In this week's webinar, Dr. Klaper, Dr. Miller, and Dr. Marbas answer your questions.
Questions Answered
- (01:25) – How to explore eating new foods, for overall health?
- (03:48) – What about sprouting?
- (05:53) – Are alfalfa sprouts toxic?
- (07:51) – How many is too many nuts in a day?
- (12:49) – How do you define a diversified plant-based diet?
- (16:16) – What are the recommendations regarding B12?
- (19:18) – How to break through a weight loss plateau?
- (25:00) – Are there benefits to soaking nuts?
- (26:44) – What’s a typical day of eating for you, Dr. Miller?
- (27:56) – What's a typical day of eating for you, Dr. Klaper?
- (29:55) – What's a typical day of eating for you, Dr. Marbas?
- (34:38) – What do do when family members and children are not open to going plant-based?
- (44:36) – Is it important to be salt-free?
- (52:12) – What about processed plant based products like Impossible Burgers?
- (55:47) – Can a plant based diet cure or slow down colon cancer?
Complete Transcript
Narrator
(00:06)
We are making plant based lifestyle medicine available to everyone who desires it, with telemedicine we are removing barriers that prevent many people from accessing this type of care. Lifestyle medicine promotes healthy behaviors, and when adopted, individuals can expect improvement, and in many cases reversal of chronic disease.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(00:29)
Well, thank you guys, for joining us for … I have lost how many we've done of this now, but please, we have guests to our webinar, and they can type in the Q and A box their questions, we already got some going. Then also, if you're on Facebook, if you go to the Plant Based TeleHealth website where we're streaming live … not website, but the page, and just type your questions in there. Sometimes people share the live, and I don't see those, but if you could come back to the page I will see those. We'll do our best to answer as many questions as possible, and Dr. Miller has some lovely tips to start us today.
Dr. Chris Miller
(01:10)
Yeah, thank you, Laurie, Dr. Laurie Miller … I mean, Marbas.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(01:15)
However, we do have the same middle name.
Dr. Chris Miller
(01:18)
We do have the same middle name, so we might as well share the last name sometimes.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(01:22)
Yeah.
Dr. Chris Miller
(01:25)
So what I wanted to talk about today is something I've been talking about with my patients, and so I thought, “Well, let's just take like two, three minutes, and share this with everybody.” So one of the things I've been working on with people is we're always trying to improve our health, improve our immunity, improve our gut function, and the diversity of our microbiome so that we have overall improved health and longevity, and in order to do that with people … I find that a lot of my patients are eating very narrow diets, and so we're not exploring new foods, we're not broadening the microbiome enough. Just within plant based is tremendous, and it's a great first start, you're eating mostly plant based, but for the patients I've been working with I'm trying to step it up. I feel like it's summer time, it's time to step this up, and so we are working on adding diversity, and that is my message for today, so how can we add diversity?
Dr. Chris Miller
(02:17)
Well, if you normally eat a kale salad, maybe some broccoli slaw, maybe some cabbage, that's what I usually eat, well, now I'm eating the greens that I'm getting from my CSA. I'm eating what's being grown by the local farmers in the local farmers market. I'm trying different greens. I've never even heard of some of these. I've never tasted them. I don't particularly love all of them, but I'm trying them, that's my point, I'm just diversifying. I'm trying different types of scallions. I saw a purple scallion, so that's different. So just changing things up, adding as much variety instead of buying the same, an apple, an orange, a banana, well, it's summer now, I can get peaches and plums, and maybe different varieties of that, maybe wild ones, maybe local ones.
Dr. Chris Miller
(02:59)
But there's quite a bit of evidence that people who eat the most diversity really have a healthier microbiome, bigger spectrum, and that is protective for longevity. So that is my message I would share with my patients, try different legumes, try different vegetables, different fresh fruits, and different whole grains, different nuts and seeds, and it's summer time so enjoy it. Have fun with what's local, with what's fresh, with what's in season, and share what you're trying, and share recipes. You could share it with us on Plant Based TeleHealth or share it in this webinar, anywhere that you can find people like us who want to listen, but that's my tip to help us out with summer, with summer health. Hi, Dr. Klaper.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(03:44)
Hey, there Chris. Hi, Laurie, hi.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(03:48)
Hi. So welcome, Dr. Klaper, and we have our first question, and I just wanted to mention one more time, if you guys could please type the questions into the Q and A box if you're on the webinar with us. Then also, on the page, on the Plant Based TeleHealth page there is our live, and you can just put it in the comments, and I will see that. If you're in another group, and this is streaming live you can just go to the Plant Based TeleHealth page and comment there, I won't see the others, so I just want to answer as many questions as you can, and here is our first one, “If I am including sprouts, that I sprout myself everyday, does each variety of sprouts count as a different diverse food?”
Dr. Chris Miller
(04:29)
My answer would be yes. So good job. Good job sprouting your own sprouts, I'm learning that myself this summer, that's fabulous. For those of you who don't know, the young, immature plants, the sprouts have way, way more, I don't know how many times, but way more times more micronutrients and phytonutrients, so great job. Yes, if you do alfalfa sprouts, and broccoli sprouts, and mix sprouts, and lentil sprouts, all of them are going to have different nutrients, and count for different plants so two thumbs for that. Good job.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(04:59)
Dr. Klaper, any thoughts and suggestions?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(05:01)
Absolutely, I'm a big sprout fan, and they are vital, and bringing so many good nutrients, and enzymes, I'm a big fan of that. A couple of things, you want the … I think the most nutrient-dense sprouts are sunflower sprouts, and buckwheat sprouts, and mung bean sprouts. If you're going to be using legume sprouts, like lentils or mung beans, you want to sprouted for it at least three days, you want nice, long tails because the legumes have a substance called enzyme inhibitors, protein inhibitors in them that get used up as the legume sprouts, so you don't want to eat them too fresh, too many enzyme inhibitors. Make sure that you got nice, long tails on the lentils and the mung beans, etc.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(05:53)
I'm told that alfalfa sprouts have an alkaloid called canavanine in them, and there are some folks, especially those with inflamed joint with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, if they eat a bunch of alfalfa sprouts the canavanine can make them pretty uncomfortable. So that's the one sprout … I don't pretty much eat anymore alfalfas, but absolutely the lentils, and the mung beans, and the buckwheat, and the sunflowers, they're wonderful food so eat them often.
