Real health reform is not about your prescription drug plan, it’s about your lifestyle – how you think and live.

Now as someone who lives a PerformanceLifestyle, I am very aware of the various aspects of a balanced and healthy lifestyle and how to apply the various skills needed to stay that way in the relentlessly demanding culture we live in to function and perform “well”. I know how to achieve my goals without trading my health for it as so many people do.

As big part of a PerformanceLifestyle is a plant-based nutrient rich diet; but PerformanceLifestyle is not what this article is about.

This post is about people who have not made the connection between their lifestyle and whether or not they achieve their goals in life in a balanced and healthy way. It’s about people who are caught up in an entirely different conversation of prescription drugs, medicine, and the inevitability of diseases such as diabetes mellitus.

The reason why they are caught up in that conversation is simple; they have no idea that they have significant control of their own health and are towing the country line that says one out of two will diet of cancer, heart disease and diseases like diabetes mellitus because they haven’t yet discovered the power of a plant based diet; just one aspect of a PerformanceLifestyle, albeit one that can dramatically improve your health!

Of course they are also eating a nutrient barren diet filled with refined foods, rich in refined sugar.

I was reading the web this morning and found an article on the Huffington Post called “A Solution for Diabetes: A Plant Based Diet – an article which 5 years ago, or so you would have never scene in the mainstream media, but now, since we are steeped in a discussion of health reform, you are seeing it.

In my opinion, this article is about real health reform and can get you started on the path to not only getting free of diseases such a diabetes mellitus, but creating a lifestyle that delivers a quality of life few experience.

A plant based diet is exactly that; a diet based in plant foods. It may not be 100% food from plants, but the majority of the diet is from nutrient rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, raw nuts and seeds and whole grains and or the endless stream of meals and menus that can be created by the hundreds of foods in these first class food categories.

Here’s and excerpt from the article.

NB: Yes. When people begin a healthful diet, most see big improvements in weight, cholesterol, and their blood sugar. Their need for medications diminishes, and some may not need medications at all. In some cases, you would never know they had had diabetes. However, I caution people not to simply throw their medications away. They need to speak with their doctors so they can alter their medication regimens only when and if it is appropriate.

Let me describe a case: A man named Vance joined our study. His father was dead by age 30, and Vance was 31 when he was diagnosed with diabetes. As our study began, he started a low-fat, vegan diet and gradually lost about 60 pounds over a year’s time. His blood sugar control returned to normal, and his doctor discontinued his medications. Imagine what it feels like to see family members assaulted by this disease, but then to realize that you have effectively tackled it by making healthful adjustments to your diet.

Continue reading…

Read this article; one of the most influential reasons why people start to change their lifestyle is they no longer want to experience diseases of lifestyle like diabetes mellitus and this ends up leading them to  the healthiest lifestyle in the world.

The road often begins with a plant-based nutrient rich diet!

John Allen Mollenhauer

Imagine a cup of broth at night, or a soup or a seasoning, for a salad or any one of a myriad of dishes, and knowing that you weren’t getting a dose of increase-your-blood-pressure sodium that will put you at further risk of disease. Yet, it tasted like you were getting that hit of salt you’ve likely gotten used to while your body was getting a nutrient rich superfood that you loved!

Well, that was yet again, my experience last night when I used DrFuhrman’s VegiZest product – which is the ultimate soup base and seasoning mix.

It was 7:00 PM, I was just sitting down to read a book, but wanted to sip something. At night, I like to go to be satisfied, but not full. So what I did was heat some water, and put in a tablespoon of VegiZest and I had a great broth that was “nutrient rich”. Mmmmm, it was so good.

One of the reasons why I like DrFuhrman’s products products so much, in particular VegiZest, is because he has created the niche products that make eating a Nutrient Rich diet, so “every day” and easy. As I like to say, “simple quick & easy”

In this one cup of vegetable broth, I was actually consuming: green pea, organic spinach, carrots, organic broccoli, organic celery, organic kale, broccoli sprouts, organic soy flour, organic date sugar, organic onion, garlic, spices, green tea, nutritional yeast, canola oil and organic parsley.

* The canola oil is limited and the only allergen was soy, but in extremely limited quantity.

It was in this moment that I realized how content I am eating a nutrient rich diet, and its because of having access to DrFuhrman foods, that I love it all the more. A cup of tea moment like this is very enjoyable, but I knew I was drinking more than a cup of tea. I was practically eating a meal, yet enjoying that “meal” like it was that cup of tea, or “Joe” moment that so many people savor. I woke up this morning with a sense of satisfaction as well because my nutrient needs were met before I went to bed.

