Five Ways You Thrive with Flax Seeds for Pennies a Day

Flax seeds are tiny, but contribute much to a whole foods, plant-based diet.

Why Consuming Fish for Omega-3s Is Like Eating Radioactive Vegetables

You can’t eat a single nutrient in isolation. This includes overhyped omega-3 fatty acids. Whether you get these nutrients from food or pills, they’re part of a package.

Here’s an illustration. Just imagine for a moment you want to get more fiber into your diet and decide vegetables are the way to do this. So you buy some veggies, but they were grown near Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and have low levels of radioactivity. Not enough to kill you right away, but enough to raise Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Plant-based nutrition at September 4th, 2011 | Permalink | 2 Comments »

“I Never Thought It Would Taste This Good And Be So Satisfying”

Tracy shows off some ingredietns she uses to create amazing whole foods, plant-based recipes

 Tracy Childs Teaches How to Cook Health and Great Meals At The Same Time

A commonplace perception is that whole foods, plant-based diets are healthy, but perhaps lacking in taste, variety, and satisfaction. Tracy Childs is working to change that misperception, showing her students that whole foods, plant-based recipes can delight their taste, fill their stomachs, and please their families.

I met Tracy, a fellow San Diegan, a couple of years ago. Since then I have been fortunate to Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at August 20th, 2011 | Permalink | 2 Comments »

Dead From Diabetes, Then Revived and Helping Others Thrive

Mike Vee, dressed in black, in the days when he was eating meat and processed food and struggling with one health problem after another.

Mike Vee Is Transformed From Dead to Vigorous on a Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diet

Mike Vee is an amazing Facebook friend. I always enjoyed his posts, but when I learned he died in the emergency room and then was revived, I had to know more and wanted to share his story. Mike Vee has been working as a clinical dietitian for 25 years and presently provides medical nutritional therapy through a Federally Funded Grant for people living with HIV/AIDS in Trenton NJ. He reduced the number of meds he takes from ten to zero solely with a whole foods, plant-based diet.

What kinds of foods did you grow up eating?

Growing up as third generation Italian-Americans, our home life reflected this. We would have the prerequisite spaghetti and meatballs, veal and chicken parmigiana, escarole and beans, pork chops, flounder, beef stew, hamburgers and hot dogs and TV dinners. Most of the vegetables we ate came from a can and were heated up to a point of ashen green that shouldn’t be allowed on the color wheel in the scheme of things. My mom liked to bake more than she liked to cook and our waistlines often reflected this.

What kinds of foods do you eat now?

If it is in the plant family, I’ll eat it. Suffice to say, on occasion I do tangle with Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at August 9th, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment »

San’Dera Prude Finds a New Caramel Popcorn

This Forks Over Knives Patient Shares Her Journey From Junk Food to Whole Food

With her warm smile, San'Dera Prude invites you to share her story in the film Forks Over Knives

The film Forks Over Knives colorfully illustrates critical nutritional facts about a whole foods, plant-based diet. This eating plan can help you reverse just about any chronic illness, from diabetes to heart disease and even cancer. Yet it’s the patients in the film who bring these facts to life and give the movie its emotional impact and power to change lives. Their stories leave you cheering.

San’Dera Prude’s warm smile, articulate sharing, and heartfelt honesty moved me each of the three times I’ve seen Forks Over Knives. I wanted to find out how she became part of the film and learn more about her current success. San’Dera spoke with me recently and generously shared more about how she achieved and continues her new healthy life. (Note: since Forks Over Knives was made, San’Dera has celebrated her marriage and has her new last name of Prude instead of Nation.)

Before she met Dr. Esselstyn, San’Dera’s diabetes and hypertension were fueled by fast food three times a day. She would grab a fast food breakfast if she was running late in the morning. At work, everyone was Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at July 26th, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment »

The Secret to Ditching Your Prescription Meds

Dustin will be teaching us some much needed lessons in getting healthy without drugs

Dustin Rudolph Shares a Pharmacist’s Take On Whole Foods, Plant-Based Diets

Dustin Rudolph is a pharmacist who prefers plants to pills. His transformation began in February 2009 with a routine visit to his podiatrist, Dr. Sal. He ended up in a discussion on health care reform with this fellow medical professional. He was both confused and intrigued by Dr. Sal’s statement that legislation would really not have a fundamental impact on the nation’s health care practice.

Dustin ended up reading The China Study at Dr. Sal’s suggestion. At first the book’s plant-based diet approach seemed farfetched. Dustin had grown up in rural Montana on a diet heavy with animal foods. He’d also spent six Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at July 24th, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment »

How To Lose 80 Pounds On A Diet You Love

Meridith Hayden now, trim and in vibrant health.

Meridith Hayden Shares Her Journey To Size 6 And Healthy Iron Levels – All On a Diet She Rates Off-the-Scale Wonderful

Meridith Hayden always had thoughtful comments on my Facebook posts. We “met” on this networking site, and Meridith shared her odyssey of losing 80 pounds and numerous health problems simply through an enjoyable change in her diet. In her twenties, she had already experienced chest pains, shortness of breath, and low iron levels when she was consuming a typical American diet. But that all changed for her in 2007.

Meridith’s story exemplifies how wonderful whole foods, plant-based diets are and how pervasive food myths keep people eating dangerous foods. This young woman lives in Indianapolis, where she works as a librarian and serves as an enthusiastic spokeswoman for health through better food choices. Here she answers some questions I sent her so everyone can benefit from her success.

