioned how being on a plant based diet allowed an increase in the good bacteria in our guts which in a sense is like double dipping in benefits. Regardless of all the benefits from the plant based diet there is little to no chance of convincing the present American population to drop the hamburgers and steaks. We are so used to consuming animal products that it would most likely take years of steady integration of the plant based diet into society for the change to occur. Also I myself do not fully support this plant based diet. I'm sure being an omnivore has it's benefits because there were a few studies where the experimental group simply consumed lower levels of animal products and saw similar but not as drastic results as the vegan group. Overall the seminar was great I just wish Dr. Greger did not push so hard for a completely vegan diet.
ReplyDeleteHi this is Eboni :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved the video due to the fact that I am very passionate about living a healthy lifestyle. I think that as a society we need become more informed about what we are putting into our bodies. We pile toxin after toxin into our bodies without a second thought, but the continual consumption of unhealthy foods puts a strain on the body. Also, it angers me that instead of fixing the problems with meat production and other issues with food processing, the food industry just tries to mask the issue at hand. Because of the way we raise our farm animals (feeding them unnatural foods, packing them close together, not letting them eat grass, giving them steroids and other concoctions to accelerate their growth), we are becoming sick from eating meat. Not only is the mistreatment of animals making us sick, but also the mass production of synthetic food. We've all looked at the back of a food label and seen a laundry list of ingredients we can't pronounce, but we usually don't dwell on it for too long. If you looked into these ingredients you'd find some disturbing things (a lot of food flavoring is derived from beaver glands and some color or flavoring comes from crushed bugs). If that isnt concerning, new info is surfacing everyday about the disgusting chemicals in fast food (Subway used a chemical fond in yoga mats for their subs, McDonald's used pink slime in their burgers). McDonald's french fries have 20 ingredients, when logically there should be only one...potatoes.Many of the diseases we believe just come of old age (such as Alzheimer's) are linked to the food choices we make. The idea that we can prevent or even reserve chronic diseases like heart disease or cancer with diet is mind blowing. Even things like mood swings, irritability, and feeling sluggish all the time can be a consequence of bad diet. Personally, I was a vegan for a majority of the summer and it was a great experience. I can attest to improved mood and concentration along with a load of other health benefits. I am a vegetarian now but would love to become a vegan permanently but being a vegan is a huge time consumer. You have to make a lot of your own foods and there are definitely limited choices. A lot of people are hesitant to leaving meat behind but a common misconception is that meat is the only source of protein (beans and rice is a complete protein). If this video was interesting to you theres a really great documentary on netflix called forks over knives that inspired me to go vegan!
Hey Eboni!
DeleteI'm actually very inspired by your personal experience to potentially trying vegan diets in the future. I also agree that plants give you much more energy (because we then become primary rather than secondary consumers--- saving us that 90% of energy that would've been lost) as I've tried drinking smoothies in the morning comprised solely of fruits and vegetables, and I've found that I'm able to work a lot more efficiently and feel more awake. I also hate that the food industry is not honest about what we are putting in our body. I wonder though if having a vegan diet would help if those vegetables and fruits you consume are filled with pesticides and chemicals while also being genetically modified. What are your thoughts?
Jenny C
Hi Jenny
DeleteGenetically modified meats are a lot more harmful to your body although pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables are bad for you too. The best bet is to buy fruits that are known to be heavily modified (like corn) organic.
Hey Eboni,
DeleteYour personal story is very inspiring, and I will make it a point to watch that documentary you mentioned! I agree that we need to either stop what we are doing with animal products or promote a vegan lifestyle to combat obesity and solve one the first world society's most pressing issues. We ignore many heart problems and blame them on old age, but they are actually just preventable conditions that we misconstrue as normalities to hide from the fact that we have brought them on ourselves.
