Plant-Powered Seniors - Vesanto Melina and Dr. Charlyn Black

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LifeTalk Radio presents Health and Longevity. The program dedicated to bringing you cutting edge information and interviews that can change your life. On each edition, nutritionist, registered dietitian, and board certified anti-aging health practitioner, Dr. John Westerdahl will show you how to achieve a longer, healthier life using the latest breakthroughs in nutrition, wellness, and lifestyle medicine. And now, here's your host, Dr. John Westerdahl.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Welcome to Health and Longevity. I'm Dr. John Westerdahl. On today's program, we will discuss nutrition essentials and easy recipes for adults over 50 years old. We will LifeTalk Radio introduce you to a new practical guidebook for adult seniors that shows how a whole food plant-based lifestyle can support healthy aging, prevent diseases, and make everyday eating simpler, more enjoyable, and deeply nourishing. Plant Powered Seniors is a new book written by award-winning authorities in the world of plant-based nutrition, registered dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, and physician Dr. Charlyn Black, MD. Today, two of the co-authors of this special new book will be our special guest today on our program. But before we get into today's exciting topic, please listen to this important message.

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Would you like to live a happier, healthier and longer fulfilled life? Then visit us at healthandlongevityradio.com. That's one word, healthandlongevityradio.com. There you'll find valuable information and resources that can help you achieve optimal health and give you the secrets to longevity. Visit us today at healthandlongevityradio.com. Once again, that's healthandlongevityradio.com. It could change your life.

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And now, Health and Longevity's special feature, where Dr. Westerdahl interviews leading experts and personalities on vital topics important to your health and longevity.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Our special guests today on Health and Longevity are registered dietitian nutritionist Vesanto Melina, who has been a colleague of mine and good friend for many years, and also physician Dr. Charlyn Black, MD. Both of them are two co-authors of a new exciting book called Plant Powered Seniors. They co-authored this new book with another one of my registered dietitian nutritionist colleagues and that's Brenda Davis who could not be with us today as she's getting ready for a lecture trip. But we want to thank Vesanto and Dr. Black for being with us and thank you for being here today and also congratulations on your new book. Welcome to Health and Longevity. Thanks for you for being with us today.

Dr. Charlyn Black

Thanks for having us.

Vesanto Melina

Thanks, John.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Very exciting topic because we're all about anti-aging and longevity. And it's time that a new book has come out. You have a beautiful new book that I had a chance to take a look at. It was a lot of great information, a great resource. But first of all, tell us a little bit about your backgrounds and about your path to becoming plant-based in your own personal lifestyles. Vasantha, why don't you start off?

Vesanto Melina

Well, I had a good start for this nutrition area because my dad worked with Best and Banting and did insulin research. He was a physiologist and my mom taught at the Child Study Center and loved having kids preparing food. So I had this good LifeTalk Radioduction to nutrition to really like doing it, which I sure think, you know, parents and grandparents, it's good to get your kids in the kitchen with their stubby little knife chopping up a tomato or something, you know, it really helps a lot. And then I started teaching nutrition at UBC actually in 1965.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Where did you go to, where did you go to university to get your degree?

Vesanto Melina

Oh, I went same place. University of London, England for a year.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Oh, really?

Vesanto Melina

Dad was doing cancer research over there and then Toronto after that. So I got my BA and master's degree from University of Toronto and then taught at UBC, University of British Columbia. And then I was vegetarian or vegan at that point. But I did go to India for four years. It was kind of a thing we were doing in the late 70s, early 80s. I just wanted to see a really different part of the world. And of course, India is very good at vegetarian and has wonderful food. So I came back and started doing workshops for the public and for dieticians who really didn't know much about that. That was the late 80s and our first book came out, me and Brenda Davis in 1993. Well, it had a chapter saying without dairy, and the dairy farmers got upset about it and wrote a booklet against our book. Even though we didn't say dairy was bad, we just said you can get all the nutrients from somewhere else. But, uh, it turned out that my career with Brenda has gone very well. We've got a million books in print in English and 15 books out, and our books are in up to 10 languages. So anyway, we're delighted to have Sharla and Joy this one.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Yes, I'm going to talk to her about how she got into it. But I mentioned that your first book was Becoming Vegetarian, right? That's right.

