MEATLESS BUT MORE NUTRITIOUS Malunggay soup (with tomatoes,
onions, organic vegan bouillon cubes and Himalayan salt), string beans (with
shiitake mushrooms, okra, eggplant, Braggs tomato sauce) and oil-less fried,
non-GMO soy wheat stick (with seaweeds). Safe proteins were found to be from
plants.
What do five of the 10
leading causes of illness and death in the Philippines have in common? Coronary
heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and atherosclerosis are all associated
with our diets.
In particular, stroke, a
disease of the vascular system, has strong links to what we eat.
Experts say that
nutrients found in plants are associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline
in old age, and that food sourced from plants is one of our best natural allies
to help prevent stroke.
Scientist T. Colin
Campbell, PhD, coauthor of “The China Study,” cited a publication from the
well-known Framingham Study which had researchers concluding that for every
three additional servings of fruits and vegetables a day, the risk of stroke
could be reduced by 22 percent. This was published in the Journal of the
American Medical Association (Jama) titled “Protective effect of fruits and
vegetables on development of stroke in men” by Gilman M.W., Cupples L.A.,
Gagnon D., et al.
“Three servings of
fruits and vegetables is less than you might think. The following examples
count as one serving in this study: 1/2 cup peaches, 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/2
cup broccoli, or one potato,” said Campbell, who is a vegan, when he was
interviewed by Inquirer Science and Health a few years ago.
Campbell said: “Half a
cup is not much. In fact, the men in this study who consumed the most fruits
and vegetables consumed as many as 19 servings a day. If every three servings
lower the risk by 22 percent, the benefits can add up fast (risk reduction
approaches but cannot exceed 100 percent).”
Campbell noted that this
study provides evidence that the health of the arteries and vessels that
transport blood to and from your brain is dependent on how well you eat. By
extension, it is logical to assume that eating fruits and vegetables will
protect against dementia caused by poor vascular health.
Effective vs
hypertension
Vegetarian diets also
reduce the risk of hypertension, according to new research published recently
in the Jama Internal Medicine by physicians committee president Neal Barnard,
MD, and researcher Yoko Yokoyama, PhD, MPH. The meta-analysis compared blood
pressure from more than 21,000 people around the world and found study
participants who followed a vegetarian diet had a systolic blood pressure about
7 mm Hg lower and diastolic blood pressure 5 mm Hg lower than study
participants who consumed an omnivorous diet. The study was also published in
the health website Fit Fathers.
“Instead of readjusting
the definition for hypertension, as was done in the recent guideline revision,
let’s write prescriptions for plant-based foods,” Barnard said. “Compared to
antihypertensive drugs, a diet change brings only desirable ‘side effects,’
including healthy weight loss and improved cholesterol, along with the lower
blood pressure.”
The Jama meta-analysis
report also pointed out that:
Obesity, sodium and
alcohol consumption increase blood pressure and risk for hypertension.
Potassium intake and
physical activity correlate directly with lower blood pressure.
Unsaturated fat,
protein, magnesium and dietary fiber may reduce risk for hypertension.
Hypertensive study
participants who combine antihypertensive medications with a plant-based diet
lower blood pressure by an average of 5/2 mm Hg in just six weeks.
A 2013 study from the
American Journal of Medicine (T. Akbaraly, S. Sabia, G. Hagger-Johnson, et al.)
indicated that eating more meat, dairy and other unhealthful foods could worsen
the effects of aging.
After an average 16-year
followup, people who consumed a “Western-type” diet, which consists of high
intakes of red and processed meats, whole dairy products, and fried foods, were
more likely to die prematurely and to suffer from various chronic diseases
including heart disease, stroke, cancer and mental health disorders, compared
with people who avoided such dietary patterns.
