Dear Subscriber,
Folks, I have a “juicy” report for you today. It’s just my kind of study, conducted at, of all places, Stanford.
I get lots of comments from Substack subscribers, office clients, and even on my YouTube channel about the “deleterious” health effects of being vegetarian. Well, here we have a quite nice study that controls for most things as the subjects were identical twins. So, we can’t blame discrepancies on genetics. And social discrepancies would be quite narrow in these groups. And, to top it off, the diets were prepared and reported to be quite nutritious, which is a requirement for a vegetarian, as one can claim to be vegetarian/vegan while drinking sodas and using margarine.
In this report we see that a healthy vegan diet let to a significant improvement in commonly accepted cardiac risk factors, inclusive of reduced insulin resistance and positive weight loss.
This is another confirmation of the findings in the China Study on diet and confirming the commonly known fact that the longest living and healthiest Americans are VEGETARIAN 7th Day Adventists. They use the health system less, and live longer than carnivorous counterparts.
Folks, you know I am vegetarian. I do consume some dairy, so not vegan. (I eat lots of high-quality butter for the fat-soluble vitamins). I am vegetarian for spiritual reasons first, and health second. I do not ask clients to be vegetarian. Some people just don’t fare well absent some animal protein in the form of meat, poultry, fish and/or eggs. I happen to thrive. I even hiked the arduous High Sierra John Muir Trail a decade ago as a raw food vegan! This diet improves blood pressure in most who adopt it, and improves the huge risk factor of insulin intolerance. The lower your insulin, the better for you, unless you are an insulin dependent diabetic. If you eat fish – make sure it is not farmed. If you eat meat or chicken, make sure it is organic and pasture raised, and humanely killed. Meat should not be the primary part of your diet. I recommend eating what you need to feel good, but not more.
I admit I will eat more cooked foods in the winter/cold season.
I just encourage all my clients to budge their diet in this direction. And, above all, NO fried foods and no packaged food. (processed) that has any added oil. That is a prescription for an earlier demise.
Thank you again for your support of this page and sharing with family and friends.
To Your Excellent Health,
Robert Jay Rowen, MD
Original Investigation
Nutrition, Obesity, and Exercise
November 30, 2023
Cardiometabolic Effects of Omnivorous vs Vegan Diets in Identical TwinsA Randomized Clinical Trial
JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(11):e2344457. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.44457
Key Points
Question What are the cardiometabolic effects of a healthy plant-based (vegan) vs a healthy omnivorous diet among identical twins during an 8-week intervention?
Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 22 healthy, adult, identical twin pairs, those consuming a healthy vegan diet showed significantly improved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, fasting insulin level, and weight loss compared with twins consuming a healthy omnivorous diet.
Meaning The findings from this trial suggest that a healthy plant-based diet offers a significant protective cardiometabolic advantage compared with a healthy omnivorous diet.
Abstract
Importance Increasing evidence suggests that, compared with an omnivorous diet, a vegan diet confers potential cardiovascular benefits from improved diet quality (ie, higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds).
Objective To compare the effects of a healthy vegan vs healthy omnivorous diet on cardiometabolic measures during an 8-week intervention.
Design, Setting, and Participants This single-center, population-based randomized clinical trial of 22 pairs of twins (N = 44) randomized participants to a vegan or omnivorous diet (1 twin per diet). Participant enrollment began March 28, 2022, and continued through May 5, 2022. The date of final follow-up data collection was July 20, 2022. This 8-week, open-label, parallel, dietary randomized clinical trial compared the health impact of a vegan diet vs an omnivorous diet in identical twins. Primary analysis included all available data.
Intervention Twin pairs were randomized to follow a healthy vegan diet or a healthy omnivorous diet for 8 weeks. Diet-specific meals were provided via a meal delivery service from baseline through week 4, and from weeks 5 to 8 participants prepared their own diet-appropriate meals and snacks.
Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was difference in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration from baseline to end point (week 8). Secondary outcome measures were changes in cardiometabolic factors (plasma lipids, glucose, and insulin levels and serum trimethylamine N-oxide level), plasma vitamin B12 level, and body weight. Exploratory measures were adherence to study diets, ease or difficulty in following the diets, participant energy levels, and sense of well-being.
Results A total of 22 pairs (N = 44) of twins (34 [77.3%] female; mean [SD] age, 39.6 [12.7] years; mean [SD] body mass index, 25.9 [4.7]) were enrolled in the study. After 8 weeks, compared with twins randomized to an omnivorous diet, the twins randomized to the vegan diet experienced significant mean (SD) decreases in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration (−13.9 [5.8] mg/dL; 95% CI, −25.3 to −2.4 mg/dL), fasting insulin level (−2.9 [1.3] μIU/mL; 95% CI, −5.3 to −0.4 μIU/mL), and body weight (−1.9 [0.7] kg; 95% CI, −3.3 to −0.6 kg).
Conclusions and Relevance In this randomized clinical trial of the cardiometabolic effects of omnivorous vs vegan diets in identical twins, the healthy vegan diet led to improved cardiometabolic outcomes compared with a healthy omnivorous diet. Clinicians can consider this dietary approach as a healthy alternative for their patients.
The China Study was a study on Chinese. I suggest reading the book, readily available.
Had it been published say ten or more years ago (and preferably not out of Stanford), I might have believed it... Today, it confirms the globalist predators' agenda.
The matter of fact is that you can show everything and the exact opposing of everything with how you pick and 'analyse' the data. I've been there - in life sciences - and the 'publish or perish' and 'fight for survival in academia' eradicated honest research.
"Conflict of Interest Disclosures: .... Dr Gardner reported receiving funding from Beyond Meat outside the submitted work. Dr J. L. Sonnenburg is a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub investigator. "
"....This study was funded by the Vogt Foundation. ...."
->> The Vogt Foundation is a private foundation that supports Oceanic Preservation Society.
Therefore, I won't even waste my time reading the design and methods!
I was vegetarian almost vegan for 20+ years. Not anymore, and I feel better than ever. Did not give up on my beloved veggies but added locally fished and grassfed, free to roam for life protein. I eat nose to tail, not too much methionine.
The quality of our local seasonal food IS everything. In the US, even organic is not organic, especially in Ca.