Fresh juices are a great way to hydrate and support your nutrition intake. Recent research continues to show significant health benefits for people who eat more fresh produce.

Specifically, those who ate at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day were found to have a 10 percent lower risk of death from cancer and a 35 percent lower risk of death from respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Which is obvious right?

Buying juice – specifically green juice – can be expensive though and home juicers are often clunky, hard-to-clean, and take up extra time in the kitchen. That’s exactly why I recommend NAMA’s new J2 cold press juicer. Check out the video below where you can get a behind the scenes preview of PBN co-founder and I filming with it!

Philosophy

As you might be aware, Plant Based News is insanely mission-focused. When it was launched as a social media platform back in 2015, its sole purpose was to raise awareness about the beneficial effects of a plant-based diet. I’m now regularly out on the streets debating people about how you don’t need to consume animal protein for example.

And this is why everyone at PBN loves NAMA. Dan, the founder of the company, is someone who walks the talk. You can read his transformative health story here.

Robbie – my partner-in-crime at PBN – has been recommending NAMA for years. And I’ve only recently started using their new J2 model, which we are proud to offer our readers an exclusive $55 off over the next month with Code: PBNReview.

It’s designed to make juicing at home as easy and hassle-free as possible. It’s truly a game-changer that allows you to make delicious, vibrant juice in just minutes.

The large “hopper” canister allows you to load a whole apple, celery sticks, a big bunch of kale leaves, or whatever your recipe calls for! That’s right, the juicer cuts and loads produce for you, so you don’t have to stand around feeding one ingredient in at a time. It is an almost hands-free experience. 

The Nama J2 is also extremely easy to clean and takes no more than three minutes. You don’t have to dig dry juice pulp of out of every nook of the machine. It has specific features for fast and effortless cleaning, which we truly appreciate. 

Options

You can also use this juicer to make smoothies, soups, sauces, and plant-based milks. I love these options for helping reduce the number of appliances in my kitchen. 

If you have little ones in your house, the J2 is equipped with safety features so children can enjoy juicing. We know how healthy habits can begin when you are young, so this machine is a perfect way to introduce children to juicing. In fact, many of the plant-based doctors we collaborate with rave about it!

This model is already available in the U.S. and Canada (click here to get access with $55 off using discount code PBNReview) with European, Australian, and United Kingdom international plug options coming soon serving over 200 countries. (Sign up to get notified.)   

Nama has an array of products, but the J2 happens to be my favourite (as well as my business partner Robbie’s). Our second favourite is the Vitality 5800. Whether you’ve been juicing for years or want to get started, we are super confident it will do the job for you! Plus they offer a 15 year guarantee with the product so it will last for decades!

Money well spent: get $55 off with Code: PBNReview

*This is a paid-for advertorial.

The post Here’s Why The Nama J2 Cold Press Juicer Is The Best On The Market appeared first on Plant Based News.

If you have found your way to this article, I can only assume that we have something in common: both of us want to see a better world where humans and all life on earth is thriving.

Having dedicated many years to researching and communicating the science behind an optimal diet for humans, I understand first hand how our health is inextricably tied to the planet’s (as detailed in my upcoming book). 

‘No healthy humans without a healthy planet’

Put simply, there are no healthy humans without a healthy planet. With that said, any time a new study, book, documentary, or other media publication is published I read or watch with great interest. 

And of course, having interviewed the co-founders of Kiss the Ground, Ryland Engelhart and Finian Makepeace, in early 2020, I was particularly excited to watch the Kiss the Ground documentary (and I recommend you watch it too if you haven’t already).

Claims

Before we get into a few major claims made in Kiss the Ground that are directly at odds with scientific knowledge, I want to preface this entry by saying that I wholeheartedly support regenerative agriculture as a goal and think the documentary did a great job bringing light to the detrimental impact that intensive animal agriculture is having on our planet. 

A degenerative system that decimates life in our soil, releases immense amounts of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere, pollutes our waterways, and disrupts the biodiversity and biology on our land and in our oceans. 

I was also pleased the documentary shone a light on food waste and composting – these are two things that many of us can introduce into our daily lives with minimal barriers to entry. 

Above all, it’s great to see this conversation growing from what has very much been a fringe movement to now entering the mainstream. 

Talking about the importance of being better stewards of our land, and why we must do a better job at protecting our natural resources and ecosystems, is absolutely crucial if our species is to not just thrive on Planet Earth, but survive. It’s within this context, that it becomes so vividly apparent, that in this conversation we are not just talking about planetary health, but at its core, human health.

Falling short

Where I think the documentary falls short is in three critical areas. I’ve listed these below in short, and then we will go through each together looking at the claims made and where the science lies: (These have also been covered in detail with Environmental Researcher Nicholas Carter (co-author of this article) in episode 104 and 111 on the Plant Proof podcast).

1 – Claims that holistic grazing can reverse climate change. This form of regenerative agriculture is by no means the ‘silver bullet’ that it’s so often portrayed to be – and is certainly not what the world’s leading climate scientists are most excited by.

2 – Creation of a false dichotomy. The documentary carefully positions holistic grazing as the answer to intensive animal agriculture (including the mono-cropping that occurs to feed factory-farmed animals). I’m sure we can all agree that factory farming is a blight on humanity, and there is far too much mono-cropping, but assuming that it’s either this intensive form of animal agriculture or holistic grazing, is not accurate. For a great deal of land, there are other, more evidence-based ways to sequester carbon. Unfortunately, these incredibly superior solutions are less sexy because they are not tying livestock, and more specifically the consumption of beef, to the solution.

3 – Unclear about how the proposed solutions would affect our diets. Regardless of the above claims being scientifically supported or not (we’ll come to that) if one is to advocate for a shift to holistic grazing this will inevitably result in a dramatic reduction in global meat supply. In turn, this means shifting to more plant-based diets.

Can Holistic Grazing reverse climate change?

There is enough evidence to support regenerative agriculture being a more environmentally friendly form of agriculture to how we are currently farming, but on the other side, I am also weary whenever a solution is proposed as a panacea for tackling climate change – what is arguably one of the most complex problems that the human race is faced with.

