Back when I first started blogging (2005) I used to pick a theme for the year and then blog to track how well I held to the theme. Sort of like a New Year’s Resolution, but not quite. One year I decided to refrain from shopping for other than absolute needs (that lasted until January 18th)…another year it was a book a month.
In 2007 I titled my pursuit “A Year of Going Green”. That was the year I decided to give up eating meat (including seafood) and eggs. A year of being vegetarian.
I had no idea what I was doing.
There weren’t a lot of resources back then, nor was my intent to read resources. My themes were always sort of an act of will more than an educated pursuit.
But it was a theme I actually stuck with over the course of a year. Come December 31st I was mostly green…with a lotta pasta and cheese thrown in. I didn’t say at year’s end I was healthy.
I decided to keep going. And Frank joined in. Over the next few years we teetered on Veganism. Eventually removing all dairy, honey, etc. It felt like we were extracting what little fun was left. There were no restaurants that catered to our lifestyle back then that we knew of and very little exciting cookbooks. And we had kids. Which was really our breaking point.
At least back in the day, raising kids veg was hard. What do you send them off to school with for lunch. Nothing they’re going to be able to trade, I guarantee it. Johnny isn’t interested in a tofurky stick that resembles a hotdog, for his prized Doritos. I promise you. It was under that kind of pressure that we eventually succumbed, and as my brother liked to coin it, and began to “recover” from our vegan pursuits.
But a few things never left me.
We had a dairy farm about a 1/4 mile from our first house that was opened to the public as both a petting zoo and a small batch grocer (eggs, dairy, cheese, some vegis) and I took the kids there all the time. I realized there was a real disconnect between the cellophane wrapped meats in the grocery store and the animals we were experiencing on the farm. I was definitely more conscientious about animals and their abuses in the meat industry — that much I did read about. And it made me sad. My time in the veg world made me more aware of where my food came from generally.
Ultimately we went back to our carnivorous ways, much to our kids’ delight. And we’ve pretty much remained that way since 2012.
But here we are in 2024 and we’ve come miles and lightyears as far as the information highway goes. We have how many streaming services that are chocked full of documentaries that speak to the health benefits of plant-based living. Podcasts on lifestyle choices abound. There are a zillion fun cookbooks on the pursuit and more books than I will ever have time to read.
The first hole I fell down was “Living to 100” a documentary on Netflix regarding the Blue Zones of the world. Places where there were more people living to (and beyond) 100 years, but not just living, or arriving at 100, but thriving. What was different about these areas of the world? And when I talk about the world, I mean from Okinawa, Japan to Lomo Linda, California and everywhere in between. The study found there were certain things in common. Deep friendships, family support and inclusion, daily movement, eating legumes and mainly whole-foods, plant-based diets. If they ate meat, it was more of a side-dish. A small portion for sure.
This got me toying with the Mediterranean diet. I’m Greek after all.
What I noticed first was that I felt better overall. I didn’t feel as sluggish, my headaches receded and my inflammation reduced. I was sleeping better, not waking as often.
Then I stumbled upon a book called Fiber Fueled.
Fiber Fueled is written by a Gastroenterologist who understands the FODMAP. Frank suffers from FODMAP eating issues so it was good to read it and understand what the heck he had going on and what he should eat and what he might want to stay away from. And it is a whole-foods, plant based approach. Now I was teetering. That’s when I stumbled upon documentary #2 (3, 4 & 5).
What the Health
I don’t recommend stopping in to watch it unless you’re ready to have your eyes opened to some unpleasant stats. For one, the power of money and influence in the food industry.
I am a breast cancer survivor. That always feels a little strange to say, because we caught my cancer early and I don’t feel like it was much of a “fight”. We found it, my surgeon removed it, I had some radiation treatment and five+ years later, I am considered out of the danger zone. But none the less, I had cancer, now I do not. And I’d like to keep it that way.
Now, I’m not a push over, and I’m not naïve. I know that documentaries, like news casts, are slanted to prove their point. What the Health pulled the largest, most profound studies on the link between dairy consumption and recurrent breast cancer they could find and then highlighted the correlation. No doubt. But the fact that there may be evidence to this thought? That was enough to set off my spidey senses. What was more disturbing was the fact that one of the largest contributors to the Susan B. Koman foundation happens to be Dannon Yogurt. Which begs the question — if it is found to be accurate, that there is a link between dairy milk and breast cancer, how quickly is Susan B. going to come out and share that information? Or better yet, drop one of their largest sponsors?
Dairy is a tough one for me.
I used to think being raised in Chicago on pizza and cheese fries is why I couldn’t put down the cheese. It turns out that might not be the case. Apparently, cheese has an addictive component in it called casein, which can trigger the brain’s opioid receptors. So, turns out, I was literally addicted. And I realized I was going to have to quit that cold turkey. And go figure, it took me about 3 weeks before I finally was able to leave it behind.
And finally, my latest endeavor has led me to a really interesting book called, “How Not to Die”. Catchy, right?
In his book, Dr, Greger explores 15 top diseases which have been shown to be potentially improved, reversed or avoided altogether through plant-based eating. A few of which are breast cancer, heart disease and brain disease (Alzheimer’s, etc.). Alzheimer’s runs in my family, heavy on my mother’s side. Heart disease on my father’s side.
I figure if I should do what is in my power to combat the genetic lottery I am pulling from.
So here we are 2024, and I have slowly made my way from adding more vegetables to adopting a Mediterranean style diet, to pescatarian, to last week when I just went ahead and pulled the plug. I have adopted a whole-foods, plant-based diet.
And I am loving life.
Inflammation – gone, stomach issues – gone, acid reflux – gone. Cheese addiction, seems to be under control as I’m not even craving it anymore.
The other craziness is that I am a life-long night eater. Something about the end of the day, post-7pm that was my routine. I’d get up and mindlessly search for quick fix foods. Chips, cheese, graham crackers, sugar, salt, in whatever combination was quick. And then once in hand, I would mindlessly eat until I finally fell asleep or went to bed. And that behavior has caused me to regain almost 35 pounds from my lowest weight post-WLS in 2017. Not fun at all.
Since going green again, my fiber intake is much higher and my satiation level is at an all-time high as well. And my night snacking, has literally halted. I am so happily satisfied that I’m not even thinking about food past 7p, and when I have, an orange or a few carrots with hummus has done the trick. No more mindless eating.
And I’m not exhausted come night time. I still have some mental capacity and energy left at the end of the day, which has been a nice bonus.
Oh, and I am down 7 pounds. That’s a good start on the journey to regaining my health.
Questions? Fire away. I’m learning as I go, but at least we have resource options these days.
Thanks for following along as I happily go Green again.
Shrinking Shay 