Health for life

Where do you get your protein? If its from red meat (steak and pork), processed meat (bacon and salami), and high-fat dairy foods, it may be increasing your risk of fatal and non-fatal heart attack.

That was the finding of a recent assessment of the very large Nurses Health Study which followed over 84,000 women for 26 years.¹

It found:

• Higher intakes of red meat, red meat excluding processed meat, and high-fat dairy were significantly associated with elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD).
  
  
• Higher intakes of poultry, fish, and nuts were significantly associated with lower risk.

And concluded:

"These data suggest that high red meat intake increases risk of CHD."

The study was unique in that it investigated how substituting one source of protein for another, e.g. nuts, fish, or poultry for red meat, affects heart disease risk. It found, for example, that substituting one serving of nuts for one serving of red meat reduced CHD risk by 30%; substituting a serving of fish for red meat reduced it by 24%.

Although the study was conducted on women, the researchers say men are likely to benefit from the findings as well.

Lead author of the study, Adam Bernstein:

"Our research adds to the growing and convincing body of evidence that red meat intake should be minimized or excluded from the diet in order to maintain cardiovascular health."

________
¹Major Dietary Protein Sources And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease In Women, Circulation, August 2010

Shifting Protein Sources Away From Red Meats May Reduce Risk Of Heart Disease In Women, Harvard School of Public Health, Press Release, August 2010

With the rising tide of juvenile type 2 diabetes, the debate on school lunches is one which is slowly starting to take the stage. It is, however, one of those subjects in which everyone has an opinion -- but not many have an actual evidence based opinion. Throw in the wrench that every school district is different, and youll find mudslinging from all sides of the opinion spectrum:

Why cant parents just make healthful lunches for students? 

Well, right now, some schools are actually BANNING parents from preparing school lunches for their kids, claiming it is the parents making unhealthful meal choices. Of course, this is often true... No one can deny that. But it also makes many of us with diabetic loved ones CRINGE at the thought of what a school cafeteria lady, or health department, might think is a healthful school lunch. These places often lack in options. Im thinking a main course of carbohydrates slathered in cheese and hot dogs, with a side of carbohydrates slathered in butter or salt, with a dessert full of carbohydrates, and a glass full of carbohydrates (because it has vitamins, so it must be good for your health, unlike that can of soda.) Your main sources of protein come from that powdered, grade A government issued cheese, and that powdered, grade A government issued milk. YAY. To top it off, throw an apple at it, for good measure, because apples make ANYTHING look healthy.

Some will argue, why cant parents just trust the school lunch system? 

I always got healthful meals from the school system, and I turned out JUST fine. I love these people the most. To them, anecdotal evidence is ALL the evidence that anyone will ever need, and it somehow, trumps everything. Its like seeing nothing but yellow parakeets, and assuming there are ONLY yellow parakeets in existence because thats all your local store carries. (Never mind that many of these folks have NO IDEA what a healthy meal even looks like, and tend to think that all a kid needs to do to stay healthy is to avoid candy and soda, and eat lots of fruitsandvegetables.)

Well, heres something that will blow your mind.

Did you know that the original idea of a  food pyramid started  as a way to help  ease food costs by spending money on basic,  cheaper foods, and still get nutrition? The rest  of the foods were meant as complements  to enhance whatever nutrients were missing.  Ever since the USDA started making low fat,  high carb recommendations in the 80s, and  implemented its OWN food pyramid in 1992,  obesity rates have skyrocketed.

The USDA describes their National School Lunch Program as: "a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946."

