Eight Common Dietary Myths

Dr. Chun-Hsu Chen, ND

August 12, 2008

Part of “Eating Wrong Makes People Ill.”

Not final version. Copy right protected. Please cite reference.

Myth #1: Low fat diet is better?

Case 1
Miss Huang, 35 years old, works as the group leader in the public relation
department in a technical company. Because she has to accommodate the domestic
and foreign clients frequently, she pays great attention to her appearance; wishing to
make a good first impression to the clients. For the past 5 years, Miss Huang’s
weight has been on the rise gradually. She has gained 10 kg since she first entered
the company. Not only did the company’s senior official comment on her weight
problem, she also noticed the distorted body shape herself. One of her best friends
told her that consuming too much fat was the cause of her rising weight; therefore,
Miss Huang decided to resolve this problem by blocking fats. Foods such as
hamburgers, fried chicken, beef, pork, and etc. are taken out of her diet. She only
eats salads, breads, biscuits, or sushi rolls for her three meals, and drinks milk tea
every once a while. Surprisingly to her, after going on a low fat diet for 6 months,
her lower abdomen seems even more protruding than before. She is now also easily
tempered, and has cold limbs when she is hungry. Miss Huang wonders what she
has done wrong: Has she been eating the wrong foods?

Losing weight has become the most popular topic among modern females,
even to elementary students. Low fat diet is prevalently used by girls who fear of
gaining weight from the conception that eating less fat would simply lead to growing
less fat. Foods such as fat meat, lard, chicken skin, etc. are completely cut out from
this diet. However, a low fat diet would lead to symptoms such as a pale
complexion, emotional instability, in some cases, even depression. In addition, some
believe that a low fat diet is healthy based on the fact that large quantities of fat can
induce chronic diseases.

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Low fat diet is not necessarily healthier
Nevertheless, low fat is not necessarily healthier. Then, is low fat diet even
healthy? My answer is: No. Fat is a vital component to the body, as a part of our
body compositions and as one of the important mediators between many physiological
operations. In the case of insufficient fat intake, problems such as unstable
emotions, decreased immunity, irregular hormones, unstable blood sugar, and etc. will
emerge, thus affecting the status of our health significantly. The problem with
consuming fats is not the amount but the quality. “Good oils” in moderation should
be included in one’s diet, whereas “bad oils” should be avoided even in small
quantities.
In Miss Huang’s case, although she avoided fat, she also consumed a large
quantity of starch, thus resulted in getting hungry easily and protruding abdomen.
Her mood fluctuated greatly with her unstable blood sugar levels. Many of her
symptoms are similar to those of the symptoms of early stages of diabetes. Even
though she tried to cut fat out from her diet, unbeknownst to her, she was consuming
large quantities of trans-fatty acids hidden in biscuits and breads. In turn, this diet
increased the risk of cardiovascular diseases and chronic inflammations.
There are a lot of patients with diabetes and hypercholesterolemia in Taiwan
who follow their doctor’s advice to carry out a low fat diet. This diet not only does
not benefit them, but also worsens their conditions. For diabetic patients, decreasing
meat and oil intake is beneficiary, but the resulting increase in starch consumption is
not; large quantities of starch make it harder to maintain a steady blood sugar level.
Similarly, for those patients with hypercholesterolemia, even though less meat is
consumed, increased consumption of traditional biscuits results in ingestion of too
much trans-fatty acids and free radicals. In comparison, eating meats boiled in water
raises LDL much less.

Bad Oil is the number one killer for chronic diseases

Taiwan’s economy started to ascend right after WWII ended in 1946. During
the period from 1950 to 1980, as the Taiwanese became more affluent, fat intake also
increased from 10% to 36% of total energy consumed, and it even reached as high as
50% in 1995. Throughout this time, many chronic diseases such as cardiovascular
disease, stroke, DM, allergy, obesity, and etc. became prevalent. American studies
show that all these diseases mentioned above are related to diet habits and more
specifically, the fat intake. The risk of chronic diseases increases directly with fat
intakes; it can be concluded that excess fat equals to chronic diseases. Among
different sources of fat, animal fat is even considered as the prime suspect for chronic
diseases.

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 As a result, in recent years and even now, experts in nutrition and medicine
advocate eating less animal fat such as lard, butter, chicken oil, and cream. However,
this argument requires further discussion. While it is true that chronic diseases are
caused by excess fat consumption, the type of fat consumed is also significant.
Animal fat is not the best, but it is not the worst either. Many do not realize that even
if animal fat is avoided, chronic diseases can still occur with consuming bad oils in
excess.
Fats can be classified into good fats and bad fats. Consumption of good fats
even above the recommended amount can be healthy too. On the other hand,
incorrect cooking methods or manufacturing procedures can change good fats into bad
ones. Frying under high temperature usually alters the nature of the oil and thus
produces toxins. Hence, instead of focusing the problem on how much fat we
consume, we should pay close attention to the quality of the oils. In the fifth chapter
I will teach you how to differentiate between oils.

