Smoothie Science and Beet and Ginger Smoothie

M and I recently had the pleasure of a Buenos Aires visit from Dr. Michelle McMacken and her husband. You can see her BYOL posts here and here.

Naturally, we talked about a lot of different vegany (an excellent term coined by her husband) issues – but don’t worry, we balanced all this with a healthy amount of futbol chatter as well!

One afternoon, Dr. McMacken mentioned that she warns her patients against smoothies (even whole food smoothies). To be fair, she is not alone in this stance: Registered Dietitian Jeff Novick, Dr. C Esselstyn, and all of the Engine 2 folks are also against consuming liquid calories.

She explained that smoothies are a bit of a trap for most of her patients who are seeking to lose weight, because they are often very calorie dense. And because those calories are liquid, people often consume more calories than they would if they were eating the same foods.

Fair point.

However, there are some reasons why I think incorporating smoothies into your diet can be a positive thing.

First, for anyone who is a picky veggie eater, whole-food smoothies can be a great way to sneak in lots of good and healthy veggies into your diet. In fact, Mayo Clinic recommends this for picky children. I recently encouraged a college friend who is trying to change his diet to be more plant-forward to try this tactic as well. Maybe it’s not optimal, but it has helped him to lose a significant amount of weight compared to the SAD diet he was eating (no real contest, I know).

There is also some evidence that certain nutrients become more available to our bodies when the cells are disrupted, ie: pulverizing or blending foods. Now for a long time I thought this was just a marketing exploit of Vitamix and Blendtec, but it turns out, there is some evidence to back it up.

A few studies compared particle size and bioavailability and digestion. They found that many nutrients become more bioavailable when the cells of a nutrient are broken. This is one argument for chewing your food well. But the studies also show that no matter how well we chew, we can never masticate as well as a blender, which can break the foods down to a cellular level. These studies showed that the bioavailability of these foods than became greatly improved, particularly B-carotenoids in carrots, and folate from leafy greens.

Furthermore, back to Dr. McMacken’s point, there is some research that suggests that simply slowing down while consuming liquid calories (soups or smoothies) can significantly help our bodies regulate the amount we are consuming, and the thicker that slowly-drank smoothie is, the longer the person will feel satiated.

Smoothies can also be helpful when you are short on time, or if you are going to a place where you know you will not eat well. Slowly drinking a whole food vegetable-based smoothie before going out can help you get some health boosting veggies in.

Overall, I do agree with Dr. McMacken. Smoothies are an occasional tool and shouldn’t be relied upon. They also may not your best choice for weight-loss.

But that said, I do see a place for mostly (green) vegetable smoothies with some added fruit in a healthy diet. I would recommend avoiding all-fruit smoothies, as well as smoothies with added sugars or juices as this fundamentally changes the discussion.

***

Beet and Ginger Smoothie

Keeping all of this in mind, today I’m going to share a delicious beet smoothie which I think even Dr. McMacken would love (actually, I’m almost positive she would!) The recipe is mostly credited to M, although I was her taste tester for several versions of this… Please hold your applause.

Not only is this smoothie comparatively low-calorie and veggie-filled, but it also turns out a beautiful rich Malbec red color (come on, I am in Buenos Aires!) and is filled with health promoting nitrates making it an excellent way to start the day or a pre-workout drink.

Beet and Ginger Smoothie:

Serves 2

1 medium-sized red beet – cubbed

½ large cucumber

6-7 large Kale Leaves

10-15 red grapes

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp maca powder (optional)

1/2” piece of peeled ginger

1 ½ cup of water

Ice

Wash and chop all of the ingredients, and place them into your blender.*

Add the chia, maca, and lemon juice along with the water and ice.

Blend until smooth and enjoy

*If you are not using a high-powered blender like the two brands mentioned above, try cutting the veggies into smaller pieces to make it easier for your blender.

***

Castenmiller, J., C.J. van de Poll, et. al. “Bioavailability of folate from processed spinach in humans. Effect of food matrix and interaction with carotenoids.” Annuals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 44(4) 2000.

 

de Graaf, C. “Why Liquid Energy results in overconsumption,” Procedings of Nutrition Society, May 70 (2) 2011.

