Is That True? Fictions and Truths about Health

I think the topic of health ranks pretty high among areas with false paradigms.

Sometimes we form opinions on incomplete data and later find out, as more data is collected, that what we thought was true really is not. Look back on the last 21 months of the Covid-19 pandemic! The more data that is collected, the closer we get to knowing what is factual and what is not.

Unfortunately, fiction becomes fact, untruths become true, and the result is that change isn’t happening the way it could. We could be preventing and reversing chronic diseases, instead we keep doing that which unquestionably harms us.

Let’s take a look at several examples. I hope that these examples will show how important it is to be educated about your health and to be careful on who you rely on for information.

Myth #1: PROTEIN IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT NUTRIENT AND WE SHOULD EAT A LOT OF IT.

No, nothing can be farther from the truth!  When it comes to nutrition, there isn’t one nutrient – macro or micro – that is “most important.”  As Dr. T. Colin Campbell likes to say, nutrition is like a symphony orchestra—to make it sound right (in this case, work right) all the instruments need to play their part.

We only need 0.6 grams of protein per kilogram of weight.  Diagnosed cases of protein deficiency in the United States are very, very rare.

Myth #2: THE BEST SOURCE OF PROTEIN IS FROM ANIMALS AND DAIRY.

This is also not true.  In fact, a large serving of broccoli has more protein than a hamburger.  Whole, plant-based foods contain a lot of protein and without saturated fat and cholesterol. More importantly, plant-based proteins are free of inflammatory properties contained in meat, chicken, fish, dairy and eggs.  Quinoa, brown rice, beans, lentils and even vegetables have plenty of protein. Over the course of the day, you will get all of the amino acids one needs to form a ‘complete’ protein.

Myth #3: EXERCISE IS FOR PEOPLE TO LOSE WEIGHT.

Exercise is very important.  It is so important that everyone should be getting a minimum of 150 aerobic minutes per week – whether normal weight, overweight, or obese.  Exercise will reduce your chances of getting an entire host of diseases by about 34%. Additionally, it will give you a 50% advantage of not having a cardiovascular event.

Exercising will help you keep off the weight you’ve lost, yet exercise is not a major factor in weight loss.  It contributes and helps, but you would have to exercise all day every day to burn enough calories for serious weight loss.  Yes, definitely exercise. No, it is not the key to weight loss

Myth #4: IN ORDER TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS, I MUST CONSUME DAIRY.

In fact, the opposite is true.  Countries with the most dairy consumption have the highest rates of osteoporosis.  Look at people who live in the “blue zones” where dairy consumption is either at zero or minimal.  There is no brittle bones in those societies.

Myth #5: HEART DISEASE AND TYPE 2 DIABETES ARE NOT REVERSIBLE CONDITIONS.

Your doctor may say that, but as far back as 1990, Dr. Dean Ornish published his famous 5-year trial proving these are reversible conditions. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s study at the Cleveland Clinic showed this, too. Drs. Ornish and Esselstyn showed that a whole-foods, plant-based diet, together with minimal exercise and stress management, can reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes.  I am fortunate to see how these principles have helped my clients, too.

Know the facts

Dr. Kim Williams, the former head of the American College of Cardiology, had a great statement.  He said, “Either your cardiologist is a healthy vegan, or he or she just doesn’t know the data.”

We have the studies, we have the data, and we have the facts. THOUSANDS OF THEM!  The studies we have are credible, large studies – with randomized controlled groups, laboratory studies, epidemiological studies, and clinical observations.

Don’t get caught in the traps of confusion created by the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and yes, even by medicine itself.  Find out what is really true and that will “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.”

2021-12-13T10:50:23+00:00

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