Myth #2: Avoid foods rich in cholesterol?

Case 2
On the banquets, Mr. Wong saw the full table of delicious foods, sighing and
shaking his head and said, ”when I was young, I was too poor to eat any good foods.
Now I am an elder with hypercholesterolemia, and doctor said daily intake of egg can
not exceed one.” Mr. Chang said, “my wife restricted me from eating hot pot, due to
the high cholesterol content in the meat products, which will clot our blood vessels.”
Mr. Song said, “you guys are all better than me, I am not only being restricted from
meats and eggs, also seafood, I think I am going to become an herbivore.”

This topic is frequently being discussed on the dinner gatherings; I usually jump
out and claim that, eating five eggs in one day is okay if they are water boiled, same
theory applies to meat products and seafood. Even though these foods contain
cholesterol, but it is okay as long as using low temperature cooking methods.

95% of cholesterol is endogenous

<Eating less cholesterol is beneficial to our health> is a debatable concept. Many
of my patients are hypercholestrol and their doctors provided them a list of
cholesterol containing foods to avoid. In fact, after foods or fats being ingested,
bile and digestive enzymes reduce them into smaller units, after absorption and
synthesis with liver, transforming into the usable form for our body. Therefore,
95% of the cholesterol in our body is synthesized by liver instead of from foods.

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 The liver synthesis approximately 3000mg of cholesterol per day which equals the
cholesterol content of ten eggs, thus do not be afraid with high cholesterol foods
such as seafood, pettitoes, beef, egg, but be caution with the cooking methods.

Good cholesterol vs Bad cholesterol

You know that cholesterol can be differentiated into good cholesterol and bad
cholesterol? Total cholesterol can be divided into high density lipoprotein
cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low
density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C). HDL-C is considered the good
cholesterol while LDL-C is the bad one. Each body makes a specific amount of
good and bad cholesterol which is in fact arranged by the liver. Foods containing
high cholesterol are metabolized or burned after being ingested.
How can we demand our livers for making more good cholesterol instead of bad
cholesterol? We must understand under different circumstances our liver will make
different cholesterol.
First of all, our clever liver will decide for us depending on body needs.
Secondly, also the most important point is if the cholesterol and fats that we
ingest are oxidized. This leads to the amount of free radicals that’s being products
and how much fresh fruits and vegetables we consumed to neutralize free radicals.
As we all know that seafood and egg contain the highest amount of cholesterol of all
foods, but it is ok to eat 5 eggs per day as long as its not oxidized, such as water boil
eggs, stew eggs, eggs boiled in water blended with tea. Relatively, eating one
pan-fried egg or fry egg per day can be harmful. In that circumstance, you will need
to eat some fresh fruits and vegetable to neutralize it. Oxidized cholesterol or fats
will stimulate liver making more bad cholesterol.
So, it is the cooking method that we should concern instead of the amount of
cholesterol in the foods. But I am not suggesting you to eat water boiled eggs or
pettitoes unlimitedly since there are other problems we should concern about. The
best recommendation is eating moderately. Another important thing is consumption
of fried foods such as fried chicken, fried pork chop even fried vegetables or okra
produce free radicals, hence, increase bad cholesterol. Other factors such as pressure
can stimulate the production of free radicals too.

A simple step of cholesterol check

Bad cholesterol builds up in the damaged vessel walls easily then forms plaque;
it becomes thrombus when the plaque falls off. Heart attack is when this thrombus
happens in the heart and stroke is when this happens in the brain blood vessels.
Good cholesterol is indispensable since it is one of the important materials for

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hormones and cell membranes. Health examination in Taiwan only tested for total
cholesterol and the doctors will simply tell patients that they are hypercholesterolemia.
In fact, this is actually an assessment with insufficient data. Starting from 2001,
European doctors put emphasis of health assessment on the ratio of total cholesterol to
HDL instead of total cholesterol alone since elevated total cholesterol does not
represent the same for bad cholesterol. For reference, ratio below 3 is considered
healthy, ratio of 3 to 5 is caution, and ratio above 5 is at high risk for CVD or stroke.
For example, TC of 250 with HDL-C of 80 (ratio of 3.1) is healthier than TC of 180
with HDL-C of 35 (ratio of 5.1). The second case is actually at high risk for
atherosclerosis and stroke comparing with the first case. You need to be cautious
and remember to ask for your lab data of HDL-C from health providers.
To conclude, consuming cholesterol containing foods need to be controlled in
moderate amount. You can still enjoy delicious foods as long as keep the following
principles in mind, keep the ratio of TC and HDL-C is below 3, TC is between 150
and 200, with healthy cooking methods, and remember to eat your fruits and
vegetables.

Myth #3: Is it healthier to cook with vegetable oils?

