Vegan vs High-Protein Diet Debate
News You Can Use

Vegetarian Diet Deficiencies Are a Proven Fact.

New Study: Vegetarians Less Healthy, Lower Quality Of Life Than Meat-Eaters

"Vegetarians were twice as likely to have allergies,
a 50 percent increase in heart attacks and
a 50 percent increase in incidences of cancer."

Long term vegetarian diet changes human DNA raising risk of cancer and heart disease.

Vegetarians have been brainwashed into thinking vegetarianism is a healthy way of eating. You will find on any osteoporosis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or other inflammatory bowel disease forum that 80% of the sufferers are vegetarians or ex-vegans. Yet, only 6% of the population are vegetarians. The protein deficient vegan diet will blow your guts out, cause degenerative disc disease, and kill you with cancer or a hemorrhagic stroke, guaranteed.

Recent Testimonies From Ex-Vegetarians with Degenerative Disc Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease and Candida

Note: The ex-vegetarian below switched to a high-fat, red meat diet with awesome health improvements. The vegetarian diet caused degenerative disc disease and intestinal diseases.

"Dear Mr. Rieske,

How can I ever thank you? Your knowledge, insight, honesty, and courage contained in your articles have significantly improved the quality of my life!

I am now 37 years old. From the ages of 25 to 36 I had adopted a predominantly vegetarian lifestyle. Over the years I have developed a mild case of degenerative disc disease, constant headaches, and a severe case of Candida (and perhaps leaky gut). I started to figure out that something was definitely wrong. The mainstream nutritional advice had definitely steered me in the wrong direction.

I have been eating a "clean" and "natural" diet for several months now on red meat, fish, fowl, a small amount of veggies and berries (I can't help it, I love berries). My headaches have disappeared! I went from 172 lbs (at 5'8" tall) to 158 lbs! I have no constipation nor diarrhea (which was at one time constant)! I think clearly, my mood is better, and I feel great!

You have made a huge impact on my life, and I am grateful. I have discussed your information and website with every person in my social circle as it is all I can seem to do to help others as you've helped me.

Thanks again, and God Bless,
Stuart"

"I thought I would sign in for a progress report! I am doing very well. So far, so good. I am down to 2 BM's a day, and bleeding has disappeared. I am eating a very balanced diet (from the "Starting Diet" below) and it seems as if I am able to tolerate a lot of the red meat now. Thank you for all your advice, and I hope all is well with you."

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, IBD, IBS, Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, Candida & Others.

Note: The report below from Sweden is typical of the denial by doctors. Don't expect your doctor to agree with this diet program. Most likely your doctor will object strongly. Neither will he give the diet any credit for your healing.

"I have been following your diet for a couple of months. I eat mostly moose meat with coconut fat. I had a colonoscopy three days ago and guess what? No inflammation! My colon looked so good my doctor said the previous inflammation could not have been from a flare. Yeah, right! I know it was a bad flare, but I am fine now. Your page was the first site to open my eyes to the dangers of eating carbs. Keep up the good work."

Three month update from the above person.

"Just wanted to give you another update. My asthma is all gone. I'm eating 4 lbs of red meat every day, and I'm growing like a weed! Shredding fat, adding muscle and being healthy is the best thing that has ever happened to me!"

Note: The report below tell how this diet program works where other diets have failed.

"Thanks for your information, it's been very helpful. I've taken your advice, and I've eliminated many of the offending foods that were allowed on another type of IBD diet that I thought were alright. That diet includes yogurt, melon, goat's cheese and surprisingly, the most helpful of all carrots! I've gone almost a year thinking that I couldn't tolerate butter and fatty meat, and suddenly they cause me no problem. I was having a flare for three weeks, and just beginning with the principals of your diet (not including the supplements and minerals) has gotten me back to normality in less than a week. It's a wonder!

Low-Carb Diet Plan Prevents Diabetes, Cancer, Alzheimer's and Heart Disease.

Vegan Acid - Alkaline Theory is Nonsense

Vegetarians falsely claim that eating meat increases the body acid level. This is nonsense. Vegetarians typically suffer from acid reflux because they do not eat meat. Simply breathing properly can change the blood pH drastically within minutes. Deep breathing discharges carbon dioxide from the blood which reduces the blood acid and increases the pH level. The body normally controls the acid - alkaline balance within a very narrow range. A diet devoid of meat is unhealthy because the stomach normally excretes a large amount of hydrochloric acid during a meal in preparation for the digestion of meat. 

Introduction: Acid-Base Balance: Merck Manual Home Edition.

Acidosis: Acid-Base Balance: Merck Manual Home Edition.

Alkalosis: Acid-Base Balance: Merck Manual Home Edition.

Meat does not "putrify" in the digestive tract as claimed by vegetarians.. Don't believe their nonsense and lies.

Vegetarians Have the Shortest Lifespan on Earth

The vegetarians of Southern India eat a low-calorie diet very high in carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. They have the shortest life span of any society on Earth, and their bodies have an extremely low muscle mass. They are weak and frail and the children clearly exhibit a failure to thrive. Their heart disease rate is double that of the meat eaters in Northern India. HL Abrams. Vegetarianism: An anthropological/nutritional evaluation. Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1980, 32:2:53-87.
Anthropological Research Reveals Human Dietary Requirements for Optimal Health  
by H. Leon Abrams, Jr., MA, EDS

Learn the truth about the terribly unhealthy vegetarian diet at:

The Naive Vegetarian.
Vegan vs High-Protein Diet Debate.
Vegetarians develop high cholesterol and can't correct it.
Beyond Vegetarianism - Raw Food, Vegan, Fruitarian and Paleo Diets.

Vegetarian Diet Deficiencies Are a Proven Fact.

Cholesterol, Energy, Sex and Babies.

Fat Children Will Be The Norm Within A Decade.

Children 'harmed' by vegan diets US scientist claims.

Vegan Parents Charged With Manslaughter of Child Because of Vegan Diet.

Bone Analysis Suggests Neolithic People Preferred Meat

7,700-Year-Old Bones Prove Early Humans were Highly Carnivorous

Eskimos Prove An All Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health

Australian Aborigines by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD

The Bible Condemns Abstaining From Eating Meats

The Bible describes those who recommend abstaining from eating meats as extremely evil. They are teaching doctrines of devils with lies and hypocrisy. The same is said about those who are against marriage.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (KJV) 

Vegan Males Become Wussies

The vegan diet wipes out the hormonal system in males. Their testosterone level plunges. The sperm count plunges, and the can't get it up, erectile dysfunction (ED). They become impotent sissies. This is the reason vegan males become submissive to females and become homosexual. They can be seen carrying peace signs in demonstrations and are ready to surrender. The fact that the vegan diet makes humans less fertile proves humans did not evolve as vegetarians. This can be quickly shown by a simple visit to Dr. Andrew Weil's message board for male health problems.

I think my husband has erectile dysfunction (ED), Please help.
"Dear Group,
I need some serious advice. I think that my new husband of less than 2 months may have erectile dysfunction. He doesn't have a problem getting an erection. However, he does have a problem with keeping it. He rarely ejaculates...in fact he has only maintained his erection long enough to do it once. He is a young man, only 30 years old, and I don't know what to do. I tell him that it is okay that we don't ever complete intercourse, but he looks so sad when he can't keep his erection. I need to know what I can do as his wife to help him. He is a proud man and I don't want to hurt him. But I want to satisfy him and I know that I am failing to do so. Please help."

The fact that the vegetarian diet turns men into homosexuals is very easy to prove. Simply go to a gay rally and shout this question into the microphone, "If you are gay and a vegetarian, please raise your hand?" Repeat the question once again to make sure most of them heard it. You will quickly see all the hands go up.

Vegan Females Become Infertile

The vegan diet has a devastating effect on the hormones in the female as well. She soon looses her sex drive and fails to achieve an orgasm. She may drift into a lesbian relationship thinking her lack of arousal indicates she is gay when in reality it was caused by the deficient vegan diet. The female vegan often becomes infertile or miscarries the baby. She will often skip menstrual periods or stop having them all together. If she does get pregnant the chances of having a deformed baby of the male sex is very high because of the phytoestrogens in her soy diet. Many primitive cultures placed a newly wed couple on a special high-meat diet because it promotes fertilization and produces healthy offspring. In some countries mothers are charged with child abuse for feeding an infant the vegan diet.
Pregnancy, Adoption, Abortion, Infertility and Healthy Baby Advice.
Mom's Vegan Diet May Put Baby at Risk.
Vegan Parents Charged With Manslaughter of Child Because of Vegan Diet.

Advice to Vegetarians

Please don't be a liar and a hypocrite. Don't sneak around eating meat when others can't see you like other vegetarians. Don't eat fish and call yourself a vegetarian. Fish have a face and a mother. Don't eat eggs and call yourself a vegetarian. Half of the chickens born to become egg layers are male and must be killed to prevent being overrun by cock rosters. Don't support killing half of the chickens to support your egg diet and call yourself a vegetarian. Don't consume milk, cream and cheese while you call yourself a vegetarian. Cows must produce a calf each year to keep giving milk, otherwise they dry up. Half of those calves are male and must be killed to prevent being overrun by bulls. Drinking milk and eating cheese results in half of the animals being killed. Don't be a liar and a hypocrite by telling others not to eat meat while you eat fish, cheese and eggs.

The mental paranoia and brainwashing in the vegetarian 
community are astonishing. Vegetarianism should be classified 
as a mental disease and an eating disorder.

The vegetarian community has propagated so many lies against eating meat that believing this nonsense can be clearly classified as brainwashing. They meet all of the criteria. One typical lie is that meat putrefies in the intestines. This is scientifically false. The body produces stomach acid for the sole purpose of digesting meat. The human anatomy proves we are highly carnivorous. Carbohydrates from fruit and grain produce many diseases in humans. Meat heals the body.

The extent of the brainwashing can be seen in a comment by an ex-vegetarian after she began eating meat again to heal her inflammatory bowel disease that was caused by her vegetarian diet. She wrote, "I just started eating meat again, and I found the taste strange. I am still unnerved by the thought of eating dead animals."