There are three main points I want to make about holistic grazing that are important for you to understand.

The first point that I think deserves our attention, before getting into the science on the reversal claim, is the way the producers wanted you to see holistic grazing. It was very much positioned as absolutely crucial to confronting this climate emergency we find ourselves in. The sort of solution you might suspect is at the top of all climate scientist’s lists. 

This positioning starts with the documentary’s focus on the Drawdown Report by Environmentalist Paul Hawken from Project Drawdown. This is a review I’m very familiar with having read through it front to back a handful of times. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed Paul’s episode on Rich Roll’s podcast where he speaks at length about Project Drawdown. Essentially, Hawken and his team have created a long list of approximately 100 solutions, which when implemented together, would be capable of drawing down more carbon than we are emitting by 2050. And as the documentary states, shifting us from climate warming to climate cooling.

Presenting the information

Focussing on this review was a clever move by Kiss the Ground – Paul Hawken and the Project Drawdown are incredibly well respected. However, there is a ‘slight’ problem with the way they presented the information from the Drawdown report. What’s glaringly clear from Hawken’s report is that when it comes to our food and greenhouse gas emissions, the two areas we can make the biggest impact are reducing food waste (number one solution)and moving to a plant-rich diet (number three solution). 

In fact, if we look at the solutions outlined in the Drawdown Report and their potential to draw down carbon from our atmosphere, shifting to a diet that favours calories from plants is twice as powerful compared to shifting to silvopasture and four times as powerful compared as shifting to managed grazing – two forms of regenerative agriculture that involve livestock. 

There was also no mention of tropical forest restoration – which has significantly greater potential at pulling carbon out of the atmosphere compared to grazing cows on land – no matter what practice is employed. You can see all of this here for yourself 

Diet change

I’m not suggesting we should only be changing our diet – but given it has greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you would think it would have been given more emphasis than putting cows on pasture. 

The documentary tiptoed around this, failing to make it explicitly clear that the food on our plate has to change, while seemingly wanting us to believe that holistic grazing on its own can reverse climate change. 

It only takes a quick read of the Drawdown Report to realize that this is absolutely unfounded – it’s going to take an enormous amount of solutions to radically transform our energy and food systems to reverse climate change, and holistic grazing, while certainly better than intensive farming, is not the miracle carbon-sequestering practice that those watching are led to believe. There’s nothing ‘Netflix and chill’about that.

Flaky science

The next thing I want to address, and perhaps the most important take-home message here, is the science underpinning holistic grazing is flaky at best. Kiss the Ground gave the microphone to Ranchers Alan Savory and Gabe Brown, but we didn’t hear about any legitimate science testing out whether the claims they were making truly hold up? 

Sure, it’s easy to see with our own eyes that there is more life on land that is managed in a regenerative way, but in order to really know that it is a climate solution, we would need evidence that carbon levels in the soil are not only increasing but increasing by more than the emissions emitted by the animals involved in the system. I thought it was odd that this was left out. 

Although, when I watched it for the third time, it became obvious that the biology 101 lessons from ‘Ray’ were cleverly used to dance around the fact there is no solid science to back up Savory and Brown’s claims. This is where a report written by Dr. Tara Garnett for the University of Oxford becomes very interesting – a report title Grazed and Confused that I have written about before here. 

After looking at all of the available evidence on holistic grazing, and claims made by the likes of Savory, the report concludes that ‘grass-fed livestock are not a climate solution’. Grazing livestock are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock. Rising animal production and consumption, whatever the farming system and animal type, is causing damaging greenhouse gas release and contributing to changes in land use. Ultimately, if high consuming individuals and countries want to do something positive for the climate, maintaining their current consumption levels but simply switching to grass-fed beef is not a solution. Eating less meat, of all types, is.

And when it comes to the Savory Institute and Savory’s claims Dr Garnett states that they are ‘generally anecdotal, based on surveys and testimonies rather than on-site measurements’. Sounds pretty ambitious to champion this form of animal agriculture as a climate solution without strong empirical evidence?

This isn’t the only literature review that has found a lack of science to support Savory’s claims about holistic grazing with another detailed review of the literature out of Sweden by Maria Nordborg, coming to the same conclusion. Savory’s claims don’t stand up when you put them under the microscope. Or this breakdown of the many myth’s he perpetuates in The International Journal of Biodiversity.

A huge problem

Now all debates have two sides and Savory has been confronted with this information before. His response: “holistic management does not permit replication”, and “you’ll find the scientific method never discovers anything.”

In other words, his claims cannot be supported by data, replicated by others and he doesn’t believe in science. Makes sense why the documentary didn’t go there! This is a huge problem. There seems to be an incredibly fine line between grazing just enough and overgrazing, which speaks to potentially why credible peer-reviewed science has to date, failed to produce results that come close to what Alan Savory claims. 

This is why science is so important. Anecdote and expert opinion or theories are at the bottom of the evidence hierarchy, and it’s not until we see the findings from higher levels of science, reproduced on scale, that we can begin to have confidence in what we are observing. If he is the only one that can achieve the carbon sequestration that he claims, I fail to see how that’s a hopeful solution. And let’s not forget, this is the same man who ordered 40,000 African elephants to slaughter because he incorrectly thought they were damaging the land.

A false dichotomy

A major strategy deployed in the documentary is offering two distinct choices for where consumers should source their food: conventional chemical-filled monocrops, or lush open fields of regenerative agriculture. 

This is a major oversimplification of our complex and varied farming system. Firstly, just so we are clear, the majority of the world’s mono-crops are fed to livestock. So what we are talking about here is how to better use the land dedicated to animal agriculture (83 percent of all agricultural land) that is responsible for 80 percent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions yet provides only 18 percent of our total calories. 

The elephant in the room during the documentary is that they completely failed to mention that a significant amount of the land dedicated to animal agriculture across the world (not all but certainly a lot) needs to be restored to forests (the number one driver of deforestation is animal agriculture) to get anywhere close to meeting our climate goals. 

Forests

Why? Because not only does this mean less greenhouse gas-emitting ruminant animals, but it means we can draw down more carbon from the atmosphere – forests are typically far better at doing this than grasslands. 

