Gelo Cruz, Registered Nutritionist-Dietitian

01/06/2025

Spices are the most potent DNA protectors. Our strands of DNA can be protected against breakage after just one week of eating about two teaspoons of rosemary or sage, one and a half teaspoons of ground ginger or cumin, three-fourths of a teaspoon of paprika, or even just a tenth of a teaspoon of cooked turmeric a day. A daily quarter teaspoon of amla—dried Indian gooseberry powder—also decreases oxidative DNA damage. This is to be expected as, ounce for ounce, dried herbs and spices pack the greatest antioxidant punch.

Adding a single teaspoon of dried oregano to a bowl of whole-wheat spaghetti with marinara and steamed broccoli nearly doubles the antioxidant power of the dish, and just two-thirds of a teaspoon of marjoram offers the same boost. A half teaspoon of cinnamon more than quintuples the antioxidant content of a bowl of oatmeal. We have verification of bioavailability, too. A dozen randomized controlled trials have shown that cinnamon—both the cassia and Ceylon varieties—can increase the antioxidant capacity of our bloodstream and reduce free radical damage at doses ranging from just half a teaspoon to one and a half teaspoons a day.

Watch the video “Which Spices Fight Inflammation?” at https://see.nf/3Sp3EoJ.

What else can we do to lower blood pressure? If you’re a regular alcohol drinker and restrict your intake, your blood pressure can drop five points. Just eating the recommended eight to ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day can lower it by seven points, and getting regular aerobic exercise for at least three months can lower it by nine points. Combine the greater intake of fruits and vegetables with meat reduction, and you can lower your blood pressure by 11 points. Regular blood pressure medications can have side effects, but, on their own, they can drop your pressure by 15 points. Sodium restriction can lower it by 16 points. Following a strictly plant-based diet, even one moderate in sodium, can lower your blood pressure by 18 points in just seven days. See the video "How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally with Lifestyle Changes" at https://see.nf/48YA2Ui.

PMID: 23378457, 31890983, 20096093, 33066854, 1356922, 9099655, 1588350, 16053990, 2573761, 25311617

See the Consumer Reports reference for choosing cocoa powders lower in heavy metals at https://see.nf/3Jjl28R

16/05/2025

In a study comparing walking in a city versus a forest, the participants walking in the woods experienced an 80% boost in natural killer cell activity, compared to only a 10% bump for the city walkers. https://bit.ly/3qeeOhP

Next time you take a walk, try to go to the forest or a wooded park for the added benefits of boosting your anticancer immunity. https://nutritionfacts.org/daily-dozen/

How Not to Age is out now https://see.nf/HNTABook.
PMIDs: 31001682, 19568839, 18394317, 20487629, 18336737

20/04/2025

Welcome to the site vegan Strongman Viktor Jakab!

The 125 kg Hungarian competes at the nationals and is second in the country in Stone Lifting.

Viktor said:
“Like almost everyone, eating meat seemed natural to me in my life up until then. I didn’t realize that animals were actually being harmed because of it.”

14/04/2025

Our greatest exposure to the outside world is not through our skin, but through the lining of our gut. The barrier between our bloodstream and the outside world is thinner than a piece of tissue paper. This lining is so thin because nutrients and fluids from the foods and beverages we consume need to be able to pass through our gut and into our bloodstream. While we might think of our skin as having more contact with the outside world, our skin actually has a larger barrier protecting us.

Since our guts have such a thin and fragile barrier, we need a good defense mechanism in place to keep out the bad stuff from getting into our bloodstream. Enter our immune system.

We have a special type of white blood cells, called the intraepithelial lymphocytes, that serve as our gut’s first line of defense against pathogens. Additionally, these lymphocytes also condition and repair our thin intestinal lining. They are covered with receptors, called Ah receptors, that act like a lock. Once a key fits into the lock, they get activated and can boost our immunity. For years, researchers have been searching for a natural key to fit into this lock. What did they eventually find?

Phytonutrients found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, such as brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, and cabbage, are those keys.

Eating cruciferous veggies may be one way we can boost our immune system, protecting us against pathogens found in our food and pollutants in the environment, like car exhaust or to***co smoke.

Watch the video “The Broccoli Receptor: Our First Line of Defense” at buff.ly/43AgpCX
PMIDs: 22044254, 20890736, 16048545, 22371237, 22909905, 22236230, 22036556

13/04/2025

When study participants went through a 12-week aerobic conditioning program of cycling, StairMaster, and running on a treadmill, their resting heart rate dropped about three beats per minute, down from around 69 to about 66. Exercise certainly benefits our heart, but we have to make it part of our life to maintain its benefits. Stop exercising, and resting heart rate goes right back up.

Exercise is just one way to drop our heart rate, though. Instead of three months of exercising, what if you did three months of eating beans—a cup a day of beans, chickpeas, or lentils? In the first randomized controlled trial of beans for the treatment of diabetes, participants successfully improved their blood sugar control and dropped their average A1C level from 7.4 to 6.9. This study was also the first to assess the effect of bean consumption on heart rate. Having a higher resting heart rate not only increases our risk of death, but for people with diabetes, it also appears to predict greater risk of diabetes complications.

