Jennifer Yager 4/23/24 Jennifer Yager 4/23/24

6. If It’s Important, Stick With It

As I write at my computer, I can hear a robin working hard to install her nest above our front window. She must have built one there last year and probably even before that, but we installed new windows this year. The ledge on the new window is either not as wide or more slippery, but she is having a very hard time establishing her nest. A growing pile of long, dry grasses is gathering below the window because whenever the breeze picks up, her work is blown to the ground.

We have been watching this heartbreaking (for us) drama unfold for about a week now. My earnest 9-year-old feels passionate about helping this bird establish her seasonal home and insisted that she go to our window so that she has a more stable place to roost. This weekend, my devoted husband took all three girls to the hardware store in their pajamas, came home with a birdhouse and installed it as directed. Problem solved, right?!

No. The robin doesn’t even look at the birdhouse, which we even stocked with lovely birdseed. She just continues to plug away at her window ledge. It is a stretch to compare the instinctive behavior of a wild animal to human endeavors, but I started thinking that maybe the robin is not as sad, frustrated, upset, and desperate as we are for her to create a beautiful, stable nest. She is rebuilding her nest, and that’s just what she does. She shows up every day and does it, even when it doesn’t work.

I aim to stick to things that matter to me, even when it’s not going 100% perfect. As it pertains to this blog, eating a plant-based diet is important to me for many reasons. Still, sometimes, I find myself in a social situation where I eat something that has dairy or egg in it, either accidentally or knowingly. This doesn’t happen often, but it is worth mentioning that I am not perfect, nor is perfection my goal.

The point is that no one is perfect, and perfect is the enemy of good. Granted, plenty of people are better at this than I am, and my goal is to get better each day. Ultimately, choosing against my stated values - eating plant-based - does not feel great, physically or emotionally. Spending too much energy criticizing myself for being imperfect is even worse. So much online content is perfectly curated, but real life is messy. I hope that sharing my experience with imperfection will create space for discussion or permit someone else to try eating plant-based without feeling like “you’re in or you're out.” Life, emotions, and human behavior are so much more complicated than that.

Here’s to doing a little bit every day.

How do you handle veering off the path when changing a habit?

*As always, this website and blog information is not medical advice. Please consult your medical professional if you are changing your health behaviors, including starting a new diet or exercise program.

Jennifer Yager 4/17/24 Jennifer Yager 4/17/24

5. WFPB Police

I have been interested in a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) eating pattern for the past few years. It is a term coined by Dr. T. Collin Campbell, author of The China Stud, Whole, and others. The animal rights aspect of eliminating animals from my diet has lingered in the back of my mind for years, and my first introduction to the concept that eating a plant-based diet is particularly beneficial for health was the Forks Over Knives Documentary, which is also largely based on The China Study. I also read Rich Roll’s book Finding Ultra and Scott Jurek’s Eat and Run. Both were extremely compelling cases for eating an exclusively plant-based diet, but I did not fully take the plunge. More recently, a friend gave me the book How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Gregor, and the information in that book set off my deeper interest. Every bit of information plants and waters seeds of interest. I have read so many books on the topic and love them all!

Once ignited, I could not contain my enthusiasm and talked about WFPB eating with anyone who would listen. I probably still do, but I am a bit more discerning at this point for fear of annoying or boring people directly out of interest.

When proselytizing about eating a WFPB diet, as one tends to do when feeling passionate about something, my cousin became interested and set off on her own journey along with her young family. I do not recommend proselytizing, but I am only human and succumbed to the urge. I was happy to have sparked her interest because eating a WFPB diet is excellent for overall health. Also, selfishly, getting other people on board broadens my options at gatherings for delicious plant-based food.

But I started to worry that my overzealous sharing of the information I’d gathered went a bit too far because, at one point, she expressed concern about veering from the path and being found out by the “WFPB police.” I reassured her that there is no such enforcement agency, and I was especially in no position to criticize anyone for eating a less-than-perfect WFPB diet. I, too, fed my kids Mac n’ cheese occasionally (though less than before). I, too, ate some of the most heinously processed foods on the planet every now and then.

Eating a perfect diet, following food rules, and making sure our kids only eat the “cleanest” foods sprung from the Earth are not ideals that I am promoting. We are all doing our best with the information and resources, including time, that we have. Perfect is the enemy of good. I felt terrible for scaring my cousin into an anxious state about what to feed her family, and I hope to avoid that in the future. That said, I still love to talk about eating plant-based food with willing participants, including my cousin.

