Whole Food Living - Autumn 2023

AUTUMN 2023 VOL 4 ISSUE 13

The Happy Pear Serving Up Sound Advice Food as medicine Explaining it to patients

Indian cuisine $9.50

A taste of delight We’re building a community of conscious health seekers who want to improve and restore their health and the health of the planet we share

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Where we stand THE WHOLE FOOD CONNECTION

Food

Health

Environment

Food is our most basic, primal desire.

Even before our need for shelter or our desire to procreate, food comes first. The recipes for the food we talk about in Whole Food Living are based on solid scientific research and clinical experience over the past 50 years.

Our health, good or bad, is the result of the food we eat. There are genetic and environmental conditions that can affect our good health but for most of us, our health is determined by what we put on our plates. For this magazine, food and optimal health is our primary focus.

The third and final factor in the whole food equation is environment. Why? Because the state of our environment is impacted by the food choices we make.

Understanding the connection between food, health and environment is key to developing a more sustainable world.

WFL Optimal Health Guide Legumes Whole grains & starches Vegetables Fruits, nuts & seeds Herbs & spices Oils, sugar, salt Heavily processed foods Eggs & dairy products Seafood Meat & poultry

Vegetarian Vegan

Plant based

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ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

WFPB

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û ³ û û û ³ û û û ³ û ³Reduce Ë Avoid üOK ûNo

Whole Food Plant-Based The WFL Optimal Health Guide is a simplified, visual explanation of different eating styles.

Our policy is to assist and encourage plant-based eating and to explain the significant health benefits available to those that become fully whole food plant-based.

WFPB eating is comprised of foods drawn solely from the first five categories on the table.

Strictly speaking, sugar, oil and salt are off the menu for people who are fully WFPB based, especially those who have experienced serious medical events.

We place sugar, oil and salt along with highly processed foods in the Avoid category as a warning because, unless you prepare everything you eat at home yourself, you are unlikely to achieve a perfect score.

In your quest towards better eating, don't let perfect become the enemy of good.

WFL MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS

he medical and/or nutritional information covered in Whole Food Living magazine is for educational purposes only.

It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek medical advice before using diet to treat disease.

Critical contents of this magazine, particularly articles that cover medical issues, are referred to our editorial consultants.

Our consultants are: * Dr Mark Craig * Dr Caitlin Randles * Dr Martyn Williamson

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- Editorial -

A

Rapid and radical change a must

s much as I’d like to think that climate climate change is here. change considerations will be part of an And it’s raising all sorts of practical questions ‘urgent but peaceful and consultative like, should I buy a house at the top of a cliff or process’, who could have thought the nonthe bottom? The good news about buying at the attendance to such ideals would turn into fights bottom is that you don’t die by sliding down the hill; on the fuel station forecourt and looting at the the hill comes down on top of you instead. Either first opportunity? way, you’re either dead or devastated. And what Well, I didn’t, but that’s what happened on New about buying near a stream? Where does it drain, Zealand's east coast when Cyclone Gabrielle and what price do I pay for a home in a known flood powered through on February 14. zone?

In an ironic twist, this Valentine’s Day visitor In an article on p55, you can discover how created a real horror story as some residents researchers have assessed climate change risks on floated up to the ceiling inside their homes and the US property market. The numbers will differ Peter Barclay, Editor down under, of course, but the problem is the same had to break their way into the crawl space above to save themselves.

– some of our property prices are way overvalued.

But it was much, much worse than that. People lost their lives, Apart from the shocking damage on Auckland’s west coast, the their crops, and a future many thought would never be anything destruction down New Zealand’s east coast was near Biblical in less than sunny. Oh, but of course, with the odd shower in parts. We've been warned that access to some communities may between just to keep everything growing nicely. not be restored. It's all expected to cost billions of dollars.

For me, the toughest tale to handle was the experience of one We’re in for a bunfight. Some homeowners are demanding young couple as they waded through water up to their necks Government buy their properties now while the Government almost, each with a child on their shoulders. The mother, who talks about “managed retreat”. Surely, we’ve entered a time when was pregnant, was unable to keep her footing. She slipped in the rapid and radical change is our best hope. raging flood water, and her two-year-old daughter was wrenched Food and climate change are intrinsically connected, a point from her arms and died. I can’t imagine coping with that. It’s more covered by Brenda Davis on p40. She challenges us with an than horror - that’s sheer terror. exercise in logic that questions how we ‘know’ some things. Take In his review of the background to this tragedy (P48), Professor milk, for instance. That’s where we humans get our calcium, right?

David Norton, refers to the ‘looming” problem of climate change.

Well, Davis is pretty knowledgeable on nutrients and their He makes it clear that the essential issue was man-made. We origins, but the point she makes questions the purpose of the knew that area was vulnerable, and we never did enough about it. cow in the first place – in relation to humans anyway. For her, “it As I write, I can sense the reaction of our Australian readers, defies rationality to imagine that any mammal would require the who are more than familiar with the problems created by massive milk of another species for its survival.” Surely, it defies the laws flooding and devastating bushfires. Somehow I feel a Homer of nature, she says.

Simpson moment here with them saying, “doh”, what did you But we can make a difference and people like Katarina Tawiri expect? Well, we just joined the club. (p14) are an inspirational starting point. Learn, change yourself, Now, in New Zealand, there is a collective acceptance that and take action at a community level.

Cover Design

Nicole Morgan

Viewpoints

Producers

Whole Food Living (ISSN 2624-4101 Print. ISSN 2703-4313 - Digital, is subject to copyright in its entirety. The views expressed in this publication are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Iclay Media.

No responsibility will be accepted for unsolicited material. No liability is accepted by Iclay Media, the publisher, nor the authors for information contained in this magazine.

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and veracity of all content in this publication but neither Whole Food Living nor its publisher Iclay Media is responsible for damage or harm of whatever description resulting from persons using any advice, consuming any product or using any services in Whole Food Living's print, electronic publication or website.

Contact us

67 Kayes Road, Pukekohe, Auckland, New Zealand 2120 p. (Peter) +64 27 218 5948 e. editor@wholefoodliving.life w. www.wholefoodliving.life

Editor: Peter Barclay e: peter@wholefoodliving.life

Food Editor: Catherine Barclay, e: catherine@wholefoodliving.life

Printer: Inkwise, Christchurch Distributors: Are Direct, NZ Post & Iclay Media Contributions & Assistance Contributions & assistance on this issue is gratefully acknowledged from the following: Innes Hope, Janice Carter, Padman Sadasivam, Karen Crowley, Dr Mark Craig, Dr Martyn Williamson, Katarina Tawiri, Nicole Morgan, Dr Ralph Koelmeyer, Silva Mirovics, Divya Kachwalla, Florentina Lile,

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CONTENTS 53

18

48

General Features 10. DFN conference Putting plant-based nutrition into general practice - how do you make that happen?

14. Food for Life Katarina Tawiri explains Food for Life and how it opens doors to a whole new world.

18. A hard lesson learned Dr Koelmeyer talks whole food & how he came to it.

22. Mind matters Silva Mirovics dicusses the Alzheimer's problem.

30. Local & Vocal

Innes Hope examines the grass roots action.

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34. The Happy Pear Stephen and David Flynn open up on what brought them to whole food.

38. It's just nuts Janice Carter describes the healthful benefits of an iconic US staple - the Pecan Nut.

41. From birth to old age Respected dietitian, Brenda Davis, talks about nutrition.

43. Preparing for autumn Check out what to do in the garden this season.

44. Sporting endurance Some fascinating insights from Dr Michael Greger.

49. Stop Press Just as we went to print, a new study was released. We bring you first insights.

56. Geoengineering Is it rabbit hole science? Is there some sense in it or are we all completely losing it?

References Many of the articles published in this magazine refer to scientific studies. To view these studies use the QR code or go to the url below.

Click or scan QR image for references. wholefoodliving.life/references-autumn-2023

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The inside goss "I could have avoided all those risky situations, if I had only known about whole food nutrition."

- Dr Ralph Koelmeyer

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them on all the way."

- Katarina Tawri

Recipes A great new version of a favourite Italian classic. Plant based, high protein.

16. Thai salad Katarina Tawiri presents her tasty Thai salad in a jar. Ideal go-to lunch, keeps well.

17. Mushroom pate Walnut and mushroom pate, try it and you'll want more.

27. A touch of India A special food feature on Southern Indian food.

32. Happygut piccalilli Truely tasty, nice and zingy and very gut friendly.

change, I am there to support them and cheer

57 13. Nuovo minestrone

"For those who want to

"I don't sell and I don't

33. Wild rice pilaf A simple rice pilaf made with nutty wild rice, with sweet and tangy cranberries.

37. Homemade ketchup Make your own ketchup and easily control its sodium and sugar content.

42. Kumara fries & gravy Turning a normally unhealthy dish on its head.

47. Butternut squash soup Brimming with seasonal good flavour - a dish of delight!

54. Stuffed capsicum A wonderful mix of flavours and so easy to create!

tell. Nor do I persuade, because that forces them into actions they wouldn't normally take. I inspire."

- Dr Martyn Williamson “There is no more powerful step that any human can take towards the preservation of this planet than choosing a plant-based diet. ” - Brenda Davis

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WFPB ADVOCATES International

Dr Scott Stoll

Dr Gemma Newman

Dr Kim A. Williams

Dr Shireen Kassam

Dr Michael Klapper

Dr Renae Thomas

A former Olympian and now is co-founder and chairman of The Plantrician Project and Regenerative Health Institute amounst numerous other organisations.

Has a special interest in holistic health, plant based nutrition and lifestyle medicine. Is a senior partner in a UK family medical practice where she worked for 12 years.

An American cardiologist and currently head of a Chicago medical centre. Vocal on the benefits of plantbased nutrition to cardiovascular health.

Founder and director of Plant Based Health Professionals UK. An honorary senior lecturer at King's College Hospital London. Passionate about plant-based nutrition.

Gifted speaker on plant-based nutrition.

Teaches other health care professions on the importance of nutrition in clinical practice and integrative medicine

An Australian doctor based at Loma Linda California. Passionate in empowering people to optimise their health through improving life-style choices with evidence based eating

Dr Michael Greger

Dr T Colin Campbell

Dr Alan Goldhamer

Dr Saray Stancic

Dr Nandita Shah

Founder of NutritionalFacts.org a significant resource in both videos and researched writings on the benefits of eating Whole Food Plant-based.

A biochemist and author of The China Study. He coined the term Whole Food Plant-Based, at age 86 he is still regularly speaking at plant based events.

Dr Caldwell Esselstyn

A chiropractor and founder of the TrueNorth Health Centre based in California. Co-author of best selling book, The Pleasure Trap. An expert in fasting for health.

Author of Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease. Former Olympic athlete now directs the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute.

Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis Dr Saray created a movie called Cold Blue showing her wellness journey through adoption of lifestyle medicine.

A registered medical doctor and author based in India, Founder of SHARAN and recipient of Nari Shakti Award for her pioneering work in the field of health and nutrition.

Dr Neal Barnard

Dr John McDougall

Dr Alan Desmond

Dr Dean Ornish

Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai

Founder of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and a very active member of the WFPB Community.

Dedicated to helping people transition to a WFPB Diet. Runs 10 day retreats for people making the transition to a plantbased diet.

Leads a Gastroenterology clinic in Torbay, South Devon UK. Advises plant-based dietary treatment for many chronic digestive disorders.

Founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research institute, California.

Creator of the Ornish program for Reversing Heart disease.

Founders of Team Sherzai, this couple are dedicated to educating people on simple steps to long-term health and wellbeing through their work as co-directors of the Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University in America. They work to demystify the steps to achieving long-term brain health and the prevention of devastating diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia.

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WFPB ADVOCATES Australasia

Dr Mark Craig

Dr Heleen RoexHaitjema

Dr Luke Wilson

Dr Coral Dixon

Drew Harrisberg

Hannah Barnes

A Paediatrician and Co-.Founder and chairman of Doctors for Nutrition. Based in Teringie, South Australia

A GP in Wellington NZ. Co-Founder of Two Zesty Bananas, Board Director of Doctors for Nutrition and co-author of the BROAD study.

A GP in Mt Maunganui, NZ. An advocate of preventative medicine and lives a plant-based lifestyle with her physio husband Brad and their two daughters.

An exercise physiologist, sports scientist, diabetes educator based in Australia who is healthy and thriving with type 1 diabetes.

A registered nurse in Nelson, holds a certificate in plantbased nutrition. She leads workshops and retreats and focuses on helping women to improve their holistic wellbeing.

Robyn Chuter

Dr Adrian Griscti

Dr Thomas Joseph

Gerald Haslinger

A GP in Alexandra NZ. Co-Founder of Plant Strong Living, Founding board member of EBE.NZ and Central Otago Health Services Ltd.

A Naturopath, counsellor, EFT therapist and Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, Founder of Empower Total Health, Australia.

Based in Robina, Gold Coast.

A rural General Practitioner in South Australia. He is a fellow of ASLM, and a Ambassadoc for Doctors for Nutrition.

He counsels and educates on healthy living.

Based in Invercargill Dr Joseph is possibly the world's most southern WFPB GP. He regularly conducts plant-based retreats for people in his local area and has joined the EBE exec.

Is the principal psychologist in the Highlands Recovery Support Centre based in Bowral NSW, he is focused on helping people adopt a healthier food lifestyle.

Emma Strutt

Dr Nick Wright

Dr Caitlin Randles

Dr Malcolm MacKay

Dr Peter Johnston

Dr Wayne Hurlow

An Australian practising Dietitian and Nutritionist.

Founder of Greenstuff Nutrition.

The Queensland Lead Dietitian for Doctors for Nutrition.

A General Practitioner based in Gisborne. Co-Founder of Plantbasedvideos with his partner Morgen Smith.

Co-Author of The BROAD study.

A British General Practitioner based in Auckland. NZ. Passionate about educating on Whole Food Plant-based living.

A General Practitioner based in Melbourne Australia.

Co-Founder of Plant Based Health Australia. He is Resources Advisor for Doctors for Nutrition.

An Accredited practising dietitian, lifestyle medicine practitioner & wellness coach based in Melbourne.

Masters in Nutrition & Dietetics & a PHD in Human Genetics.

A General Practitioner based Tasman. Is passionate about preventative medicine, promoting wellness by addressing the common underlying causes.

A lifestyle medicine and General Practitioner in Ponsonby, Auckland, NZ. Founder of TrueSouth Medical and founding member and deputy chair of EBE.NZ

Hannah O'Malley A clinical Pharmacist and founder of The Better Base in Nelson NZ. She has an eCornell Cert. in Plant-Based Nutrition.

Dr Martyn Williamson

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DFN Health in Nutrition Conference 2023

By Peter Barclay

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"The first step to make is probably, dealing with your nutrition. I've come across something called whole food plant-based nutrition; it's about…"

Dr Martyn Williamson on talking to patients.

lant-based physicians and health professionals from across the globe gathered in Melbourne last month for an intense, two-day conference covering the wide-ranging benefits of whole food eating.

Organised by registered charity Doctors For Nutrition, the conference featured a venerable line-up of recognised international guests and a strong contingent of local practitioners from Australia and New Zealand.

As an organisation, Doctors for Nutrition focuses on medical and health professionals. However, as a lay observer, I was surprised at how much of the information presented would be easily understood by the general public. After the event, Dr Martyn Williamson of Alexandra remarked that this was a "great conference with some useful presentations from experts", so it was also reassuring to know that medical professionals found something to chew on too.

This conference contained a massive amount of worthwhile information, and comments made by Dr Williamson at the event provide a useful access point to drill into its detail. Firstly though, let's consider the theme that drew everyone together.

This was billed as the Nutrition in Healthcare Conference.

Its title implies practicality. At the same time, it raises obvious questions like, what do we mean by nutrition in healthcare? How do we make it happen if it isn't already there? The title is almost an oxymoron because you'd think nutrition would be a normal part of healthcare, wouldn't you?

A challenging discussion

Well, therein lies a significant and often quite challenging discussion. Strict whole food plant-based eating means life without all animal products, fish, sugar, oil, salt, highly refined products, dairy and alcohol. It's an awkward message for doctors to communicate and for patients to comprehend, especially in the space of a 15-minute consultation. Often, the easy answer for both sides is a pill.

A casual observer at such a conference might be forgiven for thinking there is another message to be 'sold' or told here, but on that point, Dr Williamson is very clear.

"I don't sell anything to anybody, and I've given up telling people what to do. It's probably the most ineffective way of helping someone make a change," he explained in a discussion panel on the final afternoon.

The GP panel drew together the most critical elements of the conference and opened up that burning question - how do you actually explain it to your patients? Dr Williamson continues: "I don't sell, and I don't tell. Nor do I persuade, because if you do help someone change through persuading them, you kind of force them into actions that they wouldn't normally have done.

I inspire."

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The following article covers a small segment of the Doctors For Nutrition Conference held in Melbourne, Australia, February 17-19, 2023. If you are interested in developing a deeper knowledge of plant-based nutrition, we recommend checking out the conference videos, which can be accessed at the web address below until June 30, 2023.

www.doctorsfornutrition.org/nihc

Panel chairperson Dr Luke Wilson: "Suppose then, you have a patient whom you know would benefit substantially from dietary change – how do you suggest we go about conveying this to them?"

Dr Williamson answered it by referring to the experience of conference MC Clint Paddison, who recovered from severe Rheumatoid Arthritis using a plant-based diet.

"Let's say Clint comes in to see us. We know he has had this diagnosis; we want to enquire, we want to connect. I might say to Clint, tell me what impact it's had on you of being given this diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I might give him a little prompt by saying, I guess it came as a shock; I guess you have a sense of loss of physical activity and other losses in life.

"He will either nod and agree if I've got that right, but I don't have to get it right; I just have to show him that I'm thinking about what it might be like. Then he'll share his story of loss and what it means to him, the impact and probably most important, it's affecting his ability to have a family. If you really hit the marker, then it might bring a tear to their eye, and it might bring a tear to your eye too.

