As I grew older, new symptoms started popping up, including chronic fatigue, bloating, brain fog, atypical migraines, significant rosacea, and a Morton’s neuroma in my foot. I was resistant to going on prescription medications for the long term to treat any of these conditions, but I wasn’t sure what other options were available.

A Whole New World

In 2015, I read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, and the world of nutrition opened up for me. I was intrigued and excited. The concept of a whole-food, plant-based diet for disease reversal was completely foreign to me. After that, I watched the Forks Over Knives documentary film and listened to nutrition-related podcasts. As I continued to research, a theme became clear: Food really is medicine. In 2016, I began to put what I was learning into practice, going whole-food, plant-based. 

I found some changes easy, such as ditching meat, fast food, and soda. I took a more gradual approach to other changes, such as minimizing added sugar and eliminating oil. But as my energy levels improved, I knew I was on to something, so I forged ahead.

Living Well on a WFPB Diet

Since going WFPB five years ago, I have either completely reversed or significantly improved all of the health problems I was experiencing. My menstrual cramps, acne, atypical migraines, Morton’s neuroma, and chronic fatigue have all disappeared, and my bloating and rosacea have noticeably decreased. I’m still amazed what a difference this lifestyle change has made. 

I love the food I eat now and have a new appreciation for it. My go-to breakfast is oatmeal with blueberries, walnuts, and dates. (I love to make my own nut milk!) Lunch might be chia seed “cereal” with fruit and cinnamon and avocado toast. My favorite dinner is tacos with black beans, salsa, avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice, served on corn tortillas. 

Fortunately, my kids have also gotten used to this way of eating, too. Nothing makes me happier than to hear my 9-year-old son tell me that he likes vegan Caesar salad better than candy.

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

The post A Healthy Vegan Diet Took Me from Rosacea-Prone to Radiant appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

1. Leave Behind Fried Foods and Meat

These foods contain harmful compounds called advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that eat away at the collagen holding up your skin. Ultimately, this leads to wrinkling. “I like to say if you want your skin to look like bacon, eat bacon,” says Rajani Katta, MD, author of Glow: The Dermatologist’s Guide to a Whole Foods Younger Skin Diet and a volunteer clinical faculty member at the Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UT Health. In a 2018 study of nearly 3,000 elderly people in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Dutch researchers found that women who consumed a diet heavy in red meat and snacks had more wrinkles than women who ate a fruit-heavy diet.

2. Avoid Sugar Bombs

AGEs aren’t just found in fried foods and meat; they also form when sugar molecules in the bloodstream combine with proteins. “AGEs are like termites,” Katta says. “They weaken the support systems of your skin, leading to what we call sugar sag.” A 2011 study out of the Netherlands found that people with the highest blood sugar levels were perceived to be older than people who had the lowest blood sugar levels. Minimize obvious sources of added sugar as well as juices, which are stripped of the fiber that helps prevent spikes in blood sugar.

3. Drink Water, Not Milk or Sugary Beverages

Hydration with water is critical to skin health. Dairy and sweetened drinks, on the other hand, may be detrimental. A 2020 study in JAMA Dermatology that looked at dietary habits of nearly 25,000 people found that drinking milk and sugary beverages (as well as eating fatty and sugary foods) was associated with adult acne.

4. Choose Whole Plant Foods Over Processed Foods

Daily exposure to free radicals from things like air pollution and UV radiation accelerates skin aging. “Free radicals are like hail and rain hitting the roof of your house and starting to damage it over time,” Katta says. To protect against this oxidative damage, eat whole plant foods including vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. These are naturally rich in antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals and reduce skin-damaging inflammation. They are also rich in fiber to stabilize blood sugar and protect against wrinkles.

By comparison, highly processed foods such as white bread and white rice can also lead to rapidly elevated blood sugar levels that are so hard on your skin. Eating these nutritionally inferior foods crowds out healthier choices and is a lost opportunity to nourish skin with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

5. Skip Antioxidant Supplements

In a French study published in the Journal of Nutrition that aimed to test whether supplementing with a combo of antioxidant vitamins and minerals could reduce the risk of skin cancers, women taking the supplement actually had higher rates of skin cancer than those given a placebo. Keep in mind that the myriad nutrients in whole plant foods work synergistically, and science hasn’t entirely figured out how to replicate that magic with supplements.