Vegetarians don't see their own brainwashing. They simply think their understanding is superior to that of other people. This attitude is typical of those who have become brainwashed. These individuals rarely resolve their mental illness themselves. They need professional help just as other people do who have eating disorders such as bulimia (binge eating followed by forced purging by means of self-induced vomiting or use of laxatives) and anorexia (self starvation). They must be deprogrammed. Vegetarians usually seek help only after seeing their health decline. They develop diseases as a result of the nutritional deficiencies in their diet. The vegetarian diet is causing an explosion of inflammatory bowel diseases that are expected to get much worse as the growing number of young vegetarians age.

Brainwashing and Human Control Techniques.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, IBD, IBS, Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, Candida & Others.

7,700-Year-Old Bones Prove Early Humans were Highly Carnivorous.

Absolute Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Are Pathogenic (Disease Causing).

True Vegetarianism Exposed

Vegetarianism is a religion which is falsely disguised as a health way of eating. The leaders of the vegetarianism religion worship animals. These people place animals on the same value level as human beings and sometimes above that of the human race. The result of their spreading myths, distortions and lies about healthy eating has lead to a dramatic surge in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer that is not found in low-carbohydrate, high-fat, meat-eating societies. The low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet of the last 40 years has cause the early deaths of millions of people and untold suffering, both of which continues unabated to this day.

Animal rights people, such as those in the Hindu religion and others, claim that red meat and saturated fat is unhealthy because they want others to stop eating animals, especially the large mammals, such as cows. They revere cows believing their grandmother has been reincarnated and has become the cow. Therefore, they don't want others to kill her. Vegetarians are not concerned that their high-carbohydrate diet recommendation is making people obese and is giving them heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Instead, they are very pleased when people die at a younger age from these diseases because their prime objective is to give planet earth back to the animals. Their diet causes disease in humans because we are omnivores (we eat both meat and plants) and strongly carnivorous (meat only diet). It is a scientific fact that a diet very high is meat and animal fats produces optimal health in humans.

Anthropological Research Reveals Optimal Human Diet.

Vegans suffer from their diet by failure to thrive at best. They appear sickly with gray skin tone, weak muscle tone and weak immune systems. Vitamin B12 deficiencies are common without supplementation. The hormones are one of the first things to deteriorate. Males have a large drop in their testosterone hormones and both sexes lose their sex drive. Many become impotent. Vegan children are more severely effected with stunted growth and no muscle tone. Ex-vegans are quick to tell the hazards of not eating meat.

Vegetarians in Southern India do not suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency as do vegetarians in all English-speaking countries. The reason is found in the cleanliness of the raw food. The filthy food in India contains insects, larva, insect eggs, and excrement from insects, birds and animals that provides vitamin B12.

Vegetarians and vegans have a high phytic acid intake from eating cereals and grain flours resulting in a deficiency of calcium, copper, chromium, vanadium, lithium and zinc cause by poor absorption even though these minerals may be included in the food.

Learn the truth about the terribly unhealthy vegetarian diet at:

The Myths of Vegetarianism by Dr. Stephen Byrnes, ND, RNCP.
The Naive Vegetarian.
Vegan vs High-Protein Diet Debate.
Vegetarians develop high cholesterol and can't correct it.
Beyond Vegetarianism - Raw Food, Vegan, Fruitarian and Paleo Diets.

The edible oil industry produces omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable, seed and grain oils such as corn oil, soybean oil, Canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and cottonseed oil. These oils are highly suspect as one of the leading causes of heart disease and cancer, both of which increased in concert with increases of omega-6 fatty acids in the diet. Omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory and proven to cause or contribute to a long list of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and many others.

Postmenopausal breast cancer is associated with high intakes of omega-6 fatty acids (Sweden).

"RESULTS: Saturated fat and the omega3-omega6 fatty acid ratio were not related to increased risks, but positive trends were seen for total (p = 0.031), monounsaturated (p = 0.002), and polyunsaturated fat (p = 0.0009), especially omega6 fatty acids and the polyunsaturated-saturated fat ratio (p = 0.004). With mutual adjustment for different types of fat, an elevated risk remained significant in the highest omega6 fatty acid quintile (RR= 2.08, 95% CI 1.08-4.01)."

The above study proves that saturated fats and omega-3 fats as found in red meat and fish was not associated with an elevated risk for breast cancer in postmenopausal women, but monounsaturated omega-9 fats as found in olive oil and polyunsaturated omega-6 fats as found in grains, seeds and nuts increases the risk of breast cancer, especially omega-6 fats as found in grains, seeds and nuts. These excellent results are just the opposite to the myths, distortions and lies promoted by vegetarians and manufacturers of high-carbohydrate foods. Beef, lamb and pork with saturated fats are very healthy foods.

The edible oil industry also produces hydrogenated forms of these oils which make them more saturated. These hydrogenated oils are known by their opponents as the "deadly trans fats."
Secrets of the Edible Oil Industry.

Natural saturated fats don't cause heart disease or cancer and never did. It has all been a big fat lie.

Vegan vs High-Protein Diet Debate
Monique N. Gilbert Versus Stephen Byrnes, Ph.D.

Vegetarian Position by Monique N. Gilbert:

Protein is a vital nutrient, essential to your health. In its purest form, protein consists of chains of amino acids. There are 22 amino acids that combine to form different proteins, and 8 of these must come from the foods we eat. Our body uses these amino acids to create muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs. Proteins help replace and form new tissue, transports oxygen and nutrients in our blood and cells, regulates the balance of water and acids, and is needed to make antibodies. However, too much of a good thing may not be so good for you. Many people are putting their health at risk by eating to much protein. Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, can result in heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and kidney stones. As important as protein is for our body, there are many misconceptions about how much we really need in our diet, and the best way to obtain it.

The average American eats about twice as much protein than what is actually required. Some people, in the pursuit of thinness, are going on high-protein diets and are eating up to four times the amount of protein that their body needs. Protein deficiency is certainly not a problem in America. So exactly how much protein does your body really need? Much less than you think. According to the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, as little as 50-60 grams of protein is enough for most adults. This breaks down to about 10-12% of total calories. Your body only needs .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To calculate the exact amount you need, multiply your ideal weight by .36. This will give you your optimum daily protein requirement in grams. Since the amount of protein needed depends on the amount of lean body mass and not fat, ideal weight is used instead of actual weight. Infants, children, pregnant and nursing women require more protein.

People on high-protein diets are consuming up to 34% of their total calories in the form of protein and up to 53% of total calories from fat. Most of these people are unaware of the amount of protein and fat that is contained in the foods they eat. For instance, a typical 3-ounce beef hamburger, which is small by American standards, contains about 22 grams of protein and 20 grams of fat. You achieve quick weight loss on these diets because of this high fat content. High fat foods give you the sensation of feeling full, faster, so you end up eating fewer total calories. However, this type of protein and fat combination is not the healthiest. Animal proteins are loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat. Many people on these diets also experience an elevation in their LDL (the bad) cholesterol when they remain on this diet for long periods. High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood clog arteries and is the chief culprit in heart disease, particularly heart attack and stroke. So while you may lose weight in the short-run, you are putting your cardiovascular health in jeopardy in the long-run.

Another reason weight loss is achieved on these high-protein diets, at least temporarily, is actually due to water loss. The increase in the amount of protein consumed, especially from meat and dairy products, raises the levels of uric acid and urea in the blood. These are toxic by-products of protein breakdown and metabolism. The body eliminates this uric acid and urea by pumping lots of water into the kidneys and urinary tract to help it flush out. However, a detrimental side effect of this diuretic response is the loss of essential minerals from the body, including calcium. The high intake of protein leaches calcium from the bones, which leads to osteoporosis.

Medical evidence shows that the body loses an average of 1.75 milligrams of calcium in the urine for every 1 gram increase in animal protein ingested. Additionally, as calcium and other minerals are leached from our bones, they are deposited in the kidneys and can form into painful kidney stones. If a kidney stone becomes large enough to cause a blockage, it stops the flow of urine from the kidney and must be removed by surgery or other methods.

Plant-based proteins, like that found in soy, lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL (the good) cholesterol. This prevents the build up of arterial plaque which leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease, thus reducing the risk heart attack and stroke. The amount and type of protein in your diet also has an important impact on calcium absorption and excretion. Vegetable-protein diets enhance calcium retention in the body and results in less excretion of calcium in the urine. This reduces the risk of osteoporosis and kidney problems. Interestingly, kidney disease is far less common in people who eat a vegetable-based diet than it is in people who eat an animal-based diet. By replacing animal protein with vegetable protein and replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, like that found in olive and canola oils, you can avoid the pitfalls of the typical high-protein diet. You will be able to improve your health and regulate your weight while enjoying a vast array of delicious, nutritionally dense, high fiber foods. Remember, eat everything in moderation and nothing in excess. Also, the only healthy way to achieve permanent weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in. Anything else is just a gimmick.

Monique N. Gilbert is a Health Advocate, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Connoisseur and the author of "Virtues of Soy: A Practical Health Guide and Cookbook."

High-Protein Response by Stephen Byrnes, Ph.D., R.N.C.P.: (deceased from AIDS)

In the December issue of the ANMA Monitor (vol.5, #4, 2001), there was an unreferenced article by Monique Gilbert that deserves considerable comment. "High-Protein Diets--Are You Losing More Than Weight?" is little more than a vegan and soy propaganda piece. If the propaganda were accurate, one could forgive Ms. Gilbert for her zeal. In this case, however, it is not and inaccuracies cost lives.

Clinically, I have used low-carbohydrate, high fat and protein diets to very good effect, especially with those conditions that are worsened by excessive carbohydrate intake, e.g., diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and heart disease. When properly practiced, low-carb diets are not harmful. Furthermore, if one were to follow Ms. Gilbert's dubious nutritional advice as given in her article, one would actually increase one's chances of contracting a number of debilitating diseases such as cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

Gilbert begins her piece by rightly pointing out the vital need for protein in the human diet. She states that, "Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, can result in heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and kidney stones." As I stated at the beginning, the article is unreferenced so these claims have no backing from scientific literature.

