I'm just putting in a recommendation for the Netflix series by this name. It hit a sweet spot for me because I like nutrition and exercise science. The series was a about an identical twin study where out of each twin pair, one was put on a vegan diet and one on a healthy omnivore diet (healthy as in, it still had plenty of vegetables and didn't include junk food). The study lasted eight weeks. Interspersed with the twins' stories are some other inspirational tales. A high end Michelin chef who decides to make his restaurant completely vegan. An entrepreneur who is experimenting with making vegan cheeses that actually taste good - including the holy grail, a mozzarella substitute that would produce that yummy melty sensation we get on pizza. And, a farmer who formerly was doing mass chicken production - millions of chickens over his career - who got fed up and quit, and then converted his giant chicken sheds into mushroom farms.
Unsurprisingly, the twins who were on vegan diets saw some statistically significant improvements in measurements like their LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol). The researchers also tested mental functioning before and after, but didn't find any changes. They did still make the argument that a long term vegan diet would likely result in less age related mental deterioration.
A result that might be the most interesting for readers on this site - "sexual arousal" was measured before and after the eight week experiment and all of the women (both vegan and omnivore) saw significant increases over the baseline - but the vegans' increases were larger. Now, I would put a ton of caveats on this result. First, the reason that I put sexual arousal in quotes was that what they were really measuring was a thermograph (heat map) of the women's genitals. There was more heat after the eight weeks which was probably due to better blood flow, which could be just as much due to the exercise program that the twins were put on, as it it was due to their diets. Second, the situation they were put into was that each twin pair was asked to view pôrnography. The way it was filmed made it look like they were going to watch it together?! I can't imagine anything more embarrassing than watching pôrn with a sibling. I don't know, maybe it's different if it's an identical twin? At any rate, I could certainly see being more inhibited the first time because of the oddness of the situation; then perhaps being more "loose" about it the second time.
They also had devices on the men to measure the strength of their erections while sleeping, but I don't think anything was mentioned about that in the final results so I'm guessing there wasn't any change for the men.
I had a link to an article with more details on the results but I’m removing it in hopes that this post will be able to pass moderation.
It's hard to imagine ever going completely vegan, but I'm sure I'll continue experimenting with reducing the amount of animal products I eat. Environmentally it makes sense, and I have high cholesterol that I'd like to get down.
I will save my second recent nutritional discovery for another post. 😊
Here's a treat for y'all - a hospital picture. This was after my first ECG, while I was still waiting to go into the OR. I got many, many more electrodes put on me in the OR. 😂 Ya gotta love the totally formless paper gown, don't you? I think I would have rather have just been naked with a blanket over me.
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Interesting...
Although, I've gotta taste that fricken cheese to believe it.😶
I've read the science and digested the issues for shifting to a vegan diet. Heck, with my youngest having converted several years back, I had to keep up with her compelling points of view. I understand the arguments presented are logical and ethical, and there are health benefits.
But...
The diet my daughter follows is impossible — for me — to ever emulate. Everything good to eat on this planet is verboten. And I don't care what anyone says; there's a limit to how many creative ways you can prepare tofu and black beans. 😂
I can't see myself without — once in a while — facing a plate of BBQ ribs with a side of shrimp and garlic-buttered bread. Followed by an ice-cold glass of milk and a thick slice of cheesecake. 💕
I don't think a plant based diet has to consist solely of tofu and black beans, but I do think it's a whole different skillset that would take a lot of research and learning on my part to keep it interesting. I think a good first start for me would be to find one recipe a week that looks good and try it out.
And I think for most people it's much more realistic to become a "flexitarian" - reducing your meat consumption but still having the occasional treat. That's what most of the people in the twin study ended up doing after the study.
Cheese is a tough one (actually one of the twin pairs on the show was brothers who were in the cheese business!). The producer who they highlighted was using ground cashews as the base for most of the cheese substitutes she was making. Maybe it wouldn't taste exactly like my favorite cheddar-parmesan blend...but, cashews are awfully delicious so I think there'd be a good chance it would taste good, just in a different way.
@smartasswoman
According to my daughter, it's ALL or NOTHING.
I have to admit... she's very creative when it comes to creating tasteful vegan dishes.
However, I don't think those 'vegans' should be trying to deceive us. Almond milk is NOT milk;
ItZ — Almond Juice.
I support the milk producers of this planet and their right to 'trademark' protection.
@Paulxx001 I know some people feel that way (all or nothing) but I think there would actually be much higher adoption of plant based eating if people are allowed to fall off the wagon occasionally! 😂
If told all or nothing, most people's reaction would then be "Nope I can't do that". As illustrated in the comments on this post.
@smartasswoman
Well, that's the way I am around my daughter, I sort of follow her suggestions. And, she has made me more aware of my choices.
But I agree with you. Flexibility will promote change.
I don’t watch porn and the thought of watching it with a sibling, even if I had a sister, is too obscure.
I stopped buying ground beef (extra lean) several years ago and don’t miss it. Occasionally, will eat red meat but primarily stick to extra lean ground turkey or chicken and fish. My veggie preferences are somewhat limited and don’t even like the look of tofu so could never become vegan.
I understand tofu not being appealing. 😊
Decreasing beef consumption is taking a big step toward being more environmentally conscious (whether or not that was your motivation). It's carbon footprint is many times that of other foods.
I don't want to watch porn with any relative. Yuck.
Agreed!! To me it's even awkward to watch it with a sex partner, although I've done that a few times.
I don’t ever see myself going vegan, I’m just not convinced by any of the science for health. I am convinced by the environmental impact and have switched to grass fed organic from a local farm, and we only eat it twice a week.
Doing that has lowered my cholesterol enough to get me off statins and thrilled my cardio.
That's fantastic. I would like to do the same (well I already quit the statins because I felt like they were aggravating my achilles tendonitis - now I need to try harder to get my cholesterol down through dietary means).
I've been on and off with trying to procure meat from local pasture raised operations. Because of the cost and the complications (the last place I acquired it from did deliveries to my neighborhood quarterly, so you really had to plan ahead) I suspect if I want to be environmentally conscious it would actually be easier for me to just cut way back on eating meat.
Don't you hate those sticky pads? I recently been wired up , twice " with the last time being the worst. Had me on telementry unit. Nothing like being work up, with a Crash team in your room seeing why I had flat line according to the device. The battery died on the transmitter. Not to say I was relived to know I was still officially still here.
Believe it or not it’s been two weeks and I’m still finding traces of glue on random spots on my torso. Apparently it doesn’t come off in the shower.
I’m glad you weren’t really flatlined!
Well, thanks to good Samaritans who knows CPR, they did help me till the paramedics arrived. So, technically, I did flat line. Wound up with a quintuple bypass and now a ICD. Other than that, no worse for the wear.
Thanks for posting, I'll check it out.
I'm a fairly skinny guy but, contrary to what many think, I LIKE to eat. I think I'll stick with my same basic current diet while continuing to attempt to find vegetables that I can stand to eat more often.
How is your heart after it's latest treatment?
"vegetables that I can stand to eat" - haha I have the same problem!
I do like salads, but not so much at this time of year. Lately I've been roasting potatoes and carrots, but I know those starchy ones are the least desirable veggies to eat.
Oh, and I'm still doing well. My original plan was to start incorporating movement with short walks, but it's too @#$% cold! I'm going to try to get to the gym this afternoon for a slow walk on the treadmill.
@smartasswoman I eat a LOT of salads, but probably the fatty dressings blunt the health benefits of that action.
Glad you're doing well. I expect to head to the gym, as usual, tomorrow,
I don't think I could or would go vegan. I have been doing intermittent fasting and it has been working very well for me. I am not starving myself and I am having much smaller portions.
I don't eat breakfast but will have something from 10am til 1pm. then I will have a meal between 5pm and 7pm and thats it.
I've tried the intermittent fasting thing (the way that you do it, not the one where you actually go a whole day without food). I think it was somewhat helpful, but it doesn't work that well for me anymore now that I've started doing morning yoga classes at my health club. I need to eat something before I go, and then when I get back home I have to have at least a snack to tide me over until dinner.
I can't go totally vegan. I like bacon too much. But I do like to include a lot of different types of veggies in my meals
I think the plant based products are going to get better and better, to the point where they'll be able to make a "bacon" that is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But, I think that would also be a highly processed food, which is something "they" also are always telling us to eat less of. 🤷🏻♀️
I have had a once a week bacon habit (2-3 slices with my Sunday breakfast). I ran out a couple weeks ago and forgot to buy more, and I didn't really miss it today so maybe I'll try to do without for a while.
@smartasswoman
Since I can’t get “real” bacon here (the curing process is different and doesn’t get crispy) so it’s something I indulge in whenever I go to the States
Oh, shit. If you are what you eat I'm a fucking bag of Gardettos. Maybe two bags.
I've never had a cholesterol problem in my life. Poor Pam is very jealous of those genes. But I've had a craving for Gardettos all winter long.
How are you feeling now?
Oh hey, I always have good intentions of eating healthfully but rarely am successful. If you are what you eat, I'd most likely be Trader Joe's Hatch Chile Macaroni and Cheese.
I'm still feeling well! Hoping to get to the gym today for a short, slow walk on the treadmill.
You looking nice
I guess I am Pussy then lol
Ha.