DFN – Food Vitals Webinar on 26 July 2021

One thing that psychology has taught us is that people do not make choices based on logic and evidence but feelings and emotions. Any basic marketing course teaches us to “sell the sizzle, not the sausage”.

Michael Greger has an incredible video about his grandmother Francis and John Robbins tells a deeply moving story about “The Pig Farmer”. Links to both are on my website. This is what changes people behaviour – not another journal reference or graph. I still cannot get through either without crying.

I have several testimonials from people who have transformed their lives – despite opposition from the medical profession.

On the 4th July 2019, the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) published this news item as its top news story.

World Health Organisation’s recommendations on saturated fat are out of date, expert team says.

This article was based on an article, WHO draft guidelines on dietary saturated and trans fatty acids: time for a new approach? , ¹ published in THE BMJ the previous day, written by Arne Astrup and 17 colleagues, These popular commentators are very well organised.

At the end of Astrup’s article, the evidence for including eggs, chocolate, cheese, and meat is listed, which matches the needs of their corporate sponsors.

No amount of bar graphs or references will compete with a picture of a delicious burger, complete with eggs and chips.

Dr James Muecke, the Australian of the Year in 2020, refers to this article to justify his high-fat, low-carbohydrate, high-animal based diet to minimise diabetes, its associated blindness (diabetic retinopathy) and diabetic neuropathy. 50% of adults with type 2 diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. Diabetes account for more than 80% of amputations.

Professors Jim Mann (University of Otago) and Stewart Truswell (University of Sydney) were enraged when they saw the article and the source paper. Jim was at a WHO diabetic conference in Europe at the time and the meeting decided not engage in a public debate because it will “give them oxygen” – they will always lose out to the well-funded dairy and beef industries.

I disagreed. I have produced an 85 page A5 document that reviews Astrup’s paper which Stewart has reviewed. I also produced a 97 minute video with some of the highlights.

Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London with a specialist interest in the treatment of patients with lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system). She is also passionate about promoting plant-based nutrition for the prevention and reversal of chronic diseases and for maintaining optimal health after treatment for cancer.

When Shireen introduced herself at the beginning of her Food Vitals Webinar on 26th July 2021, she stated that she and her husband were vegan for over 7 years (which makes it about about 2014). At the end of her talk, she stated that her haematologist husband did not embrace her vegan lifestyle until after COVID-19 in March 2020 – some 4 years later, when his BMI was 30.2, weight was 87 kg, cholesterol 6.5 mmol/L and blood pressure 145/88.

If it takes a specialist medical doctor 4 years to embrace his wife’s lifestyle with all the evidence that she can present, then it does not bode very well for the rest of the population.

We are going backwards in this debate. What plans does DFN have to address this problem?

As our fridge magnet states, “the greatest form of insanity is does the same thing and expecting different results”.

The CSIRO have produced a marketing document for Australian Eggs stating that “One Egg a Day is OK”.

Arne Astrup states that 2 eggs a day is fine even though his own research contradicts this. Further details are in the book WHO’s Guidelines on Saturated Fats and the movie.

As a result of great marketing campaigns by Australian Eggs, fully supported by the CSIRO, the consumption of eggs has been rising since 2004.

Read about egg consumption in Australia and the CSIRO involvement from the following web pages.

CSIRO Healthy Diet Score and Egg Consumption in Australia
Eggs are Not OK
CSIRO Low Carbohydrate Diets

William Davis stated that he does not need studies to prove that his Wheat Belly diet is valid because everyday he gets validation from his supporters stating that they have transformed their lives as a result of his work. He has tens of thousands of supporters sharing immune-enhancing recipes for:

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach, Mushrooms and Roasted Red Peppers
Italian Sausage Frittata with 8 eggs and hot chicken or turkey sausage meat – ensure that the gluten-containing sausage casings are removed
Pepperoni Bread made with pepperoni, eggs and cheese

For the majority of people, this is much more appealing than any recommendations from the WFPB community.

According to William Davis:

This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there’s a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It’s not gluten. I’m not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I’m talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year.

His views on the history of wheat and gluten is a complete fallacy. Gluten and gliadin have been with us for millions of years. Gluten is not an opiate. I have a number of articles on my web site addressing the fallacies of William Davis.

I posted John McDougall a copy of my book Low-Carbohydrate Mania. He responded and we communicated via email for about 6 months. Most of the communication was related to the basic errors and mis-representations of William Davis.

Wheat and the Distorted Views of William Davis
What is the Problem with Wheat and Gluten?
Wheat and Inflammation
Impact of Gluten-free Diets

Tomorrow I will Not Consume Animal-Based Products

John McDougall’s recommendation is that we make a commitment, “Today I am a smoker and tomorrow I will not be. […] Today I am a meat, dairy, and junk food eater and tomorrow I will not be”. ²

Similarly, Thomas Campbell ³ states,

“Eliminate all foods on the list from your house in preparation for your dietary experiment. […] Do you really want something in your house that will demand willpower to avoid day in and day out? Trust me – it’s not a successful strategy”.

