I know. It sounds like every other diet plan out there. But it isn't.
Those of you that know me know that I am NOT a dieter. I am all about health as a way of life. The more natural, the better. I've always been a fan of preventing or dealing with sickness with diet as much as possible. I want to know how to get rid of a physical ailment without taking medicine. The holistic approach.
This is the ultimate in holistic medicine.
Whole foods, plant-based awesomeness is contained in these pages.
It's written by the son of Dr. Esselstyn, the doctor who has done a TON of research on the affects of the American diet and disease - as well as the opposite - a whole-foods, plant-based diet and the affects on preventing AND (in some cases) REVERSING disease. Heart disease. Diabetes. Stroke. Alzheimers. Cancer. Erectile dysfunction. High blood pressure. High cholesterol. Arthritis. Osteoporosis.
Just to name a few...
This book tackles it all in laymen's terms.
Rip Esselstyn is a tri-athlete and a Firefighter - hence the name of the book. There's lots of firefighter and triathlon race stories.
There is a special section on dispelling the myths associated with whole food, plant-based eating.
Protein. Oils. Omega 3s. Being satisfied. Nutrient deficiencies.
No meat (not even fish). No animal by-products (gasp! no milk, cheese, eggs, yogurt, butter, etc.). No processed foods (like "vegan" processed meat substitutes). No oils (not even olive oil). No refined sugar. No simple starches (vs. complex - like Whole wheat, oat, etc.)
We aren't there yet. Our refrigerator is still loaded with milk and yogurt and cheese...and I just bought a huge thing of Extra Virgin Olive Oil...
but we're learning.
The more we learn, the more grossed out we get with the way we (and everyone else in America) is eating.
And it's especially making us conscious of what we're feeding our kids.
The last part of the book has actual recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so that you can put it into practice.
It's a lot easier than it sounds, and there are more and more cookbooks coming out that are not just "Vegan" but whole food, plant-based, because really, vegan isn't good enough...Vegans typically still eat a lot of processed foods and a lot of oils...so a lot of vegans are still unhealthy.
For more on whole food, plant-based eating, watch Forks Over Knives (the research), and Forks Over Knives presents: The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue (application).
The more we read, the more sold we are on this as a way of life for prevention, and reversal of whatever in lurking in our bodies at the moment (ahem...IBS, acne, eczema, and who knows what blockage or free radicals...).
Once we're on the other side, I'll tell you all about it.
For now, I'll keep reading and learning, so that I'm motivated to never buy butter or yogurt again!
Or maybe even re-lactate so that Isaiah can get human milk awesomeness (vs. cow milk) for another year...
Who knows.
You already think I'm crazy. Why not be just plain weird? :)
