Do some vegans exaggerate health claims?

February 18, 2016 by admin 1 Comment

A few months back the wonderful and prolific Bite Size Vegan invited me to be a guest on her YouTube channel to talk about my work and my diet as an ultra-athlete. We discussed exaggerated health claims in the second video and the reaction from her audience was so strong and negative that she invited me back to clarify my points.

My argument was, and still is, that there are many paths to good health- strict veganism is not the only one. There are many factors in determining health and multiple ways to measure it. While there is plenty of evidence that eating mostly plant food is beneficial, that is not the same as veganism.

I’ll let you decide if the point is made or not. The first video is more about me and then the second and third get juicy. Some colorful comments, as well, if you decide to click through to YouTube- including one where I’m told that I’m not a real vegan. 🙂

Let me know what you think and if there are better ways to make these points. Thanks for watching!

Remember to follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more regular updates.

Men’s Nutrition Guide and Strongest Hearts Interview with Stic from Dead Prez!

November 12, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

I recently worked with The Discerning Brute to create a Men’s Guide to Nutrition that answers common questions and concerns dudes often have. Click the link or the banner below. This is the perfect page to send people who are spreading myths about vegan diets- there are lots of links and references with the science to back up the claims.

And have you seen the Strongest Hearts video where I interview Stic from Dead Prez and his wife Afya Ibomu? As a long time fan of Hip Hop and Dead Prez I was very excited to sit down with them and chat about health, RBG Fit Club, straight edge and more! Give it a watch and share with your friends. You never know who you are going to influence.

-video embedded below-

Portland and Scotland Vegfests Coming Up!

November 11, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

I have a very exciting couple of weeks with talks at the Portland Vegfest this Fri, Sat and Sun (yes, 3 talks!) and then I travel across the pond to visit Glasgow and the Scotland Vegfest. I’ll be speaking there Sat and Sun, December 5th and 6th.

Any recommendations in either of those cities? Do you plan on going? Be sure to say hi!

While I’m traveling be sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for updates and more.

Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer #10 Sunday November 8th 2015

November 7, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

Once upon a time, in a Los Angeles long past, I dreamed of an LA version of Danny Chew’s famous Pittsburgh hill race, the Dirty Dozen. I wanted ‘racers’ to ride their bike deep in the city and I wanted to show bike commuters the fun in a physically challenging ride. In other words, the manifestation of my cycling ADHD- ride everything, everywhere and keep it fun! And of course an obscure nod to BMX history.

That first year -2006- saw pouring rain and possibly more volunteers than riders, but we pulled it off. We showed that Los Angeles has paved roads as steep as anywhere (take that San Francisco) and more importantly we got people on their bikes in an auto-centric city to explore incredible, tucked away locales. I measured it successful when someone in a cycling forum refused to believe that the photos were indeed taken in Los Angeles.

And here we are nine years later at Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer #10. Number ten! Los Angeles is much improved for cycling and the number of events each week is too much for me to keep up with. This could more related to the fact that I am now in my mid-30’s, not my mid-20’s (yet somehow that doesn’t stop me from getting red light tickets on my bike, like the one I got last night!). I’d list some of the groups doing great work for cyclists, but there are so many I’m afraid I’d leave some important people out.

EldredSt.

This a long way of saying that Sunday November 8th is this year’s event. If you are first hearing about this now, I apologize! Between my instagram, facebook and twitter I feel like I rarely write on my site anymore. Here is the facebook event.

Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer #10

730am Sunday November 8th 2015

Sunset Triangle Plaza

The standard rules apply- no event-affiliated cars allowed on the route for any reason. No entry fee, no prizes, no bs. Open to anyone and everyone on a bike. Causal, non-competitive cyclists encouraged! PLEASE read through the history for more detail if you plan on riding. Here are some great photos from 2014 to get you stoked. And there’s a video below.

A huge thank you to everyone who has helped out or ridden and the entire #bikeLA world. It’s an honor to be a part of this community and this event wouldn’t be possible without you.

See you Sunday! Follow along at @MattRuscigno.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=z8hBCztL5bR0.k54M-cq0f1c0&w=640&h=480]

A few of the climbs on video.

Posted by Ramon Cortes on Monday, November 10, 2014

Upcoming events in NYC, Costa Mesa, Pomona, Portland and Glasgow (!)

September 17, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

I’ve updated my events page with some fantastic stuff coming up before the end of the year, including Vegfest Scotland! All of the info is below. Did you see my short article and recipe in Bicycling Magazine? Sure was cool of them to talk with me about tofu and include such a fun photo.

My site isn’t updated as often as I’d like so be sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for articles, updates and more.

