Thanks for offering us that perfect example of point #1!

It's been about a month of eating the truly low-fat vegan diet once more. I've lost 3 pounds so far while eating all I want, and even better, my blood pressure has dropped easily and naturally down to ideal normal.

In your reply, you posed a question about why so many people refuse to give up nuts when they could benefit from doing so. I think Dr. Neal Barnard talks about that in his lecture on food addictions. Fat is addictive and enhances food flavours.

I don't agree with this article. I am 45 and I have been vegan for little over a year. During that time my weight dropped from 180lbs to 157-159lbs. Once my weight stabilized to 157-159lbs (I fluctuate between this weight) it has stayed there. During the initial stages of my conversion to a vegan diet I ate a lot of nuts. I ate from 3/4 to a 1 16oz bag of almonds a day. For months after my weight stabilized, I continued to eat the same amount of almonds. I now eat around a 1/2 16oz bag of almonds a day. I eat a lot more fruits (bananas and dates) which take the place of some of the almonds. My weight is stable which in an indication that I am eating enough calories so I don't lose weight. In fat my diet is high in fat, and carbs, and meets my protein requirements. I eat plenty of sugar from dates, bananas, and apples, fats from the large amounts of nuts I eat, but I don't gain weight. I also eat plenty of vegetables (mainly kale and cilantro), an not a lot of complex carbs. I mainly eat qunioa and sometimes garbanzo beans. I also eat all day. I snack throughout the day on homemade veggie juice, banana smoothies, dates, bananas, apples, and almonds, and I don't gain weight. I feel I am at my optimal weight for my current activity level, and when I start cycling again I will probably lose 2 pounds.

Hey VegHead:

Yes, have seen that new one, which is a nut-industry funded study of a number of nut-industry studies, most of which studies actually had little to do with weight loss. In fact it "reviews" several of the same studies we already debunked, where nut-eaters were fed fewer calories during the study period when their weight started to go up, so that there would be no weight gain. In other words, it's another nonsense study from the free-spending nut industry.

A little busy right now, but we will be taking that one apart before too long. Meanwhile, Chef AJ has lost way more weight since this series of articles went up...doing nothing other than eliminate the "recommended" amount of daily nuts from her diet.

Nuts are great! They're healthy! But they're not "super foods" and the science, when it's actually examined and not just skimmed over, shows they do make most people gain weight if they simply add them and don't use them to replace.

Cheers.