Case 3
Jade is the newly wed housewife. Before she gets married, her mom urges Jade
to help husband in any ways, to teach children the right manner, and to obey her
parents-in-law, moreover, to learn how to cook deliciously. Jade’s mom sends
Jade to culinary school for three months learning how to cook since she has never
entered kitchen. The couple is still in their honey moon affection six months after
marriage but mother-in-law complains about Jade being too stubborn. After
carefully examined, Bear found out that different cooking principles triggered this
misunderstanding. Mother-in-law loves to cook with lard while Jade insists using
vegetable oils which was taught by culinary school since lard is not healthy. Jade
argues that using salad oil for cooking is healthier. Bear does not know how he can
solve this dispute between two women.

A survey done in 1996 reporting the ratio of cooking oils sold in the retailers in
Taiwan as 60% salad oil, 12% sunflower oil, and 13% lard. After ten years, the most
popular cooking oils in Taiwanese family are salad oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil.
Recent year, lard has been used less frequently while olive oil became more popular.
The question that’s being asked most frequently during my public speaking is
what kind of oil is best for stir-fry. The answer to who is right between Jade and her

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mother-in-law depends on what kind of vegetable oil Jade is using and the
temperature of stir-frying. If you are using wrong kind of vegetable oil, mind as well
just use lard instead.
Common cooking methods in Taiwan are pan-fry, stir-fry, and deep frying.
Vegetables are often stir-frying short time with big flame and using corn oil or
sunflower oil. Even some will use this kind of oils for frying pork chops. But this
is a serious mistake since not all oils can tolerate high temperature cooking. In fact,
sunflower oil starts to have smoke and alter its quality after 107 Celsius, and certainly
inadequate for stir-fry or deep-frying. Let us discuss about what is smoke point.

Smoke points
Different cooking oils have its own smoking point (between melting point and
boiling point). Alteration of quality of cooking oils begins when oils reach a
temperature above its smoking point and even can cause fire. Therefore, I encourage
adding some water when you are stir-frying. Hope no one minds I called this
method as stir-fry with water. Most oils has smoking point above 100 Celsius hence
the quality of the oil will not be altered if you keep cooking temperature under 100
Celsius. Many liquefied vegetable oils, such as canola oil and sunflower oil, have
smoking point of 107 Celsius. Oil quality can be easily altered when cooking under
big flame and it is unhealthy to consume oil products over its smoking point, but it is
good as dressing in cold dish.
Names for oil products can be confusing, for example, ingredients for salad oil
might be canola oil alone or mixture of canola and corn oils but manufactures didn’t
mark this information clearly. In fact, the name of salad oil means any oil that’s
suitable to use as dressing in cold dish. Therefore, make sure you know the
components in your oil before you use it for stir-fry. Smoking point for olive oil,
peanut oil, or sesame oil is 160 Celsius which its ok for stir-fry but its safer to add
some water. Smoking point for coconut oil is as high as 177 Celsius. 95% of the
housewives in Taiwan are not sure which is the best oil for stir-fry so they use
whatever is handy but resulted eating oils that already being altered. I summarized a
list of smoking points for different kind of unrefined oils and strongly advise you to
make sure you taking oil’s smoking point into consideration before you purchase or
cook.

Smoking points for different oils

Unrefined oils Smoking points Recommended cooking methods
Sunflower oil 107°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(225°F) water

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Safflower oil 107°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(225°F) water
Flax seed oil 107°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(225°F) water
Canola oil 107°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(225°F) water
Soybean oil 160°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(320°F) water, medium heat
Corn oil 160°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(320°F) water, medium heat
Olive oil 160°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(320°F) water, medium heat
Peanut oil 160°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(320°F) water, medium heat
Walnut oil 160°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(320°F) water, medium heat
Sesame oil 177°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(350°F) water, medium heat
Butter 177°C Stir-fry with water, medium
(350°F) heat
Coconut oil 177°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(350°F) water, medium heat
Vegetable shortening 182°C Trans fat; do not recommend to
(360°F) consume this product.
Lard 182°C Stir-fry with water, medium
(360°F) heat
Macadamia oil 199°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(390°F) water, medium heat
Almond oil 216°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(420°F) water, medium heat, high heat
Hazelnut oil 221°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(430°F) water, medium heat, high heat
Pomace oil 238°C Stir-fry with water, medium
(460°F) heat, high heat
Camellia oil 223°C Cold preparation, stir-fry with
(431°F) water, medium heat, high heat
Note: cold preparation (<49C/120F)，stir-fry with water（100C/212F），medium heat
(163C/325F) ，high heat (190C/375F)

