029 Brain-Healthy Diet: Plant-Based Whole Food Nutrition

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There is a bigger pandemic out there that has been wreaking havoc long before the coronavirus – the pandemic of chronic diseases that affect not only our bodies but also our brains. There is, however, a way for you to protect yourself and that is not through prescription drugs but through a healthy diet. What could be the healthiest eating plan for your body and brain? Carrie Miller explores the research-backed benefits of plant-based whole food nutrition in preventing chronic diseases, especially heart disease, which have been linked with brain conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

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Brain-Healthy Diet: Plant-Based Whole Food Nutrition

I want to welcome you to the show where we stand up and boldly speak the truth about what’s healthy in this world, especially when it comes to brain health. You won’t find any sugar-coating in this space. I watched a couple of films back-to-back, some interesting documentaries and the names were The Game Changers, What the Health, and The Marshall Plan. They all had one thing in common, whole foods plant-based nutrition. They are excellent films. Thank you, Reese Vincent, for sharing. I want to encourage you all to make a note of those and go and view the first chance you get. Personally, I’ve concentrated more on a brain-healthy diet due to my mom’s dementia diagnosis.

I’ve never considered a whole foods plant-based diet because as a Texan, there are not too many people walking around eating plants in this cattle country. At least that’s what I thought, but as I researched more and more, people are absolutely open to a whole foods plant-based diet as their ticket for prevention. I know I am. We all have friends and family members who’ve been diagnosed with heart disease, cancer, dementia, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and obesity. The list goes on. Look around. We have a lot of unhealthy people who are depressed and overweight. They’ve got some low energy levels. They’re lethargic, unenthusiastic. They’re having some brain fog, maybe reflux, joint pain. They’re a little sluggish. Maybe having some tightness in their chest. They have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. That list is endless.

In Texas, we’re a thriving state and people are fleeing their states to move to Texas. That might be for our beef or it could be because we’re a gun-carrying people and we choose to defend ourselves around here. Let’s look at the bigger picture. The diet here is simply not cutting the mustard. Chronic disease continues to climb. Look around the world. This is the real pandemic. The bigger thing that is creating so much destruction. The number one killer is heart disease, which in turn affects the brain. I’ve said this more than once, prescription drugs are not the answer and they never have been. My mama was prescribed seventeen drugs by some pretty highfalutin professionals who attended their very prestigious schools for many years to learn about sick care.

I know all about the games that are being played behind the scenes in the pharmaceutical world. It’s corrupt and downright wrong. That all being said, there are two things that come to mind. Why have we been relying on drugs to get our health and why do we eat the food that makes us sick? Your food choices matter. You’re paying a big price with food if you choose to eat unhealthily. Most of you already know that and know what works for you may not work for another. That’s why it’s always good to explore all things healthy and test your own body with the different foods and lifestyle changes that are available out there. Please don’t take my word for it or anyone else’s for that matter.

You’ve got to do the work and find out what’s good for your body and brain. Take control of your own health. You may not feel you’ve got the energy or the stability or the get it done mentality, but what’s your alternative. What is going to get you moving and drive you to see that positive change? Is it your kids or is it your grandkids? Maybe you want to fit into that dress you’ve seen at that boutique or you need that mental stability to move forward in business. It could be that you’re wanting to run around the block. Whatever floats your boat and none of us, I’m talking absolutely not a single one of us, wants to die of heart disease, cancer, or Alzheimer’s. That right there should be enough to get your butt in gear and do what needs to get the job done by focusing perhaps on the prevention end.

Let’s talk about these whole foods plant-based nutrition. I don’t know about you, but I’m on a journey. I’m quite curious to know if maybe this is something I want to explore. If you’re the least bit curious too, then you might have some of these same questions floating around in your noggin too like some of the questions I’ve got. It’s like the first one. Can you meet your nutritional needs on a plant-based diet? The thought of scratching beef. If you love potatoes, it might not be so bad. There’s no beef, chicken, or fish. We’ve got to rethink this. Don’t you go dismissing these plant-based meals already just because I said that.