L. Lemmens, S., Van Buggenhout, A.M. Van Loey, et. al. “Particle size reduction leading to cell wall rupture is more important for the B-carotene bioaccessibility of raw compared to processed carrots.” Journal of Argriculture and Food Chemistry. Dec. 22,58 (24) 2010.

Ibrugger, S., M. Kristensen et. al. “Flaxseed dietary fiber supplements for suppression of appetite and food intake” Appetite April, 58 (2) 2012.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Apple pie cookies (gluten free and with a raw option)

Some people claim that fall is pumpkin everything, and while I love pumpkin as much as the next person, for me, apple will always make the best fall time desserts!

Recently, I created these cookies to help my close friend celebrate finishing their US medical USMILE examations – a grueling two eight-hour day exam. While we are still awaiting the results of the exam, the cookies turned out to be amazing and since Halloween and Thanksgiving are both right around the corner, I've decided to share this tasty treat with you all. Apple Pie Cookies! These little pie-like patties are perfect to get you in the mood for fall and can be made raw or baked. I baked these.

Makes about 20 cookies

5- 6 red apples, cored (I used a mix of New York grown gala and honey crisp)

1 cup date paste*

½ cup raw almonds

½ cup raw cashews

½ cup old fashioned oats

1 cup raisins

1 handful of cacao nibs (optional)

½ teaspoon of Cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg and clove to taste

* making date paste is easy. Simply put 3-4 dates in a blender or food processor along with ½ cup of water (to start) blend until smooth and add more water incrementally until you have enough. I like to add a teaspoon of maple syrup to round out the flavor. It should be relatively think and very sweet. If you don’t have a high powered blender, soak the dates in the water for a few hours prior to blending to help soften them.

Blend the raw almonds and cashews together until they are roughly ground but not a complete powder. Some small pieces of nuts are ideal. Add the roughly ground nuts and the oats to a mixing bowl.

Now core the apples, and using a food processor with a shredder, shred three and a half of the apples. Set these in the large mixing bowl and now using the slicing attachment, slice the remaining apples so that you have shredded apples as well as sliced apples.

Add the sliced apples to the mixing bowl with the nuts and oats. Add in the raisins and cacao nibs (if using) along with the spices. Add the date paste on top and using your hands, mix all of the ingredients well.

(Raw option): Using your hands, create small cookie sized patties and place them onto your dehydrator’s food trays.  Put into the dehydrator and set to 115° and dehydrate for 15 hours until the cookies are firm.

(Bake option): Using your hands, create small cookie sized patties and place them onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Have the oven preheated to 250°. Place the trays into the oven and cook for 45 minutes, checking the cookies to make sure they don’t burn about half way through. 

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Cumin-spiced Hummus and Gluten-free Lentil Flatbread

I've been told that in certain parts of Asia, every family has their own kimchi recipe. You can travel to a dozen different towns, and in each one, you’ll experience a dozen different varieties of the fermented dish. 

Hummus is like that in the United States… particularly among vegan bloggers. And today I’m going to share with you one of my oil-free hummus’.

Hummus is great as either a snack, appetizer, or as part of dinner. It can be used as a simple dip or used as a dressing. Literally, there is no limit to what you can do with this versatile spread. Typically made from cooked chickpeas, it has a nice blend of the macro-nutrients, and also offers several micro-nutrients as only plant-based foods can provide!

This recipe is for a simple and fast hummus and can be made with either canned or soaked and cooked chickpeas. Feel free to stray from the original recipe and start to create your very own variety!

Makes 2-3 servings

1 or 2 cans of chickpeas or 1 cup cooked chickpeas*

1 teaspoon of tahini

Juice of 1 lemon or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 bayleaf

1 clove of garlic

Cumin seeds (or powder), salt, and black pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor (a hand blender also works well) and blend until smooth and creamy. Slowly add water or veggie broth for desired texture. Taste the hummus and adjust spices and seasoning as needed or desired.

*Pro tip - save the water from the can to use for the hummus

Lentil Flatbread

Now hummus is amazingly healthy, especially when it’s served with veggies like carrots, bell peppers, or cabbage. However, if you are looking for something a little hardier, give this great BYOL-original Lentil and brown rice flatbread a try! Not only is the bread made from whole food ingredients rather than a refined flour, it only requires four essential ingredients, and can be made relatively quickly when in a bind! That being said, I suggest soaking the lentils and rice over night to help with digestibility.

