Healthy Living for Real People
Posts tagged plant-based
New Research Confirms An Ancient Diet
Apr 10th
Looks like somebody other than Hallelujah Acres is going back in time to find the diet best suited for the human body.
Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston say that a modern, Western diet, which is “low in dietary fiber and fermentable substrate, and high in saturated and trans fatty acids” is mismatched with the unchanged, ancient microbial makeup of the human body’s gut flora.
Forks Over Knives: Behind the Scenes
Mar 3rd
We were lucky enough to be invited to Asheville, North Carolina recently for a pre-screening of Forks Over Knives, a new documentary about the immune boosting power of a whole-foods, plant-based diet.
The film, which opens in select cities on May 6, doesn’t waste any time going right to the top for expert advice; Dr. T Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn are given plenty of screen time.
But the film also documents the lives of real people and how their dietary switch saved their lives and their pocketbooks! One of these people is the director himself, Lee Fulkerson.
Lee was not in good health when he started making the film. In fact, he wasn’t convinced that the subject of changing one’s diet could make a good film, much less change a person’s life. We talked with Lee over the phone last week about how the film changed his mind.
“During filming I started a whole foods, plant-based diet and I’m still doing it today,” he said. “My weight is stable, my body composition is different, I’m healthier, and I feel much, much better. I hope that people who see this film come away feeling that there is a strong case for a whole foods plant-based diet.”
Fulkerson says the most gratifying part of making this film was being able to see first-hand the change in people’s lives who agreed to be part of the film.
“That to me is one of the most powerful parts,” he says. “These people were sick but got better just by changing their diet, and we were able to show that as it was happening. That was really extraordinary.”
The film will open in Los Angeles in New York on May 6, followed by 17 major U.S. cities through May 20. Subject to the film’s popularity, the film will expand to other cities across the country.
Mainstream News Questions Dairy
Feb 22nd
Hallelujah Acres has long associated dairy intake with weak bones, but now a respected news agency has published a story supporting our position.
MSN.com recently published an article titled “Why Calcium Is Complicated” written by Barbara Seaman and Laura Eldridge, authors of The No-Nonsense Guide to Menopause.
Though it does not advocate a plant-based, whole foods diet like Hallelujah Acres does, the article does deserve some merit for declaring that calcium derived from cow’s milk is NOT, with respect to preventing hip fractures, all it’s “cracked” up to be (pun intended). 
Citing the fact that magnesium is required for the body to process calcium, the authors reveal that plant-based, whole foods (fruits and vegetables whose average calcium-to-magnesium ratio is of 1:1), are much better suited for those looking for extra calcium than dairy products.
Another problem with dairy products is salt, especially when speaking of cheese. “Kidneys have to let go of calcium in order to get rid of salt from the body,” the authors note.
The authors also cited the Nurses Health Study, which looked at various health patterns in 121,701 women. The study “found that neither milk nor calcium consumption seemed to make a difference when it came to preventing broken bones.”
That’s not to say that calcium is not important, especially for women. But the methods of getting calcium need to be re-examined.
As Dr. Robert Heaney, an endocrinologist and internist at the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, says, “The five best sources of calcium are food, food, food, fortified food, and supplements in that order.”
108-Year-Old Woman Credits Plant-based Diet
Feb 15th
News Channel 8 in Portland recently reported on the 108th birthday celebration of Loreen Dinwiddie. Though brief, the story said a lot about longevity and the power of a plant-based diet like The Hallelujah Diet.
When asked about what she eats to promote a healthy lifestyle, Loreen says, “It’s all there in the Bible.”
Indeed, Genesis 1:29, the original diet for mankind says it all. Food that grows from the ground has all of the antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, phytonutrients, etc needed to sustain our bodies — apparently for 108 years or more!
But eating a “vegan” diet doesn’t guarantee a long life. Remember that even refined sugar is vegan and is often an ingredient in vegan recipes. This calls for education on the part of anyone looking to a plant-based diet for reasons of health.
Granulated, refined, white sugar at the coffee shop is vegan (and granted, plant-based), but it’s not a whole food. A whole food is one that is still in its natural state, unrefined. Refined sugar has been stripped of its naturally occurring benefits and refined into an unnatural, health-deteriorating, disease-causing substance.
Freshly extracted sugarcane juice, on the other hand, is a plant-based, whole food that a relatively low glycemic index, which keeps the body’s metabolism healthy and helps maintain a healthy body weight — how ironic is that! Sugarcane also contains phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. And in India and other countries it has been used to fight the common cold for centuries.
The simple truth is that raw, plant-based, whole foods have the living enzymes that our bodies need to thrive and replace dying cells with healthy new ones. Loreen Dinwiddie has taken advantage of this truth, and you can, too.
New Dietary Guidelines Getting There… Slowly
Feb 1st
On Monday, January 31 the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services released the much-anticipated 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guideline is published every 5 years.
There are some encouraging signs in this new document that the ever-increasing volume on the megaphone of plant-based advocates like Hallelujah Acres is finally beginning to get the message through. Plant-based diets are actually recommended. In fact, there are several pages dedicated to promoting the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
“In prospective studies of adults, compared to non-vegetarian eating patterns, vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes—lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality,” the document acknowledges.
But some of the information is simply not correct. For example, on page 24 under the “Fats” heading, coconut oil is recommended for its monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. But another paragraph further down the page then gives the blanket statement that all saturated fats are unhealthy. This statement fails to recognize that there are differences between animal and plant-based sources of saturated fat.
Saturated animal fat is indeed harmful, but the medium-chain saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are extremely beneficial for heart health. Without explaining the distinction, the reader is forced to assume that all saturated fats are bad — and that’s not good.
So, if you choose to download the new guidelines, take the findings with a grain of salt (unrefined sea salt, preferably). And remember that the entire 112-page volume of this document still pales in comparison to the dietary guidelines of one, simple, perfect statement in Genesis 1:29.
The New Name for “Vegetarian”
Jan 18th
What’s in a name? A lot, apparently. The label of being “vegetarian” has earned itself such a tree-hugging, planet-saving stigma that people are beginning to shy away from the name in favor of more “liberal” terms.
In the UK, research by Mintel shows the number of consumers calling themselves “vegetarian” has not moved over the past 5 years. Vegetarians there account for only 6% of the population. Now for the strange part… The number of people who would not necessarily label themselves as vegetarian yet agree with the statement, “I eat meat-free food” is a whopping 60%.
Mintel researchers say the reason for the dichotomy is the individual’s motive for choosing vegetables over animal products. Apparently, for the 60% who eat “meat-free” it’s not about the ethics of the meat industry, but what’s better for the consumer’s health.
It’s also about choice. The term “vegetarian” has become a word synonymous with “restrictive” and nobody wants to restrict what they eat. Conversely, the term “meat-free” gives a connotation of choice and freedom (gosh that “free” word is powerful).
Here in America you can see the same differences between the terms “vegan” and “healthy.” Being vegan is chic, but most people would assume you have to be a card-carrying member of PETA to qualify. Thus, being vegan is viewed as being “extreme” instead of “creative” or (dare we say) “wise.” Yet everyone wants to be “healthy.”
Personally, when we describe The Hallelujah Diet, we don’t use the words vegan or vegetarian, but “plant-based.” After all, plants are our friends. They give us oxygen, nutrients, delicious flavors, and pump up our immune system.
So, the next time someone asks you to describe your diet, don’t use a “V” word. Say “plant-based” instead and keep the peace.
Loading ...