A Reader Responds to My Berkshire’s Best Column

I recently received a letter from a reader of my Berkshire’s Best Column.  I thought, if one person feels this way, perhaps there are other readers who feel similarly and so I’m replying publicly, just in case!  His letter appears in italics and I responded in between paragraphs so that I might address each issue as it appears.  What do you think?!

Ms Huebner,

I’ve long noted that advocates make terrible scientists, they see what their ideology (or religion) makes them see.

I must comment on your recent Healthy Living column in Berkshire Best. Simply this: humans are omnivores, our teeth proves it. It is not possible to be a vegan and healthy. You cannot get enough protein without processed soy protein, which has other nasty side effects, including being estrogenic.

Ok, let’s pause right here.  First, soy contains phytoestrogens, aka plant estrogens, which are not the same as the estrogens present in human bodies.  Flax seed and other oilseeds; pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds contain the most phytoestrogens, followed by beans which include soybeans as well as chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, etc, as well as most vegetables, some fruits and grains.  Phytoestrogens are in so many healthy whole foods you’d be hard pressed (and very hungry!) if you wanted to avoid consuming them.  Tempeh is a fermented whole food and is an awesome source of plant protein as is quinoa and all legumes.

I agree that processed soy protein, like all processed foods, can have bad side effects and is not something I would recommend anyone eat.  A diet of whole foods: vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains and proteins with as few processed and fractured foods as possible is the best place to start.  I coach my clients to figure out what foods to eat and in what amounts based on their unique needs at this time in their life.  A 19 year old college student that spends most of their time studying is going have very different dietary needs from a 30 year old farmer or a post menopausal woman in her 50’s.  Our diet needs to be flexible and changeable based on what our body is asking for not on one specific dietary theory.  I have eaten a vegan diet, a vegetarian diet, a junk food vegetarian diet and now a plant based diet which includes small amounts of local, healthy, animal protein as well as nuts, seeds, healthy plant fats and no refined anything.  That’s what works for me, right now.  And I expect that to change!

It is possible to be vegan and healthy if that’s what works for your body.  If eating animal foods works for you, sir, then good for you.  Making value judgments based on someone’s diet without any other information is not scientific.

I’m a scientist, longtime reader of Science News and research. Anthropologists now know all early humans were omnivores, and that humans could never have become intelligent if they were vegetarian. Moreover, all lifestyle diseases are due to modern agriculture. At least you appreciate that, advising readers to eat no grain. Grain-fed people become stupid and obese, just like grain-fed cows.

Yes, these abused sick cows that are being fed a diet that’s not natural (along with growth hormones and chemicals and drugs) is not something I have ever recommend anyone eat.  However I don’t actually advise people not to eat grain, I advise those with Candida or sugar addition to eat a low carbohydrate diet until their condition has stabilized.  Whole grains (except wheat, read this post for my thoughts on wheat) are an excellent source of fiber, fuel and even protein, go quinoa!  How much grain you include in your diet should be based on how you feel not on a conceptual philosophy.

Agriculture is only 10,000 years, but humans were intelligent long before that. Fantastic cave painting in France are 32,000 years old. But before modern agriculture it would be impossible to live on vegetables, you could never gather enough. The human brain takes 20% of our calories at rest. It was not possible before grain harvesting for humans to get enough vegetables to feed their large brains.

We became human only because we ate meat, or possibly fish and shellfish. One or the other, all anthropologists agree. Vegans can never be top athletes. I’m 61, 5’9″ 160 lbs. I daily walk 12 miles, or rollerblade 20 at 15 mph. That is impossible for vegans, insufficient muscle mass. And our nearest-relatives the chimps are omnivores and even cannibals. Humans are not naturally vegetarian, that issue is resolved for scientists.

My husband ate a vegan diet for years while training as a professional bike racer.  He rode a bike over 20,000 miles a year for 4 years in a row, competed in numerous grueling endurance races, and placed 18^th in the 24 Hour Solo World Championship (riding over 250 miles and climbing over 26,000 vertical feet in 24 hours).  Saying ‘Vegans can never be top athletes.’ or ‘Vegans are unhealthy.’ is just as dangerous as any other stereotype.  Perhaps white people don’t always make the best dancers, but there are exceptions to every commonly held misconception about a group of people we view only from the outside.  I personally ate a vegetarian diet for 13 years (some fish, some soy, lots of beans and grains) and was able to reverse my Hashimotos Thyroiditis in part due to eliminating meat and dairy.  Each of us has a diet that’s right for us, right now. This is a concept known as bio-individuality and you can read more about it on my health coaching website. It’s important not to let ideas about what we should eat get in the way of what our bodies need to be healthy.  A vegan diet might be the answer for some while a diet of meat, bone broth and green veggies might be right for others.

