What a way to end the weekend that I’ll share with you in this week’s – The Giraffe Paper (TGP).
I had the privilege to meet and listen to Dr. Michael Greger present at a wellness event in Ocala today. He delivered punch line after punch line on nutrition facts and lifestyle with fervor and always with scientific research to back up anything he was stating and/or citing. Dr. Greger is fresh off releasing his new cookbook, How Not to Die Cookbook, full of plant-based recipes to help us not to die prematurely from all the side effects of eating animal based foods.
One of those side effects is getting hooked on pharmaceuticals. They may help with one symptom, but usually cause countless other issues while neglecting to treat the route cause. A startling statistic he shared was how prescription drugs cost over 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Ouch! He goes on to state how diets never work. He proclaims how they have short-term effects on weight similar to how a yo-yo goes up and down. Counter that by how eating a plant-based lifestyle has no yo-yo effect on weight and it’s side effects include a lower risk of chronic disease, fewer allergies, history of surgeries, use of medications, and use of health services.
Dr. Greger garnered laughter throughout the evening. He shared similar comparisons with how industry influence can drive consumption and confuse the public on understanding what is or isn’t healthy. The comparison he made was the evolution of the tobacco industry and the current state of health in the U.S. based on what we eat. At one time not so long ago doctors smoked, encouraged patients to smoke, and most Americans smoked. Now look at what happened to that industry. Will that happen with animal consumption? We will have to see……
He spoke for about an hour and then opened up for Q&A. I was lucky enough to be one of those selected to ask a question. I asked, “I know several people who go on high fat, low carbohydrate diets and have immediate weight loss success. Two questions – (1) Can you explain how the weight loss occurs? (2) What is an appropriate response to those choosing that approach?”
I have researched my first question quite a bit and sometimes it can get quite in the weeds of science. I was curious to see how Dr. Greger would respond and it was simple. He stated people who go on a high fat, low carbohydrate diets simply are eating less calories by eliminating carbohydrates. They also lose a significant amount of water in their cells quickly, plateau, and then they gain it back at some point as carbohydrates are brought back into the diet. It’s inevitable and there will be another book probably coming out tomorrow promoting how their weight loss routine will work.
His response to the second question was quite simple too. By eating high amounts of fats, you simply get those great side effects mentioned earlier but in this case raising the risk of chronic disease, allergies, surgeries, use of medications, and use of health services.
If you haven’t heard him speak, I highly recommend you watch his video, Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death, and check out other helpful resources I have curated for you here.
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 