Ringo Starr is indisputably in amazing shape for his age. Only months shy of joining octogenarian ranks, he has as much energy on stage as decades earlier.
Asked by Parade magazine for his secret to looking and feeling youthful, Ringo shared his personal tips. Interestingly, his regimen reveal warns about a common risk for vegans.
I get up in the morning and I meditate. I go to the gym and I have a trainer, and I work out myself too, when I’m on the road. I’m a vegetarian. When we’re on tour, to get out of the hotel, I usually go to the local organic shop just to see what they’ve got. But I’m only a vegetarian, not a vegan. I eat goat cheese. A vegan is very hard, and they eat a lot of sugar. I’m careful about sugar. (1)
Ringo’s dietary philosophy appears to be in line with his Beatles’ bandmate Paul McCartney.
Incorrectly identified as a vegan in some plant-based eating circles, Sir Paul is actually a longtime vegetarian who has no problem consuming ethically raised eggs and dairy. (2, 3)
Why Do Vegans Crave Sugar?
It’s interesting that Ringo should make that point about vegans typically eating a lot of sugar either as lots of fruit or more processed versions.
How does this happen?
The reasons are potentially three-fold.
Protein Deficiency
First, protein deficiency is a common problem for vegans. The reason is that no individual plant food provides complete protein to the human diet. This means that no plant food (including quinoa and soy) contains sufficient amounts of all the essential amino acids when consumed in normal quantities.
In other words, while a few plant foods may contain all the essential amino acids, they aren’t in quantities required to support human health at normal levels within the diet.
A nearly perfect amount of plant protein rotation is necessary then to avoid protein deficiency on a vegan diet, which almost no one achieves over the long term.
Chris Masterjohn PhD summarizes it this way:
Vegan diets can’t work long term without health consequences, at all. Unless you’re eating over 10 pounds of a variety of vegetables, each, it ain’t going to happen, much less all the things plants, nuts, seeds, grains, etc. do to make sure they are NOT eaten or to ensure their nutrients stay locked up and out of reach, both things that inhibit total absorption by humans. (Ever see a documentary where a bird or animal eats a plant and they say that its seed is spread through its droppings? Think similar nutrient protective measures like that don’t happen with us?) Plants don’t WANT to get eaten; they want to propagate, like animals do, and they have measures to protect against that. (4)
What is one of the common symptoms of protein deficiency?
Yep, you guessed it. Frequent if not constant sugar cravings.
Many vegans satisfy these cravings with fruit or juices. But, this is not wise as many fruits are high in simple sugars especially fruit juice.
Anemia
Another potential reason many vegans eat so much sugar is from iron deficiency.
Those who eat plants exclusively are at higher risk than omnivores for this health condition, which can zap your energy, leaving a person vulnerable to a quick sugary pickup.
Mineral Deficiencies
Vegans are also at risk of mineral deficiencies because of protective measures in plants that inhibit absorption by the human intestinal tract.
Besides iron, low levels of zinc, chromium, and magnesium can manifest themselves as sugar cravings too. (5, 6, 7)
Hence, if you are vegan, the next time you can’t stop yourself from sneaking a donut from the conference room or an afternoon pick-me-up candy bar, consider that some serious nutritional deficiencies might be behind that uncontrollable sweet tooth.
Maybe it’s time to incorporate goat cheese into your diet like Ringo and watch those sugar cravings start to disappear!
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Photo: Creative Commons Public Domain 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
You must be over the target with the amount of trolls in the comment section. You ought to refer them to your blog on globalism plant based connection. That made everything click for me as to why the MSM was pro plant base all of a sudden.
I’m more concerned that he looks so good due to his potential intake of adrenochrome. Just a theory.
Yes, globalists want the plebs to eat plant-based … makes them weak and easy to manipulate. Also, children raised eating this way suffer from infertility at very high rates.
Don’t let this propaganda scare you. Protein deficiency basically doesn’t exist as a medical condition. The closest real condition could be “malnutrition” which is almost impossible to achieve in the modern world unless you have serious medical complications. I have eaten a (vastly) majority plant based diet for nearly ten years – including cereals, nuts and seeds daily, but very few beans and no tofu. I eat a very small amount of dairy and maybe 5 times a year I’ll eat some fish and meat if it takes my fancy. Mostly, I eat tons of fruit, vegetables and rice. I also get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water, and have a very low alcohol and caffeine intake.
At age 42, my health is good. No, it’s excellent. Zero medical conditions. I have always been fairly athletic but I am in a different league of physical health and fitness to my peers (that I know). I can cycle 100 miles in one hit, run marathons and do 6 hour triathlons. A vegan (i.e. plant-based) diet is not “risky” or difficult if you take an interest in your cuisine and consumption, and diversify your diet.
LOLOL.