In fact, in the Drawdown Report, when you factor in the land that would be freed up if the entire world shifted to a plant-rich diet, this becomes the single biggest lever that each of us can pull to lower our individual environmental footprint. So really, the idea of conservation and restoration, needed to be absolutely front and center if Kiss the Ground truly wanted to educate the masses about how agriculture can help tackle climate change.

They also failed to make it clear why ruminants were required. Yes, there’s no doubt ruminant poop can help improve soil quality, but there are many types of regenerative agriculture that do not involve animals or animal manure and others that act as sanctuaries using animals on their land without sending them to slaughter.

One can only presume that the slaughtering of the animal is not about soil quality, but about profits. Don’t get me wrong. Farmer’s need to make profits but we need to be transparent here and lay down all solutions on the table to have an open discussion. Until then, it’s going to be hard to truly transform our agricultural system to benefit all life on the planet.

As a side note, the documentary routinely employed uses numerous fear-mongering tactics to scare the viewer into grasping for whatever solution comes next. A prime example of this is their claim that there is only 60 years of farming left. That sounds catastrophic. However, this was taken from a United Nations speech, which leading soil scientist’s say is absolutely not supported by science. 

3. What would a global transition from factory-farmed meat to holistic grazing mean for our diets?

Finally, the ‘elephant’ / ‘cow’ in the room (not sure which is more fitting) during Kiss the Ground  is how are we going to produce enough meat using holistic grazing to meet current demands? 

There are a few clues within the documentary that speak to this but they are by no means overtly clear to the viewer. The first clue is when the documentary makes mention of the natural history of Bison roaming the United States. They correctly state that Bison would pass through land and not be seen for around a year. To rotate cows like bison, it means leaving land free from roaming animals for at least six-nine months – a figure that Alan Savory states himself in the documentary.

This means that compared to factory farms, or traditional grazing where cows are overgrazing and destroying the soil, a regenerative farm using holistic grazing would require a lot more land for any given number of roaming cows.

Meat consumption

Unfortunately, overtly telling people they need to cut down on their meat consumption for this change in agriculture to work isn’t going to help with the documentary’s popularity. But it’s the reality we face. Factory farms are good at one thing – producing a lot of meat in a short period of time to feed a growing appetite for meat. 

If we pull the pin on that, it means one thing and one thing only. Less meat to go around and significantly higher prices per unit. And this isn’t just my own speculation. If the U.S shifted away from intensive livestock farming to traditional grazing, it’s been calculated that the available grasslands would only be able to produce 27 percent of the countries current beef supply. 

In other words, a 73 percent reduction in beef available per person in the U.S. For holistic grazing, that figure would be even higher because it requires far more land per cow and thus produces significantly less beef than the traditional more intensive grazing systems. 

As prices go up, pending one spends the same budget they had previously set aside for meat, their consumption naturally falls. Unfortunately, Savory seems to have led himself to believe that his unscientific approach should be expanded across the world – really, tear down more forests to make room for holistic grazing? This sounds like something else that he would likely regret in the near future.

Plant-rich diets

While, there were very subtle hints that people would have only caught if paying very close attention, it was not made overtly clear by the documentary that the proposed solutions means transitioning the world to plant-rich diets. 

There was mention of a ‘regenerative diet’ but what does that mean? Why not let the viewer know what the world’s leading climate scientists have to say about diet? Data from almost 40,000 farms, and 119 countries, clearly shows us that a plant-based diet results in less greenhouse gas emissions, less pollution, less ocean acidification, and uses less water and land – land which we can therefore ‘free up’ and convert to forests to rapidly sequester carbon from our atmosphere. This seems like pretty important information that was left off the table.

Despite the documentary not spelling it out, it’s very clear. If we want to lower our environmental footprint the single most important thing we can do is eat more plants. Yes, what’s on our plate is even more important than where it’s come from or ‘buying local’. As Hannah Ritchie, Phd (Geosciences) puts it: “Whether you buy it from the farmer next door or from far away, it is not the location that makes the carbon footprint of your dinner large, but the fact that it is beef.”

The bonus being that plant-rich dietary patterns just so happen to also be what major health institutions and progressive Government departments like Health Canada are advocating for to tackle rising rates of obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life.

Grassfed

The problem is, the lay viewer who is not across the science, and blinded by the message of ‘hope’, is likely to confuse the role of cows in holistic grazing with instruction that we should continue eating meat at current rates (as long as it’s ‘grass-fed’) and perhaps even double down on our meat consumption. 

As long as it’s ‘grass-fed’. After all, this method of grazing, which Gabe Brown and Alan Savory speak about at length, is being positioned in the documentary as the solution we have all been waiting for to reverse climate change. A powerful message during a time where the climate emergency is without a doubt causing climate anxiety. But what good is hope if it’s false?

And as we all know, this creates a slippery slope. Consumers falsely see meat as part of the solution, and although they may do their best to seek out regenerative meat (<one percent of the market currently) most will inevitably continue to support factory farming and intensive grazing practices when eating out at restaurants or shopping at major supermarket chains. In many ways, this stands to do more harm than good.

A compelling case

Despite all of this, my fear is that many will be left with a complete misunderstanding of where environmental science truly lies. Why? Because where Kiss the Ground lacks in science, it makes up in celebrity power – with the likes of Woody Harrelson, Jason Mraz, Ian Somerhalder, Gisele Bündchen, and Tom Brady all featured. 

The documentary is well-produced and in the eyes of a layperson an extremely compelling case for changing the way we grow food. However, given the notable absence of well qualified environmental scientists discussing evidence to support their ambitious claims, in favor of anecdotal experience from ranchers, just how much of the information in this documentary can we trust and reliably use to shape our food system and inform our food choices? Unfortunately not as much as I had hoped.

A Regenerative Diet

So if Kiss the Ground had taken a more evidence-based approach and included dietary recommendations what would it have looked like?

I would simply build on the work of Michael Pollan, a well-known science writer: “Where possible eat regenerative food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Practically speaking this looks like the plate below – perhaps this could be ‘The Regenerative Plate’ that Kiss the Ground adopts in their communication going forwards. 