Right away, when you brush away the chaff... what should jump at you is the low-cost descriptor used in this paragraph. What does this, casually thrown in, adjective have to say about this program? What is hidden between the lines? Well, what they dont tell you is that the National School Lunch Program started as a way to help a poor, starving population, through government subsidies --  the same subsidies programs which are still, to this day, overpowering our agricultural industry, and making it possible to produce mass amounts of low quality, less nutritionally dense foods. (McDonalds anyone?) When you invest in low quality, less nutritionally dense foods, they become LOW-COST, and easy to mass market to a multitude of industries, and other countries. Smaller farms CANNOT compete with the HUGE agribusiness industry that has come to dominate the markets, including... you guessed it -- the school lunch program market. While the school lunch ladies, might VEND food for you, it usually comes pre-packaged, pre-made, or ready to make sources, and local state federal agencies will contract their local school lunch program to a food service management company, to save a few bucks. If your local school district does not contract to one of these, they are the EXCEPTION.

The three companies, right now, that dominate the industry are Aramark, Compass Group, and Sodexo. They mass market less nutritional foods, serve nutritionally imbalanced meals, cut corners to save dollars, and contract with fast food giants to market to kids -- yes, including, soda manufacturers. Not only that, but they have been under investigation in the past, for serving foods SO low in quality, they were rejected by fast food industry safety standards. (Its gotta take a lot of balls to serve a kid something WORSE than fake fast food meat.) They have such a strong arm in the system, many of them have been able to lobby, and block legislation that would improve standards, including legislation that would have banned soda vending machines in some schools, for example. 

So when you throw in less nutritionally dense foods (so, even if you have a small serving of them, theyre still not so great for you,) in an array of unbalanced meals (all carbs, and hardly anything else), no allowances for or enforcing of portion control (and just eat what you want, and how much you want of it), and the attending results of kids who will a.) not feel the stop and go of their hunger signals anymore, and b.) constantly feel hungry because they got no real nutrition, you will get increased likelihood of illness, development of chronic diseases, and a national fat kid tsunami.

Thats right... every time your kid eats at one of these national school lunch programs, its eating food thats probably worse than McDonalds. (And even if it would appear "balanced," the fact is... its still food that is nutritionally inferior. Remember that. Its like comparing a home made creme filled cake, to a Twinkie. They are technically, the same thing, but thats where it ends. One of them still has FIBER, and many, many vitamins and minerals. Ill let you guess which one that is.)

Are you freaked out yet? YOU SHOULD BE.

Still, some people have blind faith in their National School Lunch Programs... And disbelieve or disregard those who try to stand up against it, and call for change. (Including some politicians.) But folks are fighting BACK. 


Folks like Sarah Wu, who "compelled by her own frustration with school meals — both as a mother and a teacher ... known anonymously as "Mrs. Q." committed to eating school lunch every school day in 2010 just like her students. Mrs. Q documented her experience and described the meals by blogging, tweeting and sharing photos on her blog Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project." Her blog is one of the first blogs to help capture national attention on this very concerning issue. Mrs. Q risked her employment on this... and there were many days I worried shed get caught. Still, I cheered for her. Her voice has been effecting some serious awareness and change... but we need more.

More, nationally, as well as globally... Like little 9 year old, Martha Payne, from Scotland... who writes about her poor lunch school program at NeverSeconds. While youre not going to see her giving you an in-depth analysis on the corruption, and backdraft, of agribusiness subsidies... she will hold up every meal to critique, and scrutiny, so you can see with your own eyes what she and her peers are being served.

America is at a critical point, right now... we are at a point where its starting to matter very little what type of food you eat, because it was all cheaply made, and nutritionally bankrupt. Movies like "King Corn," "Supersize Me," and "Food, Inc.," have created some discussion... but quickly get swept under the rug as passing the buck, and not taking personal responsibility for what we eat. But we are clearly living in a very obesogenic environment where it is getting increasingly difficult to make right and wrong decisions, and increasingly easy to be deceived. Yes, a lot of foods that make false health claims have food labels, and we could be better trained and educated at reading them... but what if we thought we were eating meat, and instead were getting meat with an incredibly high risk of bacteria, and lots of corn filler? What if it was given to us by a school lunch program, with no labels (just trust), and not the you should know better, fast food industry?

