SoulVeggie

Reason #2: A Food Nazi Recommends "Go Max Go" Again

I posted about the fat in "Go Max Go" vegan candy bars awhile back (here), was called a "Food Nazi."  Today, the American Heart Association released sugar intake daily recommendations that provide evidence for considering "Go Max Go" vegan candy bars a DOUBLE hit on your cardiovascular system.  My original post was about the very high added oil/fat content in these products.  Now, we know that it's also the sugar content that is threatening to our health.

The stodgy and conservative A.H.A. recommends no more than 100 calories from sugar per day for women, 150 calories per day for men.  Here's some translations of note (primary source):

1) 1 gram of sugar is 4 calories
2) 1 teaspoon of sugar contains around 15 or 16 calories (4.2 grams of sugar)
3) 8 teaspoons of sugar (like, one 12 oz. can of soda) is 33 grams (around 130 calories)
4) 8 teaspoons of sugar is a little over 2.5 Tablespoons of sugar  (1/2 cup of sugar)

AHA recommendations:  max daily of 37.5 grams of sugar for men, 25 grams for women

"Go Max Go" candy bars:

JokerZ:  22 grams of sugar  (close to a day's worth for a woman)
Twilight:  29 grams of sugar  (over a day's worth for a woman)
Buccaneer:  33 grams of sugar  (over a day's worth for a woman and close to that of a man)
Mahalo:  18 grams of sugar

So, if you want an extremely high-fat high-sugar nutritionally useless vegan "treat" that has potential impact on you manifesting obesity, Type II Diabetes, and/or Heart Disease, I highly recommend "Go Max Go" candy bars.  They are very effective fat and sugar delivery vehicles, and the most important bonus, they taste gud!

THE RANT:  going vegan doesn't mean that using vegan "crappy food products" instead of the original "non-vegan crappy food products" is better for all animals.  The animal not being saved, exchanging one taste addiction for another, is the human animal.

Something to think about the next time you read a recipe with 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of olive oil or Earth "Balance," and/or tablespoons of Tamari.  Added fat, sugar, and salt are the "unholy trio."   We vegans can, without knowing it, kill ourselves by what we eat by ignoring the "trio" just as efficiently and unknowingly as the omnivores doing the same.  The only difference is that they increase their odds of disease by ingesting animal products and less fresh produce, and as a vegan, you can decrease the odds, but if you pay attention to added fat, salt, and sugar, you can drastically reduce those odds.

Just because a product is vegan, doesn't mean it's healthy.  You newbies out there have a unique opportunity: this knowledge is readably available through the Internet, demonstrated by Science in recent years (known by such as Esselstyn, Ornish, Barnard, and McDougall for decades), and you lucky b*st*rds can take advantage of this early in life, extend your life, and enhance the quality of your later life... believe me, it's worth the initial effort.

All you need is a little discipline and will power to re-calibrate your tastebuds and food desires.  The same abilities you used to become vegan in the first place.  Reject what vegan and non-vegan companies would have you buy to fullfill your addiction, increase their profits, and instead, reboot your tastes. 

"GO" for "MAXimum"  health and optimal nutrition:  stop buying and consuming unhealthy vegan products.  Your heart, pancreas, brain, libido, and body, will thank you, and serve you even better.

Myth: "Food Must Taste Good" & A Healthy Chips Alternative

A vegan blogger posted the phrase "Food Must Taste Good" today, which was her lead-in to reviewing a bunch of "Food Must Taste Good" chip products (mostly vegan junk food).

She praised the hell outta them, and used a lot of buzz phrases from their website, "no trans-fats," yadda yadda... and even though they are baked, it's important to realize that they are essentially spices, refined flour, and added fat.  She calls them healthy, but never mentioned the nutritional content, which is available on their website (amazing how far they reach to find some way to extol their products..."kosher?"). 

LIke, what's the fat grams total per serving? (6... that's high... a third to a fourth recommended daily fat by Esselstynn and Ornish)  What's the sodium content?  You write they are a good source of dietary fiber?  Says who? (oh, the website does...  must be true... refined grain flours are a wonderful source of fiber, right?)  But then she acknowledges that: "I’m hopelessly in love with them."

