SPRING 2022 VOL 3 ISSUE 11
facing cancer
Dr Funk’s top five food list for cancer
Prostate problems How to avoid them
Big business, kids & their food future
The whole food highway Ross Garrick describes the ride We’re building a community of conscious health seekers who want to improve and restore their health and the health of the planet we share
CONTENTS 36
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General Features 10. Cancer: Taking action Dr Kristi Funk gives her top tips for fighting cancer, you are not powerless, she says.
16. Oral health Liz Willliamson explains how WFPB impacts our teeth and oral health.
20. The Winchester course Nicole O'Neill reviews the Winchester nutrition course.
24. It could be worse Tony talks about his prostate fight and issues a warning.
26. The Esselstyns arrive
Ann & Jane present recipes from their latest cookbook.
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30. Sneaky greens OMG! Innes Hope is back with her spatular, stirring up a fuss in the kitchen.
34. The WFPB highway Ross Garrick explains his remarkable fight against heart trouble.
38. Food confusions Janice Carter takes a look at conversations on food.
42. Health, a wider view Peter Barclay presents his take on the HCA conference.
46. The brain Prof Maurice Curtis unravels some of its mysteries.
52. NewsBites How school children are affected by fast food outlets around their school.
56. Restoring nature There's no silver bullet, researchers say the real issue is our love of fossil fuels.
References Many of the articles published in this magazine refer to scientific studies. To view these studies use the QR code or go to the url below.
Click or scan QR image for references. wholefoodliving.life/references-spring-2022
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22 40 Recipes 13. French onion soup Check out our classic French onion soup with a plant-based twist.
15. Leek and potato bake Traditional leek and potato bake wonderfully converted to a great plant-based dish.
32. Wonder salad Delightfully healthy and with a touch of mystery that will delight your guests.
36. Fish fingers & mash Super delicious Spring recipe that visitors staying for tea will just love.
19. Moroccan lentil soup
44. Bean patties & Harissa
Simple, packed with protein, and deliciously tasty.
These patties are heartier and nuttier than most.
23. Vegetable pancakes A Korean treat, packs veges into easy to eat pancakes
27. Seed an nut bark No ingredients? No problem. Ann & Jane show you how.
49. Sup smoothies A quenching, effective way to take essential supplements!
54. Butternut couscous Another Spring treat and a highly tasty accompaniment.
The inside goss I had what I thought was a healthy lifestyle. I’ve never been a smoker, I’ve always done my yoga and meditation and sport but I was having all the wrong food and I didn’t know it. Ross Garrick Only 5–10 per cent of women with breast cancer can point to an inherited genetic mutation as the major contributor to their cancer. - Dr Kristi Funk With teeth, the detrimental effects of most sugars seems to come from how they are presented to the body. If we eat food elements as isolates, such as simple sugars, things seem to go wrong. - Liz Williamson After a busy day, we give in sometimes. But a healthy instant meal can be every bit as fast, and far cheaper. - Innes Hope
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by Nicole O'Neill
Value & Empowerment If you’re looking for a course that sits well within most people’s budget, has just the right amount of in-depth scientific content, delivers outstanding learning and utterly selfempowering then this may well be the right plant-based nutrition course for you.
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here have been a number of health experts in the field of plant-based nutrition who in recent years, have been assiduously hammering out course material in response to the increasing global demand from those wanting to take charge of their health. The market for on-line learning has seen a significant boom in the last 5 years, which makes deciding which course perhaps the hardest part of the journey. Whilst some are certainly better than others in terms of their overall content, presentation style and reference material (which is reflected in the price), almost all of them are specifically designed and structured to empower and educate both health professionals and the general public alike, with very little need to wrack your brains back to those high school biology classes.
Dr Shireen Kassam, the course organiser and facilitator, (and the founder/Director of Plantbased health professionals UK) expressed that she “..felt honoured to be working with an institution whose core values include compassion and social justice for people, animals and the planet.”