Ruth and I had a friend who was very obese – BMI over 40. He could not climb up his stairs to sleep in his bedroom. Each week, we prepared meals for the coming week and helped him clean his house. At the end of the week, he was so pleased with himself that he had a treat – a Big Mac – on Friday night. By the week after, it was a Big Mac Friday and Saturday night before completely giving up on the idea of mastering his health and weight forever.

It is impossible to change a habit by changing your mind whenever you feel like it.

It is far easier to completely avoid animal-based foods as “everything in moderation” does not work. For some situations, such as diabetes and sex-hormone related cancers, even a minuscule amount of animal-sourced foods can be detrimental.

The Taiwanese Buddhist Study and Seventh-day Adventist studies show that even a tiny amount of animal products can have a significant effect.
Taiwanese Buddhist Study
Seventh-day Adventists and Health

Conflicting Views

We create ill-health by the way we think

I have a neighbour who runs a kinesiology clinic. There is a large sign that visible to all as they walk in – “We do not catch diseases but create it by the we we think”.

She has breakfast once a week with her husband – a burger at Hungry Jacks. It does not matter what she eats – because the way she thinks prevents her from becoming unwell. Business is booming – booked up 7 days a week until late in the evening by women (not men) who share her version of reality.

We create ideal health by raising our Kundalini

Joe Dispenza will help you solve all health and monetary problems if you remove the blocks from your energy centres and raise your Kundalini. Once again, it does not matter what you eat. Once again, business is booming.

Bulletproof Diet

The latest ketogenic diet is the Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey. He is a four-time New York Times bestselling science author and has been featured on the Today Show, CNN, The New York Times and Dr. Oz.

He has written 6 books including Bulletproof, Fast This Way, Superhuman, Bulletproof Diet and advises obtaining 50-70% of diet from fats and adding a large dollop of butter to your Bulletproof Coffee Supplement every morning.

I have a friend who has bought The China Study, Whole, How Not to Die, Low-Carb Fraud, How Not to Die Cookbook, The China Study Solution as well as having access to all the 140 pages on my website and yet has still chosen to embark on the ketogenic Bulletproof Diet along with the all the expensive supplements that it requires.

This is what we are competing against – and losing to.

Personal Experiences from the Hunter Valley

Ruth and I buy weekend papers (Newcastle Herald and Sydney Morning Herald). Both have a large food and restaurant section. Usually there is not one restaurant we could visit or menu item that we would prepare. Even the very occasional recipes that do not contain animal products are very high in fat.

There is a takeaway cafe in my hometown of Lochinvar which is on the highway between Maitland and the coal mines of the Hunter Valley. From 4:00am each morning to 7:00pm at night there are 4 – 6 people lining up for breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch or diner, of a hamburger and chips.

Lock’s Paddock is one of the Hunter Valley’s newest restaurants.

“The carbonara and spaghetti in the cheese wheel are our two signature dishes and will probably be the two that people love most,” Nick says. “It’s quite theatrical because we come out from the kitchen with the big cheese wheel and serve it at the table. It’s an old Roman dish and is actually peasant food, so it is a very traditional, simple dish that is just salt and pepper, olive oil, parsley and the cheese. The spaghetti goes in, the chef mixes it, we bring it to the table as the cheese melts through the pasta, serve it out and then that wheel goes back to the kitchen.”

2040 – The Documentary

In September 2019, I saw a showing of the movie 2040 – The Documentary. This was shown at an Organic Store and Cafe so the audience is more environmentally conscious than the general population. They sell organic meats (grass-fed), free-range chickens and eggs and fish farmed by “sustainable fishing methods“.

There were 82 people to view the movie. I was the only vegan. Everyone (except me) thought it was wonderful, inspiring and deeply moving. I spoke at the end of the movie and said that it was not going to instigate change in any person who was watching the movie that night. It was a feel-good movie that encouraged complacency.

2040 Documentary – A review

PREDIMED Study and Lyon Diet Heart Trial

My view of the PREDIMED study is somewhat different to what Shireen presented. I emailed the current lead researcher of the study asking about missing results from the published papers.

I found the reply fascinating. You can see his response in the booklet and movie which can be downloaded from my web site. Links are on the right panel of every web page.

The widely cited Lyon Diet-Heart Study is equally unimpressive.

Further information can be obtained from the book WHO’s Guidelines on Saturated Fats on pages 14 for the PREDIMED study and page 18 for the Lyon Diet-Heart Trial. The same information can be viewed by watching the movie at 22:50 and 26:10.

DFN Website

Some of the information presented during the video is needs refinement and in some cases could be very detrimental. The advice regarding vitamin B12 and iodine requires more nuance than presented.

