Plant-Based Diets + Weight Loss: Findings from my Thesis

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Today I'm celebrating!  Why?  This week, I graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Health Nutrition with a focus in sustainable development.  Woo hoo!

If you didn't know, I've been going to school abroad for the last 2 years.  I've been living in Kuopio, Finland studying at the University of Eastern Finland.  

Education is free in Finland (yes, even if you aren't a resident) and I've always been interested in the greater equality and social welfare programs of the Scandinavian countries.  Plus, the nature in Finland is amazing!  So, off I went in 2012 and now I'm finally done!  

The biggest and last assignment of graduate school was my thesis -- an intense and very large research paper (mine came out to be 70 pages).

I want to share with you a few results from my thesis... I think the weight loss results will make you pretty happy ;)

I graduated this week with a Master's in Public Health Nutrition which required me to write a 70 page research paper on plant-based intervention studies. Here's some exciting results! Comment and tell me if these results surprise you!

What did I research?

I did a systematic review for plant-based controlled trials. 

This simply means that I searched a data base that holds scientific publications (PubMed) for studies that put a group of people on a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet (the intervention group) and compared them to another group (the control group).

The WFPB diet consisted of fruits, veggies, whole-grains and legumes and participants had to be able to eat as much as they wanted and couldn't be forced to restrict portion sizes or calories.  

I searched for studies on participants with heart disease, type 2 diabetes or overweight individuals.  The search yielded 6 controlled, intervention studies.

What were the results?

It turns out that in 5 of the 6 studies, the WFPB group lost significantly more weight than the control groups.  When I say significantly more, this means the findings are highly likely to be true -- from the diet, and not some random fluke.  

The WFPB groups lost signifcnalty more weight compared to the control groups which included... usual care recommended dy doctors, a traditional low-fat diet, the National Choleterol Education Program's Step II Diet and the standard American diet.  

In the 1 study where the WFPB group didn't find a statistically significant amount of weight loss, the WFPB group was compared to participants forced to restrict calorie intake and restrict portion sizes -- the diabetes diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).  The WFPB group, on the other hand, could eat as much as they wanted of whole, plant foods.  

The WFPB group did actually lose more weight than the ADA group.  The results just didn't meet statistical significance.  

Weight loss ranged from 23 lbs at 1 year to 13 lbs lost in 14 weeks in these studies.  The amazing thing and my favorite part about these results is that participants ate whenever they wanted and ate until full satisfaction.  No change in exercise were made in 5 of the 6 studies during the intervention period.

How do plant-based diet cause weight loss?

In short, plant foods are generally naturally lower in calories and lower in fat than refined foods and animal products.  Additionally, plant foods are high in fiber and bulk making them filling.  Feeling full is important because it forces us to stop eating. 

Other findings

The plant-based groups also eliminated and reduced medications more than the control groups.  Other significant results were found, however, I can't cover them all in this blog.  If you're interested in reviewing my thesis, you can find it here.

Take Control Now -- Tell me what you think!

I really want to know what you think about my results.  Type a comment by clicking the 'comments' button below.

Did you know there were documented studies showing a WFPB diet is highly-effective in causing weight loss?   Are you surprised or frustrated that the WFPB groups performed better than mainstream recommended diets?  Did you know this information existed?

Tell me anything you want to express and I will respond to your comment.  

Thanks so much for watching (and reading) today's episode of Take Control Tuesdays.  Get educated, get support and take control. Yes you CAN, get the healthy body you deserve!

What's the Healthiest Way to Cook Veggies?

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Have you been told you shouldn’t cook your veggies because they're healthier raw?  Or that a microwave kills the nutrients in your vegetables? 

What's the healthiest cooking method for your veggies anyway?  Is it boiling, baking, frying, pressure cooking, using a microwave or a griddle? (a thick hot pan with no oil).  Which of these cooking methods will retain more antioxidants in veggies?

A study (1) published in the Journal of Food Science in 2009 sought to determine just this -- how different cooking methods affect the antioxdant levels in vegetables.  

Researchers took 20 different vegetables and measured their antioxidant capacity.  First as raw veggies, and then again after they'd been cooked to see what changes took place.

Every cooking method either caused a great loss in antioxidant power, a small loss, no loss or an increase in antioxidant power.  An increase in antioxidants from cooking?  Yes!  

Some veggies became healthier from cooking them.  For example….

