Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
If you're a whiny
snowflake that can't handle the
truth, is offended by the wordfuck and about 37 uses of it in
different forms gets ass hurt.
When you hear someone speak theabsolute, real and raw truth,
you should leave Like right now.
This is Shut Up and Choose, thepodcast where we cut through
(00:25):
the shit and get real aboutweight loss, life and everything
in between.
We get into the nitty gritty ofmaking small, smart choices
that add up to big results.
From what's on your plate tohow you approach life's
challenges.
We'll explore how the simpleact of choosing differently can
transform your health, yourmindset and your entire freaking
(00:48):
life.
So if you're ready to cutthrough the bullshit and start
making some real changes, thenbuckle up and shut up, because
we're about to choose our way toa healthier, happier life.
This is Shut Up and Choose.
Let's do this Now.
(01:10):
Your host, jonathan.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Ressler.
Hey, welcome back to Shut Upand Choose the podcast where we
cut to the noise, the nonsensethe diet industry's throwing at
you.
We debunk all the myths fromthose Instagram and social media
gurus and we talk about thereal stuff, which is how to lose
weight and, more importantly,how to keep it off for the long
term, how to make it fit intoyour life, not take over your
(01:33):
life.
I'm your host, jonathan Ressler, and today we're going to talk
about a topic that people aregoing to be crazy about.
I'm going to catch some heat,I'm going to catch some noise,
I'm going to get a bunch ofnasty emails, but the facts are
the facts.
So today, what we're going totalk about is the plant-based
eating craze and why it's not ashealthy as everybody claims.
(01:56):
It is Because you know,everywhere you look, everywhere
you go, if you're on socialmedia, even if you're on TV, if
you look at TV, people aretalking about, ah, plant-based
eating, that's the way to go,and the truth of the matter is
this Plant-based eating hastaken the world by storm.
Everywhere you go, everywhereyou look in the grocery store,
(02:17):
people are talking aboutplant-based eating.
So what was once, I guess, anice niche lifestyle for vegans
has become a full-blown movementand it's all put out there with
some clever marketing stuff andpromises of better health,
environmental sustainability andguilt-free indulgence.
So everywhere you look, you'retold to ditch real meat for
(02:39):
plant-based burgers, sausagesand even fish.
I don't know if you've tastedit, but I find it absolutely
repulsive.
But that's a a story for alittle bit later.
On the surface, I mean it does.
It all sounds great.
You're eating plants, right, Imean you're saving the planet
and your body at the same time.
Except the truth is you'rereally not plant-based eating
(03:00):
and those wonder burgerswhatever the fuck they're called
isn't some magical like kaleleaf transformation.
It's ultra processed junk madein factories using chemicals,
artificial ingredients andindustrial oils that are
anything but natural.
And the product this stuffisn't saving your health and
(03:22):
honestly, I think it'spotentially harming it, your
health and honestly, I thinkit's potentially harming it.
If you're trading like a nicegrass-fed burger for an
impossible patty, or swappingreal fish for some concocted
salmon and I say salmon withquotes thinking that that's a
healthier choice.
Let's take a closer look,because it's time to really
unpack the truth aboutplant-based eating and why it's
(03:42):
not the health miracle thateverybody claims it is.
So I guess let's get thisstraight.
First, plant-based meat isn'tjust plant in burger form, it's
not.
It's not like they ground upsome plants, no, it's a
Frankenstein product created ina laboratory.
Companies like Impossible Foodsand Beyond Meat they use
ultra-processed shit,ultra-processed ingredients and
(04:05):
and, honestly, industrialtechniques to create something
that vaguely looks, tastes andfeels like meat, but it has none
of the natural nutrition, noneof it.
So if you want, if you'rewondering because I was what
you're really eating when youbite into one of those
plant-based products, let me,let me give you a little picture
here.
So it's really just a bigmishmash, a cocktail of
(04:28):
processed ingredients.
So real meat is just that right, it's meat.
It's one ingredient.
Plant-based meat, on the otherhand, is a blend of highly
processed ingredients that havebeen stripped, altered and, I
guess, recombined.
Like I said, it's like aFrankenstein to mimic meat.
