Re: Re: Who exactly is the Weston A. Price Foundation, anyway?

[Guest guest]

I am not a vegetarian. But I am in the process of limiting meat consumption

and dairy. I will however continue to eat fish. I will also be eating as lot

of vegetables and some raw fruit. Plenty of fiber and complex carbs. I am

not saying that I will never enjoy a little yogart here and there, but it

will be a snack. This is the healthiest choice, in my opinion. I have

nothing against eating meat. And I absolutely love dairy. But to suggest

that a diet that is high in animal fat is the healthiest, or that most

studies prove this, is just not true.

But here is a study that you may enjoy showing that a high protein

(including meat)/low glycemic index diet is best for weight loss.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124171536.htm<http://www.google.\

com/url?sa=D & q=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101124171536.htm & usg\

=AFQjCNEkjIfCEBDvnCvvv_JybLlbVC1VDw>

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 5:32 PM, Shan <surpriseshan2@...> wrote:

>

>

> What I find interesting is that in the health groups vegetarians are

> seen to need to defend vegatarianism and put down the food protocol of

> eating meat, dairy etc. But I have never seen meat eaters put down the

> vegetarian food protocol. Plus whenever the discussion comes up of eating

> meat versus vegetarian, it always seems to have been started by a vegetarian

> regardless what group it is in.

>

> Maybe it is because there is so few studies out there proving that a

> vegetarian lifestyle & eating protocol is healthier, but so many studies

> proving that eating fats & meats is healthiest that is why when vegetarians

> 'rant' they do not seem to be able to give proof of their allegations -- it

> is all just 'take my word for it' stuff.....

>

> That article about Vegetarian eating protocol has 137 references supporting

> each of the claims made.

>

> The Myths of Vegetarianism

> by Byrnes, PhD, RNCP

> http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtvegetarianism.html

>

> Originally published in the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients, July

> 2000. Revised January 2002. This paper is posted at:

> http://www.powerhealth.net/selected_articles.htm.

>

> I remember the first time I saw a vegetarian do that - she went through

> that article above and said each point was not true however when asked to

> provide support for her perception could not offer even one study. Not even

> one.............it was sad.

>

> blessings

> Shan

>

>

>

> >

> > I read WAP's only book on his travels around the world examining

> different

> > hunter-gatherer tribal societies' dietary habits and its effect on their

> > general overall health. What he found was that he never found any that

> were

> > vegan (absolute vegetarian). In general, the more vegetarian oriented the

>

> > tribe, the less " vital " they were, and were usually dominated by

> omnivorous

> > (plenty of animal products) tribes.

> >

> > Of course, modern techniques of food growing, processing and nutritional

> > supplements (like B12) may make veganism doeable on a much larger scale.

> If

> > it works for you, more power to you!

> >

> > As an anecdotal aside, a doctor named Jerry Tennant

> > (http://www.tennantinstitute.com/) has claimed to have developed a

> device

> > that measures bodily voltage, and how a certain voltage level is

> necessary

> > for optimal health. In his book he says that, of the hundreds (maybe

> > thousands?) of patients that he has measured, he has never seen a vegan

> that

> > had optimal voltage levels, for what its worth.

> >

> >

> > Who exactly is the Weston A. Price Foundation,

> > anyway?

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

http://www.care2.com/causes/health-policy/blog/who-is-the-weston-a-price-foundat\

ion/

> >

> > A few months ago, someone sent me an article from the Weston A. Price

> > Foundation (WAPF) about soy and its hidden dark side. I had never heard

> of

> > the foundation, but was perturbed--to say the least--to see that they

> seemed

> > to demonize soy and hail the glories of meat and dairy products.

> >

> > I felt like this foundation was attempting to write off everything I

> > believed: that plant sources were generally healthy, that you could live

> a

> > healthy life as a vegetarian, and that meat and dairy could lead to

> obesity,

> > heart disease, and other health problems.

> >

> > On the defense, I immediately started researching this foundation. Some

> of

> > the claims about soy seemed ludicrous to me. Other claims were just plain

>

> > peculiar.

> >

> > What I found out about the WAPF was disturbing. It was upsetting to me

> > that people look to this foundation as the final word on soy, and on

> health

> > overall. It was disturbing that people put their faith--when it comes to

> > diet and nutrition--in the hands of WAPF. I wouldn't find it unbelievable

>

> > for people to read articles on the WAPF website and feel intrigued by the

>

> > claims they make, or even feel concerned about their diets. But I felt

> that

> > people were using these articles to shape their entire diet. People were

> > seeing this foundation as a health authority, using its articles and

> > philosophies to not only build their diet foundations, but to tear down

> > other people's diets--like my own.

> >

> > This was annoying. Aside from actually living a lifestyle that was

> > contradictory to what the WAPF was preaching (and experiencing it as

> joyful,

> > healthy, and overall one of the best decisions I've ever made), there is

> > countless evidence out there supporting my diet. I have read numerous

> books

> > and articles, seen news stories, and heard radio interviews that agree

> and

> > support my beliefs. These were articles and interviews from sources I

> find

> > generally credible -- doctors, medical researchers, and people deemed

> > " health experts " (which may not be the most official of titles, but it

> has

> > to carry some weight right?).

> >

> > So naturally, as someone who is proactive about their health and who can

> > become defensive when others claim my diet is unhealthy, I wanted to find

>

> > out who was behind WAPF. This is what I found:

> >

> > The Weston A. Price Foundation is based on the research of Weston A.

