Michael Greger's optimal vegetarian nutrition

[penfold]

a week or so ago i listened to Michael Greger's talk on Optimal Vegetarian Nutrition for the first time, and I was really impressed. i think this should be compulsory* listening for everyone before they receive their Vegan License . theres lots of data from Proper Research to keep the science nerds happy, some dangerous vegan myths get debunked, and he gives practical advice about how to get the nutrients you need.

so, if you have not already heard this talk, go to his site: http://www.veganmd.com/

click on "talks online" on the left hand side. you can listen to the whole talk, or download it in bitesize chunks.

Dr Greger has been mentioned a few times on the boards, but i thought it would be worthwhile to really plug this talk...*plug plug plug*

*not sure how this could be enforced wonder if Husky would help

[herbi]

Thanks, O Hamster of Wisdom!
Reading through the past newsletters, I couldn't help but notice this:
"And cooked garlic didn't work either, so to help fight off infections you'd have to eat the garlic raw (like maybe in hummous, salsa, guacamole, etc)."

[penfold]

arf!!!

[Adams]

That was great penfold! I sent the link to all my vegan friends. I know I don't eat any sunflower or safflower oil, etc. but I know I don't eat two freaking tablespoons of flax every day. I'll be going out to buy myself a pepper grinder and some organic flax seeds this afternoon. Thanks a lot!

Between this and the Al Gore speech, you should win an award or something, maybe along the lines of "Best Linker of Best Motivational Speeches" or something. I'll work on the title.

[grog]

Originally posted by Adams . but I know I don't eat two freaking tablespoons of flax every day. I'll be going out to buy myself a pepper grinder and some organic flax seeds this afternoon.

Yeah...I've NEVER had flax. Am I going to die or something? I thought flax was just for Omega 3? Which you don't get if you're not eating fish (mainly) But many omnivores never eat fish either...so I'm a bit confused as to its requirement.

I like to be clear about what's strictly a nutriontial supplement, and what is holistically recommended.

But I'll probably go get some too, its food shopping day anyway

[Adams]

Originally posted by grog Yeah...I've NEVER had flax. Am I going to die or something? I thought flax was just for Omega 3? Which you don't get if you're not eating fish (mainly) But many omnivores never eat fish either...so I'm a bit confused as to its requirement. I like to be clear about what's strictly a nutriontial supplement, and what is holistically recommended.

Obviously somebody didn't listen to the speech!

[grog]

Hehe, no I read some of the writings though. I have absolutely no patience to listen to recorded speaches.

Ok, I repented and listened. Crap. He makes sense. Here's a surprise, I suffer from chronic inflammation and RSI injuries. Will buy flax now! I guess I'm good on my Omega 6 amounts though, since I usually only cook with olive oil.

Now I'm listening to the other snippets

thanks folks

[Dandelion]

obviously the man's a quack!

Originally posted by herbi Thanks, O Hamster of Wisdom! Reading through the past newsletters, I couldn't help but notice this: "And cooked garlic didn't work either, so to help fight off infections you'd have to eat the garlic raw (like maybe in hummous, salsa, guacamole, etc)."

[spasticastic]

Originally posted by Dandelion obviously the man's a quack!

That's what I was thinking. "Doctor" Michael Greger's credibility is really going to be hurt by this revelation.

[grog]

Ok, I'll all flax friendly now. Just bought some and ground it. Flax is cheap. For all you ghetto folks that use your coffee grinder for this, and other alternative grindings, did you know you can grind some rice in between to clean out the coffee oils or whatever else is leftover....

[Dandelion]

oh i remember this guy. he spoke at an Earthsave potluck on Corporate Globalization. He has an interesting speaking style that had us secretly giggling. fun guy.

[Halfelf]

arggggggh! realplayer!!

edit:
hee hee! never mind, they have it in mp3 format too.

[Adams]

Originally posted by Halfelf arggggggh! realplayer!! edit: hee hee! never mind, they have it in mp3 format too.

Hehehe, that was my reaction too!!!

[spasticastic]

i think this should be compulsory* listening for everyone...

Okay, I listened to the whole thing, so Penfold, could you check my name off the list? I thought it was interesting, and he definitely made it feel like an emergency to take supplements. I've been pretty laidback about it, figuring I'd get a little bit from food, a little bit from soymilk, a little bit from a multivitamin every once in a while. This will make me want to do better, at least until I forget again.

I always heard people talking about flax/omega 3 but that never seemed urgent enough to actually do it. I don't have a convenient specialty grocery store, nor a coffee grinder...

My real question though is this: He talks about taking B12 supplements and calcium supplements, then zinc, and others. Does taking a general multivitamin not count? He seems to imply that we need a specific B12 supplement that we should chew up. Is this so important that the levels found in a multivitamin are not sufficient?

[herbi]

Originally posted by spasticastic Does taking a general multivitamin not count?

Hmm... I didn't get that impression? If you look in the archive of his writings, he has a handout comparing different vegan daily multivitamins, and one of the criteria he judges them on is whether they have enough B12 in there, so I assume he's not against that idea... (Also I was relieved to find my kind on there-- the VegLife "Vegan One"s that I've been a real slacker about taking regularly until now... )

I take those here n there and consume a pretty fair amount of fortified soymilk, so the B12 was not my big worry, the Omega 3's were. That 18 month old 90% full bottle of flax oil in the fridge ain't doin' anyone any good... I felt the immediate need to initiate a Flax Pact with my soon-to-be-Roomie! Ooo, let's ALL do it! Everyone, find your Flax Buddy...