Number two, my question would be, where on earth are you going to get enough protein on this diet? Maybe protein is overrated. If you stop and think about it, what is protein anyway? I think most of us would agree that we always thought protein is mostly found in meat, chicken, fish, and eggs, but that apparently is not the case. My number three question here would be, you often hear about the saturated fat from meat, chicken, and fish. They’re talking about the formation of plaque buildup in the arteries due to meat. The thickening narrows the arteries and decreases blood flow or completely blocks the flow of blood to the brain. That’s not good. Meat is perhaps linked to heart disease and dementia. We’ve got to do more digging on that one.

Number four. I hear there are no oils. If you’re a lover of grass-fed butter like I am and the avocado and olive oils, all I’ve got to say is there better be a good substitute for those. Number five. When you think calcium, you think of milk, anything dairy. There’s no eating dairy on the whole foods plant-based diet. Calcium comes from the ground in the first place, so maybe we do want to get our calcium from plants instead of drinking animal secretions. Also, we bought nine more chicks for our farm. Does that mean I can’t eat eggs anymore? Another thought, is dairy even meant for humans? After all, that’s what the well-funded special interest groups and the big food industry tell us. They wouldn’t dare lie to us, would they? Two of my biggest questions are, do you know when you’ve been marketed to and do you know when you’ve been lied to? I know that’s a whole other topic we can explore at another time, so let’s stick to the nutrition behind plant-based.

After I watched the three films I mentioned, I started researching YouTube with personal stories of individuals who are plant-based vegan, whatever you want to call it. There are hundreds, if not thousands. I ran across Rich Roll and Rip Esselstyn, both triathletes and authors raised in Texas. I was all ears. I ran across Dr. Neal Barnard, an author, clinical researcher and founding President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. His dad had Alzheimer’s and his grandfather had dementia. He states that saturated fats lead to Alzheimer’s. There’s Dr. Colin Campbell, a biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutritional long-term health and co-authored The China Study. You all go check it out. I love the information in that book. There’s Dr. Dean Ornish. He is a physician and researcher. He’s the President and Founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California in San Francisco. He preaches that plants are protective against cancer and other chronic diseases and states that animal protein is inflammatory.

By now, you might be saying, “I think I might want to know more about this whole foods plant-based diet.” It might be something you’re already doing, but for those of us who aren’t, it could be a new approach to a different way of healthy. Something that makes us feel better, totally on top of our game. It’s something that doctors around the world are implementing in their practices to fight chronic disease. That’s something to be excited about. I want to invite you to come along while we explore and do some digging. We’re going to be interviewing doctors, farmers, nutritionists, like-minded people and individuals whose lives have been totally changed by a whole foods plant-based diet. You want to stick with me here whether you’re looking to prevent all Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia, or you’ve been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We’re going to dive deep into exactly what whole foods plant-based diet is and the science behind the scenes and more so that you can make the best decisions for your own health. It may or may not be something you want to pursue, but you might ask yourself this one question. What if it’s the healthiest eating plan for your body and brain?

That’s it for this episode. Thank you again for joining me. I’ll see you next time at the same place so that you can continue to move forward, feeling alive and well so that you can live your best life and be purposeful in your journey ahead. Feel free to reach out to me at Carrie@TheHealthyBrainPodcast.com. I’d love to hear about you, your story, your experiences. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Follow me on Instagram at @MyTexasTable and @TheHealthyBrainPodcast for healthy recipes and brain tips. I’m sending lots of hugs your way. God bless you. God bless America.

Important Links:

• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
• The China Study
• Preventive Medicine Research Institute
• Carrie@TheHealthyBrainPodcast.com
• @MyTexasTable – Instagram
• @TheHealthyBrainPodcast – Instagram

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• mytexastable.com