Vesanto Melina

Yeah, we know the word.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Now, I didn't know either of you, Santo. And I was called, someone wanted me to come up to Canada to give a talk about vegetarian nutrition. So and it was a friend of the family, my wife's side of the family. And I went to the bookstores, I'm thinking, well, I've got to see what resources that they have in Canada. And I saw your book. And I bought the book. I said, this is great. This is exactly what I want to talk about. So I promoted your book at that lecture.

Vesanto Melina

Well, it worked.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Probably one of the first copies. Yeah. And since then, of course, you've written many becoming vegan, becoming something on raw food, vegetarian.

Vesanto Melina

Diabetes, plant-powered protein, which got to number one on Amazon for sustainability.

Dr. John Westerdahl

And of course, you have been in the past active with the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Vesanto Melina

That's right.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Your other co-author, who's not here today, Brenda Davis, is also a leading expert in plant-based nutrition, vegetarian nutrition, vegan nutrition, and actually served as chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition and Dietetic Practice Group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which I did also at one time. So she's going to be doing some traveling, so she couldn't be with us today. And Dr. Black, tell us about your background and how your plant-based journey came about.

Dr. Charlyn Black

Sure. Well, it actually came up around the same time as Vesanto, now that I listen. I'll just say, you know, I've always been interested in prevention from a very young age, and it really started with watching my mom who had really severe arthritis, seeing her arthritis get better when we started attending yoga classes together. And she was a great cook, got me interested in food, and she was also very interested in healthy eating. And I can remember her giving us snacks of frozen peas after school to keep us from other things. So I mean, she was always a great cook and encouraged me to cook. And I loved cooking. She taught me to cook. So anyway, I ended up going into medicine at the University of Manitoba and ended up practicing really in a teaching hospital, which was right next door to the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. In thinking about ways to improve the healthcare system, I thought, okay, I'm going to start taking courses, which led me to do a residency in what was then called community medicine. And as part of that, I unexpectedly ran out of things to do. They sent me to Hopkins and I ended up doing a doctoral degree in health policy. So I consider myself an accidental academic. I loved practicing medicine. But I was really interested in health policy and how we can improve the health of individuals and populations. So I will say I became a vegetarian right after medical school, so that was like 1980. And continued on. And what really changed for me was watching Forks Over Knives in 2018.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Yeah. That inspired a lot of people to go plant-based.

Dr. Charlyn Black

It sure did. And it really sharpened my interest and commitment to a whole food plant-based approach. So I've been an academic, a professor at the University of British Columbia, really focusing on health and health care. But as I've approached retirement, I really wanted to dig into this area in a deeper way. So I've taught courses on addressing our epidemic of chronic disease. become a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, as you are as well. But what's really helped is, I was really fortunate to connect with Brenda Vesanto as they were really finalizing their most recent book on Powered Protein. And we started talking and said, hey, we really need a book to talk about the specific nutritional and other changes that we need to address as seniors. So that's how I got into this. And I just feel so lucky to have connected with them and been able to work on this book with them. I have learned so much from working with them.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Yes, and being a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine too, here's a physicians group. Now to me, the most important physicians group in the United States really, that has taken the position that a plant-based diet is the optimal diet for, now they're looking at treating patients for successfully treating and potentially reversing chronic diseases that are facing our country today. So you guys have tremendous credentials. You know, the doctors nowadays that are getting into this, getting credentialed and so forth in plant-based nutrition and promoting it with their patients. So it's not just in the old days it was, oh, that's food faddism, vegetarianism and all that. Look at all the experts today that science backgrounds that are saying this is the way to go, not only for the health of the body, but the health of the planet too. And today, a lot of seniors are having a lot of problems. And there are many books out there about plant-based nutrition, but very few that are really written specifically for people that are over 50 And so what really inspired you guys to put this book together?

Vesanto Melina

Well, we are all both plant-based and seniors.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Yeah, so you're experts?