Dr. Chris Miller
(06:23)
Well, Dr. Klaper, I actually have a question for you on that, because I have lupus, I have not touched an alfalfa sprout in my whole existence since I got diagnosed because I read that as well, and I've been terrified of them. But I'm curious that you, a healthy person, have you eaten alfalfa sprouts, and have you ever noticed anything, or is it just something that you're staying away from?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(06:44)
Good point, and I never … I'm a healthy guy, I never noticed any problem, and if I'm at a salad bar or whatever, [inaudible 00:06:51] my salad, or if they come … If someone makes me a sandwich and there's alfalfa sprouts, I'll certainly eat them, and I notice there's no adverse effect, they're not that toxic.
Dr. Chris Miller
(07:00)
Curious. Thank you for sharing that. Great tip.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(07:03)
Fantastic. So those are great suggestions, but also there is a really cool … if you don't want to do the jar sprouting, or buy the things, there's actually a company called HAMAMA, and it's H-A-M-A-M-A, I've been using them for, gosh, six months to … gosh, more than that, probably close to a year, and they come in this coconut little fiber mats. All you do is you put them in the little thing that they send you, a little box, and you put it in there, you cover it with water, and that's it, and in 10 days you have sprouts, broccoli, kale-
Dr. Chris Miller
(07:33)
I love it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(07:34)
It's the coolest thing, and it's not very expensive. I send them to my daughter, she's in medical school, I'm like, “Just put water, you'll have sprouts. You'll be healthier.” So that's another … so H-A-M-A-M-A.com, I think, it's HAMAMA. They'll forgive me if-
Dr. Chris Miller
(07:48)
I love it, thank you for the sprouting tips, everybody. Awesome.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(07:51)
Awesome. So one other question here is … and Caroline Muller says, “Thank you, Dr. Klaper, for all you do, because you're jumping from one live event to another.” Let's see here, Olivia asks, “How much is too many nuts in a day?”
Dr. Michael Klaper
(08:11)
I'm a big fan of nuts, but you don't want to sit in front of the TV with a five pound bag of cashews and shovel them in. I tell everybody who's a nut fan one small handful a day, that's enough, [inaudible 00:08:28], but these are concentrated foods, they deserve your concentration. I tell people, “If you're going to eat nuts turn off the television.” Become an eater of almonds, an eater of cashews, and put one almond in your mouth, and chew it up and make almond butter in your mouth, and put a little behind your ears, just really be with the experience of almond eating, and then swallow it, “Oh, I think I'll have another,” and you have another one. Eat them one at a time, be fully present, and by the time you get to the 12th almond it's enough almond eating.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(09:06)
So eat them consciously, one at a time, only to a small handful. In general, raw nuts are healthier than roast, when you roast a nut it oxidizes the oil, so get into raw cashews and raw almonds, they would be the better nut to eat. So that's my take on nuts, me taking nuts.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(09:23)
[Inaudible 00:09:23]. As you were saying, it would be, also I encourage a handful, it's just basically a quarter cup a day max, and that's just a gauging if you can think about … if you're a cook there might be another way to do it, but just again because of calorie density too. Chris, anything to add to that?
Dr. Chris Miller
(09:48)
I do it a little individualized, so if I'm working with some athletes I might opt to have a cup if they're hiking or burning through a lot of calories, or they're younger. For autoimmune people I definitely try to keep it to a quarter cup, no more than half a cup max because it becomes pro inflammatory, not only is it more calorie-dense, and you don't want any extra weight on our bodies because that's extra inflammation, but it also … it becomes a little pro inflammatory at that point, so really do measure it out.
Dr. Chris Miller
(10:17)
For me, personally, I have to measure mine because I will overeat them, even trying to concentrate like Dr. Klaper, that's wonderful advice. It can get tricky for us though, and so I measure them out in the morning, and I don't snack on nuts anymore, and I don't eat them one at a time anymore, I only use them to cook or make a salad dressing, or to add it. I really do monitor how much I'm taking, and that's helped me quite a bit, but I do individualize it a little bit for healthier people, or people with cardiovascular disease it's a little less nuts. People with diabetes, we'll really be careful with it. Young, healthy, active person maybe we'll step up a bit.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(10:50)
Yeah. Absolutely, that's a really good point. I've had patients who are diabetics, so anything that are high fat, even your nuts and avocados, which we would consider healthy foods can actually cause an issue with your blood glucose. I had one patient who was eating two cups of nuts a day, his blood sugar is on average went from 160 to under a 100, so that … and he was eating a whole food plant based diet, so just be cognizant of that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(11:12)
Did you have him cut down from two cups to a quarter [crosstalk 00:11:15] cup or zero totally? No flax seeds or chia seeds even?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(11:19)
I did let him do flax because of the lignans or some such healthy component of a diet, but I definitely was like, “You can't be doing that, and you're still struggling to lose weight,” so he's like, “Well, let's talk about that.” It's a great lesson on calorie density and high fat.
Dr. Chris Miller
(11:35)
It's very interesting to me, and I hope to everybody listening, that the power food, just making these little tweaks can do tremendous change in your insulin resistance, in your inflammation, and how you feel, so very interesting. I love it.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(11:51)
One last comment. Dr. Miller brought up some really important points, nuts largely have Omega-6 oils in them that can be pro inflammatory, she's absolutely right there. As far as the digestibility of nuts you can increase that by soaking them in water over night. I soak almonds and they turn into these sweet, crunchy, wonderful confections. You can soak cashews, walnuts, so consider soaking them overnight in fresh water, but again they are Omega-6 heavy, so if you got any inflammatory things going on be cautious with the nuts.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:25)
Perfect.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:25)
Dr. Klaper makes food sound so good, doesn't he? I love it. I love it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:29)
Yes.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:29)
You have this little twist to how you say things, it sound so good.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(12:32)
I'm a good doctor.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:32)
I know.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(12:36)
I'm just having a sip of my kale smoothie here.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:39)
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:40)
It's awesome.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:40)
All right, let's move on to the next question. She says … Lorie, who used to live in Egypt, she said [crosstalk 00:12:47], that's kind of cool.
Dr. Chris Miller
(12:48)
Wow.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(12:49)
She says, “Doctor Will B. from Fiber Fuel, the author says we should have at least 30 different varieties of plant foods in our diet each week to have good fiber diversity. Can those 30 foods be the same 30 every week?”
Dr. Chris Miller
(13:02)
That's a great question.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(13:05)
Go ahead.
Dr. Chris Miller
(13:06)
I can start with that.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(13:07)
Okay.
