Best food for hair as a vegan?

Growdamnit wrote:If I absolutely had to add things to my diet that weren't vegan, what would be good ones?

Growdamnit wrote:How about goat milk? Eggs gross me out.

Hotspur wrote:I guess on a vegan thread, the validity of a vegan diet is due to be questioned. It's unlikely eggs are healthy or promote a healthy head of hair:

https://youtu.be/rO4kdtMq8rs

THis is garbage cholesterol rich foods like egg yolks and liver are nutrient rich foods and are very good for your health especially your cardiovascular system. Eating large amounts of dietary cholesterol doesn't raise serum levels a cholesterol beyond a manageable healthy level. Practically every cell in the human body has the ability to make cholesterol and if the cells aren't getting it from food then they'll simply produce more. Cholesterol is a compound necessary for life and among it's important roles is synthesizing hormones, vitamin D (which kinda is a hormone) and repairing tissue. High levels of serum cholesterol occur when there is epithelial damage (probably from high blood sugar and high blood pressure) and there is a need for excess cholesterol to repair the lining of the blood vessels. When atheromas develop they do have oxidized cholesterol in them but that has nothing to do with eating foods containing cholesterol. You're a shit doctor, you suck

Most of us grew up being told that foods like red meat, eggs and bacon raise our cholesterol levels. This idea is so deeply ingrained in our cultural psyche that few people even question it. But is it really true?

The diet-heart hypothesis—which holds that eating cholesterol and saturated fat raises cholesterol in our blood—originated with studies in both animals and humans more than half a century ago. However, more recent (and higher quality) evidence doesn’t support it.On any given day, we have between 1,100 and 1,700 milligrams of cholesterol in our body. 25% of that comes from our diet, and 75% is produced inside of our bodies by the liver. Much of the cholesterol that’s found in food can’t be absorbed by our bodies, and most of the cholesterol in our gut was first synthesized in body cells and ended up in the gut via the liver and gall bladder. The body tightly regulates the amount of cholesterol in the blood by controlling internal production; when cholesterol intake in the diet goes down, the body makes more. When cholesterol intake in the diet goes up, the body makes less.

This explains why well-designed cholesterol feeding studies (where they feed volunteers 2-4 eggs a day and measure their cholesterol) show that dietary cholesterol has very little impact on blood cholesterol levels in about 75% of the population. The remaining 25% of the population are referred to as “hyper-responders”. In this group, dietary cholesterol does modestly increase both LDL (“bad cholesterol” and HDL (“good cholesterol”), but it does not affect the ratio of LDL to HDL or increase the risk of heart disease. (2)

In other words, eating cholesterol isn’t going to give you a heart attack. You can ditch the egg-white omelettes and start eating yolks again. That’s a good thing, since all of the 13 essential nutrients eggs contain are found in the yolk. Egg yolks are an especially good source of choline, a B-vitamin that plays important roles in everything from neurotransmitter production to detoxification to maintenance of healthy cells. (3) Studies show that up to 90% of Americans don’t get enough choline, which can lead to fatigue, insomnia, poor kidney function, memory problems and nerve-muscle imbalances. (4)

What about saturated fat? It’s true that some studies show that saturated fat intake raises blood cholesterol levels. But these studies are almost always short-term, lasting only a few weeks. (5) Longer-term studies have not shown an association between saturated fat intake and blood cholesterol levels. In fact, of all of the long-term studies examining this issue, only one of them showed a clear association between saturated fat intake and cholesterol levels, and even that association was weak. (6)

Moreover, studies on low-carbohydrate diets (which tend to be high in saturated fat) suggest that they not only don’t raise blood cholesterol, they have several beneficial impacts on cardiovascular disease risk markers. For example, a meta-analysis of 17 low-carb diet trials covering 1,140 obese patients published in the journal Obesity Reviews found that low-carb diets neither increased nor decreased LDL cholesterol. However, they did find that low-carb diets were associated with significant decreases is body weight as well as improvements in several CV risk factors, including decreases in triglycerides, fasting glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, abdominal circumference, plasma insulin and c-reactive protein, as well as an increase in HDL cholesterol. (7)

If you’re wondering whether saturated fat may contribute to heart disease in some way that isn’t related to cholesterol, a large meta-analysis of prospective studies involving close to 350,000 participants found no association between saturated fat and heart disease. ( A Japanese prospective study that followed 58,000 men for an average of 14 years found no association between saturated fat intake and heart disease, and an inverse association between saturated fat and stroke (i.e. those who ate more saturated fat had a lower risk of stroke). (9)

That said, just as not everyone responds to dietary cholesterol in the same manner, there’s some variation in how individuals respond to dietary saturated fat. If we took ten people, fed them a diet high in saturated fat, and measured their cholesterol levels, we’d see a range of responses that averages out to no net increase or decrease. (If dietary saturated fat does increase your total or LDL cholesterol, the more important question is whether that’s a problem. I’ll address that in the next article in this series.)

