Controversial Issues in Nutrition

The Arguments Against the Standard American Diet

Disclaimer The information in this presentation is not

meant to promote the major dietary changes that are supported by the following claims. It is simply meant to provide the existing opposing arguments to the standard American diet. While society is well aware of the strong claims in support of the standard diet, most people are not well aware of the equally strong claims against some of the major staples in this diet. It is a known fact that there are people in support of alternative diets, but not many have heard the reasoning behind it. This is meant to highlight the reasoning behind opposition to the standard American diet. The information in this presentation comes from a collection of books, articles, and research studies on the matter. Similar information can be found in support of the standard diet.

The Case for Raw, Living Foods

Alkaline (aerobic) in nature – body functions best in a slightly alkaline environment Meat, Dairy, and Processed and Refined

foods are acidic – makes the body work much harder to maintain alkalinity (must work 20 times as hard!)

Healthy cells thrive on oxygen (alkaline) Unhealthy cells (cancer, viruses,

bacteria) cannot function with oxygen and prefer an acidic diet

The Case for Raw, Living Foods Cont.

If case this piques your interest…look up Dr. Otto Warburg. Dr. Warburg won the Nobel Prize for his

studies on the metabolism of cancer cells. His findings:

“Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body’s cells by an anaerobic (oxygen deficient) cell respiration”

This means that cancer cells are anaerobic and thrive in an oxygen-depleted environment. This also means that they cannot live in the oxygen-rich environment in which normal, health cells thrive

The Case for Raw, Living Foods Cont.

Chlorophyll and Phytonutrients Chlorophyll is a powerful blood builder that helps

heal and detoxify the body. Increases red blood cell production and enhances cells’ ability to carry oxygen

Direct line to nutrients Two ways: Eat the plants that contain lots of

vitamins, minerals, carbs, fat, and enzymes, OR eat the animal (vegetarian) that ate the plant that has all those things.

Fiber! Acts as an intestinal scrub brush. Eliminates the

bad and also leaves intestines and colon more ready to absorb nutrients

Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized Milk and Factory Farmed Dairy

HUGE difference between the two

The following slides will describe the difference, starting with the negatives to pasteurized milk and ending with the benefits of raw milk

Pasteurized Dairy

Kidney stones, Crohn’s disease, allergies, eczema, asthma, arthritis, inflammation, and zits have all been linked to dairy consumption (that includes nonfat, or skim, PASTEURIZED milk)

75% of the world’s adults can’t digest milk (lactose intolerant). Among some populations, such as Native Americans and Asians, the figure is close to 100%. Beyond childhood, most people stop producing the

enzyme lactase, which is needed to digest lactose (the sugar in milk)

Pasteurized Dairy

Cows often have mastitis (an infection of the udder) due to the milking process. Makes milk full of white blood cells (pus)

The pasteurization process kills these cells, but doesn’t get rid of the pus. The process also kills all the good things in dairy, like lactase which is necessary for digesting lactose (which is why so many people today are lactose intolerant).

Hormones in Factory Farmed Dairy

Cows are fed hormones so that they are constantly pregnant and lactating and they can produce milk all year round – a living milk machine Because they are always pregnant, they

produce way more estrogen than nature intended, which comes out in the milk

Dairy accounts for 60-80 percent of estrogens consumed in the US

They’re also injected with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) in order to double milk production This is a synthetic hormone but stimulates the

IGF-1 hormone, which has been linked to cancer

Study on Hormones in Factory Farmed Dairy

In 2008 Harvard researchers studied the effect of giving US commercial milk to 3rd graders in Mongolia.

Findings: After drinking for a month, their growth hormone levels shot up 40 percent and the children grew about 1 cm during the month – both were significant statistical changes

Hormones in Factory Farmed Dairy

Children today are going through puberty at much earlier ages which some consider to be both unnatural and dangerous Many attribute this to the high hormone levels

in dairy. Because children consume so much dairy, their hormone levels are unnaturally high.

Earlier puberty can also be triggered by childhood obesity. Children who consume more dairy and meat products tend to be overweight, so some attribute the problem to childhood obesity…which is directly related to dairy consumption.