6. Don’t Skimp on Herbs and Spices

Spices are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-glycation powerhouses. A study in Nutrition Journal that evaluated the antioxidant content of more than 3,100 different foods found herbs and spices to be some of the richest sources they measured.

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

The post How to Eat for Healthy Skin appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Painful Eczema Breakouts

Shortly after I started consuming animal products again, I noticed eczema rashes cropping up with increasing frequency. Over the next several months, the eczema spread around my body. By the fall of 2020, my hands, armpits, and elbows were covered in red, inflamed rashes. It was a good day if they weren’t cracked and oozing blood or liquid. 

Since the eczema rashes had first appeared, I’d tried countless natural remedies to eradicate them. There isn’t much information available about how to cure or relieve eczema, so it was a difficult process, trying to figure out what might help. I tried a low-carb diet, an elimination diet, and then settled on a Paleo diet, eating no grains, few fruits, and ample grass-fed beef and dairy, which many people on the internet said would help relieve eczema symptoms. 

I also tried to treat eczema topically, with expensive creams and anything else that I read might help. Some things provided relief at first, but within two or three days, the rashes would come back even worse than before. 

Finding the Right Diet for Eczema

On Thanksgiving Day of 2020, it had gotten so bad: My hands were bleeding, swollen, and sore. The only thing left I could think to try was what I had known before: a whole-food, plant-based diet. So the following day I watched Forks Over Knives for a second time, along with several other plant-based documentaries. I cut out all animal foods and oils, and began the journey again. 

I snapped the photo you see above of my eczema the day after going whole-food, plant-based. I remember feeling so happy when I took that picture: It still looked awfully bad, but my inflammation had already started decreasing and the bleeding had stopped. That little improvement (which at the time felt like a giant leap!) empowered me to keep going. 

Within a month, the pain and inflammation significantly decreased. Within three months, the eczema rashes on my hands, armpits, and elbows completely went away. 

Since then, I have had a few flare-ups here and there, when I’ve eaten at restaurants or had refined foods, but even the flare-ups are much more manageable. 

Beyond seeing my severe eczema almost completely disappear, I’ve noticed other positive changes since going whole-food, plant-based. My acne has gone away, my bloating and constipation are gone, I have so much energy I feel like I constantly need to move, and I have returned to a healthy weight for my height. 

These days, my husband and I keep a fully WFPB household. We love making dishes with Mexican flavors, such as tostadas and burrito bowls. And I love snacking on veggies and find that I crave them the most. My friends and family are amazed that my eczema is virtually gone, and they’re happy to see my emotional health improving. My mom and her boyfriend are now trying to eat more whole-food, plant-based, as well. 

I’m incredibly thankful for the WFPB community, and hope that others with eczema find relief by nourishing the body with what it needs to fight inflammation and build a healthy, self-healing gut. The world of eczema feels cryptic and confusing, but the WFPB diet has been empowering!

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

The post On a Plant-Based Diet, I’m Finally Finding Relief from Severe Eczema appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

In 2010, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Then, in 2012, I was diagnosed with fatty liver disease. The diagnoses just kept coming over the next few years: sleep apnea, eczema, and kidney stones. But at my twice-yearly physicals, my doctor always told the same thing—that I looked fine and had nothing to worry about. He said to just watch what I ate and to keep taking my prescribed medications and all would be well. Well, it wasn’t, and I wasn’t getting any better.

So in July 2019 I decided to see a new doctor. At my preliminary appointment, I had blood work done. During my 50-minute drive home, I received an email that my results were available. I pulled over and opened my email. There was a message attached to the first blood sample result, my A1C. It was at 6.6—the early stages of type 2 diabetes. I was devastated. I never thought this would happen to me. 

Due to my other conditions, the doctor said that it was imperative that I immediately start taking metformin once a day. I was determined to find other solutions that wouldn’t require my being on medication forever.