Because I've always been interested in health & nutrition and the speaker was very engaging, so I found this seminar very interesting to watch. I thought that what he said made sense-- after all, vegans and vegetarians have always been considered 'healthier' than omnivores. It was shocking to find out, however, that poultry is not the "health food" that many of us have included in our diets, and can increase our risk for lymphoma by 3 times as much. It was also very interesting to learn that exercise cannot makeup for a horrible diet--this is something that I recognized to an extent, but it was cool to see it there in actual statistics and facts. My dad is a great example of a person with not-the-best-diet who is still extremely fit because he enjoys playing sports, but he is still much more at risk for certain diseases such as cancer than someone with a vegan diet and a relatively low-key lifestyle. I also was wondering about the use of egg whites, which contains little cholesterol. He said in his presentation, however, that it is both animal fats and proteins that have shown this risk. I also thought it was interesting how he said that the correlation between a vegan diet and mood was could not be attributed to causation until it was tested with statistics. It was fascinating to see that plants contain dopamine and other neurotransmitters and can assist in reducing depression and improving behaviors in teens. I was horrified that poultry was the most common animal that was infected with fecal matter. The FDA allowing the complacency of the meat industry makes me a little bit frustrated as ideally they should be acting the best interest of the consumer, and I believe that consumers should take a stand. It's a little bit unrealistic however to expect a huge trend in vegan diets in the near future. Although fresh produce doesn't have to be expensive, the amount of pesticides and chemicals as well as how genetically modified a product is arguably just as unhealthy as a non-vegan diet. An organic fresh produce diet, however, can be incredibly expensive to sustain and support. I believe this is why the US FDA does not push for these diets more aggressively--- the standard American diet with high-fructose corn syrup and meats raised with hormones and corn is just much more cost effective and easier to maintain.
ReplyDeleteJenny
Hi Jenny!
DeleteI was also really surprised to hear that poultry was actually the worst meat for you. I think that a balance between healthy eating and exercise is the way to go and that although we probably cannot realistically become full out vegan, that we should lower meat intake. It was very interesting to see the depression statistics and how the plant based diet improved mood and behavior and I wonder if this could be effective in treating social disabilities. My friends in APES have harped and harped on the meat industry and how disgusting they are. I do understand the socioeconomic costs of altering meat production, but I think that in the coming years it will be the public's choice about whether they want to pay more to support a better system. I liked your point on the costs of such a diet and how pesticides are just as harmful as meat.
Hi this is Henry,
ReplyDeleteI found this seminar very intriguing and thought provoking, demonstrating with facts how the consumption of animal products contributes to heart diseases. The speaker eloquently explained his case with a constant stream of facts and statistics. Some of his claims seemed to be heavily one sided, and his remarks sounded a bit elitist towards people who eat animal products (i.e. most people reading this), and he talked a bit as if vegans and him were above people who consume meat. That isn't to say there isn't factual data to somewhat justify his view, but he seemed to view us as inferiors of some sort. Just something I noticed. As for the topic of the video, it is a pressing issue that will only become more prevalent over time, and should have more research put into it to turn out solutions to society's obesity problems. Alternative food sources should be found that can gain popular interest yet fulfill the nutritional hola that is present in our culture's diet. Improved processing of food to remove toxins and negative substances to leave only the protein that is needed, yet still retains the taste to an extent to make people want to eat it, is something that should and probably can be done, the only question is how long and how much resources will it take for this idea to become a reality.
Hey Henry! I totally agree with you that the presentation seemed heavily biased toward an entirely vegan diet. It would have been interesting to hear a pro-meat person's argument, or even just a moderate individual. I also agree that finding a way to remove the bacterial toxins could be a good solution. It's pretty incredible that they can't be destroyed by cooking or stomach acid! The whole endotoxin topic was interesting to me. I just thought our bodies were harmed by animal fats and not by bacteria found within the fats!
DeleteWOW! This was such an interesting video! It was surprising to learn that the top 16 (minus one) leading causes of death in the US could all be caused by consuming meat. One part that really stood out to me was that cancers can be prevented by a vegetarian/vegan diet. The fact that only 50g of chicken can triple your risk of lymphoma was shocking. Also, blood of people on a vegan diet was 8 times better at stopping cancer cells than blood of people eating a normal American diet. Another surprising fact I learned was that meat consumption is correlated to increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease; vegetarians were over 2 times less likely to develop dementia than people who eat meat. I really thought the case study about Finland was great! It was a good example of the potential of a country to change the way it eats. I thought it was incredible that deaths by heart disease dropped by 80%! Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar. However, I do not think that going full-vegan is very easily done or very feasible. Aren’t there certain proteins that are necessary to humans that are obtained through meat? It’d be difficult for people to eat a well-balanced diet with all necessary nutrients by only consuming fruits and vegetables. This could lead to other health problems. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t change our diets though! I think it’d be very beneficial to cut out most of the meats that we consume based on all the information I learned from this video. Maybe I’ll try going vegetarian for a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteKathryn
Nina Thomason
ReplyDeleteSo this seminar was really interesting. Both of my parents are nutritionists so it was interesting to hear the speaker's viewpoint as compared to those I have heard basically my whole if at the dinner table. I thought that he was very convincing and made some great points about the toxins that an animal based diet can put into our bodies. The vegan ideal is a very good way of life to strive for and has (obviously as he has shown) many health benefits. I cannot help, however, to be a little skeptical about his data and his method of championing a society of herbivores. It seemed to me that most of his data came from the same sources and may have been skewed to provide evidence for his extremist stance. In addition, he poses two choices: to be vegetarian/ a meat-eater and at risk, or to be vegan and much more healthy. The vegan ideal may be as beneficial as he states, however it is not realistic. He makes fun of doctors tendency to coddle the American public, saying that we will not change our dietary ways. It IS kind of true though. How many people would choose the hard and less satisfying (most of the time) vegan lifestyle when snack chips and cheap processed food are both readily available and more cost efficient? In addition, many people would be resistant to change, and would not believe it to be worth their while. Many vegans in today's world are uninformed about how to properly maintain the vegan diet and their heath suffers from lack of proper supplementation through substitution. We have all seen the skinny celebrities with the stringy hair and bad skin. I feel that releasing such a powerful call to action on the, for the most part, widely uninformed public could cause a whole new slew of health problems as they try to tackle the difficult diet. Getting protein intake at sufficient levels would be pretty hard without meat as well, unless one reallyyyy likes nuts and stuff. The seminar definitely convinced me to change my eating habits, however, not to the point where I am full out vegetarian or vegan.