Yes, we have freedom of choice, in America... as to what we eat. But to what EXTENT should we let the government and the food industry tamper with our food supplies? Market to us? To children who havent yet developed some of the necessary critical thinking skills, and disciplines, to make good life choices? (Especially, when they dont even have a parent around, to help...) Or to populations with less income, less education, and less access to nutritious alternatives?

The rights and freedoms of those who want to make me less healthy (and not just by consuming more fats and sugars, mind you), start mattering VERY LITTLE to me... when the lives of children, and the future of our nations are involved.

I dont know how ALL chronic illnesses, cancers, and autoimmune conditions come to pass... but sometimes, I have a very good idea what might be contributing to their explosion... And its not just having an extra piece of pie.

Two components of red meat — dietary protein and dietary iron — may combine to form powerful carcinogens, N-nitroso compounds, which increase risk for bladder cancer. Moreover, individuals with reduced ability to reverse the effects of N-nitroso compounds because of a genetic variation in their RAD52 gene could be at particularly high risk.

Chelsea Catsburg, a doctoral student at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, presented these data at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held here Oct. 16-19, 2012.

Dietary protein is made up of amino acids, which can be naturally metabolized into biogenic amines, according to Catsburg. Research has shown that the processing and storage of meat increases amine concentrations. When these amines are in the presence of nitrites, they generate nitrosamines, which have carcinogenic properties. In addition, heme iron, found in red meat, has been shown to increase the formation of nitrosamines from amines.

"Nitrosamine formation occurs predominantly in the stomach and intestines, so these exposures have been studied extensively in relation to gastric cancer and somewhat in relation to colorectal cancer," Catsburg said. "However, there is evidence that these reactions also take place in the bladder, particularly in the presence of infection."

Catsburg and colleagues had previously found that meat groups with high heme and high amine concentrations, such as salami and liver, increased risk for bladder cancer. In this study, they examined whether genetic variation in DNA repair enzymes, available to correct the damage caused by these endogenously formed carcinogens, modified these associations.

The researchers tested 627 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 27 genes involved in N-nitroso compound metabolism or DNA repair. They collected data from 355 bladder cancer cases and 409 controls in the Los Angeles Bladder Cancer Study.

"We found that a polymorphism in the RAD52 gene modified the effect of these exposures," Catsburg said. "This polymorphism is suspected to reduce the DNA repair activity of the RAD52 protein, and the association of these meat groups and bladder cancer risk was significantly higher in individuals with one or more copies of this polymorphism."

These results further support recommendations by the World Cancer Research Fund to limit red meat intake and to avoid processed meats to reduce risk for stomach and bowel cancer, according to the researchers.

"This study suggests that these exposures may also affect secondary organs such as the bladder," Catsburg said. "Individuals at risk for bladder cancer may wish to avoid intake of red and processed meats, especially if they have genetic polymorphisms that reduce DNA repair activity and make them more vulnerable to the effects of carcinogens."

Further replication of this study to support an association between heme and meat intake and the risk for bladder cancer is necessary, she added.

Today, we continue our May Top 10 series by addressing a popular topic in both the food and personal finance blogospheres: eating less meat.

“Why in the good name of Bea Arthur would I want to eat LESS meat?” some might ask. “I don’t get enough bacon as it is. Plus, humans were meant to be carnivores, right? Otherwise, how do I explain the dead alpaca in the fridge to my kids?”

Well, sweet reader. We come not to demonize meat, but to praise consuming it in moderation. Because when raised right and chomped sensibly, beef, chicken, pork, lamb - maybe even that alpaca - can be pretty good for you. What’s more, it’s good for your wallet, your children, the Earth, the moon, the universe, other universes, the multiverse, the Rebel Alliance, Hoth, Dagoba- … Sorry. Got carried away there.

Following that line of reasoning, here are 10-plus strategies for reducing your meat intake. Some are well known. Others, less so. But all told, it’s a pretty decent list, if I do say so myself. (Note: And I do.)

Of course, if you’d like to change anything or add your own suggestion, the comment section awaits. That’s what it’s there for, after all. (Also: quoting Glee.)

