I am so excited about this guest post. Amy
is part of Planting a Seed blog that shares different ways to incorporate more
fruits, vegetables, and plant-based protein into your diet. In
today’s post, she shares her story that inspired her to transition to a
plan-based diet. I think it’s incredible!
Please be sure to show Amy some comment
love!!
Greetings,
Mommy on the Spot readers! I'm visiting
from Planting a
Seed and I'm honored to be guest blogger today. Here’s some (plant) food for thought toward
achieving a disease-proof lifestyle with my own personal story.
Have
you ever felt helpless to cancer? My guess is that you have. Too
many of us are affected by cancer. In August of 2009, my
dad was diagnosed with cancer. I thought
there was nothing I could do for him. Then his nutritionist told him to start eating
an 80% plant-based diet. That means 80%
of what he eats should be vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. I started
researching cancer diets and found data from the Cancer Project
that states diet accounts for a minimum of 30% of all cancers. In fact,
some researchers estimate that only 3% of all cancers are genetically driven
and the balance lifestyle driven. The idea that I could impact my chances of
getting cancer, and could actually reverse cancer by changing my diet was new
information for me to digest. I decided to support my dad, and maybe even
do something for myself at the same time, by adopting a plant-based diet.
It
wasn’t easy and it didn’t come without some trial-and-error. It was hard
to give up cheese pizza! In fact, I held on to that cheese pizza, and a few
other splurge-worthy foods, for a few months while I was transitioning to a
plant-based diet. Then I read The China Study and discovered that the
long-term cancer study described in the book was conducted with dairy products,
not meat. That was the push I needed to give
up the cheese. After all, my reason for
adopting this lifestyle was because of my dad’s cancer diagnosis. I could no longer pick and choose which
animal products I would keep and which I would abandon. I would still love to eat a cheesy slice, but
I don’t. There are plenty of animal foods that my body is wired to
crave from years of dietary abuse. I know in my mind that these foods are
not what will make me strong and healthy. By educating myself on
plant-based nutrition, I can easily pass on the temptations now.
In
addition to reading books like The China Study,
I also joined VegMichigan, and watched documentaries
like Forks Over Knives to help me learn more
about plant-based nutrition. If these sources were not convincing enough,
then the results of my 2010 physical certainly were. My cholesterol
dropped from 205 to 140! I didn’t even think I needed to lower my
cholesterol because I had always been told that the ratio of HDL-to-LDL was
good. Now that I look back on that, I cannot believe that I was not
alarmed at my cholesterol level. I rested on the fact that my cholesterol
level was “genetic” and thought I couldn’t do anything about it. I’ve
recently been reading Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 Diet
and have learned the importance of a cholesterol level below 150 for the best
protection against heart disease. My
cholesterol-lowering experience is not unique. Many people are reducing
their cholesterol, reversing Type 2 diabetes and halting cancer by adopting a
plant-based diet.
It’s
been two years and seven months since my dad’s diagnosis. For now, chemotherapy
and radiation seem to have controlled his cancer. I am sad that my dad
and family had to go through the experience of cancer. Certainly he feels
lucky that his was treatable. I feel lucky to have improved my health and
discovered a new way of living through his experience. My goal is to lead others toward a
plant-based lifestyle for improved health and disease prevention.
1 comment:
Its all bout diet and keeping the mind clear. I hope things are better now!
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