Optimum Nutrition - Autumn 22 - PREVIEW

IN THIS ISSUE
08 MEAT: IS THERE ANY BENEFIT TO FAKING IT?
As faux ‘meat’ gains widespread popularity, Hatty Willmoth explores whether it’s a healthy alternative
11 ONE MAN’S MEAT… 14 THE POWER OF PLANTS 16
Hatty Willmoth looks at the carnivore
diet, investigating claims that humans
can thrive more on an all-meat diet
19
“…insanity is to keep doing the same
thing and expect different results.”
Patrick Holford talks to Hatty Willmoth
Forget five fruit and veg a day, the
new trend is for 30 a week — with no
repeats. Catherine Jeans writes
DIFFERENT STROKES
Do your family and friends sabotage
your efforts to live healthily? If so, you
are not alone. Catherine Jeans writes
32 ON YOUR PLATE
STORECUPBOARD HERO 36
Find meal inspiration with these three
recipes from Smorgasbowl by
Caryn Carruthers
40
A fleeting fad or embedded in ancient
tradition? Hatty Willmoth finds out
why there’s nothing new about fasting
44
INTERVIEW
A STORY OF FASTING
WORLD CUISINE
Luladey Mogues tells us about the
tastes and traditions of Ethiopian food,
sharing a recipe from her book Enebla
22
35
Judith Orrick explores the potential
of canned coconut milk — a staple of
Asian and Caribbean cuisines
42
KITCHEN CHEMISTRY
As many of us try to cut fuel costs, we
look at whether it is necessary to buy
new kitchen gadgets to save money
48
MOVE IT
Exercise is beneficial in the fight against
cancer — but why? Hatty Willmoth
delves into the latest research
04 COMMENT & NEWS | 26 KIDS’ PAGES | 24 FROM ION | 31 BOOK THERAPY | 47 QUIZ
SAVING OUR SOILS
With intensive farming taking its toll on
soil, could regenerative farming be the
answer? Hatty Willmoth writes
28
YOUNG LIVES
Catherine Morgan asks whether
relying on readymade baby food really is
second best for infants — and parents
RESEARCH UPDATE
‘Leaky gut’ syndrome isn’t a medical
condition, yet some experts are linking
it to disease. Louise Wates writes
43
IN SEASON
Parsnips are perfect for adding a
sweet warmth to a variety of dishes.
Catherine Morgan writes
50
NUTRITION IN PRACTICE
Catherine Pohl on why she took her
nutritional therapy practice to a remote
part of Sweden
OPTIMUM NUTRITION | AUTUMN 2022
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Feature
IS FAKE MEAT BETTER?
Plant-based meat may be all the rage, but is it a healthier swap?
Hatty Willmoth looks at the pros and cons for nutrition
T
he fake meat industry is
booming. Real meat has become
tarnished by the spectres of a
warming planet, factory farming and
health warnings, and its imitations —
from vegan sausage rolls to pulled p*rk
salad bowls — are attracting vegans and
meat eaters alike.
But is fake meat better for the planet
and for our bodies? Or is it ultraprocessed
junk food in sheep’s clothing?
Meat and two veg, minus the meat
It wasn’t so long ago that vegetarians
in the UK had very few choices.
Traditional vegetarian ingredients such
as lentils, pulses and tofu are staples in
Asia but were foreign to many British
kitchens. Typical British meals of meat
IN BRIEF
• Meat-like alternatives have made it
easier for people to eat less meat.
• Meat and plant-based replicas are
not nutritionally interchangeable.
• Many, but not all, imitation meat
products are ultra-processed.
• It is perfectly possible to cut down
on meat and stick to real food.
• Manufacturers focus on the eating
experience, not nutritional value.
and two veg didn't lend themselves to
balanced, meat-free dinners so many
vegetarians would be forced to eat the
same as everyone else: meat and two
veg, but minus the meat. And so the
search for meat-like alternatives was on.
Enter soya mince. By the 1970s, it
was even conveniently cooked in gravy
and canned so that shepherd's pie was
back on the menu for vegetarians. By
the 1980s, dry mixes for nut roasts or
soya-based sausages could also be found
— usually in health food shops. By then,
red meat was getting a bad rap whilst
the association between vegetarianism
and health was growing.
A healthier alternative?
Plant-based diets have long been
associated with a plethora of health
benefits such as lower risks of heart
disease,7 high blood pressure8 and
cancer.9 This may be due to plant
foods containing a range of nutrients
such as fibre, vitamins, minerals and
antioxidants — often a reason given for
the health benefits associated with the
Mediterranean diet, which is based on a
wide range of vegetables and fruit.
