DAIRY- IGF - 1 INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:25:22 -0400

Cancer and the dairy connection. There are many reasons why dairy is more and more closely linked to cancer. The one I'll discuss here isIGF-1, or Insulin-Like Growth Hormone 1. There are many articles on-line about this hormone so I'll just give a fairly simple explanation of what it is and what it does. IGF-1 is a hormone produced by mammals in the liver and body tissues. It's main function is to promote cell growth and cell development. IGF-1 levels increase dramatically with the addition of recombinant bovine somatotrophin (rBST)...the controversial ingredient that is injected into cows to increase milk production. But keep in mind that all milk from cows has IGF-1, whether treated or not with rBST. The levels of IGF-1 in humans are shown to increase as the amounts of dairy in our diets increase. Articles have been written stating that even very small increases in levels of IGF-1 in humans are linked to an increase in many types of cancers, most notably breast and prostate cancer. In 1998, a study at the Harvard Medical School showed conclusively that IGF-1 was a major factor in prostate cancer. Other tests done around that time concluded showed evidence of IGF-1 and it's link to breast and colon cancer.

Countries that consume the most milk are showing statistically that they have the highest rates of breast and prostate cancer (and very high rates of colon cancer ) The more IGF-1 in the bloodstream, (due to rBST), the higher the incidences of cancer. It's in the farmers' best interests to have each cow produce the maximum possible amount of milk. Some countries have banned the use of rBST to increase production, but once again , please remember that all milk, even organic milk , had IGF-1 in it. It's part of the structure of milk, not an additive. If you drink milk, or consume dairy products, you will elevate the levels of IGF-1 in your body and you will be increasing the risks of many types of cancer. There is absolutely no reason to use dairy products. They do more harm than good. Most people in the world do NOT consume dairy ( humans are lactose intolerant, some civilizations more than others) We get all the calcium we need from plants and have no need of calcium from milk. As I explained in an earlier blog, Osteoporosis is a not a disease of lack of calcium but a disease of excess protein (the cause of so much disease in the US..excess protein, specifically animal protein as opposed to plant protein)

DAIRY - WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT?

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:16:39 -0400

Overview
As I wrote about earlier, dairy is a fairly recent food in the human diet. Humans started using it only after we began domesticating animals, and taming them so they would stand still and let us milk them. It was all a process of learning the earliest forms of animal agriculture. It was NOT given to humans as a gift from above.

Dariy - what about the calf?

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:59:18 -0400

This will be one of the times in my overall blog that I'm going to talk about the ethical aspect of raising animals for food. People often try to put an order to which form of animal agriculture is the worst for the animal. I often hear egg layers in battery cages, foie gras ducks, female pigs in gestation crates, veal calves in veal crates, and dairy cows. Dairy is certainly one of the worst possible condition for all animals as it encompasses so many aspects of abuse and and slaughter. Ever since I learned about the "secrets" of dairy, 20 years ago, it's been my main issue that I've always felt needed the most exposing, as the real evils of it are really not understood by most people. Everyone goes around thinking dairy is benign. When you tell some you're Vegan or you're on a plant based diet, they always ask "What's wrong with dairy? They don't kill animals to make dairy, do they?" Sorry to say they do. Even people who become vegetarian (as opposed to Vegan) still eat dairy products thinking it's "OK" because the cows aren't killed (and because they think they need the calcium and protein in milk) So aside from dairy products being the worst food in the human diet, it turns out that dairy is also one of the worst situations from the animal's miserable life.

Here's the story of how dairy is produced and what we have to do to have a cow produce milk. First of all, a cow is a female mammal, like cats and dogs, giraffes, bears, what have you...and humans. Human females do not have milk or lactate until they have gone through pregnancy and have given birth. The same is true for cows. In order for a cow to give milk, she has to first be pregnant and then give birth to a calf. The typical dairy farm (in the US or anywhere) is comprised of all female cows, since they're the ones that produce milk.

