*September 2003 issue of Dr. Greger's Newsletter*

[Guest guest]

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September 2003 issue of Dr. Michael Greger's Monthly Newsletter

 

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CONTENTS

 

I. Seven Latest Updates in Veg Nutrition

1. Vegan Diets Deficient in Three Nutrients?

Well, Meateaters are Deficient in SEVEN!

2. Take Some Greens for Your Blues?

3. Green Tea and Breast Cancer

4. Breakfast of (Slim) Champions

5. Animal Fat and Breast Cancer

6. Milk, Greens and Ovarian Cancer Survival

7. Animal Products and Stroke Risk

 

II. DVD update

 

III. Personal Update

 

IV. Best Kitty Litter in the World

 

V. MAILBAG: " What Groups Do You Donate All Your Money To? "

 

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I. SEVEN LATEST UPDATES IN VEG NUTRITION

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Vegan Diets Deficient in Three Nutrients?

Well, Meateaters are Deficient in Seven!

 

The latest data on the dietary intakes of vegans was just published

last month.[1] The diets of about 100 vegans were recorded for a week

and were found deficient in calcium, iodine and vitamin B12. Using

the same standards, though, the standard American diet are deficient

in 7 nutrients! The diet of your average American is not only ALSO

deficient in calcium and iodine, it's deficient in vitamin C, vitamin

E, fiber, folate, and magnesium as well.[2]

 

Not only does the American public have over twice as many nutritional

deficiencies in their diets, vegans were shown to have higher intakes

of 16 out of the 19 nutrients studied, includeing calcium. The vegans

were getting more than enough protein on average and three times more

vitamin C, three times more vitamin E, three times more fiber. Vegans

got twice the folate, twice the magnesium, twice the copper, twice

the manganese.

 

And of course the vegans had twice the fruit and vegetable intake and

half the saturated fat intake, meeting the new 2003 World Health

Organization guidelines for fat intake and weight control.[3] Almost

2/3 of Americans are overweight.[4] In contrast, only 11% of the

vegans were overweight. Almost one in three Americans are obese.[4]

Zero of the 98 vegans in this study were obese.

 

So when a meateater asks you " Where you get your B12? " You can

counter with " Where do YOU get your vitamin C, vitamin E, fiber,

folate, and magnesium? And while you're at it, you can ask them how

they keep their sodium, saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol

intake under control (not to mention their weight).[5]

 

 

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2. Take Some Greens for Your Blues?

 

Tufts researchers just discovered a link between major clinical

depression and depressed levels of the B vitamin folate in the

blood.[6] We don't know yet if it's cause and effect, but it's

perhaps yet another reason to eat your greens!

 

 

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3. Breakfast of (Slim) Champions

 

On my new cooking show DVD, I explain how eating a healthy breakfast

can help shed pounds. The evidence certainly seemed to point that

way, but we weren't sure if it was just the diet or some other

factor--maybe breakfast eaters exercised more or something and that's

why they were slimmer?

 

Last month a study was published which, for the first time,

controlled for other lifestyle factors such as exercise, smoking ,

poverty, etc. And lo and behold, those who ate a healthy breakfast

indeed were significantly slimmer than those who skipped breakfast.

Of course, this was only for those eating plant-based breakfasts.

Those who ate meat, eggs or dairy for breakfast were the

heaviest--even heavier than those who skipped breakfast. Those who

ate cooked cereals like oatmeal were the slimmest.[7]

 

 

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4. Green Tea and Breast Cancer

 

In my new anti-cancer talk ( " Cancer-Proofing Your Body with Plant

Superfoods " ), I encourage everyone to drink green tea every day. Up

until now, studies on Western populations have failed to show a

protective role of tea consumption in preventing breast cancer. But

we tend to drink mostly black tea.

 

Finally, just this last month, a study on green tea consumption and

breast cancer (in Los Angeles County) was published, which suggested

that women may be able to cut their risk of developing breast cancer

in HALF by just drinking about a third of a cup of green tea every

day![8]

 

Just try not to drink tea regularly with meals. Green tea (and

black) can interfere with the absorption of the iron found in plant

foods, so vegetarians and vegans should try to only drink tea between

meals.

 

 

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5. Animal Fat and Breast Cancer

 

The evidence supporting a link between total fat intake and breast

cancer risk has been lacking, but maybe that's because researchers

didn't take into account the difference between animal fats and

vegetable fats.