It is excessive carbohydrate intake, not protein or animal protein intake, that can result in heart disease and cancer (1). Readers should note that the type of diet Gilbert advocates in her article is a high carbohydrate one because that is exactly what diets that are low in protein and fat are. Furthermore, the idea that animal products, specifically protein, cholesterol, and saturated fatty acids, somehow factor in causing atherosclerosis, stroke, and/or heart disease is a popular idea that is not supported by available data, including the field of lipid biochemistry (2).

The claim that animal protein intake causes calcium loss from the bones is another popular nutritional myth that has no backing in nutritional science. The studies that supposedly showed protein to cause calcium loss in the urine were NOT done with real, whole foods, but with isolated amino acids and fractionated protein powders (3). When studies were done with people eating meat with its fat, NO calcium loss was detected in the urine, even over a long period of time (3). Other studies have confirmed that meat eating does not affect calcium balance (4) and that protein promotes stronger bones (5). Furthermore, the saturated fats that Gilbert thinks are so evil are actually required for proper calcium deposition in the bones (6).

The reason why the amino acids and fat-free protein powders caused calcium loss while the meat/fat did not is because protein, calcium, and minerals, require the fat-soluble vitamins A and D for their assimilation and utilization by the body. When protein is consumed without these factors, it upsets the normal biochemistry of the body and mineral loss results (7). True vitamin A and full-complex vitamin D are only found in animal fats.

If the protein-causes-osteoporosis theory teaches us anything, it is to avoid fractionated foods (like soy protein isolate) and isolated amino acids, and to eat meat with its fat. New evidence shows that women who ate lots of meat had fewer hip fractures compared to those who avoided it (8) and that vegan diets place women at a greater risk for osteoporosis (9).

The claim that protein intake leads to kidney stones is another popular myth that is not supported by the facts. Although protein restricted diets are helpful for people who have kidney disease, eating meat does not cause kidney problems (10). Furthermore, the fat-soluble vitamins and saturated fatty acids found in animal foods are pivotal for properly functioning kidneys (11).

Gilbert's explanation as to how meat "acidifies" the blood, leading to greater mineral loss in the urine is also incorrect. Theoretically, the sulphur and phosphorus in meat can form an acid when placed in water, but that does not mean that is what happens in the body. Actually, meat provides complete proteins and vitamin D (if the fat or skin is eaten), both of which are needed to maintain proper acid-alkaline balance in the body. Furthermore, in a diet that includes enough magnesium and vitamin B6 and restricts simple sugars, one has little to fear from kidney stones (12). Animal foods like pork, beef, lamb, and fish are good sources of both nutrients as any food and nutrient content table will show. It also goes without saying that high protein/fat and low-carbohydrate diets are devoid of sugar.

Gilbert's contention that the weight loss on high-protein diets is mostly from water loss is strange given that low-carb proponents like Robert Atkins, MD, tell their devotees to drink lots of water while on the diet. Initially, there is a water loss (as with any diet), but the high water intake afterwards would certainly offset any more drastic "water losses."

She further claims that weight loss occurs on high protein/fat diets because the person eats less food because he or she gets fuller faster on fat. Given that fat has more than twice as many calories than either protein or carbohydrate, this explanation is far from satisfactory. In other words, you may not eat as many carbohydrates as you did before you went on the high protein diet, but because you're ingesting more fat, which has over twice as many calories as carbohydrate, your actual caloric intake is likely to stay the same or be higher than it was before.

Gilbert's claim that, "Plant-based proteins, like that [sic] found in soy, lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL (good) cholesterol. This prevents the build up of arterial plaque which leads to atherosclerosis . . . and heart disease, thus reducing the risk [of] heart attack and stroke," although popular, is not true. The HDL/LDL theory has been thoroughly debunked by a number of prominent researchers (13) and LDL serves many useful functions in the body--there is nothing "bad" about it (14). Cholesterol is actually used by the body as an antioxidant (15); vegetarian diets do not protect against atherosclerosis or heart disease (16); and female vegans have higher rates of death from heart disease than female meat eaters (17).

Gilbert's contention that, "Vegetable-protein diets enhance calcium retention in the body," is simply wrong as "vegetable proteins" do not contain the fat-soluble vitamins A and D which are needed to assimilate calcium (and protein and other minerals). Furthermore, numerous plant compounds like oxalates and phytates inhibit calcium absorption. Unfermented soy products, in particular, are noted for their high phytic acid content and phytates block mineral absorption (18).

Gilbert's recommendation for us to replace vegetable protein for animal protein and unsaturated fats "like olive and canola oils" for saturated fats, is dubious at best and dangerous at worst. A number of recent and prior studies catalog the veritable witches brew of toxins found in processed soy products (19) and canola oil has caused vitamin E deficiencies in lab animals (20). Canola oil is also quite susceptible to rancidity due to its high level of alpha-linolenic acid; in the deodorization process used with canola oil, harmful trans-fatty acids are created (21).

Lastly, studies have not borne out the claims that vegetarians have lower cancer rates than the general population. A large study on vegetarian California 7th Day Adventists showed that, while the Adventists had slightly lower rates for some cancers, their rates of malignant melanoma; Hodgkin's disease; and uterine, prostate, endometrial, cervical, ovarian, and brain cancers were higher than the general population, some quite significantly. In the paper, the authors wrote that, meat consumption, however, was not associated with a higher [cancer] risk. And that, no significant association between breast cancer and a high consumption of animal fats or animal products in general was noted. (22)

Indeed, Dr. Emmanuel Cheraskin's survey of 1040 dentists and their wives showed that those with the fewest health problems as measured by the Cornell Medical Index had the MOST protein in their diets (23).

The facts are that high-protein diets, when consumed in balance with enough water, fat and fat-soluble vitamins, and nutritional factors from non-starchy vegetables, ARE healthy. They are not guilty of the things Gilbert blames on them. Minimally processed animal foods like beef and lamb are healthy foods that are rich in a number of nutrients that protect and enhance several body systems: taurine; carnitine; creatine; glutathione; vitamins A; D; several of the B-complex, including B6 and B12; minerals like chromium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, zinc, and phosphorus; complete proteins; and coenzyme Q10, needed for a healthy heart.

If readers want to get an accurate assessment of lower-carbohydrate diets, they should check out reliable books on the subject (24).

Stephen Byrnes, Ph.D., R.N.C.P. (deceased)

References:

1. F. Jeppesen and others. Effects of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets on risk factors for ischemic heart disease in post-menopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr, 1997; 65:1027-1033. Mensink and Katan. Effect of dietary fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: a meta-analysis of 27 trials. Arterio Thromb, 1992, 12:911-9; I. Zavaroni and others. Risk factors for coronary artery disease in healthy persons with hyperinsulinemia and normal glucose tolerance. New Eng J Med, 1989, Mar 16, 320:11:702-6; J. Witte and others. Diet and premenopausal bilateral breast cancer: a case control study. Breast Canc Res & Treat, 1997, 42:243-251; S. Francheschi and others. Intake of macronutrients and risk for breast cancer. Lancet, 1996, 347:1351-6; S. Francheschi and others. Food groups and risk of colo-rectal cancer in Italy. Inter J Canc, 1997, 72:56-61; Seely, and others. Diet Related Diseases--The Modern Epidemic (AVI Publishing; CT), 1985, 190-200; WJ Lutz. The colonisation of Europe and our Western diseases. Med Hypoth 1995, 45:115-120; D. Forman. Meat and cancer: a relation in search of a mechanism. The Lancet. 1999;353:686-7

2. Uffe Ravnskov. The Cholesterol Myths (New Trends Publishing; Washington, D.C.), 2000; Mary Enig. Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer on Fats and Cholesterol (Bethesda Press; Maryland), 2000, 76-81; Russell Smith and Edward Pinckney. Diet, Blood Cholesterol, and Coronary Heart Disease: A Critical Review of the Literature (Vector Enterprises; California), 1991; The Cholesterol Conspiracy (Warren Greene, Inc.; USA), 1991; Stephen Byrnes. Diet and Heart Disease: Its NOT What You Think, (Whitman Books; 2001), 25-52; George V. Mann, ed. Coronary Heart Disease: The Dietary Sense and Nonsense, (Veritas Society; London), 1993.

3. H. Spencer and L. Kramer. Factors contributing to osteoporosis. J of Nutr, 1986, 116:316-319; Further studies of the effect of a high protein diet as meat on calcium metabolism. Amer J Clin Nutr., 1983, 37:6: 924-9.

4. J. Hunt and others. High-versus low meat diets: Effects on zinc absorption, iron status, and calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, nitrogen, phosphorus, and zinc balance in postmenopausal women. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1995, 62:621-32; Spencer, Osis, and Kramer, Do protein and phosphorus cause calcium loss? J Nutr 1988 Jun;118(6):657-60.

5. C. Cooper, and others. Dietary protein and bone mass in women. Calcif Tiss. Int., 1996, 58:320-5.

6. BA Watkins and others. Importance of vitamin E in bone formation and in chondrocyte function. American Oil Chemists Society Proceedings, 1996, at Purdue University; "Food Lipids and Bone Health" in Food Lipids and Health, McDonald and Min, Editors, (Marcel Dekker Co.; NY), 1996.

7. S. Fallon and M. Enig. Dem bones--do high protein diets cause osteoporosis? Wise Traditions, 2000, 1:4:38-41. Also posted at http://www.westonaprice.org/

8. RG Munger and others. Prospective study of dietary protein intake and risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1999, 69:1:147-52; MT Hannan and others. Effect of dietary protein on bone loss in elderly men and women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study. J Bone & Min Res, 2000, 15:2504-2512.

9. Chiu JF; Lan SJ; Yang CY, and others. Long-term vegetarian diet and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese women. Calcif Tissue Int, 1997; 60: 245-9; EM Lau, T Kwok, J Woo, and others. Bone mineral density in Chinese elderly female vegetarians, vegans, lacto-vegetarians and omnivores. Eur J Clin Nutr 1998;52:60-4.

10. J. Dwyer and others. Diet, indicators of kidney disease, and late mortality among older persons in the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Amer J of Pub Health, 1994, 84:(8): 1299-1303.

11. M. Enig. Saturated fats and the kidneys. Wise Traditions, 2000, 1:3:49. Posted at http://www.westonaprice.org/.

12. V. Rattan and others. Effect of combined supplementation of magnesium oxide and pyrodoxine in calcium-oxalate stone formers. Urol Res, 1994, 22(3):161-5; NJ Blacklock. Sucrose and idiopathic renal stone. Nutr Health, 1987, 5(1): 9-17.