With today's modern techniques, most cows are artificially inseminated. This assures the farmer of a "take" and the ability to buy a prize specimen, and have continuity in his production and lineage. If it's the cows first time, they simply wait it out until she gives birth. If it's her second or third, then she's also milked during each pregnancy as she's in a state of constant lactation, with a short time off possibly. So when her calf is born, they allow the calf to nurse for a day or two, to get the milk flowing then they take the calf away. This is a VERY emotional and distressing event for both the mother and the baby. No motherl wants to lose her baby, especially right after birth. Some farms don't even wait a day or two as they want to get the first drops of milk to sell for the increased collagen content. (some people , incorrectly, think this is a "health food") If the baby born is a male, he is of no use to the dairy farm. It doesn't pay to keep him around or to raise him for meat. Dairy cows are very different from beef/meat cows and do not have the same quality to their flesh for the more prime cuts (lower grades, yes) The baby boy is immediately sold to a veal farm. Most people know about veal, and always tell you immediately "oh I don't eat veal, that's so cruel" Well , by drinking milk and eating cheese, they are creating these veal calves...surplus male dairy calves. The vealer comes and picks the calf up and takes him to his veal farm.

Most veal calves spend the next 16 weeks of their lives in a small wooden crate, 2 x4 feet, chained at the neck and unable to move. They can barely lie down and are often covered in their own feces. They are fed a liquid iron -free diet, which keeps them anemic and keeps their flesh white. Hence the term milk-fed veal. Since they never take a step , their leg muscles are weak and soft, which gives their meat that extra tenderness that veal lovers expect. After 16 weeks, these baby veal calves are trucked off to the slaughter house and are killed and packaged into veal and sold in the markets. The life of a veal calf is certainly one of the worst possible conditions for an animal to be in.

If the calf born is a female, she is kept in the herd and will replace an older female. Female cows are impregnated every year and are constantly either pregnant or lactating and always being milked. (and fed growth hormones and antibiotics and special grains or food so they produce way more milk than they were capable of before all this type of farming started)

A normal cow might live 20-25 years. But on a dairy farm, the typical age might be 3 -5 years before they ship HER off to the slaughter house also...the same slaughter house that kills beef cows. A female dairy cow is used for chopped meat, low grade cuts, pet food, soups etc. There a are a hundred other things cows bodies are used for but I won't go into all that now. (The most obvious being leather) Did you know that gelatin capsules and jello come from boiling down the hooves and horns of cow? The young female calf will soon replace one of these aging cows and become a milk machine herself, then suffer the same fate.

Impregnation, birth, separation of calf, baby males going to veal farms, and then ending up in the slaughter house herself.

All this because humans think they need dairy for it's nutrients? All plant based doctors and nutritionists and specialists will tell you that dairy is the first thing in the human diet that should go. Humans are lactose intolerant. More humans on the planet do not eat dairy than do eat it. Asians and Africans and other civilizations don't have dairy on the menu (unless they are becoming more westernized )

Next blog we'll look at the health aspects of dairy.

PROCESSED FOOD

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:13:29 -0400

As I stated earlier, the SAD diet is about 45% animal products and 45% processed food. What exactly comes under the heading of "processed" foods? Many foods have non-food products in them , like phosphoric acid. Other things lurking around in our food are ingredients we should always try to avoid like hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. And then there are all the artificial flavorings and preservatives. Obviously all junk food would go into this category. Twinkies, sodas, candy, pastries , hot dogs and other processed meats, canned foods, boxed foods, bottled foods, salad dressings, frozen dinners, frozen desserts, chips , cookies...practically everything from a supermarket that is in or near the middle , or in an aisle, or on a shelf usually. Stick to the fruit and vegetable area and you'll be better off.

Breakfast cereal is processed, even from health food stores, if it's in the shape of flakes or rounds or whatever. A better breakfast choice would be oatmeal with some raisins or bananas in it. A small amount of soy or rice milk (they're processed too!) If it's not sweet enough use Agave (pure sweet syrup from cactus) Fresh fruit is a good choice for breakfast. Any breads should be whole grain, not made with white flour. Forget the bacon and eggs.

Juices, like orange juice are processed. (and pasteurized and heated and shipped and stored) It's best to have fresh squeezed or a combination of fresh vegetable juice (of your choice)

Oils...not so healthy. Even though they are not trans fats, and not solid at room temperature,and are cold pressed extra virgin, they are frowned upon by all the top plant- based nutritionists and doctors, and I'll explain why in a post specifically about oils.

