The 4-Hour Body Part 56

With all my groceries at home, I did two things right off the bat.First, I mixed up my granola and ate a big bowl.Second, I started soaking the dry beans. By soaking beans for about 12 hours with a little baking soda mixed in, you can actually reduce the, ahem, gaseous effects of those little b.u.g.g.e.rs. Also, this strategy helps to remove some of the anti-nutrients present in beans. 15 15About 12 hours later, I boiled two large pots of the pre-soaked legumes. One pot contained a mixture of navy beans, kidney beans, and garbanzo beans, along with red and green lentils. The other contained garbanzo beans only. When prepping the beans, I also pre-chopped some green peppers, red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, and sugar snap peas for the week. This way I couldn't use chopping as an excuse for missing a meal.The mixed beans were stored in the fridge and the garbanzo beans were then turned into homemade hummus and placed, with my pre-chopped veggies, on the wraps.

Questions with Dr. Berardi WHAT WAS YOUR DAILY MACRONUTRIENT BREAKDOWN ON THIS DIET?.

"The macronutrient breakdown, including supplements, was: 5,589 kcal [about the same as Scott Jurek during training]247 g fat (38% of total caloric intake)68 g saturated64.5 g polyunsaturated92 g monounsaturated653.7 g carbohydrate (46% of total caloric intake)112 g fiber246 g protein (16% of total caloric intake) "Even with the high caloric load, without B-12 supplementation and vitamin D supplementation, I would have fallen short of the RDA [recommended daily allowance] for both nutrients. With the supplements, I was more than adequately covered."

WHAT WAS YOUR FOOD COST FOR THE WEEK?.

"During the plant-based experiment, I was spending about $80 per week for food. That's around $2030 less than normal (i.e., when I'm eating a more varied diet that includes animal foods)."

WHAT IS YOUR BEST ESTIMATE OF YOUR SUPPLEMENT COST PER WEEK (UNDERSTANDING YOU MIGHT NEED TO DIVIDE SOME COSTS, AS A BOTTLE MIGHT LAST A WHILE)?.

"During the experiment, I was using about $60 per week in supplements (BCAA, resveratrol, multi-vitamin, D, B-12, protein, greens, DHA, carb drink). That's about $2030 more than I might normally spend for supplements.

"This means that, combining food and supplement costs, I spent the same amount total as when including animal products."

IF YOU HADN'T EATEN EGGS, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?.

"Same exact results, I think."

IF YOU'D CONTINUED THE PLANT-BASED DIET FOR SIX MONTHS, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?.

"I would have continued to gain weight, for sure.

"However, I think I might have created serious digestive problems. Many experts believe that continually eating foods that cause GI distress can lead to chronic gut inflammation, 'leaky gut syndrome,' and a host of autoimmune problems."

VEGANS TALK ABOUT COMBINING FOODS FOR COMPLETE PROTEINS-RICE AND BEANS, FOR EXAMPLE, OR LEGUMES AND SEEDS OR NUTS. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

"The research is showing that, to prevent protein malnutrition, food combining isn't necessary. Rather, if all the essential amino acids are eaten in a single day, people are fine.

"However, from an optimization and sports performance perspective, I think that a complete complement of amino acids should be eaten each meal. There are some data to support that there's an 'amino-stat' in the brain that senses blood amino acids. And if we eat incomplete proteins, the body releases the 'missing' amino acids from muscle to balance out the blood amino acids...It's hard to build muscle or recover from training adequately if your diet is kicking off a muscle catabolic sequence."

IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE VEGAN LONG-TERM USING ONLY WHOLE FOODS AND WITHOUT PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTATION?.

"Yes, without protein supplementation, it's totally possible, but it's much more difficult. And without some guidance, it's unlikely that people will do it properly if muscle building or high-level sport performance is the goal.

"But it is possible."

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES SELF-DESCRIBED "VEGETARIANS" MAKE?