Dr. Chris Miller
(13:08)
I would say if you … Yes and no, so if you're doing it for a week, and that's what you have in the house, absolutely. You don't need to buy something different every single day. Eat what you have in the house, 30 different things, that's a lot, but then next time you're going shopping what's on sale then? What's at the local market then? That's where you start changing it up so it's not the same week after week, but it might be the same for a week or two because that's what we have, especially now coronavirus, I'm trying to shop a little bit less myself. So yeah, I would say it is okay for a week or two weeks, but overall we're mixing it up. That's what I think.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(13:42)
Chris is absolutely right, you want in your cupboard, in your staples section there, your jars, you should have different types of grain, millet and quinoa, buckwheat, etc. You should have different legumes, black beans, pinto beans, Lima beans, etc. Constantly make up different combinations, eat different soups, different casseroles, ways to make them up, and the vegetables, again they're always going to be changing at the supermarket. One advantage of joining a CSA, community-supported agriculture operation, is every week you get a box of veggies on your back porch that are always different because they're always changing it up. They take care of that whole issue for you by giving you different vegetables every week.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(14:33)
The general gist of what they're saying is right, but it should be not a difficult thing to do, you should have a variety of grains and legumes in your cupboard, and you should always be looking for different interesting vegetables in the supermarket in your shopping there. Yes, the sense of it is right, but don't drive yourself, “Oh, I had kale last week, I better not have it again.” Don't do that. Eat veggies in any way, shape or form, go ahead and your body will know what to do with it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(15:02)
I think that is a brilliant way to describe is don't worry about it. Eating a whole food plant based diet, some people would get so stressed about just doing that, much less adding 30 different varieties of food. If you can do that, one, that's fantastic, but we do have a CSA, and yesterday we got this huge two bags, and they're all sorts of kales, and lettuce, and radishes, and turnips, so that's a great way like you said. It goes for 21 weeks here in Colorado, so I would think in other places where there's a longer growing season, plus then you're going to be also buying locally, organic, and you're not having to travel to the grocery store. They actually deliver it to us, which is great, so great again. There's a localharvest.org, and you can actually search for a local CSA near you, localharvest.org, yeah.
Dr. Chris Miller
(15:50)
Nice tip, and by the way that book Fiber Fuel by Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, Bulsiewicz, is fabulous. I just finished reading a little bit ago myself, and so I anyone hasn't read it yet, I highly recommend taking a look at it. He's a gastroenterologist, and he deals a lot with the microbiome, and gut health, but then also the whole body health because so much of it is in the gut. Fabulous book so I recommend it, so thank you for whoever shared that, that was great.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(16:16)
Absolutely. Another question here, “What are the recommendations regarding B12?” So B12, I can do this for you guys, B12 basically, you definitely want to take B12, it's made only by bacteria, it's not made by animals or by plants. It lives in dirt and water, and we live in a very hygienic world so I'm hoping we're washing our produce, and drinking water that has been run through a system of filtration so we're not going to get some of the things like giardia, some of the things, amoebas, or something we don't want, so that is definitely important. It's very important for nerve health. The symptoms that you can get even in the lower normal range could be some tingling, and it can be some permanent nerve damage, so it's really important also to check your levels.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:06)
Typically, I tell patients I do have a … most of them often are already on some type of supplementation, but 2500 micrograms per week is typically enough. On occasion, I may have someone with an intrinsic factor issue, or they don't absorb very well, they may need injections or there are medications such as metformin, which is for diabetes, that will decrease your absorption, any of your proton pump inhibitors as well, so again a case by case scenario. But you certainly should be on a B12 supplementation if you're on a whole food plant based diet, and oftentimes even my omnivorous or patients who are not eating a plant based diet are also low, so any other thoughts there?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(17:47)
What form do you prefer? Methylcobalamin? Hydrocobalamin? Cyano? What do you like?
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(17:54)
So if they have the MTHFR issue I definitely will do the methylated, but sometimes that's hard to find, depending on where they live. The cyano is one that's typically okay, but do you have a suggestion that you prefer?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:07)
No, I'm with you. I usually prefer methylcobalamin because I don't know who in front of me has the MTHFR mutation so I just put them all on methylcobalamin, but you're right, if they can't get it the cyanocobalamin is just fine.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:22)
Yeah, absolutely. Chris, anything there to add?
Dr. Chris Miller
(18:26)
I put a bow in it, Laurie.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:26)
Okay. Dr. Klaper started that bow on the topics, very good.
Dr. Chris Miller
(18:31)
I love the bow, right? It's good.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:36)
That's good.
Dr. Chris Miller
(18:36)
I agree with you guys.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(18:37)
Yup, fair enough.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(18:38)
All right, and then we have a couple from the UK that are chiming in, and I know one of them, Marian had something that Dr. Klaper had said, and she actually included it in this last week. She said she's let us know how it turned out, and she said, “Thank you for the advice last week, I [inaudible 00:18:56] foods, legumes, and cruciferous … my mouth is bloated, and [inaudible 00:19:00] virtually no gas. I'm going to start introducing things [inaudible 00:19:04] to see what happens.” That is from the UK, and then Bob-
Dr. Chris Miller
(19:09)
Great job.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(19:10)
Yes, thanks, and thanks for the feedback. That's always super nice at showing that we're being helpful.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(19:15)
Yes, absolutely.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(19:18)
Let's see here, Bob says, “I've been whole food plant based for six months,” and that's awesome, Bob, by the way, “initially I bought a lot of vegan foods, but for the last month we've been mostly oil-free. I have a lot of weight to lose, but seem to be stuck. Any advice, please?” He also … it looks like he brought some probiotics.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(19:38)
Keep eating those veggies. Seriously, you want to keep your belly full of whole plant food, whole vegetables basically because they're all fiber and water, and the calorie density is so low that you're going to naturally get lean eating salads, and soups, and greens, and veggies, etc. Where you get into a problem is with flour products that have oils in them, whatever's holding a vegan muffin together is going to be sugar and oil, and that's going to stick to you.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(20:12)
Just in general, if the hand of man had anything to do with it, don't eat it. Certainly flour products, but all the processed stuff even if it's vegan, out of packages and boxes. You may want to lay off the pasta for a few weeks and months, other than that big hearty, dense vegetable soups, and stews, and lentils, and chilis, etc. will get you nice and lean. Stay away from the processed foods in any form and you ought to do fine.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(20:51)
Perfect. Chris.
Dr. Chris Miller
(20:53)
I have a few little tips that I would add, so that is the absolute first step, what Dr. Klaper said, a 100%, and that's going to work, I think, for the majority of people. I do have some patients who are stuck, and that is what they seem to be eating, and so I have a few tips that I share. Everybody is a little bit individualized so we're happy to work with you if we can help fine tune it for you in any way, but some of the tips that I share … that is what exactly what Dr. Klaper said, really go for the whole food, that's number one. Because often we don't realize that while a whole oat is wonderful for us, oat flour is not, totally different effects, so he's exactly right.