A plant-rich dietary pattern that places emphasis on regeneration but really could be chopped in a number of ways to suit the individual – Mediterranean, paleo, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, etc can all be done in a plant-predominant manner. The central tenant is that it’s a diet that places enormous emphasis on calories from plants and de-emphasizes calories from animal products. I’d be willing to donate it to them.

Plant-exclusive diet

Regardless of the label that we choose to adopt, eating this way will nourish the soil, reduce emissions from agriculture, and at the same time reduce the burden of chronic disease in our communities. 

For me, it’s a plant-exclusive diet and for you it might be eating plant-based before dinner – often the perfect place for people to start. 

Either way, shifting the typical diet in such a way is a certain win for humanity and all life on Earth, and thus something that not only should have been made clearer in Kiss the ground, but something that everyone reading should strongly consider.

The post OPINION: Is Documentary ‘Kiss The Ground’ Just A Last Ditch Effort To Keep Meat Relevant? appeared first on Plant Based News.

How many other vegan men out there hear the ‘but how do you build muscles?’ question on a regular basis? 

As a doctor, a man, and a person who likes to work out, I have been acutely aware for a long time of how many dietary myths and mistaken cultural beliefs persist about veganism, health, athleticism and masculinity.

The Game Changers

When I first heard about The Game Changers, a documentary covering all these topics with some big-name producers behind it (including James Cameron, Arnold Schwarznegger, Novak Djokovic, Lewis Hamilton and Jackie Chan) I was excited but also nervous about whether it would do the justice the issues deserved. 

It turns out my fears were unfounded: when I finally saw the film at the cinema last month, I was blown away by how good it is. The Game Changers is a fantastic achievement, and I believe it will actually live up to its name. 

It only took a week to become the biggest selling documentary of all time on iTunes, and today it is released on Netflix where it will be able to reach the millions of viewers it deserves. 

I am already recommending it to my patients, as are many other doctors across the world. Even vegan-sceptic Piers Morgan has agreed to watch it, after one of the documentary’s stars, strong-man Patrik Baboumian, carried four people across the Good Morning Britain studio.

Veggie gladiators

The film starts with James Wilks – elite Special Forces trainer and The Ultimate Fighter winner – recovering from an injury and researching the best ways to speed up recovery. To his surprise, he discovers that the Roman gladiators were vegetarian, which challenges his deeply held beliefs about masculinity, athletic ability and virility. 

He then goes on to meet several inspirational world-class athletes, including Olympic cycling medallist Dotsie Bausch, ultramarathoner Scott Jurek, UFC fighter Nate Diaz, and American footballer Derrick Morgan, who have all had astonishing achievements after adopting a plant-based diet. 

The footage of their achievements is beautifully filmed and awe-inspiring, and their enthusiasm is so infectious that everyone I went to the cinema with felt motivated to take on a new physical challenge afterwards (although unlike Baboumian it’s doubtful we’ll be turning any cars over in the near future).

The plant-based advantage

Wilks explores the reasons behind the ‘plant-based advantage’ in some detail; this includes the fact that meat and other animal products produce inflammation in the body, whereas plant foods are anti-inflammatory and therefore lead to a quicker recovery time after workouts. 

Inflammation also plays a key role in the onset and development of chronic diseases, which helps to explain why vegans have lower rates of heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. 

There is a powerful scene in the film where firefighters in New York City learn that the biggest risk to their life is the same as the general population – death from heart disease. They agree to try a seven-day vegan challenge, and the results are similar as what my patients achieve when they agree to try going plant-based – more energy, reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, healthy weight loss, and improved blood sugar control. 

My patients are always astonished – as was Wilks’ father who also adopts a plant-based diet for heart disease – that merely changing the way they eat can transform their health, and are delighted that they are put back in control of their health. It is estimated that if everyone went vegan, the worldwide economy would save $1.6 trillion by 2050 through health and social savings.

Big Meat

There is an important section on the attempts of the meat industry to try and create confusion about the health effects of their products, comparing their tactics to those of the tobacco industry, who paid athletes and doctors to advertize their products and tried to present their own dubious research demonstrating the ‘safety’ of smoking. Now, we have athletes selling us Big Macs, and undeclared lobbyists for the meat industry writing for prestigious medical journals.

For example, there was recently a flurry of media headlines about ‘vegans being at risk of brain damage’ due to a lack of choline. This stemmed from an opinion piece by a nutritionist in the British Medical Journal, who had failed to declare she worked for the Meat Advisory Panel, a meat industry lobby group. 

The BMJ amended the article to declare this conflict of interest after I wrote to inform them of this, but unfortunately, this important amendment was not reported by the media outlets who had already spread the unfounded scare story. Doctors and dieticians who are not funded by the meat industry are clear that choline deficiency is not a concern for vegans. 

Red meat

Also making widespread headline news recently (interestingly the day before The Game Changers was released online) was a study claiming that ‘red and processed meat isn’t as bad for health as previously thought’. This study has multiple significant flaws and has been criticized by the wider scientific community including the World Cancer Research Fund, and subsequently, an investigation by the New York Times found that the lead study author had previous ties to the food industry, including the beef industry, that again had been undisclosed.

Another example is the very small number of scientists who deny that cholesterol is related to heart disease. This has been debunked by the vast majority of experts, and there are suggestions to treat ‘cholesterol-deniers’ in the same way as ‘climate change deniers’ in order to prevent dangerous public confusion. 

As long as there is money to be made from an industry, however, there will be people claiming that it is safe, and the media will always enthusiastically report on any story that suggests people can carry on with habits they enjoy.

Meat and masculinity

A key aspect the film explores is the culturally embedded myth, encouraged by the meat industry myth, that meat is an integral aspect of masculinity. This idea was famously explored by social scientist Carol Adams in her 1990 book The Sexual Politics of Meat, and unfortunately still persists. It is reflected in the fact that men only currently make up 37 percent of vegans. There persists a belief amongst many men, that the only time it is ‘safe’ to be seen is cooking is grilling meat at a barbecue.

This is where I believe the film will really be a Game Changer. By showcasing elite plant-based bodybuilders, UFC fighters, weightlifters and American footballers, winning in their respective fields, it robustly proves that not only are vegan diets not holding athletes back in these traditionally masculine sports, they are in fact excelling. 

