The Dietary Truth PRINT / PDF version >> The Dietary Truth ONLINE BOOKLET VERSION The science and clinical evidence behind what actually constitutes a healthy diet for humans and what does not. Learn which foods will prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and more, and which foods elevate risks. This online booklet will not try to sell you anything, endorse any products or companies, and it is 100% free. The one and only purpose of this booklet/website is to educate you about what the scientific community already knows: what constitutes a healthy diet and what does not – information that has been suppressed, denied, misinterpreted and hushed as much as possible because it’s bad for a lot of existing food manufacturers. It’s high time to put the overwhelming misrepresentation and outright lies to rest and enable everyone, especially those feeding children, to make truly informed choices when it comes to choosing what we eat. Jump to specific sections: The truth about DAIRY | The truth about MEAT | The truth about FISH | The truth about EGGS | The HEALTHIEST DIET | The many BENEFITS | References

Please note: The following information contains references to the medical studies/articles supporting claims made. The studies are by no means cherry-picked and the evidence for many claims is so overwhelmingly corroborated we frequently mention multiple sources for the same statements. If you wish to review these medical studies/articles as you read the information, please click on the citations within the text to view the associated link for each study’s abstract/full version, as available.

Let’s start with the key components of the typical American diet – dairy, meat, fish and eggs.

The truth about DAIRY

BONE HEALTH AND OSTEOPOROSIS
Milk has long been promoted as the vital ingredient in healthy bone development, but the science to back up this claim simply doesn’t exist. Harvard School of Public Health's Nutrition chairman Walter Willet, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., writes: "Interestingly, many long-term studies have now examined milk consumption in relation to risk of fractures. With remarkable consistency, these studies do not show reduction in fractures with high dairy product consumption. The hype about milk is basically an effective marketing campaign by the American Dairy industry¹.” As Dr. John McDougal stated, "[t]he myth that osteoporosis is caused by calcium deficiency was created to sell dairy products and calcium supplements. There's no truth to it. American women are among the biggest consumers of calcium in the world, and they still have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis in the world. And eating even more dairy products and calcium supplements is not going to change that fact." In a study comparing long-term vegans with their omnivore counterparts, the bone density for both groups was found to be the same, even with a much lower calcium and protein intake by the vegans³.

CANCER RISK AND PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Dairy intake has been shown to increase your risks of cervical⁴, colorectal⁵, prostate⁶, and testicular cancer⁷, as well as Parkinson’s Disease⁸, because industrial carcinogens build up in animal tissues.

ACNE
Got acne? Try eliminating dairy from your diet – the hormones in dairy (both organic and inorganic) contribute to acne problems or even cause them outright.^{9 10 11}

ALUMINUM POISONING
Aluminum is a known toxin when inside our bodies. One of the ways it ends up there is through the consumption of cheese. Aluminum has been added to cheeses to produce a “softer texture” and a more “desirable slicing quality”. A slice of processed cheese may contain as much as 50 mg of aluminum.¹²

ANTIOXIDANT BLOCKER
Dairy blocks the absorption of berry nutrients consumed at the same time – which means all the blueberries and strawberries in that milk smoothie or yogurt parfait are literally going to waste.^{13 14}

EARLY ONSET OF PUBERTY
Dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant in order to produce a steady supply of milk. But milk from pregnant cows contains large amounts of estrogens (sex hormones) which we take in when we consume dairy. These sex hormones, some of which are carcinogens in their own right, are suspected to be the major cause of an alarming trend of earlier onset of puberty among our children^{15 16}. The problem with early puberty: it shortens lifespan¹⁷.

BREAST, OVARIAN, CORPUS UTERI CANCERS AND MALE REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS
The same elevated levels of sex hormones from pregnant cows also cause dairy to be of highest concern when it comes to breast cancer, ovarian cancer and corpus uteri cancer risk¹⁸, as well as the increased risk of male reproductive disorders¹⁹.

TESTICULAR AND PROSTATIC CANCERS
Consumption of milk and dairy products has been linked to the development and growth of testicular and prostatic cancers, and the mortality rate associated with each. In particular, cheese consumption is closely linked with testicular cancer and milk consumption with prostatic cancer²⁰.

