Dr. Jai Maharaj posted:
>
> The Beef Diet: Prescription for Disaster
>
> By Neal D. Barnard
> President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
> Washington, DC
>
> Imagine if two jumbo jets collided over a major city and,
> in the resulting fireball, 4,000 people died -- it would
> be a national tragedy -- one of the worst accidents ever.
> People would demand that airlines and the government made
> sure nothing like that could ever happen again.
>
> A tragedy of this proportion happened the day before
> yesterday. It happened yesterday, too. It will happen
> again today and tomorrow. Every single day in the United
> States, 4,000 lives are taken by heart attacks and almost
> nothing is being done about it.
>
> For years now, we have known of the role diet plays in
> health, yet unhealthy diets are still promoted by the
> government, livestock industries, advertisers, and even
> doctors. Healthy diets must be presented and encouraged
> by these groups if America's health care crisis is going
> to be solved.
>
> Dietary changes are worth making. Two of the three
> leading killers of Americans are heart disease and
> stroke. Both are linked to "hardening of the arteries" --
> arteriosclerosis -- which, in turn, is largely caused by
> high-fat, cholesterol-laden diets. As we all know, animal
> flesh, and beef in particular, is a major source of
> cholesterol and saturated fat.
>
> The enormous toll of these diseases is taken one patient
> at a time, as doctors finally give up trying to
> resuscitate yet another heart that is damaged beyond
> hope. The toll is also felt in the national pocketbook.
> Coronary bypasses and expensive diagnostic tests are now
> the budget-breaking routine in every city in America.
>
> Many other diseases also have their roots in our daily
> meals. Breast cancer, which has reached epidemic
> proportions, killing one woman every twelve minutes, is
> clearly related to diet. The same connections have been
> drawn between diet and cancers of the colon and prostate.
> In fact, according to the National Cancer Institute, some
> 80 percent of cancer deaths are attributable to smoking,
> diet, and other identifiable and controllable factors.
> Foods rich in fat and oils increase our cancer risk.
> About 40 percent of all the calories we eat comes from
> the fat in meats, poultry, fish, dairy products, fried
> foods and vegetable oils. These fats stimulate the over-
> production of hormones which encourage cancer and promote
> the development of carcinogens in the digestive tract.
>
> Not only are beef and other meats high in cholesterol and
> saturated fats, but they are also low in some vital
> vitamins and minerals, and they contain zero fiber.
> Recently there has been enormous scientific attention
> given to the role beta-carotene and other vitamins and
> minerals play in blocking cancer growth. Whole grains,
> fruits, legumes, and vegetables are full of vitamins and
> minerals. And plant foods have fiber -- a substance
> completely lacking in beef and other meats. We have long
> known that fiber helps eliminate many common
> gastrointestinal problems such as constipation; however,
> evidence shows that it also is protective against a wide
> variety of diseases ranging from colon cancer to
> diabetes, and from gallstones to appendicitis. It also
> binds with carcinogenic substances, bile, and excess
> hormones which would otherwise rest in the digestive
> tract, and moves them out of the body.
>
> As one studies the diets of people around the world, one
> thing becomes clear: as people give up traditional diets
> that are low in fats, high in fiber, and predominantly
> plant-based in favor of beef and other meats, the
> incidence of diseases such as cancer, heart disease,
> diabetes, and kidney disease rises. At the same time,
> life expectancy and quality of life decline. In recent
> years, Japan has been the target of American beef and
> tobacco promotional campaigns that seem to be some sort
> of Pearl Harbor revenge program. Members of the higher
> socioeconomic strata, who are adopting Westernized diets,
> have much higher rates of breast, colon, and prostate
> cancer and heart disease than their counterparts who eat
> less (or no) meat.
>
> The Beyond Beef campaign is encouraging people to make
> this simple change -- to step away from beef. It is a
> move that is good for you, for others, for animals, and
> for the environment. So live a little; try some new
> cuisine; experiment with traditional and ethnic foods. It
> could well help you live a lot healthier longer.
>
> - Dr. Neal Barnard is President of The Physicians
> Committee For Responsible Medicine, a nationwide group of
> physicians that promotes preventive medicine and
> addresses controversies in modern medicine. In April
> 1991, he and three other doctors unveiled a proposal to
> replace the old Four Food Groups concept initiated in
> 1956.
>
> In his book, "The Power of Your Plate," Dr. Barnard
> documents the scientific evidence supporting a low-fat,
> vegetarian diet as the most potent regimen to reduce risk
> of heart disease, cancer, weight problems and food-borne
> illness. Aside from serving as a practicing physician on
> the faculty of the George Washington School of Medicine,
> he is also an Associate Director for Behavioral Studies
> at the Institute for Disease Prevention.
>
> Dr. Barnard is a director of Behavioral Studies at the
> Institute for Disease Prevention at George Washington
> University.
>
> Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
> Om Shanti
The Beef-Colon Cancer Link
Excerpt
Now a spate of new studies are connecting red meat
consumption to colon cancer, the number two cause of
cancer in the United States. Over 100,000 cases of colon
cancer are diagnosed each year, and over 50,000 died of
the disease in 1990 alone.
In a six-year study of 88,751 women from the ages of 30
to 59 years old, the largest study ever conducted on
colon cancer and diet, researchers found that women who
ate red meat every day are "two and a half times more
likely to have colon cancer than women who ate meat
sparingly or not at all."
Dr Walter Willett, of the Brigham and Women's Hospital of
Boston, the director of the study, said of the findings:
"If you step back and look at the data, the optimum
amount of red meat you eat should be zero."
In the beef-eating cultures of the Western world, the
incidence of colon cancer is up to ten times the rate of
non-beef-eating cultures of Asia and the developing
world.
- Kolata, Gina, "Animal Fat is Tied to Colon Cancer" New
York Times, December 13, 1990
- Willet, Walter C., et al, "Relationship of Meat, Fat
and Fiber Intake to the Risk of Colon Cancer in
Prospective Study Among Women" New England Journal of
Medicine, 333:24 (1990), pg. 1664
- Rifkin, Jeremy, "Beyond Beef," Dutton, 1992, pg. 172
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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