1) Have one or more meatless nights per week.
It’s hard to say whether the movement began with bloggers or Johns Hopkins’ Meatless Mondays. Either way, this 15% reduction in your weekly meat can have a massive positive impact on … well, everything we just mentioned (the environment, your heart, Tatooine, etc.). The options aren’t as limited as you think, either. Vegetarian burritos, pizza, chili, and pasta are so tasty, you won’t miss the extra eight ounces of pork.

2) Buy less meat. And when you do, only purchase pricey, delicious, humanely raised meat.
You have three grand and a choice: You can go to McDonald’s every night for a year, or Babbo every night for a month. You’d choose 30 days catered by Mario Batali over 3,000 stupid chicken nuggets, right?

Buying farmer’s market meat is kind of like that. You purchase less overall (because it’s pricey, yo), but what you do buy is so delicious, it’s worth the wait.

Not to mention … imagine a world where the chicken tastes like chicken. I’m not talking about the wan, watered-down, quasi-poultry we know and tolerate. I’m erring to genuine, robust fowl that screams, “I am bird! Hear me cluck! Or roar! Or roarcluck! Whatever.” That flavorful planet is attainable, if you’re willing to go for it.

3) Don’t eat meat before dinner.
You may have heard of Mark Bittman’s “vegan before 6” diet. Essentially, the New York Times writer doesn’t eat any animal products before dinner. (Um … that may have been somewhat self-explanatory from the name of the diet, in which case, I apologize.)

While restricting cheese and eggs might be a little too much to take, dude’s definitely on to something. How simple would it be to cut the bacon out of your morning feast? Or to swap grilled eggplant in for grilled chicken on your panini? Or to buy the deli’s awesome, overlooked Italian Bean Soup instead of their admittedly lame Chicken Noodle? Try it for a few days, and see what happens. Could be easier than you think.

4) Don’t make meat the focus of your meals.
There’s nothing like a good cheeseburger, but eating one every night takes its toll. Relegating meat to side dishes or secondary ingredients ensures you still get a decent helping of beefy goodness, without the egregious bad things. Chilis and soups are particularly wonderful for this, as is everything in Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond’s Meat Lite column on Serious Eats.

5) Go ethnic.
Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese, Thai, and even Italian and Mexican food rely much less on meat than traditional American cuisine. Throw your family a culinary curveball by having a World Kitchen Night, and preparing a few simple recipes from around the globe. Beyond the obvious benefits, you’ll also open minds and create adventurous palates. Sweet.

6) Filet or pound your cuts.
The recommended serving for meat is four ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards. If you put that in front of my brother, he’d laugh maniacally and then shove a fork into his thigh, a la Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein.

There’s a way around that, though: Take a large piece of meat – chicken breast, let’s say – and A) slice it in half through the middle, or B) pound it super-thin. This creates the illusion of a big cut, even though the piece is essentially missing its bottom half. Bonus: it’ll cook more evenly, as well.

7) Learn to make more vegetable, grain, and pasta-based meals.
Baked Ziti. Falafel. Pizza. Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili. Lasagna. Quinoa Soup with Avocado and Corn. Ratatouille. Macaroni and Cheese. Pasta Puttanesca. Black Bean Burrito Bake. Veggie Lo Mein. Stuffed Peppers. Tomato and Bread Soup. Pumpkin Orzo with Sage. Roasted Veggie Sandwich. OH MY SWEET HEAVENS, BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO. All substantial. All delicious. None will make you crave a hot dog.

8) Find substitutes you dig.
Not everybody likes tofu. I get that. Bean curd is an acquired taste. Still, have you ever tried seitan? Done correctly, it’s scrumptious. I’m not kidding. Leigh makes these barbecue seitan bites that are practically crack.

Meat substitutes scare people off sometimes, but flavor- and texture-wise, they’ve come a long way since Tofurky. If you’re open to the idea, the trick is finding one (or two or eight) that works for you. Whether that’s Portobello mushrooms or tempeh or Morningstar Farms Chix Patties (Which? Mmm.), odds are it’s a better option than many commercially available meats.