Dr. Chris Miller
(21:30)
Two, is kind of similar as calorie density, and we talked about that already, somebody brought it up. That's the concept that nuts and seeds are going to be way higher calorie density than eating vegetables or fruits, or legumes even. You want to start with the vegetables and the fruits lower on the calorie density, especially the vegetables, and then the fruits, and then the legumes, and then the whole grains, and then finally just that quarter cup of nuts and seeds. So if you're having a hard time for weight loss that's when I'd really monitor how much nuts and seeds you're actually taking in. Make sure you're not taking in any oils, sometimes it's sneaky, and it gets in that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(22:06)
Then a couple other tricks that I do is try to do your meals, scheduled meals. I'm a snacker, and that's really bad, and I really had to work hard to break that habit, and so if my patients were a snacker we tend to have a harder time losing weight. So try to do scheduled meals, that can help … be helpful, and then I would add in something like intermittent fasting. Try to do your meals in a shorter window, instead of eating from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, or 8:00 PM, maybe you eat from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, make it a 10-hour window. It had tremendous effects on myself, as well as many of my patients that I work on that with, so I would play with that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(22:47)
We're happy to help work with you because each person is different. I don't know anything about you, and people with diabetes, or with endocrine issues, or certain different people it can be challenging, and we do that in stepwise incremental fashion. So if that's something that comes natural for you we can definitely help you, work with you, or make sure you're talking to your doctor about that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(23:08)
The last thing I would say that, sometimes we forget is lifestyle, and it really affects how we hold on to fats. It's a stressful world right now, so if you're watching the news and you're worried about the virus, and health in your family, and your finances, that's going to cause you to hold on extra fat. That increased cortisol, increased blood sugar we're going to store fat, and especially under bellies where we don't want it at all. If you're not sleeping well, same thing, we break down fat when we're not eating, and when we're sleeping, and so that's going to play a role.
Dr. Chris Miller
(23:35)
Then just basic movement throughout the day. We don't want to be sitting, so we just … everything you're moving, having a basal amount of calories that you're burning, these are little setbacks, but I find they make a huge difference with how much fat we store in our bodies. So little tricks, and there's even more, I have all sorts of tricks in my bag here of tools. So for people who are struggling with that weight loss, that elusive weight loss for some, there's a lot that we can help you with if you continue to feel like you're plateauing, and you're doing everything that you can. So hopefully that will help.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(24:07)
One last little trick, as you're eating your meal, the magic weight reduction properties of whole plant foods they're mostly fiber and water, well, increase the water side of it. Start every lunch, every dinner with a big salad, and then move on to big bowl of vegetable soup. So you're eating a lot of water, your belly is full mostly of water and fiber, then go on to the denser casseroles, and whatever that you've also made for dinner, but start with a soup and a salad and that will help you lose weight as well.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(24:39)
That's exactly a rally good point. Some of my patients who plateau I will have them do the Starch Solution, Dr. McDougall, who was very instrumental in helping me figure out how to help the patients eight years ago, how to do this, but yeah, eating those non-starchy vegetables first, and then starchy, more calorie-dense foods, so exactly right. So Here's a good question, “Is there a benefit to soaking our nuts first?”
Dr. Chris Miller
(25:08)
Let Dr. Klaper take that. That's good.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(25:12)
Absolutely, for a couple of reasons, and we're talking about almonds, walnuts, cashews, absolutely soak them over night. Why? Two things happen, one, just the water soaks into the fiber of the nut and it softens it a bit, and it changes its texture so it's more pleasant to chew. But also, assuming that the almonds have been roasted or whatever, they're still a vital nuts, vital seeds of that tree, the enzymes are still there inside the nut there, and as the water penetrates in it starts activating the enzymes. So it starts activating the amylase as it breaks down starches, it starts activating the lipase as it breaks down the oils, and so you start a phenomenon of pre digestion right inside the nut. So when you finally bite into that soaked almond it's delicious, crunchy, it's moist, it's delicious … a whole different texture than dry almond. We'd think it's more easy to digest and assimilate because it's already hydrated and partially digested from the enzymes there.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(26:21)
All the way around there's great benefits for soaking nuts, especially if you're going to be cooking with them it's a good thing to soak them first, but just … if you're doing for a munch just have some in the fridge because soaked almonds are a good thing to do, it's worthwhile.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(26:35)
Perfect. Someone's also wanting to know, “What's a typical day of eating for your doctors?” Go ahead, Chris, I'll let you start.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(26:43)
Good. Good.
Dr. Chris Miller
(26:44)
That's a great question. Typical, right? Typical, it's going to vary for me a little bit, but usually breakfast, I have breakfast around 8:00 AM, and it's usually either a green smoothie with kale, with romaine … exactly what Dr. Klaper is drinking over there, a little bit of fruit, and some flax or chia seeds in water. I start with a smoothie. I like my raw in the morning, it really perks me up, and it hydrates me, so I usually have a smoothie, and then if I'm still hungry I might have some oats with it, oatmeal and berries. I love oatmeal and berries, because oftentimes just a smoothie leaves me a little bit hungry, so I have that for breakfast.
Dr. Chris Miller
(27:18)
Then lunch is always a salad. I love my salads for lunch, that's my meal. So salad and either tofu or tempeh, or beans, and then piece or two of fruit. I love my fruit too. Then dinner will be a little more salad, it's usually a different type of salad, so it would be like a broccoli slaw salad, or something real simple that I readily cut the bag, and put in a bowl with some dressing. Maybe some soup, maybe some steamed veggies, depending on what we have in the house. Maybe we'll make a stir fry, maybe that's all I have, and then more fruit usually. So that's my day.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(27:53)
Dr. Klaper.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(27:56)
Yeah, I'm amazed as we all mature, and I go to the meetings, I see my old friends there, and we're talking about what everybody is eating, it's amazing we're all kind of converging to the same pattern of whole foods. Almost everybody has a breakfast of oat meal and berries, which is what I usually have, or a dry cereal, but there's always … the bowl is half full of blueberries and raspberries now, with some oat milk or rice milk. Then soup, salads, and greens are part of every lunch and every dinner. There comes point of, “What else is there to eat?” I really want … I want a crunchy salad. I want a hearty vegetable. My wife makes such great soup, and I love these hearty vegetable soups. We have a crock pot, pretty much full soup all the time, and every time I go to the kitchen I [inaudible 00:28:51] a cup of it.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(28:54)
There's always a … I'm a big quinoa fan, and so a lot of dinner such as a wonderful vegetable soup ladle over a helping of quinoa. There's always steamed greens on the side, kale, chard, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and something yellow, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, so green and yellow, green and yellow along with the grains and legumes, and steamed veggies, and it's a meal. Sometimes we'll make a little oriental flavor or Asian flavor, or Mexican flavor, it depends what season, but it's a whole plant food [inaudible 00:29:30].