The evidence to refute the common dietary myths is well presented (and summarized on the Game Changers website). This includes solid answers to the classic protein question. The myth that you need animal protein has been debunked, and the film explains that all protein comes from plants – vegans just cut the middle man (or ‘middle cow’). In fact, there is a wealth of evidence to show that plant protein is much healthier than animal protein. Globally people are eating more protein than they need, often to the detriment of other nutrients, such as fiber, as Dr Garth Davis explains in detail in his book Proteinaholic.

Soy myths

Another persisting belief, encapsulated by the alt-right slur ‘soy-boy’, is that soy is somehow feminising for men. The evidence is categorically clear that soy does not affect testosterone or estrogen in levels in men, whereas it is, in fact, it is dairy milk from cows – who are often pregnant – that contains mammalian sex hormones and has been proven to increase estrogen and decrease testosterone in men.

Exploring the issue of virility further, an amusing scene showed volunteers being hooked up to a penis sensor, which showed that plant-based meals actually improved the quality and frequency of their erections. Responding to these results, the urologist Dr Spitz states: ‘it’s going to wake up people who have penises, and it’s going to wake up people who like people who have penises’. (I love how inclusive this is!) 

As a GP, I measure blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels in patients presenting with erectile dysfunction, as these are known contributing factors, and the evidence is clear that a dietary change towards fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes improves blood flow and therefore erections.

Meat analogues

New plant-based products like Beyond Burgers and Impossible Burgers Beyond taste so similar to beef that most people cannot tell the difference, and are similarly high in protein, making a mental shift to plant-based eating much easier and less threatening to men. 

These foods are processed so not as healthy as eating some unprocessed tofu, but still much healthier than their meat versions. They are also healthier for the planet. Towards the end of the film there is a good summary of the environmental devastation that meat and other animal products are wreaking on the planet. 

Animal agriculture is responsible for over 90 percent of the destruction of the Amazon and globally uses 83 percent of agricultural land but produces just 18 percent of calories and 37 percent of protein. 

It has been calculated that going vegan is the biggest impact anyone can make to reduce their ecological impact, an issue explored in the new book by Jonathan Safran Foer We Are The Weather.

Criticism

A few criticisms of the film I’ve heard include disappointment that high profile sports stars like Novak Djokovic or Venus Williams did not feature more heavily, that there wasn’t enough detail on how to go plant-based, that the differences between ‘junk food’ vegan food and healthy plant-based food was not described in more detail, and that the animal rights aspect of veganism did not feature more. 

After the screening I attended at the cinema, they showed some cut footage, which addressed some of these points, and although I understand the need for editing to keep people’s attention it would be great if the producers could also release an extended cut version. 

In the meantime, their website also has a lot of useful information on the ‘how’ part of going plant-based. The documentary Forks Over Knives presents the data about chronic disease and processed foods in more detail. 

In terms of animal rights, there is a small nod to this towards the end of the film, and I would argue that this isn’t the film to explore this issue in more detail, and could lead people to switch off. Once people are ready, there are already several documentaries on this topic (Earthlings, Dominion, Land of Hope and Glory), that people may be more receptive to when they have already changed their behaviour for the health and fitness benefits.

‘An enormous punch’

Ultimately, however, this documentary packs an enormous punch in its 80-minute running time. 

Academic research papers have limited ability to motivate people to change their lifestyles. Watching people performing incredible acts elicits much more visceral and emotional reactions that go a long way to counteracting negative stereotypes. 

I’ve already had my first patient report back to me they have gone plant-based after watching it, and I am sure they are only the first of many. For our health and the planet, this film couldn’t have come at a better time. 

You can watch The Game Changers on Netflix here

The post A Doctor Reviews ‘The Game Changers’ As It Launches On Netflix appeared first on Plant Based News.

Highly anticipated documentary The Game Changers made its cinematic debut on September 16, and is now available to pre-order digitally.

As well as a line-up of elite athletes, the film also features interviews with over fifteen renowned medical doctors, including two team members from Australasia’s new non-profit organization Doctors For Nutrition.

The Game Changers, which is currently ranked as the number one bestseller on iTunes pre-order, ‘documents the explosive rise of plant-based eating in professional sports, mixing real-time, groundbreaking science with cinematic stories of struggle and triumph’.

Executive produced by some of the sports world’s biggest names – think Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Chan and Novak Djokovic – does the film live up to the hype?

The Doctors For Nutrition team attended the premiere screenings across Australia and New Zealand this week. Here’s what they had to say:

Dr. Andrew Little MD (Ambassadoc for Queensland)

“Do yourself a favor and watch this documentary. It’s absolutely amazing. It presents the facts of a plant-based diet in a really nice, logical order and hits on everything the public needs to know about. It features high profile athletes thriving on plant-based diets. Check it out, it is seriously a big eye-opener.”

Emma Strutt APD (Lead Dietitian for Queensland)

“The Game Changers does a fantastic job at presenting the latest science (bonus points for the on-screen references) while completely obliterating the ridiculously out-of-date stereotype that ‘real men’ need to eat meat for strength, size and speed. Anyone who cares about their health and wellbeing, their athletic performance or the environment will take something of value away from this entertaining documentary.”

Dr. Malcolm Mackay MD (GP Resources Advisor)

“It blends nutrition science with the stories of some of the strongest, fastest and toughest athletes on the planet. The health science segments are well-researched and the information is presented at a pace and depth that is easy to understand.”

Jenny Cameron (Lead Research Advisor)

“Anyone who is an athlete needs to see this film. Anyone who works with athletes needs to see this film. Anyone worried about getting enough protein needs to see this film. We are confident this movie has what it takes to have a powerful impact across the world.”

As you can see, the Doctors For Nutrition team gives The Game Changers two big plant-powered thumbs up.

You can find out more about the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet here 

The post Doctors For Nutrition Praise Plant-Based Documentary The Game Changers appeared first on Plant Based News.

Think and Grow Vegan is a handbook for anyone who is curious about a plant-based diet. 

