Inspiration for Life

Avocado Taco

When you make a major change to your life, it helps to have someone to look up to, others to inspire you and a partner to keep you going. As I have watched various documentaries, I have been inspired to make my recent changes permanent and to be as healthy as possible. It hasn’t really been that hard to look up vegetarian recipes or find others with the same ideas since the Internet is so available. And my awesome husband has been my partner in this - in fact, he actually started it! - so I have someone to be my partner, the shows to inspire me, and the Internet to give me people to look up to; three essentials that I totally recommend.

I thought I would start listing some of the shows I’ve been watching so that you can watch them, too. If you are serious about getting healthy - especially if you are already on medication for heart disease or high blood pressure - then these are essentials to getting motivated. I understand it’s sometimes hard to make a change or even want to make a change - I am stubborn at times and a great procrastinator - but if I were someone else writing to me, this is what I would say: make this a priority! You say you don’t have time to watch these programs? That’s not true. You make time to watch Downton Abbey and browse Pinterest; you can watch a program that’s actually going to make a difference! Don’t be so lazy! Don’t make excuses! When you really want something, you go after it. I’ve seen you searching for the best deal on a smart phone and then save money for it and purchase it. I’ve seen you work for things you want. You think you don’t have time? Baloney. If you don’t have time to change your way of living, you will most certainly run out of time much sooner than you think because you’ll be dead before you can make the decision that you need to be healthier if you want to live longer. Get with it! Make this change before it’s too late!

Now that I just chewed myself out, give yourself a little pep talk as well (even if you have to be hard - it’s tough love, baby!)

So I thought I would start by watching the shows that my husband has already watched and then pass those on to you. If you will watch them, I promise you will be motivated and ready to change. They are informational and easy to watch. Even if you don’t agree with everything they say, you can’t help but be amazed at some of the statistics that they show you. It’s kind of hard to argue with some of their findings! Facts are facts and you will probably agree that they are pretty firm.

Today’s show is Forks Over Knives. I have mentioned this one before but I hadn’t watched the complete show all the way through yet. So I did.

The scariest part of this documentary was that they have found a staggering level of hypertension and obesity in one group of people in the United States that I hadn’t thought about before. In this group there is a high level of hypertension. Forty percent of these people are obese and fifty percent are taking drugs for it! Is it white-collar executives? Housewives? A certain religious group or ethnic group? Nope. It’s grade school children. Children!

Two doctors were doing studies; one was studying the scientific side of things while the other was doing clinical tests. When they finally met up, their findings were phenomenal. In every study, in many countries, they basically found that where there were higher levels of meat and animal-based diets, there was also a higher level of heart disease. Every time!

During World War II when the German army invaded Norway, they confiscated all livestock to feed their troops. The Norwegians were forced to eat plant-based meals. During this time, the levels of people with heart disease dropped. A few years later, when the Germans left and they returned to animal-based meals, heart disease levels rose again. And this is no coincidence. They found these same results time after time as they studied place after place, in labs and in different countries.

I think you will find the facts very interesting. There is so much more they tell you and plenty of facts.

Lee sums it up well. “What I liked best about Forks Over Knives,” he says, “is the research that they have done on worldwide trends for cancer, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, etc. that show the links between eating meat and dairy and the higher rates of cancer in those countries as opposed to the lower rates within countries that eat mostly plant-based diets. Because my dad died of prostate cancer, I found the link between cows milk and that cancer startling, and have decided to forgo drinking milk and limit milk-based product drastically for myself. 

“I also love,” he continues, “that they have examples of actual people that they have helped by changing their diets to a plant-based diet. It was great to see actual people who improved their lives by changing to a plant-based diet, by getting off of medications, and having their cholesterol, blood sugar and other indicators come back in-line for a healthy person.”

We were both inspired by the trend, in these people, to not only stop their illnesses and conditions, but to actually reverse them as well. That has given me much hope!

I think it’s also important to note that this is not a wimpy or girly thing to do. I know a few men who think that salad is girl food. Well, that’s wrong thinking. A fire station (full of men) in Texas changed their diet to plant-based, whole-food meals and improved in strength, stamina and health, even saving the life of one of their fellow firemen. And firemen are the manliest, toughest guys I know.

If you have Netflix, it is easy to find this program there. You can purchase it on YouTube or watch segments, as well. They also have a website: ForksOverKnives.com with recipes, testimonials, articles and other help sections and lots of information.

I hope this helps and gets you motivated. It worked for me!

Today’s recipe is: Avocado Taco. Find it at: chefmamanise.blogspot.com

Cheers and Hugs!

Denise