Tag: brassicas

• Iodine and Thyroid Function Tests

  Iodine is a major component of the thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3). They are based on the amino acid tyrosine. T4 contains four iodine atoms and T3 three iodine atoms. The only known function of iodine is for the production of the thyroid hormones. Excess iodine is secreted in the urine.

  Thyroid hormones are required for normal growth and development of the brain and central nervous system. It is required for energy production and oxygen consumption in cells and the maintenance of the metabolic rate.

  The regulation of thyroid hormone synthesis, release, and action is a complex process involving the thyroid, the pituitary, the brain, and peripheral tissues.

  Sea foods and iodine added to table salt are the highest contributors of iodine to our diet which is why vegans often resort to supplementation which can have unintended consquences.

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  28 February 2026

• Videos

  The Game Changers and These Athletes are Powered By Plants are two videos that demonstrate the impact that a whole-food, plant-based diet has not only on our own health but also for the environment and the animals that we share the earth with.

  The Game Changers features 3 very unwell people whose lives were essentially over at a relatively young age. Their transformation within a very short period of time are examples of what can be achieved by changing what we consume.

  In the video, How Foods Affect Hormones, Neal Barnard tells the story of Katherine Lawrence who was an Air Force officer working as an aerospace engineer in Iraq. In 2003, she was one of the first group of people in Iraq, building air bases.

  Cheese was one of her favourite foods, so when she returned from Iraq she devoured large quantities of cheese and cheese dishes.

  As a result she gained a substantial amount of weight and started getting pain in her abdomen that become much worse over time. A doctor performed a laparoscopy – the body is examined through a scope inserted into an incision below the belly button. This resulted in a diagnosis of endometriosis.

  According to the WHO, "there is no known way to prevent endometriosis. There is no cure, but its symptoms can be treated with medicines".

  Her doctor arranged for a hysterectomy, a life-changing operation preventing her from having children. While she was waiting for her operation she started a strict whole-food, plant-based diet with no added oils (important) to manage her pain which was becoming unbearable. When she had the operation 6 weeks later, her endometriosis had disappeared. Her doctor refused to believe that the diet caused the change, preferring to believe in a miracle despite evidence in peer-reviewed medical journals that an excess of estrogens can result in endometriosis.

  Neal also tells the story of remarkable story of Dr. Anthony (Tony) Sattilaro who in 1978 at the age of 48, was diagnosed with cancerous growths in his skull, right shoulder, prostate, backbone, sternum and genitals. At the time, he was the president of Methodist Hospital and was told that he had about one year to live. Through a chance meeting he cured himself of this incurable cancer within a year by eating a macrobiotic diet and adopting their lifestyle.

  After 10 years Tony decided he was cured and decided he could revert back to his old habits. Read about the conseqeuences - sometimes you only have one chance.

  See Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's video and angiogram to see how a severely constricted artery can be repaired - on a whole-food, plant-based diet with no added oils.

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  7 October 2023

• Our Immune System

  There is much advice on the internet on how to boost the immune system.

  What does this mean?

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  3 June 2020

• Rural Indian Regional Diets

  Despite India's reputation for a healthy, vegetarian cuisine, it is not justified. Only 1.6% of Indians are vegan, 24% are lacto-vegetarian. 3% add eggs to their lacto-vegetarian diet which leaves 72% consuming meat.

  The Indian population has the highest prevalence of diabetes worldwide and exhibits high-risk metabolic profiles at younger ages and lower body mass index than their Western counterparts. There are significant regional variations to this observation.

  The reasons why Asian populations exhibit diabetes at a lower threshold than western populations are not known.

  According to WHO mortality statistics, India is ranked 17 for Low Birth Rate, 37 for Diarrhoeal Diseases, 40 for Tuberculosis, 60 for Malnutrition and 62 for Influenza & Pneumonia out of 183 countries.

  Given the current increase in consumption of meat and oils and a decrease in grains, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is likely to continue.

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  29 February 2020

• When Vegan Diets Do Not Work

  It is not uncommon for people to claim that they have tried a vegan diet and it simply did not work for them. Not all vegan diets are healthy.

  Much publicity is given to the longevity of the people of Japan and Okinawa (an archipelago that stretches from southern Japan to Taiwan). However, the population with the longest lifespan and the highest levels of health on the planet is the vegan Californian Seventh-day Adventists.

  People are not predisposed to vegan diets or otherwise. When it comes to nutrition, we are pretty much the same – allergies being one significant difference.

  Below are components of a healthy whole-food, plant-based diet. Many people on a unhealthy vegan diet are missing a number of important components of an optimal diet.

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  27 April 2019

• Kale – a super green

  

  Kale has an extensive array of minerals and vitamins including vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and copper.

  Kale is also rich in proteins and moderately rich in a linolenic acid (ALA – an essential omega 3 fatty acid).

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  26 September 2013