Upon finishing "The China Study", it became obvious to me that my dearest friend lost her battle to cancer much more rapidly due to various dietary factors that came to pass as her disease progressed. Not least among these factors was her inability to consume enough of a whole foods, plant based diet to keep her strong. Ultimately, the doctors put her on intravenous and tube feedings. She was use to eating a nutritious diet and they could not put that in the tube. Her cancer thrived and her body failed. I knew there had to be a way to fully nourish a person with no appetite and I began a search for a whole food supplement. I believe I may have found one, Juice Plus.

There are three formulas made by this company: Garden Blend which is made from 10 vegetables and grains, Orchard Blend which is made from 7 fruits and a vineyard blend which is made from berries. All these fruits and vegetables are tested to ensure that no pesticides, herbicides or other contaminants are introduced.

The fruits and vegetables are juiced and the juices are then concentrated into powders using a low-temperature process that is unique to this company. The products contain no corn, yeast, wheat, egg and no milk products. They are also low in sodium, sugar and calories.

This product is backed by numerous scientific studies that were conducted specifically on Juice Plus. The great majority of these tests are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. (The gold standard of testing) These studies investigate cell health, endothelial function, exercise related muscle fatigue, oxidation in healthy adults and more.

There are always downsides to any supplementation. Whole foods work together, in ways that research may never be able to discover, to keep us at our optimal level of health. You may be over-nourishing your body and as a consequence passing much of the supplement straight through your body and then out in your urine. As a consumer, it is impossible to tell what is missing from the product or missing from the label of the product that could prove detrimental to your health. Last but not least, supplements can be expensive.

"What does the science say?"

I went to a conference April 21st through the 25th to research Juice Plus. I had read the literature, gone to the website and watched the videos, but I had some questions and a few reservations, not any more.

My questions were:

Is there nutritional damage when the juices are heated and dehydrated?

Juice Plus uses a proprietary low-temperature process. While there is great debate about heating foods, for me, the nutritional difference of heating food in this product is not the issue. Transporting food from the fields has an effect, time of harvest has an effect, cleansing and peeling has an effect. I think I have learned to stay more centered and keep to the task at hand, which is fully nourishing my body with a whole foods, plant based diet. This product gives me 17 fruits and vegetables each day plus berries if I add the Vineyard product. I could not keep on hand that amount of produce and use it before I experienced some spoilage and nutritional deterioration. I also travel often and find that my selections of food can become limited. Juice Plus will be my health insurance each day to round out my intake.

Does it contain sugar?

Juice Plus capsules contain the sugar that is in the food. The capsules contain no added sugar. There is a chewable product that does in fact contain the equivalent of 1 sugar packet per 4 chewables. 4 chewables is the recommended level of consumption each day. Personally, I will take the capsules because this is an unacceptable level of sugar for me. For children, who would most likely wash this down with a Gatorade or worse, any vehicle that can be used to get that many fruits and vegetables in them would be a major step toward wellness.

And the most important question-What does the science say?

Juice Plus has more than 17 peer-reviewed, gold standard clinical studies. These studies include, but are not limited to oxidative stress, bioavailablity, brachial artery reactivity, homocysteine levels and DNA protection.

https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Home.soa?site=ss43399

My personal conclusion is that I need to take Juice Plus everyday. This is based upon what I learned to receive my Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition, at the conference and then I coupled that with my nutritional realities. I am so convinced that I have signed up as a distributor to help my nutritionally challenged family and loved ones.

Environmental Benefits or WTH Al Gore! How did you forget to mention these statistics?

A little segue into environmentalism:

I am in the midst of the last class I will need to get my certification in Plant Based Nutrition. I read a few facts today as I did some research for a paper I need to write about food production and environmental concerns. Let me share them with you:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO) attributes 18% of worldwide greenhouse gases to the production and consumption of livestock. This is a greater percentage of GHGs than those produced worldwide by all the cars, trucks, buses, trains, and planes combined.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment

How did Al Gore miss that one? 18%!!

Researchers H Scott Matthews & Christopher Weber at Carnegie Mellson estimate that eliminating meat from your diet one day a week would reduce greenhouse emissions by the equivalent of driving 1000 less miles per year.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f

This is fantastic news for those out in the suburbs and even more so for rural dwellers. Public transportation may not always be an option when you live in the country and need to drive 30 or more miles to work each day, but everyone is capable of going 1 day a week without meat. A nice salad in the summer or thick, hearty veggie and lentil soup in the winter. Good for you, good for the planet!

I know and agree that we should all do our part to cut down the driving, turn down the thermostat and generally be more aware of our impact on the planet. However, I now know that eating a whole foods, plant based diet is not only better for me, it gives me the best chance of having an impact on our planets health.

