people and places Archives - Forks Over Knives

Culinary Medicine at NYU: Dr. Sara Zayed’s Mission to Revolutionize Medical Education

Megan Edwards — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 20:09:13 +0000

Recent medical school graduate Sara Zayed, MD, traded a career in software engineering to pursue a plant-based primary care practice. But she’s not just helping patients: By spearheading a Culinary Medicine curriculum at NYU, she’s changing the game for doctors in training. FOK spoke with Zayed about her transition into the medical world, why she believes plant-based nutrition education is essential for the next generation of doctors, and how daily rituals play a large role in her health.

What made you decide to go plant-based and switch careers?

Sara Zayed: I lost my father to a heart attack. Before he passed away, someone had gifted him Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. So it was just laying around his house, and one day I picked it up, and it all clicked. I’d been having migraines, acne, and poor sleep. I [went plant-based and] was shocked by how much better I felt. Software engineering has its value, but I realized I wanted to have a direct impact on people. I started working as a medical assistant at Ethos Primary Care in New Jersey, where I saw how powerful plant-based nutrition can be. Patients would lose dozens of pounds they never expected to lose, or safely go off medications, saying they felt like they had a new lease on life. It was very moving.

What inspired you to spearhead a plant-based nutrition course at your med school, NYU Grossman?

SZ: I received really quality medical training, but the curriculum only had a sprinkling of hours that focused on nutrition. So [the Culinary Medicine program] was birthed from the very real need for students to receive more in-depth training. I think nutrition is viewed only as a preventative measure and not as a tool that people in all sectors of the medical field can use to treat patients. For example, a surgeon who’s spending all their time in the operating room could use nutrition to help patients recover from surgery faster—or avoid it altogether. One of the patients we worked with at Ethos Primary Care was scheduled for knee surgery, but after changing her diet and lifestyle, she no longer needed it.

What do students learn in the course?

SZ: It’s seven sessions total. The first lecture focuses on the evidence behind plant-based nutrition. Then there are three didactic sessions where students learn about chronic ailments such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Those lectures are paired with interactive sessions in a professional kitchen where they learn how to cook plant-based meals. The whole idea is that if you know how to apply these principles to your own life, then you’re going to be more effective at counseling patients about it.

How did students respond to last year’s introduction of the Culinary Medicine curriculum?

SZ: One hundred percent of students said that they would recommend the program, and we saw a significant increase in those who said they were now comfortable with their knowledge for counseling patients.

How has your Muslim faith influenced your perspective on medicine?

SZ: Something I always tell people is that our bodies are an amanah, an Arabic word which means trust. We’ve been entrusted with these bodies. When we treat our bodies poorly, it’s like damaging something that’s been loaned to us for safekeeping. If you’re chronically ill and don’t have energy, then you can’t spend time with your family, you can’t be productive, you can’t serve others, and it’s harder to turn inwards and connect with God. Think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: If you aren’t getting the basic needs of health and safety met, you can’t self-actualize and fulfill your life’s purpose. Apart from a WFPB diet, I feel strongly about embodying the other pillars of lifestyle medicine, which are sleep, exercise, mindfulness, and social connection. I try to always get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, work out every day, and meditate each morning for at least 10 minutes.

What impact do you hope to make as you begin your primary care practice?

SZ: A pet peeve of mine is the idea that patients aren’t interested in changing their diet. During my year of rotations so many patients said, “I don’t want to go on lots of medications. What else can I try?” The reality is that most doctors have a deficit in knowledge about how to counsel patients on changing their lifestyles, so we shy away from it. Having WFPB nutrition training as a primary care doctor can make a huge difference.

3 Tips for Creating a Sustainable Meditation Practice

As a proponent of lifestyle medicine, Zayed is passionate about starting each day with a few minutes of mindfulness. Check out her tips for trying a morning meditation routine.

1. Avoid setting “goals” for a meditation session. The purpose is to nonjudgmentally explore whatever arises in your mind, heart, and body so you can feel centered as you start the day.

2. Close your eyes and choose something to focus on, such as your breath or a sensation in your body. Notice how your experience of that focal point may change or deepen as time passes.

3. If your mind wanders, gently draw your attention back to your object of focus. It’s normal to have thoughts; see if you can allow them to come and go with loving kindness and avoid getting fixated on one thing.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

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New Book ‘Eating Does It’ Highlights How Food Choices Can Cure Disease and Combat the Climate Crisis

Megan Edwards — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 17:42:11 +0000

Kathy Pollard discovered the power of a plant-based lifestyle in an unlikely place: late-’90s rural Pennsylvania. Her interest in nutrition serendipitously aligned with the North American Vegetarian Society’s annual health and nutrition conference, which was being held on a campus just an hour away from Pollard’s hometown. There, in unassuming college classrooms and auditorium panel sessions, she discovered a passion that would lead her to become one of the first instructors for T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies, a research projects manager for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and adjunct faculty in applied nutrition at the University of New England. This career trajectory introduced her to Stacey Verardo, a paleoclimatologist, who deepened Pollard’s understanding of how our food systems impact climate change. Pollard’s new book, written in conjunction with Verardo, Eating Does It: Healing Ourselves and Our Planet With Food, is the culmination of a career steeped in helping people see the connection between their personal health and the planet’s well-being.