So let's take a look at thetypical Beyond Burger, because I
wanted to see what was in aBeyond Burger or an Impossible
(04:50):
Patty.
So here's the things that Ifound.
Here's one of the ingredientsPea protein isolate or soy
protein concentrate.
Do you know what that is?
I didn't, so I looked it up.
They're proteins that arestripped out of plants using
high heat, which we all know isbad.
High heat, chemical, heavyprocesses that destroy the
nutrients that you're trying toeat.
(05:11):
So pea protein isolate and soyprotein concentrate garbage.
It also has a bunch of refinedindustrial oils like canola oil.
Sunflower and coconut oils areall staples in those products.
We know that those causeinflammation.
I am a guy that wrestles withinflammation, so those are
inflammation bombs.
They're heavily processed.
They're very high in omega-6fatty acids, which can
(05:33):
contribute to inflammation whenconsumed in excess.
So there's a ton of that shitin there.
Flavor enhancers I love this oneFlavor enhancers Because, as
you can imagine, processed peasand soy don't taste like meat.
Companies add this thing.
They call natural flavors.
Natural flavors that's all theyput on the package.
(05:53):
Well, isn't natural flavors?
Wouldn't that be meat?
But it's not.
It's some kind of mystery mixof lab-derived chemicals to make
the products even palatable.
They're repulsive.
They're trying to make itpalatable because they know it's
nasty, and then they use somekind of binders and texturizers.
This one ingredient that I foundis called methylcellulose.
(06:14):
I don't know if I'm saying that, but I did find out that
methylcellulose is a thickenerthat's used in industrial
adhesives.
So you're eating Gorilla'reeating gorilla glue.
That's that's crazy, but that'sthe stuff that you know.
That and some modified starchesare what give this fake meat
its texture.
So enjoy eating that glue.
(06:35):
I always heard of peoplesniffing glue, but I never.
I don't know, I just neverheard of people eating it.
The second thing there and thereare all these artificial
additives.
So to create the taste and thecolor and the smell of real meat
, these plant-based companiesare using a slew of synthetic
additives.
There's a product called Idon't even know if I'm saying
this right, it's Heme H-E-M-E.
(06:56):
I'm probably saying it wrong,but it's known as soy
lehemoglobin.
That sounds something likehealthy.
I don't know, but impossible.
Food's secret ingredient thatmimics the bleeding effect of
real beef.
That's what that shit is.
Heme again not sure if I'msaying it right is genetically
engineered in a lab and no oneknows what the long-term effects
(07:18):
of that shit certainly there'sbeen no research on.
They use artificial colors andthat gives that like gives your
meat that pink you, which isshocking to me that people even
want that.
But they give it the pink youand they're synthetic and
unnecessary in your real food.
It's processed food.
And then, of course, they usepreservatives and they include a
ton of chemicals that extendthe shelf life, keeping it quote
(07:41):
unquote fresh for longer thanreal meat.
I don't know how it can befresh, but whatever.
So, in short, plant-based meatis less about plants and more
about factory manipulated dogshit.
Well, not dog shit, factorymanipulated food.
It's incredible that people arejumping on this and talking
about how fucking healthy it is.
Oh yeah, I also don't want youto forget about the sky-high
(08:03):
sodium.
Most of these plant-based meatproducts are loaded with sodium.
It makes up for the lack offlavor.
A typical Beyond Burger, justso you know, contains 390
milligrams of sodium, and theImpossible Burger has 370
milligrams of sodium, and that'sbefore you add any condiments
to actually make it taste good,or you add the bun.
(08:24):
So compare that to this weirdthing called a real burger, and
that has about 75 milligrams ofsodium.
So for people who are trying toreduce their salt intake,
plant-based meat is a stealthysodium bomb that can increase
their blood pressure and straintheir heart over time.
This is not health food.
This is processed food.
(08:45):
So plant-based meats are part ofa larger category of foods
known as ultra-processed foods,industrial products made from
ingredients that barely evenresemble real food.
The products are marketed ashealthy, but their effects on
your body absolutely tell adifferent story.
Like for me.
Like I said, I struggle withinflammation.
(09:07):
I mean I always have somethingthat's swollen.
