Very Vegan

In 1939, the Germans invaded Norway and appropriated the country’s livestock to feed their troops, leaving the Norwegians with only plant-based foods to sustain them. During the occupation, rates of heart disease and stroke, which had been steady or rising, fell dramatically. In 1945, when World War II ended and Norway was liberated, its citizens resumed eating animal products and their heart disease and stroke rates climbed back to pre-war levels. 

This story, a classic retrospective study, appears in the new documentary Forks Over Knives, and provides compelling evidence of an association between eating animal products (meat and dairy) and vascular disease. But we knew that, right? Red meat, along with high-fat dairy products like cheese and ice cream, have been pretty definitively linked to a whole host of ailments, from diabetes to cancer to obesity. So, many of us try to eat less meat, which would make the folks behind Forks Over Knives very happy. After all, not only is too much meat bad for our health, it is bad for the planet: the United Nations asserts that the livestock industry is an even greater contributor to climate change than the transportation industry.

Neal Barnard would also be pleased if we gave up meat, but he would really like us to take it a few steps further. Dr. Barnard, founder of the D.C.-based Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, is one of the nation’s leading advocates for a vegan diet. (Vegans eat only plant products, eliminating all meat, dairy, eggs and other animal products.) Dr. Barnard was "in the neighborhood" Monday afternoon, as a featured presenter for Asbury Methodist Village’s celebration of Active Aging Week. His presentation was followed by a vegan cuisine sampling, with Asbury chefs offering up their spin on plant-based gourmet.

Barnard's lean frame and unlined skin serve as a convincing advertisement for a vegan diet. During his hour-long talk, he walked the audience through the major studies that link consumption of animal products and increased risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. He also shared some emerging research that might surprise you. For example, did you know that:

• Consumption of saturated fat and trans fat may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Increased copper levels in the blood are associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (and the most common source of copper in our diets is the multi-vitamin/mineral supplement sitting on your kitchen counter).
• Drinking milk does not protect women from hip fractures; nor does a high-calcium diet in general.

These are just a few of the startling tidbits that started me thinking (again) about moving to a more plant-based diet. For me, giving up the meat won’t be terribly difficult, as my family already eats very little of it. But oh, how I love my cheese, eggs, yogurt and ice cream!

As with all behavior change, it’s best to start small and take baby steps toward your goal. My first step will be to sit down with my friend Amy, a long-time vegan, and ask her how she and her family live without omelets, and what she packs her kids for lunch. I’ll let you know what I find out.