Sugar... It deserves it's own chapter. I read recently that the average American consumes about 149 pounds of sugar a year. That's THREE large 50 pound bags!

One interesting trend that has been taking place over the years, is the proliferation of processed "healthy" vegetarian and Vegan foods. Almost every supermarket these days has a section of Vegan deli meats, fake cheese, frozen "chicken" nuggets, soy and rice and almond milk, soy ice-cream. It's easier than it ever has been to find Vegan foods wherever we go. It's been said that the "crossover" food industry is the best thing that's ever happened in the Animal Rights movement. Many animals lives are saved by being able to enjoy foods that taste like animals but are made from plants. But many now question whether these foods are healthy also, just as the true junk food processed foods are deemed unhealthy. In my opinion, they are far better than the equivalent animal product. There is still no cholesterol or saturated animal fats in them. They definitely make great crossover foods to help carnivores kick the meat eating habit. But we should eat them sparingly, especially as we become more and more aware that unprocessed whole foods are healthier all around. Eat as much whole , real food as you can, and supplement it with the crossover foods and Vegan processed foods as you see fit...but keep in mind that the less the better!

DON’t be sad...

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:02:00 -0400

SAD...the Standard American Diet. What a disaster! We should be eating a whole foods plant based diet for maximum health potential, and look at what most people in the US are eating. The SAD diet , depending on who you ask, is about 45% animal products, 45% processed food, leaving 10% for fresh vegetables and fresh fruit , whole grains, and salads. Of this last 10% , the vegetable of choice is French Fries...with ketchup. Most Americans are dying from this diet. So that leaves only 5% for "good" food.

The SAD diet is this:

High Saturated fats
High in Animal fats and flesh
Far too much Protein
High in processed foods
High in simple Carbs and sugar and corn syrup
LOW Fiber
LOW complex Carbs
LOW plant based foods
LOW in raw uncooked foods : i.e. fruits , vegetables healthy nuts and seeds

In other words, it's diametrically opposed to the proper healthy (healthiest diet):

Low fat

High complex Carbs
Low Protein
Whole Foods
Plant based

Meat-free
Chicken-free
Fish-free
ANIMAL-FREE...forget about them!

No wonder 65% of the population are obese, heart attacks are the number one killer, cancer is second and coming up fast, diabetes is rampant and showing up in younger kids more and more...and the list of illnesses and diseases goes on and on.

Studies and statistics have shown that the countries or populations that use the least amount of animal flesh and dairy and eggs have the lowest rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc. Countries that consume the most dairy products tend to have the highest rates ofOsteoporosis (US, Scandinavia) Doesn't milk prevent osteoporosis? Apparently not. I'll discuss this in another blog. Countries that consume the most dairy products also tend to have the highest rates of breast and prostate cancer. Countries that eat the most animal flesh have the highest rates of colon cancer, rapidly coming up fast in the list of major killers. Meat and dairy have no fiber...zero...the meat sits in one's colon and rots, increasing the potential for colon cancer. The disease is very rare in people who eat a high fiber diet.

In future blogs I'll go into all these issues in more detail. For now, try to start replacing some of your "bad" foods, slowly but surely, or ASAP, with some "good" foods.

Domestication of farm animals

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:59:34 -0400

Now , modern society has a never ending supply of domesticated tame animals to eat and to take milk and eggs from. Primitive humans , being hunter gatherers, were totally dependent on the success of a hunt. If things didn't go well, then they didn't have meat for a while, and lived more on a plant based diet, which many say was their predominant food source in the first place.

So when did this domestication start? It's generally agreed that the first animals to have been domesticated and tamed and used for food were sheep, and then goats, around 9000 years ago. That's a very short time in human history. This is really when humans starting eating a much more substantial amount of meat compared to all the meat eating in earlier times. Pigs , and cattle, started being domesticated around 7000 BC. It's at this time that Dairy production started. In the wild, primitive humans couldn't count on killing lactating females, so might not have used dairy at all. The female animals were killed for the same meat as the males.