13. See references for note number two.

14. M. Enig. Know Your Fats, 258.

15. E. Cranton and JP Frackelton. J of Holistic Med, 1984, Spring/Summer, 6-37.

16. Russell Smith, op cit.; L. Corr and M. Oliver. The low-fat/cholesterol diet is ineffective. Eur Heart J, 1997, 18:18-22; F. McGill and others. Results of the International Atherosclerosis Project. Clin Lab Invest, 1968, 18:(5):498; Herrmann, Schorr, Purschwitz, Rassoul, Richter. Total homocysteine, vitamin B (12), and total antioxidant status in vegetarians. Clin Chem 2001 Jun;47(6):1094-101; EA Enas. Coronary artery disease epidemic in Indians: a cause for alarm and call for action. J Indian Med Assoc 2000 Nov;98(11):694-5, 697-702.

17. Ellis, Path, Montegriffo. Veganism: Clinical findings and investigations. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1970, 32:249-255.

18. HH Sandstead. Fiber, phytates, and mineral nutrition. Nutr Rev, 1992, 50:30-1; AH Tiney. Proximate composition and mineral and phytate contents of legumes grown in Sudan. J Food Comp and Analy, 1989, 2:67-68; see also S. Fallon and M. Enig, "The Ploy of Soy," posted at http://www.westonaprice.org/

19. LK Massey and others. Oxalate content of soybean seeds, soy foods, and other edible legumes. J Agric Food Chem, 2001, Sep. 49:9:4262-6.

20. See research abstracts posted at http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

21. FD Sauer and others. Additional Vitamin E required in milk replacer diets that contain canola oil. Nutr Res., 1997, 17: 259-262.

22. M. Enig, Know Your Fats, 120-1,195-6.

23. Mills, Beeson, Phillips, and Fraser. Cancer-incidence among California Seventh-day Adventists, 1976-1982. Am J Clin Nutr, 1994, 59 (suppl):1136S-42S.

24. E. Cheraskin, and others. J of Orthom Psych, 1978, 7:150-155.

25. Diana Schwarzbein and Nancy Deville. The Schwarzbein Principle (HCI Publications; Florida), 1999; Robert C. Atkins. Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution. (Avon Books; NY), 2002; Wolfgang Lutz. Life Without Bread (NTC/Contemporary Publishing; IL), 1999.

Rebuttal by Monique N. Gilbert:

I based the information in my article "High-Protein Diets - Are You Losing More Than Weight?" on the studies and opinions of very credible institutions and doctors.

The sources for the information and claims in my article include: The Heart Information Network (http://www.heartinfo.org/); The American Heart Association (http://www.americanheart.org/); The National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.gov/); The American Institute for Cancer Research (http://www.aicr.org/); The American Dietetic Association (Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1997;97(11):1317-21; The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine "The Protein Myth - The Building Blocks of Life" (http://www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Diets/protein.html); HFC-Nutrition Foundation "Women's Health: Bone Health and Soy" by Dr. James Anderson from the University of Kentucky (http://www.hcf-nutrition.org/general/bonehealth_wh.html); CNN news report "Heart Association to warn against low-carb diets" by Elizabeth Cohen, March 20, 2001.

Additionally, the American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee reviewed five high-protein diets and has written an advisory paper which warned about the dangers of long-term use of these diets. This high protein diet advisory was published in the October 9, 2001 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. (Some of the health claims stated in my article have also been published in the January 2001 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - Animal vs. Vegetable Protein Sources and Bone Loss). Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Andrew Weil, who are very knowledgeable and well respected in the field of health and nutrition, also share and agree with the views and claims contained in my article. As does Dr. Robert H. Eckel, MD, chair of the AHA's Nutrition Committee, and Gail Frank, PhD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Dr. McDougall, MD, also covered this topic in his article "The Great Debate: High Vs. Low Protein Diets" published in The McDougall Newsletter (http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html).

I wrote my article to let people know that there are health risks involved with these diets, and that they should be aware of them. I am not disputing that short-term weight loss will occur - it will. I am concerned about the long-term health hazards involved with the consumption of high protein and saturated fats contained in these diets, which HAVE been proven to cause heart disease, osteoporosis, and kidney problems.

My goal is to inform and educate people about these risks. Only when you have all the facts, can you make an informed decision that is best for your own personal circumstances. When the risks of a particular diet outweigh the positives, caution is advised and the diet should be avoided.

Mr. Byrnes made some very questionable claims about saturated fats and its effect on heart disease in his article "High-Protein Diets: Separating Fact "From Fiction". Based on the information from the sources stated above, I stand by the information in my article and will continue to promote balanced eating and a healthy diet and lifestyle. I just want to set the record straight, and to let your readers know that I advocate a balanced diet based upon whole foods - not a high carbohydrate diet - and that my claims are based upon solid medical fact - not fiction. (Interestingly, the nutrition experts at WebMD analyzed several popular diets, including Weight Watchers, the Atkins diet, the Carbohydrate Addict's diet, Dr. Dean Ornish's diet, Dr. Andrew Weil's diet, the Zone, The Pritikin Principle, Living Low Carb diet, Protein Power and Sugar Busters. The diets highest in protein and fat had the worst results and the experts who analyzed and reviewed these diets advised against them. The results of these diets can be viewed at http://my.webmd.com/lose_weight.

Rebuttal by Asad Shahsavari, N.M.D., Ph.D., M.D.M.A.
in support of Monique N. Gilbert:

It may be considered that controversy, criticism and confrontation are the centerpiece of both destructive and constructive action: the literal "yin and yang", so to speak, of our reasoning options. In today’s society, science is demanding more rigorous clinical testing and more highly advanced technology. In the critical areas of human health, we have achieved tremendous mechanical breakthroughs. We can transplant a damaged heart, but have great difficulty transforming it from being damaged or preventing the problem in the first place. We can clone a sheep but have trouble falling asleep without counting them or taking a drug to zone us into unconsciousness.

We are grossly overfed and sadly undernourished as a civilized society and still believe we have extended the life spans of humans, forgetting the plethora of drugs we are dependent on to make our hearts keep beating, our stomachs stop growling, our sinuses stop dripping and our intestines start moving. There are time-honored philosophies and isolated cultures that remind us of remarkable health possibilities without these chemical crutches, such as the Hunza of the Himalayas and their exceptional history of longevity or the yogis with their ancient wisdom of the art of breathing, posturing and enlightened consciousness. Aside from the elegant marketing of the pharmaceutical industry and statistical propaganda, we are still suffering as a humankind from the same old death traps of dysfunctional disease. Could it be we are at odds with the truth rather than those who dare to speak it?

Every medical and scientific journal is laden with articles of clinical studies, footnoted with the validations of endless authorities. It is as if we are afraid to make logical, common sense or original thought statements without a legion of experts to stamp their approval on our idea. We are helplessly bound to some unwritten code that says we must not venture beyond what others have already given us permission to believe. We dare not allow the paradigm to shift or we may fall off the edge of the world. It is refreshing to know that someone had the presence of mind to acknowledge that a glove has no edges.

Thankfully, Galileo, de Vinci, the Wright brothers, Einstein, Planck, Tesla, Kirlian, Pauling, Ornish and a litany of others throughout scientific history, were brave enough to be free thinkers. They gave us insight on the truth that the earth is not the center of the universe, humans can fly, what goes up may not always come down and a diseased heart may indeed be repaired without the surgeon or the pharmacist. Empirical thought has always been at the heart of the scientific process, assuming the position that what may be duplicated in a laboratory setting is evidence of irrefutable fact. All too often we find, however, that science is the plagiarizer of nature’s original designs and that amazing scientific "discoveries", though quite stimulating and inspiring, are nevertheless simply uncovered aspects of natural order.

The human curiosity instinct is delightful and certainly has given us an edge on evolution, yet, there is a tad bit more ego invested than necessary. Much like the adolescent who is experiencing a burst of individuality becomes an instant authority on everything from running the household to running the world, science is constantly finding its much needed wisdom in the bigger picture. It is such a dichotomy that presents itself to us today in the areas of health and well-being. In an age where we believe ourselves to be beyond our ancestors, what lessons do we still need to learn regarding survival, health and well-being?

As an example, an article appeared in the ANMA Monitor in December of 2001 titled High Protein Diets – Are You Losing More Than Weight? Authored by Monique Gilbert. There was a subsequent rebuttal article in the March, 2002 issue of the ANMA Monitor titled High Protein Diets, Separating Fact From Fiction by Stephen Byrnes. In Byrnes’ article, he mentioned that Gilbert’s writings were "unreferenced." He also points out several areas regarding high protein diets and low carbohydrate diets, including comments on the vegetarian dietary issue, as well as soy products. Byrnes’ rebuttal reflects the common attitude among scientists about the need for validating one’s statements and findings. This is to be commended on many levels, but should not stand in the way of vindicating the truth.

There are several aspects of Byrnes’ rebuttal which need a more expanded awareness of qualified reference. For example, Gilbert was quoted, "Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, can result in heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and kidney stones." Byrnes contrasted this with "It is excessive carbohydrate intake, not animal or protein intake, that can result in heart disease and cancer." This was referenced from the AMJ Clin Nutr, 1997: 65:1027-1033. Out of curiosity, as to the validity of both Gilbert’s and Byrnes’ statements, I ventured into the available literature in the medical indices accessible through the National Library of Medicine’s online service, better known as pubmed. Millions of current and recently published articles are available from worldwide researchers in countless areas of interest. Oddly enough, there are clinical studies to support both contentions.

However, I searched for specific areas on vegetarianism and meat consumption in relationship to health and disease and found 107 published articles on vegetarianism and cancer, 402 articles on soy and cancer and 547 articles on meat consumption and disease. Due to the economy of time, I was unable to detail my review to each and every individual disease category. Fortunately, the articles covered a broad base of disorders, including the majors: heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Reviewing several of the abstracts from the selected titles, I found two major long-term studies which were conducted specifically in Germany and the UK which clearly nullified the well known California 7th Day Adventists study cited by Byrnes which quotes "no significant association between breast cancer and a high consumption of animal fats or animal products in general was noted." The study also found that although the largely vegetarian population was found to have slightly lower rates for some cancers, other cancers were indicated as being higher than the general population. Byrnes cites that the study noted that meat consumption was not associated with a higher cancer risk. According to the studies I found some of which involved thousands of subjects in long-term studies of 11-17 years follow-up, quite the opposite was noted regarding vegetarianism and meat consumption, especially relating to heart disease and cancer.

