McDougall Diet
Replies
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The problem with oils is the processing. It uses nasty chemicals. Stick to cold pressed.0
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singingflutela ... Well, that's great to hear that some can cure themselves of a disease by eliminating dairy. I don't think that should really shock anyone. He's not attributing that to himself or his diet, he merely mentioned in the text you posted that some of the patients have gotten rid of the disease by stopping with diary ... I really don't see that as shocking or weird or ... quackish. Where I live it's well known that many folks are sensitive to diary and if one has an issue related to digestion, the number one suggestion of a doctor with two brain cells to rub together is - stop eating dairy ...
It's shocking because eliminating dairy does not cure ulcerative colitis. If stopping dairy "cured" their uc they didn't have uc to begin with. Sure it might help if they have lactose intolerance or an allergy but it's not a cure for UC. There is no cure to uc other than a proctocolectomy. It's an autoimmune disease not a sensitivity to dairy.15 -
RuNaRoUnD ... I hear what you're saying. But you are just assuming I am in this to lose weight. I don't need to lose weight. I'm in a healthy weight range, healthy body fat range, I want to do this for other reason - mainly to reduce amount of inflammation in my system that this doctor claims is from eating animal products and meat. One thing I have a bit of a problem with is that he wants folks to also stay away from vegetable oils ... I also see vegan diet as one of the main ways to solve our global environmental degradation problem. I am very well aware of how weigh gain works. Never had problem figuring that one out as it's first grade math problem.
Then I'm confused why you talked about being a size 0/00 then.
That suggests to me that you wanted to lose weight as well as wanting to reduce inflammation with this sham diet.
I eat a lot of anti inflammatory foods due to a medical problem I have. A large part of my diet is tuna, salmon, mackerel, sardines, nuts, seeds etc.
Being vegan is a lot more than just a WOE, it is a total mind set not just about foods.
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callsitlikeiseeit ... I'm not in it for weight loss. I don't need to lose weight. I have an autoimmune disease called psoriasis and I want to get rid of it before it does more damage to my system. Unforunately, there is no formal cure for it and it is considered 'incurable,' which I don't buy. What I do buy is that the cure really is the food we eat. Now, we can discuss which food is the biggest culprit ... McDougall claims it is meat and dairy. I've been wanting to go vegan for a while, so that really is not an issue for me ... I do however have a bit of an issue with him being against vegetable oils. I was wondering if I could get in touch with anyone that has tried the diet and discuss with them the pros and the cons.
I have psoriatic arthritis and a couple of other autoimmune diseases.
There's no food cure.
Charlatans want to convince you that there are food cures to diseases to sell you books where they write about their miracle food combinations.
In some cases, allergic reactions trigger things in people, but that is not the likely cause in the overwhelming majority of autoimmune conditions. Most of them are genetic. What causes the genes to express themselves is another issue. In my case, it's been quite clearly stress to my body, in a lot of other cases, they triggering event has been tied to an illness.14 -
feisty_bucket ... yeah, idiotic. Anything that advocates for more meat-consumption is idiotic in my book. I don't see him as a quack. There are more reasons to go vegan besides weight loss. Believe it or not, some of us don't actually need to lose weight nor want to, yet they still want to improve their health / health of the entire planet.
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I would recommend checking out Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He has a book called Eat to Live. It's also about the vegan way of life. And the recipies this guy has on his site are AMAZING, and there are thousands.
I'm a meat eater myself, but I learned so much reading his books.2 -
GottaBurnEm ... I see what you are saying. That said, the man has so many testimonials from folks that saw a major decline in their symptoms especially in those with RA (rheumatoid arthritis), that I simply can't overlook that. I also don't see how he could be a quack considering all he advocates for is pretty much a vegan diet, minus the vegetable oils. I mean, even on his website, folks are recommending me another author's books for recipes and inspiration ... He just doesn't strike me as a charlatan. There are others that do (they usually are not actual medical doctors + internists), but he seems legit to me. Can I vouch for that? No, but I've never been a diet follower. I've actually never ever followed a diet in my life. I've only been a vegan because of animal welfare before.
I myself actually believe that most of our ailments come from food. I know how food affects me. I know how I feel after I eat a huge sugar filled candy bar vs. salad with no dressing or oil. I can totally see that if the lining of our intestine gets eroded, it allows things to enter our bloodstream that were never meant to and that can kick off an autoimmune reaction. This is something that not only McDougall says, there are a plethora of other docs that say the very same thing.
What would it cost to follow a vegan diet for a month to see if anything gets better? Can't hurt. Literally - cannot hurt.