Studying Up on Nutrition

My journey toward better health began immediately after my diabetes diagnosis, when I adopted a Mediterranean diet. I cut out red meat and focused on eating more whole foods. A couple months later, I came across the documentary What the Health. The film piqued the interest of my inner student. I wanted to know more about food and how it impacts our bodies. Then I watched Forks Over Knives. This solidified it for me. 

In August 2019 I transitioned to the whole-food, plant-based way of eating. Cheese was a hard habit to break, because it had been such a big part of my diet before. And it was a challenge finding whole-food, plant-based options when going out to eat with friends or traveling for work. I learned early on that I needed to make sure I packed a small cooler with necessities, in case I found myself in a situation where the food options didn’t fit my new lifestyle. 

I ate a lot of whole grains, nuts, seeds, and fruit. (I was so surprised that I could eat as much fruit as I wanted and still lose weight!) I learned to cook and use spices strategically, opening up a world of food choices that are fulfilling and delicious. 

Health Gains and Weight Loss

Within three months of going plant-based, I’d lost 20 pounds. By June 2020, I’d lost 40 pounds, and my doctor took me off the metformin. 

Now, a year and a half after making the switch, I have reversed all of the diseases and conditions that I’d been living with, from type 2 diabetes to eczema to sleep apnea. I was able to discontinue all prescription medications over six months ago. I’ve been able to maintain my 45-pound weight loss.

My husband has been the most amazing supporter throughout this entire journey, and he’s now adopted this way of eating, too. Recently, I enrolled in the Plant-based Nutrition Certification program through eCornell to gain a deeper understanding of the science behind whole-food, plant-based nutrition. This has truly become a permanent lifestyle change. My only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner.

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

The post A Diabetes Diagnosis Shocked Me Into Changing My Diet. The Results Have Been Incredible appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

In November 2014, my boyfriend and I had an amazing Maui vacation, which included a day spent at a goat farm gorging ourselves on goat cheese (one of my favorite things at that point in my life). Then, during the last few days of the vacation, we had some downtime and decided to watch Forks Over Knives.

If you had asked me before that day if I had any health issues related to diet I would have answered with a resounding “No.” I was within a normal weight range and, though I had always struggled to stay there, I believed that I was, overall, very healthy. I had a handful of health issues—such as eczema, arthritis, and asthma—but I didn’t realize they could be related to food.

Shocked into Action
Before the Forks Over Knives documentary had even ended, I’d decided that I could not ignore the information that was being presented. The sheer shock was enough to motivate me into an experimental change of diet. I had no plans for how long I would stick to it; I didn’t even really understand what “whole-food plant-based” was. But I spent the next few weeks purging my kitchen of foods that I knew didn’t qualify as health-promoting. I searched the internet to see what the doctors and researchers I had learned about in the film said I should be eating.

As I was discovering all this new knowledge and trying new recipes, something really strange happened. I started feeling better. Asthma that I’d had since I was a child—vanished. Allergies that I suffered from for over 10 years—gone. Eczema that covered my back and arms—disappeared. Arthritis pain that had been affecting my ability to work—no more. All of a sudden I realized that maybe I hadn’t been all that healthy after all.

Going Deeper
Then over the next few months other benefits became apparent. Migraines that I had been having every two to three months dropped down to only once a year. I didn’t feel tired after eating. I was sleeping deeper. Chronic sinus infections stopped.

I had been in the process of becoming a living organ donor, so I was having extensive blood work done for that. When I had a follow-up appointment, my doctor exclaimed that I had the best lab work she had ever seen. She proceeded to print it off for me and told me it was frame-worthy. She asked me what I ate and was shocked when I told her “mostly plants.”  

There were days after that point when I ate non-WFPB, but it always made me sick; I got eczema flares-ups within hours of eating dairy. Ditching oil was certainty the hardest part for me. I can cook without it no problem, but there are so many things that are almost WFPB—except that they contain oil. Finding good flatbread has been a challenge! But overall, the transition was relatively easy, because I just felt too good to go back to eating my old foods.

