Health Journal Online

Category: Nutrition

  • Celebrating Food, Culture, and AAPI Month with Remy Morimoto Park

    Celebrating Food, Culture, and AAPI Month with Remy Morimoto Park

    We had the pleasure of talking with Remy Morimoto Park about food, culture, and AAPI Month. We hope you enjoy this interview and her recipes for Crunchy Pad Thai Inspired Salad and Miso Soup.

     

    Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your work. 

    I am a vegan cookbook author and health and wellness content creator. I started Veggiekins blog while I was in college as a means for sharing recipes and spreading the vegan lifestyle, and it has since turned into my full-time job, which has been absolutely incredible. I’m also the founder of a matcha brand, Frauth. Outside of work, I split my time between New York and Los Angeles, and you can usually find me at a farmers market!

    In your experience, how have you found food to tell a story and shape culture? 

    I think that when you come from any type of culture, food is so important because it’s one way culture is passed down from generation to generation. I think that’s why sharing recipes and passing them down is so crucial for preserving culture. In my Asian cultures––Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese––I think food is really important because it’s also how we communicate with each other and share love. In our cultures, it’s not quite as common to express verbally that you love someone. We really don’t talk too much about feelings, but we always gather around the table to share a meal as a family and many of our holidays and family gatherings revolve around food. There’s a joke that your Asian parents might not apologize or say they love you, but they will always put food on the table for you or cut up a fruit plate for you to communicate that. So, with that in mind, I think that food is a pivotal part of Asian culture. For me personally, a lot of my memories from childhood revolve around a specific meal or have a specific dish tied to it. Food evokes a lot of really powerful memories, and I think it’s a really great vehicle for storytelling in that way. 

    How do you educate people about the intersection of food, health, community, and culture?

    When it comes to most Asian cuisines, there really isn’t very much dairy, which I think is incredible. It also makes them such great foundations for lots of vegan-friendly options. As well, in my three cultures, there are different types of existing plant-based diets followed by religious groups, for example. I think there is a lot to explore, and the same can be said about most cultures. For example, in Korea, there are monks who eat temple food, which is primarily-plant based; in Japan, the Shojin cuisine is also primarily plant-based; and in China, a lot of Buddhists don’t eat any meat or animal products at all. Additionally, my grandparents always told me that, when they were younger, they primarily ate plant-based––mostly grains and vegetables––because meat and animal products were so expensive and reserved more for the higher classes in society. Nowadays, I think people associate meat with Asian cuisine (e.g., Korean BBQ), though, in reality, a lot of Asian cuisine historically revolved around grains and plants.

    What are some plant-based ingredients and vegan dishes you would like to highlight as traditional to your cultures and/or other Asian cultures? What are your favorites to cook with?

    A plant-based ingredient that I think is essential to Asian culture is tofu, of course! No Asian person is unfamiliar with tofu, and I think that’s incredible because it’s such a great source of plant protein. Rice and other grains are also commonly used throughout Asian cuisines, and some of my personal favourites include tempeh and some of the more unique Asian veggies you wouldn’t typically find at a conventional grocery store (e.g., bean sprouts, bok choy, morning glory, and pea shoots). There’s a great diversity of veggies to choose from in Asian cuisine.

    As a plant-based chef, what do you envision as the way forward to encourage people to include more fruits and vegetables into their diets? 

    One of the things I like to stress the most is that vegetables can be treated with as much care, if not more care, than meat and other animal products. I think a lot of people put in the minimum effort when preparing veggies or may even just eat them raw. When we marinate, smoke, sous vide, roast, or slow cook them, the result is so different. 

    Nowadays, people have developed this hunger for more global cuisines and are more interested in trying dishes from other cultures, which is a great way to encourage individuals to incorporate more fruits and veggies into their diets. When you start to explore beyond just the United States, for instance, and see what the world has to offer, you find that there are so many different types of fruits and vegetables that you can enjoy. Additionally, there are so many more flavor profiles and spice blends to work with to season your vegetables. Keeping it interesting for the palate is so important! 

    What significance does AAPI Month have for you, and how do you celebrate your heritage? 

    AAPI month means a lot to me because I’m not just Asian, but Asian American. I was born in the United States to parents who had already immigrated here and speak primarily English in the house. I don’t feel 100% Asian and, of course, don’t feel 100% American either, so I think that the distinction is really nuanced and makes me feel seen. It’s an incredible sign that people are really embracing others and diversity, which is so important. It’s helped to introduce other cultures to other people and encourage curiosity and hunger for knowledge about others.

    I really celebrate my heritage through food and sharing recipes that feel are authentic to my culture and my Asian-American family. It’s such a treat to be able to share that with others and especially to do that plant-based!