The book, available on November 1, takes a deep dive into the intricate—and sometimes surprising—intersections between modern industrialized diets, chronic disease, and climate catastrophes. Pollard’s extensively researched work equips readers with the tools to not only make immediate changes in their dietary habits but also to analyze the conflicting claims around nutrition and climate change that often dominate news headlines.

“It’s a guidebook on the most attainable solutions that we have to the world’s most pressing problems,” says Pollard. “But it’s structured so that we understand how to discern what’s true and what’s not. The first section asks, what is science? What’s the scientific method? And how do we apply it critically to our everyday lives?”

To make things easy, Eating Does It provides readers with a checklist of steps to follow when determining whether a claim is accurate and trustworthy. Pollard’s conviction that science-backed decisions are paramount for healing our health and the environment is elaborated on in the bulk of the book’s chapters, which look at the impact of chronic disease and climate change in nine different regions around the world.

“These regions are suffering from chronic diseases that are actually [modifiable through diet],” Pollard says. “We’ve lost our way when it comes to the simple solutions for supporting our health. And it’s also not just about the food—it’s how you feel after you eat the food. You might feel better and be more prone to take a walk every day. And then before you know it, maybe you’ll be able to walk further, which would bring you to a park where you’d meet neighbors and make social connections, which is key for good health. When we start being intentional about what we put on our plates we can just watch the domino effect of good health fall from there.”

Our Bodies, Our Ecosystems

Pollard points to our modern food systems as the common denominator between the failing health of our bodies and of our planet. As she points out in the book, eating hamburgers uses 2.9 times more water, 2.5 times more energy, 13 times more fertilizer, and 1.4 times more pesticides than eating vegetarian foods.

“The amount of resources it takes to create any animal product is enormous,” says Pollard. “It takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. Think about all the water and the feed that was given to the cows to make that milk. The impact of having a simple cheese sandwich is huge. We could be feeding everybody on this earth with enough food if we didn’t give that food to animals.”

With so many climate catastrophes happening on a regular basis, Pollard hopes that Eating Does It can act as a beacon of hope for those who are struggling to stay optimistic in the face of such large-scale change.

“Hope is a key element to good health,” says Pollard. “We can’t accomplish anything without it. I recommend finding your why for going plant-based. For many of us, it’s helping the world, helping others, finding reasons to benefit beyond ourselves. That will keep us committed to a lifestyle that benefits the planet.”

Kathy Pollard’s 4 Food Rules

Change doesn’t happen overnight, which is why the last portion of Eating Does It includes an easily customizable menu of actions—both big and small—that you can take to better support your health and the environment. Regardless of which new practices you’re able to adopt, Pollard recommends keeping these core guidelines in mind when switching to a plant-based diet.

1. The more whole plants in your diet, the better.

Simple as that. Avoid processed foods as much as possible.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Sometimes you’ll go to a birthday party and have a cupcake, and that’s OK. Pollard emphasizes that your overall health is dependent on your everyday dietary pattern, not the small deviations.

3. Eat the rainbow.

The phytochemicals and antioxidants in colorful fruits and veggies protect you from toxins and disease. Try to eat many different colors of whole plant foods every day.

4. Eat as much WFPB food as you want.

On a whole-food, plant-based diet you can eat as much as you want as long as it has intact fiber. This means whole grains, beans, whole fruit, and veggies that haven’t been processed or extracted. This dietary lifestyle allows you to eat until you’re full without watching portion size because it’s so healthy.

While Pollard acknowledges that we can’t solve climate change through how we eat alone, she contends that this is a critical first step to pressure large industries to shift their production practices to more sustainable solutions. A plant-based diet can function as a springboard for greater change, both in our health and our environment.

“We don’t have to wait for policy to change,” says Pollard. “We don’t have to wait for infrastructure to be built. We have a lot to do in this world to reverse the course of climate change, but the most effective and immediate tool we have is right in front of us every time we sit down to eat.”

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

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Vegan Athlete Fiona Oakes on Her Remarkable Journey from Orthopedic Surgery to World-Record Marathons

Karen Asp, MA, CPT, VLCE — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:09:51 +0000

Photo by Kirsten Kortebein

Fiona Oakes has completed marathons on every continent, setting four world records along the way. The world-class British runner does it all for one purpose: to encourage people to eat plants. Forks Over Knives spoke with Oakes about her early involvement in animal welfare, why she took up running marathons with no previous experience, and how her passion for a vegan lifestyle fuels her athletic pursuits.

You changed your diet when you were young. Why?

Fiona Oakes: I stopped eating meat at 3 and became vegan when I was 6. I had never heard the word vegan, but I was completely aligned with and passionate about the concept of a cruelty-free lifestyle, where nothing and no one suffers on my behalf. My mother was supportive— my father and grandparents, far less so. In their defense, this was back in the 1970s, when there was no literature, research, or role models available to describe what veganism actually meant. The issue came to a head when I had orthopedic knee surgery as a teen [to remove a tumor], and medical professionals [likened] my veganism to an eating disorder. My mother was accused of child abuse for consenting to it. Her argument was that the real cruelty would be to force a child so committed to something to turn away from it because of pressure from others. My mother has always been so supportive, and I am so blessed that she is still at my side to this day.