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:33)
Dr. Klaper, do you like to cook?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(29:35)
No, I don't. My wife is desperately trying to get me into it. We ordered in some purple carrot meals where you assemble the dinner, and I can do it. Actually I'm starting to like it, actually so, I just have no confidence whatsoever.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(29:48)
Oh, my goodness.
Dr. Chris Miller
(29:55)
That's great.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(29:55)
That's great. I'm going to be fairly boring because I'm just reiterating what you guys said. I pretty much have had steel-cut oats, blueberries, and banana, pumpkin seeds, ground flax, and some soya milk for almost probably a decade now.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(30:08)
I'm so glad you mentioned the ground flax seed, get those Omega-3s in there, really important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:13)
Yeah, because that's pretty much … most of my nuts and seeds are in, right there that morning. Lunch, I love to cook, for me it's a challenge when I switched to our plant based diet I had three teenagers at the time, they were 13, 15, and 18, so I took it upon myself to quit getting thumbs down, and getting thumbs up, and I will like to report they're 26, 24, and almost 21 now, and they are all whole food plant based, yey. One is actually in her fourth year of medical school, so I'm doing my job, I'm putting more doctors out there, doing the message, but lunch is oftentimes … I'm a big fan of using what vegetables need to be used up in making a vegetable soup. I will often throw the beans in there.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(30:56)
I order a huge bulk of all sorts of beans, it's just cheaper. I'm a little hesitant of the Instapot, my grandmother got burned really bad once with a pressure cooker, and that just seared in my mind so I have one, I just haven't utilized it as much. So I soak them and just do slow cook, which is fine for me, but I have always beans. There's some type of greens. I eat salad. I tend to be less of a salad fan so I do a lot of smoothies, or I throw them in my soups, or my wraps would be like colored greens, and then maybe we'll make a lentil walnut meatloaf, but I also grew up in New Mexico so I love Mexican food. You name it, we've … My husband likes to cook too, he's got a lentil walnut loaf that he makes. He took it to a meeting he had last night, it was a big hit.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(31:41)
There's so many different ways to incorporate these amazing foods and flavors, and the diversity is … like stir fry, but I always make sure we have a grain through the day, the beans especially, and then tons of greens, and other vegetables. The more color the better, and for me, I'm a blueberry fanatic, I've even threatened some of my children's lives if they eat the last box, and not let me know, so I'm just saying, “Blueberries, blueberries where is it?” But-
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:10)
I'll tell you my diet has evolved as I learned. I'm definitely eating differently now than I used to. I focus on raw veggies for so, so, so long, and avoiding foods that were triggers for my autoimmune, and now I know the importance of diversity, and I've been working so hard to add it back in. Anyway, it's interesting, I'm finally getting to a place where I'm converging to what I think is the healthiest, but it's taken me sometime. For those of you who are developing your plans, it took me a while to get here, so I've been playing around with it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:41)
Absolutely.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(32:42)
Okay, you guys are talking to me, I'll start cooking.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:46)
All right. All right.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(32:47)
I'll let you know how it goes.
Dr. Chris Miller
(32:48)
Let us know what you make.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(32:49)
I'll let you know.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:50)
Yes.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(32:51)
[Inaudible 00:32:51].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(32:52)
I'd love to send you my … When I was a kid we had taquitos, and it was horrible for us fried, and … but I learned how … it took me a year, but I have perfected the taquito recipe so I will send that to you, Dr. Klaper.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(33:04)
Okay, thank you, [inaudible 00:33:05] with that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(33:06)
Quite delicious.
Dr. Chris Miller
(33:09)
I have a blog post, and I call it … a blog series, and I call it The Joy of Real Cooking, because I think of myself as a physician, and not a chef, and not a cook, and so I never cook a day in my life, I was too busy being a doctor to cook, and so when I got lupus I took it on myself that I had to create my own healing foods. I talk about the joy of real cooking is when the blender cap comes off, and it's all over the oven … I mean, all over the cupboards, or when the sweet potato, if you don't poke holes they really do explode, as they did in my oven. We heard the pop, and my husband and I were like, “Oh, my God, it exploded.” I just cracked up laughing because I was like, “Oh, my God, it really does happen.”
Dr. Chris Miller
(33:51)
So I have all these different tips when things are caramelized because they're burned, or they don't come together, and so I post it, but I said, “The joy is it's still healing food. It's still made with love. It still reverses lupus and other chronic illnesses.” So I love to share that we're all human, and it doesn't always turn up correctly, but it's still super fun to try, and create, and just have fun with it, so we will see what you come up with.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(34:17)
Yeah, that would be fun. That would be the next one, so you have a week, Dr. Klaper. Don't let me forget to ask that [crosstalk 00:34:25] question.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(34:25)
Okay.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(34:27)
All right, so we have some really good questions actually, David, he says, “I'm 17 years on whole food plant based diet, and reversed my heart disease and allergies,” congratulations by the way.
Dr. Chris Miller
(34:37)
Wow.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(34:38)
“And others in my family aren't on the diet, what to do?” The social structure, I mean, go ahead, I'll chime in on the end with you because I got … I've had some experience on that. Go ahead.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(34:49)
Disown them. Divorce them. Move out.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(34:51)
I'm sorry.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(35:00)
We laugh, but it's a serious problem, and it can be a real drag on your evolution to healthier eating. The peanut gallery can be pretty aggressive and, “Where do you get your protein? Don't you miss meat? Here is a burger. You're [inaudible 00:35:18] again.” All the lines you get. At the risk of being overly serious, God forbid, you get a heart attack or a stroke, it's only you in that hospital bed, it's not the people at home, it's not your daughter-in-law, it's not the people at work, it's you. We're talking about your life here, your arteries, your colon, your breast tissue, this is serious business, once you get that stroke your life is never the same. We're talking about staying out of the clutches of people like us in the end. So what to do?