Hormones in Factory Farmed Dairy

High levels of estrogen have an effect on males as well Excess estrogen can

cause: delayed maturation delayed emotional

development accumulation of tissue

in the chest…similar to females

possible decrease in sperm count – currently being researched

Dairy – The Calcium Debate

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to consume dairy products in order to obtain calcium.

There are many plant-based sources that are higher in calcium and more easily absorbed and utilized by the body (almond milk has twice as much naturally occurring calcium and is less than half the calories).

Also, you may not need as much calcium as you have been led to believe…why?

Calcium Studies

A recent study that compared calcium consumption in different countries showed that they countries with the lowest calcium intake (Yugoslavia and Singapore) had lower rates of hip fractures than countries with the highest calcium intake (United States and New Zealand)

Why?

Dairy – The Calcium Debate Two other nutrients affect how much calcium

we hold on to: protein and sodium. The more protein and sodium we eat, the more calcium we urinate out Therefore, if we eat less protein and sodium, we

probably don’t need as much calcium Protein and sodium are ingested in very high

levels in the standard American diet Processed foods have very high sodium levels

Calcium is also better absorbed when eaten along with Vitamin C, which is present in many fruits and vegetables

Dairy – The Protein Debate

Cow’s milk contains more than 3 times as much protein as breast milk

Protein in human milk is designed for human bodies, but much of the protein in cow’s milk is difficult for humans to digest

The Case FOR Raw Milk

Raw milk is not pasteurized, and therefore all the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals are left in the milk (in pasteurized milk they are removed during the process and then synthetically added back in. See the supplement presentation for reasons on why synthetic supplements can be detrimental).

Lactase is present since it is not killed in the pasteurization process, and therefore allows the body to digest the lactose in milk.

But I Thought Raw Milk was Unsafe?

Raw milk from factory farmed cows is unsafe due to the unsanitary conditions.

All milk used to be raw until dairy started becoming mass produced (when unsanitary conditions led to bacteria and disease in milk). Pasteurizing allowed mass producing dairy farms to continue unsanitary practices.

Pasteurization also helped transport milk over long distances before refrigeration had been perfected, so it helped to preserve the milk for longer.

But I Thought Raw Milk was Unsafe? Continued

Most farms that sell raw milk use humane and sanitary conditions for their cows, which results in safe raw milk (like it used to be!)

These farmers also have cows that are pasture grazed and fed, so they are producing higher quality milk

Most factory farmed cows are fed corn and animal (usually cow) by-products, which means you’re getting low-nutrient dairy due to the cows not being fed properly. When their bodies aren’t fueled with what they need to thrive, they develop diseases just like people, and that is then what you ingest.

The Case for Raw Dairy - Summary

Raw dairy is more nutrient-dense, and does not come from diseased cows

Lactase is not removed and therefore allows dairy to be digested by the body

Raw milk is hormone free (cows are only milked when naturally occurring hormones result in milk production).

Things to be Aware of

You still must check your source. Make sure the farm you’re getting your raw dairy from does use pastured cows in sanitary and humane conditions.

The sale of raw milk is illegal in New York state, unless the farm has a license. You can go online to find these farms.

Not all milk labeled “raw” actually is. Some may use low-temperature pasteurization processes, but the result is similar. Make sure your farm uses real unprocessed methods.

What about other Dairy Sources?

Raw cheese can be sold in NY as long as it has been aged for 60 days. You can find raw milk cheese at Wegmans, Trader Joes, and Lori’s Natural Foods.

Yogurt is good as long as the ingredients are natural and not processed. Try to find organic yogurt from pastured cows. (Hawthorne’s at Wegmans is good, as well as Ithaca Raw Milk Yogurt from Lori’s).

Kefir is a fantastic pro-biotic dairy source that is less processed because the fermentation process acts as a natural preservative

Whole Fat vs. Non-Fat Whole fat raw milk ingredients are the way to go!

Naturally occurring saturated fats are NECESSARY for the body to function properly. (And cholesterol is what your cell walls are made of! No cholesterol = weak cell walls and lack of protection from the environment outside the cell).

Synthetic saturated fats are harmful, which is what caused the low-fat, no-fat craze in the 90’s. (Because almost all saturated fats being consumed at that time were processed and synthetic, and those DO harm the body, they weren’t wrong – they just generalized the findings to ALL saturated fats).

The Meat Debate Vegans and Vegetarians vs. The Meat

Eaters…who is right?

