Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Glaucoma: To Eat Meat or Not?

I would like to kick off this conversation with a video by Dr. Terry Wahls (of her TEDx talk in Iowa City). She speaks about Multiple Sclerosis with an emphasis on mitochondrial health. I think minding our mitochondria is essential for glaucoma management, as mitochondrial dysfunction is known to underlie glaucoma.

The video below is a very inspiring story. I recommend watching it. Much of the discussion in this video is relevant to glaucoma:

Minding your mitochondria: Dr. Terry Wahls at TEDxIowaCity - YouTube

FitEyes member Anna followed up with this message:

I just finished reading her book, The Wahls Protocol. She regressed her MS (in the last stages), with just food. MS is is a neuro degenerative disease (as is glaucoma). The combination of food that she discovered to help regress MS was based on the Paleo diet. It includes a lot of meat and veggies only, no carbs at all. 

She gives a very convincing scientific explanation why meat is very important in regressing neuro degenerative diseases (of course has to be grass fed). The protocol she developed has meat and fish every day, 9 cup of veggies, berries every day.

I would suggest that everyone with glaucoma read this book. I have already started her food protocol.

I thought it might be interesting for the Fiteyes members.

I responded to Anna by saying that I think what Dr. Wahls has accomplished is very, very impressive. I respect her work and I think it is relevant to FitEyes, which is why I posted her TEDx talk (for the 2nd time). I also respect you and anyone else who wishes to (and has the discipline and motivation) to follow this protocol.

I'm aware that her protocol is based on a Paleo diet and that it typically includes meat (although it also strongly emphasizes vegetables and fruits -- and you can be a vegetarian on the Wahls Diet). As most of you know, I do not advocate eating meat. But that doesn't mean I'm not interested in discussing the Whals Protocol and learning from anyone who follows it.

My perspective on diet is very much influenced by Ayurveda. The typical Ayurvedic diet is a vegetarian diet (lacto vegetarian). However, for thousands of years, Ayurveda has recognized that meat can be medicine. Meat is prescribed, when necessary, by Ayurvedic physicians. I think that view is compatible with the Whals Protocol.

But Ayurveda has a much more sophisticated understanding of the role of meat as medicine. (Without going into detail, part of this sophisticated understanding is related to the seven dhatus* and how meat does not nourish all seven.)

Many people, even experts, also fall into the trap of thinking that the approach that successfully treated a disease is the same approach that will maintain lifelong optimal health after the disease is cured. That is not true. A treatment protocol, especially an aggressive treatment protocol must differ from a maintenance protocol.

There is very, very strong evidence that eating meat more than a few times a year is associated with greater risk of many diseases. A diet that includes regular consumption of animal protein is not an ideal lifelong maintenance diet.

As just one example, studies have shown that people who eat meat have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than do vegetarians.

So, yes, meat can be a medicine. It can play an important role in a stage of healing. But it is a limited part of a treatment protocol, not a maintenance protocol. Eat meat regularly is not going to help most people enjoy their best health over their entire lifetime.

"very convincing scientific explanation why the meat it's very important in regressing neuro degenerative diseases"

I have the book. I don't find any convincing scientific evidence to support this statement. I don't wish to debate it point by point because doing that feels disrespectful to what Dr. Wahls has accomplished. So I will mostly focus on what I feel are the advantages of my diet. But to avoid being direct, I will share a couple comments that are inspired by reading Dr. Wahls's book:

The argument that meat is required to supply our requirements for complete protein is outdated and incorrect. This is easy to verify by looking at the latest research.

The argument that it is difficult to achieve a 1:1 omega3:omega6 ratio without meat is not true in my experience. When I get time I could make an example diet showing how easy this is to achieve. For years I used clinical nutrition software to check the omega3:omega6 ratio of every personalized diet I recommended for anyone.

Common foods like spinach have highly favorable omega3:omega6 ratios. A cup of cooked spinach has 352mg of omega 3 with only trace amounts of omega 6. Squash, cabbage, mangos and honeydew melons, for example, also have highly favorable omega3:omega6 ratios. it is easy to include flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and mung beans. To go further, include sea vegetables (seaweed), cod liver oil, and optionally chlorella. For those who like Indian-style food, cooking some dishes with mustard seed oil is another option. Ayurvedic-style diets with their typical emphasis on mung beans, greens, mangos, mustard seed oil and certain spices are already favorable in terms of the omega3:omega6 ratio. Getting a healthy omega3:omega6 ratio without meat is not a problem. But I also think it is OK to include a little bit of healthy fish once a month or so if you really want to.