How did you get into running?

FO: I started around 2002. I had been concentrating all my efforts on the Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary; I started that in 1993, and it remains my priority and passion today, with around 500 rescued animals. But after a few years, I realized that [there was a limit to the number] of animals I could help by providing a loving forever home. So I was trying to find a way to get the vegan message into the mainstream. Then “marathon” became the buzzword, after Paula Radcliffe ran a world’s-best marathon time in London [in 2002]. Doing a marathon could offer the credentials I needed to prove that as a vegan, you could not only survive but thrive in the most brutal of endurance events. I didn’t know if I would be able to run with my knee condition, but two years later, I qualified to line up with Radcliffe on the elite start of the London Marathon.

Photo courtesy Fiona Oakes

What achievement are you most proud of?

FO: Co-founding the Vegan Runners Club. My main aim through running has been to promote veganism, and when I realized I would have an opportunity to get high profile, positive publicity by wearing “Vegan” on my vest during races, another runner and I decided to start Vegan Runners in 2004. It’s not only a running club but also a worldwide community of passionate animal advocates who are ambassadors for plant-based living.

What are your future goals for running?

FO: I want to keep running to show people what is possible. That even one person might see what I have done—and continue to do—on a completely plant-based diet and consider following suit is the biggest prize my sport could offer me.

Photo courtesy Fiona Oakes

Fiona Oakes’ Record-Breaking Career

Despite losing her right kneecap to a tumor as a teen, Fiona Oakes has established herself as one of the greatest distance runners of our time. Here’s a timeline of her record-breaking career.

2002 – Takes up running.
2007 – Sets course records for the Halstead Marathon and Ruska Marathon.
2011 – Sets a course record for the Dartmoor Vale Marathon.
2012 – Completes the 150-mile ultra-marathon Marathon des Sables.
2013 – Wins the Antarctic Ice Marathon, setting a course record, and the North Pole Marathon. Completes a marathon on every continent, earning three Guinness World Records in the process.
2014 – Completes the Marathon des Sables for a second time.
2015 – Undertakes a personal challenge of running a marathon a day for seven consecutive days, each on a different continent. She completes six. Bad weather prevents her plane from landing in Antarctica, forcing her to forgo the seventh.
2017 – Completes her third Marathon des Sables.
2018 – Sets a Guinness World Record at the Midnight Sun Marathon for the fastest half-marathon run in an animal costume. Running for Good—a documentary about Oakes’ life and career, directed by Keegan Kuhn of What the Health and Cowspiracy—premieres.
2020 – After the Marathon des Sables is postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oakes runs the 150-mile distance at home.

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The Best Animal Sanctuaries to Visit for Nose-to-Snout Experiences

Megan Edwards — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 17:27:32 +0000

Looking for a feel-good field trip? Connect with rescued animals at one of these incredible farm sanctuaries across the United States. These safe havens shelter a wide range of critters—from cows and pigs to birds and bunnies—that have been rescued from slaughterhouses, laboratories, neglectful homes, and other dangerous situations.

Hands-on sanctuary tours let you get up close and personal with the furry residents while also providing education on how a plant-based lifestyle can prevent animals from needing sanctuary in the first place.

Best Friends

Kanab, Utah

Nestled among the stunning red rock vistas of southern Utah, this massive sanctuary is home to more than 1,600 cats, dogs, pigs, horses, birds, bunnies, and other rescued friends. Visitors can take a guided tour of the grounds, volunteer to help care for the animals (which ensures extra up-close time with the residents), enjoy a vegan lunch at the on-site cafe, and explore the many hiking trails that wind through the beautiful canyons.

“We hope visitors are compelled by the magic they experience at the sanctuary to help animals in their own community,” says Best Friends spokeswoman Michelle Sathe. “Best Friends is dedicated to ending the killing of shelter pets by 2025, and this will only happen if we get every animal-lover in America on board.”

You can tour Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for free. For an extra-special experience, stay at one of the on-site cottages or cabins and have a “sleepover” with an adoptable sanctuary animal. Learn more and sign up here.

Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Saugerties, New York

Ten different species of farm animals currently call this East Coast oasis home. Tucked away in New York’s picturesque Hudson Valley, Catskill Animal Sanctuary offers engaging tours of the grounds and its residents, educational programs for kids, and vegan cooking classes that support their mission to end animal exploitation. Over the past 22 years, their dedicated team has rescued and rehabilitated more than 5,000 animals.

“Two decades of this work have shown us its transformative power,” says Camryn Beck, a digital marketing and communications associate at the sanctuary. “When an animal lover with a traditional diet is greeted by a cow who licks their face or a turkey who plops into their lap … their defenses drop, their heart is opened, and they’re often eager to make different choices.”

A charming upscale farmhouse is available to rent on-site for visitors who want to stay overnight and experience the magic of waking up to crowing roosters and mooing cows.

Catskill Animal Sanctuary offers 90-minute regular tours and 60-minute family-focused tours for around $25 for adults and $2 for children. You can also purchase a day pass, which includes a tour, for $50. Learn more and sign up here.