    Please tell us a little bit about your cookbook, Sesame, Soy, Spice, and what inspired you to write it.

    My cookbook was really inspired by my family and my upbringing. “Asian American” is truly the best way to describe my family and the food we eat because we are Asian (and three types of Asian at that), but we are also very much American. Growing up, the food on our table looked like a combination of both western and American foods, as well as the Asian dishes I grew up eating. For example, one thing I love is popcorn, but with Japanese furikake seasoning on top. Sometimes we might sub out chili paste or hot sauce with gochujang, a Korean fermented red pepper paste.

    Throughout my cookbook, I really wanted to emphasize that eating vegan does not mean you have to give up your culture and that it can actually be so much fun reconnecting with your culture through trying to recreate those favorite recipes as vegan. It not only makes living a vegan lifestyle more exciting and inclusive, but also more sustainable because there’s more variety in the foods you eat. When I first became vegan, I thought I could only eat foods like salad bowls, grain bowls, and smoothie bowls. Then I realized that it’s not really a diet but a way of life and that almost any cuisine can be vegan-friendly if you get creative in the kitchen.

    Through the short stories in my cookbook, I also document my journey to becoming vegan and making peace with my relationship with food. I share the story of how becoming vegan taught me compassion and aided in that journey. The process of writing the cookbook was very meaningful to my family because we really got to connect more than ever through food. I would chat with them about recipes from childhood that I wanted to try to recreate, and we would speak on the phone while we were both in the kitchen, trying to work out a recipe. It was a very nostalgic time for me because, often, we’d end up reminiscing about memories from my childhood while cooking.

     

    Crunchy Pad Thai Inspired Salad 

    1 to 2 servings, 10 minutes prep

    For the Pad Thai Inspired Dressing

    • ½ fresh lime, juiced
    • 2 tbsps Umami Sauce 
    • 2 tsps tamarind purée
    • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
    • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
    • 2 tbsp cashew butter (optional, for creaminess)

    For the Salad

    • 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
    • 3-4 mini cucumbers, julienned
    • 1 large carrot, juliennned
    • ½ cup chiffonaded radicchio 
    • Handful thinly sliced breakfast radishes 
    • 1 cup shredded green papaya (optional)

    Optional

    • Fresh Thai chili peppers
    • Crushed peanuts to garnish
    • Dried chili flakes to garnish
    • Green onions to garnish 

     

    Instructions

    1. In a large bowl, add all the dressing ingredients, then whisk them together. Adjust to taste. If using cashew butter, you may choose to thin it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
    2. Add all of the salad ingredients to the bowl, then toss, using your hands or tongs to coat the veggies.
    3. Garnish with peanuts, chili flakes, and green onion, if desired.

     

    Miso Soup

    8 servings, 30 minutes prep, 15 minutes cook time, 30 minutes soaking time 

    For the Dashi Broth

    • 10 cups filtered water
    • 5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms
    • 3 kombu pieces (roughly 3 x 3-inches)
    • 1 leek stem, sliced diagonally
    • 1 carrot, sliced diagonally
    • 3 scallions (white parts), halved
    • ½ yellow onion, halved
    • 12 oz firm silken tofu
    • ¼ cup dried wakame

    Other Ingredients

    • 5 tbsps red miso paste
    • 5 tbsps white miso paste

    For Garnish 

    • Scallions (green tops), thinly sliced
    • Ichimi togarashi, to taste
    • Cooked mushrooms (optional) 

     

    Instructions

    Prepare Dashi Broth 

    1. To your cooking pot, add the water, dried mushrooms, and kombu. Let soak for about 15 to 30 minutes. (The longer you soak, the more flavor will be released).
    2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
    3. Add the leek, carrots, scallions, and onion, and cook for another 10 minutes.
    4. Add the tofu, then remove the pot from the heat.

    Re-Hydrate Wakame

    1. In a small bowl, add the dried wakame with enough hot water to cover. Let soak until the wakame is soft to the touch, then drain and set aside.

    Add Miso Paste

    1. In a small jar or bowl, add the red and white miso with a little water. You want to add just enough water so the misos turn into a thin paste. Use a whisk or chopsticks to break down the paste so it’s pourable. 
    2. Add the wakame and the whisked miso to the pot, and gently stir to combine. Adjust to taste.
    3. Garnish with green scallion tops, ichimi togarashi, and cooked mushrooms, if desired.

    For more about Remy, check out her blog, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 



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  • Food Safety and Cultivated Meat 

    Food Safety and Cultivated Meat 

    What are the direct health implications of making clean meat—that is, meat without animals?

    In a 1932 article in Popular Mechanics entitled “Fifty Years Hence,” Winston Churchill predicted that we would one day “escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” Indeed, growing meat straight from muscle cells could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 96 percent, lower water usage by as much as 96 percent, and lower land usage by 99 percent.