STEROID HORMONES
Besides acne²¹, growth hormones innately present in all milk (whether organic or not) for the purpose of quickly growing a calf into an adult cow have also been linked to breast and prostatic cancers²². The study states that “the evidence assembled here suggests that dairy-sourced hormones, not being subject to any innate feedback inhibition, may be the source of the androgenic and mitogenic progestins that drive acne, prostate and breast cancer. This is the most promising unitary hypothesis available to explain the etiology of diverse diseases that blemish, scar, shorten and take the lives of millions²³.”

DAIRY SUMMARY
Dairy is the number one source of saturated fat in western diets. It’s one of the top allergens, loaded with growth hormones, cholesterol, pus and manure, and unless it’s organic, pesticides and antibiotics to boot. It’s a major cause of acne and a plethora of various cancers and diseases. Instead of preventing osteoporosis and building healthy bones, it is wreaking havoc on our children’s hormones.

The truth about MEAT

BLADDER, BREAST, PANCREATIC, ENDOMETRIAL, OVARIAN, LUNG, THROAT, STOMACH AND ESOPHAGEAL CANCERS
Meat intake significantly increases your risks of bladder, breast, pancreatic, endometrial, ovarian, lung, throat, stomach, and esophageal cancers. In most cases, the higher the consumption of meat, the higher the cancer risks.^{24 25 26 27 28}

FLAME RETARDANTS IN BREAST MILK
Nursing women in the US have the highest levels of flame retardants (PBDEs) in their breast milk. (Flame retardants are toxic carcinogens which have been banned in much of Europe already). The source of these toxins are animal products in the women's diet, with chicken being the primary contributor. Chicken is so contaminated it dwarfs all other sources, but fish, bacon, beef and dairy contain significant amounts as well. The good news is that PBDE does leave the body over time but consumption of animal products must be stopped to prevent replenishment of the toxin.²⁹ The effect on infants consuming such large amounts of PDBEs is alarming, since numerous studies show PBDEs to be toxic at low levels, particularly for the fetus, infant and young child.^{30 31}

HETEROCYCLIC AMINES (HCAs) IN COOKED MEAT
“Grilled chicken has long been touted as the healthy choice for consumers, yet this could not be further from the truth. PhIP, a type of heterocyclic amine (HCA), is a well-known carcinogen identified by The National Institutes of Health. Independent tests found the chemical PhIP in 100 grilled chicken samples from seven restaurant chains.” Unfortunately it’s not only grilling: “[a]ny method of cooking animal tissue can create HCAs. Meat naturally contains amino acids and a protein called creatine. When heated, the combination of amino acids and creatine form HCAs. Since there are no safe levels of exposure to this carcinogen, it is recommended to avoid the consumption of meats for cancer prevention and survival.”^{32 33 34}

ASTHMA AND GRILLED/SMOKED MEATS
Asthma and other respiratory diseases are on the rise and they have been linked to high exposures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAH exposure occurs mainly through second hand smoke, and grilled and smoked meat consumption. Chicken, followed by salmon, contains the highest amounts of PAHs.³⁵

ESSENTIAL TREMOR
This common affliction of the elderly, presenting as involuntary trembling of usually the hands and head, has now been traced to its source: meat consumption.³⁶

INFERTILITY IN WOMEN
A single serving of meat a day will increase a woman’s risk of ovulatory infertility by about 32% on average, with poultry contributing the highest risk.³⁷

AGING ACCELERATION
The end of each chromosome in our bodies is called a telomere and its function is to control the process of cell aging. As cells age, their telomeres shorten. When the telomere is gone, the cell dies. So as the telomeres shorten, we age at the cellular level. Scientists are looking into ways to slow telomere shortening and thus slow down the aging process. They’ve identified certain things which will accelerate telomere shortening and decrease lifespan: smoking is the worst offender; processed meats (with fish consumption in second place) are right behind³⁸.

