A Whole Food Plant Based Diet

[Applause]

i’m vegan

now in saying that i’m giving some

credence to a myth

perpetrated by some non-vegans the joke

being

how do you know someone’s vegan

don’t worry they’ll tell you

now

the theme of these tedx talks is

regeneration

a look at the world of tomorrow its

science

its health

its economics its

and i want to talk about health

in particular

about what we need to do

to improve the health

of human beings

now at this point i need to make it

absolutely clear

i’m not a doctor

nor am i offering medical advice

however i am a biologist

and what i’m going to say is based on my

understanding

of how the body works

and indeed on my own experience

in his introduction to

the man who mistook his wife for a hat

oliver sacks refers

to the quintessential

human condition

of sickness

he says animals get diseases

but it’s only humans who fall radically

into sickness

and he quotes the 19th century

philosopher nietzsche

as for sickness

are we not almost tempted to ask

whether we could get along without it

the problem is

that so many people believe that

sickness

and poor health

is a normal part of the human condition

and that all others should expect to be

unwell from time to time

and many will suffer from long-term

chronic disease

the nhs and other health authorities

around the world

are battling against a rising tide of

chronic disease coronary heart disease

cancer type 2 diabetes and so many more

all of which are contributing to

people’s lives

being cut short

why is it

that we’re not stumbling over the bodies

of other animals

dying on a regular basis

from these diseases

why is it that we’re not tripping over

obese mice or rabbits

why is it that we’re not surrounded by

the corpses

of magpies or pigeons

having fallen from the skies following

massive heart attacks

well the reason as oliver sacks says

is

that such sickness is

quintessentially human

and these sorts of diseases simply don’t

exist

in other species

of animals

so why is it

that the health services around the

world

are struggling to cope

and in fact the situation only appears

to be getting worse

the reason i would contend

lies in what people eat

to reduce or even eliminate

all this chronic disease

the answer lies not

in more drugs and medication

but in advising people

on what they eat

there’s a huge amount of evidence

beginning to suggest that if people were

to adopt a plant-based diet

then all of this chronic disease

would disappear

so how have we got into this situation

it’s explained very well in rohan

milson’s book

why animals aren’t food

milson suggests that what people eat

can be put into three categories

number one

animal products

meat

dairy and eggs

number two

processed

refined

manufactured products

the sorts of things that are sold in

packets with a list of ingredients

the supermarket shelves are full of them

and milson

and many other people refer to these

products

as junk

number three are plants

whole unprocessed plants

consumed as close as possible

to the form in which they have grown

and been harvested

milson argues

that it’s only the third of these

whole plants which promote good health

reduce chronic disease

and should be regarded as food

the first two categories animal products

and processed products should not be

regarded as food

and it is the consumption of these

that causes so much sickness

and chronic disease

advocates

of a plant-based diet for health

promote the consumption of only whole

plants

and they refer to this

as a whole food

plant-based diet

now it’s very clear that all chronic

disease

is caused by a similar number of

underlying factors these include chronic

inflammation

oxidative stress and atherosclerosis

the laying down of fatty material

inside blood vessels

and these conditions are further

exacerbated

by the development of a less than

healthy population of bacteria in our

gut

so why is it

that animal products and refined

products

promote such poor health

well in short

animal products contain many components

which are detrimental to our health

they’re either carcinogenic

or they cause

chronic inflammation

oxidative stress and atherosclerosis

and they’re certainly not conducive to

the development

of a healthy population of gut bacteria

the so-called gut flora or gut

microbiome

of particular importance

is the fact that animal products

contain no fiber whatsoever

and it’s impossible to over emphasize

the importance of fiber

in a healthy diet

as far as processed refined foods are

concerned what everyone needs to

understand

is that these are manufactured according

to recipes and created in factories

they’re composed in such a way that

people will enjoy eating them and will

want to come back for more

but they contain ridiculously high

levels of salt

sugar and fat

and they’re certainly not the types of

products that our digestive system is

designed to process

and they certainly don’t encourage

a healthy

population of gut

bacteria

so where’s the evidence

well most people

won’t take these claims at face value

the power of a plant-based diet to

promote good health

and eliminate chronic disease

in 2005

t colin campbell a professor of

nutritional biochemistry at cornell

university in america

published the china study

after several decades of investigation

he came to the conclusion

that the types

number

and distribution of cancers all across

china

were entirely

diet related

in 2006 neil barnard published his

program

for reversing diabetes

a scientifically proven system

for reversing diabetes

without drugs

he has demonstrated time and time again

that type 2 diabetes can be reversed on

a plant-based diet

quickly

and easily

in 2007

dr coldwell b esselstyn a cardiologist

from cleveland ohio

published

prevent

and reverse

heart disease

based on his experience of treating his

heart patients

by giving them advice on a plant-based

diet

rather than resorting to drugs

or surgery he also demonstrated that

coronary heart disease need never exist

and it’s entirely

diet related

so are the authorities taking much

notice well i think that’s probably

quite hard to say

but what i do know is there are more and

more doctors and health professionals

beginning to realize

the huge health benefits

of a plant-based diet

and are starting to advise their

patients on what they should be eating

rather than immediately

resorting to more drugs

and medication

as long as 1985 neil barnard in america

founded the physicians committee for

responsible medicine

their mission statement is

the physicians committee is dedicated

to saving and improving human and animal

lives

through plant-based diets

as well as effective and ethical

scientific

research

in 2018

plant-based health professionals uk

was launched by dr shireen kasam a

consultant hematologist at king’s

college hospital in london

the purpose initially was to organize

plant-based health conferences to bring

together like-minded individuals

to exchange views and ideas

and generally promote the huge health

benefits

of a plant-based diet

their mission statement is

to provide education

and advocacy

on healthy plant-based diets

for health professionals the public

and policy makers

earlier this year after two years of

consultation

henry dimbleby and his committee

published the uk’s national food

strategy

they are in no doubt

that the type of diet consumed here in

the uk

is contributing to very poor health i

quote

how have we ended up with a food system

that can feed the world

but makes us so ill

it’s bizarre but not surprising that

here in the uk we can buy 28 different

kinds of kit kat

a chocolate snack is an easier sell than

runner beans and therefore a more

interesting

commercial proposition

18 of the largest food and drinks

companies

rely on product portfolios

85 percent of which are considered so

unhealthy

has to be unsuitable to be marketed to

children

under world health organization

guidelines

children’s diets are simply not good

enough

during primary school age obesity rates

more than double

and on average

a secondary or primary school

student

fails to consume the daily recommended

five portions

of fruit and veg a day

and actually

no age group or income quintile meets

that recommendation

the uk

climate change committee has suggested

that if we’re to meet

zero emissions by 2050

we need to cut our meat consumption by

between 20 and 50 percent

the national food strategy have

suggested

we need to target a 30 reduction

in the next 10 years

and i want to finish with another quote

from t colin campbell

he’s recently published a book called

the future of nutrition

and he refers to the typical american

american diet as actually being

malnutrition

and i’m sure it applies here equally in

the uk

and he says

malnutrition

is undoubtedly

the main

cause

of death

thank you

[Applause]

you