"Once you've heard that, then you'll know what's important to that person, so I might then say to him, Clint, my role here is to give you the best possible chance with the best course you could possibly have with this diagnosis, so that, maybe you could turn this around through things that you can do - I'm wanting to empower you to make a difference to your health.

"If I've expressed that correctly, then 99 times out of 100, you are going to get someone who is really interested in what you have to say because you've given them hope and you are talking about empowering them. Then what I would say is the first step to make is probably dealing with your nutrition. I've come across something called whole food plant-based nutrition; it's about… and I might explain a little bit and say, if you're interested, watch a documentary called Forks Over Knives, and it'll tell you a lot more. If you are interested and you think it is something you want to give a try, then come back and see me. That conversation

The GP Discussion Panel. From left: Doctors Alyce Churchill, Sam Gartland, Martyn Williamson, Juliette Roex and Facilitator, Dr Luke Wilson. Image supplied. probably takes less than five minutes - that's all I do."

Immediately following the panel discussion came a presentation from Dr Malcolm Mackay MD, Dr Peter Johnston (dietitian) and Jenny Cameron that focused on the outcomes of WFPB intensive programmes. Dr Johnston said there were four elements to their review process. These involved: 1. Understanding the strengths of group programmes in nutrition education.

2. Exploring strategies to help people with behaviour change.

3. Appreciating the barriers to making healthy lifestyle changes and 4. Understanding the dose-response nature of dietary intervention.

Jenny, who is deeply involved in the nutrition side of their seven-day WFPB emersion retreats, said their approach strongly relied on the work of Doctors Doug Lisle and Alan Goldhamer as outlined in their book, The Pleasure Trap.

Pleasure, pain, and energy "We explain to people; it's not your fault if you've struggled with food, with weight management for a long time. We were programmed to think pleasure, avoid pain and conserve energy.

And this happens in an environment of an abundance of food so much richer than our natural history," she said.

"We look at the biological and social barriers to making change and give them strategies to overcome these barriers, including bringing in someone to give a session on mental health and selfcare."

She said their programme recognised that people "can't live in a bubble," so they also deal in strategies that enable participants to deal with temptation. Living with the change became easier when it became part of a person's identity.

Conference heavy hitters included US Doctors Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, who attended personally, along with Doctors Caldwell Esselstyn and Michael Greger, who beamed in via Zoom and Doctors Alan Desmond and Gemma Newman from the UK, who also attended in person.

Dean Sherzai is a behavioural neurologist/neuroscientist.

In company with his wife Ayesha, a vascular neurologist and research scientist, they pack a powerful punch on the subject of brain health. The Sherzai's dove directly into their specialist field with a presentation titled Preventing Cognitive Decline.

Dr Dean explained that the totality of the human brain had the

capacity to expand well into our 80s, 90s and beyond, "but what happens in most of our lives in the west is that cognitive decline starts earlier than you think.

"Actually, just a few years ago, we used to say it starts in your 20s, but the reality is, with the foods we eat, with the stressors and the tension, it actually starts earlier. They've documented kids at 12 years of age who have white matter disease."

Both are particularly concerned about an oncoming dementia epidemic, particularly in the United States, where someone is diagnosed with some form of the disease every 64 seconds.

Dr Ayesha said, with Alzheimer's, a major turning point occurred at the 2019 plenary session of the Alzheimer's Association where, for the first time, it was all about lifestyle.

"The news came out that lifestyle factors were the best and the only bet now for reducing dementia risk. This was after failure after failure of not finding a medication or a disease-modifying agent for these devastating diseases." The answer was contained in a multiple of studies, she said.

Dr Greger focused on evidence-based weight loss and singled out the New Zealand based Broad Study for attention. He noted the key difference between this trial and other approaches was that participants were informed to eat a WFPB diet "ad libitum" and to focus efforts on diet rather than increasing exercise. The study was especially noteworthy, he said, because people lost a substantial amount of weight and kept it off after a year.

Lifestyle medicine practitioners and environmental advocates worldwide agree that dietary change would have a significantly positive impact on the future of our planet.

Perhaps then, the most fitting way to conclude here is with reference to the address delivered by Dr Peter Johnston on a subject that has become mission-critical in Australia and now, finally, in New Zealand.

By his own admission, the content of Dr Johnston's thirtyminute dissertation on Food Systems and the Environment was "grim".

"We’re in really big trouble," he said. "We can’t just rely on ending fossil fuel use. Even if we could do that tomorrow, it won’t be enough – we have to change our food system dramatically.

We’re hitting multiple boundaries, and it’s quite frightening when you unpack it. Avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way you can reduce your impact on the planet."

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NUOVO MINESTRONE A new version of an Italian classic, plant-based, high protein, and gluten free.

Buon Appetito! by Innes Hope

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his soup is different every time - with no set recipe. The classic version contains wheat pasta, and sometimes parmesan rind, lard, and/or meat broth. Our version uses lentil pasta, which is high in protein and gluten free. Our secret ingredient? The protein-rich, surprisingly palatable cooking water from the lentil pasta!

INGREDIENTS You decide the quantity according to how much soup you want and how thick or thin you like it.

Choose from each of the following x5 groups of essentials.

1. The base: ‘Soffritto’ – chopped carrot, celery & onion (I use spring onion or leek greens). Leftover pulse-pasta cooking water, water or vege stock.

2. Pantry & ‘hard’ vegetables, preferably in season.

Favourites are kumera, pumpkin, green beans, peas, and zucchini in season. Tomatoes are key, so canned toms are fine in winter. Frozen veges can be included and leftovers like chopped potato or kumera.

3. Fresh, leafy greens in season. Cavolo nero (Italian kale) is superb. Silver beet and spinach are good too, but any fresh greens are fine.

4. Legumes – cooked beans or canned. Lightcoloured beans stand out against this colourful soup, especially butter beans and cannellini beans.

Borlotti beans are popular, and any beans, or chickpeas, are fine to use.

5. Pulse Pasta – lentil pasta is great (it sometimes retains some colour when cooked with tomatoes), but any high protein gluten free pasta will suffice.

Optional ingredients – salt and a few herbs, fresh if possible. Bay leaf, rosemary, or oregano work well. Cracked black pepper to sprinkle on top.

METHOD 1. If you’ve no leftover pulse-pasta cooking water, pre-cook the lentil pasta for about half the recommended time, drain the liquid into a jug or pot, and put the pasta in a bowl so it almost reaches the top. Cover with a plate or foil.

2. Finely chop the soffritto vegetables and sauté them in a large pot.

3. Chop the pantry vegetables, add them, plus the herbs, to the soffritto. Pour in enough pasta water to cover the veges, and simmer for 30 mins so the veges ‘melt’ into a creamy texture. Stir occasionally.

Add more liquid if needed.

4. Finely chop the leafy greens and stir them into the soup. Add the half-cooked pasta and cook for 3-4 mins. Stir in the beans and cook for another 3-4 mins. If you’re using dry pasta, cook the soup for the length of time recommended on the packet. Serve hot with fresh wholegrain bread and grind some black pepper on top.

TIPS Use any seasonal vegetable you enjoy, for example, corn, eggplant, parsnip, yams, broccoli, broad beans. Rice can be used instead of pasta (allow more cooking time).

Leftover pulse pasta cooking water adds nourishment to many other dishes too, so make sure you save it each time you cook pulse pasta!

Minestrone, minus pasta, can be made in advance – (it tastes even better when it has been rested).

Before serving, bring it to the boil then add and cook the pasta.

For an instant version, used canned tomatoes and beans, and leftover pasta and vegetables. It won’t be as wonderful, but it’s a good backstop for exhausted cooks!

Leftover soup can be stored in the fridge or frozen.

If you’re home-cooking the beans, think a day ahead and soak them overnight. For best results and maximum nutrition, cook them in a pressure cooker.

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Katarina Tawiri

Food for Life course opens new doors "It blew me away. The knowledge that was shared was absolutely amazing, and the ongoing support you get is excellent."

By Peter Barclay

K

atarina Tawiri has always been interested in food and food production, but her introduction to it, although traditional in many countries around the globe, is a long way from the way she sees and does things now.

"I'm originally from Switzerland. In those days, in the 70s, the girls had to do a cooking class when they left high school. I chose to do a one-year self-sufficiency apprenticeship on a farm and learned everything about gardening, food preserving, cooking, sewing and small animal husbandry.

Four-year farming certification

"After working for a year as a nurse aid in a private hospital in Zürich, looking after famous soccer players and the Princess of Bhutan, amongst some of the people, I started my four-year apprenticeship as a farmer (being one of the few females in those days). This is when I was faced with the often cruel reality of animal farming. But, of course, as a young female, I did not dare to speak up. I was part of some really awful practices during my farming time."

When asked if she ever rebelled against it, Katarina says she just did what she was told, "like most of humanity, you want to fit in.

"I think it's a kind of cognitive dissonance because the world around us says it's okay, so I just ignored my inner feelings. But, the thing is, I never liked meat, although I had to eat it, of course.

As soon as I left home, I stopped eating meat."

Animal cruelty

About the animal cruelty on farms, Katarina says she never really stopped and thought about it more deeply when she was training to be a farmer.

"After a while, it becomes normal. I don't know how it psychologically works, but it's called cognitive dissonance. You have to disassociate yourself from your innate feelings; although there are children who take a stand when very small. They say they're not going to eat meat, even when they're in a meat-eating family. It does happen, but the majority of us humans just want to fit in and not be different to everyone else."humans just want to fit in and not be different to everyone else."

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A lifelong awareness around food has led Katarina Tawiri to take a bold step. Here she explains some of the reasons for her move but if you want to know more, check her out at: plantiseyourworld.co.nz As a plant-based advocate Katarina is a keen follower of the Mission Critical Zoom event run by PCRM. To join its followers go to: pcrm.org/events/mission-critical A new journey

Katarina has been a vegetarian almost all of her life, and in 2006 got invited by a friend to an ‘Uncooking Class’ by Wild Health Nelson. This is when she was introduced to the concept of raw food.

“I then decided to go ‘cold tofu’ and eat only raw for one year. I did incorporate some raw fish, because I was still caught up in the protein myth. This was also the time when I heard about Kris Carr, New York Times bestseller, who has a rare vascular cancer and keeps it at bay by eating high raw vegan.

"But like so many people, life happened, and I went back to eating what I was familiar with, vegetarian, including dairy, eggs and oil. Fast forward, and I turned 50, mostly feeling exhausted, without energy or joy for life. After having several anxiety attacks, and doctors saying ‘just relax more, you are all fine’, I started searching for answers on the Internet and came across Dr Brooke Goldner’s protocol called ‘hyper-nourishing’. She is specialised in reversing autoimmune diseases with green smoothies and reversed her own lupus.

In classic Katarina-style, "I went all in. I did Dr Goldner’s free online course to better understand how plant foods, especially raw cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens, combined with high doses of Omega 3s (flax and chia seeds for anti-inflammatory properties), support cellular repair. This was followed by me doing

her six-week protocol of green smoothies. This experience was my turning point of going fully vegan on February 14, 2020.

"I like her approach, as she also focuses on the other pillars of lifestyle medicine, especially self-care. Through her, I heard about Dr Neal Barnard, T Colin Campbell, Dr Michael Greger, the Esselstyn and so many more wonderful people in the whole food plant-based movement. I fully immersed myself into the science of the whole food plant-based eating. For the last three years I have been eating whole food plant-based (WFPB), high raw but also including cooked food and I now feel better at 61 than when I was 40."

Katarina lives near Christchurch in a small community of around 250 people. Before starting the Food for Life course, she began to run free cooking classes for members of the community. Usually, around four to five people attended, and that was her first brush with teaching whole food plant-based cooking techniques.

"It was during Covid-19 and the classes also served as social support during this time. I wanted to learn more and get a certification with a reputable science-based organisation."

That line of thinking led to her next big step.

Food for Life certification

"I decided to do the Food for Life instructor course. It's run by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and has been running for twenty-one years. Before Covid hit, you had to go to the USA and study on-site. In 2021 the course was redesigned and the whole programme can now be done online.

That's what made it possible for me."

Katarina did the six-week course between September and November last year. “It costs around $1000 USD, but”, she says, “it's worth every cent.

"It blew me away. The knowledge that was shared was absolutely amazing, and the ongoing support you get is excellent.

As an instructor I can send nutritional or medical questions to PCRM and they will email me back with answers.

"We have monthly professional development sessions via Zoom where we hear about the latest research in nutrition and can ask questions. PCRM is also dedicated to end animal testing by introducing more modern techniques to medical students and research centres.

"Every week, on Saturday at 8 am NZ daylight saving time,

PCRM runs a Zoom session called Mission Critical. That's where Neal Barnard and other staff share the latest research and other activities. Everyone can register to these 30-minute Zoom sessions.”

Food for Life classes in communities

As a result of completing the PCRM course, Katarina says instructors are strongly encouraged to share their knowledge and go out into the communities. "In fact, it is incentivised," she says.

"There are about 50 odd curricula I can teach. I have a huge palette that I can choose from. For example, I can run a course on healthy foods to prevent heart disease or breast cancer and foods to combat Covid 19. Each curriculum is made up of one to nine classes.”

"How I run the classes is clearly laid out in each class manual. It starts with a welcome, then I introduce PCRM, then I play a video on the theme followed by a quiz, a cooking demo, tasting of the food and a Q&A session. I also hand out PCRM’s core literature, beautifully printed material, making a transition into the WFPB lifestyle achievable.”

"There are usually two to three recipes per cooking demo. As I demonstrate the food preparation, I talk about the different micro and macronutrients and their benefits."

Katarina has now established herself to run Food for Life classes and started her business called ‘Plantise your World’.

“My main focus will be teaching in communities where people can't afford to pay much, and where the WFPB message is often needed most.

Practical help included

"The Food for Life course wasn't only teaching us how to teach the programme, it also taught us how to create our own website, how to market ourselves, and how to accommodate different learning styles. There was so much else that was shared with us."

Converting to a whole food plant-based diet isn't always easy for everyone. Katarina is a strong believer in meeting people where they're at. For her, it's all about presenting the information and supporting people along their journey to reclaim their health.

"I am an ‘all or nothing’ sort of person, but for most people, it will be a gradual process. For those who want to change, though, I am there to support them and cheer them on all the way. It is one of the best things I have ever done!”

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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CRUNCHY THAI SALAD IN A JAR Great batch-cooking and food-preppin go to, A very quick go to lunch that can be prepped days earlier.

by Katarina Tawiri | serves 4 INGREDIENTS - Dressing 4 Tbsp peanut butter 3 Tbsp soy sauce 1/2 cup water INGREDIENTS - Layers in jar the dressing 125g rice noodles (cook in hot water) 2 cups cabbage, sliced finely 2 cups edamame beans, thawed 2 cups carrots, grated 2 spring onions, sliced 4 cups lettuce 1 cup peanuts

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METHOD Fill layers into the glass jars as listed to the left.

Make sure all ingredients are cool when filled into the jar. You can add the peanuts before serving, so they remain crunchy. Be creative and make up your own jars, but keep the dressings at the bottom of the jars TIPS Rice noodles can be replaced with any pasta or even starchy vegetables. I used roasted pumpkin as you can see in the photo.

Cabbage can be replaced by bok choy, broccoli or cauliflower.

Edamame can be replaced by chickpeas, beans or lentils Carrots can be replaced by celery or grated kūmara Spring onions can be replaced by chives or red onion Lettuce can be replaced by spinach

WALNUT AND MUSHROOM PATE Incredible rich creamy flavour, ideal spread for your homemade crackers.

by Catherine Barclay INGREDIENTS 1 cup raw almonds 2 cups button mushroom, diced 1 brown onion, diced 2 lrg garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp fresh thyme 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 Tbsp white miso paste 1/2 cup walnuts, crushed 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup water 1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard 2 Tbsp lemon juice

METHOD 1. Blend almonds in high-speed blender until it is a powder, put aside.

2. In a frying pan with a small amount of water saute the mushroom, onion and garlic.

3. Cook until all is softened then, toss in the herbs, pepper and miso.

4. Once the liquid has evaporated in the pan, transfer the mixture to a highspeed blender and add all other ingredients.

5. Pulse mix until combined, occasionally scraping from the sides.

6. Serve with crackers. flat bread or veggies.

Warm or chilled.

Adapted Seed Crackers from Lorraine Curtis.

1/4 cup of the following: Rolled oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds linseed (flaxseed), seasame seed.

3/4 cup of wholewheat flour 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast 1/2 cup water.

Mix to make a dough.

Roll between 2 sheets of baking paper.

Roll ½ mixture at a time.

Roll very thin - pumpkin seed thin.

Pre-cut lines with a sharp knife.

Bake at 180°C for 15 -20 minutes.

Cool, break up and store in an airtight container.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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by Dr Ralph C T Koelmeyer

Food change enlightens & dismays retired GP

I

"I survived a severe heart attack and quadruple bypass in 2001. Following that first heart attack I struggled with the disease until November 1st, 2018 - the first day of excluding all animal, processed and oil-based foods."

was briefly introduced to a food-based lifestyle change, five years before my first life-threatening heart attack. But I dismissed that because I was a doctor and was expected to know better.

It was my second cardiologist, who introduced me to nutrition medicine when I first consulted him. He recommended the book

by Dr Caldwell B Esselstyn Jr, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, that changed my future.

I, a general practitioner, believed I was living a healthy life, at normal weight, normal cholesterol, non-smoker, non-drinker and healthy family history. Then I became a chronic disease sufferer from April 2001.

From that day for 17 years, I was burdened with multiple chronic medical conditions. Then, on the last day of October 2018, while reading the recommended book, I experienced a 'Light Bulb' moment, still shining brightly as ever.

Since that day, I have been enlightened, dismayed and almost obsessed with my discovery of whole-foods plant-based nutrition medicine.

Enlightened, when my many chronic diseases, either slowed down, improved and even reversed, allowing me to disown them.

I was taught at medical school and throughout my post-graduate education, these conditions were permanent, and had to be treated for the life of the patient.

