VegWorld Magazine
Issue 35 - July/August 2016 |
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FEATURE
THE MAN BEHIND THE POTATO DR. JOHN MCDOUGALL “SAVIOR OF STARCH” VegWorld Magazine
Issue 35 - July/August 2016 |
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Photo Credit: ©Robert Stewart
FEATURE
A TOUGH DOSE
OF NUTRITIONAL REALITY by Lori L. Fryd
T
he doctor stands defiantly before his audience, eyes blazing, face set in grim determination. Brazenly, he begins pointing his index finger at them, daring them to disagree with him. His arm jerks forward and his outstretched finger pointedly hammers home his argument in perfect sync with his words. Like an audacious drumbeat, his speech slows down to an insolent thump, thump, thump as he deliberately punctuates every single syllable. “An-ti Di-a-bet-ic med—ic—a—tions!” he shouts out to his listeners. “Anti-diabetic medications!! I want to know if there is a single person – there are over A THOUSAND people in this room—has ANYBODY in this room EVER been CURED of diabetes with an-ti di-a-bet-ic med—ic—a— tions?” Raising his voice to a fevered pitch, his accusing finger aims straight into the conscience of his rapt listeners and he presses his point home. “Have you EVER MET a patient, have you EVER SEEN a patient—if you are a doctor—have you EVER HEARD of a SINGLE patient EVER being cured with anti-diabetic medications?” Silence from the stunned crowd. “Well, I never have either! So, where does the term ‘anti-diabetic medication’ come from? Ya got me!” he finishes off with a emphatic flourish of his outstretched arms. The reproachful index finger is finally lowered to his side. He will unleash it again, many times, before the evening is over.
VegWorld Magazine
Issue 35 - July/August 2016 |
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AMAZING TRANSFORMATION
JULIE STUTZMAN
SUCCESS STORY BEFORE
AFTER
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hroughout my childhood and up into my late thirties, I had a normal BMI of 19 without health issues. At forty, I began to gain about 5 pounds each year. By the time I was 54 years old, I was 55 pounds overweight at an overweight BMI of 29 and suffered from frequent migraines, angina, low energy, depression, and high cholesterol. I had tried various diets, including one that I tracked what I ate every day, keeping my daily total below a specific number of points. After a year of unsuccessful calorie restriction, I happened to come across the movie “Forks Over Knives,” by Lee Fulkerson and the video “Carnism: The Psychology of Eating Meat,” by Melanie Joy. I felt these stories spoke to me on two ways. One, was the hope of weight loss and regaining my health with the elimination of animal products, and two, the cruelty to animals I couldn’t be a part of any longer. Perhaps what motivated me the most to change my lifestyle was the memory of seeing my mother’s ashen face, lying in a hospital bed following a quintuple heart bypass surgery ten years prior in her early sixties. In her fifties, she had been
VegWorld Magazine
Issue 35 - July/August 2016 |
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AMAZING TRANSFORMATION
diagnosed with diabetes 2, hypertension, high cholesterol, periodic episodes of gout, and took a dozen pharmaceuticals, prescribed to keep her stable. Despite her multiple chronic diseases, she continued to cook high fat, meat-laden, and animal products meals for herself, friends, and family, as cooking was her hobby as well. For a short period following her heart bypass, she ate a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet that the nutritionist gave her upon discharge from the hospital. She couldn’t sustain it, so she reverted to her comfort foods and cooking elaborate feasts as a sign of love for her friends and family. In the ten years that followed, her health worsened with, yet, another heart attack, and diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that eventually took her life at the age of 74. Seeing my own cholesterol and blood pressure rise, along with the feelings of angina, I knew that my health was deteriorating and I would be diagnosed with the same chronic diseases as my mother and older siblings had been as well if I didn’t change soon! I continued my research of whole food plant based (WFPB) diets, immersing myself into all the literature, videos, and movies I could get my hands on until I felt I was ready to take the leap into a new way of eating. I vividly recall the Sunday night before the day I planned to start, tossing and turning, feeling anxious about this new lifestyle. I wondered if my husband would be supportive and, hopefully, even join me. Imagining eating a diet of just plants, I feared I would be hungry all the time, and might consequently fall back into eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) that I had eaten up to this point. Despite my fears, I have never felt more satiated and nourished in my life! It’s been four years since then, and I’ve never slipped once! I know I’ve had an advantage because I had cooked all the meals in our house, thus, having control over what went into every meal we ate. Fortunately, I had always cooked simple meals that I easily converted to WFPB. I would not restrict the amount of calories, carbs or points again!
VegWorld Magazine
My initial strategy, which continues to be my mainstay, was to make all our favorite dishes that I used to make, but make them plant based instead. Turns out my dinner items impressed my husband, who continues to enjoy plant based versions of spaghetti, Chinese stir-fry, chili mac, pizza, burgers and fries, meat-less loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy to name a few. Then there are the WFPB desserts versions of the ones that I used to make and had enjoyed, such as nice-cream, apple crisp, brownies, oatmeal cookies, and chocolate mousse. Breakfast and lunch are the easiest meals of all to prepare, as I routinely prepare the same dishes: hash browns for breakfast and a hearty soup for lunch. Repetition is essential for us, as it frees up more time to enjoy other activities outside the kitchen. Purchasing an electric pressure cooker has been a great time-saving convenience because I am able to batch cook foods like, brown rice, whole beans, soups, stews, etc. Usually on Sunday, I pressure cook a full pot of brown rice and the other foods mentioned, and package in 2 cup amounts and freeze for the week. This simplifies our life, minimizing the time in the kitchen throughout the week. The first year of intense studying and practicing this new lifestyle has paid off tremendously for me, which I continue to maintain three years later! I have lost 55 pounds, dropped my BMI to a normal 20, reversed angina completely, maintained a normal blood pressure, and dropped my cholesterol from 192 mg/dl to 121 mg/dl. I have so much more energy now. For several decades, I was interested in yoga, but felt too lethargic to start a program; however, now I can’t wait until my daily 30 minute yoga routine that I’ve been doing for over a year now! I also walk my dog daily, who would have felt lucky if I had walked her once a month in the past! We invested in a recumbent bike and are able to exercise indoors when the weather doesn’t permit. I feel 20 years younger with the renewed energy and the future now holds promise of an active life well into my old age.
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