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Four cooking methods for oils
Four common cooking methods for oils among the foreign countries are Cold
Preparation (Condiments & Salad Dressings), Low Heat (Sauces & Baking), Medium
Heat (Sautéing), and High Heat (Browning & Frying). This can be corresponded to
Cold Preparation, Stir-fry with water, Medium Heat (Stir-fry with medium flame),
and High Heat (sautéing and deep-frying) in my grouping.
Almost all kinds of oil are suitable for Cold Preparation (below 49℃) besides
butter, lard, coconut oil, or avocado oil since they are solid under room temperature.
Sunflower oil, safflower oil, and canola oil are suitable for stir-fry with water
(100℃/212F). I advise eating the uncooked linoleic acid, this way the nutrition is
preserved although linoleic acid is also okay for this method.
Soybean oil, corn oil, extra virgin cold press olive oil, peanut oil, walnut oil,
sesame oil, lard, butter, macadamia oil are suitable for Medium Heat (163C/325F) but
not High Heat. Vegetable shortening is the most common oil used in bakery but I
strongly advise not to use this product due to the concern of trans-fatty acid.
Cottonseed oils are often used to make cookies but its better avoid using this product
since it is toxic to the body and kills sperm. Consumers need to be cautious when
choosing oil products since the manufactures in Taiwan do not always show detail
information on the package like foreign ones will.
Almond oil, hazelnut oil, tea oil, and avocado oil are good for High Heat
(190℃/375F). Coconut oil and palm oil can be used for High Heat method since it
can endure heat above 200℃. But both oils are refined from high acid charged oil
which doesn’t qualify for my standard as good oils. I have heard that farmers will
spray some agent during harvesting to maintain the freshness of grapes which will
then remain in the oil products. I am not quite sure if this problem has been solved
that it’s better not making comment on that at this point. Since Pomace is extracted
from the residues of extra virgin olive oil and the quality is worse than extra virgin,
the sale price is about half of the extra virgin ones. Taiwanese avoid using Rice bran
oil after its incident with virulent substance due to its problem with the machinery.

Right oils with proper cooking methods

The story behind oil can be quite confusion that even food manufactures can’t
clearly state the details. Once I was discussing the problem of cooking oils with a
product developer of one famous food manufacture, he was trying to change subject
during the whole conversation since he knew the oils produced by his company did
not reach my standard. I realized that people in the business fields and inventors
have different views with Naturopathic doctors in many aspects. People in the

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business field care about how to make more money, inventors concern about the lab
data, but ND like us care nothing but the health of human beings and earth.
Most Taiwanese believe in the idea of “animal fats are bad, vegetable oils are
better” while in fact not all vegetable oils are good oils. Some audiences thought it
was clever to respond that they stir-fry with olive oil since olive oil is good oil. But
when I told them that 80% of the olive oil in the markets is not considered as good oil,
they are all in shock and asked where they can find good olive oils.
There is many camouflage in the oil products in Taiwan, for example a product
can name Polyphenols Olive Oil by mixing canola oil with a drizzle of olive oil. To
cater the Taiwanese habit of using high heat to cook, most manufacture refines the
supreme quality of olive oil after imported. In fact, not only olive oil is being
refined, most of the cooking oils in Taiwan is refined. And unfortunately, refined
oils are not in my list of good oils. Refined oils are actually one of the three major
problems which I will discuss in detail when we reach chapter five.
The vegetable oils sold in Taiwan are pretty much all refined. Stir-fry with
refined oil is adding another step of oxidation to the foods. The correct cooking
method to maintain health is to use unrefined olive oil, sesame oil in Medium Heat.
If you are not able to find unrefined palm oil, it’s better to use butter, lard, or tea oil
for stir-fry.
The definition of good oil is proper cooking method with correct oil selection.
It will be risky to cook with unrefined salad oil. You should make sure the smoke
point for that specific oil you are going to use before you stir-fry and make sure your
flame temperature is under that smoke point. Most chronic diseases, infections,
allergies, feminine diseases are caused by dietary oils.

Myth #4: Do not consume Lard and Butter?

Case 4
Ling is studious just like every other senior in high school. The only thing
different is that she spends many hours reading English newspaper and watching
American ABC news since she is going to attend University in the US after summer.
But one day she was confused about the term “French Paradox” when she read this
term in the newspaper. She found out one fact that overthrows the traditional belief
after searching on the internet.

Wake up call of French Paradox

The American experts in the science field don’t understand how come the
incident of CVD for French is 60% less than that for the Americans while they