Vesanto Melina

We are. We lived it, or we're still living it. And I plan to live for a few more decades. And my doctor said to me just recently, she said, I hope I'm as healthy as you when I'm 84. So anyway, we want to really help people go through these years. in good health. And it's surprising to me that the United States and North America, Canada, we don't live the longest, like we're not the most longevity featured country. And I mean, we do okay, but people live to, you know, their early eighties, something like that. But they can have the last 10 years with a lot of medications and pain and going to doctors all the time and, you know, just a number of tragic situations and difficulties. we really wanted to help people reduce the risk of the major chronic diseases. And there's about 15 of them that we do look at in this book. And we want them to end up being in really good health and feeling good. And we notice even among our friends who haven't jumped on board with the nutrition and fitness that they're not doing so well. So we want to help people do that.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Dr. Black, let's talk about what are some of the chronic diseases that are associated with aging and that are most responsive to a diet and lifestyle changes in going more plant-based.

Dr. Charlyn Black

Sure, well, maybe I can just start by giving some background about how prevalent chronic diseases are for seniors. I mean, nearly all older Americans live with at least one chronic condition. It's 93% of people over 65 have one chronic condition and 79% have two or more. So what's really important to understand is, you know, in medicine we call this multimorbidity. And this pattern that many seniors are dealing with several chronic conditions is one of the reasons that lifestyle interventions address multiple risks for these chronic diseases. So let me now answer your question. I mean, I think the strongest evidence is for type 2 diabetes. That, you know, trials show not just that we can prevent it, but that we can actually put it into remission. And about 24% of American seniors have diabetes. Hypertension is another important one. And I got a diagnosis, I think, when I was in my 50s. Guess what? I used diet to reverse it, but the evidence is so strong and has been so strong since 1997 showing the DASH diet. And subsequent meta-analysis have shown that it's really effective at addressing hypertension, which is a major risk for many other conditions. Cardiovascular disease, very, very strong evidence that we can prevent and even put some people into remission from some of the most frequent chronic diseases. There are also, I think, there's compelling but more complex evidence about cognitive decline and frailty and sarcopenia. So another key one, of course, is obesity. 40% of Americans are obese. And it's linked to 200 other chronic conditions. So these approaches can really help. I know myself, when I was a vegetarian, I always had problems with my weight. And once I gave up the cheese and the fat, and moved to a healthier whole food plant-based diet, just melted away. I've lost over 40 pounds from my heaviest. So, and I just feel so much better having lost that weight.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Well, that's something to think about because sometimes people, they're going plant-based and they get the plant-based donuts and the plant-based cookies and all those plant-based and they got coconut oil fat in them and all types of stuff and sugar and all that. So there's healthy vegan and there's not so healthy vegan. And I know Vesanto, you know, as we get older and towards 50 and so forth, our nutritional needs change as we age. And that deserves some particular attention that we need to look at, particularly for those of us that are seniors, and that's all of us here today. Are there certain nutrients that may be difficult to get just from food alone? And what about taking supplements to complement, not a bad diet, but complement a healthy diet to make sure you're getting those nutrients?

Vesanto Melina

That's right. I used to think vegan was the way to go. Now I think well planned vegan is the way to go really makes a difference. And as we get older, typically we don't need as many calories. So our need for calories goes down, but our need for nutrients, several nutrients, including protein, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B6, we need more of these. And so we've got to really eat well when we get older. It really makes a difference. Healthy stuff. And Charla, I didn't know you'd lost that weight, but I lost about 20 pounds when I gave up all the cheese. We think of these foods as protein foods, but they're actually fat foods, really high in fat and the bad kinds of fat too. So anyway, what we need to pay attention to, certainly that our nutrient density gets better. We have more protein per calorie and our needs for calcium. So some of the nutrients that we need to take in supplement form, I have clients from all over North America and sometimes Europe, and I find they're usually short in calcium. Even whatever diet, even if they're drinking dairy products or eating cheese, they're usually low. So it's good to take calcium and have about a 300, 400 milligrams twice a day because our absorption is best if we do it in these two little doses, but not too much. And we need vitamin D again in supplement form typically. And surprisingly, I was speaking in Honolulu lately and the cancer center there had done some research that showed that the Hawaiians, many of them were low in vitamin D. We think Hawaii sun.

Dr. John Westerdahl

More sun. That's true.

Vesanto Melina

That's right. But it turns out that people are covering themselves up. They drive to the shopping mall from their garage. They wear big hats and umbrellas and just all sorts of reasons or have darker skin. So anyway, we do need vitamin D even in sunny areas. And another one that's important is vitamin B12 for everybody, any diet, of course required for plant-based, but it turns out that seniors in general are advised to eat B12 because we don't absorb it as well. Something like meat where it's there from bacterial contamination, but so we should have that in supplement form.

Dr. John Westerdahl

So what do you think of taking a good comprehensive multivitamin and mineral supplement that has a lot of these things added to it?

Vesanto Melina

Well, they never have enough calories calcium or it would make it like golf balls to eat practically. Yeah. So I suggest sometimes to clients to have one of those a couple times a week if they're not eating very well. A daily doesn't really do the trick usually, but you want to look and see that it has things like vitamin D, sufficient amounts, calcium. That's probably a separate supplement, B12. And another one of interest is omega-3 fatty acids, which is not a required nutrient in the long chain omega-3 form, but people eat fish for that reason. And they were finding the amounts in fish are going down and the farmed fish don't have as much because they're not fed as much. So this is a new area of research.

Dr. John Westerdahl

And now you can also get vegan omega-3 supplements from the algae and the fish get it by eating the algae and you can get it direct from the original source. You don't have to eat the fish because there is concern about fish with mercury and so forth. I remember there's a doctor in Hawaii. I worked in Hawaii for a number of years for the Adventist hospital there. And basically he was a pescatarian. He was like vegan, but he ate fish and the islands and so forth, he'd get the fish and all that. And then one day he came up to me and this guy's a very prominent doctor, very famous medical doctor. And he told me, John, what am I going to do? I'm told I have high levels of mercury. So that's becoming more of a problem, particularly the fish in the Pacific Ocean and so forth, where you find more of that situation. And Dr. Black, you know, being plant-based doesn't always automatically mean nutritionally optimal. So what should older adults, when they look at their eating patterns and the foods that they eat, pay attention to so they can eat more of an optimal whole food plant-based diet?

Dr. Charlyn Black

Yeah, well, I think Vesanto talked about, you know, the importance of when we have lower appetite sometimes and we need fewer calories. We need to pack more nutrition into every bite we take. So think of the plates we're producing to eat and try and get as much nutrition. Now, I mean, the focus, you know, there's a big debate about protein and how much protein we need. Actually, our needs for protein increase as we age for a number of reasons. And it's really important to think about distributing our protein throughout our day, not just having one meal with a big hunk of protein at the end of the day, but try and get protein at breakfast, lunch, snacks, and even desserts. Vesanto has a great recipe for chocolate dessert with tofu in it. So we can even get protein in our desserts. And I think the main message is pack as much nutrition as you can, lots of greens, lots of healthy living plants, whole foods. And, you know, I think Michael Poland's advice, eat food, real food, not too much, mostly plants, is, you know, the right way to go. The more plants we can bring into our diets, the healthier we are.

Dr. John Westerdahl

And Vasanta, why is preserving that muscle tissue among seniors so important for seniors?

Vesanto Melina

Well, one of the worst things that can happen when we're older is falls. And we need our muscles to be in place and functioning well. to keep us upright and if we do fall, that we can catch ourselves well. So it really helps us maintain our independence, living separately if we keep our muscles strong. And we need protein for bone and muscle, like bones are actually minerals in the matrix of protein and muscles as well. So it is very important and the European countries and Australia have actually advise higher protein intakes as we get older. North American recommendations aren't changed at this point, but many, many experts are a bit ahead of the curve and we are suggesting that we increase our protein as we get older.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Okay, we're running out of time here, so I want to cover a few things. You know, someone that's 60 or 70 and they feel overwhelmed, how would you tell them to get started on this type of diet?

Vesanto Melina

Well, one they could get our book would probably help them quite a bit.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Yes.

