We’ve made some big family decisions, ones that we hope will make us healthier and lead long lives.
To be totally honest, my grandmothers cancer diagnosis has shaken me to my core. I’m scared we’ll lose her. I’m afraid of what the next few months will bring as we fight it. And, I’m terrified what a family history of means to ME and my husband and my son.
Family is the most important thing in my life and I will do anything that means I get more time with my family. Charles’ father died from colon cancer, my grandmother is fighting cancer, I have aunts that have passed away from it, and the stories go on. What does that mean for me? What does that mean for him? And what does it mean for Dash?
It simply means that while we can’t live in fear, we must be proactive. We must do everything in our power to reduce or eliminate cancer causing agents from our life. Furthermore, it’s reminded me of the importance of our overall health.
In doing some research I was directed again and again to the documentary Forks Over Knives. Now,I know this movie usually splits the room. People seem to love it or laugh at it. I’ve watched it three times this weekend, and I have to say-it spoke to me. When you move past all the buzz words and the “meat causes cancer” scare tactics, the heart of the show is eating a whole foods,plant based diet leads to better health. They show story after story of people whose lives have dramatically improved when changing their intake to a plant based one.
Anecdotally I visited with a great aunt on my fathers side recently. She is 87 years old and was driving around the state of Texas alone visiting various relatives. Looking at her you’d guess she was 20 yrs younger. She lives alone, takes zero medications and heck she even mows her sons yard for him each week. In talking to her she mentioned a few things, clues to her fountain of youth. She believes in daily exercise, walks in her case. She also says no to second helpings. And this really sticks with me, her diet mainly consists of plants.
And here’s something I haven’t mentioned about my great aunt-she has had two cancer diagnosis, one in her twenties and was told she wouldn’t live throughout the year. Sixty years later she is thriving. More recently she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and has kicked its butt as well. I believe whole heartedly that her lifestyle has a lot to do with why she is still with us today.
That brings us back to me. While I like to think I’m healthy, the truth of the matter is I had let a lot of processed stuff slide back into my life. Not surprisingly, I have gained weight and both Charles and I have been feeling weighed down and sluggish.
Personally I gave up meat in 1999. I’d like to say that made me eat healthy, but the truth of the matter is it simply made me eat more bread and cheese. When I got pregnant with Dash I added fish back in to my diet. It took me YEARS to be comfortable eating it, I forced myself because I thought that was what was best for my son. Charles eats meat, Dash occasionally does but often turns it down. We all ate dairy.
In watching Forks Over Knives and reading up on the Engine 2 Diet (a “plant based diet” book) I realized we had a long way to go in improving our diet. We were not eating mainly plants. While I myself was only occasionally eating fish and didn’t eat meat or eggs, I let cheese and carbs be center stage. Sure we eat fresh veggies at every meal, but as a side not as the main course.
The movie talks about the link between cancer and animal products. It talks about its effects on our body in relation to other chronic diseases as well and while I haven’t educated myself enough on the subject to swear that all those claims are true-they make sense to me. They feel right to me.
We have decided to give up all animal products-no meat,no dairy, no eggs, no animal products.
We’ve also given up processed junk. We looked through our cabinets and got rid of anything with those descriptions. Guess what we came up with? A 35 gallon storage container full of possibly cancer causing agents, at the very least obesity causing ones. Goodbye junk and animal products. This is pretty embarrassing,but I’m going to share these anyway.
chicken,shrimp and junk
Sure, it sucked to give away all those groceries. And, it’s going to be a huge adjustment for us, but the long term benefits will be worth it. I’m looking forward to this journey.
Have you seen Forks Over Knives? What did you think?
Do you eat plant strong?
For the record: We are not eating “vegan”. I believe the term holds more than just a food intake description, it describes someone that has given up animal products for moral reasons. While I’m not knocking that, I haven’t given it up because of animal cruelty, its simply a health decision. And no preaching here, do what works for you.
My hubby is vegetarian and I consider myself a flexitarian. I eat mostly vegetarian (probably 5 days a week). Forks Over Knives was a HUGE eye opener for me and has definitely encouraged me to eat more plant based food.
I’ve recently read “Eat & Run” by Scott Jurek, in which he talks about his ultramarathoning career and how he lives on mostly a plant based diet. It is an interesting idea, and something I’m tossing around a lot more lately. Definitely trying to eat more plant strong, and I am trying my hardest to completely cut out dairy (due more to a lactose intolerance than anything), and in the upper Midwest? Hoo is this a challenge.