9) Make your vegetarian friend(s) cook for you.
Two of my friends have been vegetarians for nearly 20 years each. (One is aforementioned Veggie Might genius Leigh.) Both are among the best cooks I know, presumably because they’ve been forced to experiment with a wider variety of foods to compensate for the lack of meat. If you have similar pals, watch them cook. Ask how they get by. Eat with them. Vegetarians are experts at non-meat lifestyles, and you can learn a lot just by hanging out in their circles.

10) Do the math.
Save your next four grocery bills. Add up the totals. Subtract half the money you spend on meat. (That other half will be spent on more grains, vegetables, and beans, presumably.) Imagine saving that every month, for the rest of your life. Not too shabby, eh?

BONUS: Avoid the meat areas of your supermarket.
Out of sight, out of mind, right? It works for me.


REALLY GOOD IDEAS FROM OTHER PEOPLE

These four tips are pretty sweet, and I didn’t see them anywhere but the cited sources.

Forget about protein.
Mark Bittman: “Plants have protein, too; in fact, per calorie, many plants have more protein than meat. … By eating a variety, you can get all essential amino acids.”

Use it all.
Planet Green: “Try not to throw anything away, and look around for cheaper, more interesting cuts of meat at your butcher.”

Adapt old meaty recipes.
Diet Girl: “Back when I first shacked up with Dr G, I started by taking my old standard meat recipes and finding veggie substitutes. This meant lots of beans and lentils.”

Make extra helpings of your side dishes.
Owlhavens Mary Ostyn makes only 1 to 1-1/2 small servings of meat per person, but cooks extra veggies, grains, and such. It keeps costs down, and ensures her kids don’t go overboard.