Yet whether this health halo can be
equally applied to modern meat-free
alternatives remains to be seen. Many
of these products are still new kids
on the block and their widespread
consumption is a recent phenomenon.
Indeed, some experts argue that
replacing meat with plant protein is not
a straightforward swap because plants
and meat are fundamentally different.
In 2021, scientists reported that
metabolites (products of metabolism)
from real and fake meats were as
nutritionally dissimilar as animals and
plants.10 Of 190 metabolites analysed
in 18 samples of grass-fed beef and a
popular plant-based alternative, 171
varied between them and only 19 were
shared. The biggest differences occurred
in the profiles of amino acids, vitamins,
and fatty acids. Lead researcher
Stephan van Vliet said: “It is important
for consumers to understand that
these products should not be viewed as
nutritionally interchangeable.”
Bioavailability
And it’s not just the nutrients that
differ. It’s also how the body responds
to them.
One recent study comparing chicken
with a soya- and wheat-based replica
found that proteins in the plant-based
substitute didn’t break down into usable
peptides as successfully as those from
meat.5 Furthermore, these plant-derived
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"…these products should not be viewed as nutritionally
interchangeable"
peptides were not absorbed as easily
by human cells, suggesting that plant
proteins may be less ‘bioavailable’ to the
human body.
Some experts believe that this could
be especially problematic for older
adults who require protein to combat
frailty and muscle loss — and the
bioavailability conundrum extends to
micronutrients too. These were the
conclusions of a recent French study on
over-50s (mostly over 65).12 Researchers
recommended that, depending on the
age and sex of the individual, between
45% and 60% of protein in an older
person’s diet should be animal-derived.
This, they said, was advisable to avoid
deficiencies in vitamins D, B12 and
B6, omega-3, riboflavin, iron and
zinc; because micronutrients, not just
protein, are more easily absorbed from
meat.
What this suggests is that even if the
taste and packaging of a veggie burger
makes it feel like we’ve replaced like
with like, we probably haven’t.
Ultra-processed
Yet modern meat alternatives have
possibly done more for vegetarian
choice than bean burgers or nut
cutlets ever could. Some of today’s
veggie burgers are uncannily beef-like
in texture, char like the real thing,
ooze blood-like juice, and deliver a
convincingly umami taste. They are
also usually lower in saturated fat and
cholesterol; a feature that, for decades,
has been used to signify a healthier
product. For many of these products,
however, their hefty ingredients lists
place them in the category of ‘ultraprocessed’
foods.
The term ‘ultra-processed’ food
was coined by nutrition researchers
at the University of São Paulo, Brazil,
who developed the NOVA food
classification system. This categorises
foods into four groups based on how
much industrial processing they have
undergone. Ultra-processed food, the
fourth category, contains industriallyprocessed
ingredients that typically
wouldn’t be added to homemade foods;
such as protein isolates, stabilisers, and
sweeteners such as high-fructose corn
syrup.
Currently, many meat alternatives fall
into this category, including products
from industry leaders such as Quorn
and Beyond Meat. Quorn’s vegan fillets,
for example, contain mycoprotein,
potato protein, pea protein, firming
agents, flavourings, wheat gluten,
pea fibre, and stabilisers.13 Beyond
Meat's Beyond Burger contains pea
protein, rapeseed oil, coconut oil, rice
protein, flavouring, stabiliser (methyl
cellulose), potato starch, apple extract,
colour (beetroot red), maltodextrin,
pomegranate extract, salt, potassium
chloride, concentrated lemon juice,
maize vinegar, carrot powder and
emulsifier (sunflower lecithin). 14
A spokesperson from Beyond Meat
wasn't available to comment. However,
in a statement to Optimum Nutrition,
Quorn’s head of nutrition Dr Hannah
Theobold said: “We use additives only
where they are absolutely necessary and
are always looking at ways to improve
our products.”
Unknown consequences
Although many readymade foods and
snacks contain such ingredients, one
concern is that they are still relatively
novel and it is unknown whether or
how they might affect our health.
Some research, for instance, has
associated ultra-processed foods with
elevated risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, depression,
various cancers and early death.15
“It’s not real food,” says Heather
Rosa, Dean at the Institute for
Optimum Nutrition, cautioning that
consuming large quantities of modified
plant proteins may come with as yet
unknown consequences.
“Were we ever designed to eat that
level of pea protein?” she says. “In
nature, you would never have been able
to eat that much of the original plant
to get the amount of protein that’s
extracted down into a product.”