Yeah, right. But didn't meat, cheese, and eggs used to "taste good?"

The "food must taste good" mantra is a god-send for food companies that make a financial killing by biologically killing us through convincing us that refined flour, salt, fat, and in other cases, sugar, are "real food."  If anything, the past few decades have shown how the food industry's mastery of what we get addicted too is surpassed only the tobacco industry and various other drug dealers.  Obesity, hypertension, heart disease, and type II diabetes.  The real fruits of their marketing research and laboratories.  The pinnacle of the "agricultural revolution."

But then, they know all too well that sugar, salt, and fat are addictive.  That's why they put them into just about every processed food product.  We pay extra for their diminishing the nutritional value of real food and increasing it's addictive effects.  We threaten our health and screw up our internal biochemistry in consuming their frankenfoods, but "HEY!  IT TASTES GOOD!!!"

Real food should be FIRST, as nutritious and as unadulterated as possible.  THEN, if it tastes good, it's a double-win for you, your body, your life, and society in general.  Real food doesn't come packaged in foil bags.  Think about it:  why are there so many types and brands of chips?  Because they are CHEAP to make in bulk, are comprised of generally inferior ingredients that might resemble food at some point in their life cycle, and they are addictive... helluva business (and profit margin).  Make it cheaply, sell it higher, and as a bonus, it's naturally addictive.  Added sugar, added fat, and added salt:  the deadly trifecta.

For healthy corn tortilla chips, cut up corn tortillas, sprinkle with cumin or paprika, arrange on no-stick cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees until crisp (around 5 minutes, depending upon your oven).

Try them with homemade salsa, you'll be in love with them, be avoiding the useless added fat and salt, and truly be a heart happy herbivore!

Homestyle Heart Attack Pot Pie & A Healthy Alternative

Just glommed a vegan "healthy happy Homestyle Tofu Pot Pie" recipe blogged (at http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/)  yesterday.  As busy as I am (harvesting, digging, fencing, etc.), a quick "fat fact check" on this "killer" recipe was in order.  Here's the ingredients with significant fat in them:

1/4 cup oil:  8 grams sat fat or 48 gram fat
1 block (10 oz) extra firm tofu:  about 13 grams fat
4 T olive oil:  8 grams sat fat or 48 gram fat
1 cup full-fat soy milk:  .5 grams sat fat or 4 grams fat
3 T vegenaise:  3 grams sat fat or 27 grams fat

Total:  140 grams of fat  (around 20 grams of saturated fat).

At 4 servings (avg. for a 9" pot pie):  that's at least 35 grams of fat PER SERVING.  Unbelievable.  Remember, the entire Denny's Grand Slam breakfast is around 50 grams of fat (14 grams saturated).  This recipe has, per serving, has about 2/3rds the TOTAL fat content of the entire Grand Slam Breakfast.

Why does this matter?  Well, the guys who've reversed (and in theory, prevent) heart disease (Esselstyn & Ornish), and Barnard (who's reversed Type II diabetes with diet) recommend 14 to 20 grams of fat total PER DAY.  The Feds recommend around 60 grams of fat per (25% of a 2,000 calorie a day diet).  So, that tofu pot pie has over half the daily fat recommended by the Feds in ONE serving or over 1 1/2 times the recommended fat by the three good doctors on the high end.

You can read about the amazing impact just ONE high fat meal can have on your cardiovascular system, for 6 hours, here (courtesy Rip Esselstyn, vegan firefighter).

Please be kind to your cardiovascular system and pancreas.  Avoid the "Homestyle Heart Attack Pot Pie" and instead, try this neat and clever "Savory Swiss Chard Pie" from the always amazing Susan Voisin:
(http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/06/savory-swiss-chard-pie.html)

... it's a fine low-fat vegan pot pie (you could easily use other vegetables), it has less than 3 grams of fat per serving (the tofu pot pie has over 10 times that per serving), and significantly less saturated fat.