Too Much Information or How do I not turn into a PITA*

School has begun and I have completed two classes: The Fundamentals of Nutrition and Diseases of Affluence.

First an aside: I LOVE school! I had forgotten how wonderful it is to have someone actually care if you produce, look at what you do and give positive feedback on it when you had to do it anyway! No paycheck EVER felt this good! My eternal gratitude to the teachers who make this happen.

Now back to the blog.

I have no idea where to start, as I said Too Much Information! It is hard to begin, because it is all so important and it can absolutely save and extend lives. How do I deal with that? I have information that can extend and save the lives of people I know, love and care about. It will even help the other people in town, but I digress.

If I am too passionate (aggressive, oppressive, zealous-need I go on?) I drive away my friends before they hear the oh so important details. If I do not share this information, and they get sick or worse, and I feel complicit.

So, I try to strike a balance: I am living on an (almost) fully plant based diet. I do not tell people who invite me over, nor do I sway a restaurant suggestion. This way, I pick and choose among the foods offered. In California, this is very easy. I have not been to an event yet where there was not a large veggie platter and at least one fantastic salad along with a whole grain. As I mentioned in the previous lecture, this is about the big picture and if the salad has cheese, I do not sweat it because I know I am most of the way there and making a more healthful selection. A veggie kabob with a bit of meat-no problem. You get the idea.

I have to say that without the full and enthusiastic support of my husband Joe, none of this would work. In fact, I often find that it is his enthusiasm that opens the door for me to talk about what I am learning.

So now our challenge is What to Eat? I have been testing many recipes and Joe has been experimenting with the bounty of vegetables that we bring home from our local farmer's market each Saturday. We have had some great meals! To the point that one of my sons asked for a recipe we made while he was home for Spring Break. SUCCESS!

So let's talk fundamentals. Drilled down to its most basic, this diet is: Eat all parts of the plant and all colors of the rainbow everyday. So some leaves, some roots, some flowers, some red, some yellow, some orange or purple and some green. Easy enough, right?

Joe and I found some challenges and so many questions as we started this journey. I hope to help you navigate this road without having to rediscover the things we have uncovered. I will be posting recipes and also events in the SF Bay Area where we can further our education about the benefits of a whole food, plant based diet.

*PITA - Pain In The A**

The China Study

So, the name does not do justice to this book. This is an owners manual to feeding the human body, with the scientific proof as to how and why it works. This should be required reading in every high school in the country. Not an easy read, but it is written in plain enough english that it is completely comprehensible. And when it began to sink in I was awed.

First, the recommendation: Eat real food. Simple as that. Now this is not a vegan diet, with soy dogs, pasta, cheese substitutes and veggies crumbles. This is a plant based diet where the food should be recognizable as it came from the plant when you buy it. The target is to get below 10% animal protein in your diet. Better yet, below 5%, and if you have one of the diseases of affluence, down close to zero. A vegan, plant based diet would be ideal. In following this way of eating, a bowl of fresh vegetables simmered in chicken stock would be preferred over a bowl of pasta. Don't sweat the small stuff, just eat real food. Humans can get all essential nutrition from a whole food, plant based diet. This diet is rich in antioxidants that are not available in animal based foods and it is also high in dietary fiber that binds to toxins and unwanted acids in the intestine to whisk them away. However, a plant based diet is missing one thing-cholesterol. Cholesterol is not essential in the human diet and in fact it is down right mischievous in the human body.

In an nutshell, the standard American "Healthy" Diet that is recommended by a good majority of our health profession is killing us, literally. This study, which takes place over many, many years and records a massive amount of data, found that diseases of affluence rise in a population as the consumption of animal protein increases. It also found that these same diseases can be halted and even reversed when animal protein and sugar are removed from the diet. What are the diseases of affluence? Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. YES! You read that correctly. In this study, the above diseases were halted and even reversed by diet. WHY IS THIS NOT ON THE FRONT OF EVERY NEWSPAPER IN THE COUNTRY!!!!

Well, there are many factors here:

Doctors have a mere 8 years to learn everything about the human body and so nutrition is not always heavy in the course load.

A doctor must follow a treatment plan that can be controlled. Your medicine intake can be controlled and monitored accurately by you doctor, your eating habits cannot. Your doctor can't always wait to see if you will change your habits-it could be disastrous in many cases.

Our government heavily subsidizes many agricultural concerns and several of our government agencies that watch over our food supply and its human value, were started to promote food. The USDA states in its Strategic Framework that it is responsible for expanding markets for our agriculture, among other activities that put it at odds with telling us to drop meat and dairy.