Remember, the key to success in a “nutrient rich” PerformanceLifestyle, is knowing how to get the nutrients your body wants and needs to function and perform well, in ever more convenient, tasty and enjoyable ways. This is DrFuhrman’s mantra as he wants to make sure that people can eat for health and get nutrient rich foods into their diet in the same ways they can get the super convenient nutrient poor and nutrient barren foods so many people are accustomed to.

That is why I have been calling this Nutrient Rich diet style the “Simple Quick & Easy” way to eat. It’s not to say I don’t like gourmet, I do, and so do you, but I must admit, I have a bias to being able to refuel and enjoy my food in simple quick and easy ways, as that is the way I eat most of the time… so that bias spills over into the messaging here at NutrientRich.com.

Note: The Nutrient Rich food and Recipe database has gourmet recipe’s as well, but the hallmark to eating Nutrient Rich successfully are the Simple Quick & Easy Recipes, that most people eat 80-90% of the time. People are busy!

Last night was a simple quick and easy moment.

Here’s some info on VegiZest:

Try it out, one canister of VegiZest is only $17.95

Dr Fuhrman also has a similar product called MatoZest.

They’re great tasting, certified organic and kosher. Not only are these extraordinary products nutrient-rich, they are “organic vegetable supplements” that have been painstakingly designed to taste great naturally.

No Sodium (Great Salt Alternative)

Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest is a super-green food supplement with a mild blend of spices.

Dr. Fuhrman’s MatoZest is tomato based with more of a zesty Italian flare featuring sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

You can:

* Flavor all your soups, salad dressings and dips.
* Use alone in hot water as a weight–loss aid and phytochemical food supplement. (this is what I did!)
* Sprinkle on any dish as a seasoning, replacing salt.

The beauty is you get, phytonutrients, amino acids, antioxidants, plant enzymes and trace minerals in these unique products designed to complement your healthy, PerformanceLifestyle.

What’s also good is that MatoZest and VegiZest are “food supplements” as I like to call them because they are not quite whole foods (since they are dehydrated) but they are not necessarily supplements either (since they are all Nutrient Rich food ingredients with countless nutrients across all categories) have been formulated without the addition of possible allergy producing ingredients such as: sugar, starch, salt, honey, lactose, eggs, milk, colors, and fructose. There is some organic soy flour.

Enjoy these healthy additions to your lifestyle.
John Allen Mollenhauer

You see, this picture, that = diabetes. Even with the token grapes on the side!

Recently I had an experience with Dr Fuhrman than once again solidified my certainty that there is no better value for health and nutritional excellence on the entire Internet than DrFuhrman’s Members Support.

Membership Benefits & Join

I was working with a client who has type 2 diabetes who I sent to DrFuhrman’s member site. Here’s some of the dialogue from the member center.

And I might I point out, this advice, which is just the tip of the iceberg and certainly not limited to someone who has diabetes, is less then ten bucks a month. Go and find a doctor of Dr Fuhrman’s caliber who will even know you exist for that, let alone give you life changing answers to your question.

Here was the exchange.

From: Dr. Fuhrman [ Joel Fuhrman M.D]
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 6:08 AM

Hi Cindy,

Yes, I think endocrinologist are dangerous and starting a type two diabetic on insulin when diet and exercise could have lowered the glucose and the weight is malpractice.
Insulin causes weight gain, worsens the diabetes, promotes vulnerable plaque and takes a person at borderline risk if heart attack or stroke and makes them high risk. This has already be demonstrated in various studies to increase death rate. I am so glad you have decided not to take it and to solve the real problem instead. If you made a drastic switch and your glucose skyrocketed, then you did not do what I recommend. That is why I have the member forum, so you can communicate with me to prevent errors and customize the recommendations to your needs to assure success.

In the Ask The Doctor forum, show me what medications you are taking, what exercise you do, voice your concerns there, write out your proposed diet for me to tweak and explain more and let’s get started on the road to becoming non-diabetic. Looking forward to the exciting opportunity to working with you and helping you conquer these health challenges.

Warmly,

Dr Fuhrman

From: Cindy
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 10:12 PM
To: ‘Dr. Fuhrman’
Cc: ‘John Allen Mollenhauer’
Subject: My Diabetes

Dr. Fuhrman:

Do you think that if my endocrinologist thought I would have a heart attack or stroke by starting me on insulin that she ever would have given it to me?

