Have you adopted a ketogenic or paleo diet? Are you a big on meat, but skimp on the veggies? Find out why vegetables with your animal protein are more important than you think!
We have all had the experience of sitting around the dinner table and being admonished to "eat your vegetables....." superseded by a guarantee of dessert or an early bedtime! We see this pattern generationally and can only conclude that at one time, somewhere mothers must have known what they were talking about.......
It is when science finally catches up with what maternal wisdom has known all along, that we can no longer ignore the importance of whole foods like vegetables and fruits.
"Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another." ~ Juvenal
What does the science say?
As you may know, and what many studies have shown, is that when you adopt a plant based diet, it exerts less oxidative damage on the body overall, which, translates to less inflammation. What you may not know, is that when you incorporate a significant portion of plant based foods like vegetables, fruits and plant fats into a carnivore diet, the cytokine inflammatory markers are also mediated, go down or reverse the inflammation. That's right, those veggies your mamma told you to eat, the ones loaded with phytonutrients, antioxidants and alive nutrients, they quell inflammation! Good news for all those carnivores out there!
So, if you are a serious meat eater, following a ketogenic or paleo protocol, there is no doubt that eating your fruits and vegetables is important. On the flip side, there is no shortage of evidence stating that eating a diet high in meat, dairy, egg and fish and it's associated fats along with processing and sugars have a biochemical cascade of damaging effects. These have together been shown to cause triglyceride and blood sugar spikes along with a host of other chronic health issues. When you eat like this three times a day, every day you are setting yourself up for a host of issues.
Let's take a look at some study results done on plant foods:
LYCOPENE In a 2018 (7) study, lycopene, which found in red coloured fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, watermelon, papaya, red grapefruits, and guava has anti atherosclerotic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, anti platelet, anti-apoptotic, protective endothelial effects and reduces arterial stiffness. Lycopene has been shown in numerous studies to exert a favourable effect in many cardiovascular or metabolic conditions.
BERRIES Eating berries reduces inflammation due to the antioxidants. Blueberries, for example due to high polyphenols content has been shown in various studies to increase natural killer t-cells, feeds the good intestinal bacteria, and improves cardiovasicular function. (4,5,6)
FATS What about fats? Well, fats that come from plant foods like certain nuts and avocado, have phytonutrients that help to preserve arterial function and have shown to decrease inflammatory activity.
A study in 2013 (1) compared eating a burger without a avocado and a burger with an avocado. When the participants ate the burger without the avocado there was significant vasoconstriction and significant increase in inflammation. When they consumed an avocado with their burger, there was no significant increase in both the inflammatory markers or arterial constriction. Therefore, it appears that eating a plant fat, like avocados, does not give rise to oxidative stress or inflammation that you get with eating saturated oxidized fats found in meat products. Another study (2), looked at the accompaniment of nuts ( specifically, walnuts) with your salami sandwich. The result? It also preserved arterial function and had no negative impact. In fact, it showed improved arterial function.
Further studies on cooking methods and the type animal products (processed versus raw) used for cooking have an impact on how carcinogenic they are to the body and/or the type of effects they exert on various hormone receptors, like estrogen. Processed meat consumption is the worst along with broiling and pan frying. Boiling under 206 degrees fahrenheit is safer; adding marinades, spices and vinegar(an acid) lowers carcinogens, turning over frequently is safer, pale and soft is better versus crusty or burnt and limiting the serving size to a fist or deck of cards. [8] What about organic meats? One study showed that it did not diminish the carcinogenic potential. [Sigh :( ]
What can you do?
Firstly, ignore marketing media frenzy that has demonized fruits and starchy vegetables because of it's sugar content while at the same time, media slyly mesmerizes your brain and taste buds to the swirly decadent sugar and cream laden caffeine drinks and muffins!
The fructose and glucose found in your berries, apples, sweet potatoes or squash are not detrimental . I mean really, has anyone seen a study on processed refined sugars that analyzed the positive effects on cell health? And, where the naturally sweetened whole foods created illness? Variety and moderation is necessary.
Next, at every meal, increase the amount of whole plant foods in your diet and reduce the amount of inflammatory foods. Make sure your plate is mainly vegetables (more than 50%) with judicious use of starchy vegetables, incorporating healthy fats, with the remaining portion being protein.
In my nutrition programs, I recommend one raw vegetable dish with every meal along with a steamed, baked or sauteed vegetable/s. Every main meal has a minimum 5-6 types of vegetables at one sitting and a form of healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, seeds or olives. Lunches should incorporate a variety of greens again with healthy fat and protein choices. Snacks should also be whole fruits with healthy fats and a protein. The value of foods with high fibre and complex sugars cannot be under estimated!
Read in my next post, why fibre, the type and amount may be the link to resolving a host of chronic health conditions and not just for regularity, blood sugar and weight management.
ONE DAY, ONE MEAL, AT A TIME
A lifestyle change starts one recipe, one meal plan at a time, click the link to get started on igniting the a spirit of health in you today with this dinner recipe that uses boiling and vegetables as part of the cooking process.
References: 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29875663 2. Li Z, Wong A, Henning SM, et al. Hass avocado modulates postprandial vascular reactivity and postprandial inflammatory responses to a hamburger meal in healthy volunteers. Food Funct. 2013;4(3):384-91. 3. Cortés B, Núñez I, Cofán M, et al. Acute effects of high-fat meals enriched with walnuts or olive oil on postprandial endothelial function. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006;48(8):1666-71. 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25263326 5.McAnulty LS, Collier SR, Landram MJ, et al. Six weeks daily ingestion of whole blueberry powder increases natural killer cell counts and reduces arterial stiffness in sedentary males and females. Nutr Res. 2014;34(7):577-584. 6. Vendrame S, Guglielmetti S, Riso P, Arioli S, Klimis-Zacas D, Porrini M. Six-week consumption of a wild blueberry powder drink increases bifidobacteria in the human gut. J Agric Food Chem. 2011;59(24):12815-12820. 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC80172/ 8. Joanna Trafialek & Wojciech Kolanowski.International article appeared in Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition Volume 65, 2014 - Issue 6. Dietary exposure to meat-related carcinogenic substances: is there a way to estimate the risk? Published online: 15 May 2014