This week I received “The New McDougall Cookbook” by Dr. John & Mary McDougall. Their chapter on dairy products being the “last to go” really got me. Listen to this, “In addition to promoting obesity, heart disease, and strokes, dairy fats also stimulates the growth of cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon. The proteins in dairy products are the leading cause of food allergy, and milk sugar, or lactose, which cannot be digested by most people in the world, causes diarrhea, stomach cramps, and intestinal gas. Dairy products are also deficient in several vitamins, dietary fiber, and iron.” As I have written about before, low-fat products are not better for you…on the contrary! (Read my previous blog on for more information!)
The section on contamination really struck a cord because my grandfather died of leukemia and I once met an adorable third grader who was battling it! The link to milk & dairy is something most people are unaware of, but should definitely know about, so please spread the word about this & feel free to share! The McDougall’s write, “Cow’s milk is often polluted with other harmful microorganisms as well, such as those that cause salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, and a number of viral infections. Some of the more sinister viruses found in cow’s milk are bovine leukemia and bovine AIDS viruses. Over half of the dairy cows in this country are infected with these viruses. The leukemia viruses are transmittable under laboratory conditions to other species, like chimpanzees, who then develop leukemia. The incidence of human leukemia worldwide is in direct proportion to the amount of dairy products consumed. Think about these facts the next time you pour your child a glass of cold milk.” If this doesn’t make you stop and think, I don’t know what will? Parents need to let their voices be known in these matters and demand other options for school lunches, like rice or almond milk instead of cows milk!
The McDougall’s voice my exact opinion about meat & dairy products! They write, “Foods from animals, including beef, poultry, dairy products, and eggs, share a similar potential for chemical contamination and for carrying disease-causing microorganisms.”Hello folks! Why do you think the animals are injected with all those antibiotics? Not to mention the pesticides, steroids, and hormones that you’re taking in through a glass of “liquid meat!” Listen, with so many other healthier choices to choose from like almond or soy or rice milk this should be a ‘no-brainer’!
Today I watched a clip on this new K.E. Diet through the Yahoo News feed and thought, “Is this a joke?” Well, I’m jumping on my soap box because this new diet is absolutely insane! It’s a “nose-tube diet” where a doctor inserts a feeding tube through the person’s nose attached to a “portable plastic bag of low-cal liquid nourishment”. When you read that part, you’re probably thinking, “That doesn’t sound so bad!” I hope you know that I’m joking! Who are we kidding here? Running around with a bag with a tube going down your nose? Yuck! Not attractive, bride-to-be! I hope the groom-to-be doesn’t catch a glimpse of you with this get-up before the wedding! If I was him, I’d be running as fast as I could the other way! Okay, trying not to judge your possible decision here, so bear with me!
“The Glamour Shot”
The “cocktail” that’s going down your nose to your stomach with this “diet” is a solution of protein and fat, no carbohydrates. Right in line with the Atkin’s Diet that most people (hopefully) are now so well informed to know that this type of diet is dangerous to one’s health based on all that fat & animal protein! It’s the perfect set-up for future heart disease and/or a future heart attack…or some other unspeakable illness! Besides, when I think of tubes going down ones nose, I think of people laying in a hospital bed with a serious illness or in a coma! How about you? Now, I know that the video might try to convince you otherwise…
Reality check!
…Here’s the link to the article & you can watch the video for yourself:
This type of diet really irks me and I’m hoping that I’m not alone here…but there’s obviously a demand for these types of quick fixes with no thinking about the dangerous repercussions this can cost one’s health in the future. In my opinion, Doctors like Oliver R. Di Pietro ought to be ashamed of themselves. But then again, he probably believes he’s doing the “right thing”… and hey, $1,500.00 per bride who undergoes this treatment, I am sure doesn’t hurt either his pockets either.
Listen up, bride or brides maid, or groom for that matter, if you really want to loose weight and look glowing before and for your wedding then go on a plant-based vegan diet! You won’t have to starve yourself a single day! You can eat as much as you want and you will be amazed how much weight will come off naturally! It might take you three months, but your face will glow and your inner organs will be healthy & happy! There you have it! Personally, I have been on a straight plant-based diet for almost four months now and I am down below my marathon weight. I am skinny, happy & healthy…and it hasn’t cost me $1,500.00 nor have I had to run around with a tube down my throat to get this way!