Further details are on my web site.

Vitamin B12, Homocysteine and Methylmalonic Acid
Iodine and Thyroid Function Tests
Zinc, Selenium and the Immune System

I found it difficult to navigate the website. It is not obvious where to find resources and where to find the videos of previous seminars. We were told that the videos are free but were required to pay at least a $3 donation. I have now paid $12 in “donations’.

It is very difficult to communicate with DFN personnel. I sent emails to several members and you were the only person who even acknowledged the receipt of the emails even though others received them. Social media is not a platform for sharing ideas. It is not a difficult exercise to include a forum which allows a two way communication. At the moment we are being preached to without allowing any kind of diversity of opinion even though my wife, daughter, grandchildren and myself are committed to a WFPB diet with absolutely no compromise. My daughter is 33 years old and has never consumed meat, fish or chicken – nor has her children.

For more than six years I have taken material to the Newcastle Herald, The Australian newspaper, Sydney Morning Herald, my local council, state and federal members of parliament, NSW and South Australia Health departments but no-one is interested. The Australian Medical Association, the Medical Journal of Australia and AHPRA have indicated that it is not within their scope to bring this information to the attention of medical doctors or the Australian public. Apparently the medical profession is entitled to disseminate of misinformation, although this does not seem to apply in the current COVID-19 event.

I spent more 2 hours with my local state member who was shadow minister for medical research at the time. Not the slightest bit interested in making use of the information provided despite that fact that she has been identified as carrying BRCA genes. Much more favourable publicity can be obtained by attending fund-raising BBQs.

Wilhelm_Marstrand,_Don_Quixote_og_Sancho_Panza — Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

Only two people have been interested in what I have done – Professor Stewart Truswell and my teaching supervisor who have both been highly supportive but do not wish to get into a public debate. Stewart is in his 90s and until COVID-19 was still presenting papers at overseas conferences.

Dr James Muecke, Robert Lustig, William Davis, Nina Teicholz, the award-winning cardiologist Aseem Malhotra, Marianne Demasi, Gary Taubes, Arne Astrup and Ronald Krauss need to be held accountable for the misinformation that they are distributing. The reason that they are so successful is that they generate a narrative of the heroic crusader, mounting his trusted steed, and going into battle against the evil forces of authority.

Dispassionately presenting facts again and again and again will not address the mischief that these popular commentators have created.

The cartel of industry-funded medical research, government regulators and the drug and food industry continue to ensure that corporate profits remain protected. The role of a WFPB diet in maintaining health is shielded from the public. The reasons are addressed in some detail in my book and movie.

James Muecke refers a 2019 article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the Nutritional Recommendations (NutriRECS) Consortium to support his beliefs. ⁴ Walter Willett, the Harvard professor of epidemiology and nutrition, called the study “the most egregious abuse of data I’ve ever seen”.

James Muecke has raised millions of dollars to support his programs. His articles in the popular press not only misrepresents information he obtains from scientific studies but at times he falsifies the information to fit his narrative. This can only be addressed by pointing out the discrepancies in a public environment.

Further details are available, which includes a review of Bradley Johnston’s article, from my web site.

Dr James Muecke – Australian of the year in 2020

Similarly, Aseem Malhotra, the London cardiologist, continues to have enormous influence. The Pioppi Diet movie and book by Malhotra and Donal O’Neill, an Irish film-maker receives a great deal of publicity. A review in the British Journal of General Practice quotes Professor Dame Sue Bailey, the Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, who describes the book as a “must have for every household and a must read for every medical student and doctor”.

Andy Burnham, current (2021) mayor of Greater Manchester and former UK Secretary of State for Health writes, “This book has the power to make millions of people healthier and happier.”

Meanwhile his blatant distortion of facts and deliberate disregard for the truth remains unchallenged.

Further details are my movie and book which clearly show an unconcealed disregard for truth.

The Pioppi Diet

I have a lot of valuable material and knowledge that I have no doubt would be beneficial if we could learn to work together.

My reference manager has more than 3,500 references and web site of 140 pages is devoted to health and nutrition but there is also information on psychology, philosophy, environment and agriculture. Plato and Plutarch had much to say about the role food and the treatment of our resources and the animals the we share the earth with.

Last updated on Tuesday 27 February 2024 at 17:50 by administrators

Footnotes

Astrup, A. et al. (2019) WHO draft guidelines on dietary saturated and trans fatty acids: time for a new approach? BMJ. 366 (366), l4137.
McDougall, J. & McDougall, M. (2012) The Starch Solution. New York: Rodale Press, Inc.
Campbell, T. (2016) The China Study Solution. Rodale.
Johnston, B. C. et al. (2019) Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the Nutritional Recommendations (NutriRECS) Consortium. Annals of Internal Medicine. 171 (10), 756–764.