Whole Food Living - Spring2020

SPRING 2020 VOL 1 • ISSUE 3

A TASTE of MOROCCO Food & your mood

PLANT BASED

RECIPES

Recovery Stories Signs of Heart Disease

Drew Harrisberg Talks Keto

Catherine Barclay Food Diversity

Dr Joel Kahn Heart Issues

Genetics loads the gun.

Lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Dr Caldwell Esselstyn

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Where we stand THE WHOLE FOOD CONNECTION

Food

Health

Environment

It all starts with 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 all based on solid scientific research and clinical experience gathered over the last 50 years.

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

The third and final factor in the whole food connection is environment.

Why? Because the condition of our environment is affected by our food choices. Understanding the connection between food, health and the environment is key to developing a sustainable world.

WFL Optimal Health Guide

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 four categories of 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 The 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.

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EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS 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

Editorial

It's the food, it's the food, it's the food

T

his magazine describes a way of eating that is designed to help you achieve and maintain optimal health. Generally speaking, it is called plant-based eating or more loosely, vegan eating perhaps. But it’s also much more than that.

Whole food plant-based eating (WFPB), as described here, is different from traditional vegan eating because it excludes sugar, oil and salt wherever possible. It has a strong health and educational focus because it encourages all of us to double down and seriously consider not only what we are eating now but why. Many of us have little idea of the difference between whole, and processed foods or why fibre helps makes humans healthy.

The why and how are particularly important here because, by developing a deeper understanding of how food affects us, we can also begin to understand why we came to eat this way.

If we take those considerations to heart, (as Dr Joel Kahn does on page 14), then we’re much more likely to review and make a change if needed.

How we cope with change, I think, is a fascinating subject, and it seems different for almost every one of us.

This year, major changes have been forced upon us. Some of us have adapted more easily, but for others, it has meant a complete paradigm shift as loved ones were lost or became severely ill, jobs and industries were lost, and education

became heavily disrupted. COVID-19 has affected the very fabric of our lives.

Not only has it made us wary of getting too close to our friends, but we’re also in a debate about how we get the groceries or buy something from Bunnings.

Not surprisingly, fear of the unknown has driven many of us into a state of almost constant anxiety.

How we cope with all that is covered in this issue by psychologist Gerald Haslinger from Bowral, SA. In an article starting on page 34. Gerald provides us with some suggestions on coping with the current changes and offers ideas on building yourself up to face this uncertain future.

As with Catherine and I, Gerald has discovered that food affects mood. In fact, there’s a whole department at Deakin University, Melbourne totally devoted to the subject. The Food and

Mood Centre delves deeply into the way food affects our brain, mood and mental health.

At the most basic level we probably all know that when we eat badly, we don’t feel well and it changes our mood. The point here is that food not only affects our state of mental wellbeing; it also seriously impacts the major organs of our body.

Take a look at the shopping list we present on page 26. Would you knowingly go out to put all or even any one of these items in your shopping trolley? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what you do when you load up at the supermarket with all the wrong things.

We all need to think seriously about food, and drink too, as Dr Malcolm MacKay explains on page 40. There is no question that alcohol can affect your mood. So how is it we can accept that our choice of drink can so easily affect our mood but can’t see that what we eat may endanger our health?

It hasn’t taken long, but studies now clearly confirm that those most vulnerable to COVID-19 have preexisting medical conditions. Most of those conditions are the result of putting the wrong foods into our mouths often because we don't know the benefits of what the good stuff really does.

The bottom line here is, you can be free of almost all the issues we name on page 26 by moving over to a whole food plant-based diet.

Cover Design

Viewpoints

Producers

NicButterworthDesign

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.

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Peter Barclay, Editor

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: NZ Post & Iclay Media Contributions & Assistance Contributions & assistance is gratefully acknowledged from the following people: Nic Butterworth, Stephanie Wynn, Dr Mark Craig, Dr Martyn Williamn, Dr Caitlin Randles, Robyn Chuter, Liz Williamson, Deb Plowman, Nicole O'Neill, Anna Toby, Gerald Haslinger, Dr Shireen Kaasam, Dr Malcolm MacKay, Jenny Cameron.

wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

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CONTENTS 43 22 50

General Features 10. Grant Dixon Sitting on the cusp of change.

Grant Dixon looks at what it takes.

14. Looking for signs Dr Joel Kahn looks into the signs of heart disease and gives some pointers.

22. T Colin Campbell Delving into the science of nutrition.

26. Load up your trolley If you had to shop for this list would you think twice.

30. Get our riskometer AUT creates app to help determine stroke risk.

6 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

34. On lockdown Gerald Haslinger looks into the troubles of lockdown.

Food plays a part.

37. The value of whole It is only an apple but check out what it has got to give. T Colin Campbell explains.

40. What about alcohol?

Is there a safe way to drink and still stay healthy.

41. Composting Get out in the garden with Prof Raabe.

50. Raising kids Shukul Kachwalla looks at plant-based benefits for kids.

55. Life changing events Julie Corrin succeeds on plantbased despite everything else in her life.

58. Looking into Keto Drew Harrisberg tried, tested and found it wanting. Is now whole food plant-based.

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

Click or scan QR image for references.

wholefoodliving.life/references-spring-2020/

34

The inside goss People just don’t believe it because it sounds too incredible. And it does sound incredible doesn’t it? It's the holy grail Grant Dixon

30

If coronary artery disease were attacking your face rather than your heart, you'd do something about it. - Dr Joel Khan.

40 Recipes 17. Moroccan Stew Crammed with flavour, Great on a cool spring night. Also works as a soup.

20. Steamed Vegetables This bamboo steamer takes steaming vegetables to the next level. Check it out.

25. Sandwich spread Very versatile Chickpea and tahini spread.

28. Beet Hummus Oil-free and simple to put together. Delicious.

29. Breakfast Oats Overnights oats that will sustain you well in the day.

33. Cauliflower wings

On fat and / or oil, I know of no reliable evidence to avoid every drop of added oil for health reasons. Dr T Collin Campbell.

These tempting sticky cauliflower wings, are great for a party.

38. Lentil Walnut Mince Who would have thought combining Lentils and Walnuts would create a mince.

39. Daddy Hot Choc Old Barclay favourite now converted to plant-based.

42. Chickpea Burger A great patty mix that can be frozen and stored.

63. Banana bread

There is clear evidence that stroke is highly preventable. Ten potentially modifiable risk factors are associated with around 90 per cent of strokes. - Dr Rita Krishnamurthi

Super moist bread by Rachel Lamarche. wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

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WFPB ADVOCATES International

Dr Scott Stoll

Dr Michael Klapper

Dr Kim A. Williams

Dr Shireen Kassam

Dr Joel Khan

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.

Gifted speaker on plant-based nutrition.

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

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.

An American cardiologist who believes plant-based nutrition is the most powerful source of preventative medicine on the plant: creator or many books and podcasts.

An Australian doctor based at Loma Linda California. Passionate in empowering people to optimize their health through improving their lifestyle 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

Stephanie Wynn

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.

Qualified in therapeutic massage, WFPB nutrition and life development coaching. Founder of Moving Health Forward and committee member of EBE.NZ

Robyn Chuter

Dr Adrian Griscti

Dr Libby Forsyth

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.

A practising medical doctor. Focused on advocating the benefits of WFPB nutrition for managing and preventing chronic diseases. Member of Doctors for Nutrition.

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 Taisia Cech

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 Nelson. She continues to explore the evidence-based effect of a diet on health and healing through food.

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

A General Practitioner based in Melbourne Australia.

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

wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

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Grant Dixon

Sitting on the cusp of a breakthrough

by Peter Barclay

W

hether it comes from his professional training over the years or it was a natural gift of birth, Grant Dixon has an uncanny ability to weigh things up. As we sat in a large open area overlooking the Auckland waterfront recently, I wondered if it was possible that a person of such succinct abilities could tell me why so many people had still to discover the benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.

Funnily enough, a question along similar lines had arisen with his podiatrist the previous day. For Grant, 68, food and feet have an intrinsic connection, and although he didn’t voice it quite this way the logic of it probably works something like this.

If you don’t eat, you won’t move your feet. But it comes with a caveat; what you eat seriously affects how well you will be able to move your feet.

The fact was the podiatrist hadn’t heard about the benefits of a whole food plant-based diet. For Grant it was an ideal opportunity to explain and, of course, there is nothing a movie maker likes more than a captive audience.

These days, Grant is an independent film producer some of the time. He also enjoys singing in a choir and runs up to l5 kms a week.

He loves family. He and wife Sharon have been married for 42 years and together they have 5 children, and 11 grandchildren.

But film was his first love and dates back to his teenage years.

As a young adult he trained as an electronics technician for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) which eventually became TVNZ. He later became a technical director and presentation director. He started making some five minute programme fillers and on the basis of that he got a job with the NZ National Film unit as a film director producer.

After making a few documentaries and some children’s programmes he went out on his own and made documentaries for TVNZ, TV3 and some corporate videos.

“That work dried up after about 10 years so I went back and got my Masters of Communications at Victoria University. I then moved up to Auckland and worked as an events manager for three or four years. I then went to the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) and worked as a conference producer for another three or four years."

Now, he’s semi-retired but has been making some documentaries, the most notable of which as far as the whole food plant-based

10 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

(WFPB) community is concerned being, The Big FAT Lie. It wasn't until he experienced a major medical event did he start to seriously look into food and health but, in the earliest days of the internet, he recalls doing a search on cheese.

“I remember doing a search with a question like how healthy is cheese? I used to eat a lot of cheese and I enjoyed cheese. I went through the internet looking for this information and I got story after story saying cheese is good for you. It’s full of good nutrients, its healthy and it’s an important part of your diet.

I found nothing else. Nothing saying there was anything possibly bad about it.

“So, in my naivety at the time, I thought there must be some magic formula inside the cheese that turns the fat into something that’s good for you. Of course, I was totally wrong and all the articles I was reading was just propaganda from the dairy industry.

Twenty years later the penny dropped, but it took 20 years for it to come around.”

But taking cheese out of his life wasn’t the cure for all of his all ills.

“I’ve always had high blood pressure. I’ve still got high blood pressure. I’m one of the 20 per cent of people who do not benefit from diet with their blood pressure, so I still take blood pressure pills unfortunately.

“I’ve always had that nagging feeling that, because of my high blood pressure, it puts me at risk of heart disease. Also, there’s a lot of family history. My dad died of a stroke and my oldest brother died just before his 60th birthday of a heart attack. It’s in the family. My sister died of cancer as well.

“But I’ve always been active. I’ve always run three to five kilometres a week. I now run 15kms a week. I’ve upped that somewhat since I changed my diet."

Apart from one incident when he was about 28 Grant says his health had always been reasonably good.

“But I was overweight, my face was fat, I had a pot like most men have got these days and I couldn’t get rid of it despite the exercise.

I exercised but I was still overweight. Not grossly overweight but 10kgs or so overweight, nevertheless. That’s where I started.

“The funny thing about it is that people now think I look

unhealthily thin. What they don’t realise is that this is the natural way, the normal way of looking. The way I look is the way we all should look. It’s not that I am looking unhealthily thin, it’s that you are looking unhealthily overweight.”

If it were a TV reality show, a critical test that most men would fail miserably these days would be the wedding suit challenge.

“I can now fit my wedding suit. I got married at 26 but for most of my life I couldn’t do that. It’s only since I changed diet that I have been able to do that. But my health was always ok I played rugby as a kid, played a bit of touch.”

But he was aware of becoming overweight as time moved on.

“I can remember one of my sisters-in-law making a comment once, I was probably in my early 30s, that all the father’s in the group, and there was probably about three or four of us, were all overweight. All had tummies. It was true, we were all overweight. That’s because of the food we ate.

“We accept it as the norm, and I would go so far as to say that a certain amount of obesity is now the norm. It’s not just overweightness, it’s obesity. That’s really scary when you think about what that means.”

Thinking back on people he knew when he was young, he said it was uncommon to see much obesity about.

“My mum was overweight, but she would have been unusual, I think. Then, maybe three out of four people would have been of average weight and then the odd person was overweight but now, it’s the other way around. Three out of four are overweight.

“I’ve always been aware that fruit and vegetables are healthy.

That’s been a mantra since I was a child. I’ve always known that. I remember at my wedding my dad, in his speech, said don’t forget the greens and I thought it was very funny.

“That was an in-joke between me and him. I’d always go up to my mother and say make sure there are some greens with my meal because greens are healthy. I hadn’t realised that the sea of fat that was actually in the same meal was the problem. The greens were certainly important, but also important was not to have the fat.

“So, it’s always been a big concern of mine to have enough fruit and vegetables, so I’ve always been very health focused. It’s that, well I was ignorant. We were all a little bit overweight but not grossly overweight like we are now. It’s definitely got worse, a lot worse.”

Thinking back on whether he might have had any heart issues, Grant says he recalls going to the doctor with chest pain in his late 20s.

“They did all the tests, but they just brushed it off as part of life and explained it as getting a bit anxious because I was selling the car at the time. Looking back, that was probably my first heart attack - at 28.”

But can people have heart attacks like that and just pass over it?

“Oh, I’m sure it happens. I mean I was too young for a heart attack, so they just discounted it.”

Does that happen with stroke?

“Possibly. Apparently, people have strokes all the time. We’re all having mini-strokes so apparently when you get to my age, you’ve had dozens of them. Scary thought isn’t it? Again, would that have

Hopefully now we are on the cusp of breaking through. It’s at the point where it stops just being a minority view and becomes the majority view.

wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

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"Caldwell Esselstyn talked about the plant-based diet not only stopping heart disease but reversing heart disease.

From that day I changed my diet and it’s all been good since." been the case if I had been on a plant-based diet all my life?

Maybe not. That could be the result of the high fat diet.”

But it all changed dramatically when he had a major medical event in his late 50s.

“I’m not sure if I had a heart attack. My diagnosis was that I needed open heart surgery. My heart was in such a bad way that all they could do was cut my chest open and move some arteries around. I was told I had the heart of a 75-year-old and I was 58 years of age. In the end the surgeons gave in to my family’s protests and gave me four stents instead of open heart surgery.

“That was a bit of a shock because I only went in there with a little bit of pain from exercise after Christmas. A year later, on Boxing Day I think, I heard a repeat news item on Radio New Zealand with Dr Caldwell Esselstyn.

“He talked about the plant-based diet not only stopping heart disease but reversing heart disease. From that day I changed my diet and it’s all been good since.”