The Gentle Barn

Santa Clarita, California; Christiana, Tennessee; and Dittmer, Missouri

Since its inception in 1999, The Gentle Barn has saved thousands of animals and connected more than 750,000 visitors to inspiring stories of animal resilience. Each of the three stunning properties hosts guided tours on Sundays where you can rub the bellies of friendly pigs, cuddle up with fluffy turkeys, and look into the eyes of majestic horses. If you’re searching for a way to de-stress, their hour-long Cow Hug Therapy sessions are offered four days a week for a $200 donation.

“We hope that through their experience at the barn guests realize that we are more alike than we are different, and that both animals and humans deserve safety, freedom, and respect,” says Gentle Barn event coordinator Courtney Eklund.

Tours of the Gentle Barn must be booked in advance, and tickets range from $15 to $25. (Children 2 years and under are admitted for free.) Learn more and sign up here.

Animal Place

Grass Valley, California

As one of the oldest animal sanctuaries in America, Animal Place provides a home to hundreds of critters rescued from cruelty cases, feedlots, research labs, and slaughterhouses. The 600-acre property in Northern California is open for tours where visitors can explore the barns and pastures to interact with furry and feathered friends. While nose-to-snout encounters are certainly the highlight, the sanctuary also hosts a Museum of Animal Farming, vegan cooking classes, and community events that spread awareness about animal welfare.

“Our goal is not only to educate folks about the individual personalities of the animals, but also to show them the complex social structures of the different species,” says executive director Kim Sturla. “We repeatedly draw comparisons between companion animals and those raised for food. Compassion for others—human and nonhuman animals—is an essential part of being a vegan.”

Learn more about Animal Place here.

Farm Sanctuary

Acton, California, and Watkins Glen, New York

What began with a single rescued sheep has now blossomed into two farm sanctuaries where more than 700 pigs, goats, chickens, cows, turkeys, and other traditionally slaughtered animals call home. Farm Sanctuary believes in ending the exploitation of animals not only to preserve the dignity of all living beings, but to help prevent climate change, fight for social justice, and improve public health. Their dual properties, in Upstate New York and Southern California, invite guests to meet the animals face-to-face and learn about their unique stories as ambassadors of the animal agriculture system.

“No matter what leads someone to choose a plant-based lifestyle—be it for health, the environment, social justice, or something else—the recognition that it also helps reduce animal suffering is a powerful motivator and, for some people, will be the factor that leads to lasting change,” says Meredith Turner-Smith, Farm Sanctuary’s media relations specialist. “If we can live well without causing harm, why wouldn’t we?”

Farm Sanctuary offers one-hour guided tours, and if you have young kids you can partake in a children’s tour that offers age-appropriate education. General admission is $15, and kids under 2 are free. You can also book an overnight experience at their New York location and stay in luxurious cabins surrounded by stunning views and adorable animals.

More Vegan Travel Destinations

Looking for more vegan-friendly travel? Check out our list of incredible plant-based resorts that you should have on your bucket list. From the coasts of California to the beaches of Costa Rica and the mountains of New Zealand, there’s a WFPB paradise perfect for your next holiday.

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Vegan Strong Plantbuilt Team Heads Back to the Mr. America Competition with New Member Briana Jones

Michelle McCarthy — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:32:48 +0000

Photo by Charlotte Foerschler

She’s a mother, nurse, marathon runner, and Navy veteran…and now Briana Jones is hoping to add another title to her impressive résumé: vegan champion. After being introduced to CrossFit through a Groupon deal, she quickly fell in love with the sport and joined the Vegan Strong Plantbuilt team, a diverse group of bodybuilders and other strength athletes on a mission to demonstrate the power of a cruelty-free diet. At 2022’s Mr. America competition, Vegan Strong Plantbuilt scored a total of 18 medals. This year, they plan to top that stellar performance as they take the stage October 6–8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. We chatted with Jones—who will be competing in the A.C. Fitness Throwdown event at Mr. America—about why she chose a plant-based diet, what she eats before and after workouts, and why she thinks her team will outshine the rest in this year’s competition.

Why did you adopt a whole-food, plant-based diet?

Briana Jones: In high school, I eliminated a lot of meat from my diet. As I learned about inflammation, I started to eliminate dairy because I have asthma. I fully adopted the diet after watching the Forks Over Knives documentary, and I noticed my asthma improved almost immediately.

What do you like to eat before and after workouts?

BJ: I usually eat an apple and oatmeal with flax and hemp seeds before I work out. Sweet potatoes are my go-to. I’ll snack on them throughout the day when I’m competing. After I work out, I’ll have a big grain bowl with beans for protein (chickpeas are my favorite) and cucumbers and tomatoes for hydration. I’ll eat that and an acai bowl with bananas, strawberries, and blueberries.

Photo by @alexhayesphoto

What sets the Vegan Strong Plantbuilt team apart from other Mr. America competitors?

BJ: What separates us is the recovery aspect. Now that I’m plant-based, I recover a lot better, and the food I’m eating is actually nourishing my body. When I’m recovering between events, I’m eating sweet potatoes and I’m watching other people eat gummy bears. I know I’m getting instant energy and nutrients to get me through the next event. I’m not going to have a high and then crash. That makes a huge difference.

What would you say to someone who’s interested in a plant-based diet?