Joshua F
ReplyDeleteI'd like to start off by saying that this presentation by Dr. Greger was packed with facts and was almost overwhelming. After the first few causes of death that he went through, the point of his presentation was clear: VEGAN DIETS R DA BEST. Dr. Greger did make a lot of strong, convincing points such as the "clearance" of cancer cells from the body due to a vegan diet vs. omnivorous diets vs. omnivorous + exercise. He stated that a vegan diet with no exercise triggers more cancerous cell apoptosis than the other two. Obviously, a full-on vegan diet would be more healthy and beneficial to the human body due its naturalness. I did notice that as he went down the list of top causes of death, he gave a little less new information each time. The presentation seemed to become repetitive. On the other hand, he gave in-depth explanations for every new point he brought up. My response to his presentation is that a vegan diet is more healthy, but a better way to convince people to go vegan is to show a non-biased point of view for the other side. The only thing he said about the meat farmers was that they blame the problems with meat on the consumers. Maybe this is true, but both sides should get a say. Another thing that a lot of other people have commented on is the difficulty to go vegan. It can be hard and expensive to get ALL nutritional needs in only using a vegan diet. Plus, a person has to not care what their food tastes like because Dr. Greger mentioned that kale was extremely nutritional and beneficial, but kale is nasty. The vegan diet seems like a very good way to rid yourself of many health-risks, but at the same time is difficult and not very appealing. Will I be going vegan? No. I may try to watch the amount of meat I eat at each meal but meals and meat are just two things that go together. My last point I want to make is that dieting is not the only way to lower health risks. Exercise has been proven to be pretty effective and as long as a person doesn't go overboard at meal-time, I don't feel as though a vegan diet is necessary.
I liked this guy's attitude while explaining everything. He made everything sound less complicated and explained everything very well. The idea of living a completely vegan lifestyle just isn't practical since 9/10 people just refuse to go through a difficult change which just doesn't taste or satisfy as well as meat. Sure a doctor's responsibility should be to inform his patient whether or not he or she should make different lifestyle choices, but the view of how we Americans just can't give up our meat diets is quite accurate. I'd compare it to curing a person of alcoholism. It takes a lot to get people to change their ways. Watching this made me want to include more vegetables in my diet, but I doubt I could give up on meats all together, As he showed on the study with rigorous exercise versus a vegan diet and light exercise, exercising can increase your chances of cancer protection quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteI agree, because it would be hard to just change someone's diet, all of a sudden, and that combined with the unwillingness to change that so many Americans exhibit; makes it very unlikely that there will be societal changes regarding our diets. I also agree that cutting down on meat and increasing exercise, would also sufficient enough in making our bodies inhospitable to cancer cells.
DeleteDerek M
ReplyDeleteDr. Greger made many valid points and shared many convincing facts that show that just changing your diet can save you from 15 of 16 of the leading causes of death. Also, most of the leading causes of death are almost completely avoidable if you use a plant-based diet instead of meat-based. I thought it was fascinating that vegan bodybuilders had more testosterone than meat-eating bodybuilders, since you would think that you would get more protein out of meat than a plant-based vegan diet. But, overall, I think it would be difficult to shift the US from a meat-consuming country to a plant-based diet country because if you think about the fact, most Americans do not like change, despite being a "free, diplomatic country," it would be difficult to make them accept this even though it would help them. So I think it would be difficult to get everyone to buy in, even with Dr. Greger's valid points.