The doctors to check out for a plant-based diet are: Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin T. Campbell, Dr. Neal Barnard, and Dr. McDougall! These guys are going to give you the information straight and not lure you into some dangerous fad diet! Honestly ask yourself how long this diet will last after the wedding if you don’t take a serious look at what you’re eating and drinking or you’ll just go back to your old dietary ways and put the pounds right back on after the whole “shebang” is over! As I have already mentioned, there are much better and healthier ways to do this!
This morning I came across this excellent YouTube video with Dr. Mark Hyman that is called “Six Reasons Why to Avoid It At All Cost”, but Dr. Hyman also takes on the Food Pyramid and all it’s confusing and misleading information. He says, “The public isn’t served by this watered down useless pyramid. Some of the recommendations are downright harmful, the one about drinking more milk products.” Amen, Dr. Hyman! Do watch! The man knows what he’s talking about!
“WHAT?” I can just hear you saying out loud. “But I thought that milk provided me with calcium & essential nutrients?” No, you’re not a calf, right? Nor are you a baby. Think about it this way: We scoff at mothers who let their child past a certain age still suckle at their breast, yet adults drink gallons of milk…although not from their mommies, but from another species. Does this make sense to you? It certainly doesn’t to me!
As Kim Barnouin & Rory Freedman point out in their book, “Skinny Bitch“, “We don’t need our mother’s milks as adults, just like grown cows don’t need their mothers’ milk anymore. We are the only species on the planet that drinks the milk of another species. We could be putting gorilla milk on our cereal or having zebra milk and cookies. Why cows’ milk? Using the animal that produces the largest quantity of milk but is more easily housed than an elephant means more money for farmers. It has nothing to do with health and nutrition…The dairy industry is a multibillion-dollar industry based on brilliant marketing and the addictive taste of milk, butter, and cheese. It has convinced doctors, consumers, and government agencies that we need cows’ milk.” (p. 57 – The Dairy Disaster) Yes, indeed you are being lied to…BIG time!
Like Banksy, the Brittish graffiti artist who made the sign above, I’d hold this up to the dairy industry! “YOU LIE” to your consumers…and you know it! Meanwhile the public is getting heavier around the waistline and sicker from its products, but do you think they care? No they don’t! I hate to break it to you, but your health is in your hands! None of them care as long as they are making a profit! If you get sick then their friends in the pharmaceutical industry benefit as well because now you need drugs to stay healthy & alive! Meanwhile, you’re being bombarded with images like the one below. Portraying intelligent people, whom most of us trust, like Dr. Phil or Meredith Vieira and other celebrities trying to convince us that we must “get it” or else we’re just not that smart. It’s shameful!
Here’s something to consider from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of The 30-Day Vegan Challenge, she writes, “In cow’s milk, 80-87 percent of the proteins are caseins, which is not a good thing. According to renowned researcher and professor emeritus of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University T. Colin Campbell, casein is the “number one carcinogen [cancer-causing substance] that people come into contact with on a daily basis.” In dairy-based cheeses, the casein is even more concentrated, and in low-fat dairy milks, there tends to be more casein to make up for the fat that has been removed.” (p. 54-55) Not only is casein in milk a huge problem, but there’s also dioxin to consider, which is one of the most toxic substances in the world, often found in dairy products. Yikes, doesn’t that sound appetizing?
And there’s more toxic stuff for your body to battle with. Freedman & Barnouin write, “Sickening high levels of pesticides found in dairy meet government standards. Records from the Food and Drug Administration show that “virtually 100% of the cheese products produced and sold in the U.S. has detectable pesticide residues.” Would you like a glass of wine & crackers with that? I didn’t think so.
Here we are being lulled into thinking milk is good for us and like a friend said to me recently, “The people around us are starting to look more and more like the people in the cartoon Wall-E!” But is that their fault?
No, it is not! All the chemicals and harmful substances are actually making it harder for them to loose the weight! Listen to this: Freedman and Barnouin write, “When you consume dairy products, you are ingesting the same antibiotics, pesticides, steroids, and hormones you would if you ate meat directly. Cows are injected with bovine growth hormone.” And where do you think all those harmful substances are going? Right, into your body! No wonder you’re expanding and you can’t seem to ever loose the weight even though you’re eating low fat yogurt for breakfast and drinking low-fat milk. Even worse, when your child enters early puberty in the second grade or someone you love comes and tells you they got cancer!