Hope to see some friends at the Silver State 508, happening this weekend!

2015

*Tues Oct 6 NYC. Main St Vegan Academy. Requires registration in program.

*Sun Nov 1 Costa Mesa, CA. SoCal Vegfest. Plant-based and Powerful: How Vegan Athletes are Defying Stereotypes. Free event, books available.

*Mon Nov 2 Pomona, CA. Pomona College. Power on Your Plate: The Impact of Our Food Choices. Special event by Lisa Ann Auerbach, open to the public, books available.

*Fri-Sun Nov 13-15 Portland, OR. Portland Health Conference and Portland Vegfest.

*Sat-Sun Dec 5-6 Glasgow, Scotland. VegFest Scotland. Athlete talk on Saturday, ‘Don’t need exotic foods’ talk on Sunday. Requires registration.

Boston Sports Nutrition talk Thursday night before Cape Cod Ragnar Relay

May 4, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

This Thursday I return to the difficult-to-spell state of Massachusetts to give a talk on vegan sports nutrition in Boston. It’s in collaboration with the Boston Veg Society and the Strong Hearts Vegan Power running team before they take on the Cape Cod Ragnar Relay! There’s a $15 vegan buffet option at the host restaurant, Walnut Grille. Please RSVP here for the dinner. The talk is free! There will also be a Q&A panel with some of the runners on the team. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about vegan nutrition- especially for curious friends who want to know how to eat plant-based and stay active. Can you still get enough protein? You sure can! Come learn how.

Plant-based and Powerful: How Vegan Athletes are Defying Stereotypes

Thur May 7th
5-7 buffet ($15)
7-815 talk and Q&A (free)
Walnut Grille
1203 Walnut St
Newton, MA 02461

617-964-1029

Facebook event page

Then on Friday and Saturday I’ll be covering three Strong Hearts Vegan Power teams (36 vegan runners!) racing the 200-mile Cape Cod Ragnar Relay. I’ll be there as Strongest Hearts, where no doubt there will be lots of confusion about our similar names! Like we did with the Plantbuilt Team at the Naturally Fit Games, we’ll be documenting their experience in our video series. Follow our Twitter and Instagram for photos and updates through the weekend.

2015- Year of the Vegfests!

April 15, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

Little known fact: when I was a little kid I obsessively watched- and studied- Russel Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam because I wanted to be a stand-up comic. I never acted on that desire- except for always trying to be the funniest kid in class- but now I get to travel and speak in front of crowds in a different way. Not quite a comedian, but fortunately the bar is lower for being funny when you are talking about health and nutrition. So maybe I’m almost a comedian? Kind of like I am almost a stuntman- the only other ‘job’ I dreamed about when I was young. Just see Strongest Hearts for my stunt work!

This is just a long way of saying I’ve a number of speaking events happening in 2015. The next one up is in the East Bay this Sunday for the Berkeley Vegan Earth Day. If you are in the Bay Area please come by- there are excellent speakers and my friends from Food Empowerment Project (amongst others) will be tabling. I’ll have books and Strongest Hearts merchandise for sale too. My talk will be focused on the theme that you don’t need special or exotic foods to be a healthy vegan. I’ll talk about what constitutes healthy eating patterns, based on the research, and how to apply it to your own life. But in a fun/funny way. I hope.

Links and details for everything are below. Thanks to all the organizers; I’m grateful for these opportunities.

2015

*Sun April 19 Berkeley, CA. Berkeley Vegan Earth Day. Unraveling the Myth that Plant-based Foods are Expensive and Exotic.

*Thur May 7 Boston, MA. Details TBD! In collaboration with Strong Hearts Vegan Power running team and Boston Vegan Society.

*Fri-Sun May 22-24. Paso Robles, CA. The Great Western Bicycle Rally. I will be leading rides and giving a talk or two.

*Fri-Sun May 29-31. Austin, TX. Vida Vegan Con! I’ll be giving a talk called Science is Awesome and will be on the Vegan Athlete panel.

*Sat June 27 Madison, WI. Mad City Vegan Fest. Plant-based and Powerful: What we know about vegan athletes.

*Fri-Sun Sept 11-13 Raleigh, NC. Plant-based Prevention of Disease Conference.

*Fri-Sun Nov 13-15 Portland, OR. Portland Health Conference and Portland Vegfest.

It is difficult to eat well in our world- unless you’ve learned otherwise

March 24, 2015 by admin Leave a comment

I’m generally a very optimistic person, but I’m also realistic and shy away from misleading people into thinking something is going to be easier than it is. Why? Because making long-term, sustainable health behavior change takes, well, a lot of change. And work. Preparing people for this work helps them overcome the barriers that will no doubt arise. Too often I see/hear those who have spent years thinking about eating well, good nutrition, veganism, exercise, etc as saying these things are easy to do. You just need to want it! Just be disciplined! They forget what it was like to not know what they know now. Think about that for a minute- what was it like before you had the knowledge you have now? Are you even able to?