    If we are to avoid dangerous climate change by the middle of the century, global meat consumption simply cannot continue to rise at the current rate. And there have certainly been initiatives like Meatless Mondays to try to get people to cut down, but so far, “they do not appear to be contributing in any significant way to the translation of the idea of eating less meat into the mainstream.” So, “in the light of people’s continued desire to eat meat, it seems the problems associated with consumption are unlikely to be fully resolved by attitude change. Instead, they must be addressed from an alternate perspective: changing the product.”

    From an environmental standpoint, it seems like a slam dunk. From an animal welfare standpoint, it could get rid of factory farms and slaughter plants for good, and I wouldn’t have to stumble across articles like this in the scientific literature: “Discerning Pig Screams in Production Environments.” I mean, what more do we need to know about modern animal agriculture than the fact that, “in recent years, a number of so-called…‘ag-gag’ laws have been proposed and passed…across the USA,” banning undercover photographing or videotaping inside such operations to keep us all in the dark.

    What about the human health implications of cultivated meat? I get the animal welfare, environment, and food security benefits, but what about “the potential for cultured meat to have health/safety benefits to individual consumers”? Nutritionally, the most important advantage is being able to swap out the type the fat. Right now, producers are growing straight muscle tissue, so it could be marbled with something less harmful than animal fat, though, of course, there’s still animal protein.

    When it comes to health, the biggest, clearest advantage is food safety, reducing the risk of foodborne pathogens. There has been a sixfold increase in food poisoning over the last few decades, with tens of millions “sickened annually by infected food in the United States alone,” including hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of annual deaths. Contaminated meats and other animal products are the most common cause.

    When the cultivated meat industry calls its products clean meat, that’s not just a nod to clean energy. Food-poisoning pathogens like E. coli, Campylobacter, and Salmonella are fecal bacteria. They are a result of fecal contamination. They’re intestinal bugs, so we don’t have to worry about them if we’re making meat without the intestines.

    Yes, there are all sorts of “methods to remove visible fecal contamination” in slaughter plants these days and even experimental imaging technologies designed to detect more “diluted fecal contaminations,” but we are still left at the retail level with about 10 percent of chicken contaminated with Salmonella and 40 percent of retail chicken contaminated with Campylobacter. What’s more, most poultry and about half of retail ground beef and pork chops are contaminated with E. coli, an indicator of fecal residue, as shown here and at 3:47 in my video The Human Health Effects of Cultivated Meat: Food Safety. We don’t have to cook the crap out of cultivated meat, though, because there isn’t any crap to begin with.

    Doctor’s Note:

    This is the first in a three-video series on cultivated meat. Stay tuned for The Human Health Effects of Cultivated Meat: Antibiotic Resistance and The Human Health Effects of Cultivated Meat: Chemical Safety.

    I previously did a video series on plant-based meats. Check them in the related posts below.

    The videos are also all available in a digital download from a webinar I did: The Human Health Implications of Plant-Based and Cultivated Meat for Pandemic Prevention and Climate Mitigation.



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  • Statins and Muscle Pain Side Effects 

    Statins and Muscle Pain Side Effects 

    Why is the incidence of side effects from statins so low in clinical trials while appearing to be so high in the real world?

    “There is now overwhelming evidence to support reducing LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol)”—so-called bad cholesterol—to reduce atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD),” the number one killer of men and women. So, why is adherence to cholesterol-lowering statin drug therapy such “a major challenge worldwide”? Researchers found “that the majority of studies reported that at least 40%, and as much as 80%, of patients did not comply fully with statin treatment recommendations.” Three-quarters of patients may flat out stop taking them, and almost 90 percent may discontinue treatment altogether.

    When asked why they stopped taking the pills, most “former statin users or discontinuers…cited muscle pain, a side effect, as the primary reason…” “SAMSs”—statin-associated muscle symptoms—“are by far the most prevalent and important adverse event, with up to 72% of all statin adverse events being muscle-related.” Taking coenzyme Q10 supplements as a treatment for statin-associated muscle symptoms was a good idea in theory, but they don’t appear to help. Normally, side-effect symptoms go away when you stop the drug but can sometimes linger for a year or more. There is “growing evidence that statin intolerance is predominantly psychosocial, not pharmacological.” Really? It may be mostly just in people’s heads?

    “Statins have developed a bad reputation with the public, a phenomenon driven largely by proliferation on the Internet of bizarre and unscientific but seemingly persuasive criticism of these drugs.” “Does Googling lead to statin intolerance?” But people have stopped taking statins for decades before there even was an Internet. What kinds of data have doctors suggested that patients are falsely “misattribut[ing] normal aches and pains to be statin side effects”?