Why humans took such a liking to milk is still a bit of a mystery to me. I realize that milk was considered a valid and useful food. But I'm not sure where we developed the taste buds for it in the first place! Much of the world's population is lactose intolerant. Most Asians and Africans do not have dairy in their diet. In fact, I read a few years ago , that more people on the planet did NOT use dairy than did. This might be changing as our SAD Diet (Standard American Diet) seems to be taking roots all around the world.

As you all probably know and realize, no species in evolutionary history has ever used the milk of other animals in their diet. AND , no species ever drank milk beyond childhood. Milk evolved as the perfect food for the baby animals of their specific species, and became unnecessary as the animal began to age. Humans have a very unique position, and a special claim to fame, therefore, in all of mammalian history, for our proclivity to dairy products. Dr. Klaper, well known Vegan medical doctor, once said in a lecture that I attended thatjust because humans started eating something 10,000 or more years ago, doesn't mean it's healthy...humans have been on a dietary experiment this whole time that has gone terribly wrong.

He also said one of my favorite statements I've heard in my 20 years of being Vegan. (and I'll repeat this later when I discuss dairy production"

...Every glass of milk has in it the blood of the mother and the tears of the calf...

GRAINS GOOD OR BAD?

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:50:06 -0400

Grains have become more and more a focus of nutrition these days, mainly due to gluten and it's negative effects on our bodies (though there are many other arguments against grains besides the gluten issue). I have three books at home about grains:
Going Against the Grain...Melissa Diane Smith
Dangerous Grains...Brady and Hoggan
Grain Dead...Dr. Doug Graham (Raw Foodist)
Most people start rolling their eyes if you tell them there might be some problems nutritionally with grains.

So are grains "the staff of life" or are they causing disease?
First of all, when did humans start eating them? They are not part of Primates' diet, so where and when did we learn to grow and eat them? The average time given from the past is about 10,000 years ago, in the Fertile Crescent, the Dawn of Civilization...the onset of agriculture. This is when colonies and tribes started changing from hunter-gatherers to agriculture, and formed permanent homes...and grew grains, and early fruits and vegetables , for the first time in human history. 10,000 years ago is a very short time of course. Some say, that since grains were not part of our "natural" diet, we still have not evolved to the point where we can tolerate them very well. Others say that grains are perfectly fine and are a valid nutritional part of the modern human diet.

There is much written and conjectured about the earliest cultivation of grains. The main thing we should be interested in , relative to this entire blog about nutrition, is not where and when it all happened, but is it something humans should have started eating in such vast quantities, or at all?

Dr. Andrew Weil believes we should eat whole grains,, in their natural form, such as wild rice, quinoa, barley, millet and wheat berries. He does not feel we should be eating much processed grains (flours or puffed grains). He goes on to explain that whole grains have a low GI (Glycemic index) vs. refined grains which have a high GI...and that we should cut down on all products made with flour. Other nutritionists say grains are very good foods , and some say we should eliminate them completely.

I will go into more detail about grains later on in upcoming blogs. The main reason I'm bringing them up here is for historical reasons. Since the subject was about primates' diets, then early primitive humans, then more evolved humans, then humans that exist today...it's important to note when grains came into widespread use. Human history changed when agriculture came into being. Grains played a very large role in agriculture (along with domestication of animals, storage of food, expansion of available foods due to cultivation, new products formed from plant and plant fibers and animals and their body parts)

The most common complaints we hear about grains are wheat allergy, and Celiac disease (which can be responsible for many serious ailments). But the books mentioned above, go into far more detail about many many more serious conditions the authors' believe are caused by grains. I will talk about that later.

Next blog I will go into the domestication of animals and the onset of our use of dairy...for better or for worse. (and it's pretty obvious that it's for worse!)

Primate Diets and Prehistoric Humans

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 08:15:01 -0400

When discussing the questions of what did primitive humans eat, we have to define "primitive"...there is a difference between the diet of humans of 2,000,000 years ago with the diet of humans of 250,000 years ago. The former, being closer to primates , based on time, not physiology, are a good starting point. But first a word about primate diets...our closest ancestors.