While I’m suggesting pairing it with hummus here, the bread makes great toast with apple butter for breakfast, is perfect with all types of soups, Indian daals and curries, a nice snack with your afternoon mate, and can easily be brought to work or a picnic (It is literally the easiest way to BYOL!) You can also change the thickness by altering how long you let the bread rise and by how thick you make the batter.

Makes One Flatbread loaf

½ cup green or brown lentils (soaked)

½ cup brown rice (soaked)

½ teaspoon or half of an 8 gram packet of Active Dry Yeast

½ teaspoon baking powder*

¼ - ½ cup of veggie broth or water

Add optional spices and herbs such as a bayleaf, basil, or rosemary.

After soaking and rinsing the lentils and rice, put them either in a blender or food processor (again, a hand blender can work well for this). As you blend, slowly add a little bit of water or broth until you start to reach a dough-like consistency. It should be a little runny. Then add the baking powder and active yeast. Now let the mixture sit for 45 minutes to one hour. Pour the batter onto a parchment paper lined baking pan or pizza stone (I often use my cast iron pan) and place into the oven for 20 -25 minutes on 350. Once you’ve achieved the desired crispiness of the bread, remove from the oven and let cool. 

I hope two recipes help power your weekend! 

* If you are highly sensitive to gluten, or have celiac disease, make sure you get a certified gluten-free baking powder. 

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Yerba Mate: A beautiful South American Tradition

As many of you know, I was recently traveling in Buenos Aires. The city is beautiful and rich with tradition. While Buenos Aires operates on a pretty regular schedule, most still practice what is known as “merienda” which is like an afternoon siesta, typically in the middle or later part of the afternoon.  Part of this break includes sharing Yerba Mate (In Argentina it’s pronounce Chur-ba Mate).

Yerba Mate is a South American tea that is most popular in Argentina and Uruguay and in some southern parts of Brazil. It is made by steeping the ground leaves and steams of the yerba mate plant. In America you can find Yerba Mate tea bags, however, that is not how you should enjoy it. Instead, you serve the loose leaf Yerba in a gourd or small container called "mate" (which is Spanish for gourd) and drink small “shots” of tea through a metal straw known as a bombilla (bom-bish-a). 

This is where most American’s get uncomfortable. Because Argentina is a much more open and receptive society (I guess that is a result of not being settled by Puritans!) everyone shares the same mate and the same bombilla. Basically you pour hot (but not boiling) water onto the yerba and then sip the water until there is none left. Then you pour more water in the mate and pass it to the next person. I shared mate with friends while watching Argentina defeat the Netherlands to advance to the World Cup final. It was such a fantastic moment and memory, made all the more special by sharing mate. 

Historically, yerba mate has been being enjoyed since before Europeans arrived on the American continent. In the early 16th century, Juan de Solís, a Spanish explorer of South America's famed La Plata River, reported that the Guarani Indians of Paraguay brewed a leaf tea that "produced exhilaration and relief from fatigue." Today it is commonly drank multiple times a day. Often with toast, jams, or dulce de leche for breakfast or as a snack. 

Good quality Yerba Mate is available both online and in most health food stores in the US, and you can easily find inexpensive mates and bombilla online as well.

What better way than to reconnect with friends and family than by sharing mate while discussing the day?

Besides being a fun way of reconnecting with loved ones, yerba mate also has some amazing health benefits as it contains numerous nutrients. While it does have caffeine, its content varies, and can range between 25 – 75% less caffeine than a standard cup of coffee. However, according to Brendan Brazier, the caffeine in yerba mate does not cause a spike in cortisol the same way coffee does. As a result, some sensitive to the caffeine in coffees and teas may not be impacted by the caffeine in mate. That said, the Argentine futbol star Lionel Messi drinks mate before every single match, to help energize him to perform on the pitch, and former Ironman athlete Brendan Brazier used it before races.

 

The Pope and Lionel Messi both enjoying mate.

Yerba mate has roughly 90% more antioxidants than green tea, making this a true powerhouse drink. It contains vitamins B-1, B-2, A, riboflavin, carotene, colin, pantothenic acid, inositol and 15 types of aminoacids! It also contains a significant quantity of potassium, sodium, and magnesium.