Plus, she insists, the selling point that
these products are lower in saturated fat
— and therefore healthier than meat —
is not particularly compelling. “We’ve
been eating saturated fat for millennia,”
she says. “It’s not the saturated fat that’s
the problem, it’s when you ultra-process
food and you put a lot of other poorquality
foods in with it — especially
damaged oils. The majority of the
evidence [concerning risk factors for]
heart disease is looking at damaged fats
and sugar in the diet.
“Saturated fat is stable. It can survive
high-temperature cooking. It contains
fat-soluble vitamins, which vegetable
oils don’t, and it’s satiating. […] I think
it’s just crazy, in the 21st century, to still
have this phobia of saturated fat.”
Not created equal
Some substitute meat companies,
however, reject the ultra-processed
label. Chris Jenny, joint founder and
director of EatPlanted says: “Consumer
THE ENVIRONMENTAL ARGUMENT
Many people switch from real to fake meat for environmental reasons. A seminal
study that hit the headlines in 20181 argued that the best thing an individual could
do to combat climate change was stop eating meat.2 Researchers used a dataset based
on 40,000 farms in 119 countries and covering the 40 food products that represent
90% of all human food consumption. If we got rid of the meat and dairy industries,
they said, global farmland could be reduced by more than 75% and still adequately
feed the world. Not to mention, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and a number of
other major climate concerns would considerably benefit.
Lead researcher Joseph Poore from the University of Oxford stated: “A vegan diet
is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just
greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication [the over-saturation of
minerals in bodies of water], land use and water use.”
Yet the study showed that even reducing meat consumption — not necessarily
going fully vegan — could make a significant difference. If the most harmful half of
meat and dairy production was replaced by plants, we would still enjoy about twothirds
of the estimated benefits of converting it entirely.
Currently, 85% of UK farmland is used to produce meat or animal feed. There
have been calls by politicians and charities to use as much as 70% of this land for
growing plants and trees, for the sake of the UK's climate goals.3
Enter fake meat: plant-based alternatives have an estimated median carbon
footprint 93% smaller than beef.4 Scientists have suggested that replacing even 20%
of the world’s beef consumption with microbial proteins, such as Quorn, could cut
deforestation in half.5 A recent review of 43 studies into the health and environmental
impacts of plant-based foods, conducted by researchers at the University of Bath, also
concluded that plant-based ‘meat’ was significantly “healthier and more sustainable
than animal products”.6
OPTIMUM NUTRITION | AUTUMN 2022
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FIVE A DAY?
WHAT ABOUT
NONE?
Carnivores only eat meat and animal products — some eat only beef, salt and water. They say
the diet mimics what our ancestors ate — but does it? Hatty Willmoth writes
H
ow many portions of fruit
and veg should we eat? The
government says five a day,
and many nutritional experts say 30
different plant foods per week. (See
p14.) But how about none? What if
you never ate any vegetables, or fruit,
or pulses, or grains, or nuts, or seeds,
or even herbs — at all, ever? Well, then
you could call yourself a carnivore.
Carnivores only eat animal products.
Some eat meat, fish, seafood, eggs and
dairy, and may make allowances for
seasoning, tea and coffee. Others say
they stick to beef, salt and water.
It’s called a ‘zero-carb’ ketogenic
diet, which means it relies on fats —
not carbohydrates — for energy. It’s
also high in saturated fat and devoid of
fibre.
Not a single long-term clinical trial
appears to have been conducted on the
carnivore diet, so there’s no conclusive
evidence it’s safe; in fact, many have
proclaimed it decidedly unsafe. In
IN BRIEF
• Carnivores only eat meat, and
sometimes other animal products.
• Those on the diet say it’s antiinflammatory
and contains all the
nutrients a person could need.
• Critics say it is unhealthy because
it lacks fibre and may raise the risk
of heart disease and some cancers.
• Our ancestors did not only/mainly
eat meat, say archaeologists.
a Guardian article, one Stanford
professor of medicine proclaimed it
“disastrous”;1 Healthline rates it a 1.17
out of five on its diet review scorecard;2
and one US clinic website says it is
“extremely restrictive” and potentially
dangerous.3
But it has recently gained some
traction. Thousands of people say
they’ve tried it out with great success,4
including a few big names. Canadian
clinical psychologist and controversial
public speaker Jordan Peterson went
carnivore after it purportedly healed
his daughter Mikhaila of chronic
arthritis and depression. He famously
explained its transformative effect on
The Joe Rogan Experience, perhaps the
biggest podcast in the world.5
There’s even a doctor in the US who
recommends it to his patients.