I happen to be a professional writer who has a tremendous desire to research everything. That makes me a very informed consumer/patient. I spent the first 44 years of my life without an ailment and have spent the last 4 years waking up every day in pain and worried about some new condition that has been thrust upon me. Asking for help is, by far, the hardest thing I have ever had to do. So the questions I ask, I do not ask out of idle curiosity. I ask them to gain insight from someone who knows far more than I on the subject, and to better understand a condition or circumstance.

I have opted to stop the insulin because of my unwillingness to be dependent on it and the fear of what it will do to my body. My focus is now 100% on my eating regimen, uncovering what can and will turn my condition around, and making the required changes a permanent part of my life. However, when you have very few good days, a drastic dietary change can only make that situation worse. The last time I made a drastic switch to the diet you recommend, my blood sugar skyrocketed to over 450 and almost put me in the hospital. Thus, my resistance is not a resistance to the change: it is out of fear that I could have a repeat of what happened before – which no one could explain!

Membership Benefits & Join

This exchange, is invaluable, and probably just changed Cindy’s life, you can count on DrFuhrman giving it to you straight. If you haven’t read Eat for Health, today’s your day to start.

John Allen Mollenhauer

I love this article by By Craig Ballantyne. I”ll be doing an interview with Craig in August where we will introduce you to his new Easy Veggie Meal Plans, which will include the 8 raw food smoothies bonus.

By the way, I remember going through the same learning curve years ago!

Here it is.

Smoothies can be heavenly…and they can also be evil for the belly. And I’ve learned a lot about smoothies – or what I prefer to call, “Blender Drinks” – in the last 8 weeks as part of my Veggie Lifestyle.

Here’s some truths about blender drink smoothies…

1) YES, you can add spinach to your blender smoothies and you won’t notice a difference in taste but you will get more nutrients!

You can even add Kale as well.

(And if you have blueberries and strawberries in your smoothie, you won’t even notice a difference in how it looks.)

2) Store-bought pre-made smoothies and the smoothies you buy at “Juice”-places in the mall are PACKED with sugar that will fatten your waistline.

Avoid those at all times!

3) Murphy’s Law applies every time I use a blender.

Just check this video of Craig making a blender drink:

4) You really need a good blender if you are going to be a blender drink maniac like I am…I’m hooked! Two a day!

5) You don’t need to add protein powder. Most people could save a lot of money and never buy a jug of protein ever again.

You don’t need 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, especially if you have some fat to lose.

6) Its really not that hard to clean a blender – and remember, this is coming from one of the laziest guys in the world!

7) You don’t need to add juice to your smoothies. My mom does this, but I don’t see the point. If you have fruit, like bananas, mango, strawberries, or blueberries in your smoothie that’s sweet enough.

(Pineapple also makes for an amazing blender drink addition.)

So add more fruits and vegetables to your diet the smooth way,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, The Lazy Man’s Guide to Vegetarian Eating

PS – Did you get your copy of the 8 raw food smoothies bonus?

Craig is giving this away as a Veggie Meal Plan:

Don’t forget to pick up your 7 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan here:

It’s a fast action bonus along with the GREATEST product I’ve ever created.

Seriously.

The “Defend Your Diet” audio program I did with Kardena Pauza and her husband Mark is the greatest audio program I’ve ever done with anybody.

…if not the most valuable “program” I’ve ever put together for anyone on anything.

And NO ONE has ever done something like this before.

Get yours here:

Don’t forget to pick up your 7 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan here:

PPS – You’ll get Craig’s “Lazy Man’s Guide to Vegetarian Eating” in the Deluxe Package. It’s a complete 55 day diary of EVERYTHING that I ate while on the veggie meal plan experiment.

PPPS – Yes, I’m still doing the veggie lifestyle. Enjoying it, especially since I started grilling portobella mushrooms for burgers.

You gotta try Kardena’s mushroom burger recipe from the meal plans!

This is the wrong interpretation of a Nutrient Dense or “rich” diet.

A few months back I was debating a student of mine in PerformanceLifestyle training on the concept of whether or not, one diet was right for everyone. Many times a “Nutrient Rich diet” is confused for being a specific diet that everyone must follow, when it’s not.

My debate companion (as opposed to an opponent) is a very open-minded individual and stated that “we have more in common than not”, I agree with him. But I feel he has been hooked on the idea that eating Nutrient Rich is a one-diet-fit’s-all way to eat, meanwhile, nothing could be further from the truth.

I and those I collaborate with have an intention as thought leaders around this idea of eating Nutrient Rich and that is to help people eat the best quality diet possible improve their health, and live at or near their ideal weight free of disease.

