Digital News Report – Dr. Oz did not call it Vegan eating on his TV show today, instead he called it the “Prehistoric Diet” that our ancestors used to eat. He demonstrated that eating a vegan diet offered health benefits for lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol and triglyceride numbers. He also shared a vegan meal plan.
To show the health benefits of eating a plant based diet, Dr. Oz had three women live in a zoo for 48 hours and eat only raw fruits and vegetables. The participants ate no meat, no dairy, no sugar, and no caffeine. The only exception was they could eat one olive that has been in salt brine.
The three women had either high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Before entering the zoo, they ate one last regular meal before they entered the zoo were they camped. They had raw fruits and vegetables and they could eat as much as they want. One woman said that she had to go to the bathroom a lot because of all the fiber that the produce provided. After 48 hours, Dr. Oz’s team took blood pressure measurements and blood samples to see if eating a plant only diet helped to lower their numbers.
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Dr. Oz said that before the women’s blood pressure numbers averaged 128/91 and after it averaged 115/72. The blood Triglycerides levels before averaged 138 and after was 88. The LDL Cholesterol levels reduced and average of 37 points. The women on average lost 4 pounds in only a couple of days.
Dr. Oz had Registered Nutritionist Juilieanna Hever, RD. who is a Plant-based Dietician on the TV show to help put together a more manageable version of this plant only diet. She is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition and the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking.
Hever explained only 10 percent of a person’s daily calories need to come from protein in order to survive. Leafy greens have almost half calories from protein. Beans, peas, kale spinach, and broccoli also have protein. To get calcium you can eat leafy greens. In addition, soy products such as soymilk or tofu are rich with calcium.
She suggests getting fats from whole foods. For mono-unsaturated fats, eat olives and avocados. Hempseed, flaxseed, and Chia seeds are rich with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. She suggested using Chia seeds as a thickening agent for a dressing. She also said to stay away from oils if you want to control your weight because she said that oil is condensed high calorie. She uses broths to do a stir-fry with her vegetables.
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Carbohydrates are important source of energy for the body and the only source that the brain can use explained Hever.
She suggested eating fruits, vegetables, and grains from different color groups:
Dr. Oz Prehistoric Diet Plan
The next segment on the TV show had Hever explain three different meals based on a plant-based (Vegan) diet. While it is not as extreme as the participants did at the zoo, it should offer some of the same kinds of health benefits suggested Dr. Oz.
Breakfast
Green smoothie – In a blender put 3 cups of Kale, 2 Tbsp Hempseeds or fla, 1 Cup Frozen Blueberries, ¼ Cup Frozen Cherries, and ¼ cup frozen pineapple pieces, ¼ cup frozen Mango Chunks, 1 medium Frozen peeled banana broken into smaller pieces. You will also add 2 cups unsweetened almond milk and she added frozen raspberries to the mixture. Blend it all up to make a smoothie drink.
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Lunch
Instead of using a flour tortilla, she uses 2 sheets of Nori and puts 3 Tablespoons of guacamole, ¼ cup julienned Jicama, Fresh Cilantro, and 2 Tablespoons of salsa. Wrap it up in a roll and then eat it.
Dinner
Beans and greens chili was her dinner selection. She said that she put all kinds of vegetables including carrots, onions, celery, and tomatoes, along with beans in a vegetable broth. She adds leafy greens just before serving the chili. She mentioned that she has a cookbook of vegetarian meals and the chili recipe is in it. Dr. Oz said he has these recipes posted on his website.
Note: Anyone that is considering a drastic change in diet should always consult with their doctor to make sure that medication is adjusted accordingly.
By: Robert Williams
Entertainment Reporter