One of the most powerful steps you can take to improve your health, boost energy levels, and prevent chronic diseases is to move to a plant-based diet. Limiting red meat and saturated fat.  Eating the recommended amounts of protein versus what the restaurant portion is on the plate.  Eating a variety of foods and colors, eating close to the source and God’s packaging verses prepared meals from a variety of boxes as I discussed in an earlier blog post Eat Outside The Box. July 19th, 2021. 

Today is my birthday (3/25) and I’d like you all to give me a present…read this, really think about it and talk about it with the 4-5 people closest to you.  I want to help you change or save a life!

A documentary in 2011, Called Forks Over Knives (you can watch it FREE with this link) advocated for a whole-food, low fat, basically vegan (no animal products) diet to avoid or reverse some chronic diseases.  The website asks, “What if one simple change could save you from chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease? Take a deep dive into the plant-based diet documentary that has influenced millions around the world.”

The films premise according to Wikipedia is, “if one is selective about the food they place on their fork, they can avoid going under a surgeon's knife.”  The film recommends avoiding overly refined and processed foods, including refined sugars, bleached flours, and oils, and instead eating whole grains, legumes, tubers, vegetables, and fruits. (References) "The Forks Over Knives Diet Explained - Frequently Asked Questions". forksoverknives.com. Hickman, Angela (16 May 2011). "The food revolution of Forks Over Knives will not be processed". National Post.  Knight, Chris (19 May 2011). "Film Review: Forks Over Knives (3 stars)". National Post – these are the references.

The film received mixed views, you can check it out and formulate your own opinion.  Corey Hall of the Metro Times gave the film a "C" and stated that "while it's impossible to dispute the basic premise that eating more vegetables is good for you, Forks adopts a staunch anti-meat and dairy stance that leaves the door open for criticism." Hall, Corey. "Forks Over Knives Metro Times Review". Metrotimes.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2015-09-09.

I do believe in the central message, eating a more plant-based diet and eating close to the source are good messages to adopt.  Portions should be limited using a guide like the one on MyPlate (these are also popular: Cronometer, Waistline, CalorieTracker.io and YAZIO) .  Or go to a trusted registered dietician for your unique dietary needs.  Most of them will say the same thing, eating more plants is beneficial for your health.  God has given us plants and animals to eat.  I’m not going to debate the Bible and what it says about eating plants and animals, you can look that up for yourself and decide.   I do believe as good stewards of our bodies, you need to care about what you eat, the portions of what you eat; and that you eat close to the source and avoid chemicals and processed food.  This is how you can take care of the one body God gave us to live in on this earth.  You should care about the plants you eat and know what chemicals are used in them, as well as what those raising animals feed them and inject them with.  You, me, everyone is to be a good steward and have good husbandry over the animals God created and placed on this earth and given you dominion over.  Genetic engineering of plants is also not part of God’s design, so avoiding GMO seeds is also advised. 

So, you don’t care about my opinion, but what about the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM)?   Here’s their stance on a plant-based diet:

Dietary Position Statement

“For the treatment, reversal and prevention of lifestyle-related chronic disease, the ACLM recommends an eating plan based predominantly on a variety of minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.”

There is a 2013 documentary, GMO OMG that you can watch on that subject as well.  Its premise is to alert people about the corporate manipulation of the food supply. It also discusses the Global Seed Vault, with over 700,000 samples of seeds from every country to prevent the extinction of certain plants.  According to Wikipedia, “two types of GMOs used in farming, pesticide producers and herbicide resisters. Pesticide producers are plants that can kill insects with an introduced toxin while herbicide resisters are immune to weed killer which allows farmers to use herbicides on crops leaving the plant unharmed. Seifert claims that commercial farmers utilize GMOs to produce crops faster for more profit while private owned farms continue to use traditional farming methods because of their dedication to maintaining the most natural process of growing food”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: Citation needed

THE FIVE FOOD GROUPS OF A PLANT BASED DIET with a few examples:

• Fruits: Any type of fruit including apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits, etc.

• Vegetables: Plenty of veggies including peppers, corn, lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, collards, etc.

• Tubers: Root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, beets. etc.

• Whole grains: Grains, cereals, and other starches in their whole form, such as quinoa, brown rice, millet, whole wheat, oats, barley, etc. Even popcorn is a whole grain.

• Legumes: Beans of any kind, plus lentils, pulses, etc.

  
  

  If you’d like help incorporating more of these foods, whole foods and eating close to the source, ACLM has a great online resource for recipes! Here’s a video to get you excited about making Wholesome Oat Snackles! 

  For another source for healthy meals from the Mayo Clinic, click here. This source talks about healthy portion sizes, serving sizes and adding variety to keep you interested.

  
  

What you eat is important.  Where it came from is important.  How it grew is important.  Why?  Chemicals typically cause cancer…there are enough in the air, and in so many products – you should care not to eat them.  Food can be healing; it should be nutritious, and it can restore health!  It is up to you, and your choices.  That is why Lifestyle Medicine was born.

The definition of Lifestyle medicine is: “Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.  Lifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.” – the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

To wrap this up, I want to invite you to really think about what you are eating, I’d love to share this poem with you.  It’s a little something to think about…I tried to find the author to give them credit, but it is not to be found.  There are other versions of this as well like God, The Devil & Fat.  

In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. And the Earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep., and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And Satan said, "It doesn't get any better than this."

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit," and God saw that it was good.

And Satan said, "There goes the neighborhood." And God said, "Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the Earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth."

And so God created Man in his own image; male and female created he them. And God looked upon Man and Woman and saw that they were lean and fit.

And Satan said, "I know how I can get back in this game."

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?"

And Man said, "Supersize them." And Man gained 5 pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.

And Satan brought forth chocolate. And Woman gained 5 pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."

And Satan brought forth Ben and Jerry's. And Woman gained 10 pounds.

And God said, "I have sent thee heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained 10 pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2.

And Man gained another 20 pounds.

And God said, "You're running up the score, Devil." And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.

And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.

And Satan saw and said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

And Satan created HMO's.

Food for thought…I’d love to hear what you think on this topic!