ARSENIC
It is an FDA-approved practice to add arsenic to animal feed in order to increase the animals’ growth rate, because the arsenic kills the large numbers of parasites living within chickens, so the birds retain more calories. Unfortunately, the large doses of the toxin are preserved in the meat sold for consumption. Stated by manufacturers as an added benefit, the arsenic turns the chicken carcasses a pinkish color which is reportedly preferred by consumers.³⁹

HEPATITIS E
Pigs have been identified as the reservoirs of the hepatitis E virus, along with boars, deer and shellfish. Upon this discovery, pork sold in grocery stores was tested and found to contain the virus as well, identifying another route of HEV infection in humans.⁴⁰

MRSA, E. COLI AND RAW MEAT
MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is another deadly virus strain which has now been found in raw meat sold in grocery stores⁴¹, as well as a specific strain of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli which has been identified as a cause of urinary tract infections. In the study of the E. coli, the most contaminated of the various meats was chicken, which tested positive in 92% of the samples.⁴²

RESIDUAL VETERINARY DRUGS, PESTICIDES AND HEAVY METALS
“One of the public food safety issues facing the United States is the contamination of meat with residual veterinary drugs, pesticides, and heavy metals. ‘Residue’ of this sort finds its way into the food supply when producers bring animals to slaughter plants while they have these residual contaminants in their system. When the animals are slaughtered, traces of the drugs or pesticides contained in these animals’ meat is shipped to meat processors and retail supermarkets, and eventually purchased by consumers.”
“[I]n 2008, when Mexican authorities rejected a shipment of U.S. beef because it contained copper in excess of Mexico’s tolerances, FSIS had no basis to stop distribution of this meat in the United States since the FDA has set no tolerance for copper.“⁴³
There are no safety thresholds established for most pesticides, drugs and metals in our food supply, so even if alarming levels are found (though inspections are rare), there is no basis to stop distribution of such contaminated foods. Of all animal products, veal is likely to contain the highest levels of drug residues.

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND COPPER
A hundred years ago, there was no evidence of Alzheimer’s disease in our population. Today's undeveloped world has yet to learn of it. But in America, it affects 10% of 60 year old's, 20% of 70 year old's and 30% of 80 year old's. Scientists have finally identified copper toxicity as the likely culprit behind this debilitating disease. The three top sources of copper intake are copper water pipes, copper supplements in our multivitamins, and meat consumption⁴⁴.

DIABETES
Eating meat even just once a week increases the risk of diabetes by as much as 74%.⁴⁵

BREAST CANCER
“Meat [i]s the factor contributing most greatly to the incidence of breast cancer.”^{46 47}

HORMONAL STEROIDS AND HORMONE-RELATED CANCERS
“In the USA, steroid implantation was carried out in 97% of beef cattle in 1999.”
“[T]he increasing consumption of estrogen-rich beef following steroid implantation might facilitate estrogen accumulation in the human body and could be related to the incidence of hormone-dependent cancers.” This study in Japan found that the hormone-dependent cancers have been increasing parallel to their increase in beef consumption: “During the past quarter century, hormone-dependent cancers have risen fivefold: 4 times in breast and ovarian cancer, 8 times in endometrial cancer, and 10 times in prostate cancer. Meanwhile, popularization of the Western diet has resulted in a fivefold multiplication of beef consumption in Japan.”⁴⁸ Japan isn’t the only nation facing increasing cancer risks (as well as heart disease and diabetes) as its population increases its intake of animal products – India, China and other nations are all seeing the same phenomenon.⁴⁹

ANABOLICS (GROWTH PROMOTING STEROIDS)
“In contrast to the use of hormonal doping agents in sports to enhance the performance of athletes, in the livestock industry hormonal growth promoters ("anabolics") are used to increase the production of muscle meat. This leads to international disputes about the safety of meat originating from animals treated with such anabolics.⁵⁰” Those growth hormones are stored mainly in the meat⁵¹ of the injected animal and are passed on to the consumer. So athletes who eat pork (and likely other steroid-containing meats) can actually test positive for anabolics and so be falsely accused of using steroids⁵².

EARLY ONSET OF PUBERTY
Like dairy, eating meat may also affect prepubescent children’s production of male sex hormones in both boys and girls, resulting in an earlier onset of puberty and its accompanying shorter life expectancy.⁵³

MEAT IN HOT DOGS AND HAMBURGERS
Most people assume that hot dogs and hamburgers consist mostly of meat. Actually, fast-food burgers typically contain around 12% actual meat⁵⁴ and hot dogs less than 10%⁵⁵. Some other things found in both are bones, cartilage and various other tissues, as well as the occasional parasite.