Now that's a Happy Heart-Healthy Recipe for a Longer Life!

[ADDENDUM:  08/09/09:  2300 est.:  It's amazing.... said blogger above just bashed a recipe (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/08/my-review-of-melissas-ten-dollar.html -- Kathy's so proud of her posts that she prevents my blog from linking to them) from some cable food network show as being unhealthy, too fatty, etc.  Surprisingly enough, the per serving of the the torte recipe she complained about (35 grams of fat) is the SAME amount of fat grams per serving of the recipe for "Homestyle Tofu Pot Pie" she posted yesterday.

That blogger also seems to still think that "saturated fat" is the only significant issue regarding health.  For a read on issues about fat, check out a previous post I made summarizing the issues:

http://soulveggie.blogs.com/my_weblog/2009/01/15-reasons-to-avoid-vegetable-oils.html

I do think that if one is going to come down on a recipe for having too much fat, then you probably, from a credibility standpoint, shouldn't post a recipe with the same numbers the day before.  That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Furthermore, we need to realize, even as vegans, that added oil/fat is wrong, and it's not food... real food... the sooner we get past this taste addiction, the better.  You can have it as a vegan or non-vegan, and that's what altogether too many vegans don't realize.'  But, despite what some people say, you CAN "reset" your taste receptors to not desire fat if you want to.  It takes several weeks, been there, done that.

It works, and will help keep your heart working, too.

New Surgeon General: Do as I Say (Not as I Do)

Obama just announced his pick for Surgeon General, and I've this nagging concern about her appointment.  Sure, she's got an impressive resume of achievements, motivation, compassion, and intelligence.  But, and I'm probably going to take some heat for this, is this enough?

"The president praised her [Dr. Regina Benjamin] as a "relentless promoter of prevention and wellness," and a New York Times profile of her work in Bayou La Batre called her an "angel in a white coat." She even won a prestigious "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation last year. There's no question she's an accomplished doctor familiar with the struggles of the poor and disadvantaged."  (from here).

Her role is to be the "Nation's Doctor."   Clearly she's qualified, has the chops to do this, and well.   So what's bugs me?

Dr. Benjamin, with all due respect, you are appear to be severely overweight.  Have seen the photos.  You've two, almost three, chins.  In your role as Surgeon General, you'll probably wail against obesity, the faux food that people consume that promote obesity and resulting related "diseases:"  heart, diabetes, Altzheimer's, cancer... and I've no doubt that you'll push hard to get the need for US citizens to eat heathy, exercise, and get healthy (and also, thereby reducing the incredible cost these "metabolic disorders" bring upon our economy, let alone, the personal & emotional impact upon individuals and families).  You'll also push for universal heath care, and I won't go into the irony of this in that those non-vegans are such an unnecessary burden on the health care "system."

But, Dr. Benjamin, again, with all due respect, what level of credibility does a significantly overweight (and as such, person of higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, Altzheimer's, and cancer) have with just "words?"  How can it be that you are so brilliant, so insightful, so caring, so giving, that you cannot find the discipline, personal will power, and self-examination to maintain a reasonable BMI?  You are a gifted doctor from a State (Alabama) that has an abysmal level of obesity and corresponding or related physical disorders.  Couldn't you muster the intestinal fortitude to keep your weight at a reasonably healthy level?  Can't you be "relentless" in "preventing" your own odds of dis-health in the future by dropping that weight?

Sure, one can "know the wisdom," "pontificate the wisdom," and not "follow the wisdom."  We are, after all, not perfect.  But then, isn't someone obese advising others to eat healthy, exercise, loose the excess weight, and live longer, not unlike an alcoholic lecturing on the evils of alcohol?  For what it's worth, when I see a 'fat' chef, I question the value/wisdom/nature/credibility of his/her "culinary skills."  If you are making healthy meals, you should, imho, be (and at least, appear) healthy.

Anyway, Dr. Benjamin, I sincerely do wish you well in your tenure and hope that you do great good in your role as largely a spokesperson for real health.  I also hope that you consider setting an example:  losing your excess and unhealthy body mass.  That would truly have a powerful positive inspiring impact, underscore the seriousness of your concerns,  and amplify the value, importance, and gravity, of your vital messages.  After all, aren't these your true goals?

