because by eating these foods, we provide big profits for companies like McDonald's, Monsanto, and Coca-Cola. They'd like to keep you subordinate to their agenda, and so distracted that you won't raise a peep of protest.
Fortunately, you don't have to do that.
You already know that there's a huge link between your food and your health.
You know that a majority of the medical costs that are bankrupting families, companies, and nations could be eliminated with better nutrition.
But do you know the alternative? Do you know what the experts have found out about how to promote optimal health, and how to contribute to building a healthier society?
Now is the time to find out how you and your family can get informed and take action.
Have you ever been chronically ill? Worried about the health or survival of a loved one? Would you like to know how to lose weight, clean up your arteries, or defend yourself against cancer?
Do you sometimes wish you had more energy, got sick less often, and felt more confident about what to eat for optimal health?
For most of us, a good diet is the best gift we can give to ourselves and our loved ones... because it's the gift of lasting health. And it's not rocket science. Using simple and easy-to-remember steps, you can dramatically increase your chances of living a long and vibrant life.
Do you care about the world around you? Do you want your food choices to contribute to building a more sustainable and compassionate world?
You have a right to know the truth about what you eat, where it comes from, and what its impact is on your life and on the planet. The more you know, the more power you have to take meaningful action. The more you know, the better able you are to bring your food choices into alignment with your purpose and your passion. Your mind will be clearer, your heart will be more at peace, and your body will thank you for the rest of your life.
Right now there are many people concerned about the future of food who want reliable, up-to-date information from sources they can trust. We created this book as a way to help. Sure, there have been thousands of books, conferences, documentaries, and seminars on food. But we have hand-picked these leaders and experts to bring you the best of the best—experts who aren't beholden to commercial or political agendas, and who have made it their job to accurately find and effectively communicate the truth.
There's one other thing about this book that's pretty unique. The interviews are conducted by a world-renowned hero of the food movement. If you'll indulge me for a moment, I'd like to tell you a little family history.
My grandfather, Irvine Robbins, founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream company, with all of its legendary 31 Flavors. My dad, John Robbins, grew up with an ice-cream-cone-shaped swimming pool. From his earliest childhood, he was groomed to join in running what became the world's largest ice cream company. That's right, you're reading about the food revolution from a family that actually has roots in the mass-marketing of frozen, sugar-laden butterfat.
But my dad walked away from all that. He said nope, I don't want to spend my life selling ice cream, thank you very much. He left behind the company, and with it any access to or dependence on the family wealth. He followed his own “rocky road,” and wound up moving with my mom to a little island off the coast of Canada. There they lived very simply, grew their own food, practiced yoga and meditation, and had a kid they named “Ocean.” That's me.
In 1987, John Robbins, the could-have-been-but-decided-not-to-be ice cream heir became the “rebel without a cone,” when he inspired millions of people through publication of his groundbreaking, landmark bestseller, Diet for a New America.
For nearly three decades, my dad (and now my colleague), John Robbins, has been speaking out for healthy, sustainable, humane, and delicious food. He's gone from sometimes seeming like a voice in the wilderness, to being one of the world's leading authorities on the subject. His books have sold more than two million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He's keynoted hundreds of conferences and received numerous awards and accolades. Most important, his work has inspired countless doctors, scientists, farmers, activists, and everyday folks to find out the truth about the relationship between the food on our plate and the lives we create.
In this book, for the first time ever, one of the founders of the modern food movement engages in breakthrough dialogues with twenty-one of today's top food revolutionary experts.
These conversations are special. They utilize a combination of interviews and dialogues to capture decades of hard-won wisdom, and to bring it to you in an easily digestible and highly useful form. You may have read interviews before, but how often do you get top-notch experts engaging with a game-changing movement leader—all for your benefit?
I've had the pleasure of curating and editing this remarkable collection. It's been a privilege to learn from some of the most important voices of our time, and to help bring their crucial message to you.
With this book, we offer you a diverse, gourmet, tasty, and nutrient-rich powerhouse that's designed to help you move from being a medical time bomb to a health superstar, and from a frustrated spectator to an empowered agent of change.
I love food. I love eating it, I love preparing it, and I love sharing it with other people. Throughout the world, “breaking bread” together, or sharing a meal together, is an act of connection. Food bonds us to the world, to culture, and to one another.
As you dive into this book, our hope is that you find it as delicious as it is nourishing, and as useful as it is inspiring.
Thanks for joining us.
Bon appétit.
—Ocean Robbins, spring 2013
PART I
What Is the Optimal Diet for Human Beings?
The United States has the world's highest rates of obesity and chronic illness. People are spending more and more of their lives sick.
Health-care spending, which should more accurately be called disease-care spending, now consumes nearly 18 percent of the U.S. GDP, and it keeps rising. Three-quarters of this money is going to treatment of chronic diseases, most of which are preventable and linked to the food we eat.
The good news is that modern research gives us tremendous knowledge about the link between diet and disease, and about the real sources of health. Science knows, unequivocally, what it takes to dramatically increase the likelihood of living a thriving and vibrant life.
While most doctors receive less than 24 hours of nutritional education in 4 years of medical school, some have bucked the status quo and devoted decades of their lives to cultivating the wisdom their peers are so lacking.
We sought out the wisdom of some of the most seasoned experts—people whose programs are rooted in science, and whose results are unassailable. If you want the honest truth about your diet and your health, read on . . .
1
Dean Ornish, M.D.
Simple and Proven Breakthroughs That Are Changing the World
Dean Ornish, M.D., is one of the greatest medical pioneers in the world. His research has demonstrated—for the first time—that integrative changes in diet and lifestyle can reverse heart disease, turn on health-promoting genes, slow aging, and slow or even reverse early stage prostate cancer. Medicare and many of the largest insurance companies have made his program the first lifestyle-based approach they have ever covered. Chosen by Forbes as “one of the seven most powerful teachers in the world,” Dr. Ornish's work is changing the face of medicine.
Dr. Ornish challenges the myth that you have to choose between what's good for you and what's fun for you. His research proves that better diet can lead to better sex, more energy, and a happier life.
JOHN ROBBINS: