Forks over knives

[sewhappy]

I watched the "Forks over knives" documentary this past weekend (Netflix) and highly recommend it.

For those of you unfamiliar, it presents compelling evidence from some very reputable docs on following a plant based diet.

Many folks here are following some sort of MS "diet" or some weight loss program. Even with their differences, the heart of all of them is increasing consumption of plant based foods and decreasing processed "stuff".

I feel affirmed and committed to stick with my OMS plan by watching and hope that anyone who sees it will at least feel motivated to eat a bit healthier.

[JerryD]

I watched it 3 weeks ago and I have been having a hard time converting my entire life to the vegetarian way. I am trying hard and I will accomplish this goal ( to be vegetarian). I have the 'forks' book beside me on the coffee table and I have the Swank diet book there, also.
Thanks for being there to affirm that this is the way to improved health. We need to have more of the positive on this site regarding the way to eat for health. This site has way too many people who have given their lives to their doctors and the doctors have their limitations. It's only the patient who can make the correct changes. Good Luck

[BigA]

Yes! The FoK diet (I'd bet they love that abbreviation) is more restrictive than the OMS diet. Also the OMS diet necessitates Omega3 supplementation. In theory, it's more attuned to MS than a standard vegan diet.

I'm sure they're all good at allowing the body to heal, but you can eat seafood in OMS and that may do the trick to make it easier. Also, you can eliminate the seafood later if you wish.

[sewhappy]

Jerry, "conversion" will come!

I have been on the OMS plan almost 6 weeks. At the start I allowed myself 3 exceptions to the plan:

1. chicken 2x per wk (simply for convenience as I am the cook for my family of 5)
2. non-fat greek yogurt 2 x per wK (just cause I thought i couldn't live w/o the creaminess and concerned about protein)
3. A sprinkling of fresh parmesan cheese on pasta (just cause I thought I couldn't live w/0 it)

Well, guess what? After 6 wks, the only thing I am still eating of the three is the chicken and as I am thinking about it, haven't had that for 1 wk.

Giving up meat has not been very hard for me. Rather, the dairy was more difficult along with monitoring the oils. On the OMS plan, there is really very little commercially prepared foods you can eat. It took me awhile to realize and accept that.

FoK (haha..hope i don't make a typo on that BigA!) has a great website with recipes. I was in my happy place yesterday watching football (even though my Colts lost)and making Mexican black bean and corn soup and some homemade hummous!

I was just really ready to do something and the time was right. Sounds like you are well informed and on your way.

[BigA]

Sewhappy,

that's really great. I gave up things slowly too. That's what's great. I thought I'd miss cheese more, but I don't. Also, everyone should be clear:

• we do not need to eat meat to get enough protein.

• we do not need to eat dairy to get enough calcium.

That's just good marketing that we all think that. Also, you can get complete nutrition from plant sources if you choose to.

[JerryD]

Thanks a lot sewhappy and BigA,
You 2 are giving me the strength to 'convert'. So, I need to know how this 'veggie way' is changing you. I don't mean to be pressing you, I need to know that if I do this, I will change my physical condition, positively. And not just weight loss. Thanks again, and Good luck

[BigA]

Jerry,

You will feel better. Whether your MS feels better is up to your body. Most people feel more energy, lighter and more in control of their destiny. It's also a big boost to the confidence to pull something like this off, even as people around you try to talk you out of it and trip you up (they tend to feel threatened - that must be a good sign).

the weightloss will come, but as a by-product of health. Good luck - it's not as difficult as you think. If you're near a trader joes, that makes it easier.

[sewhappy]

Jerry,

As far as feeling better in regards to MS, that can take some time. 9 months to several years in fact. However, as BigA stated, you will feel better in general and that will happen fairly quickly.

The OMS plan is holistic in that it focuses on diet, exercise, sunlight(vit D) and meditation. I feel much better emotionally now. I am generally an upbeat person and just keep plowing forward but the last 2 years had taken a toll on me. I feel much more in control now and pleased that I am doing something so positive. Those 5 pounds I dropped certainly don't hurt either !

You have nothing to lose by improving your diet, except perhaps a few pounds. Eating better, increasing your fruits and veggies, eliminating harmful things, etc..can only help your health in general.

(haha...yes, gotta love TJ's!)

[meeegun]

as a side note, dr. swank is dr mcdougall's mentor. i love that documentary.

[lusciousleaves]

Thanks for the recommendation, sewhappy. I love watching all of these documentaries on diet studies or anecdotal improvements like Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. They're so motivating and inspiring. I hope they keep coming out with more of them. Our society needs this type of information, badly.

