Shedding pounds might be as straightforward as swapping out some sausages, beef, and bacon in your meals for legumes. Recent research highlights this find.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki directed 51 Finnish men, aged 20-65, to cut back on their red and processed meat intake by just 200g (7oz) a week.
Simultaneously, these men incorporated more legumes, particularly peas and fava beans, into their diets, constituting 20% of their protein sources, while still consuming chicken, fish, eggs, and other proteins.
Apart from this substitution, participants were not advised to eat less or restrict calories. Remarkably, just six weeks later, they experienced an average weight loss of 1 kilo (2.2 pounds).
“This was astonishing because we didn’t set out to encourage weight loss,” said Professor Anne Maria Pajari, a molecular dietitian and senior author of the study, as reported by BBC Science Focus. “We encouraged volunteers to maintain their daily eating habits while monitoring their red and processed meat and legume consumption.”
Pajari noted that while legumes are associated with healthy weight, the degree of change observed in just six weeks was unexpected. This was just the beginning.
By the study’s conclusion, participants consuming legumes had lower total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, indicating that this dietary switch could lower heart disease risk.
Moreover, the men’s iron levels improved, an outcome surprising since lean meat is typically regarded as a primary source of dietary iron.
According to Pajari, the food exchange was well-received by participants; only one volunteer chose to leave the study.
“I’m very satisfied with the results,” Pajari remarked. “This is something everyone can do. By cutting back on red and processed meat and incorporating more plant-based foods, individuals can make a meaningful impact on their health.”
“Even small adjustments can lead to significant benefits for both personal health and the environment,” she added.
The focus on men specifically was intentional, as they generally consume more meat compared to women.
Pajari observed that in Finland, the average man consumes double the amount of meat than the average woman, making men a “more vulnerable group” in terms of red and processed meat intake.
Lean meats include beef, pork, and lamb, while processed meats consist of cold cuts, sausages, and bacon – Credit: via Guido Mieth
The study also involved control groups, with another 51 men consuming 760g (27oz) of red and processed meats weekly—making up a quarter of their total protein intake, without any legumes.
This group showed no notable improvement in their blood cholesterol or iron levels and lost only 300g (0.6 pounds) on average. Pajari suggested this was merely a byproduct of participating in dietary trials.
“Participation in a diet trial often raises awareness about one’s eating habits,” she explained. “It’s quite sensitive, leading individuals to make healthier choices even when not instructed to.”
Overall, Pajari hopes that men will consider substituting some red and processed meats in their diets with peas, beans, and lentils for the sake of their health and the planet.
Imagine your body as a big sugar bowl. At birth, the bowl is empty. Over decades of eating sugar and refined carbohydrates, your bowl gradually fills up. And the next time you eat, the bowl is already full, so the sugar comes in and spills over the sides of the bowl.
The same situation exists in your body. When you eat sugar, your body secretes the hormone insulin to move the sugar into your cells, where it is used for energy. If we don’t burn enough sugar, after a few decades our cells will be completely full and we won’t be able to process it anymore.
The next time you eat sugar, insulin can’t push any more sugar into the overflowing cells, so it floods into your bloodstream. Sugar moves through the blood in a form called glucose, and too much of it (known as hyperglycemia) is the main symptom of type 2 diabetes.
When there’s too much glucose in the blood, insulin doesn’t seem to be doing its normal job of moving sugar into cells. Then you say your body has become insulin resistant, but it’s actually not the insulin’s fault. The main problem is that the cells are flooded with glucose.
High blood sugar is only part of the problem. Not only is there too much glucose in the blood, there is too much glucose in every cell. Type 2 diabetes is an overflow phenomenon that occurs when there is too much glucose throughout the body.
In response to excess glucose in the blood, the body secretes more insulin to overcome this resistance. This forces more glucose into the flooded cells to keep blood levels normal.
This works, but the effect is only temporary because it doesn’t address the problem of excess sugar. The excess was transferred from the blood to the cells, only worsening insulin resistance. At some point, your body can no longer push glucose into your cells, no matter how much insulin you increase.
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What happens in the body if excess glucose is not removed? First, your body continues to produce more insulin to try to get more glucose into your cells. However, this only creates further insulin resistance, creating a vicious cycle.
When insulin levels can no longer keep up with the increased resistance, blood sugar levels spike. At this point the doctor is likely to diagnose her with type 2 diabetes.
Doctors may prescribe drugs such as insulin injections or a drug called metformin to lower blood sugar levels, but these drugs do not rid the body of excess glucose. Instead, they simply continue to take glucose from the blood and return it to the body.
It can then be carried to other organs such as the kidneys, nerves, eyes, and heart, where it can eventually cause other problems. Of course, the fundamental problem hasn’t changed.