Much of the following information can be found on the site of Vegetarian Resource Group:

(www.vrg.org/nutshell/omni.htm#apes)

In general our primate ancestors were primarily plant eaters (as they still are) Some apes eat fruit only (frugivores, like Gibbons) Gorillas are mostly vegetarian, eating more greens and less fruit. Orangutans are full vegetarians. Bonobos subsist on a pure plant based diet. A completely RAW restaurant in NYC is named after these primates, as a recognition of the

the restaurant offers. I've been there many times and love it! (www.bonobosrestaurant.com) Chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are supposedly 95% vegetarian. They have been known to kill other animals and even other primates, but some argue this is not for nutrition but more for territoriality or show of force.

So, are ancestors in the primate world are , for the most part, plant eaters.

But humans have eaten meat and continue to do so, whether it's healthy or not. Humans do fall into the category of Omnivore...but are closer to Herbivore in nature. There is some evidence to show that earliest humans were almost fully vegetarians. Before the creation of tools, humans could only eat dead carrion when they ate meat, since humans are very poorly equipped to kill live animals (we can't run fast, we don't have claws, we can't rip flesh with our teeth etc.) It really wasn't until humans learned how to craft clubs and spears and other primitive tools, that the eating of meat increased greatly.

Another well documented website/blog concerning this subject is Vegan Life:

www.vegan.volblog.at/?itemid=16120

The author shows that while we can tolerate small amounts of meat, we are far more similar to herbivores than to carnivores.

Then there arealways the people who state "But humans have always eaten meat" This is not true. Dr. John McDougall, (www.drmcdougall.com) well known plant based doctor and expert on the relationship between diet and disease, has stated, as have many anthropologists, that our ancestors of 4,000,000 years ago ate a mostly vegetarian diet. The hunting and killing and eating of animals is still a fairly recent development in human history. And as I said earlier, humans had to scavenge for meat, and ate mainlycarrion, prior to the use of tools. When they were lucky enough to find the remains of a dead partially consumed animal. And unfortunately, as they were "feasting" they often became prey to the real carnivores who killed and devoured them also. It wasn't until much much later , when humans learned to control fire, that meat eating increased greatly. Some argue that this is "proof" that humans are not true meat eaters...since they couldn't kill meat without tools, and then didn't eat a lot of meat until they learned to cook it with fire...implying that raw meat just wasn't very palatable to our prehistoric ancestors either.

There are classic examples of human physiology that are always brought up to show why we were evolved to eat plants. First there is our stomach acid, which is very low compared to true carnivores which is very high. A lion needs to break down the dead flesh quickly and get it started on it's way through it's body.

Our intestines are very long and convoluted...typical of herbivores. Lions' intestines are short and fairly smooth walled...both features allowing the rotting meat to get out as fast as possible. Our jaw structure is more herbivore also. Herbivores tend to have rotating jaws for chewing , with flat grinding molars. Carnivores have jaws that only go up and down, and most or all their teeth are pointed for tearing and ripping. They chomp off chunks of meat and then swallow the pieces without chewing. Modern domestic house cats do the same. Our teeth that are called "canines" are really NOT true carnivorous canines. It's more of a dental term designating where they are located. Carnivores' canines stick out over the bottom jaw and are fully prepared to rip and tear into flesh. How many people have you seen with canines sticking out like that (other than in vampire movies)?
There are quite a few more physiological examples showing why we favor plants but I won't go into all of them here but will mention a few: saliva, facial muscles, liver, kidney, nails and hooves vs claws,mouth opening to head size, and more)

So , to sum up the above, we are omnivores but with a preference to herbivorous behavior and diet. And , as we will see later in this blog, the more meat we eat, the more unhealthy we become. As John Robbins said in Diet For a New America, you don't get saturated fat and cholesterol and artery clogging ingredients from broccoli and brown rice. We know

meat and dairy can kill us, so is it smart to eat even small amounts of these animal products? Personally I'd rather stay away from the completely. But the rest of society and human civilization seems to have gravitated more and more to an animal based diet, and is suffering the consequences. Just because humans started to eat meat a few million years ago, does not mean they "evolved" to do so, nor is it for the better! (as we'll clearly see later on).