The good news is that you got plenty of other alternatives. Freedman & Barnouin give plenty of suggestions in their amazing little book, “Skinny Bitch”. Personally, I have never been a big fan of milk or dairy except in cheese and frozen yogurt, but now I will gladly go choose a vegan alternative or go for organic soy or almond milk instead.
The last thing to consider, but by no mean the least, is the way the cows are being treated in the factory farms. Cows only produce milk when they have given birth to a calf. After the birth, the calf is then yanked away from its mother. The mother cow cries out for the loss of her calf! Our vision of “mother & child” in the green pasture, sadly does not exist! Further, Freedman & Barnouin write, “There is no gentle farmer milking the cow with a bucket between his feet. Cows are milked by machine; metal clamps are attached to the cows’ sensitive udders. The udders become sore and infected. Pus forms. But the machines keep on milking, sucking the dead white blood cells into the milk. How freaking gross is that?” (p. 60-61) Plus then there’s the radioactive particles found in milk…
If you still go ahead and drink a glass of milk after reading this, I’m not going to hold you back. Now you know the facts! I can’t spell it out for you any more than I have. Dairy products are harmful and disease producing! They cause suffering in major ways! Just ask my mother, she’s been eating lots of ice cream with whipped cream on top and as a result she suffers from severe intestinal issues that will never go away because it has ruined her intestinal system.
I love Jeff Novick! The man, beside being a nutritionist, is seriously brilliant! His Dvd, called “Fast Food”, is two hours long and full of great advice that even a fifteen year old can follow. Hence he’s got two lovely young assistants helping him, plus tasting his cooking! Their approving looks and enthusiasm for his cooking are a clear thumbs up! Here’s an excerpt from the film:
Here’s Jeff’s recipe & photo for Curried Cauliflower:
1 28 oz Can Whole Tomatoes (no salt added) 1 Onion 1 lb Frozen Cauliflower .5 lb Frozen Mixed Veggies 2 Potatoes Spices (I used fresh ginger, garlic, cumin, turmeric chili powder and coriander, )
Put all in a pot, bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes.
Serve over cooked Long Grain Brown Rice
There are more recipes on the Dvd and I have discovered that if I put it into my computer I can print out a copy of them from there!
I LOVE lemon poppyseed cake! It is one of my absolute favorite cakes to make. Here’s my veganized version of Jamie Oliver‘s “My Nan’s lemon drizzle cake”.
Serves 8-10
1 stick earth balance natural shortening butter – softened (stick it in the microwave!)
1/3 cup sugar
Instead of four eggs use:
2 ripe bananas – mashed (equals 2 eggs)
3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 4 tablespoons warm water (equals 2 eggs)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch springform cake pan with wax paper or use a non-stick Springform Pan Set from The Pampered Chef. This is what I happen to have and use. I love it! Easy to clean & use! Using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar for a while. Add the ripe bananas a little at a time, mix them in well. Then add the premixed Ener-G Egg replacer and water, along with the maple syrup. Mix that all together well. Next add the baking powder & baking soda. Add the ground almonds, poppy seeds, lemon zest and juice along with the sifted flour.
Spoon the mix into the prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until lightly golden. You can check to see if the cake is cooked by poking a toothpick right into it. Remove after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake is baked; if slightly sticky the cake needs a little longer, so back in the oven it goes!
Allow the cake to cool on the rack…and don’t drool on it! (Jamie didn’t write that – I did!) Make your lemon syrup by heating the sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved – I just put it in the microwave for a few minutes. While the cake is still warm, make lots of little holes in the top with a toothpick and pour your syrup over. (YUM! YUM!)
To make the icing, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and add the lemon zest and juice, stirring until smooth. When your cake is almost cool, put it on a serving plate and pour the icing carefully over the top. If you pour it on to the middle of the cake then let gravity disperse the icing down the sides, you get the ‘drizzle’ effect!
Enjoy the cake! I think you’ll love it! Let me know…I love the look people get on their faces after they have taken that first mouthful…the look of pure pleasure! It’s delightful!
Three weeks ago, I watched “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” and loved it! Joe Cross undergoes an amazing transformation over the course of the film, where he travels across the United States, while talking to people about their diets & health. The film is done in such a beautiful way where no one is made to feel bad about their dietary choices, but meanwhile Joe goes about his business about getting healthy through juicing. I absolutely loved it! What I loved even more is that he upholds his promise to Phil that he meets along the way and comes back and helps him transform his life. Check out the trailer to the film: Enjoy the film!
