Losing weight and an appropriate vegan diet

[dapto]

Thanks for your response. It is worth unpacking current research on inflammation, blood sugar, and cholesterol. My understanding is that high blood sugar contributes to inflammation (which is arguably the leading cause of disease) and in combination with cholesterol (produced to mobilise fats) leads to plaque. Imbibing dietary cholesterol is not going to be as significant as consuming saturated fats and simple carbohydrates.

[brimstoneSalad]

Thanks for your response. It is worth unpacking current research on inflammation, blood sugar, and cholesterol. My understanding is that high blood sugar contributes to inflammation (which is arguably the leading cause of disease) and in combination with cholesterol (produced to mobilise fats) leads to plaque.

A very liberal (and risky) view on diet would say it's only certainly the combination of simple sugars and saturated fat which create the risk so anything else goes, a more conservative (and safer) view would say that both or either a simple-sugar rich or saturated fat rich diet could be risky and the only thing we know is safe is restricting both.

Unfortunately the quality of epidemiological evidence is very poor, and virtually nobody is doing long-term research on humans.
Our best evidence is mechanistic, and mechanistic data doesn't rule out the risk of these things independently of each other, instead suggesting over-consumption of either promotes disease.

Imbibing dietary cholesterol is not going to be as significant as consuming saturated fats and simple carbohydrates.

This is the current thinking. If true it wouldn't mean much for most meats, because cholesterol and saturated fat go hand-in-hand. But it would mean that some once villainized meats like shrimp could in fact be healthier replacements for land-based meats despite the high levels of cholesterol because they are very low in saturated fat.

People replacing land-based meats with shrimp could be a big win for animal welfare, since shrimp are probably barely intelligent and likely feel less pain (much like insects).

However, we're far from being at a conclusive state of knowledge with respect to the different effects of dietary and nascent cholesterol.
It's plausible that dietary cholesterol is worse due to the effects of oxidation (e.g. studies like this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16270280 ), so even the very small amounts of absorption of dietary cholesterol which have tiny effects on plasma levels could substantially contribute to atherosclerosis.

It may be that the small amount of dietary cholesterol is actually more of a problem than the saturated fat because of the state it's in (much like polyunsaturated fry oil that has been degraded and oxidized).
It's just very hard to separate the two epidemiologically since they usually occur hand-in-hand.

Now if you plucked shrimp from the ocean and ate them alive so there was no opportunity for the cholesterol to oxidize in storage and cooking, I'd guess it would probably have little effect (unless you're a hyper-responder), and the fact that it's low in saturated fat would make it healthier than other meat despite the high cholesterol.

[dapto]

It's plausible that dietary cholesterol is worse due to the effects of oxidation (e.g. studies like this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16270280 ), so even the very small amounts of absorption of dietary cholesterol which have tiny effects on plasma levels could substantially contribute to atherosclerosis.

If this is indeed a risk factor then it seems that polyunsaturated fats are what people should be avoiding as these are prone to oxidation. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1558840

[brimstoneSalad]

If this is indeed a risk factor then it seems that polyunsaturated fats are what people should be avoiding as these are prone to oxidation. See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1558840

Oxidized polyunsaturated fats should probably be avoided, but unoxidized polyunsaturated fats reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Monounsaturated fats are probably more neutral.
Key sources for unoxidized fats are things like fresh nuts, and minimally processed oils are also probably good sources.
Even processed oils (like canola) and roasted nuts seem to be OK, but probably not if you deep fry with oils, some of which degrade quickly, and nut flours may be vulnerable.

The question is how these fats get oxidized, and typically it happens due lengthy high temperature cooking, like in deep frying.

To be safe, I do not even pan fry or sautée with polyunsaturated fats: I use olive oil, which is mostly monounsaturated and also has polyphenols that make it more resistant to oxidation. Olive oil is an amazingly stable frying oil. For lighter flavor, high-oleic safflower oil is probably a good option.

I only use polyunsaturated oils for things like baking where there's more limited exposure to oxygen for a short time and lower temperatures or for dressings and like things where there's little to no cooking.

[FredVegrox]

I don't fry things and have not for years. I generally never add oil either. I was previously getting hemp oil, not for flavor, it was yuck, but for benefitting my lung issue. But I learned ACV could give that benefit, I don't have hemp oil anymore and use ACV often. I now lightly cook one meal almost every day, and besides generally make a vegan bean burrito and a vegan sandwich for the day, and besides a small fruit and what I drink that will be it, which seems to be enough at my age now. I have what is whole food for what I eat, avoiding professed foods as far as it can be managed.

[FredVegrox]

I would still weigh more if there was any reasonable way I would find that I could manage that, but I do eat in the healthiest way I can.

[FredVegrox]

I do use Vega protein powder, but not much, as I cannot manage to be so active and more of that powder would not benefit me, if it does so at all, as there is protein with the needed aminos in the food from just plants that I eat, which may be enough while I have come to eat less while having aged since being vegan.

[FredVegrox]

The point of eating healthy is not whether I could gain weight I wanted or not, I know I would want it to be all healthy weight gain, but I will avoid contributing to cancer and clogging leading to heart attacks and strokes.

[FredVegrox]

I used to snack. I even started getting nuts for a healthier snack in place of processed stuff for snacks I used to have. For a little while I was getting Skinny Pop unbuttered pop corn. But no more, and my snacking stopped just to have three prepared things I eat each day. Nuts, and seeds, go into one cooked meal.