Here are some specifics on a few of these studies: BMJ 1996 Sep 28; 313(7060): 775-9 titled: Dietary habits and mortality in 11,000 vegetarians and health-conscious people: results of a 17-yr. follow-up. This study was conducted in the UK with 4336 men and 6435 women. The published results in the abstract stated: "Overall, the cohort had a mortality about half that of the general population." Another study titled: The Oxford Vegetarian Study: An overview, Am J Clin Nutr 1999 Sep; 70 (3 Suppl.): 525S-531S, involved 6000 vegetarians and 5000 non-vegetarians. After 12 years of follow-up, "all cause mortality in the whole cohort was roughly one half that in the population of England and Whales…deaths were lower in non-meat-eaters than in meat eaters for each of the endpoints studied for all causes of death, for ischemic heart disease and for all malignant neoplasms."

Another impressive study conducted in the UK, US, and Germany, titled Mortality in vegetarians and non-vegetarians: a collaborative analysis of 8300 deaths among 76,000 men and women in five prospective studies (Public Health Nutr 1998 Mar: 1(1):33-41) states "Vegetarians had a 24% reduction in mortality from ischemic heart disease." Yet another study published in Prev Med 2002 Apr: 34 (4): 436-44 is titled: Lung cancer risk among Czech women in case-control study. In this study, 269 female lung patients were compared with 1079 controls. The findings concluded: " Excess risk associated with the consumption of red meat an poultry. Protective effects associated with intake of vegetables." A recently published study in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention 2002 Jan; 11 (1): 43-9 is titled: Phytoestrogens and thyroid cancer risk: the San Francisco Bay Area thyroid cancer study which states "The consumption of traditional and non-traditional soy-based products and alfalfa sprouts were associated with reduced risk of thyroid cancer."

Lastly, of the sample articles out of the hundreds presented was a perspective not usually mentioned in the medical circle regarding meat consumption; that of the global effects on the welfare of the environment, which dramatically influence the future of the ecosystem and the planet’s evolution. The article appeared in Am J Clin Nutr 1994 May, 59 (5 Suppl.): 1099S-1102S titled An opinion on the global impact of meat consumption by Stephen Lewis Associates based in Toronto, Canada. An excerpt from the abstract regarding cattle grazing reads: "these practices have resulted in less available land for the production of food, global warming because of the practices of deforestation, exhaustion of the worlds water supply and the adverse effects on the health of the world."

These articles are only a slight sampling of the many thousands of studies conducted worldwide on the validation of vegetarian lifestyles and human health. Granted, there may be isolated studies which may show an inverse relationship regarding certain elements, such as Vitamin B12 deficiency or calcium absorption with certain processed or genetically engineered soy products, and in a select grouping of subjects, but review of the more extensive body of literature, both ancient and contemporary, regarding vegetarianism and improved health, is overwhelming to the long-term advantages of vegetarianism versus meat consumption.

Even the traditionally-derived animal by-products, such as coenzyme Q10, so essential for heart function, is abundant in vegetable sources such as bran, nuts, spinach, broccoli, soybeans, and sesame oil without the toxic effects of meat. Vitamin A, commonly derived from fish liver oil, is found in the non-toxic pre-cursor beta carotene form in carrots, lemon grass, and all yellow and orange vegetable sources; again, without the toxicity associated with meat-eating.

Of particular concern with meat eating is the epidemic of parasitic and fungal infestations in the human organism derived directly from the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat and fish. According to Phillip Goscienski, MD with the Infectious Disease Branch of Pediatrics at the Navel Regional Center in San Diego, CA, 240 infectious diseases are transmitted by animals to humans. The most commonly known infestations transmitted to humans through meat and fish eating include trichinosis from pork, beef tapeworm, fish tapeworm, anisakine larvae and flukes, particularly found in salmon, herring and cod, eustrongylides worm from sushi, liver and lung flukes from raw fish, sheep liver flukes, intestinal flukes, dog and cat roundworm, causing visceral larva migrans in children, and dog heartworm along with seven other species of filariae, causing several serious pathogenic disorders such as lymph node infection, fever, elephantiasis and blindness. And we would need a separate article to mention the horrors of Mad Cow disease.

There are entire societies and cultures, which have been predominantly vegetarian for thousands of years. They boast of high levels of fertility and longevity, as well as reduced incidences in their populations of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. This is fully substantiated by numerous international studies. India and China, alone, numbering in the billions, are deeply rooted with vegetarian and vegan cultural instincts among specific populations. One study posted on the walls of the University of California at San Francisco Hospital detailed a recent study of vegetarian societies and osteoporosis. The conclusions were that osteoporosis was significantly higher among meat-eating populations and that vegetarians tended to have less osteoporatic developments, more bone density and quicker recovery from fractures.

As mentioned earlier, the health habits of the Hunza of the Himalayas, bordered by China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are documented in several major publications. The Hunza eat a 99% vegetarian diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, eating meat only on an occasional holiday, if at all. Their diet is approximately 10% fat, 10% protein and 80% carbohydrate.

The distinguishing factor in this type of diet, however, is not the mere ratios, but more the quality of the foods they eat, totally organically grown, rich in minerals and fed by glacier streams of pure water. Nestled in the mountains, the Hunza area is blessed with a pristine airflow cleansed with abundant amounts of natural ozone. They enjoy a social structure virtually free of crime, strong family bonds and a deep respect for natural order. Hunza people are known to live quite commonly to over 100, 120, even 140 years of age. The remarkable aspect is that they do so without doctors, drugs, hospitals or medical insurance. In other words, they have validated the truth of biogenic living by their own cultural experience. Can we in American or European cultures even dare to begin to compare health statistics?

If we are to challenge one diet over another, one thought over another or one authority over another, then we become involved in an endless semantics war, pointing proverbial fingers and choosing our empirical weapons. Even though we will always be able to find something to support our own personal or professional view on whatever we choose, life itself becomes the final judge and jury.

In respect to meat consumption, the ingesting of flesh has significant social, medical and spiritual ramifications. Several major religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, among others, require complete or partial abstinence from flesh foods. Sacred scriptures are filled with recommendations regarding abstaining from meat eating and the ingestion of blood. Meat consumption is directly related to cannibalism, in that the human animal has been hunted and utilized for food by both other animals and other humans, the same as other animals prey upon each other.

This is regarded as the hierarchy of the food chain. Cannibalism was outlawed by civilizations that found it a violation against codes of health and morality. There was something unsettling about the savagery of eating another human being. Not to mention the horrific health implications, which have been found to cause genetic mutations and disorders. Why, then, is it so difficult to understand that the eating of any animal carries with it similar serious health issues?

To support this theory on a scientific level, the mere fact that the flesh of an animal begins a putrefaction process only moments after the death of the animal, causing the bacteria count to rise into the billions, is reason enough to suspect the deleterious effects of eating such a substance. True carnivores are equipped with an intestinal tract one-third the length of a human’s, allowing for rapid transport of the waste products through the system before putrefaction can take hold. Carnivores often begin their meal by eating the prey while it is still alive. Living flesh and blood possess certain enzymes which help to detoxify the tissues. Dead bodies are unable to synthesize these metabolites and the bacteria multiply profusely to commence the catabolism of the flesh.

Modern day commercial meat packing is notorious for the use of noxious chemicals, solvents and detergents which are used to help detoxify the meat in preparation for the consumer. From the inhumane growing of cattle and fowl to the slaughter practices to the packing processes, meat consumption must be held accountable for needless wasting of farm lands for grazing rather than growing, harmful antibiotics and growth hormones, and the excess of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides present in the animal feed. There is strong suspicion linking these injected substances with rising hormonal disturbances among both women and men, creating a more vulnerable metabolism toward breast, uterine and prostate cancers.

Reducing our dietary habits to mere percentages of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates is eliminating the tremendous importance of the quality of the foods themselves. The forms of these elements supersede the amounts. There are certain qualities of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates that are better assimilated and more biochemically adaptable to the human system. A leading exponent on fats and human metabolism, Dr. Johanna Budwig, seven times nominated for the Nobel Prize, sates in her book Flax Oil As A True Aid Against Arthritis, Heart Infarction, Cancer And Other Diseases that "with regard to the preservation of structure in the living body, the dipolarity of the electrical field between fat and protein is of fundamental importance. If this dipolarity between highly unsaturated fats and the sulfur containing protein substance is destroyed, for example, due to the fats having been solidified before being ingested, that means their electrical charge is removed so that the counter polarity is missing for the maintenance of a voltage field. In short, the battery is empty." She also mentions a statement, long before the advent of high-protein diets, alluding to protein, that the root for protein is the word "proteos" meaning "I come first."

The introduction of the high-protein diet seems to parallel such a position in our social standards. The "I come first" principle is evident in the lack of morality in business tactics with the environment being sacrificed for higher profit margins as well as human health put up on the chopping block to service a medical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. Road rage is clearly a statement on "I come first" regardless of the violence it evokes. The animal does not consider the feelings of its prey. Rather, it feeds upon it psychologically, sensing fear and weakness as a green light for attack. As consciously evolving entities, it is time we review the old practices in light of their true nature and consequences.

The vegetable kingdom is evidenced to have older origins than animals and is the direct link to solar and universal energy fields through photosynthetic process and life-sustaining electromagnetic properties. The practice of eating animals has continued to keep us bonded to the animal nature of territorial rights. We feel justified in killing other life forms in order to sustain our own, regardless of the pain, suffering and destruction it may cause, even to ourselves. We are victimized by conditioned appetites rather than freed by our higher instincts toward an ethical shared existence.

