In the recent 2013 Spring edition of The Permanente Journal, published by Permanente Press, a peer-reviewed journal of medical science, social science, and medical humanities, an article appeared entitled Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets. With the lofty objective of presenting doctors with cost-effective interventions to improve health outcomes by becoming more involved in helping their patients adopt healthier lifestyles, the article boldly states that "Physicians should consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients (italics mine), especially those with high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity".
Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans, serving more than 9.1 million members. With headquarters in Oakland, California, it comprises: Kaiser Permanente, made up of three distinct groups of entities: the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and its regional operating subsidiaries; Kaiser Foundation Hospitals; and the autonomous regional Permanente Medical Groups.
The fact that such a large health-care provider with over 17,000 physicians in Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, California, Oregon, Washington and Ohio would advise their doctors to consider recommending a plant-based diet to all their patients through their Permanente Journal (with the stated mission of advancing knowledge in scientific research, clinical medicine, and innovative health care delivery) is a very big deal indeed.
Remembering that Kaiser Permanente's goal is to reduce health care costs, the good health of their subscribers is certainly in their own best financial interests.
Please, do yourself a favor. Read this article, and consider giving up meat, dairy, eggs, refined oil products, and processed foods. Then, eat only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and a few nuts. You won't be sorry and you'll see beneficial changes in the quality of your health almost immediately, an affect to which I can personally attest.
The Permanente Journal, 2013 Spring
Making, as some would call it, a radical change in their normal Standard American Diet (SAD) of bacon-double cheese burgers, steaks, seafood, mozzarella, yogurt, eggs, and so-called "healthy" oils might seems a lot to ask from people. But, I can tell you from my own experience that the quick but lasting health benefits of a plant diet far outweigh cravings for the food additions I had amassed over my life time. So, in the interest of providing practical, easy-to-understand information about eating plants to those interested in taking ultimate responsibility for their own health, here are some useful links to a few of the research scientists and doctors referenced in the Permanente article.
T Colin Campbell, author of The China Study
Caldwell B Esselstyn, Jr, MD. author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
Dr. John McDougall, MD, author of The Starch Solution and The New McDougall Cookbook
Living on a plant-based diet does take a little work (as in personal research, reading labels, and asking questions at restaurants) so most folks would rather just go for the quick fix in dealing with health problems, like expecting a doctor to counter our bad eating habits and popping pills as a remedy for every ailment. But, the Permanente article points the way to a better lifestyle with optimum health through a more sensible approach to eating. And, they have the scientific proofs to back up their claims.
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