Another strike against the diet-heart hypothesis is that many of its original proponents haven’t believed it for at least two decades. In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1991, Ancel Keys, the founder of the diet-heart hypothesis said (10):

Dietary cholesterol has an important effect on the cholesterol level in the blood of chickens and rabbits, but many controlled experiments have shown that dietary cholesterol has a limited effect in humans. Adding cholesterol to a cholesterol-free diet raises the blood level in humans, but when added to an unrestricted diet, it has a minimal effect.

In a 2004 editorial in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, Sylvan Lee Weinberg, former president of the American College of Cardiology and outspoken proponent of the diet-heart hypothesis, said (11):

The low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet… may well have played an unintended role in the current epidemics of obesity, lipid abnormalities, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. This diet can no longer be defended by appeal to the authority of prestigious medical organizations.

We’ve now established that eating cholesterol and saturated fat does not increase cholesterol levels in the blood for most people. In the next article, I’ll debunk the myth that high cholesterol in the blood is the cause of heart disease.

Delphine wrote:Yes, laughably misinformed.  That cholesterol bogeyman is so yesterday.  I have a hard time believing people are still preaching that!

http://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-cholesterol-and-saturated-fat-are-not-the-enemy/Myth #1: Eating cholesterol and saturated fat raises cholesterol levels in the blood.

Most of us grew up being told that foods like red meat, eggs and bacon raise our cholesterol levels. This idea is so deeply ingrained in our cultural psyche that few people even question it. But is it really true?

The diet-heart hypothesis—which holds that eating cholesterol and saturated fat raises cholesterol in our blood—originated with studies in both animals and humans more than half a century ago. However, more recent (and higher quality) evidence doesn’t support it.On any given day, we have between 1,100 and 1,700 milligrams of cholesterol in our body. 25% of that comes from our diet, and 75% is produced inside of our bodies by the liver. Much of the cholesterol that’s found in food can’t be absorbed by our bodies, and most of the cholesterol in our gut was first synthesized in body cells and ended up in the gut via the liver and gall bladder. The body tightly regulates the amount of cholesterol in the blood by controlling internal production; when cholesterol intake in the diet goes down, the body makes more. When cholesterol intake in the diet goes up, the body makes less.

This explains why well-designed cholesterol feeding studies (where they feed volunteers 2-4 eggs a day and measure their cholesterol) show that dietary cholesterol has very little impact on blood cholesterol levels in about 75% of the population. The remaining 25% of the population are referred to as “hyper-responders”. In this group, dietary cholesterol does modestly increase both LDL (“bad cholesterol” and HDL (“good cholesterol”), but it does not affect the ratio of LDL to HDL or increase the risk of heart disease. (2)

In other words, eating cholesterol isn’t going to give you a heart attack. You can ditch the egg-white omelettes and start eating yolks again. That’s a good thing, since all of the 13 essential nutrients eggs contain are found in the yolk. Egg yolks are an especially good source of choline, a B-vitamin that plays important roles in everything from neurotransmitter production to detoxification to maintenance of healthy cells. (3) Studies show that up to 90% of Americans don’t get enough choline, which can lead to fatigue, insomnia, poor kidney function, memory problems and nerve-muscle imbalances. (4)

What about saturated fat? It’s true that some studies show that saturated fat intake raises blood cholesterol levels. But these studies are almost always short-term, lasting only a few weeks. (5) Longer-term studies have not shown an association between saturated fat intake and blood cholesterol levels. In fact, of all of the long-term studies examining this issue, only one of them showed a clear association between saturated fat intake and cholesterol levels, and even that association was weak. (6)

Moreover, studies on low-carbohydrate diets (which tend to be high in saturated fat) suggest that they not only don’t raise blood cholesterol, they have several beneficial impacts on cardiovascular disease risk markers. For example, a meta-analysis of 17 low-carb diet trials covering 1,140 obese patients published in the journal Obesity Reviews found that low-carb diets neither increased nor decreased LDL cholesterol. However, they did find that low-carb diets were associated with significant decreases is body weight as well as improvements in several CV risk factors, including decreases in triglycerides, fasting glucose, blood pressure, body mass index, abdominal circumference, plasma insulin and c-reactive protein, as well as an increase in HDL cholesterol. (7)

If you’re wondering whether saturated fat may contribute to heart disease in some way that isn’t related to cholesterol, a large meta-analysis of prospective studies involving close to 350,000 participants found no association between saturated fat and heart disease. ( A Japanese prospective study that followed 58,000 men for an average of 14 years found no association between saturated fat intake and heart disease, and an inverse association between saturated fat and stroke (i.e. those who ate more saturated fat had a lower risk of stroke). (9)

That said, just as not everyone responds to dietary cholesterol in the same manner, there’s some variation in how individuals respond to dietary saturated fat. If we took ten people, fed them a diet high in saturated fat, and measured their cholesterol levels, we’d see a range of responses that averages out to no net increase or decrease. (If dietary saturated fat does increase your total or LDL cholesterol, the more important question is whether that’s a problem. I’ll address that in the next article in this series.)