What kinds of foods did you grow up eating?

Lots of fast food and meals from boxes. My mom was a working single parent and she did cook regularly but there was a lot of convenience food.  Much to my disdain, my mom would try to get me Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in weight loss at July 16th, 2011 | Permalink | 2 Comments »

How To Prepare Over 100 Plant Indulgent Recipes

Chef AJ in the kitchen, testing and putting together whole foods, plant-based recipes

Chef AJ Says To Eat Dessert First – As Long as It’s Healthy

Chef AJ’s book Unprocessed is will show you that the healthiest food is also the tastiest. The author observes “Your diet can be your undoing or your salvation. The difference is the difference between processed and unprocessed food.”

She is talking to you, whether you eat animal foods now or are already 100% plant-based. “A lousy, junky vegan diet, full of oil and sweeteners and fake meats and highly processed grains” saves animal lives, but will not make you into a walking role model of health who others to want to follow. A whole foods, plant-based diet is key to being the inspiring statistic we know can be achieved in research studies on vegan health.

Unprocessed has over 100 recipes, both raw and cooked, that make whole plant foods a delight. When Chef AJ says unprocessed, she means it. All recipes are free of Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Plant-based nutrition at July 9th, 2011 | Permalink | 2 Comments »

Six Reasons to Make Pineapple a Favorite Fruit

The pineapple is an attractive fruit growing on a four foot high plant. Don't you just want to grab it and bring it home?

A Special Enzyme in This Unique Food Has Profound Health Benefits

Although only four feet high, the pineapple plant grows a powerful fruit. This tropical plant, native to South America but now found in warm places around the world, blooms with red or purple flowers. The many small flowers meld together as they produce fruit. So a large pineapple is really a fusion of many smaller berries around a central stalk.

Bromelain is an enzyme that distinguishes pineapples from all other fruits. This enzyme, which your body can absorb intact, has unique and powerful effects to support your health. Pineapple is a special piece of the puzzle in putting together your ideal whole foods, plant-based diet.

To reap the advantages of bromelain, be sure to eat pineapple raw. Cooking or canning destroys this enzyme. An electric knife makes cutting whole pineapple a breeze, or you can buy fresh fruit that is already cut into chunks.

For more bromelain, eat the whole pineapple (minus the skin and leaves). The tougher circle of cells at the center of these fruits (which is actually the central stalk or stem) has more concentrated bromelain than the surrounding tender fruit has.

You can cut the stalk into small pieces or put it into a smoothie where it will be ground up. If you just Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Plant-based nutrition at July 2nd, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment »

From Cancer To The Ironman: How Food Makes the Difference

 

Ruth Heidrich crosses the finish line in the Great Aloha Run.

Ruth Heidrich Shares Her Success in Forks Over Knives And Everywhere Someone Can Benefit

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Ruth Heidrich, Ph.D., one of the star patients in the movie Forks Over Knives. Ruth provides insights into the making of the film and her ongoing work to educate others on the power of a whole foods, plant-based diet. If you have not seen this film yet, grab the first opportunity to experience it. You will see Ruth and several other patients revitalizing their health through diet, not drugs. In this dialogue, Ruth is RH, and I am JS.

JS: For those who are not familiar with your story, it would be great to have a short overview of your diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and subsequent cancer-free life. I always think of you as the woman who beat cancer into submission with broccoli and oatmeal.

RH: Sitting in the doctor’s office awaiting the results of a breast biopsy, I was positive that this was going to be just a little blip in the road of life, that there was no way it could be cancer. I was a runner for 14 years, had even run marathons, and ate what I thought was a good diet, you know, chicken and fish, low-fat dairy, all the “good proteins.” I was the healthiest, Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at June 6th, 2011 | Permalink | 3 Comments »

The Home Run Diet Knocks Out Diabetes

Todd after 7 months on a whole foods, plant-based diet

Todd Rosenthal Shares Recipes and Secrets of His Four-Step Eating Plan

Todd Rosenthal changed his diet “on a dime” in November 2010, plummeting his fasting blood sugar from 310 to below 100 in a month without drugs. He enjoys sharing his success as we discuss what he’s learned.

Todd ate “the Standard American Diet” growing up. His eating habits deteriorated even more when he began working as a small town journalist. Always on the go to cover the news, Todd consumed a diet he describes as “90% fat.” His favorite foods were barbecued ribs, ice cream, frozen dinners, and snack items. Later, when he switched careers to a family-owned business and then Internet sales, he continued the same food habits. Todd notes “I logged a million miles in the fast food lane.”

One visit to the doctor changed all that. In addition to his scary fasting blood sugar of 310, Todd had numbness in his limbs and extremities, low energy, and a constant grumpy mood. “If you don’t change, you won’t be here in two years,” his doctor advised.

The physician’s idea of change centered on taking lots of meds, but Todd pushed back. He researched the drug side effects and grappled with the need to take them for life.

The timing was perfect for a trip from Todd’s Florida home to visit a San Diego couple who are close friends. Tracy Childs and Steve Sarnoff are long-time vegans who advocate a whole foods, plant-based diet. Tracy gave Todd two books to read during his stay. The first was Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted is Posted in Health at June 4th, 2011 | Permalink | No Comments »

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