"Just dropping animal foods. The worst mistake any would-be vegan could make is to simply stop eating meat. Then their lifestyle choice isn't a positive one, it's about negation. The worst mistake any would-be vegan could make is to simply stop eating meat. Then their lifestyle choice isn't a positive one, it's about negation.16 Instead, people should focus on what they'll be eating more of. In other words, a proper vegetarian meal plan is based on eating mostly or only foods that come from plants: fruits, veggies, unprocessed grains, legumes, etc. It's not simply avoiding meat and filling up on processed junk foods. And this is something many vegetarians do. By focusing only on what they're dropping, there's no plan for getting enough calories, enough protein, and enough micronutrition to ensure an easy transition to vegetarianism. Instead, people should focus on what they'll be eating more of. In other words, a proper vegetarian meal plan is based on eating mostly or only foods that come from plants: fruits, veggies, unprocessed grains, legumes, etc. It's not simply avoiding meat and filling up on processed junk foods. And this is something many vegetarians do. By focusing only on what they're dropping, there's no plan for getting enough calories, enough protein, and enough micronutrition to ensure an easy transition to vegetarianism.

"Using dairy for all their protein. Many lacto-ovo vegetarians will turn to dairy for all their protein needs when dropping meat. This can be a big mistake for a few reasons. First of all, lactose-intolerance and milk protein allergy are quite common-more common than most people think. Second of all, most store-bought milk and dairy offerings contain hormone and antibiotic residues, which are now being shown to negatively impact human health. Of course, in small doses (i.e., one cup of dairy per day), this isn't much of a problem unless you're highly sensitive, but using dairy multiple times per day can create big problems. Many lacto-ovo vegetarians will turn to dairy for all their protein needs when dropping meat. This can be a big mistake for a few reasons. First of all, lactose-intolerance and milk protein allergy are quite common-more common than most people think. Second of all, most store-bought milk and dairy offerings contain hormone and antibiotic residues, which are now being shown to negatively impact human health. Of course, in small doses (i.e., one cup of dairy per day), this isn't much of a problem unless you're highly sensitive, but using dairy multiple times per day can create big problems.

"Not using supplements. As discussed above, by dropping entire food groups from your menu, you're bound to create some dietary deficiencies if you're not careful. So you have to supplement, and very few vegetarian athletes know what to do in this regard. As discussed above, by dropping entire food groups from your menu, you're bound to create some dietary deficiencies if you're not careful. So you have to supplement, and very few vegetarian athletes know what to do in this regard.

"Use the supplements in my daily menu as a basic guide. It might seem like a pretty long list of nutrients to be mindful of, and it is. If you're going to make the lifestyle choice to become a vegan or vegetarian, you have to accept the responsibilities that such a choice foists upon you. If not, you're just being negligent, and you can expect health problems to follow."

WHAT DID YOU CONCLUDE AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE?.

"I've come to conclude that vegetarianism can work, but this usually requires the help of a trained nutrition coach. Done right, vegetarianism can be satisfying, healthy, and performance- boosting.

"That said, I've also concluded that vegetarianism is a real challenge for the average person. Without meticulous planning and some nutritional guidance, most are doomed to muscle loss, poor performance, and a host of nutritional deficiencies, ranging from mild to severe.

"It's not a change to take lightly, and most people don't have the discipline to prevent digressions and corner-cutting that will have serious consequences over time."

Meat vs. Plant-Bridging the Divide Some of John's meat-eating supporters became enraged by his 28-day experiment, one going so far as to FedEx him gra.s.s-fed sirloin packed in dry ice. Carnivores can take vegetarianism very personally.

On the other side of the fence, die-hard vegans tore into him for compromising in a few areas and not going pure 100% vegan. Hate mail abounded.

As usual, the extremists on both sides were missing the point.

It was an experiment, not a moral statement, and there were valuable lessons to be learned by purists from both sides.

For the militant vegans, the primary lesson is that omnivores can quickly transition to a near-vegan PPBD if they make some allowances for protein (such as two to three eggs per day). If this compromise isn't allowed, crossing the chasm can take months and, more often than not, never happens.