IN my case, my psoriasis was kicked off by a strep throat infection. I have it super mild - it persists only on my scalp, but it's not bad, if I leave it alone, it doesn't bother me, if I start digging, I'm digging myself into a hole... I have a spot or two somewhere on my body from time to time, but nothing that actually bothers me. I've recently started having an issue with my big toe joint, which can also be due to bad shoes and a shoulder pain that can also be due to imbalance of my spine due to my scoliosis/lordosis that I've had since I was born ... I don't really want to find out what is causing it, I just want to lower the level of inflammation (or completely eliminate it) in my body and going vegan sounds great to my animal loving ears (except the vegetable oil - what's up with the vegetable oil).
I'm a little let down because I started this thread to get more support, not to have people talk me down from it and call the author of the diet a quack ... without an iota of proof.0 -
YvetteK2015 Thanks! Finally someone without a bunch of negativity to throw my way! I've also seen a talk by him - Dr. Fuhrman. I will look into this1
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callsitlikeiseeit ... I'm not in it for weight loss. I don't need to lose weight. I have an autoimmune disease called psoriasis and I want to get rid of it before it does more damage to my system. Unforunately, there is no formal cure for it and it is considered 'incurable,' which I don't buy. What I do buy is that the cure really is the food we eat. Now, we can discuss which food is the biggest culprit ... McDougall claims it is meat and dairy. I've been wanting to go vegan for a while, so that really is not an issue for me ... I do however have a bit of an issue with him being against vegetable oils. I was wondering if I could get in touch with anyone that has tried the diet and discuss with them the pros and the cons.
No offense, but if you believe the entire medical industry is lying to you and that there is in fact a food cure that's being hidden... I'm willing to bet you are only going to listen to the people here that say what you want to hear. It would be awesome if there was a cure, especially one as simple as changing your diet, but it's just not true. There is no conspiracy to keep it from you. It should give you pause that all of the people out there telling you it can be cured all have something to sell to you. Good luck on your search, but I'm afraid you are going to be disappointed with the results.16 -
GottaBurnEm ... I see what you are saying. That said, the man has so many testimonials from folks that saw a major decline in their symptoms especially in those with RA (rheumatoid arthritis), that I simply can't overlook that. I also don't see how he could be a quack considering all he advocates for is pretty much a vegan diet, minus the vegetable oils. I mean, even on his website, folks are recommending me another author's books for recipes and inspiration ... He just doesn't strike me as a charlatan. There are others that do (they usually are not actual medical doctors + internists), but he seems legit to me. Can I vouch for that? No, but I've never been a diet follower. I've actually never ever followed a diet in my life. I've only been a vegan because of animal welfare before.
I myself actually believe that most of our ailments come from food. I know how food affects me. I know how I feel after I eat a huge sugar filled candy bar vs. salad with no dressing or oil. I can totally see that if the lining of our intestine gets eroded, it allows things to enter our bloodstream that were never meant to and that can kick off an autoimmune reaction. This is something that not only McDougall says, there are a plethora of other docs that say the very same thing.
What would it cost to follow a vegan diet for a month to see if anything gets better? Can't hurt. Literally - cannot hurt.
IN my case, my psoriasis was kicked off by a strep throat infection. I have it super mild - it persists only on my scalp, but it's not bad, if I leave it alone, it doesn't bother me, if I start digging, I'm digging myself into a hole... I have a spot or two somewhere on my body from time to time, but nothing that actually bothers me. I've recently started having an issue with my big toe joint, which can also be due to bad shoes and a shoulder pain that can also be due to imbalance of my spine due to my scoliosis/lordosis that I've had since I was born ... I don't really want to find out what is causing it, I just want to lower the level of inflammation (or completely eliminate it) in my body and going vegan sounds great to my animal loving ears (except the vegetable oil - what's up with the vegetable oil).
I'm a little let down because I started this thread to get more support, not to have people talk me down from it and call the author of the diet a quack ... without an iota of proof.
Isn't the fact that he claims cures for incurable diseases proof enough? That's pretty much the definition of a quack.15 -
There is nothing wrong with a vegan diet. As long as your keep up with your protein. Forget everything else. If this is what you want to do because you want to see if it makes YOU feel better, then just go for it. What do you have to lose? Worse case scenerio, you feel the same. Best case scenerio, you feel great.
Go for it, and good luck!1 -
So if you want to become a vegan why not just.......become a vegan? Why use an arbitrary set of rules that allegedly cures all sorts of ailments?
You enjoyed being vegan before, you liked how you felt and fits with your personal ethics. Nobody has an issue with that.