The carnivore doctor
Stay Off My Operating Table by
Florida-based heart surgeon Dr Philip
Ovadia describes five different diets
as pathways towards metabolic health:
vegetarian or vegan, Mediterranean,
low-carb, ketogenic, or carnivore —
Ovadia’s own diet.
What if you never ate any
vegetables, or fruit — or pulses,
or grains, or nuts, or seeds, or
even herbs — at all, ever?
OPTIMUM NUTRITION | AUTUMN 2022
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Ovadia came to the carnivore life
gradually. Overweight as a child, he
became obese while training to be a
heart surgeon. Seven years ago, he was
morbidly obese, pre-diabetic and, he
says, “headed down the same path as the
patients that ultimately end up on my
table”.
To avoid continuing down that path,
Ovadia gradually cut out sugar, carbs,
vegetable and seed oils, and processed
foods from his diet, until he was
ketogenic. Three years ago, he made
the switch to carnivore, eating only red
meat, seafood, eggs and dairy, and he
says he sticks with it “because it works”.
Ovadia, much like the Petersons,
says the diet is great for reducing
inflammation. “It’s clearly antiinflammatory,”
he says. “We now have,
in large experience, many, many people
who have had inflammatory conditions,
autoimmune conditions that healed
themselves with a carnivore diet…
Many of the triggers for autoimmune
conditions, it turns out, are plant
products.”
Lectins, saponins, oxalates and
goitrogens are examples of natural
pesticides that plants produce in varying
quantities to protect themselves against
being eaten. Generally considered to be
pro-inflammatory, they affect individuals
differently.
Ovadia continues: “The carnivore
diet ended up being a good antiinflammatory
elimination diet that I
will oftentimes use to help reset the
system — and then go from there. Some
people need to continue with that strict
carnivore diet. Other people don’t.”
Nutritional debate
Kirstie Lawton, PhD, an AfN-registered
nutritionist and registered nutritional
therapy practitioner, says that “a
temporary auto-immune paleo or
ketogenic diet” may benefit those who
can’t tolerate substances such as oxalate,
salicylate, or histamine (found in plant
foods), or “who have severe SIBO [small
intestinal bacterial overgrowth] and
react to most high FODMAP foods”.
However, the carnivore diet seems to
fly in the face of swathes of nutritional
(and environmental) advice. Diets
that are rich in plant-based foods have
been associated with lower risk of
various chronic conditions like heart
disease, certain cancers, Alzheimer’s,
and type 2 diabetes, because they
provide micronutrients, fibre and
antioxidants.6,7,8 Meanwhile, red meat
has been linked to increased risk of
various diseases, including heart disease9
and certain cancers, particularly colon
and rectal cancer.10 Many of the health
risks associated with red meat are also
linked to the quantity of saturated fat it
contains, although research and opinion
on saturated fat continues to be divided.
Missing out?
Lawton adds that a carnivore may
miss out on fibre, plant-based
polyphenols and phytonutrients, and
certain vitamins, for example vitamin
C. However, Ovadia says: “Animal
products have in them all the nutrients
that we need.”
Advocates, unsurprisingly, agree with
Ovadia. Amber O’Hearn, a computer
scientist and blogger who says she has
been carnivore for over a decade and
is often cited within carnivore circles,
wrote a paper stating that the diet can
meet all micronutrient requirements,
including vitamin C.11 Yet many experts
dispute this, pointing to research
indicating that a carnivore diet may lead
to deficiencies in some nutrients and
overconsumption of others.12
Fibre — only found in plants — is
also highly contested. Studies suggest it
is important for gut health: promoting
healthy bowel movements13 and
nourishing gut bacteria.14
Lawton says: “Fibre provides prebiotic
fibres that feed our gut microbiome,
allowing it to be diverse and healthy.
There are a number of evidenced
benefits to a healthy gut microbiome,
including links to immune health,
cardiovascular health and brain health.”
Yet, Ovadia says, “it’s clear that you
don’t need [fibre]”, arguing that “the
benefits from fibre all seem to be what
the fibre replaces in the diet”.
Ovadia also dismisses the idea that
“fibre in and of itself is beneficial”.
He says: “I’ve been doing this for
three years with minimal to zero fibre
and do just fine and have normal gut
health. I know thousands and thousands
of other people who do the same.”
“…our hunter-gatherer
ancestors were diverse in
their diets, so there’s no one
ancestral diet…”
An imbalance of evidence
Meat, he says, is “the most basic food
group that humans can exist on”.