    Well, if you take people who claim to have statin-related muscle pain and randomize them back and forth between statins and an identical-looking placebo in three-week blocks, they can’t tell whether they’re getting the real drug or the sugar pill. The problem with that study, though, is that it may take months not only to develop statin-induced muscle pain, but months before it goes away, so no wonder three weeks on and three weeks off may not be long enough for the participants to discern which is which.

    However, these data are more convincing: Ten thousand people were randomized to a statin or a sugar pill for a few years, but so many more people were dying in the sugar pill group that the study had to be stopped prematurely. So then everyone was offered the statin, and the researchers noted that there was “no excess of reports of muscle-related AEs” (adverse effects) among patients assigned to the statin over those assigned to the placebo. But when the placebo phase was over and the people knew they were on a statin, they went on to report more muscle side effects than those who knew they weren’t taking the statin. “These analyses illustrate the so-called nocebo effect,” which is akin to the opposite of the placebo effect.

    Placebo effects are positive consequences falsely attributed to a treatment, whereas nocebo effects are negative consequences falsely attributed to a treatment, as was evidently seen here. There was an excess rate of muscle-related adverse effects reported only when patients and their doctors were aware that statin therapy was being used, and not when its use was concealed. The researchers hope “these results will help assure both physicians and patients that most AEs associated with statins are not causally related to use of the drug and should help counter…exaggerated claims about statin-related side effects.”

    These are the kinds of results from “placebo-controlled randomised trials [that] have shown definitively that almost all of the symptomatic adverse events that are attributed to statin therapy in routine practice are not actually caused by it (ie, they represent misattribution.)” Now, “only a few patients will believe that their SAMS are of psychogenic origin” and just in their head, but their denial may have “deadly consequences.” Indeed, “discontinuing statin treatment may be a life-threatening mistake.”

    Below and at 4:46 in my video How Common Are Muscle Side Effects from Statins?, you can see the mortality of those who stopped their statins after having a possible adverse reaction compared to those who stuck with them. This translates into about “1 excess death for every 83 patients who discontinued treatment” within a four-year period. So, when there are media reports about statin side effects and people stop taking them, this could “result in thousands of fatal and disabling heart attacks and strokes, which would otherwise have been avoided. Seldom in the history of modern therapeutics have the substantial proven benefits of a treatment been compromised to such an extent by serious misrepresentations of the evidence for its safety.” But is it a misrepresentation to suggest “that statin therapy causes side-effects in up to one fifth of patients”? That is what is seen in clinical practice; between 10 to 25 percent of patients placed on statins complain of muscle problems. However, because we don’t see anywhere near those kinds of numbers in controlled trials, patients are accused of being confused. Why is the incidence of side effects from statins so low in clinical trials while appearing to be so high in the real world? 

    Take this meta-analysis of clinical trials, for example: It found muscle problems not in 1 in 5 patients, but only 1 in 2,000. Should everyone over a certain age be on statins? Not surprisingly, every one of those trials was funded by statin manufacturers themselves. So, for example, “how could the statin RCTs [randomized controlled trials] miss detecting mild statin-related muscle adverse side effects such as myalgia [muscle pain]? By not asking. A review of 44 statin RCTs reveals that only 1 directly asked about muscle-related adverse effects.” So, are the vast majority of side effects just being missed in all these trials, or are the vast majority of side effects seen in clinical practice just a figment of patients’ imagination? The bottom line is we don’t know, but there is certainly an urgent need to figure it out.



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  • Food Allergy Week:​ FPIES in focus​

    Food Allergy Week:​ FPIES in focus​


    Navigating Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) can be complex, but dietitians have a crucial role in supporting families with clarity and care. In this episode, we’re joined by Ingrid Roche, APD and co-director of Advanced Dietitians Group, to explore the foundations of FPIES — from diagnosis to multidisciplinary care. Ingrid shares practical strategies for maintaining nutritional adequacy, managing feeding challenges, guiding safe food reintroductions, and supporting parents through the emotional journey. Whether you’re new to paediatric allergy or looking to deepen your expertise, this conversation is filled with evidence-based insights and practical takeaways to strengthen your practice.

    Hosted by Rebecca Sparrowhawk

    Biography

    Ingrid Roche is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with many years’ experience in paediatric food allergy including a long stint at the Perth Children’s Hospital. She is co-director of Advanced Dietitians Group, a private dietetic practice in Perth, Western Australia, specialising in paediatrics and allergy. Ingrid also works for the National Allergy Council, leading the food service project, continuing her passion for training and education others in food allergy.