...and better yet, why not go low-fat vegan?... and it'll be easy, effective, permanent, and have greater personal and social consequences than just personal or collective health.  The research is in, and the conclusions are obvious. 

One doesn't have to be a "genius" to understand, accept, embrace, and promote them.

Low-Calorie Diet May Extend Life in Primates

"A long-awaited study of aging in rhesus monkeys suggests, with some reservations, that people could in principle fend off the usual diseases of old age and considerably extend their life span by following a special diet.  Known as caloric restriction, the diet has all the normal healthy ingredients but contains 30 percent fewer calories than usual. Mice kept on such a diet from birth have long been known to live up to 40 percent longer than comparison mice fed normally.

Would the same be true in people? More than 20 years ago, two studies of rhesus monkeys were begun to see if primates responded to caloric restriction the same way that rodents did. Since rhesus monkeys live an average of 27 years and a maximum of 40, these are experiments that require patience.

The results from one of the two studies, conducted by a team led by Ricki J. Colman and Richard Weindruch at the University of Wisconsin, were reported on Thursday in Science. The researchers say that now, 20 years after the experiment began, the monkeys are showing many beneficial signs of caloric resistance, including significantly less diabetes, cancer, and heart and brain disease. “These data demonstrate that caloric restriction slows aging in a primate species,” they conclude."

[Full article here and below.  Yet another reason to go low-fat vegan, and also avoid such nutritional absurdities (see last post) as organic 300 calorie high-saturated fat vegan chocolate bars, vegan recipes with cups of coconut milk, cups of oil, with really fatty faux cheeses or fake mayo.  Get with it, people.  Master your addictions to taste and live longer.  You gave up meat, dairy, and eggs... don't stop now... finish the race to real health.]

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NADD - Nutritional Attention Deficit Disorder

Here's a post from a vegan blogger criticizing a SoyJoy Bar (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/06/soy-joy-bars-butter-eggs-cheese-joy.html)  --- she's so proud of her posts that she prevents me from linking to them here) has having too much saturated fat (3.5 grams, 6 grams of total fat) for one serving.  Normally, I'd praise this insightful conclusion.  Here's an excerpt:

"Soy is Joy. I applaud SoyJoy's plight to bring high quality whole ground soy bean to the mass markets of people. But there is a lot of confusion and propaganda from their marketing. I will bet a lot of people eat these bars thinking, wow I'm being so healthy right now. But 3.5 grams of saturated fat from one tiny bar is not so healthy. "

However, a few weeks later, she's promoting Newman's Organic chocolate bars (http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/07/newmans-signature-series-chocolate.html) , and the vegan version that "tastes so good" weighs in at, yup, 16 grams of saturated fat (28 grams of fat total, almost FIVE times that of the SoyJoy Bar) a single serving:

"For the most health benefits, go with the 70% Super Dark Chocolate flavor. Super Dark ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (organic chocolate liquor*, organic evaporated cane juice, organic cocoa butter*, soy lecithin [an emulsifier], organic vanilla). Bars are around 300 calories. When it comes to chocolate, this is some of the good stuff."

WFT? If you ask me, possible signs of "nutritional attention deficit disorder".  Contrast 28 grams of fat (and 330 calories) in a single serving chocolate bar with the 14 to 20 grams of fat per day TOTAL recommended by Drs. Esselstyn and Ornish (the only people to successfully reverse heart disease, and Dr. Neals Barnard (has reversed diabetes through low-fat vegan diet).  Here's 15 Reasons to Avoid Added Fat (and all referenced).

Guess a bigger more unhealthy high chocolate bar with really minimal nutritional value at all & a helluva lot of saturated fat (but it tastes good!!) from a company that's donated a lot of money to charities (but not enough to cover the health care costs of eating their products), is better than any tiny more nutritious one.

Personally, I find this kind of dietary casuistry upsetting, and further evidence that one should take anything this blogger writes about with a pillar of salt.  She appears to play a bit fast'n'free with the term "health."