And that’s it. Sweet readers, the comment section awaits. Oh, and don’t forget: next week, our 10 Series is tackling storage and leftovers. If you have tips for maximizing either, I’d love to hear.

~~~

If you enjoy this post, you might also like:

• 1 Chicken, 17 Healthy Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo
• 60 Cheap, Healthy Marinades
• Angus Anguish: Is Angus Beef Worth the Money?

(Photos provided by Wheatbridge [chicken], Baby-Halloween-Costume.com [cow], and BuyCostumes.com [pig])

Written by the fabulous Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about all things Vegetarian.

Meal planning is a hot topic ‘round these parts; you’d think we’d covered it all. But what if you’re a mostly vegetarian, or a family of omnis trying to work in a few vegetarian meals a week? A reader wrote in asking specifically how to plan for vegetarian meals that don’t involve tapas.

This Veg is here to help. Here are some tips and tricks to help you plan weekly meals that will improve your health, reduce your budget, and satisfy everyone at the table.

Decide How Many Vegetarian Meals/Week
Decide how many times a week you want to eat vegetarian meals and to what degree. Will you eschew all animal products (like dairy and eggs) or just meat?

Mark Bittman endorses a “vegan before dinnertime” lifestyle, only eating meat for his evening meals. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath suggests giving Meatless Mondays a try. Take a poll of your household (or rule like the theistic monarch you were born to be) and decide what works best for you and yours.


Take a Look at Your Pantry
All those staple items are about to come in very handy. Grains, beans, and pastas are your friends when you go veg. If you’re not already stocked, don’t worry: dried beans and rice are about as inexpensive as foodstuffs come.

Compare what you have to the recipes you want to make, and then supplement with fresh or frozen vegetables. You’ll be amazed at how far your food budget goes.

• Lentil, Spinach, and Bulgur Stew
• Quinoa with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms
• Kasha with Root Veg and Dill

Tweak Your Favorite Recipes
There are probably dozens of meals you love that are already vegetarian or can easily become so: spaghetti with marinara sauce, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…and those are just the beginning.

With minimal effort, you can convert your and your family’s favorite meals into vegetarian delights. Swap meat with spinach or zucchini, and you’ll have a killer veggie lasagna. Chili sin carne is just as delicious as con; and don’t forget, every kid’s favorite: pizza. Just load up the pie with cheese and veggies, like mushrooms, peppers, and spinach.

• Camp Stove Veggie Chili
• Meatless Shepherd’s Pie
• Fresh Tomato Lasagna

Try Something New
A common myth about vegetarians is that our diets are very limited. “What can you eat?” I’m often asked. “EVERYTHING!” I say, “except four things: beef, poultry, pork, and seafood. All the other food in the word is available to me.”

Eliminating one type of food forces creativity in other areas. I’ve tried things I never would have otherwise, just to keep things interesting. Explore foods of other cultures or experiment with spices. Vegetable curries, beans and rice, and stir fries are among the most versatile and delicious dishes in my repertoire. Try adding them to yours.

• Pindi Chana
• Smokin’ Summer Stir Fry
• Summertime Gazpacho

Forget the Food Myths
Worried about carbs? Fear not: complex carbohydrates are energy. Stick with whole grains and you’re golden. “But what about protein?” you ask. “What about it?” I answer. Allow me to put to rest another myth: that of the anemic, peaked vegetarian/vegan. Protein is available in variety of plant-based sources, the key being variety. Ingest a combination of grains, legumes, and nuts throughout the day, and you’ll be mighty and strong.

• Vegetable Lo Mein
• Nuyorican Beans and Rice
• Collard Greens and Black-eyed Peas

Know Your Audience
Some meat eaters want a meat replacement with their veggie meals. Some don’t. If you decide to go the meat analog route, please head this warning: Fake meat does not taste like real meat. If you can appreciate the fake meat on its own, you’ll be a much happier omni on the vege path.

That said, don’t fear the bean curd. It’s a beautiful, misunderstood food, and, in the right hands, can make your vegetarian day. Other meat subs, like tempeh or seitan, can add protein and B vitamins, not to mention texture and pizzazz, to your playlist.

• Mighty Good Veggie Burgers
• Seitan O’Greatness
• Falafel in Love

Save Money, Eat Well, and Be Healthy
Planning ahead saves time in the long run and money at the market. It curbs impulse buying and keeps you on budget. Decide what you’ll make before you head to the store. Armed with your shopping list and empowered with a plan, you’ll be ready to make healthy, delicious vegetarian meals as often as you like...and hopefully more and more.

Did I leave any unanswered questions? Would you do anything differently? Do you need a recipe for something amazingly veg you’d like to see here? Let us know in the comments.

Happy Earth Day!

~~~

If you like this piece, you might also enjoy:

• 20 Cheap, Healthy Dishes Made From 10 Pantry Staples
• Cheap, Healthy Zucchini and Eggplant: 134 Recipes
• Reaching Into the Mailbag - Mom Seeks Help with Teen Veg

(Photos courtesy of Flickr members Steeena [peanut butter],  DodogoeSLR [pasta], Ze Eduardo [veggies].)

You may be shocked by the title of this post.  Have I changed my tune?  Am I finally giving up meat and going vegan??  Fear not, my friends, its simply a catchy title I used to draw you in. But it is the topic of an article I read today entitled "Vegetarians have longer life expectancy than meat eaters, study finds".  The study theyre erring to is one that followed 96,000 Canadian citizens, thousands of which were Seventh-day Adventists, who are vegetarians (supposedly).  The study isnt yet complete, but the preliminary results were reported at last weekends Food and Nutrition Conference and Exposition (FNCE) in Philadelphia.  Although I was in attendance at the conference, I did not see the presentation on this Seventh-day Adventist study.  I would have loved to be there, but instead I chose to see a lecture on food blogging, which, incidentally, I am doing right now.  Unfortunately I couldnt be everywhere at once... and Im fresh out of time travel crystals.


So I was happy to come across this article today and find out what I missed.  Heres the lowdown... Seventh-day Adventist men lived on average 9.5 years longer than other men, and women lived on average 6.1 years longer than other women.  Thats a pretty significant chunk of extra life.  But is it the vegetarian diet?  Or is is something else that keeps them truckin?  Maybe we should learn a little more about these Adventists...