    In this episode, we discuss:

    • What FPIES is and how it differs from other food allergies
    • Recognise the dietitian’s role in diagnosis, nutrition support and care planning
    • Explore approaches to feeding challenges and supporting parent confidence
    • Gain practical guidance for safe and structured food reintroduction

    Additional resources

    • Click here to find out more about Farmers Union Gut Good
    • Click here to learn more about ASCIA Food Allergy and Adverse Food Reactions Course for Dietitians
    • Click here to listen to our episode ‘Living with FPIES: From dietitian to allergy parent’ with Kristin Houts
    • Connect with Ingrid Roche on LinkedIn

     

    The content, products and/or services referred to in this podcast are intended for Health Care Professionals only and are not, and are not intended to be, medical advice, which should be tailored to your individual circumstances. The content is for your information only, and we advise that you exercise your own judgement before deciding to use the information provided. Professional medical advice should be obtained before taking action. The reference to particular products and/or services in this episode does not constitute any form of endorsement. Please see  here  for terms and conditions.


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  • Eating to Treat Crohn’s Disease 

    Eating to Treat Crohn’s Disease 

    Switching to a plant-based diet has been shown to achieve far better outcomes than those reported on conventional treatments for both active and quiescent stages of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis.

    Important to our understanding and the prevention of the global increase of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), we know that “dietary fiber reduces risk, whereas dietary fat, animal protein, and sugar increase it.” “Despite the recognition of westernization of lifestyle as a major driver of the growing incidence of IBD, no countermeasures against such lifestyle changes have been recommended, except that patients with Crohn’s disease should not smoke.”

    We know that “consuming whole, plant-based foods is synonymous with an anti-inflammatory diet.” Lists of foods with inflammatory effects and anti-inflammatory effects are shown here and at 0:50 in my video, The Best Diet for Crohn’s Disease.

    How about putting a plant-based diet to the test?

    Cutting down on red and processed meats didn’t work, but what about cutting down on all meat? A 25-year-old man “with newly diagnosed CD…failed to enter clinical remission despite standard medical therapy. After switching to a diet based exclusively on grains, legumes [beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils], vegetables, and fruits, he entered clinical remission without need for medication and showed no signs of CD on follow-up colonoscopy.”

    It’s worth delving into some of the details. The conventional treatment he was started on is infliximab, sold as REMICADE®, which can cause a stroke and may increase our chances of getting lymphoma or other cancers. (It also costs $35,000 a year.) It may not even work in 35 to 40 percent of patients, and that seemed to be the case with the 25-year-old man. So, his dose was increased after 37 weeks, but he was still suffering after two years on the drug. Then he completely eliminated animal products and processed foods from his diet and finally experienced a complete resolution of his symptoms.

    “Prior to this, his diet had been the typical American diet, consisting of meat, dairy products, refined grains, processed foods, and modest amounts of vegetables and fruits. Having experienced complete clinical remission for the first time since his Crohn’s disease diagnosis, the patient decided to switch to a whole food, plant-based diet permanently, severely reducing his intake of processed foods and limiting animal products to one serving, or less, per week.” Whenever his diet slipped, his symptoms started coming back, but he could always eliminate them by eating healthier again. After six months adhering to these diet and lifestyle changes, including stress relief and exercise, a follow-up “demonstrated complete mucosal healing [of the gut lining] with no visible evidence of Crohn’s disease.”

    We know that “a diet consisting of whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables has been shown to be helpful in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, gallbladder disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and many cancers. Although further research is required, this case report suggests that Crohn’s disease might be added to this list of conditions.” That further research has already been done! About 20 patients with Crohn’s disease were placed on a semi-vegetarian diet—no more than half a serving of fish once a week and half a serving of meat once every two weeks—and they achieved a 100 percent remission rate at one year and 90 percent at two years.

    Some strayed from the diet, though. What happened to them? As you can see below and at 3:32 in my video, after one year, half had relapsed, and, at year two, only 20 percent had remained in remission. But those who stuck with the semi-veg diet had remarkable success. It was a small study with no formal control group, but it represents the best-reported result in Crohn’s relapse prevention published in the medical literature to date. 

    Nowadays, Crohn’s patients are often treated with so-called biologic drugs, expensive injected antibodies that suppress the immune system. They have effectively induced and maintained remission in Crohn’s disease, but not in everybody. The current remission rate in Crohn’s with early use of REMICADE® is 64 percent. So, 30 to 40 percent of patients “are likely to experience a disabling disease course even after their first treatment.” What about adding a plant-based diet? Remission rates jumped up to 100 percent for those who didn’t have to drop out due to drug side effects. Even after excluding milder cases, researchers found that 100 percent of those with serious, even “severe/fulminant disease, achieved remission.”