Dismayed and at times exasperated by the universal disregard, for this almost miraculous, disease prevention and reversal treatment for most chronic diseases, by simply changing what one eats.

I have become gripped with educating myself about nutrition medicine. Making people aware of saving themselves from preventable medical disasters and lifelong burden of disability, has become my goal.

Those who adopted this healthy lifestyle have experienced benefits to share with others. One lady successfully avoided coronary artery stents while her husband was able to reduce his insulin dose and regained his energy, avoiding residential care.

Another avoided a bowel operation by reducing animal foods, particularly cheese.

Sadly, some of those I have introduced plant-based nutrition to, have either been unimpressed, dismissive or ignored the information, even by my professional colleagues.

18 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

In this first of two articles, retired Melbourne GP, Dr Ralph Koelmeyer, reveals the chronic diseases he endured for seventeen years, and how it began to change around. Dr Koelmeyer has become a student of nutrition. He holds a Certificate of Nutrition from eCornell University, a cooking certificate from Rouxbe Culinary and is currently studying for a Prescribing Nutrition Certificate. He regularly attends medical conferences. Of this article he says: "It highlights all those risky situations I was very fortunate to live through. But the most important lesson I learnt is that I could have avoided all that peril - if I had only known about whole plant nutrition."

Since the day of my dietary transition (November 1st 2081), I have experienced the following amazing changes.

1. Stopping my heart disease progression I survived a severe heart attack and quadruple bypass in 2001.

Following that first heart attack I struggled with the disease until November 1st, 2018 - the first day of excluding all animal, processed and oil-based foods.

Prior to that period of my life, I was treated by specialists prescribing the latest medications which failed to prevent my episodes of angina pain and even a second heart attack, 15 years later.

2. Claudication - ceased overnight after eight years This was caused by cholesterol blockage narrowing the arteries supplying my legs. I was living with a real possibility of an amputation.

Two vascular surgeons predicted that I would eventually need an amputation. For eight years I lived in fear of losing a leg every time I suffered an episode of pain. Eight years living with the fear of facing radical surgery.

Now, after four years of being fully plant-based, I am yet to experience an episode of calf pain.

3. Kidney failure reversed and disowned Over 10 years my kidney function slowly deteriorated to stage 2 of 5 of kidney disease. On progressing to stage 5, I would have needed dialysis - a life shortening burden that would occupy two to three days of my life each week.

Within four months of being fully whole food plant-based my kidney function returned to normal, and has stayed the same till this very day. I successfully disowned kidney disease.

4. No more renal colic from kidney stones I suffered three episodes of renal colic over two years. Anyone that has experienced this would understand the excruciating recurrent pains it produces. Having changed my food choices, it’s unlikely that I will ever have a recurrence along with risky treatment procedures and complications from the disease.

5. Osteoporosis shown to reverse after four months Reduced bone density of my hip bones was shown on a DEXA scan. After just four months of my lifestyle change, a repeat scan demonstrated a 10 per cent improvement in my bone strength. It is accepted that bone strength deteriorates 1 to 2% a year.

I was ecstatic by the reversal in such a short time. This is despite a family trait I inherited from my mother. She fell and was subsequently shown to have fractured her hip from osteoporosis.

Following emergency surgery to her hip, she deteriorated and died within twelve months. She was otherwise in reasonable health for her age of 76. My risk of a similar fate now seems very unlikely.

6. Glaucoma remains fully reversed My wife, Christine, who changed her lifestyle as I did, was being observed for low-grade glaucoma for about 20 years.

Despite her sister suffering the same, her pressures returned to normal and have remained so for four years. Her ophthalmologist continues to retest her pressures yearly.

By the use of a dietary change, this condition is controlled and unlikely to require medication or procedures.

7. Less serious conditions that have improved •

•

•

• • • • • • • • •

Constipation resolved. One of the first improvements that came to my attention. This has never recurred, after many years of suffering this very common condition.

Gum bleeding ceased. My gum bleeding commenced with taking aspirin and clopidogrel, blood thinning medications, following my first heart attack. Since I commenced plant food, I haven’t noticed bleeding, for over four years.

Tinnitus improved. Known as ringing in the ears, has reduced enough not to be noticeable, after decades of suffering.

Combined weight loss of 16 Kgs. We are both within the healthy BMI range of 18 to 25.

Noisy snoring ceased for both of us, after decades living with it.

Dental carries, non over the last four years. A fact that surprised my dentist.

Rosacea, a common skin condition effecting the face, troublesome over the last 15 years, has resolved.

Milia, an itchy skin condition related to the sweat glands, fully reversed.

Erectile dysfunction, a problem for over 20 years, but now functioning normally after becoming fully plant-based.

Essential intentional tremor of the hands, troublesome over 25 years, has substantially improved.

Our moods have improved to make our relationship vastly better.

Our sleep, energy and physical activities have all improved.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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BLACK BEAN SOUP Enjoy this hearty black bean soup, filled with the flavors of andouille sausage, garlic, onion and more.

by Vitamix.com.au | serves 3 INGREDIENTS 720 ml (3 cups) low sodium vegetable stock 390 g (1½ cups) black beans, canned, drained and rinsed; divided 380 g (1½ cups) canned chickpeas, rinsed, drained 20 g (⅛ ) small onion, peeled 1 garlic clove, peeled 1/2 lime, peeled 1 sml jalapeño, seeded, halved 1 tsp ground cumin 40 g (⅓ med) red capsicum, sliced, seeded 1 tsp salt (optional) 1 tsp ground black pepper CHEF'S NOTES Jalapeño may be omitted if you do not want any spice in your soup. Try adding roasted corn kernels as a garnish to give some crunch to your soup. Roasting the onion and garlic can add depth of flavor to this soup. Additional vegetable broth may be added initially or blended in at the end if you desire a thinner soup.

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METHOD 1. Place vegetable stock, ¾ cup (155g) black beans, chickpeas, onion, garlic, lime, jalapeño pepper, and seasonings into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure the lid.

2. Start the blender on its lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed.

3. Blend for 5 minutes 45 seconds, or until heavy steam escapes from vented lid.

4. Reduce speed to Variable 3 and remove the lid plug. Add the remaining black beans and red capsicum through the opening.

5. Blend for an additional 5 seconds. Serve immediately.

CREAMY CASHEW MAYONAISE

Silva Mirovics

Enjoy this easy to prepare creamy mayo in your favourite salad , wrap or toastie.

by Catherine Barclay INGREDIENTS 1 cup cashews, soaked & drained 1 garlic clove 1.5 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp nutritional yeast 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 cup water

Content and copy writer for Big Hearted businesses

METHOD 1. Soak your cashews for at least 30 mins.

2. Place the drained cashews and all the other ingredients into a high speed blender.

3. Add more or less water depending on your desired consistancy.

4. Best chilled before using.

5.Can be kept for up to a week in a sealed container in the fridge.

wordsbysilva.com

Meet Your New Sous Chef Explore the world of healthier eating with the Vitamix Ascent Series. With SELF-DETECT® technology that senses which container you’re using and adjusts blend settings, the Ascent Series blenders have features like built-in timers and self-cleaning containers so you can create healthy meals easily. Backed by a ten-year full warranty, this Vitamix blender is designed to help you stay healthier for years to come.

For more information visit: kitchennook.co.nz

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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By Silva Mirovics

Take mind matters into your own hands

I

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most feared, most prevalent, disruptive, and expensive diseases in the world right now.

’ve learnt so much from The Brain Docs and follow their research closely, says Jan, a 60-year-old business owner from balmy, tropical Noosa. Jan refers to Drs Ayesha and Dean Sherzai who have devoted their medical careers to brain health and dementia prevention.

Dementia is a plague that sees no end in the modern world.

Currently, almost 70,000 New Zealanders and just under 500,000 Aussies are living with dementia. Most people know someone who has been diagnosed. The World Health Organization have released some shocking numbers. They expect that by 2030 seventy-eight million people worldwide will have dementia.

Dementia is the umbrella under which sit brain diseases and disorders such as: • • • • •

Alzheimer’s disease, the most prevalent form of dementia Parkinson’s disease Vascular dementia Frontotemporal dementia, And many others

The most prevalent form of dementia

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most feared, most prevalent, disruptive, and expensive diseases in the world right now.

In AD, the brain develops plaques and tangles, gaps and holes, and shrinks considerably in size when compared to a healthy brain.

No matter your chronological age, a healthy brain looks full and whole compared to someone with AD. Unfortunately, advanced AD is always fatal. This is due to the significant damage that the disease inflicts on the brain, thereby shortening your lifespan.

There is no medical cure or evidence to support reversing this disease. But scientists agree that changing your diet and lifestyle can greatly lower the risk of being diagnosed and possibly slow progression if you are diagnosed.

Risk Factors for cognitive decline

Dietary and lifestyle factors are not linked to your genetics or your age. So, in theory you can improve these at any given time you choose to do so. They are often referred to as Modifiable Risk Factors. This means that by modifying or changing them you are potentially lowering your risk of developing AD. Of course, changing what you eat and how you live is not always straightforward or easy. But if implementing these changes means you greatly reduce your risk of AD, isn’t it worth the effort? In fact,

22 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

Melbourne based writer, Silva Mirovics, has a Bachelor of Health Science, a Master's in gerontology and is a graduate of the e-Cornell nutrition course. In the following article, the first in a series of three, she reviews the growing problem we face with Alzheimer's Disease.

Future articles will cover exercise (physical and mental) and other lifestyle factors we all need to know more about to reduce our Alzheimer's risk. the Sherzais tell us that 90% of Alzheimer’s cases are preventable.

Now that is good news!

The major lifestyle risk factors for AD that you can change include: • High blood pressure (hypertension) at mid-life • Obesity at mid-life • Diabetes (Type 2) • Smoking • Physical inactivity • Level of education • Poor quality of sleep • Depression • Social isolation

It all links together

A diet high in saturated fat, salt and cholesterol is the leading cause of high blood pressure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Neal Barnard, MD, confirms this in his book ‘Power Foods For The Brain’. Dr Barnard advises avoiding all animal products for optimal brain health.

The saturated fat and cholesterol they contain boost your risk of stroke and AD. Add in physical inactivity, lack of sleep, smoking, and it is a cocktail of cognitive disaster. You may begin to see how your heart, gut and brain are interlinked. What you eat, how you move, and how you feel impact your overall and long-term health.

Making positive changes

Tucked away in the picturesque Adelaide Hills is the town of Lobethal, home to great wineries and a vibrant 80-year-old retiree named Maureen. “I used to be overweight and in terrible shape. I lost my father and paternal grandmother to Alzheimer’s, and my

• • •

Embarking on a higher education course Finding ways to bring peace to your mind Connecting with others.

Brain-boosting nutrition

Imagine never having to worry about Alzheimer’s. This is exactly how Jan from Noosa feels since changing her diet. She says that now at 60, she is fitter and healthier than she has ever been. “I eat whole plant foods, exercise every day, manage my stress, and enjoy social connections with others. So, no, I don’t worry about getting dementia. In fact, I don’t even think about it.” Jan’s daily go-to mind-boosting foods include: • Dark leafy greens • Cruciferous veggies • Legumes • Berries • Walnuts (small handful) and seeds What about Maureen? “I make sure I eat blueberries, spinach and walnuts every single day.”

Imagine you can eat as much as you like, boost your brain, fuel your body, and never go hungry.

By following the Power Plate philosophy developed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, you can. You divide your plate into four food groups: Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Avoid all animal products, cooking oils, saturated fats, and processed foods.

Quite simply, your body and mind will thrive on loads of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, starches, fibre and many other lifegiving macro and micronutrients that are only found in the plant kingdom.

A berry good idea

mum had diabetes. I knew I had to make some changes before I ended up going down this same path”. Fifteen years ago, Maureen changed to a whole-food, plant-based way of eating and has never looked back. “It was difficult at the start. But I had read all the research and knew I had to persevere”.

Maureen also undertook some cooking classes with Rebecca Stoner from Just Eat Plants. Rebecca turned to a whole food plantbased lifestyle after being diagnosed with MS. Science points to inflammation being a marker for both MS and Alzheimer’s. One of the leading causes of inflammation comes from a diet high in animal products, including dairy and processed foods. Even vegan processed foods are bad for your gut and brain.

From the vineyards of Lobethal to sunny Queensland is a gorgeous vegan B&B called The Beet Retreat. “In 2012, I went vegan for the animals. But I soon realised that even though I was vegan, I wasn’t actually nourishing my mind and body with life-enhancing foods,” says Jan (from Noosa). Jan is full of energy and always on the go running The Beet Retreat. When her sister was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 57, Jan (like Maureen) knew she had to make some drastic dietary and lifestyle changes to save her brain and enjoy a positive ageing experience.

Maureen adds, “I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.” “It’s really sad because she won’t even try to eat better. She doesn’t see the point of changing anything because there’s no known cure”.

While there is no cure, the major preventative tools at your disposal include: • Eating a diet rich in plant foods • Moving your body every day • Quitting the cigarettes

A 20-year study (published in 2020 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) with 2800 participants discovered that flavonoids potentially reduce your risk of AD. The study found that those who ate the most flavonoid-rich foods weekly had the lowest risk of developing AD during the study period.

And those who ate the least flavonoid-rich foods? Well, they had the greatest risk of developing AD and related dementias.

Flavonoids have beneficial neuroprotective effects. They protect neurons from neuro-toxins and fight neuro-inflammation.

Your neurons are super important. They send signals and messages between different parts of your brain and between your brain and nervous system.

The richest sources of flavonoids are berries, cherries, citrus fruits and freshly squeezed citrus juices, black tea, cacao, onions, apples, pears, parsley, celery, and soy products. Flavonoids are only found in plant foods.

Once again, science shows that plant foods are health-giving, and a Westernised fast-food way of eating is detrimental to your health.

It’s never too late

It is never too late, and you are never too old to improve your well-being. Simply take a page out of Maureen and Jan’s books.

“I’m a social butterfly,” states Maureen proudly. She walks every day and gets out and about meeting new people. “My health is perfect, and at 80, I don’t take any medication. I’m in vibrant good health, and no one believes how old I am!” Maureen accredits her vibrancy and good health to the skills she learnt when changing to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle in her mid-sixties.

Jan agrees. “Since my sister’s diagnosis, I have learnt so much about the dangers of inflammation through bad dietary choices and the importance of the gut-brain connection. Every day I feel the benefits of the positive dietary choices I have now made. My mind is sharper than ever”.

Changing to a whole food plant-based way of eating is one surefire way to boost your brain’s health and longevity.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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A taste of India 24 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

B

ecause of their strong religious beliefs, a large portion of the Indian population is vegetarian. By natural circumstance, and with their amazing array of dals, rice, chutneys, spices, and fermented dishes, moving to WFPB eating is less of a change than, for example, it would be in Southland, New Zealand.

We have put together some recipes from Karnataka cuisine. Some have been altered to remove the jaggery and palm sugars traditionally used.

Karnataka cuisine dates back to the iron age and is one of India's oldest surviving traditional foods.

The Idli and Dosa found on the following pages uses black grain, a rice that can take a while to prepare (ferment), but it's worth the wait.

It's very filling. And, along with the chutneys and sambar soup, incredibly tasty as well. These dishes are common in Southern India and best prepared the night before. For a small cost, I have used an Idli mould that fits into a pressure cooker for steaming. Traditionally coconut shells have been used as the mould to steam in pots or the microwave.

Thanks to Divya Kachwalla for your help here, Also, check out her wonderful Biryani recipe. As one of the most popular dishes in South Asia, we couldn't leave this out of our small collection of Indian cuisine.

Enjoy!

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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Sambar Page 28 Tomato and Mint Chutney

Peanut Chutney

DOSA Idli

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SOUTH INDIAN BREAKFAST A WFPB version of the traditional South Indian breakfast consisting of Idlis, dosa, chutneys and a sambar soup.

by Catherine Barclay & others!

A big shout out to Valli Ponnapalli and his wife for introducing me to this excellent breakfast, and to Kavita Upadhyay for helping me source the WFPB ingredients.

INGREDIENTS - IDLI & DOSA 2 cups matta broken rice 1/2 cup urad dhal chilka 1 tsp fenugreek seed METHOD - IDLI 1. Wash the rice and dhal separately until the water is clear.

2. Place the rice in a bowl with the fenugreek seed and cover with water, leave to soak for 4-6 hours.

3. Put the dhal into a separate bowl, cover it with water and leave to soak for the same amount of time.

4. Drain the dhal and grind in a blender, adding small amounts of water at a time, until it is a fine paste. Set aside.

5. Drain and grind the rice with a cup of water until it is a coarse paste.

6. Combine both the dhal and rice in a large bowl, adding a 1/2 cup of water to make a batter that is not too thick or thin.

7. To ferment, place the bowl in a warm place (I used our hot water cupboard) overnight.

8. Next morning, give the batter a quick mix then spoon evenly into the idli moulds. I have purchased a stainless steel idli stand with four plates.

9. In an electric pressure cooker, preheat 1/2 cup water in saute mode, before adding in the idle stand, close the lid but keep the vent open. Use manual mode to steam for 12 mins.

10. Remove from the pressure cooker, and wait 5 mins before using a sharp knife to scoop out the idlis.

11. Serve immediately with chutney of your choice and a sambar.

INGREDIENTS - PEANUT CHUTNEY 1 cup peanuts 4-5 dry red chillis, deseed and dice 1 inch ginger, diced 5-6 garlic cloves, diced 1/4 cup brown onion, diced 1 pinch hing (asafoetida) 1/2 tsp tamarind powder METHOD - PEANUT CHUTNEY 1. Cook peanuts in an air fryer for 15 mins (tossing occasionally) or in the oven dry roast for 10 mins at 180°C (shaking occasionally).