Some plant-based courses offer a broad overview of the role of nutrition in promoting optimal health, whilst others delve a little deeper to include in-depth reviews of the scientific literature that supports the role of plant-based nutrition in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases that plague modern society. One particular course that’s well worth headlining is the newly launched “Plant-based nutrition; a sustainable diet for optimal health” course from Winchester University; a first of its kind in the UK to launch a university-based correspondence course on plant-based nutrition. Dr Shireen Kassam, the course organiser and facilitator, (and the founder/Director of Plant-based health professionals UK) expressed that she “..felt honoured to be working with an institution whose core values include compassion and social justice for people, animals and the planet.” The first steps in establishing the course resulted from a chance meeting between Dr Shireen Kassam and Vice Chancellor and fellow vegan, Professor Joy Carter, who helped initiate the process. Dr Shireen Kassam gathered a talented team of 18 UK plant based professionals to pull together a well researched and highly digestible course for those either looking to incorporate evidence-based nutrition into routine clinical practice or simply to improve their personal nutrition education. The course description does stress that “a basic knowledge of medical terminology and chronic diseases is assumed.” But don’t be put off by the disclaimer - most of it has been written with the lay person in mind. And any terminology
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that does leave you scratching your head feeling clueless can be quickly rectified with a quick Google search. The course combines written material, pre-recorded lectures, quizzes to test learning and a compulsory weekly written discussion on a controversial topic. The course is structured with the aim that participants will complete one module per week over
six weeks, with a grace period of two weeks at the end, should more time be required. Six hours of study per week is recommended. However, you can probably triple that in module one, given the intense content volume, which includes ’recommended’ extra reading material and lengthy course lectures. At least certainly for those less ‘medically accomplished’. The modules that follow however fall more realistically into the 6-7 hour per week time frame recommended, but be prepared to use up the two-week grace period at the end. Perhaps it would be more prudent to suggest a window of 10-15 hours per week of study time for non-health professionals. The course certainly meets quality standards with a state-ofthe-art intuitive digital classroom hub that makes online learning incredibly seamless. The course is completely self-paced, allowing you to progress as independently and quickly as you choose. The student chat and discussion functions provide an inclusive feel should you need live support from either peers or tutors at any time. The six modules cover everything from dietary determinants of
disease, the role of macro and micronutrients, the role of plantbased diets for chronic disease and mental health, women’s health, preventing dementia, understanding international dietary patterns and guidelines, clinician tools, athlete and environmental health to name but a few. The course is incredibly comprehensive, well written and knowledgeably executed by 18 plant-based health professionals and experts. Many have been plant-based themselves for several years and use plant-based nutrition in their clinical practice. With extra reading resources and fun multi-choice quizzes that border on entertainment, this course should tick every box for the discerning plant-based health advocate. The course is accredited for 30 CPD hours by the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine and can be counted towards maintenance of certification for the International Diploma in Lifestyle Medicine. Considering what you accomplish and ultimately gain here, this course is enormously great value for money at just $700NZD. Overall, Dr Kassam and her team should be proud of their accomplishments. This course is powerful, empowering and contains a significant message to the world.
How does the course stack up? ADMISSION PROCESS
LECTURE QUALITY
ONLINE SUPPORT
RESOURCES
ONLINE FACILITIES
ASSIGNMENTS
COURSE STRUCTURE
TIME-FRAMES
STUDY EXPERIENCE
VALUE FOR MONEY
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Doyens of plant-based release new cookbook
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he Esselstyns need no introduction to long-term whole food plantbased connoisseurs, but for the less initiated, there’s something you should know, Ann and Jane, the doyens of everything that should go on a dinner table, have just released a new cookbook. Just to fill in some of the background here, Ann has been called "the Julia Child of plant-based cooking." She was an award-winning English teacher for twentyseven years, all while juggling raising four children, coaching, and figuring out how to cook delicious and appealing plant-based, oil-free food (pre-internet!). Her singular focus is on creating recipes to prevent and reverse heart disease, and she collaborates with her husband, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, in counselling patients. Ann and her daughter, Jane, also feature heart-healthy recipes on their YouTube channel. Ann graduated from Smith College and received a master's in education from Wheelock College. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio, next door to Jane. Jane Esselstyn is a fresh, charismatic voice in the plant-based movement. She brings her passion, energy, and can-do attitude to her presentations, cooking demonstrations, and cookbooks. As well as being a nurse, researcher, middle school sex ed teacher, and mother of three, Jane hosts a popular YouTube
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channel with her spitfire mother, Ann. Jane created the recipes for the #1 New York Times bestseller Plant-Strong and The Engine 2 Seven-Day Rescue Diet. She is the co-author of The Engine 2 SevenDay Rescue Diet with her brother, Rip, and of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with Ann. A tireless champion for kids and their health, Jane brings remarkable clarity, compassion and humour to the table. Her research with the Cleveland Clinic's Department of Pediatrics observes the effects of a plant-based diet on pediatric obesity and hypercholesterolemia. The Journal of Pediatrics published one of their studies in February of 2015 where Jane created the classroom and kitchen curricula for the study. When not working on recipes or research, Jane teaches sexuality education to middle schoolers. Many of the basic healthy messages around being a sexual being for middle school kids make their way into Jane’s adult presentations in hilarious and educational ways. Jane graduated from the University of Michigan, where she competed nationally as a recruited swimmer and rower, and earned a B.S. in Nursing from Kent State University. She met her husband and fellow plant-based educator, Brian Hart, while working as a field instructor for Outward Bound.