Vesanto Melina

Plant Powered Seniors. And there's a website, plant-powered seniors.com. And also to start, if they have access to the internet, to start looking around their neighborhood and see what's available, the fitness classes, because we can't just like eat protein, sit there and watch TV and have our muscles stay strong. We got to do stuff and it helps to find people in your neighborhood that are interested in this or vegetarian groups, plant-based groups. And if you find a doctor who's involved with the College of Lifestyle Medicine, that really helps a lot because they'll understand these things. So just putting out your network, maybe Charlotte will have a few more ideas about this too.

Dr. John Westerdahl

You can go to lifestyle medicine.org, go there and find a directory for lifestyle medicine doctor in your community. Well, this is great information we've talked about today and If listeners had to remember just one message from the plant powered seniors, what would you want them to know? Both of you, what are your comments?

Vesanto Melina

I would like people to be really inspired that this can be a good time of life. It really can. We're through some of the tough stages. And if you just learn some new recipes, you know, seven to 10 recipes can keep you going, things you really like, like that chocolate pudding has helped two seniors I know, one of the got through cancer and he'd lost weight. The other one got depressed because her husband had dementia and she lost weight, but it really helped both of them regain that weight and it tastes good. So just looking for some fun ways to do things, it sure makes a difference.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Dr. Black, any thoughts on that? Sure.

Dr. Charlyn Black

I'd say, you know, it's never too late to go for it.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Right.

Dr. Charlyn Black

You know, any changes that we can make, tiny ones can build confidence give you inspiration, help you feel better, and you can start a positive cycle and just feel stronger, more interested in the world and in connecting with your friends. All of these things, this collection of things, John, that you know from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine that can make our lives much more fulfilling. So never too late.

Dr. John Westerdahl

So the book, Plant Powered Seniors, written by the three authors, Brenda Davis, Vasanta Melina, and Dr. Charlyn Black. How can one order the book? How can they find it?

Vesanto Melina

Well, the website is plant-powered seniors.com and you can find it there. You can order online and also you can get your local bookstore to bring it in.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Okay. Well, thank you so much for being with us and the great information. I wish you the best of success in the book. And I know the book is just coming out as we broadcast this program. So I encourage our listeners to look for that book, the Plant Powered Seniors and add that to your library. You'll find it great resource, great information to help any senior, anyone over 50 should have this in their library and it can help them live a longer and healthier life. Thank you so much for being with us today. Thank you. Good. I hope you enjoyed today's interview on Plant Powered Seniors with dietitian Vesanto Melina and Dr. Charlyn Black. Today, more and more health science research is confirming that a healthy plant-based diet is more optimal for promoting longevity and anti-aging. As a registered dietitian nutritionist myself that is board certified in both lifestyle and anti-aging medicine and also a certified Blue Zones health professional, I offer nutrition, longevity, and anti-aging consultant services and resources that are available to anyone that wants to live a healthier and longer life. To learn more about these services and resources, visit our website at healthandlongevityradio.com. That's healthandlongevityradio.com. It is also available on longevityrdn.com. That's longevityrdn.com. for registered dietitian nutritionist and longevity indicates that I specialize in longevity nutrition. Both of these websites will get you to the same website page. Again, to learn more about health and longevity services and resources on this website, you will find a lot of great information on this website that can contribute to your personal health and longevity.

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Would you like to live a happier, healthier and longer fulfilled life? Then visit us at healthandlongevityradio.com. That's one word, healthandlongevityradio.com. There you'll find valuable information and resources that can help you achieve optimal health and give you the secrets to longevity. Visit us today at healthandlongevityradio.com. Once again, that's healthandlongevityradio.com. It could change your life.

Dr. John Westerdahl

Well, we have come to the end of this week's program. Until next time, this is Dr. John Westerdahl wishing you the best of health and longevity.

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This has been Health and Longevity with Dr. John Westerdahl, a production of Life Talk Radio. Join us again next week on this same station and time for Health and Longevity. The preceding information on this program has been general information about your health and is not to be taken as professional medical advice, nor is it intended to serve as a substitute for medical attention. Do not change your diet or exercise habits without guidance from your medical doctor, especially if you have health problems or are on medication. Do not change your medications without the advice and supervision of your medical doctor. If you have a medical condition, we encourage you to seek the consultation of a medical doctor experienced in dietary change and lifestyle medicine. And as always we wish you the best of health.