I am fascinated by our food culture and how we approach health and health care. I agree with the Forks Over Knives observation related to our new health (disease) care law. 

The FOK folks promote a vegan lifestyle. As I've stated before, I am not a vegan, however, I certainly am plant strong. And, this time of year, many meals come from my garden.

The American diet is a catastrophe. We don’t have a health care crisis. We have a food crisis. 75% of our health care costs are spent on chronic disease linked to the diet…and that is bankrupting us. - Michael Pollan

What is the Main Street Diet? Let me briefly explain. Here's a tour of "my" Main Street.

1. 13 Fast Food Restaurants
2. 7 Gas Stations ... upon entering the convenience store, I am confronted with a vast array of junk food.
   
3. Now let's do a few errands: PetSmart, OfficeMax, Home Depot, FedEx, and a few other stores  - Upon checkout, each one of these offers an enormous amount of candy and soda.
4. On "my" Main Street, there are three, yes three, CVS pharmacies (within a mile of each other). Upon entering, I am not sure if I have entered a candy store or a drug store.

Welcome to America's Main Street. 

Dr. William Castelli (former director of the Framingham Heart Study) states: "The American diet is the worst diet you could possibly eat anywhere in the world."

Of course, many people will state: "You don't have to eat the food that is available on Main Street." Yes, this is true. However, we consider Main Street America to be normal. It is not. It has led to a toxic food environment. 

The choice is yours: Continue consuming these foods or make a change. You can learn how to make simple changes by purchasing Feed Your Head or attending one of my presentations.

Dr. David Kessler, former chairman of the FDA and author of The End of Overeating, provides a great explanation.

Yes, there is a website for everything. Backed by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, here's what this one is all about:

Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.

LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.

REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%

FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A plant-based diet is a great source of fiber (absent in animal products). This makes you feel full with fewer calories, ie. lower calorie intake and less overeating. Research has found that eating more plant foods and less animal products may help individuals control their weight.

LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.

IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.

National Geographic has an interesting piece about this. It reviewed three areas in the world where people live long and productive lives. Check it out.

These two doctors were very important in my discoveries and findings . . . Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn and Colin Campbell.  Dr. Esselstyn led me to believe that I could get my total cholesterol much lower via proper eating. It worked! Here are the results.

Watch the trailer to the movie Forks Over Knives.