Thanks to the antioxidant called polyphenols, yerba mate can help boost immune function and can also slow the signs of aging while also helping to detox the body. Furthermore, (and I almost feel like Dr. Oz for saying this) but several research article report that the consumption of Yerba Mate can help reduce the accumulation of lipids in adipocytes, (or in common talk, can help reduce fat storage) both of which lead to weight gain. Another study done on post pregnancy women showed that Mate consumption can decrease overall calorie consumption, suggesting that Yerba Mate may help one lose weight, and keep it off once they do.

Perhaps we should all start partaking in the merienda’s of South America! Clearly it will benefit our health! 

  

 

Just a few photos from the trip. Enjoy

Heckman, MA. Et al. “Caffeine in foods: a comprehensive review on consumption, functionality, safety, and regulatory matters.” Journal of Food Science. 2010.

Po, E. et al. “The Effect of Yerba Mate Supplementation on the Productive Performance of Dorper Ewes and their Progeny.” Asian-Australas Journal of Animal Science July 2012.

Kang, Young-Rye et al. “Anti-Obesity and Anti-diabetic effects of Yerba Mate in C57BL mice fed a high-fat diet.” Laboratory Animal Research March 2012.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Beth's Amazing Story

Once again, I'm very happy to share the success of another one of my friends. This story shows the dramatic impact of cleaning one's diet can make. It also shows the benefits that can be gained without without having to go completely one way or another. I'd like to thank Beth and Nick for the opportunity to help them, but also for their willingness to share their successes. I'd also like to publicly congratulate them on their recent engagement! 

The 2013 holiday season came and went, but those extra pounds I inevitably put on during it chose to stay behind. Beyond frustrated and angry at myself for allowing this to happen yet again, I decided “Ok, this weekend is my last hoorah, then I’m going on a strict diet.” That particular weekend, my boyfriend Nick and I planned a day trip to NYC to visit an old college friend, Anthony. Anthony is a dedicated vegan, and when Nick and I told him we were going on diets, his response back to us was, “Don’t diet, change your diet.” Those wise words opened the door to one of the most informative conversations of my life.

Though Anthony has tried to help us change our diets in the past, this time Nick and I actually listened and wanted to learn how we could not just diet to lose those pesky holiday pounds, but also be healthier overall. It’s amazing the things you can learn by being open minded and willing to listen. That day, Anthony even cooked us an awesome vegan lunch, courtesy BYOL’s Green Mac N “Cheese” recipe. Always skeptical that vegan food would never fill me up and leave me still hungry, boy was I pleasantly surprised. It not only tasted awesome, but I was stuffed by the end of my meal.

Along with wanting to lose weight and be healthier, I also work in breast cancer research, and seeing the devastation that this disease affects on women every day also became incentive for me to change my eating habits. It is traumatizing to see how common the disease is and how more common it is becoming in increasingly younger women. When you start to see patients come through the door who are younger than you, and I'm only 26, you begin to realize something is just not right. Everyday at work I ask myself, like many people I’m sure, what is the cause of this disease? Well, after our talk with Anthony, I’m more convinced that diet plays a significant role. There are many things in life we have absolutely no control over, but diet is something that we do. If changing my diet can help lower my risk for not just cancer, but other common diseases, such as heart disease, I know I am doing something right for my body.

So I had my motivation, but now I needed to start somewhere. I always thought I was healthy enough, as ate lots of fruits and vegetables to begin with, exercised and drank lots of water, but it wasn't until I started to cut things out of my diet, that I realized how unhealthy I actually was. And how terribly I was actually feeling. Nick and I both decided to do this together and we started cutting out soda, milk, fast food, a lot of meat and candy. Did we and do we have days where we cheat? Yes, I am the first person to admit we are not perfect, and this change is still a work in progress for both of us. But the progress we have both made so far is pretty amazing.

Since changing my diet, I have lost a solid 15 pounds and kept it off. Being that I am 5’7”, losing 15 pounds is not that noticeable when you look at me, but I am able to feel the difference. I have also struggled with running in the past and I now find running easier. I have more energy, throughout the day and during my workouts, and I just feel better. I don’t stress out about needing to make sure I burn enough calories when I work out because I know the majority of what I put in my body now is good for me. All the things that Anthony told us would start happening were happening.  