Until I lost the weight, I haduncontrolled gout.
I had all this inflammation inmy body and we all know we've
learned over the last few yearsthat inflammation is a killer.
So one of the biggest concernswith these ultra processed foods
is they're linked toinflammation.
Ingredients like refined oils,like canola and sunflower oil
are high in omega-6 fatty acidsand while omega-6s by themselves
(09:28):
aren't inherently bad, animbalance between the omega-6
and the omega-3 fatty acidstriggers chronic inflammation,
which is the root cause ofthings like heart disease,
diabetes, arthritis, autoimmuneconditions.
Inflammation is the body'snatural response to injury or
infection, but when it becomeschronic it can wreak havoc on
(09:50):
your health.
Trust me, take it from me.
I know I have chronic gout,which, again, I haven't had in
the last I don't know year and ahalf since I lost the weight.
But inflammation is an absolutekiller, not to mention it makes
your life fucking unlivable.
So eating this plant-based meaton a regular basis probably
contributes to the imbalance.
I mean I'm not saying I'm not ascientist, I didn't do any work
(10:12):
, but I know that things thattrigger inflammation are
probably causing theseplant-based meats are probably
causing you more inflammation,because you have this imbalance
between you don't have enoughomega-3s and you're loading up
on the omega-6s.
And I know I sound like afucking scientist, but I'm not.
I'm not a nutritionist, but Ijust read all this online and I
didn't read it in one place.
(10:33):
I read it in five or six places.
I did just a little bit ofresearch, just enough research
for me to be dangerous.
So it's also really bad for yourgut health.
So your gut microbiome is homefor literally trillions of
bacteria that play thatbasically allow you to digest
food, and it also affects yourimmunity and your overall health
.
There's nothing more importantthan what's going on in your gut
(10:54):
, and that's why people takeprebiotics and they want their
gut health to be great.
Well, these ultra-processedfoods, including plant-based
meat, be great.
Well, these ultra-processedfoods, including plant-based
meat, are often low in fiber andhigh in additives that totally,
completely and utterly disruptyour gut bacteria.
So let me just give you acouple examples.
So there's an additive they usecalled methylcellulose I think
(11:17):
I'm saying that right and that'sused as a thickener, and the
methylcellulose.
You can check this out.
They are not digestible byhumans and definitely irritate
your gut.
Lining a lack of prebioticfiber means that your gut is not
working right and the the thebacteria in your gut is not
being nourished, and that leadsto imbalances that affect
everything from digestion tomood.
(11:39):
So if you're trying to supportyour gut health, replacing real
whole foods with this ultraprocessed dog shit is a step in
the wrong direction.
I also found out thatplant-based meat is engineered
to be hyperpalatable, meaningit's designed to make you want
more.
The combination of fat, saltand synthetic flavoring lights
(11:59):
up the brain's reward centersand that encourages overeating.
It's no different than thestuff they put in potato chips
and Doritos and all that stuff.
It makes it almost addictive.
When you eat it, you want more,and it's not unique to
plant-based meats.
It's a hallmark of theultra-processed foods in general
.
But to me I guess it'sparticularly iconic here,
(12:20):
because plant-based meats aremarketed as quote-quote better
for you, even though they'reloaded with the same additive
ingredients, the same shit thatyou find in junk food.
That's crazy.
This is a better alternativeaccording to a lot of people,
but it's complete bull.
And last but not least, whilethere have been some short-term
studies of plant-based meat andsuggesting that they're safe,
(12:42):
but there's very little researchon the long-term effects.
I'm not crazy about this onebecause I think everything, oh,
we don't have any long-termresults.
Well, yeah, it hasn't beenaround long enough, but we just
don't know how consuminggenetically engineered
ingredients, synthetic additivesand industrial oils are going
to affect our health overdecades.
Again, I'm not really that hungup on that one, because that's
(13:05):
like everything in life, butthose other three are really
important.
Now I was watching Shark Tankthe other night and I saw
something new Maybe it's not new, but it was new to me and it
was fucking plant-based fish.
If plant-based burgers weren'tbad enough, now we have
plant-based fish, these products.