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SEED an NUT BARK MAKES 4- 5 CUPS BARK (hard to measure bark!) Running out of ingredients is sometimes the best! One day, we wanted to make seed bark from The Engine 2 Cookbook, yet we realized we did not have all the ingredients. So, we jazzed together a combination of what we did have and discovered a new favourite! This is the perfect dish to take to a party, serve as an appetizer, or carry as a snack. METHOD
INGREDIENTS 2 cups 1 1/2 cups 1/4 cup 2 Tbsp 2 Tbsp 3-4 Tbsp
raw pumpkin seeds raw pecans slivered almonds flaxseed meal chia seeds maple syrup
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper 2. In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin seeds, pecans, sunflower seeds, almonds, flaxseed meal, chia seeds, and maple syrup. 3. Toss all the ingredients until well coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press into a layer about ¼ inch (about 8mm) thick. Bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if your oven bakes unevenly. Do not let it burn. 4. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes— you will hear the bark crackling as it cools. This is an important stage as this is when it stiffens and gets crunchy. Then, break the bark into chunks and serve. Store extra in an airtight container when completely cooled.
From BE A PLANT-BASED WOMAN WARRIOR: Live Fierce, Stay Bold, Eat Delicious by Jane Esselstyn and Ann Crile Esselstyn, to be published on 23/08/2022 by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2022 by Jane Esselstyn and Ann Crile Esselstyn Photographs by Karin McKenna wholefoodliving.life | Spring 2022
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BEAN PATTIES WITH HARISSA There are dozens of ways to make delicious patties. One reason I love this recipe so much is that the patties are heartier and nuttier than most, which makes for an even better meal. Top the burger with Harissa Sauce which is an aromatic, spicy paste frequently used in North African and Middle Eastern cooking. Makes 4 servings INGREDIENTS - Burger 1 Tbsp 2 tsps 1/2 cup 1 1/2 cups 1/2 1/2 2 1 1/4 2 Tbsps 2 Tbsps 1 Tbsp 1/2 tsp 2 Tbsp
ground flaxseeds (linseed) blended peeled lemon (see p.59) old-fashioned rolled oats cooked or 1x425g (15.5 ounces) can salt-free kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed chopped walnuts chopped onion garlic cloves piece fresh turmeric, grated (or 1/4 tsp ground) tahini nutritional yeast white miso paste smoked paprika minced fresh parsley
INGREDIENTS - Harissa sauce 1/3 cup dried hot red chillies, seeded and cut into small pieces, or to taste 1 Tbsp coriander seeds 2 tsps caraway seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 roasted capsicum 3 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast 2 tsps white miso paste savoury spice blend (p. 44) 44 wholefoodliving.life | Spring 2022
METHOD - Burger 1. In a small bowl, combine the flaxseeds and lemon, stirring until well blended. Set aside. Grind the oats into coarse flour in a food processor. 2. Add the beans, walnuts, onion, garlic, and turmeric and process until well combined. 3. Add the tahini, nutritional yeast, miso, paprika, parsley, and flaxseed mixture. Pulse until well combined. Shape into four patties. (They will be sticky.) 4. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 5. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350ºF). 6. Bake the patties for 30 minutes; then flip them with a metal spatula and bake for another 15 minutes, or until firm and browned. 7. Serve topped with Harissa Sauce.