Towards that end, we objectively review the literature, test, corroborate, read, and come to sound conclusions. We are heavily influenced by, but not limited too, the work and practice of Joel Fuhrman MD whom I worked for and am a protege of, The China Study (the most comprehensive study of nutrition ever conducted, and factor in broader interests as well, such as what’s best too, for the environment…

We are open minded, we are members of the National Health Association, and frankly if there was a better way to eat, we would find it and will find it if it’s out there.

To our benefit, we are backed by the principles of Nutrient Density, and a world wide movement towards Nutrient Rich eating, which includes the development of the Nutrient Rich food coalition formed by both animal and plant food producers around an idea who’s time has come, the basic science of nutrient profiling and assessing food quality to determine the best foods to eat.

But nutritional value doesn’t always determine the way someone eats; biases, desires, unnatural influences, modern day story and marketing, convenience, addiction, detoxification, culture, tradition etc, affect what why and how we eat as well.

So Nutrient Rich is a quality standard, not a specific diet per say, like vegan or vegetarian or carnivorous etc, and especially not an “eat less” or restricted diet. It’s an intelligent mindset and approach to eating. Matter of fact the only golden rule is that you can eat whatever you want. If you break this rule, you are dieting and that mindset does not promote well being.

A Nutrient Rich diet is generally a plant “based” diet. What this means, is that your diet is at least 90% or more, derived from plant food categories – vegetables, fruits, beans, raw nuts and seed, whole grains…

Why?

You’ll see below, but simply put, these are the most Nutrient Rich foods. As part of an successful lifestyle, when people eat these foods they tend to thrive.

But still, uniquely we don’t dictate specifically how people eat, we simply inspire, educate and support people to eat better, to go from a nutrient poor diet style to a Nutrient Rich diet style that promotes health, the ability to function and perform better, and success, including natural weight loss.

Simply put, eating a Nutrient Rich diet, does not mean you don’t or can’t eat any animal products; as there are many animal foods that are rich in some nutrients and they can be eaten in small quantities without a significant health or environmental effect; but there are reasons why there is so much resistance to animal product consumption.

So we don’t promote animal product consumption as necessary for nutritional reasons, because nutritionally speaking, they are not required for healthy development and they contain substances our body does not need. – See the Food Class System for a complete understanding of the nutrient profiles of foods.

My debate companion comes from another school of thought, influenced by the Weston Price “wise or nourishing” traditions movement in our society that is the “other camp”, who believes that an animal product based diet versus a plant based diet is the healthiest diet around.

Of course, plant vs animal is the big nutritional debate. It’s one that I have tried to steer clear of as I don’t see it as clear cut as that, but if I were to take a side, it would be hands down, plant-based, which is not only about your health first and foremost, living at or near your ideal weight; it’s also healthy for the planet.

Now, having been around a while, I’ve been privy to the low-carb, high animal protein regimen for weight management for a long time, heck, I used to be a bodybuilder who lived by this mantra, but that’s not what this movement is talking about.

Weston Price devotees are promoting an animal products based diet as the healthiest diet and using the research of a dentist (Weston Price) and stated with no derogatory inflection, who states that squatted faces and straight teeth are the hall mark of healthy meat-eating people (major generalization), whereas the elongated faces of vegans and vegetarians who have bad teeth (another major generalization) are the hall mark of eating an unhealthy diet, “loaded with sugar”… as if either were a true premise for either camp.

Now before I go on, let me be clear – a Nutrient Rich diet, does not need to be vegan diet or a vegetarian diet, although a Nutrient Rich diet has more “in common” with a vegan diet than any other because the most nutrient rich foods come from plants..

As a matter of fact, all nutrients come from plants with the exception of b-12, which comes from the small insects and bacteria that are on plants as they grow.

While I am not a vegan per say, I eat a diet that’s probably 95% or more plant-based and most of the time (not all) raw, simply on the basis that I, like millions of others, like to eat the most nutrient rich foods determined by their nutrient profiles and the state in which you eat them, not guesswork or idealism and it’s convenient!

From time to time I will eat some animal products for one reason or another… but why, is another post.

Note: I am not a raw foodist so to speak, or any other but we support such perspectives as they all have value, including the perspective that some people want to consume and consume more animal products than others. You can eat what ever you want.

We I and my team are most concerned with is promoting, all things considered, the best definition for eating Nutrient Rich, and then let people make decisions for what they will eat, who they will follow, what they want their regimens and ways of life to be. At the end of the day, we don’t dictate that. It’s your lifestyle and you are responsible for it.