For the omnivores and carnivores, the benefits of considering a vegan diet are multifold, even if it's just a thought experiment: If I couldn't eat any animal products for 28 days, what would I eat? If I couldn't eat any animal products for 28 days, what would I eat?

John summarizes a few areas where proper proper vegans (the organized and informed minority) trump 99% of meat-eaters: vegans (the organized and informed minority) trump 99% of meat-eaters: "Proper vegans tend to eat more whole, natural, locally produced, and unprocessed foods than most omnivores. This means things like raw nuts and seeds, whole grains like quinoa and amaranth, and a locally grown bounty of fruits and veggies. That's all they eat, so they make sure to do it right.

"Speaking as an omnivore, in our quest for filling one-third of our plate with animal flesh, sometimes we forget to think about what the other two-thirds should be filled with. And that can be a big, gut-expanding, health-degrading mistake.

"Proper vegans also tend to spend more time learning about where their food comes from. In other words, they make it a point to understand which foods come from which regions of the world, which foods are in season during certain times of the year, and which methods are best for raising the healthiest food.

"Not only is this environmentally friendly and quite healthy, it's also pretty cool stuff to know."

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When Francis M. Pottenger Jr. was a newly graduated California doctor in 1932, he spent 10 years studying cats. Nine hundred cats over three generations, to be precise. Pottenger's experiments are often cited by raw-food enthusiasts as evidence of the superiority of raw food.

Experiment #1: Raw Meat vs. Cooked Meat. Pottenger fed one group of cats a diet of two-thirds raw meat, one-third raw milk, and cod liver oil. He fed the second group two-thirds cooked meat, one-third raw milk, and cod liver oil. The cats fed raw meat were, by all measures, normal and healthy. The cats fed cooked meat produced kittens that had skeletal deformities, heart problems, vision problems, multiple infections, irritability, allergies, difficult births, and even paralysis. Rut-roh! Pottenger fed one group of cats a diet of two-thirds raw meat, one-third raw milk, and cod liver oil. He fed the second group two-thirds cooked meat, one-third raw milk, and cod liver oil. The cats fed raw meat were, by all measures, normal and healthy. The cats fed cooked meat produced kittens that had skeletal deformities, heart problems, vision problems, multiple infections, irritability, allergies, difficult births, and even paralysis. Rut-roh!

Experiment #2: Raw Milk vs. Cooked Milk. This time Pottenger had four groups of cats. The first group got two-thirds raw milk, one-third raw meat, and cod liver oil. The other three groups got either two-thirds pasteurized milk, two-thirds evaporated milk, or two-thirds sweetened condensed milk in place of the raw milk. He saw the same pattern of happy, healthy cats on raw milk, and all manner of abnormal development in the other groups, getting worse as the milk was more processed. This time Pottenger had four groups of cats. The first group got two-thirds raw milk, one-third raw meat, and cod liver oil. The other three groups got either two-thirds pasteurized milk, two-thirds evaporated milk, or two-thirds sweetened condensed milk in place of the raw milk. He saw the same pattern of happy, healthy cats on raw milk, and all manner of abnormal development in the other groups, getting worse as the milk was more processed.

Based on these experiments, Pottenger concluded that "the elements in raw food which activate and support growth and development in the young appear easily altered and destroyed by heat processing." He went on to extrapolate that humans suffer from the same nutritional deficiencies that are causing more developmental problems with each generation: "canning, packaging, pasteurizing, and h.o.m.ogenizing-all contribute to hereditary breakdown."

Hmmm. This sounds like a compelling, fear-inducing argument. But here's what Pottenger didn't know when he said this: cats need taurine.

Taurine is a component of bile acid that cats can't synthesize on their own, but humans can. It helps with digestion and is a supplement in commercial cat food. If cats are taurine-deficient, they show vision problems, heart problems, and developmental problems. Sound familiar? Guess what else? Taurine is deactivated by heat. So Pottenger's cooked meat/milk diets would have been taurine-deficient.

Another factor to consider: cats are carnivores, humans are omnivores. It's like comparing apples to oranges, as we have different nutritional requirements. A better animal model for humans would be mice, or rats, or primates. Without even calling into question how well controlled Pottenger's study was, it doesn't make good scientific sense to transfer what he learned about cats directly to humans.

