Foods that cause accelerated aging

[missy]

No surprise here

Ultraprocessed Foods Linked to Faster Biological Aging

Higher consumption of ultraprocessed foods, such as carbonated drinks, processed meats, and sweet or savory packaged snacks, is associated with accelerated biological aging.

www.medscape.com

While on this topic we watched an enjoyable documentary about plant based eating

“You are what you eat a twin experiment “
Netflix

 

[Gloria27]

Vegan!

Stuff I've read:

The human brain and nervous system need animal fat. The nerves are covered in myelin and you need fat to protect that, lots of people that are put on statins because of high cholesterol apparently have problems with the nerves, their cholesterol is so low, the nerves get affected and they get all sorts of numbness and weakness.

and because vegan food is highly processed £"$$%$% from the supermarket that has endless ingredients list of chemicals.

The animal based protein is used to create new tissues in the body, the plant based stuff is not the correct protein hence the body can end up attacking certain tissues built with the incorrect protein which can lead to autoimmune issues, or so I've read.

Vegan is mostly carb based which is sugar and sugar bad and the rest of it is insoluble fibre. The vegan protein comes from legumes which have lots of stuff that are bad for the body, because plants want to kill you sometimes, not to mention pesticides.

Vegans can look weak, skinny, pale, low muscle mass, thinning hair, dark circles, etc, that can't be good for anybody. When they revert to omnivore they have a glow up. I have vegetarian friends but don't know any vegans, except what I saw online.

I'm an omnivore, I like a bit of everything and drink my tea with two sugars. No judgement from me. I DO CARE a lot about what I eat and physical exercise, hence being on this topic right now.

 

[missy]

Vegan!

Stuff I've read:

The human brain and nervous system need animal fat. The nerves are covered in myelin and you need fat to protect that, lots of people that are put on statins because of high cholesterol apparently have problems with the nerves, their cholesterol is so low, the nerves get affected and they get all sorts of numbness and weakness.

and because vegan food is highly processed £"$$%$% from the supermarket that has endless ingredients list of chemicals.

The animal based protein is used to create new tissues in the body, the plant based stuff is not the correct protein hence the body can end up attacking certain tissues built with the incorrect protein which can lead to autoimmune issues, or so I've read.

Vegan is mostly carb based which is sugar and sugar bad and the rest of it is insoluble fibre. The vegan protein comes from legumes which have lots of stuff that are bad for the body, because plants want to kill you sometimes, not to mention pesticides.

Vegans can look weak, skinny, pale, low muscle mass, thinning hair, dark circles, etc, that can't be good for anybody. When they revert to omnivore they have a glow up. I have vegetarian friends but don't know any vegans, except what I saw online.

I'm an omnivore, I like a bit of everything and drink my tea with two sugars. No judgement from me. I DO CARE a lot about what I eat and physical exercise, hence being on this topic right now.

It’s true. It takes more work to eat healthy as a vegan but imo it’s worth it
I understand those who don’t want to
It’s your choice

One can obtain all the necessary healthy fats from plant-based sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and certain plant-based oils, making a vegan diet perfectly capable of supporting good health when planned properly.


I don’t do it for health reasons
Rather because I love animals and don’t want to eat or kill them

You can eat healthy if you eschew processed foods and use healthy ingredients and make sure you’re eating sufficient protein etc

 

[Avondale]

I need a “technically omnivore but practically mostly vegetarian and my doctor keeps pestering me to eat more meat” option.

 

[missy]

I need a “technically omnivore but practically mostly vegetarian and my doctor keeps pestering me to eat more meat” option.

I was sort of in that category for a while. Pescatarian but mainly vegan. Same reason as you. Drs pressuring me. But I finally figured out how to be healthy as a vegan

 

[Gloria27]

It’s true. It takes more work to eat healthy as a vegan but imo it’s worth it
I understand those who don’t want to
It’s your choice

One can obtain all the necessary healthy fats from plant-based sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil, and certain plant-based oils, making a vegan diet perfectly capable of supporting good health when planned properly.