The book itself is divided into easy to follow sections: Reduce, Pescatarian, Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan and Vegan. 

Each section is brimming with nutritional information, answers to questions you may have about plant-based living and also covers some ethical aspects of veganism. Each section ends with a summary so you can re-cap on the most important points, this is also great for reference if you are reading the book again.

About the author

Glen John Jones is a personal trainer based in South London, and as someone who works in the health and fitness industry, he is very passionate about the subject and this shows in his writing. 

Jones has extensive knowledge but is able to express it in a relatable way so the reader doesn’t feel intimidated by too much new information. He covers many different things that are important for new vegans to know, such as the importance of B12 and what to expect when you eat more fiber.

Jones discusses his own plant-based journey and outlines how he was once the type of person who would ‘carry around cooked chicken in tupperware’ for lunch. 

This gives the book a personal feel, again making the reader relate to the author. His style of writing is easy to follow and makes the book seem like the ultimate ‘go-to’ for any new vegan. It acts like a reference book, a manual and a chat with a friend, all in one.

The final section of the book, ‘What Now’, provides further encouragement for those new to veganism by mentioning the best documentaries to watch and tips for social media.

Must have

This book is a must-have for anyone considering switching to a plant-based diet and who has no idea where to begin. While there is lots of information online, to have it in a book format makes it more accessible for anyone, at any age and there’s no WIFI required. It would make a great gift if you know someone who needs a nudge in the right direction and it doesn’t come across at all preachy, so even those who aren’t open minded will still be intrigued

For those of you who are vegan veterans, it is still a very good read if you are looking to brush up on some nutritional information and read about someone else’s plant-based journey, making this little book a must-have for absolutely anyone’s coffee table.

Think and Grow Vegan is available now at good bookstores and online. You can find out more here

DISCLAIMER: This review reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily those of Plant Based News. This is not a paid-for review. PBN was sent a press sample of the book.

The post REVIEW: Think And Grow Vegan By Glen John Jones appeared first on Plant Based News.

When you think of Lush, you think of bath bombs and almost-edible soaps.

And when you think of Lush’s flagship store in Oxford Street, you probably have visions of soapy chaos, with hundreds of shoppers clambering over piles of Avobath and shampoo bars.

But did you know that Lush also now does a whole host of treatments in-house? And that the downstairs of the Oxford St branch is actually a spa?

No, me neither. I went down there for a 30- minute vegan facial – the kind of pick-me-up treatment anyone could fit into their lunch hour.

Lush vegan facial

No stranger to having treatments, I was kind of concerned about having it done literally in the middle of the shop floor – where everyone could see me. Every salon on Treatwell promises to provide a tranquil, dimly-lit room complete with whale song. And nearly every facial I’ve had has required that I take off my top…which I draw the line at doing in the middle of a central London store – even if it is Lush.

But anyway, the spot where you have these kinds of treatments is a kind of little cage in the basement where it’s surprisingly quiet and peaceful. It’s bedecked with floral decorations and is surrounded by beautiful displays of products; honestly, it’s hard to believe that you’re just a flight of stairs away from the Bath Bomb Wars above.

I had a quick consultation about my skin (I asked for dewy and fresh after a week of 6am gym sessions) and my therapist set to work after asking whether I was vegan (a first at a spa!).

No need to take off my polo neck (thank God!), she went around gathering together a selection of vegan products that would do the job.

Products used for the facial

We started with a block of Naked Cold Cream Cleaner called Like a Virgin – a vegan version of Lush’s classic Ultrabland cleanser, which replaces beeswax with organic extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil and sunflower and candelilla waxes. That gently removed all that London smog from my skin while quenching, brightening and toning the skin (it also contains lemon essential oil).

Next up was a seaweed and calamine-based cleanser called Aqua Marina, which was amazingly cooling and calming – so great for the giant bags under my eyes and the odd little spot eruption.

A light facial oil bar (Light Touch) was then massaged all over my face. It’s a solid bar that’s been developed to promote clear complexions, thanks to the fact that it has a witch hazel toner built into it. The blue spirulina which gives it its fresh colour is supposed to protect the skin from environmental damage – something we could all probably do with.

Then came a Don’t Look At Me face mask – so called because it’s bright blue and is the kind of face mask that you’d put on at home when you don’t expect any visitors. But there I was, being painted bright blue in the middle of Oxford Street.

You’re supposed to leave it on for 15 minutes and while I sat proofing, my therapist gave me an incredible hand massage – pressing my palms and twiddling in between my finger joints to help the rest of my body to relax. It was genuinely dreamy. In fact, I actually fell asleep around the time when the face mask was put on and woke up towards the end of the treatment worried that my mouth had been slightly open the whole time. I mean…that’s how relaxing the whole experience was.

Finally a wonderfully light but nourishing moisturiser was slathered on (I *think* it was Celestial – whatever it was, it smelled heavenly), and time was up. 

Was it worth it? Emphatically, yes

The big sign in the therapy space read: “Receive an expert consultation, sit back and immerse yourself before stepping out feeling renewed and refreshed.”

So, did I?

Absolutely. My skin felt like it glowed and I felt so relaxed (nothing short of a miracle after nine hours in a busy national newspaper office!) that I could barely keep my eyes open on my home.

While I’m something of a Lush addict, I also swore that I’d track down the products used on my skin (which is something most therapists try to foist on you and which this one didn’t even mention a hint of extra sales) because they felt and smelt so damn good. 

Lush takes care to make sure vegans are catered to

Lush’s skincare range is still pretty new and as such, I’m not that au fait with it. I still get my cosmetics from standard companies and my moisturisers from skincare brands. But I’m now going to start replacing my processed stuff with Lush options. After all, there’s no need to check if they’re cruelty-free. And most of the stuff is vegan anyway – with any vegetarian options labelled clearly.

As for spa experience, very few spas ask about veganism and that can lead to not only having non-vegan products slathered on your skin but also products that aren’t even necessarily cruelty-free. Half the time, therapists don’t know if the stuff they’re using has been tested on animals – many of the ‘top end’ brands do. 

There’s no pressure to spend more money afterwards

I’d go to Lush every time, simply because I know that my ethics can be accommodated and the fact that you’re not pushed to buy whatever products have been used afterwards.

