5 Years Vegan

I thought it was time for an update. This has been an interesting journey.  Previous blog posts have charted it.

Last June, I had blood work done. I was vegan four and a half years, but I was eating a lot of vegan junk food, and my weight had crept up. To my horror, my cholesterol was again high, and so was my blood pressure. I am testing my doctors’ patience about taking a statin.

So I had a harsh conversation with myself. I am 66 years old. No longer young. If I am going to take care of myself, now is the time.

So I tuned up my diet. What I mean by that is that I went for the Whole Food, Plant Based way of eating. No more vegan junk food. Along with that, I ditched salt AND oil. No more oil.

We are now mid-September. I’ve been WFPB 3 months. I have lost the 20 pounds that sneaked up on me over the past few years. My blood pressure is nice and low and I am off the medication I’d been taking for five years. My cholesterol is also back down. All my numbers are good. I have great energy.

But I want to say a word about oil.  I can eat almost a POUND of potatoes for the calories in one tablespoon of olive oil.  What I discovered by cutting out oil is that eating it is completely unnecessary. I substitute applesauce when I bake (even yeast breads), and I saute veg in a couple tablespoons of water.  We enjoy any one of a zillion oil-free salad dressings (Google is your friend). So trust me when I say you will never miss butter, or the vegan equivalent, or olive oil, or anything else greasy.

I feel better than ever. And of course, there are more interesting videos and movies to see. The answers to almost any food issue, backed by actual science (not studies commissioned by the Egg Board, or the Dairy Industry, or Big Pharma) can be found at www.nutritionfacts.org. This is Dr. Greger’s labor of love, with no ads, no sponsors, is run by volunteers, and supported entirely by donations from readers.

I’ve also watched Cowspiracy and What the Health, both extremely important (albeit not without flaws) movies, currently available on Netflix. I continue to refer to, and give away copies of Dr. Greger’s amazing book How Not to Die.

I’m sorry I have come to this way of life so late. But better late than never.

I wish you the best of health.

P.S. Edited to add: I’m not perfect, my eating is not perfect. For example, as soon as I posted this, I ate a garden-fresh tomato from my own organic garden (I don’t buy tomatoes at the store because I can taste the chemicals), on a piece of whole grain bread, with a tablespoon of Veganaise (thinly-disguised oil) and salt and pepper. Life is too short to be so restricted as to miss an exquisite in-season tomato sandwich. Eating out or at friends’ houses can be a challenge, too. I try to stick to my principles without being obnoxious about it.