Cooking With Dr. G

I realized something the other day, something that I had never really thought about before…I realized that it is harder to unlearn something than it is to learn something new.  This came about when I was in the grocery store with “my taste tester” who was looking at the price of chicken thighs and thinking about getting some because they were on sale.

Quick aside here, as some of you may know, while I eat a mostly plant based diet (like 96% of the time), I am not a perfect vegan.  I also don’t force my partner/taste tester to be vegan though typically he eats what I cook, which is usually plants.

My response to him wanting to buy chicken at 88 cents/lb, was “sure, if you are going to buy junk food, it may as well be cheap”.  To which he responded, “It’s chicken, not junk food”.  WHAT?  WAIT? You live with me. EverydayI blab on about how meat and dairy are the root of all of the major causes of death in this country.  You buy me vegan cook books.  Where did I go wrong here?  If I can’t convince my partner that animal foods are bad for our health, can I convince anyone?

Ok homey, CHILL!

That conversation made me realize that it is really friggin’ hard to unlearn something that you’ve been taught your whole life.  Eat meat for protein so you can have strong muscles. Make sure you drink milk for your bones.  Have we never stopped to think, “If meat is so good for our muscles why are most Americans (who are among the most carnivores humans in the world) overstuffed with body fat and have arteries full of plaque? Shouldn’t we have huge muscles and healthy hearts?  And if milk is so good for our bones why does America (one of the highest dairy consuming countries) have such high rates of osteoporosis? Shouldn’t we have bones of steel?”  Well, we have actually stopped to think about this and we’ve studied it too. The scientific world has known for decades that “eat meat for your muscles and milk for your bones” is simply not true…and quite the opposite is.  Getting that message out to the general public and medical community has been tough though.  The USDA’s newest rendition of the food pyramid (MyPlate) is still being taught in elementary AND medical schools with meat and dairy on it.  Unfortunately, the meat and dairy industries are rich and rather powerful so they influence dietary guidelines, endorse athletes, and advertise heavily on TV with the continued false messaging (check out the documentary “Sugar Coated” to learn more).  I think it is bullshit.  No wonder we can’t unlearn what we learned as children.

I do have hope for a better and healthier future though.  There are more and more people interested in living a healthy lifestyle, just check out social media and see for yourself.  For the first time ever the USDA published guidelines for a vegan diet this year, and their MyPlate campaign includes soy milk and non-meat protein sources.   Nationally, meat consumption has decreased for the first time in decades.  Plant based products are being advertised on major network television.  You can find vegan options at almost any restaurant.  Even Bubba Burger makes a great veggie burger.  It may take a while, but I do believe that we are going to unlearn that meat and dairy are healthy foods.  Until then, I will continue this blog :).

*I realize that I made several bold states during this post.  Fear not, there is plenty of science to back it up.  As always, I will direct you to NutritionFacts.org as a major resource for information.  Dr. Greger always posts his resources so  you can check out the primary literature if you would like or just watch as he compiles it all for you.  If you have the time I would recommend watching really any of the “Nutrition Year-In-Review” videos that Dr. Greger has posted, but here is a link to the most recent version of this talk (How Not to Die: Preventing, Arresting, and Reversing Our Top 15 Killers).  FYI, Dr. Greger’s website is non-profit and I don’t get anything for promoting it either, it’s just an amazing source of information that I want to share with you.

Best health,

Dr. G