 

In a recent landmark study of nearly a hundred thousand women,

Harvard researchers separated out the animal fat and found that

premenopausal women who consumed the most animal fat had a

significantly greater chance of developing breast cancer. Those that

ate the most red meat and high-fat dairy seemed to have over a 75%

greater risk!

 

Researchers admitted that couldn't tell if it was the animal fat

itself or perhaps the carcinogens in cooked meat or the hormones in

dairy. There was no relationship between the consumption of VEGETABLE

fats and breast cancer found.

 

 

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6. Milk, Greens and Ovarian Cancer Survival

 

Ovarian cancer is a major cause of cancer mortality in women. A

study just released this last month, though, showed that there were

two things that could significantly improved the survival of women

diagnosed with ovarian cancer, vegetables, especially cruciferous

vegetables (kale, collards, broccoli, cabbage, etc) and vitamin E in

foods (nuts, seeds, beans, greens).

 

The one thing that seemed to worsen survival was dairy. Those that

consumed lots of dairy seems to carry about a 30% excess risk of

early death--and the problem seemed to come from the milk sugar,

lactose, and not the milk fat, so even nonfat dairy seemed to worsen

the survival of those with ovarian cancer.

 

 

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7. Animal Products and Stroke Risk

 

The only disappointing study I found this last month was a study

which found that the consumption of certain animal products may

protect against one subtype of stroke. The evidence is not yet

compelling and has some inconsistencies, but researchers followed

tens of thousands of people for 16 years and found that those that

ate the most eggs, dairy, and fish had 20% less stroke mortality.

 

Now vegetarians and vegans do NOT seem have an increased risk of

dying from stroke.[9] This seeming contradiction may be explained by

our increased fruit and vegetable consumption. According to the best

evidence we have,[10] for every daily serving of fruits and veggies

we eat, we drop our stroke risk 4%. So we should all be eating AT

LEAST 5 servings of fruits and veggies every day.

 

The most powerful fruits and veggies for stroke prevention seem to

be citrus and (surprise surprise) cruciferous vegetables. Eat your

greens!

 

 

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II. DVD UPDATE

 

What people are saying about my new cooking show DVD " Maximum

Nutrition " Transitioning Towards a Plant-Based Diet. " :

 

" It is said that laughter is the best medicine. If so, Michael

Greger's Maximum Nutrition offers welcome relief to long-suffering

seekers of nutritional wisdom. Based on cutting edge clinical

research, this DVD is jam packed with practical recipes, cooking

tips, and unpredictable belly laughs. Michael's contagious enthusiasm

and zany humor make the how and why of cooking well and eating right

into pure fun. "

-James LaVeck, Film producer, Co-founder Tribe of Heart

 

" Maximum Nutrition is both informative and entertaining. Dr. Greger

provides solid advice for achieving optimal health through proper

nutrition, and he does so in his uniquely humorous and entertaining

way. We highly recommend this DVD for meat eaters and vegetarians

alike. "

-Gene and Lorri Bauston, Founders of Farm Sanctuary

 

The next public screening will take place in

<http://www.bostonveg.org>Boston on September 21st.

 

Or you can <http://www.veganMD.org/dvd.html>order your own copy for

$20. All money from the sales of all my books, CDs and DVDs go to

vegan charities (of course).

 

 

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III. PERSONAL UPDATE

 

During the months of October through December I'm going to be

rewriting Dr. Michael Klaper's classic book, Vegan Nutrition: Pure

and Simple. After that, I expect to launch another year-long speaking

tour across the country with a whole slew of new talks. If anyone

has any suggestions as to what topics the vegetarian community or the

general public might be particularly interested in, let me know--some

of my<http://www.veganMD.org/talks.html> favorite talks actually

started with just casual suggestions from friends.

 

Another way people could help me is to donate frequent flier miles or

award tickets. I have a list of 29 cities with groups that have

invited me to speak, but don't have student groups in the area that

can get their school to fly me out (and they're too far to justify

the drive). So I feel bad but have to turn those talks down (and I

hate turning talks down!). So any frequent flier miles would be

appreciated. Or, if any of you know any activist pilots...

Evidently, airline pilots can each put a few people on a list which

allows them to go on 24 standby flights a year for free. If I could

get a pilot to put me on a list like that it would revolutionize my

ability to get out there and speak. Can't hurt to ask...

