Plant-based diet con or what?

I used to be plant-based, so were my patients. We believed in fruits and vegetables. We questioned nothing. The food pyramid agreed, media agreed, government statements agreed: fruits and vegetables are an integral part of a healthy diet.

But things weren’t going that well in the clinic despite research stating fruits and veggies were supposed to give us health. They didn’t. Plant-based patients still suffered from illnesses, continued with heart disease, and stayed obese.

I couldn’t deny what I saw, so I turned back to research to see if maybe I misread something.

I sure did!

When I dove back into research and looked at the details, all suddenly became clear. I realized that I fell for well-crafted plant-based headlines and careless research practices.

I would like to bring one such example right here. This particular study made the following conclusion and recommendation:

Plant-based diets are associated [..] with direct benefits on cardiac metabolism and function. [..] and should be considered as part of a multifaceted approach to heart failure care.[1]

Let’s see.

When chips and cakes are part of a healthy diet

The above conclusion was reached after one 54-year-old female with morbid obesity, poorly controlled T2 diabetes, and arterial blockage, was switched from a “healthy western diet” to a plant-based diet.

Hmm.. a “healthy western diet” gave her all the diseases? What kind of a “healthy” diet was that? I checked the details. Here they were: lean skinless meats, eggs, processed meat, diet soft drinks, chips and cakes, little fruits and veggies.

For a moment I felt like an idiot. I did not know that diet drinks, chips, cakes, and processed food was part of the “healthy” diet. I must have skipped that important session, when all the physician discussed must-haves of a healthy body.

Plant-based diet reversed diseases? Not so fast!

Anyhow, the experiment was clear cut. After removing of the “healthy” components such as soda, chips, cookies, and all the animal products (processed or not), and swapping them for non-processed plant-based foods, the woman suddenly became healthier. Oh, boy! A miracle! Plant-based diet reverses diseases!

What a load of crap!

So, it is not the soda, not the cookies, not the processed food, but the meat that brought her closer to her death bed? It must have been that chicken breast, that jacked up her sugar numbers, and those free-range eggs that gave her morbid obesity, because I don’t see how cookies and cakes could have done it.

Now seriously…

It is true the real food plant-based diet is superior to SAD or processed food diet, but let’s not stretch the truth. Animal food devoid diets aren’t the healthiest. Let’s not make exaggerated claims. We need to calm down that anti-animal food hysteria.

Before stubbornly fighting for a plant-based nutritional story, look to arm yourself with solid data. There are many emotional click baits that aim to pull your empathy strings, and many corporate dollars waiting to benefit from irrational frenzy of the masses.

Thus, I am asking you to do your thing: check the sources and read the details. Don’t just glimpse over headlines and see them as facts.

Plant based diet or simply no junk?

Here are my 3 health-promoting cents for you: dump the junk. All junk, whether it is animal or plant-based. Just dump it.

Chances are that one move would do you more good than compulsive swaps of SAD foodstuffs for plant-based Frankenfoods like almond milk, pea protein powders, fake meats, and fat-free breads.

Get smart. Not trendy. Yep, there is a difference.