I’m an omnivore, I eat dairy products (nearly always non-homogenized,…. cheese, rarely yogurt(nearly all are homogenized,… or not adequately high enough percentage grass fed(Brown Cow)), occasional eggs and meat/flesh. But, I eat plenty of fruit, and it does me great as long as it’s nutritious type fruit such as orange colored sweet fruits (mangos, apricots, citrus,….),.. and quality with-seed grapes,… among other types of fruit. I don’t get dental problems or decay. And some greens, garlic, herbs, peppers, are good for balancing the diet at times too (I’m in Southern California btw). Broad spectrum salt is also great. I avoid date-fruit,… too sweet, gets my blood sugar out of balance, causing symptoms such as cracks at the ear, or more extreme if one is vegan, such as cracks at the toe-attachments to the foot, and corners of the mouth,… variable per person. Dried fruit is usually best soaked, such as dried apricots. Some dry dried fruit is ok on occasion, such as dried mangos,… some dried apricots,… but, not too much as with anything.
Prudent omnivore for the win. Your body reveals. Stay vital,… let your body direct you, prudently.
I have been curious though why many people I see who are vegans look to be quite healthy on the outside? Sophie uliano, a famous online vlogger, holisitic nutrionist, yogee person (I think she is vegan) and others i have seen
Hi , I was a vegan for years and then had my daughter – and breast fed her . When she was 5 I could hardly get out of a chair I had become so anemic . B12 and iron deficient . My daughter was anemic as well . We then both started eating meat again . It was difficult to teach her to eat meant . I’m 55 now and just had a bone density scan and have osteoporosis in my spine – 3.4 . My advice is eat dairy if you can and meat . If you can’t Make sure you know what the alternatives are for the minerals and vitamins you’re cutting out and take vitamins . Make sure you get 1000 mg if your under 50 everyday of calcium – it’s so important. Don’t think you’re invincible like I did .
… to be clear, the health issues I’m seeing are in long term vegetarians/vegans. A few months or a few years is doable and most healthy people will be fine with that. The serious issues I’m seeing are my clients who have been doing it for 10, 20, 30 years. Don’t do this to your body/mind! We were meant to eat meat… maybe not the way you are seeing most Americans eat meat but that is where Weston A Price info comes in handy 🙂
What a load of bunk. Ringo wasn’t making any pseudo-scientific claim about sugar cravings being linked to mineral deficiency. He was simply stating that many vegans don’t eat whole foods diets.
As a vegan for over 12 years I have experienced no deficiencies. Save for those of the people around me who make stuff like this article up!
The main thing to focus on is the source of the food you eat, how it was grown, fed and prepared. MEAT is essential for healthy human bodies. After consulting for over 10 years, I found that some of the most difficult health situations are in life-long vegans/vegetarians. They sometimes progress to the point of no return, even if I CAN talk them into eating meat (slow, specific transition protocol). This is even true for my vegan/vegetarian clients who are careful about eating sugar. For anyone reading this with issues eating meat (or have decided that it’s time to start):
1. no nuts (peanuts or treenuts) – a huge source of inflammation no matter how they’re prepped
2. Start w/bone broth, 1/3 cup or so before each meal & make sure it’s from pasture-raised birds (soy-free & organic, if possible… lots of fat, chicken breast will not make great broth). Give the scraps to the dog (you’re a vegan so you *have* to have at least 1 pet… that’s a vegan rule!). If your tummy does well with meat, use the soup meat for soups, wraps, chicken salad (homemade mayo), etc.
3. Start on low-mercury fish after that and, if that goes well, try grass-fed lamb before moving to grass-fed beef (find a super-reliable source… not all grass-fed beef is alike).
4. well, this is getting to long but that is a great start for anyone ready to come off their life-long vegan FAST. – Carrie L Perez
I have been a raw vegan for the last 3 years. I don’t have any problems with my health, because my diet is balanced,. I agree that sometimes this diet can be harmful to health. It happens because people don’t understand that veganism is not only about fruit and vegetables.
All my vegan friends claim that Ringo and Paul are both vegans! They also claim that some cultures like the Jains are vegan, but they actually eat dairy! LOL
I agree with this assessment, it is why I am concerned for my health more than every before, Since meat is not cooperating with my body , I figured there has to be a way without me suffering the loss of vital nutrients so in that Regardless of how I feel about Meat, I still have to have it, even in small once a week portions. Instead, I chose Bone Broth to take in those vital nutrients we need & occasionally sinking my teeth into a juicy delicious grilled steak to satisfy those critical requirements. It would be ideal if all we needed where plants to survive ourselves, but its not enough. A balanced thought out variety of foods from all catagories is important & when it comes to morality & ethics in meat consumption, I do NOT subscribe to the ideals of a Vegan person or group as I have had vegans push their philosophy on me almost to the point of it being very offensive & in some cases harassment badgering & Interference to get their mandate across. That type of attitude to meat eaters lost me all together. Vegans are at the extreme end of the nutrition spectrum & I Really wish they would shut up if they cannot use their intelligence instead of showing how psychotic vegans can be about their philosophy & ideas of what is ethical in the way we use Animals as a food source. Its hard enough to deal with ethical treatment of animals & then to locate up front farmers who raise animals for meat at a price we can afford which is often the problem. Out of reach clean food for all is the problem for many. SO I adapted to a variety of ideals to make certain I do have the food I need to stay healthy, even if I disagree with the use of meat for myself, I still have to eat meat to stay healthy & MOSTLY because I was raised on meat therefor I do need meat.