    If we look at gold standard systematic reviews, they conclude that the effects of dietary interventions on inflammatory bowel diseases—Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis—are uncertain. However, this is because only randomized controlled trials were considered. That’s totally understandable, as that is the most rigorous study design. “Nevertheless, people with IBD deserve advice based on the ‘best available evidence’ rather than no advice at all…” And switching to a plant-based diet has been shown to achieve “far better outcomes” than those reported on conventional treatments in both active and quiescent stages in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. For example, below and at 5:37 in my video, you can see one-year remission rates in Crohn’s disease (100 percent) compared to budesonide, an immunosuppressant corticosteroid drug (30 to 40 percent), a half elemental diet, such as at-home tube feedings (64 percent), the $35,000-a-year drug REMICADE® (46 percent), or the $75,000-a-year drug Humira (57 percent). 

    Safer, cheaper, and more effective. That’s why some researchers have made the “recommendation of plant-based diets for inflammatory bowel disease.”

    It would seem clear that treatment based on addressing the cause of the disease is optimal. Spreading the word about healthier diets could help halt the scourge of inflammatory bowel disease, but how will people hear about this amazing research without some kind of public education campaign? That’s what NutritionFacts.org is all about.

    Doctor’s Note:

    This is the third in a series on inflammatory bowel disease. If you missed the first two, see Preventing Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Diet and The Best Diet for Ulcerative Colitis Treatment.

    My previous Crohn’s videos include Preventing Crohn’s Disease with Diet and Does Nutritional Yeast Trigger Crohn’s Disease?. 



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  • Eating to Keep Ulcerative Colitis in Remission 

    Eating to Keep Ulcerative Colitis in Remission 

    Plant-based diets can be 98 percent effective in keeping ulcerative colitis patients in remission, far exceeding the efficacy of other treatments.

    “One of the most common questions physicians treating patients with IBD [inflammatory bowel disease] are asked is whether changing diet could positively affect the course of their disease.” Traditionally, we had to respond that we didn’t know. That may now be changing, given the “evidence in the literature that hydrogen sulfide may play a role in UC,” ulcerative colitis. And, since the sulfur-containing amino acids concentrated in meat cause an increase in colonic levels of this rotten egg gas, perhaps we should “take off the meat.” Indeed, animal protein isn’t associated only with an increased risk of getting inflammatory bowel disease in the first place, but also IBD relapses once you have the disease.

    This is a recent development. “Because the concept of IBD as a lifestyle disease mediated mainly by a westernized diet is not widely appreciated, an analysis of diet in the follow-up period [after diagnosis] in relation to a relapse of IBD has been ignored”—but no longer. Ulcerative colitis patients in remission and their diets were followed for a year to see which foods were linked to the return of their bloody diarrhea. Researchers found that the “strongest relationship between a dietary factor and an increased risk of relapse observed in this study was for a high intake of meat,” as I discuss in my video The Best Diet for Ulcerative Colitis Treatment.

    What if people lower their intake of sulfur-containing amino acids by decreasing their consumption of animal products? Researchers tried this on four ulcerative colitis patients, and without any change in their medications, the patients experienced about a fourfold improvement in their loose stools. In fact, they felt so much better that the researchers didn’t think it was ethical to try switching the patients back to their typical diets. “Sulfur-containing amino acids are the primary source of dietary sulfur,” so a “low-sulfur” diet essentially means “a shift from a more traditional western diet (high in animal protein and fat, and low in fiber) to more of a plant-based diet (high in fiber, lower in animal protein and fat).” “Altogether, westernized diets are pro-inflammatory, and PBD [plant-based diets] are anti-inflammatory.”

    What can treatment with a plant-based diet do after the onset of ulcerative colitis during a low-carbohydrate weight-loss diet? A 36-year-old man lost 13 pounds on a low-carb diet, but he also lost his health; he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. When he was put on a diet centered around whole plant foods, his symptoms resolved without medication. He achieved remission. That was just one case, though. Case reports are akin to glorified anecdotes. The value of case reports lies in their ability to inspire researchers to put them to the test, and that’s exactly what they did.

    Until then, there had never been a study published that focused on using plant-based diets for treating ulcerative colitis. Wrote the researchers, a group of Japanese gastroenterologists, “We consider that the lack of a suitable diet is the biggest issue faced in the current treatment of IBD. We regard IBD as a lifestyle disease caused mainly by our omnivorous (Western) diet. We have been providing a plant-based diet (PBD) to all patients with IBD” for more than a decade and have published extraordinary results, far better than have been reported elsewhere in the medical literature to date. (I profiled some of their early work in one of the first videos that went up on NutritionFacts.org.) The researchers found a plant-based diet to be “effective in the maintenance of remission” in Crohn’s disease by 100 percent at one year and 90 percent at two years. What about a plant-based diet for relapse prevention in ulcerative colitis?