Dr. Michael Klaper
(35:57)
One, realize ultimately it doesn't matter what they say, and there are ways to … You can't get reactive, it always start there. I didn't grow up as a vegan. I ate meat 'til I was 34, and so I can't wade my fingers at people because I know what it's like to sleep that sleep, you just don't know really what you're eating. That gate comes down in your head, in your mind, your heart that this is not an animal that was slaughtered, it's a piece of steak, and you just focus on that. You have to have comparison for people who are still in that state. It's not a matter of yarding them into your way of viewing, but it's freeing up enough space around yourself so they will let you get on with what you need to do.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(36:47)
Now, what you can do is find a gentle, artistic way to meld the two communities. You can make up a really wonderful vegetable soup, but before they put their chicken in or whatever, take out your soup ahead of time, your portions, and, “Okay, you guys can have the rest there,” and everybody's gotten what they're looking for. Most everybody likes a lot of vegan food whether they know it or not. Most everybody likes mashed potatoes and gravy. Most everybody likes corn on the cob. Most everybody likes spaghetti and tomato sauce. There's a lot of common foods that you can share without it being a source of conflict.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(37:25)
Just do it yourself, make up a dynamite chili, “Hey folks, chili on the stove, help yourself,” and just do it yourself, and just eat it. Get on with it. This is a matter of life and everything, so it's not easy, but if they can at least be not antagonistic, and they can share the things you all enjoy, start there, but it's the tougher aspects of the process.
Dr. Chris Miller
(37:54)
Those are great tips. Absolutely great tips, so thank you for sharing that with us. A couple other things that I have in addition to that because that's wonderful, and I love the part that when you're sick it's only you that's there, so you take responsibility. I love that, but something else that I'd like to share is that you can't really force anyone, and people get really annoyed. I so badly wanted my parents, my family, my brothers, we have significant heart disease and cancer in our family at young ages, and I wanted everyone to change immediately, “This is the solution. We figured it out. You guys, this is awesome,” and they totally didn't want to. So I sent them the books, and I pushed them, and we argued, and we fought, and it was a terrible two years. Then I backed down.
Dr. Chris Miller
(38:38)
So what's happened since I backed down, this is eight years ago now, I went plant based 10 years ago, so this is eight years ago, the first two years that we fought because I thought I was so right, and they were all wrong, but clearly that's not the way to go about it. So what I say now, what I would recommend to people is take responsibility for yourself, exactly what Dr. Klaper said, own it, be proud of it, do what you know is right, surround yourself, get support from people who are plant based like us. This is why I love these communities. I love talking to each and everyone of you, and having Laurie, and Dr. Klaper here, this is helping me as much as I hopefully it's helping all of you guys. So we're surrounded by each other, and we have support.
Dr. Chris Miller
(39:16)
People watch you, so people are following you, so slowly over the years with me not saying a word, doing my own thing, reversing my autoimmune disease, reversing my own cardiovascular disease, my family has been watching me. I see them making changes more and more, and more to the point that they're basically plant based now, but they never would have done it with me saying it, but they're following my example when I just do it. People watch. So I would say own it, and be proud of it, and lead by example.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(39:43)
Chris, that was so beautiful. That's exactly right. It's what you do. People notice, and as your body changes they're there, “Hey, you're looking good. What are you eating? Can I try some of that?” Just by who you are, and what you do, and people will follow in your way there. That's a beautiful, beautiful point.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(40:03)
Absolutely. I will just take the stance from the parent side coming … It really is rather interesting to me having spoken, and I take this very seriously because, number one, if you're a parent you are not only influencing their future life with you now, but their adulthood, and their children, and their grandchildren. So things that you're instilling in these kids now are going to have repercussions for generations, so I really take that seriously. As a parent, I think the little ones is like you have a garden, and you got to tend to them, you got to give them the right nutrients so they grow strong, give them enough sunshine and water, sometimes you got to pull the weeds, but these are really important things to understand.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(40:46)
These values had to be instilled in the home and I did this with teenagers, granted I did come home and I said, “Listen, I'm not a short-order cook,” but they understood that. I went to medical school with three little kids. I was in the military with three little kids. They understood what was on the plate is what they got. They aren't going to snack. They're not going to get anything later. They'll be hungry the next meal and they didn't give me [inaudible 00:41:08], but they like to give me their opinion, and we had a lot of fun discussing it. My husband was very supportive, he's like, “Whatever,” he ended up losing 70 pounds.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(41:16)
So we were very blessed by my certain circumstances, but I've had people say, “Oh, I have a … My kids, they won't eat this way.” I'm like, “Well, how old are they?” I'm thinking 17, 19, “Oh, four and six.” I'm just sitting here going, “Okay, first of all, they're not driving and I hope they're not. You put what's in front of them. That is so important.” Maybe next time I'll … I do have on my healthyhumanrevolution.com, I have 57 tips on how to get kids to eat more vegetables. I have a whole thing on helping parents on every stage in life on what they should be feeding their children, if there's any supplement that's needed, things to be very careful of, and all … There's a free coloring book with superheroes so you guys check that out. It's a free resource that there's 57 tips. It's at healthyhumanrevolution.com. I just find it so important, and I just have such a heart place for the kids so … and they focus better, they're not as moody, their friends look at them funny.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(42:16)
My son, my youngest, he's 21 now, he loved being the only vegan in his high school, he's like, “This is kind of cool.” I was like, “I'm so glad you took it that way.” There's so many ways to do that, but I encourage as parents to own the plate, and if your spouse is against that you need to have a long conversation on why you would want to feed your children anything that would inhibit their ability to be healthy growing up. So anyway, that's my … I'll get off the soapbox now.
Dr. Chris Miller
(42:42)
Love it, that's … I love all of that, that's all great.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(42:44)
Yeah.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(42:48)
If you've got a child throwing a tantrum, “No, I don't want to eat that,” then you take the food, and with the child looking say, “Okay, I'm going to put it in the fridge here. This is your dinner, when you get hungry let me know, and I'll heat it up for you, and you can have it.”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:02)
Exactly.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(43:03)
Mother Nature will not let their child starve, it won't be long before a little tug, “Mommy, I'm hungry,” and heat it up, and [crosstalk 00:43:11].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:10)
Absolutely, and if they spit it out it takes about, on average with the science, because those 57 tips I scoured everywhere, research websites, parenting, and literally 15 to 18 touches, even the lick counts, they will start incorporating that into their palate. But when you start taking away these refined sugars, and things that you know we've hijacked … we've inadvertently hijacked their taste buds, they're going to start actually preferring the cherries and the strawberries, and all these amazing foods because they see that as the sweetness, and their palate will crave it. Plus, it just feels so good. I wish I could do a whole thing on that.
Dr. Chris Miller
(43:51)
We should do a whole thing on that. This is good. We could see how many of the 57 tips everybody could come up with, and we'll go [crosstalk 00:43:58].
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(43:58)
That's actually … That would be kind of fun.
