Karel finally shaved his 'stache after raising over $530 for men's health and prostate cancer. So proud of Karel for his effort in raising awareness..but SUPER happy he has a clean face!
On Saturday afternoon, after a 4 hour group ride with the Gearlink team and Karel (gotta love those LSD rides with a few quick intervals) Karel and my family watched
Forks Over Knives. I highly recommend this movie for several reasons.
As a dietitian, I am proud to see a movie encouraging a more plant-strong diet. In a society where food companies are out for profit, not for health, sadly, there is little money to be made by endorsing fruits and veggies (Ex. when was the last time you saw a fruit and veggies commercial??) from lobbyists and those who want to make money and keep their jobs.
As you know I am not a believer that everyone must be a vegetarian. I am a strong supporter of a more wholesome diet, filled with foods that our body knows exactly what to do with when consumed.
The movie re-opened my eyes as to why I am a proud lacto-ovo vegetarian (for the past 18 years for animal reasons). But as a clinical dietitian, who works closely with ill patients in the hospital, I value my health more than ever..as well as the health of others.
It is very easy to simply tell you what to NOT to eat as that is a "quick" fix that much of our population is seeking. Because our food industry is ridiculously confusing, people are seeking advice (not necessarily from the qualified experts) as to what NOT to eat because that would just be the easiest way to "get healthy and lose weight".
The movie simply puts it out there that we can reverse and prevent disease by consuming a more plant based diet, filled with fruits, grains and vegetables. As for animal protein such as meat, fish, dairy, milk and eggs, those foods are claimed to encourage cancer growth and promote disease.
I personally have a strong stand for calcium in the diet, primarily from animal protein. However, I would never pass on the opportunity to help someone in reviewing diet logs or addressing nutritional deficiencies and tell a person what to eat because of my own personal views and beliefs when it comes to the food that we put into our body. When it comes to health AND/OR performance, I believe health first, performance second. When health is in control, performance gains will likely be reached.
When it comes to providing information to change the way we eat (as a society but more so, for your individual needs), it is VERY important that you find a balanced way of eating in order to encourage a healthy relationship with food. Because of the steady growth of eating disorders in the past two decades (among ALL ages, but primarily children under the age of 18) and the number of strong-minded individuals (you likely read those blogs or FB posts)that speak about "BAD food" and "OFF limit food" or tell you WHAT NOT to eat without even knowing your personal history OR BEING REGISTERED/LICENSED TO PROVIDE NUTRITIONAL ADVICE to "make you healthy and reduce chronic disease risk" I strongly recommend that when you watch this movie, that you keep a very open mind.
You will absolutely be inspired to make dietary habits. You will likely want to recommend this movie to others as I am doing to you today. However, if you are considering making changes in your diet, it is recommended to talk with your physician and dietitian to truly understand your body and what it is you can be doing to improve health, control/manage/lose weight and/or feel better on a daily basis.
I recently read a fantastic blog review of Forks Over Knives. But before you read the review, I'd like to share a recent article as you likely know by now, that I try very hard to keep up with current research and to always keep an open mind when I share/provide information with you, my blog readers.
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal (Dec 2, 2011, Vol CCL VIII No. 130) called "Scientists' elusive goal: reproducing study results", "when Bayer tried to replicate results of 67 studies published in academic journals, nearly two-third failed (64.2% were not replicated).
Two years ago, a group of Boston researchers published a study describing how they had destroyed cancer tumors by targeting a protein called STK33. Scientists at a biotechnology firm Amgen Inc. quickly pounced on the idea and assigned two dozen researchers to try to repeat the experiment with a goal of turning the findings into a drug.
It proved to be a waste of time and money. After 6 months of intensive lab work, Amgen found it couldn't replicate the results and scrapped the project.......
This is one of medicine's dirty secrets: Most results, including those that appear in top flight peer-reviewed journals, cannot be reproduced.
"It's a very serious and disturbing issue because it obviously misleads people" who implicitly trust findings published in a respected peer-reviewed journal, says Bruce Alberts, editor of Science.
Drug manufacturers rely heavily on early-stage academic research and can waste millions of dollars on products if the original results are later shown to be unreliable. There is also a more insidious and pervasive problem; a preference for positive results.
Unlike pharmaceutical companies, academic researchers rarely conduct experiments in a "blinded" manner. This makes it easier to cherry-pick statistical findings that support a positive result. In the quest for jobs and funding, especially in an era of economic malaise, the growing army of scientists need more successful experiments to their name, not failed ones.
"Among the more obvious yet unquantifiable reasons, there is immense competition among laboratories and a pressure to publish," wrote Dr. Asadullah and others from Bayer, in their September paper. "There is also a bias toward publishing positive results as it is easier to get positive results accepted in good journals".
-The number of scholarly journals world-wide:
8,086 in 1970
31,758 in 2011
"Dr. Begley suggests that academic scientists like drug companies should perform more experiments in a "blinded" manner to reduce any bias toward positive findings. Otherwise, he says, "there is a human desire to get the results your boss wants you to get".
Adds Atlas' Mr. Booth: "Nobody gets a promotion from publishing a negative study".
Even information published in reputable journals, should still be questioned.
Here's the review
Forks Over Knives Review.
As a blog writer, published writer, speaker, vegetarian, endurance athlete and lover of life, I am not here to be the "bad" one NOR am I out to be the "popular one". My goal in life is not only to practice what I preach, but I find it important to not allow my personal biases (ex. how I choose to live my life) to help others reach performance, weight and personal life goals. Through my extensive educational career alongside my desire to reach goals in my athletic life, I appreciate your support in following my blog as I know there are thousands of blogs available for you to read as well as advice from others that seems great but perhaps, isn't always the best (or most practical) method possible in reducing risk for disease and living a balanced and quality-filled life.
"Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness."
- modified from : Edward Stanley (1826-1893) from The Conduct of Life