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take a chance on something new knowledge and behaviors spread the same phenomenon happens in reverse red meat and especially veal consumption has slowly but steadily declined over the past few decades in north america why again because the idea that red meat is unhealthy inhumane and environmentally disastrous has slowly spread in short because it is becoming less normal to consider red meat good or desirable the point is this everything you do influences people around you whether you like it or not if you decide to lock yourself in your home not patronize restaurants that serve meat and avoid delusional meat eaters then you lose the opportunity to influence them you also risk maximizing the downsides of social isolation although i don t know this for sure my guess is that the more normal happy successful and healthy you appear to others the more they will look to mimic your behaviors be they lifestyle political or social behaviors yes radical people do influence others but perhaps their main function is to stretch the boundaries of known behavior if you have 100 body piercings then suddenly someone with 2 4 piercings seems pretty normal as we grow older and evolve we need to decide what role is the most meaningful and enjoyable for each of us to play no one can tell you how radical or different from the norm you should be my only hope is that you consciously weigh the pros and cons and that the concept of social isolation is something you consider to be clear i don t believe social isolation is a reason not to be vegan i just think it s something to manage along the way remember that your actions can help nudge people to one day do the same thing and this can happen without preaching or revealing your judgment on their behaviors the more you understand other people the more they will understand you granted there s always a time and place when you have to be vocal about your beliefs and convictions but it s nice to know they are influencing other people even when you are not trying a confounder is something that could appear to be causing an effect result outcome but is really only linked with the outcome for some other reason for example people who buy large size clothes tend to gain weight more than people who buy small size clothes therefore a misguided person could say don t buy large clothes because it will cause you to gain weight it s easy to see how in this case the shopping habit buying large clothes is not the cause of weight gain but actually the result of it buying large clothes is a confounder in this analysis 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday september 10 2008 how can vegans be overweight recently i visited portland or a wonderful city that is especially vegan friendly i found myself returning again and again to same vegan restaurant yoga studio a few blocks from my hotel and every time i went i was reminded of a question i ponder often w hy are many progressive health conscious yoga doing vegans overweight before i offer my answer let me point out two basic facts first on average vegans weigh less than lacto ovo vegetarians who weigh less on average than omnivorous humans a vegan dietary pattern can protect people from some excess weight gain but it s obvious that many vegans including raw foodists are still overweight on the other hand it s fair to presume that these folks are probably a few pounds if not many lighter than they would be if they were not vegan second almost everyone in the us is gaining excess weight over two thirds of us adults are overweight and the entire population weight distribution has shifted drastically over the past 4 decades this means that even normal weight people probably weight 5 10 pounds more than they would had they been born 40 years earlier vegans aren t exempt from this phenomenon we live in a world that makes it easy to eat a lot and hard to expend much energy so the main reason why vegans struggle with their weight is the same reason why most people in developed countries are struggling with their weight actually it s a set of reasons which deserve a separate blog or perhaps a book to address let s touch on a few factors that are particularly relevant for vegans vegan restaurant portions if you eat too much healthy food you will gain weight vegan restaurants consistently offer mammoth portions i ve eaten at vegan restaurants in a few dozen cities one meal typically provides me with enough leftovers for another 1 3 meals granted i am one of those rare cursed folks who has a real hard time eating an enormous volume of food in one sitting most people vegans included don t have this problem think about some of the vegan animals you know gorillas elephants hippos cows pigs and you ll conclude that given ample food any vegan animal can grow enormously large why do vegan restaurants serve so much well the same reason most restaurants do economics large quantities for little money is considered good value by consumers and the cost of the extra portion of food is usually much less than the small additional price increase of the meal cheap food means a higher volume of consumers which means more profit vegan restaurants often cater to students who are particular sensitive to the value proposition of restaurant meals and larger portions may broaden the amount of people willing to eat at an all vegan restaurant hey joe omnivore want to check out this new vegan restaurant with me they give you tonnes of food and it doesn t cost much optimistic bias and health halos two fun psychological concepts worth understanding in the context of eating optimistic bias means you don t think anything bad will happen to you because of your food choices other people might gain weight from vegan food but not me this is the same phenomenon that leads most people to think they are not going to die from a heart attack even when they know that most people do die from heart attacks we have an intense innate need to feel in control and routinely fool ourselves into believing that is the case it s hard for us to imagine that a healthy whole foods vegan meal could contribute to weight gain even in ample quantity what s a health halo here s an example to explain you see the word organic on the front of a cereal box and then throw it in the shopping basket without scrutinizing the nutritional facts or ingredients the label vegan acts as a health halo magically transforming anything vegan into a healthy food vegan smoothie healthy vegan pizza healthy vegan donut can t be too bad in no way am i trying to say you shouldn t be choosing the vegan option what i m saying is that all of us are prone to overestimating how good it is for us because it fits a small albeit valid list of requirements no animals killed organic etc this is particularly true when it comes to calorie content and weight management we are likely less stringent about portion sizes and calorie monitoring for vegan food then we would be for non vegan food and this applies to health conscious vegans too i do yoga everyday for 2 hours and eat only vegan food i shouldn t be overweight more options there are many reasons why a vegan diet causes less weight gain one simple reason is that it restricts the sheer volume of convenient readily available calorie heavy food options at one point this seemed like a bad thing what do you actually eat it must be really hard to eat out my friends used to say this