Four weeks changed my life—and it all began with curiosity.
Here’s how a Whole Food Plant-Based diet (WFPB) transformed not just my plate, but my energy and well-being.
Late April I went to visit Sue, a good friend and amazing cook. She invited 3 other people and threw a ‘master cooking class’. We made a salad of mixed greens, carrot, radicchio, celery; a Moroccan lentil soup packed with zucchini, mushroom, kale, bell peppers, and spices; baked spaghetti squash, and bread. They were beautiful and yummy. Even more amazing, there was no meat, egg, salt, or oil, and nobody missed them.
Sue told me that 4 years ago, she had high cholesterol and the doctor recommended her to take Statins (drug). She didn’t want it. With serendipity, she came across Dr.Greger’s book ‘How not to die’— Discovery the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease. She decided to give it a try.
8 weeks later, she had blood work again and her cholesterol dropped 40 points. Her doctor congratulated her that the drug worked well for her…However, the truth was that she never took it. I was awed by the food and intrigued by her story.
I wondered what it would be for me?
I have good numbers. My cholesterol was 159 last year. The standard says under 200 is normal yet 3 of 4 people with cholesterol between 180 – 220 will die of cardiovascular disease, Sue told me, if you want to become bullet proof from cardiovascular and other diseases, the number to aim for is below 150.
I decided to try WFPB diet myself. I finished the last 5 shrimps in my fridge and started the food experiment on 5/6. My plan was to follow the WFPB diet for 4 weeks then have the blood work, let’s see… Meanwhile, I started reading Dr. Greger’s ‘How not to die’ book, learning various spices and cooking differently, and using Dr.Greger’s free app ‘Daily Dozen’, an easy to use food category daily checklist to help me keep a balanced diet.
In about a week, I started to feel my pants loose. Was it real or my imagination? Later I read from the book and learned that eating beans is an effective way to shrink your waist because beans are dense with protein (more full-feeling and lasting longer than veggie) yet low in calories compared to animal products.
A few days later, I went running and thought of Sue. She mentioned wanting to do her first 5k. I texted her to check-in. She was eager but a bit anxious about the run. She is very active with exercises but not a runner. I offered to be her running buddy and we’ll train together for the race. 2 days later, I drove to her apartment and we cooked, ran, and supercharged with ‘green power’ in the next 10 days leading to the race.
We made e.g. mixed green salad with radicchio, carrot, celery, sesame seeds; sweet potato fries (purple and yellow); kale burger on pita bread and Dave Killer’s 21 whole grains & seeds burger buns, and 3 beans chili.
Every morning we started with a bowl of raw oatmeal with nuts, ground flax/ chia seeds, cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa powder, wheat germ, berries/ fruits, and plant-based milk and Dr. Greger’s super drink, blended beets, mixed baby spinach/ kale/ arugula, celery, turmeric, carrot, pippali (Indian long pepper), and horse radish.
I’m a regular runner yet in our last practice run, 2 days before the race…men, I’ve never felt I could run this light and fast before. When the track light was shut-off, both Sue and I were disappointed, we wanted to keep going. Also, we felt sharper when thinking and processing information.
On the race day, we enjoyed the sunshine running along a beach then around a nice neighborhood, Sue met her goal—not only completing the 5k but also non-stop. We celebrated with a veggie fruit smoothie and a Persian dinner.
I did blood work the next morning (6/3). I was floored with the result—my cholesterol dropped 30 points to 129 in 4 weeks. It’s at optimum level now. Even better, I had almost no inflammation in my body. Inflammation started all the diseases. I felt great personally, I enjoyed the food & new learning of spices and cooking, and the testing result showed amazing difference. Why go back to meat, fish, dairy, oil, and salt? I decided to continue WFPB diet forward.
I hope my story sparks your curiosity. If you’re interested in exploring a Whole Food Plant-Based lifestyle, here are resources that helped me learn, cook, and experiment.
- Dr. Greger’s foundation website: https://nutritionfacts.org
- Books: How not to die, How not to diet, and How not to age
- Cook books: How not to die, How not to diet, and How not to age
- Free app: Daily Dozen, available for iOS and Android
- Dr. Esselstyn’s foundation website: https://esselstynfamilyfoundation.org/
- Prevent and reverse heart disease’ program and cookbook
- Fork over knives: https://www.forksoverknives.com/
- Films and documentaries: Forks over knives, Cowspiracy, Gamechanger, Plant-pure nation, What the health, You are what you eat
Give it a try—you might just transform your health, your energy, and your life.
Four weeks changed mine—and it all began with curiosity!
Note: Dr. Greger, a primary care doctor and Dr. Esselstyn, a cardiologist are world-renown pioneers in WFPB movement. They provide a wealth of information on their websites, such as articles, videos, newsletters, free app, books and cook books. Also, they don’t take corporate sponsorship or sell supplements on their websites so they can stay neutral and share scientific-based, non-biased knowledge about nutrition.