2. In a frying pan, dry fry, with a small amount of water, the red chillies, ginger and garlic for 5 mins.

3. Add all to a tray and allow to cool.

4. Transfer all ingredients to a blender and blend with a small amount of water until smooth.

INGREDIENTS - TOMATO AND MINT CHUTNEY 1 Tbsp chana dal 1 Tbsp urad dal 1 tsp cumin seed 1/4 tsp fenugreek seed 4 red chilli, deseeded, diced 1 brown onion, diced 5 garlic cloves 1 knob ginger 2 tomato, diced pinch tamarind powder 1 cup mint METHOD - TOMATO AND MINT CHUTNEY

METHOD - DOSA 1. Follow the same instructions of Idli's 1-7 2. Heat a nonstick frypan.

3. Scoop a heaped tablespoon of the batter and pour it into the centre of the pan.

4. Use the back of the spoon to spread the batter outwards to form a thin crepe.

5. Cook for a minute then flip and cook for a further minute.

6. Remove from pan and place on a plate, repeat until all the batter is used.

7. Serve it immediately with your favourite chutney and sambar.

1. In a non-stick frying pan, dry fry the dals, cumin fenugreek seeds, and chilli with a bit of water.

2. Add in the onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until the onion is translucent.

3. Next add the tomato and tamarind, cook covered until tomato is soft.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. move all ingredients, including mint, into blender and blend until smooth, adding small amounts of water if needed.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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PUFFED MAKHANA (LOTUS SEEDS)

Like popcorn, this puffed seed is an Indian snack that is easy to prepare. The big difference is that these small packages are 10x healthier than popcorn.

Some of the benefits are: • • • • • •

SOUTH INDIAN BREAKFAST - CONTD INGREDIENTS - SAMBAR 3/4 cup toor dal 2 cups water 1 Tbsp tamarind powder 2 Tbsp sambar powder 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 potato, cubed 5 green beans, halved 1 large tomato, diced 3 okra, halved 1 medium carrot, diced 2-3 veg drumsticks (found at indian stores - optional) METHOD - SAMBAR 1. Wash the dal in water until clear.

2. Add dal and the water to a pressure cooker, cook for 9 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker add both to a pot and boil until dal is soft.

3. In a soup pot, dry fry the onions in a small amount of water until soft then add all other vegetables and saute for another 2 mins.

4. Stir in the chilli powder along with 4 cups of water.

5. Allow the water to boil before adding in all other ingredients. Cook for 5 mins.

6. Next remove around 1/2 the soup into a blender and blend until smooth, return mix to the pot and stir through.

7. Serve with Idli or Dosa while hot.

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•

A abundant source of protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin C and phosphorus.

Supports kidney health Increases bone strength Has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer properties These seeds are rich in amino acid content and unsaturated fatty acids.

Yet low in calories which is an excellent snack while losing weight.

Gluten-free The best way to prepare these little bits of goodness is to preheat an air-frier, add the seeds and fry for two minutes. Allow to stand for one minute before eating. That's it!

VEGAN BIRYANI A rice combination to die for, A family meal on its own or with Salad and your favourite chutney or pickle | by Divya Kachwalla - foodfamilywellness.com INGREDIENTS - PART ONE - ONIONS & POTATOES Crispy Onions Red Onions - 3 (medium size) Salt - ½ teaspoon (optional) Brown sugar - 1 teaspoon METHOD 1. Cut the onions into thin half-moon slices. Separate the pieces and place into a bowl. Add the sugar and salt and mix well. ​Crispy Potatoes Potatoes - 4 medium size Curry leaves - 8-10 Garlic - 6 cloves crushed Ginger - 2.5 teaspoons crushed Coriander/ cilantro - 1 small bunch chopped finely Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Cinnamon stick(small) - 1, break up into smaller pieces Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Fennel seeds - 2 tsp Brown sugar - 2 tsp METHOD 1. Combine all the ingredients. Massage the spices into the potatoes. Once all the potatoes are coated set the onions and potatoes aside to marinate for at least 1 hour and a maximum of 3 hours.

2. Discard the excess water that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl of onions and then scatter the onions onto a lined baking tray, ensure the onions are spread out in a thin layer.

3. Do the same with the potatoes on a separate tray. Bake the onions and potatoes at 140°C/284°F for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and crispy (refer to the recipe video to see what they should look like).

INGREDIENTS - PART TWO - RICE & ASSEMBLY 3 cups of long-grain rice (preferably Basmati rice) Coriander/cilantro powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1 ¼ tsp Cumin powder - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1 tsp Salt to taste (optional) Frozen peas - 2 cups 5 cups of water METHOD 1. Wash the rice under cold water and then gently combine all of the ingredients, being careful so as to avoid breaking up the potatoes and onions. Add water and cook in your rice cooker or stovetop if you prefer. If cooking on stovetop leave on a slow flame and cook until rice becomes tender.

2. Garnish (optional) pomegranate seeds (one hand full) and fresh coriander.

3. Serve with a salad & your favourite Indian chutney or pickles.

Buying Local, Growing Vocal

by Innes Hope Sustainable blessings on our kitchens! May cooks be filled with renewable energy, long life apply to every appliance, every utensil sing its usefulness, and our toasters toast the health of all life on this precious planet.

Innes Hope works in the arts, crafting thoughts into words, verses and recipes for a better world.

U

SHIFTING SEASONS

nlike supermarkets and greenhouses, nature doesn’t provide a continual supply of everything. She wants us to tune in to her rhythms, enjoy variety, go without sometimes, and drool over her fresh creations as they come into season. Eating seasonal produce supplied by local growers is a great way to tune in.

You can’t get more local than your own backyard. And you won’t have to open your wallet much at all if you grow your own fruit and vegies. Silver beet is a fabulous staple, and even a pot of herbs on the windowsill is a start. With the climate crisis disrupting our food supply and sending prices through the roof, now is the grow-your-own hour.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calls for a 30% reduction in animal product consumption by everyone. Yes, everyone. We need to eat more plants for the sake of our planet, our health and, ultimately, so humanity can survive.

But most of us can’t grow much food at home. Our commercial growers keep you and me alive. The more we can respect this, identify with them, and buy local, the better.

Growers have to had to adjust to fluctuating yields and new challenges every year. But with skyrocketing costs, unpredictable financial returns, labour shortages, shifting seasons and shock after shock of extreme weather events, they’re being forced to be more inventive than ever. These ongoing trends will force us as consumers to adapt too, and the faster we do, the happier we’ll be. We’re all in the climate crisis paddock together; a field now required to yield more and emit less greenhouse gas.

REINVENTING FARMING

Open days and food events give the public a behind-thescenes look at what’s involved in providing us with food. I went on the ‘Horowhenua Taste Trail’ and loved every minute. My focus was on plant-based food, and how our local producers are rising to the challenges climate change is hurling their way.

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Where I live, tornadoes and hail the size of golf balls have been tearing infrastructure apart, and floods and droughts are threatening soil-grown crops. Many growers across the country are going through the mill, and they know extreme weather challenges are going to increase.

I thought I’d see concern and bravery on our local grower’s faces. Instead, they were full of enthusiasm and kiwi ‘number 8 wire’ attitude. I didn’t find animal-food producers who are replacing their stock with plants or food crops for people. But at least reinventing horticulture is on the menu. Ten of the sixteen participating businesses were producing plant-based food.

Fantastic!

Genoese Foods, here in my hometown, Levin, was one of the first NZ companies to make plant-based pesto. It contains a generous amount of basil, which, for various reasons, had to be grown in Fiji. They reinvented systems so they can use locally grown basil. This significantly reduced the company’s food mile footprint and created work for local people.

Creativity and experimentation are also all go at Lewis Farms.

This family business supplies New Zealand with ‘Tendertips’ asparagus. Like several companies who are thinking ahead, their crop sites are spread across the district to provide some protection against isolated climate events. Now they also grow strawberries - in grow-bags, off ground at easy-harvest height, so workers don’t have to break their backs bending down to the soil.

The under-cover method protects these juicy treats from harsh weather and extends the seasonal supply. Energy use is lower than an enclosed greenhouse because heating and cooling is not needed. Geoff Lewis was buzzing with excitement as he showed me around. Seaweed is added in the nutrient mix to provide natural trace minerals. Grow bags and nutrient runoff are recycled for reuse. Biological pest control means no chemical sprays. I found all this impressive, considering it is not an organic farm.

Staff enjoy being creative in the new farm kitchen, too,

similar floods in California, he adds a proviso, “These farmers may suffer some losses from the severity of this weather. No one is immune. But their systems are far more capable of bouncing back.”

REBUILDING COMMUNITY

It was inspiring to see so many small businesses taking part in the Trail. I enjoyed tasting their food. Yum! Artisan-style chilli sauces, gourmet mushrooms, hemp products, chocolate, and cider, as well as crunchy seed crackers and Thoroughbread’s soft and delicious vegan loaf. Thoroughbread gluten-free bakery have won several national awards, beating the biggest and best in the land.

Many areas in the country are growing and producing plant foods. Yours will be too. Small businesses are at the heart of every community. Support them. They bring people together in local shops and stalls and provide products suited to the area.

They’re a source of local pride, or sometimes when warranted, of local disapproval. People talk, and knowing the cons is every bit as helpful as knowing the pros. You can learn far more about what you’re buying from a small, local provider than from a multinational corporation.

Food banks and local farmers’ markets are strengthening our communities. People with initiative and a social conscience are starting fresh produce exchange schemes, community gardens and creative, small ventures. Together we can create a better future. reducing food waste by making small batches of ice cream and jam from strawberries that would be otherwise be rejected by the markets. More diversification is on the way. Raspberries are next in line.

A substantial percentage of New Zealand’s vegetables are grown by another family business in the Horowhenua, Woodhaven Gardens. Though they use regular fertilisers and sprays, they are reducing the amount applied. Crop rotation is practised, and cover crops are ploughed back into the earth to enrich the soil. They say one of the keys to the farm’s success has been the ability to adapt and, in some cases, pre-empt changes.

“Many a night in summer was spent hand watering plants from a trailer-mounted tank. Now we irrigate via automated irrigation systems and monitor water and fertiliser use. Planting was all done by hand, but it’s now done via cell transplanting. We’ve also made major advances in integrated pest management and how crops are produced and harvested. This allows us to achieve healthier products and more sustainable production.”

With the climate crisis accelerating, growers everywhere are going to need to adapt, even more extensively and with increasing speed.

The word ‘sponge’ was suddenly on every expert’s lip after the Auckland floods; soil and natural waterways absorb water like a sponge instead of gushing along roads, smashing bridges, bringing down trees and destroying people’s homes.

As thousands of onions were being washed along the streets in Pukekohe, American journalist, Ryan Peterson, happened to be writing about the ‘sponge’ principle on regenerative farms.

In an article for Civic Eats, he said, “Every 1 per cent increase in soil organic matter equates to 20,000 gallons of additional water holding capacity per acre in the top 12 inches of soil.”

That will be water held safely in the ground, ready to help crops survive the next drought. We can do the same in our own yards, enriching the soil with kitchen compost. Peterson reminds us that “this organic matter is comprised largely of carbon, meaning these soils are also acting as carbon sinks.” Commenting on

REDEFINING LUXURY

The climate crisis is accelerating, making food increasingly expensive. But does the population want to look at the root cause and act to slow climate change in our own lives? The majority still demand imported tropical fruits, tomatoes in winter, and ‘to die for’ luxury treats.

We can ease the cost-of-living blues by redefining luxury and raising the pleasures of living a simple life to luxury status.

No cafe cake or food treat compares with the flavour of a fresh cape gooseberry for me now. The comforting taste of locally grown new potatoes is a high in itself. Raw baby peas – swoon!

Any freshly harvested produce, for that matter. Local food. The first foods of the season. Oh my! Doesn’t a firm, fresh, locally grown tomato taste good when you’ve not bitten into one for almost a year!

You’ve not experienced this particular bliss? Then I’ve a challenge for you.

THE ’YES!’ CHALLENGE

Are you strong enough to stick to a Year Eating Seasonal? A year enjoying locally grown fresh fruit and veges? This is the YES challenge!

Don’t worry. No one will be judging you. There’s no map, no attractive illustrated plan of action, no certificate of achievement.

You decide how to proceed as situations unfold. A few exceptions are OK … bananas are one of mine. It’s the journey that matters, discovering how nature does things.

Taking up the YES challenge you’ll be supporting and living the ‘low-food-footprint’ three R’s – Reinventing Farming, Rebuilding Community, and Redefining Luxury. It could well change your life like it has mine. I’ve still got a long way to go, as we all do. But there’s no way I want to turn back.

As for growing vocal – if you’re like me, you’ll want to talk with the whole world about the joy of eating plant-based - so delicious and rewarding.

Here’s to your success!

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HAPPYGUT PICCALILLI

M

Zingy, gut-friendly, onion & gluten free. Multiple uses too! - Innes Hope

ustard-cum-turmeric pickle is a pantry staple.

Here and in Britain, cauliflower, onion, zucchini and cucumber are used. Piccalilli is made with capsicum and green tomatoes, or gherkins and green beans in the US. This version is low in Fodmaps (natural sugars that can irritate the gut). Choose veges to suit your body.

INGREDIENTS - Prep Needed a Day Ahead 1.5 kg veges - your combination of zucchini marrow, cucumber, silver beet stalks, green or yellow capsicum, and green beans. Maybe some broccoli or cauliflower.

1/2 cup pickling salt (see tips) 5 cups vinegar (cider or white, not red or malt) 1/4 cup rice flour 3 Tbsp mustard powder 1 Tbsp each of ground turmeric & ground ginger 1/3 cup raw sugar Optional extras: seeds of cumin, coriander or mustard METHOD - The day before

1. Peel the cucumbers and cut out the seedy section if it’s watery. Trim the beans, then chop all the veges except silver beet stalks into chunks - small enough to look nice in a salad dressing.

2. Slice the silver beet stalks thinly to resemble sliced celery.

3. Put all the veges into a large plastic bucket, layer by layer, sprinkling each layer with salt as you go. Cover with a tea towel. Leave overnight.

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METHOD - Next Day

1. Drain the liquid out of the veges.

2. Rinse the veges thoroughly in cold water several times until the salt is washed out.

3. Heat oven to 150◦C. Wash half a dozen or more jars, then put them in oven for 15mins. Better to heat too many jars than not enough. Soak lids in boiling water.

4. Mix 1 cup of the vinegar with the flour and spices to make a paste. Set it aside.

5. Pour a litre of vinegar into a large pot and stir in the sugar. Bring to a simmer, then add the vegetables and boil for 6-7 mins (‘til just cooked, but still crunchy).

6. Stir in the rice ‘n spice paste, and boil for 3 mins, stirring all the time.

7. Take jars out of oven with tongs and fill almost to the top with hot pickle. Screw the lids on and leave them to cool. Check they are sealed. Store in a dark place for 2 weeks to develop a full flavour before eating. Well-sealed, your Piccalilli will keep for at least a year.

TIPS Salt draws water from the veges, resulting in more crunch. You won’t be eating all that salt - it is washed out once its job is done. Pickling salt is plain, white salt with no added iodine or free-flowing agents.

For a nice yellow pickle, use mostly white or colourless vegetables. Small chunks of green veges enhance the yellow.

Making pickles from ‘glut’ veges in season is a great money-saver.

Think of pickles as a thick, ‘nutrient dense vinegar.’

Blend it for a smooth texture or mix it with soy yogurt, avocado, or nut butters to dress salads.

CRANBERRY WILD RICE PILAF A simple rice pilaf recipe made with nutty wild rice, sweet and tangy cranberries, leeks and fresh herbs.

A lovely side dish, easy enough for any day of the week.

by Florentina at veggiesociety.com | serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1.5 cups wild rice blend 1 sml sml leek, chopped & rinsed well 1 capsicum (bell pepper), diced 1 carrot, grated 1/3 cup vegan white wine (optional) could replace with apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/3 cup dried cranberries -for garnish 3 cups low sodium vegetable stock or water 2 leaves bay 1 sprig rosemary 1 sprig sage 8 sprigs fresh thyme 3 sprigs fresh oregano 1 Tbsp dried oregano 1 pinch red pepper flakes or to taste 1 splash water

METHOD 1. Preheat a large deep skillet or pot over medium low flame. Add a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) and the chopped leeks. Sautee with a pinch of sea salt until translucent.

2. Stir in the grated carrot, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Add the wild rice mix and stir well to combine. Allow it to toast together with the aromatics for a couple of minute.

3. Add in the chopped capsicum and 1/2 cup of the cranberries. Pour in the wine and simmer until reduced by half then add the vegetable stock (or water). Stir and taste for seasonings.

Add more sea salt to your taste if desired.

4. Bring the rice to a simmer, cover with a tight lid and cook on low flame for 50 minutes. Turn off the heat but do not remove the lid. Allow the rice to sit covered for 10 to 15 minutes and continue cooking in its own steam.

5. Discard the bay leaves and the woody sprigs from the herbs. Use a fork and gently fluff up the rice.

6. Serve warm or cold garnished with the remaining cranberries and fresh herbs.

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Stephen and David Flynn

by Nicole Morgan Irish born twins Steven and David Flynn, aka The Happy Pear, set out to put a strong sense of fun back into everything health and wellbeing. They are best known for their passion for plant based food and lifestyle and have spent almost 20 years inspiring thousands of people from all around the world to eat less meat and more veg. Their humble beginnings back in 2004 saw the opening of their very first fruit and veg shop, and since then the twins haven't looked back.

The Happy Pear business, which now comprises cafés and food shops, not to mention an entire digital media, online learning and publishing enterprise as well as delicious and healthy supermarket ready meals and soups, has their personalities stamped all over it.

We grabbed an opportunity to talk to The Flynn brothers who graciously agree to tell us a bit more about The ever expanding Happy Pear community and what it takes to create social change.

Your personal and professional journey as ‘The Happy Pear’ since 2004 has been immensely successful. Did you ever envisage your business growing to the size it is today?

In all truth we initially never saw it as a business, but as a means to create social change. It was all about creating a happier, healthier, ‘more-together’ and sustainable community. We are very lucky to have had such successes and to have reached so many outside of our little town of Greystones. That being said, even after 18 years we feel like we are just getting going.

The world is large and we are still very small. It gives us great purpose and meaning. We really believe in what we are doing - and we love it!

