Whole Foods, Plant Based Diet

While I have the utmost respect for Dr. Campbell and his research. I have taken a class with him personally, and others who believe in the benefits of a vegan diet. But I personally don't believe everyone will do well on the diet. I have tried. I felt, sick, weak, had headaches, stomach aches, just over all did not feel well at all. When I talked to someone (not Dr. Campbell) about my symptoms, I was pretty much told I wasn't trying hard enough. I have found that scheduling snacks with my meals, that include proteins of greek yogurt with sliced almonds and lean animal protein, along with vegetables, fruits and whole grains, I feel much better than what I did on the China Study diet.

You can do reading and research to support anything you believe. And like I said, I do have respect for him. But my reading, research and personal experience leads me to believe that for my body chemistry, it is not the best diet. You can also read about the Inuit Indians who essentially live on whale fat and animal protein and they don't have the same diseases we do. I believe that it is our processed diet of food like products. We should get back to basics and eat food closest to it's natural state as possible.

As for your husband and your reasons, I will tell you that ANY diet improvement will lead to feeling better. You can eat plant based, not give up animal protein, and feel better. But the key is fresh, whole, preferably organic, vegetables and fruit should be the main part of the diet and the animal protein the side dish. I have proven in my family, (husband and son included) that we each do not have to have our own steak. I can fix a decent sized, lean steak, slice it before serving and still have leftovers from a family of 4. But I also will fix 2 different vegetables, maybe a side salad and some sort of fruit. The meat is the side dish. We eat a lot of chicken and fish as well, with the same formula, the protein is the side dish. I also try to cook from scratch, and limit processed foods as much as possible. Processed foods are usually full of chemicals, from artificial colors to flavors to flavor enhancers to preservatives, which is playing havoc with our health.

Now having said all of that, because I do try to eat fairly healthy, I don't feel good when I eat some sort of junk food or fast food. But it's not the animal protein it's the processed junk.

Good Luck

What you're basically looking at is a healthy Vegan diet. Which means you're in luck, because there are gazillions of recipes that are vegan.

The bare bones basics of any vegan diet (or vegetarian, or even non veg) are

COMPLETE proteins
Lipids (fats)
Carbohydrates (sugars)
Vitamins
Minerals
Indigestible substances (fiber)

Proteins are all very different from each other, and humans require a very specific type of protein (known as complete proteins) to live and be healthy. Just because something has protein in it does NOT mean its a complete protein. (beans for example, have protein, but you'll die if you only get protein from legumes... Because they don't have complete proteins).

COMPLETE protein sources:'
Flesh
Dairy
Eggs
Nuts / quinoa (which is a wacky grain built like a nut)
Certain mushrooms
Grain + Legume

See the bottom one? That's the MAJOR complete protein source for most vegans. ANY grain plus ANY legume. Be it rice and beans, hummus and pita, tortilla & beans, rice and soy, lentils and French bread...

Certain ethnic foods lend themselves Very easily to vegan diets (mex, indian, middle eastern, SE Asian)... But you can make vegan dishes in any ethnic flavor subset of your choice. Italian, French, Caribbean, Spanish... (Please. God. Unless you're a cumin freak, avoid the trap a lot of new Veg's get by putting cumin in everything!!!)

As long as you have the grain+legume you get a VERY filling dish... And you don't need it for every meal.

YES you can still get 'creamy' dishes without dairy. Coconut curries, rice or almond or soy milk, rissotos, rouxs made with oil instead of butter, corn starch or tapioca flour... Creamy is very easy to achieve.

There are THOUSANDS of vegan recipes out there. Most you won't even find in Vegan cookbooks, but in regular cookbooks. Paninis, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed peppers, stuffed veg (tomatoes, zucs, eggplant, potatoes, etc), dumplings/potstickers/bao, burritos, tacos, curries, soups, stews, pot pies, pasties, Grilling, rissotos, paella, pastas, baking, tamales, salads, roasted veg, appetizers/antipasti... The list just goes on and on and on.

A BIG trick when switching, or when feeding guests, are 'rib sticking' meals. Rissotos, black bean and rice and roasted red pepper and tomato and spinach and avocado and onion burritos too thick to bite through, and grilled Sammie's on thick bread (paninis), piled on with toppings, thickened stews (French onion, potato, etc.)... Things that require chewing or loosening of the belt in FAMILIAR flavors. So that neither you nor your guests even notice the lack of meat. These aren't the lowest calorie, but they transition well
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To note: I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian. I just happen to a) love food b) cook a lot of vegan and vegetarian dishes and c) have friends with lots of dietary choice or needs (vegan, veg -full spectrum-, kosher/halal, celiacs, allergies). About half my cooking is vegetarian, and half of that vegan. Sometimes it's a blend during the day, some times it's several days in a row. Sometimes it's a few weeks on and a few off. Just because Im in the mood.