But why is it we know so little about the signs of heart disease?

“I made the documentary (The Big FAT Lie) to break through that inertia, that glass wall I suppose. The information that just doesn’t get across. Why has this been a secret for so long? When I was talking to my foot specialist, she reacted the same way. She was amazed, why haven’t I heard this?”

In one sense, the message itself is simple. Isn’t it? It just says eat up your veggies. Where did we lose that, I asked?

“But it’s more than that and that’s the point and that’s the big danger because people say well, we’re doing it already. We’ve already got a healthy diet in say hospital meals for instance, but they haven’t. They’ve got the fat still in the programme. They’ve still got the processed foods too probably.”

“I think it’s too good to be true. People just don’t believe it because it sounds too incredible. And it does sound incredible doesn’t it? It’s the holy grail isn’t it. It can’t possibly be true. You just cut those things out (animal products and refined foods )… and

you become a new person and you live for an extra 20 or 30 years.

“I mean that can’t possibly be true. There’s that whole cognitive dissidence that is really hard to break through. You can see a wry smile on their face sometimes that suggests the question, you’re pulling my leg aren’t you?

“What do you do with that situation? I can’t work that out, you tell me.”

Well, does it lay in the fact that we’ve become addicted and we don’t know it?

“Oh that’s definitely true. That’s physically true but there’s a whole group thing too. Someone said you’ve got to have 25 per cent of an idea accepted before it becomes a new idea. Until you reach that sort of tipping point you’re just a crank, you’re just an outsider. You are just the guy with some strange ideas.

“All through history people have come up with new diets, apparently for the last 100 years. But they haven’t broken through. They’ve helped their little group of patients or friends, but they haven’t broken through into society. Hopefully we are now on the cusp of breaking through into society. It’s at the point where it stops just being a minority view and becomes a majority view.

“That’s why we have started this organisation called Evidence Based Eating. It’s to try to break through that barrier.”

Because the group is still new, Grant was reluctant to predict a fixed pathway into the future.

“We work on a consensus so there is always a wide range of views and consensus can be a little restricting at times because it means you take the average rather than the more radical move.

On the other hand we are a group of people and we have got to work together.

“But no, I am pleased with it. It has been formed. I think we are starting off well. I think there is good potential there but we’ve got a long way to go. And I think we have got to brave, I really do.”

To this point, he said, good progress had been made with other organisations like Vegan New Zealand and Health Coalition Aotearoa “which is just starting now and is really exciting.

People just don’t believe it because it sounds too incredible.

And it does sound incredible doesn’t it?

It's the holy grail.

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"And even SAFE is coming on board too, and we’re all working in a very similar way with a similar agenda. We seem to all be coalescing into a similar, combined group.

“Health Coalition Aotearoa is over 50 organisations in New Zealand. Some of them are part of the establishment which was a bit of a worry for me because the establishment tends to push the status quo but, there’s a few more radical organisations in there like EBE NZ and hopefully we’ll start to push them in the right direction.”

But what about the barriers? What about the Keto diet for instance, and the fact that some doctors believe in it?

“Honestly, I’m not sure Keto is as much of the enemy as we make it out to be because from what I understand of Keto, they get rid of junk food, they get rid of a lot of unhealthy foods and they do emphasise fruit and vegetables which is a strength. They minimise carbs but they do improve their diet. Even though they are still eating a lot of animal food, they still improve their diet and that’s why they get the benefit. Of course, the long term harm is the problem. In 20 years’ time they’ll probably all die of heart attacks because they’ve still go the fat in their systems because that doesn’t go away."

When diets are changed, it can affect the whole family. How did that go for you?

“Ah, mixed. I’ve got five kids, so that’s five families so of those five families one has embraced it totally - well the mother has.

Another two have probably embraced it 50 per cent. In fact they have all embraced it to some point but I’ve probably only got one

or two clear converts - and I get a lot of push back.

His wife Sharon transitioned over the course of a year but is still not 100 per cent whole food based at this point.

“She’ll still go out and have some fish sometimes or have a bit of fatty food that I would avoid but 80 to 90 per cent of the time, I would say, she’s on exactly the same diet as me and she looks great.”

Looking at the broader aspect of what whole food plant based eating could become, Grant says he does have a dream.

“The dream would be that they all go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning, and realise that they don’t have to have a heart attack. They don’t have to have diabetes. They don’t have to have gastro problems or arthritis, and they don’t have to have a good number of the cancers if they don’t eat meat and dairy.

Essentially, those diseases wont happen if they don’t eat animal products and processed food and maybe oils as well.

"You see, then they can make a decision like, am I going to have that hamburger or not? Or, yes I am going to have it even though it will increase my chance of a heart attack but I’m going to take that risk because I love meat. It that’s the way they do it, then I’m cool with that, they can go ahead and eat it.

“But what I’m not cool with is them eating it and being told by the Heart Foundation or the Ministry of Health that is a healthy food. That is not a healthy food and people need to realise that.

That’s the one thing I hope will change and the sooner the better.”

"There’s that whole cognitive dissonance that is really hard to break through."

Footnote: On Wednesday, September 23, Grant was out on a run when he collapsed. He was unresponsive for a short period but was revived in hospital. Doctors diagnosed an issue with his stents, inserted 10 years ago, but expect a good recovery. Kia kaha Grant, you are an inspiration to us all. wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

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CORONORY HEART DISEASE

Looking out for the signs W "If coronary artery disease were attacking your face rather than your heart, you’d do something about it."

- Dr Joel Kahn.

14 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

hen he was in medical school, Dr Joel Kahn says they were told we are all borne with clean arteries.

But, he says, with the use of ultrasound and other techniques doctors can determine that by the time we are 16 to 20 years old, our arteries are already showing signs of deterioration.

"It's called plaque. It shows, particularly if you grow up in the south, which is where these studies are done, and where these famous southern diets of fried food and greasy meats will get you plaque in the arteries. By the time you are 30 to 40, if we do testing by ultrasound or other methods, there is more complicated narrowing, and then, by the time you are 40 to 70 to 80, there is a heart attack or stroke."

Before that, he says, there might be erectile dysfunction; there might be a bypass or a stent.

"It's not a real happy picture here."

He says it looks like, as we age, that we inevitably slide downwards towards bad health.

"But is that actually accurate?

He presented a slide showing the autopsy results of young men aged up to 25 who died in the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars.

The results showed progressive improvement in the extent of atherosclerosis.

"This suggests we actually have made some public health progress. We do treat blood pressure and cholesterol better,

The following article was created from an address by Dr Joel Kahn as part of the virtual Holistic Holiday at Home lecture series.

For more details on these lectures go to: virtual.holisticholidayatsea.com

Sir Winston Churchill, smoked and was overweight.

Died at 91 but even those diseases are largely lifestyle choices which can be avoided. But just to shake you up a little bit, remember that's 25 years old, the statistics suggest many of us have silent artery issues we should focus on."

In reference to one study that compared the leading causes of death in the USA and the actual causes of death, he said researchers made some interesting discoveries.

"These researchers tried to dissect what you might call the root cause of why people get heart disease. Why do people get a stroke? There were really only three items that caused 85 to 90 per cent of the big three deaths in the United States.

"Do you smoke or not smoke? Do you have a poor diet of processed, fast and meat-rich foods or do you eat a lot of whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes? And are you sedentary or are you active?

"Those three questions lead to this little mnemonic Forks, Fingers and Feet.

"Where am I putting my fork, in a bowl of beans or a bowl of bacon? Fingers, are they wrapped around a cigarette or do you have a celery stalk in your fingers. And finally, feet, are you moving them? Are you swimming or are you gardening?

"Based on those concepts 85 to 90 per cent of the chronic diseases, particularly heart disease, should be theoretically preventable – that's if we eat smart, move smart and not smoke, "So, is that possible? Well, this concept is like two people mopping a floor constantly ignoring the fact that the faucet is overflowing.

"A bypass is a mop-up on the floor. A stent is a mop-up on the floor - we didn't address the problem 15 years earlier and turned off the faucet with forks, fingers and feet.

"Theoretically, we should be able to prevent 85 per cent of heart disease, 90 per cent of adult diabetes and 60 per cent of cancers if we use our forks, fingers and feet intelligently. And, more recently, we also learned that 60 per cent of Alzheimer's disease can be prevented.

"One of the five core principles of preventing Alzheimer's was eating an enormous amount of vegetables, fruit, whole foods and legumes."

He said studies out of Norway and Sweden showed that up to

Jim Fixx, superfit long distance runner Died at 53 85 per cent of heart attacks could be prevented by not smoking, walking 30 to 40 minutes a day, eating five-plus servings of fruit and vegetables a day and consuming only a few alcoholic beverages a week. Where alcohol was concerned, he stressed caution in its consumption.

"Some of you shouldn't be drinking at all, and nobody should be drinking too much."

On the matter of prevention, Dr Khan says the best choice is never getting heart disease. He drew attention to a comment from 16th Century English physician, Thomas Sydenham, who wrote what became the textbook for English surgeons for the next 200 years.

"A man is as old as his arteries," Sydenham said, although Dr Khan says the quotation should be updated to swap the word man from the original statement because the truth of it applies to every 'person' on the planet.

"If coronary artery disease were attacking your face rather than your heart, you'd do something about it," Khan says.

"Heart disease is usually silent, for weeks, months, years, even decades. It doesn't pop up like eczema, psoriasis or acne or you would seek out help. It's happening though; it's getting more progressive. The day a person has a heart attack, they've had the disease for more than a decade. Same with a stent. They may have diagnosed it that day, but it's been going on for a long time. We can't be complacent.

"So how good is a doctor interacting with a patient at predicting, accurately, the age of arteries?

"Well nobody would have looked at Winston Churchill, overweight and with a cigar in his mouth and say, well you're clearly going to live into your 90s and if anybody remembers in the 70s Jim Fixxs' The Book of Running. A very, very high-level athlete who dropped dead of a heart attack from a very advanced blockage found at autopsy, at age 53.

"You know, even lab work, might not have allowed this kind of prediction to be accurate. How did Churchill make it? How did Fixx not? We have to do better than just using old stereotypes on who probably is going to have heart disease down the road. The reality is today some people are walking around in your hometown with a severely blocked heart artery - black arrow, image (pg,14).

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Dr Joel Khan, MD, FACC, Detroit Michigan Known as America's Healthy Heart Doc Practicing cardiologist, clinical professor of medicine

Heart disease: Looking out for the signs In this case the left anterior descending artery, or widowmaker and they don't know it. They don't feel bad, and yet it's brewing trouble like a volcano about to erupt.

"So, what are some of the clues? Well, the following observations come from the American Heart Association.

"If you lost your hair very early in life, this more often applies to men than women, but it can be both, it can be a sign that arteries are ageing. It takes excellent antioxidants and excellent immune health to have a whole head of hair through your 30s, 40s and 50s, that's a clue.

"Similarly, if you are losing hair at the temples, that has been described.

"Yellow fatty deposits around your eyes are from having significantly high cholesterol for years and years – usually a genetic cholesterol disorder. You might have gone to a dermatologist and said, what is that waxy streak above my eye? They should have said let's check your cholesterol. Maybe the oddest one on the list is the ear lobe crease."

Referring to an image of a famous American movie producer, Dr Khan said Steven Spielberg's ears had provided a teaching point for thousands of his lectures.

"He has a deep crease in his earlobe. It's called a diagonal earlobe crease (DELC). Fifty years ago in New York City, an internal medicine doctor wrote a paper in one of the best medical journals in the world. His observation was when I'm sitting with a patient, I cannot help but notice that they have a crease in their earlobe. And, when I'm sitting with a person who doesn't have heart disease, they've got a smooth, younger-looking earlobe.

"Very odd. It was largely forgotten until the last ten years, but we now have the technology to take somebody or maybe take 500 people like Steven Spielberg and say do you have an earlobe crease and it turns out, it's about 70 per cent accurate.

"It's usually both earlobes. It isn't something you are borne with, and most people don't even notice it or recognize it. It shouldn't cause alarm, but it should cause a question that says maybe I need to get checked. It's not 100 per cent accurate, but high-level science says, don't ignore it.

"There is a theory about it developing because the collagen in the earlobe is weak, usually from a poor diet and genetics. Well,

16 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

heart arteries are made of collagen too, and it may be a clue they are also weak from either diet or genetics.

Another indicating factor, for men, was erectile dysfunction or, as Dr Khan refers to it, "the canary in the coalmine.

"Erectile dysfunction has scientifically been shown that, in many men, it is three to four years before a heart attack."

He said the big danger for men here was that they go to their doctor "and usually there's very little discussion on lifestyle and diet and fitness and lab tests. They get a prescription.

Speilberg They get blue pills, and they get white pills, they get Cialis. They don't get a heart checkup. That can be tragic because the neurology and cardiology literature has researched this. It is an important reason to get checked."

Lab testing was also important, blood sugar, cholesterol, and inflammation. But sometimes it doesn't tell the whole story, he said.

"And it's not all about low Ldl cholesterol; it's got a lot to do with low vitamin K which we get a lot of as plant-eaters who are green leafies. There may be problems with testosterone, and something called homocysteine. It's always a risk if you don't take B12 supplementation. Your blood homocysteine level can go up, and that can be a problem. Also, high blood pressure, vitamin D, nitric oxide from inadequate diet or genetics or smoking, inflammation, all can be an issue. So, you want to go and get a few more tests than average.

"My favourite right now that goes beyond the standard is a simple blood test called Lipoprotein (a). It's a kind of cholesterol, but it will not show up on a routine blood test at a doctor's office, health fair or work employment physical.

"It turns out that one in four people (i.e. 6.25 million Australians, and 1.25 million New Zealanders) inherit this cholesterol from one, or both of their parents.

It's a triple bad threat. It causes blocked arteries and blocked heart valves. It causes inflammation and blood clotting. If you have a family history of young people 45, 50, 55 with strokes, heart attack or dying suddenly then somebody needs to get their Lipoprotein (a) blood test check.

"Whole food plant-based diets may decrease the risk, but until you know the value, you don't know the risk from a lab standpoint."

Moroccan Chickpea Stew So full of flavour and an excellent balanced dinner.

Great for those cold nights that sneak through every Spring.

INGREDIENTS 3 5 1 2 tsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 4 sprigs 2 cans 2 cans 2 bunches 1/4 cup

red onions - diced garlic cloves - diced large sweet potato - peel and cube small cumin seeds chili powder turmeric powder paprika powder ground cinnamon fresh thyme chickpeas - drained diced tomato large spinach - roughly chopped raisins black pepper for taste

METHOD 1. Ground the cumin seeds in a coffee grinder or a pestle and mortar 2. Heat a stockpot on medium heat.