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How did you initially go about building and influencing your audience into making a switch to eating more plants? Did you still live by this same ethos almost 20 years on?

We learned quickly that people find it much easier to hear the suggestion to “Eat more veg” rather than telling them they should be vegan. It’s a lot easier. A friend of ours (Seanie Cahill) has a great saying -“It’s easier to attract people with honey than it is with vinegar”. Being kind, accepting and open is a lot more attractive than being judgemental and critical. Do we still have the same ethos? Quite simply, yes absolutely! We've been eating a vegan diet for 20 years. For the first couple of years we were probably righteous and judgmental, and we found that this was quite fractious. It didn't really entice people or inspire others. So instead, we focused on encouraging people; meeting them where they're at, and taking baby steps - using the mantra to ‘Eat more veg’. That's what we tend to focus on.

Have you noticed a change in people’s attitudes towards plant based health since the inception of the Happy Pear? How did you overcome this barrier and can you impart any advice for others facing the same challenges?

Massively! When we first started, we never used to hear the word vegan or vegetarian because it was strange and weird and cold, whereas nowadays, it's actually become fashionable. Today people almost go, “wow, I want to be vegan too. How do I do it?” So that's an incredible step. When we first started a cafe, we never labelled it vegan or vegetarian, we just labelled it ‘healthy food’. Today it's pretty much exclusively vegan.

Because the market is ready for it. The reason we say ‘exclusively’ is because we offer dairy milk for those who asked for it, and we offer dairy based butter for those who ask for it because we're still a community based business, and we want to do our best to meet people where they're at, while still respecting our own ideals. We try. We try to find that middle ground as best as we can. We are far from perfect.

We love getting to work with so many friends and getting to do work that we really believe in

What has been your biggest challenge as The Happy Pear over the last 20 years and how did you overcome it?

There's been so many different challenges over the years; so many little ones and so many big ones. To pick a singular one is quite hard, so lets pick a recent one.

Prepandemic we had four cafes. Over the pandemic, we've unfortunately had to close three of them down, the most recent being last month. It it has been difficult in a sense that society tends to celebrate as you get bigger, and you've got more cafes, or more land or more staff or more of whatever it is. To overcome it we have found that accepting and realising that less can be more. It is very hard to have three or four really special places. We have come to terms with the fact you can't have something that's widespread and special. Typically, what's rare is special. There is a well known expression in Irish - a proverb or ‘seanfhocail’ in our native language. It goes “An rud is annamh is iontach” and translates to ‘The thing that's seldom is wonderful’. In this case, we found that having one cafe and really putting our heart and soul into it with the sourdough bakery and the veg shop, and supper club.

We have found this to be more beautiful.

The movement here in New Zealand and Australia is still very much in its infancy. How do you think acceptance of the message has progressed over time - for instance, do you think the subject is more ‘palatable’ now than when you first set up?

Most definitely. When we first set up there wasn't really a conversation around how diet and what you eat impacted climate change for instance. Politics starts on your plate - back 20 years ago, you didn't have those type of conversations, and if you did, it was kind of strange. Nowadays, it's widely accepted that the most healthy thing you can do for the climate or to positively impact climate change is to eat a vegan diet or plant based diet. It's kind of irrefutable scientifically that a plant based diet is the only diet to reverse cardiovascular disease. Even if you look to the Blue Zones, the areas in the world where people are found to live longer than average, and there is a strong emphasis on the whole food plant based diet. I think it's changed hugely. We believe, in terms of good health, that eating a healthy plant based diet is pretty much the best you can do; and we think it's wonderful.

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What do you most enjoy about being “The Happy Pear” and what are you most proud of?

We love our work, we love getting to work with so many friends and getting to do work that we really believe in; that we each love. We love the variety. And so I think what am I most proud of is the life I get to live - to spend time with my children every day, to go and swim in the sea with friends, to work with wonderful humans that I absolutely adore, and to be part of a community. It's great.

The pandemic helped us get back to our grass roots and not caught up with excessive scaling How did the pandemic affect the Happy Pear business and community?

We’d have to say positively. It got us back to our core.

We kind of got caught up with growth. We had four cafes, we were turning over more than €10 million, there was loads of bits going on. The pandemic helped us get back to our roots and to not get caught up with excessive scaling. Although closing down three cafes was difficult, it has been very good to get us to really focus on what we're doing and to be able to focus on something special. The re-grounding and the time allowed us to focus on our flagship shop and the community, which led us to launching our app. We were able to focus on one special thing while bringing people together, and not those that were in our little town of Greystones. We create a platform, The Happy Pear: Healthy Living because it's well known that the key to any sustainable lifestyle change is community.

Healthy Living allows us to recreate that environment to support people to be healthier, happier and to eat a plant based diet. It helps people to eat well and encourages you to move more. It provides access to medical support systems such as gastroenterologist for gut health revolution. We've just released a Menopause Course with a Senior Consultant Gynaecologist. We

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have a Sleep Course coming with a neurologist and sleep doctor. We have a happy shape course with a Bariatric GP. So in essence we have created a platform and community with loads of wonderful courses, content and recipes to remind people that eating a whole food plant based diet, moving more, sleeping well and most importantly having a community to support you is so important for anyone who wants to live a healthy and happy life.

The underlying importance and connection between what we eat and planetary health is still only dawning on people. Do you think we’re all making that worldwide connection…is that a hope you would have for the near future?

I think if we don't have hope, I think we have nothing because we have to turn it around. Otherwise we're going to become extinct. I really do yearn, hope, plead for our society, society at large, to start to realise the importance of eating more plant based and moving more towards a plant centric diet for the continuation of our own species. It’s outlined in research by the University of Oxford in 2018, that the single biggest thing you could do for climate change as an individual was to eat a plant based diet or a vegan diet. Politics does start on your plate and what you eat is like a vote for the world you want to create. So our answer is yes. I really really hope it and that is what our work is all about is trying to inspire people to eat more vegetables, come together as a community, so we can all live a happier, healthier, and more meaningful life.

We're offering our readers a one time discount of 50% off an annual subscription to the newly launched Happy Pear app which gives you full access to recipes, content, courses and live events.

Simply scan the QR code or visit the link below and select 'Get Started' then add 1 year membership to the cart (discount applied via the website, not the app) CODE: WHOLEFOODLIVING learn.thehappypear.ie/healthyliving

HOMEMADE KETCHUP Making your own ketchup allows you to control the sodium and sugar content, while you create something even more delicious!

Follow the proper canning procedure to keep this ketchup on hand at all times.

by Vitamix.com.au | 24 Servings INGREDIENTS 30 ml (2 Tbsp) extra virgin olive oil, optional 115 g (1) medium brown onion, chopped 1.3 kg (3 lb) tomatoes, halved 100 g (¾ cup) dates 60 ml (¼ cup) apple cider vinegar 1 tsp salt, optional 1 tsp dry mustard 1/2 tsp celery salt 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp ground allspice

METHOD 1. Place tomatoes into the Vitamix container and secure the lid. Select Variable 7. Pulse 5 to 6 times, or until tomatoes are roughly chopped, using the tamper to press the tomatoes toward the blades.

2. In a large saucepan with a heavy bottom, add the olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft but not brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the tomatoes (including all juice and seeds), dates, vinegar, salt, dry mustard, celery salt, garlic powder, ground cloves, and ground allspice to the onions. Stir well to combine.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes, then place into the Vitamix container and secure the lid.

4. Start the blender on its lowest speed, then quickly increase to its highest speed, using the tamper to press ingredients toward the blades.

5. Blend for 30 seconds.

6. Pour the mixture into an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

7. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

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Janice Carter Lifestyle Medicine Coach

Pecan Nuts: the health benefits significantly outweigh the cost

P

When adults consumed a pecan-rich diet for four weeks, they experienced decreases in their LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while beneficial HDL readings increased.

ecan nuts – one of my favourite nuts, but sadly, so expensive. Having dug into some more research on the amazing benefits of Pecan nuts, I quickly concluded that these beautiful nuts are worth every cent. Pecans can grow in New Zealand, but good research into which type for your area and climatic conditions will need to be done before you invest in a tree. Pecans are the only tree nut native to North America and are also No. 1 in antioxidant concentration. When you're on the lookout for a healthy snack, pecans check every box Pecans have a rich history. Wild pecans were an important part of Native American diets in the U.S. and Mexico, and the word pecan comes from the Algonquin Native American word "pacane," which means "a nut requiring a stone to crack."

In the wild, pecan trees live to be 1,000 years old, reaching more than 100 feet tall. The first cultivated pecan trees were planted by Native Americans, who also created a fermented beverage called powcohicora, made by fermenting pecan powder.

Today, more than 80% of the global pecan supply still comes from the U.S. It takes close to 10 years before pecan trees are able to produce a full harvest, but once they reach maturity, they can produce this nutritious food for a century or more.

Health Benefits of Pecans Pecans have a buttery, mildly sweet flavour perfect for snacking, baking and adding crunch to salads and vegetable dishes. They also offer an impressive nutritional profile, providing protein, fibre, healthy fats and more than 19 vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and E, B vitamins, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

There are many reasons to add them to your diet.

1. Improved cardiometabolic risk factors Cardiometabolic risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, dyslipidaemia, abdominal obesity and elevated triglycerides signify an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. This refers to a group of conditions that often begin with insulin resistance and, without healthy lifestyle changes, progress to metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Only 6.8% of U.S. adults have optimal cardiometabolic health,

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which means the remaining 93.2% do not, instead belonging to the majority whose cardiometabolic health has been "poor and worsening" since 2000.

Simply eating pecans is one way to improve your cardiometabolic health, even if you're overweight or obese. In a study of middleaged and older adults who were overweight or obese, eating a pecan-rich diet for four weeks led to improvements in insulin, insulin resistance and beta cell function. The study found that eating pecans also lowered participants' risk of cardiometabolic disease compared to the control diet.

2. Reduce Oxidation of LDL Cholesterol Pecans contain compounds such as asγ-tocopherol and flavan3-ol monomers, which have antioxidant properties. Consuming pecans in whole or blended form led to significant increases in antioxidant defences, suggesting "bioactive constituent of pecans are absorbable."

Further, after consuming whole pecans, oxidised LDL decreased.

Oxidised LDL is a marker of lipoprotein-associated oxidative stress and is considered to be a risk factor for heart disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture study revealed that pecans rank No. 1 in antioxidants compared to eight other common tree nuts.

Pecans also ranked in the top 20 in antioxidant capacity out of 277 foods analysed for the study.

3. Improve Heart Health With a rich content of antioxidants and monounsaturated fats, pecans are a heart-healthy food. When adults consumed a pecanrich diet for four weeks, they experienced decreases in their LDL cholesterol and triglycerides while beneficial HDL readings increased. Further, improvements to lipid profile were achieved without any weight gain.

"Nuts such as pecans that are rich in monounsaturated fat may therefore be recommended as part of prescribed cholesterollowering diet of patients or habitual diet of healthy individuals," researchers wrote in The Journal of Nutrition.

4. Protect Your Brain In an animal study of mice with a condition similar to

Nut consumption, in general, is inversely associated with cognitive decline.

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, pecans provided neurological protection. In those fed a pecan-rich diet, a significant delay was observed in declining motor function compared to mice fed a diet without pecans. This suggests eating pecans could help protect against age-related motor neuron degeneration.

Nut consumption, in general, is also inversely associated with cognitive decline. In adults aged 55 and over, those who ate more than 10 grams a day of nuts were 40% less likely to have poor cognitive function, even after adjusting for other lifestyle and behavioural factors. Surely a very valid reason to get into nuts every day.

5. Cancer Protection A systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that eating tree nuts is associated with a lower risk of cancer incidence and mortality. A dose-response relationship was found, such that the more nuts consumed, the lower cancer risk became.

Specifically, a five-gram per day increase in total nut intake was associated with a 25% lower risk of colon cancer, a 6% lower risk of pancreatic cancer and a 3% lower risk of cancer overall. For cancer mortality, higher intake of tree nuts led to an 18% lower risk. Extracts from pecan shells have also shown promise against breast cancer and colon cancer cell lines.

Whether you're looking for quick, portable snack to fill you up on-the-go or a functional addition to your morning breakfast smoothie, pecans make a health-boosting choice.

New Beginnings

THREE DAY LIFESTYLE RETREAT

Give your health a fresh start with a whole plant-based diet.

12-14 March 23-25 April 21-23 May Camp Columba, Pukerau, Gore

For more information contact josth98p@gmail.com

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

39

Brenda Davis

Plant-based nutrition from birth to senior years "Well designed, plant exclusive or plant predominant diets are the highest quality diets.

They’re the diets that will protect us from the chronic diseases that are killing 70 per cent of our population."

R

egistered dietitian and plant-based pioneer Brenda Davis received a standing ovation at last year’s International Plant Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference for a riveting review on nutrition needs across all age groups.

Her presentation covered the strengths and weaknesses of diets ranging from omnivore to Mediterranean, vegetarian, vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarianism. It also included detailed research results of all these diets as they impacted different stages of human growth.

Her conclusion, on the weight of evidence, was that “well designed, plant exclusive or plant predominant diets are the highest quality diets. They’re the diets that will protect us from the chronic diseases that are killing 70 per cent of our population.

“They are nutritionally adequate at every stage of the life cycle.

But, I think the number one, or the bigger reason to choose plant-based is really about the benefits plant-based diets provide beyond ourselves. There is no one more powerful step that any human being can take towards the preservation of this planet than choosing a plant-based diet.

“In a study of the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, they said, if everybody followed the dietary guidelines of eating less meat and more fruits and vegetables we would reduce carbon emissions by 2050 by 29 per cent but we would reduce them by 70 per cent if we all ate vegan.

“If you look at the carbon footprint of food you can see, when you look at the emissions in kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of food, you are looking at a factor of about five to 60 for animal products and you are looking at .2 to 4 from plant foods, it’s a huge difference.

Ethically justifiable “And then, of course, plant based-diets are more ethically justifiable for animals and for people. Over 80 billion land animals are slaughtered for food every single year and over 90 per cent of those animals are raised in confined animal feeding operations.

“It makes no sense to cause pain, suffering and death to billions of animals every year when it is so unnecessary and undermines the very life support systems of our planet. By getting our nutrition from plants, we all win.

“We have a choice as human beings. When we consider the

40 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

Canadian dietitian, Brenda Davis, is a leader in her field and an internationally acclaimed speaker.

She has worked as a public health nutritionist, clinical nutrition specialist, nutrition consultant and academic nutrition instructor. This article covers part of her address to last year's PlantBased Nutrition Health Conference in California.

To purchase access to all videos and slides from this conference go to:

www.pbnhc.com

consequences of our food choices, not just for ourselves but beyond ourselves, a plant-based diet becomes both an ethical and ecological imperative.”

The full detail of her address is too extensive to cover here, but it’s worth noting that a significant part of her lecture covered some of the key areas of concern around plant-based eating. It needs to be healthy, she stressed.

“The big question, because it’s so ingrained in our culture, is, don’t you need cows' milk for calcium? The answer is absolutely not. To me, it just defies rationality to imagine that any mammal would require the milk of another species for its survival. It would defy nature’s laws. In pre-agricultural times humans averaged 1000 to 1500 milligrams of calcium per day without a single drop of any other mammal's milk. And most of it came from plants.

“In 2019, Health Canada became a global leader with their new food guide. As plant-based dietitians in our country, we definitely had a little bit of a role in helping them move forward with this change. As you can see, half the plate is fruit and vegetables, onequarter whole grains and a quarter protein-rich foods. They say to include plant sources of protein every day and choose plant sources of protein as the healthiest protein choices.

“Milk is a part of that group. You can see a little bit of yoghurt there; I don’t there is any other dairy there but beside the plate is

The future of food?

Could food like this become the new norm across Australia and New Zealand in future?

The contents of this plate reflect the dietary guidelines adopted by Health Canada in 2019.

Of course, for ardent WFPB followers focusing on optimal health, there's still much to be desired here, but from a population-wide standpoint, the Canadian guidelines are aeons ahead of the standard American diet and would likely result healthier outcomes almost anywhere. water. Make water your drink of choice. So, incredible strides for Canada’s food guide.

“Recommended calcium intakes (for North America) are 700 mg for one to three-year-olds, 1000 for four to eight-year-olds, 1300 for nine to 18 year-olds, 1000 for women 19 to 50 for men 19 to 70 and 1200 for women over 50 and men over 70.

“That’s a lot, and it’s double what it is in some other countries like in the UK; for around four to eight-year-olds its around 450 to 550. Not all countries agree that it needs to be this high but in North America these are recommended intakes. So what are the actual vegan intakes?

“Well, in vegan adults, they average 887, vegetarians 1068 and omnivores 1066, so vegans really aren’t that far off the mark.

So can we get enough calcium without dairy, absolutely, yes we can. How do we do that? By eating sufficient calcium rich plant foods like low oxalate greens like kale and broccoli, turnip greens and Chinese greens, almonds and chi seeds and tofu made with calcium. But the big question that arises about these plant foods was, is the calcium in these foods bio-available and the answer is yes it is. The greens I just mentioned (kale, broccoli and Chinese greens) the absorption is often close to 60 per cent which is almost double what it is for dairy.”

The value of greens She said the bonus of the greens is that you are also getting vitamin K, magnesium, and potassium – all of which are critical to bone health. If there was a problem meeting essential calcium requirements, especially for children, then one or two cups of fortified non-dairy milk “will boost intakes to where they should be for children and adults alike.”

Understanding calcium absorption was important, she said.

“Another factor affecting calcium absorption is the amount of calcium consumed. Absorption efficiency decreases as calcium consumption at a meal increases. What that means is that if you eat 1000 mg at one meal you’ll absorb far less than eating 250 mgs in four meals.

“Calcium absorption is as high as 60 per in infants and young

children but it decreases to 15 to 20 per cent in adults, except during pregnancy when it increases again.”