I don’t do it for health reasons
Rather because I love animals and don’t want to eat or kill them

You can eat healthy if you eschew processed foods and use healthy ingredients and make sure you’re eating sufficient protein etc

I thought you were just vegetarian.

I don't think the fats from plants come close to the fats of animal origin but that's my opinion.

I'd be vegan for the animals if I believed I could be healthy as one, but I don't think it's possible for me.
the cherry on top, I can't stand avocados.


I think a vegan diet can be healthy short term, it's similar to fasting, it helps your body get rid of cells that are not healthy and need to go though apoptosis or cell death, but the reason is, because it's a form of starvation if you don't know how to eat vegan so it works ok short term for everybody until it doesn't.

 

[missy]

I thought you were just vegetarian.

I don't think the fats from plants come close to the fats of animal origin but that's my opinion.

I'd be vegan for the animals if I believed I could be healthy as one, but I don't think it's possible for me.
the cherry on top, I can't stand avocados.


I think a vegan diet can be healthy short term, it's similar to fasting, it helps your body get rid of cells that are not healthy and need to go though apoptosis or cell death, but the reason is, because it's a form of starvation if you don't know how to eat so it works ok short term for everybody until it doesn't.

I was vegan from age 21 or so (who can remember that far back lol) til mid to late 30s. Then I became a vegetarian but quickly found out I couldn’t tolerate dairy so happily went back to vegan. In my 40s my drs wanted me to eat some meat so I compromised and ate fish a few times a week. I got mercury poisoning and other heavy metals. I actually got a letter from the USA health department. I have a genetic mutation which prevents me from detoxing like others can. So I stopped eating fish. And became vegan again.


My only issue is I’m under weight but have been able to gain a few lbs. I just have to eat more because I do eat calorically dense food but also workout a lot to destress. It’s my coping mechanism. Exercise. The endorphins feel good and help lower my anxiety

I don’t judge anyone for eating meat. That’s how we were designed. I just can’t bring myself to eat animals

 

[Gloria27]

I was vegan from age 21 or so (who can remember that far back lol) til mid to late 30s. Then I became a vegetarian but quickly found out I couldn’t tolerate dairy so happily went back to vegan. In my 40s my drs wanted me to eat some meat so I compromised and ate fish a few times a week. I got mercury poisoning and other heavy metals. I actually got a letter from the USA health department. I have a genetic mutation which prevents me from detoxing like others can. So I stopped eating fish. And became vegan again.


My only issue is I’m under weight but have been able to gain a few lbs. I just have to eat more because I do eat calorically dense food but also workout a lot to destress. It’s my coping mechanism. Exercise. The endorphins feel good and help lower my anxiety

I don’t judge anyone for eating meat. That’s how we were designed. I just can’t bring myself to eat animals

I can't tolerate dairy derived from cows but can from goats. I got a bunch of goat milk and cheese in my fridge and enjoy it in small quantities. I've realised if I take antihistamines I can tolerate ice-cream made with cow's milk which tells me I have to stay the hell away from it.

I bypass my guilt by not wasting the meat, if the animal died for it, the least I can do is finish my damn plate! Seriously.

 

[missy]

I can't tolerate dairy derived from cows but can from goats. I got a bunch of goat milk and cheese in my fridge and enjoy it in small quantities. I've realised if I take antihistamines I can tolerate ice-cream made with cow's milk which tells me I have to stay the hell away from it.

I bypass my guilt by not wasting the meat, if the animal died for it, the least I can do is finish my damn plate! Seriously.

Agreed! I always finish my plate. It’s how we were raised

Just to add plant based food can be more difficult to absorb nutrients from and one can overcome this by soaking beans, nuts, seeds or buying sprouted. I get sprouted quinoa and soak all my beans overnight which helps

 

[pearlsngems]

Omnivore. All 3 of us. But we have gotten away from highly processed foods, increasingly. Myself more than my DH and DD.