ADDENDUM:  after posting the above, a friend pointed out that I cited a study awhile back about chocolate and its impact on cardiovascular health.  There have been other studies about chocolate and blood vessel inflammation, I haven't spent much time on that issue.  However, the dangers to the heart from saturated fat and the ability of a low-fat vegan diet to reverse (and in theory) prevent heart disease have involved a considerable amount more people (and age ranges) and twenty years of peer-reviewed research from two independent researchers. 

Furthermore, as I noted in the other post, the impact of added fat to the elasticity of your arteries has been measured many times, and I seriously doubt that the chocolate in the bar mentioned above would cancel out both the total fat and saturated fat issues.  I consider a chocolate bar, as the ingredients described above, still essentially devoid of useful nutrition.  A lot of sugar, cocoa, cocoa butter, and taste stuff.  Hardly a whole food, just a sweet food-like product that feeds an addiction to sweets.

Love Dad? Don't Serve Him This Dad's Shortcake

I enjoy Vegan Dad's unbelievable creativity, and often healthy recipes, so it's a real disappointment to read this one.  Not only is it a disservice to cardiovascular systems everywhere, it was put into that newsletter by a well (and usually deservedly so) respected and tireless activist organization, FARM, as part of their "Meatless Mondays" campaign.

Here's the math on the recipe linked above:  5 tbls. of Earth Balance is  60 grams of PURE 100% NON FOOD FAT.  Trader Joe's Soy Creamer, at the amount suggested, is 18 grams of fat.  That's 78 grams of FAT total coupled with sugar, flour, and fruit.

In perspective, assuming 4 servings for the recipe, that's over 19 grams of FAT per serving.  The guys who reversed and prevented heart disease, Ornish and Esselstyn, and Barnard (who reversed Type II diabetes), recommend no more than 14 to 20 grams of fat PER DAY.  The Feds:  60 grams of fat per day.  At 6 servings, the recipe is still plain awful from a heart healthy perspective. Even the somewhat conservative American Heart Association would be concerned about the amount of saturated fat in this recipe (120% of daily recommended assuming 4 servings), and that's really unfortunate.

Considering the rate of heart disease (strokes/attacks) preponderant in fathers over 45 years old, this recipe is an insult.  This is an extremely high fat dessert, who's nutritional value is diluted by refined flour, sugar, and a helluva lot of FAT (highly processed, nutritionally useless, non-food goop).

Put the blueberries in a bowl, and if you must, add some soy milk and a pinch of sweetner.  Then you can match your actions with the words:  "I love you, Dad" and really mean it.

A heart healthy diet would not include this shortcake.  The last time I noted an excessively fatty recipe posted in the newsletter I was told me that it still encouraged people to go vegan and save more animals from dying as food.  So it was "okay."

But, at what human cost?  Did this approach forget that we're animals too, and dying in large numbers by heart disease linked to excessive consumption of fat?  I wonder if in the zeal to "save the animals," via (still unhealthy) vegan foods, and meals, some people miss that caring about animals means caring about people, too.  And yes, I've promoted Vegan Dad's cookbook in a newsletter.  It's a fine piece of work (the book).  But, this newsletter editor might have provided a healthier recipe from Vegan Dad's book.

I did, and it wasn't difficult.

A Food Nazi Recommends "Go Max Go"

I just read a blog review of "Go Max Go" vegan candy bars and it was most inspiring.  I had a rather testy e-mail interaction with one of the company officers weeks ago about the issue of them being "pushers" of an addictive, essentially nutritionally useless product (was called a 'food nazi') and it's just damn wonderful that they have finally gotten around to posting the nutritional breakdown of their products on their website.

Now, before looking into what's actually IN these wonderful vegan candy bars raved about by the vegan blogger, let's keep in mind two stats:  (1) 14 to 20 grams of fat PER DAY is roughly what Drs. Ornish, Esselstyn, Barnard, etc., recommend to stave off heart disease, diabetes, etc.,  and (2) the Feds (with Corporate encouragement), recommend no more than 60 grams of fat per day, total.