- asparagus increased its antioxidant activity when boiled

- eggplant's antioxidants increased when pressure cooked

- baking caused an antioxidant increase in green bean, eggplant, maize, swiss chard and spinach

- and the microwave!  Eggplant, maize, pepper and swiss chard all increased antioxidant capacity in the microwave

Cooking methods decreased antioxidant capacity in some veggies...

- zuccini lost over 50% of its capacity when boiled

- most veggies lost 30-50% when pressure cooked

- leeks and cauiflower lost 30-50% when baked

The above are examples of changes in 1 type of antioxidant.  The researchers actually measured 2 types of antioxidants and the 2nd measurements found different results for different cooking techniques.  This means cooking affects different antioxidants differently.  All antioxidants aren't created equal.

Overall, researchers found that griddling and microwaving were the best cooking methods for maintaining antioxidant levels, while pressure cooking and boiling led to the greatest antioxidant losses.

You may be wondering "did any food not lose its antioxidants from cooking?"

Both celery and carrots increased in antioxidant power after all cooking methods and beets, green beans and garlic retained their power after most cooking.

How can you actually use this information?

Should you only microwave and never boil eggplant anymore?  Heck no!

This is what I want you to take away from this article...

Don't worry about the cooking method you use.  Eat veggies in whatever way you enjoy!  This will ensure you actually eat vegetables which is more important -- eating a variety of vegetables everyday!

When you eat a warm bowl of veggie-noodle soup for example, you'll be eating a variety of different veggies.  Some of these veggies will have increased their antioxidants from the heating, while other veggies will have decreased antioxidant amounts and others will have stayed the same.  The variety of veggies will produce exactly what your body needs.  

So don't worry about which cooking technique is "healthiest."  Even I’d go nuts trying to boil and bake some but not others.  Aye!

Now it's time to hear from you.  Answer today’s Take Control Now question and put your answer in the comments section below. 

Take Control Now

What's your favorite vegetable and your favorite way to have it prepared?

I look forward to reading your answer.

If you 'liked' this article (and I hope you did!) please show me some love by pressing the thumbs up button on the top-right corner of the video.  Or, email it to your friends and send them to www.TrishaMandes.com.  Tell them to sign-up for free emails so they never miss an episode of Take Control Tuesdays (plus the weekly email which is fun!).  Thanks for reading!

3 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Your Diet

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Today is Earth Day, a day we celebrate how beautiful and important our planet, our home truly is.  I know global warming is a concern of yours and it's something I take very seriously as well.

To better protect our planet, we all know we should recycle, turn the lights off, drive less etc.  But what about our food choices?  What impact do they have on climate change?  It turns out that our food system, what we eat, has a greater climate-change impact than the transportation sector (1), (2), (3).

So this Earth day, I’m giving you 3 ways you can reduce your food carbon footprint by 60%, from the book 'How Bad Are Bananas?  The Carbon Footprint of Everything' (4).  

Now just a heads up, when I say carbon footprint, I’m referring to the carbon footprint equivalent (CO2e).  That is, the total impact of all the greenhouse gases caused by an action and expressing it as the amount of carbon dioxide that would have the same impact of all the greenhouse gases combine.  It's a more comprehensive measurement than just carbon dioxide. 

How to decrease your food carbon footprint

1.  Eat what you buy

Eradicating your waste can reduce your carbon footprint by 25% (4).   

In Western or privileged countries, “we are thought to waste about ¼ of the edible food we buy” (4).  Wow!                                           

Make sure your food doesn't go to waste by storing it properly.  Then, make sure you eat it!

2.  Avoid animal products

The author states that “sensible” reductions in meat and dairy can reduce your food carbon footprint by another 25% (4).

He says “food from animals turns out to be more greenhouse gas intensive than food from plants.”  It’s far more efficient for humans to eat plants directly so all the plant's energy goes to us humans, not the animal.

In addition, the average water footprint per calorie for beef is twenty times larger than for cereals and starchy roots (5).  

Beef and lamb are especially high in carbon because they are belching ruminants.  2.2 pounds (1 kg) of beef equates to about 37 pounds of CO2e!  Dairy foods have the same emissions problems as beef because the product is still coming from a belching ruminant animal.  2.2 pounds (1 kg) of cheese equates to about 29 pounds of CO2e.  

To implement this guideline, consume no more than 2-3 ounces of organic meat per week or, none at all!