From then to Now

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 15:44:54 -0400

I mentioned a few specific topics in the first blog , other than all the issues I discussed along with them. I'm going to give a brief outline here of the full range of this blog and what I'll be trying to discuss and explain.
I'd like to start with this thought:
If large amounts of meat and dairy can kill us, then is it smart to eat even small amounts of these products? Hardly, in my opinion. You won't get heart disease from brown rice and broccoli!

Vegan Nutrition

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:00:21 -0400

This is my first blog! My goal in this blog is to discuss as much information as possible about the benefits of a 100% plant based whole foods diet. I've been a "Vegan" for 20 years now and have learned quite a bit about all aspects of this lifestyle. The reasons to go Vegan are stronger than ever in today's world. My personal reasons for starting on this path were more from the ethical side of the issue. I became very involved in the Animal Rights movement 20 years ago and formed a group here in Woodstock , NY (in 1989) called WARM, inc...Woodstock Animal Rights Movement. This will not be a blog about Animal Rights but more about the Health and Environmental reasons for eating a plant based diet. Right from the very start of WARM, inc, it became obvious to me that the health benefits of a Vegan diet were enormous. I truly believe it is the healthiest diet in the world...the healthiest way to eat for all humans...and the only way to sustain our growing population.

I will show how raising animals for food is the single greatest environmentally destructive activity that humans partake in. But the primary reason for the blog will still be in the area of health, nutrition, diseases, and prevention. I will discuss at length many of the questions that relate to this. Evolution and diet of primates, human physiology, carnivore or herbivore, early human diets, development of wheat and grain in agriculture, when did dairy start, how did we get from there to here..."here" being the typical SAD diet-Standard American Diet-by far, the worst diet in the world , and how can we change and what should we be eating? Our diet is now comprised of about 45% percent animal products and 45% processed foods. Both of which, in my opinion, are causing a health disaster of epic proportions. That leaves about 10% for fresh fruits, vegetables, beans ,whole grains, nuts and seeds etc. But most people in the US don't even fill that 10% with the proper nutrition they need. We are literally eating ourselves to death, but not by hunger or starvation...simply by the foods we are eating that we think are "normal" or healthy. Society thinks it's "normal" to die of a heart attack, the leading cause of death in this country.

If someone gets aids and dies from it, this news can , and often does, make the front page in papers. But if someone gets heart disease or has a heart attack, we simply accredit it to being normal and part of life. You have to die of something , don't you? Cancer is on the rise now and that seems to be getting more attention as a worse thing to have than heart disease. It can be scarier and more debilitating. Everyone knows that heart disease is linked somehow to food...so people think they should eat less red meat and less fats, but they replace this with chicken, fish, dairy ,eggs and more processed and artificial foods. But many cancers are also caused by or directly related to , or enhanced by eating so much animal foods. Diabetes falls into the same category. Countries that eat less animal products and less processed foods have far less diabetes. The same statistics hold true for heart disease, many forms of cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, and most other major (and minor) diseases.
Statistics show that Obesity is an epidemic now in the US. 65% of all people are overweight and half of them are morbidly obese. Obesity in itself can kill , but obesity also leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and joint weakness, stroke, and all the other major killers. Generally, overweight people who go on plant based diets start to lose weight very quickly. Most people on a plant based diet are within the proper weight and are very healthy. They have lower cholesterol, lower LDL, lower rates of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It's been shown in medical studies that a Vegan diet can even reverse heart disease and can halt some cancers and make some go into remission. Vegan doctors claim they can cure diabetes and that it is a reversible disease.

So, to sum up for now, I'll be going into all these aspects of diet and health as they relate to plant based nutrition. I'll give you links to many articles by the top doctors and nutritionists in the field so you can see what others say about all this, and don't just take my word for it.

The field of nutrition is very complicated and very contradictory. You can do a Google search and come up with articles proving a meat based diet is the healthiest diet to be on...and you can do a Google search and show proof that a plant based diet is the best...and then you have hundreds of hybrid diets and fads in the midst of all of this confusion.

There is only ONE real diet for optimal health , for all humans regardless of culture and heritage and location, and that is a 100% plant based whole foods diet.