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Hello again everyone: As you know, I keep promoting a healthy unprocessed whole food plant-based dietary pattern to reduce inflammation and optimize health and longevity. I did not know that beans were so essential till I read this paper!  Conclusions : The FHILL (Food Habits In Later Life) longitudinal study shows that a higher legume intake is the most protective dietary predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of their ethnicity. The significance of legumes persisted even after controlling for age at enrolment (in 5-year intervals), gender, and smoking. Legumes have been associated with long-lived food cultures such as the Japanese (soy, tofu, natto, miso), the Swedes (brown beans, peas), and the Mediterranean people (lentils, chickpeas, white beans). https://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/13/2/217.pdf Bottom Line : For a little more information, consider consuming legumes daily, and it does not take that much to make a difference. Even as little as several tablespoons per day is enough to make a difference. Perhaps it is the vegetable protein, or the resistant starch, or the fiber and gut microbiome effects that cause such a boost in health, but whatever it is, just eat some beans every day. There a quite a few to choose from: Mung beans, chickpeas, lentils, black beans, adzuki beans, red beans, white beans, butter beans, Lupini beans and more…lots of different tastes and textures to add to your plate! One reason that people do not eat beans is due to fear of flatulence! Studies show that this does not affect most of us, and for those that it does the effect will diminish and go away after several weeks of consistently consuming them. So, eat your beans within the context of a great Mediterranean plan! The Traditional Mediterranean Diet has been characterized by: 1. Plentiful fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains. 2. Olive oil as the principal fat. 3. Lean red meat consumed only a few times per month or in very small portions. 4. Low to moderate daily consumption of dairy products. 5. Poultry, fish and eggs consumed a couple of times per week; and 6. Moderate consumption of wine. (Low or none is actually best) PS: As more modern data becomes available, you might see # 3,4, & 5 get smaller as the advantages of vegetarian protein sources are proving superior for longevity and chronic illness and inflammation benefits.

Hello again everyone: As you know, inflammation causes, aggravates, and/or perpetuates all chronic conditions. Another way to say this is that inflammation is the final common pathway of environmental stress…what we eat, what we are exposed to, what we think, and what we do (exercise etc.) can either create health or a lack of health (inflammation). There is a lot of good research that reveals vegetables can reduce inflammation, therefore, going into a whole foods plant-based food plan has many advantages: Conclusions: This study suggests that the previously observed health benefits of cruciferous vegetable consumption may be partly associated with the anti-inflammatory effects of these vegetables. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24630682/ Conclusion : Study results show that the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetable intake on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress are already present by early adolescence and provide support for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans "to consume five or more servings per day" of fruits and vegetables to promote beneficial cardiovascular health.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19248856/ Conclusions: This study suggests that soy food consumption is related to lower circulating levels of IL-6, TNFα, and soluble TNF receptors 1 and 2 (markers of inflammation) in Chinese women. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22889631/ “Epidemiology studies indicate that diet or specific dietary components can reduce the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. An underlying cause of these diseases is chronic inflammation. Dietary components that are beneficial against disease seem to have multiple mechanisms of action and many also have a common mechanism of reducing inflammation, often via the NFkB pathway. Thus, a plant-based diet can contain many components that reduce inflammation and can reduce the risk for developing all three of these chronic diseases.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24944766/ Bottom Line: Go whole food plant based. Ditch the sugar, bad fats, additives, preservatives, processing, fried, nutrient deprived food like objects and opt for real food that your biology craves and protect your health. To eat any other way is way too risky.