E. COLI, SALMONELLA AND AMMONIA
A problem with the majority of meat produced in America today is how to kill the fecal matter’s passengers, the deadly E. Coli and Salmonella bacteria (strangely, the fecal matter itself is not a concern). A company called Beef Products had a novel idea a few years ago and they began injecting the meat and washing it with ammonia, killing most of the bacteria. The only problem was that to effectively kill the bacteria, the level of ammonia in the meat was so high it smelled bad and sickened a number of school children. So the company began lowering the ammonia in the product, unavoidably leaving higher percentages of bacteria still alive, leading to deadly outbreaks and extensive food recalls. This problem has yet to be satisfactorily resolved.⁵⁶

MEAT SUMMARY
Like dairy, meat consumption sharply raises risks for a staggering amount of cancers, provides a steady source of inorganic anabolics, and does further damage to our children’s hormonal clocks. In addition, it pollutes women’s breast milk with flame retardants, causes or contributes to the incidence of asthma, Alzheimer’s, infertility, essential tremor, aging acceleration, and diabetes. It is frequently infested with various deadly parasites and bacteria, not to mention fecal matter, and when it comes to fast food, little actual meat. Instead it may harbor certain veterinary drugs, pesticides and heavy metals, which are not even screened by the FDA, since it hasn’t established any thresholds for most toxins in our food supply. Whenever you see another advertisement for “lean” chicken, know that according to the USDA, one serving of chicken in 1895 had only 16.2 kcal/100 g of fat. In 2004, the same serving of chicken had 208.8 kcal/100 g of fat.

“The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of ‘real food for real people’ you'd better live real close to a real good hospital.” - Neal Barnard, M.D.

The truth about FISH

PREGNANT WOMEN
“Methyl mercury is a developmental neurotoxicant. Exposure results principally from consumption by pregnant women of seafood contaminated by mercury from anthropogenic (70%) and natural (30%) sources.” Between 316,588 and 637,233 children born each year in America have cord blood mercury levels greater than 5.8 μg/L, a level at which IQ loss occurs. With the levels of mercury in a single serving of most fish easily exceeding daily recommendations, no amount of fish is safe for pregnant women.⁵⁷
Besides mercury, fish contain a slew of other chemical toxins which build up in their tissue. “Increasing evidence suggests that maternal exposure to toxic chemicals compounds may be associated with various congenital defects.⁵⁸”

MERCURY
Unborn babies aren’t the only ones at risk from mercury poisoning. Anyone consuming fish is taking in large doses of the toxic metal, which even at low levels, can negatively affect your behavior⁵⁹ – eat enough fish and you may go completely crazy⁶⁰. Some parents have expressed concern about the mercury content in vaccinations; for some perspective, a single serving of canned tuna (about half a can) has the equivalent amount of mercury as 100 vaccine injections⁶¹.

DIOXINS, ARSENIC, PCB’S, PARASITIC WORMS AND DRUGS
Fish contain the highest amount of dioxins of all meat types, including DDT which still exists in primarily animal food sources⁶². (Dioxins are some of the most toxic chemicals known to science.) You can even tell how much fish and seafood a person has been eating by checking their blood for the amount of arsenic it contains⁶³. To get an even more accurate measure, you would check for dioxins, PCBs, and mercury⁶⁴. You can even check the mercury content of someone’s hair to see their seafood and fish intake⁶⁵. Fish also contain various parasitic worms, including deadly brain parasites, as well as a slew of pharmacological drugs which are washed into our rivers⁶⁶.

DHA AND FISH OIL
Some people consume fish for the cardiovascular benefit of DHA in the meat. However, the negative impact of the mercury consumed along with the DHA will cancel out any benefits because mercury is detrimental to the heart (as well as the brain and other organs). To get the DHA without the mercury, skip the middleman: fish obtain DHA by eating golden algae. There are multiple DHA supplements made from golden algae which are entirely mercury free yet deliver the identical benefits. Those consuming fish oil for inflammation reduction should know that studies have proven it does not reduce inflammation, and in fact may increase it due to the toxins in the oil (whether the oil is distilled or not)⁶⁷. The algae-derived DHA does not contain these toxins.

