Gone Nuts? Nope…Just Vegan.
Q&A for my family and friends.
I’ve been eating a primarily plant-based (aka Vegan) diet for about 4 months now, and wanted to post a place where I can answer some of the questions from my friends and family about this change.
Here’s a Q&A from some of the most frequently posed questions as a starting point. This is by no where complete. It’s certainly not an argument for or against anything. However it does raise some value-laden questions for consideration. I’m not seeking to judge or be judged…just looking for a way to quickly communicate some of the changes that I’ve undergone recently — as a way to unscramble the thoughts in my head.
I’m hoping this might help “my crew” understand what this decision is, and where this is coming from. This Q and A isn’t a definitive guide to anything; frankly it’s barely researched. It’s just a stream of conscienceless, edited, and based on my own perspective of how I’m witnessing this journey. And I guess that’s why I wanted to share.
Let’s Start Here — Why did you go to a plant-based diet?
I originally chose to start eating a plant-based diet at the recommendation of my physician, Dr. Gordon Wolfe. He is a specialist — board certified in lipidology. Yep, sounds gross to me too. Apparently this has to do with fat and plac in your veins — which always reminds me peanut butter sticking to the roof of my mouth. He has been watching my cholesterol numbers for five years and this winter, he did a blood panel of both me and Laurie.
My biggest concern was that, over a decade, I was watching my cholesterol go up-and-up…195 become 210… become 225…became 270! My weight went up 30 pounds I couldn’t seem to get my BMI to a place where I looked and felt healthy. I ate a pretty good diet by modern American standards — lean proteins, no alcohol, a decent amount of fruits and veggies. I have a history of being physically active. And I’m lucky not to have a profound family history of heart-disease…but I do want to feel good.
As I age, I would like to make decisions that increase the likelihood that I’ll be able to enjoy my “late-summer and autumn years”. I want to travel, spend quality time with my wife and children, and be around for those milestones we all hope to see like staying active with my grandchildren, and getting to snorkel in Australia and hike in Tibet. Dying of a massive coronary at 59 years of age was really gonna get the way of these plans.
In February of 2015, my overall cholesterol was at 270 and my LDL was at 208. Dr. Wolfe recommended putting me to put me on a statin, but again recommended a change to a plant-based diet. I’m certainly not averse to modern medication, and frankly some of the rush to supplements as a solution I find pretty specious and a little scary. Seriously — plow down some St. John’s Wort and Seaweed Bills — sounds pretty cow pucky to me. I’m 42 years old, I was thinking “really a statin at my age…that’s pretty pathetic”. With reading a little about statins and muscle and liver issues, it seemed like if I could have little discipline to control what I’m putting in my mouth and swallowing, I’d take a run at that first.
Having Laurie’s genetically bad cholesterol and her taking the lead in our family on this made my decision a TON easier. Together, we watched the movie “Forks over Knives” — and on Spring Break of 2015, I launched into a plant-based diet by gorging out on Vegan Burritos, Lentils, and Indian Curry in with family on the Monterey peninsula in California. And then eating my way up the coast with cold brew coffee and home-roasted nuts with friends in San Francisco through to vegan pizza in Ashland!
Okay, so what happened as a result of this experiment?
Well in June — after three months of living about 95% plant-based (I’m admit here has been some limited contamination into this human veggie factory) — my total cholesterol dropped 67 points, and my LDL dropped from 208 to 120 (88 points). I went from “heart-attack happy” to “high end of normal” in 3 months. Are you kidding me? Nope, I’m dead serious — emphasis on dead. Of course, some folks are like “give it time, I’m not convinced.” But I’m getting checked again in October, so I’ll for sure let you know if this was just an aberration.
Okay, I’m interested. But, what’s the difference between plant-based and vegan?
I don’t know, I think it’s semantics but writing this let me research…so let me use the google machine and visit exactly one website…(enter music from “I Dream of Genie Here”)….Okay, I’m back and check out the link above.
Seems like Veganism is more a philosophy involving animals, exploitation, no wool, leather, and beeswax (etc.). I haven’t quite entered that echelon, so I’m probably more “plant-based” than vegan at this point.
Culturally, the words still connote differences to my ear: Plant-Based sound to me like the sounds kind of healthy and something I could grow in my garden; while Vegan sounds like a fusion of some back-to-nature hippy-dippy commune. I always pictured vegans as super skinny, slightly pasty, and oft to be sitting around a Phish concert in the Gorge.
I’ll try to revisit this one over time, as I already sense my own shift in paradigm around this as I awaken to the utter ridiculousness of raising mammals and birds for human sacrifice and slaughter — while contributing to a degradation of the environment an assault of our overall health.
So, like, what do you eat?