3. Add in the onions and garlic constantly stirring until onion is translucent. Add a little water if needed.

4. Then, add in the spices, stir through.

5. Next add in the thyme pulling the leaves from their sprigs.

6. Add in the sweet potato and the drained chickpeas. Stir well.

7. Add in the tomatoes and then use one of the cans to add in three cans of water.

8. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium heat for 15 mins 9. Add the spinach into the stew along with the raisins 10. Transfer 3 cups of the stew into a blender and blend until smooth.

11. Pour the blend back into the stew and stir through.

12. Serve with garnish with freshly chopped parsley

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STEAMING 18 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

W

e have discovered what many have used for century's, and that is the wonder bamboo

steamer.

Food produced this way uses no oils, butter or fats and the vegetables come out not only soft but vibrant in colour and full of natural flavour.

Bamboo steamers originated in China thousands of years ago. This vessel is mainly associated with dim sum, but it can cook so much more than that.

Bamboo steamers are round containers, typically about 10 inches wide and six inches high, with an open-weave bottom and a domed lid. The open-weave construction allows steam through, while the domed lid traps and circulates the steam.

This results in a delicate cooking technique that locks in flavour while keeping food moist and tender. Bamboo steamers are unique because they can be stacked during use, allowing multiple foods to be cooked at the same time.

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Bamboo Steamed Vegetables Let your imagination go wild with all the variety of vegetables that can be steamed.

Get adventurous and try something new. You will not be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS 4 2 1/2 1/2 head 1/2 head

medium potatoes Kumara (sweet potatoes) pumpkin broccoli cauliflower

Other ingredients to consider steaming Yams, silverbeet, frozen peas and corn, beans, asparagus, carrot, kale, cabbage, zucchini, artichokes, baby bok choy, spinach, snow peas, to name just a few.

Some tips for steaming • Layer fresh herbs between vegetables for added flavour or squeeze lemon over the vegetables before steaming.

• Place foods that will take longest to cook on the bottom basket closest to the heat.

• Try using different liquids to steam like vegetable stock, tea or miso broth.

20 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

METHOD 1. Chop the potatoes, kumara and pumpkin into small bitesize wedges. Keep all the same size. Place them into one of the baskets.

2. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into individual not to small, or they will get too soft. Place them out in the other basket.

3. Place the basket containing the broccoli and cauliflower on top of the basket containing the other vegetables.

4. Always make sure that the vegetables that will take the longest to cook are on the bottom tier.

5. Place the bamboo steamer into a wok or frying pan that is large enough that the sides of the steamers don't touch the edges.

6. Add at least four cups of water or stock to the base of the wok or pan. Keep more water available to add when you see the water declining.

7. Turn wok or pan on high and steam the vegetables for around 20 mins. Check both tiers occasionally, piercing the vegetables to see how soft they are. Once at the softness you desire, remove the steamers from the heat.

8. Server as they are, with a little pepper or with your favourite sauce.

by Catherine Barclay

Whole food eating, it's all about diversity U

nlike the traditional western diet of meat and three veg, plant-based eating is usually made up of a combination of dishes. Eating this way puts the most diverse range of foods on your plate with each food contributing its own nutritional value.

Contrary to what many may think, plant-based eaters, in one meal, don’t eat only a bowl of green leaves.

Green salads may be part of the meal, but it can also come with potatoes or rice, beans, fruit, nuts cooked (or raw) and arranged in a combination of ways with herbs, spices and tasty dressings.

Many of the recipes presented in Whole Food Living are just one part of a meal never eaten by itself. Meals can be flavoursome yet straightforward or complex with easy additions to create variety and a wide choice of taste.

Leftovers are never more important than on a plant-based diet. Poke bowls are an excellent example of this. You might have leftover roast vegetables or a small amount of curry from the night before. Adding this to your poke bowl the next day for lunch not only enhances the flavour, but it also increases the range of nutrients you will consume.

Rather than eating a burger on its own, you can also add some air-fried sweet potato wedges and coleslaw to the side. Roast vegetables can have nuts and ground flaxseed sprinkled over them with asparagus and mustard sauce to the side. Squeeze lemon through steamed silverbeet or, if you have some curried potato leftover from the night before, dice them up and toss it all together. Steam brussel sprouts and drizzle with Balsamic vinegar.

In this magazine, we love to present great recipes, but mostly we like to encourage you into a way of eating that includes the four main food groups shown on the inside back cover.

Hang around us long enough, and you will hear people in the WFPB movement talk about eating the rainbow. Add all the colour you can to your plate, tomatoes cold or hot, red capsicum, mandarin wedges to a salad, beetroot, pineapple, jalapeno to a burger.

On pizza, well, the options are enormous and can include apple sauce, mushroom, gherkin. Steamed greens, potatoes (sweet or white) steamed, boiled, microwaved, baked. I hope that paints a picture. Live kindly, eat healthy.

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Oil: Tip it on or toss it out?

Delving into the science of nutrition "I try to rely on reliable scientific data. If I stray, I try to be clear that this is my opinion. If I am wrong, I will be the first to want to know, with evidence of course."

A

by Dr T Colin Campbell

22 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

fter being immersed in the nutrition community for so many decades, I’ve come to see a serious dilemma that appears to be almost irreconcilable. On the one hand, nutrition creates more health than all the pills and procedures combined yet; on the other hand, it remains so controversial and confusing that it is almost impossible to understand—two sides of an enormous chasm.

In my opinion, this is a self-destructive inferno of wordplay that need not exist if only we could understand the reason for this dilemma. I suggest that we start by understanding the science of nutrition. I also suggest that we know the difference between reliable scientific evidence, around which we build consensus for which we can have consensus versus personal

choice on how we use that evidence. We should not confuse these exercises.

In 1980, I wrote at some length on the topic of decision making and personal risk when choosing whether to consume a preferred food believed to contain small amounts of toxic substances. As individuals, we should be able to agree on the facts (i.e., ‘science’), but also accept the idea that what each of us chooses to do with those facts is a personal matter, an issue of subjectively choosing, consciously or subconsciously, risk of potential harm (or benefit). Too often, we confuse objective science with subjective choice. Our disagreements on salt, oil and sugar, among other issues of this type, is a good example.

One way of navigating through these misunderstood arguments, however, is first to consider a much larger question

of defining nutrition, and the type of food we should consume to gain that nutrition.

And, in that exercise, we need not obsess over our using finite numbers as if they distinguish good from bad, with absolute certainty. Exacting numbers are desirable in engineering and physics in general, but it is less important in biology, where estimates of effects are generally more in order.

Let’s return to the discussion of salt, oil and sugar (SOS), which have sadly sullied conversations in the plant-based food community. These discussions become so sharp-edged that they become more personal than scientific. And these sharp edges are often conditioned by numbers as if they were sacred. When numbers are added to an idea, a sense of certainty is assumed.

In the general field of nutrition, numbers describe the nutrient composition of food, information on food labels, upper and lower limits of clinical lab results, dose-response relationships and national dietary guidelines (e.g., minimum daily requirements, recommended daily nutrient allowances, upper safe levels), to name a few.

Fixed numbers generally represent

statistically significant’. These are not absolutes, but merely benchmarks of a continuum. We love statistically significant results when they favour our preconceived personal preferences.

I try to rely on reliable scientific data. If I stray, I try to be clear that this is my opinion.

If I am wrong, I will be the first to want to know, with evidence of course. Whether I have effectively navigated this process, I cannot say. I only try.

First, a word on the WFPB Diet To cut through the confusion, let’s consider a definition for nutrition, and the type of food we should consume to optimise nutrition. Research shows that real nutrition comes from whole plant-based foods (WFPB). There is only two parts to my description of the whole food, plant based (WFPB) diet while keeping simple the general message and fully recognizing the complexity of the supporting evidence.

Part one: The whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet is based on whole foods consumed in their reasonably intact form, cooked or raw, physically diced, sliced or combined with other foods as one chooses. The important point about wholeness is that all of the nutrients in the food are consumed together, as opposed

statistical estimates of populations. They do not equally apply to each individual in the population. In my experience, too many people take these seemingly exact numbers too seriously and, accordingly, feel free to make firm decisions to distinguish good from evil, certainty from uncertainty.

Another example where certainty is abused concerns statistical significance.

Theoretically, when a research study is expected to produce the same result 19 of 20 times, it is considered ‘statistically significant’, if only 18 of 20 times, it is ‘not

to them being consumed in isolation, as in supplements.

Part two: Animal foods are not necessary as all nutrients essential for human health can be provided by and even optimised by plant foods. Also, there is no health value for added oil or fat or refined carbohydrate (e.g., sugar)—these are not whole foods.

I estimate that at least 90% of one’s optimal health will be achieved by living these two simple rules.

But, personally, my reasons for not using added oil is mostly because most of the

On fat and / or oil, I know of no reliable evidence to avoid every drop of added oil for health reasons. marketplace oil is relatively rich in omega-6 pro-inflammatory fats, which readily oxidize to free radicals and which promote ageing and development of various degenerative diseases. In addition, pure oil is generally low or absent in nutrients, only providing calories. Thus, its use, in general, results in less consumption of foods full of nutrients.

Also, added oil in higher amounts, and especially when used in processed and animal-based foods, is addictive, the more consumed, the more it is wanted, thus adding to the problem. I do not apply these comments to oil-rich whole foods, like nuts, seeds and avocados because several studies show that risk of heart disease decreases with the modest consumption of these foods. However, some individuals find that they can gain weight with the overconsumption of high-fat plant foods, thus necessitating a decision based on personal experience.

There also is no nutritional need for refined sugar, which can be addictive in higher amounts, especially when used in beverages, pastries and other processed foods. Consumption of these foods is associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, dental caries and diabetes. On the other hand, there is no scientifically verifiable evidence that small amounts of sugar and other sweeteners used in whole food plant-based recipes cause any noticeable harm, the only precaution being the encouragement of addiction.

Salt also can be addictive when used in higher amounts, especially when used in processed and animal-based foods. Overconsumption increases the risk of hypertension and risk of stroke (cardiovascular disease, CVD), especially for those who appear to have a genetic predisposition for these conditions.

Efforts to reduce salt intake have been pursued by public health authorities for

wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

23

Dr T Colin Campbell

Delving into the science of nutrition many years, both by individual countries and internationally by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO recommends less than 5000 mg salt/day (2000 mg sodium); the U.K. is less than 3000 mg salt/ day (1200 mg sodium) while the U.S. is less than 6000 mg/day.

Those who use a diet of whole, plantbased foods, however, will avoid the large amounts of salt otherwise present in animal-based and processed foods used by most people. World salt consumption is about 10,000 mg/person/day. CVD risk declines (linearly) as salt intake decreases from 12,000 to 3,000 mg salt/day, but there is no evidence of lower disease risk below 3,000 mg salt/day.

This means that a dietary regimen is providing, for example, about 1,500 mg/ day is well within this safe/healthy range, thus permitting reasonable addition of salt in the home (cooking and at the table), especially if it invites the use of this diet by those unfamiliar with this rather new taste. Importantly, the amount of sodium one can consume also affected by the degree to which one perspires. People who sweat because they are exercising require

a higher sodium intake, and in fact can suffer serious health consequences with a sodium deficiency.

In summary, I know of no reliable evidence suggesting oil, salt and sugar are necessary for our health (with the salt exception just noted), but I also know of no evidence against their modest use to enhance flavour.

Indeed, the flavour can help people sustain their commitment to a plant-based diet. Nuts, for example, can provide fats and oils to enhance the taste. Similarly, sugar-rich maple syrup, dried fruits (e.g., dates, raisins) and even small amounts of refined sugar, each having their unique sweetness, flavours and costs, can be used to good effect without compromising health by those new to this diet, thereby encouraging them to adopt the diet and to gain its health benefits. But in doing so, one should be mindful of the goal of minimizing them, especially after people adopt their new taste preferences.

As to what is “modest,” there are some benchmarks we can aim for, such as my prior suggestion of 1500 mg of sodium per day (c.f., U.S. recommendation is less

Dietary Update

American Medical Association says meat & dairy not needed M

eat and dairy should be presented as optional rather than required in the next release of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to the American Medical Association.

The AMA recently submitted its recommendations to the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which is due to release new dietary guidelines by the end of the year.

In a letter to the DGAC and dated August 13th, the AMA stated that dairy, processed meat, and red meat consumption had been strongly linked to prostate and colorectal cancers as well as cardiovascular risk. It also noted that Black Americans are at particularly high risk for these diseases.

“The AMA supports culturally responsive dietary and nutritional guidelines and recognises that racial and ethnic disparities exist in the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes,” the AMA letter states.

“Dairy and meat products are promoted in federal nutrition

24 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

than 2300 mg sodium per day), but it also may sometimes be a matter of personal choice, which undoubtedly will vary among different people and which can change with time as one becomes more accustomed to these relatively new foods.

How this information might be used by those who cook the food is not in my wheelhouse—I only try to understand the science. I am confident of the supporting science for this dietary lifestyle; thus, I am enthusiastic for finding ways to make known this diet to more people, including those who may be initially challenged by its tastes. Because most of us know the health consequences awaiting our new acquaintances and friends, I would hope that we can limit unnecessary argument about details and, instead, use that energy to emphasize the far more important overall message that maximizes health both for ourselves and others and, indeed, for societal and planetary health.

For more on Dr Campbell and his work, go to www.nutritionstudies.org

policies even though they are not nutritionally required.”

Accordingly, the AMA recommends that the DGAC clearly indicate in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans that meat and dairy products are optional, based on an individual’s dietary needs.”

This is not the first time the AMA has made such a recommendation, U.S. writer, Lindsay Morris, observed in a recent article published on the Forks over Knives website.

In 2018 the organisation passed a similar resolution in “Culturally Responsive Dietary and Nutritional Guidelines D-440.978.”

In addition to recommending that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services clearly indicate in the federal nutrition guidelines that meat and dairy products are optional, the AMA proposed legislation that modified the National School Lunch Act to make it easier for children to receive an alternative to cow’s milk.

“In recent years, the AMA has been a strong advocate for healthful diets, reflecting the opinion of an increasing number of AMA members that food matters and that plant-based diets are especially important,” says Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and author of Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health.