Have you fallen in love with WFPB food and spread to word to your loved ones?

Jennifer Yager 4/15/24 Jennifer Yager 4/15/24

4. Privilege of Choice

An important aspect of an exclusively plant-based eating pattern or having any choice about what we eat is privilege. With the privilege of choice, this conversation would be relevant. People across the globe are starving due to a lack of food or lack of nutritious food. The fact that I can read about different eating patterns, choose the one I like best, and execute that decision means I have more means at my disposal than many others. When food is scarce, the best thing to eat is what you can access at any time. It’s something that goes without saying but deserves attention anyway.

On the other hand, some numbers I’ve come across in reading about human nutrition and eating patterns are mind-boggling. There are around 8 billion people on Earth right now, according to www.commerce.gov. A modest estimate of the number of land animals killed for human consumption each year is around 80 billion, so 10 times the number of people, according to various sources, including www.ourworldindata.org. Close to or above 99% of those animals are raised on Condensed Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) style farms, which refers to the number of animals confined in a defined space. These are colloquially called factory farms.

Growing animals in these settings is necessary because there simply isn’t enough land to grow this many animals on “regenerative”-style farms. When we think of a farm, we imagine happy animals grazing in fields, eating grass and bugs. But the Earth simply isn’t big enough to support all the farm animals that we consume presently in this way.

So, some people can eat animals raised on “sustainable” or what we think of as old-fashioned family farms, like the one my parents run. Still, the vast majority of people either do not have access to those products or cannot afford them because, understandably, they tend to cost more than typical factory farm-raised grocery store animal products. Alternatively, we don’t have to eat animals at all, or we can drastically reduce the amount of animal-derived foods we consume.

One reference is the EAT-Lancet Commission (https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/). A group of world-renowned scientists gathered to study a sustainable diet for 10 billion people, a number we are approaching in the coming decades. The commission promotes greatly increasing our reliance on plant-based foods for improved health and lists how much dairy, eggs, and meat of various kinds can be consumed by all 10 billion people in a diet that meets all nutritional needs. The amounts are much less than people typically consume in the modern diet.

I am endlessly grateful to have a choice about what I eat and the ability to learn what’s best for my body. I hope this post offers a few points to consider, which may lead you to read more about the topics and get your mind around some of the numbers. There is so much information available it can be overwhelming. In overwhelming situations, we tend to shut down and go with our default mode, going with what feels comfortable. Consider allowing a little discomfort to learn about our global nutritional needs in the interest of a healthy planet. Explore, question, and discover more about the privilege of food choice and its impact on our planet.

What do you know about how food gets from point A to point B? Does that impact your food choices?

Jennifer Yager 5/28/19 Jennifer Yager 5/28/19

1. I came for my health…

It all begins with an idea.

…and I stayed for the animals, the planet, and everyone else. Growing up on a dairy farm gave me a close-up view of what operating a large dairy farm looks like. My dad has always been passionate about raising dairy cows and running a successful business. We lived on a 2,000-cow farm throughout my childhood. When I was a young adult, my parents briefly left the farming business, but my dad felt pulled to the way of life and returned to raising dairy cows.

My parents started a much smaller dairy farm with under 100 cows and began selling raw milk. They continue to raise dairy cows and run this business today. It is hard work. They work harder than anyone I have ever met and do their best to care for their animals humanely. Still, raising animals to produce food for human consumption has an outsized impact on the environment. Also, dairy cows are sent for slaughter after they are too old to continue the repeated cycle of becoming pregnant, giving birth, and giving milk.

Part of my cognitive dissonance about not only living a plant-based lifestyle but also promoting the same is that I do not wish or intend to disparage farmers. I watched Forks Over Knives with my parents when it was first released, and we all found the information compelling. My parents have modified their diets significantly to support me and their health along with my plant-based journey. It pains me to see animals harmed in any way, and I know firsthand that even when farmers, like my parents, do love their animals and treat them as humanely as possible, the animals ultimately meet the fate of an early death in a slaughterhouse.

My goal in providing education about plant-based eating is to help people make informed dietary choices. A plant-based eating pattern is a pillar of lifestyle medicine for a reason. Eating predominantly whole plant foods confers health benefits. Navigating the process of converting to a plant-based eating pattern myself over the past few years has shown me that making such a huge life change is challenging, so I want to support others.

All diets should be well planned, whether plant-based or omnivore, but eating a plant-exclusive diet does come with a few unique challenges with simple solutions, such as supplementing with vitamin B12. Please follow me on this journey if you want to eat a more plant-based or exclusively plant-based diet for whatever reason: health, compassion for animals, decreasing your environmental footprint, etc.