My husband and I watched Forks Over Knives and were amazed by it and found it incredibly interesting. We haven’t gone quite as far as you have with giving up everything but we are trying to cut down on the animal products and have always been pretty good about the junk/processed food. We cut out milk and now only drink soy and almond milk. We do still eat cheese a lot an occasionally eggs and yogurt. My next goal is to find a non dairy yogurt that we really like, although our grocery store doesn’t have many (if any?) options. We do a lot of stir-fry type dinners and they are almost always vegetarian, although my husband does like meat. We often put these stir-frys over rice but have moved from white to brown rice. When it comes to snack foods, we don’t buy anything (or almost anything) with ingredients that we don’t know or can’t pronounce and we read food labels before buying anything. What you are doing it a huge undertaking but is fantastic. I don’t know if we will ever quite get to where you are, but I think we will continue to move in that direction. Congrats to you and your family!
Oh, a question. What about something like peanut butter – plant based – whose ingredient is only peanuts? Is that still a no go for you since it’s processed? Just curious.
I’m curious to know what Tricia says about this one too. I’m assuming commerically made PB is out because of all the preservatives.
Peanut butter (nuts as only ingredient) that I grind in the grocery store myself is staying
“While I myself was only occasionally eating fish and didn’t eat meat or eggs, I let cheese and carbs be center stage.”
This (minus the fish) describes my very unhealthy vegetarian diet to a T, and I am always struggling with a desire to go vegan vs. love and convenience of processed junk.
I haven’t seen Forks Over Knives, but I will try to get a hold of it now. Good luck to you and your family in this very important diet shift.
(And PS – it sure sounds like you are eating vegan to me! People choose vegan diets for a variety of reasons. It’s important that that label not be left solely to radical proselytizers but also used by sensible folks who just want to be happy and healthy.)
I was a vegetarian for over 15 years and slowly found my ‘healthy’ lifestyle was making me feel worse. I was lazy when it came to preparing meals in the proper proportions that I needed. I’ve slowly started introducing meat back into my diet over the past few years and I’ve never felt better. For me, eating meat again has brought balance and interest back into my diet, and has decreased the amount of junk food. But that’s just me! Good luck in your journey. It helps that your family is all on board too.
I have to agree with you Cat. B. as I was also getting way to run down without meat. I don’t cook it every night and I don’t make it center stage when I do. I aim to have lots of fresh fruits and veggies and was just looking at my “bare” cupboards this weekend wondering what my mom is going to think when she comes visit. I don’t have all those canned goods I used to and I think that switch is more important for me right now then to eliminate all meat. But I do aim to be more plant-based in my daily choices and to cut out unnecessary processed foods. It is all about baby steps and slowly incorporating healthier choices.
Thanks for sharing and great post Tricia!
Great post.
For me…I am torn. My husband is definitely a meat eater, so I would be on the journey alone. I am not sure I am committed enough to do that. I am also a cynic. I need to read more about it, but I tend to come back to the fact that cancer is up, yet more people are vegetarians than were decades ago. I am not sure it is necessarily the meat, but environmental factors. I agree with sticking with whole foods. I think the processing takes a lot of the natural fiber out of our diet, which allows stuff to stick around in our gut for much longer than it should. I am more likely to go all organic before I go meatless. But that is just me.
Good luck with your new lifestyle. I will be interested to read how it goes.
I’ve been pescetarian (fish-eating vegetarian) for 17 years, and I have no plans to stop eating seafood and eggs. But on a suggestion from a vegan friend, I cut out all other dairy … and my seasonal allergies went away. This spring was TERRIBLE for everyone … but not me! The only day I had symptoms was the day after a big cheat — my friends had a French-themed party and I couldn’t resist all that cheese.
I did a two-week cleanse earlier in the spring that was gluten-free and vegan, mostly raw, no sugar, alcohol or caffeine. I felt really great but have been struggling a little bit ever since. I’m finding I’m more sensitive to what I eat whenever I try to eat “normal” foods — it’s hard to eat clean 100% of the time, and I’m trying to leave myself some flexibility.
Best of luck with your family’s transition. It might be tough!