Perhaps it is time we look past the necessity to defend the slaughterhouses and begin learning the valuable lessons that nature has provided us with in terms of health, well-being, longevity and even, immortality. According to the statistics gathered by Marvin L. Jones, registrar of the Zoological Society of San Diego, CA, some of the shortest-lived animals on the planet are carnivores. An average lion lives 25 years, a Bengali tiger – 26 years, a timber wolf – 19 years, a spotted hyena – 36 years. In contrast, the Asian elephant lives 69 years, a horse – 46 years, river hippopotamus – 54 years, Sumatran orangutan – 59 years, and the African black rhinoceros – 45 years.

Countless authorities have come to forefront in the past 50 years to acknowledge the dangers of meat eating diets. One of the more outstanding discoveries was by Dr. Virginia Livingston-Wheeler, author of The Conquest of Cancer and primary researcher on the progenitor cryptocides microbe, shown clinically to cause cancer in 100% of the animals tested. Livingston-wheeler surmised that all chickens grown for consumption in the United States are carriers of the pathogenic form of the PC microbe, capable of generating tumors and malignant growths. In contrast, researchers at University of Alabama in Birmingham found soybeans significantly slowed the spread of breast cancer in rats. This coincides with the common knowledge that Asian women rank lowest among breast cancer patients when ingesting their traditional diet, rich in substances which mimic the milder form of human estrogen known as estradiol.

Another major breakthrough in cancer prevention and phytochemical treatment is the rice-derived IP-6, developed over 15 years of research by Dr. Shamsuddin of the School of Medicine with Maryland University in Baltimore, MD. The non-toxic therapy was initially developed with research on colon cancer and now is being used with various forms of cancer including lung, prostate and breast. Results have shown reductions in existing tumors of between 40-90 % of and animal studies showing significant to complete resistance to induced carcinogenesis.

Such work is exemplary and leads us to a better understanding of the inherent healing properties of the vegetable kingdom. Of recent note is Dr. Dean Ornish’s groundbreaking work in cardiovascular research. His best-selling book on reversing heart disease without drugs or surgery prompted a clinical trial which clearly proved that heart disease was reversible by diet and lifestyle changes. Ornish recommends a predominantly vegetarian diet, low in fat, and advises his patients to include meditation and social reconnections in meaningful relationships. Over 40 major insurance companies now underwrite his protocol. Ornish’s research may be found in JAMA 1998 Sec. 16; 280(23): 2001-7.

Herbs, flowers, vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts and seeds are being tested by several world health organizations for their cancer-inhibiting effects and therapeutic properties. The wisdom of such research echoes the sages of our past. In closing, may I encourage all inquisitive minds to investigate the bigger picture of health and well-being from all aspects: personal, professional, social and universal. There is a movement toward vegetarianism, recycling, alternative forms of energy beyond fossil fuel and nuclear power, enlightened leadership, natural childbirth and shared parenting. All of these indicate an evolutionary rise of humanity away from the colonilizing, warrior mentalities of our ancestors toward a kinder more compassionate co-existence.

It is true that one may create a seemingly powerful body and intense energy from the ingestion of animal flesh, but it is a short-lived as the carnivore’s life itself. Our potential as humankind needs the enduring and endearing properties of the vegetable kingdom. Poets, prophets and philosophers alike have spoken of it for ages. They tell of the tree of life, the garden of paradise, the sacred lotus… an existence that does not take another life to make its own, but which draws from the wellspring of inter-dimensional energy, whether named as solar, tachyonic, magnetic, or left undefined. The word for "war" has its etiology in the Indo-Germanic word meaning "the desire for more cows." In an effort to foster some semblance of world peace, there may be hope in taking personal accountability for ending the slaughter and celebrating the harvest at the dinner table.

Asad Shahsavari, NMD, PhD, MDMA
BIOMED Holistic Health Center, Director
916-990-0505 or 408-374-6133
Email: docashah@yahoo.com

High-Protein Response by Stephen Byrnes, Ph.D., R.N.C.P.: (deceased from AIDS)

The Endless Mythology of Vegetarianism:

A Reply to Monique Gilbert and Asad Shahsavari

Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP (deceased)

August 15, 2002

Editor:

As I expected, my response (1) to Monique Gilbert's piece on high-protein diets (2) generated some hot replies, both from Ms. Gilbert (3) and Dr. Asad Shahsavari (4). I felt this last response from me was in order as both Gilbert and Shahsavari implied in their articles that I was presenting skewed data that was misleading to readers. As we shall see, however, it is my critics' information that is flawed.

At the outset, I should point out that most of the criticisms leveled against me in the two rebuttals have been dealt with at length in my review paper on vegetarianism (5), as well as my cyber-debate with Dr. Michael Janson, MD, both of which are posted on my website. I encourage all readers of the Monitor to carefully peruse both of these works. Additionally, other authors such as Dr. H. Leon Abrams, Jr., (6), Dr. William Jarvis (7), and Dr. Barry Groves (8) have dealt with and debunked the usual vegetarian arguments and I encourage readers also to look into these works.

Rather than reinvent the wheel and repeat the arguments of my paper, I think it best to point out a few egregious errors in the rebuttals, particularly Shahsavari's. Interested readers who wish to dig deeper into these issues may do so by studying the papers and articles mentioned before.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE EMPIRICAL BOX

Dr. Shahsavari's article bears all of the marks of a typical piece of vegetarian apologetics. The pathos, half-truths, and emotionally-charged words like "toxic," "cannibalism," and "murder" are all present. There are also some out and out untruths which need correction.

He claims that he did a Medline search "for specific areas on vegetarianism and meat consumption in relationship to health and disease." His search turned up hundreds of papers, the abstracts of which support his opinion that vegetarianism is a healthier way of life than omnivorism. In his opinion, then, the sheer number of studies that support his view nullify the conclusions of the study I quoted that showed no association between meat-eating and cancer incidence (9). He also claims that contrary studies are done on "select grouping of subjects" and that a "review of the more extensive body of literature, both ancient and modern, regarding vegetarianism and improved health, is overwhelming to the long-term advantages of vegetarianism versus meat consumption."


In the many dealings I've had with vegetarians over the years, there is always a pattern of behavior in how they handle studies and/or clinical data. When the studies or data appear to support their health claims, the material is played up like there is no tomorrow. But when the studies or clinical data either question or flatly contradict their theories, one of four things typically occurs:

1. The conflicting studies and data are ignored;
2. The conflicting studies and data are derided as "isolated incidents" or "anecdotal evidence";
3. The conflicting studies and data are accused of being sponsored by the meat and dairy industries and, therefore, worthless;
4. The conflicting studies and data are said to be "obscure" or published in "obscure" and/or "not well-known" journals (as if that, somehow, detracts from their truthfulness).

Obviously, none of these responses are appropriate. Dr. Shahsavari's handling of the opposing studies and data that I presented in my article fall mostly into #2. But I'm afraid his solution is unsatisfactory and definitely out of line with the scientific method. In his excellent book The Cholesterol Myths, Dr. Uffe Ravnskov defines the predicament Dr. Shahsavari, Ms. Gilbert, and other vegetarian apologists are in:

"If a scientific hypothesis is sound, it must agree with all observations. A hypothesis is not like a sports event, where the team with the greatest number of points [i.e., studies] wins the game. Even one observation that does not support a hypothesis is enough to disprove it. The proponents of a scientific idea have the burden of proof on their shoulders. The opponent does not have to present an alternative idea; his task is only to find the weakness in the hypothesis. If there is only one proof against it, one proof that cannot be denied and that is based on reliable scientific observations, the hypothesis must be rejected." (10)

In other words, you don't dismiss contradictory information by saying that the bulk of the evidence overwhelms it: scientific truth is not determined by some kind of majority vote. In this particular instance, the fact that there is a huge amount of conflicting data on meat-eating, health, disease, and vegetarianism shows that something is amiss in the vegetarian dogma and the supporting "proof" presented.

THE WITNESS OF HISTORY
Does history bear out their claims? If vegetarianism is indeed a healthier way of living than history should show it. This is common sense. But the fossil record and the witness of history do NOT show this and a few examples will suffice to demonstrate it.

When the Native Americans of certain parts of Florida switched from their mixed diet of fish, meat, and some plant foods to a diet centered around corn and other plant foods, their health quickly deteriorated. Bone analysis revealed high levels of tooth decay, arthritis, fractures, and infections. Such problems were not present in other tribes that had adequate access to animal protein (11).

Dr. Weston Price's seminal research into traditional diets showed unequivocally that the more vegetarian a people were, the more tooth decay and health problems they experienced. The more carnivorous peoples were always noted as more robust and stronger than more vegetarian peoples with a tooth decay rate of less than 1%. Dr. Price's research also showed that there were no exclusively vegetarian peoples in the world and current anthropological research has borne this observation out (11a).

In his papers, nutritional anthropologist H. Leon Abrams presents archaeological evidence that supports these findings: Skulls of ancient peoples who were largely vegetarian have teeth containing caries and abscesses and show evidence of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases (12).

If it is indeed true that meat-eating and saturated fat cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc., where is the evidence for this in native peoples the world over who eat high meat diets? Investigations of the Masai and Eskimo, who are almost 100% carnivorous (before modernization), for example, revealed no chronic diseases (13). If the meat=disease theory were true, then logically one would find disease in heavy meat-eating populations, but such is not the case. Therefore, Dr. Shahsavari's claims are false.

Studies have actually shown that as heavy meat-eating peoples like the Masai switch their diet to one based more on corn and beans and other plant foods, their health deteriorates (14). Such evidence does not lend credence to Shahsavari's contentions that vegetarian diets are healthier than meat-based ones.

Research shows quite clearly that as humans abandoned animal foods and fats in favor of more plant foods, our health suffered (15). Skeletal remains of European populations reveal a slow, steady increase in tooth decay from the Neolithic period when agriculture first began until today, where it has skyrocketed (16).

The reason for this is simple: Humans as a species evolved as meat-eaters. For 99 percent of the time of human evolution, humans hunted animals and gathered a limited number of wild plant foods (17). Australopithecines, the first humans, relied heavily on animal foods, both hunted and scavenged (18). Large amounts of plant foods were not viable dietary options for early humans because most plant foods are poisonous in their raw states and early humans did not know how to cook or control fire to cook (19). Therefore, early humans could not have survived on the limited plant foods available because they could not have provided enough calories or nutrients to survive.