Both sides have strong arguments

Perhaps the answer is in the quality of meat. Factory Farmed Meat vs. Pastured, Organic,

Naturally Raised Meat There is a tremendous difference nutrtionally! The following slides will first debate the negatives of

traditionally available factory farmed meat, and then the positives of pastured and organic meat

The Protein Debate - Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell Pioneering research in the investigation

of the diet-cancer link Wrote The China Study

His claims: A diet containing more than 10% protein

can lead to cancer (50g for 2000 cal/day). Most Americans eat 17%, 12 to 13 of which is animal-based

Protein that consistently creates and promotes cancer is casein (makes up 87% of cow’s milk)

The types of protein that don’t promote cancer even at high levels of intake are those that are found in plants

In the words of Dr. T. Colin Campbell

He writes “In fact, dietary protein proved to be so powerful in its effect that they could turn on and turn off cancer growth simply by changing the level consumed.”

He also claims that “80-90 percent of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other degenerative illness can be prevented, at least until very old age, simply by adopting a plant-based diet.”

Meat Some claim that cows release stress

hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) as fright and panic occur immediately before slaughter. These fight-or-flight hormones flood their tissues, which means they are then in the meat that we ingest.

Meat

A study conducted in 2000 showed that countries with the highest consumption of animal protein intake had the most hip fractures, whereas the countries with the highest vegetable protein intake had the fewest hip fractures

The breast cancer link Plant-based diets help us stay

slimmer Body fat makes estrogens which can

stimulate cancer growth Women with less body fat are less likely

to develop common forms of breast cancer, and slimmer women are also more likely to survive

Breast cancer studies

Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study Included 2,500 post-menopausal women who

had previously been treated for cancer Showed that cutting down on fatty foods

reduced the odds that their cancer would come back

Women’s Healthy Eating and Living Study Included more than 3,000 women Showed that a combination of a diet very rich

in vegetables and fruits, along with physical activity, can make a large difference in the recurrence rates of cancer

Cancer linked to Westernized Diet - Example

Back in the 60’s breast cancer was common in North America and Europe, but very rare in some countries, like Japan. And when Japanese women did get breast cancer, they were much more likely to survive.

However, things began to change shortly after. Fast foods, meat and cheese began to replace rice and cancer rates quickly rose. By the late 1970s, Japanese women who had Westernized their diets and ate meat every day had 8 times the risk of breast cancer, compared to poorer women who continued traditional rice-based diets

Processed Meats

Bologna, salami, pastrami, hot dogs, and sausages Carcinogenic nitrates and other

chemicals are added

American Cancer Institute and the World Cancer Research Fund agree that no amount of processed meat is healthy and should be avoided completely. Risk of colorectal cancer increases by 21 percent for

every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily (50 grams is basically one hot dog)

linked to cancer of the esophagus, lung, stomach, prostate

Factory Farmed Meat vs. Organic Grass Fed Meat

Organic Grass Fed meat is MUCH higher in nutrients and much safer than Factory Farmed meat, for the same reasons as dairy coming from pastured cows vs. factory farmed cows

There are vitamins and minerals that we need from animal sources, but they are so severely lacking in factory farmed animals that they are not doing us much good, and are actually hurting us.

Grass fed (or pastured) animals are necessary for our diet, but only when they contain the nutrients we need.

Good Sources of Animal Protein Pastured eggs (not just organic – eggs can be organic

and still be from caged chickens).

Grass-fed organic beef

Wild caught fish (avoid fish with high mercury levels, like swordfish)

ORGAN MEAT! Highest levels of nutrients. One piece of liver a month will give you more Vitamin D than if you were to each meat from muscles every day. (Fermented Cod Liver Oil is a fantastic supplement, as long as it’s not processed. Green Pastures Cod Liver Oil is the gold standard.)

THE BOTTOM LINE

If any of these arguments piqued your interest, research them further. You must be an informed consumer and educate yourself before you make any major decisions about your health and diet. Talk to your physician or talk to many physicians. Read books, articles, studies and watch news clips, documentaries, interviews, etc. If you have questions, ask them! Discuss and debate with others, weigh the valid points, and then decide for yourself. Bottom line – Collect as much information and evidence as possible and then make your own INFORMED decision!