Most of my cooking is from scratch. I buy whole food ingredients, then cook our food from them. I grind my wheat berries and make our bread.
Sometimes I will buy a prepared food for convenience (e.g. frozen eggplant parmigiana) but even then I read labels and am selective.

Breakfast today was a bowl of plain Greek yogurt with half a banana and ground flax seed on top. Often it will be eggs and fruit, instead.
Today's supper will be wild caught salmon fillets with boiled sweet potatoes.
Tomorrow I am planning stir fry with tofu.

 

[seaurchin]

Husband and I are "mostly whole food/plant-based." We went 100% plant-based for a few years re the WFPB diet (Whole Food, Plant-Based, which also calls for very little oil or salt). Our reason was to improve our health, at first. Then it grew to include the environment and animal welfare and also led to cutting out non-food animal products, like leather. As I hear is common, the more we learned, the more we went vegan.

About WFPB, our results were mixed but then again, so was our adherence, after maybe a year of white-knuckling it.

Then we drifted into too much plant-based food that was processed or junk, and too much starch, even if whole and unprocessed. Vegan whole food vs. vegan junk food is a separate issue, though a related and relevant one, for us.

We both believe the WFPB diet is best but too drastic a change from our lifelong habits. Our "all or nothing mindset" was doing us more harm than good overall. We've cut out most of the plant-based junk etc., added back a little animal protein etc.

A couple of things have changed because of our totally plant-based period, though. One is that I'm much better at fixing healthy plant-based meals that we like. There was a steep learning curve there for me. The other is that we don't use much animal products anymore, anyway because there's somewhat of an "ick" factor about it for us now. I doubt that will change, since it came about from greater knowledge and understanding.

My understanding is the one thing a vegan diet is likely to lack is B-12, and the lack can become extremely serious. However, that is not evidence that people need animal foods because B-12 does not come from animals, directly. (Also, apparently many non-vegans also have a B-12 deficiency fwiw).

I think animals do not produce B-12 but get it from bacteria in the soil that clings to the roots of plants or something like that. Then we get it, passed on through eating those animals, but it comes from the earth. Less "advanced" humans got B-12 from the plants they ate, just like the animals do.

Modern humans so thoroughly clean their produce that the B-12 in the bit of soil that clings to plant roots is removed. Or something like that. When we ate 100% plant-based I just took a B-12 supplement and moved on. My doctor checked for vitamin deficiencies at my yearly physicals and found none.

As far as what else primitive people ate, I believe it was whatever they could get their hands on. But we aren't them and have different options than they did, so Idk.

Our meals now are on salad plates, not a dinner plates. 1/2 vegetable, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch. Then paying attention to choices that are whole food, low fat etc. This is the diabetic diet that my doctor recommended, so much simpler than the gestational diabetes diet I had years ago. I'm told it works well for most non-diabetic people too.

ETA: I have mostly gotten past the childhood cleaning your plate thing. If it's not what I should eat or it's more than I should eat, then eating it anyway is very counter-productive. I toss it, though I still find myself having to reason through it first. We ordered pizza as a special treat the other night and my husband somehow accidentally ordered four pizzas. We threw three of them in the trash but omg it hurt lol. (We don't know anyone here and pizza delivery guy got away too quick).

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Here's where we're at. Warning: long and possibly boring story ahead lol.

Husband and I have settled in at "mostly whole food/plant-based" now. We went 100% plant-based for a few years re the WFPB diet (Whole Food, Plant-Based, which also calls for very little oil or salt). Our reason was to try to improve our health at first. Then it grew to include the environment and animal suffering and also led to cutting out non-food animal products, like leather. As I hear is common, the more we learned, the more we went "vegan."

About the WFPB diet (or "eating plan," since the word "diet" seems to have fallen out of favor), our results were mixed but then again, so was our adherence to the WFPB diet, after maybe a year of white-knuckling it.

Eventually, we drifted into eating too much plant-based food that was processed or straight-up junk, as well as too much starch, even if it was whole and unprocessed. Of course vegan whole food vs. vegan junk food is really a separate issue, though definitely a related and relevant one, for us. But junk food, overly processed food, fake meat etc., too-heavy on the carbs etc. are not required for a vegan diet.