METHOD - Harissa Sauce 1. Place the dried chillies in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 30 minutes; then drain. 2. In a small skillet, stir the coriander, caraway, and cumin seeds over low heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a food processor and add the drained chillies, roasted red bell peppers, garlic, nutritional yeast, miso, and Savoury Spice Blend to taste. 3. Process until smooth. Add up to ¼ cup of water, as needed, to make a smooth, thick sauce.
This recipe is found in the incredible Dr Greger's How Not To Die Cookbook. Full of easy plant-based recipes and evidence-based advice.
SAVOURY SPICE BLEND Dr Greger: I always have this seasoning blend on hand to add flavor to dishes in place of salt.
INGREDIENTS 2 Tbps 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 1 Tbsp 2 tsps 2 tsps 2 tsps 2 tsps 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp
METHOD nutritional yeast* onion powder dried parsley dried basil dried thyme garlic powder dry mustard (mustard powder) paprika ground turmeric celery seeds
1. Combine all the ingredients in a spice grinder or blender to mix well and pulverize the dried herbs and spices. Transfer the blend to a shaker bottle or jar with a tightfitting lid. Store in a cool, dry place.
* Dr Greger recommends those with Crohn’s disease or hidradenitis suppurativa avoid nutritional yeast.
This recipe is in the incredible Dr Michael Greger's How Not To Die Cookbook. Full of over 100 plant-based recipes and evidence-based advice to help Prevent and Reverse disease. Founder of nutritionalfacts.org
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No more excuses: we must cut emissions outright
Kate Dooley & Zebedee Nicholls
Restoring nature is no silver bullet for global warming R estoring degraded environments, such as by planting trees, is often touted as a solution to the climate crisis. But our new research shows that this, while important, is no substitute for preventing fossil fuel emissions to limit global warming. We calculated the maximum potential for responsible nature restoration to absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And we found that, combined with ending deforestation by 2030, this could reduce global warming 0.18°C by 2100. In comparison, current pledges from countries put us on track for 1.9-2C warming. This is far from what’s needed to mitigate the catastrophic impacts of climate change, and is well above the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement. And it pours cold water on the idea we can offset our way out of ongoing global warming. The priority remains rapidly phasing out fossil fuels, which have contributed 86% of all CO₂ emissions in the past decade. Deforestation must also end, with land use, deforestation and forest degradation contributing 11% of global emissions.
Melbourne University researchers, Kate Dooley and Zebedee Nicholls, accept that while restoring nature is a laudable thing, it's no silver bullet when it comes to making a worthwhile difference.
The hype around nature restoration
Growing commitments to net-zero climate targets have seen an increasing focus on nature restoration to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, based on claims nature can provide over one-third of climate mitigation needed by 2030. However, the term “nature restoration” often encompasses a wide range of activities, some of which actually degrade nature. This includes monoculture tree plantations, which destroy biodiversity, increase pollution and remove land available for food production. Indeed, we find the hype around nature restoration tends to obscure the importance of restoring degraded landscapes, and conserving existing forests and other ecosystems already storing carbon. This is why we applied a “responsible development” framework to nature restoration for our study. Broadly, this means restoration activities must follow ecological principles, respect land rights and minimise changes to land use. This requires differentiating between activities that restore degraded lands and forests (such as ending native forest harvest or increasing vegetation in grazing lands), compared to planting a new forest.