Current USDA guidelines recommend three 8-oz. servings of low-fat dairy daily, but a February 2020 review from Harvard found little evidence to support this recommendation. Lactose intolerance is common throughout the world: Globally, only an estimated 35% of adults can fully digest lactose after weaning.

According to a 2017 study published in Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol, lactose malabsorption—which can cause diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal symptoms—occurs in 68 per cent of the global population.

Chickpea and tahini sandwich spread A spread packed with flavour. Great in a sandwich, wraps, pita pockets or on crackers.

When sealed the spread can last for a week in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS 1 can 3 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 Tbsp 1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1/4 cup 1 tsp 1 tsp

chickpeas - rinsed and drained tahini dijon mustard whole grain mustard maple syrup red onion - diced celery - diced gherkin - diced capers - drained apple cider vinegar

METHOD 1. Put chickpeas in a bowl and mash with a fork roughly leaving some whole.

2. Add all other ingredients and mix through.

3. Taste and add ingredients where necessary.

Extra ingredients that can be added Crushed pineapple, ground flaxseed, chopped mint, parsley, garlic or chives. Finely grated carrot.

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SHOPPING LIST

Heart Disease Bowel Cancer Crohn's Disease Asthma Multiple Sclerosis Irritable Bowel Syndrome Type 2 Diabetes Alzhiemers Disease Acne Breast Cancer Ulcerative Colitis Prostate Cancer Osteoporosis Inflammatory Arthritis Constipation Menstral Pain Ovarian Syndrome Hypertension

26 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

Looking at

Heart Disease Genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Dr Caldwell Esselstyn In Australia

In New Zealand

• More than 4 million people self-report cardiovascular disease. That represents 16.6 per cent of the population.

• Almost 1 in 3 deaths in NZ are caused by cardiovascular disease.

• Almost 1 in 4 deaths in Australia are caused by cardiovascular disease.

• Every 90 mins a New Zealander dies from heart disease.

170,000 people in NZ live with heart disease.

• $5 billion is spent on providing health care services, mainly patient services for CVD.

• Almost 8 women a day died of heart disease in NZ in 2017.

• Someone is hospitalised for CVD every 60 seconds.

• Globally CVD is the no.1 killer of women globally.

Groundbreaking research shows that a plant-based diet doesn’t just prevent heart disease but it can manage and sometimes even reverse it.

D

r Dean Ornish’s landmark study tested the effects of a plant-based diet on participants with moderate to severe heart disease. There were no surgeries or stents—just simple diet and lifestyle changes. Within weeks, 90 percent of chest pain diminished.

After just one month, blood flow to the heart improved.

After a year, even severely blocked arteries had reopened. At the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Esselstyn tested the same approach

on patients with severe heart disease and published similar results. Thirty years later, all of the compliant patients are still thriving.

Plant-based diets benefit heart health because they contain no dietary cholesterol, very little saturated fat, and abundant fiber. Meat, cheese, and eggs, on the other hand, are packed with cholesterol and saturated fat, which cause plaque buildup in the arteries, leading to heart disease.

If you change your diet, and do it very vigorously, you have enormous power. You can reverse heart disease. You can prevent it. ” Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, President, Physicians Committee

Oil-Free Beet Hummus Very easy to prepare and consume. A great alternative to the store-bought options with no added sugar or oil.

INGREDIENTS 1 can 3 2 1 tsp 1 Tbsp 1/2 1 Tbsp 1/4 cup

chickpeas, drained and rinsed baby beets (small prepacked beetroots) garlic cloves peeled cumin nutritional yeast lemon (juice only) tahini water

METHOD 1. Put all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth, adding water as needed.

2. Taste and add any of the ingredients above for your preference.

3. Place in the fridge for at least 30 mins to chill before serving.

4. This dip can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.

Oil-Free Dahl with Brown Rice This incredibly filling dish has amazing flavours and full of nutrients.

INGREDIENTS 2 cups 8 cups 1 large 6 1 Tbsp 2 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1 can

dried red lentils water brown onion, finely diced garlic cloves, minced ginger, minced green chillies, minced (seeds removed if desired) curry powder whole mustard seed coriander cumin turmeric ground black pepper diced tomatoes

METHOD 1. Combine the lentils and water into a large pot. Bring to boil then simmer with the lid partially for 15 -20 mins. Skim off any foam collected on top.

2. While lentils are cooking, add a small amount of water or veg stock to a frying pan and cook the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies until soft. Then add spices and pepper, stir to combine then add the tomato.

3. Add mix to the lentils and continue simmering for another 5 mins to infuse.

4. Serve garnished with coriander and brown rice.

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Soaked oat, berry and spice breakfast All the spices and berries in this complete breakfast are excellent anti-oxidants, lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation. It provides lots of fibre and is very sustaining.

Recipe by Ross and Penny Garrick from Leigh, NZ INGREDIENTS Spices 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp

amia powder (this is an Indian gooseberry) turmeric powder black pepper (to activate the turmeric) ginger cloves cinnamon cardamon Nutmeg

Seeds 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp

ground linseed (flaxseed) ground chia seeds sesame seeds (not ground) psyllium husk

Oats 1/2 cup 1/2 cup

wholegrain organic steel cut oats wholegrain organic rolled oats

Frozen Berries 1/4 cup blueberries 1/4 cup blackcurrants 1/4 cup cranberries 1/4 cup raspberries Fresh Fruits (fresh fruits can be added at the time or added the following morning) 1 1 1

sliced banana sliced kiwifruit grated fresh apple with the skin on

METHOD 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, add plenty of water to completely cover well above all the ingredients.

2. Place a sealed lid on the bowl and leave out of the fridge overnight to soak ready for breakfast the next morning. If you want to eat it cold, leave in the fridge overnight.

3. Mixture may also be cooked if you want to serve it hot but it doesn't require cooking.

4. Add Oat, Soy or Almond milk to taste or eat as is.

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by Dr Rita Krishnamurthi

Kiwis blissfully ignorant of stroke risk The most common symptoms of stroke are: • sudden onset of face drooping on one side • arm weakness, especially on one side • speech difficulty • complete or partial loss of vision on one side • swallowing difficulties • acute confusion or memory loss • unusually severe, abrupt headaches.

Go to Google App Store to download AUT'S FREE STROKE RISKOMETER 30 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

S

troke is the third highest cause of death in New Zealand, after cancer and coronary heart disease. But our new research shows very few people are aware of the risk, particularly in Pasifika communities – despite being much more likely to have an early stroke.

Each year, about 9,000 New Zealanders have a stroke, and according to the latest data, 2,322 died of a stroke in 2016. Just over half of the people who survive a stroke live with ongoing health impacts.

Our study, based on a random national sample of 400 people, shows only 1.5% identified stroke as a common cause of death. In contrast, 37% identified heart disease, and 33% identified cancer as common causes of death.

Our research is unique in that it recruited a group of participants who represent New Zealand’s ethnic groups. It shows people from Pasifika communities have the lowest stroke awareness, despite being at higher risk than the general population.

Recognising stroke symptoms and risk factors. The research also shows that around 43% of people surveyed did not believe they could tell if a person was having a stroke.

While the majority responded correctly to stroke symptoms, a large proportion (45-70%) also responded “yes” to unrelated symptoms, such as chest pain.

Awareness of stroke risk factors was also

low. There is clear evidence that stroke is highly preventable. Ten potentially modifiable risk factors are associated with around 90 per centof strokes.

Risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, low levels of physical activity, and a diet low in fresh fruits and vegetables. Without any prompting, only 30% of people identified two or more risk factors for stroke.

People identifying as Pasifika or Maori recognised fewer stroke symptoms compared to European New Zealanders, and Pasifika people were 58% less likely to correctly identify risk factors. This is an important finding because our earlier research highlights that age-standardised rates of stroke are 30-60% higher for Pasifika and Maori, with an onset 15 years earlier compared to European New Zealanders.

A Pasifika person in New Zealand is twice as likely to die of a stroke as a European New Zealander. That disproportionately high stroke risk, combined with lower awareness about strokes and their warning signs, means New Zealand needs to develop more language and culturally specific education material, as well as better methods of delivery.

In our study, higher incomes and education were both associated with better stroke awareness, and this is similar to findings in other developed countries

such as Spain. People in middle-income households were twice as likely to correctly identify stroke risk factors as those on low incomes.

People for whom English is a second language, or who don’t speak it at all, are further disadvantaged. If we want to improve stroke prevention, we need to develop better communication strategies to address language gaps in understanding that stroke is avoidable. Globally and in New Zealand, the number of people having strokes and dying from them is increasing because people are living longer and are more exposed to risk factors, including more sedentary lifestyles.

For the first time, over the past decade, we’ve started to see an increase in the rate of younger people having strokes. This is of concern. It means more people are living longer with disabilities caused by a stroke and experience growing health and financial stress themselves as well as in their families.

Given that stroke is highly preventable, we call for better access to populationwide strategies, available to people at all levels of risk of stroke. Existing strategies are mostly aimed at people at moderate to high risk of cardiovascular diseases, including stroke.

This so-called “high-risk” strategy leaves out most people at risk, while those in the high-risk categories often lack the

knowledge and motivation to address their individual lifestyle risks.

Population-wide strategies aimed at stroke prevention would also help prevent other major non-communicable diseases with similar risk factors, including coronary heart disease, many types of cancers and even some types of dementia.

The free Stroke Riskometer app can assess an individual’s risk of stroke, inform them about their personal risk factors and provide information about symptoms. Free blood pressure checks provided by the New Zealand Stroke Foundation throughout the country help raise awareness of the most important modifiable risk factors for stroke.

The economic cost of stroke is enormous, with an estimate of NZ$1.1 billion for 2020, increasing to NZ$1.7 billion by 2038.

The high health, social and economic burden of stroke on New Zealand – and its disproportionate impact on Maori and Pasifika communities – needs to be addressed urgently. The lower level of awareness in these groups highlights we need to deliver information that is tailored and delivered by culturally competent community workers.

We also need to complement these steps with improved access to affordable healthy foods, preventative primary healthcare, and support at individual and community levels to improve health and lifestyle.

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Indian Poha This is super filling and a good hearty breakfast made with Poha - rice flakes.

INGREDIENTS 2 cups 1 1 1/3 tsp 1/2 tsp 8 1 1Tbsp 1/4 tsp 2 tsp

thick brown rice Poha (rice flakes) medium brown onion (diced) small potato, diced small mustard seeds cumin powder curry leaves green chilli (finely chopped) chopped peanuts (unsalted) turmeric powder lemon juice ground pepper for taste and to activate the turmeric

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METHOD 1. Place Poha into a large strainer, rinse two times through cold water while running your fingers through the mix. Drain and set aside, 2. In a large pan, add all other ingredients except the turmeric, pepper, and lemon juice mix well and cook covered until potatoes are soft. Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

3. Add turmeric powder and pepper and stir through and heat through.

4. Add Poha and mix well.

5. Cook for a further three minutes 6. Add the lemon juice and stir through.

7. Serve sprinkled with finely chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkling of more of the unsalted chopped peanuts.

Sticky Cauliflower Wings This two-step process recipe is well worth the effort. Great talking point when you have friends around. Amazingly delicious.

INGREDIENTS Cauliflower crumb 1 sml 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp 1 cup

head cauliflower chickpea flour unsweetened plant milk ground black pepper garlic powder red pepper flakes italian herb breadcrumbs

Sauce 4 tbsp 3 tbsp 1/2 tsp 2 tbsp 1 tbsp 1/4 tsp 2 tsp 1/4 cup

maple syrup soy sauce or tamari sauce sesame seeds sriracha chilli sauce apple cider vinegar vegan worcestershire sauce cornflour water

METHOD 1. Preheat oven to 230°C. 2. Cut the cauliflower into small florets, not too small 3. In a bowl mix all the crumb ingredients except the breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl add the breadcrumbs.

4. Coat the cauliflower florets in the batter mix, making sure that they are fully coated then roll them in the crumb.

5. Place each one on either a silicon baking sheet or onto a baking paper lined baking tray.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins.

7. While the cauliflower is cooking make up the sauce.

8. In a pan heat all the ingredients except the cornflour and water. Dissolve the cornflower in a little of the 1/4 water and add to the sauce mixing through to thicken.

9. Remove from heat and allow to cool; this will thicken the mix more.

10. Remove the cauliflower from the oven and toss in the sauce, use a spoon or spatula to coat thoroughly. Use tongs to return coated cauliflower to the tray. Bake for a further 5 mins.

11. Remove from oven and serve.

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Food and that locked down mood F

by Gerald Haslinger recoverysupportcentres.com.au

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or many people, the last six months have felt like our world and our safety within it, have constantly been changing with new outbreaks of COVID-19 happening almost everywhere. Australia saw a recent spike in new cases and the same happened in New Zealand and many other countries around the world. This has caused a great deal of distress for many people, and I hope that this information can help provide some relief.

Having recently adopted a Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) approach to eating, I am finding that my mood is much more stable, I have fewer cravings for fat and sugar, and this has helped me to cope with the impact of this pandemic. The link between the food I have been eating, and my ability to cope with stress has become clearer.

We have all been exposed to a saturation of media coverage. It has described in detail how many new infections there are each day, where they have come from, how many are unexplained, how many have died, what Governments are doing to reduce numbers, how many people are newly unemployed, changes in financial support being offered to those who have lost their job, what precautions we should be taking and which ones we have to take if we’re out in public. That is exhausting!

If we tune in to international news, there is talk about vaccines being available in the USA by the end of November whilst

our experts tell us it could be years until a viable vaccine is developed and still others tell us that there may never be an effective vaccine. We hear media commentary focusing on who is to blame, which does not relieve any of our distress.

We hear about the WHO (World Health Organisation), accused of being slow off the mark now telling us there’s a long, long way to go, reminding us there are now over 24 million infections and over 820,000 deaths worldwide. Staggering, to say the least.

A few months ago, most of us were in lockdown which then relaxed a little and now some of the previous lockdown measures, and sometimes more, have been re-introduced. We’re told we need to stay at least 1.5m away from everyone in public, but then rugby players are allowed to crash into each other with no obvious protection.

We’re told we should wear masks when out in public when we can’t socially distance, but on many flights, and in most places in public, masks are simply recommended not demanded.

How are we to make sense of all of this?

This is such a confusing time for all of us, made harder by the fact that we need to continue to work, if we can, amidst this chaos, in order to survive.