But back to the crux of the debate: Should humans eat raw food or cooked food? It all depends. Here are some examples, each supported in the scientific literature: [image]

By all means, go ahead and eat raw food if you like, or be vegan, or go gluten-free, or eat a few cats (I suggest fajitas). Just make sure you do your homework. Don't confuse ideology with good science. Take an honest look at the available research (applicable to humans) so that you can make a well-informed decision.

It's your body, after all.

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Darwin's Rule-Eat for Fertility So if vegetarianism can be done, why am I not a vegetarian in the usual sense?

To paint a one-sided picture of the benefits would be irresponsible, so allow me to explain the reasons: 1. I have been unable to find a single indigenous population that has thrived on a 100% PPBD, even after asking my 100,000+ Twitter followers to help me find one. Low animal product consumption is simple to find, but even the famous Jains of India are, with rare exception, lacto-ovo vegetarians. Dr. Weston Price (see "s.e.x Machine II") and others have been similarly unable to find a vegan indigenous culture in anthropological expeditions.2. Our closest relatives, chimpanzees, are occasional meat-eaters, and humans produce the enzyme elastase, which serves to break down connective tissue for digestion.

There are, on both sides of the fence, avid debates of evolutionary biology and conflicting data points, but the argument-settling experience for me was empirical: 3. In the course of researching and interviewing for this book, I encountered dozens of former vegan women and would-be mothers who had miscarriage after miscarriage until they reintroduced animal products into their diets, after which they were able to become pregnant in a matter of weeks.

Based on the above and my own experiments, I've concluded that some form of animal product is necessary for proper hormone production. This could be due to the longer-chain fatty acids, saturated fat, cholesterol, fat-soluble vitamins, or (more likely) a combination of interdependent elements, some of which we haven't even identified. It's also possible that common vegetarian staples cause the problems, whether soy or gluten. Either way, it's significant that boys born with hypospadias, the opening of the urethra on the underside of the p.e.n.i.s rather than at the tip, are five times more likely to have vegetarian vs. omnivore mothers. Dr. Richard Sharpe, director of the Medical Research Centre for Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh, Scotland, echoes my conclusion about soy:

"I've seen numerous studies showing what soy does to female animals. Until I have rea.s.surance that it doesn't have this effect on humans, I will not give soy to my children."

Food is complex and humans are overconfident.

Consider the antioxidants we've identified thus far in garden-variety thyme, as listed by Michael Pollan in a New York Times Magazine New York Times Magazine article: article:

4-Terpineol, alanine, anethole, apigenin, as...o...b..c acid, beta carotene, caffeic acid, camphene, carvacrol, chlorogenic acid, chrysoeriol, eriodictyol, eugenol, ferulic acid, gallic acid, gamma-terpinene isochlorogenic acid, isoeugenol, isothymonin, kaempferol, l.a.b.i.atic acid, lauric acid, linalyl acetate, luteolin, methionine, myrcene, myristic acid, naringenin, oleanolic acid, p-coumoric acid, p-hydroxy-benzoic acid, palmitic acid, rosmarinic acid, selenium, tannin, thymol, tryptophan, ursolic acid, vanillic acid.

And that's just thyme.

So we must have it all figured out, right? My vote: not a chance. Pollan offered the list to make the same point:

It's also important to remind ourselves that what reductive science can manage to perceive well enough to isolate and study is subject to change, and that we have a tendency to a.s.sume that what we can see is all there is to see. When William Prout isolated the big three macronutrients, scientists figured they now understood food and what the body needs from it; when the vitamins were isolated a few decades later, scientists thought, O.K., now we really understand food and what the body needs to be healthy; today it's the polyphenols and carotenoids that seem all-important. But who knows what the h.e.l.l else is going on deep in the soul of a carrot?

Never forget:

1. We can only determine deficiencies for things we've isolated.

2. Taking those isolated nutrients outside of whole foods can produce side effects we cannot predict.

Scurvy was a mysterious problem for thousands of years. Only in 1932 did scientists isolate vitamin C and determine that the two were related.

