Vegetarian Star

Katy Perry has a very healthful habit of consuming mushrooms (presumably the non hallucinogenic ones).

“I love mushrooms,” she said. “I could eat a ton of them. I really love truffles but I hardly ever get them. Mushrooms in general though are so healthy and good for you. I can’t get enough.”

Perhaps Perry could stuff more shrooms down her throat and less of her other favorite foods, which are filled with animal fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and more.

“My fave things include barbeque chicken chop at CPK Chinese, chicken salad at Chinchins, Rock shrimp and yellow tail sashimi at Nobu, Crispy beef at Mr.Chow’s, four curry chicken salad at Urth Cafe, my beloved double double at In-N-Out Burger. All so good!”

Oh, my.

Perry is engaged to vegetarian Russell Brand, who hopefully will exercise his powers of being the man of the house and say “No, no, no!” to Perry’s chicken a day and double double vice.

Hmm…was that sexist?

At any rate, kudos to Perry for liking mushrooms, a plant that has been indicated in boosting immunity.

“Studies show that mushrooms increase the production and activity of white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you have an infection,” said Douglas Schar, DipPhyt, MCPP, MNIMH, director of the Institute of Herbal Medicine in Washington, DC.

So do what Schar said and load up on shiitake, portabello, cremini and even white button.

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Carrie Ann Inaba needs some veg advice on proteins, quick!

The Dancing with the Stars judge should have had a heart to heart talk with former contestant Cloris Leachman.

Inaba says that although she used to be vegetarian, she found it hard to combine the right proteins, but she’s looking to go back.

“I eat organic and I cut down on meat. I tried to be a vegetarian but my body craves protein and I haven’t found the right mix yet. But I cut down to only two times a week, and it has to be organic meat.

According to a FAQ sheet from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, finding the right mix of proteins may be easier than once thought.

“It was once thought that various plant foods had to be eaten together to get their full protein value, otherwise known as protein combining or protein complementing. We now know that intentional combining is not necessary to obtain all of the essential amino acids. As long as the diet contains a variety of grains, legumes, and vegetables, protein needs are easily met.”

PCRM then goes on to list plant sources of protein with the number of proteins in each source in grams.

Black beans, seitan, tofu, tempeh and lentils top the list and the group recommends you aim for  2-3 servings of legumes every day.

Have you found your right mix of veggie proteins yet?

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Barack Obama doesn’t want to hear a lecture about his cholesterol, but Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has given him one anyway.

Besides the gentle nudge to give up cigarettes, Dr. Barnard explains that the best way for the President of the United States to get his numbers to an acceptable range is to accept more vegetables–and less meat.

Dr. Barnard points out that going vegetarian, even part time, will impact Obama’s cholesterol more than genes and exercise.

“First, exercise won’t lower your cholesterol. It may bump up “good” cholesterol slightly and improve your basketball game or your stride, but you definitely can’t count on it to lower your “bad” cholesterol. It won’t.”

“Second, we almost certainly cannot blame genes. For the vast majority of people, high cholesterol comes down to diet.”

And while less red meat is great, you really need to go veg all the way to get the full benefits of diet on cholesterol.

“Third, switching from beef to chicken and fish has almost no effect on cholesterol. It lowers “bad” cholesterol only about 5 percent–and that’s not enough.”

“The answer is behind your house, in the White House garden. Foods from plants have essentially no cholesterol and are free of the animal fat that causes the body to make cholesterol. If you skipped meat, dairy products, and eggs for even a few weeks, chances are your cholesterol would drop right into the normal range.”

Hope Obama is convinced.

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Scarlett Johansson is giving Michelle Obama backup by urging lawmakers to adopt changes to school lunch menus to include healthier items like fruits and vegetables.

Mrs. Obama has been busy promoting her anti-obesity campaign, and there is legislation in the works asking schools to use more plant based meals with less milk and less fat.

“I am so thankful that the National Lunch Program exists and helps children around the nation get enough to eat. But right now, many of the foods served through this program do not support children’s healthy development. Many students who eat school lunches consume too much saturated fat and cholesterol and not enough fruits and vegetables. Childhood obesity is striking young children like never before, and being overweight puts kids at risk for type 2 diabetes and other chronic diabetes.”

Ecorazzi reports that a press release states Scarlett grew up with little means, and knows firsthand how difficult it can be for children who might get their only decent meal from a school cafeteria.

You can read Scarlett’s entire letter as well as key provisions to the act here.

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Kathy Freston had a chat with Dr. Dean Ornish, best known for his diet and lifestyle approach to treating  on protein, healthy body weight and weight loss.

Here are a few highlights:

On the dangers of animal protein:
DO: Diets that are high in animal protein are usually high in saturated fat, which promotes both heart disease and cancer. A recent study reviewed by Dr. Steven A. Smith in The New England Journal of Medicine found that high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets accelerate atherosclerosis (blockage in arteries) through mechanisms other than traditional risk factors such as changes in cholesterol and triglycerides.

Should you count calories or fat?
DO: In my experience, if you eat predominantly a whole foods, plant-based diet that is naturally high in fiber and low in fat and in refined carbohydrates, and if you eat it mindfully, you don’t have to count anything to lose weight. You feel full before you consume too many calories.

What are those good carbs again?
DO: Good carbs are whole foods. These include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and soy products in their natural, unrefined, unprocessed forms.

Because these good carbs are unrefined, they are naturally high in fiber as well. The fiber fills you up before you eat too much. For example, it’s hard to get too many calories from eating apples or whole grains, because apples are naturally low in calories and high in fiber, which causes you to feel full before you consume too many calories.

Read more at the HuffingtonPost.

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Kelly Ripa gets no points for eating even smaller portions of meat for dinner, but her snack choice throughout the day is one to look at.

US Magazine hints that Ripa ditches the beef jerky and opts for almonds instead.

When you consider the benefits of nuts like almonds, you’d have to be nuts not to incorporate them in your diet.

The Mayo Clinic says nuts offer good for your cholesterol unsaturated fat, omega 3 fatty acids that you’d normally have to be a pescatarian to get, fiber and vitamin E.

And according to the Food and Drug Administration, a serving of nuts a day (1.5 ounces, or 42.5 grams) may help prevent heart disease when you follow an otherwise healthy diet.

Grab your favorite mix of almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio nuts or walnuts today.

They’ll give you the energy you need to complete Ripa’s routine for getting your own arms of steel.

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Amar’e Stoudemire is on a break from practicing with the Phoenix Suns and says he’s using the time off to go on a 4 day vegan fast.

“With my four days off, I’m really taking time off to purify my body, and get my body in top shape for these last 16-17 games. So right now, I’m on a vegan fast.”

Although he may opt of out his contract and become a free agent, he hints that he’ll stay in Arizona if the team can “meet his number.”

His hard work and dedication to putting the best in his body has earned him 22.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.

Is this why AZ Central calls him a “predator fueled by vegetables?”

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Wow O Wow!

Forest Whittaker has lost weight and is looking younger and better than ever!

Whittaker had to put on 70 pounds for the role in which he won an Oscar for in 2007 in The Last King of Scotland.

He cites his vegetarian diet as a good way to not only lose weight, but to ward off diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

He also got serious about exercising, adding hiking and marital arts to his regime.

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