This weekend at our Texas Association of Bariatric Surgery we had a heated debate over diet. My passion for the science got the best of me and I ended up on stage berating my opponent and citing article after article. She criticized my articles and I criticized her articles. In the end what was the result? Confusion for the audience. It is this debate of the extremes that has people utterly paralyzed when deciding what to eat. You can see this from my earlier post about Denise Minger. She has reached the same conclusion as I have, and that is that we have to look at what we all have in common. I am vegan, but that is not a diet. That is a decision based on ethics, health, and environment. I am as influenced in what I choose to eat by the unbelievable cruelty of animal agriculture as I am by my constantly dropping cholesterol levels. There is no question that animal agriculture is a major contributor to climate change and to pollution of our land and water. That being said, what about someone who hunts his/her own food? Well, I could never kill another animal, ever. It doesnt seem necessary to me in this day and age. However, as a doctor who specializes in nutrition, I have to consider whether that person is actually damaging their health. Well, I would argue yes if that is all they are eating, but if they are eating mostly plants, then the answer is probably not. I am constantly referencing the Blue Zones in the world, where people live long healthy lives and eat plant based diets. However, these societies are not, except for the vegan Adventists, vegan. They eat occasional meat. Now, dont freak out. I am not saying go out and eat animals!!!!! But the message that the world needs to hear is that we need to eat LESS animals AND we need to eat way more produce. The animals still suffer if they are grass fed organic, but from a health perspective, eaten in small quantities, are unlikely to harm your health. We do need to consider the health of the environment too. The USDA has decided to include these considerations and has lead them to suggest eating less meat, but not complete abstinence. When I see a patient I stress that what I really want is for them to change their plate. Instead of meat having the staring role, use it as a condiment. Learn to make meals without meat from time to time. I stress making sure that every day you eat a serving of grains, a serving of berries, a whole fruit or two, a serving or two of beans, and a serving of nuts. I counsel people to choose organic and if they eat meat to try and make it wild game or at least organic. Fish should be wild caught and less than twice a week. I NEVER talk about how much protein or fat someone should eat. It is the reductionist science that labels food as protein or fat that has people confused. Whether you are paleo, a dietician, a physician who specializes in obesity, you simply cannot argue with eating more fruits and vegetables. It is this common bond that can help us really make some serious change to our food system. We only eat 5% of our calories from fruit and veggies yet the vast majority of the government subsidies go to the production of meat, the food that feeds meat, and processed food. Lets really concentrate on this fundamental problem that we all agree upon.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 16:29:06 +0000
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