She said vitamin D was a risk for everyone, “but studies do suggest the risk is higher among vegans because there are fewer dietary sources. Most people are not making enough from sun exposure. Our ability to make vitamin D depends on the latitude we’re at, the kind of year, the kind of day, the cloud cover, our age, our body weight, skin colour, and skin exposure. All of those things make a difference.”

The recommended dietary amount (RDA) was 400 iu for infants up to age two, 600 for children and one to 2000 iu’s is often recommended for adults. More maybe, needed for seniors.

“The food sources (for vitamin D) are mushrooms grown in UV light, eggs, fish, liver and fortified food sources like non-dairy milk and dairy milk.

“Pant foods come up short on B12. They’re not reliable B12 sources unless they’re fortified. Even foods commonly thought of a reliable sources like organic vegetables, seaweed, fermented foods and mushrooms are not reliable B12 sources.”

She said storage of B12 was significantly different between adults and babies.

“An adult can last two to three years but take a breast-fed baby born to a B12 deficient mother; their stores may last months or even only weeks. Insufficient B12 in infancy can result in irreversible brain damage. The deficiency symptoms are megaloblastic anaemia, nerve and brain damage, GI disturbances and elevated homocysteine which can increase our risk of heart disease.

“The risk is higher for seniors. In developed countries, six per cent of those who are 60 plus are actually B12 deficient. B12 deficiency increases the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Ten to 30 per cent of people over 50 years have a diminished ability to cleave the B12 off the protein that is bound to animal flesh, so the IOM suggests everyone over 50 should get their B12 from the same place vegans get their B12 - fortified foods or supplements.”

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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LOADED KUMARA FRIES WITH MISO GRAVY This is a good example of taking a unhealthy dish and turning it on its head.

by Nicole Morgan - @plant_strong_living | serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1 stock cube "beef" 1 kg kumara washed (skin on) cut into 1cm chips 5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed slightly with the back of a knife 1 Tbsp stock 2 Tbsp dukkah 2 tsp curry powder salt & pepper to taste (optional) INGREDIENTS - Miso Gravy 1 sprig of thyme leaves (picked) 1 tsp sriracha sauce 2 Tbsp maple syrup 4 tsp miso paste 2 tsp arrowroot powder fresh ground black pepper INGREDIENTS - loaded topping 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed 2 spring onions, sliced thin 1/2 iceburg lettuce, chopped 1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced 1 avocado, sliced

42 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

METHOD Preheat your oven to 200 C fan bake. Dissolve the stock cube in 2 cups of boiling water.

Using a large mixing bowl, toss the kumara chips, garlic, 2 tbsp stock, fries seasoning and a pinch of salt and pepper. Then spread the fries out on a large lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip and toss the fries but take out the garlic cloves to use in the miso gravy. Bake for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile to make the miso gravy, chop the roasted garlic cloves up roughly. In a medium – small pot, combine the garlic, 1 cup of stock, thyme, sriracha, maple syrup and the miso paste.

Bring to a light boil, meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk 4 tbsp of stock, the miso paste and the gravy sachet until smooth. Add this to the pot and whisk until the gravy starts to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. Season to taste.

Pour the miso gravy over the kumara fries and garnish with black beans and spring onions.

Serve with lettuce, purple cabbage and diced avocado. Enjoy.

Garden to Table

Preparations for autumn and beyond

W

ith autumn underway, it’s a great time to get a head start on your autumn and winter vegetable garden. Many vegetables are great for planting as the weather cools over the next few months.

If you haven’t already, planning your winter crops for how you would like them roughly arranged in the garden is a great idea.

Sow some seeds in trays and get a head start on your productive winter wonderland. Meantime, keep enjoying the delicious harvests from your summer garden, and don’t forget to keep on top of any weeds that may have popped up and need attention.

If you’re a fan of leafy greens, we have a range of popular options, including Cabbage Red Acre, Cress American Upland, Kale Cavolo Nero, Lettuce Little Gem, Spinach Perpetual, and Fordhook Giant Beet (also known as Silverbeet or Swiss Chard).

All of these varieties are ideal for use as baby leaf and can be taken as required to provide you with a sustained harvest for many weeks.

Pea WF Massey, the classic garden pea in NZ, is another popular variety for the cooler weather, along with Broccolis and Cauliflowers which are ever sought after. Other great options include root vegetables like Beetroot Detroit Dark Red (typically ready to harvest in about 60 days), or Carrot Tendersweet , which are regarded for their bountiful and delicious harvests.

fully mature. Ripe pumpkins should produce a hollow sound when knocked solidly with your knuckle.

Watermelons are much the same, but pay attention to the palecoloured patch underneath the melon; even if it doesn’t sound hollow when knocked, it is ready to eat when its sitting spot has turned yellow.

Finally, as your summer garden comes to its seasonal end, don’t forget to clear out dead plants to make room for your fresh autumn seedlings.

Getting the jump on the cold weather and shorter sunlight days will pay you back with beautiful harvests you’ll appreciate in the coming time.

We offer heritage vegetable, herb and flower seeds to grow your own gourmet garden.

Sowing tips included.

Transplanting has its benefits Many gardeners favour transplanting over sowing direct, as it allows better dependability and control over the initial growing conditions. While root vegetables are best sown direct, most leafy greens can be sown into trays for transplanting into your garden a few weeks later. Leafy greens are generally loved by garden pests like snails, too, so transplanting can help prevent this from being an issue.

By sowing into trays and then transplanting once the seedlings have several true leaves, you can enhance your success rates while having more accuracy over where each seedling grows.

Regularly harvesting from your summer garden encourages more fruiting and extends your harvesting period.

Continue picking your tomatoes and pinching out any lategrowing laterals so the plant’s energy goes into the fruit rather than the leaves.

Eggplants should be picked once their glossy skin deepens in colour but before the fruit softens, as it can become bitter.

Pumpkin vines will typically start to die back, with their leaves turning yellow and drying up to indicate that your pumpkins are

Save 15% off your first order with the code "WFL15" at checkout.

Valid once per person until 31st May 2023.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

43

by Dr Michael Greger

Is plant-based best for sporting endurance?

R

In spite of the well-documented health benefits of more plant-based diets, less is known regarding the effects of these diets on athletic performance.

ecently, the remains of dozens of Roman gladiators were discovered in a mass grave. The clue to their identities were the rather distinct types of mortal injuries they found, like being speared in the head with a trident.

Using just their skeletons, they were able to reconstruct the death blows, show just how buff they really were, and even try to reconstruct their “diet of barley and beans.”

You can look at carbon isotopes and see what kinds of plants they ate; nitrogen isotopes…reflect [any] intake of animal protein.

You can also look at the sulphur in their bones and the amount of strontium, leading commentators to submit that the best athletes in ancient Rome ate largely plant-based diets.

Then there were the legionnaires, the Roman army troopers, famed for their abilities, also eating a similar kind of diet, suggesting the best fighters in the ancient world were essentially vegetarian.

So, if the so-called perfect fighting machines, the great sports heroes of the day, were eating mostly grains and beans, should that tell us anything about sports nutrition and the preferred diets of elite athletes?

Plato pushed plants

Well, most of the Greeks and Romans were basically vegetarian and centering their diets around grains, fruit, vegetables and beans, so maybe the gladiators’ diets weren’t that remarkable.

Plato, for example, pushed plants, preferring plant foods for their health and efficiency.

So yes, the Roman gladiators were known as ‘barley men’. But is that because barley gives you strength and stamina? Or was that just the basic food that people ate at the time, not necessarily for performance, but because it was just so cheap?

Well, if you look at “the modern Spartans,” the Tarahumara Indians, the ones that run races where they kick a ball for oh, 75 miles just for the fun of it, running all day, all night, and all day, maybe 150 miles if they’re feeling in the mood. What do you get if you win?

Actually, special popularity with the ladies, although how much of a reward that would prove to be for a man who had been running for two days straight is questionable, though maybe their endurance extends to other dimensions.

Probably, not since the days of the ancient Spartans have a people achieved such a high state of extreme physical

44 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

Dr Michael Greger is well known (and respected) for his pithy observations on the science of plant-based eating. In his following piece (republished under Creative Commons license) he examines several studies and warns of the importance in adhearing to proper scientific principles when considering the evidence. For more, don't hesitate to check out his very informative web site.

www.nutritionfacts.org conditioning. And what did they eat? The same kind of 75 to 80 per cent starch diet is based on beans, corn, and squash. And, they had the cholesterol levels to prove it, total cholesterol levels down at an essentially heart attack-proof 136.

And it’s not some special genetics they have - feed them enough egg yolks, and their cholesterol creeps right up.

Modern-day Olympian runners eat the same stuff. What are they eating over there in Kenya? A 99 per cent vegetarian diet centred mostly around various starches. But as in all these cases, is their remarkable physical prowess because of their diets or in spite of their diets? Or have nothing to do with their diets? You don’t know, until you put it to the test.

In spite of the well-documented health benefits of more plantbased diets, less is known regarding the effects of these diets on athletic performance. So, they compared elite vegetarian and omnivore endurance athletes for aerobic fitness and strength. So, comparing oxygen utilization on the treadmill and quad strength with leg extensions. The vegetarians beat out their omnivore counterparts for cardiorespiratory fitness, but their strength didn’t differ. Suggesting, in the very least, that vegetarian diets do not compromise athletic performance.

National Runners' Health Study

But this was a cross-sectional study. Maybe the veg athletes were just fitter because they trained harder? In the National Runners’ Health Study looking at thousands of runners: vegetarian runners were recorded running significantly more on a weekly basis, so, maybe that explains their superior fitness. Though, maybe their superior fitness explains their greater distances.

Other cross-sectional studies have found no differences in

physical fitness between vegetarian and non-vegetarian athletes or even worse performance, as one study of vegetarian athletes in India. Of course, there could be socioeconomic or other confounding factors. That’s why we need interventional studies to put different diets to the test and then compare physical performance, which we’ll explore next.

In 1896, the aptly named James Parsley evidently led a successful vegetarian cycling club to victory. Their competitors apparently had to “eat crow with their beef.” Evidently, some Belgian put it to the test in 1904, with those eating more plant-based supposedly lifting some weight like 80 per cent more times, but I couldn’t find the primary source in English. What I could find, though: a famous series of experiments at Yale, published more than a century ago, on the influence of flesh-eating on endurance.

Forty-nine people were compared: regular athletes (mostly Yale students), vegetarian athletes, and then just sedentary vegetarians. “The experiment furnished a severe test of the claims of those flesh-abstainers.” Much to the researchers’ surprise, the results seemed to vindicate the vegetarians, suggesting that not eating meat leads to far greater endurance compared to those accustomed to the ordinary American diet.

Hold out your arms

Check it out: the first endurance test was how many minutes straight you could hold out your arms horizontally: flesh-eaters versus flesh abstainers. The regular Yale athletes were able to keep their hands out for about 10 minutes on average. It’s harder than it sounds; give it a try. OK, but those eating vegetarian did, like, five times better! The meat-eater maximum was only half that of the vegetarian average. Only two meat eaters even hit 15 minutes, whereas more than two-thirds of the meat-avoiders did.

None of the regular diet folks hit a half hour, whereas nearly half of the healthier eaters did, including nine that exceeded an hour, four that exceeded two hours and one guy going for more than three hours.

How many deep knee bends can you do? One athlete could do more than 1,000, averaging 383, but they got creamed even by the sedentary plant-eaters. That’s the crazy thing—even the sedentary abstainers surpassed the exercising flesh-eaters. The sedentary abstainers were in most cases, physicians who sat on their butts all day. I want a doctor that can do a thousand deep knee bends!

And then in terms of recovery, all those deep knee bends left everyone sore but much more so among those eating meat.

Among the vegetarians, of two that did like 2,000 knee bends one went straight off to the track to run, and another went on to their

nursing duties. On the other hand, among the meat-eaters: one guy reached 254, went down once more and couldn’t get back up, had to be carried away and was incapacitated for days, another was impaired for weeks after fainting.

It may be inferred, without reasonable doubt, that the once sceptical Yale researcher concluded that the meat-eating group of athletes was inferior in endurance to the vegetarians, even the sedentary ones. What could account for this remarkable difference?

Some claimed that flesh foods contained some kind of “fatigue poisons.” But one German researcher who detailed his own experiments with athletes offered a more prosaic answer.

In his book on what looks like physiological studies of uberdriving vegetarians (I told you I only know English) he conjectured that the apparent vegetarian superiority was just due to their tremendous determination to prove their point and spread their propaganda.

So, they just make a greater effort in any contest than do their meat-eating rivals. The Yale researchers were worried about this, and so, special pains were taken to stimulate the flesh-eaters to the utmost, appealing to their college pride. Don’t let those lousy vegetarians beat the “Yale spirit.”

The experiments made it into The New York Times. Yale’s flesheating athletes—sounds like a zombie movie—beaten in severe endurance tests. “Yale professor believes that he has shown definitely the inferiority in strength and endurance tests of meat eaters compared to those who do not eat meat.”

Some of Yale’s most successful athletes took part in the strength tests, and Professor Fisher declared they were obliged to admit their inferiority. How has the truth of this result been so long obscured?

Genuine scientific investigation

One reason, Professor Fisher suggested, is that vegetarians are their own worst enemy. In their fanaticism, they jump from the premise that meat eating is wrong—often based on scripture or some kind of dogma—and jump from that to meat-eating is unhealthy. That’s not how science works, and such logical leaps get them dismissed as zealots, and prevent any genuine scientific investigation.

Lots of science, even back then, was pointing a distinct trend toward more plant-based eating, and yet the word vegetarian— even 110 years ago—had such a bad, preachy rap that many were loath to concede the science in its favour. The proper scientific attitude is to study the question of meat eating in precisely the same manner as one would study the question of anything else.

wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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46 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP This savoury vegan butternut squash soup brimming with Autumn flavour is what cozy dreams are made of.

Top with perfectly roasted pieces of butternut, fried sage and a few dried cranberries for the ultimate burst of autumn flavour.

by Florentina at veggiesociety.com | serves 6 INGREDIENTS 5 lb butternut squash (aproximately 11 cups) 1 lrg large leek, white + pale green parts 1 celery rib, diced 1/2 cup raw cashew (or 1 cup cashew milk - optional) 6 cups water + more 3 sprigs sage 1 Tbsp sage leaves chopped 2 sprigs rosemary 1 sprig rosemary 8 sprigs thyme 1 bay leaf S + P to taste (optional) 1/4 cup dried cranberries for garnish (toasted pumpkin seeds, chives, parsley, basil etc...)

METHOD 1. Preheat your oven to 200 C (400°C).

2. Peel the butternut squash, discard the seeds and cut it into small 1/2 inch pieces.

3. Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet. Add the diced butternut squash, rosemary, thyme and 1 sprig of the sage. Lightly drizzle with some olive oil, sprinkle with a good pinch of sea salt, black pepper and optionally some red chili flakes. Toss to coat well all over to prevent sticking, then spread it in a single layer. Roast in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until nicely golden around the edges giving everything a shake halfway. Once done discard the tough stems from the herbs and reserve some of the roasted squash pieces for garnish ( about a cup or so).

4. Meanwhile slice the white and pale green parts of the leek. (Reserve the green tops for later use).

Place the sliced leeks in a bowl of cold water to rinse well. Allow them to soak for a few minutes so all the dirt and sand falls to the bottom of the bowl.

Using your hands scoop out the clean leeks and transfer to a clean bowl.

5. Preheat a heavy bottom soup pot over medium heat. Sautee the leeks and celery in a light drizzle of olive until completely wilted and they start to get some color around the edges. Add the chopped sage and cook until fragrant.

6. Add the bay leaf, 1 sprig of rosemary and roasted butternut squash to the soup pot with the leeks.

Pour in the water then add the cashews if using.

Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes or so. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, discard the bay and rosemary sprig.

7. Blend - Very carefully transfer the soup to a powerful blender and puree on the hot liquid setting until silky smooth. (Work in batches here if need be).

8. Adjust seasoning to taste then serve the soup garnished with a drizzle of cashew cream, the reserved roasted butternut squash, a few dried cranberries and fried sage leaves.

FRIED SAGE LEAVES Melt a couple of tablespoons of vegan butter or olive oil in a small skillet. Once hot add the sage leaves and fry until crispy taking good care not to burn them. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

CASHEW CREAM (OPTIONAL) In a very powerful blender puree 1 cup of raw cashews with 3/4 cup water until silky smooth.

(If using a Vitamin there’s no need to soak the cashews, otherwise make sure toggle them a quick 25 minute soak in hot water before blending).

CHEF'S NOTES The Butternut Squash - Sweet and nutty butternut squash is my go to favourite of winter squashes for making creamy soups. It has a mild flavour with smooth buttery flesh, not stringy as most winter pumpkins. All things considered, you could certainly make this soup with acorn squash, kabocha, sweet or seminole pumpkin. The depth of flavour comes from roasting the butternut squash until lightly caramelized around the edges for all the natural sugars to concentrate. The absolute best!

Leeks - So much flavour in this vegetable! Grab a large one as you'll need about 2+ cups for your base. Slice and rinse well as leeks grown underground and tend to collect a lot of sandy soil in between the layers. Although the entire leek is edible and delicious, In this recipe I suggest only using the white and pale green parts. The only reason for this is so that your soup will end up a beautiful golden color everyone is sure to want to dive into with a big spoon.

The Herbs - Sage, rosemary and thyme deliver outstanding Autumn flavour to your soup. Frying some sage leaves until crispy will take your presentation over the top, a treat I would indulge in during holiday season. wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

47

Prof David Norton

Cyclones highlight legacy of poor land management D

"The other underlying driver is human-induced climate change. Atmospheric CO2 levels are now 150% above pre-industrial levels and climates are changing rapidly with new and unprecedented events becoming the norm."

uring Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle the poor management of exotic plantations – primarily pine – has again led to extensive damage in Tairāwhiti. Critical public infrastructure destroyed; highly productive agricultural and horticultural land washed away or buried; houses, fences and sheds knocked over; people’s lives and dreams upended; people dead.

The impacts on natural ecosystems are still unknown, but there will have been extensive damage in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Similar damage occurred during storms in June 2018 and July 2020.