Dr. Chris Miller
(43:58)
I love that.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(44:01)
All right. Sorry, I could talk about children forever-
Dr. Chris Miller
(44:03)
I was going to say just real quick, one point to what Laurie just said is that if you get your kids to start eating these foods at a young age, then once they get used to it, it becomes their comfort food, and they'll remember eating when they're kid. Our comfort food unfortunately is unhealthy sweetened, salty, sugary crap, but their comfort food can be the strawberries or the blueberries, or the good … well, not at Laurie's family, because she's eating them all, but the good produce that the kids are eating, and that really is going to be amazing, those lucky [inaudible 00:44:34] kids, so super cool.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(44:36)
Yes, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely, but I'm sorry … keep going, there's some great questions here actually. Lorie, from … the one that had been Tura, Egypt, she spelt her name correctly, thank you, says, “I've been whole food plant based for 10 years, and oil-free, mostly sugar-free, occasionally maple syrup and dressings, but I'm not salt-free. My blood pressure is good, and I'm not overweight, BMI is 19.5. It is important … Is it important to be completely salt-free?” [Inaudible 00:45:06].
Dr. Chris Miller
(45:05)
My tip with salt is to be a 100% completely, maybe not necessarily, no, is the answer to that, especially for a plant based person, studies done in Japan show that people eating … who were completely vegan, plant based who are eating high salt diet, now mind you, it was a very high salt diet, but they had increased hemorrhagic strokes. Because they were plant based whole food, good eaters let's say, they didn't have the atherosclerotic plaque, which actually can … it turns out to be protective against a hemorrhagic stroke. What a hemorrhagic stroke is, is it's a blood vessel that has a weak spot, and gets a little thinner, and it can rupture. People [inaudible 00:45:47] can die from it immediately, or not do very well, so it's a very scary type of stroke. That is one thing that we know now with plant based vegan eaters, and there's been some good data to support that, that plant based vegan eaters really do need to be mindful of their salt. That's one thing.
Dr. Chris Miller
(46:04)
A second thing is that salt, even if it's not affecting your blood pressure right now, it is inflammatory to the endothelium, the lining of the blood vessels, so over time it might become inflammatory. Another reason to become mindful of your salt intake is it can lead to gastric cancer, there's some evidence to that. Another reason … I deal with autoimmune, and everything inflammation, is that salt intake, high salt intake, I don't know where to draw the line of high salt intake, but high salt intake is linked to increased … a certain type of T helper cell, Th17, which is pro inflammatory, so that can turn on your inflammatory pathos. You could be doing everything right, even this plant based diet, and lots of raw, and meditating everyday, and getting your seven to eight hours sleep, and you still have inflammation, and it can be from a high salt diet.
Dr. Chris Miller
(46:52)
Those are the reasons you really do want to be mindful and careful of salt intake. That being said, does that mean none, 100% none? No, I don't think that's the answer either, so keeping it under … I tell my patients about a 1,000, maybe 1,200 milligrams. The recommended amount I think it's 1,500 for people with high blood pressure, but I try to keep it around a 1,000, maybe 1,200. The way I tell them is, say you're making a salsa, and you're putting your tomatoes in the food processor, and you process them with some cilantro, and some garlic, and maybe you add a pinch of salt at that point, and it's not very much. It's sea salt say, and that's enough for the whole meal, or you salt it right at the last second before you eat it so you're not adding a lot. You're buying everything no salt, unprocessed, but right at the last bite, right before you eat it, and that way it's not very much salt.
Dr. Chris Miller
(47:41)
The final reason I do use a little bit of salt, is for people transitioning, and they're just not going to eat the vegetables or the soup, or the food. Your salt will rapidly change, actually that's one of the coolest ones. Laurie was talking about how your taste buds change, and what did she say? 12 to 15 licks or bites or taste? But salt, I find to be one of the easiest ones that switches pretty quickly, two weeks or even less I have noticed in my own patients. That one you can really get it down, and then if you need just that little touch of salt at the end, that's when I would recommend it, so that's what I advice my patients about salt.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(48:18)
That was a beautifully complete answer, and all I can do is just crystallize some of the most important points. Chris says some very important phrases, one is a high salt diet, and absolutely in various ethnic groups, Japanese, etc., with all the tamari sauce, and soy sauce, etc., they wind up consuming a whole lot of sodium. They have a higher stroke risk because of that, but the thing to remember is … and Americans eat a ton of salt, the average American eat 7,500 milligrams of salt, and that's a teaspoon and a half. The issue is it's in the processed foods, it's in the spaghetti sauce, it's in the restaurant meals, it's in these foods that you have no control over. When you go to the Olive Garden it's already … it's in the sauce, it's in the gravy, etc. The issue is stay out of restaurants as much as you can, but very importantly the issue is any added salt.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(49:25)
We all need some sodium in our diet, now it's in the vegetables, it's in the celery, and the carrots, etc., but some folks benefit from … when they're in a completely no added salt, I have some folks with low blood pressure, and low energy that when they add a little pinch of salt they feel better. They clearly are on their bell-shaped, curve tail, they need some … they eat some extra sodium, so in general what I say is avoid the processed foods where the salt is already loaded in there.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(50:00)
The best way to get the advantages of the salt flavoring is add it at the table. People ironically say, “Oh, we don't have salt shakers anymore.” Actually it's the one place where you got control over the amount of salt there. The general rule is, assuming you don't have runaway high blood pressure, etc., is a pinch of salt, a little pinch between your fingers. It's about an eight of a teaspoon basically, and if you put it right on the veggies at the table then those salt crystals on the surface of the vegetables, that you then contact your tongue so you get a big salty hit of flavor without a whole lot of actual sodium in there. So if you're going to be adding salt, add it at the table, hold it to about a pinch, which is about [inaudible 00:50:45] of a teaspoon … about eight of a teaspoon, so over three meals you can have three-eights of a teaspoon. I don't think it's going to get anybody in trouble.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(50:54)
But finally, it's also the [inaudible 00:50:56], there's a lot of flavorings now that if you use them it really decreases the desire to use salt, actual salt. I become a big fan of lemon juice on my veggies. They're always wonderful. Balsamic vinegars that are available now. In fact, if you Google homemade salt substitutes you can make, in a little coffee grinder you can make some wonderful salt substitutes out of herbs and spices, etc. There's lots of ways to minimize the salt intake, and hold it to a reasonable amount without being totally salt-free, which is really impossible if you're eating whole food. That's my take on the salt, add a pinch, and not to worry about it.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(51:46)
Great, and if you are going to use salt I would just encourage maybe use the iodized salts so you're getting a little bit of that iodine which is [crosstalk 00:51:51].
