Be Well
Be Well
Professional Therapy
Self-care is how you take your power back.
~ Lalah Delia
Plants Heal and you have a right to know just how profound a whole-foods-plant-based dietary lifestyle is for optimal wellness.
I'm here to help serve as a resource so you can take your power back!
I've compiled several links that have played some part in my transition (or the transition of others) from a sick-care customer based lifestyle to an empowered self-care and wellness based lifestyle. The positive changes I've experienced because of my plant-based diet sparked a passion to learn more which led me to pursuing a Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition (eCornell) and a Culinary Rx Certificate of Completion (Rouxbe Online Cooking School).
There are a lot more links, books, videos, suggested documentaries, TED talks, and resources not listed, but I've done my best to compile a firm, comprehensive starting point for anyone ready for self-empowerment.
Please take the time to review, click on the links, watch the movie trailers, do your own research.
There is much to unlearn.
"I continue to be amazed by our bodies' ability for self-repair. ... Our bodies want to be healthy, if we would just let them. That's what these new research articles are showing: Even after years of beating yourself up with a horrible diet, your body can reverse the damage, open back up the arteries-even reverse the progression of some cancers. Amazing! So it's never too late to start exercising, never too late to stop smoking and never too late to start eating healthier."
This first video covers the top killers in the U.S. (Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, etc.) and displays the research that supports the conclusion in that diet choice is our number one contributor to preventable disease. (It's about an hour long so grab a snack - I promise it'll be more interesting and informative than any health class you've ever taken in school.)
> VideoFood as Medicine: Preventing & Treating the Most Dreaded Diseases with Diet - Dr. Michael Greger (1hr14min)
No time? Here's the CliffsNotes!
> Video How Not to Die : An Animated Summary - Dr. Michael Greger (8min)
A growing number of physicians and other healthcare professionals who have pursued information beyond the standard Western Medicine approach to healthcare (meaning beyond pills & surgery) have recognized just how powerful our daily habits are as a vital part of sick-care prevention and they are including Lifestyle Medicine in their practices. Our actions are so powerful, actually, that embracing mindful wellness-based decision making is now a whole branch of medicine. And it's gaining momentum.
"Why is Lifestyle Medicine Essential to Sustainable Health and Healthcare?
The rise in chronic disease trends and related healthcare spending in the United State and in many other countries around the world is unsustainable. Type 2 diabetes alone is a looming global pandemic with incalculable consequences.
This being said, there is good news.
The good news is that
80% or more of all healthcare spending in the U.S. is tied to the treatment of conditions rooted in poor lifestyle choices.
Chronic diseases and conditions—such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, multiple types of cancer—are among the most common, costly and preventable of all health conditions." (from lifestylemedicine.org)
> Video Lifestyle Medicine : Treating the Cause of Disease (NutritionFacts.org)
This kind of holistic approach to wellness and disease prevention is not for everyone. Technically, it is, but realistically, it's only for those who are ready to be a Do-er. You must decide that your wellness is worth some (or a lot) of healthful lifestyle adjustments.
Are you serious about changing your life? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
"Health" is the absence of dis-ease but "Wellness" is the state of being in good health - which, to me, includes all aspects of our Self getting proper support for optimal healing. Our Physical, Mental, Emotional, & Spiritual Selves must all be nourished and balanced to support overall wellness. Your health is heavily influenced by your behaviors, habits and choices. YOU have way more power over your health and wellness than you have probably ever been told.
I was caught in the sick-care system for a number of years and I liberated myself from an endless cycle of pills because I made the choice to take my own health & healing into my own hands. You can read my complete story here.
Our day to day choices - dietary decision making, mental attitude, how we move our bodies, how we feed our souls, self-love & natural healing therapies - hold more influence on disease and illness than the standard physician is ever taught to recognize. Your food choices dictate most of your health journey.
Lifestyle Medicine saved my life, my quality of life, and in part, my marriage; and I had to discover it for myself. These lifestyle changes have been so empowering and life-altering (for both myself and my husband) that I feel I have a moral and ethical obligation to make this information available to everyone.
May your hunger for change be greater than your complacency to stay the same.
Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
Websites Everyone Should Be Familiar With
"The Physicians Committee is leading a revolution in medicine—putting a new focus on health and compassion. The Physicians Committee combines the clout and expertise of more than 12,000 physicians with the dedicated actions of more than 175,000 members across the United States and around the world.
Our efforts are dramatically changing the way doctors treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer. By putting prevention over pills, doctors are empowering their patients to take control of their own health.
And we are also building a new way of viewing research. Since 1985, the Physicians Committee has been working tirelessly for alternatives to the use of animals in medical education and research and advocating for more effective scientific methods.
Our staff of physicians, dietitians, and scientists is working with policymakers, industry, the medical community, the media, and the public to create a better future for people and animals."
I'm ready - take me to the 21-day Vegan Kickstart Program
"NUTRITIONFACTS.ORG is a strictly non-commercial, science-based public service provided by Dr. Michael Greger, providing free updates on the latest in nutrition research via bite-sized videos. There are more than a thousand videos on nearly every aspect of healthy eating, with new videos and articles uploaded every day. NutritionFacts.org was launched with seed money and support by the Jesse & Julie Rasch Foundation. Incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit charity, NutritionFacts.org now relies on individual donors to keep the site alive and thriving.
NutritionFacts.org is a proud member of the True Health Initiative, a global voice for lifestyle as medicine."
>> several recommended videos from this series are listed below
"What does it mean to live a good life? Is it a life lived as healthy as possible? As energetically as possible? As “alive” as possible? At the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, we believe it is all these things. A life lived with less uncertainty about maintaining health and more focus on building happiness – enjoying our work, our leisure, and our loved ones to the fullest.
We call this living a whole life — a life scientifically proven to be achieved by doing a very simple thing: understanding and implementing a whole food, plant-based diet.
Our society is at a critical crossroads. Accepted norms and business interests are at odds with scientific discovery. The work we do strives to educate and awaken as many minds as possible, so that collectively we may choose the wiser path – one of whole nutrition, leading to whole health, and allowing us to live stronger, healthier, happier lives. Whole lives."
"What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. With heart disease and cancer the leading causes of death in America, and diabetes at an all-time high, the film reveals possibly the largest health cover-up of our time. With the help of medical doctors, researchers, and consumer advocates, What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.Join Kip as he tracks down the leading and most trusted American health nonprofits to find out why these groups are staying silent, despite a growing body of evidence. Audiences will be shocked to learn the insidious roles played by pharmaceutical companies, agribusiness, and processed animal food companies in the nation’s health, especially in the most vulnerable communities, and will cheer at the transformation and recovery of those who took their lives into their own hands.What The Health is a surprising, and at times hilarious, investigative documentary that will be an eye-opener for everyone concerned about our nation’s health and how big business influences it."
"Lifestyle Medicine involves the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substance use, and other non-drug modalities, to prevent, treat, and, oftentimes, reverse the lifestyle-related, chronic disease that's all too prevalent."
"Veganism is not about giving anything up or losing anything; it is about gaining the peace within yourself that comes from embracing nonviolence and refusing to participate in the exploitation of the vulnerable." - Gary L. Francione
7. Challenge 22
"Are you ready for the Challenge? Join thousands of participants for a 22-day vegan experience. You'll receive fabulous recipes and personal guidance from our mentors and clinical dietitians."
8. Kenkakshen Meals (meal prep for Las Vegas locals)
9. Las Vegas Health Save - this is a local branch of the international HEALTH SAVE group which is a branch of the SAVE MOVEMENT Organization. I am the organizer for this local group. I run the social media (Instagram & Facebook give us a "follow" or a "like") offering followers information regarding healthy plant based recipes, wellness & disease information, suggested podcasts, testimonials, self empowerment, and community events. From time to time I offer live cooking demos from my kitchen and at community events.
LAS VEGAS residents & visitors
We have SO MANY VEGAN RESTAURANTS!!!