While heavy rainfall and flooded rivers are a major factor, it is sediment and slash from plantation harvesting that has been the cause of most of the damage.

Slash is the woody material (including large logs) left after clearfell harvesting of commercial forests.

Landslides in harvested sites pick up the material and carry it downstream, causing significant damage. All the evidence from Cyclone Gabrielle shows that much of the damage was caused by radiata pine slash.

Poor land management

Sediment and slash from exotic tree harvesting sites were established as major factors in the damage that occurred during the June 2018 Tolaga Bay storm in recent court cases taken by Gisborne District Council.

Five plantation companies were found guilty and fined for breaching resource consent conditions relating to their management practices.

Multiple groups have called for an inquiry into the way plantation harvest sites are being managed in Tairāwhiti and elsewhere.

But given the severity and ongoing nature of these impacts, is it not time we move beyond focusing on management practices and address the broader underlying issues that have triggered this situation?

These ultimate causes are complex but primarily revolve around historic poor land management decision-making and humaninduced climate change.

Among the key drivers of the current problems in Tairāwhiti are the large areas of exotic tree plantations that were established with government support after the devastation of Cyclone Bola.

But this devastation also reflects earlier poor land management

48 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

In this article Emeritus Professor, David Norton, of Canterbury University, delves into longstanding issues around commercial forestry and how it is managed. The problem with its offcuts (slash) have been an issue for years but now that climate change is on the way, politicians local and national realise New Zealand is facing a major problem. His article is republished under Creative Commons license from The Conversation. decisions to clear native forest off steep, erodible hill country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was also encouraged by the government of the day.

Looming climate change

The other underlying driver of the disaster is human-induced climate change. Atmospheric CO2 levels are now 150% above pre-industrial levels and climates are changing rapidly with new and unprecedented events becoming the norm.

While increasing global temperatures are the most obvious feature of human-induced climate change, it is the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that are having the biggest impacts on people and the environment.

It is essential that we hold the forestry sector accountable in Tairāwhiti and elsewhere. But we also need to urgently address the underlying causes because no matter how strict harvesting rules are, storm events are going to occur with increasing frequency and intensity.

Time for urgent action

With more than 40 years experience researching forest ecology and sustainable land management in Aotearoa, I believe there are four key areas where we need to urgently act to address these issues.

1. As a country we need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and rapidly increase the draw-down of CO2 out of the atmosphere. These are national issues and not confined to Tairāwhiti but as a nation we seem to be sleepwalking in our response to the climate emergency.

2. We need a comprehensive catchment-by-catchment

STOP PRESS

Research paper looks set to establish new healthcare benchmark A

3.

4.

assessment across all of Tairāwhiti (and likely other areas of Aotearoa) to identify those plantations that are located in the wrong place in terms of potential harvesting impacts.

There should be no further harvesting in Tairāwhiti plantations until this exercise has been completed. We also need to identify those areas that currently lack plantations but should never be planted in exotic tree crops (for any purpose).

The government then needs to buy out the current owners of these plantations and embark on a programme of careful conversion to native forest. This will come at a cost, but it needs to be done. We already have models for this in Tairāwhiti where the Gisborne District Council has started converting pine forests in its water supply catchment to native forests.

Finally, we need to establish substantially more native forests throughout all Tairāwhiti, and Aotearoa more generally, to help build resilience in our landscapes.

Consequences of short-term thinking

For too long we have been fixated in Aotearoa with maximising short-term returns from exotic tree crops without thinking about long-term consequences. The legacies of this fixation are now really starting to impact us as the climate emergency exposes the risks that poorly sited and managed exotic tree crops pose.

And we are now making the same mistakes with exotic carbon tree crops, again leaving unacceptable legacies for future generations to deal with because of a focus on short-term financial gains.

Exotic tree plantations have dominated forest policy in Aotearoa and we urgently need to shift this to a focus on diverse native forests.

Our native rainforests provide so many benefits that exotic tree crops can never provide. They are critical for the conservation of our native biodiversity, providing habitat for a myriad of plant, animal, fungal and microbial species. They also regulate local climates, enhance water quality and reduce erosion. This helps sustain healthy freshwater and marine environments.

Native replanting initiatives championed by charities like Pure Advantage need to be the primary focus of forest policy in Aotearoa now and in the future.

literature review completed by an Otago Medical School student appears set to establish a turning point in the application of plant-based nutrition in general health care.

Working over the summer semester Joshua Thomas, completed an extensive online investigation of all known research on plant-based nutrition. At the time this issue went to print, he was compiling the findings into a paper that is soon to be released.

His paper, Can Whole Food Nutrition Prevent Lifestyle Related Diseases? involved a detailed inspection through numerous online search engines.

“The main ones I used were Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Ovid Embase. There were a variety of keywords I used; some of them were whole food plant-based, reversal and prevention. I specifically focused on reversal of heart disease, prevention of diabetes, prevention of stroke, hypertension and other chronic lifestyle diseases.

“From this search we found 483 studies. After the exclusion criteria were applied, we had about 45 studies that we analysed in the literary. Of those studies, we found numerous trials; some notable ones were the Broad Study which was a randomised control trial conducted here in New Zealand. Overall, we have four randomised control trials, 19 intervention studies, five cohort studies, and 16 case studies.”

His literature review found that whole food plant-based nutrition decreases BMI, total LDL cholesterol, HbA1c and fasting blood glucose, as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

“It improves cardiovascular disease risk factors such as coronary artery occlusion, obesity and preventing recurrent cardiovascular events. It also helps diabetes and its related causes, such as macular oedema and diabetic nephropathy.

All benefited by whole food plant-based nutrition.

“Numerous other conditions were shown to be improved.

These are all from case studies, not from randomised control trials, things such as breast cancer, arthritis and gut microbiota. People with substance use disorders were shown to have more resilience in abstaining from drug use on a whole food plant-based diet. Also, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis improved.”

He said the findings also showed whole food plantbased eating to be a sustainable diet by the EAT-Lancet Review and, in the Broad Study, was found to be “quite well adhered to when non-calorie restricted.”

Overall, he said, the conclusion was that there was consistent evidence that whole food plant-based nutrition can be used to treat a wide range of lifestyle diseases, although it depends on the individual circumstances and adherence to the diet. wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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SHOPPING LIST

T

hese days, few of us doubt the long-term dangers of cigarette smoking. We understand the damage it causes isn't immediately apparent but accumulates over time. Something similar happens with food, but why don't we think that way when we go shopping? Science has now proven that today's lifestyle illnesses are clearly linked to the food we eat. Think about it the next time you go shopping. All the diseases listed below are on offer; it's just a question of what you put in your trolley.

Heart Disease

Breast Cancer

Bowel Cancer

Ulcerative Colitis

Crohn's Disease

Prostate Cancer

Asthma

Osteoporosis

Multiple Sclerosis

Inflammatory Arthritis

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Constipation

Type 2 Diabetes

Menstral Pain

Alzhiemers

Ovarian Syndrome

Acne

Hypertension

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Looking at

Constipation Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Dr Caldwell Esselstyn

W

e're probably all guilty of making a few jokes about constipation from time to time but a sure sign that you might actually have a problem in this area is when you can't laugh about it anymore.

That's hardly a scientific explanation of course and while you should never underestimate what might be happening down there, don't think you're an exception. Gut health has become a major issue.

Recent English statistics reveal one in seven adults and one in three children suffer from constipation at any one time.

There's no suggestion the Brits are any exception here but you will need to do more than 'keep calm and carry on' if direct action is required.

UK stats show that £168 million were spent by the National Health Service in 2018-19 on treating constipation. The problem has resulted in upwards of 200,000 GP visits per week with 211 people, every day, being admitted to hospital

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- three quarters of those are emergencies.

And Australia is no exception either. According to a study published in 2014, there were 3978 emergency separations for constipation in Victoria in 2010–2011, 92 per cent in public hospitals.

Of this 55 per cent were female and 38 percent were over 75 years old. One third stayed overnight and 1/3 more than one day. The cost estimate for this exceded $8.3 million.

In New Zealand studies report an average of 15 per cent of adults suffer from Chronic Idiopathic Constipation. Higher rates exist among older adults, women and individuals with little daily activity or low level income.

Only a minority of patients seek medical advice for constipation, yet it is one of the five most common diagnoses made at gastroenterology outpatient clinics. It's costly due to consultations, investigations, treatment, time off work and negative effects on physical and mental wellbeing.

More plants can certainly help

hile they may not provide the complete answer, more plants can certainly help so a good first step is to increase your comsumption of plants, especially leafy greens.

Fibre is crucial to the gut and studies reveal that most of us just don't get enough of it. But what if you start eating more plants and the problem becomes worse than before?

Gut health specialist Dr Will Bulsiewicz says don't panic, you may need help from a laxitive first.

As he sees it, the first step in dealing with constipation is

to clear out the drain. When that happens, bowel movements often return to a more regular pattern. For those that become steady plant consumers, he says, pleasurable pooing should happen twice a day.

According to nutritionfacts.org plant-based eaters, on average, have the healthiest stools and are the most regular.

On a traditional African diet, which consists largely of plants, constipation is essentially nonexistent. In addition to fiber, appropriate water intake should also help.

STUFFED CAPSICUM You wouldn't believe how this mix of flavours come together and it is so easy to prepare too.

by Catherine Barclay | serves 2 INGREDIENTS 4 Red capsicums 1 brown onion, minced 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup corn kernels 1 tin no salt black beans, drained & rinced 1 sml courgette, diced 4 button mushrooms, diced 1/4 cup pinenuts 1 cup brown rice, cooked 1 tin diced tomatoes 1 Tbsp tomato paste 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1/4 tsp chilli powder

METHOD 1. Preheat the oven to 280°C 2. In a nonstick frying pan, with a small amount of water, cook the onion and mushroom until onion is clear.

3. Add the garlic, corn, courgettes and black beans. Cook for 4 mins until courgettes are starting to soften.

4. Move to a bowl and mix in all other ingredients except the capsicum 5. Take the capsicum and chop a couple of centermeters from the top. Remove the seeds.

6. Arrange capsicums in a baking dish and fill each evenly with the mix.

7. Bake in the oven for 35 mins 8. Serve immediately with a drizzle of cashew cheese sauce.

CASHEW CHEESE SAUCE 1 cup raw cashews 3/4 cup vegetable stock 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp crushed garlic 1/4 tsp onion powder 52 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

WEST AFRICAN PEANUT SOUP Perfect soup for a chilled autumn evening. Combined with the brown rice it makes a hearty meal.

by Nicole Morgan - @plant_strong_living | serves 4 INGREDIENTS 2 cups brown rice 2 soup stock cubes (chicken) 2 cups water 1 tin chickpeas drained and rinsed 1 red onion, chopped 2 Tbsp ginger peeled and finely grated 4 cloves garlic, finely diced 1 tsp salt (optional) 3/4 cup unsalted peanut butter (chunky or smooth) 1/2 cup tomato paste 1 bunch silverbeet, ribs removed and leaves finely chopped 1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped sriracha or another hot sauce

METHOD 1. In a medium pot bring the brown rice and 4 cups of water to the boil, turn down the heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes or until liquid is completely absorbed. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile dissolve the soup stock cubes in 4 cups of boiling water. In a large pot, bring the stock and 2 cups of water to the boil, then add the chickpeas, onion, ginger, garlic and salt. Cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.

3. In a medium-sized, heat-safe mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste, then transfer 1 to 2 cups of the hot stock to the bowl. Whisk the mixture together until smooth, then pour the peanut mixture back into the soup and mix well. Stir in the silverbeet and season the soup with sriracha sauce to taste.

4. Simmer for about 10 more minutes on a very low heat, stirring often. Meanwhile toast the peanuts in a small fry pan over a low heat to brown.

5. Serve the soup over cooked brown rice and top with a sprinkle of chopped toasted peanuts, add a swirl of sriracha for more kick if desired.

Enjoy.

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Newsbites

See wholefoodliving.life/references-autumn-2023 to review references cited below

Solar geoengineering looks like the next scientific dust-up

W

hat's supposed to happen over the next few years is that we humans will happily join together to stop climate change by giving up fossil fuel use, planting trees everywhere and, en mass, rapidly change the way we eat.

But what if we don't?

Well, it seems scientists have a backup plan that some of them at least say will be the final solution. It's called geoengineering.

At its simplest, solar geoengineering, also known as solar radiation management, is an attempt to bring down the planet’s temperature by reflecting sunlight away or allowing more heat to escape into space.

There are three main techniques: Marine cloud brightening involves trying to make the low clouds over the ocean more reflective by spraying them with sea salt.

Cirrus cloud thinning targets wispy clouds higher up in the atmosphere, seeding them with aerosol particles in an attempt to thin them so they trap less heat.

The most-researched method, however, is stratospheric aerosol injection. It involves spraying aerosols – such as sulfur dioxide particles – into the stratosphere, more than 12 miles above the Earth’s surface, to reflect sunlight back into space. It could be done with balloons or specialized planes able to fly at high altitudes.

The idea takes its cue from volcanoes. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, the sulfur dioxide it expelled high into the atmosphere had the effect of temporarily cooling the planet by 0.5 degrees Celsius (nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit).

But the scientific community is hugely divided on the idea, which has been circulating since the 1960s, although it’s getting more attention now because progress to tackle climate change is so far off-pace.

Currently, the world is on track to pass critical warming thresholds, beyond which the chances of extreme flooding, drought, wildfires and food shortages increase dramatically.

Scientists have even gone as far as to propose blowing moon dust toward the Earth to act as a sun shield, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet.

While pretty much no one is loudly proclaiming solar geoengineering will replace planet-warming pollution cuts and solve climate change, supporters argue it could have a big planetary cooling effect for a relatively small price tag. A 2018 Harvard study estimated it would cost around $2.25 billion a year

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over a 15-year period.

The world needs to cut emissions, “no question,” David Keith, professor of applied physics and public policy at Harvard University told CNN. But it doesn’t mean we can afford to ignore other climate solutions, he added.

“I’m not saying we have to do solar geoengineering, but I think it’s worth considering all the tools,” he said.

Chris Field, director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, says there are good reasons to be sceptical of solar geoengineering. But, he said, if it “could provide a path for decreasing the impacts of climate change on millions of the world’s most vulnerable people (and on ecosystems), we have a responsibility to explore the opportunities, as well as the risks.”

For some of the most at-risk countries, including low-lying island nations, climate change already threatens their existence.

A 2019 survey of more than 700 climate experts found those who expected severe climate damage in their own countries were more supportive of solar geoengineering.

Its scientific opponents, however, think it could spell complete disaster.

“Just because we’re desperate doesn’t suddenly make solar geoengineering a good idea," says Lili Fuhr, from the Center for International Environmental Law. There are fears fiddling with the planet’s thermostat could alter rainfall patterns and shift monsoons, with potentially devastating consequences for crops.

Effects could vary across regions, with some areas reaping benefits while others are harmed, increasing the chance of conflict.

Solar geoengineering could also damage the ozone layer, which shields Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays, and is currently on track to repair itself.

Then there are the difficulties of implementation.

As aerosol particles only stay in the atmosphere about a year, solar geoengineering would have to be maintained. Halting it could risk “termination shock,” unleashing pent-up warming says Raymond Pierrehumbert professor of physics at Oxford.

It would also require unprecedented international cooperation, says Frank Biermann, professor of global sustainability governance at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. “It would mean that countries have to collaborate forever,” including those currently at war.

Newsbites

See wholefoodliving.life/references-autumn-2023 to review references cited below

Climate housing bubble is expected to pose big trouble in coming years

A

climate housing bubble threatens to erode real estate prices in much of the US in coming years, posing particular challenges for low-income residents, a new study has found. A similar situation is expected to occur in both Australia and New Zealand, although detailed analysis has yet to be released.

With more severe and frequent extreme weather events, the resilience of homeowners and communities is on the line.

How lenders, insurance companies and others incorporate escalating flood risks into property prices is a key question facing at-risk areas. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, finds that US property prices are currently overvalued by between $121 billion and $237 billion, when compared to their actual flood risk.

The current prices mask the true danger that these properties are exposed to, because of factors such as outdated FEMA flood maps, incentives in the National Flood Insurance Program and home buyers who lack climate change information.

The paper is the result of a collaboration between experts at the Environmental Defense Fund, First Street Foundation, Resources for the Future, the Federal Reserve and two universities.

Scientists relied on First Street’s updated modelling that simulates rainfall-induced or pluvial flooding, as well as coastal flood events. The authors found that right now, 14.6 million properties face at least a 1% annual probability of flooding, putting them in the so-called 100-year flood zone.

However, this is expected to increase by 11% in a mid-range emissions scenario, with average annual losses spiking by at least 26% by 2050.

In dollar terms, the areas with the greatest property overvaluations are along the coasts, where there is overlap between rising seas, fewer flood disclosure laws, and a high number of residents who may not view climate change as a near-term threat.

Much of the overvaluation comes from vulnerable properties located outside of FEMA's 100-year flood zone.

Once the higher flood risks become evident, homeowners will lose equity in their property - a particular threat to lowerincome homeowners. The pattern of the total overvaluation of at-risk properties in the lower 48 states reveals hot spots of risk.

Specifically, coastal areas show high amounts of overvaluation. Spikes also show up in West Virginia and other parts of Appalachia.

In Texas, it is clear that the biggest cities, including Houston and Dallas, have a significant amount of overvaluation.

Florida tops the list, accounting for about $50.2 billion based on the actual threat, the study found.

"There is a significant amount of 'unknown' flood risk across the country based solely on the differences in the publicly available federal flood maps and the reality of actual flood risk," Jeremy Porter, head of climate implications at First Street Foundation, said in a statement.

T

PCRM programme now fields over 300 instructors

he Physicians Committee’s Food for Life programme made a big impact in global communities last year.

The organisation's Changing Lives: Food for Life 2022 Community Impact Report showcases its more than 300 instructors who taught a record number of classes, reaching more participants and more diverse groups than ever before.

The Food for Life classes are brought to life in person and online by a team of individual instructors and institutional partners who are committed to saving lives with plant-based nutrition.