In fact, my therapist offered to give me samples of everything we tried so that I could give some of the regime a go myself before committing to buying anything. How often does that happen?

So yes, I was incredibly impressed. Now all I need is someone to buy me a full body massage…

There are eight spa locations: Poole, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh and Liverpool.

You can find out more about Lush’s spa treatments here

This review is not a paid-for advertorial.

The post Lush Now Does Vegan Facials – And They’re Everything We Hoped They’d Be appeared first on Plant Based News.

Storm Callum had left Glasgow’s streets drowning in sorrow, yet inside The Briggait there was no lack of sober cheer.

Mindful drinking movement Club Soda brought its alcohol-free drinks festival to a city renowned for boozy lifestyles, but also one where vegan and wellbeing businesses thrive.

Founded three years ago, Club Soda has made massive strides with its message about nobody feeling socially awkward if they’re not drinking, offering alcohol-free beers, kombucha, and other beverages instead.

A broad spectrum

The Herald Scotland rather missed the point by claiming this event was aimed at ‘heavy-drinking over 50s’. In reality, a broad spectrum of the curious and the converted came along, from all age groups and social backgrounds.

Besides numerous stall holders there were DJs, live music acts, discussion panels and a cocktail competition.

Not quite all the businesses promoted vegan products, but a large percentage did. What’s more, many were proud to point out their use of natural ingredients, responsibly sourced. You also got eagerly bombarded with facts from various producers.

Who knew there’s more tea drunk in the world than all the alcoholic and soft drinks combined? Ever wondered why the best kombucha drinks have a nice cidery tang? Kelsey from Clever Kombucha says that when black tea ferments in oak barrels, it produces clear apple-y notes. Based in Glasgow, she uses Bulgarian oak casks and organic Assam tea to create stylish tongue-tinglers.

Vegan highlights

Now onto more event tastings, with some other vegan highlights. Summerhouse Drinks from Aberdeen offered a tart and zingy raspberry lemonade made with Scottish soft fruit. Based on actual lemon juice, not concentrate, Summerhouse’s full selection is thus naturally ‘cloudy’.

Left Field Kombucha told us their softly peaty Yunnan Black is now available in two Scottish beer bars on draught. It’s sparkling, beguiling and good for your tummy.

Based in north London, the intriguing Shrb company takes inspiration from the Prohibition era. They explained how ‘shrub’ was originally made using the vinegars of preserved fruits and herbs. But there’s nothing prim or puritanical about Shrb’s brand, with its inspired range hinting at anything from saison beers to absinthe. Funky fruity brews for a modern crowd.

Mocktails

The Temperance Spirit Company presented adult soft drinks with all the verve of real cocktails. A sweetly gluggable Cuba Libre showed burnt caramel hints and a warm ruby colour.

Finally, those good folks at Borrago spoke with almost mystical fervour about their no-alc spirits. Tasted neat they have a wild floral bitterness that thrills even further with mixers.

The cardamom is sourced from India, where apparently a sense of terroir is crucial. Borrago is also committed to preserving bee habitats, giving away 80,000 borage (the ‘bee flower’) seeds.

Heading back outdoors the skies looked gloomy, but Laura Willoughby, campaigner and co-founder of Club Soda, had some bright news: she confirmed another Mindful Drinking showcase on January 19, 2019, at Rich Mix community arts hub in Shoreditch, London.

The post REVIEW: Vegan Highlights At Club Soda’s Mindful Drinking Festival In Glasgow appeared first on Plant Based News.

Sydney-based vegan psychologist Clare Mann has written a handbook for vegans to understand and communicate the anguish of living in a non-vegan world.

Vystopia, the title of the book, is a new term that Mann, who became vegan nine years ago, created in late 2017 to describe what she calls the ‘existential crisis’ experienced by vegans as they become aware of society’s trance-like collusion with a dystopian world full of greed, animal exploitation, and speciesism.

‘Distressing’

“When I became aware of the massive widespread scale of animal abuse nearly a decade ago, it was incredibly distressing and painful for me,” Mann told PBN. 

“Over the past several years, I’ve been inundated in my psychology practice with vegans demonstrating identical symptoms of distress and mental trauma. 

“I realised this had never been properly identified. I also kept seeing an increase in GPs referring clients to me with common diagnosed mental illnesses, only to find out they were vegans who were rightly traumatised by the systematised cruelty towards animals.”

Mann talks about vystopia

Not a medical condition

Mann is clear to stress that vystopia is not a medical condition or pathology, but simply an existential crisis that gives rise to a range of emotions including depression, fear, anguish, loneliness, despair and desperation. 

“The vegan wakes up and suddenly realises that everything they believed isn’t true,” says Mann. 

“Not only do they have to deal with the painful truth of what happens to animals, but they find themselves having to challenge the Government, the health and education systems, and their family, friends and loved ones.

“Being dismissed or ridiculed after sharing what they now know, as well as witnessing everyone around them continuing to collude in abhorrent cruelty to animals through their everyday purchases is extremely traumatic for vegans.”

Survey: 83 percent of vegans experience vystopia

In a survey of 800 vegans, carried out by Mann’s company Communicate31, 83 percent identified as experiencing vystopia. 

The survey also found that 51 percent have partners who are not interested in becoming vegan, 59 percent are the only vegan in their family, and 63 percent seek fellow vegans to help with their vystopia.

Effective communication strategies

The aim of the new book, which is published worldwide on May 17, is to give vegans a context in which they can talk to others about their experience and provide tools and resources to empower them to create a kinder world. 

“It’s not just about educating people about animal cruelty, it’s showing them how we’ve all been duped into not asking questions about fairness, social justice, and kindness and compassion towards animals, people and planet,” says Mann, who is also the Co-founder of the Vegan Voices smartphone app, a free 30-day video communication training for vegans.

Some of the topics discussed in the book – which has been endorsed by the likes of plant-based medical doctor and author Dr. Michael Klaper, renowned US journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell and popular Australian animal rights activist James Aspey – include how vystopia gets triggered in everyday life, symptoms of vystopia, strategies for communicating effectively with non-vegans, and how to navigate being in a relationship with a non-vegan partner.

