Lately, I have been reading a book on how nutrition affects your body and disease within your body. The book is called The China Study by T. Colin Campbell & Thomax M. Campbell. It has been an interesting read so far. It definitely makes me question how I (and others around me) eat, how the public is presented information, and how diet has the possibility of healing.
The basis of the book is how studies on diet have changed Dr. Colin Campell’s view on what is considered “healthy”. He grew up on a dairy farm eating meat and drinking milk thinking it was healthy, but as he performed and reviewed many studies on diet in relation to health, he discovered that a plant-based diet is extremely beneficial. In the studies he reviewed, he concludes that plant-based diet can help prevent/reverse heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases as well as stall the growth of cancer cells. WHAT???? A plant-based diet can do all that? Maybe. The studies that he gives as evidence makes a strong argument. I may not believe it 100%, but it definitely got me thinking. Thinking about what I should be putting into my body and how it makes me feel.
Some of you know that in the last few years since starting my career, I tend to be highly stressed and sit all day at work. The stress makes me eat and the sitting all day at work, in traffic, and at class at night is not conducive to getting any kind of exercise. It has taken a toll on my body. I get a lot of “are you pregnant?” questions from my parents, so you know I have put on a few unwanted pounds. Because of this, I have been on and off several diets in the last few years with varying results, and it just makes me wonder what is right and what is just bad for you?
I have tried low carb-high protein, vegan, vegetarian, counting calories, and just pigging out on junk food. Nothing has been sustainable for me. Some diets will help me loose weight, but when I break my diet, it jumps back plus a couple extra pounds. Through all this dieting, one underlying trend of the diets has stuck with me. I have slowly and consistently increased my consumption of vegetables because most diets make fruits and vegetables a high priority. This, I think, has helped in the long run and has helped me sustain my weight and health through the last few stressful months and holiday season (when I have been cheating the most). This seems to be consistent with the benefits of the plant-based diet that Dr. Campbell promoted in his book.
I know that women and even men today have a hard time with body image and what is considered “healthy” or “attractive”. I am definitely one of them, but some of the things that people do to achieve this image horrifies me. Every year something new comes out that just makes me cringe. Like the cotton ball diet or temporarily getting a patch of plastic sewn to your tongue to prevent you from eating solid food. Ew! These are really extreme measures that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. All you have to do is control the type of food you eat.
What I have noticed for me is that the more vegetables I eat, the better I feel. I don’t get as tired after a meal. I don’t get mystery stomach aches. I have consistent bowel movements. My weight doesn’t fluctuate as much, and if it does change, it tends to go down. All good signs. I have also noticed that monochrome meals disgust me now. I need color in my food. It just looks better to me.
I don’t really have a conclusion for this rant except maybe to add more veggies to your diet. I think Dr. Campbell would agree. The diet topic is pretty open for most people too. I am curious about what other people do and has moving towards eating vegetables made a difference in your life? What kind of food habits make you feel better? What kind of diets have you tried, and how have you felt after?
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