Hey there everyone: This article helps to clarify the science as it unfolds about lowering your cancer risk with your lifestyle. It now appears that there is enough evidence supporting plant-based food plans for cancer prevention. And although there are multiple mechanisms involved as to how plants reduce cancer risks. ” ...as the evidence accumulates, it increasingly points to one over-arching theme: More plants, less cancer. When it comes to naming the dietary patterns offering the most protection against cancer, plant-based diets emerge as the winner for reducing the risk for several cancers sensitive to lifestyle factors.” https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/growing-evidence-suggests-plant-based-diets-reduce-cancer-2025a100011d?ecd=mkm_ret_250131_mscpmrk_onc_top-content_etid7196490&uac=428598BV&impID=7196490 Bottom Line: It is important to note the following: “Food Quality Matters : Of course, not all plant-based diets are created equally. It would be easy to fill a diet with French fries, potato chips, and doughnuts and call it plant-based, but no one would mistake that diet for helping to prevent cancer. “It’s important to distinguish between an overall plant-based diet and a healthy plant-based diet,” Giovannucci said. A healthy plant-based diet, for example, positively weights whole grains, fruits, vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts, and legumes, and it negatively weights refined grains, fruit juices, potatoes, sugar-sweetened beverages, and sweets, he explained.” In other words, a diverse Whole Foods Plant Based food plan that avoids ultra-processed foods is crucial to your long-term overall health as well as avoiding cancer. To find out more detailed information about cancer risk and foods, weight, lifestyle activities and more, check out this super informative and easy to use link where you can see the effect size of each item and get details to help your decisions. I spent a good 45 minutes on this link and found out how much science there is about health and plants that I was not aware of: https://www.wcrf.org/research-policy/interactive-cancer-risk-matrix/

Hello again: This article is very important and straightforward, plus it is a really great summary of what low-grade chronic inflammation is all about and how harmful it is…and considering that in the U.S., more than 60% of daily calories by all ages and genders are from UPFs, it is an important and timely topic…so let’s get right into it. “Low-grade inflammation alters the homeostasis of the organism and favors the onset of many chronic diseases. The global growth in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in recent years has been accompanied by an increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF). Known to be hyperpalatable, economic and ready-to-eat, increased consumption of UPF has already been recognized as a risk factor for several chronic diseases. Current evidence highlights the adverse health effects of UPF characteristics, not only due to the nutrients provided by a diet rich in UPF, but also due to the non-nutritive components present in UPF and the effect they may have on gut health. This review aims to summarize the available evidence on the possible relationship between excessive UPF consumption and modulation of low-grade inflammation, as potential promoters of chronic disease. Inflammation is an immunosurveillance response essential for host defense, which serves to repair damaged tissues and eliminate toxic agents [ 1 ]. However, when this response becomes chronic, it results in the presence of immune system cells for an increasing period of time. This state of low-grade inflammation can lead to dysmetabolic conditions that disrupt homeostasis, favoring the development of a wide range of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases [ 2 ]. Among the environmental and lifestyle factors that can promote or intensify inflammation, increasing scientific evidence supports the role of diet. Potential nutritional compounds influencing inflammation processes include macro- and micronutrients, bioactive molecules such as polyphenols and specific food components [ 19 ]. Overall, plant-based dietary patterns with a high consumption of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, a moderate consumption of legumes and fish and a low consumption of red meat have been associated with a greater anti-inflammatory potential ( Figure 1 ). These include several traditional healthy diets, such as the Mediterranean or the Nordic diet, which are usually based on minimally processed or unprocessed foods [ 20 , 21 ]. A meta-analysis that evaluated a total of 2300 subjects from 17 clinical trials showed that greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers, particularly CRP and interleukin-6 (IL-6) [ 22 ]. These findings were confirmed in a recent meta-analysis assessing the effect of multiple dietary patterns on inflammatory biomarkers [ 23 ].” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10058108/ Bottom Line: Now it becomes more obvious why I am always saying inflammation will cause, perpetuate, and/or aggravate chronic illness of ALL types, and please note that this includes aging. It also becomes apparent as to why a plant-based, whole-food, minimally processed food plan is the best way to go. I urge you to read or review this paper and it will hopefully raise your motivation to fully dedicate yourself, and those you care about, to consume an optimal dietary lifestyle. What you eat will determine to a large extent on how long you live a healthy life (healthspan) as well as how long you live. In the article, there are several good charts (Figure 1 & 2) and information on what UPFs are and the chemicals and toxins in them, so check Section 3 & 4 when you get a chance. It is this kind of information that helps us make informed decisions that can dramatically improve our health and lower our risk for diseases (prevention) as well as promote recovery and resilience if we do become ill. Please, avoid UPFs for your health’s sake and eat foods that love you back!