FISH SUMMARY
Our waters have become our sewers and the fish swimming in them might as well glow based on their toxicity. They contain dioxins, heavy metals, parasites, drugs, and loads of mercury. Pregnant women especially should safeguard their babies by avoiding any and all fish and seafood.

The truth about EGGS

ESTROGEN
Eggs are by far the biggest source of estrogen in the western diet. They contain a specific type of estrogen called estradiol which is a known carcinogen.⁶⁸

FAT AND CHOLESTEROL
Egg yolks contain a large amount of fat (27% of which is saturated and contains cholesterol), over half the calories of the entire egg.

DIABETES
“[H]igh levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.⁶⁹”

ALLERGY
Allergy to eggs among infants is the most common food allergy, though it is usually outgrown in childhood.⁷⁰

ANTIOBITIOC RESISTANCE
“[A]ntibiotic resistance in humans appears to be directly related to the antibiotic's use in eggs.”⁷¹

SALMONELLA
Eggs are frequently contaminated with different strains of Salmonella. Some contamination occurs while the egg is being laid and comes in contact with fecal matter; other exposure is through weaknesses in the shell or inherent illness within the laying hen.⁷²

MOUTH, THROAT, ESOPHAGEAL, COLON, RECTAL, LUNG, BREAST, BLADDER, AND PROSTATE CANCER, AS WELL AS ALL CANCERS COMBINED
People consuming just ½ an egg a day or more have about twice the risk of getting mouth, throat, esophageal and other types of upper aerodigestive tract cancers, three times the risk of colon cancer, twice the risk of rectal and lung cancer, three times the risk of breast cancer, and twice the risk of bladder, prostate, and all cancers combined.⁷³

EGG SUMMARY
As benign as they seem, eggs contain the basic material to create baby chicks, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they harbor extremely large amounts of hormones, fat and cholesterol. The laying hens are kept in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions to produce enough eggs to keep up with demand, and requiring heavy doses of antibiotics to survive, leading to antibiotic resistance. Nonetheless, some bacteria do survive and Salmonella strains frequently contaminate eggs and sicken consumers. The cancer risks rising across the board by consuming just half an egg a day are mind-blowing and the link to diabetes is another reason to stay away.

Now that we’ve covered what foods to avoid, what else is there? The diet for which the human body was built...

The HEALTHIEST DIET

“Choose a diet that is predominantly plant-based, rich in a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans with minimally processed starchy foods” - AICR/WCRF Expert Report: Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer

The above quote is by the world’s foremost experts on human nutrition, and cancer and disease prevention, and after countless, ongoing medical trial and study reviews, this has remained their position for over 20 years.

THE HEALTHIEST DIET IN DETAIL

So the healthiest diet is a whole food plant-based diet rich in fruits, veggies, nuts and beans, with a reliable source of vitamin B12.

Here is exactly what this means:

Whole foods: Avoid processed foods as much as possible and try to eat foods close to their natural state. Processing removes vital nutrients from the food and frequently introduces preservatives and other foreign substances. So replace conventional pasta with whole grain pasta; white bread with whole wheat bread; white rice with brown, black, or red rice; garlic salt with garlic cloves; canned fruit with fresh or frozen; and so on. Plant-based: Avoid all types of meat, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurts, etc.), fish, and eggs. Replace them with legumes (beans, lentils, etc.), nuts, soy (or almond or rice) milk and yogurt, tempeh, seitan (wheat-protein made out of flour) and tofu. Rich in fruits and veggies: The recommended minimum of daily fruit and vegetable servings for adults is NINE (9), and for children under 6 years of age, it is FIVE (5). For your fruits, choose plentifully from berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, goji berries, acai berries, etc.) and don’t shy away from apples, black plums, and kiwis. For your vegetables, choose dark leafy greens as much as possible (kale, swiss chard, mustard/turnip/collard greens, spinach, boy choy, etc.), as well as broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, and sweet potatoes, and be sure to add garlic, onions and leeks wherever you can. Minimize the use of white potatoes, they offer little nutrition. For both fruits and veggies, eating a good variety is best. Nuts: Eat a handful of nuts every day; they are an excellent source of protein, healthy fats and many other benefits such as omega 3’s. The most nutritious nuts are pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios, but again, variety is best. Beans (legumes): Beans are a great source of protein, as well as other nutrients which vary by variety. Lentils are also included among legumes (and happen to be bursting with healthy nutrients), as well as peas, soy beans and soy-based products such as tofu and tempeh. Some of the most nutritious beans include black, kidney, adzuki, soy and pinto varieties. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), the main ingredient in hummus, are a favorite of children due to their mild flavor and a good source of zinc. B12 supplement: A vegan diet requires a reliable source of vitamin B12. We were most likely able to obtain this vitamin from the bacteria in our drinking water before our water sources became chlorinated for safety, effectively also killing the beneficial bacteria present. Nowadays B12 can be obtained by consuming products fortified with B12 (fortified soy milks, fortified cereals, etc.) and/or a B12 supplement. Because B12 requires a particular dosing regimen (only a small amount is absorbed at any one time), please see the B12 AND BEYOND page for proper dosing regimens by age and frequency of intake (daily vs. twice a day vs. twice a week). The website also has recommendations for other vital nutrients, including vitamin D and calcium.