I also noticed that things I used to enjoy eating, I could no longer eat without getting a stomachache or headache. For example, one of my favorite candies used to be Swedish Fish. One afternoon a co-worker and I decided to splurge and get a mini bag of them from the vending machine downstairs. To my surprise, they tasted nothing like they used to and I found I couldn't finish them. Yep, I had a full-blown stomachache halfway through my bag. I felt like I was eating plastic and the sad part of this experience was, I bought them to “treat” myself. I was actually in awe at the whole experience and this only furthered my motivate not give up and to work harder to live a healthier lifestyle.

While I still have a significant amount of work to do, I am proud at how far I have come so far from where I was six months ago. I am also very thankful to have a friend like Anthony who cares enough about us to help us get on the right path and teach us all we need to know about being healthier, while never being judgmental or dogmatic. I look back now and I can’t imagine living my life with the same everyday eating habits I once had. I hope that in another six months, I can look back at this very moment and see that I have made even more progress.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

TMAO: A Toxic Substance Formed When You Eat Meat Can Make You … Dead Meat

Guest Post by: Robert Ostfeld, M.D., M.Sc. 

We can add another reason to the list of why we should not eat meat. If the saturated fat and cholesterol in meat were not enough, there is a newly identified toxic kid on the block: trimethylamineoxide (TMAO).^1,2

When we eat red meat, its carnitine interacts with our gut bacteria, forming trimethylamine, which is then metabolized by the liver into TMAO. And it appears that TMAO is not our friend.^1,2

TMAO promotes the formation of cholesterol plaques in our blood vessels, which make them less healthy and may lead to heart attack, stroke, and death. TMAO reduces our body’s ability to excrete cholesterol.^1,2 And, if that is not bad enough, TMAO may be linked to death from prostate cancer.³

The good news is that people who eat an exclusively plant-based diet appear to form little TMAO. In fact, when researchers fed steak to a vegan, virtually no TMAO was made.²  Why is that? Vegans, it seems, do not select for the specific gut bacteria that lead to the formation of TMAO, whereas meat eaters do. Hence, it’s as if plants create a coat of armor in our stomachs, protecting us when they are not even there.

So if we’re protected by plants, is it okay for us to eat steak for just a few days? Are we protected from TMAO? It appears that we may not be. The trillions of bacteria in our gut change very quickly. In fact, they may meaningfully shift even within one to two days!⁴ So aside from the many other deleterious effects of meat, even one day of steak could cut a chink in the natural armor afforded us by eating plants.

Notably, red meat is not the only source of TMAO. Choline, which is found in chicken, fish, dairy ― and even plants ― is another. Choline is structurally similar to the carnitine in red meat, and with the help of the same gut bacteria, also forms TMAO. Accordingly, when investigators fed omnivores an egg, they made TMAO.¹

Although we have no dietary need for carnitine, we do require dietary choline. So how can we get the choline we require without the unwanted company of toxic TMAO? The answer appears to be in the armor. Eating a plant-based diet selects for gut bacteria that do not lead to the formation of TMAO.² So even though we are eating choline in plants, our stomach’s plant-derived protection is in place, practically freeing us from concern about TMAO.

Science’s understanding of the interaction of our diet and gut bacteria and their influence on our health is at an early stage. However, evidence is mounting that a plant-based diet may be beneficial for this interaction in many ways. Yet another reason to go (or stay) plant based!

¹ N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1575-1584 April 25, 2013 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1109400

² Nat Med. 2013 May;19(5):576-85. doi: 10.1038/nm.3145. Epub 2013 Apr 7

³ Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Oct;96(4):855-63. Epub 2012 Sep 5

⁴ Nature 505, 559–563 (23 January 2014) doi:10.1038/nature12820

The original post can be found here.

Robert Ostfeld, M.D., M.Sc.

Cardiologist Robert Ostfeld, M.D., M.Sc. is the founder and director of theCardiac Wellness Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, where he encourages patients to embrace a whole-foods, plant-based diet. He earned his M.D. at Yale and his M.Sc. in epidemiology at Harvard, and he is an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

The Holistic Heart Book Review and Giveaway

Last month Dr. Joel Kahn offered a great guest post about where people can find reliable information about health and nutrition (I swear his very kind comment about my site was completely unsolicited!) However today I’m reviewing his new work and Dr. Kahn also agreed to send a copy of his book to a lucky winner so be sure to enter below!