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consume more butter, cream, lard, and tallow. French females love to eat the
traditional greasy foods but they are the group with lowest CVD rate. That’s why
this unexplained phenomenon is called the French Paradox.
Over the past 50 years, the Americans attribute the cause of CVD, HTN, and
stroke to animal fats such as butter, lard, and cream; thus the invention of margarine
and development of oil refinery rise. The theory of eating vegetable oil is healthier
than animal oil doesn’t really apply to the French.
Not only the French, people who live in Southeast Asian countries eating
coconut oil and palm oil which are saturated fats the Americans trying to avoid. For
many centuries, butter and lard are shipped all over the world and many grandparents
of ours are eating it for their whole life. What is wrong with eating saturated fats?
Using the traditional Cold Press method to press oil out of high oil containing
seeds like olive, sesame, peanut, or camellia will be the ideal oil. But do you know
how they make oil out of low oil containing seeds such as soybean, corn, and
coleseeds. Manufactures will first sun-dry these seeds, and then soak in chemical
dissolvers (usually hexane or gasoline) before they can extract oil out. The oil
quality is highly related to the level of the oil factory since the toxic remnants (hexane,
benzene, and methyl benzene) need to be controlled below 10 PPM. I hope the food
manufacture will consider bring back the traditional oil making process or any
healthier methods.
Lard has been the primary cooking oil for centuries and food that has been eaten
for thousands of years won’t be that bad. In fact, it is better than the invented refined
soybean oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans-fatty acids). I have always believe
that nature is the best, now we can get the partial answer for French Paradox from
here.
The advantages and disadvantages of lard and butter
Arachidonic Acid can be found in the saturated fats like lard and butter.
Saturated fat is denounced due to Arachidonic Acid can stimulate inflammation. But
if we consume more fresh vegetables and fruits and less sweets we can actually
counteract this problem. One good quality of saturated fats like lard, coconut oil,
and palm oil is that they contain Lauric Acid which is antibacterial, anti-virus, and
enhance immunity.
Besides, lard and butter are solid and stable under room temperature. It is safer
to use them to stir-fry than liquid vegetables (safflower oil or salad oil) because they
can store for a long time and heat durable. Most importantly they won’t product free
radical that easily like other oils. Next time, you don’t need to feel so guilty if you
add some yam leaves to your rice with lard.

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Myth #5: Margarine is safer than butter?

Case 5
Ming and little sister Mei gained about 4kg after visited South Africa. Their
mother brought them both to my clinics but not for the reason of weight gain but their
nasal allergic problem is getting more serious. Their noses are completely stuffed
that they can only use their mouth to breath. Not only that, Ming has difficulty
concentrating and memorizing; he can even lost keys for three times in a month and
teachers often need to pay extra attention. During the consultation, I found out that
they favor dairy products especially margarine. Ming’s mom urged Ming and Mei
to study English that she sends them to Ming’s aunt who immigrated to South Africa
eight years ago. Ming’s auntie loves her two nieces and whenever they visit she will
always prepare lots of foods for them. During the two months in Africa Ming drinks
two cups of milk everyday plus a few cheese sticks, and put margarine on his toast
and potato. He reminds his mom to buy lots of margarine and insist that it is
vegetable oil and good for health.

The theory of “Margarine is safer than butter” is actually a big mistake.

Margarine is in fact one of the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, it contains trans
fatty acids which is something that you should avoid completely. But there are many
who believe margarine is a good thing and consume freely. Partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil is the number one bad oil in my list, the enemy of all human beings.
The only recovery chance for patients with allergy, auto immune diseases, and CVD
is stop eating trans fatty acids and incorporating proper treatment. We should avoid
eating trans fatty acids since they do not exist in natural and human body is unable to
decompose it. I asked all my patients to avoid it completely.
Influenced by western diet, many Taiwanese love to butter their toasts recent
years. Now they switched to margarine since butter has gained bad reputation.
Many diseases such as HTN, Hyperlipidemia, CVD, Stroke, allergy, autoimmune
diseases, low immunity, obesity, etc, are actually caused by margarine intakes.
Why in the first place margarine is invented. About fifty years ago, Americans
started to blame butter, lard, and cream for clotting of blood vessels. But Americans
love to put butter on toasted bread and baked potato. To cater the preference of
consumers that the food manufactures hydrogenated liquid vegetables such as
soybean oil, corn oil, and canola oil to solid forms then add artificial coloring and
flavor to make it butter-alike. Food manufactures didn’t know that margarine is
even worse than butter.

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 Although arachidonic acid is one of the big concern for butter, but you can
counteract its effects with exercise and eating tons of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Consuming margarine is like placing a bump in the body since hydrogenated oils can
not be metabolized by the body.

Myth #6: Vegetarian diet is good for health?

Case 6
This is a real story I heard on the airplane during one of my trips. Mei and her
mother became vegetarians after Mei’s mom recovered from breast cancer with whole
food and vegetarian diets. They have been practiced vegetarian diet since then for
both self-redemption and health. As time goes by Mei got married and became a
mother. Once Mei learned that vegetarian diet is also good for children, she insists
son Howard to follow the same diet since infant period. Mei’s parents-in-law are
worried that Howard being malnutrition, they will feed Howard with egg, lean meats,
and milk sometimes without behind Mei’s back. Howard is now four years old.
Just like every other mothers Mei worries about if she is making the right decision
raising Howard with vegetarian diet. Vegetarian diet can actually be healthy if
eating correctly.