We both believe the WFPB diet is best but just too drastic a change from our lifelong habits. So, we decided that our "all or nothing mindset" was doing us more harm than good overall. We modified it, cutting out most of the plant-based junk etc., adding back a little animal protein etc. And that's where we're at now.

A couple of things have changed because of our totally plant-based period, though. One is that I'm much better at fixing healthy plant-based meals that are delicious and that we like and include foods that I never used to buy. There was a steep learning curve there for me. The other is that we both automatically don't eat, buy or use much animal products anymore because there's always just this low level "ick" factor about it for us now. I doubt that will change, since it came about from greater knowledge and understanding.

I don't pretend to be an expert but my understanding is the one thing a vegan diet is likely to lack is B-12, and the lack can become extremely serious. However, that is not evidence that people need animal foods because B-12 does not come from animals, directly.

Animals get their B-12 from the soil that clings to the roots of plants or something like that, and then we get it passed on through eating animals, though less "advanced" humans got B-12 from the plants they ate, just like animals do now. So, the lack of B-12 is not actually because of a lack in a plant-based diet. It's caused from modern life. Modern humans so thoroughly clean their produce before eating it that the B-12 in the soil that clings to plant roots is removed. Or something like that, I don't remember. When we ate 100% plant-based I just took a B-12 supplement and moved on. My doctor then would check for vitamin deficiencies at my yearly physicals and none were noted.

As far as what else primitive people ate, I believe it was whatever they could get their hands on. But we aren't them and have different options than they did, so Idk.

Our meals now are on salad plates, not a dinner plates. 1/2 vegetable, 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch, and then paying attention to making them low processed, whole food, low fat etc. This is the diabetic diet that my doctor recommended, so much simpler than the gestational diabetes diet I had to follow years ago. I'm told it would work pretty well for most other non-diabetic people too.

I like how you use salad plats instead of dinner plates. You seems to have worked out a really good and workable nutrition plan for you and hubby. Have you looked into incorporating nutritional yeast into your diet to get your B vitamins? It's very yummy- especially sprinkled over popcorn and tastes nothing like yeast. It's has a nice, toasted sesame seed flavor IMHO. I give it to my dogs too.

 

[missy]

@seaurchin I agree with you. You have to enjoy what you are eating so it doesn't feel like a chore or a diet per se. And all or nothing is not a healthy mindset. Agree again. The documentary I recommend is worth watching if you are interested. Nothing extreme was recommended.

I love eating vegan. I find it super tasty and satisfying. I never liked eating meat and made my dad cook it well done when I had to eat steak or a burger or a hot dog. It had to be black before I would eat it lol. So even from a little tyke I found meat to be distasteful but in the 70s parents decided what the kids would eat and rarely did the kids decide. Not like current times. I also eat from a salad bowl (not plate lol). I like volume LOL

@pearlsngems that's the way to do it. From scratch. Processed foods will kill us

 

[Gloria27]

Talking about vitamins especially B vitamins, always get the methylated variants as supplements.
B12 unfortunately is cyano-cobalamin (or methylcobalamin if methylated), synthetic and doesn't compare with B12 from meats.
People will MTHFR mutation have to take the methylated versions but these methylated versions are better quality than normal ones.

 

[SparklieBug]

So, if I understand correctly, the lack of B-12 is not evidence that humans need to eat animal products. Instead, it's caused from modern life. Modern humans so thoroughly clean their produce that the B-12 in the bit of soil that clings to plant roots is removed. Or something like that. When we ate 100% plant-based I just took a B-12 supplement and moved on. My doctor checked for vitamin deficiencies at my yearly physicals and found none.

I was WFPB for a couple years due to high (familial) cholesterol issues. Imagine my surprise when my numbers came down to within a fraction of what they should be for my age, etc., within six months! I also lost almost 20 pounds, which I didn't think I had the weight to lose.

