Checking in with Oprah

I recently told you about Oprah's 21-day vegan cleanse (which, apart from obviously shunning all animal-derived foods, also bans sugar, gluten, alcohol, and caffeine).

The talk show queen is blogging on her site and updating everyone on her progress.

Day 1 was fairly easy to traverse.

You certainly can't knock it as an unhealthy eating pattern.

That day alone includes standouts like oatmeal, blueberries, strawberries, wild rice, a baked potato, and olive oil.

As wonderfully whole as all those foods are, I have some concerns.

Despite providing sufficient calories (roughly 1,600), fiber, and protein, the total amounts of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calcium do not meet requirements.

Additionally, such a heavy reliance on nuts (they are eaten at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack) really drives up the Omega-6 fatty acid content.

This is slightly troublesome because, apart from some walnuts at breakfast and olive oil as salad dressing, Omega-3 intake isn't that high.

Remember, the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio plays an important role in our health.

I would personally add flaxseed to breakfast and replace the pinenuts in the dinner salad with nori (or some other sort of seaweed, naturally rich in Omega 3 fatty acids.)

By the next day, things get interesting -- and a little unrealistic. Oprah and her exec producers (also doing this diet with her) get their very own vegan chef!

And, alas, I'm back to my original gripes with this entire "cleanse."

When you start banning multiple food groups and not allowing yourself to have gluten (the most bizarre part of this plan; there is no reason to give up gluten unless you have an intolerance to it) or sugar, you'll find that unless you are very experienced around a kitchen and alternative ingredients -- or hire a personal chef -- it is not easy to maintain a dietary lifestyle that is interesting, practical, healthy, and balanced.

For Oprah and her colleagues to go the personal chef route is a bit of a copout. They should attempt to do this on the average income of an adult in the United States.

Take this example -- on day two, Oprah and her fellow cleansers wake up to strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes.

Do you think that on a random Wednesday morning you'll find yourself concocting such a recipe in your kitchen at 7 AM? I doubt it.

A successful eating plan is not only nutritious and tasty, it also has to be convenient. What's so wrong about some whole or sprouted grain toast with peanut butter?

Or a bowl of whole grain cereal (slightly sweetened, say a measly 3 grams of sugar per serving) with soymilk and raisins?

In yesterday's blog entry, Oprah hints at another problem with these overly strict regimens (let me make something very clear: it is one thing to be vegan, but a whole other thing to be a vegan who abstains from sugar, coffee, alcohol, and gluten) -- they can render you defenseless outside the four walls of your home.

Oprah mentions flying to Las Vegas later this week and being slightly nervous about her choices.

I hope she prepares herself for an eye-opening experience.

Forget vegan-friendly, Vegas is barely vegetarian-friendly.

Even something as standard and semi fast food-ish as a veggie burger is hard to come by. The only place where I felt healthy cooking was a priority was the spa at the Venetian Hotel.

Otherwise, bring your own snacks!

I found today's entry to be cause for concern:

"I hit a wall today. Literally had to stand in my closet and bound the walls, the cabinets, the floor for a few minutes and take some deep breaths."

A well-planned, balanced, practical eating plan should not have you feeling like this on day four.

This is why I very much oppose overnight radical shifts. Not only is there no physiological benefit to banning things left and right from one day to the next, it also conjures up issues of self-flagellation and unnecessary deprivation that often accompany a lot of weight loss plans.

It particularly upsets me because it sends very erroneous messages: healthy eating is a chore, it involves giving up pleasures, it pushes your body to the limit.

Nonsense!

The path to healthy eating and smart choices is not always going to be smooth and easy -- it is perfectly common and understandable to have the occassional setback -- and extreme approaches such as this "cleanse" certainly don't help.

It's a shame that someone as influential and looked up to as Oprah isn't using her show as a platform to show that wellness and health can be achieved without personal chefs, swearing off foods, or feeling like the world is caving in on you.

Anyhow, Oprah has two more weeks to go. I'll be sure to follow her progress and keep you all in the loop.