Health Reporter Tries a Vegan Diet for Three Weeks

[Lou]

For me the most interesting thing about this article is for a health reporter how little she knew about going vegan. most of her "problems" were such rookie mistakes. But maybe the take-away is that if that is where a health reporter starts from - you can imagine how bad it is for the majority of people who want to try vegan.

it was interesting that it wasn't till her last meal that a friend showed up. You'd think vegans would be coming out of the woodwork to give her some help and advice. Also for a reporter not to do any research before hand ---- what is with that?

----

Below are some of the highlights.

A few weeks ago, a blood test revealed that I had high LDL (bad) cholesterol, elevated fats called triglycerides, and raised glucose.​

​

All of these combined could leave fat building up in my arteries and increase my blood sugar, leading to me potentially develop diabetes, heart disease and stroke, among other issues.​

​

It doesn't help that some recent research suggests consuming vegan meat is linked to up to a 15 percent increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, as well as early death.​

​

But I found that I was the least miserable when I stopped trying to replace animal products with lookalikes.​

​

Some of the most enjoyable meals I had were a chickpea and spinach curry with coconut milk and spiced lentils over rice that I concocted two weeks into my journey.​

​

Even after a relatively short amount of time, there were differences in my body. My LDL cholesterol decreased by seven percent, still on the high end, but back inside the normal range for someone my age.​

​

My triglycerides - fats that circulate in the blood and come from foods like butter and oils - dipped by 15 percent, returning them to a healthy level. And my glucose dropped by six percent - though it remained on the borderline of normal.​

​

I missed cheese too much to ever give it up again.​

​

What happened after a Daily Mail reporter went vegan for a month

Blood tests showed that I had high cholesterol at just age 28. To lower it and test out if a vegan diet can really live up to its many health claims, I went vegan for three weeks. Here's what happened.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Lou]

PS. I expect all the Vegan Influencers will be creating content to address her "issues"

 

[Emma JC]

My triglycerides - fats that circulate in the blood and come from foods like butter and oils - dipped by 15 percent, returning them to a healthy level. And my glucose dropped by six percent - though it remained on the borderline of normal.​

​

I missed cheese too much to ever give it up again.​

This is kind of like saying... I was getting bad sores on my feet from walking on nails and so I stopped for a month and my feet started to heal, but I miss the nails so I won't ever stop walking on them. I know, terrible analogy but that's what it sound like when I hear these reasons...

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Tom L.]

@Emma JC I'm not laughing at your post, exactly- that's just a very funny and spot-on comment!!

Interestingly (and happily!!), my "sweet tooth" seems to have dulled. I mentioned in another thread or two that I've cut way back on things like cookies, pie, and donuts because a routine blood test a few years ago revealed I was pre-diabetic. It wasn't a big surprise, actually; I mentioned to my healthcare provider that my diet is definitely high-carb and that Type 2 diabetes runs in my Dad's family. Also, those foods I just mentioned are usually high in saturated fats, and cardiovascular disease is rampant on my Mom's side. But I was expecting that I would keep hankering for sugary, fatty foods for years- and that didn't happen. I just got used to skipping them.

 

[Lou]

I'll see if I can come up with a better analogy but on a related note.

If I had a nickel for every time someone said to me that they would be vegan but for the cheese...

Also after thinking about this article for a day I just have to wonder what her qualifications and experiences are. Maybe I'll google her.

I think it's pretty well known, and not just by vegans, that cheese is really un-healthy. I like to call them little fat bombs.

Some people think of it as fringe science but there are plenty of articles and studies that point out the addictive properties of cheese. As a health reporter she should know about them.

Which gives me the idea of a better analogy.

I know I shouldn't smoke opium but I love the way it makes me feel.

 

[Tom L.]

Cheese is tasty, I'll admit, but I actually missed plain, white milk more than cheese. Weird, I know... I mean, it's baby food.

For baby COWS.

OK- pizza without dairy cheese isn't the same as I remember normal pizza being- and I've had it both with vegan cheese and with no cheese at all. It was quite good!... but different. But life without dairy cheese is good too.

 

[Lou]

But I was expecting that I would keep hankering for sugary, fatty foods for years- and that didn't happen. I just got used to skipping them.

Some people think of it as fringe science but there are plenty of articles and studies that point out the addictive properties of Sugar.

One of my favorite ones is the one where they discovered that the gut bacteria that feeds on sugar can actually create chemicals that your body will interpret as a warning that you need more sugar.

Sugar Addiction: More Serious Than You Think | Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies

alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu

How sugary or fatty snacks change your brain activity to make you like them more

Introducing even small amounts of high-fat, high-sugar foods into people's diets can rewire their brain circuits, according to a new study.

www.nbcnews.com

Is Sugar an Addictive Drug?