Here's some numbers on their four listed products:

Jokerz:  15 grams of fat per 1 serving bar (a full day to a little over a third day's worth of fat, depending upon who you want to trust)

Twilight:  9 grams of fat per 1 serving (1/2 a day's worth of FAT to over 1/6th)

Buccanneer:  7 grams of fat per 1 serving (around 1/2 a day's worth of fat to 1/9th)

Mahalo:  19 grams of fat per serving (a full day's worth of fat or around 1/3 day's worth of fat)

All four products contain palm oil, one of the oils most extremely high in saturated fat content which has been clearly proven to be bad for your cardiovascular system (only worse one is coconut oil).

"The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute warned that the "high content of saturated fat... found in... palm kernel oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter" puts people at risk for heart attack or stroke."  Source.

Well, that's just fraking fantastic!  Obviously, if you need a "wholesome" and "organic" fat and sugary vegan nutritionally useless food product alternative to a non-vegan fat and sugar ladden nutritionally useless food product, AND want to continue feeding your addiction to sugar and fat, as well as increase your chances for developing heart disease or stroke from added fat and type of fat,  it's clear that "Go Max Go" products are for you.  Highly recommended.

But then, I've not tasted them, and apparently that puts me at odds with many vegan blog product reviewers.  The fact that the nutritional profile of these products is so awful, suffices to tell me that I don't need to.  My tongue doesn't rule my diet (other parts of my life, well....).  I refuse to be a slave to taste and texture over nutritional quality.  Form doesn't rule essence.

So, get real.  Taste and/or texture doesn't matter.  It's what's IN the food you consume that does.  Stop feeding your addictions under the guise "oh, it's vegan... therefore it's gotta be good."  Do a little bit of research on what's IN the crap you're promoting (bloggers) and recognize the consequences of what you consume.  There's a difference between being a healthy vegan and a non-healthy vegan.  Fat, sugar, and salt, are key variables in that equation.  To ignore the impact of excessive amounts of any of these ingredients in your diet is to risk your long-term health... be you vegan or not.

And that's the truth.

Addendum:  06/03/09 - 1254 est - that "Mahalo Bar" contains 80% of the total recommended saturated fat per day by the Feds (which is way too high as a recommendation, anyway, due to Corporate influence.).

...and, from the "Go Max Go"  website;  "What we didn't want in our candy bars was dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial ingredients, or cholesterol."

How incredibly noble... forget about the overall fat content and that all your products contain high levels of saturated heart-disease causing fat.  After all, it's vegan... and although most of the ingredients, technically, are NOT real food, hide behind this fact by issuing this mindless statement and the addicts will believe your hype, buy your products.

But then, after all, in the final analysis, you really are fat/sugar pushers...

Addendum:  06/03/09 - 1830 est - regarding the ol' "once and awhile won't hurt" red herring.  Here's a post with link to a recent study that shows otherwise.  You can have low cholesterol, exercise, be of proper weight, and STILL it's the added fat that can cause that stroke.

Running the Dietary Race

Dad's going to become a cyborg today.  A battery-powered device will be merged with his body to keep his heart rate from dropping too low (he's been having fainting spells).  They refer to this surgery as a "procedure."  How Orwellian... It accompanies the satins for cholesterol, his being borderline diabetic, and having high blood pressure.  The "experts" believe diet is not a key factor.  Yet, a low-fat low-salt diet is recommended for those suffering from bradycardia.

This frustrates me to no end.  Because of the prevailing reductionistic mindset, believing everything can be broken up into bit'n'pieces and studied/treated individually instead of as a "whole system," the "experts" are doing nothing more then extending life a bit and treating symptoms --- totally ignoring the actual causes.  Yet, Esselstyn and Ornish have proven you can reverse heart disease through a low-fat vegan diet, without drugs and machines.  In denial, the aforementioned pros explain: people don't have the discipline and we don't make the same megabucks.

