Early this year as I surfed through Netflicks, I came across two documentaries on diet that had a huge impact on me: "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "Forks Over Knives." The first tells the story of Joe Cross, an extremely overweight Australian suffering a debilitating auto-immune disease, and follows his journey to health. He spends 60 days in the U.S. talking with people about their diet and health, and sticks to a fresh juice diet the entire time. His experience is very interesting, but when he meets Phil, a huge truck driver suffering with obesity and the same rare disease, the film becomes absolutely gripping.
The second film traces the personal journeys of Dr. Campbell, a nutritional biochemist from Cornell U. and Dr. Esselstyn, a former top surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. These men conducted several groundbreaking studies that led them separately to the same conclusion that degenerative diseases, like heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and even some forms of cancer could almost always be prevented and even reversed by adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet. (Both have their websites and help for those interested.)
So inspired, I began my journey by dropping all meats, including beef, pork, and chicken, eggs, and all forms of dairy. I kept fish and seafood on the menu as I couldn't bear the thought of never eating them again, whereas I could envision a future without meat & eggs. For those who don't understand vegan versus vegetarian, it's simply the moral decision to fully respect animal life. Purists eat nothing that comes from animals, including milk, eggs, honey and gelatin, and do not wear leather, fur, etc. Vegetarians come in many different "flavors" including those who eat eggs or drink milk or even eat chicken and/or fish, but not beef or pork.
The change in diet wasn't easy at first, more because of the lack of dairy than the meat. I love to cook, though, and persisted with lots of research and a few new cookbooks. Thank heavens I live near a grocery store that specializes in natural products and carries all those new ingredients I needed, like seitan, Bragg's liquid aminos, and nutritional yeast. Going out to eat is a bit tricky as restaurants tend to add cheese, butter, and/or sour cream to almost everything to boost the taste, but I found being clear that I could not have dairy seems to work, rather than admitting to veganism.
The biggest change, however, was mental - understanding the importance of not taking away, but ADDING to my diet. Adding fresh, organic vegetables and fruits in the daily variety and quantity to assure I'm getting all the micronutrients I need. Here's where my tribute to Joe and his wonderful Breville juicer comes in. Juicing allows you to live a normal modern life not devoted to cooking and eating the tons of veggies you need every day. My devoted and understanding husband, Randy, came to realize how important this change is as well, and led me to commit with him to a 10-day juice fast in late January. The first few days weren't easy for either of us, as there are some, uh...physiological changes that a heavy juice intake will make. Let's just say I'm glad I was home most of that time! We also decided to get off caffeine at the same time, which probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but the incredible burst of energy we began to feel after the third day not only showed us we were over caffeine withdrawal, but with juicing we didn't need it at all.
Randy continues to be supportive in my cooking journey, as I do not prepare any dishes with animal products. Some of the dishes have been less than spectacular, but many have been surprisingly tasty. And now that I have found great substitutes for sour cream and mayonnaise, I can prepare some of our more traditional favorites without guilt. And the best news of all - we are feeling better! We've both lost a good deal of weight, our skin looks better, we sleep better, and have no reflux whatsoever. We are in the process of buying property in Texas and look forward to taming it for a LONG retirement.
No comments:
Post a Comment