They promise to replace yourtuna, your salmon, your crab
(13:25):
with lab-created alternatives.
So let me save the trouble.
They're even worse than thefake meat, plant bait,
plant-based I can't even saythat fucking word.
Plant-based fish contains asimilar lineup of the processed
ingredients, with even morechemical wizardry to achieve the
fishy flavor.
So again they use syntheticflavors designed to mimic the
(13:48):
taste of fish, but again it'smade in the lab.
They use texturizers, so that'sused to create the flaky
texture of fish, which involvesa bunch of starches and gums
also not great for you and theyuse something called titanium
dioxide, and that is a chemicalthat's used to give fake fish
its white color.
It's also found in a coupleother things that you know very
(14:10):
well, and those two things arepaint and sunscreen.
So if you like your white paint, you're probably going to like
your white fish, because you'refucking eating paint and you're
eating sunscreen.
That's insane that people aresaying this shit is healthy.
And of course, we also have theomega-3s.
Real fish is one of the bestnatural sources of omega-3 fatty
(14:31):
acids, which are essential foryour brain and your heart, but
plant-based fish it, containsnone of that, unless it's
artificially added, and eventhen we know it's often in
minimal amounts and it'sgenetically modified.
I'm not sure if it's a.
I guess it is a GMO.
Who the fuck knows?
So the marketing for plant-basedfood has been fucking great.
It's been phenomenal.
I got to give them that.
Those products are packaged tolook fresh and clean, naturally.
(14:53):
I mean.
They look like what they'resupposed to be, and the words
like plant-powered andsustainable are plastered on
every single label, making youfeel good about your choices.
But Remember, marketing isn'tthe same as truth.
I'm an ex-marketing guy, orstill a marketing guy, and I can
tell you, as a marketing person, it's my job to get you to buy
(15:14):
stuff.
Okay, that's what marketing isabout.
So marketing is definitely notthe same as the truth.
Plant-based meat is not thesame as eating whole, real
plants.
It's ultra-processed junk foodhiding from behind a healthy
looking label.
So another big selling pointthat I hear all the time is
plant-based meat and it'ssupposedly better for the
(15:37):
environment.
And that's you know.
I guess it's true, factoryfarming has environmental
downsides, but plant-based meatis not as green as it claims.
So I found out they use thisthing called monoculture farming
, not really sure what it is.
I know soy and pea are grown inthese massive monoculture farms
, which deplete the soil health,destroy the ecosystems and
(15:57):
require heavy pesticides.
I mean, that's crazy.
There's heavy pesticides in thestuff that you're eating, for
all the earthy crunchies.
You know, turning peas into peaprotein isolate or soy into soy
protein concentrate is aresource-heavy process that
consumes water, energy andchemicals.
So I'm not so sure how great itis for the environment.
(16:21):
So, all that being said, nowwhat should you eat instead.
Well, if plant-based meat isn'tthe answer, what is it that you
should eat?
I get it.
I know you know the answer.
The answer is simple real wholefoods.
Things like grass-fed,pasture-raised meat that's
packed with high-quality protein, vitamins and healthy fats.
(16:42):
We all know that wild-caughtfish is great.
It's one of the best sources ofomega-3s, which are essential
for your brain and your hearthealth.
Here's a crazy idea.
Eat whole plants, right.
Eat vegetables, fruits and nutsin their natural forms and, of
course, we all know this.
We're all out here saying itall the time.
Eat minimally processed foods.
(17:04):
If it comes from a factory orit has I don't know 15 or more
ingredients, just skip it.
There's no fucking reason toeat it.
It's ultra processed junk.
So I know all that probably isgoing to make people go crazy
that I'm shitting on plant-basedmeat and plant-based food, but
(17:25):
the reality is it's aFrankenstein of chemicals and
shit that's bad for your body.
You can't be out there saying,oh, you got to eat healthy.
You're not eating healthy Ifyou're eating plant-based foods
or plant-based meat.
It's not healthy.
It's not.
There's no way that you canconvince me that that's good for
you in any way, shape or form.
(17:46):
So, like I said, plant-basedeating might sound good in
theory, but in practice it'sjust.
It's really no more than ahealth-washed marketing play.