all the time 10 years ago that s less and less the case which makes me happy but in terms of weight management the more vegan calorie dense foods available the more vegans will struggle with their weight of course i rejoice at the launch of a new brand of vegan cupcakes but there is a down side for some basic energy expenditure we are living in an age of unprecedented calorie density e g 1200 calorie smoothies and technological advancement i have sat unmoving for the past 3 hours only lifting my fingers but i can honestly claim to be working for most it s so easy to eat more calories than you use adding one hour of exercise a day will make you healthier and happier but it may not fully protect you from weight gain even on a vegan diet a concluding thought it is possible for us to create a vegan friendly world that makes it easier for us all to have a healthy weight if you are struggling with your weight adopting a whole foods vegan diet can be a great step in the right direction but our work does not stop there 16 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest sunday june 15 2008 vitamin d must knows as you are reading these sections please keep in mind that the science of measurement and definitions of normal vs optimal levels for these substances is still evolving plus there is incomplete standardization of these tests in the us meaning the reference normal range may be different from one lab to the other but these few paragraphs will give you a good background with which to interpret new discoveries and opinions as they emerge vitamin d the sunshine vitamin the emerging science of vitamin d is beginning to paint d as a master vitamin in short the effects of vitamin d go way beyond building and maintaining strong bones and normal calcium levels but may even protect us against certain cancers and help keep our moods bright t here is little naturally occurring vitamin d in vegan food although i have heard that uv exposed mushrooms which then contain vitamin d will soon be on the market and only a few rare sources of d in animal foods fatty fish for example get this our skin makes vitamin d well the precursor to d which is then activated in the liver and kidneys in response to uv from the sun yay for the sun and skin you see the problem many of us live where the sun don t shine and rates of vitamin d deficiency even in healthy young adults especially those who live north of the 42th parallel say in boston for example where this blog was written are alarmingly high 30 in some series vegan and non vegan alike are at risk for vitamin d deficiency if you avoid or get little sun exposure throughout the year for instance it s thought that from november through february the sun north of the 42th parallel is too weak to stimulate d production in the us dairy milk is always fortified with vitamin d so this remains the main source for non vegans but even this effort has not proven effective at boosting d levels for some northerners granted rickets aka osteomalacia in adults a consequence of severe vitamin d deficiency is much more rare than a century ago so here s what you should do 1 make sure you have a regular source of d your two main options are fortified soy or rice milk plus a daily multivitamin which will typically have 200 iu of vitamin d or a vitamin d supplement which is often coupled with calcium cereals and cliff or equivalent granola bars are often fortified as well vitamin d is a fat soluble vitamin so it will be better absorbed if taken with some fat containing food the exact amount of vitamin d to aim for is a matter of debate but with the exception of b12 and perhaps a few others more is not necessarily better and does have potential for harm in extreme megadoses for example vitamin d is toxic most experts suggest aiming between 400iu and 800iu total per day that said some have recently advocated for higher doses up to 1200 iu so follow the news and your docs advice for updates to these guidelines the iom is expected to issue comprehensive revised guidelines mid 2010 2 get your d levels checked once preferably during the winter if you live where there is a winter or don t get daily sunshine you use sunblock or avoid the sun like the plague the name of the vitamin d we test for in the blood is 25 hydroxyvitamin d just like b12 there is some debate about whether having a low but normal level of 25 hydroxyvitamin d is good enough typically we say below 20 ng ml is deficient below 12 is severely deficient and 20 30 is low normal it will take more science for us to know what is ideal but based on what is known now i aim to be near 40 or above 3 respect the sun i detest the word moderation that meaningless cop out so i ll say respect there are probably important benefits of sunshine vitamin d production being one but sun burning undoubtedly causes skin cancers which kill many many people each year so avoid the summer sun in the mid day hours when it is strong but enjoy the early morning and late afternoon rays obviously if you have a high risk for skin cancer this advice does not apply to you use sunscreen always and more importantly avoid the strong sun and get your vitamin d the modern way through fortified food or vitamins please note light therapy aka full spectrum lights which are wonderful for sad seasonal affective disorder aka the winter blues do not give off uv rays or stimulate vitamin d production vitamin d summary find a daily reliable source sunshine or a fortified item this is especially important if you live north of the 42nd latitude think of a line between northern california and boston or if you avoid the sun and in either case do get your levels checked one time preferably in the winter note since a vitamin d test can cost up to 200 an alternative strategy to testing once is to take a relatively high dose daily supplement e g 800 2000 iu for those seeking a great and thorough medical review on vitamin d search the new england journal of medicine for vitamin d deficiency by michael holick n engl j med 2007 357 266 81 as always this blog does not provide individualized medical advice for that you should find a good doctor if any of the above is unclear please feel free to post related questions 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday may 26 2008 moving beyond carb confusion in this post we talk about the need to refresh our approach to carbohydrate rich foods and more specifically to reduce intake of simple and refined carbs first a little perspective carbohydrates are not evil they have been the backbone of humankind since the dawn of civilization the large scale cultivation of carbohydrates e g cereal grains provided the vast amounts of energy calories that fueled the growth and eventual urbanization of humans they have also been important sources of protein fiber vitamins minerals and essential fatty acids throughout our evolution humans like all herbivors have needed sugar and other carbohydrates to survive funnily enough we still do of course the dominance of cereal grains as the provider of carbohydrates is a relatively new phenomenon 10 15 thousand years and the advent and supremely high intake of refined carbohydrates is extremely recent within the last 50 to 100 years with all the media attention carbs have gotten recently you would think our grain intake had reached historics highs actually we eating less grains then we did 100 years ago per capita grain consumption source putnam allshouse...