Would you believe – in the blink of an eye, one day, I gave up the SAD (standard American diet) diet and started eating a whole food-plant-based diet (sometimes called “vegan”)!!!
It all started with daytime TV. I was doing my inevitable housework, and in the background, Dr. Joel Fuhrman was speaking about what he calls a “nutritarian diet.” That is, one of the highest nutrition, full of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, nuts, and seeds – packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and all sorts of other good chemicals. It caught my attention. I thought, “I can eat that way!” I plunged in, and I have never regretted it.
Now for the background. I have always been interested in good nutrition, planning nutritious meals for myself and my family, trying new recipes, and knowing that good nutrition positively impacts health and longevity.
Fortunately, my husband is easy to cook for and makes a mean salad. Dr. Fuhrman says that “salad is the main course.” We eat salads regularly with a variety of beans and vegetables. We use lemon juice or flavored vinegar for dressing. For breakfast, I alternate oatmeal with nut milk-based smoothies or a breakfast taco of beans, avocado, and pico de Gallo on a corn tortilla. Lunch is usually a big salad with beans. Dinner is often a vegetable soup or some vegetable casserole, along with a salad. The dessert is fruit.
I was always on the verge of being overweight. In fact, during my ob-gyn residency, sometimes the only nice thing that happened during the many hours “on call” was eating. If there was food – I would eat.
When I started eating a plant-based diet, much to my surprise, the pounds just melted away, and I felt great. I wasn’t hungry, as I had often been when dieting to lose weight. And I have easily maintained a proper weight ever since. Diets, with reduced calories and volume, made me obsess about food. I only wanted to eat more. The large volume of healthy, low-calorie, tasty food kept me full and content, so I did not consider eating more.
A bonus of eating this way has been my good health. My blood pressure is in the normal range without medication. My cholesterol levels are in the low normal range. All my other lab work is “normal,” and I feel full of energy.
The basic premise of plant-based nutrition is, “don’t eat food that your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food,” as writer Michael Pollan says.
This dietary style, eating only plant-based foods and not eating animal or dairy products, means lots of vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains and no meat, chicken, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, refined grain products, or added fats/fried foods.
Eating in this manner might sound bad to the average American. However, the present American style of eating, with the emphasis on a main course of animal meats or protein, is a major contributor to the health problems plaguing our society. Problems such as overweight and obesity, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, diabetes/pre-diabetes, and cancer.
As I have continued eating whole food-plant based, I have become aware of reasons besides personal health and well-being for eating this way. Raising animals for humans to eat is costly and has a negative impact on our environment. According to John Robbins, in his landmark book, “Diet for a New America, How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Your Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth,” to produce one pound of meat requires an average of 2,500 gallons of water – the amount an average family uses in a month! In the United States, less than one-half of agricultural acreage is used to grow food for people. More than 80% of corn and 95% of oats grown in the U.S. are designated to feed livestock. Massive deforestation has occurred worldwide to produce fields for grazing and agriculture. Deforestation leads to soil erosion, which in turn, leads to decreased production and a decrease of nutrients in the food. Building up one inch of topsoil takes about 500 – 1000 years. We are losing more than one inch every 16 years. Some experts think the earth will run out of usable topsoil within the next 60 years. Soil is also a carbon sink that can remove excess carbon from the atmosphere.
There is also the issue of animal cruelty. The conditions on many animal farms are deplorable. Some raising and slaughtering practices have led to the food-borne illnesses we have heard about in the news. Two books which go into more detail about these problems are the book mentioned above by John Robbins and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. They are both interesting and informative.
So, there you have it, my reasons for eating a whole food, plant-based diet. First, to maintain my good general health and energy level. Second, to do my part to leave a healthy planet for my children and grandchildren.
My wish for you is to consider moving towards a whole food-plant-based diet for your health and well-being as well as that of our planet.
*Here is a list of doctors well-known in the field of whole food-plant-based nutrition. They have each written many books and produced YouTube videos. I go back and re-read the books and watch the videos when I need inspiration.
- Colin Campbell, PhD
- Caldwell Esselstyn, MD (Plus, his son, Rip, and his wife and daughter have all written books and produced videos.)
- Joel Fuhrman, MD
- Michael Greger, MD
- Michael Klaper, MD
- Dean Ornish, MD
