This week marks my one-year anniversary since adopting a plant-based vegan diet. My body has gone through some serious physical changes on the outside (and inside!) since then. More importantly, I feel amazing and know how much this has improved my health, in just a relatively short period of time. Last spring, after watching several eye-opening documentaries, including Forks Over Knives, and reading The China Study, I immediately changed my diet (Thanks Chad!). By this point, I was eating a vegetarian diet, but still supplementing with whey protein powder. Although my meals consisted of some vegetables, I was eating some processed mock meats, bean burgers, oil and other unhealthy snack foods. Extensive research has proven that many, if not all, degenerative diseases can be controlled and in some cases, even reversed by adopting a whole-foods, plant-based diet. I could only wonder: if diet could reverse disease, what could it do for a seemingly healthy person? So what has changed? In addition to a reduction of body fat and lean muscle gains, I no longer experience acid reflux or menstrual cramps. My skin is the best it has ever been. My hair grows quickly and is strong. I feel AMAZING. This is what it did! I am doing the best thing for my body - not to mention environmental and ethical issues. I am full of energy and quickly recover from my training. Although I have found what works best for me, I am frustrated by the choices others make - especially those who I love. As a nation, we are overfed and undernourished. We are overweight and sick. We are killing ourselves. People are addicted to foods that cause disease. This blows my mind! Medication and surgery are not the best ways to solve a problem; they are drastic measures taken to cover up what could have been prevented. When given the correct fuel the human body has amazing healing potential. Put down the burger, pick up a banana and heal yourself! You just might run into Justin Timberlake on your way to Veganville! Resources |