Articles

Eating eggs By Dr. Shireen Kassam and Dr. Zahra Kassam Eggs are a healthy source of protein, aren’t they? It is common to hear that eggs are a healthy protein source. This stems from the fact that egg whites provide a source of ‘complete’ protein and that this comes...

Diet and prostate cancerThe prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits behind the bladder and in front of the rectum and secretes fluid into semen. Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer in men in the UK. There are different stages of PC, all arising from a...

Yianjia lee, Fresh Tofu at the Market. Flikr.com. CCAbout Soya Dr Nitu Bajekal FRCOG Dip IBLM Consultant Gynaecologist and Women’s Health Expert Lifestyle Medicine Physiciannitubajekal.comAlso known as Glycine Max, the soya bean is a legume, first grown in China 3000...

Vegan diet and bone fractures Two studies have now reported an increased risk of fractures in people following a vegan diet. The first was a study published in November 2020 and was a new analysis from the EPIC-Oxford study, one of the longest running and largest...

Plant-based diet indexMuch of what we know about diet, nutrition and health comes from prospective cohort studies, which follow large groups of people, usually healthy at baseline, for a number of years and analyse associations between dietary intake and health...

Can an increase in whole-food, plant-based diets and a reduction in western diets be used to prevent and reverse diseases facing the western world today?Isabelle Sadler, BSc Human Biology The alarming rise in disease rates, including type II diabetes, heart disease...

Plant-based diets and risk of strokeThere are two types of stroke; haemorrhagic and ischaemic. The vast majority are ischaemic and share the same risk factors as ischaemic heart disease. Stroke represents a huge burden of disease globally. The Global Burden of...

A lockdown opportunity to bring lifestyle medicine into the mainstreamShireen Kassam is a consultant haematologist, lifestyle medicine physician, and founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (@plantbasedhpuk). Laura Freeman is a dual licensed GP, lifestyle...

How to help patients transition to a healthy and sustainable plant-based dietShireen Kassam is a consultant haematologist, lifestyle medicine physician, and founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (@plantbasedhpuk). Leila Dehghan is a doctor-turned-nutritionist...

Coconut oil is not heart healthy Highly successful Industry marketing has convinced many that coconut oil is a ‘health food’. This well conducted meta-analysis of 16 studies confirms this not to be true. Coconut oil consistently leads to an increase in blood...

Processed plant-based meat alternatives: making an informed choice By Lisa Simon, Registered DietitianPhoto source https://www.flickr.com/photos/copa41/1312623057There has been a lot of talk lately over whether we should be eating plant-based meat alternatives due to...

TO BAOBAB OR NOT? Baobab and Gut Health: Can we learn from the last remaining Hunter-Gatherers? By Dr Sunni PatelBaobab you say. I am sure you have heard of one of the African Tribe ‘superfoods’ to grace our culinary shelves? If you haven’t, do not fear, as this...

Iodine for babies and children: how much do they need? by Dr Miriam Martinez-BiargeIodine is a vital nutrient at all ages. Our thyroid gland takes iodine from the blood, combines it with the amino acid tyrosine and makes thyroid hormones: thyroxine (T4) and...

Nutritional aspects during the fourth trimester of pregnancy Breaking the Taboo by Rachel Huban. Plant-based Nutritional TherapistThe fourth trimester is the 12 weeks after birth and nutritional insufficiencies can lead to exhaustion. The first 40 days after birth are...

Gut microbiome, immune system and COVID-19 By Despina Marselou Dietitian specialized in autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation www.feedyourimmunity.comDespite the fact that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is known to attack our respiratory system,...

Is dairy necessary for good health?The scientific answer to this common nutrition question is simply no. Even the mainstream medical community is communicating this fact in top medical journals. The predominant reason we continue to believe dairy is necessary is due...

Fish and omega-3 fatty acids; the bottom lineThe role of fish in the diet continues to be a topic of scientific study and debate. So, do humans need to eat fish for health? Do I need to eat fish to be healthy? A 100% plant-based or vegan diet is one of the healthiest...

Are vegan diets deficient in choline? In the Summer of 2019, a rather controversial opinion piece about the lower choline content of plant-based diets was published in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health. The article suggested that there is a looming...

Oil or no oil; a viewpointThe whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet community are divided on the topic of added oils in the diet. Just to be clear, we are talking about extracted plant oils and not healthy fats found in whole plant foods. What should also be remembered...

How Can People Over 70 Stay Healthy During Self-Isolation? Dr Gemma NewmanWe are certainly going through challenging times that were hard to predict. Due to the spread of the virus SARS-Cov-2, which causes the infection Covid-19, we are now, at the time of writing, in...

Eat like a champion! by Shaun Conaghan Email: shaunconaghan@gmail.comInstagram @TheActiveNutritionTeacherAs a teacher, I am both concerned and motivated by the statistic that 60% of Irish people are overweight or obese. This is alarming especially as our chronic...

Ultra-processed plant-based foods by Dr Shireen KassamI am probably preaching to the converted, but it is always good to be armed with the evidence. The demand and growth in the plant-based foods market has led to the inevitable abundance of plant-based alternatives...

Does diet impact the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma?Authors: Marta Lewandowska, Dagfinn Aune, Doug Bristor, Shireen Kassam. Published in www.ijdrp.org VOL. 1, NO. 1. 2019 Introduction Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the eleventh commonest cancer globally and the sixth and...

Plant-based diets: the optimal choice for planetary healthThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns us about the dire consequences of the projected global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, which could happen in less than 12 years time....