And so, now that I have this knowledge, what do I do? I have three first hand experiences, that again, prove the merit of these claims. I have always felt better when I ate a diet heavy in whole foods. I have a freaking freezer full of grass-fed beef! So-baby steps.

At the end of "The China Study", there is information on attending eCornell and receiving a Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition. I decided that I needed more knowledge on the science, and this became baby step number 1.

Begin at the Beginning or The Omnivore's Dilemma Created One for Me

So innocently, I purchased and brought home my book club selection. Such a small act. Such an unassuming book. I began to read it with the mild interest that I take in all books at the beginning. I have an open mind and I want to fall in love. I found it hard-I found it challenging. Was I really so asleep to what I was shoving in my mouth each day? I try to be an educated consumer. I try to feed my family nutritious meals. I buy organic (sometimes), I read labels (sometimes), but I had gotten tired of putting meals on the table day in and day out that always seemed to have something, someone disliked. I had gotten lazy and complacent and this book would not let me hide from that. Crap!

Now what? Now that I knew. How had this happened? I used to be such a health nut! I used to be aware of everything I put in my mouth. I used to think of food so differently. I actually had a spreadsheet on my fridge when I was pregnant to make sure that I ate the proper nutrients each day, No lie-ask Joe.

Well-no matter how it happened, this was something I could correct. We have a fantastic farmers market in Pleasanton year round. I live less than 15 minutes from Whole Foods and Raley's has a great organic food section. Joe and I began walking to the Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We talked to the vendors. We found a meat vendor and did the research. Holding Ranch- at our own market each Saturday -sells grass fed meat raised humanely in a sustainable manner! Eureka! We had hit the mother lode. We stocked up each week and also had Holding bring us a quarter of a cow.

Well-this food is good! The meat is fantastic, the veggies and the fruit taste like veggies and fruit! The eggs are fresh, the cheese....I could go on all day. I felt fantastic. Less than 3 months from finishing this book, I was feeding my family healthy food!

Then a month or so later, I ran into my good friend, John Perez at Safeway. He was a personal trainer for our family for many years. He and his lovely partner, Kristi are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of health: Mind, body and soul. Their business, Body Balance, cares for the whole of their client, and so we are friends many years after we have ceased to be clients. I was so proud to tell John that our family was back on track nutritionally. "That is fantastic!", John exclaimed. "I am so glad for all of you and proud of the changes you have made!" We continued to talk in the aisles and I invited John to dinner. Well, he had to confess. He had just read a book (sound familiar?) and it had changed his mind about the way he was eating. "Get The China Study.", he tells me.

So innocently, I purchased and brought home my book......

Dedication

Typing these first few words feel like stepping off a cliff. Is there a ledge? Am I tied in? Is anyone out there? I am praying that I will have the dedication to follow through and blog about my quest to a new way of healthy living.

However, as I begin to write this, I realize that the dedication I want will come from those I would dedicate this study to:

1)Lori-Everyone has a friend like Lori. Smart, pretty, driven. The kind of friend who asks a question and then really listens to your answer. The kind of friend who asks questions to make you think. The kind of friend who believes in you and makes you believe in yourself. Lori invited me to join a book club. She assembled a diverse and fascinating group of people and we read a wide range of books. One selection, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" set the stage for my quest.

2)Susan-We were "The Susans"-but no more. Cancer took this beautiful, kind, caring woman from her family and friends at the age of 49. Susan did everything right-exercise, nutrition, a loving family, a large community of friends who loved her, exemplary medical care. She had the odds in her favor, and yet she is gone. What did we miss that would have made a difference?

3)Amy-Our boys played soccer together in the early 1990's and we have been friends ever since. Amy and her family have a faith in God that is awesome. Her son was diagnosed with cancer in late 2008. The medical community was unclear with a treatment plan and the prognosis was not good. Through research and prayer, Amy found a diet that has lead to a 75% reduction in her son's tumor. Her journey has greatly contributed to my faith in God and all that He provides for us.

4)Ryan, Andrew and Kevin-My boys. I would love to find a way of living and eating that gives them control over their medical destiny so they can live long, healthy, disease free lives.

5)Joe-My ever so patient husband who stands by me through my ups and downs while I try to find the balance here. Joe bought 1/4 of a cow because I am convicted it is so important to eat grass fed meat raised on a ranch dedicated to sustainable farming. He did not even raise an eyebrow when, two weeks later when I told him that we needed to drop protein intake to less than 10% of our diet. He is a great cook, loves food adventures and has been not only a great sport, but interested in learning about all this along with me.

And so the dedication will come, not from me, but from God, as I try to honor those who have served as the inspiration for this journey.