What is a Seventh-day Adventist?
According to Wikipedia, the Seventh-day Adventist church is a Protestant Christian denomination that really loves Saturday, among other things.  Adventists abstain from secular work on Saturdays, and spend their day resting, hanging with the family, going on hikes, doing charitable work, and just generally taking it easy.  Many Adventists will meet after sundown on Friday night for worship to begin their Sabbath (Saturday). 


Interestingly, though, according to Wikipedias sources, only about 35% of Seventh-day Adventists actually eat a vegetarian diet... what gives?? 


Okay, so check this out.  There are several reasons for these long lifespans that have nothing to do with vegetarianism.

1.  The church strongly discourages smoking.
Smokers die.  And they die younger than everyone else.  The life expectancy for a smoker in the United States is about 64 years... 14 years younger than the national average (1).  Even former smokers who quit experience significant life extension.  One study found the following:  "Life expectancy among smokers who quit at age 35 exceeded that of continuing smokers by 6.9 to 8.5 years for men and 6.1 to 7.7 years for women."  Even quitting at age 65 adds years back onto your life (2).  But we dont have to stop there...

2.  The church discourages alcohol consumption.
To be fair, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with longevity (3).  But excessive alcohol consumption clearly is not.  In fact, according to this article, alcoholism takes 10-12 years off of ones life (4).  And in Canada, where this Adventist study is being conducted, about 7.7% of ALL deaths from ages 0-64 are due to alcohol (5).  No these Adventists arent your typical Canadian folk.  I find it highly unlikely that any of these people were binge-drinking on Sabbath.

3.  They take Saturday off.
Stress is bad.  We all know it.  If youre spreading yourself too thin, theres never enough time to get things done, you go home feeling like all you have time to do is sleep and get up for the next day and do it all over again... that stuff will kill ya (6).  But not our Seventh-day Adventists.  Because on their seventh day, they relax.  They rest their mind and their body, and they do it because God said so... and God was right.  A day of de-stressing is no doubt beneficial for longevity, regardless of why you do it.

4.  A sense of community.
Seventh-day Adventists are typically active in their local church.  They may spend Friday night and part of their Saturday at church, where they worship, sing, and hang with their buddies.  They typically have strong family structure as well.  In short, they have strong ties to those around them, and thats an important factor in health and longevity.

Is the picture starting to look a little different at this point??


Soooo conclusion.  Despite that articles willingness to use the terms "Adventist" and "vegetarian" interchangeably as if theyre the same thing, theyre clearly not.  There is a lot more going on here than just a propensity to be vegetarian.  There are a whole host of other reasons why these people live long lives, and they have nothing to do with abstaining from meat.  No smoking, no drinking, rest on the weekends, and a strong sense of community.  Thats more of a key to a long, healthy life than a vegetarian diet will ever be.

But I want to hear from you.  What are your thoughts on this article?  Agree or disagree? 

The largest study to date finds that eating foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, chicken and salad dressing and avoiding saturated fats, meat and dairy foods may be linked to preserving memory and thinking abilities. However, the same association was not found in people with diabetes. The research is published in the April 30, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Since there are no definitive treatments for most dementing illnesses, modifiable activities, such as diet, that may delay the onset of symptoms of dementia are very important," said Georgios Tsivgoulis, MD, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Athens, Greece. Tsivgoulis is also a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Data came from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a national sample of the general population. For the study, dietary information from 17,478 African-American and Caucasian people with an average age of 64 was reviewed to see how closely they adhered to a Mediterranean diet. They were also given tests that measured memory and thinking abilities over an average of four years. A total of 17 percent of the participants had diabetes. Seven percent of the participants developed impairments in their thinking and memory skills during the study.

The study found that in healthy people, those who more closely followed the Mediterranean diet were 19 percent less likely to develop problems with their thinking and memory skills. There was not a significant difference in declines between African-Americans and Caucasians. However, the Mediterranean diet was not associated with a lower risk of thinking and memory problems in people with diabetes.