As a long-time vegan and a runner, I’m happy for you and your family for so many reasons. As Scott Jurek mentioned in his book, giving up animal foods for health purposes often opens your mind and heart to the many, many (many!) other benefits of this diet/way of living. You’re in fantastic company! Go on with your strong, bad self!
I actually watched that this weekend too. I’m going to ease into a little less meat and dairy and see how I feel (I did a cleanse similar to this and it was too hard core for me to maintain – I’m figuring moderation might be the way for me to go here). This week – no meat for breakfast or lunch during the week (however, not giving up the greek yogurt, frankly, not sure what I’d eat for breakfast if I can’t have dairy… so yeah, baby steps). Let us know how it goes!!!
My husband and I began a high raw vegan diet last Monday as a detox after a few indulgent weekends. Turns out that not only do we have more energy and and less groggy in the morning, we (including our 4 year old) love the food. This detox that we began also happened to coincide with intense health scares for my parents so I’m taking it as a sign from the cosmos that this is the way to go, as long as it is sustainable. I’ve heard that the biggest worry is getting certain vitamins and minerals (vit D, B12, vit A….) so I do think making this transition with the help of a nutritionist/dietician will be helpful or at least getting blood work done to make sure that you aren’t lacking certain nutrients. I do hope that the transition isn’t too tough and that you have lots of fun exploring different foods ( I love me some nutritional yeast and saurkraut in my salads who would have thunk?!).
So smart
Have you seen the Terry Wahl talk on TedTalks? You would really like it. Check it out.
My argument would be that it’s not animal products that are the problem per se when it comes to cancer-causing agents but rather processed foods, but as you say it is what works best for each of us that counts. For example, I’ve been working towards minimally processed or zero processed foods, including animal products. Best of luck to you on this, I look forward to hearing how it goes.
Loved one of your tweets this morning about finding the reasons to explain why you guys are doing this, but that it is your choice so you don’t have to come up with reasons that satisfy us. Because it is your family and health that you are looking out for. It is a radical change….and not something I’m ready for it so not something I’m going to be doing. But fully support you and your family making this change! Think it’s awesome! Hope it’s easy with Dash as well or did y’all already explain it to him and he’s on board too?
I’ve seen it; I have a cousin by marriage that beat mesothelioma (he is in his late 20s!) that introduced the movie to me (us, but the husband wasn’t interested). God and a plant based diet has him still with his wife and two small daughters today. MD Anderson just doesn’t get it but encourages him to keep doing what he is doing. He was treated at the Rubio Cancer Center; if you’re looking for other information sources, check it out. They have tons of information on their website; they treat with faith in God and changes to your diet. I know that this isn’t traditional and I know that it’s not for everyone but it doesn’t hurt to have the information.
The cousin in law co-pastors with his inlaws (my husband uncle) and his wife. They are amazing people not too far from you guys; if you need extra ears, want more information or just want to say ‘hey’, check out The Remnant Church in La Grange.
PS – this is a really short summary of things, obviously. I know that there is way more to it than my short, short comment. And, more to it than I would be aware of since I am just the cousin by marriage, etc. I need to pull the movie back up on NetFlix, though. I’ve had a stirring more recently and the timing of your post is like a confirmation of same.
Change in diet AND power of prayer is right up my alley.Thanks for the info.
Has she begun radiation treatment yet? contact me about proton therapy
Good for you!!!! I only quit meat last July and dairy around the first of the year. I absolutely love my new way of eating. I really wish I had the support that you do though. My husband won’t touch a vegetable with a 10-foot pole and refuses to listen to any argument, data, or research that says he should change his ways.
It’s great to hear you so positive. There are some things that you can’t control when it comes to cancer but there are some that you can and you are grabbing the bull by the horns and giving yourself the best chance of not becoming a victim.
I have the utmost respect for you doing this as a family and I hope it works well for you!!! I fully believe going unprocessed is huge, like I said on FB I just found that a little meat or eggs for me was important in how I felt.
Good luck and hugs to your family!
Wow, what a commitment! How is it going so far? I hear the first 21 days are the toughest. One of my co-workers changed to a plant-based diet and feels so much better since. You might check out the book “Eat & Run” by Scott Jurek. He is a vegan ultra runner.
I just watched this movie last week! Definitely eye-opening. It renewed my effort to move to more plants. I’m impressed with your committment to improve!
I have recently become interested in eating only real foods, too and came across this blog. It has some great information if you are interested: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com (not just about a plant-based diet, but still relevant I think!)