Another strike against the diet-heart hypothesis is that many of its original proponents haven’t believed it for at least two decades. In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in 1991, Ancel Keys, the founder of the diet-heart hypothesis said (10):

   Dietary cholesterol has an important effect on the cholesterol level in the blood of chickens and rabbits, but many controlled experiments have shown that dietary cholesterol has a limited effect in humans. Adding cholesterol to a cholesterol-free diet raises the blood level in humans, but when added to an unrestricted diet, it has a minimal effect.

In a 2004 editorial in the Journal of American College of Cardiology, Sylvan Lee Weinberg, former president of the American College of Cardiology and outspoken proponent of the diet-heart hypothesis, said (11):

   The low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet… may well have played an unintended role in the current epidemics of obesity, lipid abnormalities, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndromes. This diet can no longer be defended by appeal to the authority of prestigious medical organizations.

We’ve now established that eating cholesterol and saturated fat does not increase cholesterol levels in the blood for most people. In the next article, I’ll debunk the myth that high cholesterol in the blood is the cause of heart disease.

Anthony

August 6, 2015 at 7:53 pm

Look this is all really obvious. Here’s the kinds of foods that we should all consume to reduce risk of heart disease and many other chronic non-communicable diseases:

1. Proper levels of ‘good healthful fats’. Good healthful fats make good (HDL) cholesterol which removes bad (LDL) cholesterol. Good cholesterol is necessary for making hormones and vitamin D etc… Good healthful fats include:

a. Omega 3 fats found in avocado, flax, fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, grassfed meats and diary etc. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and reduce risk of heart disease.

b. A moderate amount of omega-6 fats found in vegetable oils like canola oil (linoleic acid) and in grassfed meats (conjugated linoleic acid). Excess omega-6 consumption leads to excess of inflammation.

c An omega 6 to omega 3 ratio close to 1:1 and not what most people consume which is closer to 15:1.

d. Good saturated fats. Saturated fats don’t just come from animals and not all saturated fats are bad. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) such as lauric acid are good healthful saturated fats that can be found in high levels in coconut and extra virgin coconut oil (not the bad hydrogenated stuff) and grassfed butter.

2. Low in refined carbs but overall low to moderate amounts of carbs unless you lead a very active lifestyle. Excess carbs are converted to triglycerides which can increase bad cholesterol levels. People who eat a plant based diet tend to also eat more whole foods and whole foods usually contain low GI carbs (in addition to lots of fiber) which means less triglycerides.

3. High in dietary fiber (i.e plant based foods) because it binds excess cholesterol and helps eliminate it from our bodies.

So what’s the issue with meat and dairy and bad cholesterol?

The issue is really the QUALITY of these foods. Grassfed meats, eggs and dairy have a more healthful nutritional profile than their grain fed counterparts with:

4X higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid;
Higher levels of omega-3s;
A more balanced omega 6 to omega 3 ratio;
Higher levels of stearic acid, a saturated fat that does NOT increase bad cholesterol;
Lower total fat content;
Higher beta-carotene levels;
Higher vitamin E;
Higher in the B-vitamins – thiamin and riboflavin;
Higher in calcium, magnesium, and potassium;

So what increases bad cholesterol?

1. Most trans fats (bad fats) i.e. partially hydrogenated Vegetable oil found in some french fries, commercially made cakes, pastries and cookies etc.

Research from the Harvard School of Public Health and elsewhere indicates that trans fats can harm health in even small amounts: for every 2% of calories from trans fat consumed daily, the risk of heart disease rises by 23%.

2. Disproportionately high levels of certain saturated fats like those found in GRAIN FED meats. GRAIN-FED meats and dairy contain higher levels of palmitic acid and myristic acid, 2 saturated fats linked to high cholesterol. Did you know some farmers even feed their cows candy (aka refined carbs)?!?!?

3. Excess consumption of carbs, particularly refined carbs.

4. Excess consumption of omega-6 fats because of their inflammatory properties

So what’s the takeaway from all this?!?!!

1. Know your good fats from bad fats
2. Avoid excess levels of refined carbs and processed foods
3. Get in large amounts of fiber
4. Go for grassfed meats, eggs and dairy

If all this is too much work, follow a plant based (vegan) diet using mostly whole foods. However if you go on a vegan diet and eat mostly white rice, white flour, pasta and french fries cooked in soyabean and corn oil, you can bet you will end up with heart disease and probably end up overweight too!!!

This article and others that Chris Kresser have written are advocating saturated fats and cholesterol from grassfed meats and dairy. But it does not say anywhere to not eat plant based foods.

The proof is there. People need to do their own research and USE COMMON SENSE. Heart disease was not a major issue 100 years ago for meat eaters because they ate a diet higher in complex carbs, grassfed meats and dairy with lots of fiber and much fewer processed foods.

Those of you on HFLC diets be smart about the fats you eat and the sources! Those of you who go HCLF, make sure you get the right carbs and all the good fats. Either diet can cause you health problems if you don’t select healthful foods.

Delphine wrote:

Well, the diet seems to be working for Chris Kresser.  Good head of hair for one thing.
https://www.facebook.com/chriskresserlac/photos/a.212759105443027.80286.212758788776392/819693991416199/?type=3&theater

And Mark Sisson (his girlfriend, too).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=54481070543&set=pb.669305543.-2207520000.1450844484.&type=3&theater

Chris Masterjohn:
https://www.facebook.com/108150349220602/photos/a.144677408901229.22067.108150349220602/536537769715189/?type=3&theater

Yeah...not doing so badly on those "dangerous" animal foods.

So what’s the takeaway from all this?!?!!

1. Know your good fats from bad fats
2. Avoid excess levels of refined carbs and processed foods
3. Get in large amounts of fiber
4. Go for grassfed meats, eggs and dairy

If all this is too much work, follow a plant based (vegan) diet using mostly whole foods. However if you go on a vegan diet and eat mostly white rice, white flour, pasta and french fries cooked in soyabean and corn oil, you can bet you will end up with heart disease and probably end up overweight too!!!

This article and others that Chris Kresser have written are advocating saturated fats and cholesterol from grassfed meats and dairy. But it does not say anywhere to not eat plant based foods.

The proof is there. People need to do their own research and USE COMMON SENSE. Heart disease was not a major issue 100 years ago for meat eaters because they ate a diet higher in complex carbs, grassfed meats and dairy with lots of fiber and much fewer processed foods.

Delphine wrote:
And that's the last post I'm going to contribute to this discussion!  People can believe and do whatever they like.

4039 wrote:I like Kresser and Masterjohn. They know their stuff and are reasoned and not myopic. Yeah the fallacious idea that cholesterol or saturated fat causes heart disease deserves to be removed from public consciousness. Same with the acid vs. alkaline theory, so misguided. It leads some to literally leach calcium from their bones, as if fighting big pharma isn't bad enough.

Delphine wrote:
Low science?  I say the proof is in the pictures.  They all look very healthy, which they should not be
according to the cholesterol phobics.  

Studies "showing" the ill effects of meat consumption most likely are not differentiating between pastured and grainfed animal foods.  
The devil is in the details!

But again, none of them are saying we ought to live on eggs, meat, dairy.  I'll try again with an excerpt from
this comment on Kresser's article.  The bolding is mine:

So what’s the takeaway from all this?!?!!

1. Know your good fats from bad fats
2. Avoid excess levels of refined carbs and processed foods
3. Get in large amounts of fiber
4. Go for grassfed meats, eggs and dairy

If all this is too much work, follow a plant based (vegan) diet using mostly whole foods. However if you go on a vegan diet and eat mostly white rice, white flour, pasta and french fries cooked in soyabean and corn oil, you can bet you will end up with heart disease and probably end up overweight too!!!

This article and others that Chris Kresser have written are advocating saturated fats and cholesterol from grassfed meats and dairy. But it does not say anywhere to not eat plant based foods.

The proof is there. People need to do their own research and USE COMMON SENSE. Heart disease was not a major issue 100 years ago for meat eaters because they ate a diet higher in complex carbs, grassfed meats and dairy with lots of fiber and much fewer processed foods.

And that's the last post I'm going to contribute to this discussion!  People can believe and do whatever they like.

Growdamnit wrote:Shinobi, I'm behind you with veganism, but users like iuyy will completely disagree with the superfoods you said.

4039 wrote:I wouldn't go vegan for ethical reasons, cause there are none. Slave labor grows your produce and builds your digital devices. And living in a rich industrial nation gives us the right to steal from the mouths of poorer nations. Everything we do on this earth is a net negative.

I certainly wouldn't go vegan for health reasons. I don't need science to explain the limitless options existing at the top of the food chain. Not to say that a knowledgeable vegan (fruitarians withstanding) cannot be perfectly healthy, but omnivores are probably most healthy with the least effort.

You truly want to save the world? Garden and buy local.