None of us has lived through anything like this ever before, at least not at this scale. For all of us, it just hasn’t happened in our living memory. We’ve experienced natural disasters and terrorism but never

"Eating only WFPB has made implementing the suggestions that I set out below, much easier since it has cleared my mind, drastically reduced mood fluctuations and generally increased my physical and psychological health." anything like this. Many people are not coping, reflected in increased rates of domestic and family violence and reports of increasing rates of suicide in many countries.

So, how do we best cope with this everchanging, confusing, confronting and scary situation? The short answer is that coping in times of fear and anxiety can be tough, but there are things we can do to help ourselves.

It might be interesting to note that given the suicide rates in Australia and New Zealand, it is likely that during the first six months of the pandemic, we have experienced approximately 1,750 suicide deaths, whilst deaths from COVID-19 have totalled about 600. Whilst COVID-19 is important, suicide still claims more lives in both of our countries than this pandemic.

Imagine life for those who were already struggling and are now in the anxiety and fear that many of us share about COVID-19.

What if there are tools for helping people who are struggling, whatever the cause, and we apply those same tools to all of us during this difficult time? If we suspect someone is struggling with thoughts of suicide or is experiencing emotional distress, whether

related to the pandemic or otherwise, let’s make sure they receive some immediate support, medical attention and care.

Research on coping with stress, in the area of suicide prevention, building resilience and self-care can be helpful at this time. COVID-19 has heightened our need to focus on these areas. We need to ask what works to help us cope more effectively during this period of constant change, uncertainty and fear? This question certainly comes up often with clients in my psychology practice.

My conversations with clients focus on a number of things we can do to help, largely based on a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach. The journey to a WFPB diet may not seem related to our psychological health, yet I have come to realise that WFPB choices provide my physical body and physiological processes, including in my brain, with the support that CBT provides my thinking. Eating only WFPB has made implementing the suggestions that I set out below, much easier since it has cleared my mind, drastically reduced mood fluctuations and generally increased my physical and psychological health. When you review the tips that I set out below, I invite you to come

back to this paragraph and read it again because of an important realisation I have had, that how we care for our bodies and how much ability we have to make changes to the focus of our thinking, are linked.

At the core of CBT is the belief that the way we feel is directly associated with the way we think and that our behaviours or actions can affect both our thoughts and feelings. The cognitive aspect of a CBT approach asks you to identify how you are thinking about certain situations when you notice you are feeling sad, low, overwhelmed etc. It is important to note that it’s okay to feel sad or scared from time to time as these are natural emotions, but if they persist and begin to affect your wellbeing, it might be time to make some changes.

1 – Tune into your thoughts When you notice yourself feeling unpleasant emotions that are getting in the way of your life, tune into your thoughts about the situations. Perhaps in relation to the pandemic, you might notice thoughts such as: “This pandemic is never going to end.”

“I might not make it through this.”

“I will never leave the house again.”

“I can’t trust anyone.”

Firstly, it’s important to be kind to yourself. During a time when so many people have become unwell, it’s crucial you validate your feelings, but you don’t have to agree with the story you tell yourself. By

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Food and that locked down feeling the way, this goes for conversations with others too. If someone is saying these kinds of things to you, rather than convincing them it’s not true, try simply accepting that they (or you) feel this way. Once we validate how we feel, there is usually a sense of relief, and we can then think more rationally about what is happening or what we can then do.

So, notice these thoughts. Tell yourself it’s okay to be feeling concerned and scared.

Then ask yourself whether ruminating on thoughts like this is helpful or whether the thoughts are 100% true. If the answer is no to either question, find a way to change your focus to something else.

It can also be useful to examine whether the issue is something you can control or influence in some way. If it is, then doing something can be helpful. If it isn’t, then accepting you cannot influence the situation and choosing to focus on something else can be beneficial.

Here is an example – I am feeling fearful because I am worrying a lot about whether or not I will make it through this pandemic, maybe I will die. Firstly, I acknowledge that during a time when so many people have become sick, and some have died, it’s understandable that I might have this thought.

Then I consider whether it’s 100% true or helpful.

It is certainly true, but it’s not a certainty, and it’s definitely not helpful. So, I decided

to check whether I have enough masks and hand sanitiser at home for when I do go out, and then I change my focus by playing with my kids in the backyard.

It’s pretty common to believe that if we worry about something enough, we will feel more comfortable about the issue or maybe even come up with a solution but what we end up doing is simply distressing ourselves more. There are some great apps out there that can help you select a “worry time” each day when you allow yourself to worry about an issue as much as you like, but for the rest of the day, you decide not to ruminate.

2 – Watch what you eat At times when we are stressed, it’s easy to reach for some kind of comfort food.

Fats and processed sugars, in particular, provide us with a short-term energy boost, accompanied by the release of endorphins such as serotonin and dopamine which provide some relief but we inevitably feel the comedown afterwards (that sluggish, tired feeling when our bodies have too much food that is difficult to process).

Not only do we then have to then pick ourselves up again, but it makes it even harder to get things done, and it definitely gets harder to change the focus of our thinking. We get stuck in a cycle of eating to try to get us either up or down and finding clear times to reflect and make changes becomes difficult.

We can break this cycle, and if we then stay in a healthy pattern of feeding our body, including nurturing our brain, it makes it easier to make the decision to avoid getting into this cycle again. Try a handful of nuts, some fruit or seeds instead – you will feel a lot better in an hour or so with these options and your mood will not fluctuate as much.

3 – Get active The behavioural part of CBT involves doing things that perhaps you used to love doing

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but have stopped doing because of the pandemic or because life got busy. Create a list of hobbies and activities you enjoy and see which have fallen by the wayside.

Getting physically active can also help us feel better, contributing to the release of endorphins, but you won’t experience the same mood shifts associated with comfort foods. It might not be possible to do all the things you used to enjoy, but instead of the indoor climbing gym, you might be able to climb outdoors with your partner.

Ideally, set up some kind of regular routine for your activities and on those days when you don’t feel like doing it, find a way to do it anyway.

4 – Stay in touch We are social creatures, craving contact with others. Whilst we might not be able to meet with all of our friends and family in person, make an effort to stay in touch online. Increase your texting, phone calls and most importantly organise screen time with others. It is so important to stay in touch with your social circle. Perhaps you can arrange dinner parties where everyone makes the same meal, and you compare and share your meal online?

5 – Turn the TV off We know there’s a pandemic, but we don’t need to hear about it all day every day, so turn the TV and radio off. We don’t need to see and hear the numbers every day. If you feel the need to stay on top of the latest news, choose a time of day when you can watch part of a briefing or part of a news program so that you can be sure you’re following the current guidelines and know where the hotspots are.

To sum up, notice how you’re thinking about the COVID-19 situation if you find you are experiencing persistent negative emotions. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge that it’s okay to be thinking and feeling this way.

Then, ask yourself whether it’s 100% true, or helpful, to keep thinking that way and if not, shift your attention and thoughts by getting your focus back to what you were doing. Eat well, get active, stay in touch with friends and family, and turn the news off!

Don’t allow yourself to worry too much – more doing, less thinking and worrying is a great mantra at this time.

Finally, if you are struggling, please reach out to a loved one, your doctor, a counsellor, psychologist, online chat or helpline – you are not alone!

The value of whole W

hat happens when you eat an apple? The answer is vastly more complex than you imagine.

Every apple contains thousands of antioxidants whose names, beyond a few like vitamin C, are unfamiliar to us, and each of these powerful chemicals has the potential to play an important role in supporting our health. They impact thousands upon thousands of metabolic reactions inside the human body.

But calculating the specific influence of each of these chemicals isn’t nearly sufficient to explain the effect of the apple as a whole. Because almost every chemical can affect every other chemical, there

is an almost infinite number of possible biological consequences - and that’s just from an apple.

Nutritional science, long stuck in a reductionist mindset, is at the cusp of a revolution. The traditional gold standard of nutrition research has been to study one chemical at a time in an attempt to determine its particular impact on the human body.

These sorts of studies are helpful to food companies trying to prove there is a chemical in milk or prepackaged dinners that is 'good' for us, but they provide little insight into the complexity of what actually happens in our bodies or how those chemicals contribute to our health. - T Colin Campbell

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Lentil Walnut Mince Looking for a healthy filling for your wraps or tacos? This could be the answer, its texture is amazing, and the taste is very flavoursome.

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup 1 can 1/4 cup 3 Tbsp 1 packet

chopped walnut pieces brown lentils - drained and rinsed brown onion - diced vegetable stock Old El Paso Spice Mix for tacos

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METHOD 1. Heat a large pan at medium heat add the walnuts and toast for 2 mins. Remove and set aside 2. Add a small amount of vegetable stock or water to the pan and saute brown onion until they are translucent.

3. Add the walnuts and lentils along with the stock, sprinkle over taco mix, stir through then simmer for 3 mins.

4. Gently mash some of the lentils with the back of a spoon and mix through.

5. Serve in a wrap or tacos with your favourite salsa and vegetables.

Turmeric Latte The aroma, the taste and the benefit from drinking this latte are well worth it.

INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups 1 cup 1-2 Tbsp 12g 10g 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp

soy milk (or plant milk of your choice) water pure maple syrup fresh ginger, roughly chopped fresh turmeric, roughly chopped ground cinnamon ground nutmeg ground black pepper vanilla essence

METHOD 1. Add all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth.

2. Strain through a mesh strainer to remove lumps of ginger and turmeric.

3. Have a taste and add more spice if required.

4. Pour mixture into pot and heat at med-low to warm through, do not boil.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Daddy Hot Choc This Barclay family drink was always known as the famous "Daddy Milo". Now that we have become plant-based the "Daddy Hot Choc" it now it is.

INGREDIENTS 1 cup 1 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 1 tsp

soy milk ( or plant milk of your choice) cocoa powder pure maple syrup vanilla essence

METHOD 1. Add all ingredients into a pot.

2. Heat at medium heat, whisking to remove lumps.

3. Serve and enjoy.

Footnote: Did you expect anything more complicated?

Come on it is done by the dad.

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So, what about alcohol?

"We know you would prefer to read that alcohol is safe in moderation, but the truth is that alcohol is toxic in any dose, and the more you drink the greater the risk."

by Dr Malcolm Mackay www.wholefoodsplantbasedhealth.com.au

A

ustralian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol (NHMRC 2020) recommend that healthy men and women drink no more than ten standard drinks per week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day. This is harm minimization advice, not ‘safe’ drinking advice.

Any amount of alcohol increases the risk of many types of cancer, including breast cancer (13 per cent greater risk with only one drink per day). What is one standard drink of wine? Approximately 100ml, so a typical glass of wine is usually 1.5 standard drinks.

There seems to be little public awareness of the cancer risks of drinking alcohol.

The alcohol industry has downplayed the risks of alcohol in much the same way that the tobacco industry downplayed the risks of smoking, promoting the perception that it is only heavy drinking that causes health problems.

They established bodies like DrinkWise to advise the public on how to drink safely and in moderation. Advertising promotes alcohol as glamorous and fun, a normal part of social activity and as a reward for hard-working men and women. Industry has

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waged a successful campaign to obfuscate the harmful effects of alcohol, influence public perception of alcohol and prevent effective legislation to reduce alcohol consumption (Lim et al.

2019). There was quite a fight over the recent introduction of stronger pregnancy warnings on alcoholic beverages.

When considering the adverse effects of alcohol, you may think of organ damage and accidents, but the impact on our collective mental health aspects may be even greater. Doctors never prescribe alcohol for depression and anxiety because it worsens these conditions and increases the risk of suicide. Self-treatment with alcohol often leads to a downward spiral of increasing alcohol consumption and worsening mental health. At community level, alcohol reduces productivity and increases health care costs. Alcohol fuels fights and assaults and is often a catalyst for domestic violence.

There is a popular belief that a small amount of alcohol is beneficial to health, and people love to hear good news about their bad habits. Health professionals are familiar with the ‘J-curve’ of alcohol consumption versus mortality, suggesting that small

amounts of alcohol were beneficial. However, reanalysis of the data behind the J-curve found that the greater mortality risk in non-drinkers versus light drinkers was due to reverse causation – poor health led to abstinence rather than abstinence leading to poor health.

When researchers controlled for these factors, there was no ‘J-curve’, just a dose-related increase in health risks beginning at the lowest intakes. Similar data led to the idea that alcohol was protective against heart disease and research found that alcohol raised HDL (good cholesterol). However, this was not associated with a reduction in risk, and alcohol raises blood pressure, a major risk factor for strokes and heart disease. While it is true that red wine contains some protective phytonutrients, you can get these from grapes and berries with none of the downsides of alcohol.

Alcohol displaces nutrients from the diet. Alcohol has more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates (and alcoholic beverages also often have a lot of sugar calories) – for every glass you drink, you either gain weight, or you eat less calories worth of nutrient rich whole plant foods.

Alcohol may also be associated with less healthy food choices.

High intake of alcohol impairs nutrient absorption and depletes nutrients within the body, such as folate, a nutrient that protects against cancer. Alcohol detoxification generates free radicals which deplete antioxidants throughout the body. One study observed a rapid decrease in skin carotenoids and an increase in UV lamp induced sunburn (Darvin et al. 2013).

What happens to alcohol used in cooking? That depends on the cooking method. Alcohol content diminishes with cooking time.

40% of the alcohol remains after 15min of baking or simmering, and only 25% remains after one hour.

While the liver is busy detoxifying alcohol, it becomes less efficient at getting rid of excess oestrogen hormones, causing an oestrogen imbalance. The resulting increase in oestrogen may be part of the mechanism by which alcohol increases breast cancer risk. Heavy male drinkers often develop breast tissue.

While there is some debate about whether cheese and other hyperpalatable foods are truly addictive, there is no question over alcohol. It hijacks the brain reward systems and leads many otherwise functional individuals into a low-grade addiction as defined by “continued use despite evidence of harm”. If moderation in alcohol is not your talent, then the best solution may be alcohol abstinence. You would not be the only non-drinker in your social circles.

Alcohol free challenges (eg. ‘dry July’), like vegan challenges (eg.

Veganuary), are becoming popular and are a great way to reset our habits. Andy Ramage (interviewed in the New Normal Podcast) set up a support organization in the UK to help moderate drinkers to break free from their alcohol culture. Don’t be intimidated by the web domain name One Year No Beer, there are one-month and 3-month programs. Hello Sunday Morning is a Sydney based program which claims to be “the largest online community in the world for people looking to change their relationship with alcohol”.

How alcohol free do you need to be? From a health science perspective, the answer is 100%, but you may really enjoy the effects of alcohol and find it difficult to abstain in social situations.