The bottom line is this: Humans are not genetically designed to thrive on plant foods alone. This is why our health deteriorates when animal foods are removed from our diets.

POSITIVE STUDIES?
This, of course, brings up the question of the numerous studies showing vegetarianism in a positive light. Since we already know that the witness of history is squarely against such notions, there can only be one conclusion to make about modern studies to the contrary: They are flawed in some fundamental way.

Readers should not be shocked by this proposition as it is well known that many things can invalidate a study. When it comes to vegetarianism, these things abound as a few examples will show.

In July 1994, the British press carried headlines like 'Vegetarian diet means longer life' as they reported a vegetarian study from the British Medical Journal which said that vegetarians suffered forty percent fewer cancers and heart disease than meat eaters. (20)

But the public were being misled - the study was badly flawed.

The study's vegetarian cohort was selected through the British Vegetarian Society and the meat-eaters were then selected by the vegetarians themselves. This is hardly the way to conduct an unbiased trial - if they want to prove a point, and what vegetarian doesn't, they will pick those who are most likely to be unhealthy. It is human nature.

The vegetarians were mostly women, while the meat-eating group contained more men. Women live longer than men. In the age range of the subjects studied, men have four times the heart disease of women - enough to confound the figures significantly.
The vegetarians were younger than the meat-eaters. As younger people have a lower death rate, one would expect more deaths among the meat-eaters regardless of dietary influences.

In this study, the two groups were not comparable and the study is therefore worthless.

More recently, the press made a big splash about a study that supposedly showed that teen vegetarians were healthier than their omnivorous companions (21). What did the researchers deem to be "healthier?" A lower intake of fat, especially saturated fat, and eating more vegetables. Of course, you first have to show that eating less saturated fat is indeed healthier, but this was not done, either by the authors of the study or by anyone else, for that matter (22).


There was no front page coverage for a recent study showing that, despite supplementation, vegans had low intakes of calcium, selenium, and vitamins B2, B12, and D (23).

OTHER SHORTCOMINGS
The balance of Shahsavari's article was filled with half-truths and misinformation. For example, his listing of transmissible parasites from animal foods to humans neglected to mention that proper animal husbandry and food preparation techniques eliminate such risks. He also conveniently neglected to mention the fact that plant foods are vectors for infection as well. Schistosomiasis, one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world, is primarily transmitted in Asia by eating raw water chestnuts. Additionally, most salmonella outbreaks in America have occurred in plant foods, particularly strawberries.

His information on CoQ10 is misleading. While it is true that some plant foods contain higher amounts of this nutrient than other plant foods, animal foods, particularly organ meats, provide a far richer source. There is also some question as to whether plant forms of CoQ are as usable by the body as animal forms (24).

His comments about vitamin A and beta-carotene are simplistic and, again, misleading. He claims that animal-derived vitamin A is "toxic" and implies that beta-carotene is just as good as vitamin A. Both of these statements are false. While vitamin A can be toxic, it takes a huge and massive amount to generate toxicity--far more than what you'd ingest in a teaspoon of cod liver oil or a pat of butter. Additionally, it is a mistake to assume that beta-carotene converts easily to vitamin A in the body or to assume that it is a 1:1 conversion. Several conditions are required to facilitate carotene conversion into vitamin A and the conversion rate is hardly optimal (25).

His statement that "There are entire societies and cultures, which have been predominantly vegetarian for thousands of years" is simply wrong. All peoples show a preference for animal foods and animal fats and only turn to agriculture when they have to (26).

His comments on the Hunza are also wrong. He claims that the Hunza "eat a 99% vegetarian diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, eating meat only on an occasional holiday, if at all." He seems to have forgotten the huge role that clabbered goat's milk plays in the Hunza diet--they consume it virtually at every meal. As far as I know, goat's milk is an animal food. It is also more fatty than cow's milk.

His comments on religion and meat-eating are bizarre and incorrect. He claims that "Several major religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam among others, require complete or partial abstinence from flesh foods." I have no idea where Dr. Shahsavari got his education in comparative religion, but it is obviously from a very poor source. While some sects of Buddhism proscribe the eating of meat, all allow dairy foods. Similar tenets are found in Hinduism, but it should be pointed out that Hinduism only specifically prohibits eating beef, not other animal flesh foods. Though Judaism, Islam and some sects of Christianity prohibit eating some animal foods like shellfish, lizards, and pork, ALL of them allow eating of other animal foods. Historically, Jews and Muslims celebrate their most holy festivals of Passover and Ramadan, respectively, with slaughtered lamb.

His twisted attempts to equate meat-eating with cannibalism are laughable. There is something called the Food Chain which he seems unaware of. Humans, like every other species on this planet, participate in it. In this world we live in, life forms feed off of other life forms to survive. Though vegetarians may not like to think about it, death is a reality of life.

Dr. Shahsavari's litany about the toxins in meat are unscientific and hysterical. For example, he states that "only moments after the death of an animal, the bacteria count [rises] into the billions." Where are the references to back up this grandiose claim? How is such a thing biologically possible? Reading this section of his article, one would think that meat is the most toxic substance on the planet. One has to wonder why someone does not keel over dead after eating a hamburger if his claims are true. He even seems to blame "road rage" on meat-eating! What is next? Communism? Pornography? The degeneration of our youth? How about Enron?

His sermonizing about the evils and immoralities of eating meat is nothing but nutritional sophistry designed to play on people's emotions--hardly an academic approach to an issue. He implies that being vegetarian will free us from our barbaric, animalistic nature. He obviously does not know that it was the near vegan Kikuyu tribe of East Africa that carried out the grotesque and murderous Mao Mao terrorist campaigns against white settlers in the 1950s. The Kikuyu's neighbors, the largely carnivorous Masai, caused no problems. I can also tell readers that some of the most vicious hate mail I've received has been from "peaceful vegans." I'd be happy to forward some of these messages, some of which contained death threats, to interested readers.

His attempts to prove that meat-eating is harmful by quoting the unproven theories of Virginia Livingston-Wheeler are misleading. While it is true that Dr. Wheeler considered commercial chickens to be infected with what she believed was the cancer microbe, her anti-cancer diet allowed for generous amounts of butter and cream, as well as lamb and its internal organs (27). According to Dr. Wheeler, lamb and sheep never get cancer and are therefore safe for eating.

He then attempts to convince readers that eating soybeans will significantly reduce the spread of breast cancer. He also implies that it is soy consumption that protects Asian women from this disease. The studies, however, are conflicting as several have shown soy and its isoflvaones to actually accelerate tumor growths (28). Furthermore, while Asian women do have low breast cancer rates, they also have very high thyroid cancer rates (28a). To use his logic, soy must be responsible for this as well.

Dr. Shahsavari attributes the success of Dr. Dean Ornish's plan for heart disease to its predominantly low-fat vegetarian diet. It is well-known, however, that the "Ornish Plan" combines several factors in its approach: meditation, exercise, smoking cessation, emotional counseling, and diet. How does one know which factor(s) produced the beneficial changes seen in some of Ornish's patients? One does not. One thing is certain however, the benefits are NOT from the diet. When the Ornish and Pritikin diets were studied in isolation from other factors, the results clearly demonstrated that, despite the assistance of spousal education and support, the lowest fat group could not tolerate such a low fat diet. It was also found that as percentage of fat was lowered below 30%, traditional lipid profile risk factors for heart disease clearly worsened in direct relation to the degree of lowering of percentage of dietary fat. (29)

While I admire their zeal for their viewpoints, it is obvious to me that their zeal has blinded Ms. Gilbert and Dr. Shahsavari to the truth. From his website, it appears that Dr. Shahsavari is vegan for religious reasons. While he is certainly entitled to his beliefs, they should not influence his academic positions.

As a final comment, the article by Mark Brudnak entitled "Heart Disease and Diabetes: Facts About Coronary Heart Disease," in Monitor 6:3 advises "changing your diet to one low in fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol will help reduce high blood cholesterol, a primary cause of atherosclerosis." This claim is false as a recent review paper showed (30).

NOTES

1. Monitor, March 2002, 6:1.
2. Monitor, December 2001, 5:4
3. Monitor, June 2002, 6:2
4. Monitor, August 2002, 6:3
5. The Myths of Vegetarianism, Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, July 2000; Nexus, April/May and June/July 2002.
6. (a) J Appl Nutr, 1980, 32:2:53-87; (b) The Cambridge World History of Food. K Kiple and K Ornelas, editors. (Cambridge University Press; UK), 2000, vol. 2, 1567.
7. Why I am Not a Vegetarian, American Council on Science and Health, Volume 9 Number 2 1997, posted at http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0902/vegetarian.html
8. The Naive Vegetarian, posted at http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/vegetarian.html.
9. Amer J Clin Nutr, 1994, 59 (suppl):1136S-42S
10. U Ravnskov. The Cholesterol Myths. (New Trends Publishing; Washington, D.C.), 2000, 12.
11. Scientific American, June 2000, 80-85.
11a. WA Price. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, 1943. Summary articles on Price's research can be viewed at http://www.westonaprice.org/
12. J Appl Nutr, 1979, 31:1-2, 43-59.
13. Amer Anthropol, 1977, 79:309-316; (b) Amer J Epidem, 1972, 95:6-37; (c) Food Nutr, 1963, 24:104.
14. Lancet, 1992; 340:1042-3.
15. (a)MN Cohen. Health and the Rise of Civilization. (Yale University Press; CT.), 1989; (b) J. Diamond. Discover Magazine, May 1987, 64-66.
16. C Wells. Bones, Bodies, and Disease: Evidence of Disease and Abnormality in Early Man, New York, 1964; (b) GH Pelto and PJ Pelto. The Cultural Dimensions of the Human Adventure. New York, 1979, 292-301.
17. MD Leakey. Olduvai Gorge, vol. 3. Cambridge University Press; NY, 1971; (b) RB Lee and I DeVore. "Problems in the studies of hunters and gatherers," in Lee and DeVore, eds., Man the Hunter. Aldine Publishing, Chicago, 1968, 3-20.
18. (a) J Appl Nutr, 1979, 31:43-59; (b) MN Cohen. The Food Crisis in History. Yale University Press, CT., 1977, 15; c) Leakey, op cit. (d) Science, 1972, 176:512-4; (e) Southwest J Anthrop, 1969, 25:307-41.
19. J Appl Nutr, 1986, 1,2:24-31.
20. Br Med J. 1994; 308:1667-70.
21. J Adol Health, December 2001, 29:406-416.
22. Science, March 30, 2001, 291:5513 2536-45.
23. Amer J Clin Nutr, July 2002, 76:100-106.
24. S. Liberman. The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book, Avery Publishing, 1999, 190.
25. T Brody. Nutritional Biochemistry, Academic Press, 1994, 400-401.
26. HL Abrams. Food and Evolution, Temple University Press, 1987, 207-224.
27. VL Wheeler. The Conquest of Cancer, Franklin Watts, New York, 1984, 148.
28. (a) Cancer Detect Prev, 2001;25(6):527-32; (b) Env Health Perspec 1997, 105(Suppl 3):633-636.
28a. Charles E Searle, Ed, Chemical Carcinogens, ACS Monograph 173, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1976
29. JAMA, 1997 Nov 12 278:18 1509-15.
30. Q J Med, 2002, 95:397-403.
__________________
Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP (deceased)

Reference Books and Online Support Groups:

Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

This is a must-read book. Gary Taubes is an award-winning scientist who has specialized in exposing misleading, incorrect, or fraudulent science. His seven-year research in every science connected with the impact of nutrition on health shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong. For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates are better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and exercising more. Yet with more and more people acting on the advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes.