How have your eating habits changed throughout your life?

*This website and blog information is not medical advice. Please consult your medical professional if you are changing your health behaviors, including starting a new diet or exercise program.

Jennifer Yager 5/28/19 Jennifer Yager 5/28/19

2. Community And Food

It all begins with an idea.

We share, bond, and communicate through food. Preparing food to share is an act of love, and those of us who have had the opportunity to cook for others have experienced the satisfaction of feeding and nourishing others. Having three little kids gives me the less satisfying experience of cooking for them, only to be met with unpredictable, often negative, feedback.

Social connection is a pillar of Lifestyle Medicine for a reason. It is one of the prominent aspects of life for people who live in “Blue Zones” and tend to live healthier, happier lives. Social connection is a critically important aspect of human life and leads to improved health. People who lack strong social connections struggle to thrive and may even suffer adverse health consequences.

Food and social connections often intersect. Shifting toward plant-based foods affects the social aspect of communal eating. It’s relatively easy to eat whatever you want when you’re alone. You buy and prepare your food, making decisions based on your preferences and values… no big deal. But when eating out with others or at someone else’s home, it can be awkward to make special requests or share your decision to avoid eating animal products because it is not the “norm.”

I’ve worried that my family members or friends would judge me harshly, question my choices, or distance themselves from me because I’ve made such a foundational change in my lifestyle. It might feel like a rejection of those who have fed me my whole life up to this point. They’ve been curious and open to learning how plant-based eating benefits health. My mom even went along with my journey, welcoming the opportunity to improve her health while cooking and supporting my family and me. I admire her genuine, open-minded curiosity.

The bottom line is that acting in alignment with my values feels good. My choices are not a rejection of anyone. If anything, aligning with my values helps me become more present for those I love.

Notably, the reality is that most often, people are self-focused and do not care much about what others choose to do, so be true to yourself. Others are likely not paying attention to you, are momentarily interested and move on quickly, or are genuinely curious and wish to learn more.

What are your values? Are food choices related to values?

Jennifer Yager 5/28/19 Jennifer Yager 5/28/19

3. Transitions Start With Intention

It all begins with an idea.

My switch to a plant-based diet started with the intention of using my decision-making power to improve my and my family’s health. Years ago, I watched Forks Over Knives, which planted a seed. At the time, my reasons for making a life change must not have been strong enough because, while I found the documentary compelling, I did not execute a complete dietary overhaul.

In 2020, everyone had the same rude awakening: the COVID-19 virus struck everywhere in the world, but not equally. Some people were more susceptible to the devastating effects of the virus. Chronic illnesses or poor health habits increase the chances of a bad outcome from COVID-19 infection. Adding whole plant foods to our diets can improve overall health in innumerable ways, including increasing resilience against infections like COVID-19.

My reasons for changing my eating pattern were more personal. I learned that eating a whole food plant-based diet reduces breast cancer risk. Thank you, Dr. Kristi Funk, MD, for writing Breasts: The Owners Manual to explain the science behind this assertion. I also read Dr. Gregor’s How Not to Die and Dr. T. Collin Campbell’s The China Study around the same time. There is a strong history of breast cancer in my family, and I have three daughters. I aim to educate them about how to improve their chances of avoiding breast cancer rather than living in fear of it as I have. Learning about the connection between diet, lifestyle, and breast cancer was a light bulb moment for me.

Our health does not have to be and should not be a passive process reliant on the medical system for management. The modern medical system is very good at treating severe, sudden illness. I practice in the acute psychiatric setting, where we are an excellent asset for treating acute illnesses. My husband is an interventional cardiologist. Thanks to cardiac catheterization, he saves people’s lives in minutes.

I would never diminish the vital work being done daily. More to the point, it is essential to know that we don’t have to wait around until an illness crops up. Instead, we can change our habits to reduce the likelihood of needing active medical treatments. It bears reminding that preventative medicine in the form of routine check-ups and screening tests is essential. No matter how much we optimize our lifestyles, problems are much better treated when identified early.

I want doctors to feel empowered to educate themselves and patients and offer evidence-based advice about disease prevention. Most of us do not feel equipped to do this. We can start with intention. I intend to educate myself and at least gain an awareness of the choices available for achieving and maintaining good health while hopefully setting a good example in the process.

Do you feel comfortable talking to your medical providers about how food impacts your health?