    “Educational hospitalization” involved bringing patients into the hospital to control their diet and educate them about the benefits of plant-based eating (so they’d be more motivated to continue it at home). “Most patients (77%) experienced some improvement, such as disappearance or decrease of bloody stool during hospitalization.” Fantastic!

    Here’s the really exciting part. The researchers then followed the patients for five years, and 81 percent of them remained in remission for the entire five years, and 98 percent kept the disease at bay for at least one year. That blows away other treatments. Those relapse rates are far lower than those reported with medication. Under conventional treatment, other studies found that about half of the individuals relapse, compared to only 2 percent of those taught to eat healthier.

    “A PBD was previously shown to be effective in both the active and quiescent stages of Crohn’s disease. The current study showed that a PBD is effective in both the active and quiescent stages of UC as well.” So, the researchers did another study on even more severely affected cases with active disease and found the same results, with plant-based eating beating conventional drug therapy by far. People felt so much better that they were still eating more plant-based food even six years later. The researchers conclude that a plant-based diet is effective for treating ulcerative colitis to prevent a relapse.

    Why? Well, plant-based diets are rich in fiber, which feeds our good gut bugs. “This observation might partly explain why a PBD prevents a variety of chronic diseases. Indeed, the same explanation applies to IBD, indicating that replacing an omnivorous diet with a PBD in IBD is the right approach.” 
     
    It’s like using plant-based diets to treat the cause of heart disease, our number one killer. Plant-based eating isn’t only safer and cheaper, but it also works better with no noted adverse side effects. Let’s compare that to the laundry list of side effects of immunosuppressants used for ulcerative colitis, like cyclosporine, which you can see below and at 5:40 in my video. 

    We now have even fancier drugs costing about $60,000 a year, about $5,000 a month, and they don’t even work very well; clinical remission at one year is only about 17 to 34 percent. And, instead of no adverse side effects, the drugs can give us a stroke, give us heart failure, and can even give us cancer, including a rare type of cancer that often results in death. Also, a serious brain disease known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, which can kill us, and for which there is no known treatment or cure. One drug lists an “increased risk of death” but touts that it’s just “a small pill” in an “easy-to-open bottle.” I’d skip the pills (and their potential side effects) and stick with plant-based eating.

    Doctor’s Note:

    If you missed the previous video, see Preventing Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Diet and stay tuned for The Best Diet for Crohn’s Disease Treatment, coming up next. 
     
    Check the related posts below for some older videos on IBD that may be of interest to you.



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  • Q&A with Dr Tim Crowe

    Q&A with Dr Tim Crowe


    You asked, we answered. In this myth-busting Q&A, we’re joined by leading science communicator and Advanced APD Dr Tim Crowe – the voice behind the Thinking Nutrition blog and podcast. From intermittent fasting to protein fixation, Tim shares practical, evidence-based insights to help dietitians cut through the noise and stay sharp on the science.

    Hosted by Brooke Delfino

    Biography

    Dr Tim Crowe is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian who has spent most of his career in the world of university nutrition teaching and research. He now works chiefly as a freelance health and medical writer, scientific consultant and science communicator. He has an active media profile and a large social media following through his Thinking Nutrition blog and podcast that he uses to educate the public by simplifying complex nutritional concepts.

    In this episode, we discuss:

    • Intermittent fasting – what does the science say?
    • The nuance of ultra-processed foods
    • Creatine for fatigue, brain health and beyond
    • Seed oils – science vs scare tactics
    • Why protein is popping up everywhere

    Additional resources

    The content, products and/or services referred to in this podcast are intended for Health Care Professionals only and are not, and are not intended to be, medical advice, which should be tailored to your individual circumstances. The content is for your information only, and we advise that you exercise your own judgement before deciding to use the information provided. Professional medical advice should be obtained before taking action. The reference to particular products and/or services in this episode does not constitute any form of endorsement. Please see  here  for terms and conditions.


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  • Foods That Disrupt Our Microbiome

    Foods That Disrupt Our Microbiome

    Eating a diet filled with animal products can disrupt our microbiome faster than taking an antibiotic.

    If you search online for “Crohn’s disease and diet” or “ulcerative colitis and diet,” the top results are a hodgepodge of conflicting advice, as you can see below and at 0:15 in my video Preventing Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Diet. 

    What does science say? A systematic review of the medical literature on dietary intake and the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease finds that Crohn’s disease is associated with the intake of fat and meat, whereas dietary fiber and fruits appear protective. The same associations are seen with ulcerative colitis, the other major inflammatory bowel disease—namely, increased risk with fat and meat, and a protective association with vegetable intake. 