PLANNING A MEAL AND THE POWER PLATE
When it comes to planning main meals, the easiest way to fill your plate with a balanced meal is to follow a simple rule: whole grains and/or legumes paired with plenty of veggies and/or fruits. Examples of this would be:

• Brown rice (whole grains) with black beans (legumes) and mango salsa (fruits/veggies)

• Whole grain pasta (whole grains) topped with spinach, onion, olives, green peppers and tomato sauce (veggies), with an apple for dessert
• Whole wheat bagel (whole grains) with vegan smoked turkey (legumes), and red lettuce, tomato, red pepper, onion, and mustard (veggies)
• Butternut squash (veggies) soup with quinoa (whole grains) and sweet potato chunks (veggies)

Of course, not all meals need to follow this layout; for simple snacks or small meals, hummus and crackers, veggies, fresh/dried fruits, nuts, etc. are just perfect. But for your main meal(s) of the day, this approach will balance out your meals best, assuring a good source of protein, calories, vital nutrients and antioxidants.

ADDITIONAL TIPS TO MAXIMIZE HEALTH

The best sources of healthy fats (especially for growing children) are nuts, flax seeds, olive oil and avocados. Green (or white) tea is healthier than drinking fruit juice and is one of the most powerful antioxidant sources around. Regular caffeinated tea is the most nutritious but decaf is still good for you. Green tea is even healthier when cold-steeped. The ideal amount of moderately intensive exercise daily is 60 minutes (the study that reported 30 minutes thought the true time of 60 minutes was too extreme for the public to accept). Cocoa powder by itself is very good for you – it’s excellent added to smoothies. The most nutrient rich sweetener is date sugar since it is made out of ground dates (a whole food). It works best in baking, but can be used everywhere brown sugar would work. Avoid aspartame like the plague (it’s commonly found in diet sodas). You must have heard this already, but it’s important to reiterate: fried foods are very bad for your health.

Following a whole food plant-based diet certainly has its benefits:

The many BENEFITS

"Vegetarians have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of any group in the country... a fraction of our heart attack rate and they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate."
William Castelli, M.D., Director, Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running epidemiological study in medical history

PROTECTION FROM CANCERS, STROKE, OBESITY, DIABETES, AND MORE…
A plant-based diet reduces the risk of (probably all) cancers by significant amounts – among the ones studied are breast^{74 75}, endometrial^{76 77}, colorectal⁷⁸, prostate⁷⁹, ovarian⁸⁰, intestinal, lung, bladder⁸¹, pancreatic⁸², throat, stomach, esophageal, and lymphatic⁸³ cancer.⁸⁴ A plant-based also protects from stroke, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, emphysema, dementia, cataracts, rheumatoid arthritis⁸⁵, constipation, diverticulosis⁸⁶, and many other ailments. Vegetarian children even tend to have higher IQ’s and mental age than their omnivore counterparts. ⁸⁷
Here is the official position of the American Dietetic Association: “The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals.”⁸⁸

PLANT-BASED DIET AS THE CANCER AND DIABETES PREVENTATIVE
Diet is the number one cause of cancer⁸⁹. Only 5-10% of cancer risk is genetic, the rest is environmental – of which about 50% is diet.⁹⁰ Type 2 diabetes can also be prevented by a vegan diet; a vegan diet actually produces better results than an omnivore diabetic diet, even with less exercise. ^{91 92}