Food for Life offers 15 courses on various health topics. Its classes provide: • Science-based information on how certain foods and nutrients work to promote or discourage disease.

• Cooking demonstrations and sampling of delicious meals.

• Practical cooking skills and tips for making healthful eating habits part of daily life.

• A supportive and motivational atmosphere.

The Physicians Committee is a US national nonprofit organisation based in Washington, D.C. Since 1985: they have been advancing healthcare through preventive medicine, especially good nutrition, and the implementation of clinical research.

The Committee’s membership includes more than 17,000 physicians and 175,000 other health care professionals and concerned citizens who are dedicated to creating a healthier, more compassionate future.

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BATATA HARRA (SPICY POTATOES) WITH SUMAC YOGURT A classic lebanese side dish with a twist created by blending kumara (sweet potato) with common potatoes and a delightful mix of spices

by Catherine Barclay | serves 2 INGREDIENTS - Batata Harra 4 white potatoes, diced 1 large kumara (sweet potato), diced 7 garlic cloves, minced 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp red chilli flakes 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp turmeric 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice zest from one lemon (optional) ground black pepper to release the tumeric

METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 230°C 2. Spread the potato and kumara in a lined roasting pan. Add a 1/4 of water to the pan and bake for 20-30 mins until they are soft and browned. Shake halfway through the time to loosen the vegetables.

3. In a nonstick frypan, saute garlic in a little water for a couple of minutes before adding in the tomato paste and spices.

4. Once veges are cooked add them to the pan and toss through to coat.

5. Garnish with spring onion or coriander. Serve with sumac yogurt.

SUMAC YOGURT 1 cup soy yogurt 1/2 tsp sumax 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 sml garlic clove 2 Tbsp fresh mint ground black pepper

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Combine ingredients in a small bowl and chill until you are ready to serve.

Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

BLISS MINT CHOCOLATE EASTER EGGS Bringing togther all that is easter eggs without the guilt. A combination of mint and chocolate sprinkled with freeze dried strawberry crumb

by Catherine Barclay | serves 6 INGREDIENTS 1 cup raw cashews 20 pitted dates 1/4 cup cocoa powder 2 Tbsp ground linseed (flaxseeds) 1 tsp peppermint essence freeze dried strawberries, crushed

METHOD 1. Blend all ingredients (except the freeze-dried strawberries) in a high speed blender until combined.

2. Using an easter egg mould or desert spoon shape the batter into 6-8 eggs.

3. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.

4. When serving, sprinkle each egg with the crushed freeze dried strawberries.

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Back Issues Available

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Previous issues now on sale!

Whole Food Living has built to a solid resource base on plant-based eating.

If you are missing backdate issues, or would like to gift some to a friend, then go to the link at right.

Please note, this offer is only available while stocks last.

By going through to our secure online checkout system you will receive a discount with the code.

Go to wholefoodlivingmagazine.com

and select Single Issues Autumn 2022

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Autumn 2020

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58 wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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PLANT-BASED TIPS

By Catherine Barclay

HEAVENLY YOGURT Soy yogurt is so delicious! (recipe; Cultured Soy Sour Cream, Summer 22-23 issue).It can set in about 10-12 hours. But try leaving it for 16-24hrs. The yogurt is that little bit thicker and tangier. I make it in the morning and leave it to set through the day, and overnight.

The taste and texture next day is superb!

Innes Hope

WHEN ROASTING STARCHY VEGGIES

MAKE SQUASH OR PUMPKIN EASIER TO SLICE

Potatoes, yams, yuca - try wrapping them in a tightly sealed foil packet for the first half of the roasting session. They'll steam and soften to tender perfection. Remove the foil halfway through so they can finish crisping and browning on the outside.

Try microwaving the squash or pumpkin for 3 minutes This will make the vegetables easier to slice or peel.

Nicole Morgan

Do you have problems peeling peaches, tomatoes or nectarines?

Score a small X on the bottom of the fruit. Then just dunk them in boiling water for a few seconds, then transfer to an ice bath. Now you should just be able to peel the skin right off.

ROAST YOUR GARLIC IN THE MICROWAVE

FAST SALAD DRESSING For an instant salad dressing, simply stir piccalilli (recipe P.32) into soy yogurt. Great on coleslaw!

Innes Hope

FOOD WASTAGE TIP Save money and food waste, and add nutrition by including sliced silver beet stalks in your pickles and vegetable dishes. Sliced white and yellow stalks resemble celery, and pink stalks go well in soups and stirfrys, etc. The stalks are nutritious too. You’re your own silver beet and it’s food for free!

Innes Hope

Roasted garlic tastes delicious but they take a long time to make. Try this mehod, put a bulb of garlic in a small bowl with water. Cover bowl before you put it in the microwave. Cook until the garlic is soft. sweetandsavory.co

STOP CUTTING BOARDS FROM SLIPPING Just a small tip can make all the difference. Wet a teatowel and place it under your chopping board. This will prevent it from sliding around when you are chopping away.

WRAP THOSE LEMONS

Freeze fresh grapes for 2 to 24 hours on a flat tray, then transfer them to a zip lock bag. They will be fine in the freezer for several months. Known as natural candy!



EASE PEEL FRUITS

TEA FOR FLAVOUR Make your grains tastier with tea.

Cook your quinoa, brown rice, or bulgar with tea infused water.

Lapsang souchong, Earl Grey and chai work well homehacks.co

SPEED UP FRUIT RIPENING

sweetandsavory.co

HEALTHY SNACK

sweetandsavory.co

Are you always getting lemon seeds in your food or drink when squeezing a lemon? Try wrapping the lemon in cheesecloth while sqeezing sweetandsavory.co

Don't wait for that peach or banana to ripen on it's own. Put your fruit in a paper bag and toss it. The concentrated ethylene gas will help it to ripen faster. homehacks.co

EASY PEEL POTATO

There's a much better way to peel a potato instead of using a peeler.

Start by boiling your potato. Toss your potatoes into an ice bath after you boil them and watch the skin fall right off. homehacks.co

GOT SOME GREAT TIPS TO SHARE? CONTACT ME AT CATHERINE@WHOLEFOODLIVING.LIFE wholefoodliving.life | Autumn 2023

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The Podcast selections below cover food and health issues and provide quick access to a deeper understanding of what whole food eating can achieve.

Listening to podcasts on a regular basis is a great way to increase your understanding of WFPB and keep yourself on track.

Saturated Fat Confusion

Committed To Childrens Health

Simon Hill talks to Dr Gil Carvalho on clearing the confusion around saturated fat once and for all. The lowest quality information gets pushed in our face the most intensely.

From traditional medicine as a registered nurse to an advocate for children’s health, Meryl Fury is on a mission to plant the seeds of health around the globe.

Eat Our Way To A Better Planet

Rich Roll - Finding Peace

UCL's Generation One talks with Prof Tim Lang & Tim Van Berkel about the benefits & downfalls of plant based diets, & whether seaweed can become a staple in our diet.

Rich Roll takes you through a meditation masterclass.

“Developing a meditation practice is the greatest gift you can give yourself.” - Rich Roll

Gratitude With Dr Rupy Auila

Is Eating Plant-Based Expensive?

On Dr Gemma Newman's podcast The Wellness Edit, Dr Rupy Auila explains how to eat your way to better health, and why gratitude is so important.

Toni Okamoto - What is the most common myth about adopting a WFPB diet? The biggest misconception is that this way of eating is expensive, unattainable, and elitist.

Thriving On Plant Protein

Are You Having Fun Yet?

Life after Haricane Ian with Jami Dulaney MD and how important a simple plant-based diet is. Feeding oneself does not have to be that difficult. Simple is best.

Mike Rucker PhD shares strategies for infusing more fun in your life, and offers lessons from research about how much leisure is optimal for a satisfying existence.

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The YouTube selections below cover a range of lifestyle, food and health issues. They include specialist tips and easy access to a deeper understanding of what whole food plant-based eating can achieve.

Dr Anthony Lim - Ask Me Anything

Benefits of Exercise after Weight Loss

Dr Anthony Lim answers the question: I know what I need to be doing. Why can't I do it? https://tinyurl.com/2p8s6dyw

While exercise doesn’t appear to be hugely important when losing weight, it seem to help people keep weight off https://tinyurl.com/26ufb3sj

Power of Communities

Gladiator Diet and Vegetarian Athletes

Full Doco on a community thriving in an economic system that leaves many feeling trapped in poverty. https://tinyurl.com/95z73zmm

Comparing the diets of the Roman gladiator “barley men” and army troopers to the modern Spartans of today. https://tinyurl.com/p6bejr7z

A Family That Eats Together ...

What The Doctors Eat For Dinner

... Stays Plant-based-Together. The Essylsten family breakfast fiesta... oats four ways... try to keep up! https://tinyurl.com/3xrpkb6n

A Plant Based News video talking to a selection of plant based doctors about their favourite dinner. https://tinyurl.com/5ff96hrv

Diet not DNA - Child Obesity

Exercise Prescription for 2023

Like DNA, eating habits are passed down over time. leading to an explosion of obesity in children https://tinyurl.com/2p8ub2vh

Dr Stephan Esser MD talks to Chef AJ on diet and lifestyle choices in regards exercise. https://tinyurl.com/fj98myvb

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Books to Consider

British family doctor Gemma Newman explores how a simple change in diet helps many common chronic illnesses - from diabetes and heart disease to obesity - and the science that explains why it works. Contains over 60 delicious meal ideas.

Lisle and Goldhamer offer unique insights into the factors that make us susceptible to dietary and lifestyle excesses and present ways to restore the biological processes designed by nature to keep us running at maximum efficiency and vitality.

T. Colin Campbell and his team at Cornell University, in partnership with teams in China and England, embarked upon the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.

Their results still astound.

Why rely on drugs and surgery to cure you of life-threatening disease when the right decisions prevent you from falling ill to begin with? How Not to Die gives effective, scientifically proven nutritional advice to prevent our biggest killers.

Suzy Amis Cameron environmental advocate, former actor, and mom of five, presents an easy guide for you to improve your health and shrink your personal carbon footprint. Just swap one meat- and dairy-based meal for a plant-based one.

From the groundbreaking results of his twenty-year nutritional study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn illustrates that a plantbased, oil-free diet not only prevents the progression of heart disease but can also reverse its effects.

The film's companion cookbook, The PlantPure Nation Cookbook brings a powerful, science-based approach to nutrition from the big screen to your kitchen with some of the same mouthwatering recipes that kick-started a revolution.

Dr Dean Ornish's research has proven that lifestyle changes can reverse undo! The progression of many of the most common and costly chronic diseases and even begin reversing ageing at a cellular level.

Several insurance companies cover his programme.

Neal Barnard, MD, a leading authority on nutrition and health, offers insight into how dietary changes can alleviate years of stress, pain, and illness.

What's more, he also includes delicious and easyto-make hormone-balancing recipes.

Sophie Steven's stunning cookbook is packed with over 100 delicious, vibrant plant-based, gluten-free and refined-sugar-free recipes. Some great recipes and taste sensations to try.

A book that will benefit the whole family.

This is a book that will let you live longer, reduce your need for medications, and improve your health dramatically. It is a book that will change the way you want to eat. Follow the Eat to Live diet, you will lose weight faster than you ever thought possible.

Colin T Campell's Whole is an absolutely eye-opening, paradigm-changing journey through some cutting-edge thinking on nutrition. It is a scientific tour de force, that has powerful implications for our health and for the future of our world.

Want to eat healthily, but worried it will cost too much? Looking to save on grocery bills, without compromising on nutrition value or flavour? This book will answer all your questions. Great if you need to keep the food bill tight.

Great inspiration here.

Before Dr Barnard's scientific breakthrough, most health professionals believed that once you developed diabetes, you were stuck with it. We know now that this is simply not true. Barnard has shown it is possible to tackle type 2 diabetes.

Rip Esselstyn arms readers with the knowledge they need to win any argument with those who doubt the health benefits of a plant-based diet and to convince any number of curious carnivores to change their diets once and for all.

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Movies to Watch The Big FAT Lie Produced by Kiwi documentary filmmaker, Grant Dixon, this movie traces his efforts to discover why he wasn't told about problems with meat and dairy. If he'd known he could have saved himself a heart attack. He asks why he wasn't told about WFPB. On iTunes

What The Health A 2017 documentary film which critiques the health impact of meat, fish, eggs and dairy product consumption, and questions the practices of leading health and pharmaceutical organisations. Is there a conspiracy here? Check it out on Netflix.

MILKED Directed by Amy Taylor and presented by indigenous activist Chris Huriwai, MILKED has been racking up some massive viewing numbers worldwide. This Kiwi created doco takes a hard look at industrial dairy farming in New Zealand and shows how it 'milks' not only animals but farmers, consumers, rivers, the land and the climate. MILKED attacks the cynical marketing jargon used to hide the negative impacts of an industry many Kiwis have come to accept as one of the vital vertebras in the country's financial backbone.

Available at: join.waterbear.com/milked

Forks over Knives The seminal film of the WFPB movement that has impacted millions the world over. Forks over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the chronic diseases that afflict us, can be controlled or even reversed by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. Available on Amazon & iTunes .The Game Changers A documentary film that follows several elite vegan athletes. It gives a broad overview of the benefits of plant-based eating and contains great personality interviews with people that have made the change. A must for all sports coaches. Available on Netflix

Diet Fiction This film calls to attention the most popular diets on the planet and draws together several misconceptions about weight loss and nutrition.

Filmmaker Michal Siewierski presents a punchy case and followed it up TakeOut. Bottom line message, go WFPB. View on Amazon.

Code Blue Code Blue reveals lapses in the current state of medicine and provides a common sense solution by featuring the practise of lifestyle medicine to prevent, manage and reverse chronic diseases. It covers hurdles to such a change and looks at the barriers. View on Amazon.

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Take a break

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Healthy crossword

Across 1 go along with (6) 7 brawler (6) 10 south indian crepe p.26 (4) 12 spice p.56 (5) 13 knowing (5) 14 sick (3) 15 type of soup p.12 (10) 16 spruce (3) 18 type of spread p.17 (4) 21 existence (4) 22 straw (3) 23 pro (3) 26 boost (7) 27 cot (3) 28 UN agency (3) 29 rust p.38 (9) 30 condiment p.26 (7) 31 bowed (5) 32 Dr Martyn ... p.10 (10) 34 ... Mirovics p.22 (5) 37 Dr Rudy ... p.60 (5)

38 harnessed horse (6) 39 distinguished (5) Down 2 ... vegetables (11) 3 natural candys p.59 (6) 4 difficult bowel movement (12) 5 city of DFN conference p.10 (9) 6 firm (5) 8 commemoration (7) 9 ..pear p.34 (5) 11 schedule (6) 13 neurological disease p.22 (10) 17 free (3) 19 Katarina ... p.14 (6) 20 mimic (4) 24 age (3) 25 relish p.32 (10) 33 puffed makhana seed p.28 (5) 35 brat (3) 36 worth (5) 37 forged wheel (5)

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Recipe index

47

38

54

37

55

STARTERS | IDEAS

MAINS

SAUCES | CHUTNEYS | DESSERTS

Walnut and Mushroom Pate.....................17 Seed Crackers...............................................17 Puffed Makhana...........................................29 Loaded Kumara Fries with Miso Gravy...38

Nuovo Minestrone Soup.............................13 Crunchy Thai Salad in a Jar.........................16 Back Bean Soup............................................20 South Indian Idli............................................26 South Indian Dosa........................................26 South Indian Sambar....................................26 Biryani.............................................................30 Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf............................33 Butternut Squash Soup...............................47 Stuffed Capsicum..........................................52 West African Peanut Soup.........................53 Batata Harra...................................................54

Tomato and Mint Chutney.........................26 Peanut Chutney............................................26 Piccalilli..........................................................32 Homemade Ketchip.....................................37 Cashew Cheese Sauce................................52 Sumac Yogurt................................................54 Bliss Mint Chocolate Easter Eggs.............55

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WFPB's Food Groups Based on the guide developed by PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) in 1991

FRUIT

3 or more servings a day

LEGUMES

2 or more servings a day

Full of vitamin C and beta carotene, fruit is also rich in fibre. You should include at least one serving of fruit per day. Fruits are full of flavour, make a welcome afternoon filler and are great as a night time desert. They're best eaten whole because your gut benefits from their soft fibre.

Beans, peas and lentils are your key source for good fibre, protein, iron, calcium, zinc and B vitamins. In this group you can also include items such as chickpeas, baked and refined beans, soy milk, tempeh and vegetable protein.

Serving sizes: 1 medium piece of fruit, 1/2 cup cooked fruit, 4 ounces juice.

Serving sizes: 1/2 cups cooked beans, 4 ounces tofu or tempeh, 8 ounces Soy Milk.

NUTS AND SEEDS 1 or more servings

Serving: 1/4 cup nuts or seeds

WHOLE GRAINS 5 or more servings a day

The wholegrain list is large. Here is a sample: barley, freekeh, whole rye, brown rice, oats, wheat, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, whole wheat couscous, corn, millet. Build meals around hearty grain dishes. They’re rich in essential fibre, complex carbohydrates, protein, B Vitamins and zinc. Great for breakfast.

Serving sizes: 1/2 cup hot cereal, 1/4 cup dry cereal, 1 slice bread

VEGETABLES

4 or more servings a day Vegetables are your essential nutrient injection. Dark green leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, kale, mustard and turnip greens, chicory or bok choy are all good sources of important nutrients. They provide vitamin C, beta-carotene, riboflavin, iron, calcium, fibre and more. Extra beta-carotene comes from dark yellow and orange vegetables such as carrot, squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Don’t be afraid to eat generous amounts. Load up your plate!

Serving sizes: 1 cup raw vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked vegetables

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BOOST YOUR THROUGH FOOD. Plant-based foods are beneficial to the brain and may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Food For Life, delivered by The Physicians Committee, is a nutrition course designed to help people regain their health and prevent cognitive decline through a whole food plant-based diet. See inside.