Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

By Henry McCleary, DC

There is an abundance of scientific evidence that clearly shows that a diet rich in animal based products, and refined processed foods dramatically increases your risk of the most dreaded diseases. This high calorie diet rich in animal based products and refined processed foods is also a major contributing factor to our obesity and weight problems.

All Proteins and FatsAre NOT Created Equal

Most affluent societies on earth place a greater value on animal products when it comes to what they eat. In the US, the large majority of meals are planned around the meat, and most of us feel like we haven't really had a meal unless there was meat.

The 1988 US Surgeon General's report estimated that the average man in the US eats 175%, and the average woman eats 144%, more protein than the Recommended Daily Allowance. To achieve our ultimate wellness potential we must dramatically reduce the amount of animal based products (meat, dairy milk, eggs, and cheese) we consume per day here are some of the reasons why.

Several studies done over the last 25 to 40 years show a direct correlation between diets with a high percentage of animal proteins and fats and the high incidence of

Heart Disease

Cancer

Type I & II Diabetes

Auto Immune Diseases

Obesity

Pre-Mature Aging/Early Death

These studies also show that people that already have these diseases can reverse the course of the disease by changing their diet to a whole foods plant based diet. The studies showed that eating the same amount of protein and fat that came from plants did not contribute to the above disease processes. But, many still believe that you must have animal based protein to have healthy children, and to remain healthy. However, this is just another one of those pieces of miss-information that continues to contribute to the spiraling down fall of our nation's overall health, and the continued upward spiral of the incidence of these diseases.

Generally speaking, as our western culture has become richer and richer our diets have become more and more dominated by animal based and refined/processed foods. At the same time we have seen a dramatic rise in the “diseases of affluence” (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, auto immune, and obesity). Healthcare reform begins and ends at the dinner table.