More Handy Resources
Plant Based on a Budget (Free Meal Plans)
It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken : 35 Vegan Recipes for Kids
The Vegan Society : Eating for Life Stages (from Pregnancy & prenatal through senior citizen)
Forks Over Knives : Beginner's Guide to a Plant Based Diet
PCRM : Six Reasons Athletes Are Running Toward a Vegan Diet
Veebles - Vegan business database - Find and support Vegan businesses
4. Food Matters
5. Food Choices
8. Food, Inc
9. Vegucated
11. Cowspiracy
12. Seaspiracy (full film- 14min)
13. Blackfish
15. Earthlings
17. The Game Changers
18. The Invisible Vegan
Films to Change Your Life
Click Film name to view trailer
> Video Resolving the Health Care Crisis - Dr. T. Colin Campbell
> Video The Food We Were Born to Eat - Dr. John McDougall
> Video Food as Medicine - Dr. Michael Greger
> Video Animal Protein vs. Plant Protein
- Dr. Garth Davis
> Video The Power of Plant-Based Eating
- Dr. Joanne Kong
> Video Best Speech You Will Ever Hear – Gary Yourofsky
> Video Global Depletion, Sustainability, and Food Choice – Dr. Richard A. Oppenlander
> Video The Secret Reason We Eat Meat – Dr. Melanie Joy
> Video This Speech is Your Wake-Up Call – James Aspey
> Video Tackling Diabetes with a bold new dietary approach - Dr. Neal Barnard
> Video Making Heart Attacks History - Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn
> Video I Love Nutrition Science - Dr. Joel Fuhrman
> Video Plant-Strong & Healthy Living - Rip Esselstyn
> Video Evolving Through Mindfulness - Monica Ortiz
> Video From Excuse-itarian to Vegan - Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Nutrition Facts.org Videos
By far the best sight for accurate, scientifically supported, peer-reviewed information on nutrition & it's relationship to disease.
> Video How Not to Die : An Animated Summary
>Video The Protein Combining Myth
>Video Is Cheese Really Bad for You?
>Video Who Says Eggs Aren't Healthy or Safe?
> Video How Do We Know that Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease?
> Video Dietary Cholesterol & Cancer
> Video The McGovern Report
>Video How to Avoid Lectin Poisoning
>Video Is Soy Healthy for Breast Cancer Survivors?
>Video The Most Potent Phytoestrogeen is in Beer
YouTube Channels
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
The Whole Foods Plant Based Cooking Show w/ Jill (not me)
Cheap Lazy Vegan (food prep, recipes)
Online Tools for Mental Clarity & Centering
Books Available to Borrow from my Library
How Not to Die - Dr. Michael Greger
Proteinaholic : How our Obsession with Meat is Killing Us and What We can Do About it - Dr. Garth Davis
The China Study – Dr. T. Colin Campbell & Dr. Thomas M. Campbell
The Campbell Plan - Dr. Thomas Campbell
The Cheese Trap – Dr. Neal Barnard
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease – Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr.
The Starch Solution – Dr. John McDougall
Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes - Dr. Neal Barnard
The 80/10/10 Diet - Dr. Douglas Graham
Thrive : the Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life - Brendan Brazier
The Blue Zones : 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the people who've lived the longest - Dan Buettner
Meatonomics – David Robinson Simon
Eat to Live – Dr. Joel Fuhrman
Green is the New Red: An Insider’s account of a Social Movement Under Siege – Will Potter
Eating Animals – Jonathan Safran Foer
Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat – Howard Lyman
Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect, and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry – Gail A. Eisnitz
Comfortably Unaware: What W Choose to Eat is Killing Us and Our Planet – Dr. Richard A. Oppenlander
Whole - Dr. T. Colin Campbell
What a Fish Knows - Jonathan Balcombe
Project Animal Farm - Sonia Faruqi
The Sustainability Secret : Rethinking our Diet to Transform the World -
K. Andersen & K. Kuhn
The Face on Your Plate : the Truth about Food - Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
Other Books worth Checking Out
Diet for a New America – John Robbins
The World Peace Diet – Will Tuttle
Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet – Dr. Michael Klaper
The McDougall Program : 12 Days to Dynamic Health – Dr. John McDougall
Power Foods for the Brain – Dr. Neal Barnard
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows – Dr. Melanie Joy
Animal Liberation – Peter Singer