And what inflammation are you trying to address? Is this something you have seen your doctor about?10 -
VintageFeline ... I have psoriasis guttate (that's an autoimmune disease) and I've recently been having issues with specific joints where I have mild but persistent pain.
I don't go to doctors, I usually try to take care of whatever issue I have on my own and go to a doctor only if it's gotten so bad I cannot manage it on my own. Plus, most doctors do one thing and one thing only: prescribe medication.0 -
VintageFeline ... I have psoriasis guttate (that's an autoimmune disease) and I've recently been having issues with specific joints where I have mild but persistent pain.
I don't go to doctors, I usually try to take care of whatever issue I have on my own and go to a doctor only if it's gotten so bad I cannot manage it on my own. Plus, most doctors do one thing and one thing only: prescribe medication.
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GottaBurnEm ... I see what you are saying. That said, the man has so many testimonials from folks that saw a major decline in their symptoms especially in those with RA (rheumatoid arthritis), that I simply can't overlook that. I also don't see how he could be a quack considering all he advocates for is pretty much a vegan diet, minus the vegetable oils. I mean, even on his website, folks are recommending me another author's books for recipes and inspiration ... He just doesn't strike me as a charlatan. There are others that do (they usually are not actual medical doctors + internists), but he seems legit to me. Can I vouch for that? No, but I've never been a diet follower. I've actually never ever followed a diet in my life. I've only been a vegan because of animal welfare before.
I myself actually believe that most of our ailments come from food. I know how food affects me. I know how I feel after I eat a huge sugar filled candy bar vs. salad with no dressing or oil. I can totally see that if the lining of our intestine gets eroded, it allows things to enter our bloodstream that were never meant to and that can kick off an autoimmune reaction. This is something that not only McDougall says, there are a plethora of other docs that say the very same thing.
What would it cost to follow a vegan diet for a month to see if anything gets better? Can't hurt. Literally - cannot hurt.
IN my case, my psoriasis was kicked off by a strep throat infection. I have it super mild - it persists only on my scalp, but it's not bad, if I leave it alone, it doesn't bother me, if I start digging, I'm digging myself into a hole... I have a spot or two somewhere on my body from time to time, but nothing that actually bothers me. I've recently started having an issue with my big toe joint, which can also be due to bad shoes and a shoulder pain that can also be due to imbalance of my spine due to my scoliosis/lordosis that I've had since I was born ... I don't really want to find out what is causing it, I just want to lower the level of inflammation (or completely eliminate it) in my body and going vegan sounds great to my animal loving ears (except the vegetable oil - what's up with the vegetable oil).
I'm a little let down because I started this thread to get more support, not to have people talk me down from it and call the author of the diet a quack ... without an iota of proof.
He is against a lot of things that are good for you like healthy fats and protein.
Protein doesn't necessarily have to be animal protein to be good for you, and though I am personally a huge fan of starch, and I also personally keep to a low fat diet, I part serious company with him when it comes to his stance on healthy fats like those in olive oil (as you mentioned) and avocado and on the importance of protein ESPECIALLY if anyone is going to be losing weight while eating a certain way OR is getting older and needs to protect against muscle loss.
I also have scoliosis due to degenerative disc diseases.
Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself is just find a good rheumatologist.
Inflammation is a buzz word on health sites on the web right now and depending on whose web site you're reading, a diet that one person claims cures it might cause it in another's eyes (for example, proponents of low carbohydrate diets would see the McDougall diet as being full of inflammation-causing carbohydrate/starchy foods). I am not entirely convinced by any evidence I've ever seen that any effects of food on any inflammatory states in the body are anything other than transitory anyway.
The best way I know to fight inflammation is to reach and maintain a healthy weight and to regularly exercise and get good sleep.8 -
VintageFeline ... I have psoriasis guttate (that's an autoimmune disease) and I've recently been having issues with specific joints where I have mild but persistent pain.
I don't go to doctors, I usually try to take care of whatever issue I have on my own and go to a doctor only if it's gotten so bad I cannot manage it on my own. Plus, most doctors do one thing and one thing only: prescribe medication.
If you are having joint issues secondary to your psoriasis, I'm very sorry, but the sooner you get treatment, the better.
Let me tell you about psoriatic arthritis.
It's an inflammatory condition.
It can be treated at the point where the tissues around your joints are merely inflamed and irritating your joints.
If you persist in not seeing a doctor, you know what happens as the disease progresses untreated? That inflammation begins to damage the joint itself, and then you're in real trouble.
Your choice.
I've chosen better living by chemistry so that I can stay as functional as possible for as long as possible. As it was, my PsA went misdiagnosed for years because my psoriasis is really sneaky. I only have it on my fingernails. For ten years, it worked on my joints without medical/pharmacological intervention while we thought I had fibromyalgia.