BJ: Do a little research and go for it. In a week, you’ll notice a significant difference in your body that will motivate you to continue on—more energy, better sleep. Take it a day at a time, adding one plant-based meal to your day for a week, then two the next week, and three the next. Before you know it, you’ve adopted a lifestyle that is going to give you a lot of energy and feel rewarding.

Photo by @theiconicimagery

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mr. America competition?

BJ: We’re excited to go out and show our strengths. Our goal is to represent what it looks like to eat a plant-based diet and be healthy and strong. When you’re plant-based, people think you can’t build muscle, you can’t be strong, that you’re going to be skinny. We want everyone to see that, “Hey, these plant-based athletes are competing and they’re doing well.” It’s all about leading by example, and it’s nice to be able to demonstrate that to the world in a positive way.

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Physicians, Survivors Rally Across U.S. to Demand Better Breast-Cancer Prevention Efforts

Lindsay Morris — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 17:55:05 +0000

With more than 240,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed annually in the U.S., it’s high time to “beat the drum” and demand improvement in prevention efforts, say members of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The health advocacy nonprofit, composed of more than 17,000 physicians, has kicked off more than three dozen “Let’s Beat Breast Cancer” rallies across the country throughout September and October, featuring breast cancer survivors, community members, local leaders, and local percussionists.

Just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), these events serve as a reminder that 42,000 women and 500 men die of the disease in the U.S. each year. While deaths from the disease have declined over time, breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death among women (second only to lung cancer). The disease disproportionately affects Black women, whose breast cancer mortality rate is higher than among white women (even though Black women have lower breast cancer incidence rates).

As the drums beat at each rally, PCRM organizers hope to deliver a message of hope, says Vanita Rahman, MD, clinic director at Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

“[People may feel] that breast cancer maybe is inevitable or it’s genetic or if they have a family history, there’s not much they can do about it,” says Rahman. “They may feel helpless or powerless to prevent it, and we’re really hoping that they’ll see that there are things we can do.”

She and her PCRM colleagues recommend a four-pronged approach to your individual risk: eating a whole-food, plant-based diet; exercising regularly; minimizing alcohol intake; and maintaining a healthy weight.

There’s plenty of research to back up these recommendations. One 2019 study associated a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with a 21% reduced risk of death from breast cancer. Another, involving 51,928 women enrolled in the Black Women’s Health Study, found a link between increased vegetable consumption and lower risk of estrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative breast cancer, which is one of the hardest-to-treat forms of the disease. The findings also suggested that higher intakes of cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, and carotenoid-rich vegetables, such as carrots and other yellow-orange vegetables, may reduce the risk of breast cancer overall.

“There’s epidemiological evidence showing that high-fiber foods help decrease the risk of breast cancer,” says Rahman, referencing a 2016 study. “Most Americans do not get sufficient fiber in their diet … and fiber is only found in plant foods.”

Rally organizer and breast cancer survivor Donna Green-Goodman credits her diet as one reason that she is today, 27 years after her diagnosis, cancer-free. “The diagnosis and poor prognosis made me make some hard decisions,” Green-Goodman said. “They were giving me two to five years to live; I decided to go to a whole food, plant-based diet.”

Other lifestyle measures play a significant role, as well: Regular exercise, reduced alcohol intake, and weight control could reduce breast cancer risk by about 30%, according to a 2014 position paper published in Breast Cancer Research. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle-strengthening exercises weekly and maintaining a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. Rahman recommends alcohol be avoided, as even one drink per day can elevate the risk of breast cancer, according to the 2015 results of two prospective U.S. cohort studies.

“Our goal is to really help women feel empowered that there are things they can do right now and continue to do to reduce their risk and to reduce the risks of the women that they care about,” says Rahman. “We are not just setting targets. … These are all tools that can help empower us.”

Find a Let’s Beat Breast Cancer rally to support near you.

Photo courtesy Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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New Cookbook ‘Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky’ Highlights Plant-Based Traditions of Native Americans

Chris and Sharon Dunmall — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 17:55:46 +0000

Prior to European contact, Native American diets were largely plant-based—a legacy that chefs Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, and Walter Whitewater aim to highlight. Co-founders of the Santa Fe–based catering company Red Mesa Cuisine, the duo draw on the culinary traditions of their ancestors to create visually stunning plant-forward meals, using indigenous ingredients from Native suppliers. Now they’re sharing their recipes with readers around the world in a new cookbook, Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky: Modern Plant-Based Recipes Using Ancestral Native American Ingredients. The cookbook features more than 100 recipes that use foundational Native American ingredients to make accessible meals that are deeply tied to a rich ancestral lineage, along with personal stories and cultural insights from Frank and Whitewater. FOK spoke with Frank and Whitewater about the evolution of indigenous cooking and their efforts to nourish bodies and keep cultural knowledge alive through food.

How have the diets of Native Americans evolved over time?

Lois Ellen Frank: The “Three Sisters”— corn, beans, and squash, grown together in a supportive and sustainable relationship—provide the basic foodstuffs for Native American cuisine. Prior to European contact, Native populations ate a mostly plant-based diet, with 90% of their calories coming from plants. Animals were consumed only on special occasions, completely utilized with respect, and shared socially. It was only after the initial contact that Native Americans started raising livestock and consuming dairy products. In the later periods, when the tribes relocated onto Indian reservations, the government-issued foods included much more processed foods.