We suggest that if you are going to drink alcohol, that you do so infrequently and in small quantities.

If your alcohol intake is having an adverse effect on your life, then you may wish to reset your behaviour patterns with a 28 day or longer ‘no alcohol’ challenge. If you are someone who has no off button for alcohol, you need to accept this and draw the line at zero.

People often tell us that their desire for alcohol waned as their diet became more whole food plant-based. Get the nutrition right, and many of the other domains of healthy lifestyle fall into place – improved mood, more energy for physical activity and less need for alcohol.

Alison's experience

Becoming someone you never thought you could be In the beginning, I don’t believe alcohol was ever a problem. I just drank it like everyone else. Or so I thought. After a while people started saying things like, ‘hey Alison, don’t you think you should head away?’ Or ‘Alison, I’m going now. Do you want me to drop you off on the way?”

Well, apart from the first question which I later thought was just downright rude, I always saw the second question as really silly.

They knew I arrived in my car like everyone else, so why would I leave it overnight for God knows who to help themselves to. I mean, was I the only one who could figure that out?

The good times Those were great years. We worked for an agency in the central city. It was tough at times, but boy did we have some fun. Must have been, about five years, I suppose. Then Chris came along. He worked for another agency, so there was always a bit of banter between our groups and then one day he asked me out.

Right from the outset, I knew he drank differently to me. By this stage, I was becoming frustrated with my group, so It was great getting out with his friends and doing things. Chris played tennis and liked to go on walks, so it was a whole new set of people that he knew, and it was fun.

They were different people, but when they began pulling out water bottles after doing a long walk, I was looking for the picnic wine set mum gave me. Chris would sometimes have a glass, but often he wouldn’t drink it all. He always just said I’ve had enough.

And he had. I know that now but somehow, I never did. Surely, one more wouldn’t hurt. Would it?

First child arrives I kept working until our first child arrived, and then I lost my props – my workmates. It wasn’t a big thing, in the beginning. Then for some reason, when I went to the wine shop, I bought a bottle of gin instead. I put it in the back of a cupboard in the kitchen where I knew Chris wouldn't see. Bad mistake. That was the start of my secret drinking. It went on until not long before our eldest turned nine.

As you can imagine, some bits have been left out here, but that’s when it all hit the fan.

I was supposed to pick Sophie up from netball practice and was standing at the kitchen sink drinking when the phone rang. As I turned to pick it up, I knocked the bottle at the same time.

It hit the tiled floor, smashed everywhere then somehow, I tripped over. I just lay there crying, Use the QR cut and bleeding. That’s how Chris, the girls, code or go to and his mother found me at about 5.30 that the url below night. I stopped drinking.

It's been a few years now since all this happened and honestly, I'm so thankful I’ve still got a marriage and children that love me. I know it doesn’t work out that way for everyone.

Looking back, I can’t pinpoint where, when or why alcohol became a problem, and I don’t care.

All I know is that it turned me into someone I never thought I could be. That's what keeps me stopped. It's a journey I hope you never know.

Need Help?

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Chickpea burger patties with air-fried kumara wedges Very filling and with a nice kick due to the sriracha and cumin.

Can be frozen to pull out in a busy week.

INGREDIENTS 2 Tbsp 2 cans 1 3 1/2 cup 3 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 1/4 tsp 2 tsp 1 cup

ground flaxseed (linseed) chickpeas - drained and rinsed med red onion - diced garlic cloves - diced coriander - diced red wine vinegar sriracha sauce cumin powder turmeric powder black pepper whole grain oats

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METHOD 1. Create two flax eggs by adding the grounded flax seed to 5 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside.

2. Place the chickpeas in a bowl and mash with a fork or pulse with an immersion blender.

3. Add all other ingredients except the flaxseed and mix throughly.

4. Add flax eggs and mix right thorough, allow to stand for 10 mins.

5. Form into 6-8 patties, if sticky roll in bread crumbs 6. Place in the fridge for 30 mins to set 7. Airfry in batches at 180°C for 15 mins ( turning once) or BBQ at around 200°C for 10 mins each side

Black bean burger patties with air-fried potato wedges Very quick to put together, super tasty.

Can be frozen to pull out in a busy week.

INGREDIENTS 1 Tbsp 2 cans 1/2 1 1/4 cup 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 1/2 Tbsp 1 cup

ground flaxseed (linseed) black beans - drained and rinsed red onion - diced garlic cloves - diced coriander or parsley- diced balsamic vinegar sriracha sauce cumin powder reduced-salt soy sauce wholemeal breadcrumbs

METHOD 1. Create one flax egg by adding the grounded flax seed to 2.5 tablespoons of boiling water and set aside.

2. Place all other ingredients except the flax egg and breadcrumbs into a blender and mix thoroughly.

4. Transfer mix to a bowl and add the flax egg and crumb. Mix right through, then allow to stand for 10 mins.

5. Form into six equal patties, if sticky roll in more bread crumbs 6. Place in the fridge for 30 mins to set 7. Airfry in batches at 180°C for 15 mins ( turning once).

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44 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

Composting, the art thereof The greatest success we ever had in the garden started when we began composting seriously. What changed everything was a paper I discovered by Emeritus Professor Robert D. Raabe, of Berkeley in which he explained some of the science involved in the process.

Sadly, Prof Raabe died in 2013, but he is still fondly remembered by faculty friends for his long and "outstanding" contribution to plant pathology. – Peter Barclay.

T

he old method of composting was to pile organic materials and let them stand for a year, at which time the materials would be ready for use. The main advantage of this method is that little working time or effort is required from the composter.

Disadvantages are that space is utilized for a whole year, some nutrients might be leached due to exposure to rainfall, and diseaseproducing organisms, some weeds, weed seeds and insects are not controlled.

Recently, a new method has been developed, which corrects some of the problems associated with the old type of composting.

With this process, compost can be made in two to three weeks.

Extra effort on the part of the composter is required in exchange for this time saving, but for those who want large amounts of compost, or for those who wish to convert materials which are usually wasted into useable compost, the effort is worthwhile.

There are several important factors essential to the rapid composting method. Because all are important, there is no significance to the order in which they are listed here.

1. Reduce the size

Material will compost best if it is between 12mm to 40mm in size. Soft, succulent tissues need not be chopped in very small pieces because they decompose rapidly. The harder or, the more woody the tissues, the smaller they need to be divided to decompose rapidly.

Woody material should be put through a grinder, but most grinders chop herbaceous materials too finely for good composting.

Chopping material with a sharp shovel is effective. When pruning plants, cut material into small pieces with the pruning shears-it takes a little effort, but the results (and the exercise!) are good.

2. Green to dry ratio

For the composting process to work most effectively, material to be composted should have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30 to 1. This cannot be measured easily, but experience has shown that mixing equal volumes of green plant material with equal volumes of naturally dry plant material will give approximately a 30/1 carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio.

Green material can be grass clippings, old flowers, green pruning, weeds, fresh garbage and fruit and vegetable wastes.

Dried material can be dead, fallen leaves, dried grass, straw and somewhat woody materials from prunings. Such materials are

easy to find in fall and early spring but are more difficult to find in the growing season.

During this time, paper bags, cardboard boxes, cereal and milk cartons, and paper can be used for dried materials, but they must be finely chopped or shredded. Newspapers can be used if shredded and separated by plant tissues, so they do not mat - matting is bad because oxygen is necessary for rapid decomposition and matting excludes oxygen. Any material which is cut green and is allowed to dry is considered green. Some green materials, such as grass clippings also may mat if care is not taken to separate them using dry materials.

3. Moisture content Composting works best if the moisture content of materials in the pile is about 50 per cent. This is not easy to measure, but with experience, the correct amount of moisture can be estimated. Too much moisture will make a soggy mass, and decomposition will be slow and will smell. If the organic material is too dry, decomposition will be very slow or will not occur at all.

4. Prevent heat loss Heat, which is very important in rapid composting, is supplied by the respiration of the microorganisms as they break down the organic materials. To prevent heat loss and to build up the amount of heat necessary, a minimum volume of material is essential: a pile at least 900mm x 900mm x 900mm is recommended. If less than 800mm, the rapid process will not occur.

Heat retention is better in bins than in open piles, so rapid composting is more effective if bins are used. In addition, the use of bins is much neater.

High temperatures favour the microorganisms which are the most rapid decomposers; these microorganisms function at about 71°C, and a good pile will maintain itself at about that temperature.

A thermometer to measure temperatures inside the pile is helpful although not necessary.

5. Turn it over & over The compost pile needs to be turned to prevent it from getting too hot. if it gets much above 71°C, the microorganisms will be killed, the pile will cool, and the whole process will have to start from the beginning.

By turning the pile it will not overheat, and it will be aerated also, both of which are necessary to keep the most active decomposers

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The art of composting functioning. The pile should be turned so that material which is on the outside is moved to the centre. In this way, all the material will reach optimum temperatures at various times.

Due to heat loss around the margins, only the central portion of the pile is at the optimum temperature. Because of the necessity for turning, it is desirable to have two bins so the material can be turned from one into another. Bins made with removable slats in the front make the turning process easier.

Bins with covers retain the heat better than do those having no covers. Once the decomposition process starts, the pile becomes smaller and because the bin is no longer full, some heat will be lost at the top.

This can be prevented by using a piece of polyethene plastic slightly larger than the top area of the bins. After the compost is turned, the plastic is placed directly on the top of the compost and is tucked in around the edges.

If the material in the pile is turned every day, it will take two weeks or a little longer to compost. If turned every other day, it will take about 3 weeks. The longer the interval between turning the longer it will take for the composting to finish.

6. Don't add more

Once a pile is started, do not add anything (with the exception mentioned in point 9 below). The reason is that it takes a certain length of time for the material to break down and anything added has to start at the beginning, thus lengthening the decomposition time for the whole pile.

Excess material should be as dry as possible during storage until a new pile is started. Moist stored materials will start to decompose and if this occurs, they will not do a good job in the compost pile.

7. Don't add anything

Nothing needs to be added to the organic materials to make them decompose. The microorganisms active in the decomposition process are ubiquitous where plant materials are found and will develop rapidly in any compost piles.

8. Fine tune the ratio

If done correctly, a pile will heat to high temperatures within 24 to 48 hours. If it doesn't, the pile is too wet or too dry or there is not enough green material (or nitrogen) present. If too wet, the material should be spread out to dry. If too dry, add moisture. If neither of these, then the nitrogen is low (a high C/N ratio) and this can be corrected by adding materials high in nitrogen (such as ammonium sulfate, grass clippings, fresh chicken manure or urine diluted 1 to 5).

9. Sniff for ammonia

If the C/N ratio is less than 30/1, the organic matter will decompose very rapidly, but there will be a loss of nitrogen. This will be given off as ammonia, and if this odour is present in or around a composting pile, it means that valuable nitrogen is being lost in the air. This can be counteracted by the addition of some sawdust to that part of the pile where there is an ammonia odour - sawdust is very high in carbon and low in nitrogen (a high C/N ratio) and therefore will counteract the excess nitrogen.

Other than adding water should the pile become dry; this is the only thing which should be added to a pile once it's started.

Because composting can be done anytime, during the rainy season some covering of the pile may be necessary to keep the composting materials from becoming too wet.

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10. Don't add these

Materials which should not be added to a composting pile include soil, ashes from a stove or fireplace, and manure from carnivorous (meat-eating) animals. Soil adds nothing but weight to a compost pile and will discourage the turning of the pile, which is necessary for the rapid composting process.

Wood ashes will not decompose. Manure from carnivorous animals could contain disease-producing organisms that might infect humans. It is not known whether or not the rapid composting process will kill these organisms and therefore such manures should not be used – manures from herbivorous animals such as rabbits, goats, cattle, horses, elephants or fowl can be used.

11. White fungi a sign

The rapid decomposition can be detected by a pleasant odour, by the heat produced (this is even visible in the form of water vapour given off during the turning of the pile), by the growth of white fungi on the decomposing organic material, by a reduction of volume, and by the change in colour of the materials to dark brown.

As composting nears completion the temperature drops and, finally, little or no heat is produced. The compost is then ready to use. If in the preparation of the compost, the material was not chopped in small pieces, screening the material through a 25mmmesh wire will hold back such pieces. These can be added to the next pile and eventually they will decompose.

Advantages of the rapid composting system include: • The production of a valuable soil amendment from many organic materials which normally might be wasted.

• Compost can be made ready for use in as short a time as 14 to 21 days.

• Rapid composting kills all plant disease-producing organisms if done as described. It does not inactivate heat resistant viruses such as tobacco mosaic virus.

• Insects do not survive the composting process. Though some may be attracted to the pile, if they lay their eggs in the compost will destroy them.

• Most weeds and weed seeds are killed. Some weeds such as oxalis bulbs, seeds of burr clover, some Amaranthus seeds and seeds of cheese weed are not killed by the high temperatures in the pile.

In addition to the above, outdoor exercise is an added benefit.

by Catherine Barclay

You'll never know until you try W

hen I tell people I follow a whole plant food lifestyle the common response is, what on earth do you eat? Or, oh no, I could never give up my cheese! There is no way you will have me give up my steak!

Believe me, it wasn’t long ago when I was one of those voices.

Today, however, two years later, I can say it is so easy. Why wouldn’t you?

At first, like any change, it requires some thinking and concentration, but as time goes on, it is effortless. It’s as if I’ve been eating this way all my life.

The variety of food is endless, and the benefits, oh my, the benefits far outweigh any idea of returning to the standard western diet. Even the thought of it now is enough to make me feel sick.

A big bonus is that you no longer get that heavy feeling in your stomach after eating. You have energy, and it is a strange energy that makes you stop and think, “where did that come from?”. Don’t get me wrong, you can still get tired from a long week of work, but you aren’t heavy and sagging. It is a totally different tiredness.

The whites of my eyes are bright and clear. My skin shines, and acne has disappeared. My nails have gotten stronger. Simple cuts and cooking burns are healing quickly. My iron levels are the highest they have ever been, my chest is clear, and I can take deep, long breaths.

It has always concerned me that I have a family history, on both sides, of bowel cancer. The fear of it was constant as I was growing up. It bothered my mum so much she regularly took Metamucil to keep her fibre intake up. Unfortunately Mum past away from

motor neurone disease and, on the day she died, she told me how chuffed she was that she’d reached her ideal body weight.

Constipation was a constant problem for her, but constipation certainly isn’t an issue for me anymore. With a diet now full of fibre, I am regular as clockwork.