Taubes argues persuasively that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates (white flour, sugar, easily digested starches) via their dramatic effect on insulin -- the hormone that regulates fat accumulation -- and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. There are good and bad calories. Taubes traces how the common assumption that carbohydrates are fattening was abandoned in the 1960s when fat and cholesterol were blamed for heart disease and then -- wrongly -- were seen as the causes of a host of other maladies, including cancer. He shows us how these unproven hypotheses were emphatically embraced by authorities in nutrition, public health, and clinical medicine in spite of how well-conceived clinical trials have consistently refuted them. He also documents the dietary trials of carbohydrate restriction which consistently show that the fewer carbohydrates we consume the leaner we will be.

With precise references to the most significant existing clinical studies, he convinces us that there is no compelling scientific evidence demonstrating that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease; that salt causes high blood pressure; and that fiber is a necessary part of a healthy diet. Based on the evidence that does exist, he leads us to conclude that the only healthy way to lose weight and remain lean is to eat fewer carbohydrates or to change the type of carbohydrates we do eat and, for some of us, perhaps to eat virtually none at all.

TNT DIET - Targeted Nutrition Tactics
by Jeff Volek, Ph.D., RD and Adam Campbell, Men's Health Magazine
The explosive new plan to blast fat, build muscle and get healthy.

The TNT Diet is a great book for bodybuilders and everyone else who wants to preserve and build lean muscle while controlling body fat. This book is a must read for anyone on the low-carbohydrate diet.

Active Low-Carber Forums - Atkins & low-carbohydrate Diet Support Group

You can talk with others who have bowel diseases or Candida about their experiences. Registration is free but is required before you can post your own message or question. You can click above to visit and read posts by others. Look for the "Candida Yeast & IBS" topic link.

Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life

Life Without Bread is an important addition to the growing body of literature on the benefits and importance of low-carb diet. Written by Christian Allan, Ph.D., and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D., the book is based on Dr. Lutz's experience using carbohydrate restricted diets with thousands of patients for more than 40 years. It is based on extensive research in the medical and scientific literature and provides ample references. The book presents a unified theory of how high (and even moderate) levels of dietary carbohydrate cause or exacerbate various health problems and how carbohydrate restriction can help people to recover from those problems.

The book Life Without Bread by Christian Allan, Ph.D. and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D. has a chapter on gastrointestinal diseases. Don't be mislead by the title to believe the cure is the simple elimination of bread. Mr. Lutz's older book is out of print but has essentially the same information. It may even contain more detail than his new book above. Fortunately, Chapter VII: Gastro-Intestinal Tract of the older book can be read online.

Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Revised and Improved

The Atkins' New Diet Revolution is the best book for an initial dietary change and quick weight loss, reduced blood pressure, and reduced cholesterol. Look for the companion book for recipes. It has some very interesting case studies from the doctor's patients. It includes data from past civilizations proving the low-carbohydrate diet is the most healthy.
Robert C. Atkins, M.D. ISBN: 006001203X.

Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet Revolution

This is Dr. Atkins newest book. The main topics are the cause, prevention, and cure for diabetes and heart disease which have become major health concerns in the United States and many other developed countries.
Robert C. Atkins, M.D. with Sheila Buff ISBN: 0312251890.

Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answer To Drugs  

This is the best book for determining the correct vitamin and mineral dosage for therapeutic (disease curing) effect, excessive dosage amounts, and normal recommendations. Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution discusses the vital function of vitamins and nutritional supplements and then provides a list of diseases and complaints that the supplements can help cure or alleviate.

Protein Power Lifeplan

This book by Dr. Michael and Dr. Mary Dan Eades has an excellent chapter on "Leaky Gut Syndrome" which describes the cause of bowel diseases and autoimmune diseases.

Why Stomach Acid is Good for You

This groundbreaking book unleashes a brilliant new plan for permanently curing heartburn by relieving the root cause of the problem -- low stomach acid. The fact is that heartburn is caused by too little stomach acid -- not too much, as many doctors profess. Book by Jonathan V. Wright and Lane Lenard.

Three Books Are Now Available!

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MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting a new fitness or nutrition regimen. The information contained in this online site and email is presented in summary form only and intended to provide broad consumer understanding and knowledge of dietary supplements. The information should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation, or advice of your physician or other health care provider. We do not recommend the self-management of health problems. Information obtained by using our services is not exhaustive and does not cover all diseases, ailments, physical conditions, or their treatment. Should you have any health care related questions, please call or see your physician or other health care provider promptly. You should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read here. We strongly suggest you select a physician who is knowledgeable and supportive of the low-carbohydrate diet. Many of the physicians listed on this page have health clinics.

Drugs and Doctors May be the Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.

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Pharmaceutical firms are inventing diseases to sell more drugs.

The following sites have excellent information on a good diet for healing and health preservation.


The World's Most Popular Diet & Nutrition Message Board

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Reversing Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Coronary Artery Disease, Stent, HDL, and LDL Cholesterol Success Stories

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Bible Life Healing Ministries
Our Nutritional Program Has Performed Healing Miracles
The proper diet for healing and health preservation is argued fiercely because this is a spiritual battle. Poor health and disease can be caused by believing the worldly myths, distortions, and lies about nutrition which have deceived most people. The following information should be studied carefully to reduce your risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases. This information is healing people worldwide. You can also be healed. Please let us know about your success.

Jerry S. from Augusta, Georgia writes, "Thank you for such a wonderful web site.... the nutrition pages opened my eyes to the truth - and saved my life!"

Nutrition, Healing, Health, Protein, Fat, Carbohydrate, and Cholesterol Science.

Low-Carb Diet Plan Prevents Diabetes, Cancer, Alzheimer's, and Heart Disease.

Top Ten Nutritional Myths, Distortions, and Lies That Will Destroy Your Health.

Top Ten Historical Events That Created Our Current Health and Nutritional Quagmire.

Fibromyalgia, Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR), and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Prostate Health - Reversing Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and Preventing Prostate Cancer.

Hypertension, High Blood Pressure Control, Heart Palpitations, Arrhythmias, and Blood Testing.

Absolute Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Are Pathogenic.

Low-Carbohydrate Diet Confirmed by Duke Study.

Two Studies Validate the Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diet.

Ketogenic, Low-Carbohydrate Diet for Bodybuilders.

Ketosis Myths and Facts on the Low-Carbohydrate Diet.

Breaking Stalls and Plateaus on the Low-Carbohydrate Diet. Eskimos Prove An All Meat Diet Provides Excellent Health.

Myths, Distortions, and Lies About Beef.

Animal-Rights Terrorists Strike Again?

Studies Prove Beef Is A Safe And Healthy Food.

Bone Analysis Suggests Neolithic People Preferred Meat.

Proof Saturated Fats Are Healthy.

7,700-Year-Old Bones Prove Early Humans were Highly Carnivorous.

Eggs Do Not Cause Bad Cholesterol.

Feeding the Irrational Fear of Cholesterol.

Exposing the Myths, Dangers, and Lies About Organic Food. Amino Acids - The Building Blocks of Life and Healing.
The Organic Farming Myths. Anthropological Research Reveals Optimal Human Diet by H. Leon Abrams, Jr.
Dietary Fiber Theory. Scientific Proof Fiber in the Diet is Unhealthy. Vegetarianism: Another View
by H. Leon Abrams, Jr.
The Myths of Vegetarianism. The Case Against Milk by Sheila Buff.
Vegetarian Diet Deficiencies Are a Proven Fact. Vitamin Deficiencies and Vitamin Toxicities.

Atkins' Diet Healthier Than the American Heart Association's Diet.

Dr. Weston A. Price Foundation.

Genetically Modified Corn Study Reveals Health Damage and Cover-up. The Mediterranean Diet is a Big FAT Lie.
Pregnant? Pregnancy, Adoption, Abortion, Infertility,
and  Proper Diet During Pregnancy for a Healthy Baby

Mommy Goes Shopping for Baby Food.
Read Why Mommy's Diet Causes Infant Autism.

Top Ten Exercise Health Myths About Running, Jogging, Biking, Marathons, and Triathlons
Top Ten Embryonic Stem Cell and Human Cloning Research Claims, Promises, Facts, Expectations, Exaggerations, Hype, and Myths
My personal vitamin, mineral, and supplement program by Kent R. Rieske
Top Ten Myths About Nutrition and Diet in the Bible
The Truth, Myths, and Lies About the Health and Diet of the "Long-Lived" People of Hunza, Pakistan, Hunza Bread, and Pie Recipes
The Truth About the Balanced Diet Theory and the 
Four or Five Groups of the Food Guide Pyramid
Study With Mice Shows the High-Fat, Low-Carbohydrate Diet Improves Alzheimer's Disease and Most Likely Will Prevent Alzheimer's Disease


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