What sparked your interest in learning more about traditional Native foods?

LEF: I grew up on a farm on Long Island selling produce from a roadside stand. The zucchini did not sell well, but I found that if I baked it into zucchini loaves, it was hugely popular. That gave me an interest in the culinary arts and the business acumen to understand what people wanted to buy. I was dissatisfied with my successful culinary career and wanted to help people and connect with my Native roots. That is why I returned to Santa Fe, to study the history of Native foods.

Walter Whitewater: In 1992 I started to cook professionally, because I loved everything about food—how it looked, the textures, the colors, and how it tasted. Of course, I ate everything and whatever I wanted. Eventually this caught up with me, and I got sick. I saw people on the reservation with big scars on their bodies from operations. The doctors told me that I would need an operation too. When I looked at the pictures of my ancestors, I saw slim people. They were all healthy and vital. I decided that food would be my medicine, so I changed and ate only traditional foods.

How have you both been able to share your knowledge?

LEF: Unfortunately, chronic diseases and especially diabetes are endemic on Native American reservations. Collaborating with Chef Walter and partnering with Dr. Neal Barnard’s Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, we have been able to create an educational program targeting Native American populations. The Power Plate (pcrm.org/nativepowerplate) combines fruits, grains, vegetables, and legumes into a plant-based diet that is low in fat and high in nutrients, to help heal diabetes and other ailments. With support from Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project and Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, we have been able to give seminars and cooking classes and create videos and recipes that emphasize the traditional foods of Native Americans. We are in a time when our young generation wants to learn our traditional ways … and especially the foods that sustained our ancestors.

WW: Some people accept what you offer, and some do not. If I can put healthy, traditional plant-based food in front of someone—and it looks good, and it tastes good, and then they like it—little by little, I can help them live a better life. With songs, stories, and traditional food, we can make them well again, using food as medicine.

Curious about cooking with indigenous ingredients? Check out the Pinto Bean Spread recipe from Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky to begin your journey. This creamy, smoky spread is perfect as a dip for tortilla chips, as a spread on sandwiches, or as a pairing with fresh-cut veggies.

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New Netflix Docuseries ‘Secrets of the Blue Zones’ Reveals How to Live to 100

Megan Edwards — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 17:40:50 +0000

In the United States, the average life expectancy recently dropped to 76 years—the lowest it’s been in the past two decades. Extensive research has been conducted on America’s high mortality rates, and experts point to an inadequate health care system, poor city planning, and easy access to firearms among myriad other factors that contribute to this dismal statistic. But instead of looking at what’s killing us, what if we studied what makes us live?

Cue Dan Buettner, one of the world’s leading experts on how we can create longer, healthier lives. Nearly 20 years ago Buettner set out with a team from National Geographic to document specific populations around the world that have a higher concentration of centenarians (people who live to 100) than anywhere else. These pockets of good health are called Blue Zones, and Buettner has dedicated his life to understanding—and sharing—the common denominators among these diverse populations that all experience unusually long lives.

With the state of American life expectancy, it seems as if there’s no better time for Netflix to debut its new docuseries that takes an in-depth exploration of the Blue Zones. The four-part series, Secrets of the Blue Zones, which premieres on August 30, follows Buettner from California to Japan as he talks with the people who have uncovered the secret formula for living to 100. In addition to the series, Buettner is releasing a new book, The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer, which distills the wisdom of the Blue Zones and serves as a how-to manual to help you create your own mini Blue Zone no matter your ZIP code.

“The book brings up-to-date insights on all the five Blue Zones…and identifies a Blue Zone 2.0, Singapore, which is an intentionally engineered Blue Zone instead of one that just occurs naturally,” Buettner told FOK. “Sixty years ago Singapore was an unhealthy island. It’s now become one of the healthiest, longest-lived places on Earth. They’ve done it because of good policies. It’s a proof of concept that if you create the right environment, people live measurably longer with a fraction of the rate of the diseases that cost us trillions of dollars a year in America.”

The Blue Zone Formula

Upon first learning about Blue Zone populations, it can be easy to write off these niche pockets of good health as the result of a small group of people who’ve won the genetic lottery. Buettner says this is not the case.

“I would argue that 20% of it is genes, 10% of it is personal choices, 10% of it is the health care system, and the remaining 60% is your environment,” says Buettner. “There are areas in Kentucky where life expectancy is 20 years less than Boulder, Colorado. In both cases you have a diverse set of genes and a spectrum of people who take responsibility for their health. The only thing that’s different is that it’s much easier to walk or bike across town in Boulder than it is to drive your car. It’s a food environment where you can get delicious plant-based meals much easier than you can in Kentucky. It’s easier to socialize, it’s easier to get out in nature, and the air is cleaner. These are all environmental factors which we vastly underestimate in the formula for longevity.”

So, what do these centenarian-saturated populations do so differently from the rest of us? Surprisingly, it isn’t anything revolutionary; rather, it’s an accumulation of small daily habits, a supportive living environment, and social policies and attitudes that reinforce every person’s value, dignity, and health. While there are much more detailed insights revealed in the docuseries and the new book, here are four key factors that all Blue Zones share:

WFPB Diet

“Overwhelmingly, they eat a plant-based diet that’s somewhere between 90 to 100% whole-food, plant-based—more or less a Forks Over Knives diet,” says Buettner. Apart from what they eat, Blue Zone inhabitants also have strategies for not overeating throughout the day, and they tend to keep electronics away from the dining table to keep their full attention on sharing meals with loved ones.