Nurturing Others on a Plant-Based Path
I am now a mom of two little whole-food plant-based kids! They are both thriving on plants.

Going WFPB has changed my life, and I am passionate about ensuring that other people with health concerns, big or small, have access to this life-changing information. I run a local WFPB Society and I share my recipes with friends and followers online. I am very thankful for Forks Over Knives, as it has improved my health and surely added quality years to my life.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post Eczema, Arthritis, Asthma, Migraines—All Gone After Going Plant-Based appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

My family has always been fairly health conscious. My mom and dad worked out and tried to teach us to eat healthy, at least most of the time. A lot of our meals consisted of meat and veggies, as my dad has a gluten intolerance. I have three younger brothers, and our parents were always pushing us to eat more protein. I ate a lot of meat, cheese, butter, and eggs, often in low-carb wraps or by themselves.

Painful Breakouts
When I was 16, my skin started breaking out. My mom and my grandma had both dealt with cystic acne in their teens, but theirs hadn’t appeared as quickly or caused as much damage. As the years went by, my skin refused to improve. My parents and I tried everything from benzoyl peroxide face washes to chemical peels, none of which helped for more than a month.

It wasn’t until I was 19 that I started taking antibiotics. Antibiotics were the first thing to help from the inside out. That was my lightbulb moment: I realized that something internal was causing the cysts to form.

Eventually, though, the antibiotics stopped making a difference. I tried probiotics, but they stopped helping after a while, too. In June 2017, my skin was still breaking out. I had deep, pitted scars and large, painful cysts that were difficult to cover even with the best makeup. Finally, I’d run out of options.

A Taste of Change
That next month I started a “cleanse,” something I’d done before but never to this extreme. I cut out all dairy, gluten, sugar, and fast food. During this time, I told my mom how expensive the cleanse was, and she suggested a meal plan that was completely plant based and cost under $25 a week. I had nothing to lose, so I tried it. I noticed that my skin improved slightly during the part of the cleanse when I wasn’t eating animal products. That was my first introduction to vegan eating.

But after that month-long cleanse, I went back to eating the way I had before, and my acne flared up again. By November, I was at my wits’ end. I needed a long-term solution. I had always joked about going vegan as a last-ditch effort. Finally, in desperation, I went vegan two weeks before Thanksgiving.

Clear Results
Sticking to a vegan diet was rough at first, and I definitely cheated over the holidays. I missed pizza so much I would have given my left pinky toe for a slice—but by the New Year my skin was looking better than it had in a long time. It took a couple months, but the cysts cleared up. I’ve been plant-based ever since, and I haven’t had a flare-up of cystic acne in over four months. My skin is clearer; my energy is higher; and, for the first time since puberty, I’ve been able to keep a stable, healthy weight. I’ve started weight training, which has increased my energy even more. I’ve been able to encourage my friends and family to eat more plant-based meals and to try different vegan foods. I even made a fully raw pineapple cake for my family over Christmas. It’s been nine months since I started this vegan journey, and I don’t plan on ever going back!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post I Went Plant-Based and Conquered My Cystic Acne appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

“It totally took a toll on us emotionally,” says Randa. “We became hermit versions of ourselves. We didn’t want to leave the house. We didn’t want to go hang out with our friends. We didn’t want to go to parties. We couldn’t even get called out on auditions. So everything just kind of went on hold. And forget about dating. That was the last thing we would do. We didn’t have any confidence. We even stopped making YouTube videos.”

The twins tried everything from costly facials to antibiotics. Faced with a decision about whether or not to start Accutane, a serious acne medication that requires monthly blood testing and comes with a long list of alarming side effects, they thought, “Wow, this is what we have to do to have clear skin? No. There’s got to be a different way to go.”

Although they were already eating a vegan diet, the twins looked to their plates for a solution. Read on for the key diet changes that restored their clear skin and confidence, and inspired them to write The Clear Skin Diet.