Dr. Michael Klaper
(51:51)
Absolutely, thank you. Thank you. Vegan diets can be low in iodine, which you need for your thyroid, if you're not eating fish, and you don't eat a lot of seaweed you got to get it from somewhere, make it iodized salt. Sea salt does not have iodine, the iodine evaporates when they make the salt so make sure it's iodized sea salt. Thank you, good point.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:12)
Exactly, yeah. Absolutely. This is a really good question actually, I think probably a lot of people will find interesting. Priscilla asks, “This past weekend I made barbecue pulled pork using jackfruit. Do any of you have thoughts around things like Impossible Burgers or other brands that are truly plant based, or is it more of a transitional option?”
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(52:29)
I have my own thoughts on that, one, is that … One, if I'm getting someone to move in that direction I'm always going to encourage the whole food, but if there is an issue, and they're traveling, or they're just like, “I just can't,” we might use certain brands, and certain types, some are much worse, and others, they have high saturated fats, and some other things, but I may say, “Well, try these brands that might be a little easier for you.” Do that in the shortest amount of time as possible using these transitional foods, but I love pulled pork jackfruit.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(53:00)
I actually took it to Uganda. I actually took my own … I took some barbecue sauce, and I was doing a medical mission trip there for two weeks in a literally remote jungle, no electricity, no running water, and they almost died when I started cooking the jackfruit, which is abundant there, and then we had some local bread. Oh, my goodness, it was a blast, but anyway, any thoughts there on the artificial foods?
Dr. Chris Miller
(53:27)
I totally agree with you, Laurie, and so I recommend the same thing with my patients, but I am … When I'm working with patients I'm often trying to heal, or reverse the chronic problem, and so I really want patients to focus on whole food plant based. So really minimally processed, and so maybe mixing some beans or lentils together to make a burger is very different from all the added oils, and chemicals, and saturated fat, and things that are added in.
Dr. Chris Miller
(53:51)
I always say when I went plant based 10 years ago now, and it was almost easier because there wasn't all these plant based processed foods out there, and so for me to go plant based meant I was eating beans and brown rice, and vegetables, and maybe making my own veggie burger. So while that might have been time-consuming a little bit, I had to pre-cooked or batch cook a bunch of it, I didn't have the option of all of these processed foods that now we do have. So if it helps you to transition or in a pinch, then I think it is okay, so exactly what Laurie said, but really if you're trying to reverse a disease, or get healthier, really focus on minimally processed, and actually health-promoting foods. So keep that in mind.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(54:34)
Absolutely, I view these as transition foods. They're full of saturated fat, etc., they're now at the bastions of health, but if they can get Joe Beef burger guy to move to the plant side I'm all for that given the … They are healthy. They have no cholesterol. They don't have antibiotics. They don't have pesticides, the herbicides, and all that are in meat, but also there's no animal suffering, it's easier on the planet, all the way around I'm happy when Joe Sixpack moves to the Impossible Burgers, but I don't think that they are. There comes a point, and I ate them when they first come out, I lost my taste for them after a while. You move past them, and so … but they have a useful role to play at this time.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:23)
Absolutely, and honestly, I don't even like walking down the aisle of the meat aisle anymore, it just … if it's too real-looking I just … I can't. It's just too … I just can't, and so-
Dr. Chris Miller
(55:34)
That is a good point, it is so much better for the environment, and for the animals.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:39)
It is.
Dr. Chris Miller
(55:39)
So if that's your reason for doing it then that's awesome, and yeah-
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:43)
Absolutely.
Dr. Chris Miller
(55:44)
That is important. I don't want to downplay what Dr. Klaper just said, that's really important.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(55:47)
Absolutely, and I think for this one last question, because we're already a little short of time, which I think is important, and it's about colon cancer, “Can a plant based diet cure or slow down colon cancer?” Because our kids now … I just call them kids, my kids are in this age group, 18 to 35, have the highest risk for colon cancer and rectal cancer in the United States than any other cohort, more than their parents, more than their grandparents, so why is that? The only thing I can … you can reasonably think of, something has changed, we're feeding our families differently. So it's really, really important and go back to that parenting, and get these kids these fiber, it's so important really, but I'll let you guys go ahead, and answer any research that you may have come across with the colon cancer.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(56:33)
If you got a colon cancer you want it out of there, go to your surgeon, and get it removed, that said after … to make sure you're not feeding any residual growth of any cells left behind, whatever, you want to be on a whole food plant based diet, low in fat, low in protein so it doesn't stimulate IGF-1 production that may fan the cancer growth. We can't tell you that a plant based diet will magically melt away the six centimeter carcinoma in your rectum there, but it's a good edge, it makes chemotherapy work better, especially with a fast, so get it fixed, and jump on a plant based diet. That's it, don't be foolhardy about it either.
Dr. Chris Miller
(57:14)
Totally agree. This is when we do need modern medicine, and thank God for the advances in modern medicine. Then the way I see it is use modern medicine, and we're so grateful to have it, but also use your own immune system. So everything you can do to support your immune system, and that's where I love to work with my patients, and build integrative plans from the amount of sleep that they're getting to the amount of stress. Are they doing yoga? Are they being mindful during the day? What is … Are they trying their best to eat organic food? But maybe not everything because they can't afford it, and really building a “anti-cancer” type of plan, a lifestyle, a diet that involves healing, anti-inflammatory, immune-supporting foods, so their immune system can see those cancer cells and do it best, while you're using modern medicine everything has to offer, and to me that's a really integrative, holistic plan, and we can do our best to be as healthy, and overcome these bad diseases.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(58:06)
That's fabulous. I completely echo everything, you definitely cannot disregard modern medicine in helping you get over the acute phase of an illness like this, but then like you said, Chris, we have to use everything we can in our power, which is what goes in our mouth, and making use of that. So that being said, Dr. Miller, Dr. Klaper, myself, can be seen on plantbasedtelehealth.com, and we're accepting appointments. We are in 40 of 50 states, and we're working rapidly to get those last 10, but the majority of the bigger states with the most populous we do have already, so please feel free to reach out to us if you have a more specific concern or question you need a plant based doc, and we are happy to help. So thank you guys for joining us.
Dr. Chris Miller
(58:52)
Yeah, thank you everybody for spending some time with us this Thursday afternoon. It's so awesome to have you, and for those who are working with us, it's such an honor. It's great to be a part of the community with all of you, so thank you.
Dr. Michael Klaper
(59:03)
Absolutely, this is the way medicine should be practiced. What a joy it is to be with all of you, and answer these very intelligent and important questions, it's a beautiful service, and I'm glad to participate. Thanks for making my day better.
Dr. Laurie Marbas
(59:18)
That's fantastic, and we're also bringing on another doctor next month, so be on the lookout for that. We'll see a fourth plant based doctor, so share the words, guys. All right, take care, and you guys have a beautiful, blessed day.