McDougall Diet

misch_ka
misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello!

Is anyone here on the McDougall diet - or heard of it or is interested in it?

I've just listened to a lot of various videos on YouTube about this diet and I'm intrigued to say the least.

The diet is a vegan one with huge focus on starches (rice, potatoes, etc.). The doctor claims that it has huge anti-inflammatory benefits and has even improved/gotten rid of symptoms of MS (multiple sclerosis) and RA (rheumatoid arthritis) for which there otherwise is no cure.

I have to say that I was vegan once before and I was at my healthiest then. But I was also much younger back then ... from when I was 19 years old to perhaps 23 and I was stopped on the street, all the time, by other women asking me what do I do to get such amazing skin and hair ... Not to mention I was a size 0/00 without any effort whatsoever.

I think I'm going for this, folks, I've ordered the book on the diet + a recipe book and I would LOVE to meet other folks that are either interested in this or actively doing this ...
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Replies

  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2017
    Alatariel75 - what is it caused by then? I'm honestly asking as I don't know. Also, I don't think he claims to 'cure' it ... I haven't seen such a claim at least.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    RuNaRoUnD ... I don't think that's even the name. I just called it that as he is the one that came up with it.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    As someone who reacts to chemicals I can see much in the argument that modern life contributes to much which ails us. We are exposed to all sorts of chemicals in our environment in things from carpets, to floor tiles to general clothing, vehicle emissions and the buildings we live in and that is before we come to our food. The problem is there is and never will be one clear answer because our individual bodies will always react differently to contaminants. Probably understanding the ways our bodies eliminate toxins would give future generation better hope, that has to be preferable to forgoing much we take for granted. Many health problems are put down to our food and as other societies which have adopted the western diet they have acquired the same health problems it may help if we can reintroduce the environment they have before the change in diet because a key could be there.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    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.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2017
    singingflutela ... Did he? The only thing I've witnessed on the videos I watched was testimonials of those that have had success with the diet. Testimonials from folks.

    The thing is, I am not here to speak for him and defend his diet, but it looks super interesting for me and better than 99.9% of the diets out there - especially the idiotic LCHF diets ...

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    anything named after someone is just trying to make that someone money.

    learn what your deficit is. eat to that. whatever you like. learn to weigh your food.

    i eat whatever i want and have lost 80 pounds and am still going. i just eat a lot less than i used to.

    ps: starches dont have a lot of nutrients.
  • Unknown
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  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    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.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2017
    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.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2017
    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 ...
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    There might be some truth in meat being a culprit. I had a bad condition on my scalp that I think was psoriasis, but was never medically diagnosed; it could've been dandruff or eczema. I went vegetarian at 19 and it cleared up in a matter of weeks and it rarely flares up now (and when it does, it's just for a couple of days here and there, once every few years or so.) I haven't cut dairy out of my diet and I've never heard of the plan you're suggesting. So my n=1 (and again, it might not be psoriasis; it manifested as a scabby rash on my scalp that was really only obvious to me, when I scratched my head) is that cutting out primary animal protein seems to have gotten a dermatological condition under control.
  • andersenkristen
    andersenkristen Posts: 2 Member
    Wow. Quite the backlash. You already did the diet (VEGAN) and obviously had a good result. I have done it on and off and would like to commit to it. The trick is not to eat meat substitutes very often (too processed) and the hard part is giving up ice cream although there are better alternatives now. Having said that: Don't be a junk food vegan, you will stay overweight!
  • andersenkristen
    andersenkristen Posts: 2 Member
    The problem with oils is the processing. It uses nasty chemicals. Stick to cold pressed.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    misch_ka wrote: »
    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.
    I'm not particularly low carb, and I'm heavily plant based. A diet that's high in starches would be a disaster for me. So, as the other poster said: to each his/her own.
  • YvetteK2015
    YvetteK2015 Posts: 654 Member
    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.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    edited May 2017
    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.
  • misch_ka
    misch_ka Posts: 31 Member
    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 this :)
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