"Diet is an important modifiable activity that could help in preserving cognitive functioning in late life," said Tsivgoulis. "However, it is only one of several important lifestyle activities that might play a role in late-life mental functioning. Exercise, avoiding obesity, not smoking cigarettes and taking medications for conditions like diabetes and hypertension are also important."

Study offers new understanding of cardiovascular health benefits of vegan, vegetarian diets

A compound abundant in red meat and added as a supplement to popular energy drinks has been found to promote atherosclerosis – or the hardening or clogging of the arteries – according to Cleveland Clinic research published online this week in the journal Nature Medicine.

The study shows that bacteria living in the human digestive tract metabolize the compound carnitine, turning it into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a metabolite the researchers previously linked in a 2011 study to the promotion of atherosclerosis in humans. Further, the research finds that a diet high in carnitine promotes the growth of the bacteria that metabolize carnitine, compounding the problem by producing even more of the artery-clogging TMAO.

The research team was led by Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair of Translational Research for the Lerner Research Institute and section head of Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation in the Miller Family Heart and Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic, and Robert Koeth, a medical student at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University.

The study tested the carnitine and TMAO levels of omnivores, vegans and vegetarians, and examined the clinical data of 2,595 patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluations. They also examined the cardiac effects of a carnitine-enhanced diet in normal mice compared to mice with suppressed levels of gut microbes, and discovered that TMAO alters cholesterol metabolism at multiple levels, explaining how it enhances atherosclerosis.

The researchers found that increased carnitine levels in patients predicted increased risks for cardiovascular disease and major cardiac events like heart attack, stroke and death, but only in subjects with concurrently high TMAO levels. Additionally, they found specific gut microbe types in subjects associated with both plasma TMAO levels and dietary patterns, and that baseline TMAO levels were significantly lower among vegans and vegetarians than omnivores. Remarkably, vegans and vegetarians, even after consuming a large amount of carnitine, did not produce significant levels of the microbe product TMAO, whereas omnivores consuming the same amount of carnitine did.

"The bacteria living in our digestive tracts are dictated by our long-term dietary patterns," Hazen said. "A diet high in carnitine actually shifts our gut microbe composition to those that like carnitine, making meat eaters even more susceptible to forming TMAO and its artery-clogging effects. Meanwhile, vegans and vegetarians have a significantly reduced capacity to synthesize TMAO from carnitine, which may explain the cardiovascular health benefits of these diets."

Prior research has shown that a diet with frequent red meat consumption is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, but that the cholesterol and saturated fat content in red meat does not appear to be enough to explain the increased cardiovascular risks. This discrepancy has been attributed to genetic differences, a high salt diet that is often associated with red meat consumption, and even possibly the cooking process, among other explanations. But Hazen says this new research suggests a new connection between red meat and cardiovascular disease.

"This process is different in everyone, depending on the gut microbe metabolism of the individual," he says. "Carnitine metabolism suggests a new way to help explain why a diet rich in red meat promotes atherosclerosis."

While carnitine is naturally occurring in red meats, including beef, venison, lamb, mutton, duck, and pork, its also a dietary supplement available in pill form and a common ingredient in energy drinks. With this new research in mind, Hazen cautions that more research needs to be done to examine the safety of chronic carnitine supplementation.

"Carnitine is not an essential nutrient; our body naturally produces all we need," he says. "We need to examine the safety of chronically consuming carnitine supplements as weve shown that, under some conditions, it can foster the growth of bacteria that produce TMAO and potentially clog arteries."

This study is the latest in a line of research by Hazen and his colleagues exploring how gut microbes can contribute to atherosclerosis, uncovering new and unexpected pathways involved in heart disease. In a 2011 Nature study, they first discovered that people are not predisposed to cardiovascular disease solely because of their genetic make-up, but also based on how the micro-organisms in their digestive tracts metabolize lecithin, a compound with a structure similar to carnitine.