Bill Walton now realizes that being a vegetarian led to his injuries and ruined his career.  Either you are an animal-rights advocate, or you advise people on their health. Please label your column accordingly. White protein is necessary, people who eat fish have less cancer than vegans. Care about people or animals, your choice.

I am an animal rights activist in that I support the consumption of animal foods ONLY if they come from humanely raised animals from environmentally conscious farms.  Conventionally raised meat and dairy, as I have said many times in my blog posts and publications, are ruining our environment, are incredible unhealthy as far as a working environment, and are totally inhumane.  Conventional animal ‘foods’ and, well, most conventional foods, especially processed convenience ‘food products’ are  making many of us Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (a great movie!).  Get your animal foods from a local farm you trust and eat only as much as you need.  Experiment with plant based protein sources and remember, excess meat and dairy consumption, beyond our bodies nutritional needs can lead to illness just as easily as not getting enough of the proper kind of protein for your body.  I advise everyone to figure out the diet that best suits them and to be open to making healthy changes!

What’s Wrong With The Kids?

As some of you know I spent almost 7 years, from 2002 to 2009, working as a full-time nanny in New York City.  What started as a way to afford to live in the city while completing my bachelor’s degree turned into an invaluable education itself.  A few recent articles in the NY Times have got me thinking about the lessons I learned from the children and families I cared for not too long ago.  The first article was “Ritilan Gone Wrong” which addressed the concern that ADD drugs don’t work long term in children.  Another article in last week’s Sunday Times Magazine was about puberty starting in girls as young as first grade.  The latter article seems to completely skip over what seems to me to be one of the most obvious causes (and solutions!) to both issues raised in these two essays: food.  The quality and quantity of the food we feed our children has, gasp, a profound effect on their health.

Here’s an example from my last nanny job, we’ll call him Tom.  Tom is 13 and finishing up 8^th grade.  He has trouble sleeping; sometimes he is up half the night and has dark circles under his eyes.  He has trouble focusing and staying alert in school.  He sees a psychiatrist, the only mental health professional allowed to prescribe psychiatric medication, for anger and emotional issues.  Tom’s diet goes something like this: he refuses to eat any and all vegetables except potatoes and occasionally frozen corn.  This has been going on for some time and mom and dad are not interested in challenging this.  He sticks mostly with pasta, bread and any and all kinds of candy.  He eats conventional cheese, eggs and meat.   Very rarely will he eat fruit. His diet is mostly nutritionally deficient, refined white foods, much to my dismay.  Tom is very mal-nourished and is also concerned with staying thin.  He likes to skip meals and refuses anything with real nutrition.  As a result of what he eats and the low quality of his food, Tom is on a constant sugar high/sugar crash cycle that makes getting good sleep nearly impossible, no wonder he’s moody and can’t concentrate in school!

Mom and Dad decide at the suggestion of the therapist to put Tom on a Ritalin type drug to address his lack of function in school.  The drug helps him focus and also decreases his appetite to the point where he is only eating one or two meals a day which he is happy about.  I had to quit this job shortly after the parents started using a controlled substance to control their child while completely ignoring his emotional and nutritional needs.  Child abuse by my standards but clearly my standards are different from some of the millionaires on 5^th Avenue.

My prescription for Tom would have gone something like this: First Tom needs to get out of the addictive sugar cycle by eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats like olive and coconut oils and organic proteins.  Changing his diet will allow his body to rest at night instead of using energy to process all those empty sugar calories.  Wheat is also a big red flag, many behavioral and developmental problems are being traced to wheat in the diet.  With any kind of illness I suggest looking to the diet first: it’s the easiest to change as it does not require health care professionals or prescriptions.  Try eliminating the major allergens like wheat, dairy, nuts and soy and then begin to add in large quantities of green veggies, whole, non-wheat grains like quinoa and brown rice as well as beans and high quality, organic soy (if not allergic) and/or animal foods.  Remember the young ladies that are starting puberty at 8 and 10 years old?  Perhaps this has something to do with all the growth hormones and chemical herbicides and pesticides in the meat and dairy products sold at conventional grocery stores across our country?  I know several family members and friends that have successfully treated ADD and other behavioral and developmental disorders by simply changing the food they ate.  Food is your most powerful tool in transforming your health, use it!

Kids and adults alike will find that changing their diet to a clean, whole foods, plant-based diet will improve everything from mood to energy levels.  Clear thinking (and clear skin!) starts with clean food.  And for those of you that might want a little guidance in this area I will be starting a new class series this May called ‘Local Nutrition’.  This class series will teach you how to take advantage of all the amazing local, organic food available in our area while not breaking your budget.  And that’s just the beginning so stay tuned for more information!