Your Diet Choices Matter to Your Health...and the World's.
While you may have some reservation about the need to move toward a vegetarian diet, a little light reading may be of some benefit. Having more facts, references, opinions, and even your own deductive reasoning will not only assist you in the transition but also inject the motivation that will have you anxious to feel the difference. Starting from the changes that take place on a global scale to those on a cellular level, the following suggested readings are sure to provide, at minimum, a clearer picture of the benefits of more plant-based nutrition.
John Robbins is no stranger to the impact that our food choices has on our environment as well as our individual health. The once heir to the Baskin-Robbins business who declined the “gold-spoon” for more meaningful pursuits, he has been covering the topic for decades. His best-seller Diet for a New America provided fuel to a growing movement that started in the late 1970′s. He is one of the most outspoken advocates for why we should move away from animal-based dietary habits. His passion for such an important subject as diet is reflected in his attention to detail at every level of our food chain. The Food Revolution is a good place to start... and finish if it’s only one book you want, since you will get a comprehensive look at our food supply from beginning to end – from the pollution that animal factories produce to the quality and content of the items we choose to consume - and how it effects our health and longevity. No detail is left out. JR is not someone who just writes an opinion whose truth comes from a passionate hear. No, he backs it all up with countless statistics, credible sources, and data from trusted and reliable authorities. It’s all here.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan creates a clear picture of the difficult decisions we have when it comes to our food choices, once we are aware of some of the harsh truths about where our food comes from and what it is and is not. A follow-up to The Omnivores Dilemma, Pollan will help you get in touch with what “food” really is meant to be, as opposed to the “food-like substances” that we consume too much. This is a nice read, with some humor mixed in to keep you entertained when the agricultural discussion becomes a bit dry and lulls you into an artificial carb-coma. Pollan is a well-respected writer in the food industry, who’s live presentations can be found on YouTube.com as well.
If you’re serious about making changes to your diet because of a common problem that affects more Americans every year, then How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease is the book for you. Not only will it convince you that you’re likely to have some stage of atherosclerosis regardless of whether you’ve had a double quadruple bypass or you're 22 years old, but that you can reverse the damage done from years of poor dietary choices. The “how” is what you’ll have to read and find out, although your deductive skills should easily tell you that a plant-based diet is the key to cleaning those red walls of that “buttery” buildup (yes, cholesterol will do that!). The author, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn ("Ess"), is a preeminent researcher and clinician (the well-known Cleveland Clinic) who’s 20+ years of research will give you confidence when you choose to follow his advice…and recipes!
You won’t get an argument from anyone in the plant-based food camp on whether or not The China Study is informative and thorough - from the research performed to the number of correlations of diet to disease (or lack thereof). It is most definitely. The main author T. Colin Campbell, with help from his son and several others, put together the study of all studies of how diet is related to our health. The time, money, labor, and detail that went into the study given the book’s title, was by far the best effort to date that we have on which foods are causing the greatest harm to our health. Even the greatest skeptics can read the conclusions reached and still take away the one all-important message: we consume too many animal-based foods. A must read for those who need a strong defense to their peers about their transition to a healthier plant-based diet. If you’re a stickler for details, evidence, graphs, and empirical data, you should be satiated (pun intended!) upon completing this read.
A 90-minute DVD that covers the subject of “food” in such a way that a bright light of reality may blind you, or give you a hard punch to the stomach, Food, Inc. may be overstimulating to the average read/viewer. The collaboration of this project by seasoned writers/ researchers who knew what to search for, the questions to ask, and the images and footage needed, is part of the reason for the average review of 4.5/5.0 stars. As the editorial review aptly states: ‘Kenner presents his findings in such an engaging fashion that Food, Inc. may well reach the very viewers who could benefit from it the most: harried workers who don’t have the time or income to read every book and eat non-genetically modified produce every day.’
An easy read with short, concise tips and notes on how and why the plant-based way to health is not difficult, Forks Over Knives has a little of everything. Includes testimonials from patients as well as doctors, both of whom find the same conclusion when dietary changes are sustained: plant-based foods provide the health, healing, and life that too many people are missing. Plenty of good recipes too. A DVD version is available as well. One review sums up what you may get from digesting this content: “A great resource for folks toying with the idea of transitioning to vegetarianism.” There certainly are enough points made in such a concise fashion that you may find yourself with a greater appetite for more on the subject.
The suggestions above are a great start to provide the education, inspiration, and motivation that I hope will move you to the side of plant-based nutrition for your good health and your family’s.
Dr. J. Patrick Havey
HWii Nutritional Ministry
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