Boy, I get this question a lot. Given how much I love food, I was really worried about this when I chose to go plant-based. Truth is, I eat a phenomenally varied diet — way more than when I was eating meat. A typical summer night before was to throw a slimy slice of whitish-pink chicken flesh (or brownish-pink cow flesh) on the barbeque, add a boiled or fried starch, and shovel into my pie hole. It’s not like it was really that varied; I just rubbed different spice and sugar powers on the flesh.
Now, I’m like a explorer — searching out fun stuff to eat.
Laurie and I love ethnic food — we eat a lot of Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Italian, Greek/Mediterranean. My wife has really gotten into this, and makes some amazing food at home. In the winter months, I have to say I make an incredible vegan mole chili (won the “family soup” award last Christmas), and I still gorge out on chips and salsa; French fries; popcorn; and I’m always working on getting my calories from sugar down (…one addiction at a time).
What about protein? How do you get enough?
If you do the research, this his is one of most odd and poorly researched nutritional fallacies. Protein through animal flesh is grossly researched and utterly anachronistic. You can get all you need in terms of amino acids from rice and beans and about 30 different ways. If you weigh the animal protein arguments against a plant-based diet on overall health — there is no question. Do the research yourself.
What about dining out — do you miss that?
I love eating out. I love the ambiance. The mood. The flavors of food. But, having been sober for two years, I also know that there are certain places that I just don’t enjoy. Since I got sober, I don’t really hang out in brew pubs; since I don’t smoke, I don’t go to smoke shops; and since I’ve got plant-based, I don’t really search out steakhouses. The funny thing is I truly don’t miss it.
Perhaps it’s living in Portland, Oregon, where we have absolutely amazing places to eat with entirely plant-based menus. The fancy includes Natural Selections, Harvest at the Bindery, Portobello, and the new Farm Spirit. To the more casual every day Native Foods and Laughing Planet. But also, you can go to any good restaurant and a quality chef will make you something amazing — I find a lot of local chefs find it a fun challenge (Laurie and I tip well).
What do you do about “fast food”?
There are some great choices out there that support my health. I’ve been pretty disgusted with the Wendy’s and Taco Bells of the world for quite a while (I mean, really, those places are McGnarly). But we’ve got some great options locally and nationally. Chipotle is the bomb — I eat there about twice a week — hook me up with a brown rice, bean & veggie burrito bowl, with guacamole and chips and a trio of salsas — seriously, it’s an awesome gut bomb. Also, the kids love Mod Pizza — my usual has the barbeque base with about 17 veggies — it’s super delicious. Also, just generally, I’d rather shop the Mom-and-Pop Teriyaki place or the take-house Hummus House rather than someplace with hairnets and name tags (and this from a guy who has done tours of duty in Starbucks, Honeybaked Ham, and Domino’s Pizza in my earlier years).
Where do you find good places to eat?
God bless the internet. In addition to “Yelp,” Laurie and I stumbled across “HappyCow.Net” — what an amazing resource. I need to give back to that apple cart and do some reviews for sure. As more people join the plant-based lifestyle it’s getting increasingly easy.
What do you miss about not eating meat?
Nothing. I mean nothing. I can’t believe how much flesh I used to chew on. Now it’s like a scene from the movie “Soylent Green” or “Sweeney Todd” — flesh is totally grody to me.
I have this thought that I’d create a poster entitled “What’s the Difference?” and list out a photos of a cow, pig, rabbit, deer, turkey…then below, I’d have a picture of a horse, chimpanzee, puppy, cat, and eagle. I mean, it’s really crazy when you approach this from a logical lens — what is the difference between cow and horse? Between dog, cat, bunny and deer? Between a chicken and an eagle?
In this country — and many countries — we eat some seriously weird shit. Come on: Alligator? Snails? Bear?
The two most recent images that stick in my head are: 1) the picture of the “New Year” celebration in China where eating puppy dogs is good luck; and 2) in Africa where they eat chimpanzee as “bush meat.” Sure, there is a cultural lens on this, but it’s hard for me to find a justification on one animal over another.
I also don’t like the feel in my mouth of chewing on flesh. I can’t believe how quickly this happens. Seriously, again, it’s like quitting smoking.
How do you feel if people eat meat in front of you?
I’m not running around screaming “Soylent Green is people!”. I’m not some modern Vegan Neo inserting myself into the Matrix. I mean, let’s be clear, depending on polling — somewhere between 75 to 90% of Americans are meat-eaters; and us truly wack-a-dile vegans make up like 2% of the population. I still cook meat for my own kids. I mean I think eating animal flesh is gross, but I’m not going to force them into this and cause them social outcast status in junior high. I’m also not about to go chaining myself to a poultry truck.
Does climate change or the environment drive your thinking?