FOK: How did you make the connection between what you were eating and your acne?
Nina: We made the connection when we were looking at John McDougall’s website. It said that there are parts of the world where people don’t have acne, like in Papua New Guinea and Okinawa, where they eat a low-fat, minimally processed diet. So we said, “We’re going to try that!” And pretty much within three days, we still had some zits, but we noticed that they were smaller. And the inflammation was coming down. Our skin was so much less oily that we just knew, “Okay, we have to stick with this. It’s working.” It was that fast. Obviously, our skin wasn’t perfect overnight, but when your skin is so, so bad, you know when it’s getting worse and we just knew and could feel that it was getting better.

FOK: What specific foods are included in The Clear Skin Diet, and what’s off the menu?
Randa: The Clear Skin Diet is a low-fat, whole-food, plant-based diet. So basically you’re eating only plant foods and no animal products such as meat and dairy. You also can’t eat any high-fat plant foods like oil, soy milk, avocado, peanut butter, nuts, or vegan cheeses. And the center of the diet is starch-based.

FOK: What was your diet like when your acne was at its worst? What specific changes helped clear up your skin?
Randa: Before we came to our diet, we were already vegan, and we thought we ate a healthy diet. We definitely ate healthier compared to some of our friends and the average person. But we were eating lots of fat at the time. Well, I didn’t think it was a lot, but it adds up every day. So we were having soy milk in our oatmeal. We were having peanut butter. We would go out to restaurants sometimes when we were traveling, and there would be oil in the food. We were eating avocado, vegan chocolate, and sometimes we’d have vegan ice cream. But I think it was the soy milk that really did it for us; it’s just the fat. We would have had the same reaction to almond milk or coconut milk. Basically, it was the accumulation of foods like peanut butter, soy milk, and oil.
Nina: And hummus! The foundation of our diet was still rice, beans, potatoes—that was mainly what we were eating because that’s what our mom made—but we would have hummus, avocado, maybe have some vegan chocolate occasionally. And just having a little bit of that every day made such a difference with inflammation on our faces. ‘What is moderation?’ I thought, ‘I only have a little bit every day.’ But it really makes a difference in your skin.

FOK: What are the most important takeaways from the book for people who are struggling with acne?
Randa: I think the biggest takeaway from our book is that you can literally take control of your skin. It’s so empowering to know that you can take control. I just remember feeling free when I realized, ‘Wow, the power is in my hands.’ I know that my skin is going to be clear and I can literally control it myself and it’s one less worry. I don’t have to worry about my skin.
Nina: Also, if you really want to see results and clear your skin, I would say give it your all. What [else] do you have to lose except maybe some weight that you want to lose?

FOK: Any surprises in store for the reader?
Randa: I think it’s surprising to some people that it’s so easy to eat this way. Not only is it easy, but it tastes good and you’re satisfied. I have friends that might think, ‘Oh, that must be such a hard diet to follow.’ And then they come to my house and I feed them my food and they’re like, ‘Wow, I really like this food. I could do this.’ It’s easy, and it’s great and delicious.
Nina: Yeah, I think a big takeaway is that you’re just going to enjoy the food. When people go on diets and they have to restrict themselves, a lot of them are hungry. We never go hungry. We always feel satisfied. We look at food as our fuel. The most important thing is that we feel good. And when you feel good, you look good.

FOK: The Clear Skin Diet defines six key principles. Can you give us a run-through of those guidelines?
Randa: The guidelines are: 1. Plant foods only (no animal products). 2. Unrefined starches are going to be the center of your diet. 3. Avoid all oils. 4. Avoid high-fat plant foods like avocado, nuts, seeds, tofu, and soy. 5. Eat whole foods (that means food that is grown and minimally processed). 6. Just eat simply; It’s not important to get a ton of variety because when you’re eating healthy, you’re getting everything that you need.

FOK: Once you’ve adopted those guidelines, how long does it take to see results?
Nina: Some people experience results, like we did, in three days. And for some people, it takes two weeks. And then for other people, it can take longer, which is why we say in the book to give it at least six weeks. But it really just depends on the person. We tell people to remember that when people go on Accutane or [other] drugs like that, it can take three or four months to see results.