Even though vegetarian diet is considered healthy practice, but most Taiwanese
vegetarians are not eating correctly. Statistics showed vegetarians in Taiwan
actually has higher CVD incident than non-vegetarians. Just recently, Tzu-Chi
hospital examined 3689 patients who came for annual exam and found TG levels of
vegetarian females are higher than those who are not vegetarians. Also, HDL levels
are lower in vegetarian females. HK appears to have the same problem that
long-term vegetarians have higher Homocysteine level and at higher risk for
atherosclerosis since they are deficient in vitamin B12.
Many people thought following vegetarian diet is a way to healthiness. But
ironically, it is not quite the case. Eating right can lower the incidence of breast
cancer, colon cancer, fibroid, atherosclerosis, stroke, DM, Rheumatoid arthritis, etc
chronic diseases. But eating wrong can cause atherosclerosis, DM, Iron-deficient
anemia, pernicious anemia, melancholia, anorexia, metabolic syndromes, decline
reproduction function.
Let us look at why vegetarian females have lower HDL and elevated LDL. It is
all because they consumed too much oxidized fats and cholesterol. Vegetarian
housewives or restaurants often prepare foods with too much oil and mostly using
refined vegetable oils. These refined vegetable oils are bad quality and easily

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oxidized when stir-frying. This is not the worst. Housewives usually eat up all the
left-over dishes that are already oxidized.
Vegetarians in Taiwan love to eat processed bean products such as vegetarian
chicken or fish. Food manufactures will either fry or stir-fry these vegetarian meat
products to improve the taste and mouth-feel. A lot of vegetarians or elderly likes to
eat fried mushroom, fried eggplant, fried vegetarian fish cake, etc. How can LDL
not increased when the diet is filled with too much oxidized fats and lack of fresh
fruits and vegetables. Elevated TG is in fact caused by consuming too much starch.

Raw Food Diet

Foreign vegetarians have a much healthier eating habit since vegetables are
prepared mostly by low temperature cooking or as salad. Salad is one of Raw Food
Diet. A lot of my schoolmates are vegetarians and they eat fresh vegetables raw.
But vegetarians in Taiwan are used to eating their vegetable stir-fried. Taiwan is
located in subtropical zone; with this humid climate it is better that we wash and cook
vegetables before consumption. Also, eating vegetables as salad is not that popular
in Taiwan. I would suggest wash vegetables first, boil in water for 10 to 20 seconds,
take them out, then drizzle some olive oils on the vegetables. The freshness of the
vegetables is the most important thing no matter you are vegetarian or not. I
recommend eating fresh fruits and vegetables for every meal. Uncooked vegetables
have the highest nutrient values but you need to clean off bacteria. It is better to eat
organic vegetables, this way you won’t consume pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
The presence of bacteria is one major concern for organic vegetables since pesticide is
not used. There was an incident happened in September 2006 with 166 Americans
eating organic spinach and were infected with E. coli. The best way to resolve the
bacteria problem and to retain the freshness of vegetables at the same time is to boil
vegetables in water for ten seconds. The longer you cook vegetables, the less
nutrient is retained. We have to remember the main purpose for cooking is to kill
germs.
Another problem is the incorrect food proportion among the vegetarians. This
problem not only concerns the vegetarians in Taiwan but the whole world.
Vegetarians usually consume insufficient protein and fat since they avoid meat
products; symptoms like blood sugar instability, low levels of cholesterol, low thyroid
function, or deficient in serotonin are often caused by this reason. It is important to
make sure vegetarians are consuming adequate amounts of protein and fat with the
correct proportion. Accurate proportion needs to be calculated for different body
types. Metabolisms of starch, protein, and fat are very individualized; hence some

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will find it easy to follow vegetarian diets while some will have difficult time. This
is also related to blood type and the pH value of body.
It is important to schedule vegetarians for blood test for the status of vitamin B12
and iron regularly since this diet does not contain a good source of these nutrients.
Deficient in iron can cause anemia while deficient in vitamin B12 will cause
pernicious anemia and atherosclerosis. Another important thing is to make sure to
incorporate complementary protein in vegetarian diet, for example to consume
legumes with grains to obtain complete amino acids.
Most fruits and vegetables are considered as cold and meats are considered as
warm according to traditional Chinese medicinal science. If you have a cold body
type, then you need to consume warm foods and to increase your metabolic rate by
exercising. More information is attached at appendix.
Pregnant women and infants should pay extra attention to nutrition due to the
unique requirement during this time of period. Clinically found vegetarians are often
deficient in calories, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and vitamin D. It can
be easily improved with consumption of eggs. Insurance companies and state
governments would recommend pregnant women and infants to arrange regular
appointment with dietician and obstetrician to ensure nutrition sufficiency and growth
development.
To conclude, there are few points to follow in order to be a healthy vegetarian.
Be caution with pesticides, chemical fertilizer, manufacturing process of vegetarian
meats, cooking oils in restaurants and home, quality of protein, sufficient vitamin B12
and Iron, and to incorporate the correct food type with body type.

Myth #7: Low protein diet can prevent diseases?