And tip #3 for reducing your food carbon footprint...

3.  Go seasonal

This can help you reduce your food carbon footprint by another 10% (4).

You want to avoid foods grown in hothouses that are artificially heated.  You also want to avoid foods that have traveled via planes.

Ships can carry food around the world 100 times more efficiently than planes (4).  Ships are also more efficient at shipping food than food that has traveled 1000s of road miles like from one side of the U.S. to the other.  These road miles are roughly as carbon intensive as plane miles (4).  

“As a guide, if a food has a short shelf life and isn’t in season where you live, it was probably grown in a hothouse or traveled via plane.  In the U.S. in the winter time, examples include lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, strawberries, and cut flowers.  Apples, oranges, bananas on the other hand, almost always travel on a boat" (4). 

 

There you have it.  Three ways you can reduce your food carbon footprint by 60% -- eat what you buy, avoid animal products and go seasonal.  

If you’re interested in learning more about food and the environment, here is a paper I wrote on the environmental impact of food that is filled with scholarly references.  

Now I want to challenge you to put this information into action into your personal life.  Today’s Take Control Now Challenge is….

Take Control Now Challenge

Don't eat any dairy or meat products for one day -- tomorrow, in honor of Earth Day.  

Do you think you can do this?  

Put your answer and experiences in the comments section below this video.

If you liked this video, please email it to your friends and family.  Send them to www.TrishaMandes.com to sign-up for email updates and receive a free resource guide with THE BEST books, recipe websites and more for achieving permanent weight-loss and disease reversal.  

Thank you so much for joining me this Earth Day for Take Control Tuesdays.  Get educated, make a change and get support.  You can get the healthy body of your dreams.  

Why You Don't Need Animal Foods for Protein

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The funniest things happen when I eat lunch in my university's cafeteria.  My plate is normally filled with potatoes, rice or pasta with an abundance vegetables on-top.  This can be quite intriguing for some people... I'm not eating hot dogs, meatballs, cheesy pasta and washing it down with a glass of milk.  Naturally, people ask me questions about my diet.  

The most common question I get... yes, you guessed it… “where do I get my protein?”  If you're eating a plant-based diet, where do you get your protein from?  Well, plants!  

What I'm about to say is very important and I never want you to forget it so please really 'listen.' "You do not need animal foods to get enough protein in your diet."  I'm going to 'say it' again because it is that important... "you do not need to eat animal foods to get enough protein in your diet."

Before I give your examples of plant protein, we have to answer one very important question and that is…  how much protein do we actually need?  

According to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, we fulfill our protein needs with 10% of our total calories coming from protein (1). Just 10%!  

Now that we know how much protein we need in our diet, lets see how much protein is in some common plant foods.

                          Percentage of calories coming from protein (2)         Source

Kale:                                                35%                                                             (3)

Broccoli:                                         33%                                                             (4)

Black beans:                                  27%                                                             (5)

Wild rice:                                        16%                                                             (6)

Quinoa:                                          15%                                                             (7)

Potato:                                           11%                                                              (8)

Sweet potato:                                 9%                                                             (9)

It's important to understand that all plant foods have protein.  All of them!  Some, not as much as others, but when we eat a variety of different plant foods, the total amount of protein we consume balances itself out in the body.  You will get an adequate amount of protein as long as you're eating enough food (not starving) and varied types.  

So again, I want you to say this to yourself... “I do not need animal food to get enough protein.  Plant foods fulfill all my protein needs” and exhale.  Aww.  Much better.

Know that there can be harmful consequences from eating too much protein, especially animal protein.  If you want to learn more about the risks from eating too much protein, here is a well-referenced PDF from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine titled 'The Protein Myth.'

And because Easter is coming up, here are two mouth-watering recipes for your holiday feast (if you're celebrating). Thank you Cathy Fisher for these great recipes!

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Roasted Carrot and Fennel Soup

I want to challenge you to think about this protein information more. To get you started, I want you to answer this Take Control Now question and post your answer in the comments section at the end of this article.

Take Control Now Question


Do you know anyone with a protein deficiency?  

Are you concerned about getting enough protein in your diet?  If so, why?
 

If you liked this article (and I hope that you did!) please email and share it with your friends and family.  Send them www.TrishaMandes.com so they can get my Free Resource Guide for the best books, recipe websites etc. for disease reversal and permanent weight-loss.  

