The Power Of Food

I believe in the power of food.

It’s clear to me now, that the simple necessity of eating either nourishes our bodies, or sets us up for a life of suffering – suffering from the many chronic diseases so commonplace in our society today – heart disease, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, kidney stones, many cancers, cognitive dysfunction, macular degeneration, and many autoimmune diseases, just to name some.

How can this be? Modern medical science has been busy curing these diseases for decades, right? Busy, yes, but we don’t seem to be getting any healthier. As I look around we seem to be getting fatter and sicker, even as we become more affluent, growing more nourishing foods for our citizens, as well as people all over the world.

Though I am proud that our nation, born from suppression under the European and English royalty of the 18th century, has proudly enabled The Common Woman and Man to eat like the queens and kings we fled from, I am distressed to see that the U.S. dollar buys many more calories from junk food than from vegetables.

Though it may sound simplistic to think that we can control disease by what we choose to eat, I feel it my responsibility to heed the overwhelming evidence illustrating that animal-based foods promote chronic diseases, while whole, plant-based foods protect against them.

What has convinced me? In my research, I have learned some provocative facts, including these:

• Several studies show that cow’s milk protein is directly linked to Type 1 diabetes.

• Many studies link high animal protein consumption, particularly milk and milk products, with a high risk of osteoporosis. This is because excess animal protein producing acid in the bloodstream leads to the leaching of calcium from bones to neutralize the acid.

• Renowned cardiologists, Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and Dean Ornish, have stopped, even reversed severe cardiovascular disease in their patients, using dietary intervention only – a whole foods, plant-based diet as their tool.

• Dr. T. Colin Campbell, director of The China Project, the largest and most comprehensive population study ever undertaken, established the positive correlation between the risk of cancer and animal food intake.

So these studies and dozens, even hundreds more, have convinced me, at times kicking and screaming along the way, that our typical diet, based on animal foods in addition to highly refined foods, has a direct link to disease, and further, can largely be avoided by adopting a plant-based diet. So I must act. I must take it upon myself to convince others to take control of their health, by considering what they eat. Because, though it may not be profitable for many an industry that keeps our economy humming, the power of the humble plant can sustain health, avoid disease, and in many cases even reverse disease.

I believe in the power of food, and thus, I believe in the ability of each of us, to take control of, and responsibility for, our own health.