Alright, alright. I know, not all studies are impartial (often they are extremely partial), and it's difficult to know if one is indeed legit (scientific, peer-reviewed, unbiased).
But I was perusing a new site, http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/. A great site, btw, I still have to see all that it offers, one thing she does discuss under her FAQ's is the great soy debate...is it good, bad, or just plain evil?
My personal take on it is that it's fine as a condiment and as a whole food (whole non-GMO soybeans, as opposed to other funky altered stuff like isolated soy protien). I use tofu in dips and spreads and other side dish things, and isn't used to "replace" meat. I usually rotate between different non-diary milks, so soy milk is by no means a staple in my house.
Anyhow, I don't think it's the cause of all that is bad in this world, but then again, this is not the topic of discussion here.
What is, is this excerpt from Bryanna Clark's website. This is
So maybe someone out there is trying to spin the hotdog, meat-curing industry as the big evil cancer causer. I think it's more likely that this study has some truth to it. I mean, think about it, how could eating nitrates and other iffy chemicals on an ongoing basis, not be toxic to your body and have some negative effect? Our bodies weren't meant to process, Sodium lactate, Flavor, Sodium Phosphates, Monosodium Glutamate (YIKES!), Sodium Diacetate, Sodium Erythorbate (MADE FROM SUGAR), & Sodium Nitrate, all ingredients in the all-American Oscar Meyer weiner (does anyone say weiner anymore, anyway? isn't it hot dog?)."Children who eat 12 hot dogs per month have nearly 10 times the risk of
developing leukemia compared with children who do not eat hot dogs.
Children who eat hot dogs once a week double their chances of brain
tumors; eating them twice a week triples the risk.
Pregnant women who eat two servings per day of any cured meat have more than double the risk of bearing children who have brain cancer.
Kids who eat the most ham, bacon and cured sausage have 3 times the risk of lymphoma.
Kids who eat ground meat once a week have twice the risk of acute lymphocytic leukemia compared to those who eat none; eating 2 or more hamburgers weekly tripled the risk."
(Footnotes: Preston-Martin S, Pogoda JM, Mueller BA, et al. Maternal
Consumption of cured meats and vitamins in relation to pediatric brain tumors.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1996;5:599-605.
Blot WJ, Henderson BE,
Boice JD Jr. Childhood cancer in relation to cured meat intake: review of
epidemiological evidence. Nutr Cancer 199;34:111-18)
Regardless of this study's authoritativeness, they didn't have to do a study on this to convince me. I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to realize that hot dogs and other cured meats are not too good for you (carcogenic would be my word for them, but then again, that's just me).
And just for the record, there are "veggie" hotdogs out there (as well as uncured meat hotdogs). I do give my kids these soy concotions on rare occasions. Usually when we go to parties where I know there will be hot dog eatin'. I just bring a few along for good measure. And whatever the soy hotdog's faults may or may not be, they're nothing compared to their cured meat hot dog counterparts. Lesser of the two evils, I guess you might say, if you want to look at it that way.
You know, the more I read and study about diet, the more I don't care what people think of the way I eat. I eat for my own well being. After reading "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" by Dr. Essystyn, I am reminded that the American diet is KILLING us. He said one in two american men will have some sort of heart disease in their lifetime, one in every three women. Over 50 percent of heart surgeries in the WORLD are done here in the United States!!! He makes the point that many people think that if you don't eat milk or meat, and stick to whole foods, you are being "radical". He pointed out that 4 billion people in the world don't eat the junk we eat. The western diet really is the "radical" diet. Let's not get offended by what he/she eats, and just get our own health back on track so we don't become "statistics" only. Stephen (my husband) eats a whole foods diet 9/10 of the month. He is the only one on his crew (at the fire station) not on cholesterol lowering medicine! In fact, his total cholesterol was 148! That's two points lower than Dr. McDougall's "ideal" number. With all the toxins he breathes in on a regular basis, taking care of himself is number one. I want him around for our grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my advice to anyone, and everyone, is STUDY, STUDY, and Research these things! Way to go Janae for opening our eyes to a healthier way. PREVENTION IS THE KEY.