My understanding is that the soil in the huge industrial farms is depleted, so even animals are now B-12 depleted. I took a supplement and my bloodwork was always good.

We moved mid-way through COVID, and regrettably, I fell off the WFPB eating. Found it difficult with lacking certain foods, here, at first. I still prepare things from scratch and avoid processed foods. We rarely go out for dinner, and although technically omnivore, we eat little animal protein, no dairy (okay, the odd bit of cheese!), etc.

Even with no longer eating strictly WFPB, I have only gained back about 5-6 pounds. When I was full-bore WFPB, I was astounded at my strength and endurance. I expected that I'd wither up (LOL!) because that's the vision that seems to be associated with "vegans"—weak, pale, etc. Again, I was so surprised to find that when it was riding season again, it was like I had never stopped riding all winter. That was a delight!

I adhere to this sort of eating more than my DH. He would eat like a 10-year-old on summer vacation if he could...all hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, etc. He had his gallbladder removed a few years ago, and it's finally caught up to him. So, he now holds back on greasy, processed foods. There is always a bright side...

 

[pearlsngems]

I bought a set of 9" salad plates on eBay (Wedgwood Chelsea Garden) and eat from those instead of our dinner plates.

 

[Gloria27]

Ok, apparently you can be a bodybuilder (I went and looked it up) and be vegan, some people can pull this off!

 

[SparklieBug]

Evidently the Roman gladiators were vegetarian for the most part, for a variety of reasons.

 

[kenny]

How could food speed up time?

 

[kenny]

Evidently the Roman gladiators were vegetarian for the most part, for a variety of reasons.

Do lions feel that vegetarians taste funny?

 

[Gloria27]

How could food speed up time?

Fasting slows ageing by getting rid of senescent cell and cells with defects /mutations etc that have the potential to become cancerous.
The body goes into autophagy, it's a good thing to do it for a while then go back to normal, it activates primal mechanisms within the body, like regeneration.

On the other hand, being always full and not going through periods of hunger does the opposite to your body. Too much good is bad. The body is built to go without food sometimes, and when it does, does the above processes.

 

[kenny]

Fasting slows ageing by getting rid of senescent cell and cells with defects /mutations etc that have the potential to become cancerous.
The body goes into autophagy, it's a good thing to do it for a while then go back to normal, it activates primal mechanisms within the body, like regeneration.

On the other hand, being always full and not going through periods of hunger does the opposite to your body. Too much good is bad. The body is built to go without food sometimes, and when it does, does the above processes.

 

[Gloria27]

I'm bored and chatty, gimme a break

 

[dk168]

Omnivore, and have no desire to change.

Usually eat whatever I fancy and in moderation.

For me personally, if I have to cut out diary and meat, then it is probably time to leave this Earth as life will not be enjoyable anymore.

DK

 

[missy]

Ok, apparently you can be a bodybuilder (I went and looked it up) and be vegan, some people can pull this off!

100%! I remember my dad telling me when I was little and wanted to stop eating meat that I would never build muscle as a vegan. LOL

Talking about vitamins especially B vitamins, always get the methylated variants as supplements.
B12 unfortunately is cyano-cobalamin (or methylcobalamin if methylated), synthetic and doesn't compare with B12 from meats.
People will MTHFR mutation have to take the methylated versions but these methylated versions are better quality than normal ones.

Truth. I am homozygous for C667T MTHFR and my genes are expressing (hence the mercury poisoning when eating fish) and have been since 2017. I supplement with methylated Bs and some other supplements too that help.

 

[missy]

Omnivore, and have no desire to change.

Usually eat whatever I fancy and in moderation.

For me personally, if I have to cut out diary and meat, then it is probably time to leave this Earth as life will not be enjoyable anymore.

DK

Yes to each their own. Some wouldn't be happy as vegan or vegetarian but that is my preference 100%. I also am gluten free (medical reasons) and I thought I could never do without some of my gluten choices but goes what? I can. It's amazing how we adapt and can be content once change happens. I think we all have a happiness set point but that is a thread for another day. Happy eating