So, recently, I went to a Weston Price Foundation-based presentation, by a promoter of a diet “the Liberation Diet“, inspired by the Weston Price “wise traditions” philosophy that my debate opponent was defending; defending as a “nutrient dense” diet. Note: I realize that this particular diet promoter, may or may not be extreme and of course, he is not Weston Price and may have his own skews.

What I discovered was one of the most porous arguments I have ever heard. Aside from the fact that they were selling nutrient rich supplements, Mangosteen and other mineral drinks along side the nutrient poor diet they were promoting, I have never been presented with a more un-appealing diet in my life.

Mind you, I happen to like many animal foods, but this just didn’t seem right; even as a layman this might seem a little off base.

Let me know what you think.

– 80% fat
– butter, as much as you want to eat
– lard
– pig fat,
– duck
– goat
– cheese
– insects,
– pickled foods
– organ meets, particularly liver,
– steak,
– raw milk
– eggs
– small amounts of vegetables and
– even smaller amounts (at the top of the pyramid) of seasonal fruits. “according to the Liberation diet, they have to much sugar).
- No refined food, other than process bread, home made.

The argument was that these foods are high in vitamin A, D and “activator x) vitamin K. Just 3 of the 4 vitamins and minerals (only two of the roughly 10 categories of nutrients) and that’s where the argument stood. These foods are rich in some nutrients, even more than was accentuated, but still animal products are nutrient poor foods as a whole for 3 reasons:

1) The quality of the nutrients and their effects (i.e animal protein) are cancer promoting – ref The China Study…
2) These foods are missing whole categories of nutrients, in particular phytochemicals, hence the need for supplementation.
3) These foods contain substances our body doesn’t need from dietary sources – saturated fat, cholesterol etc..

This gentleman, who is the owner of www.VisionaryTrainers.com and a registered dietitian, had some really good things to say and was very respectable – the whole story about how Crisco was inspired by the creation of Edison’s light bulb because there was no longer a need to rely on candles (made from lard) for light, which gave way to hydrogenation and the creation of trans fat as “a healthier fat” when compared to animal fat (stated at that time), which of course inspired the refined rood revolution and increased hard attacks… is not in debate.

I know long sentence.

But to think that the rise in heart attacks, diabetes and obesity… is only about eating too much trans fat, is just short sighted.

What knocked me off my chair was this; the argument was, there were no heart attacks before 1901 and people were eating the “wise tradition” of meats and butter etc (see dietary recommendations above), before heart attacks began to rise; so therefore in short, we should not only return to eating those foods, but they should be 80-90% of our diet.

The more the better!

Does anyone else think this is crazy?
80% fat?

Well, I think it is crazy, the nutrient profiles of foods say it’s crazy, years of reflection after Robert Atkins died of his own diet say it’s crazy, objective science says it’s crazy, even marketing says it’s crazy!

When’s the last time you saw an advertisement promoting “nutrients” that had “liver” as a promotional photo??

I am reading more from those who promote high fat diets to become even more versed in this, and to be able to articulate why some people who eat these diets may see health improvements, but there are just too many arguments against such a diet that do not support it’s sensibility. Nonetheless, I will learn more as I eat Nutrient Rich clean foods.

As I listened to this presentation, I was surrounded by the same group of people I remember seeing at Atkins events years ago (I used to attend for insight into that trend)… overweight people who are being misled by other overweight people who have good intentions but seemingly need to open their minds and understand more than weight management and observational science, and the nutrient poor model of nutrition.

A Nutrient Rich Diet, is a predominantly plant based diet. You can take it as far as you want and become a vegan, but you don’t have too. That’s entirely up to you.

Once you understand the nutritional qualities of foods and the practical influences on living healthy in todays day and age, factor in good science, and use your common sense, most people arrive at eating a diet that is at least 90% plant based or more.

When you focus on eating better, not less, you enter into the realm of not only having a healthier body, but a healthier mindset that’s good for you and the planet (another post). You also learn how to lose weight the Nutrient Rich way.

So be very careful about the story you buy into. This article does not provide sufficient data for you to know 100% or not it’s truth, so, I would suggest you begin reading this site, and other sites such as www.diseaseproof.com and like me, get educated on both sides of fence, that way you can come to your own conclusion.

At NutrientRich.com we are more interested in debate and seeking best practices, than dictating how a person individually eats. Part of the fun is the learning and discovery process. But in the end we are for defining and eating the most Nutrient Rich diets possible, the results of such a diet are usually great!

~ John Allen Mollenhauer