There's personal irony. This Mother's Day (to the day) is the anniversary of my Mom dying of breast cancer.  I was 14 years old.  It led directly to my quest to find out what might have caused her death and studying diet, health, nutrition, what's in our food, and eventually coming to the conclusion that going veg'n was one answer to avoiding these disorders.

The other answer was realizing that added fat, sugar, and salt, whether you are vegetarian or vegan, still contributes to developing many life-defying diseases.  Aghast, I read daily recipe posts from vegans using such nutritional abominations as "1 cup of Earth Balance (fat fat fat)," or "2 cups of Veganaise (soy and fat)," or "1 cup of sugar (btw: those "wonderful" vegan marshmellows are basically corn syrup and sugar), " or "1 cup <insert product name> of faux cheese (soy and fat)," or "1/4 cup of reduced sodium tamari (2,800 mg sodium, well over a day's worth... yet how many veg'ns liberally soak their food with it, whether in a marinade, a dressing, or a stir-fry?)"

In my younger years, I could eat a box of light bulbs, down a case of beer with 2 large pizzas, make love all night, then run a marathon the next day.  In my later years, that diet would make me ill and unable to run the marathon...  But, to actually run life's BIG marathon successfuly means that we can't dietarily "sprint full tilt bozo" the first third, then expect the last two-thirds to be illness-free and that our bodies haven't been damaged by earlier abuses.  That's a reality most won't accept.  Being vegan isn't enough to protect you.

As McDougall has noted:  "Moderation kills." ...and sustains your taste cravings.  As such, we MUST to learn to fuel life's race properly with our diet, eating whole foods (oil, sugar, syrup, and sodium, are NOT whole foods), and avoid feeding taste addictions that, in the final analysis, can lead to what's happened to Dad:  he didn't pace himself, and now he needs technology to do it for him.

Obesity, Diabetes & Heart Disease: Recipe for Dementia

"A new series of studies has shown that obesity in combination with diabetes and heart disease can work together to hasten the onset of dementia as well as other mental disabilities. When you look at the risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, you will find obesity at the top of the list. A diet rich in fatty foods is a major component for the development of heart disease while a diet containing too many starchy, sugary foods and not enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are key ingredients for developing diabetes. "  [Quote from HERE]

Let's not forget, too, that added fat/oil also provides the fuel for plaque formation that causes 90% of heart attacks & strokes (without warning), regardless of one's lipid or cholesterol levels, or physical fitness. Esselstyn has noted research that indicates by the time people are 50, most show signs of "tiny" strokes in their brains from added fat in their diet, that may later manifest as dementia or Alzheimer's disease.  They are too small to be noticed, but with the accumulation over time will be.

Added salt contributes to high blood pressure and heart disease, yet how many vegans consume over 1 teaspoon equivalent of salt a day, the recommended max? (hint:  check the labels on Tamari, Soy Sauce, and Bragg's).  Added sugar/sweeteners contribute to obesity and diabetes.  1 soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, effectively a recommended day's worth (that's around 3 tablespoons).

Yet, many in the vegan community must think themselves immune to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, because they exercise, or only use a few tablespoons of added fat in a serving, or because they are vegan.  They eat processed soy milk/sodium/fat laiden "fake cheeses and sour creams", they "fry seitan medallions in 1/2" of oil," mix 1/2 to 3/4 cup of EVOO (should be called "EVIL") into a salad dressing, or "go out to Lulu's for the discerningly brutal "nutmilk, coconut cream, and soymilk-based ice cream,"" make an "immunity boosting carrot soup with 1 tbl. of oil/fat per serving," and eat almost a day's worth of fat in the guise of two soy link sausages --- all because they are still addicted to the taste of fat.  Some are still hooked on sodium and sweets, and that's too bad.

Y'all may have overcome the desire for meat, dairy, and eggs (the Unholy Trio), but apparently haven't yet dealt with the "Unholy Trifecta" of added fat, sodium, and sugar, and as such, your health is still at real risk.

...and I'm wondering if that's not the real dementia... believing that eating added fat, sodium and sugar is healthy for you when all the reliable evidence says otherwise...

[Full article (without embedded links) below.  Additional article with study sources HERE.]