I have been plant-based for almost 10 years, I often find myself looking for more and more evidence. My reading and personal experience indicate that Plant-based is best for my body, the environment and my long term health. I do admit it is a personal choice, one that I have no expectation that others will follow.
In some very recent research, I listened to the Ornish’s on Oprah Super Soul podcast, it was a short sharp review of their believed four pillars of health. They believe and have evidence to prove that for some patients many illnesses can be reversed and sometimes cured. I am hoping that the concept of healing thyself is not new to you, as I am not a Doctor or a Nutritionist, I am not your source of dietary reform. However, after 12 years of learning about the true effects of food on my body, it is a topic that will always feature greatly in my life.
Doctor’s and Nutrition, could they be the same thing one day?
Dr Ornish's studies indicate that the cause for most of the preventable diseases in our western world is lifestyle and food choices, to reverse these illnesses or better still avoid preventable illnesses altogether they suggest following the four pillars to a healthy life, which are:
- Movement, in the form of any regular exercise
- Eating a plant-based diet, eating foods in the way they are grown, not manufactured or modified and processed
- Love, be surrounded by people who can nourish your soul
- Meditation, moments of stillness to reduce stress and unwanted anxiety
Sounds simple, he even went as far as saying a ½ hour walk once a day can help to reduce common symptoms. I wonder then why are there so many Doctors who still only rely on medications, rather than cures in their diagnostic approach. How hard would it be to include diet plans as well as short term medications in diagnosing patience? As stated before I am not a medical professional and I know that not all illnesses can be impacted by food and lifestyle choices, but of the ones that can be, they should be. It would free up the resources for the people who are sick from far more insidious diseases.
"Eating a plant based diet, walking (exercising) everyday, and meditating is considered radical. Allowing someone to slice your chest open is conservative." Dean Ornish
The personal relationship we have with food
Have you ever noticed when talking to anyone about diet and health and the correlation between the two, people get heightened? Why do so many people feel attacked when you present them with the information they have likely asked for? I understand what you eat is personal but I’m confused by this reaction. Unless you have been living under a rock for 50 years you know the foods that are good and bad for us. Is a doughnut a day the saying that keeps the doctor away… I think not.
If you or a family member are being ignorant to food's impact ask yourself why? How can we ignore it, when we see it everywhere? We as individuals have to take responsibility for our health and the only way to do this is by choosing to eat better. I’m not saying that everyone should be Plant-based but what if you could be a couple of nights a week. I know what you’re thinking, how tasteless, how boring, where will I get my protein? Trust me I have heard it all before and you’re wrong. I’m sorry but you are, your tastebuds will evolve if you give them food diversification, your energy will improve and you will not have any issues with protein. (Cow’s and Horse’s do ok without eating each other… think about it….really think about it.)
Please choose responsibility instead of excuses
By not taking responsibility for diet being part of an illness, we become victims. When we deny that food is something we can control, we allow it to contribute to illness and fragility. With this mindset an illness is something that happened to us, we need support and pity.
The opposite to this is to live a wholesome lifestyle with a well-balanced diet at the heart of it, this will reduce and at times help you to avoid illnesses altogether. Many people will tell you it's hard and for some it is, but it doesn't make it less important. You have to look after yourself more than a Doctor should have to. It’s kind of your number one job.
When you have realistic ideas about food, you know every time you eat something terrible there is a price. I like to think this is the reason most Gyms across the world are at their busiest on Mondays. People who care about their health are trying to balance it out from the weekend. It's working off the food we know we should not have eaten. We all have treats and enjoy blowouts but we need to start talking honestly about the long term price. So next time you ask someone about diet advice, don't bite their head off if you don't like the answer, it’s not personal, it's likely factual.
If we listen to our bodies, they will tell us what we need, I have been listening to mine for years and when she wants Broccoli, she gets it. I must admit, I have never craved medications.
If this is the information age, how do we help people to use the information?
Food Sustainability
When people think of sustainability they think of cars, travel and offsets, what about finding a lifestyle - not just a diet to be sustainable for health and diet? I like the Ornish’s approach although I must admit to not yet reading their book, it is simple but it goes beyond the word Vegan and it neatly ties together the link between health, lifestyle and diet. Something I think we have all forsaken in the name of convenience and social activities. As human’s why do we need to take something and process it with unnecessary additives, create a marketing spin to sell it and make people want to eat it. What is that?
To sustain the planet we need to all make better food choices, but to sustain yourself you need to make better all-around choices. If love, movement, food and meditation is all we need for a happy and healthy life, why do we all resist it so much for the quick fix of a sugary treat?
Love, Meditation and Movement
The other pillars from the Ornish’s are hopefully things that you will already have an abundance of in your life, I hope that everyone has love, is looking for love or has experienced love in their lives. It’s a sweeping statement, but a true one. When I think of love I think of others you can truly be yourself with, people who have witnessed your flaws and love you anyway. It’s said that if you want more love in your life you have to love yourself first. Part of this loving thyself feeds back into the diet, habits and lifestyle choices. When exploring all that it is that is truly you, you will attract others who also want more of what you are looking for. When you find interests that make you happy there will likely be people that can share these interests with you. It always starts internally. (Loving what you do)
Meditation is an internal practice, but people often confuse full enlightenment with simple moments of calm. Monks all over the world can meditate for hours, this is not the meditation we mere mortals practice, or not at the very least on day one. Meditation is simply sitting still and quieting your mind, or in some examples focusing on one thought until you have resolved it. While thinking you focus on your breath as this will relax your body creating more focus for the meditation. To put it simply, sometimes, music on, eyes closed for 5 minutes in the car before you head into a very busy day at work, is meditation. Sitting crossed-legged in a yoga studio is meditation. Thinking, while quiet and calm on a problem you cannot move through, is meditation. It's all of these and it should be present in all of our lives. Try it, I’d recommend the body scan meditations for people new to it as it will guide you through calming every muscle, while you focus on this your brain becomes cleared of fog. It's quite special. (Also in case you haven't heard, you will not see lights, visions etc on your first try, but that is ok, use it for what it can give you, a moment to yourself.)
Movement is another that bleeds into Love and Meditation, for me I like my Yoga and Meditation together, but sometimes, walking away from a computer and in nature can be more powerful. Take time to move, anything not used eventually breaks down, let's not let this be true for our bodies.
Lean into the learning curve of food knowledge
People often ask me if I feel like I am missing out, I may have thought I was early on in my diet changes, as there is (like with all good things that come through tricky changes) a learning curve, the learning curve with food is deep and rich and troublesome and complicated, it comes with labels, expectations and sometime you will not be invited to things, but if you think about what these small sacrifices (in comparison to your whole life) could mean in terms of additional hospital free years, isn't it worth a try?
If you had all the information, would you use it?
I do not write this to recruit you into Plant-based, nor am I suggesting that changing your habits will make you healthier, I have no idea about your health concerns. I am asking you to think about it, what if it was as simple as changing a few small things to prolong your life, to be more able and to have more energy into your later years? I believe that the guilt we feel when eating something bad or not exercising is our brain's way of telling us that we can do better to look after ourselves.
Taking control over your life, health, diet and lifestyle might be one of the best things that you can do for yourself. It's not easy, uninterrupted bliss but it is control, power and independence and if you are not looking after yourself, then who is?