Remember that bowl full of sugar? It’s still around. Insulin simply moves glucose from the visible blood into the invisible body. So the next time you eat, sugar will flood back into your bloodstream and you’ll end up injecting insulin to stuff it into your body.
The more glucose your body is willing to accept, the more insulin it needs to overcome its resistance to it. But as the cells swell more and more, this insulin only creates more resistance.
If you exceed the amount your body can produce naturally, drugs can take over. At first, you only need one type of medicine, but eventually the amount of medicine increases to two or three.
And the problem is that diabetes actually gets worse when you increase the amount of medication you take to keep your blood sugar levels at the same level.
Type 2 diabetes is reversible and preventable without drugs
Once you understand that type 2 diabetes is simply too much sugar in your body, the solution is obvious. Remove sugar. Don’t hide it. Let’s get rid of it. There are really only two ways to accomplish this.
Please add less sugar.
Burn off the remaining sugar.
that’s it. That’s all you need to do. The best part? All natural and completely free. No drugs. No surgery. No cost.
Step 1: Reduce the amount of sugar
The first step is to eliminate all sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet. Added sugar has no nutritional value, so it’s safe to limit your intake. Complex carbohydrates, which are simply long chains of sugar, and highly refined carbohydrates, such as flour, are quickly digested into glucose.
The best strategy is to limit or eliminate bread and pasta made from white flour, as well as white rice and potatoes.
Protein intake should be kept moderate rather than high. When proteins such as meat are digested, they are broken down into amino acids. Adequate protein is necessary for good health, but excess amino acids cannot be stored in the body, so they are converted into glucose in the liver. Therefore, consuming too much protein adds sugar to your body. Therefore, highly processed and concentrated protein sources such as protein shakes, protein bars, and protein powders should be avoided.
What about dietary fat? Natural fats, found in avocados, nuts, and olive oil, which are key components of the Mediterranean diet, have little effect on blood sugar or insulin, and are well-known for their health benefits against both heart disease and diabetes. Masu. Eggs and butter are also good sources of natural fats.
It has been proven that the cholesterol contained in these foods has no negative effect on the human body. Eating dietary fat does not lead to type 2 diabetes or heart disease. In fact, it’s beneficial because it helps you feel full without adding sugar to your body.
To reduce the amount of sugar you put into your body, stick to natural, unprocessed whole foods. Eat a diet low in refined carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein, and high in natural fats.
Step 2: Burn off the remaining sugar
Exercise (both strength training and aerobic training) has beneficial effects in type 2 diabetes, but its power to reverse the disease is much less than dietary intervention. And fasting is the easiest and surest way to force your body to burn sugar.
Fasting is just the flip side of eating. If you are not eating, you are fasting. When you eat, your body stores food energy. When you fast, your body burns food energy. And glucose is the most easily ingested food energy source. Therefore, a longer period of fasting allows you to burn stored sugar.
It may sound harsh, but fasting is literally the oldest diet known and has been practiced throughout human history without incident. If you are taking prescription medications, you should seek medical advice.
But the important question is: Will my blood sugar levels drop if I don’t eat? of course. Can you lose weight if you don’t eat? of course. So what’s the problem? I can’t see anything.
A common practice is to fast for 24 hours two to three times a week to burn off sugar. Another common approach is fasting for 16 hours five to six times a week. The secret to reversing type 2 diabetes is now in our hands.
All you need is an open mind to embrace new paradigms and the courage to challenge conventional wisdom.
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This text was extracted from Diabetes Norm: Prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes naturally by Dr. Jason Huangon sale now (£14.99, Greystone Books).
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei believes that art that can be easily replicated by artificial intelligence is “meaningless.” He argues that even great artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse would have had to reconsider their approach if AI had existed in their time.
Ai Weiwei’s views are part of the ongoing debate on the rise of AI, where data from artists’ websites is used to create “original” images in their style by AI.
Ai Weiwei expressed his concern about the focus on creating “realistic” images in art education, which he believes is rendered meaningless by AI’s ability to replicate them in seconds.
When asked whether this also applied to masters with distinct styles such as cubism, Ai Weiwei answered that “If Picasso or Matisse were still alive, they would surely quit their jobs. It would be impossible for them to still think [the same way].” He also discussed his upcoming collaboration with an AI to answer the same list of 81 questions over 81 days, a project referencing the number of days he was incarcerated by the Chinese state in 2011.
The artist also expressed concern about a future where artificial intelligence becomes so powerful that it leads to a society with only one “right” answer to significant questions, likening it to dangerous historical ideologies.
Ai Weiwei, who grew up in a forced labor camp in northwest China and has been an outspoken critic of Chinese authorities, believes in the importance of asking difficult questions as an artist, despite the potential repercussions.
He explained that it is the responsibility of artists to speak out for those without a voice and emphasized the importance of seeking inner truth through their work. Despite the risks, he remains committed to his mission of asking challenging questions and challenging those in power.
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