My cholesterol SKYROCKETS whenever I go on a vegan or veg binge. Again, this is just an 'I felt like it' thing not a mission. I don't often realize I'm doing it (I cook thematically). But if my BP starts rising, I add in some animal proteins. Ditto if I have a physical coming up (I'm talking my cholesterol gets BAD, my body waaaaay overproduced if it isn't in my diet... Which is not super common, btw, but also isn't abnormal. Some people's bodies just react in certain ways).

ONE LAST THING to keep in mind is along those lines: no one diet is right for all people in all environments at all activity levels.

I have dappled with a vegan diet. I would suggest that you not make all these changes at once. I suggest you do a 21 day vegan/ whole foods fast or make some steps in that direction, for example, 9 out of 21 meals be vegan/ plant based. That way you can work on new recipes and a new menu without being overwhelmed.
I have not been able to stay vegan. But always feel fabulous when I do it. I tend not to loose weight on a vegan diet but seen it go both ways. One of my friends gained weight going vegan, but I think she started eating lots of sugar to compensate.

I read about a woman that had some sort of illness while she was pregnant. She was bedridden and her husband would leave her foods that could be left our at her bedside, so it was a lot of raw fruits and veggies. She swore by it, stating it made her better and we don't need to cook our food or eat meat.

I know I should eat more raw carrots and such, rather than snacking on a bag of chips!

I'd never do it...I've read so many positive stories about the Paleo 'diet' (not a diet, just a lifestyle), and many people have CURED their autoimmune diseases. http://www.thewahlsfoundation.com/ This is the link to the wahls diet which is similar.

I loved that book. It was a real eye opener for me. I have definitely changed the way I (and my family) eat because of it. We have not eliminated all meat and dairy, and yes, for us it is hard. Harder for my husband than myself. You take it a day at a time and pat yourself on the back when you make good choices and don't beat yourself up if you make a bad one. It's not easy to change a lifelong pattern of eating. I would recommend making changes slowly. Start by cutting down on meat and increasing vegetables.Try a day or two a week without meat. Summer is a great time to start with all the wonderful fruits and vegetables available.

As for eating out and at friends places, it is challenging, but not impossible. There are salads, look at appetizers, some restaurants offer side dishes of vegetables, and many have vegetarian entrees. Friends...if it is a buffet or potluck, go for the side dishes. If it is a plated dinner, I have eaten just a few bites of the entree and all the side dishes. Sometimes you walk away not full, but I have never walked away hungry.

Good luck to you!

I am on a similar diet but I do occasionally eat eggs and I do eat goat cheese. I started the diet change to try to get my liver levels down. Since starting the diet, they have decreased by 2/3 (within 2 months). I get rechecked in August and I imagine they will be normal at that time. My blood pressure was also much lower than it was previously (it was fine before but now is around 100/64 instead of 120/78. I have also noted an improvement with my anxiety. No more panic attacks! I did and am losing weight but I am also exercising regularly for the first time in years.

It isn't difficult to accomplish if you are into meal planning and if you like whole grains, fruits and veggies. If you love your meat, you might have a rough time of it. Let's see...breakfast is usually cereal with soy or almond milk and a banana. Lunch varies widely. Yesterday it was a chickpea spread on a whole grain tortilla. Snacks are usually apples, carrots or celery with almond butter or peanut butter. Dinner yesterday was a heaping pile of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots and fingerling potatoes.

Today I had cereal with soy milk for breakfast. Lunch will probably be a tomato sandwich on 7 grain bread, chocolate soy milk and a fruit. Dinner is going to be zucchini, tomato and chickpeas over brown rice. I will probably add some crumbled goat cheese to it.

Later this week I am making meatless chile, a veggie chowder and spiced lentils.

I am not militant about things. I will put jelly on whole grain toast. I still put sugar in my tea sometimes. I still eat cake at birthday parties.

I do take a multivitamin.

As for eating out, it is hit or miss. Most places have vegetarian dishes but they do include cheese. You can always ask for a modification or just order bread and sides.