Natural Movement

It turns out that our current understanding of exercise—performing concentrated bursts of activity that meet our fitness goals each day—may be completely misguided. “[People in the Blue Zones] don’t exercise, but they live in environments where they’re nudged to move naturally every 20 minutes,” Buettner says. Between their work, household chores, social activities, and walkable towns, movement is a built-in part of their day, instead of an extracurricular activity.

Social Connections

Social isolation has been found to be as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes per day, and the longevity of Blue Zone inhabitants provides further evidence that strong social ties keep you alive for longer. “They put their families first and keep aging parents nearby,” explains Buettner. “They tend to belong to a faith-based community, and they surround themselves with people who reinforce [healthy] behaviors.”

Sense of Purpose

Buettner emphasizes that these long-lived populations “know their purpose and live by it.” As one of the more abstract characteristics of Blue Zones communities, he defines living with purpose as “being clear on your values, knowing what you’re good at, and finding an outlet that provides some good for the rest of the world or helps other people.”

Changes Big and Small

While the lessons gleaned from Blue Zones can be applied on an individual level, their transformative potential lies in the fact that these core tenets can be replicated and customized to reshape the health of entire cities. After discovering these unique age-defying pockets, Buettner founded the Blue Zones organization, which works with cities across the U.S. to enact policies that extend the lifespans of their inhabitants. Over the past two decades, the organization has successfully worked with 72 cities, including Fort Worth, Texas, where obesity rates were lowered, smoking rates dropped by 31%, and more than 58% of residents are now categorized as “thriving.”

Buettner has personally shifted elements of his life to embody the wisdom of the Blue Zones, such as moving to Miami Beach, Florida, so he can swim daily, enjoy a walkable neighborhood, and surround himself with health-focused friends. The goal of his new book and the Netflix series is to inspire you to design a life that gives you more time to do the things you love, with the people you care about most, for as long as possible.

“I hope people who read the book take away 10 extra years of good life,” says Buettner. “The average American leaves more than a decade of life on the table by living the way we’re living. [Blue Zone living] is not a biohack, it’s not an anti-aging gimmick, it’s not any of the other maelstroms designed to make money off of you. These are real people who’ve lived an identifiable way for hundreds of years, and they have a very average set of genes, so there’s no reason we can’t achieve their outcomes if we pay closer attention to our own lives.”

The Secrets of the Blue Zones docuseries is now streaming on Netflix. The companion book, The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer, is available online and in bookstores August 29.

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Ultramarathon Champion Austin Meyer on Life as a Vegan Endurance Athlete

Megan Edwards — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 18:14:26 +0000

In the spring of 2023, Austin Meyer won his first ultramarathon—a grueling 100-kilometer trail race through the majestic landscape of Zion National Park. The path to his incredible achievement was paved by years of dedicated training, an unwavering positive attitude, and lots of plant-based meals. Meyer was first introduced to veganism in 2018 and has since seized the opportunity to promote a plant-based lifestyle not only through his athletic pursuits but also as a professional documentarian and journalist. FOK spoke with Meyer about how he found ultramarathon running after the end of another athletic dream, why veganism is more of a lifestyle than a diet, and how he hopes to inspire other athletes by fueling his wins with plant power.

What inspired you to start running in ultramarathons?

Austin Meyer: From 2010 to 2014 I played for the Stanford University soccer team. My vision was always to be a professional soccer player. At the end of my college soccer career, I hoped to hear my name called in the [Major League Soccer] draft. I had been going on trial with some teams, but unfortunately it didn’t pan out. So at that point, I decided to stay in school and pursue a graduate degree in journalism instead of playing second division professional. But what it meant was that I had to find a new athletic identity. I really was distraught when my soccer career was over, I was searching for that void to be filled. And in that time of searching, I ended up stumbling upon a book called Born to Run. It talks about how humans are distinct in our physiology to be able to cover super long distances on foot, and it talked a lot about ultra trail running. It sounded so wild, but also really captivated my imagination and made me think, “I wonder if I could do that.” And so having never run a race of any distance in my life, I decided to sign up for a 50-mile trail race.

You didn’t want to ease into it?

AM: In soccer I might be running eight miles in a game. So there was something about doing a 50-mile race where I was like, “I truly don’t know if I can do this.” And that really excited me. Whereas I was pretty confident I could do a marathon, the 50-mile race was this big unknown. And so the experience of training for that race and then running that first race in 2016 was kind of the kickstart of this new obsession with ultramarathons.

You’ve since run 12 ultramarathons, winning the Zion 100K Trail Race earlier this year. What’s your training process like?

AM: I train six days a week, and then the seventh day I use as a rest and recovery day. In those six days of training, I’m getting in the range of 65 to 75 miles per week. Two of those days I’ll have more concentrated speed work where I’m really focused on building my running efficiency and speed. And then the other four of those days are more focused on just enjoying the trails and going at a conversational pace. Most of that training happens in the woods, in the forests here in the East Bay [of San Francisco].