When I broke my dominant arm last year I had to write with my other hand. It’s incredibly hard. Why? Because I’ve had a lifetime of developing the habits and muscles memory to use a specific hand. Switching over just doesn’t make sense to my brain. What is this we are trying to do?? That’s an extreme example though clear in how we learn our behaviors over a lifetime to a point where we don’t think about them. We interpret this as being ‘easy.’

Our world today is not just full of unhealthy food, but cheap, heavily advertised food served in large portions. When we look at individuals’ diet/nutrition from this perspective- the influential environment- it’s no wonder we are in a health crisis with rampant chronic disease.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that a young person in the US sees 3000 advertisements a day.

Three thousand! If those advertisements weren’t influential it wouldn’t be a billion dollar industry. It’s as if our environment has been engineered to make eating healthy as difficult as possible.

I’ve been thinking about this because this Wednesday night is my 3rd lecture of four at the Digital Gym (put on with Cycling Camp San Diego who are also hosting the epic Dirty Devil this Saturday!). I’ll be talking about this topic- why is it so hard to eat healthy? What are the factors working against us? It’s an important lecture if you’ve had trouble turning knowledge into action. You are not alone! The fourth lecture, on Wednesday April 1st, will cover the ‘how to’ of eating plant-based and healthy. You can sign up for both here for a discount!

Both lectures start at 6pm at Digital Gym, 2921 El Cajon Boulevard, 92104 (map).

San Diego: 4 upcoming nutrition lectures!

February 24, 2015 by admin 2 Comments

I’m so excited to announce a series of nutrition lectures! With the help of Cycling Camp San Diego and Digital Gym in North Park, I’ll be presenting four 75-minute lectures on nutrition. You can sign up for just one or the entire series for a discount. This is an excellent opportunity to sharpen your nutrition knowledge! With four workshops we can really get into not only understanding nutritional science, but applying it. While my focus is plant-based, I cover the basics of nutrition, disease prevention and the practical issues of eating healthy in today’s world. And these are fun, I promise! You can sign up here and there’s a facebook event page as well.

All lectures start at 6pm at Digital Gym, 2921 El Cajon Boulevard, 92104 (map).

Wed March 4th, 6pm (1)- Nutrition 101: What you need to know about the food you eat
From carbohydrates to gluten to antioxidants, we hear a lot of nutrition terms, but what do they all mean? Which components of foods are most important to consider for a healthy diet? Matt will discuss the basics of nutritional science and give you the vocabulary to understand dietary claims.

Wed March 11th, 6pm (2) – Diet and Disease: What the research says about risk and prevention
Does sugar cause diabetes? Will eating only fruit prevent cancer? There are many claims relating food to disease, but what does the research say? Matt will cover some of the bigger long-term research studies that look at diet, disease and death.

Wed March 25th, 6pm (3) Hard Fight: The challenge of eating well in today’s world
Ever feel like the world is working against your diet goals? It is! The food environment in America in 2015 is ripe with unhealthy choices at every turn. It’s no coincidence that the proliferation of empty calories has lead to an increase in obesity and disease. In this lecture you’ll learn how we got to this point.

Wed April 1st, 6pm (4) Take Action!: How to make healthy changes that last
Having knowledge and applying it are two different things. In this lecture Matt will discuss the behavior change ideas that will help you apply what you’ve learned so you can make lasting, sustainable health changes. Plenty of time for Q&A in this lecture too!

Please help me get the word out on this series. If you have friends who are curious about nutrition please let them know about this. Four lectures for a cost less than one consultation with me is a deal. You can sign up here or join the facebook page here. Hope to see you! If you have any questions please let me know.

Speaking at Umass Amherst on Monday Feb 23rd

February 16, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

For those of you in the Northeast enduring the harsh winter, I’d like to invite you to this talk I’m giving at UMass Amherst next week. I’m honored to be a guest of the UMass Nutrition Association, Kinesiology Club, Students in Graduate Nutrition and the Department of Nutrition. The topic will be my work with plant-based athletes and my experience in alternative career paths for dietitians. It will be fun and there will be snacks! This event is free and open to the public. More details below and on the facebook event page. Special thanks to Eliza Beth Mellion who has done a huge amount of leg work to make this happen.

UmassAmherst

Be sure to follow me on twitter and instagram for photos of snow and cold and to see how 13.5 years of living in Southern California has made me soft!