26 Months A Vegan!! #wholefoodsplantbased #foodismedicine #eattolose

Me with Dr. T. Colin Campbell

     I have always said that the destination is not my favorite part of the trip. It's the journey. Along the way you get to meet the most interesting people. A few weeks ago I was asked by Paul Chatlin from PBNSG.org to pick up Nelson Campbell at Detroit's airport and drive him to East Lansing, Michigan where he and his father, Dr. T. Colin Campbell (The China Study), were scheduled to speak at Michigan State University's medical school. The drive took 3 hours. Normally it is less than 90 minutes, but this day happened to include 10 inches of fresh snow. The extra time gave us an opportunity to discuss Nelson's movie, Plant Pure Nation (now on Netflix) and to get acquainted. Nelson is a friendly, unassuming man who shares his father's passion of spreading the message regarding the health benefits of a Whole Foods Plant Based diet.

     Whether you are looking to lose weight and keep it off, lower your cholesterol without medication, protect your heart, brain and kidneys by lowering your blood pressure naturally, prevent or eliminate the need to take medication for type 2 Diabetes or you are just a compassionate person and curious about a plant based lifestyle this really, truly works and works remarkably fast; generally within 2 weeks! If you are currently on medication for any of the above conditions, ask your Doctor if you can try this for 2 weeks! You AND your doctor will be shocked!

     Try the 21 Day Kickstart Diet advocated by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. This is free, online guidance and also connects you with free reading material. To be clear, the Whole Foods Plant Based Diet is a Vegan diet, but all Vegan diets are not necessarily Whole Foods Plant Based. For example, here is the label on a box of corn flakes:

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 OZ Calories 102     Calories from Fat 2 *Percent Daily Values (DV)  are based on a 2,000  calorie diet. Amount/Serving %DV* Amount/Serving %DV* Total Fat 0.2g 0% Tot. Carb. 24.7g 8%   Sat. Fat 0g 0%   Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3%   Trans Fat - - - g   Sugars 3g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Protein 1.9g Sodium 205mg 9% Vitamin C   10% Calcium   0% Vitamin C   10% Iron   55%

ALLERGENS:  Gluten

INGREDIENTS:  Corn Flakes (Milled Corn, Sugar, Malt Flavoring, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Iron, Niacinamide, Sodium Ascorbate And Ascorbic Acid, (Vitamin C), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, And Vitamin D. To Maintain Quality, BHT Has Been Added To The Packaging.) As you can see, this is a highly processed food with lots of additives. Most of the things on the above list are relatively innocuous with the exception of BHT.      BHT stands for butylated hydroxytoluene, a hormone disruptor. It is not allowed to be used as a food additive in Europe, yet it is commonly used as a preservative in the U.S.A. I would not include this highly processed food as part of a Whole Foods Plant Based Diet. Reading the label on your food is important. If you see something on the label of ingredients that you don't understand or can't pronounce, don't eat it!      In contrast, take a look at the label on a package of oatmeal:      The only thing in there is Rolled Oats! Take a look at the nutritional values. Compare the above 2 products for fiber, Sodium, sugar and protein. The 2 labels tell the story. Both are Vegan, but Oatmeal is a whole food and is plant based. You can add fruit, milled flax seed, dates, raisins, dried cherries, blueberries, strawberries, a banana along with almond, soy, rice, oat, coconut or cashew milk and a little maple syrup and you stay within the guidelines of whole foods plant based.      This really isn't that hard. Once you get past the 1st four weeks and over your food addictions, it becomes second nature. In order to lose weight, which was my main goal, you will learn to cook without any type of oil and to limit your intake of nuts and seeds. Start thinking about the last thing you ate instead of thinking about what you are going to eat next. In doing that, I find that I'm not really hungry.      Whatever is motivating you to change your ways, it's time to get started! You can do this. I am the only person in my family that is on a whole foods plant based diet. I work full time, spend time with my family, eat at restaurants, travel and have been maintaining this diet for 26 months.     No more excuses! Get started!!!!