Plant-Based Diets Could Save Your Life
What would you do if I told you a lifestyle choice could potentiate your life and enhance the time you have with your loved ones?
What if a single dietary pattern could slow down the progression of some disease processes and help get you off your current medication regime?
If you are saying to yourself, “This clown is nuts if he thinks I could come off the medication I have been on for years.”
Well, honestly, the answer is yes it really could.
Let me explain, there is no “miracle” diet out there, but this has LOTS of science backing the success. Also, let me clarify and say that you should not start eating a salad every day then expect to come off of a potentially life-saving blood pressure medication.
That couldn’t be further from the truth and much research and dedication need to go into this lifestyle choice.
There are bountiful amounts of scientific articles that show adults over 50 tend to lose lean muscle mass at a gradual rate because of the reduced amounts of protein in their diet.
Additionally, having lean muscle mass allows the individual to lead active lifestyles with minimal aches and pains.
This means there will be an increase in blood and nutrients to the joint spaces, brain, and micro vascularization (small blood vessels) that will improve the inner workings of the body to maximize overall wellness.
Remember, wellness isn’t only an external fixation, we need to focus on the internal as well.
On top of the improved benefits, it has for lean muscle mass, the increase in plant-based foods increase our fiber intake. Recently, an increase in fiber has shown copious health benefits for the intestines and, believe it or not, our cardiovascular health.
Let’s look a step further and I will provide a real-world experience that hits very close to home for me.
My father has stage 4 chronic kidney disease. This means his glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is about 29. This measurement is used to categorize and grade how severe someone’s kidney disease is. The normal is anything above 60.
So this paints an already grim picture and my father had the infamous “talk” with his kidney doctor about potentially starting dialysis.
As everyone knows, dialysis is a very large burden for any individual and restricts a large portion of their lives. Individuals lose their independence by having to sit in a chair while a machine filters their blood for 3–4 hours 3 days a week.
On top of that, there are bountiful complications that can arise and it is something my father wanted to prevent for as long as possible.
Understandably so.
Just to give you a little more information regarding my Dad. He has always been stubborn in the dietary realm and ate pretty much whatever he wished. This lifelong choice presented him with a heart attack at age 61. He has a clot in his Left Anterior Descending (LAD) which is often termed the “widowmaker” for obvious reasons.
One would assume that after such an eye-opening experience, they would do whatever they could to improve their health and prevent another heart attack from happening. Like anything, a momentary scare only had a partial impact on my father’s outlook on his diet.
I have literally been BEGGING him for years to change his habits and improve his health for the sake of his children and grandchildren. He would humor me for a few months at a time then slowly fall back into his normal habits. That was until the “talk” with his doctor occurred.
The talk with his kidney doctor seemed to have scared him straight! His doctor recommended he eliminate all animal protein, as this is harder for the kidneys to filter, and 100% commit to a plant-based diet.
For whatever reason, this time it stuck with my Dad.
He knew his options were limited and he has been going strong with a plant-based diet for 9 months. In that time frame- his GFR went from 29 to 38. That is no coincidence. That is a 100% correlation related to his dietary changes.
This is INCREDIBLE news!
By no means is he cured, but he has stopped the progression of a highly progressive disease process, all by changing his dietary choices.
Can you imagine what could have occurred if he started this YEARS ago??!!
I am happy to report that my Dad continues to stay strong with his newfound dietary habits and has been experiencing remarkable improvements in his blood pressure and kidney function.
Let me emphasize that NO MEDICATION CHANGES occurred from when his diet habits changed. I feel like that statement speaks bounds.
Clearly, not every person reacts the same way. That’s why it is important to take accountability, speak to your trusted physician, and supplement your knowledge by seeking well-documented experiences and professionals.
My Dad would always say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
The proof is in the pudding.
Take charge of your dietary situation and prevent health complications from occurring down the road and improve your quality of life!
What are you waiting for??