Thanks for joining me. Get educated, get support and take control. You can get the healthy body of your dreams.

4 Ways to Prevent Cancer from the World Cancer Research Fund

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Have you ever thought to yourself “jeeze Trisha’s nutrition recommendations seem a little bit extreme.”

I was having tea with a friend who is about to become a doctor.  She asked me “don´t you think a plant-based diet is a bit extreme?” as she washed down a piece of cake with a cup of coffee.

So, am I too "radical" with my diet?  

Well, my colleagues and I… Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, T Colin Campbell, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Joel Fuhrman etc., we´re not the only ones recommending a plant-based diet.

The World Cancer Research Fund (the WCRF), also recommends a plant-based diet for the prevention of cancer.

The World Cancer Research Fund has a "special commitment to the most reliable science-based recommendations.”  They´re also publicly funded and independent of government.

So what does the World Cancer Research Fund recommend for the prevention of cancer?  Here are 4 of their recommendations.

WCRF'S Recommendations for Cancer Prevention

1.  Eat mostly foods of plant origin.

  • Plant foods should be the center of every meal
  • Whole grains and or legumes should be eaten with every meal

This is how you can ensure the 5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables the WCRF recommends, as well as the recommended 25 daily grams of fiber.

2.  Avoid foods that promote weight gain.

  • Avoid calorie-dense foods
  • Avoid sugary drinks including fruit juices
  • Consume fast food sparingly, if at all

Calorie-dense foods that promote weight gain include oils, cheeses, meat, fast food and refined foods.

The report states that “diets with high levels of animal fats are often relatively high in energy, increasing the risk of weight gain.”  

3.  Limit and avoid meat

  • Limit beef, pork, lamb, goat and avoid processed meats
  • Avoid any meat that has been preserved via smoking, curing, salting or chemical preservation

4.  Be as lean as possible.

  • Be as lean as possible while maintaining a health, normal weight

The report states that "maintenance of a healthy weight... may be one of the most important ways to protect against cancer.  This will also protect against a number of other common chronic diseases."

5.  Limit alcoholic drinks.

  • Men - no more than two drinks/day if you drink
  • Women - no more than one drink/day if you drink

"The evidence on cancer justifies a recommendation not to drink alcoholic drinks.  Based solely on the evidence on cancer, even small amounts of alcoholic drinks should be avoided."

6.  Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone, not supplements.  

"Dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention.  The evidence shows that high-dose nutrient supplements can be protective or can cause cancer."

7.  Limit salt.

  • "Limit consumption of processed foods with added salt to ensure an intake of less than 6 g (2.4 g sodium) a day."

"The strongest evidence on methods of food preservation, processing, and preparation shows that salt and salt preserved foods are probably a cause of stomach cancer, and that foods contaminated with aflatoxins are a cause of liver cancer."

When you eat a plant-based diet, you drastically reduce the amount of salt you are consuming by eliminating fast foods, refined foods and many animal products from your diet.  When you do this, you can add table salt to your food and still meet this recommendation (plus, you might make your veggie meals taste even better!).  

8.  Make physical activity a part of your daily life.

"Be moderately physically active, equivalent to brisk walking, for at least 30 minutes every day.  As fitness improves, aim for 60 minutes or more of moderate, or for 30 minutes or more of vigorous, physical activity every day.  Limit sedentary habits such as watching television." 

A Special Recommendation for Cancer Survivors

  • Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

So there you have it, the World Cancer Research Fund´s recommendations to eat a plant-based.  They state that "people that eat some form of a vegetarian diet are at low risk of some diseases including cancer."

When my doctor friend asked me if I thought a plant-based diet was extreme, my response was I thought getting open heart surgery or extracting cancerous organs from my body from eating a Western diet, was more extreme than eating potatoes and salad every day, and the WCRF agrees.  

Now it´s time for you to put this information to use in your daily life.  To get you started, I want you to answer this Take Control Now question and put your answer in the comments section below this video.

When you're finished, please email/share this video and article to a friend or family member.  Have them sign-up for free email updates and they'll receive a FREE Healthy Diet Resource Guide delivered right away to their inbox.  

Take Control Now

Do you think eating a plant-based diet is too extreme?  What do you think of the WCRF's recommendations to eat a plant-based diet?

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research. 2007.  Accessed online April 2014.

 
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