PLANT-BASED DIET AS THE CANCER AND DIABETES TREATMENT
Cancers take years to develop and many of us have small tumors growing within us now. For example, breast cancer can begin literally decades before it’s even diagnosed on a mammogram. A plant-based diet can SLOW or REVERSE cancer: an astonishing example was a study done which had a group of breast-cancer positive women eating a plant-based diet for two weeks. After two weeks, their blood was drawn and the level of all growth hormones had dropped dramatically. In addition, the researchers dripped blood after the two-week period onto a Petri dish containing live breast cancer cells. The blood sample reduced the cancer in the Petri dish by 20% (after just two weeks on a plant based diet). The blood of people on a plant-based diet is simply inhospitable to cancer.⁹³ Type 2 diabetes and heart disease has also been shown to be well-managed and actually improved by following a vegan diet.^{94 95 96}

MISCELLANEOUS BENEFITS

• The abundant calcium found in dark leafy greens is absorbed about twice as well as the calcium in cow’s milk and it contains many other vitamins and minerals that milk does not – folate, vitamin K, fiber, iron, and antioxidants.

• Grilled foods of plant origin do not contain PAH carcinogens because PAH formation requires animal muscle tissue.
• Plant-derived protein does not cause infertility.
• Slowing down the cellular aging process requires eating a whole foods plant-based diet and exercising moderately.⁹⁷
• Soy helps prevent human fat cells from taking up fat in the first place – meaning, you can eat the same amount of calories on a plant-based diet as on an omnivorous diet, yet you are more likely to lose weight than gain weight.⁹⁸
• Vegetarians are slimmer because their metabolisms have a higher rate of fat burn-off (as opposed to storage) than omnivores.⁹⁹
• Specific vegetables target specific cancer cells, so eating a variety of veggies is the best preventative measure. Some vegetables are incredibly effective against many types of cancers: garlic, leek, green onion and Brussel sprouts are some of the most potent.¹⁰⁰
• The earlier young girls begin eating soy, the greater the protection from breast cancer.¹⁰¹
• Soy does not only decrease the risk of breast cancer, it also decreases the risk of breast cancer recurrence.¹⁰²
• In a study of preschool children’s diets and their mothers’ perception of their quality, almost 83% of mothers overestimated the quality of their child’s diet. Of the children, 18.3% had a “poor” diet, 81.5% had a diet which “needed improvement” and only 0.2% had a “good” diet.¹⁰³
• For the many non-dietary benefits of a plant-based diet, such as an immense reduction in your carbon footprint, water conservation, ending animal cruelty, conserving the planet’s food-producing soil, cleaning up our environment, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, reducing national medical expenses, saving countless land- and ocean-dwelling species from extinction, and many more, please see the ECO-FRIENDLY DIET page.

LASTLY, THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION WHEN FACED WITH THE FACTS: CAN’T WE JUST CONTINUE TO CONSUME ANIMAL PRODUCTS BUT SIMPLY ADD LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGGIES TO OUR MEAT-BASED DIET?
When it comes to cancer risk particularly, one cannot eat a modern western diet, add in a few fruits and veggies, and expect the same results as if one were eating a plant-based diet. Those few fruits and veggies, though they will help if eaten in large quantities, are not enough to make up for the rest of the daily menu when it comes to cancer. The only way to drop cancer risks dramatically is to stop ingesting animal products.¹⁰⁴ And the same goes for heart disease; there just isn’t a way to negate all the artery-clogging animal fat coming into the body. However, every reduction of animal products will help reduce your risk; so if you find that eliminating all meat, dairy and eggs is too difficult, then simply minimize such intake as much as you can.

For more information, research updates, many excellent additional resources, free recipes, help for parents of picky eaters and those feeding babies, plant-based equivalents for common food items, and dispelled myths, please browse through our additional pages featured on your left hand panel at the top of the page.

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Information provided in this booklet and on the accompanying website at www.DietaryTruth.com is for informational purposes only; it is not intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The information provided is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care professional for all your medical needs.

REFERENCES