So, how did beans do? Study participants experienced a 3.4 drop in their heart rate—just as much as the 50 hours on a treadmill. We aren’t exactly sure why beans are as powerful as exercise in bringing down one’s resting heart rate, but in addition to the nutritional benefits of legumes, such as fiber, there is also the potential that eating more beans may also reduce intake of animal protein foods, further reducing our intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.

Every increase in heart rate of ten beats per minute is associated with a 10 to 20 percent increase in the risk of premature death (at least for values above one beat a second). To lower our heart rate, we should consider eating beans and exercising to benefit our heart.

Watch the video "Slow Your Beating Heart: Beans vs. Exercise" at https://see.nf/heartrate.

PMIDs: 19299682, 23089999, 22286552, 23316296, 22718796

07/04/2025

The traditional diet in Okinawa, Japan, one of the longevity Blue Zones, was based on vegetables, beans, and other plants. Less than 1 percent of their diet was fish and less than 1 percent was other meat, and the same with dairy and eggs, so it was more than 96 percent plant-based. And, as they ate very few processed foods, it was more than 90 percent whole food plant-based. And, it wasn’t just whole food plant-based in general. Most of their diet was made up of vegetables with one in particular—the sweet potato. How delicious that the Okinawan diet was centered around purple and orange sweet potatoes!

Watch the video “The Okinawa Diet: Living to 100” at https://buff.ly/37bjRF3 to learn more.

How Not to Age is out now! Borrow a copy from your local library or order one today: https://buff.ly/48XNwiN

PMIDs: 28474121, 20234038, 17986602

29/03/2025

See you tomorrow!

This SUNDAY!!!

Chel Run Club x Vegan Runners Philippines
🗓️ Date: march 30, 2025
⏰ Time : 6AM meet up

📌 meeting point: Ninoy Aquino Monument, Paseo De Roxas, Makati

Akbayan natin ang mga vegans! See youuuu!! You can also register here for the run:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qLb8GDQP_PNS-hE_5pkZ6gjwr3MFtu92De-aQNcron4/edit

22/03/2025

Dates are one of the healthiest sweeteners. Blend dates with water to make a homemade date syrup or use date powder, which is just finely ground dried dates.
Because dates are a fruit, they contain more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than other sweeteners, especially refined sugar. They’re also high in fiber and polyphenols, which are antioxidant phytonutrients that can also act as prebiotics. So, dates can help produce more good bacteria in our gut microbiome.

A randomized study found that those eating seven dates a day for three weeks had an increase in bowel movement and frequency, as well as a reduction in ammonia in their stool. When we eat lots of animal protein, we produce more ammonia, which in turn increases the pH of our stool. A higher pH in our colon may promote the creation of carcinogens from bile acids that can put us at higher risk for colon cancer.

Plant-based diets appear to shift the makeup of the bacteria in our gut, resulting in a significantly lower stool pH, and the more plant-based, the lower the pH dropped. If we eat lots of fiber, then we feed the fiber-eating bacteria, which give us back all sorts of health-promoting substances, like short-chain fatty acids, which have pH-lowering, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties.

Dates can be a beneficial part of our diet. We should also strive to include lots of fiber-rich foods throughout the day, such as beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

Watch the videos “Benefit of Dates for Colon Health” at buff.ly/40AF8ne and “Stool pH and Colon Cancer” at buff.ly/4hAaBxi to learn more.

PMID: 19103324, 22214443, 26101614, 26428278, 23719549, 6112450, 7120255, 21811294, 23719549

ISBN 9781439849453

16/03/2025

Ayon sa World Health Organization (WHO), posibleng mauwi sa malalang sakit ang pagiging overweight at obese. Sa katunayan, 1 sa bawat 8 tao sa mundo ang namumuhay na obese base sa datos noong 2022.

Basahin ang buong detalye mula sa WHO sa comments section.

09/03/2025

Cholesterol appears to stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells, which may explain why phytosterol-rich foods, such as pumpkin seeds, are associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

Cholesterol appears to stimulate the growth of human breast cancer cells—which may explain why phytosterol-rich foods, such as pumpkin seeds, are associated with reduced breast cancer risk.

07/03/2025

Consistent evidence has established that LDL cholesterol causes atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, strokes, and heart attacks. With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the United States and around the world, we definitely don’t want to have just “normal” cholesterol levels.

Even “normal” LDL cholesterol levels are associated with the hidden buildup of atherosclerotic plaques in our arteries. Optimal LDL cholesterol should be defined as no longer causing diseases, which may be down around 30 to 70 mg/dL (0.8 to 1.8 mmol/L). But currently, guidelines recommend those at high cardiovascular disease risk to simply get their LDL as low as possible.
When more than a thousand people in their 40s were scanned, having an LDL under 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L)—which many labs in the United States would consider a normal LDL—left them with atherosclerosis throughout their body. However, atherosclerotic plaques were not found when LDL cholesterol was down around 50 or 60 mg/dL (1.3 to 1.6 mmol/L) .

An LDL under 70 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L) may seem low by American standards, but it is a normal cholesterol range for people who eat a diet centered around plants. Indeed, an LDL of 70 mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L) isn’t only possible on a healthy enough diet, but it may be normal.

Watch the video “How Low Should You Go for Ideal Cholesterol Levels?” at https://buff.ly/3CNPnwQ.

PMIDs: 28444290, 29241485, 29241486, 20400493, 12089098, 29428160, 15172426, 11022871