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Making the change to a vegan diet, or even a more plant-based diet is easier than you might think. Sometimes, though, people have misconceptions about the way that vegans eat, and it makes this lifestyle look much more difficult than it really is. If any of these reasons for giving up meat and other animal foods apply to you—well, then maybe you really could be vegan!

I could never be a vegan because I just can’t eat low fat.

Some vegans eat low-fat, but definitely not all. I don’t eat a low fat diet and I don’t even recommend a low fat diet to others. Peanut butter, olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds—they are all part of a healthful vegan diet.

I could never ... Read More >

Although prostate cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. men, there is good news about the potential for prevention. It’s a slow-growing cancer, typically diagnosed at older ages. Therefore, anything that can slow the growth of these tumors can have a big effect on survival.

For example, research shows that men in Japan are just as likely to have prostate tumors as western men—but far less likely to die from this cancer. One theory is that certain diet or lifestyle factors may slow tumor growth so much that the men die of old age before the cancer ever has a chance to become deadly, or often before the men even know they have prostate tumors. There is evidence that soyfood consumption may be ... Read More >

The problem with soy is that it is a hugely hot area of research—more than 10,000 scientific papers have been published within just the last decade alone on soyfoods and health. With that level of investigation, there will always be a few studies here and there that show scary findings. By pouncing on those findings—rather than looking at what the majority of the research shows—critics can build a case against soy that sounds credible, even when it isn’t.

Soyfoods are an essentially unique source of isoflavones—which are a type of phytoestrogen, or plant estrogen. So it’s not surprising that some of the stories turning up on the internet have focused on sperm count and testosterone levels. Let’s take a look at what the research ... Read More >

Yesterday’s headlines about diet and birth defects caused some completely unsubstantiated claims about vegan diets. The news stories were based on research published in the journal Pediatrics, showing that there is a greater risk of birth defects in babies born to women with low blood levels of vitamin B12.

Some journalists saw this as an opportunity to discredit vegan diets—despite the fact that the words “vegan” and “vegetarian” never appeared in the Pediatrics article! The subjects in this study were women living in Ireland at a time when fortified foods were not widely available in that country. There was no indication that any of these women were vegetarian.

Those whose eat plant-based diets do need to supplement their intake with vitamin B12, either from supplements ... Read More >

Japanese researchers have just published a food guide for vegetarians living in Japan and also for those in the United States who wish to follow a more traditional Japanese eating pattern.

This meal planning tool differs from western vegetarian food guides in some important ways. With both health and traditional Asian eating patterns in mind, it places vegetables—not grains—at the center of the diet and the base of the pyramid.

Despite the fact that dairy foods are a relatively new habit to Japanese culture, the guide is aimed at lacto-ovo vegetarians and (surprisingly) specifies 3 servings of dairy foods per day, although serving sizes are only half what American food guides typically recommend.

If you’d like to add a little variety to your ... Read More >

One of the newest “nutrition education” groups to hit the web is The Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition (NRFC). Funded by twelve commodity groups, including the National Pork Board and the National Cattlemen’s Association, the group’s focus is on encouraging people to eat more nutrient-rich foods.

Not surprising, the foods being touted through its education materials and recipes are those produced by its members. (The members do include a number of commodity groups devoted to plant foods. But it’s an odd assortment, suggesting that groups are included based only on their willingness to pay a membership fee.)

The main tip that the NRFC gives for smart shopping is to “shop the perimeter of the grocery store.” In fact, based on their Supermarket Map, you ... Read More >

It still isn’t clear that what we eat as adults will impact our risk for cancer. But there is lots of evidence that what girls eat—especially during puberty—can affect their risk of getting breast cancer in adulthood. The theory is that certain compounds in food impact breast tissue as that tissue is developing, either conferring lifelong protection against cancer or raising risk for cancer.

I wrote several months ago about soyfood consumption during the teen years and how it can protect against breast cancer in adulthood. More recently, Harvard researchers looked at the effect of red meat consumption during adolescence. They asked more than 40,000 women what they ate in high school, and then followed their health over the next seven years. Those who ... Read More >

When it comes to going vegetarian or vegan, the whole idea of perfectionism—of never eating dairy again and never eating meat—is among the biggest obstacles for people. I saw this first hand for the first time many years ago when I was teaching a class on vegetarian cooking. One student told me that she loved the idea of going vegetarian but she just couldn’t contemplate it, because she couldn’t give up her favorite food—a Reuben Sandwich.

I asked her how often she had a Reuben, and she said “Oh—maybe 4 or 5 times a year.” I suggested that maybe she would like to try being a vegetarian with the exception of 4 or 5 Reuben sandwiches every year. It had never occurred to her! ... Read More >

Beans and rice are cheap, but, for many of us, vegan diets aren’t. Tofu, veggie burgers and soymilk are important staples in some veggie households, and they are often—or usually—much more expensive than their animal-derived counterparts.

But with a little bit of planning, you can cut costs in your veggie kitchen. Here are a few ideas:

Get back to basics: Whatever happened to beans and rice, anyway? They are still the best foods on earth—always good for you, good for the environment, easy on the pocketbook.

Take the condiment approach with meat substitutes: Progressive dietitians have long advised that meat should be treated as a condiment in healthy diets. No more big slabs of beef on the plate—but rather, small amounts of meat should be ... Read More >

Voltaire said that the best (or the perfect) is the enemy of the good. And when it comes to diet, there is a definite risk that setting standards of perfection will paralyze us into inaction. On the flip side, it’s not great to let a few good choices make us so complacent that we don’t seek to do more.

A good example of this in the world of dietetics occurred when Americans got cholesterol savvy and started trading in beef for white meat such as chicken. That was a moderate improvement in eating habits that let people feel good about their diets—but by itself, it doesn’t make a diet “heart healthy.”

More recently, I’m seeing examples of this in regard to diet and ... Read More >