FOK: How strictly do you have to follow the diet for it to work?
Randa: The more you stick to the diet, the better the results you’re going to see. Some people don’t have to stick to the diet one hundred percent once they clear their acne. They can start to reintroduce foods and maybe see which foods lead to more acne. But we just encourage people to clear their acne, stop the breakouts, and then they can reintroduce foods.
Nina: When people stick to the diet one hundred percent and their skin clears up, and then they do reintroduce foods and they start breaking out, they’re like, ‘It’s totally not worth it.’ And most people are so satisfied with the foods they’re eating that they don’t even feel the need to add any other foods back in. I mean that’s the way we feel. We’re so happy with the results and the way we feel that we don’t miss any of those foods.

FOK: There are so many tasty-sounding recipes in the book. Do you have any favorites?
Randa: My favorite recipe is the Sweet Potato Pizza Crust with Roasted Veggies. It’s really fun to make and it’s so good and filling.
Nina: My favorite is the Lazy Lentil Loaf. It’s so filling and it’s kind of like sweet and savory. It’s amazing.

FOK: They sound really tasty. How did you go about developing the recipes?
Randa: Our mom helped come up with the recipes. They are family recipes, stuff that we learned over the years.
Nina: And things that most people like. Everybody loves pizza, everybody loves tacos, everybody likes brownies and mashed potatoes. So we kind of saw different foods that people like to eat and thought, “How can we make them healthy?” And it’s really not that hard to make them healthy and enjoyable. You feel good and you get clear skin.

The post The Best Diet for Acne: A Q&A with Nina and Randa Nelson, Co-Authors of “The Clear Skin Diet” appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

The acne really took a toll on us as entertainers (we’re musicians and actors). We were depressed and didn’t want to go out or step in front of a camera. It was a total confidence-killer. It was also horribly painful and uncomfortable and itchy. We didn’t even want to take photos when it was at its worst, so the photos you see here are actually from when our acne started getting better.

We tried everything, including top dermatologists, antibiotics, special facials, blue light therapy, and prescription skincare products. The doctors we saw all eventually recommended the powerful acne medication Accutane, since the acne wasn’t responding to any other treatment. We had friends who had taken Accutane, so we knew about its reputation for bad side effects and wanted to avoid using it if possible. We were raised vegan, ate healthy, and already didn’t eat dairy (which is often linked to acne), so we mostly didn’t think our diet could be causing our breakouts.

We were at a loss for what to do until our father suggested that we look at research by Dr. John McDougall. Years ago, our mother had been cured of an autoimmune disease after following Dr. McDougall’s advice, so we already trusted him and knew he was capable of doing the impossible. We immediately read this article and took notice of a few of his points, including this:

“Multiple studies of people living on their traditional native diets—almost all of which are low-fat diets … have found these people have little or no acne.”

He went on to say that “it does not take much fat on the skin to plug the pores, feed the bacteria, and cause acne in susceptible people.”

We were raised vegan and try to eat healthy, but we did eat some fatty foods, like nuts, oils, avocados, and processed (higher fat) soy products. As soon as we read this article and other research by Dr. McDougall, we realized that our acne first started to flare up when our parents were traveling. During that time, we were eating a lot of peanut butter on toast. Shortly afterward, we left for Europe, where our bad acne only got worse. Because we were traveling, we were eating a lot more restaurant food prepared with oil, soy products, soy milk, and processed foods like Clif Bars.

After realizing this, we immediately started on a no-oil, low-fat diet. We cut out the oil, peanut butter, and soy products and saw positive results almost immediately. In just three days, neither of us had any more new breakouts. It took a while for the old acne to heal, but we were so excited from that first week. We felt like we could see things improving before our eyes.

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The “after” pictures above (top: Randa; bottom: Nina) are from just six weeks after we started the low-fat diet. We now eat a whole-food, plant-based diet with lots of whole grains, beans, fruits, potatoes, and vegetables. We also eat extra dried fruit and smoothies with oats to keep our weight up. (We lost five pounds each by cutting out the oil and fats, and we don’t want to lose anymore.)

