Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

It just occurred to me the other day that I have been officially vegan for over 8 years now. On September 6, 2016, I had my final meal with family and friends. It was Chicken Marsala. It was the beginning of what I thought would be a 13 week challenge, where my original intention was to go back to my old diet. I never went back to the old diet as I became an ethical vegan in the process.

I have learned a lot over the years of being vegan and would never choose to knowingly have animal products. There are so many plant based products out there that there is no reason in our society to not be vegan.

I used to be an addict and would eat tons of candy, so you might be surprised that I no longer crave those foods at all. The other day, I walked down the candy aisle while trying to increase my steps for the day. I saw a bag of Skittles and thought to myself that the old me would have eaten the entire bag without even thinking about it.

I picked up the bag to look at the ingredients. As someone who follows a whole food plant-based diet, I wanted to see what kind of ingredients were used in foods I once consumed. The first ingredients listed are sugar and corn syrup. Other ingredients include modified corn starch, water, gelatin, and less than 2% of citric acid, malic acid, natural and artificial flavors, sunflower oil, colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1), and carnauba wax.

Firstly, there's no such thing as perfection in any lifestyle. Personally, I do the best I can to avoid knowingly consuming anything with animal products. However, does that mean my dining experiences are always 100% compliant when I eat out? Unfortunately, no one can guarantee that unless we're in the kitchen overseeing food preparation ourselves.

I was reflecting on this while listening to Robert Cheeke’s latest interview on the PlantStrong podcast. Robert discussed how some people can become overly concerned about ensuring everything is vegan—I was in that phase a few years ago. I remember a specific incident at a New York City salad bar where the server, who didn't speak English well, used tongs that had touched chicken to make my salad. Despite my efforts to explain my veganism and concerns about cross-contamination, it took the manager intervening to clarify.

I had a followup appointment with a doctor this week. The nurse did the usual checking of the pulse, blood pressure and oxygen level. She also asked a series of questions. I explained to her that all of these answers will most likely be “no”, as she asked about prescription drugs, aches or pains, you know, the typical questions all patients get asked.

So, when she moved on to checking my pulse, she asked me is my resting heart rate usually this low? The number read 44, and she said numbers are typiically above 60, to which I responded that I have an athletic pulse. She understood what that meant. I imagine there’s a lot of nurses who wouldn’t get it as they go by the Standard American guidelines. My pulse and blood pressure are ideal. But someone who does not work out or has a poor diet, their pulse might be in the 70s and considered normal.

Twelve years ago, I was hypertensive and pre-diabetic. I was threatened to be put on blood pressure medication. I was obese and knew I needed to change my life. I did not want to go on meds.

So, what’s the alternative? Make a lifestyle change. By adapting a plant based diet, not only did my blood pressure normalize, so did my blood sugar. I also lost 150+ pounds. I know many of you know my story already, but the reason I bring it up is because I recently had lab work for an upcoming physical.