Weekend Brunch Ideas - The Vegetarian Resource Group

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SCIENTIFIC UPDATEBy Reed Mangels,PhD, RD, FADAA REVIEW OF RECENT SCIENTIFIC PAPERS RELATED TO VEGETARIANISMFood Choices During the TeenYears May Influence CancerRisk Later in LifeBreast cancer is the most common form of cancerin women (if you don’t count non-melanoma skincancers). One in eight women in the U.S. will developbreast cancer. New research suggests that dietary choicesin adolescence may play a role in determining whethera woman will develop breast cancer. More than 40,000women, ages 25 to 43 years, were asked about what theyate when they were in high school. Records were keptand the women were studied for the next seven years.Those women who reported eating the most redmeat (beef, pork, lamb, and processed meat like hotdogs) during high school had a 30 to 40 percentgreater risk of developing breast cancer, compared towomen who reported eating the least red meat duringhigh school. The women in the high red meat groupin high school averaged 2.6 servings of meat daily, whilewomen in the lowest red meat group averaged 0.7 servingsper day. Even when the results were adjusted forthe women’s red meat intake as adults, the increasedrisk seen with higher red meat intake as a teen persisted.There was an especially strong association betweenprocessed meat and hot dogs eaten as a teen and riskof breast cancer. These results may be caused by thecancer-causing chemicals created by cooking meat,to the hormone treatment of meat, or to some as-yetundetermined factor. In any case, these results raisequestions about red meat’s role in teenage girls’ diets.Linos E, Willett WC, Cho E, et al. 2008. Red meatconsumption during adolescence among premenopausalwomen and risk of breast cancer.Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 17:2146-51.Fish Not Necessary for DHADHA is an omega-3 fatty acid found mainly in oilyfish. DHA plays a role in reducing the risk of heartdisease and may be involved in other chronic diseases.Vegetarian and vegan diets contain little or no DHAunless fortified foods or supplements are used. VeganDHA supplements that are derived from microalgaehave been developed. Are these supplements equivalentto fish in terms of their DHA? To address this question,researchers studied 32 men and women. Study subjectseither ate 2 ounces of salmon (which provided 600milligrams of DHA) or took capsules containing 600milligrams of DHA from microalgae daily for twoweeks. The subjects’ blood DHA concentrations weremeasured. Both groups saw an increase in blood DHAlevels, and the increase in DHA in both groups was similar.These results suggest that microalgae-derived DHAis as effective as fish in increasing blood DHA levels.Arterburn LM, Oken HA, Hall EB, et al. 2008. Algaloilcapsules and cooked salmon: nutritionallyequivalent sources of docosahexaenoic acid.J Am Diet Assoc 108:1204-1209.New Research on Raw FoodsDespite the interest in raw foods diets, little researchhas been conducted about them. A small German studyexamined blood levels of carotenoids in 198 strict rawfoods diet followers. Carotenoids are found in fruits andvegetables and include substances associated with alower risk of diseases like cancer, such as beta-carotene,alpha-carotene, and lycopene. Study subjects ate closeto 95 percent by weight of their foods as raw foodsand had followed this diet for at least two years.Because of their high fruit and vegetable intake,people eating a raw foods diet would be expected tohave high levels of these carotenoids in their blood.Most study subjects, especially those eating more than3 1 /2 pounds of fruits and vegetables per day, had bloodbeta-carotene levels in the normal range. Surprisingly,however, blood lycopene levels were below the referencevalues in more than three-quarters of study subjects.This may be because the lycopene from raw foods wasnot well-absorbed. Cooking foods like tomatoes, whichare a good source of lycopene, has been shown toincrease lycopene absorption. Other factors that mayhave affected carotenoid absorption were the amountof fat in the subjects’ diets and whether the high fatfoods were eaten at the same meal as foods high incarotenoids. Dietary fat provided an average of 3016 Issue One 2009 VEGETARIAN JOURNAL
