For instance: The New York Times revealed, “the sugar industry funded research the 1960's to downplay the link between sugar and heart disease and promote fat as the culprit instead”. In 2015, the New York Times exposed the cozy relationship with Coca-Cola-sponsored researchers who were conducting studies aimed at minimizing the effects of sugary drinks on obesity, according to JAMA.
A growing body of Americans are witnessing a societal transformation: a shift in the collective dietary consciousness of an obese, sickly, angry America. Changing their perception of today’s food, many seniors are transcending weapons-grade food-like substances and reconnecting to earth’s verdant plant-based pharmacy, just like our ancestors. Watchful, albeit confused consumers are increasingly wary of GMO foods, agrichemicals, food colorings, preservatives, and fluoridated water. One day coffee is bad, the next day it lengthens life. Or, coconut oil is a miracle longevity food, the next day it’s branded pure poison. Then there’s’ the Paleo, South Beach, Zone, Atkins, Mediterranean, the celery juice craze, and Rawist all soap boxing their diet is best.
Poor diet fuels disease and death: The NIH National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute (NHBLI) published data revealing nearly half of all deaths from heart and metabolic diseases — including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke — were linked to substandard eating habits. The Standard American Diet (SAD) and food industry-policed, corporate food pyramid society was encouraged to follow has caused endless, preventable suffering from chronic mental and physical disease (JAMA). The SAD however, is being widely abandoned for a plant-based diet and lifestyle.
Vitamin deficiency can result from failure to eat enough, or failure to choose the right kinds of foods. Eating fresh produce from family gardens or proliferating farmer’s markets makes us feel alive and energetic head to toe. Daily plant food consumption prevents us from suffering many chronic diseases and overall health maladies.
"I know of nothing else in medicine that can come close to what a plant-based diet can do. In theory, if everyone were to adopt this, I really believe we can cut health care costs by seventy to eighty percent. That's amazing. And it all comes from understanding nutrition, applying nutrition, and just watching the results." ~ T. Colin Campbell
After 100 years, many Americans are reconnecting to the earthly garden of original wholeness and health many used for many millennia as food and medicine: The community farmer’s market. Up until the Industrial Revolution, our ancestors practiced naturopathy: earth’s plant medicine. The Industrial Revolution uprooted us from the garden and tossed society like dirt clogs into the compost pile of nutritional unrighteousness, fake processed food, resulting in today’s illnesses of vitamin deficiency. Disease rates took off like they were shot from garden sprinklers.
It’s said one of many secrets to successfully living is handling changes that come our way, not becoming too comfortable in behaviors that incubate and perpetuate disease. Even if we detest it, change is an inevitable part of life. It’s about fertilizing the seeds of a quality late life by adopting a plant-based lifestyle, exercise and a positive outlook.
It can safely be concluded the perfect human diet is really a lifestyle. A panel of allopathic doctors from Indiana University Medical School recently shared info on the rapidly evolving field of Lifestyle Medicine: the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, meditation, 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 in old age. lifestylemedicine.org
Seniors and all ages can exercise critical thinking: disciplined, clear, rational, open-minded and informed by scientific evidence regarding emerging truths; not to indulge what clearly hasn’t worked. Small changes, even this late stage in the game, can offer more quality years of health and happiness. Say goodbye to dead food and hello to community farmer markets abundant with the plant-based diet / medicine our ancestors used for many millennia. No one diet or food craze is going to cure our ills. Eating the large variety of wholesome plant-based vitamin and fiber nourishment from earth’s garden, exercise, and meditation practices, not a silver bullet fad, is the secret of living a healthy late life.
Truth is, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." ~ Albert Einstein