> > Price, a dentist and nutritionist who studied teeth and bone structure in

>

> > indigenous peoples. He saw that people who stuck to eating their native

> > foods had much healthier teeth--and seemed to be healthier overall--than

> > people who started consuming more processed foods. He believed the health

> of

> > one's teeth reflected the health of one's body and people should avoid

> > eating processed foods.

> >

> > I thought, " I can get on board with that. "

> >

> > The Weston A. Price foundation was started to follow and implement

> Price's

> > studies. And some of the group's values have merit. They support organic,

>

> > local produce and denounce factory farming, genetically modified foods,

> and

> > the sugar-laden, empty-caloried, typical American diet. Sounds good,

> right?

> > But as I kept reading, I found other WAPF principles...well, a little

> less

> > convincing.

> >

> > They seem to believe we should re-examine the typical American diet, then

>

> > add more cholesterol and saturated fat. Many physicians and health

> experts

> > have weighed in on this theory, and others, of the Weston A. Price

> > Foundation. Robbins, author of The Food Revolution, says " as someone

>

> > who has great respect for the work of Weston A. Price, I am sorry to say

> > that to my eyes, the foundation that carries Price's name today is

> > unfortunately exaggerating what was unbalanced in his work, and

> abandoning

> > much of what was good. "

> >

> > Dr. Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Plan for Fast

> > and Sustained Weight Loss, says the WAPF's claim that people with high

> > cholesterol 'live the longest,' and high cholesterol 'poses no greater

> risk

> > for heart disease' goes against " every respected scientific authority in

> the

> > world and is utterly ridiculous in light of thousands of respectable

> > studies. "

> >

> > The WAPF also advocate feeding raw cow's milk to infants, contradicting

> > the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the U.S. Food and Drug

> Administration,

> > the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and the American

> Academy

> > of Pediatrics.

> >

> > One of their other core beliefs is that vegetarian and vegan diets are

> > detrimental to human health, when extensive research has shown otherwise.

>

> > There are also living contradictions to these beliefs, like Joe Rollino,

> the

> > world's strongest man. Rollino, who just passed away in January at the

> age

> > of 104, was a devout vegetarian. And even at age 104, Rollino didn't die

> of

> > heart disease or cancer--he was hit by a car. He was, pound for pound,

> > hailed as the World's Strongest Man, and once reportedly lifted 475

> > pounds--with his teeth! Weston A. Price, himself, would surely have been

> > shocked at the dental strength of this meat-shunning phenomenon. Who

> knows

> > how much longer Rollino could have lived, helping to disprove the Weston

> A.

> > Price Foundation's theory on vegetarianism.

> >

> > The WAPF also shun soy and blame it for a host of health problems,

> > including breast cancer. Meanwhile, respected medical authorites like the

>

> > Mayo Clinic say soy can actually help to lower one's risk of breast (and

> > prostate) cancer. And the WAPF's campaign against soy is further evidence

>

> > they have strayed from their muse's original findings, since Price never

> > mentioned anything about soy, tofu, or soymilk in the original

> documentation

> > of his findings. He does mention lentils and other legumes, but in a

> > positive light. The WAPF has taken it upon themselves to criticize soy,

> > calling it " more insidious than hemlock. "

> >

> > WAPF denounce the benefits of soy estrogens (isoflavones). But the

> > estrogens in soy, phytoestrogens ( " phyto " meaning " plant " ), have been

> found

> > to keep our (animal) estrogen levels under control and, as stated in the

> > Care2 article Milk: Does it Really Do a Body Good?, " the Journal of

> Clinical

> > Endocrinology and Metabolism says that phytoestrogens can have health

> > benefits related to cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and

> > menopausal symptoms. "

> >

> > For more on the scary rumors about soy, and the health concerns of cow's

> > milk, you can read this Care2 article.

> >

> > According to their website, the WAPF " has no ties with the meat or dairy

> > industry, nor with any organization promoting these industries. " However,

>

> > they list Green Pasture, Vital Choice, and U.S. Wellness Meats, (all

> > peddlers of meat and dairy products) as sponsors of their 2009

> conference.

> > New Trends Publishing is also a sponsor, a company who happens to sell

> > several books and DVDs by Sally Fallon Morell, president of the Weston A.

>

> > Price Foundation. They even admit many of their members (a.k.a. sponsors)

>

> > are farmers.

> >

> > The Weston A. Price Foundation does have some meritable principles. They

> > also have some very questionable theories. I think, generally, it is a

> good

> > idea to consider opposing opinions, and to look into the credibility of

> > those opinions and their sources. After looking into the WAPF, I'll be

> > sticking to my vegetarian diet, complete with tofu and tempeh dinners

> > (against the WAPF's beliefs). I'll also make sure my diet is rich in

> whole,

> > unprocessed foods (agreeing with the WAPF's beliefs).

> >

> > To summarize my own feelings on the foundation, and the credibility and

> > faith that I have in their anti-vegetarian principles, I'll refer back to

>

> > Robbins. He wrote this in response to " The Myths of Vegetarianism, "

> an

> > article by Byrnes, one of the Weston A. Price Foundation's Board

> of

> > Directors:

> >

> > " The article is harshly critical of vegetarian diets, and concludes with

> > an About the Author section which states, ' Byrnes. enjoys robust

> > health on a diet that includes butter, cream, eggs, meat, whole milk,

> dairy

> > products and offal.' In fact, Byrnes suffered a fatal stroke in

> > June, 2004. According to reports of his death, he had yet to reach his

> 40th

> > birthday. "

> >

> > You can read my article responding to the WAPF's searing accusations

> about

> > agave nectar over on our Healthy & Green Living Channel.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >