The message is a powerful one in favor of regular screenings and a plant-based diet. Clearly an important wake-up call to many that deserves to be shared with friends and family. I hope you’ll recommend they watch…

It’s from the Healthy Lifestyle Expo 2006 and features John McDougall, Joel Fuhrman, and several other lime-light panel members including, Caldwell Esselstyn (the first and last of whom, incidentally, endorsed Vegan Done Light).
 

While the gentleman’s comment at the end was cute(-sy), my first reaction to it wasn’t a laugh, but rather a “What?! Are you kidding? Why cut short such a fascinating debate?”

It seems to me, once we have the gist of healthy eating down (i.e., whole, plant-based foods, consumed in moderation) it’s exactly this kind of discussion that helps us fine-tune our diets.

I want to hear what you think… Is such a to-and-fro constructive and informative or does it detract from and/or confuse the overall message?

Not atypically, the diet described as low-fat was hardly worthy of the appellation. It followed the guidelines of the American Heart Association, which amazingly still sets the bar at 30% of calories from fat. This despite studies, such as those of Dr. Esselstyn, showing it to be insufficient for reversing heart disease. He recommends less than 10% and Dr. McDougall 7%.

What I find exciting though is the paper itself, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, makes it clear the low-carbers were encouraged to get their protein from vegetarian sources and to limit saturated and trans fats. That’s not the Atkins diet at all!

Seems we’re looking at a vindication, not of that unhealthy plan, but rather of a low-calorie, plant-based lifestyle, with little actually said about a truly low-fat diet.

Resources:

• Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet

• The response of Dean Ornish M.D. in Newsweek
• Raw Vegan Protein Powder
• Top 10 Vegan Sources Of Protein, Calcium, and Iron