Sugar affects our brain pathways just like addictive drugs, and most of us don’t realize how much we’re eating. Learn more.

www.healthline.com

 

[Lou]

Just did a little googling of that reporter, Emily Joshu,
First thing is that she has no certificates or degrees in the sciences. She studied journalism in college and has a Masters in publishing.
Also I found an article, where the author uses Joshu as an example of how main stream media distorts and spins the news to support meat eating.

Guest Post: Daily Mail Distorts Outcome Of Major Study Showing Benefits of Plant Protein - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Joshu's article grossly misrepresents the science it tries to discuss, by placing a great emphasis on the inclusion of small amounts of animal protein for

vegconomist.com

My conclusion, this lady has some built in biases and needs to be ignored. Oh wait I just remembered the Daily Mail is a right wing publication. so it all figures.

 

[Tom L.]

Grrr... I would have hoped that Ms. Joshu would have been conscious of her biases and tried to compensate for them. Naive of me.

 

[Lou]

Grrr... I would have hoped that Ms. Joshu would have been conscious of her biases and tried to compensate for them. Naive of me.

I don't think her biasses are unconscious. Judging her by the publication she works for they are more likely intentional.
Now I'm sort of impressed that the was even willing to try a vegan diet to improve her health and it was honest of her to report on the improvements.

 

[Tom L.]

Hmmm... actually I should have read, or at least skimmed that article myself before commenting. (I think I skipped that because I've familiarized myself with the health aspects of veg*ism, although I don't know as much about the science of diet as, for example, a dietician would. And I keep learning more as the need arises.)

 

[silva]

I refuse to read articles from 'reporters" of any kind. They've proved so ignorant, like a middle school kids report

 

[Lou]

Hmmm... actually I should have read, or at least skimmed that article myself before commenting. (I think I skipped that because I've familiarized myself with the health aspects of veg*ism, although I don't know as much about the science of diet as, for example, a dietician would. And I keep learning more as the need arises.)

Originally, I thought there was some "value" to the article because mainstream medial covers veganism so poorly -and it's unusual for a "reporter" to go vegan and report on it.

After learning more about the author, and then recalling that I don't like the Daily Mail, I find it even more interesting. And somewhat surprising that there was some honest and positive reporting in it.

But Tom don't sell yourself short. Nutrition is not a hard science. Almost everything we know about nutrition is either extrapolation from animal studies, relying on self reporting by the candidates, or large population generalizations. Which is not the best way to learn stuff. Even so... we do have a lot of good data. However, the Big Food does an excellent job of screwing up the research, and as the Daily Mail is a good example, spinning the results of good studies.

Also Dieticians have degrees and certifications that is no garantee they are giving people good advice. As we learned during Covid many people with advanced degrees are bat **** crazy. And as most vegans who have struggled with researching nutrition on their lap tops, so many MDs have been shown to be quacks. There is Dr. Oz. And what was his name.... the Dentist with the institute that spread misinformation about soy. And then recently Dr. Grundy and his Plant Paradox BS.

 

[Lou]

I refuse to read articles from 'reporters" of any kind. They've proved so ignorant, like a middle school kids report

Yes, there are plenty of bad reporters. I once cancelled my subscription to Men's Health when they perpetuated the Soy is Bad for men myth.

But there are good ones, too. I tend to trust the publications. I like the NYTimes, and the Guardian.
My news feeder knows I like to read articles that have vegan in the headline. So when it fed me that article I just read it. If I had remembered that I don't like the Daily Mail, well I still might have posted it. It's a good conversation starter

 

[PTree15]

Just did a little googling of that reporter, Emily Joshu,
First thing is that she has no certificates or degrees in the sciences. She studied journalism in college and has a Masters in publishing.
Also I found an article, where the author uses Joshu as an example of how main stream media distorts and spins the news to support meat eating.

Guest Post: Daily Mail Distorts Outcome Of Major Study Showing Benefits of Plant Protein - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Joshu's article grossly misrepresents the science it tries to discuss, by placing a great emphasis on the inclusion of small amounts of animal protein for

vegconomist.com

My conclusion, this lady has some built in biases and needs to be ignored. Oh wait I just remembered the Daily Mail is a right wing publication. so it all figures.

You don't need a degree to report on health, but you do need a good dose of curiosity -- for any beat you cover. I was a reporter for several years before jumping to editing, but I've always had a quest for knowledge and learning. That's what is missing from many who claim to be journalists. They don't dig or question; they just take everything told to them at face value.

The business has changed so much over the past 40 years, and to me it's more about entertainment than informing readers. I was on the tail end of the good times when I started, but I could see it changing once family-owned publications starting selling to big corporations. The money and resources spent on good investigative journalism began to dry up, and it all became way more focused on the bottom line. I mean, it's always been a business, but the focus really shifted when corporations and hedge funds got into the mix. That combined with the onset of the internet really did a number on the news biz.

 

[Lou]

Yes. That is a lot of the reasoning I like Vox and the Guardian.

 

[PTree15]

Yes. That is a lot of the reasoning I like Vox and the Guardian.

I do like both of those as well, especially Vox.