What is it like to be running alone on these extra-long races?

AM: One of the reasons I’m drawn to this sport so much is the mental challenge of being in complete solitude throughout training for over 10 hours a week. And then on race day, I almost go into a meditative trance as I run. I’m not listening to music; it’s just me and my thoughts and the pitter-patter of my feet. And my mind scans between a few different variables, like, “How’s my pace? Am I eating enough? Am I drinking enough?” And then just trying to stay as present and in the moment as possible. Zion was the first ultra marathon that I ever won, and it’s also the first ultra marathon that I’ve really been in the lead at all. So having that experience of being chased by a field of over 200 people was really unique. I remember trying to forget the fact that I was in the lead and just be present with the current mile I was on. I was trying to chase the ghost of my own potential rather than worry about people behind me who might catch up.

How did you feel crossing the finish line in Zion?

AM: For the past three ultra marathons I’ve done at the 100K distance, within 10 minutes of finishing I was in the medical tent needing attention. The previous one before this, I was in a wheelchair just minutes after. But for one reason or another, when I finished the race in Zion I was able to celebrate with my girlfriend and didn’t need to go to a medical tent. I got to cheer on the people who were finishing behind me who had been in this awesome race with me all day. It was a moment where I got to really reflect on these seven years post-soccer. I felt a lot of gratitude for the fact that even though one sport I loved was suddenly gone, I found something else to take its place.

Tell us about your journey with veganism.

AM: I went vegan in 2018. That year I got a grant from National Geographic to make a documentary film in Zambia. I arrived in Lusaka, Zambia, and had a few weeks of logistics before I could really start the project I was working on. So I had all this space in this new location separated from the identity that I had constructed for myself at home. In that space of solitude and reflection, and being a little uncomfortable with the new surroundings, there was something about my mindset that just started to open in a new way. At that time, I was listening to a podcast called The Rich Roll Podcast, which is hosted by a vegan endurance athlete. I’d been in the endurance arena for a couple years at that point, and was always thinking about how to optimize my performance. Rich Roll often has guests who come on and talk about veganism, and in the past I had always been like, “Ah, no, I’m going to skip over this; it’s not for me.” But in that space of having my mind opened by this new context of where I was living, suddenly I was open to listening to the messages and really taking them to heart. I just started binge listening. And within a day or two, I was convinced that going vegan would be in alignment with the values I hold most dear.

What are the values that you feel veganism aligns with?

AM: So the first one is the value of compassion and care. I was shocked and horrified when I heard about just how poorly animals are treated in the industrial farming system. It was so clear to me how my dollars and my decisions were leading directly to the suffering of an individual, and I couldn’t come up with any sort of justification to continue doing that. Another core value is vitality, which I view as cultivating the life force energy that enables me to go on adventures—not just right now but also as I get older, so I can do the things I love for as long as possible. I started to listen to the evidence-based health benefits for performance and longevity. And then lastly, I’m an environmentalist. One of the things that I love so much about veganism is that it makes me feel very empowered in the face of such insurmountable challenges. It feels amazing to be able to act in alignment with my values every single day, multiple times a day, by choosing what I eat.

Did you notice any changes in terms of athletic performance after going vegan?

AM: The immediate shift I felt was more of a mental transformation—how good I felt to be living in alignment with my values. And then since going vegan and continuing to get more educated about how to optimize a whole-food, plant-based diet, I’ve absolutely seen how that has propelled my performance as an ultra athlete. I feel like eating WFPB has really helped me stay injury free so that I could make such immense strides since I started this sport. It’s amazing for me to say right now, almost a decade out of being a Stanford soccer player, that I’m fitter than I was back then.

What do you hope your achievements show to others about being a vegan athlete?

AM: I’m representing a counter narrative to what so many people view defines the vegan diet, which is this idea that it isn’t masculine or that you can’t be a great athlete. So if I can win a race or have amazingly consistent training and be someone who’s positive about it, maybe even just one person will think differently about how they eat and how that could impact their performance. It’s very rewarding for me to look at it in those terms.

How does your passion for storytelling intertwine with your vegan values?

AM: My personal sensibilities as a documentarian lean more towards the inspirational and the positive. I love telling stories about the animals at sanctuaries—their backstories and what their lives are like now. I’m also really interested in finding stories that get people to see animals as someone rather than something. Oftentimes what that looks like is finding stories that highlight the interconnectedness between humans and animals and that tender, innate connection that we have. Most recently, I was in Rwanda for three weeks filming a documentary about wildlife veterinarians that look after an endangered mountain gorilla population in Volcanoes National Park.

What advice would you give to someone who is curious about going vegan but isn’t sure where to start?

AM: My first piece of advice is to think about your personal values and then look for resources that speak to how veganism interacts with them. I guarantee pretty much whatever value or issue you hold dear, veganism interacts with it. Starting there means you’re grounded in a “why” that will help you navigate the challenges along the way. And if you come up against friction from family members or a partner, I would say to lead by example. My hope is that as an athlete I can continue to run with joy and a positive spirit and continue to progress for many years, and that success will do the loudest talking about the merits of a vegan diet. Just do your best to be a lighthouse of inspiration that guides people toward making positive choices for themselves.

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