    Why, according to this meta-analysis of nine separate studies, do meat consumers have about a 50 percent greater risk for inflammatory bowel disease? One possibility is that meat may be a vehicle for bacteria that play a role in the development of such diseases. For instance, meat contains “huge amounts of Yersinia.” It’s possible that antibiotic residues in the meat itself could be theoretically mucking with our microbiome, but Yersinia are so-called psychotropic bacteria, meaning they’re able to grow at refrigerator temperatures, and they’ve been found to be significantly associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This supports the concept that Yersinia infection may be a trigger of chronic IBD.

    Animal protein is associated with triple the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, but plant protein is not, as you can see below and at 1:39 in my video. Why? One reason is that animal protein can lead to the formation of toxic bacterial end products, such as hydrogen sulfide, the rotten egg gas. Hydrogen sulfide is not just “one of the main malodorous compounds in human flatus”; it is a “poison that has been implicated in ulcerative colitis.” So, if you go on a meat-heavy, low-carb diet, we aren’t talking just about some “malodorous rectal flatus,” but increased risk of irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel syndrome (ulcerative colitis), and eventually, colorectal cancer. 

    Hydrogen sulfide in the colon comes from sulfur-containing amino acids, like methionine, that are concentrated in animal proteins. There are also sulfites added as preservatives to some nonorganic wine and nonorganic dried fruit, but the sulfur-containing amino acids may be the more important of the two. When researchers gave people increasing quantities of meat, there was an exponential rise in fecal sulfides, as seen here and at 2:37 in my video. 

    Specific bacteria, like Biophilia wadsworthia, can take this sulfur that ends up in our colon and produce hydrogen sulfide. Eating a diet based on animal products, packed with meat, eggs, and dairy, can specifically increase the growth of this bacteria. People underestimate the dramatic effect diet can have on our gut bacteria. As shown below and at 3:12 in my video, when people are given a fecal transplant, it can take three days for their microbiome to shift. Take a powerful antibiotic like Cipro, and it can take a week. But if we start eating a diet heavy in meat and eggs, within a single day, our microbiome can change—and not for the better. The bad bacterial machinery that churns out hydrogen sulfide can more than double, and this is consistent with the thinking that “diet-induced changes to the gut microbiota [flora] may contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel disease.” In other words, the increase in sulfur compounds in the colon when we eat meat “is not only of interest in the field of flatology”—the study of human farts—“but may also be of importance in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis…” 

    Doctor’s Note:

    This is the first in a three-part video series. Stay tuned for The Best Diet for Ulcerative Colitis Treatment and The Best Diet for Crohn’s Disease Treatment. 



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  • Skincare as You Age Infographic

    When I dove into the scientific research for my book How Not to Age, I uncovered the best ways we can care for our skin as we mature. What are the most important lifestyle factors? The best topical creams? Are there any beneficial procedures? This infographic summarizes the main takeaways.

    skincare infographic 1

    skincare infographic 2

    skincare infographic 3

    skincare infographic 4

    Get this infographic as a downloadable PDF with citations here.

    For more details about the studies referenced in this infographic, watch the related videos for free on NutritionFacts.org’s YouTube channel or on our website’s Anti-aging topic page.



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  • Supporting iron intake when starting solids

    Supporting iron intake when starting solids

    Why is iron so important in the early years, and how can dietitians help families get it right from the start? In this follow-up episode from our hugely popular Paediatric Symposium, Associate Professor Ewa Szymlek-Gay dives into the science and practicalities of iron nutrition in babies and toddlers – from starting solids to supplements. A must-listen for dietitians working in paediatrics, maternal health or family nutrition.

    Hosted by Brooke Delfino

    Biography

    Associate Professor Ewa Szymlek-Gay leads a research program focusing on micronutrients and health at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University. She has over 20 years of experience investigating micronutrient absorption and requirements; the aetiology and consequences of micronutrient deficiencies and excess; and strategies to enhance the content and bioavailability of micronutrients in the diets of at-risk populations in low-and high-resource countries, and the impact of these interventions on functional outcomes.

     

    In this episode, we discuss:

    • Why iron matters in early childhood

    • When and how to introduce iron-rich foods

    • Iron-rich options for baby-led weaning

    • Practical tips for vegetarian and plant-based families

    • Iron enhancers and inhibitors explained

    Additional resources

    • Click here to catch up on our Paediatric Symposium ‘A journey through early life nutrition’

    • Click here to download or order free resources from the MLA Healthy Meals website

    Supported by 

    The content, products and/or services referred to in this podcast are intended for Health Care Professionals only and are not, and are not intended to be, medical advice, which should be tailored to your individual circumstances. The content is for your information only, and we advise that you exercise your own judgement before deciding to use the information provided. Professional medical advice should be obtained before taking action. The reference to particular products and/or services in this episode does not constitute any form of endorsement. Please see  here  for terms and conditions.

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