He adds: “When you go back to our
evolutionary history, there was clearly a
large period of time that we were mostly
carnivore, if not totally carnivore.” It’s
an idea that is commonly touted; that
the diet is best because it most closely
resembles what our ancestors ate.
But that’s inaccurate, according to
archaeologists. Dr Louise Humphrey,
research leader in human origins at the
Natural History Museum, says: “The
non-agricultural diet would have varied
through time and in different parts of
the world.”
In fact, an imbalance of
archaeological evidence may have led
to an over-emphasis of hunter-gatherer
meat consumption. Professor Dorian
SATURATED FAT AND RED MEAT: A DEBATE
Ovadia dismisses anti-saturated fat narratives as based on “poorly-done science
that was very heavily promoted” and says it gets blamed for damage done by
sugar, carbs and processed food. But Lawton takes a different stance.
“There is research that indicates that red meat in excess, particularly in
conjunction with low fibre, leads to a higher likelihood of bowel health issues
and cardiovascular health issues,” she says. “There is evidence linking excessive
amounts of saturated fat to various health concerns, so we should take that into
consideration.”
However, she adds: “It is important to note that the research that links meat
to cardiovascular health concerns generally includes processed foods such
as pizza, hot dogs, and pies which are highly inflammatory, and served with
refined carbs and unhealthy vegetable oils.”
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Interview
“The gloves were off. Of course,
I was somewhat black-listed as
a result”
a Canadian biochemist, physician and
psychiatrist, believed nutrition could
treat cancer and schizophrenia.
“‘Ortho’ means ‘right’,” says Holford.
“So the realisation that they’d had was
that most of the diseases that we suffer
from are a result of not getting the right
intake of nutrients, which creates a
biochemical wobble, and then leads to
things like inflammation.
“And the concept…was, by
understanding our genetics and
biochemical individuality, and
understanding what level of nutrients
reverses disease processes, we enter a
new era in medicine; which we could
call nutritional medicine, functional
medicine, optimum nutrition, or
orthomolecular medicine.”
Building from the brain
Holford’s own background was in
psychology. “My focus when I was
studying at university was in two areas,”
he says. “One was on intelligence and
how you can have more of it; the other
was on schizophrenia.”
Hoffer had been administering
‘megavitamin therapy’ (large doses of
vitamins) to patients with schizophrenia.
Reading Hoffer’s paper on niacin
(vitamin B3) and schizophrenia inspired
Holford so much that he “jumped on a
plane” to meet the man himself.
“WE HAVE TO CHANGE
THE PARADIGM…”
Self-described “concept man” Patrick Holford talks to
Hatty Willmoth about 40 years of making waves in nutrition
P
atrick Holford is a charismatic
speaker; he talks in stories with
rhetorical flourish, and it’s easy
to become a little entranced. After all,
he’s such an icon in the nutritional
therapy world.
Holford is either a much-loved
or highly-controversial figure, with
a plethora of achievements under
his name. For a start, he is widely
considered to be the father of
‘nutritional therapy’ as a profession,
having founded the Institute for
Optimum Nutrition (ION) in 1984.
Involved in various studies and
campaigns, and having authored 46
books, he has for decades advocated for
preventative, lifestyle and nutritional
approaches to healthcare.
And, he says, it all started on a hill
in 1982. “Having deeply contemplated
what Drs Linus Pauling and Abram
Hoffer meant by ‘orthomolecular
medicine’, I realised that the future
of medicine, disease prevention and
reversal hinged on optimum nutrition.”
Twice Nobel-laureate Dr Linus
Pauling was an American chemist and
biochemist who was studying the role of
vitamins in health; whilst Abram Hoffer,
Founding ION
Meeting Hoffer and his patients is
what Holford describes as his “second
turning point”.
Deciding to dedicate his professional
life to nutrition, Holford set up ION in
1984. But, as he tells this next story, it
seems as if it was almost by accident.
In the early 1980s, having learnt
from Pauling and Hoffer, Holford had
returned to the UK and begun seeing
clients.
“I called myself a nutrition
consultant,” he says. “I believe I was
the first nutrition consultant, as such —
later to become nutritional therapists.
Very quickly, I became fully booked. I
had a waiting list of over three months.
And then I was approached by some
individuals who said, ‘we’d like to learn
to do what you are doing’.
“I realised that the power of this
new approach was such that we really
did need to formally set up training…
That was the origin of the idea of the
Institute for Optimum Nutrition: a
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