Plant-based diets for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetesType 2 diabetes, which accounts for around 90% of cases of diabetes, is now at epidemic proportions. According to Diabetes UK, 1 in 15 people in the UK have diabetes, and this number has more than...

Plant-based diets for prevention and treatment ischaemic heart diseaseIn the UK ischaemic heart disease remains the most common cause of death and cardiovascular diseases in general are the second most common cause of premature death (after cancer). Worldwide, heart...

How do plant-based diets prevent cardiovascular diseaseThere are several ways in which plant-based diets modify the risk of cardiovascular disease and its main risk factors. At the core of cardiovascular disease is the development of atherosclerosis — the build up of...

Paleo and low-carb diets: what the science saysThere are a number of popular diet plans which promise a variety of health benefits. These include ‘low-carb’, ‘keto’ and ‘Paleo’ and are diets which all limit the consumption of carbohydrates to various degrees,...

Preventing and surviving breast cancerBreast cancer is now the commonest cancer in the UK and the most common cancer in women globally. 1in 7 women in the UK will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Breast cancer is more common in high income countries, in part...

Is Hector Bellerin’s vegan diet to be blamed for his slow injury recovery? (A response article To James McNicholas’ "Is Hector Bellerin helped or hindered by his veganism?”) (Image may be subject to copyright) The problem with poor journalism is that it does not exist...

COVID-19: Maintaining a healthy immune system through diet and lifestyle, plus video - Pandemics: history and preventionWe are facing an unprecedented health crisis with COVID-19 now classified as a pandemic. I am unable to offer any guarantees and don’t mean to...

Plant-based diets for maintaining a healthy weightOverweight and obesity are at epidemic proportions and a major factor in the rise of non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease and...

Omega-3 Supplementation By Dr Shireen KassamThere is an open question as to whether those following 100% plant-based diets should take a long chain omega-3 supplement. There are 3 main omega-3 fatty acids. The short chain omega-3 fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA)...

How does diet and lifestyle drive chronic disease?Most chronic diseases share similar pathogenic mechanisms, even though the manifestations of these diseases may differ. The key driver is low grade chronic inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s response to any sort...

Five surprising benefits of a plant-based dietMany of the important benefits of a plant-based diet – particularly for climate health and animals – are well known. Yet despite the science being very clear, there remains confusion about the impact on human health. We...

The top 10 studies of 2019 supporting plant-based nutrition for health1. The Eat-Lancet Commission on food, planet, health. The year started with the publication of the most up to date analysis of what constitutes a healthy diet. Conducted by the Eat-Lancet...

Why are nutrition and lifestyle so important?There is a global epidemic of chronic disease termed non-communicable diseases (NCDs). According to the World Health Organisation, 71% of all deaths globally each year (41 million people) are caused by NCDs. Four conditions...

Bacon on hospitals’ menu — an oxymoron of our health system?Would hospital patients be better off if they could bring their own meals from home? Data obtained via a Freedom of Information Request revealed earlier this year that 113 NHS hospitals serve...

Food for Your Mood Rosie Martin, Registered DietitionThe month of May saw Mental Health Awareness Week (May 13th-19th 2019), with both health professionals and the public working to raise the profile of mental health disorders. We talked awareness, body image, mental...

A Whole Food Plant-Based Psychologist Food within psychotherapeutic journeys* by Dr Barry Orr barry@starchivoreandrunning.comWhen I first applied to become a member of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK on 23rd January 2019, I was told that I was the first clinical...

Are Dairy-Free Diets A Risk To Bone Health?I applaud the Duchess of Cornwall for highlighting the issue of osteoporosis, which can be a debilitating condition. However, to cite dairy-free diets as harmful to bone health is just ignorant and not based on scientific...

Plant Based on a Budget Faith CavalliIt is a common belief that healthy eating, especially a plant-based diet, is more expensive than eating a diet high in junk food. This is definitely not the case, you just need to know what to buy and cook so it keeps costs low. If...

‘Of course I eat a healthy diet, I’m vegan!’Do I need to eat a rainbow? Dr Sue KenneallyWhether in my GP surgery or in social media groups I hear this all the time, and it is true that on average a vegan diet is healthier than a standard Western diet. And lest we...

A look back at 2018 for plant-based health professionals UKPlant-based health professionals UK (PBHP UK) was conceived in October 2017 at London Vegfest in a chance meeting between myself (Shireen Kassam) and Tom Hubbard, a GP based in Ireland. We realised we had a...

The PURE study and dairy consumptionDAIRY INTAKE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE: Recent headlines suggest that the more dairy products you consume, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. So, have dairy products really been exonerated? Do we now ignore the...

​Cancer; ignoring nutrition at our perilIn the UK, cancer is now the commonest cause of death, the top cause of avoidable death and accounts for 42% of cases of premature death. These statistics are in the face of an ever-increasing number of treatments. So where have...

Healthy diet following cancer treatmentI am very grateful for the opportunity to write an article on a subject that is extremely close to my heart. I hope I will be able to convince you that a healthful life is a choice open to all of us if only we allow ourselves the...

Response to ‘meat is crucial to balanced diet, Michael Gove tells farmers’, Fri 27th April 2018I write on behalf of a growing number of health professionals in the UK who advocate a predominantly plant-based diet for optimal health. We are disappointed to read the...

The PURE study; low fat diets increase risk of deathThis was the nutrition news in August 2017. More evidence of the mainstream media trying to confuse the public and reinforce the nations poor food choices. The public love to read stories that support their bad...