Much later, when beta-carotene became popular in the media as a miracle molecule, we took a more proactive approach and began to supplement. Better safe than sorry, right? Unfortunately, as we found out, taking supplemental beta-carotene by itself can cause problems. It can block the absorption of other beneficial carotenoids and increase the risk of prostate cancer and intracerebral hemorrhage, among other things. It's best absorbed in combination with its close cousins in whole foods, in naturally accuring ratios.

There will be similar mistakes and discoveries in years to come.

In cases where I can find an indigenous population that has lived without a food group for hundreds of years (fruit, for example, which is easy), I don't worry much about excluding it. If I can't find such a group, I'd suggest that our science hasn't caught up with Darwinism.

Eater beware.

My general guideline, what I refer to as "Darwin's Rule," is simple: eat for optimal fertility and everything else falls into place.

Moreover, if you eat for optimal fertility, you will have high-level athletic performance and what most define as optimal health. No matter which diet you choose, I encourage you to have the following tests, as a minimum, every six months. If you are eliminating animal products entirely, I suggest every three months.

All of these tests are common enough that your general pract.i.tioner or primary care doctor should, in theory, be able to order them. In many cases, insurance will cover them, but be willing to ante up in cash if needed. If you chose to be vegan, this is not the place to cut costs. Some primary care doctors will not feel comfortable administering the fancier gynecological tests and will refer you to an ob/gyn specialist. That's fine: just get them done.

You don't need to know what all of these mean; you just need to photocopy them and have a conversation with your doctor.17 If male, have these tests:

s.e.m.e.n a.n.a.lysis (includes volume, which should be >1.5 ml; concentration/count > 20 million/ml; motility > 40%; morphology > 30% normal by WHO criteria) (includes volume, which should be >1.5 ml; concentration/count > 20 million/ml; motility > 40%; morphology > 30% normal by WHO criteria) Testosterone (both total and free) (both total and free) Estradiol Luteinizing hormone (LH) (LH) Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (tests hypothalamus functioning) (FSH) (tests hypothalamus functioning) Prolactin (pituitary level) (pituitary level) Total cholesterol (160200) (160200) AST (2030) (2030) ALT (2030) (2030)

If female, have these tests:

EstradiolLuteinizing hormone (LH) (LH)Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (tests hypothalamus functioning) (FSH) (tests hypothalamus functioning)Prolactin (pituitary level) (pituitary level)Total cholesterol (160200) (160200)AST (2030) (2030)ALT (2030) (2030)Day 3 FSH and E2 (estradiol) blood tests (looks at ovarian reserve; the doctor can also do an antral follicular count by ultrasound and/or check anti-muellerian hormone by blood) (estradiol) blood tests (looks at ovarian reserve; the doctor can also do an antral follicular count by ultrasound and/or check anti-muellerian hormone by blood) Those are the basics. For women, it can pay to take a slightly more detailed look at things:

1) It may seem obvious, but a woman first needs to have periods to see if she is ovulating. It is important to be off of oral contraceptives to determine this. Unfortunately, some doctors prescribe "the pill" to vegetarians to initiate menstruation, which simply masks symptoms instead of addressing root causes. Do an over-the-counter urine LH test over-the-counter urine LH test, starting at approximately day 9 (most women have LH peak and subsequent ovulation 2436 hours later during days 1215). Using urine LH test strips is much easier than doing basal body temperatures and looking for a rise in temperature after ovulation.2) To check the uterus and fallopian tubes: do a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) hysterosalpingogram (HSG) (dye shot into cervix and imaging) and/or saline sonohystogram (the former is a better test) (dye shot into cervix and imaging) and/or saline sonohystogram (the former is a better test)3) To check the luteal phase, do a "pooled" progesterone test "pooled" progesterone test in the luteal phase-five to nine days after the LH surge, on three days in the second half of the cycle. Determine average progesterone. in the luteal phase-five to nine days after the LH surge, on three days in the second half of the cycle. Determine average progesterone.