I go back and forth on this. That said, the real difficulty is that I feel there is a ton of info in terms of what “healthy meat” diets should look like, while Vegan diets- especially balanced ones- seem to take a lot more effort to construct. Better education on how to plan and eat in said manner would probably actually help people get down with it. I think hesitancy comes from the material reality that organic veggies cost way more than they should, and that the diversity of veggies in the shop is actively shrinking all the time. If people had more guidance in terms of how to build such a diet, I think more would be open to at the very least making some changes! Research is out there, but it’s untrue to suggest that good info is anything but opaque when it comes to carrying out a plan.
I wonder what you think of the work done by Ivor Cummins. First his explanation of the mechanisms of cholesterol and the ratios of Cholesterol not the absolute count being important. As well as his theory of insulin resistance/diabetes/inflammation as the primary driver of heart disease, essentially it being one and the same thing. In his understanding heart disease can be reversed with a keto diet (including leafy greens) because it is an anti-diabetic diet. He appears to have done his homework and provides some evidence of reduced and completely cleared arterial calcification on such diets.
I'm only vaguely familiar with him but am familiar with the claims he makes.
First of all I definitely agree that cholesterol isn't a 100% leading indicator, ApoB is probably much more accurate. Though the basic principles are the same.
I don't trust the calcification tests. They miss soft calcification which can lead to heart disease. My question for Ivor: can he produce as dramatic results as Caldwell mentioned in my post, saving people from "death's door" heart disease, completely opening up a previously almost-100% shut artery? Not just a calcium score, but actual heart patients with actual symptoms.
Ok a few more questions for him: if not, why not? And if not, would he recommend plant-based to sick heart patients, or would he stay ideologically attached to keto?
My current take is that keto doesn't fully cure diabetes like healthy plant-based does, and must be kept up indefinitely to keep blood sugar stable. The same isn't true of plant-based, where people reverse it then go more omnivorous and still stay diabetes-free. Keto puts one in kind of a sword of damocles situation where you're trapped, painted into a corner.
Kempner from Duke was reversing diabetic blindness (EXTREME symptom of diabetes) with table sugar, fruit, fruit juice, and white rice. While I don't recommend that diet, it's a proof of concept that sugar/carbs aren't quite the enemy we suspect in diabetes. Yet sugar can cause trouble combined with other foods, especially animal fat/protein. Oh, and this was done over a hundred years ago. So we've known we can cure extreme diabetes for over a century.
I do believe one can dramatically lower their risk of heart disease and diabetes without being 100% vegan, and there are strategies to maximize the chances of this. I haven't seen any good evidence that keto leads to long, healthy, disease free life.
Curious to know your thoughts, thanks for the question
I go back and forth on this. That said, the real difficulty is that I feel there is a ton of info in terms of what “healthy meat” diets should look like, while Vegan diets- especially balanced ones- seem to take a lot more effort to construct. Better education on how to plan and eat in said manner would probably actually help people get down with it. I think hesitancy comes from the material reality that organic veggies cost way more than they should, and that the diversity of veggies in the shop is actively shrinking all the time. If people had more guidance in terms of how to build such a diet, I think more would be open to at the very least making some changes! Research is out there, but it’s untrue to suggest that good info is anything but opaque when it comes to carrying out a plan.
I wonder what you think of the work done by Ivor Cummins. First his explanation of the mechanisms of cholesterol and the ratios of Cholesterol not the absolute count being important. As well as his theory of insulin resistance/diabetes/inflammation as the primary driver of heart disease, essentially it being one and the same thing. In his understanding heart disease can be reversed with a keto diet (including leafy greens) because it is an anti-diabetic diet. He appears to have done his homework and provides some evidence of reduced and completely cleared arterial calcification on such diets.
I'm only vaguely familiar with him but am familiar with the claims he makes.
First of all I definitely agree that cholesterol isn't a 100% leading indicator, ApoB is probably much more accurate. Though the basic principles are the same.
I don't trust the calcification tests. They miss soft calcification which can lead to heart disease. My question for Ivor: can he produce as dramatic results as Caldwell mentioned in my post, saving people from "death's door" heart disease, completely opening up a previously almost-100% shut artery? Not just a calcium score, but actual heart patients with actual symptoms.
Ok a few more questions for him: if not, why not? And if not, would he recommend plant-based to sick heart patients, or would he stay ideologically attached to keto?
My current take is that keto doesn't fully cure diabetes like healthy plant-based does, and must be kept up indefinitely to keep blood sugar stable. The same isn't true of plant-based, where people reverse it then go more omnivorous and still stay diabetes-free. Keto puts one in kind of a sword of damocles situation where you're trapped, painted into a corner.
Kempner from Duke was reversing diabetic blindness (EXTREME symptom of diabetes) with table sugar, fruit, fruit juice, and white rice. While I don't recommend that diet, it's a proof of concept that sugar/carbs aren't quite the enemy we suspect in diabetes. Yet sugar can cause trouble combined with other foods, especially animal fat/protein. Oh, and this was done over a hundred years ago. So we've known we can cure extreme diabetes for over a century.
I do believe one can dramatically lower their risk of heart disease and diabetes without being 100% vegan, and there are strategies to maximize the chances of this. I haven't seen any good evidence that keto leads to long, healthy, disease free life.
Curious to know your thoughts, thanks for the question
Should we be eating more beets? Since they are high in nitric acid? Just a thought.
definitely, that and tons of leafy greens. probably why healthy meat diet with tons of veggies is better than junk veggie diet