Taken for Planted

Veggie-heavy diet is a powerful weapon for fighting disease

WWHEN DUBLIN CITY CoUNCIL member

John Reiner was diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer nine years ago, he knew he would do whatever it took to survive.

Aggressive rounds of chemotherapy and radiation would buy him some time, but he didn’t stop searching for treatments. His research revealed that many cancer survivors had one thing in common: a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

“You’re sort of grabbing for straws when they slam the door on you there at three different hospitals,” Reiner says. “We set out and read about 100,000 pages of research on cancer and nutrition because at that stage, when Western medicine sort of cuts you loose, you have to come up with a new game plan. So what we did was sit down and we started this really healthy diet. … After reading the science, we chose three different diets and combined them all.”

Reiner, co-owner of Oakland Nurseries and a self-proclaimed skeptic, wasn’t completely convinced that changing his eating habits would make a significant difference, but he was ready to take the drastic step of cutting all meat and most dairy products out of his diet if it might give him a few extra years.

“Vegetarian eating and juicing was the common thread,” says Reiner’s wife, Sheila. “If you want to survive or if you want to at least have a healthier life, vegetarian is the way to go, especially if you’re sick. … We kept seeing that over and over again.”

There’s solid science behind the healthfulness of plant-based diets, says Dr. Pam Popper, a Naturopath.

“A plant-based diet means that about 90 percent of your calories on a daily basis come from four groups – fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes – and so 10 percent of your diet or calories can come from something that has a face or a mother,” Popper says. “The diet is very high in fiber and low in fat, with lots of good clean water every day, and we get the oils out of the diet, so that helps with getting the fat content down.”

The Wellness Forum, Popper’s Worthington-based company, hosts regular classes on the benefits of a plantbased diet. If you’ve heard that a lowcarb diet such as the Atkins diet is the best option for managing diabetes and insulin resistance, you’ve heard wrong, Popper says.

“Studies since the 1970s have shown that on a high-complex carbohydrate diet, within 17 days, insulin-dependent diabetics can stop taking insulin,” Popper says. “Most diabetics who follow traditional diabetic diets … what happens to them is they manage their disease, but on a plant-based diet, in a matter of weeks they can reverse their diabetes and reverse their hypertension.”

John and Shelia Reiner found they both lost weight and felt younger and more energetic once they changed the way they ate.

“We started eating about 75 percent of our food in a natural state – salads and juicing and stuff – got rid of the cooked food that was depleted and let go of all of the things that everybody knows aren’t good like white flour, white rice, salt –ate nothing with salt or sugar in it, no preserved food, everything organic,” John says. “The weird thing was, as we were doing this diet, we felt younger and younger. … It was like your body came online and it knows how to heal itself.”

His ulcers, acid reflux and hay fever went away. John stops short of saying the new diet cured his cancer, but he’s been in remission since a second short bout with the disease seven years ago.

“It’s very easy to maintain ideal weight,” Popper says of plant-based diets. “The fiber content of the food is so high that you’d explode before you can eat too many calories.”

Additional changes the Reiners made that John credits for their renewed health include regular exercise and time for relaxation and meditation.

A regular day’s meal plan for the Reiners might include nonfat, low-sodium cottage cheese and fruit blended together to create a creamy yogurt-like dish for breakfast; a fresh salad topped with quinoa for lunch; and stir fry with Bragg Liquid Aminos (instead of soy sauce) for dinner.

Fresh fruit and vegetable juice is a staple they never go without. They use their Champion juicer and blend carrots and celery for their nutrients with beets and apples for sweetness and a touch of ginger. The juicer spits roughage out

Reiners’ Recipes:

Pico de Gallo

• 2-3 large tomatoes

• 1 small onion

• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• 1 hot pepper (serrano or jalapeno)

• 1-2 cloves garlic

• 1 dash Bragg Liquid Aminos

• Juice from ½ fresh lime the front, while the drinkable contents of the fruits and veggies trickle down below into a dish. John pours the resulting frothy, dark red concoction into wine glasses for him and Shelia to share. It tastes sweet and healthful with a little kick from the celery and ginger.

Making the change was relatively easy for the Reiners. John felt he didn’t have a choice if he wanted to survive cancer.

“It was a do-or-die type of situation,” he says.

Other people, however, may balk when asked to give up their favorite foods. For those folks, Popper has some advice.

“I always tell people when I give lectures, don’t think about what you’re going to give up, think about what you’re going to get,” Popper says. “If you think about regaining your health and having the opportunity to do all the things you want to do, feeling great, looking great and living until you die – that’s more attractive than any chunk of cheese or pork chop ever would be.”

“Most people don’t create dinner from a repertoire of 70-80 dishes – they have a few they like and maybe two or three of them are already plant-based,” Popper says. “People like veggie burgers and salads and pasta salads. Then think about something that you make that if you eliminated the animal food, it really wouldn’t make that big of a difference. Instead of pasta with meat sauce, have pasta with regular sauce.”

To broaden your list of plant-based meals, turn to cookbooks or the Internet, which both boast a wealth of tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes. The Reiners recommend the included recipes for pico de gallo, hummus and nacho dip.

Lisa Aurand is editor of Dublin Life Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.

Directions: In a blender or food processor, blend together all ingredients until coarse. Serve chilled. Makes 2 cups.

Creamy Hummus

From The What to Eat if You Have Cancer Cookbook by Daniella Chace and Maureen Keane

• 1 16 oz. can garbanzo beans

• 2 medium lemons, juiced

• 1 tsp. sea salt

• ½ cup water

• 3 tbsp. flax seed oil

• 3-4 cloves garlic

• ½ cup tahini (ground sesame paste)

• 1 tsp. chopped fresh mint

Directions: In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree the garbanzo beans, lemon juice, salt, water, oil, garlic and tahini until creamy. Stir in mint and serve the hummus immediately with toasted pita wedges, raw vegetables or crackers. It also makes a great spread on sandwiches.

Salt-Free Nacho Dip

• 1 cup organic 1 percent milkfat, no-saltadded cottage cheese

• 2-5 tbsp. flax seed oil

• 1-3 tbsp. freshly ground flax seed (use a coffee grinder)

• 1-2 cloves garlic

• 1 dash cayenne pepper

• 1 dash Bragg Liquid Aminos

Directions: Mix in food processor with a dash of water to soften.