Ahhhhhhh! I'm afraid of hotdogs. (Okay, I have a very secret weakness for them, actually. But I'm afraid.)
ReplyDeleteI'm transitioning slowly enough, I think. I'd be curious to see this person's plan with the stages and such.
There's still some cheese in my fridge and I'm probably leaning on oil and nuts too much. But this--whole foods vegan--is really the way I grew up. And I've been thinking about going back to it for as long as I can remember. Longing to go back to it, really. So I've been talking to my mom a lot, too. But your blog, this lovely little blog, has been the kick in the pants I needed. You make it look glamorous, so thank you.
I've been making green shakes and hummus with fresh herbs and last night I made the Gimme Chimmies. (I got a few books, including that one.) My fridge is FULL of fruits and vegetables. I was afraid when we went out to lunch yesterday that I wouldn't know what to get, but the restaurant had a TON of vegan options--they were into it. And my lunch, oh my lunch, I swooned and swooned for it. Best meal I've had in years, and it was vegan, and my tummy didn't hurt afterwards, which it usually does. It came with a slice of rich chocolate cake, which Sam ate for me. I took the tinest bite, just to check it out, and it disgusted me. It was already too sweet and rich and yucky for my taste. Which, let me tell you, is not like me. I think my tastebuds, my buds, are already changing.
Anyway, long response. And I'm still afraid of messing it up or getting overwhelmed and giving up and blahblahblah. But I've actually been using prayer a lot, too. Asking for help and wise healthy feelings and thoughts. For now, for today, I'm excited and it feels possible. And that's enough.
Reading this post made me defensive about cured meat, so I won't comment any further on that... :)
ReplyDeleteI will say that I sauteed my mushrooms and onions in broth last night instead of EVOO -- Monico gobbled them up!
Thanks Michelle for the comment. I'm with ya. It is true, the more you educate yourself, the more you feed your body what it truly needs (whole plant foods) the less you care about what anybody thinks or says about it. Because you know that they just don't know. How could they, unless they tried it?
ReplyDeleteDeja, I was wondering if you did grow up essentially as a whole fooder. Lucky you. I'm with you on the rich taste thing. It really has been years since I've had non-vegan food, but there are a lot of vegan foods that are simply too rich for my taste. Even the cupcakes I made were almost too rich for me. I ate 2, total, over the span of the day I made them, and that was more than enough for me, almost too much. I love Dreena Burton's cookbook, although I must caution she does use oil, although in moderate amounts. I just leave out the oil, and I've not noticed a difference. I think I've mentioned before, when you transition over, you really need to eat bigger portion sizes otherwise you will be hungry and will want to eat nuts or add oil. Learning how to eat a low-fat plant based diet is a process. For one thing, you have to chew more. Compare eating a huge bowl of salad versus a chicken sandwich; one takes 20-30 minutes of active chewing while the other can be downed in less than two. Another thing, in regards to chewing (and I'm still working on this myself) is to properly chew your grains and legumes so that you can have maximum absorption and assimilation. Whole foods take a lot more effort to eat. That's one of the reasons why I'm such a big fan of green smoothies, juicing, ect. You pack a whallop of nutrients in a very easily digestable and convienant/easy to make drink (if you have a good blender, that is).
Melissa, I didn't say cured meat wasn't tasty...just toxic :) You can get uncured hotdogs and meat, I have no idea if they taste as good, but no doubt a better option health wise. I bought Joseph some organic, uncured hot dogs and he said they were REALLY good, better than what he was used to (Oscar Meyer). Although I must make it clear, just because it's organic and uncured doesn't take it's meatiness away. What I mean is it's still high in cholesterol, saturated fat, ect. Not to mention it's made of cow/pig parts. But I suppose that's besides the point that we're talking about here. And I'm so glad that Monico likes mushrooms and onions. That sounds delicious, especially in a sandwich (Joseph despises mushrooms so I usually don't even go there). It is amazing how veggie broth can be so versital and save you a ton in unwanted calories/fat.
I agree with Deja... I'm afraid... but yet, I'm weak. Hot dogs do scare me if I think about them. I will have to try the soy dogs sometime at a BBQ or something.
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