That's what it is.
It's all marketing.
The products areultra-processed, they're filled
with artificial ingredients andthey offer none of the natural
nutrition you get from real food.
I mean none, zero.
(18:06):
So the next time someone offersyou a plant-based burger, take
a closer look at the ingredientlist.
That's what I did.
I looked at the ingredients.
I was like oh my God.
Then, after that, ask yourselfdo I really want to trade a
grass-fed, like beef patty for apile of chemicals, oil and
additives?
I think not.
Real food and losing weightsustainably is not complicated.
So stick to the basics, ignorethe hype and remember that you
(18:32):
already know what to eat.
I tell you this all the time.
I mean this shit is notcomplicated, but there's
marketers out there, there'scompanies out there that are
trying to separate you from yourmoney, and plant based food,
plant based burgers and meat andfish and things like that are
just designed to separate youfrom your money.
They're doing a great jobmarketing it, telling you that
(18:52):
it's healthier for you, but thereality is it's not.
It's no different than chipsand Doritos and all that shit
and I'm not saying any of thoseare not shitting on any of those
companies.
But you know, let's look at itfor what it is Impossible Burger
or whatever Impossible Packageit's all fucking junk.
It's garbage.
You know how to eat.
(19:13):
You were born with that ability.
You were born with thatinformation.
Eat whole, unprocessed foods ifyou want to.
I mean, I can't imagine feedingyourself with a Beyond Burger.
But if you want to feedyourself every now and then with
one of those nasty plant-basedmeat things like you know, like
on a dare or something, yeah,fine.
But to go to eating onlyplant-based meat, I think you're
(19:36):
taking your health in yourhands and you're taking a real
risk.
So that's what I have to sayabout plant-based meat and all
that plant-based bullshit.
I know people are going toflame the shit out of me for
this, but again, go look foryourself.
Go look at the ingredients on aBeyond Burger or an Impossible
Patty or whatever the fuckthey're called.
You tell me if that's what youwant to eat.
(19:56):
If that's what you want to eat,knock yourself out, go ahead.
But the reality is that stuffis nothing more than the thing
that everybody tells you toavoid at all costs, which is
ultra processed food.
That's what it is.
So there's my thought.
If you want to read my book, Ithink you should, because it'll
tell you how to do this.
It'll help you get into theright mindset to lose weight and
(20:17):
keep it off.
It's called Shut Up and Choose.
It's available on Amazon.
Tons of great reviews.
People are buying the book,selling a lot of books every
week.
It's been, I don't know.
It's been a journey.
It's been exciting.
It's gratifying as hell to seepeople actually getting results
from reading the book and, forthe first time in their life,
losing weight and keeping it off.
Another thing that you couldlook at, another thing that I
(20:39):
suggest you look at, is I have avideo course online.
It's 23 short videos, all underfive minutes, called Live Life,
love Food, lose Weight, andit's all about living your life,
loving the food that you eatand still losing weight.
That's available atlearnshutupandchoosecom.
That's learnshutupandchoosecom.
Great holiday gift for somebody.
(20:59):
There's no better gift than thegift of health.
It's long-term, it doesn't fade.
It'll be there for the rest ofyour life.
What's the sense in having agreat looking bag if you got to
lay in bed because you're sofucking sick you can't walk
around.
But anyway, that's a story foranother day.
It's actually a story foranother podcast, so do what you
(21:21):
think is best.
I hope I educated you a littlebit on this plant-based meat
craze and this plant-based fishcraze and all this nonsense of
the plant-based eating that ispositioned as healthy out there.
I've given you the information.
I hope it's useful.
I hope you use it.
Now.
All that's left to do is toshut up and choose.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
You've been listening
to Shut Up and Choose.
Jonathan's passion is to sharehis journey of shedding 130
pounds in less than a yearwithout any of the usual
gimmicks no diets, no pills.
And we'll let you in on alittle secret no fucking gym.
And guess what?
(22:01):
You can do it too.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
We had a fucking blast.
If you did, make sure to like,rate and review.
We'll be back soon, but in themeantime, find Jonathan on
Instagram atJonathanWrestlerBocaRaton.
Until next time, shut up andchoose.