Then there is my drop in weight, something that I have been struggling with for years has just happened naturally while eating bowls full of food. Gone is the measuring of food, reducing proportion sizes and counting my calories. I just eat!

My body is saying, I can heal, I can breathe, I can thrive!

Take a step back for a moment and consider how you really feel.

Is it worth the love of your current eating habits to just not feel right? Or, is it better to eat food that allows your body to function, perform, and make you feel just great.

I have many friends who are eating the keto diet to lose weight.

All of them say they crave carbs and that they’re doing it only for a short term while they lose weight. Incorrect thinking people.

1. Because complex carbs (non processed carbs) are an important food group needed in a balanced diet and, 2. Because what are you going to do when you stop your ‘diet’, go back to what you were eating before? How does that work for you?

I didn’t have any chronic illness when I started eating just plant food, yet I was still suffering from the effects of the old diet that was keeping me from being healthy. I just didn’t know it.

You don’t believe me? I dare you to try. See how you feel, then let me know. Look around the net and find a plant-based food challenge you think will fit you and your family.

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Coleslaw with aquafaba dressing A colourful coleslaw with a delish dressing by Rachel Lamarche

INGREDIENTS Coleslaw 1/2 1/2 2 2 1/2 cup 2 tsp 1/2 cup Dressing 1 cup 1 Tbsp 1 3 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1/2 cup 1 Tbsp

red cabbage green cabbage carrots celery sticks pine nuts celery seeds raisins - optional

unsweetened natural soy milk dijon mustard clove garlic capers apple cider vinegar aquafaba maple syrup or rice malt syrup

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METHOD Coleslaw 1. Using a mandolin, slice the cabbages and celery sticks 2. Grate carrot thinly 3. Add all ingredients to a serving bowl mix through.

4. Cover while creating the dressing Dressing 1. In a blender, combine the soy sauce, dijon mustard, capers and apple cider vinegar. Blend for 30 seconds.

2. Add the maple syrup or rice malt syrup and the aquafaba and blend for another 30 seconds.

3. Adjust if you prefer sweeter or more bitter.

4. Pour over the coleslaw and combine.

Tahini mint dressing Another alternative for a coleslaw or salad is this simple dressing.

Creamy yet no dairy, oil or egg in sight.

INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1/2 tsp 3 Tbsp 1/4 Cup

tahini lemon juice maple syrup apple cider vinegar wholeseed mustard crushed garlic water mint leaves

METHOD 1. Add all ingredients to a measuring jug 2. Whisk until completely smooth 3. Pour over salad and enjoy

TIP: get creative This versatile dressing can be pimped up with a wide range of different ingredients. Try adding other fresh herbs like parsley or dill. Incorporate spices like red pepper flakes. Or change the type of mustard used.

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Shukul and Divya went plant-based nearly eight years ago when Shukul's brother, Shamiz, became gravely ill with ulcerative colitis.

The family strongly supported each other and found the solution to Shamiz's illness in a plant-based diet.

That experience led to the formation of High Carb Health which has become a full-time operation for both brothers.

For more information on their services go to

www.highcarbhealth.com 50 wholefoodliving.life | Spring, 2020

Whole food diet was a 'no brainer' for these two W

hat parent wouldn't want to raise their child in the healthiest way possible? Certainly not Shukul Kachwalla and Divya Singh. Even before they decided to have children, the idea that they would consider anything other than a whole food plant-based diet never entered their minds. For them, it was a "no brainer" says Shukul, "because the benefits are so substantial."

Speaking from their locked down digs in Melbourne shortly before this issue went to press, Shukul outlined some of the background to their decision and how life is for their children Alia, 3, and latest arrival, two-month-old, Darian.

Being a nutritionist, Shukul was acutely aware of the advantages a healthy diet brings to adults but much more was required here.

"I decided to do more research on it once we decided we were going to have kids. When you dive into this topic, and you realise how beneficial the plant-based diet is for our health, it's like a kind of Eureka moment. I thought, oh my gosh, look at all the benefits.

When you delve into the data around kids, it's the same.

"You realise you are going to be providing superior nutrition.

You are providing the best fuel for brain development. You are not providing kids with things they shouldn't have like saturated fats, cholesterol, animal proteins or lack of fibre."

Where very young children are concerned, Shukul says the biggest benefit comes with the development of a child's microbiome.

"It is really developed in those first few years of age. Yes, we can adapt and change later in life as adults, but why not give children the best start."

It all starts with mum, of course, Shukul says, "so, the mother having a healthy diet, pregnancy and healthy microbiome herself, well, that all plays a huge role in the microbiome the child is going to have."

And then there's breastfeeding.

"I guess breastfeeding is getting more and more recognised now, but it has been underrated for quite some time."

Alia is breastfed once a day. Darian is fed on demand.

"Breastfeeding is more than just nutrition; there are all the psychological aspects of being close to your parent and the comfort that comes with that. If a child has stress, you can quickly soothe them by breastfeeding. As food, breast milk is nutritionally perfect. It gives the babies everything they need.

"Not only that, but there are epidemiological benefits. Stem cells and antibodies can be transferred from the mother to the baby. One interesting thing I learned is that when the baby feeds, the mother's body gets a download of what the baby needs.

"Like, if the baby is sick, for instance, then the composition of the breast milk will change based on what the baby requires. Each time the baby is fed, the so-called formula is perfectly designed for what is necessary at that particular point in time.

"The majority of your immune system is in your gut. I think if you are not eating a plant-based diet, you are not breastfeeding or, once they start eating solids and you are not feeding high fibre and a diverse range of plants, then you are not giving them the best microbiome they could have.

"Good bacteria in our bowel feed on fibre and both parent and child need to be eating a high fibre diet if you want to enable your children with the best defences epidemiologically.

"That's where all the communication happens. I mean the communication between the bacteria in your gut and the cells that are part of your immune system. If something is wrong, they send the alarm to your white blood cells, your T cells and your killer cells that tell you something has entered the body that shouldn't be there.

"We've been working hard to help people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) but one of my big passions now, since becoming a Dad, is to spread the message around how to get your kids healthy. No parent goes into raising a child wanting to harm their kid, but there's just a lack of understanding on what it is to really be healthy.

"For instance, when you see the messaging coming from the Government, and this has been clear especially through COVID. there is no messaging about how to eat a healthy diet or how to build your immune system. It's all about trying to stay away from people which really isn't a way to build health.

"When we were young, it was all about getting into nature— getting into contact with germs to build a strong immune system.

Now we seem to be doing the opposite of that. How are kids going to build any immunity?"

Never has it been more critical for parents to know everything about health, he says. Parents needed to know about plant-based diets and the dangers inherent in the standard western diet. “By choosing a whole food plant-based diet from the outset, they can save their children a host of issues in the future, including atherosclerosis which, on a standard western diet, develops from the age of ten.

"Even getting dairy out of the diet resolves so many issues, including colic and constipation. They found when they took dairy out of the diet it resolved constipation in 100 per cent of cases.

Type 1 diabetes is linked to dairy at an early age. It also affects asthma, eczema and skin issues. Just so many things."

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Tabbouleh Very delicious authentic Lebanese tabbouleh, simple but very versatile.

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cups 1 cup 1 cup 3 1/3 cup 1/3 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 1

bulgur cucumber - diced tomato - diced bunches curly parsley - finely chopped mint - finely chopped spring onion - thinly sliced red capsicum - diced lemon - juice only clove garlic - minced

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METHOD 1. Soak the bulgur as per packet directions. Drain and set aside to cool 2. Combine the cucumber and tomato in a medium bowl. Stir then let it rest for 10 mins.

3. Add the parsley, mint, spring onion and capsicum to a separate bowl and mix them through.

4. Drain the cucumber and tomato then add them to the other ingredients along with the garlic.

5..Squeeze on the lemon, taste and add more if necessary.

Kabocha Croquettes Made with a soft centre of kabocha squash and air-fried to create a crispy outside it will soon become a party favourite disappearing in no time.

INGREDIENTS 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/4 tsp 1/4 tsp 1 1/4 cup 1/2 cup 1/2 cup

kabocha squash - seeds removed, cubed small brown onion - diced cinnamon sage cayenne pepper cracked pepper clove garlic - minced cornflour unsweetened plant-based milk panko breadcrumbs

METHOD 1. Take cubed kabocha and steam until tender enough to mash but not too soft.

2. While the kabocha is steaming fry in a small amount of water or stock the onion and garlic.

3. Once tender allow the kabocha to cool then remove the skin with a knife or spoon.

4. Transfer kabocha to a bowl and mash with a fork, then add the onion, garlic mix and stir through.

5. Add all the spices and mix through.

6. Put cornflour, milk and breadcrumbs into separate bowls.

7. Using a spoon form the mashed mix into balls and roll the balls in the starch, then the milk and finally the breadcrumbs.

8. Place each ball into an air-fry basket. Once complete air-fry for 15 mins at 180°C turning often.

9. Enjoy.

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Doctors For Nutrition release toolkit to encourage healthy, sustainable eating

D

octors For Nutrition, a registered health-promotion charity led by medical and dietetic professionals, has launched a toolkit to assist health professionals with evidence-based guidance on healthy, sustainable eating

patterns.

Queensland Lead Dietitian for Doctors For Nutrition, Emma Strutt said it is well documented a healthy diet, rich in plant-based foods can have a positive impact on chronic disease, preventing, managing or even beating these diseases into remission.

“In this current climate, many of us feel powerless and vulnerable against protecting our health. Thankfully, there are simple things we can all do, such as upgrading our diet to include more whole grains, vegetables and fruit,” she said.

“The food we choose to put on our plates is one of the most important decisions we can make for our health each day. Positive changes can result in significant and rapid improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure and other areas of health,” she said.

Dr Adrian Griscti, a rural GP for over 33 years and Advisory Council member for Doctors For Nutrition, welcomes the introduction of Doctors For Nutrition ‘Plant-based nutrition and health: A guide for health professionals’.

“Unfortunately, many GPs’ simply do not have enough time during appointments, or enough evidence-based nutrition knowledge, to provide their patients with nutrition advice. This guide helps to bridge the gap.

“If you are a health professional, in just 10 minutes, you’ll be informed about shifting to a more whole food plant-based eating pattern, how it is linked to reduced rates of chronic disease and the range of positive outcomes for those who adopt these changes,” he said.

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The guide also includes a nutritional survey to quickly assess patients’ diets and find easy areas for improvement. There are useful resources for patients to help them move towards plantbased eating, like a dietitian-designed shopping list.

Dr Griscti said: “You can also download or order a toolkit to share with your health professional. It’s important to consult your doctor if you plan to alter your eating pattern so they can monitor your medications and adjust any other treatments you may be receiving as necessary.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 isn’t the only pandemic we are currently experiencing. We need to use this moment in time as an accelerator towards healthy, nutritious and sustainable diets.

Doctors For Nutrition is providing health professionals with a timely, relevant and user-friendly tool to do this,” he said.

In Australia, chronic disease accounts for 90 percent of all deaths. Many of the common risk factors for these diseases are modifiable, such as an unhealthy diet.

Dr Griscti says with the COVID-19 pandemic drawing so much attention, many have forgotten the ‘invisible’ pandemic of chronic disease that continues to take an unfathomable toll in deaths and disability across the globe.

Free access to the materials is now available to health professionals and the general public at www.doctorsfornutrition.org/professionals More evidenced-based information on whole food plant-based nutrition across all life-stages can be found at www.doctorsfornutrition.org

Changing my diet, changed my life S

ome people receive more than their fair share of knocks in life, and Julie Corrin from Adelaide is one of them. Julie was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis back in February 2017 and Bipolar in 2013.

Two years ago, she was interviewed by Corinne Nijjer on her popular podcast, so we thought it was time to catch up with her to see how the diet is going.

Julie first got sick when she and the family went on holiday in Alice Springs in September 2016.

“We were camping on the floor, and I could hardly get off the bed.

It would take me five minutes to try and get up. I knew something was really wrong. I ended up at the hospital twice with severe joint stiffness.

“I came back to Adelaide and was in hospital for a week waking up in so much pain that I couldn’t move. I had to have steroid injections into my shoulders and my backside so that I could move.”

Julie was later diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). She also had Bipolar, something her mother suffered from as well. She is a former nurse of nearly 30 years. At the end of her career she was working in Intensive Care, so she was well placed to know that the set of conditions she was looking at required immediate action if she was to avoid a vast array of pills.

“My background made me think there’s got to be another answer to this, and I did lots of research because I didn’t want to take the Methotrexate.” Methotrexate is a medication with a long list of known side effects including headache, dizziness, drowsiness, decreased appetite, reddened eyes and hair loss.

There was an urgent need to do something about her health because, if she couldn’t solve it, she would have to give up work and go on disability. A whole food plant-based diet was the answer.

“I had to be really strict from the start, or I was going to have to leave work, and that would have had a huge financial impact on me and my family. So, I was obedient right from the beginning.

“When I’ve had stress, I have found it difficult, but I don’t eat any meat. I did try about 18 months of being really strict. I think it was at Christmas time. I cooked meat for the family, and I had one little bite of roast pork and one little bite of turkey, and about three days later I was in a fair bit of pain in my joints. My fingers would go really stiff again, and then I would suffer for two weeks after.

“I wasn’t as bad as what I was, but it was bad enough to know that I can’t do that.”

Where her RA was concerned, Julie says the Paddison Programme for Rheumatoid Arthritis turned her life around.

“Today, I’m just very thankful that I can be healthy. It’s like I’ve been given a new body compared to what I was in the beginning when this illness struck suddenly. I’m really happy that I found this way of eating because it’s had so much impact on my health.

“I’ve lost a lot of weight. It’s made me feel younger, and my body feels good now. When I found this way of eating, I was then able to

get out of bed straight away. Before I had to hang onto the bedside table and gradually lift myself up, and I could feel the pain in my lower back. I was amazed; the pain in my lower back went as well.”

Julie attributes her lower back pain to an old nursing injury, and she recalls how one of her patients asked if she was experiencing pain in her back because of the lifting she had to do. In the end, she had to do something about it.

“I insisted the doctor get an MRI because I didn’t want to continue nursing. I had taken eight months off work, trying to recover.”

The scan revealed she had a herniated disc in the lower lumbar region.

“It did sort of get better, but it was always there. I don’t have any trouble now, but I’ve still got to be careful. I can’t lift heavy stuff and get away with it.