We know our story sounds unbelievable, but it’s true, and we are sharing these photos to help people. If you’re struggling with acne, we hope our story will inspire you to try a low-fat, plant-based diet. It’s an easy, free, drug-free therapy that treats the cause of your acne, and not just the symptoms.

All photos courtesy of Nina and Randa Nelson.

The post How We Cured Cystic Acne With One Simple Diet Change appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

That was me, diagnosed with asthma and immediately put on all types of medication. The meds made me feel jittery and not “right.” I tried my best to not let the asthma or drugs slow me down, but it was difficult. In college, I was placed on “better” medications and given a “rescue” inhaler, which I used consistently. In addition, a severe case of eczema developed on many parts of my body. Many trips to the doctor and expensive lotions didn’t help.

Still active, I took up running but could go for only a few miles at a time. Inspired by a coworker, I decided to train for a marathon and in 2008 completed it with a time of 3:51:17. I got the “running bug” and began to train more seriously.

In addition, I started studying nutrition and paying close attention to what was working best for my performance and recovery. After reading an article about eliminating red meat from my diet, I tried it, and gradually moved to a vegetarian diet. In 2011, I saw a trailer for the Forks Over Knives documentary and knew I had to see it. One day, in the middle of the workday, I checked the movie listings and saw that it was playing in my area. At that moment I felt compelled to see the movie and dropped everything that afternoon to do so.

After seeing Forks Over Knives, I decided to try the plant-based diet approach. Within a short period of time, I noticed my asthma and eczema symptoms were not as prevalent as they had been. Working with my allergist and nutritionist, I reduced the medication and eventually stopped taking medications altogether. For 33 years I had taken medication every day ― this was a life transforming event for me!

And, while this was all going on, I continued to train and run marathons. After moving to a plant-based diet, I noticed my performance and recovery times improved significantly, and I was able to reach one of my goals: qualifying for the Boston Marathon. To date, I’ve run 14 marathons and qualified for four Boston Marathons, running in two of them (including 2013, where I finished ahead of the bombing).

The NBC affiliate in Detroit has a health segment and featured my story earlier this year. I’ve never been more active or felt better. Each day I’m amazed that I no longer take medication and that my eczema is completely gone!

The post From Meds to Marathons: How a Plant-Based Diet Reversed My Asthma and Eczema appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

In between beating myself up over my health, though, I sometimes had this hopeful voice in the back of my head telling me something would motivate me to change … I just had no idea what it was going to be.

The key became incredibly clear to me, with immense thanks to Netflix and YouTube, on the last two days of 2012. Having discovered several food documentaries, one being Forks Over Knives, and an informational health presentation, my world―and my views about food and well-being―changed overnight. My answer was to go vegan, to adopt a plant-based lifestyle.

So on January 1st of 2013, I began a new journey in life. As the first weeks went by, the changes that came along with the plant-based lifestyle astonished me. After three days of no dairy, I started breathing better, though I had no idea I had struggled before. My chest, my lungs, my body felt lighter and cleaner. A fog lifted from my mind, and I felt clear-headed and alert. I was inspired to try new foods and scope out new recipes. I had more fun cooking than I had in years. Best of all, I started losing weight immediately.

Slowly, over the first six months, I dropped close to 30 pounds. A few months after that, I visited my doctor for strep throat. A routine blood pressure reading revealed that my previously high blood pressure (high 140s in 2012) had dropped to 102/72 … Wow! I almost burst into tears. Never in my adult life had my blood pressure been so low!

Today, I am happily resting at 145 pounds, my pre-pregnancy weight … an accomplishment I would never have dreamed possible in 2012. In addition to that, I feel amazing every day. I’m happy, have plenty of energy, and the acne that used to cover the sides of my face has completely disappeared. I’m content in my own skin again … and I’m very happy to be leaving a lighter footprint on this planet for my daughter and future generations.

While 2013 had its ups and downs and trials and errors, I feel like I am growing into the person I have always wanted to be. I have found my path and am already inspiring others by example to find theirs. I enthusiastically recommend Forks Over Knives and similar documentaries to anyone who shows interest. Watching others make changes after witnessing my transformation has been the most inspiring thing of all.

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