Case # 7
Mr. Chung was diagnosed with hepatitis C three years ago. He started feeling
fatigue frequently since last year. Sometimes he would be unable to walk due to
swollen toes. He starts cutting meats out of his diet and eats only vegetables and
grains and after doctor told him he has gout. After half year, Mr. Chung feels better
regarding his gout problem. But surprisingly he feels down, unenergetic, and
pessimistic. Data from his annual health examination shows that his cholesterol
went down to about hundred but his blood sugar was too high. In additional to his
health condition, his company isn’t running too well either that Mr. Chung found
himself becoming antisocial and melancholic.

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Mr. Chung’s case is caused by protein deficiency, which will in term lead to
insufficient serotonin thus become melancholia. Inadequate intakes of meats and
fats will end up with lowering cholesterol. Hyperglycemia might be caused by
genetic, pressure, sedentary life style, or too much simple sugar.
Low protein diet has gained its popularity among the Asians recently. People
who practice this diet think they are eating healthy while in fact it is a big
misconception. Protein is vital to our physiological function, immunity, and even
brain operation. Let us look at the popular so called “Detox meals” as an example.
Deto meals are usually composed of high fiber and high starch which means will be
low in fat and protein. Detox meals was first designed to serve cancer patients and
results were good. According to clinical researches in the past twenty years, low
protein diet is suitable for 80% of CA patients but most people don’t quite fit low
protein diet. Requirement for protein and fat is very individualized and can be
determined through examination of blood, saliva, and urine, or through consultation.

The importance of food proportions

Recently, a patient came to me with dizziness, headache, and cold sweat.
After consultation I found she only eats yam for breakfast. All her symptoms
indicate blood sugar instability. I recommend adding two water boiled eggs in
addition to yam. After two weeks, she is cured without taking any medication. On
second meeting, I suggest adding one serving of guava can make the meal even better.
Our grandparents are used to the diet pattern similar to detox meals; low
protein with moderate fat. They are very smart to incorporate adequate fat in the diet
to sustain energy and satiety. It is the instinct of living organism that human body
craves for protein naturally. Therefore, they would supplement protein needs on
wedding celebration, funeral, and different occasions with shrimps, fishes, and plenty
of meats.
The only safe way for using detox meal is to include intensive exercises such
as walk for three hours or cultivating. But most people in the modern society are
unable to meet this requirement. Thus, symptoms like decline in immune function,
melancholy, DM, obesity, hypertriglycerolemia, etc. will accompany people who
follow very low protein diet.

The importance of protein

Besides water protein is the most vital composition in human body structure.
Greek word “proteos” means the most important. Protein, as one of the most
important substance, helps to maintain normal function of our body. Therefore low
protein diet can exert great influence on the body.

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 First of all, protein can helps us grow muscles since it is the major component.
Most cells in our body are composed by protein. We can often find low protein
intakes among skinny people.
Secondly, skin, enzymes, antibodies, cells for organs, neural cells, blood vessels,
blood cells, neurotransmitters, cellular endocrines, etc. are all composed by protein.
Many hormones are composed after protein degradation, such as thyroxin, it is
composed by amino acid tyrosine. After protein enters our gastrointestinal tract, it is
decomposed to peptide, then amino acids. There are eight essential amino acids that
we must obtain from foods since we are unable to make them.
Thirdly, protein can provide energy, adjust pH level, adjust osmosis pressure,
carry nutrients, and communicate between cells, etc. Thus, tons of problems will
occur in the case of protein insufficiency. There will be detail explanation in the
following chapter.

Myth #8: Supplement with milk?

Case 8
Vicky is five years old, attending kindergarten. She has drawing talent and good
physique but the development of her linguistic ability is a little delay comparing to
other same age children. Vicky loves to go to kindergarten because they provide
snacks. Recently, the kindergarten increases its budget for snacks that each child
can have two cups of milk, few packs of cookies and cheeses for each day. Teacher
tells Vicky’s mom that Vicky is a little laid-back and her hearing seems not so keen
recently. Vicky’s mom takes Vicky to pediatrician and find out she had severe ear
infection and damaged ear drum. Pediatrician recommends treatment with
antibiotics and suggests she might need drainage. Vicky’s mom blames herself for
spending too much time working and neglecting to care for Vicky. No wonder Vicky
picks her ears frequently and her ear wax is always stinky. Vicky’s mom’s high
school friend who is a nurse recommends them to see a naturopathic doctor. ND
concludes that it is all because of the milk, cookies, and cheeses. He suggests Vicky
to take some natural treatments and stop eating all dairy products. After three
weeks, Vicky’s ear drum is totally cured and she doesn’t pick her ear any more.

The above case is one of many cases I treated. My wife and I often see bunch of
moms standing in front of the freezer selecting milk for their children in the
supermarket. There will always be a baby with full face of pimples on the safety
seat. I highly suggest them not to purchase milk anymore. There are so many

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down sides about milk but the whole world is blinded by the successful marketing
strategies from the dairy industry.
Why am I holding an opposed opinion while everyone else are encouraged to drink
milk? The basic theory is milk is for calves, not for human beings.

