Last year I read the China Study and was thoroughly convinced by the arguments. Since then spouse Gail and I have been on a fairly strict Whole Food Plant Based diet. A particular problem for me is my morning cappuccino. I’ve tried a lot of different soy milks, rice milk, etc. and finally settled on a brand of oat milk called Oatly that I can find in our local supermarket. This produces a good foam and tastes great. Better than the original!
We are almost completely vegan, though we might slip in a lamb chop on very special occasions. I’m not sure it is necessary to go the whole way to veganism though, if you have no major health issues.
I was supported in this more moderate approach by the recent dietary targets contained in the report Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.
My take-away from the report:
- Most food you eat should be Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) consisting of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, consistent with the China Study.
- There is no evidence presented in the report that a strict vegan diet is any better than a diet with very small amounts of fish, chicken, dairy products, in fact a diet containing a small amount of fish may be the most healthy of all.
- Red meat of any kind is definitely harmful and should be avoided.
- Eat Less!
I would qualify this. For anyone with cancer or cardiovascular disease there is a lot of evidence supporting a strict WFPB diet with no animal protein. This has been shown to stop and even reverse the progress of these diseases in some cases.
The table below is a summary of the Lancet 2019 recommendations for the balance of nutrients for an ideal diet (30 grams is approximately 1 ounce).