Joel K. Kahn, M.D. The Holistic Heart Book: A Preventive Cardiologist’s Guide to Halt Heart Disease Now. A Reader’s Digest Book, 2013.

Since the early 90s when Dean Ornish, M.D. and Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D. first published their respective works proving that heart disease is not only caused by, but can also be reversed through lifestyle changes and diet, there has been a fury of research on the topic. Despite this, heart disease continues to be America’s number one killer, taking nearly 600,000 lives every single year. Dr. Joel Kahn, a preventative cardiologist and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine has recently published his own heart health manifesto, which neatly ties the best research on heart disease into one easy to read and very informative book. It is no exaggeration to say, this book can literally change your life.

In clear and precise language Dr. Kahn explains how complex the heart really is, comparing it to the brain, as the heart has its own neurons, hormones, and electrical field. Dr. Kahn’s work is broken down into two sections. The first section reviews the most current research on heart disease.

Unlike Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease which focuses exclusively on diet and heart health, Dr. Kahn’s book takes a different approach and demonstrates that it takes a healthy body to have a healthy heart. For instance, the thyroid gland, which sits about a foot above the heart, can have a profound impact on heart health. Roughly 2% of Americans have an overactive thyroid, and another 5% have an underactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism). The disturbance caused by these hormonal imbalances can both greatly affect the heart in negative ways. In this section, Dr. Kahn also demonstrates the importance of healthy arteries and further complicates our understanding of HDL – basically it’s not as simply as calling it “good cholesterol.”

In the second part of the book, Dr. Kahn offers over 70 “prescriptions” that he often writes for his patients. However, these prescriptions are a far cry from the one your doctor would typically write you. Instead, this is where the book truly becomes “holistic,” although I mean that in best possible light. Backing everything up with citations to peer-reviewed articles, (and admitting when the evidence on certain topics is still weak - such as grounding). These prescriptions range all over the place, from eating your greens, to changing your cleaning supplies and deodorant, to practicing yoga (vitamin Y, as Dr. Kahn puts it).  

Surprisingly, (and perhaps slightly controversial) Dr. Kahn highly recommends several different vitamins and supplements. While he is very careful about which ones he actually recommends, he suggests discussing these with your primary doctor before adding any supplements to your regimen. Besides claiming that the research on the benefits of supplements is strong, he has also seen many of his patients thrive when they start including some supplements and vitamins. One in particular is CoQ10 – Coenzyme Q 10, which is a powerful antioxidant made by the body, helps assist cells to produce energy. Around the age of 40, our body’s production of this antioxidant begins to slow, and Dr. Kahn recommends it to many of his patients. (note: there was not a citation on this supplement)

While all of this could be overwhelming, Dr. Kahn recommends that people start slow, picking just a few of his prescriptions out to try for a few weeks before adding more to the routine. He writes that the goal is to incorporate as many as possible without adding additional stress to our lives. In fact, reducing stress is one of his main goals!

It needs to be added that Dr. Kahn considers himself an ethical vegan. That said, while he promotes and encourages a complete plant-based lifestyle, he is far less dogmatic than some of the other authors on this topic. In fact, in his book, he includes some pointers for those simply looking to make wiser choices when it comes to animal products.

This book stands out when compared to the other works on this topic, both for its easy-to-follow writing style as well as for its holistic approach. If you are looking for practical and easy-to-incorporate advice to help protect your heart look no further. The added benefit is all of the advice will help improve your overall health, not just your heart. As Dr. Kahn says, it takes a healthy body to have a healthy heart. 

I got to meet Dr. Kahn and his wife Karen at the NYC Veg Fest!

GIVEAWAY

Here are the rules. First, the winner needs to live in the United States (sorry international readers, no disrespect). The contest will end on March 15th at midnight. To enter, you must be a subscribed reader to BYOL. To increase your chances of winning leave a comment on this post. You will also gain a point if you "like" Bring Your Own Lentils facebook page. 

Also be sure to find Dr. Kahn on facebook. He is always post interesting articles on health and fitness

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As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.