There are a few reasons for not drinking milk.

Milk is the top one reason causing allergies. Milk and dairy products (cheese,
yogurt, and butter) contain more than 25 different proteins and can easily cause
allergic reactions (dermatitis, nasal allergy, stuffed nose, asthma, food allergy,
tympanitis, tonsillitis, GI problems, diarrhea, abdominal distention, abdominal
discomfort, constipation, etc.) and autoimmune diseases (Multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 DM, lupus erythematosus, etc.). According to statistics,
leading cause of chronic food allergy is milk. Leakage of the intestine, when
undigested protein, allergen, toxins permeate into blood vessels from intestines, can
cause more severe problems. Leakage is often caused by toxins production from
deteriorated undigested milk protein in the intestine and immune complexes which are
formed due to allergy.
Ninety percents of the population is lactose intolerant, lacking the enzymes
for analyzing milk. Lactase and Rennin are the specific enzymes to analyze lactose
and casein but they are only present in the body before we reach the age of three.
After the age of three, these enzymes will disappear and we are unable to secrete them
again.
The protein in the milk is bigger and not easy to digest when compared with
breast milk. 82% of the milk is casein which is extremely to digest in human
stomach; this is also the reason for baby’s GI problems and diarrhea. There are four
stomachs in cows for ruminating continuously in order to digest casein completely.
But we, human beings, only have one stomach; this fact makes digesting casein a
difficult job for us.
The protein proportion in milk is quite different with human milk.
Casein accounts for 40% in human milk while it accounts for 82% in milk. The
major function of casein is to help animals grow rapidly; calves double their weights
monthly after birth and increase 8 times when they reach three months old. It is true
that baby grows chubby when feeding with milk, only become big in size structurally
but not intellectually.
The percentage of whey in milk is only 18% while it is 60% in human milk.
Whey plays a vital role in the development of infant growth because it helps with the
maturity of brain and immune enhancement. Human milk also contains large
amount of Taurine and lecithin, in addition to whey, they accelerate brain growth of

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baby. Kids drinking human milk are bigger and stronger when compared with kids
drinking milk since milk lacks of these nutrients. Children who drink milk won’t be
as spontaneous and smart as children who drink human milk. What about goat milk?
Goat milk is a little better than milk since the protein size is small and easy to digest
and absorb like human milk.
Milk contains hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides. Farmers will add
artificial hormones to feedstuffs in order to stimulate cow to secrete large amount of
milk; the fact that onset age of menstrual cycle is younger than it used to be and
increased incident of breast cancer are highly correlated with it. Growth hormone,
antibiotics, and pesticides will be added to feedstuffs to ensure cows growth strong
and healthy. But we are eating all these artificial ingredients indirectly if we drink
milk.
Drinking milk will lead to osteoporosis. Although milk contains the most
abundant calcium but unfortunately this calcium can’t be easily absorbed by human
body. Milk contains large amount of protein, our body will take out calcium ions
from bones trying to neutralize this acidity and thus cause osteoporosis. The acidity
of dairy products is even worse than milk. The highest rates of osteoporosis and
bone fracture occur in the four nations with leading consumption of milk (England,
US, Swaziland, Finland). But most Asian countries don’t drink milk but their bones
are in fact stronger than those who drink milk. For example, Bantu, they don’t drink
milk but consume foods containing abundant calcium which include dark leafy
vegetables (yam leaves and spinach), cruciferae vegetables (broccoli, cabbage and
Chinese broccoli), and legumes. This evidence shows that eating vegetables instead
of milk can prevent osteoporosis.
Sterilization of milk damages precious nutrients in milk. For sanitation
reason, milk must undergoes sterilization with temperature at 130℃ for 3-5 seconds
or sterilization with temperature at 72℃. Enzymes, lactobacillus and vitamins will
be damaged at temperature above 62°C. Milk is not only difficult to digest and
absorb, but also nutrient deficient. Researches have shown that feeding calves
sterilized milk brings early death to them.

Replacement for milk

The above reasons show why most people are not suitable to drink milk. Many
patients are used to drink milk and have difficulty cutting it out of their life. I have
tried to search for good milk for them but even organic milk did not pass my test. I
can only conclude that milk is for calves. Some people might insist that they can’t
live without milk, then I would recommend replace milk with goat milk or soy milk.
But be caution with the addition of milk in goat milk sold in Taiwan. The soy milk

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in the US contains agar agar and some other natural ingredients to make its mouth feel
similar to milk. Some of my patients in the US quit milk successfully with soy milk
replacement. During leisure time, I recommend buying non-genetic modified
organic soy beans and make soy milk at home. Many food processors can chop
soybeans and cook them at the same time. Making home-made soy milk is
economical and healthy.

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