I watched this movie yesterday after having had some cheese the day before. The stuff is moving through my system like a pressurized log. I can't eat it anymore. It's too painful. This movie gave me even more motivation to cut it out of my diet.

Saw the neuro today, shared with him the progress made so far. My activity level has doubled in the last year and I'm feeling well enough to start adding in some regular exercise. I worked out 3x last week, cardio/strength/PT exercises. He encouraged me to keep doing what I'm doing because things are improving and he felt the impact on everything down the road would be even more significant than it is now.

I have not been religious about diet at all, but have definitely improved things over the previous few years. I fall off the wagon, a lot! BUT, what little I have done has made a difference. It is taking a long time, but it is helping. All of those little baby steps add up. Eventually, I will reach that mile mark and be living this as a lifestyle and not look back.

Very good film. Next on the list is reading the China Study.

[sewhappy]

Yes, I agree, watching and reading things like this is inspiring and helps keep me on track!

I just got the "Forks over knives" cookbook from the library a a few days ago and can't wait to try some new recipes. I also got "The Eat clean diet Vegetarian Cookbook" by Tosca Reno. She does the whole Eat-Clean diet books. I made a pot of minestrone yesterday and it was wonderful! Lots of good things in there as well.

Wow, sounds like you are doing great!! It is always good when the doc says to keep doing what you are doing. I too have been trying to be more vigilant on my exercise. I just joined the Exercise check-in group on this site to help me set goals and post them to be more accountable. So far, it is working well.

Thank you for sharing about the cheese, haha..that is the one thing I miss sometimes but your comment helped me get over it!

We all start w/baby steps and just keep moving forward.

[lusciousleaves]

Lol. Cheese and my digestive system were not made for each other. It's too bad, because I love, love, love dairy. All of it.

My new discovery is the Super Immunity diet by Dr. Fuhrman. Since getting sick is the worst trigger for me and it's flu season again, I thought this could be helpful. Especially since my WBC count dips frequently and antibodies tested low. I keep telling my doc, "If I could just keep from catching things, I might have a shot at getting better."

It's basically a veggie-based diet focused on cooking with the most nutrient dense foods. He throws in odd things that are hard to find, so I've had to order from Amazon to get some weird stuff like chia seed, hemp seed, black rice, and I just replace the currants with dried cherries.

I'm pretty impressed with the recipes I've tried so far. They taste good, are very filling, and loaded with nutrition. Even my husband ate them and liked them. The strawberry spinach salad is amazing!

My doc isn't so sure this is the right approach for me yet, but I do feel quite a bit more energy and focus after a day or two of eating this way. Maybe things will balance out and he can give me the green light to have at it at will.

[sewhappy]

I put Chia seeds in my oatmeal every morning! They are much easier to find now. You have a Trader Joes near you? They carry them as well as Whole foods, but more $. Actually, I think they may also be in the main stream groceries now as well.

Sounds like you are still getting lots of tests, etc..however, eating more plant based is always a good approach no matter the diagnosis.

Makes things easier when your spouse likes the food!

[lusciousleaves]

Trader Joe's is 30 minutes, Whole Foods is 45 minutes. Not so convenient. We basically have a WM or a high end local grocery within a 20 minute range. This is a very, very midwest area and most people don't venture out of their comfort zones diet wise. Any new and exciting restaurant WM is and Aldi's are 5 minutes, so obviously, we hit there for most things.

Hubs is finally coming around to eating better. It was such a battle when we first got together that after about 6 years of trying and hearing complaints, I finally gave in and let them have their junk. I'd do my best to eat healthier, but it was hard doing the job I was and staying nourished without resorting to quick things. My health went downhill fairly quickly after that, and now I've got to build it back up.

I think doc is concerned about increasing my WBC function until they figure out if it's the problem or not. If WBC are malfunctioning and creating abnormal proteins, it may not be a good thing to try and increase the number and function of them. I suspect this is where he's coming from. He said it made sense on the one hand to try this because what I have responded to the steroids, but the response might not have been from decreased inflammation. It might have been another benefit from WBC suppression not inflammation related.

We will see. Let's just say the super immunity diet looks like it worked the two weeks between one test and the last one. And my symptoms have improved. This makes me wonder if the whole thing is dietary.

[lusciousleaves]

There is one thing I noticed about the advocates of this plant based diet in Forks over Knives. They all seem too thin, and they look dry, as if they aren't getting enough fat. Fat is important in our diets. Sure, too much is a bad thing, but so is too little. Do some of these diets have too little fat? This is my main question.