Bad protein, good protein
The type of protein we eat matters more than we thought
The biggest study to date – with over 130,000 participants - of the effects of both plant and animal protein on human health produced surprisingly clear results.
Dairy
Viva! Health
Out with the Old!
Subtitle:New government heath advice shuns meat and dairyPublic Health England has just published new dietary advice recommending people halve their dairy intake and eat less meat, replacing it with beans and pulses!
Viva!Health have been campaigning for change for years and it’s been a long time coming, but it seems things are beginning to change.
Bovine leukemia and breast cancer
According to a recent study, women who are infected with a virus called the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) might have an increased risk of breast cancer. Researchers tested breast tissue of 239 women for BLV and found that 59 per cent of those who had breast cancer also had BLV. Based on the study data and after taking other risk factors into consideration, the odds of having breast cancer were three times higher if BLV was present.
Prostate protection
Plant-based diets can be potent in preventing prostate cancer
Genetic factors can play an important role in prostate cancer but lifestyle and diet choices are crucial – they can significantly increase or reduce the risk. Obesity poses a particular risk because it raises the levels of sex hormones which, in turn, increase the risk of this hormone-sensitive cancer. Some sexually transmitted diseases have been linked to a higher risk too, as well as physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Happy heart foods
A new review of evidence shows how fantastic plant foods are for your heart
Milk Race
As more and more plant milks are popping up, you may be wondering about their health benefits and how they compare to cow's milk. Veronika Powell explores the milky landscape
Firstly, let's have a proper look at what any milk actually is - a very watery liquid, around 90 per cent is always water. Therefore, any amount of nutrients it contains is more or less diluted and any health effects depend on how much of it you drink.
Dairy puts your heart at risk
Dairy and other animal fats have been shown to put you at risk of heart disease and stroke
Dairy products contain varying amounts of fat but a considerable portion of it is always saturated fat. This study investigated the link between dairy fat intake and the incidence of heart disease and stroke among 220,000 people whose diets and health were followed for decades.
Help! I’m addicted to cheese!
If you have ever toyed with the idea of going vegan, you most probably thought (at least once) that you might not be able to live without cheese.
The truth is, cheese addiction is real and once you break free from it, the cravings stop.Being Vegan isn’t such a pain
According to a new study published in May 2015, a low-fat vegan diet can reduce the pain associated with diabetic neuropathy (nerve pain frequently experienced by diabetics). In this pilot study, diabetics were either assigned to a low-fat vegan diet or to a control group with no diet change. Everyone was given a vitamin B12 supplement for the 20 weeks of the study and at the end, the vegan group achieved improved blood-sugar control with some patients needing to have their medication reduced.
Dem bones love fruit & veg
The journal Osteoporosis International has recently published a review of studies on bone health and acid-alkali balance in the body. Everything we eat forms either acids or alkalis when digested and there has been much debate about whether acid-forming foods, such as meat, cheese, sugar and alcohol, can result in weaker bones.
Lactose intolerant people less likely to get cancer
People who have lactose intolerance can’t digest lactose, the sugar in milk, and therefore have to avoid dairy products. As milk and dairy products consumption has been suggested to play a role in the development of some types of cancer, Swedish scientists decided to do a population study and investigate whether lactose intolerant people get less cancer. The cancer types in question were lung, breast and ovary.
Vegans have the friendliest guts
As vegan diets gain popularity, more and more studies are looking into their potential health benefits. Although a vegan diet doesn’t necessarily have to be healthy (if it’s based on processed, fatty and sugary foods), on average it tends to fare better than other diets in many aspects and the numbers of health-conscious vegans are growing. A recent study focused on reviewing available data on vegan, vegetarian and omnivore (meat-eater) gut health and, in particular, the type of gut bacteria that these diets promote.
Milk’s no bone builder
Results of a long-term study showed that milk consumption during adolescence will not protect you from fractures and poor bone health later in life. We all know the dairy industry want us to believe we need milk and keep telling us it’ll help our bones but it’s simply a lie. In fact, the researchers found that men consuming high amounts of milk during adolescence had a higher risk of hip fracture in adulthood.
Phthalates? No thank you
Phthalates are man-made chemicals used as plasticisers in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials such as food packaging, flooring and some medical equipment and are added to cosmetics and personal care products as solvents, fixatives and adhesives. They are also very prone to leaching into the environment and entering our food chain. Phthalates are classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals – they can affect your hormones –and have been linked to adverse health effects, especially in infants, children and adolescents.
Red alert – vegans get less cancer!
It’s official; vegetarians and vegans get less cancer. A new study from Oxford University, looking at how diet affects cancer risk, has revealed that people who don’t eat meat have a much lower risk of getting the disease. The 15-year study followed 60,000 British men and women, of which over 18,000 were vegetarians and 2,246 vegan. They found that cancer incidence was 11 per cent lower in vegetarians, but a whopping 19 per cent lower in vegans. This adds to a huge body of evidence showing how red and processed meat increases the risk of cancer and other diseases.
The Animal Link
A study of epic proportions analysed high-quality data from 87 countries to examine the relationship between lifestyle and cancer. The results showed that the main factor notably contributing to 12 types of cancer across the countries was animal products consumption (which included meat, milk, fish and eggs). The types of cancer that animal products were most strongly linked to were breast, uterus, kidney, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancer and multiple myeloma.
Vegan diets for diabetics
Just how much can a low-fat vegan diet improve your health? Quite a lot, it seems, as a recent large study shows. People who were either overweight and/or diabetic (type 2) were asked to follow a wholesome vegan diet for 18 weeks whilst they carried on with their normal lives. A control group (people with similar characteristics to those who were prescribed a vegan diet) changed nothing about their lifestyle but were followed for comparison.
Facing the white truth
The summary of an extensive review of all studies examining the relationship between diet and acne were published and sent a very clear message. While no other food group showed consistent link to acne, dairy did. The researchers are not sure whether this is due to the hormones in milk, milk protein or the effect of milk on insulin and IGF-1 (hormone-like substance) concentrations or whether it’s all these factors working together. However, dairy has been repeatedly shown to markedly aggravate acne.
Milky worry
A long-term study followed 8,894 men for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality over at least two decades. The results showed that milk intake, especially in the first 20 years of life, was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Daily milk consumption in adolescence was associated with a 3.2-fold risk of advanced prostate cancer later in life. Cows’ milk contains insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) which directly promotes cancer growth.
Nanny State
Subtitle:The impact of goat's milk on animals and our healthGoats’ milk is promoted as the angelic answer to those who want a healthier, more animal friendly alternative to cows’ milk.
Juliet Gellatley (Viva! and Revive Nutrition founder & director), delves into this rapidly growing industry to unearth the truth.
“It's a goat's life! Waited on hand and foot, with 'room service' delivering the perfect menu of food. In these pampered conditions… our goats enjoy all of life's home comforts…” So purrs the website of Delamere Dairy, one of the UK’s largest suppliers of goats’ milk, cheese and yogurts.
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