Book tour

Mann, who is originally from Plymouth in the UK, will launch the book in Sydney, Australia at an event that will also be live-streamed. 

This will be followed by a global speaking tour that includes the Animal Rights Conference in Los Angeles in June and VegFestUK London in October.

Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non Vegan World by Clare Mann will be published on 17 May, 2018 by Communicate31. More information and pre-orders are available atVystopia.com

The post Australian Psychologist Coins Term To Describe Anguish Of Vegans: ‘Vystopia’ appeared first on Plant Based News.

Among the sea of junk food vegan eateries that keep popping up in London, visiting a superfood-laden plant-based café can be a breath of fresh air.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my comfort food – but finding nutritious vegan fare in the city can be a drag.

I’m all about whole food plant-based treats, and hear this: Pride Kitchen Café is plant-based, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free. 

On a scale from one to ‘when did I become this person?’, how cool is that?

Fittingly located in the heart of Covent Garden’s Neal’s Yard, which is renowned for its conscious and ethical living spots, Pride Kitchen looks quite unnassuming at first glance.

But don’t let the casual vibe fool you: the service, the dishes, and the atmosphere are of the highest quality.

Offerings

Serving dishes like smoothie bowls, buddha bowls, raw cakes, and various toasts, Pride’s signature fare is the super salads.

Notable eats on the menu include the classic acai bowl, the homemade chickpea flatbread farinata, probiotic on toast, and the Asian Pride burger.

Diners can also customize their own salads, choosing from highly nutritious ingredients – which is what I did.

Meal

I went for a base of quinoa, added cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, and spiralized cucumber for veggies, black beluga lentils and chickpea omelette as protein, and settled on a cashew cheezy dressing.

To drink, I had to order the rose & raspberry latte. I mean… where else would I have that opportunity?

And let me tell you: not only was I impressed by how delicious these simple ingredients tasted, but I also left feeling full and satiated, which does not happen often when it comes to salads.

The dish was a thing of beauty. The ingredients were carefully divided, and topped with pumpkin seeds, watercress, and naturally, an edible flower.

My favorite part of the whole experience? The chickpea omelette, which came on the side. That really was something else – the smooth, creamy consistency and the subtle egg-y taste did it for me.

And the latte was an entirely unique experience in itself. Although I couldn’t exactly identify the raspberry flavor, the unmistakeable, rich rose aroma was delightful.

Falling in love

Founded by former art director and graphic designer David Bez, Pride Kitchen Café is an oasis among the more common greasy vegan junk.

Bez told Plant Based News about how he was wandering through Neal’s Yard one day – when he saw the empty shop and fell in love.

“I wanted to open a café there, I had no money or experience, but I was in love,” he said.

“I raised 10K through a crowdfunding campaign and on April 2016 I opened my dream café: plant-based, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free.”

Bez, who is originally from Milan, started making salads at his desk at his job at the time six years ago – and started uploading recipes to his blog.

From there, to his first bestselling book, SaladLove, to opening his first café, things happened quite quickly.

Plant-based

Bez, who has lived in London for the past 10 years, believes the city still lacks healthy vegan-conscious options.

“I feel vegans and vegetarians are still too much on the classic carbs and soy world, and they eat too many processed foods,” he says.

“We need more plant based whole food options in the market, not just salads, but in any direction.”

Talking about his diet, Bez admits that he is still transitioning to becoming 100 percent plant-based .?

He adds: “I’m learning on the way, and trying to take people with me in this journey.

“That’s why I’ve created a plant-based restaurant: my future – and our future – is there.”

The Italian entrepreneur will also be hosting a workshop focusing on ‘lacto-fermentation for beginners’ next month.

READ MORE:

Vegan Jet Pilot Releases Plant Based Health Guide For Flyers

This Woman Wants To Change The Vegan Milk Market With A New Product

YouTube Sensation ‘The Edgy Veg’ Launches ‘Revolutionary’ New Vegan Cookbook

The post REVIEW: Delicious Plant Based Food Without The Junk appeared first on Plant Based News.

Wendy Werneth is a dynamic, talented writer, and world traveler who is known online as The Nomadic Vegan. 

She has been to 100 countries and discovered that she enjoyed travel more than ever after becoming a vegan. Veggie Planet: Uncover the Vegan Treasures Hiding in Your Favorite World Cuisines, Wendy’s new book, is sure to empower other vegans to travel the globe, too.

Global vegan

The world is more vegan-friendly than you think. That’s the opening message of Veggie Planet. 

As a vegan travel journalist, I completely agree. This comprehensive book shows you why, and how to enjoy it yourself. 

Whether you want to travel across the country, or to a neighborhood restaurant you haven’t tried before, the book can help you get more out of the journey.

Voice

Chosen in part because of their popularity around the world, Chinese, Ethiopian, Greek, Turkish, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Thai, and Vietnamese cuisines are covered in Veggie Planet. 

Wendy offers a great overview of each listed cuisine, and provides great tips for ordering vegan versions of dishes that often include meat. 

Her prose is upbeat and relatable throughout the book. She has a strong, unique, and compassionate voice as an author that makes you want to keep reading. 

That’s the perfect match for a book that is packed full of so much useful information. 

Interactive

The e-book version of Veggie Planet is interactive. You can click a designated place near the very start of the book where you can enter your email address to receive book bonuses delivered right to your inbox. 

The free bonus package includes free pocket guides that you can use when eating out or traveling, and pictures of the food in the book.

As a travel and culinary guide, Veggie Planet covers both topics in a fun way. It’s a book I’d happily recommend to anyone who is interested in vegan travel. I’d also recommend it to those who are interested in simply learning about international vegan cuisine. 

Veggie Planet is available on Amazon and many independent bookstores around the world.

READ MORE:

Plant-Based Cruises: A Look at 2 Awesome Options for Vegans On The High Seas

Luxury Fashion Retailer Net A Porter Drops Fur

Designer Stella McCartney To Incorporate Ocean Debris Into Designs

The post What In The World Is ‘Veggie Planet’? A Look At An Awesome New Vegan Travel Book appeared first on Plant Based News.