Transitioning to a Fully Vegan Lifestyle


It has been almost a full year since I made the deliberate decision to become a fully committed vegan.  This is a very unlikely shift in point of view for one who is an avid outdoorsman.  I love to hunt, shoot, camp, fish, kayak and backpack; all those outdoor activities I enjoyed as a young boy growing up in Southwestern Ohio.  My father had a quadruple bypass surgery at age 65 and my only brother died of a heart related issue after his triple bypass surgery at 58.  I knew that the genetic predisposition toward CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) existed in my family line.  So, in August of last year, I asked my family doctor for a recommendation to have the CT Calcium Score done on my heart.  This is a very simple and quick test that takes a series of CT pictures of your coronary vessels.  The conclusion of this test yielded a very high score of 900!  A score of 400 shows significant and serious CAD in the form of plaque buildup that has calcified.  Unfortunately, those who have a low score could still be at risk, in that the CT cannot "see" the soft un-calcified plaque that still could be present.  And by the way, it is usually the soft plaque that ruptures and causes a heart attack.  My score of 900 suggested a 20% statistical possibility of having a "coronary event" in the following 12 months.  25% of people who have coronary events simply drop dead without any prior warning. 

I immediately began my learning curve into the field of cardiology.  The very first book that came up on my search was by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  His book, Eat to Live is an easy to access book that he methodically researched.  He showed me the dark side of eating the "Standard American Diet" and just how Westerners are killing themselves with their forks and knives.  One chapter into his book and I poured my "half and half" down the kitchen drawn.  What followed was getting rid of all meat, all dairy, all processed foods and all oil.  The journey had begun!  Shortly after beginning this book, my son recommended that I view a documentary called Forks Over Knives.  In this documentary, two researchers were highlighted, Caldwell B. Esselstyne Jr. from the Cleveland Clinic and T. Colin Campbell from Cornell University.  Both men were researchers who demonstrated the clear link between nutrition and what came to be known as the "diseases of affluence." 

Caldwell B. Esselstyn's book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease was a clear portrayal of the cardio vascular dilemma of most Americans and what must be done in order to HALT AND REVERSE the disease. I had never heard anyone ever say anything about "halting and reversing" CAD.  But as I began to do the research, I soon realized that there was a clear polemic between standard forms of cardiology, as it is practiced by most of American doctors, and what was being said and demonstrated by a very impressive body of research on the subject.

A subsequent trip to the Cleveland Clinic (in February no less!) to meet and study with Dr. Esselstyn and his wife Ann clearly showed that Coronary Artery Disease could not only be halted but many times reversed.  This is only accomplished through eating a "Whole Foods, Plant Based Diet."  Me becoming a vegan? Not just for a short period of time but for the rest of my life!  This was serious lifestyle transition.

So, as I begin to approach my one year anniversary of living as fully committed vegan for health reasons, here are some of my highlights and take aways?

• Most of us are bound by food addictions that we're not aware of and these addictions are killing us.  (addictions to animal protein, fat, dairy and processed foods)
• Although the cure seems radical i.e., eating a vegan diet, it is not as radical as having your chest split open and veins from your legs grafted around your clogged arteries of the heart.  And by the way, this procedure only treats the symptoms and does not address the cure!
• Eating a vegan diet can be appetizing and attractive.  It just takes some creativity and relearning how to cook.
• Ones tastes actually change such that the real taste of whole foods and plants begin to actually taste good.
• I have become a vegan foodie!  I am challenged by creating and preparing tasty plant based dishes and helping others learn how to do it.
• Finally, I am a committed vegan for life.  I am gratefully vegan and am becoming rather proud of it, in the best sense of the word.
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