percent of calories; the main dietary sources of fatwere nuts, seeds, and avocados. Dietary fats have beenshown to increase the amount of carotenoids that areabsorbed in a meal. Those subjects who ate the lowestamount of fat and oil also had the lowest blood levelsof carotenoids. For those eating a raw foods diet toincrease carotenoid absorption, especially absorptionof the carotenoid lycopene, fat intake may need to beincreased. Additionally, fat sources should be at thesame meal as good sources of lycopene.Garcia AL, Koebnick C, Dagnelie PC, et al. 2008.Long-term strict raw food diet is associated withfavourable plasma beta-carotene and low plasmalycopene concentrations in Germans. Br J Nutr99:1293-1300.Diet Has a Significant Impacton Global Climate ChangeOne of the most important environmental issues is theincreasing level of greenhouse gas production, which isleading to global climate change. Proposals for reducingfossil fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions frequentlyfocus on choosing energy efficient vehicles and drivingless. These are important steps, but perhaps just asimportant are our dietary choices.In 2002, the food production systems accountedfor 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States.This number is expected to increase over the comingyears. A recent analysis used the fossil fuel needs forirrigation energy, farm machinery, and labor and consideredthe production of non-CO 2 greenhouse gasesmethane and nitrous oxide resulting from animal wastein evaluating various diets’ environmental impacts.Animal-based diets, whether based on red meat, fish,poultry, or dairy products and eggs, result in a highergreenhouse burden than do vegan diets. A person consumingthe average American diet (72 percent of caloriesfrom plants, 15 percent from meat/fish/poultry, 11percent from dairy products, and 1 percent from eggs)is responsible for the release of 1,485 more kilogramsper year of CO 2 equivalents than a person choosinga vegan diet is. This difference represents more than6 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.The researchers also compare dietary intake todriving various kinds of vehicles. The difference ingreenhouse gas production between eating approximately20 percent of calories from animal products(a lower level of animal product use than the typicalAmerican diet) and a vegan diet is roughly equivalentto the difference between driving a Camry and a Prius.If one chooses a diet high in red meat and animal products(35 percent of calories from animal products), thedifference in greenhouse gas production between thistype of diet and a vegan diet is equivalent to the differencebetween driving an SUV and driving a Camry.Eshel G, Martin PA. 2006. Diet, energy, and globalwarming. Earth Interact 10:1-17.Lifestyle Changes, Includinga Plant-Based Diet, ImproveActivity of a Useful EnzymeTelomerase is an enzyme that helps to protect chromosomes,the structures that hold our genes. If chromosomesaren’t adequately protected, the risk of gettingcertain cancers and of having the cancer progress morerapidly seems to be higher. Additionally, telomeraserepairs the part of the chromosome, the telomeres, thatcontrols longevity. We know that a healthy lifestyle canreduce risk of many chronic diseases, including cancer.A recent small study suggests that lifestyle changesmay improve the activity of the telomerase enzyme andthat this could, at least partially, explain the relationshipbetween diet and cancer risk. Dean Ornish, MD, Headof the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, studied30 men with low-risk prostate cancer. These men didnot receive surgery or radiation therapy because theirprostate cancer did not appear to be progressing andwas not causing symptoms. For three months, the menfollowed a program that required them to make significantlifestyle changes. They ate a lowfat, near-vegetariandiet (Subjects did use fish oil supplements.) rich inwhole grains, fruits, vegetables, dried beans, and soyproducts. They exercised moderately and practicedtechniques, such as yoga, to reduce stress.Following this three-month period, the men’s bloodlevel of telomerase was 29 percent higher than at thestart of the study. According to Ornish, this is the firststudy showing that lifestyle changes can increase telomerase.Since this enzyme may play an important role inreducing risk of cancer development and progression,larger studies will probably be conducted to confirmthese potentially important results.Ornish D, Lin J, Daubenmier J, et al. Nov 2008.Increased telomerase activity and comprehensivelifestyle changes: a pilot study. Lancet Oncol9(11):1048-57.VEGETARIAN JOURNAL Issue One 2009 17
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME XXVIII, NO 1Cooking with Map
Page 3 and 4: MANAGING EDITOR: Debra WassermanSEN
Page 5 and 6: l e t t e r sVRG’s MEMORIALAND HO
Page 7 and 8: 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric1 Table
Page 9 and 10: 3/4 teaspoon salt2 teaspoons baking
Page 11 and 12: “Teach… YourChildren Well…”
Page 13 and 14: and empathetic to the plight of ani
Page 15: A little less indulgent but almost
Page 19 and 20: MAPLE SYRUPSALAD DRESSING(Serves 8)
Page 21 and 22: Total calories per serving: 175Carb
Page 23 and 24: TYPES OF WATER POLLUTIONTHAT ANIMAL
Page 25 and 26: (i.e., no free or reduced-cost wate
Page 27 and 28: Table 2 — Major Findings of the U
Page 29 and 30: freshly ground kamut and buckwheat
Page 31 and 32: Vegetarian Journal’sEssay Contest
Page 33 and 34: VRG CatalogBooksMeatless Meals for
Page 35 and 36: Vegetarian ActionPhil Becker By Bob

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