 

 

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IV. BEST KITTY LITTER IN THE WORLD

 

The butts of my 6 out of 6 cats agree: the best kitty litter in the

world just so happens to be the cheapest! Forget your pet or grocery

store, head over to your nearest agriculture feedstore and pick up

some 40 pound bags of wood pellet fuel (for about $4 each). The

stuff's amazing--trust me. So tell everyone you know with cats and

have them donate all the money that they save to... save animals!

This same stuff is sold as " the world's best kitty litter " in pet

stores marked up like 1000%.

 

Now. rumor has it that there's an even BETTER kitty litter(I'm

skeptical) than wood pellet fuel called Woody Pet, which is used as

professional horse bedding. It's a little more expensive ($5 for 30

pounds), but I hear it's even better than plain wood pellet fuel (it

can be found at feed stores too). I just picked up 90 pounds and

will have my kitties get back to you next month

 

 

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V. MAILBAG: " What groups do you donate all your money to? "

 

Since I'm able to live so simply, and people have been so incredibly

generous and supportive, I've been able to donate 100% of the money I

receive from selling my books, CDs, and DVDs to vegan charities. I

take the responsibility of finding the best groups very seriously,

especially after reading Peter Singer's

<http://www.petersingerlinks.com/famine.htm>landmark essay on giving.

 

Here's my list; I'd love to hear all of yours.

 

==============================================

MY TOP EIGHT PICKS FOR 2003

==============================================

 

BEST EDUCATIONAL TOOL: " Peaceable Kingdom " soon to be released by

<http://www.tribeofheart.org/jointoh.htm>Tribe of Heart

 

BEST OUTREACH TOOL: " Why Vega, " put out by

<http://veganoutreach.org/about/donate.html>Vegan Outreach

 

BEST EDUCATIONAL STRATEGY: Humane Education.

Support the <http://www.iihed.org/support_work.html>International

Institute for Humane Education

 

BEST OUTREACH STRATEGY: Open Rescue, performed domestically within

the last year by:

<http://www.cok.net/support/>Compassion Over Killing

<http://www.mercyforanimals.org/>Mercy for Animals

<http://www.uarc.com/membership.html>United Animal Rights Coalition

 

BEST CONFERENCE: Liberation Now! by

the<http://www.defendanimals.org/libnow/helpus.htm> Students Animal

Rights Alliance

 

BEST NEW PROSPECT: Current organizing for a

<http://www.grassrootsAR.org>Grassroots Animal Rights Conference

 

 

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REFERENCES

 

[1] Results from the German Vegan Study. European Journal of Clinical

Nutrition 57(August 2003):947.

[2] USDA. Food and Nutrient Intakes by Individuals in the United

States, by Region, 1994-96.

[3] World Health Organization Technical Report Series 916. Diet,

Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. 2003.

[4]

<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/obese/obse99.htm>Centers

for Disease Control.

[5] Then you can finally answer their question and proudly say B12

fortified foods or B12 supplements Of course the fact that we're

seriously deficient in B12 should not be taken lightly. Evidence

suggests that our low B12 intakes make be shaving literally years off

of the lives of vegetarians and vegans, so make sure you get your

B12!--I recommend " <http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/>Vitamin B12: Are

You Getting It? "

[6] Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter. August 2003. 21(6):2

[7] Journal of The American College of Nutrition 22(August 2003):296.

[8] Green Tea and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Asian Americans.

International Journal of Cancer 106(August 2003):574.

[9] Public Health Nutrition 5(2002):29 and American Journal of

Clinical Nutrition 70(1999):516s.

[10] Journal of the American Medical Association 282(1999):1283.

 

 

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Until next month,

love,

Michael

--

857-928-2778

mhg1

http://www.veganMD.org

 

Check out my new cooking show DVD at :

http://www.veganmd.org/dvd.html

Four of my most popular talks are now online (free) at:

http://www.veganmd.org/talks/

To to my free monthly email newsletter send a blank email to:

drgregersnewsletter-

HEART FAILURE: Diary of a Third Year Medical Student (Full text now

available free):

http://www.upalumni.org/medschool

The thinker that most changed my life: Noam Chomsky

http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/index.cfm

The single article that most changed my life:

http://www.petersingerlinks.com/famine.htm

Please everyone donate money to Tribe of Heart

http://www.tribeofheart.org/jointoh.htm

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you Michael - some very interesting facts - and articles worth keeping.

 

Jo

 

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