“Think Globally, Act Locally” is pretty hilarious when you look at the hypocrisy of animal eating. We won’t water our lawns, or flush our toilets, but we’ll go out and burn up a 24 ounce porterhouse on the grill. I just read in the NYT that every once of beef requires the equivalent of 125 gallons of water (that’s 2000 gallons per pound). And the negative impact that modern factory farming of animals has on our environment is without is without doubt one of the leading contributors to global warming. And it’s a choice.
I know, I know, again I sound pedantic, but if you really care for the environment — quit putting crap in your mouth that requires so much petrochemical or carbon to produce. I am working on the replacing my almond milk with Hemp or Oregon Hazelnut milk.
Also, here in Oregon, I’m not a big fisherman, but it does seem a little weird that we decry the loss of our salmon runs — and then end up eating the animal we’re trying to protect. I can’t find the logic in that one.
What do you miss about not eating dairy?
I get this question a lot too. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…don’t miss cheese. I know, it’s crazy, but I swear I don’t. Again, it’s like quitting smoking or tobacco use (it’s a lot easier than quitting drinking for sure). When you’re away from cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese you’re kind of like — why would I want to put another animals milk supply in my own mouth. I was always pretty lactose intolerant, so my family is probably also thanking me for my slight reduction in flatulence and late night post-ice-cream painful groaning from the couch.
What happens if you eat meat or diary accidentally?
I’m not an extremist on this. I’m not allergic to animal flesh, their embryos, or the product of their mammaries. I just set an intention and try to stick to it. Just this week, the family was at an Outback Steakhouse, and I ate a bunch of sides: bread, veggies, broccoli, a sweet potato, French fries, a few bites of a Bloomin’ Onion. I didn’t ask about the dairy touching stuff, I scooped the butter out of the potato.
Again, it’s an intention, not an allergy. As Laurie likes to say, the more we ask for plant-based options, the more restaurants will begin to cater to their clientele — I’m pretty demand-oriented on this one.
Do you proselytize this dietary and lifestyle choice?
As soon as you go vegan, you find that folks have a lot of questions for you. In some sense, and perhaps this is just my character, I get defensive about my choices on everything– political, ideological, dietary, lifestyle. When I got sober, I remember spending a lot of time thinking about how I used to approach issues with alcohol and now without them.
I hope not to sound self-righteous and focus more on feeling hopeful. In essence, I have today. Though I’ll admit, being a bit of an iconoclast on this earth — you do spend a lot of time talking about your diet with other people.
It’s curious, some people are just naturally blind. Some are aggressive in their opposition. Some people even think it’s weird or funny — I mean they really don’t get it, and will never be open to a true conversation. In short, I try not to preach (it gets pretty exhausting), but I do share the fact the my cholesterol has completely dropped due to what I’m stuffing into my mouth alone.
Is there a moral or psychological dimension to this?
Boy. This is a topic that is ripe for exploration. I put it here as more of a footnote for future writing. As a general observation, I do think it’s interesting that many of the world’s faiths take exception to killing animals for food.
From a human consciousness level, I will say that we have the power psychologically to break from our past. We can engage our prefrontal cortex through supportive changes in habit. Isn’t this the grand adventure of what it is to be human — to grow along intellectual and spiritual lines? Another exposition for sure. Recently, one of the most conservative columnists, Charles Krauthammer, penned a piece which I thought was potentially revolutionary. I think it’s quite possible that the measure of mankind will look back with historical revulsion at the period of mass animal slaughter.
Who else out there eats a plant-based diet?
Wow. I had never really looked this up until writing this moments ago (good ole’ wiki). Check it out. I actually got tired of reading this list — it’s massive. Turns out there are a lot of people out there who I didn’t know (and probably most people don’t know). It’s work a few minutes of interesting perusal for sure. (hint: Prince, Bill C., Ellen, Ariana Grande?)
What would you say with someone wanting to give this a try?
I’d say launch right in. You got high cholesterol? Well, why not give yourself 90 days on a plant-based diet and see what your numbers do and how you feel?
Okay, enough evangelizing for one evening. I’m off to London and France. Merci le vache heureuse (Happy Cow!). I’ll be posting some pictures of amazing foods and a little journal of the adventure.
Research? What about next steps?
Ooh…I almost forgot. I’ve looked up very few of these — but I’ll footnote as a future project. Dr. Wolfe hands out a great list of resources:
1. Engine2Diet.Com
2. Forks Over Knives (I’ve watched this one)
3. Douglisle.Com (Funny Ted Talk)
4. NutritionFacts.Org (search for eggs, chicken, dairy, cancer) — 1,000+ videos
5. Heartattackproof.com (Dr. Esslestyn on Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease)
6. Eat to Live (Fuhrman)
7. The Blue Zone Diet (new book)
Thanks for taking a peek into my brain! Happy eating!