“I think the injury started back when I was 19. Back then, they didn’t have any lifting policies. You just lifted people so I would be lifting 90 people in one shift and I did that for a few years. The patients started to notice in the end. They used to say are you ok dear, is your back sore? They could see I was struggling going from a kneeling position and doing up their shoes, to standing up.”

The subject of bipolar is a much more difficult issue.

“Bipolar is a serious mental illness. It’s like a severe mood disorder. You have extreme highs but after that come extreme lows. It’s like a roller coaster.”

There is a history of mental illness in the family.

“My mother was in and out of a mental institution, and that had terrible effects on me as a child. She had five children, I was the eldest, so I had to carry the burden of being a mother. I think I got bipolar from my mum. It can be hereditary.”

Her grandmother also struggled with mental illness and was in Glenside Mental Hospital in Adelaide for many years.

“She had six children, and then she lost it, they put her in a mental institution until she was 85. I just don’t understand why grandpa never saw her again; it was like he just locked her away. It was just disgusting the way they used to treat people with mental illness.”

Despite all this, Julie copes well with her bipolar and despite the seriousness of the condition is classed as very high functioning.

There is a key common factor in all this, and it comes back to the food we eat. Julie is a firm believer that food affects mood. She said studies had been done at Royal Adelaide Hospital linking food and mental health.

When she came out of hospital, she did an internet search and found people who had improved their health by following a whole food plant-based diet.

“That led to Dr John McDougall ,” Julie says and the rest, as they say, is history. Food hasn’t resolved other major life issues for her but, she says, changing her way of eating has put her in a much better position to cope.

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The Big Breakfast This is a great hearty breakfast before tackling a weekend of adventure.

Don't be shy about going to town on all the vegetables you can add to this.

INGREDIENTS - for two people 4 1 2 2 2 1 tsp 1 tsp 1/3 cup 1 cup 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp

medium potatoes or kumara brown onion - diced tomatoes - diced large portabello mushrooms - sliced garlic cloves - minced grated fresh ginger grated fresh turmeric mint - chopped baby spinach leaves nutritional yeast (optional) ground flaxseed (optional) ground peppercorn hummus

TIP: Ginger and Turmeric roots

METHOD 1. Take the potatoes skin on, prick them with a fork and microwave covered for 6 mins. Check if the potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, otherwise microwave for another 2 mins until desired softness. Set aside and keep warm.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, into a pan with a little water or vegetable stock add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent.

3. Add in the tomatoes, mushroom, ginger, nutritional yeast, ground flaxseed, turmeric and some ground peppercorn.

4. Cook until the tomatoes break down.

5. Add the mint and spinach and heat through.

6. Split the potatoes evenly over two plates, breaking them open in the middle.

7. Add a dollop of hummus to each potato and then top with the fried mix.

8. Garnish with thyme, garlic chives or parsley. Enjoy!

To help preserve the roots, I freeze them in brown paper bags. When I need to use them, I grate off what I need and return the rest to the freezer. I find the colour and flavour of the spices are not affected by this method.

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Drew Harrisberg, why he said goodbye to Keto In a recent webinar organised by Doctors For Nutrition, diabetic exercise physiologist, Drew Harrisberg, explained why he gave away the Keto diet. It is rare to find someone with a scientific background who is diagnosed with a condition he is an expert in. This is his story.

T

en years ago now, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

I was in the midst of completing my Exercise Physiology accreditation. I'd finished University and got my degree as a sport scientist, and basically, I noticed a whole array of signs and symptoms that crept up on me over a period of about six months.

In hindsight, I now realize it was the typical signs and symptoms of living with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, which are: 1. Thirsty. Waking up every night to drink copious amounts of water, drinking water all day long 2. Tired. I was absolutely exhausted. I was falling asleep in all my university lectures, driving my car. And I even fell asleep in an interview at a hospital where I was trying to get my physiology accreditation.

3. Thin. Weight loss was a big one. I lost 13kgs in six or seven weeks. A lot of it was muscle loss and body fat, and by the time I was diagnosed, I was just skin and bones.

4. Toilet. You go to the toilet a lot.

I went and got a blood test done, which indicated that my HBA1C was very slightly elevated. Not actually in a diabetic range by not normal for somebody of my health status at the time. And I also had some antibodies that showed up in the blood test. It showed that my immune was attacking my pancreas to a degree.

I was told that I might not develop type 1 diabetes at all or it

might develop in the next five days or five years we're not sure. I was just basically told to go home and measure my blood glucose frequently and told that if a strange number came back then to get checked immediately. Well, as I was using my blood glucose metre in the clinic, my blood glucose came back reading 16 m/mols per litre. I was diagnosed on the spot in the clinic.

It was really strange because my dad, who is an eye surgeon, works at that clinic. It was a very ironic and strange time. That led me on a journey to go back to University, and I got a degree in diabetes education and management.

I pretty much experimented with a whole array of lifestyle factors for years and years really, until now, ten years later.

I wanted to find a diet, or a way of eating, or an eating pattern that would help me manage my diabetes to the best of my ability.

The first diet I came across, just by doing a simple Google search was a Paleo diet.

This Paleo diet actually got me some great results. I stuck to it for seven years almost. It was a real food diet, pretty much strictly whole foods. It had animal foods in it, but it eliminated dairy, whole grains and legumes.

So it was slightly restrictive, and I would call it a low carb diet. It was 50 to 150gms of carbs per day, but, in terms of the management of my diabetes, things improved. My insulin requirements reduced, my blood glucose control improved, became more stable with less fluctuations. Overall I was doing pretty well. I felt healthy, felt

great, and that's why I stuck to it for such a long time.

But then I decided to transition to a different style of low carb diet which is the Ketogenic Diet. The reason I did it is because people in the diabetes community were asking me about this kind of diet and how it applies to diabetes. Because I hadn't tried it myself, I thought I would give it a go and see what happens.

In the first two months, I had some pretty impressive results. My fat intake was 75 per cent of my calories. Very, very high fat. Very low carb.

I actually saw a reduction in my insulin requirements and had very stable blood glucose control. So, at that point, I was sold. I thought it was a great thing. The Keto diet was the solution until about the four-month mark I hit some hurdles.

My fasting blood glucose level was climbing. Night after night after night, I would wake up the next day, and I would have high blood glucose levels. I would increase my Basal insulin, and it didn't mitigate the problem at all. In fact, I reached the point where my insulin was barely working. I had developed some kind of insulin resistance, and my insulin sensitivity was just completely shot.

To summarize what was happening was my insulin sensitivity was getting worse and worse, and I felt like I was developing insulin resistance on this very high saturated fat diet.

Finally, the last part of my little experiment was that I decided with help from experts in the nutrition field to transition towards a fully plant-based diet. Once I had drawn the correlation between the very high saturated fat intake and these worse outcomes, I thought well what if I can reduce my Saturated fat to a very low level and see if that solves these problems.

So, I went on a pretty strict whole food plant-based diet, absolutely no animal products and stopped cooking with oils. I achieved a fat intake of about 15 per cent of my total calories. I was eating a pretty high carb diet at that point, and I noticed that the results were incredible.

They really blew me away because, most people, when they

think diabetes they think, oh well you can't eat carbohydrate.

That couldn't be further from the truth, especially in my personal experience and it's supported by plenty of evidence.

I noticed that my insulin requirements started to reduce down to a very low level, and my insulin sensitivity is now the best it's ever been. I've been on a plant-based diet almost two years now.

My insulin to carb ratio has never been better.

There is no denying that a low carb diet can help manage the symptoms of diabetes. When you reduce your carbohydrate intake, you can achieve a much better HBA1C. You can achieve lower blood glucose levels, and you can achieve lower insulin requirements. It can seem like you have reversed, so to speak, or gone into remission or are no longer diabetic.

But, the only problem there is that because you are not challenging your system to carbohydrates, what you are really just doing is managing the symptoms of diabetes. So, you might still have underlying insulin resistance going on whilst you are on this very low carb diet.

It looks like, on the surface, these biomarkers have improved drastically. That is exactly what happened to me, but the second you go and eat a carbohydrate meal, you lose your carbohydrate tolerance. You may have underlying insulin resistance that could have even worsened while you were on a low carb diet.

So yes you can manage the symptoms short term, that is very possible. And, if you can adhere to that diet for years and years and years of your lifetime, maybe you can even manage the symptoms long term. But the issue that I have is that because you are not challenging your system with glucose or carbohydrates, then you've backed yourself into a corner where you might have to stick to this for a very long time.

You can follow Drew Harrisberg on social media or start by checking out his website at www.drewsdailydose.com

Low carb question draws pithy response S

hort term, a low carb diet will lower your blood glucose, says Dr Adrian Griscti and also, you'll lose some weight. Longer term, say over six months, this way of eating isn't necessarily sustainable.

What's interesting is that Diabetes Australia actually released a position paper on this in 2018. In their summary, they mentioned that low carb eating can help with the management of type 2 diabetes in the short term, however, "the benefits are no longer evident after 12 months" their paper said.

“Low carb diets usually involve the consumption of a relatively higher quantity of saturated fats which, in itself, results in increased insulin resistance. “A whole food plant-based diet leads to an increase in your insulin sensitivity with a subsequent improvement or reversal of your type 2 diabetes.�

When Whole Food Living approached Dr Mark Craig for his thoughts on the low carb Keto diet, his response was brief but pithy.

"Short term gain. Long term pain," he said.

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Books to Consider

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.

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 lifethreatening 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 every day.

John A. McDougall, MD, and kitchen savvy wife, Mary, prove that a starchrich diet can help us lose weight, prevent a variety of ills, and even cure common diseases by fueling the body primarily with carbohydrates rather than proteins and fats.

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, and 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 plantbased 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.

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

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.

TakeOut This movie highlights how corporate greed, global food consumption, and political corruption create conditions that are irreparably harming earth's ecosystem. Created by Emmy nominated filmmaker, Michal Siewieski, TakeOut is available on Amazon and from iTunes.

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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Mixed Berry Sorbet Very simple sorbet recipe that is dairy-free, refined sugar-free and very quick to create.

The beauty is you don't even need an ice cream maker to create sorbet.

INGREDIENTS 3 cups 2 Tbsp 1 tsp 1/4 cup

frozen mixed berries maple syrup lime juice warm water, if required

METHOD 1. Put all ingredients except the water into a blender.

2. Blend until smooth 3. Add small amounts of warm water and use a spatula to press down the ingredients to help blend.

4. Eat immediately or place into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 hrs until firm.

Other sorbets Replace the mixed berries with the following ideas: 2 x mangoes - diced, seed removed or 4 x med peaches - sliced, pips removed or 3 1/2 cups of watermelon If fruit not frozen, first lay them out on a baking paper lined tray and freeze until solid (around 4 hrs or overnight), then follow the process above. Note: Mangoes don't need the maple syrup as they are sweet enough as they are.

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No-Sugar, No-Oil Banana Bread This super-moist bread is delicious, it doesn't last long in the house.

Recipe supplied by Rachel Lamarche

INGREDIENTS 1 3/4 cup 1/3 cup 2 tsp 1/2 tsp 1/3 cup 1 tsp 3 1/4 cup 1 tsp 1/3 cup

unbleached all-purpose flour finely chopped dates baking powder baking soda preserved juice from a can of peaches or a can of pears (not in syrup) vanilla extract large ripe bananas unsweetened soy milk cinnamon cocoas nibs if wanting a chocolate flavour sprinkle of iodised salt (optional)

METHOD 1. Use a silicone or non-stick bread tine for this and preheat your oven at 180°C (350°F).

2. In a medium bowl mash the banana with the preserved juice and vanilla extract.

3. In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

4. Combine with banana mixture.

5. Use soy milk to change the thickness. The batter should not be too liquid.

6. If adding cocoa nibs, combine with the final mixture.

7. Transfer the batter to the bread tin.

8. Pop in the oven until it is golden brown and a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

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Take a break

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Healthy crossword

Across 2. Chunk of concrete (4) 4. Soak up liquid (6) 7. Movie: .... fiction (p.61) (4) 9. Container for ashes (3) 11. An attic (6) 13 Illness, lose movement on one side of body (6) 15. Lean (4) 17. Diet high in fat (4) 18. Drew .... (p.9) (10) 19. Source of chocolate (5) 20. Frozen dessert (6) 22. Consume (3) 23. Young adults (8) 24. Belonging by its very nature (9) 27. High temperature (4) 28. ... chickpea stew (p.17) (8)

30.

31.

33.

34.

Yellow fruit (6) Type of squash (7) Restrain, hinder (7) Star sign (3)

Down 1. Inharmonious sound (10) 2. Potato or rice (6) 3. Movie: code .... (p.61) (4) 5. Fast-food offering (6) 6. Grain in porridge (4) 8. Dealing with food intake (7) 10. Substance providing nourishment (8) 11. Dr Adrian ... (p.9) (7) 12. The ability of organisms to change over time (9) 14. Dr Joel ... (p.8) (4)

16.

20.

21.

25.

26.

29.

30.

32.

Body parts (4) Singer, Frank ... (7) Lay your head on (6) Sesame seed paste (6) Flattened rice (p.?) (4) Booze (7) ... steamer (p.19) (6) Body mass index (1,1,1) (3)

Go to link below for solutions Click or scan QR image for references. wholefoodliving.life/references-spring-2020/

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Recipe index

BREAKFAST

MAINS

DRINKS

Soaked Oat, berry and spice breakfast....29 Indian Poha.........................................................32 The Big Breakfast.............................................57

Moroccan Chickpea Stew.............................17 Bamboo Steamed Vegetables.....................20 Oil-Free Dhal with Brown Rice...................28 Lentil Walnut Mince........................................34 Chickpea burger patties ...............................42 Black bean burger patties.............................36

Turmeric Latte...................................................35 Daddy Hot Choc...............................................35

LIGHT MEALS / SNACKS Chickpea and tahini sandwich spread......25 Sticky Cauliflower Wings..............................33 Coleslaw with Aquafaba Dressing.............48 Tabbouleh............................................................52 Kabocha Croquettes.......................................53

ï…­

SWEETS Mixed Berry Sorbet..........................................62 No-Sugar, No Oil Banana Bread.................63

SAUCES Aquafaba Dressing...........................................48 Tahine Mint dressing.......................................49

Tried our Recipes? Show us your creation!

Mention @wholefoodliving.life and tag #wholefoodliving.life

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

FRUIT

3 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.

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

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

LEGUMES

2 or more servings a day 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: 1/2 cups cooked beans, 4 ounces tofu or tempeh, 8 ounces Soy Milk.

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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It's all about the food

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