I agree that the Wahls Protocol is superior to the Standard American Diet (SAD). No question about that and I think she presents strong evidence of that in her book. But there is no evidence in her book or any other research I can find to show that a Paleo-style diet rich in meat is superior to (or even as good as) a diet like what I recommend or (for example) a diet like what Dr. Fuhrman recommends. There are a number of healthy meat-free diets out there. (There are also a lot of very unhealthy vegan diets out there!)

This is going to be an oversimplification and it might lead some people to the wrong impression of my recommended diet, but in the context of this discussion I will offer this way to think about my diet...

• Take a good organic Paleo diet.
• Remove all the meat (including poultry and fish).
• Keep all the healthy stuff that is in the Paleo diet.
• Keep all the greens, other vegetables, fruits.
• Keep the healthy fermented foods.
• Keep (or add - depending on the Paleo version) nuts (walnuts, etc.) and seeds (flax seeds, etc.).
• Add in good organic beans (mung beans, aduki, etc.), legumes (peas, lentils, etc.).
• Add in a limited amount of grains (with exceptions for some people, of course) such as amaranth, quinoa, or even wild rice.
• Switch the butter for ghee.
• Keep the healthy oils (such as olive oil or coconut oil).
• For some people, include fermented dairy (i.e., good, non-commercial yogurt).
• Learn to use the right herbs and spices in your food.
• Get the protein intake down to 15% of calories (or even less if you aren't highly physically active).
• Continue to stay away from all the truly unhealthy stuff that is not part of a
  Paleo diet (such as corn oil, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, trans fats,
  packaged, processed, refined foods, and of course refined carbs, sugar,
  junk foods, etc.)

That will give you some idea of what my diet is like.

Now compare this to a Paleo diet. Is it even more nutrient dense? Yes! Is the omega3:omega6 ratio in the ideal range? Yes! Are you getting the ideal amount of protein? Yes!

Will you live even longer than you would on a Paleo diet while enjoying even better health? The best evidence suggests that you will.

Is it an overall better diet? I feel strongly that the research supports that it is a superior lifelong maintenance diet in every way.

Of course Paleo fans will debate that. Vegans will probably debate it from another angle. (I manage to offend both the Paleo camps and the vegan community, as well as every other ideologically-rigid dietary camp with my boundary-breaking dietary recommendations.) After a lifetime studying nutrition I have given up on the notion of getting people to agree. But we can learn from each other, even when we disagree on various points.

Next, Roger responded by reminding us of the CHINA STUDY research. He said, The China Study is the largest epidemiological nutrition study ever conducted. It showed that, "eating less meat lowered the risks of major chronic diseases and that the intake of plant based protein correlated with good health."

Then Steve, himself a health care professional, shared the fact that he has heard Dr. Wahls give a talk:

I have heard Dr. Wahls speak before in detail. Pretty amazing. I am still not clear about the issue of good paleo animal protein such as grass fed beef and whole wild caught salmon. These foods along with the broth from boiling down the skin, joints and bones seem to supply some whole food nutrients that I can't get in plant based sources.

I have heard several people talk about the anti-inflammatory effects of a complete plant diet. In other words, animal products cause inflammatory markers very quickly after eating them. I have had some high inflammatory lab markers such as c-reactive protein. Plus the concept of glaucoma being part of a systemic inflammatory problem (linked to many other degenerative changes as well) interests me.

I find that when I switch to vegetarian ( I eat ghee and cod liver oil) that my strength and muscle mass decreases even though I stay on my same exercise regime.

Your thoughts and insights on this would be great. Feel free to share this with anyone.

By the way; 6 months ago I had 30 IOP, got drops and went on all the supplements that had research that they effected the nerves and the IOP and it came back at 15. The eye doc was very pleased with herself. However she had no interest in all of the incredible research that you have provided here. Her clinic is filled with over 100 patients a day, that in my humble opinion should be reading your web page and saving their money for some good whole foods and at the very least cleaning up their diet.

Thanks for all of your help with this,
Steve

I responded to some of Steve's comments below. First, these are my thoughts about diet:

Steve's comment:

I have heard several people talk about the anti-inflammatory effects of a complete plant diet.  In other words, animal products cause inflammatory markers very quickly after eating them.  I have had some high inflammatory lab markers such as c-reactive protein.  Plus the concept of glaucoma being part of a systemic inflammatory problem (linked to many other degenerative changes as well) interests me.

Steve's comment:
I find that when I switch to vegetarian ( I eat ghee and cod liver oil) that my strength and muscle mass decreases even though I stay on my same exercise regime.

Several decades ago, there were very few examples of high level or professional strength athletes or bodybuilders who were vegetarian or vegan. How we have tons of examples.

More from Steve:

Here is a link with an incredible lecture by someone who seems to really know the research on veganism.  His comments on the quick inflammatory affects of animal protein were a
paradigm shift for me.

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/