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The distinction matters. Creating new tree plantations means changing the way land is used. This presents risks to biodiversity and has potential trade-offs, such as removing important farmland. On the other hand, restoring degraded lands does not displace existing land uses. Restoration enhances, rather than changes, biodiversity and existing agriculture. We suggest this presents the maximum “responsible” land
restoration potential that’s available for climate mitigation. We found this would result in a median 378 billion tonnes of CO₂ removed from the atmosphere between 2020 and 2100. That might sound like a lot but, for perspective, global CO₂ equivalent emissions were 59 billion tonnes in 2019 alone. This means the removals we could expect from nature restoration over the rest of the century is the same as just six years worth of current emissions. Based on this CO₂ removal potential, we assessed the impacts on peak global warming and century-long temperature reduction. We found nature restoration only marginally lowers global warming – and any climate benefits are dwarfed by the scale of ongoing fossil fuel emissions, which could be over 2,000 billion tonnes of CO₂ between now and 2100, under current policies. But let’s say we combine this potential with a deep decarbonisation scenario, where renewable energy is scaled up rapidly and we reach net zero emissions globally by 2050. Then, we calculate the planet would briefly exceed a 1.5C temperature rise, before declining to 1.25-1.5C by 2100. Of course, phasing out fossil fuels while restoring degraded lands and forests must also be coupled with ending deforestation. Otherwise, the emissions from deforestation will wipe out any gains from carbon removal. Given this, we also explored the impact of phasing out ongoing land-use emissions, to reach net-zero in the land sector by 2030. As with restoration, we found halting deforestation by 2030 has a very small impact on global temperatures, and would reduce warming by only around 0.08C over the century. This was largely because our baseline scenario already assumed governments will take some action. Increasing deforestation would lead to much larger warming. Taken together – nature restoration plus stopping deforestation – end-of-century warming could be reduced by 0.18C.
Is this enough?
If we enter a low-emissions pathway to limit global warming to 1.5C this century, we expect global temperature rise to peak in the next one to two decades. As our research shows, nature restoration will unlikely be done quickly enough to offset the fossil emissions and notably reduce these global peak temperatures. But let us be clear. We are not suggesting nature restoration is fruitless, nor unimportant. In our urgency to mitigate climate change, every fraction of a degree of warming we can prevent counts. Restoring degraded landscapes is also crucial for planetary health – the idea human health and flourishing natural systems are inextricably linked. What’s more, protecting existing ecosystems – such as intact forests, peatlands and wetlands – has an important immediate climate benefit, as it avoids releasing the carbon they store. What our research makes clear is that it’s dangerous to rely on restoring nature to meet our climate targets, rather than effectively and drastically phasing out fossil fuels. We see this reliance in, for instance, carbon offset schemes. Retaining the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5C requires rapid reductions in fossil fuel emissions before 2030 and global net-zero emissions by 2050, with some studies even calling for 2040. Wealthy nations, such as Australia, should achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions earlier than the global average based on their higher historical emissions. We now need new international cooperation, agreements to stop expansion of fossil fuels globally, and for governments to strengthen their national climate pledges under the Paris Agreements ratcheting mechanism. Promises of carbon dioxide removals via land cannot justify delays in these necessary actions.
Colour graphs show how the world is warming up
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olour graphics created by climate scientist Ed Hawkins of Reading University in the UK have significantly simplified the task of understanding how the world is warming. The origins of the graph project date back to 2016, but recently, it was upgraded with an online presentation that enables anyone to download large images that are free to use wherever you wish. Ed's spiral graphic of our warming world was used in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics. New York Times weather writer, Jason Samenow, described the graphic as "the most compelling global warming visualization ever made." Hawkins, a lead author for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report, received the Royal Society's 2018 Kavli Medal, in part "for actively communicating climate science and its various implications with broad audiences". Since their release, people have found all kinds of ways to use the graphics; in one case a Tesla car was striped top to bottom, but common uses for them are on hats or T-shirts, on ties (popular with male weather presenters) on trains and more. Get your stripes at:
showyourstripes.info/s/globe
Temperature changes in Australia (above) and in New Zealand since 1901.
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“It’s extraordinary to realise that we are witnessing the great unravelling; the beginning of the end of things. I honestly never thought I’d live to see the start of what sometimes feels like the apocalypse. The Earth is struggling to maintain its equilibrium. It’s possible that we are now seeing a cascade of tipping points lurching into action as the momentum of instability takes hold and things start to come apart. I honestly don’t know what the future will bring." – Joelle Gergis
Available at blackincbooks.com.au