I wish I had those ten years back. Maybe my knees and hips and feet would be in much better shape.
Editing to add that medication is not a bad thing. In many cases, it's exactly the best thing for you. I am grateful for all the medications I take. I take Synthroid, because my thyroid doesn't function properly. I take Humira, to help prevent against further joint damage from PsA. Cymbalta and Topamax help manage my chronic migraines and keep me functional.
There was a time when the only one of these medicines I took was Synthroid. I was in massive pain, majorly depressed, agoraphobic, and just about to give up on life because everything felt unbearable.
Being properly treated with medication for medical conditions isn't a weakness. It's wonderful. It lifted me out of depression and gave me hope that I could function like a human being again.
No one gets a medal for toughing it out and bearing it all simply in the name of not taking a pill.23 -
Like Doctor Oz, the man is simply out to make a name for himself and to put money in the bank. Sorry, but no way would I just believe what he has said. Where is the scientific proof? Oh right, he has none because his claims can't be backed by science.8
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Like Doctor Oz, the man is simply out to make a name for himself and to put money in the bank. Sorry, but no way would I just believe what he has said. Where is the scientific proof? Oh right, he has none because his claims can't be backed by science.
Yep, this. I eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet based on actual, legitimate research/studies. I'd never count McDougall/Furhman/Esselstyn etc as legitimate resources though, because of what others have pointed out-they're trying to make a buck by preying on people's fears and desperation. Nothing wrong with a plant based diet if it's done right (one that's balanced and nutrient dense), but I'd steer clear of any guru who claims any certain way of eating is a 'miracle' and is making money off of those claims.
Op, if you're feeling led to become a vegan I'd highly recommend reading from Virginia Messina. She's a dietician who's a vegan and approaches veganism much differently than McDougall. She has a new book out that addresses health and veganism, Even Vegans Die. Her website has lots of great info as well http://www.theveganrd.com/
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crazyycatladyy1 wrote: »Like Doctor Oz, the man is simply out to make a name for himself and to put money in the bank. Sorry, but no way would I just believe what he has said. Where is the scientific proof? Oh right, he has none because his claims can't be backed by science.
Yep, this. I eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet based on actual, legitimate research/studies. I'd never count McDougall/Furhman/Esselstyn etc as legitimate resources though, because of what others have pointed out-they're trying to make a buck by preying on people's fears and desperation. Nothing wrong with a plant based diet if it's done right (one that's balanced and nutrient dense), but I'd steer clear of any guru who claims any certain way of eating is a 'miracle' and is making money off of those claims.
Op, if you're feeling led to become a vegan I'd highly recommend reading from Virginia Messina. She's a dietician who's a vegan and approaches veganism much differently than McDougall. She has a new book out that addresses health and veganism, Even Vegans Die. Her website has lots of great info as well http://www.theveganrd.com/
I don't know about the other guys, but Furham is good. He has a family practice and has no problem medicating his patients if they need it. He just advocated a plant based diet. I've used his cook books and I can tell you, they are very balanced, and nutrient dense.0 -
YvetteK2015 wrote: »crazyycatladyy1 wrote: »Like Doctor Oz, the man is simply out to make a name for himself and to put money in the bank. Sorry, but no way would I just believe what he has said. Where is the scientific proof? Oh right, he has none because his claims can't be backed by science.
Yep, this. I eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet based on actual, legitimate research/studies. I'd never count McDougall/Furhman/Esselstyn etc as legitimate resources though, because of what others have pointed out-they're trying to make a buck by preying on people's fears and desperation. Nothing wrong with a plant based diet if it's done right (one that's balanced and nutrient dense), but I'd steer clear of any guru who claims any certain way of eating is a 'miracle' and is making money off of those claims.
Op, if you're feeling led to become a vegan I'd highly recommend reading from Virginia Messina. She's a dietician who's a vegan and approaches veganism much differently than McDougall. She has a new book out that addresses health and veganism, Even Vegans Die. Her website has lots of great info as well http://www.theveganrd.com/
I don't know about the other guys, but Furham is good. He has a family practice and has no problem medicating his patients if they need it. He just advocated a plant based diet. I've used his cook books and I can tell you, they are very balanced, and nutrient dense.
He claims that his woe reverses diabetes, 'detoxes' the body etc etc. From his site-Harness your body’s tremendous power to heal itself through proper nutrition
You don’t have to live with a debilitating, chronic disease—the Nutritarian diet allows you to take control of your health destiny through superior nutrition
More claims of 'miracles'. He also sells everything from supplements to salad dressings, and retreats where all your problems will be fixed, for a price
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