By Jeff Walsh

Of all the McDougall DVDs, his latest is the one that I really want to carry with me at all times and whip it into DVD players everywhere I go whenever these questions come up.

“Dr. McDougall’s Common Sense Nutrition: The Truth About Protein, Soy, and Fish” is really a tour de force, and watching it will make it harder for soy burger-loving vegans, fish-eating vegetarians, and people whose defensive “But where do you get your protein?” to stay on these paths.

The disc features three individual lectures on the three main topic areas of protein, soy, and fish.

“When Friends Ask: Where Do You Get Your Protein?” does more than show the absurdity of this often-asked question, which wouldn’t take long to disprove on its own, but looks into why so many people believe what they do about the importance of protein. It also shows how long all of this information has been known, with studies dating back multiple decades coming to conclusions that hold up today but are still largely unknown. I’m not saying the “Where do you get” people will be converted by this lecture, but they’ll certainly have to look for new material after watching this.

“Soy Is Food, Not A Poison or A Miracle Drug” addresses a lot of the controversy and myth around soy that exist online. McDougall has always been consistent that he considers soy foods OK very sparingly and in small portions. On the McDougall plan, soy foods include tofu, edamame, tempeh, miso, soy milk, and other things that have a minimum level of processing. What he’s always been against (although he admits to having tried and loving a lot of) is the processed soy foods, where the soy protein no longer resembles its origins, because the protein has been entirely removed and reconfigured to make burgers, hot dogs, deli meats, and is also put into “health” bars and other stuff where the high amount of protein is used to help sell the product. Ifyou have any questions about soy, I can’t imagine it will be left unanswered after watching this lecture.

“Fish Is Not Health Food” is also nothing new as far as major topics go. We’ve overfished the oceans, it has no unique benefits for heart health, contains toxins, and we’ll run out of fish the way it’s available today in about 40 years. The major benefit given for eating fish is actually because the fish eat the seawood and algae which has the omega-3 fatty acids, so we’re eating the fish to get what the fish eats and, of course, there are other superior sources. McDougall also addresses the fallacy of fish being health food, better for you than other animal muscles, and necessary.

These are all topics that come up repeatedly and it’s good to know such concise, informative lectures are just a DVD away when they do. But the thing that’s really important to emphasize is that Dr. McDougall is an amusing lecturer, so a lot of what could be dry, boring medical study results are peppered with anecdotes, jokes, and even the occassional comic strip. So, showing these lectures to people will never be a bore.

If you want the complete word on these common themes, this is a great DVD to have on hand. If you don’t know the ins and outs of these topics, these lectures will be eye-opening, make you question your choices, and give you all the information you need to live a healthier life.

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You can find more information about this DVD on the McDougall website. It costs $24.95.

Thankfully, no one ever told them not to play with their food…